Thursday, February 27, 2020

Too Many Voices - Catch Me If You Can

Too Many Voices is a band from Long Island, New York, founded in 2010. The band features former members of: The Last Crime, Two Man Advantage, Skinned Alive, The Judas Iscariot, 25 Ta Life, Half Man, just to name a few.

The band debut their self titled demo in 2011, and the “South of Sunrise” CD in 2015. In 2018, the band released “Catch Me If You Can” on various digital platforms. D.I.Y. labels “Division Street Sounds” and “Not Like You Records” teamed up to release “Catch Me If You Can” on vinyl. The vinyl release dropped on January 31st, 2020.

If you're into classic melodic hardcore, then Too Many Voices is the band for you! “Catch Me If You Can” offers up some very well written hardcore punk tunes. Their music gets stuck in your head thru their catchy melodic hooks. From the opening track, “Can't Stop This Feeling”, to the last song, “Distance”, the album keeps the listener glued in. Each song has an edge and a groove that keeps your head bopping throughout the entire album. My favorite song is “Head and Heart”. This song injects a fast attack of the classic hardcore beat, and combines it with their fresh blend of guitar sounds and thoughtful lyrics. But every song brings it!

This 7 song LP is a great display of the musicianship of Too Many Voices. They are a band that does not come around often in the hardcore punk scene these days. If you’re a fan of Quicksand, Gorilla Biscuits, Dag Nasty, 7 Seconds, Rites of Spring, then “Catch Me If You Can” is a must have! But don’t sleep on it, this album is limited to 227 copies. 110 on random color vinyl, 80 on black vinyl, and 27 test pressings.

Too Many Voices line-up for this LP is:
Eric Svirida – Vocals/Guitar
Ivan Gonzalez - Guitar
Jeff Kaplan - Bass
Jerry Carbone - Drums

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Wednesday, February 12, 2020

Noise Party 2019

Founder of Whatever68Radio.com and owner of PP Promo Records, Lisa PunkrPrincess, releases a series of compilations a few times a year. The compilations mostly feature global D.I.Y. bands that are on rotation at Whatever68Radio.com. The compilations are not genre specific, but most bands tend to lean towards the punk rock genre.

“Noise Party 2019” is the newest compilation in the series. It includes 44 songs from 44 bands. Highlights for me are Totally Gnarly, The Has Beens, Spike Polite & Sewage, The First Rule, Scott Volatile & Colin Lawrence, The Nerves, Arinova Rhythm Collective, Evil Elvis, and Bonecrusher. But the rest of the bands don’t disappoint either.

This compilation shows a snippet of the never-ending stream of quality bands that air on Whatever68Radio.com. The 44 bands have a wide range in music and manages to capture the D.I.Y. spirit. Overall, it's a great release. If anything, Noise Party 2019 proves there is enough quality music being produced all over the world. If you’re into global D.I.Y. bands, then this compilation is worth listening to. Lisa PunkrPrincess has done a wonderful job putting together a great compilation once again.

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Friday, February 7, 2020

Hot Shit Attitude: The Outburst Covers Record

The 1989 7” Vinyl, “Miles To Go” by Outburst, is considered to be one of the most influential releases in New York Hardcore. The EP is finally receiving a long overdue vinyl reissue from Blackout! Records, due out later this year. To commemorate the upcoming reissue, the label has released a covers compilation album titled “Hot Shit Attitude”, comprised of modern day bands covering Outburst songs.

The compilation features an extensive range of bands with some well known names including, Power Trip, Higher Power, Fury, and Krimewatch. The intensity of each song is felt right off the gate, starting with Power Trips version of “When Things Go Wrong”. It serves as a welcome mat as to what's to come. Followed by Higher Power with their ripping version of “Misunderstood”. Wild Side adds a personal touch of guitar solos to “Mission Impossible” and the “Outburst (Intro)”. My personal favorite is “Thin Ice” by Search. Back in the day, Thin Ice was the song that had me moshing it up on the dance floor. All the bands on this compilation inject new life into these classic Outburst songs. 

I’m sure as teenagers from Queens, the members of Outburst would never have imagined their music would inspire a new generation of bands from all ends of the world. "Hot Shit Attitude" is a testament to that.

You can stream and purchase “Hot Shit Attitude” now at every online outlet.

Hot Shit Attitude: The Outburst Covers Record Track List

1. When Things Go Wrong – Power Trip
2. Misunderstood – Higher Power
3. SGI – Wild Side
4. Mission Impossible – Wild Side
5. Miles to Go – Initiate
6. No Choice – Fury
7. Think for Yourself – Krimewatch
8. Outburst (Intro) – Wild Side
9. Thin Ice – Search
10. The Hard Way – Mizery
11. Learn to Care – Stand Off
12. Controlled – Big Boss
13. True – Outskirts

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Wednesday, February 5, 2020

The Fraoch Collective

Long Island’s own, The Fraoch Collective, is a three-piece band, featuring Heather Dawson (Vocals), Marc Löaf (Drums, Guitar, Backing Vocals), and Gregg Gavitt (Guitars, Bass, Keyboards, Backing Vocals). Each formerly of Long Island’s powerful bar band, ACME Dynamite. For their live performances, the line-up is backed up by Christine Smith on keyboards, and Will Brown on guitar.

The Fraoch Collective is a unique band in a class of their own. They feature elements of classic rock, 70s punk, and 80s British wave. Heather’s vocals mixes intensity and softness. At first listen, what comes to mind is Patti Smith meets Kate Bush with irony. There’s something beautifully haunting when she sings: “You’re absolutely fucking beautiful!” Probably not the kind of words your mother wants you to blast for your neighbors to hear, but it’s an excellent complement to the entrancing music. Each of their songs sets a different mood, brooding, biting, happy sad, it’s all there. The band is very experimental, they are not afraid to do things different. The Fraoch Collective is a breath of fresh air in comparison to the bands emerging in today's scene.

What makes The Fraoch Collective stand out is their musicianship and song crafting ability that allows them to fuse so many different styles of music. It only seems like a week ago since I featured songs from their album, “Oh, The Things We’ve Done” on my radio show. Which was one of the most inspiring independent records of 2019. But The Fraoch Collective aren't just hanging around, they're back with a new album titled “Eyes”, due to be released on February 29th! If you like music from David Bowie, to Led Zeppelin, to Siouxsie Sioux, you will not be disappointed.

Catch them on February 29th at the Kasteli Cafe in NYC for a rocking record release show!

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