Castero - RevolutionsI just don't understand why more people aren't raving about this one. Hailing from Ireland, Castero specialize in balls out guitar rock that chugs full speed ahead like an unmanned locamotive racing down the tracks towards a fully-packed commute station. "Warped Mind" kicks it all off with red lights blazing, riding high on a charging riff that takes a break only to let some stellar guitar work wail. Vocals are throaty and textured, menacing, as if to invite you to a bar fight between warring gangs. The lads of Castero like writing riffs as much as they probably like drinking beer and need to rock about as much as they need to breathe. Not metal, sludge, stoner or grunge, but all of them-- ramrodded into the coal pit of the locomotive engine and jammed into the fiery furnace. Full on steaming rock n roll. A wholly impressive debut. Jump onboard or get off the tracks because Castero is steaming through one way or the another.
All brakes are off on this one!
The Casualties - ResistanceMean-spirited, phlegm-addled punk-n-roll straight from the vomit-spewed gutters of big City. The Casualties have been plying their trade for years and have become masters, jamming their spike of Oi! punk right into the heart of hardcore, spitting out the blood of old school punk along the way. Gangland vocals beat out across the anarchic madness of flailing elbows, bloody kneecaps, and 100mph venom. Pure rebellion, Resistance, is the assault of rebellion against a fucked up status quo. Song titles like "Brick Wall Justice," "Behind Barbed Wire" "Modern Day Slaves" and Morality Police" read like graffiti on the walls of The Casualties revolutionary front. Somehow, amongst the snot and bile, The Casualties manage to pile on enough hooks, choruses, and discernible melodies amidst the blistering guitars and galloping bass to make it an incredibly accessible, even an addictive listen. If you miss the moshpit, and music of pure tattooed knuckles and disgust, The Casualties have created the album for you.
Cellerscape - The Act of Letting GoI've written about Paul Terry and his solo project Cellerscape many times before. Cinematic in scope, Cellerscape is the music for the movie playing in your head. Lush and vibrant. At times uplifting or despondent, Cellerscape is never anything less than majestic. 12 songs over the span of nearly an hour create a moody adventure in sound. Terry's smooth tenor flows over beautifully strummed acoustic guitar, haunting cello, and gentle electronics. Each song plays like a mini-soundtrack, layer with ambiance and tone. Beautiful and evocative, each Cellerscape album is worth exploring.
Be warned though, one listen may just inspire you to write that screenplay you've been dreaming of.
The Cryptics - Black Lucy EPStraight from the Bowery, Stooges-fueled street punk, oozing with cheap beer and methamphetamine. Don't go here looking for anything intelligent or radical. Instead, the Crytpics are all about the attitude. Tearing it up in a smoke-stained bar, blazing through 3-chord burners while the audience flies high with sweat and grease stained t-shirts and torn jeans. Not high on the originality scale but soaring the heights of good sleezy punked-up fun.
--Racer
