Music makes me happy, music makes me sad, and maybe best of all, every great once in a while, music makes me excited. The All-About – principally singer, songwriter, musician Zac Coe and some talented friends – falls into that latter category.
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The twentysomething NYC garage-punk band Flagland seemed more like an out-of-control frat party on its first release, Danger Music/Party Music. On Tireda Fighting, everything sounds more like a real band – the singing, the songwriting, the musicianship.
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Joe Michelini’s a clever fellow. The singer/songwriter of Toms River’s River City Extension drops the names of cities and states throughout this album as if he were writing the soundtrack to a travelogue – Brooklyn and Pittsburgh, Ohio, Virginia, and California all pop up in song lyrics or titles – all guaranteed to raise a hometown cheer on tour.
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Few bands have defined the DIY ideal like New Jersey’s Bouncing Souls. From ragtag basement-show punks to international headliners, the Souls have built their own little self-contained music industry, with everything from merchandise to bookings to their record label owned and operated by a small group of friends.
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Bar-None Records seems to be in the business of bringing Hoboken’s Eighties glory days back to life; first the label released the first Feelies album in 19 years, and now there’s Falling Off The Sky, which reunites the four original dB’s after a 30 year hiatus.
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GREENLAND IS MELTING
“Our Hearts Are Gold, Our Grass Is Blue”
(greenlandismelting.bandcamp.com)

Not every band from Gainesville, Florida sounds like Jawbreaker or Less Than Jake. GIM play rootsy back porch folk with fiddle, banjo, finger-pickin’ bluegrass licks, and lots of sweet vocal harmonies. Read more…