Sheer Terror - Standing Up For Falling Down

Malvo here and it's a rainy Saturday afternoon in our area. While Adult Crash is being daddy of the year, I am enjoying a killer mail day. I am now the proud owner of the latest Sheer Terror LP titled Standing Up For Falling Down. Now, I'm a big fan of Sheer Terror, but Crash isn't. But that's okay because I love the band enough for the both of us.

Let me first say that I hesitated in getting this record because I was convinced that it couldn't be as good as their earlier stuff. I mean, it's the first album they've recorded in 18 years! Well, all my worries were put to rest pretty fucking quick with the opening track Heartburn in G. Mama fucking Mia! This album comes out of the gate hauling ass! I'm listening to this record as I work on this entry and 4 songs in and I'm blown away. Fucking great stuff here. I feel like the 15 year old me when I first heard the Thanks Fer Nuthin LP. Just all around killer songs on here. I've always loved how Paul changes up his vocals on some songs. Did You Just Meet Me is a perfect example of that range that he has.

The lyrics are what you'd expect from Paul Bearer, pissed, heartbroken and frustrated. This album sounds so angry that it makes me happy. My lady friend just rolled her eyes at that one. Ah what does she know? While she may not be a fan of Sheer Terror, she can appreciate good artwork and we both love the cover art for this record. Opening the cover up was more of the same. I've said this many times, but I love when bands have cool artwork with their records. I love live shots as much as the next guy, but stuff like this is just different and cool at the same time.

But enough of me gushing over the greatness that is Sheer Terror. Let me throw it over to Adult Crash for his take. I just sent him a youtube clip of the album and he has responded. Surely he will offer up something insightful unlike my lady friend here who thinks it sucks.

"Meh. It's palatable. It's not Just Can't Hate Enough, that's for sure. But you're also asking a guy who doesn't often like bands 20 years after their heydays (with a few exceptions). And I was never a huge Sheer Terror fan to begin with."

Palatable?! Meh?! What in the wide world of sports is he talking about? I'm surrounded by a couple of know-nothings. Unfortunately, one of those know-nothings is my partner in crime for this blog and the other snuggles up next to me all the time. Their opinions on music are officially suspect!

D.C.S.

New Dag Nasty 7"

You know, it's been a couple of years since we got to see Dag Nasty play at the Black Cat. And they have been busy ever since with more shows across the country and abroad. Then we got word that Dischord was putting out a new 7" for them and we were intrigued.



Well, we got our hands on it a while back and I have to say that I like it. A lot! It's only 2 songs, but if they plan on putting out more material like this, then we are all in for a treat. Cold Heart is my favorite of the two, but Wanting Nothing is also killer. In my opinion, this is the best stuff they have put out since Can I Say. That's right, Can I Say. I wasn't a big fan of the stuff after that album. However, I started listening to Wig Out At Denkos recently and I may have to change my opinion on that. For now, I stand by my statement that this is the best since Can I Say. Adult Crash disagrees with me though. Shocking, I know.

Adult Crash here and I have to say that I am a bigger fan of Dag Nasty than Malvo is. He's stuck on one album by them and can't open his eyes to anything else. These two new songs are so much better than the post-Dag stuff they did in the 90's/00's. I have no problem with the Cortner years it's just a different flavor. The second version of "Under Your Influence" is worth it solely for the "12 ounces of courage...and I'm feeling fine!"

If you're listening to anything after Can I Say objectively, it's solid stuff. If you're listening to them thinking "that's not Dave Smalley" of course you're not going to like it. This new 7" has me excited for more new songs from them.

First of all, I am not hung up on only Can I Say. I happen to like the stuff with Shawn Brown preceding Can I Say. (Yes, I realize they're the same songs, but still!) Adult Crash will have you believe that I only like Dave Smalley's vocals, but that's just not the case. I wasn't into Minority of One. I just wasn't into the other albums musically. Having said all that, this new 7" is very promising and hopefully this means they have more new material on the way.

I'm pretty sure they're overseas at the moment, so if they come to your town, do yourselves a favor and check them out. You won't be disappointed. And if you haven't gotten the new 7" from Dischord Records, you're missing out!

D.C.S.

Nails - You Will Never Be One of Us

Adult Crash and I really want to focus on hardcore punk bands with this blog, but today is going to be different. Crash and I don't agree on everything and grind-core music is one of those things. And Morissey. But recently, I came across this video of a band by the name of Nails and I was blown away.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that one of my favorite guitar players from the left coast was fronting the band, Todd Jones. That guy has played in some solid bands over the years like Carry On, Internal Affairs, Betrayed and Terror, to name a few.And he's a swell guy that we've both met and talked to over the years.




Now, Crash is not a fan of grind-core. I don't know why? It's only awesome and all. But he did have this to say when I asked him to give this a listen.

Adult Crash: I actually saw this video a while back and there's no denying the craft. It's tight and executed flawlessly, as you'd expect anything with Todd Jones to be. But it's just not my flavor. I'm not surprised to see him doing a band like Nails. The guy is such a talented guitarist / musician.

Crash is right, the guy is crazy talented. I went ahead and ordered their newest album You Will Never Be One Of Us from iTunes and it was been played over and over again for the last few days. The title track is the opener on this album and it was the perfect way to start the musical assault on my senses.

The album sounds great and delivers repeated punches to the gut with each song on it. My favorite song on here is a short, but sweet medley called Friend To All. But almost all the songs on this album are short and sweet. I haven't been this excited for a grind-core band in a long time. And I know they have played the Maryland Deathfest before and I believe they're playing it again. In which case, I plan on going up to see them. If you're into music that makes you want to lose your shit, then check these guys out. It won't disappoint.

D.C.S.

Another hardcore legend has passed away.

Malvo here and today officially sucks the back of my balls. I was about to call my mom up and wish her a happy mother's day and I see that John Stabb of G.I. lost his battle with stomach cancer. What the fuck is with 2016 taking all these musical legends from us? Sigh...

Allow me to share a story with you about Stabb. I remember standing on a street corner a couple of years ago on my way to a show and some guy and lady walked up next to me waiting to cross the street. I looked over and did a double take and realized it was John Stabb standing next to me. I proceeded to bombard him with my love of him and G.I. like a prepubescent boob. The guy couldn't have been more down to earth upon hearing a grown man gush over him like I did. He thanked me for the praise and asked me what my name was? I almost told him that I was Malvo from the D.C. Sniper blog (gotta promote you know) but instead I told him my real name and he introduced me to his lady. As it turns out, they were going to the show too. I want to say that it was a Damaged City show, but I could be wrong. In any case, I can safely say that I was in fanboy heaven on that street corner. The guy was talking about a couple of bands that he was looking forward to seeing at the show which was pretty cool too. It was only two minutes, but it felt like an hour walking across the street with him and talking about G.I.

Anyway, it's a damn shame that he has passed away. He is gone too soon. Coincidentally, there is a benefit show for him tonight at the Black Cat with Thurston Moore, J. Robbins and Give. Don't know if he would've been able to attend this show in his honor, but you still can. I believe tickets are still available at BlackCatDC.com

D.C.S.

Record reviews

It's 2016 and it's taken me a full month to get off my ass and do an entry. I wanted to do something sooner because I didn't care for Adult Crash putting me on blast with his end of the year entry. Clearly my friend has no sympathy for someone that is dealing with a stomach bug and explosive... well, you know.

Anyway, a while back I got to see Fuck You Pay Me at The Pinch in Washington DC. They were great and I immediately picked up their new LP titled "Public Disgrace" when they finished their set. The album cover is pretty cool with a picture of earth wearing a gas mask and the state of Ohio in one eye and the Russian hammer and sickle in the other. I love creative artwork like this because it grabs your attention right away. 

Let me first say that I was greatly disappointed when I got home to see that there was no download code for this record. Total bummer! (I found out later that you can get it on iTunes). Despite that, I put that record on my turntable and played it over and over and over again for weeks. This record fucking shreds! 

Beyond the kickass tunes, the songs cover so many different topics. Topics like daddy issues to reality tv to bands that have an insane amount of merch to sell at shows. They even do a cover of Religious Wars by the Subhumans. This may be blasphemy to some of you, but I think this cover is way better than the original. I tried to get into the Subhumans years back and I wasn't feeling it. At the end of the day, if you haven't listened to anything by this band, you're missing out! 

Adult Crash wants to add his two cents to this record. 

Erba sounds like the Heir Apparent to Choke from Slapshot. Same strangling vocals. Same plain-spoken nuclear lyrics. In regards to a song like Daddy Issues? Erba needs to be a little pickier with his Tinder dates. None of that would've happened if he had only gone through eHarmony. All in all, Malvo is right, this record is great. 

Let me continue our little record review with the new World Be Free Lp. Malvo and I are split on this one. Allow me to give you my thoughts on this one first. 

No doubt these guys are old hands at hardcore. It's clean and well-produced, which is why I probably find it sterile and boring. For me, when it comes to hardcore, the beauty has always been in the blemishes, listening to new musicians figure things out as they go along. It's why I tend to like demos and debut EP's over more polished later releases in the discographies of many bands I've followed over the the years. 

With World Be Free, these guys all know the formula for hardcore on a larger indie like Rev and because of that, I don't hear anything remotely new or interesting that makes my ears perk up. In fact, I'm all but certain I'd find the recordings from their practice space (if there are any) more interesting than these songs - because at that stage of the writing process, I'm certain things were much more organic and whole. Like potatoes vs. potato chips. 

Like Adult Crash said, we are split on this one, but not by much. I agree with him that it's really polished and lacks any rawness. Kinda like everybody's favorite debate of which Gorilla Biscuits record is better? The 7" or the LP? It's obvious to anybody with any common sense that it's the 7". Not that the LP isn't any good, but the 7" is just that much better because it's not so clean. 

Having said all that, I am digging this record. At first I was a little iffy about the vocals, but by the time that I got to the end of the record...I was putting it on again to listen to. I like Scott's vocals in Terror, but he sounds a little different here. Not in a bad way, but I guess I just didn't know what to expect? I got this record without listening to any promos of it. I just knew that there was some supergroup that people were talking about that was on Revelation. I wanted to be surprised and I was. Pleasantly surprised to be exact. Is it the record of 2016? Too soon to tell, but it's not a bad way to start the year. Check them out and see for yourself. 

D.C.S.