Street Dogs / Jon-Rae and the River

Justin: Ex-who? The Street Dogs have moved past any sort of ex-member stigma three albums in and carved a wonderful niche for themselves in the punk rock and roll world. On their newest album, Fading American Dream the band rips apart the first "single," a cover of classic Boston punk band Mung's best song, "Fatty." Its chorus reminds me instantly not only of that long-lost troupe, but infuses the anthemic qualities of the Bouncing Souls and sincerity of early Dropkick Murphys. It will burrow its way into your head like a tapeworm does into your stomach, refusing to let go until you're singing it while walking down the street, sitting at work or driving your car. Fading American Dream is a must-listen-to this year and this song is a perfect example why. You can stream it (gasp) the band's 'space page.

The Street Dogs' MySpace Adam: I first encountered Jon-Rae and the River opening for the Constantines in Hamilton earlier this year. The band sounds implausible on paper, but live they put on one of the most insanely fun and captivating live shows I've ever seen. The River is the brainchild of the geeky, unassuming Joh-Rae Fletcher. Fletcher's the son of a Baptist minister, and the influence of gospel music comes through in a set of songs about, well, the very un-gospel topics of drinking and fucking. It's all wrapped in a riotous mix of alt-country crooning and punk energy that can get whole rooms of people whipped into a frenzy of debauchery and spirit. The band made the cover of Exclaim this month, and there's a great interview up on their website.

Jon-Rae and the River - Just One More / MySpace

Weatherbox / Scatterbox

Brian: Whoa, it's Saturday night and I completely forgot I meant to type this up. So let's make it short: Weatherbox's upcoming EP, The Clearing, is good. Really good. Sure, there's obvious similarities to Criteria and label alum Say Anything, but plain and simple that's why I like it so much -- that and hooks capable of reeling in blue whales, soft/loud dynamics capable of setting fires at the bottom of the ocean and something else involving a nautical metaphor, I guess. This shit streets for real November 7th, but in the meantime check out a bonafide MP3 of the first track below, then go check out some demo versions at the band's MySpace.

Weatherbox - Snakes, Our Ground Aubin: To further Brian's "box" theme, I'd like to offer up Spokane, Washington-based Scatterbox (ex-Moral Crux). The band plays gritty, fast California-style punk rock with weathered vocals and poetic, but unpretentious lyrics. It's hard to describe, but if you like punk that can rightly be called "punk" and nothing else. You should check them out.

Four songs (myspace page).

The Menzingers / At the Drive-In / Stalins War / Beat Beat Beat

Justin: The Menzingers hail from Scranton, Pennsylvania and play a mix of pop-punk, gang-vocals, a bit of ska by way of both the Specials and the Hippos. It reminds me of the kind of punk that I always hoped would start blossoming at the beginning of the 2000's when that much-maligned "other genre" took over much of the underground scene. These guys mix raw lyrics, vocals with upbeat, fun rhythms and fast guitars while still keeping an intelligent edge. The mix of some upstroke guitars and a real sense of rhythm doesn't hurt either.

The Menzingers on Myspace.

Aubin: I've been on a weird At The Drive-In kick all week, perhaps in anticipation of releases from both the resulting bands (Sparta, Mars Volta) coming out this fall. Still, despite the pointless debates over which is better, the band remains one of the best examples of what the inner conflict of a band can produce when put on tape. It's now been five and a half years since the break up, and as good a time as any to give them a listen.

You can check out three tracks on their myspace page.

Chris: Ok, so this isn't what I usually get into, but I dunno, something about girls singing hardcore, I love it. Especially when the female vocals are as smooth as those from Santa Cruz, CA's Stalins War. Lately it seems that mixing punk, metal and hardcore is so unoriginal and bland; but with clean riffs, well-placed gang vocals and the mixture of harmonic vocals and heavy backing screams, these guys (and gal) sound like they are actually doing it right. Check out their MySpace Page or:

OMG!!! Bands still have webpages that aren't MySpace!!! Adam: Here's a discussion topic for ya. Are there any labels you trust to the point that you can pick up any of their releases, regardless if you're familiar with the band or not, and still to be reasonably satisfied with what you hear? Dirtnap's on my shortlist, and while I'm fairly new to Atlanta's Beat Beat Beat but I know I'm already looking forward to their full length Living in the Future this Halloween. Check this short but sweet number:

Beat Beat Beat - Nasty Nightmare

The Ramblin' Boys of Pleasure / Jena Berlin

Justin: Porch-core. Acoustapunk. Whatever you want to call it, the style that the Ramblin' Boys of Pleasure play gets you singing along by the second spin. Recalling shades of Foundation mixed with that of Tim Barry's solo material, the band forges little new ground but retreads all that is good about sitting on a porch drinking your favorite beverage. Add in a couple covers of the original rambling boys of pleasure and you have a nice package. To top it off, it's all free.

The Ramblin' Boys of Pleasure Myspace page The Ramblin' Boys of Pleasure - Pillow Talk at Mattress World (free album download)
The Ramblin' Boys of Pleasure - Prohibition (free EP download)

Aubin: Ever since Brian's review motivated to pick up their debut, I've been enamored with Jena Berlin. Taking a sound that is equally influenced by post-hardcore/early emo torchbearers, Braid and the flawless history of Fugazi, Passion is a driving, intense and emotional album that manages to sound both fresh and mature at the same time.
Jena Berlin - Looking Over the Wall

Retrace

Brian: Retrace's first demo is ridiculously impressive and one that should satiate fans of semi-melodic hardcore. The band comes from a Northwestern area of the U.S. which has become increasingly fertile in recent years, sporting the likes of Champion, Shook Ones, Sinking Ships, and others, while managing themselves to exude the raw energy and melody of newer bands like, say, Ruiner. Here's the demo in its entirety, courtesy of the Legitimate Bros Fantasyland (they would probably appreciate downloading over streaming to avoid that all annoying bandwith issue):

Retrace - Walk Alone Retrace - The River Retrace - On My Own Retrace - Years of Our Lives

Taft's Brigade / Hiretsukan

Justin: Sometimes you're glad when a band isn't joking. Taft's Brigade is that band. Like hardcore? Like history? Like the idea that any single one of us nerds can start a band? Then this band is for you. It's a hardcore band that studies the minutia of history and makes short, fast songs about it. How can you not love it? How many more questions can I put in this writeup? Why shouldn't we eat the yellow snow? I don't know.

Taft's Brigade at Myspace - 4 downloadable songs

Aubin: Speaking of hardcore, one of the most underrated and excellent hardcore acts around has to be Brooklyn, NY's Hiretsukan. Dynamic, passionate music as much Converge as Drive Like Jehu, and powered by one of the most incredible frontwomen in any genre. The band released End States last year on G7 and you can check out two tracks here:
Hiretsukan - "Manual Function" Hiretsukan - "Click and Repeat"

The Copyrights / The Neckers

Justin: To ring in my 25th year of existence I caught a show at Annie's. The openers were some similarily aged dudes from Illinois, The Copyrights. Self-described as "buzz-pop," the band brings forward that mid-90's Lookout sound that seems to be coming back into style. It's fun, it's catchy and is the perfect soundtrack to a night spent leaning over the bar with some great friends celebrating.

Oh, and I acquired a copy of their album, Mutiny Pop, on Thursday but I seem to have lost it somewhere on the streets of San Francisco. If anyone finds it, please let me know.

The Copyrights on Myspace The Copyrights - Four Eyes full track

Adam: Every once in a while I find a band out of Calgary that I just fall in love with. When I was first discovering independent music it was the mighty Huevos Rancheros, and soon after pop punkers Chixdiggit. It's been a long time since, but I think I'm starting to feel that way about the Neckers. The four-piece plays garagey power-pop with lots of 60s rock'n'roll and good old fashioned pop-punk influences shining through. This isn't breaking any ground and it's not going to spark a revolution, but it's nice relaxing independent rock music that's perfect for summer.

The Neckers - Share Secrets
4 songs online at MySpace - check out "What About Me"

Polar Bear Club / Aereogramme

Brian: Anchors was right: Polar Bear Club's new EP, The Redder, The Better is ridiculously good. While Hot Water Music / Small Brown Bike and mid-`90s emo comparisons are understandable, Polar Bear Club congregate these influences into something really unique. They've got a masterful understanding of dynamics, fluid, arresting guitar tones, perfectly captivating intros, and resonating, aggressive emotion that makes for one of the most addicting releases of 2006. As if Jordan's review wasn't convincing enough, an MP3 from the EP is below; it's available from Triple Attack Records for order.

Polar Bear Club - Resent and Resistance Aubin: Scotland's Aereogramme could easily be lumped in with a number of bands tackling the post-hardcore/sludge realm spearheaded by Isis and Neurosis were it not for their latent pop tendencies; tracks at once sound like both Death Cab for Cutie, Mogwai and Neurosis, and transitions between blissful ambience and crushing heaviness happen so deftly as to be unforseen until they are falling down on you.

The band delivered an inspired cover of Slayer's "Disciple" for June 6th, but also issued a new EP Seclusion through Sonic Unyon last year. Both are worth checking out.
Aereogramme - "Dreams and Bridges"
Aereogramme - "Disciple (Slayer)"

1905 / Hot Cross

Meg: 1905 are a band who I believe never recieved the recognition they deserve. I've chosen them as my MP3 of the Week in hopes that at least one person can discover or even re-discover the interesting and honest music 1905 made. The sometimes acoustic folk-sounding (listen to "Quote") band considered themselves a punk rock band extremely involved in the community. I chose to share with you my favorite 1905 track "Can't Change Everything." It begins slow and menacing with soft, melodic "oh's" from vocalist Jess, then immediately speeds up with overlapping, shrill screams of "Just because I can't change everything, doesn't mean I can't change anything." The song features the more aggressive side to Jess' vocal talents (think Kathy of Circle Takes the Square if you must) which balances with male vocals, and as per usual, has lyrics that express the need for change: "One brick today is one less for tomorrow." The track appears on their Exotic Fever release Voice. Both tracks are from an unofficial MySpace page for the band.

1905 - "Can't Change Everything" 1905 - "Quote" Aubin: One of the most consistently underrated acts on a truly solid label, progressive hardcore/proto-screamo act Hot Cross's recent signing to Equal Vision's Hope Division was both surprising and well-deserved. Though the band's recorded output only stretches back five years, the band members are veterans of acts including Saetia and YouAndI, and already released a series of genre-defying records including 2004's Fair Trades and Farewells.

This year, the band will be releasing their next full length and while the band is still mixing the album, you can check out two well-produced demos on their myspace page. Since this is the Mp3 of the Week, you can also check out a track from their last EP here:
Hot Cross - "Better a Corpse Than a Nun."

The Dresden Dolls / CIV

Meg: So, it's my first MP3 of the Week since I've been dubbed the .Org's newest news editor. I probably should have chosen a song that has great meaning to me or one I've been digging for a while or maybe even one that has the potential to make people forget about the fact I still listen to pop punk. But alas! I didn't. Instead, I chose "Backstabber," a track from the Dresden Dolls' most recent release Yes, Virginia. While I definitely enjoy bands with female vocals, the Dresden Dolls really aren't something I'd normally enjoy, so I guess in a way their tour with Panic! at the Disco is just as mismatched as me liking them. However, the theatrical, impossible to classify sound the Dresden Dolls create is absolutely addicting. Maybe it's the simple sound of the toy piano against the complicated vocal patterns and rhythms. Maybe it's the fact that two people are able to create such an enchanting, unique sound. Whatever it is, it's something I'm really enjoying right now. "Backstabber" is a positively irresistable negative track.

The Dresden Dolls - Backstabber Brian: With the release of Set Your Goals' debut full-length, Mutiny!, coming this Tuesday on Eulogy Recordings, I figured it appropriate to feature another debut full-length from which the band took their name: CIV, with their major label debut, Set Your Goals. The 1995 cult favorite and first for Lava/Atlantic was considered by many to be the logical progression from most of the members' former endeavor, Gorilla Biscuits, as it featured raw, melodic hardcore with a serious pop-punk twist, and like its peers in Lifetime preceded a healthy number of bands claiming influence (though more in Lifetime's case, obviously). Admittedly I've only looked into CIV this past year thanks to their follower in question here, but Set Your Goals' tunes are meaningful, varied, and blatantly fun, from the "Start Today"-esque "Set Your Goals" to the "Boxcar"-nodding "So Far So Good…So What" and the fast-paced NY youth crew throwback "Trust Slips Through Your Hands." Here are some streams of a bunch of tracks from the album, all from obviously unofficial MySpace pages:

CIV - Set Your Goals
CIV - So Far So Good…So What CIV - State of Grace
CIV - Can't Wait One Minute More CIV - Trust Slips Through Your Hands CIV - Solid Bond CIV - Et Tu Bruté? CIV - All Twisted