La Cosa Nostra / North Lincoln

Brian: Upstate NY's La Cosa Nostra is four really non-descript looking dudes making some really awesome music. Think somewhere between the Mars Volta and Sirens-era On the Might of Princes instrumentation, with vocal interplay reminiscent of the latter and Bear vs. Shark. I don't know, it's crazy shit, let's put it in that intensely professional way. The first two tracks are from their forthcoming, recently recorded and as yet untitled EP. The other two are simply demos, but sufficiently bring the (indie) rock as well. (If these links don't work feel free to visit their Myspace page from which they're taken.) Big ups to my stoner cousin for the tip-off.

La Cosa Nostra - Saddle Your Alpaca La Cosa Nostra - Adjective La Cosa Nostra - Citizenparatrooper La Cosa Nostra - White Owl Master Justin: I just got back from a great show at The Gilman, Latterman and a few others. One of those few others was North Lincoln, a band from Grand Rapids, MI. The Bay Area folks who weren't there tonight missed them, and by the sounds of it made a pretty huge mistake. They've released a disc on No Idea and sound kind of like fellow michiganders Small Brown Bike mixed with some Hot Water Music for good measure. The have the shout along qualities that make a live band entertaining, while mixing it up with some subtle harmonies and rhythm changes in the studio to keep you interested. I recommend checking them out (obviously) if you're fans of either band, or if you're just in the mood for a No Idea band who isn't from Florida. (Similar Myspace disclaimer about the links)

North Lincoln - Satellite North Lincoln - A Message Lost North Lincoln - Back to School

Test Icicles / One Reason

Brian: The U.K.'s Test Icicles bring a spastic dancefloor vibe to the table on their new album, For Screening Purposes Only, released on Halloween. But it's more in a Bullet Train to Vegas sense with the screeching, jagged instruments and nods to both the Blood Brothers and Q and Not U. Test are certainly stripped of the At the Drive-In influence however, less "rock"-dependent and usually opting for trebly, stomping guitar riff tradeoffs, diving bass lines and propulsive rhythms. Special thanks to Marlon for tipping me off. Here's a few tracks from the record, taken from their Myspace page:

Test Icicles - Boa vs. Python
Test Icicles - Circle Square Triangle Justin: I didn't even know there was a Cleveland in Mississippi before this band. One Reason play a mix of punk and post hardcore that's brutally honest, and they're not afraid to bare everything in their songs, crafting stories and messages through honest lyrics, without tripping over metaphors on the way there. Their LP All Rivers Run South, All Roads Lead Home has some misses on it, but tracks like The Black and the Red and Song We Sing have that special something. Their newest release, a split with Defiance, Ohio shows that they're growing and expanding their sound to include more driving rhythms and solid melodies. Here's the two tracks from the split, and the two I mentioned before, from their webpage:

One Reason - Dirge for 95 and 10 One Reason - Sorry, Irma Thomas One Reason - The Black and the Red One Reason - Song We Sing

xLooking Forwardx / Statues

Brian: Many of you have probably been dodging this band based solely on the name. This is not a wise choice, as xLooking Forwardx (pronounced simply as "Looking Forward") is actually a great, almost completely metal-free hardcore punk band more in line with Sick of It All than anything. On top of that, they aren't at all preachy, really just plain ol' posicore. These two tracks are taken from their forthcoming full-length on Facedown, The Path We Tread, due to hit stores November 8th.

xLooking Forwardx - The Path We Tread
xLooking Forwardx - All Aces Adam: I made some comment when reviewing Statues' last record that for all the Ted Leo and Jam comparisons they'd earned, they still sounded like an act too young in their career to jump to such conclusions. Despite it's 2005 Pelado release date Aux was a recording from earlier in 2004, so I've been eager to hear some more current material. "The Shipping News" appears on a new 7" titled Are Go! released by Basementfire, and the band's songwriting has been coming along quite nicely. The second song here is from a session with former Frenetics frontman Malcolm Bauld.

Statues - The Shipping News Statues with Malcolm Bauld - Ready For Anything (stream this one from MySpace)

The Deadly Snakes / Coffin Lids

Long time, no MP3 eh? Let's get back on the trolley.

Adam: How good is Porcella? The Deadly Snakes completely reinvented themselves here, and while there are less outright garage freakouts the amount of layered, atmospheric compositions makes up for it. You'd suspect they were listing to Rain Dogs quite a bit when recording it. The fact that the band sequestered themselves in an cabin somewhere in northern Ontario to record is just fascinating to me. It seems isolation-based efforts always result in some intense stuff. Porcella's in stores in Canada via Paper Bag and in the US on In The Red.

The Deadly Snakes - Gore Veil

This one is too fun. I reviewed a Coffin Lids record a while back but they fell off my radar soon thereafter. They're a three piece from Boston, heavy on the distortion in a Zombies / Sonics way. Round Midnight just came out on Bomp, and I'm sure the 5.6.7.8's are thrilled.

Coffin Lids - I'm Going To Have My Way (With The 5,6,7,8's)

No Roses

Brian: While, as previously stated, I'm not quite the biggest fan of making a band an MP3 of the Week I plan on reviewing later anyway -- for reasons besides making it a hype extravaganza -- we admittedly haven't done an MP3 of the Week altogether in quite a while. And frankly, the new EP from Philadelphia's No Roses is damn good enough to make it an exception on its own. To put it in a nutshell, they're picking up where Give Up the Ghost left off, and that's a very, very good thing. These two tracks are taken from Hell or High Water, out in early November from the good folks at State of Mind Recordings (responsible for This Is Hell's fantastic self-titled EP released earlier this year).

No Roses - "Hell or High Water"
No Roses - "On and Off the Road"

On The Might Of Princes

In continuance with last week's "here's a greatly underrated early 2000s now-defunct post-hardcore band" feature, we present you with Long Island, NY's On The Might Of Princes. While many may already be aware of 2003's excellent Sirens, their sole effort for Revelation, the prior year's Where You Are And Where You Want To Be is nearly as solid, featuring a somewhat more traditionally-based screamo sound that wouldn't have been out of place on No Idea's roster in the late 90's despite seamlessly mixing in moments of folk, and at one point, dub. These would eventually become near-classic anthems on the local circuit, if only for two years as unfortunately, the band broke up in May 2004. If you like what you hear, it's definitely recommended you check out the album, though it may be out of print as Traffic Violation Records, the label responsible for the release, went under shortly after it was put out. Regardless, here's my favorite track off the album, as well as two others hosted courtesy of a fan tribute site put up earlier this year (if the latter two don't work, you can visit the Myspace page, which is where they're taken from):

On The Might Of Princes - "The Water Vs. The Anchor" On The Might Of Princes - "And The Hat Stays On" On The Might Of Princes - "13 Cheers For Beer And Bullshit"

This Day Forward

Brian: Philadelphia, PA's This Day Forward's swan song, 2003's In Response, was one of the most overlooked albums in a year known for a swelling of great releases. The disc was dismissed by longtime fans because it continued the band's departure of their metalcore roots, and it was passed on by by everyone else because there were so many more high-profile, better releases at the time (on the label itself, even). Still, the record is an excellent depiction of modern post-hardcore, drawing heavily from Thursday's Full Collapse and Glassjaw's Worship & Tribute, but with an identity that was surely the band's own.

This Day Forward - "White Picket Defense System" This Day Forward - "In The Past…On The Ground"

Frantic Mantis / Ted Leo/Pharmacists NEW SONG

Brian: Frantic Mantis are a three-piece containing members of Division Of Laura Lee and Decahedron/Frodus creating what both their bio and Lujo Records are calling "datapunk." What this means, apparently, is inspired, noisy punk rock in the vein of Decahedron themselves, or perhaps most any of the notable names from the late 80's / early 90's Dischord roster, with a touch of Game Boy blips and bleeps. The band releases their debut Data Is Not Information September 6th via Lujo. Here's a few songs from the record:

Frantic Mantis - "Mantis Rising" Frantic Mantis - "Creation Sickness" Frantic Mantis - "OOCD"
Frantic Mantis - "My Eyes Are Too Large".

Scott: WHO THE FUCK CARES? THERE'S A NEW TED LEO SONG!@1111111

Ted Leo/Pharmacists - New Untitled Song (live)

Thanks to Pastepunk tor tipping me off to this, and thanks to Primary Vivid for recording this and allowing the world to hear its majesty.

Bad Brains

Aubin: One of the definitive early hardcore bands was Washington, D.C.'s Bad Brains. The band began in the early eighties and alternated between the fastest hardcore and the most laid back reggae. Though they eventually dabbled with metal and funk, the band's early recordings represented some of the most primal and crucial hardcore recordings of the era. While the unpredictable nature and rampant homophobia of vocalist HR diminished the band for some, the band deserves to remembered for what it was: a singular influence, and proof of the remarkably inclusive nature of punk and hardcore.
Bad Brains - "Pay to Cum" (from epitonic)
Bad Brains - "Pay to Cum" (alternate Realplayer)
Bad Brains - "Don't Bother Me" (Realplayer)
Bad Brains - "Big Takeover" (Realplayer)

Latterman

Aubin: Though they're on the label most frequently associated with "emo," Latterman is decidedly different than any of their labelmates. Shout-along vocals, solid melodies and most importantly, straightforward and sincere, positive punk rock permeate every track on No Matter Where We Go…!. You could compare them to Hot Water Music, Bouncing Souls and Avail and you'd be on the right page, but give the track a listen and see how they stand on their own.

Latterman - "Fear and Loathing in Long Island"
(You can find some more song snippets on the pre-order page. The album is due out August 9th.)