On Survival Story, the follow-up to Flobots' 2008 major label debut Fight With Tools, the band expands on their P.O.D.-flavored political hip-hop rock. After violinist Mackenzie Roberts joined the group in 2006, the group's sound has become progressively more reliant on dissonance. Whereas songs like “Handlebars” found a happy medium between overt political agendas and rhythm, Survival Story finds MC’s Jonny 5 and Brer Rabbit struggling to find their flow over a cacophony of heavy drums and gritty guitar licks.

Flobots has always been a band in transition, and after seemingly discovering their sound before the release of their last album, they have strayed from the music and fallen too far into the message. Sonically, Survival Story avoids boosting production by welcoming a harder rock sound, which leaves the listener in a state of confusion on songs like “Cracks In the Surface” and “By The Time You Get This Message.” When the band takes its time to craft melodies instead of forcing overly political rhyme schemes into spaces where they awkwardly fit, the result is a balanced marriage of genres like on “Whip$ and Chain$”.

01. Cracks In The Surface 2:55
02. The Effect 4:27
03. Defend Atlantis 5:02
04. If I 3:43
05. White Flag Warrior (Feat. Tim McIlrath Of Rise Against) 3:41
06. By The Time You Get This Message 5:37
07. Airplane Mode 5:42
08. Whip$ & Chain$ 3:56
09. Good Soldier 4:06
10. Superhero 3:21
11. Infatuation (Feat. Matt Morris) 4:26
12. Panacea For The Poison 4:05

Dropkick Murphys are known for the energy of their live shows, and even more so for the energy of the annual St. Patrick’s Day shows in their hometown of Boston. These events span several days, are always sold out, and feature tons of great guests. This year, the Murphys are releasing a live CD/DVD combo from these shows last year. Recorded over the course of seven Boston shows in 2009 Live on Lansdowne, Boston MA is an attempt to share the St. Patrick’s Day shows with those of us who haven’t witnessed the holiday with the Murphys (or even those who have, but want a recording of it anyway).
It’s the band’s second live release, following 2002’s Live on St. Patrick’s Day From Boston MA, an album that is currently part of my St. Patrick’s day mix. Live on Lansdowne features an entirely different (but still great) set list than the previous, and closes with a guest appearance by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones on the Murphys’ platinum-selling single “I’m Shipping Up To Boston.”

I’m always a little leery of live albums, as many are simply recorded poorly, then packaged for sale. This is not the case here. From the album’s opener, “Famous For Nothing,” the album captures all of the energy of a live Murphys set, and the recording is clean and perfect. In fact, some of the songs benefit from the live treatment even more so than they did on the original recordings. “Sunshine Highway” and “(F)Lannigan’s Ball” are injected with extra sweaty energy, and their Boston sports anthems “Time To Go” and “Tessie” are presented in best possible way, accompanied by the cheers and accompaniment of rabid Boston sports fans.

“I’m Shipping Up To Boston,” the band’s most successful song to date, is even more energetic than on the original, and when the crowd goes absolutely nuts with the appearance of the Bosstones, it’s readily apparent that this closer to the show is something absolutely amazing.
""

Dropkick Murphys
Born and Bred Records

The flow is even better than the band’s previous live release, with not a lull to be found, and while I would have loved to hear a couple classic older tunes in this mix (“Boys on the Docks” or “Barroom Hero” for example), live versions of these tracks exist on the previous release, and the band’s catalog is so deep that I can understand and respect their choice not to repeat any tracks previously recorded live.

A Dropkick Murphys show is not something to miss, and the opportunity to catch them in Boston is something many of us will never get. That’s why Live on Lansdowne, Boston MA is essetial listening for any Murphys fan, and if you’ve never caught them live, this album is a decent substitute that will probably serve as an incentive that forces you to make the trek the next time they’re anywhere near your town.

01. Famous For Nothing 3:03
02. The State Of Massachusetts 4:01
03. Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ya 4:52
04. Time To Go 2:36
05. Sunshine Highway 3:19
06. Flannigan's Ball 3:46
07. Bastards On Parade 3:58
08. God Willing 3:25
09. Caught In A Jar 2:37
10. Captain Kelly's Kitchen 2:39
11. Citizen C.I.A. 2:13
12. Fields Of Athenry 4:43
13. Your Spirit's Alive 2:30
14. The Warrior's Code 4:11
15. The Dirty Glass 3:53
16. Tessie 5:25
17. Forever 2009 3:37
18. Worker's Song 3:28
19. Kiss Me, I'm Shitfaced 6:36
20. I'm Shipping Up To Boston (Feat. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones) 2:38

Michigan’s Small Brown Bike have released the details for Composite Vol. 2, the second installment in their 7” series of new material for No Idea Records. Scheduled for release on March 9th, Composite Vol. 2 will feature two new songs tracked this past January in the band’s home recording studio and mixed/mastered by Dave Feeny at Tempermill. The 7” will be limited to 1,100 physical copies, which will include a digital download. Side A will host “Some Optimistic,” with the flip side being home for “Never Walk This Alone.” The band commented that the two new songs “feel a little slower and colder than Composite Vol. 1’s material. That’s what a winter in Michigan will do to a band.” SBB recently released Composite Vol. 1, a 7” on No Idea Records.

1. Some Optimistic
2. Never Walk This Alone

A lot of people are going to use Die Antwoord as a reason to muse on modern pop culture, and how this couldn’t exist any other time than right now. I’m going to do that. Die Antwoord are the latest band to get the internet hype treatment: 1.5 million YouTube views in a week, a full-length Pitchfork article, numerous blog reviews, and some people even caring that Fred Durst tweeted about them. What initially sparked this interest was people watching and asking, “r these guys fo real?” The answer is that they’re about as real as your grasp on the English language. Their popularity continued, because we all love things that admit that they’re fake (because that’s the truest form of honesty), e.g. Lady GaGa and Sacha Baron Cohen movies.

In the introduction track “Whatever Man,” frontman Ninja announces in his faux-African accent, that he “represents South African culture.” He then lists groups of people (black, white, African, et cetera) and he says, “I’m like all these things – all these things ***ed into one person.” Then it becomes outrageous in a way that these words can’t fully translate to you. Female member Yo-Landi Vi$$er’s digitally altered squeaky vocals enter and a simple beat begins “Wat Kyk Jy.” The first understandable word said is “ninja,” and the lyrics remain both obscene and ridiculous from then on. One can only make out some of what is being said, considering all of these funny voices dropping in to contribute only a few lines. There are a lot of “guest rappers” on this album – which isn’t uncommon for rap music at all. The reason I use quotations is because it’s been speculated that all of the guests are just the guy who plays Ninja making other sounds with his face.

The next track, “Enter the Ninja,” is their most popular YouTube video, probably because it’s one in which the lyrics can be heard completely. After Yo-Landi croons the chorus for the first time, Ninja yells, “Yo I’m a ninja. My life is like a video game.” He elaborates on this premise for the remainder of the song. At one point, he stops rapping to contemplate exactly what is happening around him. “***! This is like, the coolest song I ever heard in my whole life… Look at me now, all up on the interweb! Worldwide! 2009! Futuristic! Enter the Ninja!”

The album continues with stomping beats laid down by DJ Hi-Tek, catchy choruses, high-pitched vocals provided by Yo-Landi Vi$$er and obscene lines from Ninja and his multiple personalities. (Personal favorite: “I fit right in! I fit **** in your mother!” from “Wat Pomp.”) It’s not monotonous, though. Die Antwoord don’t exclusively stick to this formula. In “Rich Bitch,” Yo-Landi takes the mic for the entirety of the song and tells us that she is, guess what, a rich bitch. A mother***in’ rich bitch, in fact. “I Don’t Need You” is nowhere near as frantic as the tracks that precede it and humorously uses auto-tuned background vocals in the chorus. By the way, auto-tune is acceptable as long as it’s intended to be funny. “Dagga Puff” is the obligatory rap album homage to marijuana. Its beat sounds like it came from a music box in a nursery school, and its chorus goes “Early in the morning smoke a big fat spliff, nothing quite like it, like a spaceman spliff.”

Towards the end of the record, things begin to fall apart. “Beat Boy” starts like most of the rest of the album. Someone decided to let Ninja take the microphone for eight minutes almost uninterrupted, over the albums least involving beat, which also doesn’t change much. “Doos Dronk” is barely a hip-hop song, but more of a horror film’s interpretation of circus music. It’s the soundtrack to the scene in every kid’s cartoon when the old person is telling the scary story of the family of drunks who caused a major ruckus in the olden days of the town. At one point I think it’s about Ninja beating Yo-Landi, because there’s a slapping sound effect and she screams and the police sirens pass. I can’t make out a single word of the song, which makes it all the more disturbing. While it’s not exactly mixtape fodder, this is an excellent way to end the album, rather than just more of what existed during the rest of it. Oh wait, “$O$,” (that’s the title track) ends the album, and it’s a completely uninteresting four minute instrumental. For the best effect, turn off the album when “Doos Dronk” ends and get into your bed. Stare at your ceiling with eyes wide as plates all night long like in the aforementioned kid’s cartoon.

Like everything else in our viral video culture, Die Antwoord have a good chance of not lasting for too long. Hopefully, though, their audience will grow even more before they fade away. $O$ (the album, not the song) is a damn good time and, if anything, it gives you and whoever else is listening a chance to yell in poorly-imitated African accents at one another about one another’s mother’s vaginas. That’s a necessary life experience.

1. Whatever Man
2. Wat Kyk Jy
3. Enter the Ninja
4. Wat Pomp
5. Wie Maak
6. Rich Bitch
7. I Don't Need You
8. Very Fancy
9. Dagga Puff
10. My Best Friend
11. Liewe Maatjies
12. $copie
13. Beat Boy
14. Super Evil
15. Doos Dronk
16. $O$

In contrast to just about all industry logic, Against Me! became a critical and commerical crossover success when they left Fat Wreck for their major-label debut New Wave. No longer associated with the label of NoFx, New Wave used the mainstream punk credentials of Butch Vig (Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, L7, Garbage), to reach unprecedented chart success and be declared album of the year by Spin Magazine. White Crosses, Against Me!'s second album with Sire records, finds the band working again with Vig, before a tour with Billy Talent in 2010.

1 - white crosses
2 - teenage anarchist
3 - because of the shame
4 - suffocation
5 - we're breaking up
6 - high pressure low
7 - ache with me
8 - spanish moss
9 - rapid decompression
10 - bamboo bones