Tried and True

I've spent some time thinking of new things to do with this blog, maybe making it more focused. Doing something like themed mixes like the guitar solo one a couple posts ago, it don't see many if any blogs attempting to do that, it would be difficult and i would probably get sidetracked and have trouble keeping regular updates. I thought about uploading rarer out of print stuff, but i really don't have enough of that stuff nor do i feel like doing that, there are a ton of bloggers doing that now, a few that i have linked on the side bar. I really have no desire to be a critic of any kind, i enjoy writing about music i like and i don't see the purpose in tearing something apart that a group of kids have put their heart and soul into creating. I'm sticking to writing about bands and records i love and am currently enjoying, I'm not going to upload them, good music is worth sacrificing a bit of the all might dollar to enjoy in its entirety. I might do some of those themed posts i mentioned, if i ever get the motivation.

With all that said, I'm going talk about an album released last year, one that would have made my best of '07 list had i heard it on time. Nothing Done's "Everybody Knows" LP. Nothing Done are from the Netherlands and they have a that European hardcore punk sound to them, one that I've come to love over the last few years. In terms of contemporary Euro bands, they're comparable to One Voice and True Colors, although their hardcore punk roots show through a lot more. Their latest record sounds like a perfect mish-mash between early Black Flag, SSD, Uniform Choice, and the band i use to rank any, even remotely youth crew band, Youth of Today. They put their own twist on things, without it this record wouldn't be quite as memorable, there's something about it that seems less jaded and less influenced by the cynicism and bull-shit attitudes that are all to present not only within hardcore punk but within society at large.
This record is an awesome listen start to finish. It starts off with the incredibly catchy "Over and Done" the middle of the record is highlighted by songs like "Pull Me In", their staple, "Jailbreak", and the title song "Everybody Knows". The best part of this record is the point where your 30 seconds from being done listening to it, thinking how you should probably listen to it again, or at least more often, and the solo on "Give it Back" kicks in. Go download the mix i made a couple posts down if you want to hear it, i probably listened to that song in particular 4 or 5 times in sequence after hearing it for the first time. I love records that have closing songs that leave nothing on the table, this entire album and really anything this band has ever released seems to be built on that priciple. Let it all out, and demolish any and everything that appears in under 90 seconds.