Five Albums You Should Be Listening To Right Now: Jaded Punk
Five albums to charm even the most mature ex-punk rocker.
Every now again, we ask the titans of the mediasphere give Hooksexup their music recommendations. This week: Dan Ozzi of JadedPunk.com. Dan is the editor of Jaded Punk, a blog whose writers prides themselves on being too jaded to like any new music. But some albums do occasionally slip through the cracks. Here are five albums that came out this year for punks who are too old to care.
1. Masked Intruder, Masked Intruder (2012)
Ladies, have you ever stopped to think that maybe that creepy guy who hangs around in the bushes outside your window is not such a bad guy? Maybe he’s a hopeless romantic who gets a bad rap just because he’s brandishing a knife and rifling through your trash. That’s the idea behind Masked Intruder’s debut album. The band members, each of whom wears a different-colored ski mask, keep their identities a secret and maintain their lovelorn-ex-convict schtick for the entirety of this criminally fun pop-punk record.
Listen: "25 to Life"
2. Mind Spiders, Meltdown (2012)
If you’re at all familiar with Mark Ryan’s work in bands like The Marked Men or High Tension Wires, then his solo-project-turned-full-band, Mind Spiders, won't take you by surprise. But that doesn’t mean you'll be immune to his formidable song-writing skills. On Meltdown, he employs every musical resource at his disposal, from dueling drummers to retro synths. In the record’s opening song, “You Are Dead,” he sings, “I let you down.” No, Mark, you really didn’t.
Listen: "You Are Dead"
3. Tim Barry, 40 Miler (2012)
Tim Barry is one of the last dudes in punk who still keeps it real. The former singer of seminal punk/hardcore band Avail has spent the last seven years and five albums reinventing himself as a folk-punk hero. Though he’s traded in the stage dives for an acoustic guitar, he still manages to maintain the DIY ethos and anti-rock-star stage presence that got him where he is today. 40 Miler is a great display of his quit-your-job-and-go-on-tour attitude.
Listen: "Hobo Lullaby"
4. The Dopamines, Vices (2012)
The Dopamines are assholes. That’s not an opinion — the band actually sells merchandise with those exact words. But they are a loveable bunch of assholes. Their newest album, Vices, showcases their juvenile sensibilities with ten songs over twenty-two minutes. Song subjects include killing yourself in front of your wife, ignoring your prescribed depression medication, and drinking. Lots of drinking.
Listen: "Paid in Full"
5. Murder by Death, Bitter Drink, Bitter Moon (2012)
Although they’ve got roots in the punk community, it seems like a stretch at this point to even call Murder by Death “punk.” It’s a stretch to give them any label at all, in fact. With each of their six albums, the Indiana band has ventured further into uncharted musical territories. Their sound has been described as alt-punk, gothic, and Western noir. Call it whatever you want — Bitter Drink, Bitter Moon is a tremendous piece of songwriting.
Listen: "Go To The Light"
