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Groundhawgs - Warbirds

Nostradamus foretold of it in his quatrains.... The Mayan Calendar predicted it... and so it has come to pass... THE GROUNDHAWGS! The long dormant rock outfit who made such a defiant and jubilant noise in the late 80's and 90's, have returned to this island Earth with a new full length LP titled WARBIRDS. It's massive riffs, surgical strike hooks, and melodious choruses threaten to shatter the North American continental shelf, and or change the face of ROCK as we know it. DROP, COVER, and ROLL KIDS... GROUNDHAWGS WARBIRDS IS HERE! TOPS!!! Eleven tracks in all, you can download the track Tops and pick up a copy of the cd at the label webpage.

Good Time Charlie - Old Wine New Vinegar

Good Time Charlie is a five piece band from the Rhode Island area, featuring former members of Mustache Ride. Formed in 2010 shortly after the death of Leslie Nielsen, Good Time Charlie is an amalgamation of punk/indie and church music. Recorded at Satellite Studios, most of the songs are about parties the band has been to. You can download the title track Old Wine New Vinegar and buy a copy of the cd at the label webpage.

Galvanize - Self Titled

Galvanize are an indie rock group from Providence, RI. Combining muscular, angular riffs with imperial horsepower drumming, the group lays the foundation for emotive, honest lyrics of the daily societal grind to be dispensed with proper punch. This is their debut five song EP. You can download the track 'Battleship' and pick up a copy for only $6.00 at the label webpage.

Jeremy Lee Given - Old Flames

When he wasn't at his usual gig as the keyboard player for Allston, Mass' Rodeo Church, Jeremy Lee Given recorded his latest album, "Old Flame," now available as a name your own price download from bandcamp. Nine songs that blends the best parts of My Morning Jacket, Varnaline's druggy-era, Neil Young, and Grandaddy, while the track "Rebel Ghost" has a sweet Beach Boys vibe. If that sounds good, fork over some moolah, because bonus tracks are available for a donation of five dollars or more.

Gang of Four - Content (Yep Roc) [upcoming shows] [audio]

After having sat out the fat years, Gang of Four have reappeared in the depths of a nasty global recession. As fresh and vital as this material sounds, fans will recognize all the familiar elements from over thirty years ago: the propulsive, shattered funk grooves; the haunted but strident guitar lines; the cryptic chants, oblique poetry and, of course, the signature indictments, now wailing, now declamatory, of capitalism, and it's discontents. Visceral, cerebral; still great!

Green Day - 21st Century Breakdown (Reprise) [audio] [upcoming shows]

Thank goodness The Clash didn't even last 10 years. Seems like everything went south for Green Day with American Idiot, and it gets so much worse with 21st Century Breakdown. Pseudo-heady material flattened by Butch Vig in the studio, this album completely overreaches (its 18 songs are split into 3 acts, oh jeez). Take "Last Night on Earth" for example. As a rock ballad, it's weak. As a Green Day song, it's actually offensive. This is a band aging disgracefully, and they just lost me for good.

Gang Gang Dance - Saint Dymphna (The Social Registry) [audio]

I put off exploring Saint Dymphna for a long time after hearing "House Jam," figuring it to be some kind of anomaly. I'd heard their older records, and all of them were droning masses of beats and noise. My loss, because once I came around I discovered that Gang Gang Dance have substantially reinvented themselves into a pulsing machine of demystified rhythms and spacious atmospheres. Mutant disco echoes (a la Arthur Russell) and shimmering shoegaze (like MBV) bring both future and past to the present.

Guns N' Roses - Chinese Democracy (Interscope) [audio]

After hearing the title track from Chinese Democracy, I was hopeful that this album might live up to the hype. Instead, the bulk of the album is mired in over-produced unapologetically long songs with somewhat sterile arrangements and musicianship. Axl Rose's vocal performance sounds great but fails to make up for the constipated arrangements. The funky song "If the World" is one of the more likable tracks, though it oddly sounds a bit like Jamiroquai. I wanted Appetite for Destruction, not Travelling Without Moving.