Pour Habit - 'Suiticide' CD review

Band: Pour Habit
Record: Suiticide
Genre: 90's punk rock, melodic speed-punk
Label: Fat Wreck Chords
Release date: Out now

When I first heard Pour Habit on the 2009 Warped Tour comp, I instantly fell for their speedy riffs, catchy vocals and good old, fast punk rock.

But what is their debut Fat Wreck Chords album like?

It depends how much you like new school punk rock. There isn't much variation here, but Pour Habit stick to what they know best - and that is certainly a good thing.

Opener 'Institution' is a fantastic introduction to their blend of catchy punk, political lyrics and... speed! It's the best track off the album, no doubt about that (think of that what you will).

After ten minutes you realise it's more of the same, but the songs are pretty good and Pour Habit are definitely a distinctive band - you hear the high-pitched singing, fun-loving fast guitar and energetic drumming and you immediately know it's them.


Album miss 'Bad Luck Drunk' isn't amazing but it sums up their humour and fun-loving attitude: "Oh yea gimme a drink, hell yea I need a drink, Pour Habit!"

Pour Habit also add a few metal-inspired licks and solos into the mix (nothing too crazy at all, don't worry about that), but that sound works really well.

I want to love the record as a whole. I want to say this is the best new American punk band in ages... but... the songs just lack a special something - they have energy, enthuiasm, speed, catchiness, intelligence and fun, but they're... a little messy.

The structure could be improved. For example standout track 'Zion' starts off at a slow ska pace, and it sounds brilliant. But after just one minute the band have gone mental again and are blasting their way through a song that would be much better with more control and structure.



Lets hear more of that ska, less repetitive beats, more build-ups, more control and more variety. It's not a bad start for the American lads but I expect a real hit when album number two on Fat Wreck comes around the corner.

But what do I know? This is their style, and they probably love playing like this.

It's not the fact that I think each song is just mediocre - each song listened by itself is pretty damn good by anyone's punk rock standards. But...

As a record, Suiticide unfortunately falls a little short of the mark - at 24 minutes long and no variation in drum beat this album deserves no more than a solid 3 out of 5. Totally worth $8 from the Fat Wreck store though.

They're not a massive band just yet though and it'd be interesting to see what more people think of Pour Habit. What do you reckon?

Score: PPP
Top tracks: Institution, Evolution, Zion
Reviewer: Dom Sacco

Warped Tour 2009 - top ten new bands

The Warped Tour 2009 record popped through my letterbox the other day.

51 bands! A plethora of punk rock, post-hardcore and pop-rock, there were so many P's I almost wanted to p-p-p-pick up a penguin.

Er yea so I decided to round up the best ten new bands that are playing Warped this year.

This list excludes all the age-old classics which we already know are great: NOFX, Bad Religion, Anti-Flag etc yadda yadda yadda...

Runners up: Aiden, Blackout, Attack! Attack!, Murderland, Dance Gavin Dance and Underoath

10. The Flatliners
"Eulogy"

I wasn't too fussed when people started raving about these guys, but I like this song. It's a decent uplifting tune with nice lyrics.



9. Vanna
"Into Hell's Mouth We March"

Decent post-hardcore act, combining the good old screams and catchy singing with OK riffs. They've been going since 2004 and are on Epitaph - nice going guys! Amazing breakdown halfway through.



8. Tat
"Pessimist"

I saw these support NOFX in London a couple of years ago. Decent three-piece with female frontwoman. Nothing that'll blow your socks off but pretty good nonetheless. Kids will like them.



7. A Skylit Drive
"Eva the Carrier"

Decent female-fronted band. That's what I thought til I just found out the lead vocalist is a bloke. Damn. Someone must be pinching his balls. Permanently.

Jokes aside, decent enough band.




6. Chiodos
"Two Birds Stoned at Once"

I first heard of Chiodos on the Warped 06 comp, and they've followed up with a wicked second song. I really should think about getting one of their records soon.

Chiodos - Getting Two Birds Stoned at Once from Brent Cole on Vimeo.

5. Meg & Dia
"I'm Going Away"

I have no idea what a female pop duo are doing at Warped, but I like! It's an over-produced song but it's bloody catchy - think Kelly Clarkson mixed with Katie Melua. Sexy and cool.



4. Streetlight Manifesto
"What a Wicked Gang are We Below"

Ah, ska-punk. It's good to know there are still some decent bands out there putting out this kind of music with such skill, style and fun. Streetlight Manifesto are definitely up there.



3. Silverstein feat. Scott Wade (ex-Comeback Kid vocalist)
"Born Dead"

God DAMN. Get that man from Comeback Kid into a new band. I forgot how fucking awesome and distinctive he sounds with a fast beat and quickfire guitar in the background. He gels with Silverstein perfectly. More more more.



2. A Day to Remember
"I'm made of wax, Larry, what are you made of?"

Easily the catchiest chorus off the 2-disc comp, A Day to Remember blend melodic post-hardcore with gang vocals, powerful riffs and breakdowns. Awesome backing vocals going on here.



1. Pour Habit
"Institution"

Fuck yes. A new band who remind me exactly what punk rock is.



Any punk band with a pun for a name has to be influenced by NOFX. Pour Habit probably are. And you know what? It's a very, very good thing.

This band are absolutely breathtaking. They represent what punk rock should be: fast, angry, energetic, enthusiastic and Fucking United - let's not forget it.

Some people are calling them "Offspring with a double-bass pedal" but they're just jealous fools who only know how to talk out of one hole - and it's not their mouth.

I've just ordered this record from Fat Wreck. Stay tuned for a review soon.

Who are your favourite newcomers at the 2009 Warped Tour?

NOFX's unreleased songs: full list

It's no secret NOFX have a huge amount of "unreleased" songs - good for punk rock, an absolute bitch for fans.

What makes it worse is that most of the unreleased songs are among NOFX's best.

So I decided to put them all together - in one ULTIMATE NOFX PUNKTASTIC LIST.

First off this list doesn't include 45 or 46 songs that weren't good enough to go on our other records - that's a released CD and is still available to buy.

This is a mixture of songs from punk rock compilations, 7" vinyls and god knows what else:

Unreleased songs

1. Co Dependence Day - Warped Tour 2009 comp
   
2. I've Become a Cliche - bonus disc with their 2009 record, 'Coaster' (given away with the first couple of hundred pre-ordered CDs)
3. We're NOFX - from their 'Backstage passport' DVD (title music)
4. Concerns of a GOP Neo-Phyte (Wrong Version) - Take Action volume 4 (CD comp)
5. Jaw, Knee, Music - Rock Against Bush volume 1 (CD comp)
6. Wore out the Soles of my Party Boots - The Greatest Songs Ever Written (NOFX 'best of' CD)
7. Glass War - Warped Tour 2003 comp (also on '13 stitches' LP)
8. We Don't Play Ska Anymore - live - find it here
9. Idiot Son of an Asshole - live - find it here
10. America Has Better Cocaine - live - find it here (changes country name depending on where NOFX play it)
11. Heart and Soul - live only - find it here (my head is in this video haha)
12. Nobody Likes Us - live only - find it here (15 secs to 30 secs mark)
    

Latest song: I've Become a Cliche



7" of the month club

These songs were released on 12 separate 7" records sent out to those who joined the club for $100. This ran for a limited time between February 2005 and January 2006.

1. Insulted By Germans (Again)
2. Fan Mail
3. Arming The Proletariat With Potato Guns
4. I Am Going To Hell For This One (later released on 'Never Trust a Hippy' EP)
5. There's No Fun In Fundamentalism (later released on Punk o' Rama 10 comp)
6. Fungus
7. I Am A Huge Fan Of Bad Religion
8. Jamaica's Alright If You Like Homophobes
9. No Way
10. Getting High On The Down Low (later released on 'Wolves in Wolves Clothing')
11. You're Wrong (later released on 'Wolves in Wolves Clothing')
12. Leaving Jesusland (later released on 'Wolves in Wolves Clothing')
13. Benny Got Blowed Up (later released on 'Wolves in Wolves Clothing')
14. Teenage Punching Bag
15. One Way Ticket To Fuckneckville
16. Your Hubcaps Cost More Than My Car
17. What Now Herb?
18. California Über Alice
19. All My Friends In New York
20. I, Melvin
21. You Will Lose Faith (later released on 'Wolves in Wolves Clothing')
22. Last Night Was Really Fun?
23. Cool And Unusual Punishment (later released on 'Wolves in Wolves Clothing')
24. Civil Defense
25. Golden Boys (later released on 'Never Trust a Hippy' EP)
26. The Man I Killed (acoustic version)

Found a song not on this list? Want to add one? Leave a comment below or send an email to domsacco@hotmail.com

No Eff Ecks!!

Millencolin - Done is Done

Absolute tune!

Goldfinger - Handjobs for Jesus

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Oh, we are fucked now.

The UK has just voted in two members of the fascist British National Party (BNP) as members of European Parliament.

How fucking dumb is our country?

The BNP want to remove Britain from the EU and will begin campaigning to do so. We have just voted two people into the EU... to remove ourselves from it.

Nationalism. Great. That's just what we need right now in the middle of an economic crisis.

Let's seperate ourselves from the rest of Europe and make ourselves look even more resistant to the world.

Other legislation from the BNP includes the following:

• Stop all new immigration except for exceptional cases (say you fall in love with someone abroad or have family who want to come over - not gonna happen)

• Pay immigrants taxpayers' money to leave the country

• Corporal and capital punishment brought back in - the death sentence for serious offenders and kids punished physically in schools
  
  
• Drastically lower the amount of money spent on foreign aid (no more helping people abroad in need of medical care or funding for developing countries)
  
  
• Important ties with our American allies severely cut off

I can already see it coming. I hate to say it but I fear one day the BNP will come into power, and the UK will truly go to shit.

In the space of a couple of years they've gone from a hated, racist regime to having two Members of the European Parliament, three County Council seats, one Greater London Authority seat and 100 Local Councillors.

There's a general election no doubt around the corner too.

And if dumb fucks keep voting people like this into parliament, it'll be the final nail in the coffin for me. I won't be staying here for the rest of my life - it's off to Canada or Australia in the next few years.

The UK's ticket system is really shit

I heard tickets were going on sale to see Muse at the O2 in November last week.

Shame then that I couldn't get anywhere when the tickets went on sale at 9am last Friday (5 June).

I was trying at ten to 9, calling up the box office, checking ticket master and gigs and tours - still, nothing. Then I see the 'sold out' message at half 9, after constantly trying to no avail.

A friend managed to get four tickets - but all seating - no standing.

I check the internet a few hours later and hundreds of tickets are for sale at over £300 each. What the fuck is this?

Why don't promoters get their head out of Ebay's arse and get into bed with the record labels to start giving real fans tickets, instead of allowing a bullshit underground black market to flourish?

One idea would be to allow fans to type in a unique barcode serial number on the back of the CD of a particular artist, to gain entry to their concert. The people with the most legitimately bought records get higher priority for tickets.

Simple.

Sort it out you twats.

P.S. I know Muse aren't a punk band, sue me.

Anti-Flag are back!

It's only been a year since their last record, Bright Lights of America (one of my favourites of 2008), but Anti-Flag are returning with a new full length - The People or the Gun - on June 9, 2009.

They're still angry, not so young anymore and definitely no longer poor. They're anarchic, political, anti-capitalist and anti-religion. But their songs are full of fire and passion.

And heck I need this album in my life when it comes out. Here's a new song from it, called 'Sodom, Gomorrah, Washington DC' (The first two were two cities destroyed by God as punishment for wickedness, according to the bible):



Sing with me! "Sodom, Gomorrah, Washington DC! Smite it into oblivion with blood, wrath and disease!"

Fucking love it!

This is just a punk rock blog

This is just a punk rock blog
Written for the people who can see something's wrong
Like ants in a colony we do our share
But there's so many other fuckin' insects out there
And this is just a punk rock blog

Hi. My name's Dom. I've been a fan of punk rock (new, old and everything in-between) since my mid-teens - almost a decade ago.

The name of this blog has been ripped off from an old Bad Religion song.

This blog is going to be full of my thoughts about the latest and greatest punk rock bands, gigs, news and records.

And anything else I want to write about.

If you don't like it... fuck you.
This is just a punk rock blog.