Various Artists
The Local Anesthetic
By Liz Worth

This compilation is the sound of Colorado’s late ’70s and early ’80s punk scene. The title is taken from the Colorado indie label of the same name, which originally released many of the tracks here. There are some incredible gems that will likely see the bands gaining fresh fan bases. As soon as opening track “My Dad’s a Fucking Alcoholic” by Frantix kicks off, the tone is set and there’s no question that the punk obscurities on this compilation are great discoveries. Your Funeral’s doom-and-gloom, goth punk meanderings would sound great between X and Lydia Lunch listens, while White Trash deliver punchy, classic three-chord anthems, and Rok Tots’ “Suicide Weekend” is a rollicking, heavy-handed tune that just doesn’t quit. This compilation is a must-have for anyone looking to uncover punk history beyond the usual 1977 suspects. (Smooch)
Cancer Bats - Hail Destroyer
While Toronto, ON’s Cancer Bats certainly aren’t the first band to blend punk, hardcore and metal, they’re one of the few bands doing it in a manner that’s fresh and exciting. The group’s sophomore effort, Hail Destroyer, is a more concentrated collection of songs than heard on their debut, Birthing the Giant. ...Read More
Teenage Head - Teenage Head with Marky Ramone
Okay, so it’s not a new record, but this full-length pass at some of the band's best songs (recorded at Toronto super-studio Metal Works with a fucking Ramone pounding the skins) is still totally worth picking up for fans of one of Canada’s best known first-wave punk bands. They’ll probably be a few ...Read More
AFI - I Heard A Voice: Live From Long Beach Arena
American Speedway - Ship Of Fools
Anti-Flag - The Bright Lights of America
The Banshee - Public Talks
B-Movie Rats - Radio Suicide
Danger Radio - Punch Your Lights Out
Days Away - Ear Candy For The Headphones Trippers
The Death Set - The Death Set
Far-Less - A Toast To Bad Taste
Goldfinger - Hello Destiny
Holy Cobras - Keep Your Hands Off My Stuff
Hostile Takeover - Spells, Charms and Curses
Japandroids (Jpndrds) - Lullaby Death Jams
The Last Deal - Berdache
Mahones - Irish Punk Collection
November 5th, 1955 - Bear Of The Sea
Pennywise - Reason to Believe
Tournament - Swordswallower
Inception Dir. by Christopher Nolan
Hearing about someone else's dreams might be the most boring form of storytelling, but living in someone else's dreams ― at least in the hands of star writer/director Christopher Nolan (The Dark Night, Memento, The Prestige) ― makes for the movie event of the summer.... Full Review
Crackdown G20
Crackdown 2 was pretty fun when I first played the demo. But before I got my thumbs on the final code, the G20 summit tore apart downtown Toronto — including an incursion of 300 riot cops into my neighbourhood to raid the protestors' Parkdale headquarters — and shook my faith in Canada's police services.... Read More
Books - The Way Out
After a quick succession of albums on Tomlab in the first half of the '00s, Nick Zammuto and Paul de Jong took a five-year break from recording to do family stuff and recharge. The Way Out shows no superficial changes in methodology: odd found speech samples and folksy acoustic instrumentatio... Full Review
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