'Define the Meaning' Gangbang #2

[Finally got a second round of albums to do for Define the Meaning. I legitimately liked three of the albums, which is a plus. Guess which ones!]

Anarbor – The Natural Way

I’m assuming the band name is a Red Letter Day reference, as Anarbor cultivates the sort of pop rock-oriented emo music that The Get Up Kids once mastered. This four song EP is a tad too polished for my taste; a little Four Minute Mile-style grit would be appreciated. And with TGUK reunion rumors flying, I can’t help but feel that Anarbor is about to become irrelevant anyway. Of course, they could always settle for being the new Hot Rod Circuit.

Confide – Shout the Truth

THIS! ALBUM! IS! A! PIECE! OF! SHIT! Hear ye, hear ye, young lads and/or lasses – if you’re going to write “post-hardcore” songs, either make sure your lyrics don’t blow mega-chunks or check that your vocalist’s scream is so primal and devastating and demonic that it doesn’t matter. Confide frontman Ross Kenyon is stuck in a weird place; he can’t quite sound harsh enough to come off badass, but he can’t really hit notes either, so he’s not much of a singer. My advice: drop the douche and go instrumental. It’s not like couplets like “Honestly, were you sleeping? / Reach out touch me now” were defining kids’ lives anyway.

Electric Six – Flashy

As far as holding patterns go, the latest from Dick Valentine and co. is actually kind of good. Flashy never hits the giddy highs of Señor Smoke or Fire, but it’s still a solid collection of raunchy Detroit Rock City tuneskis that are fun and funny; catchy and kitschy. At this point, Electric Six is pretty much playing for the converted, as Flashy deviates little from the band’s potent mix of rock, funk, horns, and synths. But numbers like “Lovers Beware” and “Making Progress” are top-notch. The only real problem is that Valentine is clearly running out of areas to mine comedy gold from, as songs like “Formula 409” and “Graphic Designer,” while decent-sounding, don’t really offer much in terms of humor.

Greeley Estates – Go West Young Man, Let the Evil Go East

To quote the everlovin’ Bouncing Souls, “East Coast! Fuck You!” Some of us are doin’ OK in the East, thank you very much. Arizona’s Greeley Estates dish out screechy, metal-y screamo adequately, but the sound leaves little affect on the listener. You’ll remember that the guitars squealed, and that there was a lot of double bass. And maybe the song “If I Could Be Frank, You’re Ugly,” but only because that title is hi-larious. Overall, this style was played out like five years ago, and even then it wasn’t that great.

Japanther – Tut Tut, Now Shake Ya Butt

You call it fuzzy Brooklyn bass-n-drums hipster combo, I call it good ol’ fashioned pop punk. Underneath that NYC cool are simple, fun songs (like The Ramones!). Some of the tracks are broken up by humorous samples (like Dillinger Four!). Tut Tut, Now Shake Ya Butt is a catchy collection of rapid fire lo-fi jams (like The Dead Milkmen!). Just skip the lengthy spoken word pieces by Penny Rimbaud of Crass ‘cause they’re just not fun or funny (unlike Anti-Flag’s “This is Not a Crass Song”).

Lipona – Atlas

I’m not saying this always works, but sometimes you really can tell how good or bad an album is going to be based on the cover. Lipona’s album Atlas has a pretty boring cover; blue photo of the Earth with white text over it. And unsurprisingly, the music ain’t much more interesting. If you like punk bands that vaguely resemble blink-182, Pennywise, and Offspring with a dash o’ screamo, then Lipona might help you adequately kill some time.

Polysics – We Ate the Machine

There are too many elements from Polysic’s hyper-accelerated new wave/punk style to pick out for the band to be considered anything other than original. They’ve got the J-pop sound of The Pillows (FlCl to my otaku brethren!). They can be just as spastic as early Elvis Costello, especially on organ-laden tunes like “Pretty Good.” And fans of the crazed synthy energy of Mindless Self Indulgence will feel a surge of glee after spinning this disc. Extremely energetic, Polysics will give you the sugary passion needed to punch through mountains. I have no idea what these folks are singing, but I like how they sing it.

This is Benji… - Far Too Honest

At his best, This is Benji… recalls the shimmering indie pop of Band of Horses or mid-period Nada Surf. At his worst, he comes off like David Gray trying to front a rock band – overly earnest and not particularly heavy. But there are flashes of brilliance on Far Too Honest, like the slight opener “I Miss You” or the uber-catchy “Everywhere You Go.” When he keeps it light, everything is awesome. But the dude tries way too hard to break that vibe up with faux-alternative tunes that, to be blunt, kind of suck. If Benji can learn to embrace his stripped down, subtle folk sensibilities though, his next effort will be pretty gosh dang brilliant.