Vinyl Vednesday 6/29/2011

[Vinyl Vednesday is a weekly feature about three favorite vinyl finds. It’s not meant to be a dick-measuring contest, but it usually turns out that way. Anyway, as always, e-mail pelonej1@gmail.com with your own big finds!]

Records: The Flatliners’ Cynics seven-inch (2009) on black, Missing Persons’ “Words” single (1982) on black, and Restorations’ Restorations seven-inch (2010) on black.

Place of Purchase: Interpunk.com for the punk stuff. Impact! Thrift Store for the new wave stuff.

Thoughts: For those of you just tuning in, I’ve recently begun an open relationship with The Flatliners. It started off simply with last year’s Cavalcade, but it’s grown considerably since then. After picking up The Great Awake, I opted to go all in and snatch up the band’s seven-inches. Turns out those deliver toe-tapping, throat-shredding punk rock too. My only complaint with them is their brevity, but whatevers. Cynics is a solid stopgap EP between Awake and Cavalcade, and while none of the three tunes surpasses material from those full-lengths, it’s still Flatliners clam flammit. Get into it.

Outside of the themed installments, I grab my three records for Vinyl Vednesday at random. So, it’s funny to me that I’ve begun this sudden trend of “punk rock + ’80s hits.” Oh well. While they weren’t around for very long, Missing Persons got in a catchy hit in the ’80s with the chirpy, synth-driven “Words.” What are they for, when no one listens anymore? ANSWER ME. The B-side is a new wavey take on “Hello, I Love You” by The Doors that isn’t nearly as different as it initially seems.

You guys know Restorations put out a full-length this year, right? Because that shit is super limited yet still readily available. When I heard the band’s Strange Behavior EP earlier this year, I didn’t realize just how much they had in common with bands like the singing, biking, fucking Latterman. That EP had a spacey CSTVT quality to it. The new album, and this self-titled seven-inch, are clearly punk rockin’. So stoked.

Here’s some trivia for you: This is the shortest Vinyl Vednesday I have ever posted. I’m going to bed.

The Flatliners and The Holy Mess at The Fire

Not to get all “when the punx are united” or anything, but the crowd assembled for the Flatliners/Holy Mess show at Philadelphia’s The Fire Tues., June 14 was a great one in spite of technical issues throughout the night. Kids got rowdy without getting masochistic. There was much singing and back-patting. Also drinking. We did a lot of drinking.

Even without the social lubrication of Yards ‘n’ Schmidt’s, this was a good show. Local act Ah, Horse Hockey kicked off the night with a rousing round of Latterman-esque punk. It was fun posi stuff; I just wish the band had gotten a tighter lock on its tuning. It felt like every song would end to big applause, only to have any audience momentum lost by the guitarists retuning. Emo act Daytrader (very Saves the Day-ish) had problems of a different sort: They were missing half a band. The group soldiered on acoustically, and even delivered a solid cover of Alkaline Trio’s “Cooking Wine,” but overall the group’s earnest emo/pop-punk came off a little much on the wrong side of Dashboard Confessional for my taste – pained howls and acoustic guitars just don’t get me amped anymore.

Local up-and-comers the Holy Mess broke a guitar cable one song in. Luckily, the members of the Holy Mess are trained professionals, and they stalled for time with expert comic timing. Or, at least they tried. Just when the band seemed like they’d run out of stories (Sample quote: “Fuck man, I love to fuck”), the group finally got their instruments up and running and they plowed through a set of new old tunes recently collected on a compilation for Red Scare. Highlights included all three tunes from last year’s Benefit Sesh seven-inch. For a band that fucks around a lot, the Holy Mess sure is awfully tight live, ripping through brief bursts of gruff, RVIVR-esque punk before heading back to the bar.

By this point the Fire had filled up considerably to welcome Canada’s beloved ska-lovin’, punk-playin’ boys the Flatliners. The audience had been enthusiastic but physically reserved before the Flatliners came on. But once the group launched into opener “Here Comes Treble,” from last year’s stellar Cavalcade, people went off, and the pit alternated between moshing and skanking on a whim. Crowd surfing was constant, but outside of the occasional belly flop, the kids took care of each other.

While the Flatliners generally focused on Cavalcade (“Carry the Banner,” “Monumental”), they made their set up on the fly, soliciting fan suggestions throughout the night. Frontman Chris Cresswell wasn’t feeling too well (“I feel like Satan took a shit in my throat”), but he kept up the pace all the same. The songs kind of blurred together after a while, but the band still hit the highlights from Cavalcade and The Great Awake. The act wisely bowed out with “Eulogy,” arguably their catchiest tune, and the crowd certainly helped out with vocal duties. It was a fun show, although I encountered a technical difficulty of my own: Maoz on South Street closes early on weeknights now.

The Flatliners - 'Monumental'

With all due respect to their ska years, 2010 marks the height of the Flatliners’ powers. Cavalcade remains one of the best punk albums to come out this year, a refreshing burst of anthemic rock in the vein of fellow Fat bands Smoke or Fire and Dead to Me. The “Monumental” single delivers two B-sides taken from the Cavalcade sessions, revealing that the band has plenty more excellent tunes in their songbooks.

“Monumental” opens the seven-inch, and in case you forgot, it’s a pretty kickass song with a slight Gaslight Anthem vibe. Solid chorus, crunchy guitar, just awesome for everyone involved. Good times. The flipside offers “Christ Punchers” and “Cut Your Teeth,” which would have fit in perfectly on Cavalcade. “Christ Punchers” has a catchy chorus that doubles as a political statement (“I believe in reality”). It’s a short and sweet missive with a strong backbeat. “Cut Your Teeth” is a little rawer. Not as infectious, but still good.

I get why “Cut Your Teeth” didn’t make it on to Cavalcade. It’s good but not great, and the final album’s 12 tracks outclass it. “Christ Punchers,” meanwhile, is so fine it almost makes me angry. I’d be mad at the Flatliners for sitting on this song, except it just makes me more excited for their eventual fourth full-length. If “Christ Punchers” is what the band relegates to B-side status, then what they pick for their album must be gold.

The Flatliners - 'Cavalcade'

“Live through, live strong / Carry on and on and on / No more false-start life at traffic lights.” The Flatliners – “Carry the Banner”

On their third full-length, Cavalcade, the Flatliners deliver more energetic punk rock in the vein of Smoke or Fire, Dead to Me and Lost City Angels. The vocals are gruff, the tempos are quick and the tunes are all about drinkin’ and failin’. The difference lies in the tone, though. Flatliners never wallow in pity, making Cavalcade an awfully hopeful record, even if it deals with topics like economic disparity and familial strife.

Like 2007’s The Great Awake, the group’s ska influences are severely turned down, with only “He Was a Jazzman” and one section in “Shithawks” showing any semblance of reggae rhythms. Nowadays, the group’s punk is a little more pure. Drunk Midwestern punks are gonna love this stuff, as they should. These songs are rapid fire rabble-rousers.

The opening two-hit combo of “The Calming Collection” and “Carry the Banner” is so effective that the band would be wise to maintain that order live. The two songs combine to form five minutes of really awesome, “up with people” punk. “Bleed” keeps the good vibes going, while “Here Comes Treble” pauses to apologize to alienated relatives. Chris Cresswell’s gravelly vocals sell every line.

Admittedly, Cavalcade drops off a little in its second half. There’s nothing wrong with more Lawrence Arms-ish rockin’, but with tunes as fine as “The Calming Collection” and “Here Comes Treble” waiting in the front, it’s tempting to skip back to the beginning over and over. Maybe it’s the record’s running time. Forty minutes is slightly too long for this style, but the 12 tracks presented here are all so fine that any editing would just start fights among listeners (Although I would’ve cut “Sleep Your Life Away.” Discuss). Cavalcade should make fans want to choose life, make love to the moon and kiss a grizzly right in front of his mama. Or at least drive slightly faster than normal. It’s that kind of a feel-good album.