By Andy
*** In the documentary "We Were Feared," which tells the gritty tale of the legendary club the Cuckoo's Nest in Costa Mesa, CA, Love Canal guitarist Eric VonArab gets some screen time. He and his pals know their stuff, wrangled with each other in the pit and devoured a crucial slice of OC punk. On this album, they take those experiences and heaps more along the way and mold them into that classic style that permeated the Nest. Love Canal pummels your speakers with their roaring anthems that would have fit in perfectly with the scene back then and resonate now with the force of a million stomping engineer boots alongside raging guitars and sneering vocals. (Hostage Records)
*** We've seen Sir Coyler and His Asthmatic Band in Seattle a few times and they've thumped and rumbled their way onto our favorites list. This single provides blasting, stomping rock in the grand Pacific Northwest tradition of the Sonics and Mudhoney and a ton of others. It rocks, it rolls and you need it wedged in your ears posthaste. (Pig Baby Records)
*** Javier Escovedo's latest record is just about as good as it gets. It full on rocks in spots and then lays back just right with the pensive tunes you need after hammering away in the vein of The Zeros, where he cut his musical teeth in the early punk days. With songs like "This Side of Nowhere" and "Gypsy Son" holding the heavy reins and "Searchin' for You" and "Just Like All the Rest" taking the easy-going route, you should be all in with this release. (Saustex Records)
*** The Cheap Cassettes kicked out a hunk of their Plimsouls-inspired rock and roll on Friday night in Seattle and they gave "Worse N' Better" off this two-song tape a whirl about midway through the set. Guitars swung, heads bobbed and hips shook... just the way it should be for stellar tunes like these. (Rum/Bar Records)
*** Um, yeah, the Side Eyes are definitely a band people should have on their radars if they're into tracing rock roll lineages. Vocalist Astrid McDonald surely knows what she's doing at the forefront of this ripping band since her parents showed her who had the beat and how to stand in front of poseur. It's basic stuff that carries on the family and punk tradition with swagger and humor. We caught McDonald and guitarist Kevin Devine joining forces with Redd Kross on stage last December in Santa Ana on a cover of The Eyes' "Don't Talk to Me." Not sure if Chargo was there, but her influence is all over the Side Eyes. (In the Red Recordings)
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