The
Wedding - The Sound, The Steel (Brave New
World)
Inventive arrangements and a clear sound
capture The Wedding's mood on "The Sound,
The Steel," which is a reference to trains,
a revolving theme which is reflected throughout
the album. Songs unfold more slowly and deliberately,
reaching their peak with the aid of a band
that knows how to perform with grit and passion.
The dynamics of the songs keep your interest
as they encompass both punk rock and alternative
genres. Again, the sound is solid. Other bands
have tried to accomplish what The Wedding
have, but the grooves here demonstrate that
The Wedding are far and away ahead of the
pack. - Phil Rainone
The Jolts - Haute Voltage (myspace.com/thejolts)
Champions of all that is punk rock, The Jolts
come blasting out of the starting gate with
a fiercely creative album! Lead singer Joey
Blitzkrieg's (cool Ramones reference) straightforward,
high energy rants and yelps throughout the
record add to the band's spasmodic (spastic
and melodic) vibe that has 'live performance'
written all over it. The results, like on
"Hey Alright," "DMX,"
and "Drop Dead Girl" among others,
are both primal and chaotic. Twitchy rock
and roll breaks down into Neanderthal punk
with a Shonen Knife-like vibe. Contemporary
radio ambitions never creep into the mix,
although almost every song is a potential
hit single (in a better world!) "Lament
for the Death Rider" is a teen angst
punk ballad, with heavy echo, guitar tantrums,
and propulsive drums. But the parade is most
thrilling when it becomes a stampede. Check
out "Bloody Eye Socket," which is
two minutes and forty-five seconds of a fist-pumping
punk march. The Jolts have made an album that
is totally animalistic and frequently breathtaking!
They are the righteous alternative to most
of today's namby-pamby so-called pop punk
bands. "Haute Voltage" is raw, fast
and loud, spiked with relentless punk bluster.
- Phil Rainone
CD Reviews 
