Below are reviews of demos/cd's/cassettes that people have sent in to me in hopes of getting on comps. etc... Keep in mind these are just my opinions and I know from personal experience that review people at magazines suck ass! So don't take it too personally if I didn't like what you sent. All bands are welcomed to send me things to review but make sure it's on CD please cause tapes and records are just too hard to listen to.
REVIEWS WORK ON A SCALE OF 1 being the worst and 5 being the best!

SONS OF LIBERTY - demo CDR Wow it's so nice to see a band with a similar ideal to myself. They sent me a patch with a 13 star flag on it, they must know the way to my heart, Joking. Seriously though this is a kick ass Oi! band from Philadelphia that has a 7" out on Dim Records right now. I think that's what the material on this cd is by the way. Great American Oi! that mixes the old styles with a little more melody to keep you interested. I can't think of any comparisons but fans of American Oi! and early English Oi! bands should find their stuff and buy it. Another plus is this is an Oi! band that actually has some emphasis on lyrics and stays away from the tired themes of drinking, fighting and rah rah skinhead chants. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK and keep me up to date with your progress.	4
SPITFIRE MONKS - demo CDR Yet another homemade CDR someone is trying to pass off as a real release. God this is the worst crap I have ever heard in my life!!! What the fuck is this? Pop Punk? Cock Rock? I'm 30 seconds in to the first song and I don't think I will make it through this song let alone all 9 of them. GAG PUKE GAG PUKE GAG PUKE. Okay this is a review of one song cause there is no way I am leaving this in my CD player.	0
SPITFIRES UNITED - demo #1 CDR This is a DC punk band that really kicks ass. The band was due to have a CD released on Squigtone but I think that deal fell through. But either way you should be on the lookout for stuff from this band. The first demo is older material and contains a lot of tracks from compilations. I don't think I would classify them as an Oi! band but they definitely have that streetpunk/early english punk sound to them (think Peter and the Test Tube Babies). Some of my favorite songs they do are on this first demo. Tracks like "Guiness", "Sunburnt", "Scum for the Slum" are awesome. Definitely looking forward for them to release this stuff.	4
SPITFIRES UNITED - demo #2 CDR This was just recorded a few months ago with Brian Baker producing (played in Bad Religion/Minor Threat). Stil the same great band and sound but these songs are a little less "heavy" and have a more "melodic" feel to them. By no means is this poppy, it's just a little more melodic. It could that these songs were recorded a lot better then the first demo and the recording sounds pretty damn good! A lot of the guitar work is in the vein of Stiff Little Fingers and Cocksparrer so if you are fans of that band you would really dig this. Look for this to come out in the near future, I just don't know on what label. Keep up the good work guys!	3 1/2
SQUIRRELS FROM HELL - the sound & the furry CD Hmmm I don't really know what to say about this. The bio claims they've been around for twenty odd years but I never heard of them before. I wouldn't really call this a punk band but who knows? One sec it's pretty low rate pop punk type stuff and the next thing I hear a kazoo in the background. It's definitely odd, one song almost sounds like Social Distortion and then the next sounds like Joy Divison/New Order. All in all I get a bar band feel to this.	1
STRAIGHTLACED NIGHTMARE - CD RAH RAH RAH. Skinhead Music.. It's so nice when I get a demo once in awhile that let's me know what Skinhead Oi! music is still alive and well and all the bands just didn't turn into melodic streetpunk bands. Straight up American Oi! band from the lovely land of Texas, who also incorporate that old early 80's style in their music which really makes this shine. They definitely need a better studio and a producer but it's a great start. I have no idea if this band still exists since Oi! bands come and go so quickly but I hope that these guys are still going strong. Definitely get in touch with me and let me know what is going on with the band etc..	3 1/2
SUBSYSTEM - demo CDR I got this months ago and I remember listening to it and really digging it and now I remember why. It's really good Oi! sounding Streetpunk stuff from New Hampshire. It's got that real New England feel to it, which I dig. I wonder if they are still together? I haven't heard anything about them in the scene at all but I never hear much around here except worthless gossip. Well guys if you are still a band get in touch with me and send me some more stuff. I could definitely picture this band playing with other hardcore inspired Skin/Oi! bands like the Infiltrators. A real studio and some touring could make this band pretty big.	3 1/2
TABLOiD PLAY - demo CDR Hey now... this is my first demo sent to me from a Japanese Oi! band and I'm thrilled cause I love that stuff and this is pretty much what I expected it's that really catchy old style Oi! sound not unlike the early sounds of the Business. The only flaw is the recording keeps cutting in and out and I don't know if it was recorded like this or I got a bad CDR but that sucks cause the music is great. Too bad there is only three songs on here I sure would like to hear more. The band should consider changing their name, I don't think Tabloid Play fits them very well. So if you are fans of bands like; Discocks, Tom and Boot Boys, Youth Anthem, Gruesome and so on.. then be on the lookout for this upcoming Oi! band.	4
THROWBACKS - twisted balloons & dirt saloons CD Why is it when I see clowns I can't stop thinking about the Adicts and it makes it hard as hell to review something when I am thinking about another band! Okay material here from a PA band. I was really expecting a little more of an Oi! sound but this is pretty much straight punk rock and nothing terribly original. The mix is horrible on the CD and the vocals are just WAY too high and the music in the background gets buried. A better mix might make this better. I don't know this demo is about a year old and I bet by now the band has a better handle on their sound and I would be curious to hear them now. This CD however really doesn't do anything for me, sorry guys. Getting a new vocalist or doing a better mixing job might help. Is there a different vocalist on tracks 3 & 4? Cause that guys' voice fits in a lot better with the band and I dig that.	2
THROWBACKS - 1 year and still alive CD Okay what the hell is going on? This is another release by the above band (& most likely newer) that is 10 TIMES better then the first release. 10 tracks recorded live with a couple of cool covers. The Meatmen song is humorous cause they changed the lyrics of the song to be about Bin Laden. It gave me quite the chuckle :). "Camel Jockeys Suck" INDEED! This doesn't even sound like the same band, even when they play the songs from the first release. I guess this proves my point about how it all comes down to the recording cause I am guessing whoever mixed and recorded the band the first time was clueless as to what the band was going for! Straight up Punk Rock with a small hint of the stylings of Streetpunk but more in league with earlier American Punk bands then any Oi! band I can think of. Pretty rockin' bar type punk rock n roll. "Everyday" is a pretty rockin' number that would fit in pretty good with the American Oi! Compilation I am doing! A GREAT IMPROVEMENT!	3 1/2
UNB - demo CDR I really don't get enough Rockabilly type demos and it's too bad cause I really love that music! This is the second rockabilly band from RUSSIA to send me a demo and I guess there must be some kind of a scene there, which is cool as hell. The band falls a little short of my expectations, while I like the fact they really use a Sax well and the songs seem very catchy but they are a little repetitious. There is some other styles that seem to be mixed in like Lounge that doesn't go over too well. Maybe a better recording with a much better mix might help.	2
WEEKEND WARRIORS - demo CDR Ahhh after reviewing two pop punk bands I had to find a Punk or Oi! demo to review! I'm glad I picked this cause it was a breath of fresh air. I guess this band would be labeled "Streetpunk/Oi!" but after listening to this I don't think the label totally fits. There is a lot of other styles getting mixed in here and there is some really good guitar work going on that most Oi! musicians probably wouldn't be able to pull off. The band has a 7" coming out on Dim and I don't know if it contains any of these songs but I would get it if I was you. There is a band they remind me of and it's right on the tip of my tongue but I can't remember it right now and even if I did no one would probably know who they were. Definitely more on the rock side of Punk, and by rock I don't mean all that melodic California type streetpunk, I mean real ROCK like hard rock metal stuff but mixed in so well with Punk that it's hard to classify. "Let's Drink" is my favorite and the most Oi! sounding song of the six, if every song they played was like this I would definitely want to release something!	3 1/2

BACK TO TOP