I'm enjoying the process of reviewing stuff for this issue, because I get to do good reviews. I hate giving bad ones(okay, that's a lie--me). So I'm glad that Crash Dog has come out with their best album yet. I barely listened to "Mud Angels" at all, but this album is cool. It was kind of sad to see Spike leave the band, for he was a good frontman, but I actually like Andrew Mandell's vocals better. Frankly, I was surprised that this album was good.
Crash Dog is going to catch a lot of condemnation for some of the lyrics, because they are politically to the left. In "G.O.P.," the chorus goes, "Knock, Knock, who's there? G.O.P. Won't you Christians let us in? We're Pro life and squeaky clean, just don't look beneath our skin. Vote, vote, vote the underclass kindly, gently down the drain. Christians and Republicans--aren't they the same?"  Let's see, that should tick plenty of Christians off. They even have the gall to dog on Rush Limbaugh. But if you look further into the lyrics of the song, the point of the song is not that Republicans are bad but that politicians are politicians whether they exploit the name of God or not.  "School" is about the elitism that is in the punk scene. It points out that the movement that preaches acceptance  and freedom still leaves out those who don't fit their mold.   "My God" makes the point that God is above all our hangups like judging H.I.V. victims, politics, sexism, etc.   "The Tale Of Two Parties" is another song about politics. It basically stresses again that the world of politics is full of almost nothing but corruption. 
Okay, many of you Christian Coalition people out there are probably about to march on JPUSA and beat Crashdog to a pulp, but really, most of the songs on this album are not about politics, and the ones that are about politics are more anti-political than anti-Republican. So please forgive these guys for disagreeing with you. 
Some of the best songs are "My God,"  "Helpless,"  "School,"  and the cover of the old classic, "Eve of Destruction."  This really is a much better album than I've ever heard from Crashdog. The boldness and gall these guys display in criticizing the political system kinda annoys me as I would rather just let the dead bury their dead and not point out the obvious stupidity of politics, but I guess somebody's got to do it.
This is a good album. You should check it out, but if the lyrics are going to offend your political views too much, it probably isn't profitable for you to pick it up. Why invite contention among brothers and sisters in Christ?

This is very possibly the best album the Resurrection Band has ever released, and certainly the best in a long time. The return to the full name denotes a return to who Rez/Rez Band/ Resurrection Band really is. When I first heard that Ty Tabor of Kings X was going to produce the new "Rez" album, I was really excited. I have been disappointed with their last few albums, and I thought if anyone could get them back on track, Ty could do it. I was right.
I was told at one time that "Lament" was a concept album, and at first I couldn't see it. But I was just sitting here reading the lyric sheet again and it hit me. I read the whole thing, and here's what I got from it. As far as I can tell, this is a story of a young man who is leaving home. He sees his parents as hypocrites and determines not to be one himself. So he sets out to get everything he can get out of life, completely rejecting anything his parents had ever taught him. So he goes and lives a life of foolishness, leaving God out of the picture. After a while, this life of fleshly pleasure begins to wear on him and he begins to see its uselessness. He begins to struggle with the question of God and Christianity. He comes to understand that He needs Jesus, but resists out of fear. Finally, after a long struggle, he gives up and yields to the love and power of Jesus Christ. That seems to be where the lyrics take us.
Musically, I can hear Ty Tabor's influence in some places. Some King's X ideas slip into some of the music in some interesting and neat ways. There's one word that keeps coming to my mind:  Class. This album has real class. A lot of it reminds me of old Resurrection Band stuff from the late 70s and early 80s. The song "Dark Carnival" has sort of a Beatles feel at times. There's also some of the darkest music Rez has ever come out with in "Dark Carnival" and "Mirror."  This is another band who writes music that goes along with the lyrics. They are great musicians. 
There's really not a bad song on this album. There are also no real standout songs. But the beauty of "Lament" is that it stands out as a complete work. For old Resurrection Band fans, this will be a welcome release. For those who have been disappointed with the last few albums Rez has come out with, you can have hope again. If you've never liked them at all, give this one a listen and you might like it. 

I usually am not partial to leftovers, but these leftovers reheated very well. What I'm getting at is that Crux is the leftovers of one of my favorite Christian bands of all time--Empty Tomb. Some members of Crux were from Empty Tomb. In fact, there is an old Empty Tomb tune on this Cd.
Here we have a really underrated punk rock band. The first time I saw these guys live at Cornerstone 95, I thought they sucked. But when I saw them here in October, I was extremely impressed. They were different. They have such attitude. When I heard them start into "Circle of Power" at the show, I immediately ran up to the front for this old Empty Tomb song. Later on, the vocalist told me that "Circle of Power" was on their album. I had just purchased the Cd from him, so I was immediately glad I bought it.
One of the reasons I didn't give Crux a chance was because of the vocalist. I really liked the vocalist of Empty Tomb (Feeble Mann), and I couldn't see anyone taking his place. Well, Rich is different, but he's really good also. He was partly why I was so impressed at their show.
This is a really good punk rock album. The songs are intense and have attitude. The lyrics are honest. The songwriting is good. The band is really tight. There are thrashy parts, melodic parts, straight-out driving punk rock parts, and even some groove. The lyrics are at times sarcastic, sometimes just all-out fun. My only complaint with this album is the vocals. Ilike the vocalist, but I don't think the production did him justice. The vocals lose intensity on the album, whereas live they are as intense as the music. 
Highlights are "Dance Fever," a fun song that gets your feet movin', "Restore," which was written and sung by Andy, the bass player,  "Oh Krap (My Dad Was Right),"  "Bitterness Spreads,"   "New Morality," and "Circle of Power." It's a great song, but I still like Feeble Mann better on it. 
If you're an old Empty Tomb fan, you'll want to pick this up. If you're not an Empty Tomb fan, go ahead and check it out also. At any rate, if you're into punk rock at all, check Crux out. They'll blow your face off.

Plumbline is about my favorite up-and-coming local band right now. These guys have the enthusiasm, drive, passion, and most importantly the humility that they need to make it in this industry. Believe me, too much pride will kill you in this business, because you'll have farther to fall.
I love this tape. There's a refreshing simplicity to Plumbline's music that makes them all the more approachable. Listening to this tape, I really get the sense that these guys mean what they're saying and playing. Now how to describe what they sound like? Well, I think there are some R.E.M. influences, I hear some slight U2 influences, a very tiny bit of Pearl Jam, and God. Seriously, I think if God was in a band, they might sound like Plumbline. They'd be infinitely better, of course, because God is perfect, but they'd probably sound a lot like this. Obviously I'm biased and I really like this band--you could probably tell.
The lyrics are extremely well-written.  "Storm" is my favorite. It talks about the deeper relationship with Christ and how He is always there in the midst of the storm helping us to stand strong so we can "ride the storm out."  My second favorite song is "Eden."  It's got a really cool feel musically. The lyrics are brilliant as always. My third favorite is "Glimpse," which also has a great musical feel.  "Lindsay's Upstairs" is my fourth favorite. It's a really cool ballady-type thing. My least favorite is the song "Happy Land," a jangly, happy-sounding tune. Actually, it's a cool song--it's meant to sound happy and silly. It's about the charade of suburbia. It talks of how everything is lily white on the outside, yet there is a world of dark on the inside. The pivotal line in the song is "Nothing goes wrong here in Happy Land." 
Plumbline is a really good band with tons of potential. I really want to see them go far. For info:  Plumbline  11157 Benson, Overland Park, KS  66210.