Episode #20
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1. Act As One
Act As One are a five-piece from Saginaw, Michigan. Their sound is a fusion of pop-punk to thrash and at times, a bit of hardcore influences. Act As One's newest EP is titled, Bone to Be Radical (2010), featuring three songs of catchy punk/pop/thrash. The guitar work by Shawn Brown and Jared McNally is pretty wicked on each of the songs (best heard on the track, Struck Out). That song showcases some fine guitar leads and solos as does, Until We Die. Jacob Smith (drums) and Matt Feith (bass) both do great work in giving each song a little bit more texture in the sound and tempo, especially on the breakdowns. And Taylor Nagel's vocals and melodies are simply the highlight of the EP. Act As One also have a full-length titled, No Looking Back, with twelve tracks of more punk and thrash goodness. The song on this episode is titled, Until We Die, off of, Bone to be Radical.
2. The Revision Plan
The Revision Plan is a punk band from Chicago, Illinois. They were featured on episode 10 with the track, Heart of a Lion. That track was part of a local zine compilation from Illinois. The Revision Plan has since been slowly releasing new material, including the recent track, What Am I Going To Do (With a Gun Rack), available for free or donation on bandcamp. The band will also release a new record (June 7, 2011) titled, Scream Suburbia. A tour of the east coast will also follow. The track on this episode is titled, At Long Last, off of the Navigations EP.
3. Smokejumper
Smokejumper is a pop-punk band from Seattle, Washington currently with Better Half Records. The band released its first full-length record (self-titled) in June 2010 and is available digitally on bandcamp. It is twelve tracks of sweet pop-punk (Don't Change, Friendly Frustration, and Credit Crunch) and rock (Street Lights) until the end. The album closer is a sort of fast paced acoustic track (Piece of Me). Smokejumper is currently taking a bit of a break from playing, but will hopefully be back putting on shows towards the end of the summer. The song on this episode is titled, Move, off of its self-titled record.
4. Gunner's Daughter
Gunner's Daughter comes from Chicago, Illinois. They are a punk-pop act that formed in the summer of 2006. Gunner's Daughter currently have an EP titled, New Skeletons, and another one on the way which will be titled, Trust Us When We Tell You, which will be released through Death to False Hope Records. The EP should hopefully come out sometime during the summer of 2011. The band will be playing a few local shows in the coming months, but no definite tour plans until maybe next year. The song on this episode is titled, Better Days, off of, New Skeletons.
5. Ninjas with Syringes
Ninjas with Syringes are a four-piece (Matt, Mike, Blaine, Tarek) punk band from Portland, Oregon. The band currently has three releases out, Premature (2008), Stunner (2009), and the newest record, Oceanographer (2011). The new record is available on bandcamp and other online outlets. Like their previous efforts, Oceanographer is full of delicious punk-pop, although, this new record features more polished song writing. The poppy melodies are intact, some sharp guitar riffs throughout the tracks, and a bit more aggressiveness in the lyrical content. And the album features fifteen whole tracks of this stuff. The featured song of this episode is titled, Planet Carrier, off of, Oceanographer.