Tag: Kiss Of Death

REVIEW: Sport – “Bon Voyage”

sportHow the fuck is this band not from Chicago? If you played me this record, and I didn’t know otherwise, I’d assume they were from here. Alas, they are not. Sport hails from Lyon, France. If you’re anything like me, they should be your new favorite band.

Sport was impressive from the start. Their debut LP, 2012’s Colors, showed the raw potential the band had. Bon Voyage is a great expansion on that foundation. Coming through is a great punk/emo sound that is melodic and driving. Their sound is right there with CSTVT and Grown Ups. It’s fantastic.

My favorite part of the record, aside from basically everything, is how the lyrics are simple without being trite. The songs are what they are. They don’t rely on any esoteric bullshit. It’s easy to connect. There’s a recurring theme of wanting to leave and go somewhere new (which is pretty on the nose for a record called Bon Voyage). All the songs are sung and played with such heart and conviction. It’s hard for me to imagine any genre fan not being absolutely excited by this record.

Sport
BandCamp

**This record is being co-released by 23 labels. I’ve linked directly to the main label page if there isn’t an item page for this record yet. Keep checking the label of your choosing. I’m not updating this list, because holy shit.**

NORTH AMERICA
Kiss Of Death
Housebreaker

UNITED KINGDOM
Good Post Day
Don’t Shoot the Messenger

FRANCE
Guerilla Asso
Songs Of A Bitch
La Tête d’Ampoule
Impure Muzik
Crapoulet
Voice Of The Unheard
No Routine
Don’t Trust The Hype Recordz

GERMANY
Adagio 830
Pike Records

SPAIN & ANDALUSIA
La Agonia de Vivir
We Are The Daughters
Walking Is Still Honest

BELGIUM
Ruin Your Fun

ITALY
Oceano

AUSTRALIA
Eunoia Collective

RUSSIA
Unlock Yourself

SOUTH AMERICA
Inhumano Records
Seein’ Red

REVIEW: House Boat – "The Thorns Of Life"

Hey, more pop punk. Anyway. House Boat is a super group type situation. So, blah blah The Steinways, The Ergs!, Dear Landlord, Off With Their Heads, and Rivethead blah blah. As far as sound, this basically sounds like The Steinways, but a little less goofy. It is pretty awesome.

At first glance, one would assume this is just a shit mix of better things. I mean, the cover and layout is the same as Television City Dreams (by Screeching Weasel). The title, The Thorns Of Life, is a reference to a latter day Blake Schwarzenbach band. Then we have the drawn out/funny song titles like, “I Live Directly Across The Street From The Outback Steakhouse” and “Throwing In Those Weird Chords Did Wonders For The Copyrights And Dopamines (Theme From House Boat).” This record would, to people unfamiliar with the band, look like just another shitty pop punk record. Luckily, it is not.

The overarching theme of this record is being old, pessimistic, and jaded. But, save for a few parts here and there, this record sounds bouncy and poppy. The pity parade never gets too overbearing. Mostly it is just the kind of record that old bastards who grew up in the punk scene can get stoked on.

Where this record separates itself from the previous record, The Delaware Octopus, is that it allows a little more depth. I hate when people say a band matured. That said, this is more of a “mature” record. “Pityscapes” and “Bug Out” manage to sidestep the genre standards. They are slow to mid-tempo. The latter being a mostly acoustic ballad. It can be a bit bad for the flow of the album, but both songs are great.

Basically, this is a pop punk record for people who are tired of the high school schtick. Yeah, you still get the pop punk love songs. The only difference is that now they are written by adults being adults (instead of adults writing like they are in high school). And, maybe they are a little less optimistic.

And, you know, “Real Life As A Metaphor For Real Life” and “A Song In Which I Try To Convince Myself To Stop Being Such A Fucking Idiot” are totally awesome.

STREAM IT
BUY IT ON VINYL (Traffic Street Records / Kiss Of Death)
BUY IT ON CD (Traffic Street Records / Kiss Of Death)