The Scarring Party
Come Away From the Light
Self-Released
Street: 03.18
The Scarring Party = Rosin Coven + tubas + banjos + and a shitty deliveryI'll admit I was a bit skeptical when I read the press sheet for The Scarring Party. To put it bluntly, they seem a bit too gimmicky for my tastes. It would be different if this jumbled mess sounded good—which it doesn't—and their onstage performances and delivery further reinforce my opinion that they are out there just to get a few laughs. I mean, who's not going to turn their heads and pay attention to a band with an accordion and a tuba on stage? Come on. This album is dark, boring, and a chaotic mix of acoustic pieces that don't flow at all. The great thing about this album, however, was that it was only 33 minutes long. Please do yourself a favor and do not check this album out. –Tom Carbone Jr.

Scream Hello
Smart & Stupid
Red Leader
Street Date: 04.08
Scream Hello = Fall Out Boy + Dinosaur Jr.
… really? Long Mascis-esque guitar workouts set against a punk-pop backdrop that borders on emo? Well, it's worth a shot, right? What's unfortunate about Scream Hello is simply how they could have actually capitalized on their six-string heroics to make something interesting, instead succumbing to their own indulgences and Nick Rotundo's dry production values, leaving much to be desired. For one, no pop-punk song ever needs to be longer than four minutes, much less six, which is exactly what "Vinegar & Baking Soda" does, leaving much to be desired. Furthermore, the track simply titled "RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR" (that's right, 19 R's in a row) attempts to mix it up a bit by being a low-key piano ballad in the vein of the Replacements' "Androgynous,” but when you can't actually make out the lyrics because of the base, frills-free production, the purpose winds up somewhat defeated, lying on the studio floor with blood slowly pooling around it. Hey, now there's an emo image to actually write a good song to! Evan Sawdey

Shai Hulud
Misanthropy Pure
Metal Blade Records
Street: 05.27
Shai Hulud = Zombie Apocalypse + Melody
It’s been 5 years since Shai Hulud put out anything new. Most people left them for dead after That Within Blood Ill Tempered, since Geert Van Der Velde who was their second singer, parted ways with the band. The ‘Lud is on their third singer and they are trying desperately to make people know that they haven’t gone away. Misanthropy Pure is Shai Hulud from top to bottom. Not much has changed in the last 12 years or so with the band. They still play their unique start-stop technical melodic metal-core in the late 90’s sense of the word. Although M.P. is technically proficient, the vocals fall flat. New vocalist Matt Mazzali leads the band pretty well, but doesn’t show much range. That’s what’s missing from the new record. Their older material showed more passion, this time around Shai Hulud is more calculated and the vocals are one note. Songs like “Misanthropy Pure” and “Four Earths” are blazing and show a real return to form for Shai Hulud. Misanthropy Pure isn’t a disappointment by any means, and it’s certainly nice to see a band that’s been around this long showing people how it’s done, but a little more range in the vocals would seal the deal. –Peter Fryer

Shame Club
Come On
Small Stone
Street: 07.08
Shame Club = Kyuss + KISS + Kick Ass
I was totally expecting this cd to suck on it big time in a lame ass stoner garage rock way. Boy oh boy was I surprised. This damb shit is bad ass. May the Shame Club live on in glory? This business comes out you non-stop and beats your face in while you scream for joy. Shame Club does play a fuzzed out thick bunch of noise but it’s dynamic. It’s like if Stone Temple Pilots hated being weird artsy drug addicts and decided to listen to some good home-style blues and smoke all the weed they could find while hoped up on Pixie Stix and decided to serenade all the dandelions into head banging their yellow heads off. There is no shame in pimpin out the Shame Club because they are just too pimp!! –Jon Robertson

Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra
Miles of Styles
Ubiquity Records
Street Date: 05.06
Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra = The Vince Guaraldi Trio as fronted by a bored John Frusciante
There's nothing inherently wrong with Miles of Styles at all. It's a disc filled with straightforward, unadventurous jazz recordings with a heavy pop leniency, switching up styles drastically on a track-by-track basis. The problem? These songs are so basic and rudimentary that their enjoyment is sustained only through the allotted track time, not serving much of a purpose after. Some songs sound like Gorillaz instrumental tracks ("Bathtub Dub"), and the requisite Asian-jazz number ("Chinese Chillin") is ruined by the vocal shouts of guys’ imitation chop-sockey movies throughout, and "San Diego," the only track with a singer, inexplicably comes off sounding like the Eagles covering a song by Ambrosia. Fortunately, there are some moments of joyous levity (an excellent uplifting number called "Prague Rock"), but when all is said and done, consider this a disc of soundtrack numbers to play over the credits of your straight-to-YouTube home movie. Evan Sawdey