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All Teeth and Knuckles - Club Hits To Hit The Clubs With |
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Written by Aaron Cynic
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(Lujo Records CD)
If I was slightly hipper, had better hair, wore tighter pants, or did coke - I'd probably be more into All Teeth and Knuckles than I am. Club Hits To Hit The Clubs With is a non stop hipster dance party, with plenty of inside jokes about San Fransisco and the electro dance scene I can't begin to pretend I understand.
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Written by Lee
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Review by Aaron Cynic
Work sucks. We sell pieces of our lives away in order to get by in the world. Lee spends 10 hours a day doing some kind of mind numbing labor, dealing with idiot bosses, ridiculous company motivational seminars, weird co-workers, and crappy hours. Some people like to throw wrenches into the gears of work, some people just generally *are* wrenches. Lee is a wrench in the gears that keep the wheels of capitalism grinding.
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Geneva 13 - A zine of the local |
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Written by Kevin Dunn and Doug Reilly
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Review by Aaron Cynic.
Someday, I'll compile the greatest book about touring locations off the beaten path, simply by reprinting zines like this. Geneva13 isn't really a zine about what you'll find if you visit Geneva (Geneva New York, that is), but instead about the varied authors views from inside the city of Geneva. To borrow from the opening piece, this zine is about each contributor's "local." |
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Guff - Symphony of Voices |
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Written by Aaron Cynic
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(Go Kart Records CD)
At times, this record sounds like something you might've pulled from your mid 90's pop punk shelf. "A Symphony of Voices" however, hit the streets just this year. Musically, Guff have the right mix to please everyone - not too bubble gum sounding, but harmonious and melodic enough to play while you're carting mom around somewhere. Today's 16 year old might scoff at this, but when you've got an unreleased Steve Perry (Journey) original closing your record out - it just might be fun enough for the whole family. Cheap shots at today's Hot Topic punk crowd aside, Guff manages to pump out some pretty good tunes here and there. Most tracks, especially "Bleed Like You" and "No Gods, No Masters" are loud and fast with catchy harmonious choruses. The whole record has a very Fat Wreck Chords type of feel to it, making it just good enough to put in semi-regular rotation, but leaving me wanting for something slightly less polished.
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The Anthem Sound - 4 Songs EP |
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Written by Aaron Cynic
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(Eyeball Records CD)
The label attached to this disc says "For fans of Death Cab for Cutie, Bloc Party and Explosions in the Sky." I'm not a fan of any of those bands, so I figured I'd most likely find this a lukewarm Indie record at best. While The Anthem Sound does share many characteristics of the average Death Cab knock off, "4 Songs" is a delightful departure from the usual somber/awkward/"i'm so misunderstood and interesting" musical experience. This Brooklyn, NY quintet weaves intricate harmonies and melodies together with just the right amount of dissonance to offset Indie rock boredom. There's definitely an homage to early 90's "alternative" rock in "4 Songs," along with some well played post-punk references to Fugazi. Keep your ears open for the full length album, which The Anthem Sound is currently working hard on. |
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Written by Chandler
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(38 pages, b&w, quarter size)
Review by Aaron Cynic
Chandler has a special affinity for mason jars. His love and devotion to this particular container opens Start By Walking, Chandler's foray into perzines. He makes a pretty good sell on these, and though I've never given much thought to running out to buy a case of Ball wide mouth jars, I just might now. Also included in this neat 38 page quarter sized zine are stories about Chandler's time in Alaska, a longing for an old pirate radio show, and a nice tutorial on DIY bread baking. Peppered throughout Start By Walking are some nice sketches and Polaroid photos, along with a short news clipping on Erno Rubik, inventor of the Rubix Cube. All and all, a pretty good read. |
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Written by Suzy Greenberg
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Review by Aaron Cynic
I would probably choose Steven J Gould over Elliot Gould as a spiritual guide, but I'm not Suzy Greenberg. In the first issue of Solid Gould - Suzy lets us all in on herself. She's Jewish by choice, doesn't particularly like cable television, has credit problems, a true love named Oren, and vegan. Actually, she cries vegan - but is doing a pretty good job of getting there. Solid Gould is an amalgam of confessions, lists, photos, and lessons on the tao of Suzy Greenberg. Overall, not a bad perzine. Solid Gould touts a much loftier goal for a zine well worth mentioning. The zine's issues are to be divided according to language - specifically verb conjugations. Translation: issue one is all about Suzy. Logic dictates that issue two should be all about you - or me, or someone at least. Seems to me like future issues will be pretty entertaining. Pick it up at Northwest Zine Works. |
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Written by Galaxor Nebulon
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(36 pages, b&w, half page legal size)
Review by Aaron Cynic
Brilliant little comic zine all about a star named Beta Ursus 9. Beta Ursus 9's light just began reaching Earth, so Beta got a job working at a miracle working agency. The stars at the agency work to grant wishes - but thanks to a bloated bureaucratic environment, often get nothing done. Beta Ursus 9 makes an offhand suggestion at the local bar after work one night that earns him the respect of his boss and a promotion, but climbing his way up the ladder might've been more than Beta Ursus 9 bargained for. Beta really has the best of intentions, and does the best a star can to work things out.
The drawing in Good Intentions consists mainly of stick figures, which I think of as a bonus, considering I can barely draw a stick figure to save my life. Definitely down to Earth. The writing and dialog is solid, and the story unfolds in a way that gives closure and leaves us wanting a second issue.
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Written by Art Bureau
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Review by Aaron Cynic
(16 pages B&W, Gocco print cover, half size wide)
Neat arty zine based out of California that features interesting up and coming graphic design, sketch art, and photography. Art Bureau issue 10 features a wonderful little tutorial on the art of Gocco. Basically, those are the folks who make the neat little cutouts and screenprinting on zines possible to do from home. Issue 10 also features some photos with poetry running alongside by Guy R. Beining and Gigi Conot as well as some really cool graphic design work by Catalina Estrada. My favorite work by far, comes from Eduardo Berton from Argentina. Eduardo also works with graphic design, creating brilliantly poignant drawings with some haunting political messages. Art Bureau lists each artist's contact information, so if you find something you like - get in touch with them! |
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Written by Alexis Stewart
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Review by Aaron Cynic
One of our own fantastic columnists (Alexis Stewart) put together a neat little zine featuring writers from her Appalachian home. The Rhododendron Reader features seven contributers writing a variety of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry pieces. Tamra Spivey posits interesting questions and commentary about myspace and 21st century advertising while Iris Johnston serves up a keen tale about a woman, love, and avocados. I learned a little bit about some sweet places to check out if I'm ever in Huntington, WV from the Rhododendron Reader, but I would have liked to learn more about Appalachia. The Reader shows plenty of promise though, and I look forward to issue two. Also, this zine comes with a sweet sexy colorable drawing of Dan Radcliffe to boot.
(26 pages, B&W, digest format)
Email Alexis: zinesandskafiends-at-yahoo-dot-com
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