California street punk act Total Chaos have announced that their upcoming album “Battered And Smashed” will be released on July 15th through Concrete Jungle Records.

You can check out the tracklist here.

The band released their latest album “Avoid All Sides” in 2008.

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Spoonfest is only of hours away but over the past two weeks we’ve talked to a stack of the bands on the line-up and reckon that we’ve gotten to know them pretty well.  So before we put on our black Cons and drinking pants and head to the show lets relive the magic that was our Spoonfest 2011 interview series.

Every band we’re amazing and came to the party, streaming a track off their most recent release; Friends With The Enemy even gave us their whole EP, “New World Disorder,” for streaming.  Check out the full list of interviews here.

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It’s a well-known fact that people get bored easily. This statement explains why trends in popular music fluctuate: people hear too much of the same, and they get bored and move on. The Grittys have figured out a way around this statement- not entirely punk rock, not entirely ska, but a sound that is entirely awesome.

While some ska bands can grate on your nerves after a few listens, The Grittys are somehow able to avoid falling in to this trap. Though they still feature upstroke riffs, a prominent guitar technique used in ska, they sound more like a loud punk band with horns than a full-on ska band. Loud, fast and boisterous, listening to “The Great American Moshing Pit” conjures that exact image- a packed-to-bursting-point mosh pit, filled with people dancing and having a good time.

While it’s certain that The Grittys won’t become everyone’s favorite new band, their infectious and catchy songs will definitely win over some new fans. Songs like “Everyone’s Too Drunk To Party” and “Mad Girl” will stay stuck in the listener’s heads for days, and display the band’s sense of humour as well as their musical prowess.

“The Great American Moshing Pit” also sounds a little bit like it was recorded in the band’s basement, but in a good way. Long-gone is the polished-to-perfection sound that has plagued the modern punk scene. Instead, the band exhibit a rougher, more DIY sound that punk rock built its foundation on.

One thing to keep in mind with The Grittys is that none of it is meant to be serious. There are no thought-provoking, deep lyrics, or even rage against society. Rather, you have a danceable, catchy, upbeat album that would be perfect for parties, but not for lyric dissecting. After all, The Grittys just want to party, and want everyone to have fun with them. And with an album like “The Great American Moshing Pit,” it’s hard not to want to dance along.

The Adolescents have announced that their upcoming album “The Fastest Kid Alive” will be released June 3rd via Concrete Jungle Records.

You can check the cover art and tracklist here.

The  album “The Fastest Kid” Alive will be the first Adolescents release since 2005’s “O.C. Confidential.”

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Majority Lost and The Shell Corporation guitarist Jan Drees will be releasing an acoustic Propagandhi cover split album with Nino and Whitney from the San Francisco punk act Setoff.

The split will be entitled “By the Way We Stole These Songs.” All proceeds from the sales of this record will benefit Food Not Bombs. The split is due out in July.

You can stream the acoustic cover version of Propagandhi‘s song “Anti-Manifesto” here.

Majority Lost Guitarists Curtiss Lopez (formerly of A Wilhelm Scream) and Jan Drees have formed a new punk rock band called “The Shell Corporation.” The Shell Corporation will releasing their debut 7-inch entitled “Bread & Circuses” in June and an EP entitled “Force Majeuere” in July. Jan sings lead vocals.

You can stream the songs “Bread and Circuses,” “What If?,” “It’s Over Now” and “Broken Hearted Loser” here.

The Shell Corporation will be touring the West Coast in August 2011 and Europe in September 2011 supporting U.K. Melodic punk act Failsafe.

Massachusetts punk act A Loss For Words recently talked with PropertyofZack. They talked about their recent signing to Rise Records, an upcoming tour with Set Your Goals, plans to head to the studio and more. You can read the whole thing here.

A Loss For Words’s most recent release was the 2010 Paper + Plastick release “Motown Classics,” which is, as you might imagine, a bunch of covers of classic Motown songs.

Now for some more positive Such Gold news. Guitarist Nate Derby has recently began a blog about life on the road, tour stories, and interviews with fellow musicians. You can start reading it right here.

Such Gold will be releasing a split with Into It. Over It on May 24th.. They released their last EP “Pedestals” last year on Mightier Than Sword.

San Diego post-hardcore act In Fear And Faith have released the video for their song “Counselor.” And you can watch it right here. There’s only one catch (you know there’s always going to be a catch.) You do have to “like” the band on Facebook first.

In Fear And Faith recently released Symphonies on Rise Records, which is comprised of symphonic renditions of IFAF songs.

UK hardcore act LeSkye have announced details on their upcoming album “Someone Take the Reins, Because We’ve Lost All Control.” The album will be released July 7th 2011. For now, you can head over to their Facebook page and stream the title track off the new album here.

More details will be announced as the release date comes closer.