New Jersey’s Washington Square Park have just released a new song entitled “Open-Minded” that was recorded by Jesse Cannon (recorded Man Overboard amongst others) and is now available for stream or download. It will be released on their next album that will come out early next year.  You can go check it out and stream/download it here.

You can also drop by their BandCamp page to hear their self titled release that also has a couple free downloads and was put out early in the summer of 2010.

Sweet! Melodic hardcore act One Win Choice are offering free downloads of their songs “Who Threw Out The Itinerary?” and “Frame Your Favorite Pictures” which will appear on their upcoming album “Conveyor”.

Grab your downloads here.

“Conveyor” will be released on March 1st, 2011 through Jump Start Records and will be a follow-up to 2009’s “Define / Redefine”

San Francisco’s punk rockers Setoff are giving away their brand new album “Acoustic Instability”, which features acoustic versions of songs off both of their previous albums “Constructive Instability” and “Just Please Stop Screaming”.

Grab your download here. You can check out the tracklist here.

The band released their latest album “Constructive Instability” on March 5, 2008.

[Read more…]

**The Album Reviews published on Dying Scene are written and submitted by regular users of the site. These users are not professional music critics nor are they paid for what they write. If you disagree with an album’s rating, feel free to voice your opinion and give it your own rating in the comments. If you’d like to submit your own review do it here.

First of all, I have to share a little info with you from the liner notes about how Feast or Famine feels.

“These songs were written and recorded during a sedentary period in our home city of Edmonton, Alberta. While we watched dozens of friends, acquaintances and musicians move to more ‘fruitful’ artistic settings, we decided to remain based out of Edmonton and continue working on our own scene and community. We started to realize that we were not alone in this endeavor and over time met some of the most gifted people and bands that this country has to offer. As we continued building and strengthening these links, we could not ignore the growing sense of unity and camaraderie between the musicians and bands. If you can’t be happy everywhere, you won’t be happy anywhere and we are happy to call Edmonton our home.”

It fills the heart doesn’t it? That’s what they put in to the scene and that’s what they put in to this release, and it shows.

With that being said, the ska/punkers have taken a big step with their album shoes on “Edmonton & Company.” Now I’m not saying that their last album “Good For People, Bad For Business” is bad, because it’s amazing. It’s just that the songs on “E&C” are stronger and more mature. The production is flawless and the arrangements of tracks are smartly chosen to make it feel almost as if it is one continuous song.

1. “Another Pandemic” gently eases you into the CD with some clean guitars and then you are punched in the face with drums and a mean bass riff. This song has such a groove to it and great lyrics like “When I get home I like to sing along with my band Feast or Famine” The song is about how the media blows up things like the H1N1 scare and it sets the pace for the rest of the record. It gets stuck in your head. It’s addicting. Very addicting.

2. “Broken Bones (Injuries Heal, Don’t Hold Grudges).” The guitars from the last song fade in to this one and the band kicks in. This track mostly strays away from the ska that Feast is known for and is mostly a straight up punk song with a pretty fast part.

3. “Palms Up Drunk” has a kind of pirate Mad Caddies feel to it. Like “Weird Beard” but a little faster and the lyrics aren’t a positive drink-a-long. It’s about a guy who drinks himself to death. Halfway through the song there’s a break down where it gets really rummy and peg-leggy by slowing down and then slowly building back up to the regular tempo of the song. I’ll raise my drink to this song. Wait, does that mean I’m a “Palms Up Drunk?”

4. “We Try and Fail” heads back to the ska/punk genre with inspirational music about not giving up because “next time will be a different story. We learn from our mistakes so our choices keep getting better and better and better.” This is one of those classic Feast songs that triple dog dares you not to dance or move in some way. Just as the song suggests the band and their albums “…keep getting better and better and better.”

5. “Interlude” is a 50 second instrumental break in the album that flows nice into the sixth track. If I ever travel back in time to 1885 and I have to battle Tannen in a dueling gunfight this is the song I want to be played as I walk up to the fight in slow motion.

6. “Cowboy Trail” starts with the acoustic picking up from the “Interlude” and blasts into the distorted guitars then switching to the upstroke ska beat. The lyrics talk about Highway 22 in Alberta and how it is called The Cowboy Trail. The song talks about the struggle between the natural beauty of the earth and the devastating destruction of that beauty with oil.

7. “Locked Doors” is the best song on the CD. Yeah, I singled it out. Feast has this way of writing such a catchy, fun song that is easy to sing and dance to. With “Locked Doors” they perfect their art. The lyrical content deals with people uniting together to be a part of the community and living together as loving human beings. It’s deep and skankable.

Feast or Famine, you had me at Edmonton.

Well, another year is drawing to a close. People are gearing up for the holidays and it’s almost time for us to start creating our New Year’s resolution lists. But before we begin looking to the future, let’s employ a different kind of list to help us appreciate the past. You know what I’m talking about. Yep, a Top Ten list! Each day for the next couple weeks I’m going to publish a different Top 10 albums of 2010 list for you to praise, completely disagree with, or just outright ignore.

Today’s list comes from Mike McColgan, frontman for one of Boston’s hardest working, blue collar punk bands, Street Dogs. Check out his picks for the 10 Best Albums of 2010 right here. [Read more…]

Massachusetts melodic hardcore band No Trigger have announced that they have signed to No Sleep Records. They will be hitting the studio in Mach and hope to have their sophomore album out next summer.

The band released their latest “Be Honest” EP on December 14th through Mightier Than Sword Records.

Way Out West Fest has put together a free sampler download featuring songs from DC Fallout, Bastards Of Young, Black Sails Western Shores, Sic Waiting and more.

Grab your free download here.

Way Out West Fest will be on April 8th – 10th in Tucson, Arizona and features 40+ bands.  For more info visit Facebook.

Warped Tour is giving fans a chance to win a VIP pass for the 2011 tour. All you have to do is take this survey. For those who take the survey, 10 from each city of the tour will be randomly chosen to receive a VIP Pass.

Thrice had a tough year – they canceled tour dates in the spring due to Dustin Kensrue’s father being ill. But they’ve been back to work, and are about to start recording a new album in 2011.

Kensue talked with PropertyOfZack about the new album, as well as about live shows, pressing vinyl and their most recent release, “Beggars,” which officially came out last year after having been leaked. Read the full interview here.

The Ramones may not have won any major awards during their heyday, but the New York punk legends will finally be getting their due. The band will receive a lifetime achievement Grammy during a special ceremony February 12, which is the night before the televised awards show.

Other honorees this year are a whole lot less punk – Julie Andrews and Dolly Parton are also on the list. Tommy Ramone is the only member of the group who is still alive to receive the award; Joey, Dee Dee and Johnny passed away in 2001, 2002 and 2004. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.