Lifetime "Lifetime"

As opposed to being termed slow or lazy, I prefer to apply the phrase "fashionably late" to my propensity to lag. In literal interpretation, such phrasing characterizes my eschewing fashion trends for well-worn comforts. Stripped to my boxers and socks, my hole-ridden undergarments better befit a mendicant than a tie-by-day cubicle slave. My basketball shoes, fifteen years late, are Reebok Pumps.

Since graduating college I've been forced to readjust my budget considerably. Essentials like CDs, hoodies from every show, and extra beer to influence floozy coeds have been replaced by food, electrical bills, and prostitutes. Germane to this discussion are the CDs alone. Where I used to routinely rack up five figure (including two digits after the decimal) music purchases at Charlotte's fabled Manifest Discs and Tapes, I now might not cross the $100.00 plateau until year's end. Because I choose to live with basic comforts like water, electricity, and walls called "paper thin" only in jest, I can no longer afford to buy albums on a whim. Instead of viewing my level of familiarity with year-end best-of lists as a barometer of scene status, I've dropped the confrontational attitude and appreciate the recommendations. Figuratively fashionably late, high school me would be appalled; no more trumpeting "firsts" for every new band, album or trend.

When Lifetime reunited to record last year, I was intrigued. The album was released and clamor ensued; one of my best friends, a fellow Davidson townie and College grad -- Where's Davidson, you ask? In the ELITE 8! -- posted a perfect score on another punk rock webzine. I guffawed. In my experience, perfection hasn't been achieved. Heidi Klum: a sultry 9.5. The mesmerizing dessert case at Charlotte's heavenly, historic Landmark Diner: 9.6. Nirvana's Nevermind: 9.7.

Lifetime's self-titled release earned a listen, to reassure me perfection hadn't been achieved. It hadn't. My world remained intact. I forgot about the album until weeks ago, when, through mysterious circumstances in which I deny all involvement and liability, the album found itself downloaded onto my computer.

I decided to investigate. My mouse pointer hovered over the first track. Hesitantly, my head weaving in paths like a glow stick in the hands of an X-fueled raver, fearing an RIAA sniper attack the moment I double-clicked, my forefinger jumped into action. As the warm tones of crunchy melodicore swirled around me, Ari Katz' oxymoronically sandpaper-smooth vocals layered over cutting melodies and a persistent rhythm section, I shuddered and surrendered. Not flawless, but perfect. Inspired for the first time in months, I wanted to know every word to shout aloud.

It's something of a tradition, a fit of high school nostalgia: when my friends and I approach the Carolinas' beaches for a summer vacation, we still welcome the fresh, salty breath of the ocean with a blast of Saves the Day's Through Being Cool. Now the era has shifted, and I've found the perfect accompaniment -- a year late, of course.

"All Night Long"
"Try and Stay Awake"

Ride the tunes to the Fueled By Ramen store.

Reign Supreme "American Violence"

Featuring former Blacklisted member Jay Pepito on vocals, Reign Supreme unsurprisingly sounds similar to Our Youth Is Wasted- and The Beat Goes On-era Blacklisted. The band's debut EP, American Violence, is fast and energetic, but riddled with massive, chunky chord progressions, throaty screaming, and plenty of modern hardcore staples, from gang vocals to two-steppin' grooves and metallic breakdowns. The rumbling riffs and double bass-y drumming sound huge, making a fitting foundation for Pepito's ominous, yet encouraged lyrics. While Reign Supreme doesn't do anything particularly inventive, it's American Violence's huge, hard-hitting sound that pits them in an above-average group of hardcore bands.

Reign Supreme - Iscariot

You can get this Malfunction Records release from the Deathwish Inc. store.

Scapegoat "Zombie Dog"

Well, based on my initial impression of this record, I certainly expected more than I got. I mean, it's dubbed Zombie Dog and serves as a canvas for humorously bad cover art that depicts a fuzzy, bloodied-mouth dog. All signs pointed to it being ridiculous -- in a good sense of the word.

In reality, it's just ridiculously bad; a messy mish-mash of anything modern. You'll hear (if, for some reason, you decide to listen) The Used, My Chemical Romance, A Day to Remember, Fall Out Boy, Avenged Sevenfold, futuristic synths and God-awful rap-metalcore, among other things. To make matters worse, Zombie Dog is overwrought with effects and entirely overproduced. To make worse matters worse, the supposedly socio-political lyrics are generally dumb and shallow. This is a looong 52 minutes of totally direction-less cock rock for the current, less-than-discerning crop of teenagers.

So why am I even writing about Zombie Dog? Because it showed so much promise -- as zombie dogs always do -- and fell so frustratingly far from delivering. Scapegoat: before you try and be everything, be good at one thing. Ugh.

Bask in the not-goodness: Scapegoat - Zombies

Across Five Aprils "Life Underwater"

Wait, what?

The last time I heard Across Five Aprils -- at least three or four years ago -- their sound was pretty dismal. Totally forgettable. With that in mind, I had almost no intentions of giving the band's Victory Records debut, Life Underwater, anything more than a proverbial, careless shrug. But I took a chance and popped it in on my way to work last week and, lo and behold, I liked it. I really liked it.

Across Five Aprils hasn't undergone any drastic changes, as the band still plays an Underoath-ish blend of scream-y, chunky heaviness and lightly atmospheric, expansive melodies. However, despite it sounding damn familiar, they've developed a firm grip on crafty, memorable songwriting -- the catchy choruses, killer breakdowns, and chunky melodic metalcore tend to work together, naturally overlap and maintain a certain flow. I also really dig the band's vocal progression; while the melodic singing and the gravelly screaming (think Life In Your Way in both cases) sounds well practiced and clean, front man Brandon Mullins often opts for shouting style that's got enough throat-shredding intensity to fit a fast, melodic hardcore act. It doesn't sound like much, but it makes a world of a difference to these ears.

The only true misstep on Life Underwater is the out-of-place "In Photographs," a cheesy, driving pop-punk jam with a lone heavy part that clashes with its surroundings like green on magenta. And the lyrics? "I may seem happy in my photographs. Please don't be fooled by what you see." Uh, yeah. Welcome to Stereotypical Screamo Lyrics 101. Overall, though, it's a decent record that brings life to a dated formula.

Across Five Aprils - This Means Not Welcome

Buy it here.

Killing California "Goin' South"

Goin' South was released way back in September, 2007, rendering it "old news" by now, but it's no less worth a listen after aging for six months. Comprised of gruff, driving punk rock and heaps of classic, rocked-out guitar riffs and leads, the record is catchy despite its lack of big vocal hooks and energetic without being overly aggressive. Vocally and occasionally musically, Goin' South reminds me of the elusive Fucked Up and their Hidden World effort, but Killing California is ultimately much more direct and straightforward in their approach.

I like the balance Killing California has found. I like even more that Goin' South is a punk rock record with just a tasteful amount of rock n' roll swagger -- a nice change of pace when, more often than not, it's the forced swagger that gets bands places. This is a fun little record. I'm not floored or anything, but I don't have any major complaints.

Killing California - Goin' South

You can get this for a measly $8 from Basement Records store.

Red Handed "Wounds Remain"

Tormenting the ears of East Bay elders and affronting the gaiety of sun-and-fun seeking tourists, Northern Cali's Red Handed play music pissed beyond their years. Recorded while the band members were still riding school buses and posting lookouts to sneak cigarettes in restrooms, the result is no-frills hardcore punk; thoroughly single-minded and unrelenting, Wounds Remain swells and swarms like a closet full of enraged wasps.

Wounds Remain recalls an early era AFI -- think Answer That and Stay Fashionable simplicity, spliced with a mean dose of clenched-fist hardcore and Black Sails in the Sunset's coffin imagery. It's a fun, furious listen; of the album's 14-tracks, 8 are culled from older releases -- "older" here operating as an extremely relative term -- 6 are new material, and only 1 clears 2 minutes. In other words, Wounds Remain compiles the band's entire discography: every song they recorded between playing Black Flag covers ("Room 13" is included here) and late-night trysts with fuzzy cable channels.

Creepy, crawly hardcore: Maggots and Snakes

Fury for purchase at Rivalry Records

For Science "Tomorrow's Just Another Day"

Like traditional hardcore, classic pop-punk is a genre that, to me, is almost inherently endearing and sincere. You're simply not going to make a fat stack of cash or find worldwide fame by playing it (unless you're the next Green Day, and I don't think you or anyone else ever will be); you're more likely to do it out of the love of the music and the simplicity.

For Science's sound stems from traditional, upbeat pop-punk -– the kind of stuff that Screeching Weasel largely molded -– although there are touches of frenzied, raw punk rock and restrained, piano-laden rock. Driving, moderately paced rhythms anchor the warm, melodic chord progressions and simple guitar leads, and singer John Slover brings a distinct, raspy and lovably imperfect voice to the mix. Never terribly complex, Tomorrow's Just Another Day makes the best of good, concise songwriting, a few unexpected twists and unique lead vocals. The record sounds familiar, but it's certainly not lost in a sea of similar-minded efforts. Hell, there hardly are any these days.

While about half of the 12 songs are straightforward pop-punk jams, there's quite a lot of variety; "Headaches" is the first song to really slow the tempo, allowing the band to use minimalist verses to build up to choruses that'll have the lyric, "You and headaches keep me up at night," lodged in your head for a good day or two. The following song, "Heavy Blues," is a jangly, lightly distressed pop song, while "Wisdom Teeth" is an nervous, high-speed punk rock song that, at its fastest, sounds like it's on the brink crumbling to pieces. "A Rage against Heaven," the longest song at more than four minutes, incorporates equal parts male and female vocals, delicate piano passages and organs as the band moves between tense, energetic choruses and soft, restrained passages. And while I'm picking apart tracks, I've got to point out how the band closes the first song, "Even," and the last song, "Hearts Bound to Die," with "gang vocals" from a group of kids -- it'll bring a smile to your face.

I found myself liking Tomorrow's Just Another Day from my very first listen, but it's continued to grow on me with each successive play. Traditional pop-punk with well executed variety – there's really not much for fans of the genre to dislike.

For Science - Much Too Much
For Science - Headaches

I haven't had any luck finding For Science records in the local record store, so I don't know how widely distributed it is. But you can get this effort here.

Dead to Fall "Are You Serious?"

Okay, so here's an oversimplified synopsis of Dead to Fall's career up until early 2008: The band formed in 1999 and went on to release three strictly metalcore full lengths for Victory Records, the first of which was overwrought with some of the cheesiest, clichéd metal lyricism you'll hear. The following two albums were somewhat better and not as over the top, but they were still forgettable, "metal-with-breakdowns" efforts.

On their fourth record, Are You Serious?, the band turns 180 degrees (without leaving the metal stomping grounds), abandoning their serious, try-so-hard-it's-embarrassing approach to metalcore in favor of a sense of humor and churning Meshuggah and A Life Once Lost influences.

After a minute-long, slightly creepy electronic introduction, "Stupid?" puts an end to the old Dead to Fall by being and ripping on the old Dead to Fall. As the band traces their steps through fast, At the Gates-inspired melodic death metal, blast beats and mosh-happy breakdowns, front man Jon Hunt sneeringly narrates the progression with lines like, "Oh shit, it's the death metal riff" and "I've got a really original idea of how I think we should end this song – end this song with a fucking breakdown!" From there, the band slides into churning, mid-paced metal, rife with absurdly chunky, atonal guitar riffs, 50s sci-fi electronics, angular guitar leads and fairly complex rhythms. While that sound characterizes "The Future," "Cropgrower" and "Doombox," the band experiments with breezy, melodic atmospheres, particularly in "Loch Ness," and even gruff vocal melodies in "Brainmelter." They sound comfortable in their heavier, more experimental shoes, as they focus on writing forceful riffs and interesting textures instead of the pursuit of being an "authentic" Euro-metal band.

For all the changes in attitude and music, there's a part of me that thinks Dead to Fall should have just started fresh with a new name and skipped the song that mocks their previous three albums and metalcore as a whole. It's funny, but it's still another boring, throwaway metalcore song. If they're so over that style of music, why not put to bed a name that's so connected to it? In any case, this is a decent listen –- and better than expected.

Dead to Fall - The Future

Get your copy here.