Justice of the Unicorns
Angels With Uzi’s
Little Lamb

Justice of The Unicorns is the numinous music project of New York’s Rusty Dungan and troop. As the name of this band implies, Justice of the Unicorns is a tavern band with a penchant for fantasy tales and magical verse. The meddling theme of Angels With Uzi’s doesn’t give the band much promise of permanence, but maybe with lines like “In your dreams, the wild tiger’s eyes creep upon you in the forest,” their intentions are to do nothing more than endorse a chuckle. Like Thurston Moore singing the story line of David Bowie’s Labrynth, the novelty may be more compelling than the aptitude. This album juxtaposes blues and folk with contemporary synthetics and digital instrumentation to accompany you and your imaginary Might Be Giant on your journey to the land of Zorcon. – Kelly D. Williams, Mannerist Zine

Quiet Life
Act Natural
Safety Meeting

Hailing from Connecticut (New London to be exact), Quiet Life is in the business of creating melodic indie folk that sees its full-length debut via Act Natural, a collection of recordings that have been captured over the course of a year of touring. Quiet Life has been seen on the stage in support of acts like Matt Costa and the Shout Out Louds. Their sound is soft country crash (which should come as no surprise given the tenderness of their name), and is spot-on for chaps who dig indie rock of the modern country class. I’m not going to conclude quite yet if these guys will go far or just fall short, but there is no doubting their talent and ability to create toe-tapping songs for their coffee sipping friends. Pick up this record if this sounds like your thing. – Kelly D. Williams, Mannerist Zine

Jet Black Crayon
In The Interim
Function 8

The day that Jet Black Crayon’s fifth album arrived in the mail was a magnificent day, and I immediately opened the record to give it a listen because I wasn’t certain if I would ever hear from these guys again. Needless to say, this album did not disappoint me in any way. After weeks of earnest listening, In The Interim has earned a permanent place on my shelf. If you’re fond of Tommy Guerrero, the ambient brilliance that bandmates Gadget and Monte Vallier contribute is definitely something you shouldn’t ignore. Smooth backbeats laced with samba samples and clean Durutti Column-like guitar. Layers of ghostly industrial bytes dominate each song, making this album excellent background (or foreground) music. My favorite tracks are perhaps the opener, “Memory Lost,” “Lost In The Fog,” and “My Fair Romans” possesses some brawny spoken verse reminiscent of Beat Happening. This album doesn’t even fiddle with falling short - Kelly D. Williams, Mannerist Zine

Caroline
Murmurs Mixes
Temporary Residence Ltd.

As I was pondering what to write in this record review, I couldn’t help but think of the song “Sweet Caroline” by one Mr. Neil Diamond. I’m not sure why, but my thoughts continued to roll over that same hill to discover notions like, “…Diamond… Caroline… Ruby… What a Gem…” My conclusion of the meaning of these linked thoughts? This album is a sweet, precious stone by the artist Caroline. For those who appreciated Caroline’s debut album Murmurs, the restructured Murmurs Mixes is an appetizing bit of digital dessert that seems parallel to the sound already forged by female forerunners The Cardigans, Sugarcubes, and Frente. You may want to go directly for the album upgrade Mixes, as I’m finding that I like the remixes better than the primary recording. Perhaps the inspiration & contributions from audio allies Wake, Andreas Bjork, and DJ Poignant are what make this record worth getting. This iTunes exclusive is a perfect follow-up to the original Temporary Residence Ltd. release that was already impressive. Once again, this label has found another gem. – Kelly D. Williams, Mannerist Zine

Foot Foot
Trumpet
Oedipus/Aagoo

Robin Brown’s consoling vocals (which have a certain drone that reminds me of another singer, but I just can’t think of who it is…) on Trumpet steer each song without forcing too many expectations for facets like crescendos or tensions, yet the instrumentalists in this West Coast family band successfully add some interesting layers to almost every track. I’m kind of late writing this review, so I didn’t get into the lyrical depth too much, but I didn’t recognize any annoying argot that could otherwise spoil a good solution for those looking for a Pavement and Scout Niblett concoction. What do I think of Foot Foot? Just good background indie folk music from the living room of the Brown family. – Kelly D. Williams, Mannerist Zine

Knife The Symphony
Self-Titled
Phratry Records

Brutal bass guitar, well-composed vocals, and some tunage that motivates me to be less skeptical of new music. While they don’t venture far from the snowboard-soundtrack-of-the-nineties-punk-rock formula, they manage to avoid the pitfall of such audible monotony. Song number 2 is really good. Track number 5, “An Astronomers Plea” is smart. One of my favorite elements to Knife’s sound is Robyn Roth’s well-placed backup vocals. If this sounds like your deal, I’d recommend picking this EP up. – Kelly D. Williams, Mannerist Zine

Various Artists
This Just In, A Benefit For Indy Media
GC Records

Remember when all punk rock compilation albums included at least 30 tracks? What a way for the label to open the floodgates of fury and for the listener to get their money’s worth. The folks at GC Records put together a heavy dose of independent punk rock that will leave your brain smoldering. More than half of these treacherous tracks are unreleased treasures from GC bands like Coleko, Four Deadly Questions, Clarendon Hills, I Farm, Bezerk, and Fleshies. If you’re craving a giftbasket of good punk rock, order this up. Among my favorites is the “Where Eagles Dare” cover by The Wade Brigade. I also highly recommend picking up the collection entitled You Call This Music? from the same label. – Kelly D. Williams, Mannerist Zine

Das Kapital
Died True
Johann’s Face Records

Someone somewhere drew a comparison betwixt Chicago’s Das Kapital and Hüsker Dü. I must admit that my appraisal of this album isn’t quite as charitable. Hüsker Dü not only left some large shoes to fill, but they also placed a jagged bloody rock in those shoes. However, this review isn’t about them… it’s about this Died True record! If I were a genius, which I is, I’d suppose you would like this album if you like traditional melody rock that manages to stay below the radar. I use the word traditional not in a critical way, but merely because these guys haven’t applied a new formula; just predictable/poppy lyrics accompanied by big drums and well-produced guitar. What about the good songs? “Lions in Winter” is a noteworthy track. – Kelly D. Williams, Mannerist Zine

Does It Offend You, Yeah?
You Have No Idea What You Are Getting Yourself Into
AlmostGold

They said it, not me. Just so you have a little idea what you’re getting yourself into; This Britannic digi-set delivers club clamor and pain with well-titled songs like “Attack of The 60ft Lesbian Octopus”. While this is my first introduction to Does It Offend You, Yeah?, I am impressed with the well-composed sound that they have already fine-tuned for their debut record on AlmostGold Recordings. From the sound of things, DIOY,Y? were raised on glowstick attention deficit disorder stock rock. Daft Punk some NOFX in your jeans. Maybe even akin to a grittier version of Sumner & Marrs’ Electronic, this record is sure to be a regional hit on the dancefloor. – Kelly D. Williams, Mannerist Zine

Bush Tetras
Very Very Happy
ROIR Records

You really need to look up the Bush Tetras back catalogue. If you’re unfamiliar with them, start with some of the older records. Some people make funk-punk-dub-influenced comparisons to Gang of Four or even Fugazi, yet the Bush Tetras are powered by the kind of ladies that punk kids would simultaneously have crushes on, and be afraid of being literally crushed by them for having a staring problem. These dames rock hard, but to be forthright, they seem to have lost some of the rawness of past efforts like Boom in The Night. A few of the tracks that I caught myself nodding my head to were “Nails”, “Page 18” and “Fess Up”. My favorite lyric of the album comes from the gnarly narrative of Jaws, “…I didn’t have time to scream!” COOL BONUS= Three videos, including a version of “Too Many Creeps.” - Ryan Stephens, Mannerist Zine