The Evidents - Self Titled EP

The Evidents from Orlando, FL bring the sound of '60s garage psychedelia and surf to modern rock n roll. Check Plus recently had a chance to sample their self-titled EP, featuring 4 swingin' tracks from the mind of Mick Crowley and co.

The album emanates a certain nostalgic rock vibe starting with the first track, "Without You Now" and keeps it going through to the end. The songs are all super cool and seem like they could almost be appropriate as the background to those classic black & white teen beach movies, but the hints of modern rock influence keep this music from being a total throwback album.

The other songs on the album are "All Roads Lead To You", "Inside Outside Upside Down", and "Action Figure". Look out for "Action Figure" on the next Check Plus rock compilation due out in early 2004.

The Evidents are always playing in central Florida, so keep your eyes open and get your ass out to some of their shows for a groovy time.

-cc.

For more info visit:

The Evidents Official Website

Aceyalone - Love and Hate

West coast lyricist Aceyalone is back with his fifth album entitled "Love and Hate" and Check Plus was lucky enough to get a listen to one of the best new hip hop releases this year. This album is what real hip hop is all about. If you like hearing pussies brag about their SUVs and their bitches, then keep watching TRL, but if you wanna hear some real words backed by some tight beats, then check this album out.

The album starts out with some twisted rhymes on "Junkman", "You either got new friends or new enemies/When you show the world ya true identity/You see I move with a God type energy/It's so big one of me make ten of me". It just keeps on from there with quality guest appearances and lyrics that'll keep you on your toes.

Aceyalone gets some production from RJD2 on a few tracks and also features El-P as producer and guest lyricist on the track "City of Shit", one of the best new shit talkin' tracks around. For a sample of RJD2's contributions, check out the album's first single, "Lost Your Mind" or the hyped up "Takeoff". The album also features guest appearances from Abstract Rude, Riddlore, Goapele, and a whole shitload more that you'll have to get the album to hear.

Now that said, this album is nice...but definitely a little different that the past releases. This is a good thing, times and people do change. But, if you're looking for a rehash of some of Acey's older stuff, this is not it. Still, it is a great album that does more for hip hop than any of that bullshit they're playing on the radio.

So, as the final verdict, Check Plus says, "Don't be an asshole. Buy this album."

-cc.

For more info visit:

Aceyalone Official Website

The RunnAmuckS - Of A Different Breed

Remember when punk rock DIDN'T mean dressing up like an artfag and singing about your ex-girlfriends that broke your sissy heart? Well, so do The RunnAmuckS. So it was a pleasure to get a copy of their latest album, "Of A Different Breed", in the mail.

The 13-track LP give a good scope of the band's style, ranging from hard and thrashy punk rock to even harder and thrashier punk rock. The album starts out with the energized song "Lonewolf", which is what these guys must feel like being one of the only non-douchebag punk acts in town. "Graveyard" is a great working man's (or broad's) anthem that you can play loud and proud during your late night shift at the phone sex office or the morgue or wherever you work. "Addicted to You" is a touching love song. "Blue Jeans (You Know What I Mean)" revisits the working theme but without seeming repetitive.

Also check out "D-R-A-G" and "One for My Baby" for some great tunes. And look out, because "One For My Baby" will also be featured on the new Check Plus rock compilation due out in January 2004.

The RunnAmuckS never disappoint us and this new album is no exception, so sell some paintings or win a stinkin' spoken word poetry contest or sell some coffee or whatever your sissy ass does and use the cash to support one of the best bands in Orlando. Buy the album at their website, www.runnamucks.com.

-cc.

For more info visit:

The RunnAmuckS Official Site

After Every Tempest/If There Be Thorns - 4 Songs

It was a nice surprise to open the Check Plus mailbox and find the latest release from our favorite Reading, PA indie rockers: After Every Tempest and If There Be Thorns.

The new split-EP, appropriately entitled 4 songs, gives us more (4 songs to be exact) poetic screams fused with thrashy guitar and some of the most chaotic rhythms and hardest drum beats in any music.

The album starts out loud and hard with AET's "creative solutions to lonliness: part one", then follows it up with my favorite of the 2 AET tracks on the album, "part two: by means of geometry".

The Thorns' half of the album features "honey i shrunk my waistline" and "spare the scalpal".

Both bands feature a few of the same members, so you the album flows pretty well as far as short ones go. If you havent seen or heard either, you need to check them out. You won't understand what we're talking about until you actually hear how crazy the drums are on these tracks.

Look out for both artists as we will be featuring them on the next Check Plus rock compilation in early 2004.

You also need to check out their website to get some free music downloads and hear exactly what we're talking about.

-cc.

For more info visit:

After Every Tempest Official Site
If There Be Thorns Official Site

LISA - Little Contest

The Check Plus Crew first heard about LISA a couple months ago. We were able to snag a copy of their latest album, Little Contest and see exactly what this melodic punk rock act from Toulouse, France is all about.

First, a little background: LISA has been on the scene in France since August 2001 when the four members, Julien(drums), Michaël(guitar), Nicolas(bass), and Mathieu(guitar/vocals) got together and started playing shows in the area. They played a ton of shows and festivals their first year and recorded their first demo entitled Distortion in November 2001. In the summer of 2002, they hit the Atlantic coast, playing some shows in the states and rockin out everywhere they went. In 2002, they also put out their self-titled second album release. Earlier this year they were featured on a compilation albums and radio shows in France. Fast forward to fall 2003...LISA is still rockin in France and again is looking to get some shows booked over here in the USA and Canada.

And the latest album...it is energetic rock n roll all the way. Starting out with the energetic rock n roll track "Wednesday Song" made me wanna hear some more. The middle of the album definitely shows the bands emo influences in tracks like "Again" and "Lalie", where you can here time changes and melodies that bring The Get Up Kids to mind. The album concludes with the title track, "Little Contest" and the closer "The Way You Want". "Little Contest" is a rock track with a touch of emo, but enough changes to keep it interesting and "The Way You Want" is a slow acoustic ballad that seems like an appropriate ending to the album.

If you dig groups like The Get Up Kids or Hot Water Music...or if you just like energetic rock, then check this album out. And look for LISA to be featured on the next Check Plus Productionz rock compilation coming in early 2004!

-cc.

For More Info Visit:

LISA Official Site (English)
LISA Official Site (French)

Blue Tom - In The Face of All This Change

New Jersey's BlueTom has been giving us quality albums for years now. They have just put out the long-awaited follow up to last year's Better Things which featured fan favorites like "Requiem" and "Habit" available for download here. Their latest release, In the Face of All This Change definitely retains some of their old sound, but also adds a harder edge to some of the tracks.

The new album features tracks such as the indie/punk rock-fueled "Boring Stories" and "Last Breath", a song with more of a hard edge rock sound. Props to BlueTom for kicking it up a notch with the sound quality on this release! It seems like these guys master the studio more and more with each release.

BlueTom consists of members Mike, Nick, Drew, Bill, and Matt. You can check them out on the web at their website, www.bluetom.com. If you wanna support indie music and buy their new cd, click here.

You can hear some free songs from BlueTom's new cd In the Face of All This Change along with some older and previously unreleased tracks by clicking here to visit their MP3.com site.

-cc.

Rally - The Demo

Florida punk rock trio Rally has released a new demo consisting of mostly new tracks and a couple new recordings of some songs from the days when they were known as Next In Line, playing shows all over southwest Florida and the Tampa Bay area. The songs are reminiscent of punk rock from the days before it was all about breaking up with girlfriends and riding motor scooters to the drive in. Check out the tracks "USA" and "Citizens", which blend into each other to create a great set with plenty of anger and energy. The band's leader, Brent, also plays a great solo track at the end of the cd entitled "The Devil is On His Way"....how can you not love a song with the lyrics "Shit on my face and call me Christ!"??

The band consists of leader Brent (vocals/guitar) with Coral Reef Chris on bass and Jake the Coke Can playing drums. Brent has said that Rally plans to tour once their drummer completes his twelve-step program for video game addiction. You can email the band for more info or to get their cd by clicking here. And if you wanna know more about Rally, check out their website here.

-cc.