I Breathe the Underground

The Top 20 Greatest Underground Debuts Pt. 3

Part 3 of the Top 20 Greatest Underground Debuts. View Part 1 here and Part 2 here.

10. Hey Mercedes - Everynight Fire Works - Chicago indie lost a critical component when Bob Nanna's Braid disbanded. Luckily, it was to be replaced by the non-typical pop-punkishness of Hey Mercedes. While Hey Mercedes is primarily driven by Nanna's unique vocals and poetic lyrics, the music was tight, friendly and catchy. Hey Mercedes would only complete two full-lengths before breaking up, but Everynight Fire Works is, was, and always will be a classic.

Download A-List_Actress

9. Less Than Jake - Pezcore - What can one say about Less Than Jake? The band certainly has staying power, surviving two unsuccessful runs on major labels (the second much more unsuccessful than the first). Even though they continue to put out quality recordings, Less Than Jake had to start somewhere. Pezcore brought an attitude to ska reminiscent of Operation Ivy, but LTJ brought it even faster and with more fun. This is still a stand-out album in my book. Track from Losing Streak.

Download 08 - Less Than Jake - Krazy Glue

8. New Found Glory - Nothing Gold Can Stay - We all know the stigmas that come from being an NFG fan. I don't care; I'll say it loud and proud right now: I listen to New Found Glory. What's more, I believe Nothing Gold Can Stay is one of the most influential pop-punk albums of all time. The album set the pace for a generation of admittedly questionable pop-punk, but remains quintessential in the face of such criticism. Track from New Found Glory.

Download 09 Black And Blue

7. Rise Against - The Unraveling - By now, everyone knows who Rise Against is. I wouldn't be surprised if a large portion of the band's base hadn't yet delved into the awesomeness of The Unraveling. RA started off on Fat Wreck and completed an album that fit the label purposely, simultaneously making some of the label's more veteran bands sound comedic. Case in point: NoFX, who apparently want people to think they're a joke anyway. Well, at least Fat Mike has an ear for good music, whether he can create it or not.

Download 01. Alive and Well

6. Catch 22 - Keasbey Nights - What can you say about New Jersey's Catch 22 except that the band has seen better days. Before Catch 22's remaining members decided to release a couple of shitty Reel Big Fish rip-off albums, ska visionary Tomas Kalnoky led them to create one of the (arguably) best ska albums of all time. Although Kalnoky's later project, Streetlight Manifesto, went on to re-record the entire album, there's nothing like the first time. Sorry about this one -- I have both albums, but neither are loaded onto my computer. Check out this Streetlight Manifesto track, as its the closest band to Catch 22 I have readily available.

Download 01-streetlight_manifesto-we_will_fall_together

Gainesville, Ska City

The ska community has been casting stones for the last eight years or so at the first band to legitimately meld ska and punk into one delicious sound, one of the genre's most recognizable names, two-time major label quitters Less Than Jake. I want to say that I've stuck with the band through thick and thin, through the critics and the cynics, but alas, the 2006 release In With the Out Crowd was too much to take for a thick-skinned kid whose punk leanings are firmly rooted in 90's ska.

IWTOC was too much to take. I didn't even listen to the entire album. I never gave it a chance. But it just didn't pull me in, and that first impression is big for me.

I just wanted to go up to LTJ and plead, "Say it ain't so Chris. Say it ain't so." Turns out, it wasn't so.

When I saw LTJ at the Chicago Warped Tour shortly after the release of IWTOC, Chris said something along the lines of "We know the new CD sucks, but our label is making us play at least three songs from it, so we'll try to get through them fast." Roger stepped in to try some damage control, but the damage couldn't be undone.

Even Less Than Jake didn't like their new album.

So I guess it was long coming when they decided to split from Warner Bros mid-2007, only 8 years following a similar split from -- you guessed it -- Capitol Records. We've heard that name before, haven't we?

On June 24th, LTJ will release GNV FLA on the band's brand new label, Sleep It Off Records. Aaaaaand twelve days before its release, the album leaked -- as most albums nowadays do. I happened to get an early taste of the album, and I have to admit: it's pretty damn tasty.

The album opens up with a slow, dancey ska tribute ("City of Gainesville"), but immediately breaks into the first of many fast-paced punk anthems. It's clear that LTJ sounds like they have something to prove as they work to quell sentiments that they're pop-punk-ska dinosaurs, rather than seasoned veterans or even legends. "The State of Florida" almost comes off as a song that just missed the cut for a new Rehasher (Roger's melodic-hardcore side project) album, but it gets the job done. "Does the Lion City Roar?" is an homage to "Johnny Quest Thinks We're Sellouts" without being too obvious. It's anthematic with a tinge of LTJ's newer, more cohesive style.

The one review I've seen of this album likens it to 2000's Borders and Boundaries, but I can hear some pretty prolific similarities to Losing Streak (which is still one of the greatest albums of all time). I've already given this one a few listens, and I really enjoy it.

The only serious negative: maybe I'm just going insane, but don't the vocals sound like they're being sung through a thin layer of cotton? I know the band wanted this recording to sound rawer, but the consistency doesn't fit for some reason.

As long as Less Than Jake keeps putting out solid records and I can still circle pit to "My Very Own Flag" at shows, I think I'll be okay.

"Tradition seems to stick / tradition seems to stick / tradition seems to stick to you, just like krazy glue."
- Chris Demakes, "Krazy Glue"