THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN - Ire Works (Relapse Records)

I was there, man. Reading 2002. Well, I'd actually been watching Death Cab For Cutie play to no more than 200 people as they opened the NME stage that day, and then literally ran to see how DEP on the Main Stage at Sunday lunchtime would be received. I was met with a blistering rendition of 43% Burnt as singer Greg Puciato hurled a bag of his own shit into the audience, which was hurled back at him. So then he smeared the shit over his lovely new white t-shirt. I was both horrified and highly amused. Death Cab had been so nice and polite as well...

It's the new DEP album! Here's my background on them: I'm going to make as massive generalisation here, and say that the majority of people that like DEP's favourite stuff is from Calculating Infinity. Hearing that as a wide-eared 19 year-old was awesome. An interesting, inventive metalcore band?! Their stuff stuck more in my head than contemporaries such as Cave-In and Converge and I still don't know how the hell in Christ's name they actually write their songs.

So they did the EP with Mike Patton which was decent enough and then came out with Miss Machine, of which most reviews and comment seemed to focus on the introduction of electronica. For me the electronica sounded a little clumsy in places but had potential, and the real exciting introduction was the fact that they had written songs with proper rock riffs and choruses! This was a great development and complimented the trademark mathy chaos very well indeed.

Anyway... what does the new album bring to the table? Well, the jazz-ish rhythms and riffs remain in place and sound like no other band. I don't understand how anyone could criticise them for continuing to do the chaotic stuff because it still, eight years after I first heard the band, sounds so impressive. Opener Fix Your Face is the obvious example of this (and features Calculating Infinity vocalist Dimitri Minakakis on backing vocals too).

But there are 2 other excellent elements of Ire Works that I like. One is the introduction of an almost Jesus Lizard-esque rock'n'roll feel to some of the songs. Listen to the intro of Milk Lizard (Lizard in the title, eh? Coincidence? Hmmm!), it's total rock'n'roll fun. There are other little riffs that pop up all through the album too and it's good to hear them engage the listener in such a way.

The other enjoyable thing about the album is the much, much improved electronica element. I really didn't enjoy stuff like Phone Home from Miss Machine, it sounded like pseudo-Nine Inch Nails guff and was a waste of time. But something like Sick on Sunday is great, melding Squarepusher-esque dynamics into the band's sound rather than opposing it and standing out like a sore thumb. And the glitchy bits of When Acting as a Wave sound fucking brilliant. More please!

So, if you like the Dillinger Escape Plan trademark sound, you will enjoy this album. They've sorted the electronic stuff out, the riffs are still ridiculous, they have proper songs now and properly rock them out and it's a huge rollercoaster of a listen. However, if you're not a fan, this isn't going to change your mind. Good shit!

THE WEAKERTHANS - Reunion Tour (Antitaph)

As I am based in the continent of Europe, this is an advance review leading up to the European release date of who knows when as Anti have decided not to synchronise the date with North America, which will of course lead to lots of people in Europe downloading the album. Sort it out Gurewitz!

Enough of that nonsense though, as the Weakerthans are back with their fourth album and follow-up to 2003's Reconstruction Site, an album which burned more slowly than the previous two but showed no impending lack of quality.

This album starts with four songs which are much more immediate than the majority of Reconstruction Site; the intro to the first track, Civil Twilight, almost sounds like it could turn into a cheesy commercial pop song, but soon heads into their familiar mid-paced melodic rock with some lovely lyrics about provinces and Hollywood actors and a superb use of the word 'etcetera'. There is also the similarly rocking Tournament of Hearts, with lyrical references to guiding husky dogs across an arctic landscape which leads into a defiant ending, turning around a bout of self-doubt.

The rest of the album is a much more sober affair, but even after relatively few listens I think it contains some of my favourite songs by the band. Weakerthans albums, for me, all have a 'double-whammy'; a duo of songs next to each other that are just peerless. On this album it is Sun in an Empty Room, with its lightly stomping rhythm, wonderfully unforgettable chorus and dualling guitar/keyboard outro; and Night Windows, which probably has my favourite arrangements and melody on the entire album. The bass intro sounds good, the guitars sound good, the percussion is very impressive and the way the backing vocals come in towards the end is perfect. Fantastic.

I have got to the point with this band where I don't have a favourite album. I like them all pretty much equally as they all fit different moods. But, before I heard this one, I was worried that it might be just another Weakerthans album... a decent listen but not as good as the others. How wrong I was. This is already a classic album for me and it's not even out yet. There are no poor songs and many exceptional ones, and an overall sense of quality that doesn't make itself apparent from many bands.

THE DAUNTLESS ELITE - Graft (Bombed Out Records / Plan-it-X)

First things first: go to the Bombed Out Records website (www.bombedout.com) and look at the cover of this album. Take a few seconds to look at it, have a Mallrats-esque 'Sailboat' moment and then realise that it is the best artwork you have seen for years.

Anyway, The Dauntless Elite, featuring ex-members of Joe Ninety and Fig 4.0 (FIG HARD: FOUR POINT ZERO. Sorry), are a band I have enjoyed live but wasn't 100% sure about their recorded output, aside from the excellent "I Am Ninja, My Life Is Lonely and Difficult" from the split with Jets vs Sharks which is on this album in all it's re-recorded glory. The good news is that they've managed to write a collection of songs that are mostly just as good as that.

Opener "Running Battle" is the cousin of the afforementioned "Ninja...", all anthemic and memorable after one listen. "Ordinary Days" is pure Joe Ninety, and "I Can Move If Funk Is Happening" is a great stompy number even if it does lift a Dillinger Four riff (steal from the best!).

Current favourites are "Shilling" and "Byte Sighs" which bring equal amounts of melodic and punk to the table without sounding tired or formulaic. The only song which doesn't really hit the spot is "It Takes A Ship To Sail" which is a clumsy attempt at a slower song.

Teh l33t (pwned!) have done well here though, and I am looking forward to seeing them at Out of Spite (and Joe Ninety and Tatako, but not Kayako Saeki or Fig 4.0 as they aren't playing [You think that's all of the ex-bands listed there? You missed Homebrew and Tinker's Rucksack. Get out of punx - Ed]). Well worth anyone's time, especially if that anyone likes upbeat and tuneful punk rock. Cheers!

NEXT STOP NOWHERE #1 (A5, 56 pages)

This is the new 'zine from Dave Hopkin aka Dave Newest Industry aka Monk Dave, one half of the deadly duo behind the much-missed punk fanzine Fracture, and it's more reminiscent of his older 'zine Mad Monks. Encased in an excellent cover illustrated by Welly of Artcore / Four Letter Word, it features a massive BLACK COUGAR SHOCK UNIT US tour diary written by Dave himself. Worth reading alone for the amazing tale of Hard Skin playing San Diego to a crowd of clueless skinheads. Can't wait to see them at Out of Spite!

Also featured is a great interview with Cardiff hardcore types Social Skills and some stuff about punk record store Damaged Records and a sceptical piece on Scientology... YOU WERE NOT THERE! Sorry, couldn't resist it. There's a few music reviews at the back with a great review of DEFIANCE OHIO - "some songs sound like George Formby, the theme tune to the 'Dukes of Hazzard' and 'The Kids from Sesame Street' all rolled into one." Ha!

All in all this is well worth picking up. There's a couple of hours quality reading here and that's more than can be said of most 'zines, ever. (www.thenewestindustry.com should have some copies if you're interested!)

THE UNLOVABLES – Heartsickle LP (Crafty; CD on Whoa-Oh Records)

“Whoa-oh whoa-a-oh! Whoa-oh whoa-a-oh, whoa-oh! Whoa-oh whoa-a-oh! Whoa-oh whoa-a-oh, whoa-oh!” So begins the sophomore release from NYC's bubblegum pop-punkers The Unlovables, released, appropriately enough, on Whoa-Oh Records. Except for the vinyl version, which is on Crafty, but the record doesn't begin “Crafty cra-af-ty! Crafty cra-af-ty, crafty!”. Perhaps they should've re-recorded that song for the vinyl release? Perhaps not.

Recalling the sound of Lookout's mid-90s heyday (the “cutesy cartoon animals” era, after the “snotty punk” era but before the “running the label into the ground by releasing pretentious hipster shit” era), Heartsickle is 13 tracks of upbeat, happy, summery tri-chord loveliness in the tradition of the Mr T Experience and Screeching Weasel. True, aint nuthin' you aint seen before, but you've probably not heard it done this well in a very, very long time. And, even though the Unlovables are a girl-fronted pop-punk band, they don't sound anything like Discount! Apart from the song 'Have You Ever' which, erm, sort of does.

Lyrically, Heartsickle ticks most of the “standard pop-punk subject matter” boxes: wanting boys you can't have, having boys you shouldn't have, snaring boys that you've been longing for, wanting boys who want you to go away... boys, basically. Hailie's vocals are a perfect complement for the lyrics throughout, with both ranging from cute-as-a-button to snotty-as-a-cold-infected-nose. The final two tracks are the most extreme examples of both: 'Sweet Sweet Boy' is an endearing song about not wanting to mess up a relationship, while closing track 'Crazy Tonight' includes the simply splendid line “and if you say that I'm pre-menstrual then I'll stab you with a pencil” - erk!

If you can imagine the Josie & The Pussycats soundtrack with swearing you're pretty much there. The band names is a lie: everyone from 11-year-old Avril Lavigne fans, to be-Chucked teenage pop-punk kids, to bitter, cynical, pessimistic 20-somethings who thinks that 99% of pop-punk made after 1997 is soulless, overproduced codswollop - and we'll let you be the judge of which of those brackets we fall into - you'll find the Unlovables to be ever-so lovable indeed. I bet loads of reviews have said that already, but it's the truth, man. As we've said before in Hot Cuss, there's a pop-punk revival going on, and the Unlovables are riding the crest of that wave, along with The Ergs (with whom they share a member). To quote the final line of the album, “don't say you weren't warned”.