Dead Trains to bring “blues-core” to Great Scott for EP release show

According to their Bandcamp page, Boston’s Dead Trains can be categorized under the genres of bluescore, trainstep, and hillbilly hardcore. If these sound a bit esoteric or unfamiliar to you, you wouldn’t be alone. But when you hear the music it all begins to make a bit more sense: these guys just blast out some aggressive punk rock that also happens to be pretty damn blues-y.

For example, take their latest single “Big Fun”. It kicks in at a frantic pace that never lets up, with a disjointed rhythm adding to the sense of urgency and never letting the listener get comfortable. The drums are brash and the vocals gritty, falling somewhere between a bluesman’s howl and a punk rocker’s snarl. Driving through the whole track is a bassline that’s nothing less than menacing, establishing the decidedly turbulent feel of the song. Check it out:

“Big Fun” is the title track of Dead Trains’ upcoming EP, their second release in as many years. They’ll be celebrating the release tomorrow night (11/27) at Great Scott in Allston with the help of psychedelic garage punks The Rough Cuts (Fitchburg, MA) and gloomy groove-metal purveyors Witch Cake (Boston). If you’re in the market for a little Monday night madness, this show was made for you. For details and tickets, click right here!

Show Review: Stray Bullets, Radiator Rattlers, and more at O’Brien’s on 11/22

Punk rock is a slippery genre. Musically, there’s precious little in the way of limitations and boundaries to what can be called punk. While this can be a source of frustration for those who like categorization and neat little boxes, it’s also produced a cornucopia of beautifully hyphenated subgenres. Wednesday night’s show at O’Brien’s in Allston put some of those unholy marriages on display, with a five band bill that saw no two groups fill the same niche in the punk ecosystem.

First up was Coffin Salesman, a duo featuring acoustic guitar and accordion. Their edgy take on the folk-punk songwriter genre helped warm up show-goers just in from the cold on Harvard Ave. Vocalist Aria Rad was sharp-dressed in a suit and sharp-tongued as well, with biting lyrics taking direct aim at bigots and conservatives.

Continuing in the folk-punk vibe were Attleboro’s Cactus Attack, with a bluegrass-based assault that pulled in elements of classic rock and punk. These guys may have won the prize for best beards on a night when it was in serious contention, but even more than that they won over the audience with their rollicking sound and pure energy. No band looked like they were having more fun than these guys.

Up next, and making a hell of a beautiful racket for a three-piece, were Art Thieves. Guitar, bass, and drums were all these guys needed to crank out some badass garage-punk tunes. Their intensity and attitude made you want to sing along whether you knew the words or not, just to be part of it.

Haverhill’s The Radiator Rattlers are definitively the only punk band I have ever seen to utilize a washboard, and they used it to great effect. Their jaunty syncopation and gruff harmonies had my head bobbing and my toe tapping with the beat, and I wasn’t alone. Their cowpunk stylings had the crowd moving and dancing even late into this Wednesday night.

Boston scene veterans Stray Bullets closed things out on a high note with furious ska-punk fervor. Notably, Wednesday night was their first show at O’Brien’s in 13 years. According to vocalist Jon Cauztik, that previous show ended up with a fistfight and a fired drummer. I’m happy to say they fared much better on their long-awaited return, and played some truly inspired punk rock. Personal favorites were the working class political anthem “Peace Signs” and the extremely catchy “Long Ride Home”.

On this night in Allston, ska, folk, bluegrass, garage, and punk all blended together to create a show that displayed the variety and talent that makes the Boston punk scene so vibrant.

Song of the Week: Le Grand Fromage

It’s fair to say that anybody who’s ever driven the Jersey turnpike can relate to the idea that “anything’s better than New Jersey”. But it takes a band with hard touring experience to generate the heart-wrenching turn of phrase, “I’d give anything to go home / I gave up everything to leave”. Lucky for us, local pop-punkers Rebuilder refuse to let tough times keep them off the road.

This week’s Song of the Week is “Le Grand Fromage”, one of the singles from Rebuilder’s first full-length release Rock & Roll in America. It’s perfectly representative of the band’s signature sound, featuring heartfelt lyrics, big hooks, and of course that melodic organ wail draped over everything. I’ve chosen “Le Grand Fromage as Song of the Week in preparation for Rebuilder’s upcoming show this Friday at the Great Scott in Allston, where they’ll be joined by fellow Boston rockers Kicked in the Head. More on that show to come, but for now enjoy “Le Grand Fromage”.

Want to hear more Rebuilder? Check out their Bandcamp page for more tunes and merch.