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Radio Berlin - The Selection Drone With a vocalist that sounds like a cross between Daniel Ash and Danzig, Radio Berlin write some decent songs that will no doubt please fans of Joy Division and The Cure. Radio Holiday - s/t CD Pretty impressive, kids. The album opens up with a rocker, "When You're Around," that should have alternative radio DJs flipping out. But they don't stop there...the rest of the album is just as solid, up-tempo rockers all. These Michigan kids know how to write songs and they've put together a hell of a record. They're like the perfect combination of the Foo Fighters, the first two Shift records, and Samiam. Awesome! (Conquer the World)	Rocket from the Crypt - All Systems Go 2 The first release on John Reis' label, Swami Recordings, is the follow-up to RFTC's first singles and miscellaneous tracks compilation. It starts off with a bang, with the great novelty tune "Tarzan" which also happens to be the cleanest track on this side. The picks are sliding, the bar chords are slamming, and the fun has begun! Try not loving "Heads Are Gonna Roll" or "Cheetah," which features a duet with a mystery female singer. Nice. Rocket from the Crypt - Group Sounds "Break dance with knives stuck in your back" Hands down -- the winner in my book. I'll rescind my original statement that this could be their best record yet. No, a review of their discography showed this to be their best. Repeated listens only confirm --- this is a first-rate rock record with hooks out the wazoo, plenty of swagger, and the tightest horns they've had yet. (Vagrant)
Randy - Cheater EP This EP features three new songs and three previously unreleased songs from this Swedish garage punk band, featuring political lyrics that tend to glance the surface of the topics they address. If you like your political punk on the simple side and your punk rock music somewhere in between the Sex Pistols and Ramones, check out Randy's "I Don't Wanna Work", which is as appealing as both a song and a sentiment. Can't wait until the next Rancid album comes out? Love the Ramones and the Clash but want to hear some new music? Try this band on for size. (G7 Welcoming Committee) Read Yellow - s/t EP Two of the newer Boston labels have teamed up to release this debut EP from these Pioneer Valley youths. While the recording is a little rough, the fuzz actually gives the listener a good idea of the raucous live show the band has been bringing. Sounding at times like a cacophonous blend of The Pixies and At the Drive In, at others like the infusion of the exuberance of garage rock with the angular sound of a few different Dischord bands, these kids are definitely on the right path. The opener, "Read Yellow" and "Fashion Fatale" are must-hears. A band to watch. (Fenway Recordings/Lonesome Recordings)	Rocket from the Crypt - Live from Camp X-Ray Not their best album, but lucky for us, their level 9 is more than most bands can ever hope for. There are some devastatingly vicious tracks on here. F*cking great songs. (Vagrant) Roosevelt - s/t 7" Real impressive mid-tempo HC from this now-defunct Florida band. Great rhythms, great lyrics. Full of passion and anger. Reminds me of Thumbnail and Boy Sets Fire at points. These are their last songs also they also have a split 7" on intention records. Track this mother down!! (Boxcar Records)
Resolve - My Stars... And I saw Joe Strummer on the screen And you'll never know what that means Nerves of steel, the music played He combed his hair with a greasy blade And I'm not tired yet "Stay True" from My Stars... Replacements-esque rock from a band that I wish was still together. (Born + Over Records) Rival Schools - United by Fate Were it not for some questionable choices on the second half of the record, this would be in my Top 10. I'd put the first seven tracks up against anything else put out on a major label in 2001. (Island)	The Rusty Nails - s/t You have to admire Jack Ball from Coolidge Records for his considerable courage. First, he assembles 50 bands from 50 states to record the states' theme songs. Now, he puts out a record with a band that features one of the most under-used instruments in rock music: the bagpipe. I like my bagpipes in small doses (funerals, Mel Gibson movies) and on this album, I admire their restraint. The bagpipe is used to good effect and succeeds in not over-powering the other instruments. The songs are solid and may please those of you that miss The Pogues. But I must make clear that The Rusty Nails lack a lot of that drunken bravado that made The Pogues so appealing. The Rusty Nails are much more reserved and I only make the reference because they seem to be Pogues fans, not because they are carbon copies. These guys are more rock (on the lo-fi side) than London punk. And that's okay. (Coolidge Records)
River City Rebels - Racism, Religion, and War I don't know whether to feel good for these kids or to feel jealous. The story goes that these seven kids all around the age of 18 sent their demo to Victory Records and BAM! Now they go from being snotty little punks to being one of the biggest independent labels in the country to being voted "Most Likely to Get Laid by a Girl that Looks like Betty Page" in their high school yearbooks. The music isn't bad. You got your Clash and Rancid with horns, with a surprising and entertaining twist of the Pogues-shuffle in there too. The lyrics sound like they were written by 16-year-olds and with titles like "Hate," "Religion," and "Corporate America" you pretty much get the packaged street punk (did those three words really just come out of my mouth to forma a phrase?) without a whole lot of depth. But they're only 18. They've still got a lot of reading to do. And you have to be gunning for these kids from Vermont to do well. Who knows maybe they're the next Clash? Time to get a library card kids. (Victory Records)
The Rock-A-Teens - Golden Time This has been growing on me with each listen. This a quartet from Cabbagetown, Georgia, just outside of Atlanta and you definitely get some sort of fell on this album of the dark elements of the South, which have also been captured wonderfully by 16 Horsepower. These songs have a bit more of a soul and rock-and-roll than gospel feel to them, however. Keyboards and scratchy vocals definitely contribute to the scary carnival-like feel of some of the songs. If Nick Cave didn't have such a stellar backing band in the Bad Seeds, these would be the kids! (Merge)
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