Guitars, Drums, Tones, and Saxophones

OK, so this is a bit different for the site, but with the nice weather approaching/already here, and trips to beaches and things imminent, I figured it would be a good time to talk about great albums for the summer. What are some of your favorites for laid back afternoons in the sun?

A short list of mine:

• American Steel – Dear Friends & Gentle Hearts
• Mos Def – Mos Dub
• Chris Wollard & the Ship Thieves – self-titled
• Jimmy Buffett – A1A
• Cheap Girls – My Roaring 20′s
• Harvey Danger – Little By Little
• Latterman – No Matter Where We Go!

That’s what I can think of off the top of my head. What about you?

American Steel - Dear Friends & Gentle Hearts

Depending on the circles you run in, this was a highly anticipated release. Being an avid (read: rabid) Punknews.org reader, I’d been getting very excited about new material from American Steel for some time, since the constant mentions of them led me to delve into their back catalog.

So how’s the band doing in 2009, with a new album out on Fat Wreck?

Damn good, by the looks of things!

The album finds the band’s pop hooks being sharpened considerably, and the overt punk edge of their earlier material (particularly the pre-Communique works) being lessened. They’re still clearly a punk rock outfit, but they’re not cranking out the 2 minute, 2-3 chord anthems that the Ramones started.

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