Far From Finished hails from Boston, Mass. You can already feel my bias forming. Fear not, this isn't straight edge, generic hardcore (my cup of tea).


The comparisons to the Dropkicks are warranted. Boston, punk rock, ... you can see where it would come together. But without the Irish, beer fueled tunes, of course. This album is fucking catchy as hell, for sure. But it isn't my bag so I'm not expecting a million plays.

One note: I noticed they recorded the piano and organs in Worcester, Mass at "The House That Keif Built." Now, there can only be one Keif in all of Worcester. And this one is a legit dude. Here's the story about the first time I met him, probably 1998.

I was walking through the WPI campus when there was some "chick rock" (his words) show in Alden hall. I see this blitzed punk rocker hanging out in front of the building. He was probably wearing some punk/hardcore shirt and I stopped to chat him up. Of course, he was blitzed so you can imagine there was plenty of confusion.

Me: yo, I'm Murphy.
Keif: [ ramble, ramble ] name is keif [ intelligible gibberish ]
Me: [ confused, considering he was drunken lisping ] Keith??

You know where it goes from there. We then made plans for me to buy his whole record collection, but 9 years later, I still haven't seen any of it. HAHAH. Legit dude. I still see him at Raw Bar shows and around sometimes.


Check out this album. I guarantee it will have you head rocking, singing along. Especially if you can get into punk rocking.

I first heard Gordon Ivy and The Jaybirds back in August of 2005. I was obviously psyched on them. Who wouldn't be? Ripping hardcore from Japan that isn't crusty. Call me a fan.



Fast forward 2 years, and I get another package from the band. This time, the packaging material has my review printed right on it. That's pretty cool. This time around, I get a burnt cd. A LIMITED burnt cd. #10/66. Of course, I don't read/speak Japanese, so I have no idea what the cover means. I'll have to ask Dobek (whoa, I see Dobek just saw Gordon Ivy for the first time this week, according to his blog). This appears to be a discography cd. Tracks from the demo, plus a shit ton more. 24 tracks in total. Totally cool.



A Happy Couples Never Last?? No idea. Is this what I'm holding? Perhaps. Regardless, good stuff. Get into these tunes. Some good times here. Enjoy.

I received a package from JP the other day. It contained a Gordon Ivy and The Jaybirds cd and a Slap The Culture burnt cd. I am not sure if it was for the first demo, or the second demo. I'm guessing the 2nd demo.



This cd rips through each song. Most songs barely clock in at 60 seconds, so you can imagine the intensity of it all. Short, fast and louder, of course. You should probably look into their myspace site. You could be real into this.

I have honestly never heard or heard of Ruiner before today. I'm not sure how they have slid under my radar, but this was my first introduction to them. Despite their stint on 1917 Records, an EP on Bridge 9 and a pretty extensive tour schedule, I have been in the dark on this band. Today that changed.



It's difficult to pigeonhole Ruiner. They aren't classical youth crew hardcore (ala Youth Of Today or Chain of Strength) and they aren't typical metal core (ala Throwdown and 18 Visions). This fit in a nebulous middle ground, blending various styles. Of course, I could easily compare them to American Nightmare (not Right Brigade though) but that seems like an easy cop out. Instead, I would more likely compare this band to This Is Hell or possibly other mid 90s Trustkill bands. They have youth crew energy but a harder, more metal tinged sound. While this is good, it isn't something I would spin on a regular basis. C'mon, you know me. I'm either listening to generic youth crew or crappy pop.



I realize this is the artwork to the EP. Yes, I can see that. BUT, you'd be surprised how similar it is to the LP artwork. Both drawn by Linas Garsys. In fact, the image from the EP appears to be one panel in the artwork / storyline of the LP insert. Perhaps the last panel. Pretty cool artwork, but rather "dark" for Linas. I'm always expecting bright colors and bloody sharks, but this is darker, moodier. Less in your face. Chill though, pretty chill.



If you live in Maryland, you should probably check out the record release show. It's coming up. Just 2 short weeks away. And check that lineup! Dumb if you don't go.