Hippos of Doom "Road Trip EP" Review

Do you remember when pop punk didn't suck? Remember when it was just fun to jump up and down to songs about girls, parties, and pranks? I know, I know, it's been a long time but there was the moment when we didn't hide our Blink 182, MxPx, and The Offspring CDs under our beds. We enjoyed them because they wrote about life for those of us who didn't grow up on the streets but still needed to rebel. It was nice to know that sometimes being goofy is the best rebellion to a world that takes everything so damn seriously.

Enter Hippos of Doom. Yes that is right. These are the hippos with guns that you see in your dreams after a night of binge pizza eating. Okay, maybe that's just me but you gotta love the name. The Hippos bring their melodious, fun, at times poignant brand of punk to you, for free on their debut EP Road Trip. If all goes well you can get the free EP here on Indie Vision music.

The Hippos of Doom come from the West Coast and blend fast guitars, thundering drums, and angsty vocals. This EP is a fun little jaunt down memory lane that transports you back to Warp Tour '99. This short EP, brought to you courtesy of Thumperpunk Records, does not boast a song longer than 2:45 and is guaranteed to get you tappin' your foot and playing drums on your steering wheel.

The Hippos are unabashedly Christian but it doesn't really feel oppressive on the album. Wool Brigrade and Judge Not are the two strongest tracks on the record and they are the most “Christian.” They are open, honest, but not disingenuous. It doesn't feel forced. It doesn't sound like some of the old Tooth&Nail alum that would say, “Crap, we got to put a Jesus song on this record or we won't make it to Creation Fest!”

Over all, I would say this EP is beyond worth the minimal space it will take up on your hard drive and it is 15 minutes well spent. I only hope that the full length comes out soon!

Happy listening!

www.facebook.com/hipposofdoom

www.revernation.com/hipposofdoom

Torn

Romans 5+6/Amos 5+6

            I wonder if this whole identity struggle ever leaves. Israel always seemed to have issues with it, Paul addressed it, and it all came back to the Holy Spirit.

            I love Jesus and I like Punk. I love serving Christ and telling people about Him and I love to slam around in the circle pit. I guess it’s hard because the air and persona that goes along with punk isn’t all me. I’m not looking for a fight. I didn’t come off the streets. I don’t hate anybody.

            If I’m supposed to go and be a missionary to a culture perhaps it should always feel a little uncomfortable. I am different because of Christ. That’s not just with the punkers, that’s with anyone who’s not saved. 

The Old-Timers: Soli Deo Gloria Review

The Old-Timers- Soli Deo Gloria

            Fourteen songs, twenty-four and a half minutes. I haven’t picked up a punk record in a while that had an average of less then two minutes per song. The Old Timers’ disc Soli Deo Gloria is a powerhouse of hardcore punk reminiscent of Minor Threat, and The Business. This angst-ridden album reminds me why I got into punk in the first place.

            The crunchy guitars and fast drums are a great companion to the screaming Scottish tinged vocals. The lyrics leave no one safe. The Old-Timers are mad at self-righteous religious folks, poverty, the government, and culture at large. Unlike most bands that just bitch and complain The Old-Timers offer a solution and that solution is Jesus Christ.

            Now stop right there. I know what a lot of you punks are thinking. Yes, listening to a lot of Christian Punk is like getting stuck behind the school bus on your morning commute, “Oh, for cryin’ out loud! Can’t we just be done with this?” I assure you, this is not the case for Soli Deo Gloria. Not often does a Christian punk (dang near, Oi!) band actually have the chops to be able to pull off a record that can be enjoyed by more than just pastor’s kids looking for a way to piss off mom and dad.

            The album’s “Intro” drives it right home that this will be a fast paced, circle pit, punch in the face record. On top of that it leaves nothing to the imagination as far as the lyrics go: “We’re the Old-Timers pressing on/longing for the day we go home/ Holy, Holy, Holy, worshiping the Ancient of Days.”

            This bleeds well into the pro-Jesus, anti-religion track “Adoni’s Agape” which then transitions perfectly into “This City” which leaves nobody unscathed. For the rest of the album they pick apart everything from how we rebel, to how positive thinking isn't enough, and of course how we all need a little more circle pit in our daily lives.

             This band believes that Jesus is the answer to all of societies problems just as much as Bad Religion thinks He is the cause. It is no preaches no more about Jesus then the Dropkick Murphys preach about the plight of the working man. It rails hard against religious hypocrisy and governmental and social negligence. There is no lack of confidence in this band. They take full control of the medium and the message. There is no doubt that they are true punkers but more importantly true Christ followers.

            I give Soli Deo Gloria a solid 8 out of 10. This is a great introduction to these South African punk rockers. You can pick it up at their label, ThumperPunk Records.  

Punks, Shepherds, and Fishermen

Amos 1+2/Matthew 15+16

            So I prayed about being a Christian Punker. I gave it to God and I got the same thing I got when I prayed about my comic books years ago: Go for it, but if people aren't getting saved, what’s the point?

            I pray and I found Caustic Fallout radio, Christian Punks Facebook, CYI World Wide and the Kings Kid’s. It’s nice to be lead towards others like me.

            Amos was just a kooky shepherd who heard from God. He heard some serious stuff, too. He had fire and brimstone fanaticism stuff that would get him lambasted by Piers Morgan. God gave Him some hardcore preaching to do. That must have been uncomfortable to go from talking to sheep to preaching to people.

            Switch to the disciples in the boat worrying about bread. They were so focused on what they did or didn't do that they missed what Jesus was actually saying. They needed to realize what was important. 

            

Album Review: Toil by Flatfoot 56

Flatfoot 56’s new record Toil is exactly what you’d want as the fourth record of a respectable Celtic punk band. If you’ve been following the band since day one, or at least the first album, I suspect you’ll be happy with the musical evolution and lyrical growth of our Windy City brothers.

What’s the first thing you want to hear when you put on a Celtic punk record? Yah, that’s right, bagpipes. “Brother, Brother” starts the record off in perfect Flatfoot style. It’s a bagpipe introed, hardcore tune that is about a drug addict friend and the path he’s chosen. It even has a little hardcore vocal visit from the younger Banwinkle brother. This is the first time since Knuckles Up that the boys started an anthem, call to arms type song and not a short intro song. While the intros on Jungle of the Midwest Sea and Black Thorn were good I’m glad they went back to their roots on this one.

The new single “I Believe it” is a strong song that reminds us what we like about the Flatfoot boys. It’s nice to see a bunch of fun loving, rough and tumble guys who are nice, thoughtful, and okay to bring around your grandmother.

The rest of the album will get you air drumming in your car or cubicle.

The songwriting maturity of Toil is showcased in the title track. “Toil” is a slow building, rebellious, passionate song that is written by and for those of us who work night and day and night to feed those people that go home early.
“6 10” is a fun little story about talking to somebody a lot bigger than you and squeaks out a fun little moral (“why are little people always so bold?”) and “Winter in Chicago” is so catchy you’ll hear it in your dreams. And for all you fans of the Flatfoot live show you’ll get your feet stompin’ on the last track with the crowd favorite “I’ll Fly Away” which has been on their set list for years.
Tobin and Co. are coming out with some great little tunes that strike a chord. If you’re a long time fan like me not only will this CD make you listen to it over and over again but it will remind you why you love their other stuff too.

The rest of the album is solid and worth a listen then a relisten. The band passed around the mic for vocals, there is plenty of crunchy guitars, mandolin, and bagpipes. If you aren’t up and dancin’ then your feet are broken. If listening doesn’t make you want to start a circle pit in the breakroom at work then I suggest you check your pulse!
Start with an anthem and end with a hymn. There was nothing missing from this record except the sweat and comradery from one of their circle pits!

Keep it up boys!

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Christianity is Dead

“Everyone will hate you because of Me.” -Luke 21:17

“Punk Rock died the day the first kid said, Punk ain’t dead.” -Bill Mallonee


There has been a raging debate as long as I can remember about the status of punk rock. Punk is dead. Punk isn’t dead. Both sides have great arguments. After the surging popularity of bands like the Ramones and Sex Pistols and after The Clash started selling out stadiums the edge may have started to wear off. Then we had bands like Green Day, Blink 182, MxPx coming onto the scene and making it marketable, the old timers said it was done. While bands like Rancid, Minor Threat, Pennywise, Dropkick Murphys, and Bad Religion would make even the most cynical of us believe that Punk will always survive it’s safe to say that it certainly loses it’s way from time to time.

I was talking to some of the Hipster kids I work with and I told them I was excited because Punk was becoming punk again. They didn’t get it. I told them it was simple. Listening to punk was no longer cool or how this generation was rebelling. Thus, it was subversive again. It was underground and could possibly stand for something once again. It was fantastic.

Much like punk Christianity is becoming a subversive subculture again and I am excited. I laugh at pastors and politicians who freak out that our country is not falling in line with the point of view of the Bible. They act as though it is some cosmic treason that non Christians aren’t living like Christians or upholding Christian values.

Uh, Duh?

Let’s face it. Thanks to the 1980s North American Christians have become fat and lazy. For a while we had “Christian” presidents and politicians who convinced us that we live in a Christian nation. We had pastors who, when they weren’t stealing money or doinking their secretaries, were letting us know that the morals in America were strong and Christian. Jesus got radio play. The Holy Spirit put out a top 40 record. Christianity became mainstream. People saw the money that could be made and the power to be had.

Thank Christ that is all changing. It took me awhile to get to this point but now whenever I hear somebody on Fox News or Focus on the Family talk about how the world’s going to hell in a handbasket and how Christian values no longer rule society I send up a quick prayer of thanks. People are ignoring the Bible all over the place and things are going bad. People are either egotistical or lazy. It’s all about feelings and the individual. I’m so freaking happy.

See here’s the bass-ackwards part. It is not the church that’s shunning the philosophy of the world (most churches happily embrace it but that’s another blog for another time) but rather that the world is shunning the church. It feels as though the gauntlet is being tossed down. “We don’t need your church” seems to be the cry from those on the outside. Dammit, they are right.

But now, for me anyways, it’s the best of both worlds.  Want to be like Christ? Go to a Bad Religion concert. Want to be punk rock? Go to a Bad Religion concert sporting a “Jesus Saves” t-shirt. Face it hippies and punkers, you’ve won the cultural battle and the oppressed have become the oppressors. Face it friends of Fallwell, the Left has won and is in charge. Secular humanism reigns supreme. Now we can really be like Jesus.

Oh, don’t get me wrong, there are some people that are fighting really, really, hard to keep the Christian Culture cool, hip, and popular. I’m not sure if it’s for religious, Biblical, or fiscal reasons, but, dammit, they are working like the Dickens to keep it “relevant.” And why not? Once Christianity loses its marketability it will be harder to follow.

Whoa, what a novel, frickin’, idea. Too bad God and Jesus came up with it first. Then Peter talked about it, and oh yah, Paul, James, John, and way before them we had Isaiah, Daniel, Jeremiah, Ezekiel--yah, see the pattern. I triple dog dare you to find one passage in the Bible where God says, “Go, preach my word, and it’s all going to be chill.” The closest thing we have to that is Jonah and Jonah tweaked out when it happened. When was the last time you preached in Las Vegas and all the casino owners closed up shop and the hookers put sweatshirts on?

I know a lot of you who are coming to this realization that Christianity no longer reigns supreme in North America are about to cry all over your Joel Olsteen books and blow your nose on your Jeremy Camp t-shirts. Calm. Breathe. It’ll be okay. Christianity is dead but Christ is not. For some of you that might even be a scarier thought. This may not mean you have to give up all of Christian culture but you have to give up the idea that it is what saves you. When you get to heaven there isn’t a special house for the person who has the entire Kutless discography.

Christianity has never been based on what we do but on what is done for us. Yes, we show our love for Jesus through our life change like we show love to our spouses through fidelity. That living for Jesus, that love for Christ, that desire for Him and Him alone is what makes the world hate us. Culture is moving in a different direction. This direction is away from the Bible and the saving Grace of Jesus. This makes culture progressive and Christianity subversive. Why? Because obviously if culture is moving in a direction that direction is forward to all those who are leading the charge. The rest of us are dirty, stupid, street punks that don’t value education, science, or rules.
I love it! For thousands of years Christianity meant sacrifice. All over the world Christianity still means sacrifice. In those places Christianity grows like mad because it actually involves life change. It actually costs something. In developed nations Christianity is, “Okay God, you give me this, this,this, and a little bit of that and I will honor you with my Sunday mornings.” You go to places where Christianity kills you, makes you a pariah, or where they are lacking severely in material stuff, and it’s all, “Jesus, you did so much, how can I do more?” We are slowly getting back to that point.
Now check yourself. Does this excite you and piss you off? If you’re scared and pissed ask yourself if you’re a cultural Christian or a Christ follower. If we are cultural Christians we get scared when we see Facebook posts, presidential speeches, and blogs about how Christianity is stupid, science is God, faith in something is key, philosophy reigns, and Christian music is dumb. We get all up in arms and scared because it looks like our culture is getting dismantled. However, if you’re a committed follower of Christ these things are just a little annoying, kinda sad, and sometimes just adorable hissy fits.
Christian culture in the developed world needs to be dismantled. It’s hilarious. People need to make fun of the crap we worship instead of Christ. American Christianity has become to Jesus what Sum 41 became to the Clash: a cheap, laughable, rip off.  
No punkers and Christ followers here we go. It’s time to realize that we won’t ever fit in totally. The question is are you going to be okay with that? 

Danny Exyle is the chief writer for Sinners Circle Blog. Follow him on Twitter if you want his random rantings throughout the day and follow Sinners Circle Blog on Facebook.