Cerebral Ballzy

“Jaded & Faded”

Cult

If hardcore skater punk is your thing, Cerebral Ballzy is your band. The longest song they’ve ever written is just over three minutes long, and lead singer Honor Titus carries a kind of lyric drawl that’s somewhere between Joey Ramone and Mike Muir. “Jaded & Faded” is a powerful, churning follow-up to the band’s debut album, and ensures that fans of early ‘80s, in-your-face, lightning-fast east coast punk will have something to feast on. There are some curious time changes here and there (“Parade of Idiots, I’m looking in your direction), but the really nice thing about the album is that all of the songs are done far too quickly for any mistakes to become glaring. This album is most certainly not for the loathsome, Blink 182-style pop punk set, but if you like something leaner and meaner, here’s your album. CV

The Antlers

“Familiars”

Anti-

It’s safe to say there’s not another band making music like The Antlers. They’re not in the Jack White-pantheon of creative genius, but what they are is a really damn good band making some really thought-provoking music. It’s not a happy time, your average Antlers album. The best way the mood can be described is a kind of amalgam between Lana Del Rey and Death Cab For Cutie. There’s plenty of material to make you understand that life is kind of a drag from time to time, and that we’re all just dead things that haven’t realized it yet. But the whole message is delivered with a bedside manner that makes you a little bit more OK with all of that. Death? Taxes? Lost Love? This too shall pass, but the ride is still kind of nice. Opening track “Palace” sets the tone less for an album and more for a kind of life experience. And a kind of beautiful one, at that. CV