Low fidelity 16th-note pop punk. If that sounds like anything that is up your alley then you should download this immediately. Gypsy is a band/project that consists of Chris Mason (from Shang-a-Lang - Las Cruces, NM), Joe Ayoub (from Marked Men - Denton, TX), and Ryan Maddox (from Hidden Spots - Chattanooga, TN). This band only exists when these three dudes are together for extended amounts of time in Las Cruces - or maybe it only existed for the short amount of time that these dudes were together in Las Cruces? - who knows...
At any rate, this specific style of music probably requires a bit of an acquired taste, but if you are familiar with any of the other bands mentioned already then this should be everything you expect. The vocal melodies and the decision making of the drummer is definitely the thing that sets this band apart from the others - despite the fact that these are just generally well written songs. I, for one, can't take these four songs off of repeat.
I'm not scared of death / I'm scared of you
"I got a brother in the service and if he gets shot then he deserves it." Like it or not this is the way Ringers slams their attitude in your face from the get-go. This record is a split between two pop punk bands: Ringers from Boston, MA and Blotto from Tokyo, Japan. It was released on Snuffy Smiles Records - a Japanese punk label - and didn't have much distribution in the States.
Let's get back to Ringers - this band plays a certain style of pop punk most easily identified by well-written songs, guitar chords often fuller than the powerchord typical of the style, gruff vocals, and the melodies of the guitars and the vocalists. This band induces nostalgic feelings traceable back to Newtown Neurotics, The Clash (I'm using this band as a frame of reference), and the slightest hint of the Replacements. Perhaps this is why some people are reluctant to call them a pop punk band, but I still think that title applies. One thing that this band really fucking exceeds at is writing lyrics that are well-written, relatable, and mood-inducing.
Blotto is a pop punk band from Tokyo, Japan that plays music that sounds like it comes straight out of the Midwestern United States - except for the fact that English is probably the lyricist's second language (but you don't see me writing any lyrics in Japanese, do you?). This band plays pop punk with its own slight twist, as well, but these songs are probably more comparable to the slight twangs of Bent Outta Shape and Drunken Boat than the classic punk sounds that Ringers refer to. You'll understand the 'twang' of the guitars that I'm talking about when you put these songs on.
Overall, a pretty solid pairing. I named the blog after a Ringers song from their first LP so I figured I should put something up, and I don't think this is downloadable anywhere else? It might be a little while before I update again (I really need to work on the look of this thing), so enjoy this in the mean time:
All the positive people say 'you're better off dead' / Believe what they read / Well, I'll stay well read
