Avail

4am Friday (Lookout!)
by Tim Creter

Pop-core? Hard-punk? Whatever you want to call Avail, be sure to include the word “great.” This is probably the only Lookout band besides Operation Ivy that I’ve ever liked. The music, a perfect fusion of up-beat punk and hardcore, just pleases the ears song after song. Avail plays with such raw energy and emotion that you end up not caring what to call them and just turn up the volume. They haven’t strayed much since the last album, with short, medium to fast-paced songs, and even an acoustic track thrown in to make you do a double take. Whatever it is, it’s infectious, it’s original, and if you haven’t caught up with them yet, now is as good a time as any.