Craig Regala – Page 27 – Lollipop Magazine

The Royal Beat Conspiracy – Dig it! – Review

July 2, 2003

The swivel of beach music, the danceable side of ’60s garage rock as it was writ in Chicano Los Angeles: Soul-inflected, R&B conscious, made for Locomotion.

Crash and Burn – Sick Again – Review

July 2, 2003

Punk rock’n’power boogie-rooted rock and fucking roll, keeping the tempos in the mid-quick range, the guitars set on “stun,” and the drums set on “stomp.”

Milligram – This Is Class War – Review

June 13, 2003

Like the savage offspring of 1980 Black Flag, Negative Approach, and Fear cut with a harsh, wavering, way-past-Monster-Magnet psych fuzz cackle.

Rocket From The Crypt – Live From Camp X-Ray – Review

May 30, 2003

Drawing on snappy stuff from the Dictators, MC5, Springsteen, U.S. punk, garage rock, cool indie stroke saddle-up, this thing’s ready to take you for a ride.

The Lot Six – Animals – Review

May 30, 2003

Some tunes that shake hands with Jade Tree emo, or bang on bits of 120 Minutes stuff and half-remembered Pixies riffs, or a melody from Mom’s Beatles records.

YOB – Elaborations of Carbon – Review

May 16, 2003

Mighty songs of beautiful doom-laden sound. Inverted, hanging riffs, Melvinoid spacey trudging, Tab-esque motion, and a deep well of compositional creativity.

Bluebird – Hot Blood – Review

May 16, 2003

Straight-up rock record. Like Trail Of Dead, Love Battery, Hitting Birth, early Smashing Pumpkins, and other worthies that don’t heft as metal or splat as punk.

Grandpa’s Ghost – The Tumble/Love Version – Review

May 16, 2003

What makes it good instead of just interesting is the use of distortion, vacuum cleaning, fuzz/space, and exploratory “free rock” to open up and connect.

Drive Like Jehu – Yank Crime – Review

May 16, 2003

The singer has the plain-spoken, energetic personality of a Dischord-bred indie rock guy, the band has the power of say, Lifetime-era Rollins.

Blondie – From Punk to the Present: A Pictorial History – Review

April 18, 2003

Hugely interesting to Blondie fans, or those wading through mid-’70s pop culture. It’s got a couple hundred b&w pics, and a bunch of great interviews.