CD Reviews: Bridge and Tunnel, Off With Their Heads

Bridge and Tunnel – “East/West”
(No Idea)

God, I wanted to like this. Bridge and Tunnel play old-school emo / indie in that Braid or Fugazi vein, but with alternating male and female vocals… it’s very mid-90s hardcore. But, man, East/West is one of those records where all the songs have lyrics that are so dense and political that they read like a Noam Chomsky screed. It’s post-hardcore musicality mixed with some latter-era Discount, with lyrics penned by someone who loves Greg Graffin. I made it to “Rubrics” pretty well, but by the time I hit “Town Hall Gathering,” which uses the words capricious, fervid, and implacable within two simultaneous lines, I threw up my hands and shut it off.
Download “Call to the Comptroller’s Office

Off With Their Heads – “From the Bottom”
(No Idea)

Do you like Dillinger Four? Banner Pilot? Here’s your new crack. If ever a band demonstrated the potential of Twin Cities punk rock, it’d be OWTH. This album is already shaping up to make every punk rock “Best of 2008” list. The guitars are crunchy, the vocals are gruff, there’s some melody to carry things along… but really, it’s like D4 if Paddy sang every song. The lyrics are fucking bleak – it’s like being stuck in a Northern winter for twelve tracks. When Ryan’s chorus for the first track, “I Am You” has the line “I’ll tell you why I fucking hate my life,” you know that you’re not in for something too terribly uplifting. “Fuck This, I’m Out” isn’t about leaving a house, a party, or club – it’s about checking out entirely. Still, there’s some hope in knowing that there’s someone out there who feels this way and manages to make it one more day.
Download “For the Four