LeatherfaceFrankie Stubbs may very well be the best and most heartfelt singer punk rock has ever had. As frontman/guitarist for Leatherface, Mr. Stubbs has spent a good chunk of the last two decades eating gravel and spitting it back up as lyrics that sound as if what he’s telling you will be the last words he will ever utter. The music backing him up is no less than outstanding too, with riffs and basslines that would make Campbell’s Soup rethink their definition of chunky and some truly inspired drumming (especially in contrast to what the bulk of their peers have phoned in).
(mp3: “Wax Lyrical” from “BYO Split Series Vol. 1: Leatherface/Hot Water Music”)
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Link: Leatherface Unofficial Site
CodeineIt’s one thing for a band or singer to be able to capture a mood with a well-written song from a lyrical standpoint, but far fewer are the groups that can not only get their point across in words, but also set the same mood with the music as well. Codeine’s “Frigid Stars LP” is perhaps the most melancholy record ever recorded and is the perfect record for wintertime. The vocals are delivered in a nonchalant fashion and the instrumentation is one of the best examples of minimalism I’ve ever heard. Codeine’s modus operandi seems to have been expressing alienation and loneliness but without a complete deprivation of hope.
(mp3: “D” from “Frigid Stars LP”)
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Link: Codeine Unofficial Site
J ChurchI still remember the first time I heard J Church. I was young, stupid and my tastes were a pretty blank slate. It was on some compilation that Honest Don’s (an imprint of Fat Wreck Chords) put out and the track was the rockin’ “Undisputed King of Nothing.” Their track easily rendered the rest of that comp useless to me from then on. J Church has been criminally overlooked for the bulk of their career (thank in no small part to their numerous label switch-ups), but for my money, I don’t know if there’s a better pop-punk/indie rock storyteller than singer/guitarist Lance Hahn. The man is literally a factory of great songs, as any of their multiple singles collections will attest to. The “Meaty, Beaty, Shitty Sounding” singles comp still holds a special place on my shelf as it was the first J Church album I ever owned. I can (and often do) sing along to every one of this album’s 20 songs.
(mp3: “Closing Time in an Early Town” from “Meaty, Beaty, Shitty Sounding”)
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Link: J Church Official Site

**NOTE**: I am in no way implying ownership or copyright of these songs and provide them here to hopefully spark interest in bands that I like. Please don’t sue me. If you are in one of these bands or from a label that put out one of these records and want me to take anything down, let me know via email. Also, as I have limited bandwidth PLEASE RIGHT CLICK > SAVE TARGET AS and DON’T HOTLINK THE MP3′S. When new stuff goes up, the old stuff comes down, so grab them while you can.