Artist: Rookie Of The Year
Album: The Goodnight Moon
Label: One Eleven Records
Purchase: Smart Punk
Release Date: April 11, 2006

Overall: 8.3
Music: 8.2
Lyrics: 8.0
Production: 8.4

Rookie of the Year; it would be easy to write them off as just another acoustic band, put their cd at the bottom of the pile and forget about them…that is, if you don’t listen to it first. The band, originally started as a solo project, has now released its full band debut, ‘The Goodnight Moon.’ Currently touring with acts like Hit The Lights, Dave Melillo and many other notables, they are steadily building a substantial fanbase and it’s easy to figure out why.

Artist: David Melillo
Album: Talk Is Cheap EP
Label: Drive-Thru Records
Purchase: Smart Punk
Release Date: April 18, 2006

Overall: 8.8
Music: 8.5
Lyrics: 8.9
Production: 8.6

The long awaited debut from Florida’s David Melillo is finally out via an online relase through Drive Thru Records and mtvU. “Talk Is Cheap” is a completely free, downloadable EP(the hard-copy store release will have an extra song.) Drive Thru did this twice before with hit(Hellogoodbye) and miss(Jenoah) results. I’ll just say that if you do not download this EP, you’re going to be missing out.

Artist: Anti-Flag
Album: For Blood And Empire
Label: RCA / A-F Records
Purchase: Smart Punk
Release Date: March 21, 2006

Overall: 7.6
Music: 7.4
Lyrics: 7.8
Production: 7.8

For a band to sing about the government, war, politics and all that ho-ha, you would think it would be hard to capture the ears of most people. Anti-Flag have been making anti-goverment music for years and are now finally releasing their first major label record. So how has this changed there sound if at all? Well for one thing you can tell this is a major label release with its somewhat cleaned up polished sound. However this is still Anti-Flag and they are still singing about the topics they care about, and it’s not like they don’t have anything to sing about with all of the events that have happened in the past few years with the war in Iraq and George W. Bush.

You can download these new Driven Far Off videos of Paramore and Cassino performing live below.

Paramore - “Brighter “ (iPod Video)
Paramore - “My Heart “ (iPod Video)
Paramore - “Never Let This Go “ (iPod Video)
Cassino - “Unknown” (iPod Video)

Artist: Punchline
Album: 37 Everywhere
Label: Fueled By Ramen
Purchase: Smart Punk
Release Date: April 11, 2006

Overall: 8.2
Music: 8.9
Lyrics: 8.3
Production: 8.1

I’m that kid. What kid? The Chattanooga kid. You might not know what that means if you don’t keep up with Punchline. This band only sold 3 CDs in Chattanooga, TN. Two of those CDs were bought by me. I went on a promotional campaign, holding a sign on the side of the road with the words “Buy A Punchline CD!” scribbled on it. I even converted teachers to Punchkids. That’s how much I love this band.

Artist: Skylines
Album: Identity
Label: Blood & Ink
Purchase: Smart Punk
Release Date: February 28, 2006

Overall: 8.9
Music: 8.8
Lyrics: 9.5
Production: 9.0

Walk around town with your goal set on finding one of the best known local bands of Richmond, VA. You gaze at the locals, question them, and you’ll soon discover that there is one band that is repetitively mentioned. Skylines was formed in 2003 and has quickly build up a fan base that has been growing ever since it begun. Skylines’ first full length with Blood & Ink Records is entitled “Identity� and it perfectly captures what this Richmond native band is all about. Heavy breakdowns, brutal screams, serenading singing, pounding drums. This record showcases the best of Skylines and it is quickly becoming a favorite amongst fans.

Artist: Men, Women, and Children
Album: Men, Women, and Children
Label: Warner Brothers Records
Purchase: Smart Punk
Release Date: March 21, 2006

Overall: 8.8
Music: 8.7
Lyrics: 8.5
Production: 9.0

Who woulda thought that Glassjaw members would produce Head Automatica? It’s a total 180 in sound. Even more insane is that former Glassjaw guitarist Todd Weinstock would help to form Men, Women, and Children, an even dancier, more ambitious group than HA. Known for an insane live show with an even more insane light setup, Men, Women, and Children make you want to buy a disco ball, pop your collar, and have the party of a lifetime…in your car. Yeah, I like to blast this album with my windows down. I’m sure it’d be even more fun in a room full of drunk people, too.