mp3: Analog
From Exile In Oblivion (2004)
TrendRobot Rating: 8/10

Sometimes there are days when the Zen stops flowing, and you just need to breath absolute fire.  There’s a certain method to the madness of Jason Cruz, however, that breeds a calmness in his listeners.  The fury mounting behind him, Jason Cruz has always fronted a revolutionary storm of punk-rockers, that, now, are starting to age into their late-twenties and early-thirties.

Being one of those nostalgic moments when you realize that you’re excited to listen to a record that you’ve already been listening to for 10 years, you wonder where the fire went . . .

. . . it never left.  Despite releasing a few mediocre albums over the course of the last 5 years, Strung Out’s live performances are always sights to behold.  Visceral madness, as chaos ensues in a dingy venue in the heart of a metropolitan area.  Swaying like a vulture from the stage monitor, Jason Cruz has always been the calm, voice of reason in the madness.  A channeling factor that focuses the force, Strung Out can still claim the title as kings of their land, the territory that barely separates band and audience.

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While you're here, check out:

1. Saturday Morning Punks: Propagandhi – “Anti-Manifesto”
2. Track of the day: Arctic Monkeys – “Catapult”
3. Track of the day: The Flatliners – “July!August!Reno!”
4. Track of the Day: New Pornographers – “Your Hands (Together)”
5. The Bouncing Souls walk the plank on “Ghosts on the Boardwalk”