Banner Pilot - Pass the Poison

For fans of Dillinger 4, The Holy Mess, Lawrence Arms While the internet-revolution has definitely helped young bands to reach a wider audience, it's still rather unlikely to hit a real gem while digging through Myspace. So in all honesty, I couldn't trust my ears the first time Banner Pilot from Minneapolis blasted through my speakers. The band's raw musical roadside open-heart surgery has fascinated me from the first chord; needless to say I was totally psyched to finally hold the band's new "Pass the Poison" release in my hands. Banner Pilot exercise basic punk-rock tunes with raw edges, sincere lyrics, and addictive hook lines in such a splendid manner that the listener is instantly reminded of how few bands are actually able to exploit all the fascination that lies in this plain formula. With the audible love of music and enough musical skill to speed things up when necessary or to build things up as in "Portland Lights", the band churns out eight tracks that leave absolutely no room for complaints. The recording is powerful and highlights the raw edges and Nate's torn vocal-cords always find the right phrases and the right key to keep up a sustained aura of broken-heart melancholia from start to finish. And although the band is never afraid to incorporate some musical references to Jawbreaker, The Lawrence Arms, or The Buzzocks (most notably with the nice concluding cover of "Ever Fallen in Love") the band has enough unique flavour to easily rebut all charges of plagiarism. I truly believe that this band will ink a deal with a bigger label in the near future as I'm convinced that so much talent cannot go unnoticed. Highly recommended! -Xsebx.com