Pinhead Gunpowder, Jump Salty

Big Yellow Taxi is good, I liked the fact that they combined two ep's into one cd. I didn't like it as much as Goodbye Ellston Ave. I just didn't feel like all the songs were as good, but that's just my opinion. Still an awesome cd, great buy classic Pinhead Gunpowder.

Ah, now HERE'S an album to talk about! The first album by the band to come out on CD, this awesome album is comprised of each of their two previous EPs and all of the songs they released on compilation records produced by Lookout Records, all of that smacked together. No doubt their 3rd best album, by far. For one reason, it sets the standard for a great variety of appeal: It brings all of the work by Billie-Joe and Mike to the table, delivering either speedy, hardcore, deep growling, edgy punk or slow, smooth, melodic, calm pop-punk to deliver what is demanded by a good deal of audiences.

Another thing to note is the great structure and arrangement of the tracks on this album. Thrashing it up with tracks 1, 2, 3 and 4, you'll find yourself jumping around to Mike's explosion of hardcore goodness. By tracks 4 and 5, you'll still be dancing around, but without the need to break something (finally meeting up with Billie-Joe). Track 6 will probably spend the rest of your energy. But then, tracks 7 and 8 will finally let you rest and recharge, laying back and relaxing to the mellow songs done by Billie-Joe. Then get ready to go back, forth, and then back again. It's quite a ride, and flows through really well.

As for the songs brought here from Lookout Records' comp albums:

Losers of the Year is a catchy human story that still flirts with the innocence and confusion that one side of Aaron has to offer (well I'm thinking about all the losers/who showed up to make this scene/where did they go when things didn't work out/when they burned out on the streets?/and I'm wondering where I could find/the people who left me behind/to wander down these streets so all alone). Beastly Bit is an honest passionate ode that shows the strength Pinhead Gunpowder has to convert its listeners to relate very well (I don't know what's my destination/just know that life's a celebration/no time for fear or hesitation now/but sometimes I get lost and lonely/and I could use you there beside me/to help to guide me, help me find my way). Then there's Benicia By the Bay, telling a twisted modern life story (they're so proud of this city's history/like an old war hero reveling in his faded glory/but the present day, that's another story/the old buildings they're so proud of are burning down/and the condos in the picturesque part of town/are sinking, sinking into the bay).

Ready to give this thing another spin? I sure would.

Best Song: If you're more in the mood for Mike, Benicia By the Bay. If you're more in the mood for Billie-Joe, Keeping Warm In the Nighttime.

Least Best Song: For Mike, I Wanna. For Billie-Joe, Big Yellow Taxi.