A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS – RARE AND DEADLY

APTBS returns with its Rare And Deadly (Dedstrange) rarities album. Yes, it might be what you expect from the NY outfit, with songs that are load, contemptibly overpowering like the mind-numbing “Acid Rain” with its throbbing bass line, but then tracks like “Where Are We Now” seem much more subtle in its much quieter sparseness. But that doesn’t seem to last very long, and overdriven guitars assault the senses on “Everyone’s The Same.” For the hardcore fans of A Place To Bury Strangers, yeah, Rare And Deadly is something you need to have to complete your set.

CODEFENDANTS – LIFERS

As a society, we’ve been moving backwards, to a point where political stances and ideologies take precedence, fracturing friendships, tearing families apart, and treading a dangerous & slippery slope. It might be difficult to navigate, and at times even circumvent, but it’s always present. While some groups have completely stayed away from anything that would trigger people, or have just remained neutral, some never remain silent, even if they aren’t blind to everything around them. Government, police, drugs, love & relationships; nothing is off limits.

Codefendants return with a new album after the band’s 2023 stunning debut, This Is Crimewave. The brainchild of Julio “Ceschi” Ramos, Get Dead’s Sam King, and NOFX’s Fat Mike, the group has taken familiar routes while creating new lanes at the same time. The band’s mix of punk, folk, ska, and Hip-Hop offers up something refreshing to sink proverbial teeth into, and this time around the group expands on those same ideas through LIFERS (Regime Music Group), its sophomore release. There’s an explosion of ideas that are barely contained from track to track. In less than 2 minutes, the string-filled “Art Of Protest” is focused, head-on with thoughts of survival as youth dissipates. Vocal harmonies fluctuate all across its landscape, and the occasional tinkling piano rings out with a few sparse notes, with Ramos, King, & Mike all volleying vocals here. Without any overdriven guitars here, it offers a clear reference point to the group’s controlled creativity. Even when King sings on the opening “What You Get,” accompanied by a sole piano, it’s riveting, expressing his failures in relationships honestly. But it’s his voice; rough, weathered, and tattered… It’s perfect in its grittiness.

To find like-minded individuals who may or may not fit your own aesthetic can sometimes be a tricky proposition. With This Is Crimewave, the group tapped into legendary emcee The D.O.C., for “Fast Ones.” It worked to everyone’s advantage, so why not? The D.O.C. makes his return on “Rivals,” not only making a guest appearance, but also taking a front seat alongside King & Ceschi. The song opens with turntable stylings with King standing ready, weaponry in hand, and Ceschi at his side. The track rings out like a call to arms, but it’s much more than that; hopeful. D.O.C.’s verses let everyone know “We’re all in the same gang,” pointing at the bullshit directed at the government. It’s the chorus they sing, “We will never fix everything that we’ve broken/but we keep on hoping, this isn’t how we die,” that gives me pause. It goes deeper than one might think; fight if we must, but really, no one wants to see anyone’s life end. The track is powerful on its own accord, barely leaving any room to take a breathe and we get a sense that the band, like many, continue to be on an FTP stance.

While we still get the powerful punk-fueled anthems like “Lonely Life,” where both vocalists share barbs of defeat while incorporating raging guitars, a throttling rhythm, and underlying low-end keys, the band shifts gears on “The Weather Men.” Codefendants crossbreed its punk with a bolero; a track that can be as comfortable in Boyle Heights as it would be on the beaches of Cuba or Puerto Rico. Music is universal, and the band shows its obvious with it comfortability in further meshing together genres. While it’s sweet in its delivery, delicate with Ramos’ finger picking, it’s visceral in its lyricism, sung mostly in Spanish, referencing 1970s militants and walking a fine line between rebellion & survival. This is simply brilliant and fits in well within the musical concept(s) that have become part of the Codefendants. Also included within the mix of the album is “Bad Business,” which features the incendiary N8NOFACE. The track, originally released back in 2023, was conceptualized as part of the storyline included through multiple tracks/videos of the first album, and finally appears here. To say it’s explosive wouldn’t be a completely accurate description; One might say this is the soundtrack to the Big Bang itself. Themed in drugs, death, revenge, and death again, is what fuels the song itself. This hits hard from beginning to end, and when they hit you with, “This blade needs to know your blood’s taste, ”you know someone’s, “gonna get fucked!” This is the great thing about the group: it moves distinctly in whichever way it sees fit. The self-deprecation “Right Wrong Man” delivers is filled with clever, yet clear wording & phrasing as both King and Ramos rock with a punk fervor covered with sweet pop melodies & harmonies. There’s no denying the skillful prowess, and we do get another taste of Fat Mike within the mix as well.

As far as sophomore releases go, LIFERS, stands proudly above the band’s debut, taking more risks & chances, while staunchly holding onto its identity. There is no other group like Codefendants, making the band derivative unto itself.

GEL ROC – OUT OF STYLE, OUT OF SERVICE

The west coast hold many secrets, an assortment of beauty and the unsightly. But so does most of the world. The trick is to find those spaces, because that’s where one might blend in with the gritty reality. We all sometimes need a reminder, whether it’s the mom & pop-owned restaurant where you’ll find authenticity or the small record shop where you discover that long lost album you’ve been searching for.

California’s Gel Roc is back with a new album, Out Of Style, Out Of Service (Abolano Records), following up his 2025 EP, Love & War Stories. Gel Roc is that street-powered emcee who always has something to offer, and oftentimes aligns himself with producers who help him capture his ideas with eloquence. Despite appearances, the new release is a collaborative release, produced entirely by Ariano. One thing about Gel Roc, you can never miss anything he says, enunciating every syllable, with an inflection that’s captivating at times, moving his words across musical landscapes. The first single off the album, the dreamy “Streetscape,” which features All City Jimmy, has both emcees trading a torrent of quick-tongued verses, capitalizing on Ariano’s thoughtful backdrop. It’s the inventive tinkling keys and deep bass that allow both emcees to wrap their words and tie them to views of metropolitan areas, bordering on the abstract.  

But it’s “Detuned Radio” that just might have your mind bugging with familiarity. It may take a second, but Gel Roc hits the ground running with a different take of Radiohead’s “Karma Police.” Gel’s words glide across the rhythm and piano notes, which, while not completely self-effacing, strike out with boldness. He might be counseling others here, offering suggestions, and in the end, it all catches up. His words are direct and in-your-face, never mincing any of them. Yeah, it might be your next favorite track. And then there’s “Move With Intention,” featuring Mestizo, where both emcees seemingly blend their voices together with quick-tongued deliveries as the layered jazzy beat offers a stark contrast. The juxtaposition of it all can’t be missed but it all blends together obscenely naturally.

Now if there’s any track here that bumps with ferocity and ease, well, that just may be “Divine Space,” where Ariano pieces together vocal samples to open it with a beat and sultry keys across it. Here, Gel Roc shares vocal space with Zane One, a prolific rapper in her own right. The two wrap their words around spirituality and Gel even shouts out Zane’s old outfit Tunnel Rats within this space, where both focus on faith and the “divinity” within it. And then there’s “Still Standing” featuring Pigeon John, a much more conversational piece with John wrapping his words around the melody of the guitar notes here as Gel Roc delivers a stunning performance and it may be a bit of braggadocio but he’s gotten here through work. And again, the melody and flow of the rhythm allows his words to the ease to drip across this musical canvas.

Out Of Style, Out Of Service is rich with 16 tracks of well thought out tracks that offers a wide range, an array that may sometimes vary but comes together cohesively for a solid release. Gel Roc remains a staple in Hip-Hop and that will never change.