Avail: 4am Friday

Avail: 4am Friday

1996

Lookout Records

Format I Own it On: Compact Disc

Track Listing:  1. Simple Song  2. Order  3. Tuesday  4. '92  5. McCarthy  6. (Ben)  7. Monroe Park  8. Armchair  9. Fix  10. Blue Ridge  11. Swing Low  12. F.C.A  13. Hang  14. Governor  15. Nameless

Avail's mighty 1996 album follows "Dixie's" established sound of blistering hardcore, giant choruses, and blue-collar vocals. I actually like this one just as much as "Dixie."

I can still recall my friend Joe bringing this album over and putting it on for the first time, after anxiously waiting for 2 years.  We were greeted by the roaring guitars of  "Simple Song," Which is a fine welcome indeed! I also love the catchy wrecking-ball swing of "Tuesday," which is closely related to "Dixie's" "Tuning." 

"Armchair" and "Nameless"  explore scene politcs to endlessly hooky results. Again, this is the same type of stuff you've heard on "Dixie," perhaps the only real departure is when the band busts out the acoustic guitar for a cover of "Swing Low  Sweet Chariot," which is pretty cool...

This album works as an excellent companion to "Dixie" and brings back warm memories of the 1990's pop-punk heyday...an era  I always thoroughly enjoy revisiting, despite my pounding headache today...You see, I was recently told by a doctor to cut my caffeine intake. I ingest an almost lethal amount of caffeine everyday once you factor in the sheer volume of coffee, Pepsi and Beer Bulls that I ingest daily...So I went ahead and kicked it cold turkey...Which turns out to maybe not be the way to go since I've had a splitting headache that won't go away...But it's hard...I love caffeine...No matter how little sleep I get, once I pound some coffee I'm as good as new... Why are all the things that make life so enjoyable so bad for you? I've compiled a list of things that are bad for us but I still love despite their faults...

No. 1: Alcohol!

 C'mon! I love beer! No matter how shitty a day I might have had,  a beer melts away the stress immediately...How can that be bad? It seems like something this effective in its stress-reducing qualities should be good for you, right? This is unfair!

No. 2: Red Meat!

Look at it! Its aesthetic beauty alone is life-affirming! Unless, you're the animal being eaten...And what really sucks is you can avoid all the items on this list and something else just comes along and kills you! This game is rigged, I tell ya!

No. 3: Stress, Itself!

Stress is so much fun! There's nothing quite like getting pissed off when the car in front of you cuts you off! And nothing quite like the exhilarating feeling of  getting out of your car, finding a tank and demolishing half the downtown area in an orgy of destruction! Can't a guy have some fun?

No. 4: Crack Cocaine!

I just can't believe this stuff is bad for you! I mean, 1070 mg of sodium per serving! That should be illegal!
Hey, I didn't invite you guys over just to unload on ya...I invited you guys to my  Friday Night Record Party so we could rock out to Avail's "Armchair." So let's go...