SCREAMING BLOODY MESS: - Are acoustic guitars (and we’re not talking Dashboard Fucking Confessional here – that fucker is about as punk as Dawson from Dawson’s Creek) the new punk rock? Well they are a lot more punker than sweatbands or studded belt. Steve over at 1-2-3-4 Go! records certainly seems to think so as he has assembled 18 cool punk rock bands to belt out a few unplugged punk ditties. Including NOFX, The Lawrence Arms, Against Me!, Ann Beretta, The Arrivals, Bad Astronaut, Billy Reese Peters, Fifth Hour Hero, The Grabass Charleston’s, Gunmoll, Hex County, Glenn's Army, House on Fire, This Bike is a Pipe Bomb, Jesse Michaels (Operation Ivy/ Common Rider), Justin Perkins, Jerome Sosa, and Kevin Seconds. Highlights include the Grabass Charleston’s (quite possibly my new favourite band) and their rockin ‘Atlanta is a Cocaine Town’. I’m moving there! Other top songs are from Gunmolll and the mighty Against Me! who curiously both have songs called ‘untitled’ and a live version of This Bike is a Pipe Bomb’s ‘Board of Tourism’. 1-2-3-4 Go! is fast becoming my favourite label and this record is a continuation of the their honest to goodness quality releases. Electricity is for losers. Check this album out. (Tim Scott)