'Up All Night' by The Van Buren Boys

By Kevin Toomey

9/30/2011

Self-released

Rating: 5/5

Local power-poppers The Van Buren Boys are back with a second full-length album, Up All Night. The band sounds tighter than ever on this album and it’s apparent from the first notes that the whole group improved since its debut. The first thing I noticed about this album was how good the vocals sound. Lead singer Tyler Hansen has been working on his singing and it shows. The backups and harmonies sound great too, which really helps the songs on Up All Night rise above the one-dimensional sound Six String Love had. Listen to “Don’t Wanna Stop” or “Run Around” to see what I mean.

The new album doesn't sound as jam packed with riffs and fancy guitar work, which is a good thing. The Van Buren Boys are good with their instruments but they let the songs on Up All Night speak for themselves rather than hit you over the head with a 'look-what-I-can-do' mentality that crams as much as possible into a song. That’s not to say that the songs are lighter; just a bit more subtle and more natural sounding. The creamy guitar leads combined with the vocal harmonies are catchy as hell and I can’t recommend this record enough. Up All Night is a great sophomore effort and shows a lot of promise for The Van Buren Boys. Stream/download Up All Night at the band’s Bandcamp page and be sure to check out our review of Six String Love here.

'Six String Love' by The Van Buren Boys

By Kevin Toomey
Rating: 4/5
Banana Peel Records CD
9/9/2009

Borrowing its name from a fictional gang in Seinfeld, The Van Buren Boys' debut album is 12 tracks of sleazy, glammy, power pop rock 'n' roll delivered in less than 40 minutes. The disc starts off with “410 W. Springfield Ave,” an homage to the dilapidated punk house in Champaign, Ill., where the singer reminisces about good times over jangley guitar riffs and sing-along choruses. Most of the tracks on Six String Love stick to the tried and true formula of songs about girls, going out, shows, partying, etc. Songs like “Out Tonight” and “Dark Hair and Hazel Eyes” are great to put on at a party or on Friday night when you’re gearing up to go out. But, I think that the real stand out tracks have a hint of despair to them. Whether it’s “Anywhere But Here,” where the singer laments his current situation and wishes he could just pick up and go, or “Get Away,” where (again) the singer just wants to get away from the familiarity of his hometown towards something better, even if he doesn’t quite know where that better place is.
One of my favorite songs on the album, “Luck of the Draw,” tells about watching someone destroy themselves with an addiction. Lines like, “I know you’ve got it rough/And too much is never enough,” have a bit of sadness to them, but you really can’t get too down due to the rocking keyboard and guitar riffs behind the lyrics.
The next tracks more than make up for that though with an optimistic outlook hammered home through what are becoming the band’s trademark gang choruses and more excellent guitar playing. The Van Buren Boys’ two guitar players are really good at what they do. Six String Love is packed from beginning to end with guitar riffs that range from bluesy and having a sort of Keith Richards-vibe to them to more poppy hooks reminiscent of the Exploding Hearts or the Paul Collins Beat. I think that this aspect really shines through in the band's live show more than it does on the recording, where after several listens, the amount of fretwork can be a bit much. Overall though, I really do like Six String Love and would recommend it for any fans of rock 'n' roll, power-pop or punk music. I’m anxious to hear the band's follow up, which they just finished recording and should release sometime this year.

Riot Fest 2011 lineup announced

"Riot Fest Chicago 2011 Lineup
October 5-9, 2011:
Weezer
Social Distortion
Descendents
X (playing Los Angeles in full)
Youth of Today
Suicide Machines
ALL (Scott, Chad and Dave)
Helmet
D Generation
Down By Law
The Business
Strike Anywhere
The Tossers
Macabre
Nachtmystium
The Flatliners
Flatfoot 56
The Menzingers
Banner Pilot
The Pavers
Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band
Shot Baker
The Copyrights
Cheap Girls
Larry and His Flask Dusty Grooves
Chinese Telephones
The Crombies
The Holy Mess
The Van Buren Boys
Neutron Bombs
The Infected Black Actress

Plus a whole bunch more to be announced soon."

I think Weezer's a bit weird (but I would love to see them play their old stuff), but I am really really excited for this. Even the smaller bands; Chinese Telephones, Cheap Girls, The Holy Mess, the Neutron Bombs, Shot Baker, The Copyrights, Banner Pilot...all those bands rule. I'm stoked.