Bearing a moniker that just oozes 'emo,' My Life in Rain had always struck me as the runt of the litter of the D.C. scene. Ultimately, this crew never quite meshed with any of the sub rosa contingents of their day, be it punk, hardcore, or again, emo. A trio of albums were released during their mid-90s lifespan, but according to this handy discography, the single in question (produced by ex-Gray Matter/Senator Flux figurehead Geoff Turner) was their debut offering. The three-cut ...Ballistic Helmet is a sturdy slice of hard-strummed, no frills indie-rawk, just not particularly revelatory.
A. Handcuff
B1. Exependable
B2. Lost
It's a damn shame this Buckeye State crew has ostensibly thrown in the towel, 'cos boy, The All Golden knew how to start an album off with a bang! The leadoff "Your Bad Wires" is an absolutely exhilarating rush that surges and swells on the crest of some very prominent and chilly synth manipulations, recalling the most visceral work of the Wrens, and to a lesser extent Death Cab. Near-mindblowing, I tell ya, as is track three "Velikovsky," which revels in a like-minded, dense deluge of sonic glory, packing another stupefyingly killer hook into the mix. From that point on, A Long Good Friday's quality control isn't as stringent, though you'll still be compelled to stick around for the rest of the show which veers from state-of-the-art indie rock a la aughts-era Guided By Voices, to honey-dipped (though not heavy handed) psych-pop, not far removed from say, the High Dials. 
The '90s produced no shortage of rip-snorting, take-no-prisoners, dragstrip punk bands who existed well outside the fringes of grunge and traditional hardcore, but nonetheless possessed the fervor of those firey strains of rock 'n roll. Key among them were New Bomb Turks, (early) Supersuckers, Zeke, and Nine Pound Hammer. You can safely tack on Spokane, WA's Fumes to that coveted list. Helmed by one Dee Farmin and spanning the better part of the Clinton-era, The Fumes played up dysfunctional, blue-collar motifs without over-exaggerating them, and spawned three brutally scalding albums in the process: Knock Out the Axis in 1993, Self-Appointed Guardian of the Machine from '96 and Pure Bad Luck arriving two years later. The brunt of their most crucial recordings are enshrined in that trifecta of barnburning platters, but I'll be damned if their bevy of 7" eps didn't offer some equally potent scorchers as well. This nifty assemblege of (mostly) non-LP tracks has been a long time coming, and I could kick myself for not relaying them earlier. 
Chronologically ordered, these eighteen numbers chart the Fumes progression from garage hooligans to booze laden speed-demons, who never got their due at any period during their tenure. And speaking of libations, like fine wine the Fumes improved as they aged, becoming all the more assaulting, not to mention downright fun. That being said, their later singles were the most convincing, as exemplified by the barreling energy exuded on "Soil," "Flamethrower" and "Depression." I might also offer that if you've got a hankering for the Dwarves, the sixteen-second "Sister" could easily pass for a Blood, Guts & Pussy outtake. Now that takes talent. The fellas close things out with a faithful rendition of AC/DC's "Kicked in the Teeth Again." This compilation is a good indoctrination into the world of the Fumes, but their aforementioned albums are essential (and most likely available for dirt cheap on Amazon and Half.com). You can download the Self- Appointed Guardian... disk here. After the group disbanded, Dee parlayed his luck into the none-too-dissimilar Dee Farmin Army, though I'm unclear if they had any proper releases to speak of.
01. Ways to Enjoy Life
It may shock some of you, this retro-fitted blogger partakes in music past the mid-90s. Plenty of it in fact, as evidenced by 2008 & 2009 year end rundowns. Much like those years, there was a modicum of challenge in tabulating twenty albums from this year that I felt truly enthusiastic about. As was the case with Passion Pit's stunning 2009 entry Manners, 2010 had a far and away front runner via Ben Folds collaborative LP with High Fidelity author Nick Hornby titled Lonely Avenue. Hornby reportedly did all the lyrical legwork, while Ben masterminded the compositions, though you'd swear on a stack of bibles moon-high that the character sketches and oddball vignettes populating Lonely Avenue was the trademark prose of Ben himself. The album doesn't rest on the strength of the songwriting alone, rather Ben's sublime melodies bolster Avenue with a vitality that hasn't been so utterly consistent since the first two Ben Folds Five platters. And don't get me started on how viscerally intoxicating the ballads are. 
...BUT what about a dozen of my once reliable standbys that released new albums year: The Thermals, Damien Jurado, Someone Still Loves Your Boris Yeltsin, Ted Leo, Rogue Wave, Band of Horses, Manic Street Preachers, Two Hours Traffic, Pete Yorn, Interpol, Rooney, and even Tobin Sprout? Yes, they all hit the shelves, but considerably shy of the dartboard as well. In years past most of the aforementioned would breeze into my top-20 album roll quick as an eyelash, but 2010 was the year I had to gauge otherwise. Though generally better than tolerable, the offerings from these once consistently satisfying crusaders were regrettably less than stimulating or outright sub-par...and by and large not even deserving of a worthy mention. These folks disappointed the hell out of me, and I hope they can rekindle some of their former moxie in the years to come. Ok, bitchfest over. Boy, that was cathartic
I haven't even had the chance to touch upon my suggested reissues for 2010, but when I can catch my next breath later this week I'll try to share some pertinent links and online reviews. Thank you class of '10.