I was fortunate enough to get tickets to the first night of Paint It Black’s weekend-long record release festival just hours before it sold out. As I stepped into the crowded basement of Philadelphia’s FirstUnitarianChurch, I was given a free copy of the new record a month before its release date, as promised on the fliers. I had some time to kill before the first band of the night was ready to play, so I stepped out to my car to give it a quick listen. I got so sucked in that I missed the first half of the opener’s set (Amateur Hour, respectively). Philadelphia’s hardcore act Paint It Black has shown tons of progression between their debut CVA and their sophomore release Paradise, and New Lexicon is no different. I believe that “dark” is the only word I can use to describe this one. Dan Yemin’s (Lifetime, Kid Dynamite) lyrics are angrier than ever and the guitar parts tore me to pieces. There is plenty of credit due to the production as well. There are some parts in between most of the fifteen songs involving either drums or feedback that are noisy without being annoying, and create a strange vibe for the record. It’s only January, but I have no doubt in my mind that this will be one of my favorite hardcore records of 2008. –Dave Dillon
–guest (Jade Tree)