Made In America - BEACH SLANG "Who Would Ever Want Anything So Broken?" EP (2014)

It's not easy to define what an anthem is but you usually know one when you hear it. An anthem reaches down into the pit of your stomach by way of your ear holes, rips out your insides and exposes them for everyone to see. At that point you no longer care who's looking at you, you just belt out the lyrics at the top of your lungs to the point of exhaustion and pray for the song to go on forever.

A few names instantly come to mind when I think of bands that have, in my opinion, perfected the art of writing the anthem. The Replacements, The Gaslight Anthem, and Superchunk have all, at one time or another, gotten me to that point where I'm no longer just listening to the song, I'm now living inside of the song. Eye's closed, mouth open, fist's in the air living inside of the song. Philadelphia's Beach Slang has gotten me to that point with their new EP Who Would Ever Want Anything So Broken?, out now on Dead Broke Rekerds.

Made In America - CROW BAIT, "Sliding Through The Halls Of Fate" (2014)

An amalgamation of several local area New York bands including Iron Chic, Sister Kisser, American Hellfire Club, and Jonesin', Long Island, New York punkers Crow Bait formed in 2011 around their love for bands they grew up listening to from the 90's indie/pop-punk scene. Since their formation they've released a few singles, the Three Tickle Guys EP, and covered Husker Du's Dead Set On Destruction for the "Something To Du" tribute.

Crow Bait are set to release their full-length debut album Sliding Through The Halls Of Fate on May 20th via Don Giovanni Records, a label that continues to sign more and more bands that are right in my wheelhouse.

Made In America - Bad Sports, "Bras" (2013)

Musica Cronica's Made In America is back from vacation and man was it ever an exciting August for music fans in the States. First let me address "vacation" from an American point of view. Americans don't generally take vacations like Europeans do. We spend a lot of time hoping that a national holiday falls on a Friday or a Monday where we can have three days off instead of two and during that time off we just think about how to work more. Basically, Americans work and then they die.

Now on to the music! August brought us the highly anticipated reunion of The Replacments. Twenty-one years ago after their last gig, Paul Westerberg and Tommy Stinson reunited on stage at Toronto's Riot Fest. Of course I couldn't go because I had to work. Stereogum has the 22-song audience-recorded set available for your downloading pleasure.

Made In America - Swearin'

Back in March I posted about Waxahatchee, the band formed by singer/songwriter Katie Crutchfield after the breakup of pop-punk outfit P.S. Eliot, which included her twin sister Allison on drums. While in Boston over the weekend to see Buffalo Tom and I was talking with a friend and fellow music fanatic who suggested I check out Swearin'. The name sounded familiar but it didn't register with me until days later that Swearin' was Allison Crutchfield's band.

In Swearin', Allison steps from behind the drumkit, picks up a guitar, and splits vocal and songwriting duties with guitarist and ex-P.S. Eliot bandmate Kyle Gilbride. Jeff Bolt (Drums) and Keith Spencer (Bass) make up the rest of the Brooklyn based lineup.

While the vocal stylings of the Crutchfield sisters are almost indiscernible, Allison maintains and builds on her pop-punk background with the release of Swearin's self-titled debut (october-2012) out on Salinas Records.

Swearin' percolates nicely, in the vein of seminal indie gods Superchunk, with the danceable and hook-laden Shriking Violets and Just and is nicely balanced out by Divine/Mimosa and Empty Head, two songs that The Breeders' Kim Deal would be proud to call lo-fi. This balance make Swearin' an overall fun and easily listenable album.