O Pioneers!!! / Saw Wheel split CD
How awful it must be to always be compared to that Against Me! band. Unfortunately for them, the comparison will follow them around for years, and not without reason (the exclamation marks at the end of their name doesn’t help). O Pioneers!!! is a band made up of two members: guitarist-vocalist Eric Solomon and drummer Jeff Johnson. Together, they play jangly, scream-laden punk rock that fits comfortably into that bourgeoning punk rock craze ‘folk-punk.’ Except for the monotony of the shouted vocals, the music is high-spirited and fun with plenty of shout-alongs.

Saw Wheel also fall under the umbrella called ‘folk-punk,’ only with an entirely different sound. Saw Wheel is singer-songwriter R.J. Cresswell “and friends.” On this particular album his friends are guitarist Richard Crenweldge and bassist Justin Smith. Cresswell’s side of the record bleeds Americana the way that Avail, Rumbleseat or Hot Water Music would—sometimes sincerely, sometimes sarcastically. Saw Wheel uses a more conventional approach to folk music, often accompanied by tambourines or a second acoustic guitar. His lyrics invoke images of rattlesnakes and plastic Jesus statues on the dashboards of what could only be old Chevy pick-up trucks. Using wit and sarcasm, Cresswell warns other countries not to “tread on U.S.” or they will “surely die.”
Layout and CD illustrated by uber-talented punk rock fixture Christy Road. (Team Science)