''Over the James'' is the fourth studio album by punk rock band

Avail Avail is an American punk rock band from Richmond, Virginia, United States. Originally from Reston, Virginia, the band formed in 1987, its members including Joe Banks, Doug Crosby, Brien Stewart, and Mikey Warstler. The only original remaining ...

. It was released in 1998 on

Lookout! Records Lookout Records (stylized as Lookout! Records) was an independent record label, initially based in Laytonville, California and later in Berkeley, focusing on punk rock. Established in 1987, the label is best known for having released Operation ...

. The album was re-released in 2006 by

Jade Tree Records Jade Tree International, Inc. is an independent record label formed by Darren Walters and Tim Owen in 1990 in Wilmington, Delaware. History Origin (1987–1990) In 1987, Tim Owen and Darren Walters were introduced during a punk show in Washingt ...

. The re-release contains the songs from Avail's split record with the (Young) Pioneers, as well as two tracks recorded for compilations.

Reception and legacy

Brian Raftery of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

gave ''Over the James'' a three star review praising cuts like "Sanctuary 13" and "August" but noting the band's stagnation. Zach Baron of

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

gave the album 7.7 out of 10 praising the album's production, stating: "slicker, slower, longer-- epic, sorta pretentious-- but also the apotheosis of their sound, more or less: All chorus, all the time". In May 2019,

Decibel The decibel (symbol: dB) is a relative unit of measurement equal to one tenth of a bel (B). It expresses the ratio of two values of a power or root-power quantity on a logarithmic scale. Two signals whose levels differ by one decibel have a po ...

inducted ''Over the James'' into their Hall of Fame, calling it a

melodic hardcore Melodic hardcore is a broadly defined subgenre of hardcore punk with a strong emphasis on melody in its guitar work. It generally incorporates fast rhythms, melodic and often distorted guitar riffs, and vocal styles tending towards shouting and ...

classic that was popular among

emo Emo is a rock music genre characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of and hardcore punk from the Washington D.C. hardcore punk scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore and pioneered b ...

and

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

fans alike.

Track listing

All tracks by

2006 Re-Release Bonus Tracks

"Lombardy Street (Acoustic)"
"You May Be Right" (
Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man (song), Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo ...
Cover)
"Suspicious Minds" (
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
Cover)
"Said Gun" (
Embrace Embrace may refer to: * A hug, a form of physical intimacy * Acceptance Music Bands * Embrace (American band), a post-hardcore band from Washington, D.C. * Embrace (English band), a post-Britpop band from West Yorkshire * Embrace (duo), a Dan ...
Cover)

Personnel

Tim Barry Tim Barry is an American musician and the lead singer of the Richmond, Virginia-based punk rock band Avail. In addition to performing with Avail, he was the bass guitarist in the Richmond-based folk punk band (Young) Pioneers from 1994 ...

- lead vocals * Beau Beau Butler - backing vocals * Joe Banks - guitars * Justin "Gwomper" Burdick - bass * Erik Larson - drums

References

{{Authority control Avail albums 1998 albums Lookout! Records albums