What can I say, it's a real mixed bag this time around. But that's the way I like it. Throw a bunch of variety in the pot and see what sort of weirdo stew you can concoct. read on young reader and take in the sights and sounds of these offerings. I'll have plenty of detailed news on the label front forthcoming, but for now here some snippits: Oak and Bone records are done, Night Owls stuff slightly delayed but will see the light of day soon, and plenty of touring going on.
ANDALUSIANS, ‘Do the Work” 7”
This is the , more or less, solo project from Basla Andolsun from Beauty Pill, an often overlooked, but excellent band from the DC/ Dischord stable. I get the impression Basla wrote and arranged all of these songs and then has various musicians come in and flesh them out. On this 3-song seven inch (the download version has 6 songs) you can hear bits of the quixotic pop common to Beauty Pill, with Basla’s distinctive voice on top of it all. Vocally, it’s somewhat akin to Sleater-Kinney, but with a little less rage and a bit more focus on the melody. The music follows suit with much of Dischord’s output these days- hints of post-punk, catchy songwriting, and a sort of ‘adult’ feel to it all. I rather like it. Andalusians also mess around with some cool percussion on a few of these songs that add a lot to the rhythmic feel of it all. It’s a pleasant listen with lots of little surprises along the way. (Dischord, www.dischord.com)
ANTIGAMA, “Warning”
If anything, this is a pretty interesting listen. Grindcore, for me, is a passing fancy and not a full-on obsession. Not many people can take that sort of sonic beating day in day out. With that, I’m glad Antigama throw a lot of curveballs into their bizarro grindcore. In some ways it reminds me of all the crazy twists and turns that Ed Gein used to insert into their breakneck jams, but with more weird shit. Antigama play with some uncommon percussive elements within their songs for a change of pace, and lots of odd stops and starts. This is my first time hearing them and I have to say I was intrigued. Still, at 16 songs it got to be a little too much. I would have been stoked on 8. What can I say, I’m a grindcore lightweight. (Relapse, www.relapse.com)
MAKE DO AND MEND, “Bodies Of Water” CDEP
I’m used to Panic Records releasing rather fast and vicious hardcore. So when I put this on and started hearing some hokey melodies I was a little confused. It took a little while but things kicked in eventually, though stayed fairly slow to mid-tempo most of the time. Think Sunny Day Real Estate at their most ferocious, or Small Brown Bike playing it safe. A happy medium might get you Make Do and Mend. In the end it’s not doing a whole lot for me, but if the description does anything for you I think these guys were basically giving this thing away for free through their site... which sort of makes pressing it on a CD almost pointless. In which case, forget everything I just said. Times are tough for record label folks. Give them some money. (Panic Records, www.panicrecords.net)
MUMAKIL, “Behold the Failure”
The name threw me as I thought I was in for some strange voodoo chant band, ala Bubba Smith from “Police Academy 4: Back On the Streets” when he’s chanting in the back of the van. Sure, it’s not quite exact, but close enough. In all honesty, I have no idea what this band’s name means, but I think it probably roughly translates to ‘we like Nasum’. After all, their is European brethren here, culled from the likes of other Euro ass-kicking bands like Knut and Nostromo. So yes, I’m hearing a lot of Nasum intensity here- tight as a drum blasting grind with enough rough edges that you’ll get paper cuts if you put your hand too close to the speaker. When it comes to grind vocals I’m way more into the screechy, throat-shredding kind, and not so much the low garbled growl type. Unfortunately, we get a lot of the latter here. And at a whopping 27 songs it gets a little dull after awhile. Otherwise, a pretty tight record. (Relapse, www.relapse.com)
ONE WIN CHOICE, “Define/Redefine” CDEP
I’m not positive if I got the full package here, but either way I’m not going to complain. This whole tree/roots motif going on that feels silkscreened (not sure if it is or not) is pretty nice. Aside from that you get a band that has a melodic punk sort of thing going on. I’m not really sure if there is some sort of accurate subgenre categorization for it... I guess maybe take some of the more current Strike Anywhere stuff and make it a little less punk and more melodic. Or perhaps Polar Bear Club with a bit more bite? Somewhere between there lies One Win Choice. You can get these five songs and decide for yourself. How about that? (Jump Start, www.jumpstartrecords.com)
O’ PIONEERS, “Neon Creeps”
A bit of confusion led me to where I’m at right now with O’Pioneers. It all started last Summer when they went on tour with a couple other bands and played nearby. The only problem is, O’Pioneers canceled and the other bands still played. I ended up really liking those other bands though. Fast forward to Halloween and I was at Gainesville Fest really excited to actually see O’Pioneers this time around. Earlier in the weekend I had picked up their first full length, “Black Mambas” and patiently awaited to see them. But it turns out I wasn’t all that bowled over by them. It was those other bands from the Summer who were also playing The Fest that I wanted to see and fooled myself into thinking it was O’Pioneers. The next week when I was home I gave “Black Mambas” a spin and it just didn’t do it for me. Most of that was probably because it’s a somewhat poor recording and there’s no bass on the record. Present day, O’Pioneers has actually played in Syracuse on tour for this new record and a lot has changed. They are entertaining, fun, appreciative, and with a full rhythm section that adds loads to their music. Their new record sounds full, legit, tight, and fun. They’re not necessarily doing anything that hasn’t been perfected for years down in sweaty sing-along punk dives in Gainesville. But they do it well. You got the simple jangly guitars, gravely vocals, and quick songs with so much sing-along potential it’s no wonder people are starting to take notice of this band. I’m a big fan of the last song, “Cool Kid City” and perhaps you’ll be a big fan of O’Pioneers should you have any interest in that style of punk. (Asian Man, www.asianmanrecords.com)
RED FANG, s/t
I made a horrible mistake showing up late the last time I saw Clutch because this band was opening for them and I’m sure they would have loosened the stool from my lower intestine had I witnessed them... and who doesn’t like to shit their trousers once in awhile? Well, I don’t. But I still would have liked to catch Red Fang. Instead, I had to settle for a video for the song “Prehistoric Dog”, which is the lead off track on this record and probably the strongest song on here. If the video does not give you the impression of what kind of band this is- building armor out of old beer cans so they can fight LARPer’s- than you take music too seriously. I appreciate when a band such as Red Fang can come out of nowhere and completely kick your ass and at the same time have a lot of fun with it. That’s what kind of jams you’ll find here. Take some of the vocal inflections and thick slabs of rock laid out by Kyuss, some over-the-top epic thunder of Big Business, and a dose of grimey guitar noise ala Unsane and that’s a good start in describing what Red Fang are going for here. At this point you should probably stop reading this and get this record so you can adequately plan for your next house rager that will surely culminate in you getting evicted. (Sargent House, www.sargenthouse.com)
SONOROUS GALE, “Two’s a Crowd” 12”
When I think of Buffalo hardcore I tend to think of meat and potatoes ham-fisted tough guy music. Maybe that’s because when I was younger and lived there for a spell that was pretty prevalent around there. Little did I know is that the town had a thriving basement punk scene, which I guess has grown even more prominent since I left. Some of the bands that emerged out of that eventually split up and went on to make further mutations out of that sound. Sonorous Gale is one such band that has moved out of their exclusively punk roots and gone for something equally as raging, but in a different sort of way. This band is a two piece drum and bass group that is essentially echoing what fellow thunder rockers Big Business are doing. It’s a little less involved insofar as song structure, and the vocals are more of a scathing scream than a mighty bellow, but the general concept remains the same. Distort the shit out of that bass and utilize it for both rhythm and leads, and then drop A-bombs of rocking heaviness and there you have the basics for Sonorous Gale. Ta- da! (Wrong Foot Recordings, wrongfootrecordings@yahoo.com)
SWAMP THING, “In Shame”
Good thing this band has a good name and some sweet artwork going for them because otherwise I don’t really see the difference between this and 5000 other punk hardcore bands doing the exact same thing. I know the same can be said for noisecore bands, or post-hardcore bands, and I dissect those like one prepares a dissertation for acceptance into grad school. Fast hardcore is ‘my thing’ in a matter of speaking, for the handful of bands that definitely do it for me. But I can barely tell the difference anymore much of the time. (6131 Records, 6131records.com)
TITLE TRACKS 7”
Another Dischord Records all-star makes a solo debut that incorporates other musicians into rounding out one man’s efforts. This time it’s John Davis, drummer from Q and Not U and Corm, showcasing his skills on guitar and vocals, and joined by former members of Kid Dynamite and Good Clean Fun to do this band called Title Tracks. Right off the bat I’m super into these two songs here, which take a shot at some Buzzcocks style post-punk and a lot of early Elvis Costello rocking, complete with organ parts adding a lot of flair to the already catchy as shit jams. I’m all for bands rediscovering the great stuff from the late 70’s and early 80’s new wave and punk scene and incorporating it into the present. Maybe it’s not Title Tracks intent to go for this, but to me, this is what it sounds like and I’m all for it. My only gripe is that this is only two songs. We want more! (Dischord, www.dischord.com)
V/A, “Mercy For None” 7” compilation
Wow, it’s seriously refreshing to see an actual compilation record again. I can’t even remember the last time there has been a legit comp. like this. I’m not even into all these bands, I’m just happy to see a record again that has a bunch of bands I’ve never heard, all contributing new songs, with an insert that has a section for each band with their own artwork on it. No one does that anymore and it’s sad because stuff like that used to get me so excited about checking out new bands. It seems that it all got replaced with the dreaded sampler CD. Obviously, those have their place in getting a bunch of bands you may never have heard out to as many people as possible, but I definitely prefer the more personal approach of something like this where you get a little insight into each band here. For the most part the six bands on here have more of a NYHC sort of vibe with their songs. Absolute Madness (which I think is dudes from Terror) offer a lightning fast attack, while Alpha and Omega have the longest song here complete with an intro befitting an Integrity song. Naysayer bring up a little more on the noisy end a bit while Brick... well, let’s just say their name is befitting them well. The KRS-One intro and linear notes make this whole thing pretty special and it’s nice to see it handled so well. Good work. (Reaper Records, www.reaper-records.com)
“ZINES AND THE POLITICS OF ALTERNATIVE CULTURE”. by Stephen Duncombe
So last time I reviewed a book called “Make a Zine” that was a pretty serious, but fun, guide to making zines. So if that book was light reading for the inner workings of zines, this is like the “War and Peace” anthropological study on them. I feel like this book is a worthwhile (and extensive) study on how zines came about, why they reside on the fringes of popular culture, and why most people who are involved with them have a sort of leftist leaning. At some points I feel like this writer is very right on with breaking down the cultural aspects of zine culture, and other times it feels like he’s really grasping at straws to try and show all zinesters as this or that. It feels a little bogged down in politics and pushes certain points that I feel are unnecessary. I’ve read plenty of zines that are completely apolitical and the whole lot of zine writers don’t necessarily give a rat’s ass about punk music, or big brother. I’d say a large percentage of zinesters certainly have some political ideology that is liberal or leftist in nature, and many are into punk ideology. But I feel this writer is painting too broad of strokes in trying to show zine culture, in it’s entirety, leans this way or that. Maybe if your some niche anthropology student you might get a kick out of this. I found it interesting in the historical content, but not not so much on the political side of it... which made it rather laborious to get through. (Microcosm, www.microcosmpublishing.com)
ANDALUSIANS, ‘Do the Work” 7”
This is the , more or less, solo project from Basla Andolsun from Beauty Pill, an often overlooked, but excellent band from the DC/ Dischord stable. I get the impression Basla wrote and arranged all of these songs and then has various musicians come in and flesh them out. On this 3-song seven inch (the download version has 6 songs) you can hear bits of the quixotic pop common to Beauty Pill, with Basla’s distinctive voice on top of it all. Vocally, it’s somewhat akin to Sleater-Kinney, but with a little less rage and a bit more focus on the melody. The music follows suit with much of Dischord’s output these days- hints of post-punk, catchy songwriting, and a sort of ‘adult’ feel to it all. I rather like it. Andalusians also mess around with some cool percussion on a few of these songs that add a lot to the rhythmic feel of it all. It’s a pleasant listen with lots of little surprises along the way. (Dischord, www.dischord.com)
ANTIGAMA, “Warning”
If anything, this is a pretty interesting listen. Grindcore, for me, is a passing fancy and not a full-on obsession. Not many people can take that sort of sonic beating day in day out. With that, I’m glad Antigama throw a lot of curveballs into their bizarro grindcore. In some ways it reminds me of all the crazy twists and turns that Ed Gein used to insert into their breakneck jams, but with more weird shit. Antigama play with some uncommon percussive elements within their songs for a change of pace, and lots of odd stops and starts. This is my first time hearing them and I have to say I was intrigued. Still, at 16 songs it got to be a little too much. I would have been stoked on 8. What can I say, I’m a grindcore lightweight. (Relapse, www.relapse.com)
MAKE DO AND MEND, “Bodies Of Water” CDEP
I’m used to Panic Records releasing rather fast and vicious hardcore. So when I put this on and started hearing some hokey melodies I was a little confused. It took a little while but things kicked in eventually, though stayed fairly slow to mid-tempo most of the time. Think Sunny Day Real Estate at their most ferocious, or Small Brown Bike playing it safe. A happy medium might get you Make Do and Mend. In the end it’s not doing a whole lot for me, but if the description does anything for you I think these guys were basically giving this thing away for free through their site... which sort of makes pressing it on a CD almost pointless. In which case, forget everything I just said. Times are tough for record label folks. Give them some money. (Panic Records, www.panicrecords.net)
MUMAKIL, “Behold the Failure”
The name threw me as I thought I was in for some strange voodoo chant band, ala Bubba Smith from “Police Academy 4: Back On the Streets” when he’s chanting in the back of the van. Sure, it’s not quite exact, but close enough. In all honesty, I have no idea what this band’s name means, but I think it probably roughly translates to ‘we like Nasum’. After all, their is European brethren here, culled from the likes of other Euro ass-kicking bands like Knut and Nostromo. So yes, I’m hearing a lot of Nasum intensity here- tight as a drum blasting grind with enough rough edges that you’ll get paper cuts if you put your hand too close to the speaker. When it comes to grind vocals I’m way more into the screechy, throat-shredding kind, and not so much the low garbled growl type. Unfortunately, we get a lot of the latter here. And at a whopping 27 songs it gets a little dull after awhile. Otherwise, a pretty tight record. (Relapse, www.relapse.com)
ONE WIN CHOICE, “Define/Redefine” CDEP
I’m not positive if I got the full package here, but either way I’m not going to complain. This whole tree/roots motif going on that feels silkscreened (not sure if it is or not) is pretty nice. Aside from that you get a band that has a melodic punk sort of thing going on. I’m not really sure if there is some sort of accurate subgenre categorization for it... I guess maybe take some of the more current Strike Anywhere stuff and make it a little less punk and more melodic. Or perhaps Polar Bear Club with a bit more bite? Somewhere between there lies One Win Choice. You can get these five songs and decide for yourself. How about that? (Jump Start, www.jumpstartrecords.com)
O’ PIONEERS, “Neon Creeps”
A bit of confusion led me to where I’m at right now with O’Pioneers. It all started last Summer when they went on tour with a couple other bands and played nearby. The only problem is, O’Pioneers canceled and the other bands still played. I ended up really liking those other bands though. Fast forward to Halloween and I was at Gainesville Fest really excited to actually see O’Pioneers this time around. Earlier in the weekend I had picked up their first full length, “Black Mambas” and patiently awaited to see them. But it turns out I wasn’t all that bowled over by them. It was those other bands from the Summer who were also playing The Fest that I wanted to see and fooled myself into thinking it was O’Pioneers. The next week when I was home I gave “Black Mambas” a spin and it just didn’t do it for me. Most of that was probably because it’s a somewhat poor recording and there’s no bass on the record. Present day, O’Pioneers has actually played in Syracuse on tour for this new record and a lot has changed. They are entertaining, fun, appreciative, and with a full rhythm section that adds loads to their music. Their new record sounds full, legit, tight, and fun. They’re not necessarily doing anything that hasn’t been perfected for years down in sweaty sing-along punk dives in Gainesville. But they do it well. You got the simple jangly guitars, gravely vocals, and quick songs with so much sing-along potential it’s no wonder people are starting to take notice of this band. I’m a big fan of the last song, “Cool Kid City” and perhaps you’ll be a big fan of O’Pioneers should you have any interest in that style of punk. (Asian Man, www.asianmanrecords.com)
RED FANG, s/t
I made a horrible mistake showing up late the last time I saw Clutch because this band was opening for them and I’m sure they would have loosened the stool from my lower intestine had I witnessed them... and who doesn’t like to shit their trousers once in awhile? Well, I don’t. But I still would have liked to catch Red Fang. Instead, I had to settle for a video for the song “Prehistoric Dog”, which is the lead off track on this record and probably the strongest song on here. If the video does not give you the impression of what kind of band this is- building armor out of old beer cans so they can fight LARPer’s- than you take music too seriously. I appreciate when a band such as Red Fang can come out of nowhere and completely kick your ass and at the same time have a lot of fun with it. That’s what kind of jams you’ll find here. Take some of the vocal inflections and thick slabs of rock laid out by Kyuss, some over-the-top epic thunder of Big Business, and a dose of grimey guitar noise ala Unsane and that’s a good start in describing what Red Fang are going for here. At this point you should probably stop reading this and get this record so you can adequately plan for your next house rager that will surely culminate in you getting evicted. (Sargent House, www.sargenthouse.com)
SONOROUS GALE, “Two’s a Crowd” 12”
When I think of Buffalo hardcore I tend to think of meat and potatoes ham-fisted tough guy music. Maybe that’s because when I was younger and lived there for a spell that was pretty prevalent around there. Little did I know is that the town had a thriving basement punk scene, which I guess has grown even more prominent since I left. Some of the bands that emerged out of that eventually split up and went on to make further mutations out of that sound. Sonorous Gale is one such band that has moved out of their exclusively punk roots and gone for something equally as raging, but in a different sort of way. This band is a two piece drum and bass group that is essentially echoing what fellow thunder rockers Big Business are doing. It’s a little less involved insofar as song structure, and the vocals are more of a scathing scream than a mighty bellow, but the general concept remains the same. Distort the shit out of that bass and utilize it for both rhythm and leads, and then drop A-bombs of rocking heaviness and there you have the basics for Sonorous Gale. Ta- da! (Wrong Foot Recordings, wrongfootrecordings@yahoo.com)
SWAMP THING, “In Shame”
Good thing this band has a good name and some sweet artwork going for them because otherwise I don’t really see the difference between this and 5000 other punk hardcore bands doing the exact same thing. I know the same can be said for noisecore bands, or post-hardcore bands, and I dissect those like one prepares a dissertation for acceptance into grad school. Fast hardcore is ‘my thing’ in a matter of speaking, for the handful of bands that definitely do it for me. But I can barely tell the difference anymore much of the time. (6131 Records, 6131records.com)
TITLE TRACKS 7”
Another Dischord Records all-star makes a solo debut that incorporates other musicians into rounding out one man’s efforts. This time it’s John Davis, drummer from Q and Not U and Corm, showcasing his skills on guitar and vocals, and joined by former members of Kid Dynamite and Good Clean Fun to do this band called Title Tracks. Right off the bat I’m super into these two songs here, which take a shot at some Buzzcocks style post-punk and a lot of early Elvis Costello rocking, complete with organ parts adding a lot of flair to the already catchy as shit jams. I’m all for bands rediscovering the great stuff from the late 70’s and early 80’s new wave and punk scene and incorporating it into the present. Maybe it’s not Title Tracks intent to go for this, but to me, this is what it sounds like and I’m all for it. My only gripe is that this is only two songs. We want more! (Dischord, www.dischord.com)
V/A, “Mercy For None” 7” compilation
Wow, it’s seriously refreshing to see an actual compilation record again. I can’t even remember the last time there has been a legit comp. like this. I’m not even into all these bands, I’m just happy to see a record again that has a bunch of bands I’ve never heard, all contributing new songs, with an insert that has a section for each band with their own artwork on it. No one does that anymore and it’s sad because stuff like that used to get me so excited about checking out new bands. It seems that it all got replaced with the dreaded sampler CD. Obviously, those have their place in getting a bunch of bands you may never have heard out to as many people as possible, but I definitely prefer the more personal approach of something like this where you get a little insight into each band here. For the most part the six bands on here have more of a NYHC sort of vibe with their songs. Absolute Madness (which I think is dudes from Terror) offer a lightning fast attack, while Alpha and Omega have the longest song here complete with an intro befitting an Integrity song. Naysayer bring up a little more on the noisy end a bit while Brick... well, let’s just say their name is befitting them well. The KRS-One intro and linear notes make this whole thing pretty special and it’s nice to see it handled so well. Good work. (Reaper Records, www.reaper-records.com)
“ZINES AND THE POLITICS OF ALTERNATIVE CULTURE”. by Stephen Duncombe
So last time I reviewed a book called “Make a Zine” that was a pretty serious, but fun, guide to making zines. So if that book was light reading for the inner workings of zines, this is like the “War and Peace” anthropological study on them. I feel like this book is a worthwhile (and extensive) study on how zines came about, why they reside on the fringes of popular culture, and why most people who are involved with them have a sort of leftist leaning. At some points I feel like this writer is very right on with breaking down the cultural aspects of zine culture, and other times it feels like he’s really grasping at straws to try and show all zinesters as this or that. It feels a little bogged down in politics and pushes certain points that I feel are unnecessary. I’ve read plenty of zines that are completely apolitical and the whole lot of zine writers don’t necessarily give a rat’s ass about punk music, or big brother. I’d say a large percentage of zinesters certainly have some political ideology that is liberal or leftist in nature, and many are into punk ideology. But I feel this writer is painting too broad of strokes in trying to show zine culture, in it’s entirety, leans this way or that. Maybe if your some niche anthropology student you might get a kick out of this. I found it interesting in the historical content, but not not so much on the political side of it... which made it rather laborious to get through. (Microcosm, www.microcosmpublishing.com)
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