BLEAK/ HELL MARY split 7”
Syracuse’s Bleak offer up their two heaviest tunes yet. The first is a chaotic and violent mess
of a massive shelving collapse in a sledgehammer warehouse. The second track is a slower climb, and then descent, on the
‘ol riot stairs with an incredible chunky breakdown in the middle- like apes
beating on war drums while listening to Crowbar. They are our hometown’s answer to Disembodied. The recently deceased Hell Mary carve
out their niche on the B-side with three quick burners that lie somewhere between
Suicide File’s fun and catchy hardcore and 108’s semi-metallic leanings. The band rips. Too bad they called it a day. Still worth a few clams so pick it up
if you see it around. (Fake Art Fake Music)
BLOODLET, “Live On WFMU” LP
Unearthed from some dusty old vault, live from 1995, the one
and only Bloodlet. Quite
literally, no other band sounded like this when they were at their peak. And to this day no band has ever really
been able to properly imitate them either. This is from a radio performance, when the band was still a
5-piece and they are playing mostly “Ethenogen”-era material. Aside from a couple little audio farts
and a couple minor mess-up’s the sound (and present re-mastering) is great as
is the tightness of the band. A
couple of the songs sound a little different, as they were either slightly
re-worked from their original recordings, or not quite tweaked to perfection
for when they would be laid to wax officially, and that’s interesting to hear
for a person mildly obsessed with this band’s output. Additionally, there is an instrumental track on ere that
never made it on to any official Bloodlet release, so that’s a treat. If there’s anything wrong with this
release I’d have to say it’s lacking a little bit in presentation. I know it’s just a radio session, but
it would have been nice to have an insert with some notes from the band or
whatever, or even a download to go with it, especially given the price. A389 puts out awesome records, but they
tend to be a bit on the pricey side.
(A389 Recordings)
CREEPOID, “Wet” 12”
As if their long-awaited new full length hadn’t just come
out Creepoid released a special one-sided 12” EP for record store day. I’m pretty sure you can find a few of
these floating around as it isn’t one of those things that was gone in an
instant. It’s certainly worth it
as you get 4 new heavy psych-stoner-shoegaze rockers, colored wax, and some
weird-ass involved etching on the B-side.
Aside from the one oddball track of atmospheric strangeness this leans
more on Creepoid’s drugged-out heavy slacker side moreso than their breezy, yet
eerie, tuneful one. This is a
really great, yet brief, collection of songs from one of Philly’s finest. If you can’t find this EP don’t be a
chump, go and get their self-titled LP instead, like now. (Graveface)
CULT LEADER, “Nothing For Us Here” EP
The members of Gaza lost their singer, did some minor
musical chairs, and have now returned as Cult Leader. Basically, in their new formation, it sounds pretty much
just like Gaza. They offer up a
couple deviations from their past efforts, including closer “Driftwood”, which
rides a slow and steady behemoth riff throughout. Opener (well, after the beginning noise track) “Flightless
Birds” treads familiar territory- noisy chaotic metal scattershot like aluminum
shrapnel in a bottle of drano left to explode in a subway station at rush hour
(scary thought, yes?). These same
stomping grounds are re-visited later on “Skincrawler”. So, yes, it’s a bit of a mixed bag for
the band’s debut. But those
familiar with their past efforts will be pleased with this and the sonic
adventures they take you on for, oh, about 15 minutes. (Deathwish)
EX HEX, “Hot and Cold”/”Waterfall”, “Everywhere” 7”
I went to see Rocket From the Crypt a couple times last
month and had no idea who was opening for them. When a trio of bad ass ladies got on stage and proceeded to
rock the fuck out I not only marveled in awe of their rock prowess, but also
something about the guitarist/singer was quite familiar. I then figured out that it was Mary
Timony, long time DC mainstay and former front person of 90’s indie rock
bulldozer Helium (and, more recently, Wild Flag). Needless to say it was a pretty nice surprise. Their introduction on this Trapper
Keeper-looking 7” is three songs.
The first, “Hot and Cold”, is an instant classic. The riffs and vocals have been stuck in
my head for weeks. It’s pretty
damn catchy. They also made a
hilarious video for the song featuring the Spiv, which I highly recommend
watching. “Waterfall” is the sort
of forgettable song on the record.
It’s not bad, but doesn’t quite stick with me either. Closer “Everywhere” once again brings
back super-catchy riffs, especially at it’s somewhat drawn-out ending. Imagine Thin Lizzy being played by
Heart… at a beach…. In the 70’s,
everyone’s eating some pasta salad, having a good time. Yeah, that’s a good record/picnic. (Merge)
FLOOR, “Oblation”
Fuckin’ Floor.
Ten years after they disband they make a new record. While the casual listener may not be
able to tell the difference between this and a Torche record (it is the same
singer/guitarist after all) I’ll offer this- the last several years of Torche
has seen them explore more pop song elements and way more melody to go with
their low-tuned monster rock attack.
Floor have melody too, but prefer the crash and thud of bomb strings,
slower (overall) grooves, and crushing rhythms. OK, so it really is a bit tough to tell the difference
honestly. It doesn’t really matter
because this thing is a pretty damn good return to form. My favorite songs on here tend to be of
the slow, chunky dirges where the drummer still manages to have some swing with
all the smashing of blunt objects going on (try “War Party” or “Trick Scene” for
kicks). For three dudes they
definitely manage to bring the house down and it’s very nice to see them back
in action. (Season Of Mist)
RUINE “Winter 2014 demo” 7”
Soul-crushing, bleak, filthy and mean sludge metal. These cats ain’t fucking around. It’s a 7” and only two songs on it, and
each one uses every iota of available wax to punish you (you probably deserve
it). One mean riff piled atop
another with no hope of ever coming up for air. This is not a bad start for a new (I’m pretty sure they are
new anyway) band. I’m very
interested in hearing more, I’m a glutton for punishment. (Forcefield)
SPRAYPAINT, “Rodeo Songs” 12”
This sounds like Wall Of Voodoo with some of Sonic Youth’s
guitar pedals and tuning. That’s a
compliment by the way. This post-punk
Texas trio is a couple guitars, a drummer, and all three sing these sparse and
weird quick little bursts of punk.
If you want to get all technical I guess they’re kind of a no wave sort
of band, but still kind of rocking in an odd Devo-minus-robot synths sort of
way. So yeah, I mentioned Wall Of
Voodoo. I think it’s because of
the nasally sort of vocals, reverb-y frantic sort of guitar work. I found these songs not translating
quite as well to record as they did live.
Upon seeing this band I have to say I was quite surprised. Fans of weird, yet strangely rocking
music will be intrigued by this, especially if you like the bizzaro stuff AmRep
churned out near the end of their initial run (Calvin Crime, Servotron) or Brainiac. I know I reference a lot of bands that
employ synths, even though Spraypaint don’t use them. I think I’m just comparing bands based on how weird they
are. So maybe it doesn’t make
sense. Honestly, I don’t
care. Spraypaint sound pretty
fucking weird and I’m perfectly OK with that. (S-S Records)
SURROGATES, “Easier Without You” cassette
Local act The Surrogates have gone through multiple lineups
since they began, but have now settled with a half-Syracuse, half-Binghamton
conglomerate. In this time they
have come up with a chunk of pop-punk burners and committed them to tape. While I’ve never been a fan of pop-punk
vocals that go for the semi-nasally nice guy/bratty boy thing (think Blink-182)
I will say the other vocalist who handles things in a bit more gruff manner
delivers well. Musically, I’m
reminded of Baltimore rockers Dead Mechanical, which is never a bad thing. Six quick blasts to make you run around
in circles. (http://thesurrogates.bandcamp.com/ )
THIS AIN’T NO PICNIC, by Josh Ploeg
Josh Ploeg is about as punk as you can get in the
kitchen. The man not only offers
wild concoctions of ingredients I’d never really think of putting together (and
somehow making it work), but also offers tips on cooking on the fly, which
sometimes literally means instructions for cooking on a hot engine block in the
middle of nowhere or making s’mores with a lighter. This is one colorful and weird cookbook. It’s all about getting your hands
dirty, cooking with weird and dirty people, and taking some chances on stuff
you may not have thought of every trying in the past… all vegan, of course.
The author not only offers up many recipes but also meals he thinks well
known punkers would like (John Lydon’s Lavender Tea Cakes or Joey Ramones Black
Bean Pizza), and offers up fun musical playlists throughout. I’ve met the author on a few occasions
and he basically tours the world as a vegan chef much of the year, doing his
thing for bands on the road, important people in far off countries, and creates
countless zines about his cooking.
This will probably be one of the most entertaining cookbooks you will
ever read. It’s also
hilarious. (Microcosm)
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