Hex Records: July 2015

Ooh yeah, read opinions about records, that should get anyone's motor revving. Not really. Instead, just read this stuff and maybe buy these records. There's a lot of activity around the Hexquarters, and plenty of big news to come in the very near future, so best I squeeze these in here before a flood of other new stuff pops up.

COLISEUM, “Anxiety’s Kiss”

Having seen this band since they began I feel like their trajectory got more aggressive with each release, peaking at “No Salvation” before they took a decidedly different turn into post-punk (and I guess post-hardcore) territory with “House With a Curse” (which still remains my overall favorite Coliseum record in their fairly large catalog), and began to get less bluntly aggressive with each release. But that’s the trick that makes them such a wonderful band- they still write incredibly aggressive and confrontational music, just with a decidedly more melodic and experimental bent these days. I mean, the first two tracks on “Anxiety’s Kiss”- “We Are the Water” and “Course Correction”- are some of the strongest material the band has ever written, both lyrically and musically. “We Are the Water”, a unity rally delivered with driving bass, pulsing synth, and anthemic riffs culled from years of listening to Dischord Records is the perfect opener. “Course Correction” is more in line with Coliseum of old, a raging hardcore dig at the one percent and burning down banks. But there is change, and it is good. The band has introduced minor synth accompaniment on almost every song here, mostly as a textural addition, and hardly dominating any given song (although A-side closer “Dark Light Of Seduction” ends with a diminishing synth loop that goes into a locked groove, just so you know it’s there. “Comedown” utilizes this more electronic aspect to great effect as a pulsating background for the entire song to make it feel like some futuristic dystopian car chase movie soundtrack. It’s one of the best songs on here. “Driver At Dusk” is a slow and methodical track that recalls first LP Tortoise in its spatial meandering and spoken vocals of driving through the night, stark and beautiful. The album closes with the thumping post-hardcore bliss of “Escape Yr Skull”, a loud and bouncy track that ends things on a note uncommon for Coliseum… but that’s the point. Move forward, try new things, and somehow still be that same band that has been doing great things for years. Yeah, this might not be my favorite Coliseum record of them all, but there’s a pretty good chance that could change by year’s end. (Deathwish)

CREEPOID, “Cemetery High Rise Slum”

Am I just getting used to what Creepoid blew my mind with a few years ago so that each new release isn’t hitting me as hard, or does this record just sound like a straight continuation of their last self-titled LP? Like, there’s no progression, or maturity, it feels like the self-titled got released and they just kept writing. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, because that was a good record. So, by default, that makes this a good record as well. Yet I feel on their debut, “Horse Heaven”, not only was there a strong variety in the types of songs they did and a lot more distinct variation within many of the songs doing a loud-quiet-loud thing that I found to be quite exciting. The songs on “Cemetery High Rise Slum” feel like one big swirling psychedelic haze of dreamy vocals, rocking tempos, and fuzzed-out guitar wails. There is a soft-side to all their noise that is countered with an underlying sort of looming Manson family type of drugged-out terror, just waiting to be unleashed. The sadist in me sort of wants more of that cheap-drug freak-out bleeding walls mania. It’s a damn good record, but that sort of live insanity this band produces (seriously, go see them) doesn’t come off as strong as I was hoping on this one. (Collect Records)

FAILURE, “The Heart Is a Monster”

This album is a monster. At 18 tracks (6 of which are segues) and over an hour of music it’s a lot to take in. You basically get one song for every year that Failure has been out of commission. They had a lot of time to come up with a lot of stuff, so I guess you will have to forgive them for making this record a little lengthy. I never quite picked up on this band, having heard their name thrown about in their heyday, lazily checking out a couple of their albums half-attentively, and then sort of dismissing it as good, but not really anything I’d put on constant rotation. They were relegated as a footnote in the back of my mind while scores of other bands took cues from what they did and paid deep homage (Cave-In most notably, The Life and Times/Shiner most assuredly- even though they existed in similar times). All in all I knew what I was probably getting and I’m happy with what I hear. There are certainly some very strong tracks here, ones that I find myself humming after only a couple listens, and then there are all the segues, which feel a bit unnecessary. For long time fans of the group rejoice for it hath arrived. For the passive fan such as myself consider it a good slab of thoroughly thought-out, and expertly executed space rock that can be enjoyed by pretty much anyone. (INgrooves)

FIGHT AMP, “Constantly Off”

Long-running Philly scum rockers Fight Amp pull a hat trick out of their ass and strike back with an EP (they call it an LP, but it’s six songs in 18 minutes) that pretty much rules. I gotta admit I wasn’t too swayed with their last full length, “Birth Control”. Sure, it did the trick of being a solid noise rock outing, but nothing on it really stuck with me. At least this keeps things pretty short and sweet and has a barrage of riffs raining down on you. Not only does “I Perceive Reptoids” have the best title on the record, it’s probably the best track here with it’s lumbering sort of catchiness (in it’s own sludgy and filthy way). If you want to roll with some Melvins type stuff, but less stop-and-go and pretty much all go Fight Amp, and this record in particular, is a pretty good way to roll. (Brutal Panda)

SELF DEFENSE FAMILY, “Heaven Is Earth”

Self Defense Family keep things interesting because they always take an approach to what they do without the slightest bit of concern as to what others think, and they generally do a very good job of presenting it successfully. They write and record constantly. Most of the songs on this record fit in with how they have been writing music for the last couple years- a combination of Lungfish’s repetitive ragas, hazy atmospheric drones of melody and spoken word-style vocals, and a few upbeat songs scattered throughout. So in one respect it’s not terribly out of line with what SDF has been doing. In other respects they try some new things- recording at multiple studios for one record (not really noticeable in the overall sound), throwing in some piano and harmonica into songs, and some different approaches to vocals. As always, the lyrics are fascinating to read, filled with clever snark and great wordplay (such as the catchy and upbeat “Everybody Wants a Prize”), or heavy bombast (as on “Talia”, easily the record’s strongest song and possibly in the top five songs the band has ever written). It’s a relatively succinct record though, when compared to last year’s “Try Me”, a sprawling double LP complete with an interview that took up two of those sides. At eight songs and roughly 26 minutes “Heaven Is Earth” is not going for any conceptual landmarks, but it does the job of showcasing a band right where they’re at right now. Who am I kidding, they probably have a dozen more 7”s in the can awaiting pressing from some label that doesn’t exist yet. They probably don’t even play these songs live anymore because they’re already onto the next thing. (Deathwish)

SPRAYPAINT, “Punters On the Barge”

Spray Paint don’t really change, so much as they just get better at what they’ve been doing since they began. This being their fourth LP in as many years the band is no doubt prolific, even though each album gets shorter and shorter (“Rodeo Songs” was a full-on 15 tracks, which last years “Clean Blood, Regular Acid” was a respectable 12, and this new one 10 quick blasts). They’ve gotten better at recording, or I should say, being recorded, as this is the cleanest, most polished record of theirs to date. I’m not sure how I feel about that though. I’m all for bands not sounding like garbage on record, but there’s a little bit of roughness I enjoy about all things punk-related and that sense of mysterious weirdness seemed to peak on the aforementioned “Clean Blood…”, with its perfect balance of accentuating the weird parts vividly, yet still keeping a touch of the cave-style dankness. Yet the Austin trio does throw a few new tricks into play, particularly on the B-side where “Soiled” dips into foggy guitar bellows, spooky basement squeals, and jutting stabs of noise. “Fishing” begins with a squealing tape loop that makes you think your record player fucked up, and using various spurts of warped guitar play as hooks, all to unique effect. “Day Of the Rope” closes out the A-side with wild post-punk dirges, sequencer-sounding drumming, and buzzing synths humming throughout for a try at something both new and nerves-wracked anxiety-driven. “Pay your rent, motherfucker!” (Homeless)

THOU/ GREAT FALLS, split 7”

Both bands cover Shellac. And that’s a pretty good thing to do. You get this cool silkscreened package and two crazy-ass bands, and the subject of which is another wild band… yeah, sign me up. Great Falls does an absolutely bonkers neurotic version of “Wingwalker”. Sure, the original is pretty bad ass in it’s own right, but Great Falls have that way of getting all ‘random stabs in the darkness during a prison riot’ that just turns this song into a well-recorded and heavy nightmare. Thou take on the classic “Prayer To God”. In typical Thou fashion they definitely stray from the source and do their own thing. And usually their own thing is slow (check) and yet still very tight (che… wait… what’s this?). In this case they get as noisy as possible, fuzz-out everything, and scream into abandon, which is probably the appropriate attitude when the lyrics are ‘kill it, fuckin’ kill it’ over and over. I prefer the Great Falls side, but the thing as a whole is well worth it. (Hell Comes Home)

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

NEW DIALYSIS SONG WITH LYRICS POSTED!

Sunday, July 12, 2015

HOT REVIEWS FOR JULY!

Friday, July 3, 2015

PRE-ORDER THE NEW BLEAK LP!