So going into this new year I decided that to go with the regular reviews of new stuff I want to add a random review of something from the past. I am a big fan of stuff that was mostly overlooked in it's time of release and there are definitely some gems out there. So I figured I'd toss something in there. Expect that as a regular on going thing from here on out.
In this month's reviews it's a pretty mixed bag of music, film, and comics... a nice slice of variety to start off 2016. Read on and get shwifty.
AGORAPHOBIC NOSEBLEED, “Arc” EP
ANb strike back with a…. three song…
what, micro 7”? What, this
must be like two minutes long right?
Oh, it’s over 20 minutes in length? Are they trolling us into listening to the longest blast
beat in history? Wait, it’s a
sludge metal record… with very
serious lyrical content? Is this
the right band? So yeah, the
long-running maniacal grind unit is trying something different- a series of
EPs, each featuring one of ANb’s three vocalists, and a different style of
extremity. This first one features
vocalist Katherine Katz and the difficult subject of her mother’s battles with
mental illness before her untimely passing. The music is completely informed by the likes of Sleep,
Melvins, Crowbar, and Eyehategod.
And yes, the drum machine is still laying down the beats. It’s not a bad turn, and shows that
Scott Hull can pretty much write whatever kind of music he wants whether it be
thrashfully blasting off between regular ANb stuff or with Pig Destroyer, or
slowing it down to a snail’s pace with this recording. Regular ANb fans might be on the fence,
most fans of really heavy stuff will be pleased, bong resin clinging like moss
to their toothy smiles. (Relapse)
BLOODIEST, s/t
I went into this knowing only a couple things: this band hails from Chicago and
features Bruce Lamont (Yakuza) on vocals.
I was really impressed when I saw him do a solo set last year, so I was
a bit curious to see what he could lend to this band. Like other music Lamont has been involved in it’s treading
some interesting territory. These
songs sprawl out like apocalyptic landscapes, delivering repetitious bombasts
of dark codas and taking more than a few cues from the likes of Swans. It is heavy and mean-sounding, but
there’s a lot of different instrumentation going on here, and Lamont is mostly
singing/hollering and not screaming.
So take that as you will.
It makes for a cool listen if you’re feeling on some end times type
shit. (Relapse)
“COLOR OF NOISE” documentary
This is something I never thought would really happen, but
I’m really glad it did. The story
of Amphetamine Reptile Records, the bands, and art associated with it is
finally in a very thorough documentary form. Certain bands and aesthetics from this label were extremely
influential on my taste in music and my approach to design. Amphetamine Reptile Records (or AmRep
as most people refer to them) began in the 80’s as a DIY label that focused on
raw, mean, visceral rock n’ roll.
A big chunk of punk and hardcore figured into their formation, but they
drew from the uglier side of things.
Sure, none of the drugs and alcohol was of interest to me (and it
unfortunately claimed the lives of several great musicians from various bands
on this label), but their stiff middle finger and refusal to play nice/be
politically correct was (and is) a firm stance that makes the label so
exciting. They launched the
careers of the Cows, the God Bullies, Today Is the Day, Hammerhead, Tar, Boss
Hog, and some little band called Helmet.
They picked up Unsane at the perfect moment, and have collaborated for
decades with the Melvins on a host of projects. Many of these bands are interviewed regarding the scene of
the time and how the label pushed them.
A few of the artists closely associated with the label such as Derek
Hess, Shepard Fairey, Coop, and the incredible Frank Kozik are interviewed at
length as the posters and cover art they created was just as important to the
label as the music. And of course,
the main guy behind the operation, Tom Hazelmeyer is reluctantly grilled. The man seems to want no glory for
himself, he just wants to make stuff and see things happen. And that, in itself, is glorious. Just make it happen. Despite a massive health scare that put
him in a month long coma several years ago Hazelmeyer bounced back to make more
records, open a restaurant, open an art gallery, constantly create his own art,
and shoot lots of guns. By all
accounts this stuff should not appeal to me- I don’t drink, I don’t eat meat,
and I don’t do drugs… all of which seem to be hallmarks of the AmRep culture
(for better or for worse), but everything else about it is so potent. It is the embodiment of everything mean
and dangerous about rock (or punk for that matter). Take a dive into a bit of history with this wonderful film
about a cast of fucked up weirdoes.
(Robellion Films)
DEVIL HIS DUE, “2016 A.D.”
I know metalcore is a dirty word that typically implies the
shoddiest of over-produced, fabricated suburban anger backed by dumb breakdowns
that have been so overdone they have completely lost any semblance of
substance. I know. I’ve lived through all of it. So when I say a metalcore record is
good you must understand that I am correct in the most authoritative sort of
way. Now, granted, there is a
conflict of interest because I am in a band with one of the members of this group. But, I am not in a band with the member
who wrote all these riffs. So it’s
fair game to say this shit smokes.
Those familiar with Syracuse hardcore lineage will know the name Danny
Johnson. He is the
throat-shredded-by-broken-glass vocalist who fronted Blood Runs Black, God
Below, and Last Season. He does
all the vocals here. That means it
already sounds incredibly harsh.
The music is super heavy, tons of double bass, and non-stop in its’
filthiness. It bears a strong
resemblance to Last Season, but locals can debate for themselves. It has a genuine hatred behind it, and
it’s definitely worth checking out.
Fans of Crowbar, Ringworm, the Blinding Light, and Overcast take
note. (Devil His Due)
FUCKING INVINCIBLE, “I Hate Myself and Want You To Die” 7”
Enter more hatred and general misanthropy from Providence’s
most destructive band. Their LP
from last year was pretty good, but the sound on it was purposefully a little
too trashy sounding in my opinion.
I’m glad they have struck a good balance on this new record between
coming off as raw and violent but polished enough to know how well they can
deliver that audio hacksaw. Plus,
this band was made to release 7”s…
an LP is too much thought.
Cram 8 songs in 7 minutes onto 7 inches, stuff it down your throat, pull
the pin, and wait for it to detonate.
While Providence has consistently churned out some excellent bands (some
of the members of which play in this band) I think FI is my favorite one to see
live and this slab of powerviolence hardcore gets that live sound down
nicely. (Atomic Action)
OURSELVES 7”
This Michigan group comes out the gate with a very nice
looking record that comes on all sorts of colorful vinyl and a block-stamped
cardstock cover. And a pin! Woo! Thoughtful packaging aside, musically this falls into a
style that younger kids would probably hear and just think ‘dude rock’. Us older dorks will recognize this as
solid post-hardcore rock aiming for the likes of Cast Iron Hike, but a little
less show-y… so more like
Cutman… if that means anything to
anyone. So what do we learn? Young kids: “dude rock”.
Old farts: “dude rock… but
c’mon man, you can hear the post-hardcore leanings and subtle references to
mid-era Wreck-Age Records bands!”
Four songs on the vinyl, an extra two tracks on the download. (Dropping Bombs)
SUPER UNISON 7”
I picked this up based on a couple things: their name references a Drive Like Jehu
song and Meghan O’Neill from Punch is on vocals (and bass) and I have always
been a fan of her particularly harsh screaming. Well, this doesn’t really sound like Jehu, and the vocals
lean more towards a sort of bratty Riot Grrl style. It still makes for a good listen and a strong introduction
for this new band. Lyrically
there’s a bit more room for O’Neill to deliver a complete thought, rather than
the blast-o-matic epiphanies common in her previous outfit, even though Super
Unison’s songs still only clock in at about 2 minutes apiece. Make no mistake, this is still fast,
punk, and ripping, and it’s a good introduction. But each song does tend to work with a very similar
structure and I’m sure with some time they will vary it up a bit. Closing track “On Repeat” is the
strongest of the bunch and has an anxious sense of urgency delivered by the
powerful vocals and great guitar lead riding through the song. (self-released)
UPTIGHT #5, by Jordan Crane
This ongoing, very irregular, series by one of my favorite
illustrators comes back after what must be at least a year-long absence with a
100+ page issue featuring 5 different stories. I’m used to a lot of Jordan Crane’s stuff being somewhat
sad, melancholy, yet plaintive in a way…
which contrasts very sharply with his mastery of vibrant colors and
cartoon-ish style of line. The
cover alone on this is worth the price of admission. The first two parts are continuations of stories from
previous issues- one a bit on a man who lost his wife in a car accident and his
slow personal decent through a series of flashbacks, the second a troubled
couple who lost their child and making failed attempts to get their life back
after the loss. From there things
venture into a bit more quixotic territory via a hazy and confusing murder
mystery, a bizarre and gory space mining operation that goes horribly wrong,
and a radio tower that gets washed out to sea and the man who gets drowned,
saved by an octopus mermaid, and then stranded. Crane often leaves the reader with loose ends on purpose,
often with minimal text, and more often than not, feeling a bit depressed. But it’s done in such an interesting
way through the vivid art that I’ll always come back for more. (Fantagraphics)
UXO, s/t LP
Upon hearing that Chris Spencer (Unsane) and Steve Austin
(Today Is the Day) were teaming up to form a band my noggin nearly exploded
from the undoubtedly colossal amount of fucking amazing that would swell within
my brain. Here we got the front
men/guitarists of two of the more influential bands that have informed my
musical tastes. I mean, the
vicious negativity pairing these two together ought to produce is enough to
overpower the happiness of… I
dunno, a really happy place...
let’s say Hawaii, or Switzerland if every town was Disneyworld. I am pleased to announce that this
pretty much sounds exactly like what you would think of putting Unsane and
Today Is the Day together. Austin
and Spencer split vocal duties and you can pretty much tell which one of them
wrote which riffs because they totally fall in line with either older TITD
style material or any Unsane material.
There is a general sense of powering through rough times here, the
brooding heaviness (mixed with a tasteful amount of noise textures here and there)
enunciates the pain, and the rest is an endeavor that fans of either members’
bands will surely enjoy. The bad
part- this thing is being touted as a full length and it barely scrapes past
being an EP. At seven songs of
average length I was definitely hoping for more material even though what I’m
getting is pretty great.
(Reptilian Records)
WRUX demo
Here we got a demo from a new Buffalo/Syracuse hybrid band
that cranks out 9 songs in 10 minutes.
One song is two minutes and most of them are under a minute. Expect blasting powerviolence
consisting of drums, vocals, and one gnarly sounding bass driving it all. The bass is nice and filthy sounding so
it gets a pretty ‘full’ sound despite there being no guitar. I will say, though, that it feels like Jessica’s
vocals are a bit loud in the overall mix, but on the whole, this thing sounds
pretty good. Fun for mashing the
shit out of one another in a dank basement somewhere in a crappy neighborhood. (self-released)
Bonus Round:
TRALUMA, “Seven Days Awake”
This Chicago indie band did their thing in the late 90’s and
was on the ever-reliable Caulfield Records label (Giants Chair, Boys Life, Christie
Front Drive), which should give an indication of their sound. More than likely lumped in with the
‘emo’ crowd I always felt this had more going on with it than the sad,
broken-hearted bed-wetters and pop hooks disguised as earnest punk that ‘emo’
had been bastardized into. Traluma
took cues from early Fugazi with their tasteful bass work, jangling and riffy guitar
leads, and occasional sing-along vocals.
Additionally, some attention was paid to bands like Drive Like Jehu with
some angular hooks and interesting guitar melodies. But the whole thing had a sort of subtle delivery that
occasionally made really energetic tracks like “Barn Burner”, “Klondike
Revolution”, and “Low Like a Snake” a bit out of character from what one would
expect. It didn’t quite sound like
anything else out there, even though there were a number of bands on a similar
page as them. They made a few 7”s
and this lone LP, and then called it a day. I had the chance to book them on one occasion and while it
wasn’t anything life-altering to witness, I still highly enjoy this album some
18 years after it’s release. I
believe one of the members of this band died not too long after they split, and
a couple others went on to another pretty good band called Haymarket Riot. (listen here)
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