Monday, December 19, 2016
SURPRISE! ED GEIN RELEASES A DOUBLE 7" TODAY!
Monday, December 12, 2016
IT'S THE YEAR END LIST!
A TRIBE CALLED QUEST, “We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your
Service”
This is a right time, right place sort of record for 2016
for so many reasons. It came out
right after a lot of people felt disheartened by the state of the nation, and
Tribe rolls in with songs that are both fiery and positive to bring people back
up. It comes upon the untimely
death of founding member Phife’s untimely passing and it offers him a beautiful
eulogy. It brings me back to my
personal peak interest in hip-hop all those years ago when nothing else in the
world sounded quite like this and sparked my imagination, while pushing the
genre forward at the same time.
Put simply, Tribe came roaring back in a wonderful way and at just the
right time too.
The rest in no particular order:
UXO, s/t
Two of the most influential people in ‘noise rock’ circles
get together to make a record. It
sounds exactly what you would think Today Is the Day and Unsane together would
sound like. UXO record + my ears=
musical wet dream.
NULL, “Sleepwalking Days”
Brooding. That’s
the best way to describe this group from Birmingham, Alabama. Sturdy repetition like Lungfish;
simplistic, yet darkly heavy tones akin to True Widow; haunting vocals like…
whoever. Null have a sound I adore
that may move slowly, but it’s the heaviest mellow record- or mellowest heavy
record- I checked out all year.
WRONG, s/t
This was easily my most anticipated record to come out this
year It’s close though.
The band that does an early 90’s Helmet impression better than Helmet
comes out swinging after a lone EP that introduced their sound. Pieces of “Strap It On”, “Meantime” and
“Aftertaste” all show up here in equal measure, and I have no issue with that. Apparently, neither does the band as
they are well aware that someone had to take Helmet’s mantle since they don’t
seem to be up to the task anymore.
PSYCHIC TEENS, “Nerve”
OK, last ‘highly anticipated’ record, I swear. I’d been a big fan of vocalist/bassist
Meaghan O’Neill Pennie from her utterly ferocious scream in Punch. There was so much fury in that voice. So when I heard her 7” debut with this
band it was cool to hear her try some variations in range and style, not to
mention the more direct punk feel of this new group. The 7” kind of hinted at what was to come. This record goes all out though- songs
with a more rock-y/post-hardcore feel, some more fast and aggressive, plenty of
interesting leads and riffs, and atop it all O’Neill Pennies vocals that have
quite a dramatic range more than ever, going between Bikini Kill-style bratty
shouts to the familiar throat-shredding scream, to somewhat spoken and delicate
crooning. It’s an excellent debut.
Look, I love Swiz, or basically anything Jason Farrell has
lent his guitar playing to and I happen to think Joe Gorelick (Garden Variety,
Retisonic) is one of the best drummers of the last 20 years. So get all these cats together and they
spit out a 7” after their phenomenal debut in 2013 (finally). It may be only two new songs and a
Lungfish cover, but I’ll take what I can get because these dudes don’t have the
opportunity to do stuff all that much.
Loose and off-the-cuff hardcore punk with an excellent sense of melody
and rock swagger, done the way they helped establish as the ‘Dischord style’.
First off, fuck you.
I don’t care if people think this band is too pop sounding or
whatever. The unbelievable amount
of energy they display live comes through on record. The first two songs on here sound like they could be on a
Bad Brains record and overall, Turnstile come off with more of a punk vibe now
than the moshy hardcore they had been known for. They do a Give cover and it sounds better than the original
(sorry Give). I can’t wait to see
what comes next.
Best Live Sets:
DRIVE LIKE JEHU, Philly/DC 8.9/8.10
Of course this is going to be the best show(s) I saw all
year. I’ve only been waiting 20
years to see them. All these guys
can play their asses off so it’s no wonder that both nights I saw Jehu on this
run they sounded perfect. John
Reiss pulls it all together with his ridiculous guitar sounds, his wild stage
banter, and dangling his amplifier off his guitar neck like a shish kabob while
he freaks out for “Luau”. Nothing
comes close.
What a weird fuckin’ band. There is no earthly reason why I would normally enjoy a band
that sounds like outer-space funk, but here we are and it’s been a weird
year. I like to think this sounds
more like Melt Banana if they played a lot slower, so maybe that’s what I’m
feeling. Either way, their set at
Big Day In this year was unreal.
It was just a big, massive, lurching sound of buzzes, blips,
unbelievable drumming/rhythm, and vocalist Kassie Carlson staring down the
crowd as she creeped around and spaced out.
Myself, about 30 other old people, and approximately 6
children of said old people gather in the afternoon in NYC’s current favorite
heavy music venue to see DC hardcore veterans do their (semi) new thing and
still go off harder than bands half their age. The children mosh harder than the adults. Jason Farrell slips on a rug, Shawn
Brown waxes comedic with the audience and his bandmates, and Joe Gorelick beats
the living hell out of his drums.
They do not one, but four, Swiz songs as a bonus. Life is complete, I drive five hours
back home.
Taking a chance driving anywhere in the Northeast is dicey
at the end of February, so my plans of seeing one of the few UXO live dates was
met with hesitation until about 4 days before the actual show when it was a
balmy 60 degrees. Weather gods
smiled upon me, they knew I should probably make the 4 hour drive to see the
team up of Spencer and Austin as they sonically pummeled a tiny venue. And boy did they. Both men know how to make guitars sound
like a war and control a mic like it owes them money, so needless to say, UXO
met all my expectations and then some.
Also, Philly rules, so any chance to go there is golden.
PILE @ The Haunt, Ithaca 4.30.16
Ithaca is a scant 50 minutes (on a good day) from where I
live and is a great little town to hang around in. They have also been bringing their A game lately and
bringing in a lot of awesome bands that usually skip over this general
region. So since the only other
time I’ve seen Pile it was on a recommendation before hearing any of their
music. So now that I am very
familiar with all their stuff seeing them play it out was pretty
excellent. They manage to weave
odd melodies and dynamics in such a way that attempts to unravel their songs is
an exercise in futility, yet it all comes across as catchy and exciting.
MULTICULT, BLOOD SUN CIRCLE, PSYCHIC TEENS, SOUND DISCARD,
GUN CANDY @ WCC 5.13.16
So yeah, I booked this one. But look at this dang lineup. Every band was stellar and a bunch of people showed up to
see it all so that makes me happy.
Blood Sun played pretty much just new stuff that absolutely slays. Gun Candy made their Syracuse debut
with a ferocious punk sound that no one could see coming. Sound Discard played their first show
and sounded wonderful. Psychic
Teens were, of course, loud, weird, brooding, and eclectic. Multicult manages to present one of the
best tones amongst all it’s members and still be louder than whatever else is
out there.
I’ve seen 108 a lot over the years. They never fail to be anything short of
incredible. They have one of the
most engaging and intense live presences of any hardcore band around. And on this day they played two
sets. One was just “Songs Of
Separation” and “Holy Name”. The
other was “Threefold Misery” and everything after. Both sets were equally as cathartic and exhausting. Not bad for a bunch of guys in their
40’s. Their music is still
untouchable.
OTHER STUFF:
-
It may seem a bit trite, but I think the art and
packaging of a record are a big deal.
And I’d like to give a big nod to a couple of bands in my own backyard
for coming up with some of the most clever packaging of the year.
Saturday, November 26, 2016
LAST ROUND OF REVIEWS FOR THIS YEAR!
One last bunch of reviews to get out of the way before I throw up some end of the year list thing. I kept it (relatively) short this time around because that Tribe review took up so much space, deservedly.
Enjoy these in whichever form that takes, get something out of the webstore, or bandcamp, as I'm donating to various charities depending on what you purchase, and then make it yr business to be in Syracuse Dec. 30th and 31st for the Hex Fest shindig!
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Bonus Round:
Enjoy these in whichever form that takes, get something out of the webstore, or bandcamp, as I'm donating to various charities depending on what you purchase, and then make it yr business to be in Syracuse Dec. 30th and 31st for the Hex Fest shindig!
A TRIBE CALLED QUEST, “We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your
Service”
In early November the nation was thrown into a weird and
uncertain place due to the election.
Myself and most people I know were befuddled by the results and frankly,
terrified and unhappy. And then, a
few days later, A Tribe Called Quest releases their first album in 18 years and
suddenly this dark world got a lot brighter.
It’s
a bittersweet release though as it comes on the heels of founding member Phife
Dawg’s untimely death. And hearing
him lay down his trademark verses early on in the record makes it all that much
more difficult because this is by far one of the best things the group has ever
done and it would have been beautiful to see him be able to enjoy the fruits of
his labor. It’s not some
half-hearted reunion record where members are trying to relive some sense of
nostalgia from their crappy adult lives.
It’s the sound of newfound energy, of people who never stopped being
creative. They just chose to
pursue those endeavors individually for a long time rather than collectively
and, as Phife puts it, “the nucleus is here now”. Yes, they definitely are.
I
had read some press about this record and the process behind it and
consistently Q-Tip discusses how they wanted to “keep the thread, but push it
forward”, meaning they aimed to keep the spirit and the style of Quest from the
past, but not re-hash old material.
They wanted to do something new.
And they have succeeded greatly in my humble opinion. Admittedly, I am not one to have a good
sense of what is, or isn’t, good hip-hop these days. Much of it has been uninteresting to me for 20 years
now. It’s not on my radar so if
critics want to consider me stuck in the past in regards to this record they
are probably right. But something
tells me I’m of the popular opinion that this is some truly forward-moving
stuff.
The
samples and instrumentation are in line with what you might expect from Quest, piling
layers on top of one another without it sounding too busy or overcrowded. It all fits together just right. “We the People” is the standout single,
and shows ATCQ going in a more subtle, yet political direction than in the past
(which is actually a theme throughout the record). Of course, there are tracks here that could fit well on
older releases such as “Black Spasmodic”, “The Donald”, “Ego”, and “Conrad
Tokyo” (possibly my favorite track overall?), while some other songs take some
very interesting turns like the Elton John/ piano samples in “Solid Wall Of
Sound” and the killer sex jam “Enough!”, which sounds like a companion piece to
Michael Jackson’s “Human Nature”.
Oh,
and can we talk about Jarobi? Holy
shit. Barely a peep on “People’s
Instinctive Travels”, leaves the group for a couple decades, comes back and has
some of the hardest verses on the whole record! Who knew he could rap?
He gets the gold star on this one.
Cameos by a host of other people fill out the record, including Busta
Rhymes all over the place and a handful of others who clearly were influenced
by Tribe and are now doing their own thing like Talib Kweli, Kanye, Andre 3000,
and Kendrick Lamar.
In
all seriousness, I couldn’t be happier.
This is an incredible moment.
From someone who got into this group when they first started as a young
teen, and holding their records as some of my favorite pieces of music ever
since then it’s a great thing to see this happen. And we all need it now. We need that ray of sunshine that creativity, positivity,
and a powerful sense of determination lives on. Quest has done it, above and beyond expectation. (Epic)
ARKLESS, s/t 12”
These Brits debut with a record of chill, un-distorted emo
the likes of which could harken back to Amber Inn, Still Life, Braid, or early
Promise Ring. Like, imagine a
record full of “My Firetower Flame” and you get an idea. Vocals have that sort of off-key,
serious/spoken quality and the music moves at a steady pace while keeping it
emotional with no big loud parts that some of the referenced bands threw in
here and there. This remains
relatively calm throughout I guess.
It’s pretty and melodic.
(Ruined Smile)
DISREPAIR demo
Buffalo has always had it’s own particular brand of meaty,
metallic hardcore that only comes from being in the heart of the rust
belt. It’s the sound of thousands
of laid off factory workers, cold-ass winters, and lots of knuckleheads who
constantly have a grudge against…
something. Disrepair sounds
like that. This quick two song
demo tunes really low, plays pretty fast, and doesn’t make the breakdowns
predictably obvious. They just churn it out. I detect a hint of melody that closes out the second song,
adding a little unique style to the chunky riffing. Not too bad. (Disrepair)
HELL MARY, 12”
Yes, yes, yes.
OK, all you weird pinheads out there who enjoy ripping fast and
ridiculously aggressive hardcore, but just aren’t swayed by what’s being
peddled for the most part- this is for you. Not only is this one heck of a cool looking record (clear
vinyl with crazy screen printed B side), but it sounds pretty great too. Hell Mary unfortunately have to deal
with being from New Jersey and all the awful driving and lack of places to
actually turn around that come with it.
But they do draw from a rich musical landscape that has produced oh so
many wonderful bands over the years, and maybe they’ll end up joining those
ranks if they keep up what they’re doing here. A good place to start for this group would be the speedy and
chaotic violence that Converge are oh so god at churning out. Add to that a good dose of the topical
and emotional bent, coupled with the churning heaviness, of 108. That’s really the best I can come up
with. I mean, that really ought to
be enough to sway you right there.
If not I guess we just don’t really need to know each other anymore and
we’re all friends here right? Do
what’s right. Check this out. (Dropping Bombs)
MALLWALKERS, “Dial ‘M’ For…”
This very part-time Buffalo collective has released a second
(to my knowledge) LP full of a mish-mash of various influences that somehow
work together pretty well into their own unique stew. Consisting of about 9 people Mallwalkers gather
sporadically, creating manifestos of danceable, social upheaval full of
repetitive chords, blaring horns, multiple vocalists, and shaking asses. Pull a bit of MC5’s explosive rebellion
rock, add a taste of Fugazi’s use of odd chords and twangs that peck at their
steady rhythm, and give a full-on high five to current rabble rousers Downtown
Boys in regards to that horn blaring and ‘we’re here to fuck your system up’
protesting in the streets goodness, and you get an idea of what Mallwalkers are
presenting. There’s a feeling of
that DC/Dischord ‘we’re nerdy white punks, but we can get funky too’ thing
happening, along with a distinctly Western New York rust belt vibe that isn’t
Tuffalo hardcore (you have to kind of be from around here to know exactly what
I mean), but it is punk and it’s angry, and I’m OK with all of it. So get your feel on if this description
does anything for you.
(Peterwalkee Records)
ORDINARY LIVES s/t 7”
It’s a not-unlikely collection of people creating an
unlikely sound. So take a couple
guys from Off Minor, Saetia, and Bridge & Tunnel and you would probably
think it’s going to be thoughtful, complex, and, at times chaotic, emo/screamo
stuff, right? Nope. And if that horrifying thought is
firmly dismissed allow me to inform you that this is way better, at least to a
guy like me. Instead think
riffy/stoner post-hardcore, which is awesome. OK, sure it harkens to a sort of late 90’s vibe (Syracuse
people- think Farthest Man) and I am fine with that. You know what this really sounds like, a lot? Cutman. Ya know, Gainesville, Kiss Of Death Records? No? Fine, fuck off.
Go listen to Farthest Man, Cutman, watch some Chico and the Man, and
then go listen to this, and feel satisfied. Start a push pit and wear flannel. Get off my lawn.
Released by 37 different labels.
(Square Of Opposition/ Tor Johnson/ State Of Mind)
RED FANG, “Only Ghosts”
I haven’t listened to this band is quite a long time. I see they are still playing burly
beard-man rock, but the songs on this album, for the most part, seem to cater a
little more to the average rock fan.
Simply put, it’s overall not as heavy as previous outings from what I
remember. They still manage to
keep things fairly creative though, and I’d rather listen to this than radio
rock any day of the week. And much
like past efforts Red Fang spare no quarter when it comes to creating beautiful
cover art for their releases- this one a simple trance-inducing wave pattern,
which seems to go against the rumbling riff rock ever-present throughout the
album. I guess if Clutch has been
veering a bit too bluesy for you, but Mastodon is still somewhat extreme (OK,
maybe not current Mastodon), Red Fang might be a good mid-ground to explore. (Relapse)
WHORES., “Gold”
You are hard pressed to find a more rowdy three-piece band
in the live setting than Whores, not to mention one with a ridiculously
dialed-in mammoth tone. It’s
insane how incredibly heavy and loud their sound is. It’s awesome.
You’re also going to have a heck of a tough time googling their name and
not coming up with results that probably don’t mesh with what you’re looking
for (or maybe you are, I won’t judge).
However, much like their previous two EPs this first full length doesn’t
completely hit at all times. I
understand it’s good to break things up a little bit- a part that’s just bass
and vocals here, a quick reprieve that is just guitar- but Whores totally excel
when they’re just going full throttle, one smashing riff after another and
truckloads of feedback. Opening
track “Playing Poor” does a fine job of this. And as they roll right into the next track, “Baby Teeth”,
you get the impression it’s going to go the same way as it lumbers along with a
dumptruck-heavy slower rhythmic jackhammering. But the verse, with just the drums and vocals, kind of
throws it off for me. I just want
these dudes to smash all their guitar pedals at once (they’re going to need a
lot of feet for that) and pound one ridiculous riff after another into my skull
while worshipping at the alter of AmRep.
By and large they deliver.
To me, though, the impact is lost just a little when they go into parts
not involving everything going all at once. For some bands it’s great, for Whores I’d say space is not
the place. Smash everything. (eOne)
FARSIDE, “Rigged”
When I was just getting into punk and hardcore music it was
primarily through skateboarding.
So publications like Thrasher and mailorder catalogs like Sessions
informed me quite a bit about what was out there musically that was in line
with skateboarding culture. At the
time Revelation was one of the bigger punk rock record labels (still is!), but
when I got into punk music they were beginning to take a turn away from the
youth crew style that they are most infamously known for. Of course, what was happening was that
a lot of the musicians they had been working with in the past that had all
those infamous bands were growing up a little and starting new bands that tried
new things aside from just NYHC, and that led to groups like Burn, Supertouch,
and Into Another to take hardcore music in bizarre new directions. Well, this was all new to me. So whatever Revelation was putting out
around ’93-’95 was really appealing to me because there was so much
variety! One of the bands that, in
a way, sprung out of this new style (except on the West Coast) was Farside.
To
a young person hearing Farside, and especially this record, for the first time
they might mistake it for mainstream radio rock. Admittedly, it does have that feel. However, when it was released they were
a really engaging and exciting band to me. They possessed a lot of the melodic, upbeat style of Fat
Wreck bands like Strung Out or Face To Face. However, they were also incredibly great musicians that were
not afraid to take a post-hardcore bent and write songs that might stretch 5
minutes to go with their quick tempos and thoughtful lyrics. I know some may disagree, but when I
think of Farside I think ‘skate rock’.
I
truly adore this record, and the emotional weight it carries amongst the
energetic tempos. “Kill Me” kind
of comes off as the fastest, most aggressive song before it breaks into a sung
chorus of “I’ll just wait/ Here in broken arms”, while “Silver Anniversary” is
much slower and somber, but equally as poignant as it deals with (as far as I
have gathered over the years) divorce.
A
big part of how well this record comes across is vocalist/guitarist Michael
“Popeye” Vogelsang’s gruff but heartfelt vocals. He sings in a way that hardcore bands of the day might have
scoffed at for not completely shredding his throat. But the emotion is sincere
and true. When he gets at dealing
with procrastination in “Wait For Monday”, stating that “I keep on lowering my
expectations!” or going on about moping around and being alone on “Audience”
before a big melodic breakdown it’s like getting punched in the chest. I get those same feelings listening to
this record 20+ years later.
(Revelation)
Friday, November 18, 2016
HOLIDAY CHARITY 'SALE'!
* Look for the items with 'CHARITY!' in the product listing for ways to give!
Sunday, October 30, 2016
HALLOWEEN- A TIME FOR REVIEWS
Trick or treat fuckers! Here's some treats! OK, most of these reviews are not about anything spooky. I guess you could relate some of the art in Bat Butt zine to things of a Halloween/horror nature, and perhaps the cold, synth-y spazzcore of this month's Bonus Round pick The VSS to some spooky sort of realm. But otherwise there's just a lot of good stuff here, and not much horror business. So get to it. And for the love of Pete, you'd better be reading these in costume!
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BAT BUTT zine #3
I had no clue that this was an international zine based out
of South Africa! I had simply
assumed, by a couple of the artists featured that I enjoyed (and the primary
reason for me purchasing this) that is was an American publication. But this art zine features artists from
all over the world. And that’s
really all it is- just black and
white art, with no central theme, by lots and lots of contributors. Mine came with all these cool stickers
and prints from some of the artists, so it was well worth it. Of note is the centerfold and stickers
by regional artist Ryan Besch/Your Cinema. Also entertaining was Alice Edy’s four-page story “Heavy
Things”, as are the numerous mutated contributions from Florian Snyman
(including the cover). For those
into oddball art/Juxtapoz style, but on amore DIY level this is a pretty cool
thing to check out. (Bat Butt)
BRAIN TENTACLES s/t
At this point I think the Relapse catalog is comprised of
about 50% projects by both Bruce Lamont and Dave Witte. Both these highly prolific individuals
have so many bands between the both of them it was inevitable that they
eventually teamed up to give birth to the super bizarre freak that is Brain
Tentacles. Rounded out by bassist
extraordinaire Aaron Dallison (Keelhaul) this mega-beast sounds like the result
of King Crimson getting schwifty with Morphine after huffing glue in a filthy
alley. Here you get a whole album
of horns (mostly saxophone) melding with drums and bass guitar, and not much in
the way of vocals conjuring up a lot of low-end proggy weirdness, yet with
enough interesting parts and beefy riffs (can a saxophone create a ‘riff’? In this case, yes) to keep even the
simplest 3-chord purist bobbing their head. It’s weird stuff, man.
But it’s really great to have some out-f-this-world variety amongst all
the heaviness Relapse tends to be known for. This is still real heavy, just in a super odd sort of way
and I can roll with that.
(Relapse)
BURN, “From the Ashes” 7”
This is the first ‘new’ material that Burn has released
since 2001, which was the last time that they did some reunion stuff. Before originally disbanding in the
early 90’s Burn had released a lone EP, but had a whole album’s worth of
material that made it’s way onto a couple bootlegs that floated around
throughout the last couple decades.
A few of those songs surfaced as proper recordings between “Last Great
Sea” and “Cleanse”, material they released in their brief 2001 reunion. On “From the Ashes” two more of those
older songs get proper recordings and you can tell it’s from an older Burn era
as they are faster, and more in line with the proto-post-hardcore that they
helped invent. The lone brand new
song here, “Novelist (Drums Of War)” has a slower, groovier feel, mixed with
some more complex riffs and passages indicative of “Cleanse”-era stuff, as well
as guitarist/riff architect Gavin Van Vleck’s riffy/noisecore act Die 116 that
he was a part of after Burn’s initial run. The youngin’ in me loves the faster, raw hardcore songs. The noisenik in me is intrigued by the
chunky, off-kilter heaviness of how they write now. The overall recording on this release leaves something to be
desired as it sort of doesn’t feel finished, like they skipped something along
the way between mixing and mastering.
But I digress. It’s good to
see a band like Burn not only writing some creative new music (even if it’s
only one song thus far), but still incredibly engaging in the live
setting. Hopefully the LP they
have planned can respectfully continue their legacy. (Bridge 9)
EVERY TIME I DIE, “Low Teens”
When a band gets both Tim Singer (Deadguy, Kiss It Goodbye,
No Escape) and the character from Panic At the Disco to do guest vocals on your
record you know they draw from a pretty wide palette. Such is the case on the new ETID record, a band that
consistently knows how to absolutely wreck your life. So many bands from the time they got their start completely
fell off the map, disbanded, or just flat out suck shit now. Many have rightfully/unfortunately carried
the tag ‘metalcore’ like the flaccid, tired, shriveled penis that it has
become. Yet Every Time I Die has
succeeded big time and still sort of held onto that tag. They write some of the most engaging pile
driving riffs, with some of the most well-written lyrics one can imagine on
every record. They do not
disappoint. They are consistently
the sound of a raging party and a violent tornado smashed together all the
time. They are, by far, one of the
best live bands you will ever see.
And on “Low Teens” they move the needle yet again in an evolved
direction by throwing in some new things and a few curveballs. Like opener “Fear and Trembling” with
it’s slow and disjointed riff both hammering at your skull and confusing the
listener all at once. “It
Remembers” is the most ‘rock’ song on the record, and while I feel it ventures
a little too much into bro-rock country I can’t help but enjoy it (I used to
feel the same about “Revival Mode” and now it’s one of my favorite songs of
theirs). “Awful Lot” plays with
Torche-level tuning and city-leveling riffs (as well as one of my favorite
vocal breaks on the record- “Acknowledge me you motherfuckers!”). New drummer Daniel Davison lets loose
basically any opportunity he gets, which really works well for this group
regularly sounding like they’re headed off the rails anyway. This is most noticeable on the
ridiculously aggressive “Petal” and “The Coin Has a Say” (with, again, a choice
lyric: “I can’t go back to what I was/ Metallica without the drugs”). It’s only on closer “Map Change” where
it feels ETID get a little too caught up with being kind of all over the place
and the song ends up being a sort of riff salad. However, for the speed freak in you there’s plenty here to
draw from in terms of breakneck pummeling like “1977”, “Glitches” and “I Didn’t
Want To Join Your Stupid Cult Anyway”. For ungodly heavy music that is well-written and smart, but
encourages listeners to get unbelievably stupid you can’t really get any better
than ETID. (Epitaph)
GATECREEPER, “Sonoran Depravation”
I am hardly the man to go to if you are seeking a
well-rounded opinion on death metal.
I have nothing against it.
I generally find much of it to be decent (minus gurgle vocals),
sometimes impressive. But I don’t
spend much time really delving into it.
That being said, Gatecreeper plays pretty decent death metal. It hardly raises the bar, but it knows
how to make HM-2 style riffs collide with moshy beats and a lot of
double-picking between the slow parts to easily spin many a bored, basement
dwelling hessian into a furious drywall-punching freak. Basically, they get the job done. Nothing fancy, good name, heavy riffs,
lots of metal, and no over thinking it.
Sacrifice your out-of-shape gut to the dancefloor Goatlord. (Relapse)
SIGH DOWN ONE, “Memory Is Short Longing”
I’m not sure how this got on to my radar, but I assume it
had something to do with getting lost in some internet musical rabbit
hole. Before I knew it I had
stumbled across this French-Canadian group and I thought it was worth talking
about. Anyways, what you get here
is an album’s worth of songs that have an equal split between atmospheric
shoegaze with accompanying soothing vocals, old Sonic Youth’s clattering noise
rock, and some lo-fi punk nihilism.
For me, it makes for a wonderful mix that keeps things moving at a good
clip with just enough negative vibes to even out the flighty mellow ones. The washy-note-bending may open up a
song, but is eventually kicked to the side by more aggressive, distorted guitar
abuse, all the while the vocals tend to remain on the soft and airy side of
things. Nowhere is this more
present than later in the album on “Nothing In Return” which would be a perfect
place to start for those just looking for an idea of this group’s sound.
(L'Oeil du Tigre Records)
SUPER UNISON, “Auto”
The quick progress of one of the East Bay area’s most
exciting new bands, Super Unison, may lead some to believe they might not be
ready for a full length album just yet.
But this trio works as if they have been playing together for a long
time. While each member has
musical backgrounds with other bands Super Unison is quite different from the
ultra-hyper and aggressive Punch that vocalist/bassist Meaghan O’Neill Pennie
emerged from, or the noodly indie/emo style of Snowing that drummer Juntin
Renniger cut his teeth in. And
while O’Neill Pennie’s vocals are quite a bit different than the ferocious
shriek (one of the best, in my opinion!) that she displayed in her previous
band she offers a wide range of different styles in this band, going from an
almost cooing in the beginning of “Keeper” to that well-worn throat shredding
by the first chorus, and into an almost snarky Bratmobile riot grrl vibe in the
bridge. In fact, I think it might
be my favorite song on the record just because it accurately conveys the most
well-rounded representation of the band.
That’s not to say the rest of this record doesn’t rip. It’s quite fantastic. I’m thoroughly enjoying their rough and
tumble punk blasts, peppered with post-hardcore melodies and occasional
haunting guitars (like on the chorus of “You Don’t Tell Me”). Much of the music here, if I were to
make a couple comparisons, kind of reminds me of old Superchunk or Garden
Variety, but darker and a bit more aggressive on the whole. Anyway, enough hyperbole from me, just
get to listening to this. It’s one
of the better releases I’ve heard all year and one that I have been very much
looking forward to. (Deathwish)
TURNSTILE, “Move Thru Me” 7”
Side A has a Bad Brains “Supertouch”/”Shitfit” 1-2 punch
style of crazy fast and aggressively catchy followed by gonzo heavy and mean,
and evokes a similar feel to the DC legends. Side B has the title track, which is much more in line with
what people are coming to know from Turnstile. That is, it could have been on “Non-Stop Feeling” and no one
would know the difference. So
yeah, it’s a good song. Then they
drop a Give cover, which is weird not only because that song is only a couple
years old and that band is still very much active, but Give is a considerably
different kind of band than Turnstile.
However, both bands are very much doing their own unique thing so I
guess there is common ground in that respect. Plus, they probably hang out, so why the fuck not,
right? Either way, this is a very
excellent 7” from a band that I would never expect to enjoy. But let it be known my guilty pleasure
is now very much public. Turnstile
is pretty fucking great. There, I
said it. Please get out of my way
now so I can mosh and sing along like an idiot. (Pop Wig)
Bonus Round:
THE V.S.S., “21:51” and “Nervous Circuits”
I’m not going to bother with a single album from this band,
I’m going with their full discography.
They were short-lived and churned out a handful of 7”s (collected as
“21:51”) and one full length. Some
may recall a few months ago when I reviewed the Angelhair discography. Well, after that group split most of
the members came back as The VSS.
The approach was still spastic and chaotic, except they were adding elements
that were (at the time) lost to the punk scene, that being primarily cold and
jagged The result is this manic barrage of otherworldly,
dystopian noisecore. It’s very
difficult for me to decide which of these records I like better. “21:51” is the sound of the band
working out ideas, still a bit clingy with that off-the-wall Angelhair sound,
but the meshing of synths and distorted vocals forcing it’s way in for
tremendous effect. “The Fist and
Fingers” is a lumbering, bouncy chunk of heaviness, punctuated by disorienting
doubled-up vocals and spooky feedback, while “I Cut My Teeth” has a bit more of
a stop-go punk vibe and Sonny Kay’s outer space vocals that breaks into an
almost minimalist synth and guitar bit before exploding into full-on chaos as
the whole thing collapses. The
collection closes with “Response”- an alien transmission of a far off drum coda
that could either be an exit, or an indication of things to come.
post-punk riffs and banks of strange, alien synths.
“Nervous Circuits” is the band’s lone full length that came
together not too long after the group’s initial spate of singles. It’s a much more bold affair. The recording is far superior and the
band is far more confident in their approach. Part of me wishes it sounded as odd and cold as the 7”
stuff, but it’s a great undertaking.
The compositions are more in line with post-punk offerings like Echo and
the Bunnymen, Bauhaus, early Joy Division, but with a deft weight to them
indicative of a punk/hardcore band.
Even so, after Kay closes the opening track with the sudden howl of “I
eat the body and drink the blood” they launch immediately into “In Miniature”,
which sounds like the keyboardist mashing one set of keys back and forth until
it breaks. There’s a bit more
variety on this record- “Sibling Ascending”s post-hardcore march, “Effigy”s
ultra-slow piano coda, the upbeat and catchy synth-driven “What Kind Of
Ticks?”, and the swinging mania of “Swift Kicks” (one of the best on the
record). All of these songs are
carried by vocalist/effects operator Sonny Kay, whose unpredictable, manic howl
not only is a harrowing complement to the dizzying music, but he remains one of
my favorite lyricists weaving stream of conscious associations that come
together to paint a weird portrait of things that may or may not be
related. I sadly never witnessed
this band. They made one East
Coast jaunt to my knowledge back in 1996, or ’97 and news moved slow then. If I had known I would have traveled
anything short of 400 miles to witness the live spectacle they created. But I guess I’ll have to settle for
this stuff here to keep me warm.
Over the years both Hydrahead and Sargent House re-issued “Nervous
Circuits” in different formats, so it’s not very difficult to track down. (VSS)
Monday, October 24, 2016
HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HEX FEST!
HEX FEST (AKA 'two awesome shows)
December 30th and 31st, 2016
The Vault, Syracuse, NY
Friday, December 30th
Doors at 6PM
ACHILLES (fresh off a 4-year hiatus of relocating, business starting, and child-rearing)
PSYCHIC TEENS (Philly 3-piece feedback, gothy-post-punk-y, whatever)
BLOOD SUN CIRCLE (owners and makers of gear beyond compare)
+ a couple more
_________
Saturday, December 31st
Doors at 6PM
ED GEIN (crush, kill, destroy)
BLEAK (kill, crush, destroy)
GRIZZLOR (destroy, crush, kill)
DIALYSIS (kill, screw, marry?)
+ one more I guess
TICKETS
Day One here: http://
Day Two here: http://
BOTH DAYS: http://
Event page (to keep up with all the gory details..): https://www.facebook.com/events/1781116372167516/?action_history=null
Monday, October 17, 2016
PSYCHIC TEENS RELEASING A RECORD THROUGH HEX!
In the meantime, you can check out their music over at http://www.psychicteensnetwork.com
You can pick up their previous releases through SRA Records and Reptilian Records
Monday, October 10, 2016
Monday, September 26, 2016
SUMMER'S DONE. READ REVIEWS AND GET OVER IT.
As the season comes to a close I realize I was just bum-rushed with a plethora of awesome records. So much stuff that is really right up my alley in terms of what I tend to dig the most. And a bunch of it shows up here is this review block. So get cozy, read on, and really give some attention to a bunch of groups that are excelling at making my ears happy.
Oh yeah, Hex Fest is really happening at the end of the year. You saw the thing about Achilles playing here, right (ahem, look)? Yeah, stay tuned because in a few more days I'm going to give a few more details on things. Don't be stupid, keep an ear to the ground, or an eye to the sky because I only advertise using subsonic thumping transmissions and smoke signals.
-->
Oh yeah, Hex Fest is really happening at the end of the year. You saw the thing about Achilles playing here, right (ahem, look)? Yeah, stay tuned because in a few more days I'm going to give a few more details on things. Don't be stupid, keep an ear to the ground, or an eye to the sky because I only advertise using subsonic thumping transmissions and smoke signals.
-->
ALPHA HOPPER, “Last Chance Power Drive”
What the heck did I just listen to? How many weird subgenres and odd
reference points can I shoehorn in here to attempt to describe Alpha Hopper? You got a vocalist that sounds like
Polly Styrene mixed with Yasuko from Melt-Banana. Musically things bounce from post-punk weirdness with creepy
leads, and clunky post-hardcore (think a somewhat more aggressive Unwound at
times) to very 90’s riot grrl style, and more modern spazzcore stuff. It’s a weird stew, but I’m thoroughly
enjoying it. If you’re feeling a
bit adventurous I’d suggest you do the same. (One Percent Press/Radical Empathy)
DOWNTOWN BOYS s/t
So this Providence-based band is kind of everywhere now,
seemingly blowing up out of nowhere.
The thing is, though, they have been around for a bit and this LP (which
is essentially a demo from a few years back) shows them in an embryonic sort of
form. It shows a group displaying
their now-trademark blend of punk chords, deep saxophone flavor, and shouted
vocals in both English and Spanish.
But it’s a band that hadn’t quite found it’s footing just yet. Things don’t mesh as perfectly as they
do now. The ideas are there, no
doubt, but the vocals are a little more random and off-rhythm (they still are,
to a point, but it works effectively these days to command attention). The saxophone is a little more present
as well, also vying for attention when sometimes restraint makes more of a
lasting impression. I don’t want
to knock it because what Downtown Boys are doing now (especially on the
excellent “Full Communism” from last year) is so good, and this record just
shows what they were working towards.
I guess if you prefer the revolution to come off as a bit more scrappy
this is a pretty good place to catch some of that fire. (One Percent Press/ Radical Empathy)
HELMS ALEE, “Stillicide”
The opening track on Helms Alees’ new record starts with the
piano coda that closes out their very first LP, “Night Terrors”, before it
mutates into a maelstrom of swirling distortion and thunder. They have had two records between these
two, so it’s kind of interesting the Seattle trio recall a tidbit from their
first LP on their fourth long player.
I guess it shows that since that time they have remained a strange,
bewildering beast, but have grown in many ways as well. It’s that touchstone from the past
opening a door to reflection, yet showing what’s new. What remains consistent is how Helms Alee is the bewildering
sound of hiking through the redwoods on a foggy morning before reaching a beach
in the Pacific Northwest. You look
in one direction and there’s the water- calm and cool. You look behind you and trees rise up
like skyscrapers. And in front of
you are some of the most majestic mountains you’ll see. It’s at once mesmerizing and beautiful,
but you also realize the hugeness of all these things, how little you are, and
it’s sort of terrifying and weird.
That’s the sound of Helms Alee.
They can twist and turn with odd rhythms, sinewy melodies, harmonized
and haunting female vocals. But
they can quickly hit the distortion and come off as the most thunderous
sasquatch of a beast you’ll ever hear between drummer Hozi Matheson Magullis’
polyrhythmic tom rolls, Dana James crushing low end and Ben Verellens howling
baritone. Whether it’s the
continuous crush of the title track and “Galloping Mind Fuk” (sic), or the
long, slow burn meandering of “Creeping You Company”, to a perfect combination
of all their styles (melodic, weird, and pretty to beefy and mean) on
“Andromenous” this new LP is really an excellent addition to an already stellar
catalog from a great band.
(Sargent House)
KINDLING, “Everywhere Else”
It sure is popular now for bands to do the whole shoegaze
thing. For the most part I’m
fairly pleased with the current tidal wave of bands copping this style. I’m sort of wondering how many of these
bands are ex-members of NeurIsis worship bands? Kindling, to their credit, spring forth from totally chaotic
spastic hardcore band lineage. But
that’s not important. What is
important is that Kindling is a good listen. This is their first LP after a cool little EP last year and
it’s filled with upbeat, punk-informed walls of guitars and atmospheric female
vocals that bring to mind both the fairly obvious My Bloody Valentine, as well
as the sounds of Lush. They’re not
re-inventing the shoegaze wheel by any means, but they certainly do it quite
well, keeping things energetic, loud, occasionally heavy, and fun. Definitely recommended. (No Idea)
MULTICULT, “Position Remote”
Multicult would probably wholeheartedly agree that they
share quite a bit in common, sound-wise, with the revered Jesus Lizard- snarled
and howled vocals, knotty and intricate guitar lines, and one of the best damn
bass tones you’ll ever hear. But
where Jesus Lizard were all proficient musicians that gave the illusion that
all their music was careening off the rails at all times, Multicult present no
illusions to how calculated and precise their somewhat misnomered
categorization of ‘noise rock’ really is.
Every note, riff, grating guitar scree, or gnarled bass dirge has been
fine-tuned to sound exactly as it is intended. You will hear no difference whatsoever between this record-
excellently recorded and engineered- and their live show, aside from a very
loud ringing in your ears once they are through since they play so fucking
loud. So yeah, The Jesus Lizard
can be master magicians at making you think they’re just being fucking awesome
off the cuff. Multicult offer a
very similar level of talent, as well as a strikingly similar sound, but with
an air of astounding determination and intention. This is easily their best sounding record yet and the songs
are pretty dang good too.
(Reptilian)
NIGHTWATCH zine #12
This is the metal issue. Oh, maybe I should back up. Night Watch is an art zine featuring loads of artists
contributing work towards a theme (hence, ‘the metal issue’) and a couple
interviews with some of the artists.
They have had many of the same contributors throughout their run, but
have added some excellent new ones as well. They may as well have titled this the Lemmy memorial issue
because he shows up in many of the pieces throughout this zine. The stand-outs include the Motorhead
board game of Life spread, Phil Guys ‘What Me Worry’ Lemmy, Edward Justin
Wright’s indecipherable metal guy diagram, and especially Ryan Besch’ Dan
Clowes-meets-Charles Burns “Sin Town” piece. This whole thing is wrapped up in a wildly detailed metallic
ink cover. Fun times. (Night Watch)
POWDER ROOM, “Lucky”
For whatever reason I thought this band was going to be
heavier and noisier than they were when I gave their last LP, “Curtains” a
cursory spin and sort of dismissed it.
The thing is, this band is really good. It just takes a little while for their music to sink
in. At least on this new record
they very much nailed it, as they say.
Taking the attention to detail, allowing space for songs to breathe, and
a similar heaviness and direction of Young Widows, and couple that with some of
the pedal board love and rocking nature of a group like Roomrunner I’d say
Powder Room have a good thing going on.
There is a bit of confusion with this record as the liner notes allude
to all 11 songs being on the record, and in a particular order, when in fact a
song from each side is missing and instead show up as a bonus 7” that comes
with the LP (probably due to time constraints). It’s a minor concern though as it all works out in the
end. I especially enjoy when these
guys are moving slow, particularly on the creepy and ungodly heavy “Black
Dress” (which happens to have a very catchy and sing-along-able chorus) and the
bluesy “Workaround” (which also happens to have a great harmonica section that
could only be topped by Unsanes’ “Alleged”, but in a far less scummy, far more
positive, yet equally heavy sort of way).
Even though the slow and heavy comes off better on this record, opening
track “Vanburner” has an alarming urgency that draws you right in with it’s
repeated bleeps and galloping rhythm. (Learning Curve Records)
TRUE WIDOW, “AVVOLGERE”
I was quite vocal about this Texas band’s last LP,
“Circumambulation” and how I just wasn’t into it really. I mean, compared to their first two LPs
it was kind of a downer, and not in the way that this band kind of pride themselves
on being. I thought, with time,
I’d re-visit it and see if things changed. Nope. It’s
still pretty dull. So I have to
say that it’s very good to know that on their fourth LP True Widow have once
again found some of that magic that made their first two records so excellent,
but in a sort of different way. On
the first pair of LPs they dished out True Widow really excelled at doing a
loud-quiet-loud thing to give their somber shoegaze/stoner rock some great
dynamics. With “Circumambulation”
they seemed to mostly give up on that loud-quiet-loud thing and went for
somewhat flat versions of their overall style. “AVVOLGERE” (whatever that hell that means or stands for)
continues to sort of abandon the loud-quiet-loud thing, which is sort of disappointing,
but they have made the majority of songs here a bit more upbeat and added a
considerable amount of hooks in the riffs to keep things interesting. It’s the small changes with this band
that make the difference. A casual
listener might not be able to notice, but it’s at least what I’m picking up,
for what it’s worth. Whatever it
is, I’m into it and knew I’d enjoy this record right from the start of the
first song, “Back Shredder” once I started humming it for the rest of the day
after one listen. Glad to see they’re
back on their game and doing cool stuff.
(Relapse)
VINCAS, “Deep In the Well”
This Georgia three-piece lays out some dirty, greasy rock
that both reminds me of Cows in it’s repetitive and wild noisiness, but also of
The Birthday Party in it’s stark, creeping evil. It’s not quite what I had expected, but I’m into it. Maybe there’s a hint of goth to it, due
to the low, baritone vocals and cold post-punk elements. But it’s a little too loose and erratic
to start wearing black nail polish and lighting candles to. So, I guess I’m getting a bit of a
Jesus Lizard vibe too. But TJL
borrowed heavily from The Birthday Party.
So, yeah, kind of back to square one with my references. Hell, the dudes in Psychic Teens ought
to meet up with these characters.
They’d probably really get along well. Fuck around with this for a bit while watching “Scorpio
Rising” and then wander out in the desert for a couple weeks and let the
concepts of death and weirdness sink in.
(Learning Curve Records)
Bonus Round:
THE FAREWELL BEND, “In Passing”
I’ve made a big to-do about Dischord-related type bands
through these older reviews, particularly from the short-lived Slowdime label
(Kerosene 454, Regulator Watts, etc).
The label may have been based in DC, and distributed by Dischord, but
the bands weren’t relegated to just being from DC. Case in point, the post-Boys Life/Giants Chair off-shoot
Farewell Bend. The group hailed
from that vast expanse of nothingness known as the Midwest and featured the
exceptionally unique nasally vocals of Boys Life frontman Brandon Butler, the
extra-tight snappy drumming of Giants Chair alum Paul Ackerman, and bassist
John Rejba, also of Boys Life.
From the rolling, almost post-hardcore rhythm of “The Pen Ran Out Of
Ink” to the more upbeat and anthemic feel of “Go Easy” there’s no doubt that
vibe of other mid/late 90’s Midwest emo bands of the Caulfield Records roster
is quite present here. Think more
early Jimmy Eat World, the less weird/more rocking aspects of Drive Like Jehu,
a good bit of Superchunk, and for a more modern example Boston’s Krill. A lot of people tend to think the
epitome of 90’s Midwest emo might be The Get Up Kids or Braid, but this is
pretty far removed from Braid’s poppy technicality or Get Up Kids lowest-common-denominator
pop rock, even though if Farewell Bend were to have played with either of those
bands (and I imagine they probably did at one time or another) it would work
out just fine. I feel like what
they were doing was a great example of indie/emo of the region for the
time. They got a great big room-y recording
out this, their lone full length, with a bunch of great rocking songs with
substance (even being able to create a great sing-along part out of the line “A
little too much time spent fucking around”). Yet it’s the longest, and most out-of-place song on the
record, “St. Christopher” that is easily my favorite. It’s slow and steady repetition through most of the song of
“Help is on it’s way/ Gotta head to the freeway/ Help is on it’s way/ In the
Western sky” before it breaks into a very upbeat section, followed by the
stop/start crescendo with the chorus of “They say I waste my life/ Maybe they’re
right”. It’s a heck of a song I
tell ya. Currently not too sure of
what the individual members are up to aside from Brandon Butler, who played
some shows as part of a briefly reunited Boys Life earlier this year and has a
very part time band going with Ryan Patterson of Coliseum called Six Bells. But this here, this is easily my
favorite project he has been involved in, even though it’s not the most
known. (Slowdime Records)