I'll admit, I've been laying low, planning and scheming so far this year, so I haven't really put any time towards even thinking of writing record reviews. Actually, there hasn't really been all that much new music so far this year that has blown my hair back. But now that winter is drawing to a close and people are actually coming out of hiding and doing things I'm starting to catch wind of some exceptional stuff making it's way into the world. So yeah, here's some stuff to investigate. Make it so.
FALL SILENT, “Cart Return” 7”
Reno’s Fall Silent are a band that have sort of been lost
within the cracks of hardcore-metal history, even though their contribution to
metallic hardcore is massive.
Bands such as Every Time I Die and Ed Gein owe a large debt to their
fine-tuned thrash metallic assault.
Their second full length, “Superstructure” is one of the heaviest
records ever, replete with all sorts of interesting technical twists and turns,
huge plodding layers of heaviness, that were able to blast and groove all at
once with vocalist Levi Watson’s screaming socio-political lyrics backing it
all up.
After that they simplified
their sound a little, opting for speed and a little less technicality.
And then, they vanished.
It’s been something like 15 years and
all of a sudden the band just ups and decides to record a new 4 song 7”.
So naturally, I’m curious.
The lead-off track is straight up what
one might expect (who is familiar anyway) from Fall Silent- super fast thrashy
parts, followed by a technical groove and chunky riffing, and those
Rorschach-styled vocals.
The first
song on the B-side is in a similar vein.
But the other two tracks on here are more of the “Drunken Violence”
style of keeping things a little simpler riff-wise and just going for
quickness.
It’s certainly a
worthwhile effort from this group who may have let their instruments collect
dust over the last decade.
But
will people take notice?
(Revelation)
FUCK YOU PAY ME, “Dumbed Down”
The band with easily the best name in hardcore returns for
10 more songs (well, one is a cover) of absolutely zero bullshit, fast and
ruthless punk fury.
And they do it
all in under 18 minutes.
There is
really not much that needs to be said about this.
If you get off to hardcore that’s really fast and really
fucking angry, with lyrics that are snarky and to the point, then you will
enjoy this.
Otherwise, go shit in
your hat.
The title track is my
favorite (with a line like ‘if you got that PMA then stay the fuck away from
me’ gives an indication of where they’re coming from), but, I gotta say,
“Douche Chills” might take a close second.
Despite the apparent lack of any empathy whatsoever, there
are a few topical songs that clearly hit close to home for the band- “Dark Side
Of the Spoon” deals with friends and acquaintances lost to hard drugs and
“Steubenville City Limits” is a rally against suburban jocks that get a free pass
on rape, as long as they know the right people.
If you don’t have a chip on your shoulder about something
after listening to this you probably don’t go outdoors much.
(Tankcrimes)
GRIZZLOR/ GODSTOPPER split 7”
OK, I’m obviously super partial to both these bands since I
released material from each.
So,
ya know, the fact they have teamed up for a 7” makes my groin area just a
little bit moist.
Is that too much
information?
Well, try to
visualize it while you’re at it.
That thought might be just as ugly as the filthy, riff-laden noise rock
of Grizzlor.
Or, if you’re some
sort of pervert, it might be just as sweet as the soothing sounds of Godstopper
that ultimately crash down on you like the weight of age (aging moist groins at
that).
No, really, I can keep
going here.
Anyway, Grizzlor, with
a handful of singles already under their belts toss out a couple more of their
weird grooving noise rock with those wretched, reverb-y ‘man in a tinfoil hat
yelling about reptoids’ vocals, and quick to-the-point sludge riffs.
Godstopper return with pop songs
disguised as Disembodied.
Down-tuned monster riffs and Queen-level choruses on the first
song.
The second song,
“Cellophane”, could be a deep cut from an early 80’s Genesis record (and I mean
that in a good way) as it weirdly meanders through a creepy-quiet sung bit,
bereft of distortion save for all of about five seconds.
My description does it little
justice.
To know the band’s M.O.
you gotta understand they just like catchy and clever hooks and often bury that
love under piles of distortion.
But sometimes they just bare all and let that love show minus heavy
guitars.
A great, if not a little
weird, pairing.
(Corpse Flower)
HAWKS, “No Cash Value”
I feel like this long-running Atlanta band never quite got
their just due.
Maybe it’s because
they have a very bland name?
I
don’t really know how much they toured.
This is their final LP and in their time they were quite prolific,
releasing 5 LPs and several 7” records.
My own interest in them involves tracking down their various releases
(some of which were only released on European labels) and having an incomplete
collection of their material.
So I
might be off with their progression, but on this last LP it feels the most
restrained of their releases.
Earlier material was awash in tons of feedback, plenty of drunken
howling and growling, and a total love of Jesus Lizard’s rock-your-fucking-face-off
mentality.
“No Cash Value” reins
in the feedback a bit, has learned to pace their drinking, but still loves the
Jesus Lizard.
And the singer still
sounds like he’s reciting his death wish from underneath a barstool.
So there’s that.
“Wash and repeat”.
(Learning Curve Records)
MUMS, “Land Of Giants”
OK, I’ll admit, this actually was released in October of
last year and I’m just getting obsessed with it now.
So it’s not exactly new, but I really wanted to gush about
this a little bit so deal.
This is
a UK trio that has dropped some kind of sonic bomb in the form of incredibly
fuzzed-out muddy riffing in the vein of Floor (for the dual down-tuned guitar
attack, no bass), KARP (for the thunder and sense of absurdity), and fellow UK
noiseniks Todd (in the nihilistic over-the-top sludge and feedback).
So ya know, it’s right up my
alley.
Still, they manage to toss
in some of these ultra-quiet restrained parts to the mountains of heavy to make
for some very accentuated dynamics.
It certainly adds a bit more variety to the music than their last outing
(under the moniker Aeroplane Flies High), an EP, that had cleaner production,
catchier Torche-inspired riffing, and moved along at a pretty steady pace.
A noteworthy release, for sure.
But this is just kind of next level
good.
I like that it’s mixed up a
bit more, it sounds a littler slimier, more fuzzy and crazy, but somehow
manages to be quite catchy, no matter how much they might slow it down.
It’s generally kind of tough to keep up
with international bands and generate interest on this side of the pond, but
I’d strongly suggest giving this band a try if you dig your sludgy noise rock
with lots of catchiness and weirdness.
(Super Star Destroyer)
OAK, “It’s Your Mess As Much As Mine”
Not to be confused with the metallic drone-sludge band that
released stuff with A389 Records, this band opts instead for hardcore dudes
trying to get a bit noisey and weird, but ultimately end up sounding more
hardcore than Botch-y, if you get my drift.
There’s a large dose of that sort of Indecision style of
keeping the music simple, heavy, yet meaningful.
However, the second half of this record (it’s only 5 songs)
tries some different things and veers off into some more interesting territory,
particularly on “Elsewhere”, probably the best offering here.
If you dig your hardcore just a bit off
the beaten path, as well as emotionally cathartic this would be a decent record
to check out.
(State Of Mind)
OPEN CITY, s/t
A couple years back Dan Yemin (of Paint It Black, Lifetime,
etc) had mentioned to me that he was working on a new project that he described
as sounding like Torches To Rome.
Always a good thing.
He
mentioned the pieces weren’t all in place yet, but it was getting there.
So, if this is the same project, it
appears that it took a bit of a turn because it doesn’t really sound like any
Mike/Sarah Kirsch project.
It
sounds like a band that Dan Yemin plays guitar for.
Which he does.
The guy has a fairly distinct style to his playing that certainly gives
nods to 80’s/early 90’s Dischord melodic hardcore, catchy punk, and shades of
early emo.
Along for the ride is
Chris Wilson, who drummed for Ted Leo for years, Andy Nelson (also of Paint It Black)
and Rachel Rubino (of Bridge and Tunnel) handling vocals.
When I first heard about this band I
thought maybe Yemin was on vocals and I secretly hoped Rubino was on guitar
because she might be one of the shreddin’-est guitarists I’ve ever seen.
But her strained and gruff vocals do
the job nicely here.
Musically, it
is along the lines of what I might expect from all these people making music
together.
The overall feel has a
bit more of the melodic bent that was present on “Paradise” (Paint It Black’s
second LP) that, again, evokes shades of Dischord luminaries (distinctly, the
Swiz-like momentum of “Brother, I’m Getting Nowhere”, and the J. Robbins style
of playing on “Sofa Drugs”).
However, it’s the almost-midway point on the noticeably slower “Black
Veils” in which Rubino really shows that she has some serious pipes, and lays
the emotion on thick.
Heck, it
even kind of sounds like it could have been on a Bridge and Tunnel album.
I know its kind of an easy out to
compare this music to the members other outfits, but the combination of all
those parts makes for something truly special and this is one heck of a
debut.
(self-released)
PISSED JEANS, “Why Love Now?”
Pissed Jeans has obviously carved their niche within the
punk/noise rock scene over the course of four LPs.
Finally, on their fifth outing something feels
different.
They’re trying some
other weird shit, messing around with song structures and production values
that are not quite what one might expect from the suburban Philly grown-up’s
who throw around guitars and convulse on stage on the weekends.
I can’t really nail what feels out of
place about this record as compared to others.
Songs like “Ignorecam” are right up there with the best of
the band’s canon of ‘take one lumbering riff and repeat ad nauseum’, and
“Waiting On My Horrible Warning” lines right up with awkward and excellent opening
songs where a first time listener might have second thoughts about what they’ve
gotten themselves into.
But maybe
it’s that Pissed Jeans is in better control of their chaos these days.
Whereas in the past they wrote great
songs that were completely unhinged at every angle (despite all being good
musicians), tracks such as “Love Without Emotion”, “The Bar Is Low” (which, if
you haven’t seen the video for yet stop reading this and check that
immediately), and “It’s Your Knees” are of the fast/heavy sort, but executed
with slick precision (as much as a band that is often filed under ‘noise rock’
can get away with).
Perhaps it’s
the lyrics?
Past efforts have
managed to describe the mundane details of adult life that were chock full of
deadpan humor, the intentionality of which was ambiguous.
On this record I can’t really tell most
of the time if vocalist Matt Korvette is attempting to be serious?
Maybe?
Regardless of all this, my first listen of the record was a
bit on the reserved side of appreciation.
After a couple more spins now I’m enjoying it almost as much as their
past efforts.
(Sub Pop)
