Still / Form is a 3 piece band that emerged in the midst of the stagnation of 2020, as people shuttered themselves in and thought of ways to pass the time.
Guitarist/vocalist Robert Comitz’s previous band, Marriage + Cancer, had recently dissolved and he was thinking of what was to come next. After trading out some gear, messing around with new sounds and tones, and coming across bassist Kirk Evans (Dark Numbers) and drummer Ryan Losli (Almost Is Nothing/Ireshrine), Still / Form took shape.
They spent the better part of a year crafting songs in Comitz’s recording studio, which made it easy to demo material as it came together. As they got the songs to where they wanted them to be, Still / Form recorded an album’s worth of material.
By the summer of 2021, they came out of their recording cave and played their first show. Things started moving along quickly after that as the record went through several mixes, eventually being put into the capable hands of Scott Evans (Kowloon Walled City) to work his magic on it. The result is, “From the Rot Is a Gift”
Retaining some of the disturbing and jarring guitar work reminiscent of Marriage + Cancer, but with a much more sludgy heft, Still / Form plods and trudges through a gauntlet of experimental sounds, driving bass, and sharp attack. Comitz’ raspy vocals provide an unsettling disposition against the music that can’t simply be categorized as ‘metal’, or ‘noise rock’, but certainly can be filed into much broader and less definable terms, such as ‘weird’ and ‘heavy’.
Hex Records will be releasing Still / Form’s debut full length, and in the meantime the band will be out and about playing more shows.
For now, take a peek at some recent live footage of the band here:
I don't know about you, but this was the year for amazing EPs, singles, demos... basically short records. While a few LPs completely dominated (see the first two entries) there were so many good EPs that I was loving. Don't know why. That's just how my personal list played out. Anyway, here's what was good for me this year, as well as some stuff I'm looking forward to next year.
TURNSTILE, “Glow On”
I’d say getting songs stuck in your head for multiple months
is probably reason enough to add this to a year end list.This an incredibly fun, engaging, and
surprisingly very thoughtful record (well, minus “Dance Off”) and if you don’t
want to bounce around and sing-along to this you might actually be dead inside.
QUICKSAND, “Distant Populations”
My favorite band ever has legit made some of their best
songs.I’m totally biased, but the
band has really gotten their groove back of writing incredible songs
together.I couldn’t be more
pleased.This one has consistently
gotten tons of play since it was released.
DRIP-FED, “Kill the Buzz”
Some of the most fun and ripping hardcore I’ve heard in
quite awhile.Super fun and
melodic like the best Polar Bear Club jams paired up with the wild
punk/hardcore energy of groups like Hour Of the Wolf to make this wonderful
second LP from the Austin group.
BUMMER, “Dead Horse”
Total ass-beating music from this KC trio.They make more noise between the three
of them than a symphony of monster trucks tearing ass through a junkyard.Riffs upon riffs upon riffs, heaped
atop of pulverizing groove and a relentless drive to make some of the best new
noise rock one could possibly ask for.
FIDDLEHEAD, “Between the Richness”
I was a bit biased against this group for no good reason
previously.I never really got
into Have Heart and I got a bit uppity about hardcore kids acting like this
band was re-inventing the wheel or something when countless emotional HC/indie
bands from Rites Of Spring to Braid have pulled it off successfully over the
years.But I got over myself and
realized this is just a really fucking good band who made a really fucking good
record.Super melodic, super
driving, great vocals, and great songs.
Favorite EPs
PORCUPINE, “The Sybil”
Yes, bring on completely unhinged hardcore mayhem.A band that covers Deadguy just as
easily as they attempt a Suicide cover gets a nod in my book.To me they sound like Rorschach for
today’s world- making crazy music firmly rooted in fast hardcore, but
completely open to taking chances on the unknown.They did an excellent job with this ripping EP that comes in
a really cool package and I hope they continue to make amazing new recordings
at their seemingly furious pace.
CHERUBS, “Slo Blo 4 Frnz & Sxy”
You know I love weird and heavy and Cherubs are about as
weird and heavy as it gets.I
don’t do drugs but Cherubs makes me think I do.Can you break edge to audio recordings?They recorded a few new songs and then
offered digital versions (or just slow your record player to 33 rpm) of the
same songs reallllly slow.It’s
fucked up.But their sense of
non-stop noisy feedback over the fuzziest of riffs and the wildest swinging
drumbeat ever and vocals so off-kilter one wonders how people grow up to be
this way.I love it.No one sounds like Cherubs and that’s
what makes them incredible.
BRAIN CAVE, “Log World”
Post-hardcore leaning real heavy into the groove and riff, a
foggy and grungy foot stomping affair from these Ohio dudes.It’s not like they invented fire here,
it just feels like these dudes read my mind in terms of the exact kind of music
I love and laid it to tape.A
really nice follow up to their awesome full length from last year.
BEAUTY PILL, “Instant Night”
Another band that is incredibly one-of-a-kind.Of course I can pick out things in
their music that remind me of other genre defying artists, but they’re so far
afield from one another that when Beauty Pill puts those pieces together it
makes for something altogether whole and new.If you can hang with Tortoise at the same time as De La Soul
and musicians who play in museums you can appreciate Beauty Pill.
STUCK, “Content That Makes You Feel Good”
It took a bit to come around to Stuck, but after a bunch of
listens I finally realized their full length from last year, “Change Is Bad” is
super good.So I got excited about
this new EP, which is like a perfectly condensed summation of their sound that
tells a story over five expertly-crafted post punk jams.It’s so incredibly succinct and
descriptive all at once through music and lyrics I’m blown away at the
efficiency of it all.
COLONIAL WOUND, “Degradation”
Only three songs but total eardrum-blasting, angular and
grooving metallic heaviness that hits all the right spots. Maybe I miss
Coalesce and Engineer, and these Florida cats are just paying homage in the
best way possible.They will tear
you in half.
KNUB, s/t
Look, I grew up in the 90s and heavy music that is not only
real catchy but real heavy at the same time is like peanut butter and chocolate
smashed together for me.Knub have
crafted the perfect 90’s-style heavy rock demo.These guys are probably my age too so they know what they’re
doing.
WIPES, "Dumpster"/"You're the Boss"
Look, Tile was one of the goddamned heaviest bands ever, and equally as pissed. This new iteration of Tile/new band is friggin' heavy and throws some curveballs in there too. You're just not ready for what they're going to bring.
Runner ups
GLOOP, “Crayon Sun”
Super weird and noisy punk that these cats have been banging
out for a few years now and they just really nailed it here.Sassy chaotic punk without making you
want to punch them in the face for it.
EKULU, “Unscrew My Head”
Hard-fucking-core.Dudes with chops making well-crafted bangers that can throw thrash, NYHC
style, Clevo style, and a bit of their own unique thing into a blender and
churn out a face-crusher as a result.
OVLOV, “Buds”
Consistency is the name of the game for Ovlov, except this
one is better.Dino Jr worship
with some added stoner rock buzz/bliss.“Cheer Up, Chihiro!” when it brings that sax in…man.They’re on it.
I actually saw live music this year and these were my
favorite shows
GAYTHIEST/ PET WEAPON, Kenton Club, Portland 7.24- The first
indoor show I’d been to in over a year with probably the most fun band you
could possibly go see.It was like
a great little reunion for all the people you’re accustomed to seeing at shows
with a band that welcomes all to have a fun time with.And we all had a lot of fun
BULLY, Mississippi Studios, Portland, 9.6- Bully are such a
great live band.They just tear it
the heck up and write really damn good songs.“Sugaregg” was one of the better records released a couple years
back and it was cool to finally hear a whole bunch of those songs live.
QUICKSAND, Wonder Ballroom, Portland, 10.11-Duh, it’s Quicksand.They played their amazing new album, as
well as a ton of songs you already love them for.Steve Brodsky played second guitar and brought magic to the
stage.They never looked like they
were having more fun than they were that night.I was overwhelmed with joy.
Seriously, all these damn opinions! It just makes you want to puke. Still, I feel compelled to write about the stuff I come across whether it's solicited, or if it's just something I think people ought to give some attention to. But that ought to come as no great epiphany at this point. Here's to closing out a weird year where I'm noticing that like a shit ton of great EPs were put out there. Year-end list is coming next.
BASHFORD, “Greener Grasses”
I’m nothing if not brutally honest.There’s a bunch of stuff on here that
sounds just like Nirvana “Bleach” if it were a bit less engaging.And there’s some stuff on here that
sounds like butt rock.And this
band is like five albums in nearly as many years.There’s no doubt an appealing rawness to their sound when
they’re on and for like the first 30 seconds of half these songs I’m ready to
jump in, but then it just sputters out into rather hackneyed songwriting. (BigNeck Records)
BEAUTY PILL, “Instant Night” 12” EP
From one of the most interesting groups to make music over
the last 10-15 years Beauty Pill present another EP while many of us fervently
await a new full length.The title
track starts the record off with collaborator Erin Nelson supplying soaring
vocals over a BP trademark of playful instrumentation that bleeds into euphoric
bliss and an additional trick of somehow maintaining a beat without once using
percussion.Bass-heavy drones at
certain points fill in the gaps.A
lot of BP material is difficult to describe as they utilize such a wide range
of instruments and production techniques to mold something entirely unique and
“Instant Night” (the song) will certainly go on to stand out as one of their
better songs that work into that semi-indescribable brilliance.A short instrumental interlude comes
next with snappy, jazzy drumming and a pretty jingle atop it before the funky,
“You Need a Better Mind” rolls in and honestly, if you’re not bobbing your head
or straight up shaking your butt to this you got problems.Primary composer/ringleader Chad Clark
uses his delicate and smooth voice to bring the song a relative calm amongst
the calamity while a background chorus chants the songs title repeatedly.Finally, there’s a remix of “You Need a
Better Mind” and oh how I dread remixes.They’re usually just a lazy dissection of a song with a bad techno beat
over it and a waste of time.At
least with this one Beauty Pill attempts to maintain the core of the song but
adding a quick beat to it, changing the funk style of the actual version.It feels like background music to the
scene in Akira where Kanada visits the arcade in the middle of the day when no
one else is around.So in all
takeaway number one- what does Beauty Pill sound like exactly?Imagine De La Soul being covered by
Laurie Anderson being backed by Sly and the Family Stone… in the future.Takeaway number two- give us a damn new
full length already.(Northern SpyRecords)
ENGINE KID, “Special Olympics” flexi 7”
As a hardcore kid I’ll always associate this band with
releasing an album through Revelation and how that just never made much
sense.I never got to see them,
but they were apparently unbearably loud, even though much of their music then
was melodic and wandering.But
knowing what I know now, it makes sense how loud they were (members would go on
to form Sunn 0))) and I see why Revelation was interested in them (members were
in Brotherhood and there was a Sunny Day Real Estate-adjacent connection).And now I understand what Engine Kid
were going for- Slint as filtered through big, burly Pacific Northwest grunge
thunder.They were definitely kind
of their own thing.It’s just that
in 1995 I had no idea what to do with it.And I think neither did most other people who heard this band.So maybe it’s good fortune that the
band finds themselves recording some songs again for the heck of it and gives
us an EP to chew on now that culture has caught up.Earlier this year they dropped an impressive box set
collection of all their material so I guess there’s a little momentum going
here.This has three short burners
that are heavier than anything I recall them doing in the past and it all sound
like Torche going bananas.The
fourth track sounds more like Engine Kid that I am familiar with- a long
winding passage with sampled vocals, followed by a single heavy section, and
back to the quiet stuff.Apparently this is finished versions of songs they were working on
before they broke up some 25 years ago.Comes on a flexi record for all you lovers of music pressed onto a
sheet.(Southern Lord)
EYE FLYS, “Exigent Circumstance” EP
I’ve been in and out with paying attention to this
band.I have no good reason why,
they rule pretty hard.Their first
offering was kind of a bit too on the nose for me with the outright Melvins
worship, but it was still good.They did an LP that saw them come into their own a bit more, and now we
have this EP that was not quite a surprise release, but it did sort of sneak up
all quick-like.And heck, why not
just throw down four new tracks of ear-hammering sludgy riff worship to make
sure people know you’re still doing the damn thing?They come out the gate with a track that could have been an
outtake from Crowbar “Odd Fellows Rest” if I didn’t know better and then
proceed to drag what’s left of your bloodied corpse through a tar pit with
“Dead Larvae”.“Exigent
Circumstance” has an almost Coalesce vibe with it’s noisy cavalcade off
feedback and off-timed riffs heaped atop a ongoing chugging riff keeping things
centered.The EP closes out with
“Circular Motion”, which has a bit more of bro-y southern riff, but repeatedly
clobbers you over the head with it for three minutes.In all, it’s 11 minutes of heavy damage with a screened
b-side for you collector types.(ClosedCasket Activities)
GENOCIDE PACT, s/t
I’m by no means an expect of any sort on death metal.I occasionally dip my toes in to check
some out, and usually I’m good for a few songs before I’m done.You could say I’m not even a casual
listener.I do recall seeing
Genocide Pact once back when they were probably just getting going and even
then their punk and hardcore infused death metal was pretty easy to grasp.On their new record they seem to not
have deviated too hard from that initial plan.Genocide Pact are not trying to be overtly flashy with wild
technical prowess, though you will find ripping solos here and there.They are playing dirgy, grimy,
filth-strewn death metal informed by a punk background, frequently shifting
pace between plodding Obituary-style groove (“Mutilated Vision”) and more
grind-y/faster paced Napalm Death-styled beatings (“Deprive/Degrade”).But hey, like I said, I’m no
expert.Those just looking for
something to melt the sleeves off your shirt (if you’re listening to this, why
would you have sleeves on your shirt anyway?) and cause your jacket to sprout
Repulsion patches will be pleased, those looking for a re-invention of the
wheel look elsewhere.(Relapse)
HELMET, “Live and Rare”
Having seen Helmet not that long ago I can say they still
sound great.But, to me, nothing
will really compare to their classic lineup.I think each of those players in that initial lineup were
astounding in their own right as musicians, regardless of how much of the music
was composed by Page Hamilton (not too shabby of a musician himself).So I’m happy to report that this live
record is two sets- one from CBGBs in 1990, early in the band’s formation.The other is from an Australian
festival in 1993, quite possibly at the band’s apex of hype.And both sets are the band in their
original lineup.I always love
hearing documentation of this sort- how a band sounded early on, how they were
captured in a live environment, especially when it’s a band as important as
Helmet.The CBs set- from some
sparsely attended weeknight calendar filler- somehow sounds better and more
vicious than the stadium-sized, professionally recorded festival set at a point
where the band was touring non-stop.Chalk it up to a group that rehearsed fervently and were hungry to
demolish audiences.This is pre-
“Strap It On” Helmet, though you get a primitive version of “Murder” (which
manages to come off as even more grating and disturbing than the studio
version) and a slightly less ominous performance of “Sinatra”.The rest is fast-paced crushing noise
played as loud as humanly possible.It’s the singles stuff, not on their actual records.The festival set shows a band that now
has nice gear and playing out primarily “Meantime” material (as well as their
go-to cover of the Melvins “Oven”).Maybe it’s the people recording it, maybe it’s Hamilton’s tipsy demeanor
(in the linear notes he admits to knocking back a few too many before playing),
but there’s whole sections of guitar missing on “Give It” (probably one of
their best songs ever) and “Blacktop” that are sort of essential to the songs
that’s a bit of a letdown.The
rest of it sounds pretty good.I
tend to dig live albums for the warts and all aspect that bands don’t need to
sound perfect live, and that’s part of the charm.However, with a touring history as long as Helmet has had
over the last 30 years one would think they could pull a live set from the
vault that’s a little better. (earMUSIC)
POMELO, “Validations”
Rochester, NY trio Pomelo presents their debut full length
that shows them flexing their art-punk brains to give the listener 11 tracks
that fall somewhere between the taut post-punk of bands like Stuck with the
DC-leaning math rock of groups like Faraquet if they were a little less playful
and more somber. These songs
primarily move at a slower pace, bringing plenty of breathing room to emphasize
the studious interplay between guitars, vocals, and rhythm but keeping things
far from dull.Sure, they will draw
some fans whose noses are permanently up their own ass, but I’d like to think
some folks who are just into good, thoughtful, and carefully constructed math
rock can easily enjoy this as well.There are 11 songs here for you to decide for yourself. (self-released)
RID OF ME, “Traveling”
Philly’s Rid Of Me has really made a heck of a full length
with “Traveling”.Comprised of a
few re-recordings of several songs from their various demos, as well as a
clutch of brand new songs, it makes for a cohesive whole worthy of repeated
listens.While initially this band
had the feeling of a low-key project to do when members weren’t off doing the
similarly-minded Low Dose, it seems that now Rid Of Me is the main group for
the songwriting team of Mike McGuiness and Itarya Rosenburg.Starting as a trio (rounded out by
former Fight Amp alum Mike Howard on drums) they also enlisted second guitarist
Reuben Polo (Soul Glo) to fill out the sound and this may be his first real
deal recording with the band?Either way, the record sounds like a band that has gone from project to
the real thing and it shows.The
slightly wistful post-punk vibes on the first couple tracks come off as a nice
addition, but ultimately the DNA of filthy rock stemming from the Fight Amp/Low
Dose resume cannot be ignored and is present in some way on all these
songs.Things are at their most
cacophonous on the raging “Broke Shit”, which takes the spot of my favorite
song here.Bassist/vocalist
Rosenburg has really come a long way with utilizing her voice to easily shift
between going with the melody to add emotional texture and screaming to fuck
with yr skull, frequently blending both to great effect.Though smoking is pretty gross I gotta
say I love the cover of this record, which kind of acts as a metaphor for the
album as a whole- it’s an artful depiction of various pictures of the members
hands all holding cigarettes.So
ya know, artistically engaging, but still kind of gross and ugly. (Ghost IsClear/ Knife Hits)
SUNSTROKE, “Cryin’ Wolves”
I don’t think I’m out of line to say the art the band is
using for this new single is directly an homage to Melinda Beck-illustrated
“Dine Alone” 7” from Quicksand.It
looks almost exactly like it, and while I’d take a guess that the members of
this band are fans and their music could presumably fall under the vast
umbrella of ‘post-hardcore’, they don’t sound all that much like
Quicksand.Sunstroke fall
somewhere within the upbeat, melodic sound of current groups like One Step
Closer and the rowdy, swirling hardcore rock sound of past bands like Swiz. “Cryin’ Wolves” is a stand-alone single
that follows up on a another single from a few months back (“I Wanna Be
Ignored”) where they did lathe cuts, which seems a bit wasteful to me.After all, it’s tough to justify paying
nearly $20 for a single song on a crappy format (lathes), which is what the
plan seems to be for this single as well (which is currently just digital).Maybe waiting and putting both songs on
a single record would be a bit more convenient.Still, I like this band a lot and think they’re making
really cool music so at the very least it’s worth checking them out.(New Morality)
Hey, it's another bandcamp day and I got some deals to do, as well as some news on upcoming and current projects.
So since there's a certain holiday coming up go and treat yourself, or treat someone you want to show the true meaning of good music (or, Christmas... semantics).
I put out two of their records. Get them and then seek out the rest of their catalog. You get "Character Stop" on clear pink and "Life Cinema" on clear red (second press). Beautiful noisy post-punk recklessness from the UK. https://hexrecords.bandcamp.com/merch/both-usa-nails-lps-for-25
#4- 10 CDs FOR $25!
Bringing this back too. 10 random CDs from the catalog sent to you. It would be easier to tell me which ones you don't want. Feel free to air your grievances. https://hexrecords.bandcamp.com/merch/10-cds-for-25
#5- ALL DIGITAL SALES GOING TO CHARITY.
Any digital purchase made today will be donated to Out To Pasture Animal Sanctuary here in Oregon. They do great work taking in and caring for rescued, abandoned, and injured animals from factory farms, hoarders, and other crappy situations. They do the good work so let's help them out.
OK, news both good and bad:
Bad news- A lot of people have been asking about the new GRIZZLOR LP and where it's at. I don't know how long it is going to take. I fully expected to have it back by now but like basically all records at press right now it's taking forever. I'm sorry. On the good side, I live very close to the press and I'm keeping tabs on progress. But I don't expect it before the end of the year. I'll keep you all updated.
Good news- as you may have seen earlier this week, we will be releasing a full length from Allentown, PA-based WIPES! They're rippers, let me tell ya. Current/ex- Tile dudes making that ungodly agitated noise competing with crazy riffs. They have a few songs on their own bandcamp so give 'em a listen before they head into the studio to record their full length: https://wipes.bandcamp.com/
Wipes is a new band from the Allentown/Bethlehem, PA area that remains quite familiar. That might be because the band started as almost an off-shoot from Tile, who have been blasting eardrums for well over 10 years. When Tile’s guitarist began taking on more adult responsibilities and had less time to devote to the band remaining members Ray Gurz (bass, vocals) and Michael Dumoff (drums) began jamming with guitarist Matt Molchany, who had already been a long time friend and fan of the band. In fact, he was responsible for recording and engineering both of Tile’s full length albums. Thus Wipes was born and began writing music at a furious pace. Soon the band demoed a few songs, putting up one on their bandcamp page just to give people an idea of what was going on. Not long after the band did a very limited lathe cut 7” on Limited Appeal Records with two more tracks showcasing what they were up to. In mid-December Wipes will record their debut full-length “Making Friends” at guitarist Matt Molchany’s Shards Studio. Prepare for more of the familiar noise served up by Tile- heavy aggression visualized as an abandoned quarry filling up with mercury- but with the added fresh set of ears of a new member to add additional colors to the calamitous beatings. Get yourself ready for Wipes. The band will begin playing out live in 2022 and Hex Records will release their full length. Stay tuned for more.
Got a bit of variety here for you all. A couple big things dropped that I'm sure you've already listened to repeatedly and a couple other things that you might not know about and that's always the point here. Get into new shit. I got nothing else witty to impart. Buy some records and hope that you get them someday.
CERCE, “Cowboy Music”
This was a bit of a surprise because I thought this
Boston-area band had split up several years ago.Cerce was a young band that had a bit of a burst back about
10 years ago and then sort of fizzled away almost as quickly as they popped up.They mixed short, raging riff-fueled
hardcore punk that leaned slightly metallic but more on the fastcore side with
vocals that ranged from sort of bratty to screaming bloody murder.They had a well-received seven inch,
and then a couple follow up demos, toured regionally, and then split up.However, it seems that now they’re sort
of an on-again, off-again thing as one of the members is an engineer at God
City, thus making studio access to exercise any new and deranged ideas
considerably easier I can imagine.So, seemingly out of nowhere, “Cowboy Music” arrives a few years later and
tosses out 11 new tracks of material that sounds pretty similar to what the
band had been doing from the jump.The vocals this time around lean less on all-out screaming and stick to
mostly the shouted/bratty side, while lyrically it appears to be a bit more fun
and not as deadly serious as past stuff, though familiar topics from past
releases revolving around manipulation, coercion, and relationship abuse still
linger in certain songs.Musically
the band is on point as ever and things sound considerably better, given
guitarist Zach Weeks growing expertise within the studio they’re able to get a
worthy recording to adequately match the harsh musical destruction going
on.This was a nice surprise.(self-released)
DUMMY, “Mandatory Enjoyment”
This is such a nice breath of fresh air to listen to outside
of the usual instrument abuse, screaming and yelling I’m generally harming my
ears with.Dummy hail from the LA
area and play some very relaxed and breezy indie rock that incorporates a lot
of different elements into their sonic stew.Much of it has a very Stereolab feel to it, while the end of
the record even reminds me of early Tortoise (probably because of the
electronic stuff paired with what I think is a vibraphone?).Whatever the case, it sounds really
cool.Throughout the record you
get back and forth vocals, both male and female, that are light and airy
amongst music that is frequently mellow, but generally has an upbeat tempo,
sometimes motorik, sometimes relaxed.A lot of this sounds like what a potential commercial in the 70’s trying
to imagine a future technological utopia would commission for background music-
“just write us peaceful future music that still shows how bold mankind can be!”
Their last record displayed a similar course, but the experimentation with
various sounds and instruments made it a bit less consistent.I feel like this record achieves
various experimentation while still sounding like the same band throughout its
dozen tracks. (Trouble In Mind)
EVERY TIME I DIE, “Radical”
I understand that for a very prolific band like Every Time I
Die waiting four years to release a new album must have been maddening.And instead of tearing up stages across
the world pretty much all the time, not playing a single show for well over a year
probably led to an added level of Jack Torrence staring out into a wintery
landscape with an axe and a head full of bad ideas sort of depravity.So after this uncommon dry spell we get
what could have probably been two full albums from the band in one.“Radical”, with artwork as ugly as it
gets (80’s Trapper Keeper enthusiasts will be stoked), is 16 full-on tracks of
insanity from Buffalo’s finest purveyors of metallic hardcore.Personally, it’s a bit too much for
me.Every Time I Die has never shied
away from cramming a shit ton of ideas and riffs into a single song, along with
vocalist Keith Buckley’s very wordy diatribes.A full album of it tends to be almost overwhelming in it’s
own right, but they typically make it work.I think here 16 songs might be just a bit too much to
handle.It’s not to say they
haven’t made another record of wild music and immensely impressive
musicianship.Fans will certainly
be more than satisfied.It’s just
a bit too filling for me personally.They could have shaved off a few tracks, slapped them on a separate EP,
and all would be awesome.And the
tracks where they’re completely slaying it?Oh, they’re fucking slaying it.Buckley’s lyrics are possibly some of the most intense he’s
ever written and I suppose if you’ve been through the wringer over the last
couple years like our man has I’d be pretty bitter and angry too.It’s a whole lot of ‘everything is
awful’ and I’m particularly taken with the line “try loving man while fucking
hating mankind” from “Desperate Pleasures”, one of the best on the record.That song, along with “A Colossal
Wreck” and “All This and War”, make a trifecta of the records most bruising
moments.However, later on in the
record, particularly the last couple songs, it seems like a lot of ideas are
being thrown into the stew and not exactly coming out entirely successful.Or hell, maybe I’m just exhausted by
that point.The soundtrack to
intentionally crashing your car into a fireworks factory. (Epitaph)
OVLOV, “Buds”
It’s been a few years since we heard from Ovlov.They have already put out a couple
wonderful loud and fuzzy records and on “Buds” that trend continues.Quite honestly if you have enjoyed the
band in the past you will be exceptionally pleased by this one as well, though
I personally feel as if it’s a bit short compared to other outings.But that’s aminor gripe.Each of the 8 tracks here are full of plaintive melodies, slacker-sung
vocals, and giant, fuzzy bursts of distortion in each song.If anything, the band just has an even
better command of their abilities than in the past and it shows on the
under-two-minute opener “Baby Shea” as they rip right into things.“Eat More” follows up with a mid-tempo
beat and light, airy guitars as main dude Steve Hartlett sings with background
accompaniment by Alex Gehring, who offers up some spooky crooning later on as
the guitars enter full-on distortion and scream away.But I think my overall favorite track might be later on with
“Cheer Up, Chihiro!” as it rumbles along with a heavy stoner sort of vibe for
much of the song, has a big ‘ol fat chorus riff, and then breaks off out of
nowhere into a wild saxophone solo about ¾ of the way through the song…and I’m a sucker for saxophones in a
non-ska context.Yeah, I
definitely love what they’re doing here.You could say I Ov-love it.Get it?If you like Dino Jr
but a bit more upbeat, crossed with a little Hum if they were more relaxed and
less tone-obsessed you’d find Ovlov waiting in that space. (Exploding In Sound)
STRESS, “Across America”
My pals Tyler Farren and Matt Werts have been playing
together in a million different bands over the last twenty years or so.They’re always up to something and many
of those bands they switch duties over who does what and the results are always
entertaining.For the last few
years they have been doing a band called Stress and it’s very rooted in early
80’s hardcore.It’s lo-fi
sounding, raw, short, fast ridiculous songs that sound like everything is about
to fall apart or blow up at any moment.Like if any song actually made it past the two minute mark (one track
just squeaks by) the whole thing might just explode.So here you have it.But I enjoy the fact that lyrically this is more pondering and being
kind of wistful in a way, despite that Matt’s voice sounding like he’s being
dragged by wolves.Tracks like
“Yep”, “Nope”, “Apple” and “Trains” have this simple kind of prose to them but it’s
really engaging and totally out-of-character for what you’d expect things to
sound like given the violent nature of the music.You even get some interludes of the sounds of a trainyard
just to make you think about becoming a hobo. (Sore Ear Collective)
WHAT’S THE FURTHEST PLACE FROM HERE #1 by Matt Rosenberg and
Tyler Boss
I don’t frequently do write ups on comics unless I think
it’s really something worth adding to a bunch of yammering about records.But I think this is an apt addition
because not only is this team responsible for some other wonderful comics that
give a lot of wink and nods to punk within their stories, but as some of you
may have heard this series is offering limited split 7”s with each issue with
musicians and bands giving exclusive tracks.It’s not some hipster-come-lately gimmicky thing
either.Writer Matt Rosenberg used
to run Red Leader Records back in the aughts and booked numerous punk shows in
the NYC area before breaking into comics.I don’t know Tyler Boss’ backstory but I absolutely love his art, which
has a quality lying somewhere between Jamie Hernandez and Tim Sale.But on to the book.What’s happening here?Well, there’s not a ton of info going
into this first issue, but it seems it’s a sort of post-apocalyptic wasteland
ordeal free of adults.Gangs of
teenagers have sectioned off into their own turfs and our main characters are
holed up in an old record store as their base of operations.How convenient for the end times!So the obvious backgrounds of punk posters
adorn their home base as they duke it out with a rival gang sporting pig masks
due to accusations of a member trespassing on the other’s turf. One of their own goes missing after this
ordeal and that’s where things are left.If you were lucky enough to score a record with this one (it was quite
limited as I understand it) you are treated to Blake Schwarzenbach on one side
and Joyce Manor on the other.Next
issue will be Screaming Females tearing it up with Worriers.So yeah, stories featuring punk. Heck, the title of this issue even comes
from a Silent Majority album. (Image)
WIPES, “Dumpster” b/w “You’re the Boss” 7”
Wipes is a new band that came to be when two members of the
Allentown-based crushers in Tile decided to keep some momentum going when their
guitarist began to have more grown-up responsibilities happen.So the other two guys hooked up with
the person who recorded/engineered all the Tile material, who happens to be a
pretty good guitarist as well!Tile have been one of my favorite bands over the last several years as their
records absolutely bury listeners under mountains of feedback, noise, riffs,
and plenty of agitated shouting.It’s truly glorious stuff.What their incarnation as Wipes bring to the table is more of the same,
but with a bit more playing around with some guitar effects, perhaps even a
weird little melody here and there.It makes for great listening and a slightly different approach than the
non-stop shellshock Tile heaves at listeners.Now I may be kind of wasting your time with this review
since this particular record is a two song lathe cut that they only made just
over 50 copies.So unless you got
in on this I’m pretty certain you won’t find a physical copy available
anywhere.But will these songs pop
up online?Who’s to say.At the very least you can check out
their bandcamp and hear stuff not on this record for yourself and then keep
your ear to the ground for whatever sort of craziness they cook up next. (LimitedAppeal)
It feels like so much of this year is delayed. It's like waiting on good things, and then waiting even longer for those things, and then by the time they get here some of the magic is gone. But for this round of stuff I got here I feel like the wait was just the right amount of time for many of these releases, one of which was a complete surprise to me. Bonus! So here you go with a bunch of guitar-heavy madness and one comic dripping with madness! Check it all out and enjoy!
BUMMER, “Dead Horse”
There’s a lot of bands whose live sound doesn’t always
translate as well to recorded material.Sometimes you hear a very over-produced record that sounds great but
live the band is a little flat.Or
maybe a band you love live who have a huge sound just doesn’t get that across
as well on their albums.But with
Bummer every time you hear their records you can almost feel the massive volume
they play at, the sweat and spit flinging off the stage and through your
speakers, and they somehow manage to translate through audio mediums a sore
neck from headbanging too hard to their incredible riffs.It’s just non-stop riffs and heaviness
and screaming and it’s awesome.Imagine, if you will, the earlier stuff from Rye Coalition rocking the
fuck out mixed with the dizzying heaviness of Coalesce (heck, Coalesce vocalist
Sean Ingram contributes guest vocals to two of the songs on this…“Juice Pig” definitely adding a total
Coalesce part in the song tailor made for the dude), and that ought to provide
some context for what to expect.Whether they’re going at a quick clip, like on “Barn Burner” or moving
slower and laying down one of the meanest grooves you’ll hear all year on “I
Want To Punch Bruce Springsteen In the Dick” this second full length from
Bummer is going to kick your ass up and down the street.It’s definitely one of the most bad-ass
heavy records I’ll hear all year and unless you have something against a
recording beating you with a tire iron before being road hauled you’ll probably
want to check it out too.(ThrillJockey)
CHERUBS, “Slo Blo 4 Frnz N Sxy”
Leave it to the acid casualties in Cherubs to record a new
EP that has a handful of songs at regular speed on one side at 45, and then
those same songs on side B slowed down to 33.If I had to guess a cue for inspiration (outside of drugs),
take frontman Kevin Whitley’s vocal guest spot when sludge/noise group
USA/Mexico covered Cherub’s own “Shoofly” and dragged it out to comically
painful lengths.Or just chalk it
up to Cherubs own demented headfuckery when destroying innocent minds with
their crazy noise.Anyways, on
this EP you get four new tracks that are totally in line with all the more
recent stuff you’ve come to love from Cherubs that err more on the
heavy/rocking end rather than their occasional forays into psychedelia.There’s also an acoustic version
of “Sooey Pig” from their last full length “Immaculeda High” and it truly makes
you realize, when distilled down to just an acoustic guitar and a voice, that
Cherubs are just writing catchy pop songs with warped vocals and heaps upon
heaps of feedback and distortion.It’s a great thing they have going on.Flip the record over and there’s the slowed down versions of
all of these that could be mistaken for the aforementioned USA/Mexico or Harvey
Milk.I have absolutely no clue
what’s up with that title, but I do know you need Cherubs in your life. (Relapse)
DIFFICULT, “Tea With the Times”
How do I describe the new effort, long in the making, of
Difficult without showing favoritism to a group of people I’ve long associated
with in other bands, label releases, booking their previous bands, and
friendship?Honestly, I just want
this record to get some attention because it’s self-released, likely with no
physical release, and I don’t think any of the members would consider
themselves as self-promoting PR machines. So if I may throw a little hype their
way I’m more than happy to do so.This is the second full length by this Syracuse group.All of the members have exhaustive backgrounds
in dozens of bands, and most of them all played together in Night Owls as a
semi-recent reference point.Difficult play very thoughtful rock music that has extreme dedication to
detail, in part due to the members experience on stage and in the studio and
part due to mixing from Scott Evans of Kowloon Walled City.There’s some subtle differences I’m
hearing between this and the band’s initial offering- a bit more heft and grime
in the bass tone, as well as using the interplay of vocals between guitarist
Jon Davis and bassist Rachel Bass as even more of a melodic instrument than
before.“In the Sun” begins the
record as a slow burn with mostly vocals and occasional studio-affected drum
hits before exploding into a big ‘ol ending.“Neurotic” picks up the pace though as a quick ripper more
in line with the members Night Owls output before they get into “The Promise”,
which might be my favorite song on “Tea With the Times”.It plods along with a heavy, grinding
bass but remains gorgeous and idyllic throughout between the guitars and
vocals.Well, ok, that song and
closer “Medic Medic”, which also has that slower vibe but goes from morose and
melancholy to upbeat and anthemic and ends with an almost tribal drum beat
carried by synchronized by long, drawn out ‘whoh-ohs’ that just demand a big
audience singing along.How’s that
for descriptive without being too gushy while attempting to be objective? (self-released)
FULL OF HELL, “Garden Of Burning Apparitions”
Full Of Hell have become very consistently good at throwing
every extreme music subgenre in a blender and not having it come out as
disjointed, or ill-fitting.They
just are who they are and they are extremely prolific.So while some songs may break into
Discordance Axis-like future grind, others parts go into tech-y death metal
dirges, and occasional hardcore breakdowns, with twists of noise rock
skronk.They make it all fit into
their stew seamlessly.And most of
the time they cram it down your throat in the space of about 90 seconds so you
don’t even know what hit you.The
band definitely enjoys adding noise when they can with mixed results.When it’s the entirety of a track like
“Derelict Satellite”, which literally sounds like a warehouse full of aluminum
siding caught in a mudslide, count me out.But when it’s added as texture to a track like “Industrial
Messiah Complex” where an entire section sounds like the band raging through
the filter of a helicopter it sounds awesome.I’d say at 21 minutes and 12 tracks (two of which being noise
tracks) I’m not sure if I’d count this as a full length, but honestly, this is
just the right amount of Full Of Hell I want in one sitting to make a lasting
impression.After all, they are
throwing a lot at you.Best not to
overwhelm, but at the same time keep people wanting more. (Relapse)
GRINS, “Unflattering Angles”
Upon first listening to this album from Finnish noise rock
band Grins one might think they have it playing at the wrong speed until you
realize that this isn’t a physical record.The guitars drag and vocals lurch like they’re channeling
Big’n through the spirit of Harvey Milk.But then they pick up the pace and smack you up and down with a
galloping racket.It’s an odd feat
for these Scandinavians but I’m pleased to listen to it and enjoy the filth
they’re peddling.When you get a
song called “Adult Diaper Blues” it’s not that tough to get a sense of what’s
about to transpire here ya know?However, closing track “Sleeping Song” is the anomaly as it’s a solid
four minutes of whispered, quiet fog before you get another 6 minutes of
build-up and burnout, all the while their vocalist is trying out his singing
voice and doing a pretty good job of it.The rest of the record- adult diaper blues set to music.Heavy and ugly. (self-released)
KOWLOON WALLED CITY, “Piecework”
Get ready for that slow burn.Worshippers of tone and nuance have no doubt already been
slow-jacking (edging?You all into
that?) to this new masterclass in sonic prowess.Kowloon Walled City play slow and heavy, but have an
excellent sense of crushing listeners without having to crank the distortion up
all the time.They have rich tones
and through their exceptional understanding of recording and engineering ensure
that the listener hears every note, every strum on the guitar, all clear as a
summers day.But the patience, the
intentional quiet moments, the restraint, the slow pace… it all has a profound
weight to it.And that’s part of
what makes KWC heavy.Well, that
and they do play very loud in the rare live settings they engage in.But I digress.While personally I enjoy older material
from them (“Gambling On the Richter Scale” being a favorite) because it’s a
little more immediate and definitely makes use of that thick-ass distortion, I
have great respect for what they are doing currently because it’s heavy in a
different sort of way and their last three records attest to that.Closing track “Lampblack” may be the
best example of this, combining big, open melodies and those moments of quiet
heaviness they do so well. (Neurot/Gilead)
TALES TO ENLIGHTEN, by Matt King and James Edward Clark
I got hip to this massive tome by way of a few artists I
follow contributing pin-ups to it and I figured if all these people whose work
I admire are getting in on this thing then I should check out because the
actual creators of the book likely have very good taste of their own.However, I’m at a bit of a loss to
fully describe the multitude of batshit crazy stuff happening throughout Tales
To Enlighten.First, let me try to
summarize the plot- the grandson of Satan seeks to find enlightenment.In order to do so he needs to collect
the heads of 666 superheroes so he and his reprogrammed killer robot friend
travel the multiverse to butcher their way to their goal.Once the deed is complete access to
enlightenment is granted in the form of a nightclub in which one DJ Megatrip
supplies the music and offers our characters a private lesson in Buddhist/Far
East teachings.As our characters
become enlightened the DJ reveals himself to be…well, I won’t ruin it.But let’s just say Grandpa Satan catches wind and a battle follows.So it’s weird, for sure.All the superhero butchering is a 50
page excuse to delve into explicit gore and cheap yucks via not-so-subtle send
ups’ of popular heroes we all know.The enlightenment bit is quite extended as well with a bit too much
philosophizing for it’s own good, which our author openly admits. Finally, the
entire book is wrapped up in an endless parade of pop culture, hip-hop, and
punk references shoehorned in wherever possible.At times it’s wonderful, other times it’s a bit too
much.The artwork is nothing short
of spectacular- visually bright and engaging, totally weird, expertly dished
out and with a mish-mash of interlude-style classified ads to break things up. The story itself runs a couple hundred
pages while there is a bonus section well over 100 pages of just pins-ups by a
bevy of awesome artists including Shaky Kane, Paul Rentler, Samplerman, and
Phil Bratuhim.The entire endeavor
at times feels like a bit too much, but at least you’re more than getting your
money’s worth.(self-released)
TUNIC, “Quitter”
Tunic are relentless.They will tour like 6 months a year or something and then put out a full
length pretty much when they’re not touring.I can only imagine how much the last year or so sucked for
them not being to tour and then spending all that time in the Arctic Circle of
Canada in which they reside.So
outside of likely hiding from polar bears or avoiding steamrollers plowing over
the tundra to install oil pipelines in any available stretch of land I’m sure
the members of Tunic just bashed out more abrasive punk screeds to spit out at
the eventual promise of live audiences.And now that that last part seems to be a reality they have this new
record, “Quitter” in which to inflict the damage.So in the past I’ve made strong comparisons to Metz and I’m
sure they’re sick of it, but in some ways it remains apt, respectfully so- both
groups are power trios, both play noise rock that leans heavy into a punk ethos
complete with weird guitar effects, both are Canadian, and both are really
good.However, I feel like Tunic
tends to be a little more economical overall with their songs.11 tracks here clock in at all of about
22 minutes and the longest song on here is still under 3 minutes.Despite the brevity of this record I
hardly feel ripped off.I
appreciate that Tunic not only get down to business with no delay but also
don’t overstay their welcome by making up for a brief record with like 17 songs
or something just to pad the length.Save that for the grindcore nuts.An additional difference I’d like to add is I find Tunic to be more
jarring.They may make quite a bit
of use of different effects pedals but the guitars don’t sound like
chainsaws.Often there are
somewhat cleaner tones which make the jangling and quick picking sound panicked
and unsettling.In regards to how
this stacks up against other Tunic releases?Just as good, you really cannot go wrong with this
band.They have a particular sound
and style and don’t fuck with it. (Artefact)
