I'm pretty sure this will be the last batch of reviews I do this year (not counting the annual year end list) because I have too much damn stuff to do and keep up with. Oh, and pour one out for my trusty 2009(I think) desktop as it limps to it's grave and I have to figure out an alternative replacement for anything graphically-related. Heck, this header image I managed to do in Microsoft Word on my work laptop! And there's also just a bunch of other general life stressors, as well as trying to wrap up label releases for the year and look to 2023, so it's been kind of a hectic time. But somehow I'll manage I'm sure. And a lot of that is through music. So here's a handful of stuff coming in at the tail end of this weird year. Enjoy!
-(16)-, “Into Dust”
I thought for sure there was some sort of lineup change
between this record and the last full-length from this long-running Southern
California stoner-sludge-hardcore band as there is a distinct difference in
sound, particularly the vocals. I know
this band has a deep catalog, but for brevity’s sake, let’s start with “Dream Squasher”,
their previous excellent, menacing, super-fucking-heavy long player. That record just sounds ridiculously heavy
and mean. “Into Dust” is the newest
effort, and just about 2 years removed from “Dream Squasher”. Where that record, from a vocal stance,
focused on the screamed, evil-sounding hardcore roar with the occasional foray
into a sung part, mostly as just background “Into Dust” makes the more melodic
vocals almost the center of the band.
Now, the membership from the last record to this one has not changed one
bit (and this is a band that has had quite a few members over the years). They put a great deal of emphasis here on the
metal side, leaning into some definite Crowbar parts between the sludge,
melodic metal, and sung vocals. For some
people that works great. For me I prefer
this band when they’re just laying into a groove and plowing down anything in
their way between metallic hardcore and absolutely crushing sludge riffs. There’s still riffs a plenty here, not to
mention some dives into their more hardcore side (check “Lane Splitter” for
proof on that), so you know they haven’t forgotten what bakes the bread. But I’m not really feeling those sing-y,
wanky groove metal bro parts that seem to creep in way more than I’d like. I’d just suggest skipping most of “Dressed Up
To Get Messed Up”. But they do close out
with a song way out of their comfort zone (in parts) with “Born On a Barstool”
and it’s an example of trying something different and doing it pretty well. (Relapse)
A.M. NICE, “Half Past Tense”
When you see the name perhaps visions of a sunny retirement
community, in the morning just after changing out the attends and having a good
‘ol cup of Metamucil before heading over to the rec center to watch the
pre-lunch magic show, whilst humming along to some old timey crooner is in your
head. No? Just me?
Well, A.M. Nice is a band that certainly sounds nice and I suppose
listening to them in the A.M. would help add a cheery disposition to start out
the day for sure. A.M. Nice do not make
harsh music. They create the sort of
indie rock, rooted in some punk ideas, that adorned the pages of Punk Planet
and represented hard in the late 90’s via labels like Jade Tree, Southern, and
Caulfield Records. Their jangly rock is
somewhere between post-punk, a bit of mod rock, and a dollop of Midwest
emo. Most everything moves at a decent
clip, most of the songs are direct and to the point. It isn’t until halfway through on “Your War”
where they kick it up a notch, increase the tempo, and toss out a 80 second
ripper before getting back to their regular programming. It’s nothing that’s going to blow your hair
back, but it’s a fun listening experience that you just can’t be mad at. Pleasant, not-very-confrontational, and
enjoyable. (Phratry Records)
BLACKLISTERS, “Leisure Centre” EP
Godamn you Blacklisters for only giving us four new songs,
fucking tease. You can take your Idles,
your Part Chimp, and whatever other ‘well-known’ British noise heavies and toss
them into the Thames because Blacklisters basically makes them all sound like
the theme to Teletubbies. So this band
has always sounded wild and fucked up in the best way possible, scattering
howled drunken vocals over clattering guitar feedback and noise, but they have
always had this incredible low-end rhythm that not only keeps things together,
but generally sounds frightening while getting your body shaking. Everything is chunky, dirty, and mean, yet so
bright and vicious all at once always making for an exceptionally entertaining
listen. And leave it to these smarmy
bastards to add some significant saxophone skronk to half the tracks, including
what more or less amounts to a saxophone breakdown at the end of “The Wrong Way
Home”. It’s just another layer of
insanity on top of the already caustic music.
I friggin’ love this band and if this is any indication of what’s to
come I’m even more excited. More sax
skronk! More lumbering bass! More wild guitar feedback! (Exploding InSound)
BOTHERS, “II”
It’s been awhile since Portland’s Bothers surfaced. Apparently, this record was finished nearly
two years ago and in that time the members of this formidable punk band started
other bands (that kind of sound a bit like Bothers), and then quickly dropped
this one on listeners. In all honesty, I
thought they had broken up. But nope,
they were just hibernating. So where I
felt like the bands first LP was fast and dirty punk mixed with some of the
guitar-pedal love of 90’s post-hardcore this record seems just a little
slower. But, like, just a little. And it really does sound a great deal like
members previous outfits (Glass and Ashes and Young Livers most notably), which
is not altogether a bad thing. Maybe
make it just a little darker and harsh overall.
When a songwriter(s) have a certain style it can be difficult to escape
it. I don’t think these guys are trying
to re-invent the punk/hardcore wheel by any means or alter the type of music
they’ve created in the past, I think they’re primarily playing to their
strengths which they show off on this second record. And they do it well. Now they need to get out of hibernation mode
for real and play some more shows. (Dirt Cult Records)
FULL OF HELL, “Aurora Leaking From An Open Wound” 7”
I had no idea this was a thing that existed either, but
apparently the band pressed this 7” themselves and only had it on their recent
European tour. But not to deny the rest
of the world you can get the digital version and keep up with all things Full
Of Hell. Honestly, I’m waaaaay into
this. Full Of Hell has grabbed my
attention more and more with each release as they deftly weave in and out of
various extreme style of harsh music.
Their last couple releases threw grindcore, death metal, noise rock, and
crusty hardcore into a blender and made it all work naturally. On this 7” all three tracks move a little
slower, do great stuff with sludgy metal and noise rock and a bit of Converge,
and then even throw in a nice bit of saxophone on “Blinding Erasure”. I, for one, would love to see them continue
in this direction. But you know they’re
just going to keep throwing whatever the fuck they feel like at audiences and
convincing everyone all this weird shit together makes total sense. They’re great at doing that. I highly recommend this little slice of
extremity. (self-released)
RADIATION RISKS, “Welcome To Bad Boy City” 7”
A number of years ago this band jumped on a show they
totally did not at all fit on, but they managed to pretty much blow away most
of the other bands on the bill. I was
familiar with the cats in this band, but not their band. They all showed up looking like a mix of
extras from “Decline Of Western Civilization” and Dr. Teeth and Electric
Mayhem… and that’s what it sort of
sounded like if you combined those two.
Think super short, fast punk songs with clean guitar, and wild saxophone
and organ. And I don’t mean that in some
sort of chaotic, avant-garde highbrow mess.
I mean all their stuff had a classic wild punk feel, every song sounded
like a 90-second party. I kind of lost
track of this particular endeavor, but I guess they ended up touring quite a
bit and are now finished. However,
before calling it a day the band decided to lay down their last 7 songs (in all
of 11 minutes) and had the one and only Mike Tommyrot draw up an absolutely
sick cover and threw it all on a 7”.
Sadly, this release is lacking the sax and organ, which definitely takes
away a bit from the fun, but I’m always impressed by what these creative folks
do, whatever band it may be. From the
wild minds behind bands like Alpha Hopper, Science Man, I Object, and Brown
Sugar so you know it’s got some flavor.
I’d start with their full length “Strawberry Quick” and go from there. (SwimmingFaith/ Feral Kid)
SEAXES/ IRON LININGS, “Die Twice” split 12”
Pairing up a couple of Midwest’s newer, yet already very
promising, bands this split expresses a couple different sides of loud and
abrasive rock music. Seaxes are a noise
rock band from Chicago so Jesus Lizard are inevitable. And like those legends Seaxes use taut, tight
rhythms while still going completely off the rails with their crazy sound. Things only heat up as their side moves along
with the last two tracks- “Ball Peen” and “Sand” taking the cake for most
adventurous and wild tracks, the latter careening towards a violent horizon as
it closes out with nauseating slide guitar across what sounds like a
never-ending fretboard. Iron Linings
hail from St. Louis and follow up with five new tracks after a really awesome
demo earlier this year. They lay down a
thick and lumbering groove (which lends itself to some truly pulverizing chunky
sections here and there) throughout that recalls regional contemporaries such
as Bummer and Nerver, while adding a bit of that Midwest melodic flavor that I
can’t exactly pin down. But I know it
when I hear it where they’re exploring the roots of some of that area’s heavy
alternative scene from the 90’s betwixt their big riffs. (The Ghost Is Clear)
SWEET COBRA, “Threes”
This record has been sitting on a shelf for a couple years
as the world got weird and finally, it’s out there for all to enjoy and I
couldn’t be happier. Sweet Cobra has
always been an impressive band. They’ve
been at it for a long time and I initially got into them due to the members
previous (well for awhile, coinciding) band Suicide Note. Sweet Cobra ply a similar trade in that
they’re a ‘heavy’ band that completely fuck with the concept of what they’re
supposed to be. Sure, they started out a
lot sludgier, and from a punk background.
Over the years they have tried their hand at various songwriting styles
and I think things truly peaked on their last full length, “Earth”, which moved
in a lot of different directions yet remained exciting, vibrant, and energetic
throughout. On “Threes” there seems to
be a decidedly overall more chill vibe with an emphasis on the studio and
recording versus just how ass-kicking something will sound live. And there’s no shortage of names handling the
recording and mixing duties from Matt Talbot (Hum), Alan Epley (Shiner), and
Kurt Ballou (God City/Converge). So
yeah, it sounds great. While opener
“Coats” is a faster, rhythm-oriented rocker and “Least Worst” stomps around,
and “Melted” quickens the pace even more it’s tracks like “Cave” and the poppy
meditation of “Bring Them Water”, or the ballad-esque “Alive On Arrival” that
show the band taking their time with things and laying some focus on the vocals
and harmonies and it all sounds pretty great.
There’s a bit of a Queens Of the Stone Age, “Songs For the Deaf” sound
between the thick bass and vocals, minus a bit of the boogie and cocaine, but I
like to think Sweet Cobra is their own thing more than ever these days. They may not be nearly as active as they were
years ago, what with members other obligations with Cloakroom and adult lives
going on, but I’d love to be able to see these dudes again on a stage and hear
some of these songs. This is a great
addition to their catalog and if you haven’t ever heard them give this and
“Earth” a spin. (Hawthorne StreetRecords)
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