There hasn’t been a heck of a lot of time on my end to really sort through a ton of new music this last month because I’ve been really, really busy with other music-associated things (well, and some non-music associated things). But I think that allows some room for other music reviews of the live variety and not so much the recorded kind.
Most notably I hosted a pair of Hex Records 25th anniversary shows here in Portland on May 3rd-4th. The lineup was of bands past and present I have done stuff for, as well as a few friends new and old. Both shows were a fantastic grouping of old friends from near and far under one roof for a couple nights of wild music. I was beyond surprised to see a few people traveled quite some distance to be there and for that I am truly thankful.
On the first night Seattle’s Yellfire opened up with their exceptionally tight and plodding hardcore crunch. These kids have a full length recorded that’s just waiting to be released and when it does, let me tell ya, it’s gonna crush.
The guys from Wipes flew in from Pennsylvania for a weekend in the Northwest paying several shows, this being the first after crashing at my house for an extra day and me showing them all the tourist-y sights Portland had to offer. It was my first time seeing them with Ben on guitar and they played a bunch of new stuff as well as a few from the “Making Friends” LP released a year back. Even on borrowed gear they sounded great.
I knew I had to get the lifers in The Helm to come down from Tacoma/parts unknown to play a rare show because they’ve been a part of this label forever. Even Bob, their original vocalist and one of my oldest friends for the last 25 years came down but I did not expect him to join them on stage for a few songs too. Still, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the loudest fucking bands on the planet. You could hear them down the block.
Gaytheist wrapped things up because they are pride of Portland (OK, Vancouver too) and never play a bad set. I was happy to join them on stage for a pair of covers, though I’m not saying what they were because it would ruin the surprise I have in store a couple months from now, but there were kazoos involved. I will say, though, they played a bunch of new songs which they will be recording starting later this week for a new full length. So there’s that.
On night two the locals in Coffin Apartment opened with their serpentine, labyrinth metal akin to the weirdness of Voivod. These dudes will warp your mind.
Next were semi-local (ok, 2/3 local) rock powerhouse Kinghorn. What a fantastic band. I’ve known Aaron for going on 15 years now, starting back when I hit him up about doing a record for his old band Prize Country and Kinghorn maintains some of that same gigantic post-hardcore sound. And seeing as Brandon is an old Rochester head, well, we have some NY love in us. See the accompanying review of their massive new LP below.
Kinghorn
Brain Cave also decided to make a Northwest weekend of things by flying out from Cleveland and were similar bedfellows to Kinghorn, though maybe a bit more punk? Maybe more raw? Either way those dudes are sweet and I’m so happy I was able to release a split for them last year. Their new full length is a ripper too. They kind of did the reverse routing of Wipes so as to vary up their paths and not complicate things too much.
Finally, the old buds in Great Falls closed out the celebration with a caustic set culled primarily from their excellent “Objects Without Pain” record. I have such a long history with these guys and their bands past and present and having them be a part of this was really a highlight.
As an addendum to the weekend, I ventured up to Bellingham the next day because 1) I’d never been there and 2) Wipes were wrapping up their weekend of shows there with Yellfire again at the legendary Shakedown. Despite it being cold and rainy I took in some sights around town and it’s a great little place. The show itself was a good time as The Shakedown has one of the best sound systems of any venue I’ve ever been at and makes every band playing sound absolutely massive. So both Wipes and Yellfire sounded ridiculously good in that spot. If you’re a band coming through the area you really ought to try and play there, if anything just to sound better than you ever did anywhere else.
And as a nightcap of sorts, while I wasn’t able to see Brain Cave at their Sunday show up in Vancouver, WA at the fabulous Ronald Records, a couple of them did stick around an extra day and we all went to see Metz and Gouge Away rip it up at the Wonder Ballroom back in Portland. This isn’t my first time seeing Metz there (I think I’ve seen them 4 times since living in the Northwest), so I knew what to expect. However, if you have not caught Gouge Away since they returned at the beginning of this year you need to change that. Their new album is incredible and they’re on fire live. During Metz a couple of them did a song together from the new Metz record and it was a very cool collaboration.
And that’s that for the shows. But coming up quick (like later this week quick) I will be in Minneapolis for the annual Caterwaul Fest and I’ll be slinging records all weekend. If you’re there come say hi and disagree with me on my musical opinions. Or buy a record. Or make sure to see Facet since they’ll be there again. Or maybe a bunch of the 3 dozen other bands playing throughout the long weekend. It will certainly be worth your while. It’s a great time. Personally, I’m very excited to see Murf, Dug (again), Neckbolt, Part Chimp (first time), Oxbow (first time, somehow), Couch Slut (seriously, first time, geez), the always wonderful J. Robbins, The Austerity Program, Another Heaven, and finally getting to check out Porcelain. Hoping to see some friends from near and far once again and riding the city’s fine meth-scented public transit system.
But now let’s get to some actual recorded music reviews….
To start, I was kind of late to the party on Full Of Hell, but I have thoroughly enjoyed their last three full lengths and have grown to admire their prolific output, kitchen-sink approach to combining extreme subgenres, and various side collaborations (though I’ll say most of those have not done it for me personally, respect nonetheless). On their newest full length, “Coagulated Bliss”, I’ll come right out and say it- as much as I have been a fan of the art of Brian Montouri over the years this has got to be one of the most unappealing pieces of cover art I’ve seen in recent memory. Hoo boy, it’s…. not good. It looks like an 80’s Trapper Keeper met a B-horror trash film. But thankfully Full Of Hell remain consistent in their quality to deliver. At this point it’s almost expected they throw some curveballs and you get that with a couple more straightforward, mid-paced songs, as well as a couple nods towards industrial-tinged noise metal. Yet the bulk of this is short songs, thick with grindcore blasts, noise rock feedback, guttural vocals, and furious riffing.
And now for something completely different: Having fronted Chicago’s Melkbelly for quite some time Miranda Winters has set out with a full length under the name Mandy. I was so taken with Melkbelly when I initially discovered them and had described them basically as The Breeders with hyperactive drumming. On “Lawn Girl”, Winters takes us through nine tracks that have her unmistakeable voice and catchy/fuzzy songwriting, so there’s definitely a familiarity not unlike Melkbelly. But I’m unsure of who she has accompanying her so that wild drumming is out of the picture and instead…. well, it definitely sounds a lot like The Breeders. Not like that could ever be a bad thing. The record is back-and-forth between big fuzzy rockers (the first two tracks “Forsythia” and “High School Boyfriend” are magical earworms of weird pop perfection), and several tracks of lo-fi recorded-in-the-closet style acoustic tracks. All in all it’s a great listen from a very unique and exceptionally awesome songwriter.
In a turn towards the familiar, perpetually griping and flustered with every iota of existence Grizzlor have never minced words about what’s grinding their gears and this new EP , “I Hate the Internet” pretty much sums things up. But just to even it out there’s also a song here called “I Complain Too Much”. Over the years Grizzlor have moved more towards faster songs rather than their initial sludgy sound, but they continue to lay it on thick with chunky riffs, crazed vocals, and a misanthropic streak a mile wide. And always some weird sci-fi sounds just to round things out. The third and final song (and title track) does slow down with a crushing weight though so for the sludge fans you get that and a whole bunch of dial-up sampling. Just to drive the point home you can purchase this thing on a burned CD.
And in more familiarity, let me paint a visual picture for you: you’re in the Northwest and you’re hiking through the woods. You have a beard, naturally. You’re drinking either the strongest coffee known to man, or you just slammed a tap into the side of a hill and beer came out. You then come to the end of the forest to an open meadow and witness a mountain being born. That is the sound of the new Kinghorn album, “Empty Handed”. It’s massive majestic riff rock/post-hardcore, whatever. All you really need to know is it is both melodic and incredibly heavy. The vocals go from gruff singing to a mighty roar through songs that err a bit on the longer side, but hardly go on for too long. If you’ve never been this is what all people in the Northwest do, so Kinghorn is like the song of the people out here. Just accept it.
I could have sworn Moon Pussy had two other full lengths before this new one just dropped, but I’m wrong on that. However, they did throw out a split or two prior to this so maybe that’s where I’m confused. Either way, this is the new LP and it’s called “Death Is Coming” and has about the most simple cover art you could imagine. These Denver cats are likely some of the cheeriest people you will ever meet, despite the morbid title of this record and they have always been completely their own thing. Their skronky stop-go noise rock is always recorded in a weird way and some of the bizarre sound is on account that I’m pretty sure they have, to some degree, built their own guitars. So between odd distortion, strained vocals, unusual arrangements and a somewhat lo-fi recording they’re not always the most accommodating listening experience. But if you ever see them live they really kill it and sound quite brash and intense.
It’s been a very long time since I’ve been aware of anything Brad Elrod has played on and you may be wondering, ‘just who is this guy?’ To me, though, his drumming on two of my favorite Today Is the Day records remains incomparable and completely singular. Nothing sounds like it. It’s so alien and progressive, yet pummeling and abrasive. So here we are some 30 years later and he’s in this band Nerve Debt, and they have debuted their first recording, “Pleural Hymns”. Musically, it’s just as sonically dense and grating as anything else he’s been on but the drumming, for the most part, is dialed back a bit. This makes room for massive guitars and heavy rhythms to take front and center (though you’ll hear a lot of off-time fills on “Binding”). Nerve Debt write longer songs mostly and they fall somewhere between Neurosis’ epic heaviness (complete with some between-song samples), Ires’ similar take bent more metallic, and the slower moments you might hear from older KEN Mode. For a debut demo/EP it’s a solid effort.
