NEW BANDS, OLD BANDS, AND ONE BOOK- REVIEWS FOR NOVEMBER

 

This month I want to split things between the new and the old.  In this age where it’s become completely reasonable for bands that have been inactive for 15-20 years to all of a sudden  come back with very respectable reunion records I’m finding many of my old favorites in the ring again.  But it’s more important for new bands to make their mark in order to keep this thing going on and on.  I’m a big fan of at least knowing the past so we have perspective for the future so I’m OK with giving some shine there.  So these reviews start with some newer bands and their new stuff, as well as some older groups putting forth new efforts, and divided with one gigantic book about zine culture of the 80’s and 90’s, which I just find fascinating.

To start off I’ve been waiting for this one to get released officially just so I can gab at you about it.  For the better part of this year I’ve been rocking the first full length from Seattle’s YELLFIRE, “Dear Gods”.  They just took a minute to get it out into the world but I’m really glad it’s here.  It’s one thing to hear these impressive sounds on wax, and another to experience their heaviness live.  Taking sound and inspiration from other Northwest titans like Botch, Heiress, and Harkonen Yellfire add a bit of their own metallic hardcore tinge to forward-thinking heavy music and it certainly pays off.  They’re able to adequately pay respect to their peers (heck, some of them even show up to do guest spots on the record) while bringing that sound to an audience that may have been too young to originally see the groups Yellfire is holding a candle up to.  In other words, they do it right, move it forward, and I’m here for it.  It’s a cool looking record from a cool-sounding (and incredibly heavy) band full of some cool cats.  Here’s to hoping others get a kick out of this as well.

Next I ask the question, ‘does it count when your full length is 13 songs in as many minutes, or conversely, when you could potentially fit the entire recording on a 7”?  Is it still a ‘full length?’  I bet you NOWHERE doesn’t care one bit.  They’re dishing out their new record, “New Pain” and for those keeping score, it’s a one-sided LP with a really cool looking screened B-side.  So call it what you will.  I caught wind of them awhile back when they released their last batch of songs and this just really pushes things into a defined and hostile sound.  It clicked a bit more when I found out one of the members was in Retox at one point and that definitely shows here with the short-fast, almost grindcore approach to these tracks, mixed with the oddball spazz-outs you’d find across the Gravity Records catalog (see “Wooden Nickels” and “Tool Got Dull” for examples of that).  There is no song here that breaks the two-minute mark.  You could drive to the grocery store and listen to this entire thing twice before grabbing a shopping cart.  Wild stuff man.

As for records that take their time a bit more… Being a guy in the know I was aware NULL had recorded a new LP months ago, but I wasn’t sure what they were going to do with it.  And all of a sudden they just went and released it on very short notice, which honestly, is kind of great way to go about things.  Just get it out there, right?  So yeah, “First Sign Ahead” is the Birmingham bands third record and it sees them continuing on the path they’ve been on for the other LPs- simplistic, heavy, trance-like riffs with eerie melodies, a bit of outer-space/futuristic sounds, haunting vocals, and gigantic riffs.  I know that sounds like an apt description for stoner metal but Null have more of a likeness to bands like Lungfish in terms of repetition, they just use more guitar pedals and some synth too.  They have developed their sound a bit though here with some nods of moody post-punk in the way some of the vocals are approached (especially later on the record) and through some of the sound textures present.  Null is kind of an ‘all hail the riff’ sort of band, but contemplating it with a mug of coffee to sip rather than dropping out of life with bong in hand.

A couple of my favorite moments in CUT N’ PASTE: THE AMERICAN HARDCORE FANZINE book, which primarily covers hardcore zines of the 80’s up to the early 90’s, is firstly- an image of a less-than-professionally drawn cover of O.C. Shitz zine of a family at Disneyland aghast in horror while in full view of a straining Mickey Mouse taking a giant shit next to a tree.  That’s the type of high grade entertainment one can expect from 80’s punks just getting into making their own zines.  Secondly, this nugget from Bill Florio, editor of Greedy Bastard zine who describes how Paul Bearer from Sheer Terror sent him a hate letter, but also called Bill late at night to tell him he was writing the letter.  Love it.
As a person who also got into zine making right around when this book sort of cuts off I was blown away by just how many hardcore-related zines were going in the 80’s as it wasn’t always terribly easy to have the resources to do this stuff at that time.  However, the numerous anecdotes from the 30 or so people who contributed stories say similar things- you just went for it.  You knew a person, or relative, with access to free copies; or the community college art department that didn’t lock the doors after hours; or someone who would send you pictures of bands you contacted through MRR classifieds.  Whatever.  It was a loose network back then and I found myself in similar situations when I first started doing stuff like this too.  It was cool to see.  The book itself is laid out wonderfully with literally hundreds of various zine covers from stuff I’m familiar with to stuff I’ve never heard of.  I’m actually pleased to see many of the anecdotes came from lesser-known zinesters rather than just the already well-documented rags of the time like Schism, Suburban Voice, MRR, Touch and Go and more (even though all are represented and are essential to the story of the era).  My only suggestion would have been that it seems like each interviewee was given a set of questions to answer but the questions are not shown and many of their answers seem like they’re responding to a question not asked which makes reading some of them a bit odd.
Also, if anyone out there has extra Letraset or Zipatone they have no use for please send it my way.  I still love using stuff like that.

Moving on to those who have a bit of age on the rest of us, there’s always been something in the water in the Chicago/Illinois region that produces some of the most jarring, but expertly played, rock music around.  It’s been a thing there for decades of consistently high quality ear damage.  How do they do it?  Perhaps off-and-on stalwarts BIG’N could answer that as they’ve been on the lesser known end of that world since 1990 and had a couple extended pauses during that time to look in for perspective.  It’s been a pretty long time (over twenty years in fact) since they released an LP but have had a couple EPs in-between.  But on “End Comes Too Soon” they come back more intense than ever with an awesome collection of tracks and I’m very excited to see them quite active again.  For the uninitiated they lie somewhere between the sparse and tight practicality of Shellac mixed with the unhinged rhythmic clobbering of The Jesus Lizard.  On their older material the wild growling of the vocals was almost outrageously out of alignment with the tightly-wound riffs, but they’ve found the balance here and it’s pretty much just through a really excellent recording that plays to the strengths of both the bands lock-step tightness through simple and effective riffs and the raving mad vocals attempting to tear it all to pieces.  There’s a number of not-quite interludes throughout that sometimes act as fodder, sometimes as what amounts to unfinished song ideas, but they hardly get in the way of the pile of new songs making up the bulk of this record.  I’ve had the good fortune of seeing Big’n twice now over the last few years and they’re unbelievable to witness.  This record adequately captures that energy and it even looks really cool too.

Speaking of cool-looking records, it’s been a really weird few years for reunions in that many, many bands from when I was a teenager that were not really all that well-known when they existed are getting back together for one-offs, maybe even small tours, and even sometimes new music. SAMUEL S.C. (originally just Samuel) are one such group that were always good, but largely forgotten and they didn’t have a huge discography by any means.  Still, they up and decided to release a new album last year and have played a handful of shows, and it’s all been good quality stuff.  So now they’re following up with a new 7” featuring two tracks- “Exit Scene” b/w “Who Says” that have a big, upbeat approach, and a fierce message.  Sure, they still sound like a 90’s college rock band on par with the likes of Velocity Girl, the Spinanes, or Autoclave but with more of a punch, and I’m here for it.  Of note, the design group/printing press/record label LandLand released this and it’s always worth taking a look at what they do because they put in massive effort with their packaging for every release.  This is no exception as a really nice screenprinted design adorns the custom Stumptown Printers arigato pack (I’ve used these for a couple releases myself and they’re great).

Maybe it was somewhat inevitable that two bands of such long-standing renown would do a split together after spending a significant amount of time on the road together.  But QUICKSAND has never been a band to do splits, and rarely pulls off a cover. HOT WATER MUSIC, on the other hand, has a pretty long history of various splits, EPs, occasional covers, and man oh man, do they do a picture-perfect rendition of “Fazer” by Quicksand.  It’s almost identical to the original, save for the trademark gruff vocals of Chuck Reagan.  They also offer an original track and to be completely honest it’s been many years since I really dived into new HWM material.  I was a huge fan of their earlier, more scrappy stuff but “Undertow”, represented here, is a decent track- very upbeat, a bit rough, though very polished.
Quicksand do a cover of one of my favorite HWM tracks- “Radio Free Gainesville”, a song which Walter did backup vocals on on the original.  So now he’s just singing the whole thing.  It’s still kind of an odd take for Quicksand since they’re just completely in their own lane it almost feels weird to hear them do a cover at all.  Walter takes a lot of liberties with the vocals and pattern, and some of the guitar work.  The rhythm of the song remains the same as the original.  Their original contribution, “Supercollider”, is a true-to-form chunky, grooving ripper one would expect from the band that could easily find a place on their most recent LP.  There’s a bit of the space-y melody that dominated much of “Interiors”, but sticks mostly to the bouncy riff that we all know and love about the band.

Finally, NO ESCAPE always felt like a weird anomaly to me as they emerged at an interesting juncture of hardcore (and a few years before my time).  The youth crew era had come to a close and the metallic chugga-chugga of bands like Earth Crisis (when I did begin getting into this stuff) had yet to take off.  So their sound sort of felt a bit like a bridge between those scenes.  This is a remixed/remastered version of their original discography (which, on CD, was called “Just Accept It” as their lone full length and included split tracks, comp tracks, and their demo).  I’m honestly glad it was re-released this way now under the title, “1990-1993” because it sounds sooooo much better and does justice to their raging hardcore.  A lot of No Escape stuff was a bit on the slower end, embracing some of the tougher-sounding NYHC of the time but played a bit uglier, a bit meaner (I suppose if you had to live in New Jersey the animosity would be in your DNA…. or more likely your tap water), and vocalist Tim Singer’s distinctive shredded throat. On this, his first band, he’s pretty much all screaming and not the talking/ranting maniac that came out once he played in Deadguy and Kiss It Goodbye.  But that, mixed with the ultra-pissed music, made No Escape sound dangerous.  It’s like “Just Look Around” (the record, not just the song) as played by early Melvins.  This collection does come with a large booklet with tons of pictures and flyers, but I’m not sure how much of it is new and how much is culled from the original discography.  Either way, it’s worth getting just for how much better it sounds than the originals.  The reunion EP they released a few years back ain’t half bad either.

PINKO COVERS FUGAZI FOR MONTHLY SINGLES SERIES

 

The next instalment in our monthly covers singles series is now live and it marks the return of PINKO and they are covering Fugazi's "Do You like Me?"
This is the first new Pinko material in several years and you can find it at the link below:
hexrecords.bandcamp.com/album/hex-25-year

The LP version of the comp is still up for pre-order and these ought to be shipping before the end of the year for sure. Jackets and inserts have already arrived.  There's two more singles to go...  who do you think they will be?!
Enjoy!

 "Continuing the monthly singles series anyone who knows me well is probably wondering when I was going to get around to a Fugazi cover.  Well, here it is.  And it marks the return of Pinko, who have laid low for awhile now, and I couldn’t be more stoked to hear them at things once again.
So, Fugazi really knew how to write an anthem, and did so with unwavering conviction.  Their music was catchy, smart, and it got you moving and motivated.  And as a person running a label there is no better model to look to than Dischord Records, the label that released all their music, in terms of how to conduct oneself with fairness towards other artists and genuine love for the music you opt to help put out into the world. I still feel sparks go off in my body and brain when I hear much of their music.  It’s powerful stuff.
So where does Pinko fit into this?  Well, for one, I just love those dudes and wanted to have them be present because they’ve been an important part of this label for the last several years.  And they’re people who make it work.  I had some initial hesitation when they told me they were going to write a record with members in different parts of the country.  But true to their word they met up every couple months, wrote songs together, and then recorded it and went on tour.  And let’s be completely honest- Guillermo sounds a lot like Guy Picciotto when he sings, whether that’s intentional or not.  His voice and Pinko’s hectic and chaotic sound are a perfect shoe-in to be the band covering Fugazi on this.  Fugazi has a lot of great songs and “Do You Like Me?” is just one such representation that illustrates how vital this band has been in my life and the staunch ideals that everyone could take a valuable lesson from as well.
And if you haven’t picked it up already, the LP version of this comp is now available for pre-order and features an additional 2 tracks from other bands that have not been revealed yet."

REVIEWS: FOLLOW-UPS OF DIZZYING VARIETY

 

 

The themes here this month are first, all bands who are presenting follow ups.  It's their second, third, or fifth, whatever record.  Second theme: a virtual cornucopia of variety as colorful as the leaves in a New England forest in October.  And hey, it's October!  So this fits.  Let's go.

I wanted to kick things off this month with two highly anticipated releases that sonically sound exceptionally different from one another, but both follow a similar path- coasting on a good idea.  DRUG CHURCH is old hat on what works for them at this point, having been an active band for well over 10 years and 5 full lengths in.  CHAT PILE have been at it for a bit now, but everyone’s  hot to know if they can work their magic for the ever-questionable sophomore album.
It’s wild to see how well-received DRUG CHURCH has been in the last few years as I distinctly remember Pat Kinldlon giving me their demo and saying he’s doing this ‘project band’ and he ‘wasn’t sure if it would go anywhere’.  “Prude” is record number five and I’ll be perfectly honest by saying you could interchange the songs from this record and either of their two LPs before it and no one would be the wiser.  I know that may come off as insulting, but the truth is they picked up on a good thing and have run with it since.  If anything “Prude” is even more listener-friendly and moves along a bit faster than it’s predecessors.  Each of their records has its stand out tracks and this is no different with “Myopic” probably being my favorite here.  However, of all their records “Hygiene” is probably my overall favorite to date both musically and lyrically.  If for some reason you’ve never heard them it’s upbeat and melodic post-hardcore rock with gruff vocals and clever lyrics often about sad and fucked up people, a modern take on the sounds of groups like Seaweed, Rival Schools (if they were heavier), and current contemporaries like Militarie Gun.
CHAT PILE have also made an excellent second record that takes the blueprint of their initial LP “God’s Country” and just continues on that path with “Cool World”. The only real difference being a stronger/louder recording.  And like some of their other recordings they use the same exact layout style as before.  But something they have slowly leaned into more, which I can totally appreciate, is the oddly melodic, almost new wave, sorts of shimmering guitar leads that share space with the crushing barbaric bass/rhythm.  Sure, you could hear some of that stuff on their last LP, but they made it a bit more front and center on the split with Nerver and that continues on a number of tracks here like “Shame”, “Tape”, and the mechanized, futuristic shimmer of “Frownland”.  What is missing here compared to their last outing is the lack of pushing the envelope.  “God’s Country” had the spoken word horror show of “I Don’t Care if I Burn” and the extended closing freakout of “grimace_smoking_weed.jpeg”.  “Cool World” is just track after track of bangers.  I’m not complaining, they just went for what they excel at so it’s a satisfying listen front to back. Bonus points for putting Rush lyrics on the record matrix.  No one does matrix etchings anymore, it’s truly a lost hidden gem on records.

Next, we have a new release from JAYE JAYLE.  Jaye Jayle has the unique trick of being able to shapeshift into whatever the project wants to be, and yet still somehow sound distinctive.  It probably helps that with Evan Patterson being the driving force behind the music there’s going to be a hint of familiarity whether he’s playing with other people or solo.  On, “A Blue Bird Cage” he’s operating solo and re-doing six songs from across the Jaye Jayle catalog with just a guitar, his voice, and some effects pedals.  But hey, with a loop and delay pedal you can put down a rhythm and just play over it.  Sounds simple, right?  Maybe.  But will it sound good?  In this case, yeah, this stuff sounds awesome.  I’m tempted to take these versions over the original versions.  I’m always interested in what Evan/Jaye Jayle comes up with and these desolate and sparse meditations may be minimal but still stick in my head and swim around rent free.

I’m really happy to see that YUVEES finally released their new album, “Dead Keys”, after teasing it for so long and hit with a number of delays.  They had a couple earlier EPs that got the buzz going, and this is the real, deal first long player from them.  But just as they were really starting to take off here in Portland they went and moved across the country to continue the band elsewhere justas the record finally became available.  They are forgiven though because this thing just rules.  Yuvess play super catchy post-punk that drifts between Devo-esque weirdo pop and more noisy spazz outs (“Running” and “Opposite Day” stand out) reminiscent of stuff like USA Nails, even with one creepy Sonic Youth-inspired head trip (“Plywood Windows”).  I’m always a sucker for bands that incorporate catchy bass lines that lay the groundwork for guitars to kind of go off (and sometimes saxophones too) and make all sorts of weird sounds.  Add all that to alternating male/female vocals and you got a winner here.  So listen up East Coasters- you see these cats around, make sure you treat ‘em right when you invite them to play your town.

Moving along, I couldn’t quite tell if Chris Spencer delving into HUMAN IMPACT a few years back was just a one-off project, or something more serious.  Featuring half of Cop Shoot Cop their initial offering, I felt, was a bit lacking despite the formidable players involved.  It sort of seemed like they were searching for their sound despite recording a full length record.  But that lineup was not to last and instead this is now essentially the lineup of the current (playing the past?) Unsane with one guy from Cop Shoot Cop providing samples, textures, synths, and other various sounds.  And on this new offering, “Gone Dark” it sounds basically like Unsane with some samples, textures, synths, and various other sounds.  I shouldn’t complain.  After all, Unsane with some added texture does sound cool.  This record does sound cool.  Maybe it’s what ‘Unsane’ should be, rather than rehashing the past- moving forward with a killer lineup, a new name, and a variation on the sound

I caught wind of this Southern U.S. band awhile back with their last release and it kind of gave off early Unwound vibes to me.  It was fine for what they were going for, but I gotta say, SPLIT SILK have given us a new EP that significantly ups the ante with stronger songwriting and a bigger sound. “Bitter”s opening title track is a bit more aggressive and offers a big post-hardcore hook in the chorus while the second song, “Glimmer” is slower, more melancholy, and yes, captures that Unwound quiet-loud-quiet strange melody oh so well (that I suppose owes a bit to Sonic Youth too).  The band round things out with a pair of live songs, both culled from their last release, which capture a kind of live energy that differentiates it from the studio recording.

Finally, I’m going to spend way more time talking about how interesting I find the art and story behind this record than the actual music on it.  That’s not to say the music doesn’t hold up.  I’ve seen this live and as simplistic and barbaric as it may sound on record trust me when I say on stage (or floor) it’s a primal display of total aggression and chaos.  So on their third LP, “Freedom Sweet Freedom”, REGIONAL JUSTICE CENTER kind of fulfill a promise made from the get-go.  The project started as drummer/vocalist Ian Shelton’s protest against his own brothers incarceration and the system that incarcerated him.  Now his brother is out of prison and is co-vocalist/co-lyricist on this record.  I find that fascinating.  Additionally you get another dose of Mark McCoy’s layout and design (which has adorned other RJC records).  His style is bananas- various photo-collage images altered but so realistic as to make you question the bizarre nature in which they exist and if they could actually be real scenarios.  So yeah, ‘what about the music?’, you ask (if you’re unfamiliar): a dozen hardcore rippers packed into 15 scant minutes that toe the line between powerviolence and beatdown primitivism.  While each song barely scrapes the one-minute mark and tends to follow a similar formula throughout (super fast part, ultra slow and simple breakdown part) it’s honest.  It says exactly what needs to be said, be it issues of incarceration, the stigma of criminality following one around indefinitely, or getting out of the system and not looking back.

GREAT FALLS COVER RORSCHACH, COMP LP PRE-ORDER!

 

The next cover in our ongoing monthly cover series comes from our old pals in GREAT FALLS as they lay waste to "Mandible", originally by Rorschach.  As an added bonus/surprise vocals for the track have been provided by Dave Verellen from Botch.

I could  go on and on about how much all those bands mean to me, but I'll leave that for you to read in the extensive linear notes which will be featured on....  (wait for it)....
THE ACTUAL, PHYSICAL LP VERSION OF THIS COMPILATION! 

Yup, you can now pre-orderthe LP version of this single series comp. Featuring all the songs already released this year to date, as well as 3 more yet to be revealed (for a total of 14 tracks) we're so stoked to see it come to fruition. The comp is pressed on eco-mix vinyl, so no two copies will look alike and will come with a large format 16 page booklet to go with it featuring extensive writings about the bands and songs featured on here, as well as a bunch of cool art.

You can check it out here:
https://hexrecords.bandcamp.com/album/hex-25-year

 

SERIOUSLY, SOME OF THE BEST STUFF YOU'LL HEAR THIS YEAR. REVIEWS FOR SEPTEMBER

 

This month is all about either very well-known bands presenting their latest, or bands who should be really well-known offering incredible new work…. for the most part anyway.  It’s really been quite a stellar year for new music so far but I’m starting to think this last month has presented some of the most impressive stuff I’ve come across so far.  Literally everything on this month’s listening platter is a true gem. And it’s all super varied and wild stuff.  So here we go…

And on the 26th year (since their last record) the noise rock Jeebus arose from the grave to give us a new album.  So, of course, THE JESUS LIZARD is going to be the lead review here.  Sure, they’ve come out of retirement on a few occasions to bless us all with live shows (which, in their case, is just as good as, if not better, than their albums).  But far be it from any one’s minds that they actually felt the need to write more music.  Well, in my humble opinion, “Rack” picks up essentially right where their last proper album “Shot” left off.  It’s as if the rest of us took a very long nap and they just kept writing.  I’ve always personally been more of a fan of frontman David Yow howling and grumbling incoherently like he did on many of their classic LPs from the early 90’s because it just sounds so fucked up.  But I respect that he made a conscious effort before “Shot” was recorded to clean up his vocals a bit, enunciate, and keep in time with the rest of the band and that effort continues here.  Thee’s still a good dose of howling and hollering to be found, of course.  My favorite tracks on the record close out the A-side and open the B-side:  the off-the-wall and chaotic “Lord Godiva” and the slower and thought-out “Alexis Feels Sick”.  They’re two of the bands strongest songs in….  well, at least a quarter century!  But honestly, everything here is a worthy effort with several other tracks being exceptionally strong too.  It’s pretty wild to think a band that has basically not existed for over 20 years can come back this strong as if they never stopped playing together.

I’ve been a casual listener of the extremely non-casual UNIFORM for years now, and it wasn’t until last week that I finally saw them live (which was awesome by the way), so some things jumped out at me immediately when I checked out their latest LP, “American Standard”.  First off, these are long songs.  The first track is over 20 minutes, which is definitely out of the norm for the band.  Secondly, this sounds so massive compared to their other releases and leans more into Swans and metal territory rather than the more ‘industrial’ tag they were branded with early on.  I didn’t catch any of the splits and collabs they’ve done in the last few years, but as a band this seems just like a natural progression of getting better at what they do both from a songwriting and recording quality perspective.  I don’t particularly care for some of the more black metal elements they added but they make it fit into their sound with ease and it only appears in two areas.  What’s very present is the crushing repetition and raw emotion on display that’s captured with clarity and volume.  It’s almost overwhelming in a good way and the creative use of ‘melodies’, leads, and minor use of synths to push their sludgy and weighty riffs into something original is awesome; in particular on “This Is Not a Prayer”, definitely my favorite track on the record.

Next, I had the distinct privilege of hearing the new record from KAL MARKS months ago and immediately thought that it was somehow more catchy and pop-oriented than their previous efforts.  I was slightly confused, but I decided after a couple listens to let it rest and re-visit again around when they actually released it.  So my thinking on “Wasteland Baby”, the bands fourth or fifth full-length at this point, is a little more clear:  they have simply managed to develop many of their eccentricities with noise, bizarre sound effects, and Carl Shane’s distinct yowl into more honed songcraft.  There’s not as much of the extremes between their ‘too heavy for indie rock, too indie and weird for heavy music’ that were at the core of “Universal Care” or “My Name Is Hell”.  But believe me, I love that aspect of the band and it’s a big reason I’ve become a huge fan over the last few years.  On this new one they smooth that out a bit and the heavier moments (such as the sludgy ending of “Any Way it Goes”) blend in more with the catchier moments, as opposed to being one-or-the-other.  On a few songs it makes for a rather new experience for the band, at least to my ears, but there are other moments where it just works wonderfully like on “A Functional Earth”, “Midnight” and the closing title track.  A little less screaming/shouting, but just as much howling and lyrics about the daily drudgeries of life, banal existence of debt, groceries, and encroaching apocalypse while throwing in some great “Mad Max” lines while they’re at it.  I personally took way too long to get into this band so if you still haven’t checked them out don’t be like me, just get in on this.

One of the great surprises (of which there were several) of this year’s Caterwaul Fest back in May was catching the locals in SCRUNCHIES tear up the microscopic indoor stage at Palmers.  They’ve been cutting their teeth in various dives for quite awhile I discovered and they were on the cusp of delivering their third LP, “Colossal”, at the time I saw them.  So since then I’ve been anticipating this record and it’s no let down.  As a trio they utilize every bit of distortion, melody, harmonized vocals, and all out rock to land somewhere in the early 90’s Dischord riot grrl arena (think Slant 6, Fire Party) with something a bit more aggressive, though not quite as steamrolling as fellow Minneapolitans Babes In Toyland.  Hell, just consider those aforementioned references and update it to 2024 with a strong nod to catchy and melodic grungy punk of the past and you’re golden.  This is an excellent listen and fuckin’ rocks from start to finish.  I could put “Generator” on repeat all day and not get tired of it.

I don’t often make a point of beginning a review with the way a record looks (though it certainly is important) I’ll start things off with saying this is one of the loveliest-looking records I’ve seen all year, a real treat to the eyes.  And secondly, this is definitely something way out of my wheelhouse, but I enjoy it nonetheless.  I’m speaking of the new record from DUMMY.   “Free Energy” takes things even further into dream pop, shoegaze, experimental electronic and pop soundscapes, as well as a few other descriptors outside of my pay grade.  In a sense they’re all over the place and they really went for it in terms of expanding their own horizons as a band.  While their previous material certainly resided in the more pop end of shoegaze with some coloring outside the lines this one expands on those inklings and puts them out in front and it pays off as a successful accomplishment.  I’m not saying I’m going to be listening to this non-stop or anything, but I’m certainly impressed with how they’ve thrown in a variety of interesting sounds, textures, and hooks and made it work.  Your best bet is to listen to this on some nice headphones for a true experience.  It’s pretty obvious they were aiming for that too with the deft attention to how they could use the studio as an added instrument.

But now I’m going to reflect on something from the past, brought back up to the present: For such an insular and hyper-local band almost entirely relegated to Detroit-area lore THOUGHTS OF IONESCO were one of the most intense live bands you could ever witness in the late 90’s.  I had the good fortune to see them once at the annual Michigan Fest in ’99, not too long before they imploded, and it still sticks in my memory as one of the most visceral and mind-blowing sets I’ve ever seen and that was probably one of their better shows I’d guess.  They have a pretty good clutch of material for you to explore and it’s all fantastic.  They did a brief reunion a few years back, released a very good EP, and did a handful of shows around it and then once again closed up shop.  “Live Detroit” documents one of those shows (yet just released now) and they sound just as killer on this as when I bore witness, or on any of their records.  They run through the songs most fans know of, spread across several of their records.  To give an idea of what you’re in for with Ionesco is absolutely gut-wrenching emotional catharsis via late-era Black Flags sludgy/jazzy head trip, channeled through seismic Crowbar-sized riffs, and Voivod’s bizarre arithmetic.  There is not a single moment on here bereft of tension, even as the band is slithering through freeform jazzy segues; you feel like they could strike at any moment.  But rest assured, most of this is volume, power, and emotional bloodletting of the heaviest variety and it’s in your best interest to explore any and all Ionesco.

Finally, the Australian duo of PARTY DOZEN made a name for themselves when on their last record they got Nick Cave to guest on a track, which helped to shine a much-deserved spotlight on them and their super bizarre, wild skronk rock.  Actually, I have no idea how to classify them.  It’s mostly instrumental music, with just a drummer and a saxophone player.  But they add in sampled sounds and beats, and you’ll hear guitar here and there, but for all I know it’s the saxophone being run through various effects pedals.  Whatever the case, it all sounds gnarly.  So, they keep it going on their third LP, the wonderfully titled,  “Crime In Australia”.  Everything from chaotic and sludgy punk, to psychedelic trip-outs, to dance-y rippers is all filtered through sax and drums and the various other sounds/accompaniments to make it all work. The best examples of this wild mish-mash working together are on the back-to-back  “Judge Hammer” and “Bad News Department”, the first with it’s sleazy and swampy rhythm, the next having an almost motorik/new wave that breaks out in squalls of fuzzed-out horn blasting.  And they then follow those harsher songs with “The Righteous Front’, which sounds like it could be an early DJ Shadow construction.  Give these Aussies a shot.  It’s a varied collection, but trust me, it works on some weird level.

TWO FOR SEPTEMBER- GAYTHEIST DOUBLE DOWN ON ROCKET FROM THE CRYPT FOR MONTHLY COVER SERIES

 

It was really a no-brainer to task the best live band in Portland to cover the best live band, period.  For some reason, to me, it made total sense to ask Gaytheist if they would be willing to cover Rocket From the Crypt.  I didn’t even know if they were fans, but if they weren’t that would be odd.  Turns out they were huge fans and embraced the idea.
But just why does it make sense to pair these two groups?  Let me start by asking ‘have you ever seen a Gaytheist show?’  If not, let me describe it- each member plays ridiculously good pouring every ounce of energy into their sets and they look like they’re having a hell of a good time doing it too.  Their between-song banter is 100% of the time some of the most hilarious and quick-witted stuff you’ll ever hear. And to top it off, I just love this band.  Every show is what you feel a band ought to do- make you excited, elicit joy, inspire movement, and leave the audience awestruck.
And that’s pretty much how I felt every time I got to see Rocket From the Crypt over the years.  Every single time I saw them they were the best band ever- one song right after another, quick bursts of punk rock n’ roll (they invented it after all), incredible execution, and outrageous banter.  
So, yeah. It becomes quite evident that Gaytheist picked up a thing or two from RFTC even though they generally don’t sound like it.  While Rocket has a lot of great 1-2 punches in their catalog Gaytheist went with arguably their best one: the back-to-back of “Light Me” and “A+ In Arson Class” with Jason singing one of them and Tim doing the other.  And not to relinquish their sense of humor in the process they played kazoos for the horn parts.  I think it’s an excellent not-too-serious way to pay tribute to a band that has made being not-too-serious look flawless.
Stay tuned as a new Gaytheist full length album is imminent.  These tracks won’t be on it but they serve partially as a way to let you all know that soon their next album will be out in the world.

Check out the cover(s) below

Jason Rivera, guitar/vocals Gaytheist:
“Nick was like 10 when Rocket From the Crypt's  "State of Art is on Fire" EP came out, so he wasn't as familiar with these songs. Tim and I, however, have been lifelong fans. Been going to see them since like '93? A highlight for us was in 2014 when we got to play the Sled Island festival in Calgary and when our set was done we ran to the park and caught most of their set. Tim has a Rocket tattoo on his ankle. We fans.

Our only hesitation in covering RFTC was the fact that we are a 3-piece and they are a 6+ piece. Didn't want it to sound thin, as all RFTC songs should sound like a party. So we added kazoos, multiple guitar parts, and a healthy amount of back up vocals and yelling.

Finally, after we decided to cover Light Me, we realized Rocket never plays Light Me without immediately launching into A+ in Arson Class, so we did too.”

NEW REVIEWS FOR THOSE AUGUST DAYS

 

I get it.  It's getting late into the summer.  You're just tired and ready to move onto new stuff.  Or you're trying to eke out the last bits of fun before pumpkin spice is forcibly injected into your lungs, eyeballs, ears, whatever and you have to actually start wearing pants again.  But I just can't help it.  You need to know some things.  And those things are all the extremely local (to all sorts of places) new music to enter the world.  Behold:

Us locals have been waiting impatiently for new material from HELP since their first LP “2053” really knocked everyone on their ass and then they caught on with people all over the place and with good reason.  They’re one of the most exciting/rowdy live bands going right now, especially around here where they frequently do impromptu shows at abandoned or uncommon locations (a late fall show under the Fremont Bridge remains one of my favorite live sets of theirs, as well as the loading dock of a gravel parking lot where their singer climbed up a nearby tree to the roof to finish their set).  Yet underneath all that noisy punk racket is a band pushing that sound into exciting new explorations of repetition, rhythm, and odd effects.  And let’s not forget exceptional lyrics that are as bleak a depiction of modern life as they shout about class war and emotional survival.  So here they are, finally back, with a new EP, “Courage”.  Half of it is as rowdy as ever with “Black Cloud” being possibly one of the best songs they’ve written to date, and half of it is them fucking around with more complex song structures, slower tempos, and other new ideas.  I’d say that if you’ve enjoyed them so far you will greatly enjoy this, while also getting a taste of what else they’re capable of showing off.  As a bonus, the entire B-side is their first EP from 2019, which has not been on vinyl to date.  If you’re unfamiliar with that stuff know that a few of these songs have remained live staples of their set since the get-go.

While on the subject of Help, they just played locally for the first time in awhile to officially/unofficially release their new record and had these cats in MACHINE COUNTRY open up.  I had no clue who they were, but I hopefully get a pass because they’re a pretty new band that just started playing out as last year ended.  I was thoroughly impressed and happy I got to witness it.  They have some of that Northwest noisy sludge that just steamrolls right over you with a dash of chunky, chugging hardcore and lots of anguished screaming back and forth between the guitarist and bassist.  You get a nice taste of it all on their fairly recent demo, “Example No 1”, which offers three songs recorded basement style and it’s fitting for the sort of ugly riffing that flows like magma over an evacuated housing unit, slowly consuming it until it melts into ooze.

And while on the subject of locals dishing out some new noise let’s not forget long-time riffniks SHEENJEK who grace us with a new EP of Jesus Lizard love crossbred with some gooey Northwest heaviness. “Sham Tivey” is the title of this new jammer and while I have absolutely no clue who or what that is I can easily tell you that every song on here is named after a character from film or TV (or comic books).  Are any of these songs about the characters in the titles?  No idea.  But given the nature of the music it would be quite easy to find oneself compelled to shoot at golf carts and yell at old, white rich guys while listening to “Bill Foster”.

From the brain of Matt Perrin (oops, secret identity revealed), and others that remain a mystery to me comes this band built around an extremely niche musical style with an even more niche concept behind it.  What do you even call this?  Mormon persecution screamo?  MISSOURI EXECUTIVE ORDER 44 was conceived out of the historical tidbit in the 1800s when wacky Mormons were being violently driven out of the state due to their far-out beliefs (which are arguably no more silly than Zeuss, Jesus, or the Flying Spaghetti Monster) while the band wears matching outfits like missionaries doubling as hitmen and focuses on a sound that celebrates the back catalog of labels like Level Plane, Witching Hour, and Clean Plate Records.  This debut offering, “Salt Sermon”, crams 11 tracks (a couple of which are just sample interludes) into 15 minutes on a one-sided record that could essentially be The Now EP (I implore you to look it up) resurrected (religious pun intended).  Heck, for all I know it is The Now behind those black masks!  Check the B-side of this record for two different extra fancy screenprints to make it worth your hard-earned sawbucks.

While the emphasis this month is on local scenes my man John Toohill could be an entire scene unto himself with the multitude of bands he is in, with various subgenres represented.  Buffalo seems to be doing fine these days regardless, I’m just saying if he were the only one keeping things afloat they’d still be sailing.  If the resume weren’t long enough between Alpha Hopper, Science Man, Night Slaves, Brute Spring, The Hamiltones, and about a million others you can add BLACK AND WHITE CAT to the list too.  Actually, I can’t be sure if the band is Black & White Cat/ Black & White Cake, or if the title of the record is “Black & White Cake”.  It’s strange no matter how you say it.  OK, let’s cut to the chase: what is this?  Do you like Killing Joke?  Do you like goth-y post-punk with synths?  Do you like a slightly less antagonistic and nihilistic Killing Joke that’s more about curses and shadows and less political?  Well, then this ought to encourage you to find a shade darker than black and keep the bad times rolling.

And if we want to get hyper-local (and we do) there’s no better example than the Capital region-Hudson Valley of New Yorks’ own DISSOLVE who have been grinding it out for probably 30 years at this point.  You put them in a room anywhere between Schenectedy and Newburgh and you’ll have yourself a whopper of a show.  But outside those boundaries and you’d be hard pressed to find the most knowledgable metalheads who have heard of them.  But let me tell ya- Dissolve never disappoint.  Everything they have done is pulverizing and weird chunky and totally crushing.  This EP- “Burnt”-  might be their strangest offering yet, but don’t let it scare you away.  On this they have two tracks, each between 15 and 20 minutes where they combine their metallic/sludgy heaviness as well as their freeform weird, experimental side.  One is a new song while the second is a re-working of “Sunshine” (on this titled as “Eternal Sunshine”) from their incredible debut “Dismantle” from a million years ago, dragged out, made heavier, and tacking on a lengthy freeform passage at the end.  Their M.O. typically includes mixing sources like Voivod with Crowbar and ranting madman vocals (and colorful lyrics such as “More Lemmy, less Axel…. more Void, less Deadguy”) in some satanic stew that can only be described as Dissolve.  This might not be the best place to start so try “Dismantle” or “Caveman Of the Future” to get a good idea of what these deranged fuckers do.

Moving south into the one and only Lansdale, PA (which oddly enough, has it’s own storied scene) L.M.I. have been at it long enough to know what they want to do even if the rest of us need to put on our thinking caps for a bit in order to understand it.  Somewhere at the intersection of spazzy math-core, experimental spaced-out weirdness, and all out thrashing metal,  “Failed To Feel It” is a cornucopia of various extreme sounds that don’t always make sense together but they’re throwing it at you regardless.  This is the fourth or fifth long player outing from the trio and it moves along pretty briskly.  The whole album feels like a whirlwind, but runs just a bit shy of a half-hour.  And compared to other recordings it does sound bigger and heavier, as well as leaning into their particular niche(s) more so than their earlier stuff that was a bit more direct punk-hardcore.  It’s not exactly my cup of tea, but for those who do enjoy the more chaotic side of things this will probably push at least several of those buttons for ya.

Shift just East of PA into the wastelands of Jersey you get all manner of metal emerging from it’s wealthy suburbs and toxic beaches. So I guess if you just add an extra ‘i’ any confusion to the dozen other bands with the same name will be erased?  New Jersey’s PARIIAH is betting on that and one could come to the completely un-fact-checked assumption that their record, “Many Shall Fall” alludes to all those other Pariah’s out there getting dusted.  I made that up though, they can have it if they want it.  This does, by the way, completely smoke though.  It’s kind of brief, but this record scratches that old school basement sludge itch with slow grooves that give (Come To) Grief a run for their money, numerous movie samples, and occasional thrashing parts to snap potheads out of their dazed stupor and into a frenzy.  The insert looks like a classified ad from a 1990 issue of Metal Maniacs and has the (purposeful?) terrible pixelization to go with it.  I appreciate commitment to the form.

Lastly, there’s the Minneapolis stalwarts in ANOTHER HEAVEN who have been trudging along for several albums now and rarely get out of their own town.  So I’ve gone to where they live and seen them a couple times. “See You Later” is the latest round from these chaps from the land of 1,000 lakes and it continues their streak of pretty shoegaze melodies, followed by the sludgiest of molasses-thick riffage this side of…. well, I can’t say either side of the Mississippi because they’re literally on the Mississippi.  It’s a bit odd that this is sort of an EP as the physical versions (tape and CD) have 6 songs, but the digital has two bonus tracks…. which would have easily fit on either physical format.  Couldn’t tell you the reason ing behind that.  However, I can tell you that if any of their material appealed to you in the past this ought to satiate that craving.  Maybe it leans a little more into their less-heavy side a bit more than previous releases, but it’s good all the same.