Lets get right to it- it’s the middle of summer and I am not spending my whole day sitting in front of a computer seeking out the next new favorite thing to listen to. I’m spending more like 3 hours… max. I’m out riding my bike, swimming in the river, doing shit in my yard, and getting a horribly uneven tan. That’s summer folks. You can enjoy it as an adult too if you want. That all being said, the selection of reviews is trimmed down just a bit. But I assure you, there’s a variety of cool shit to discuss. The theme this month is geography. Let’s go.
Starting right here in town (and until last year basically my neighborhood) it’s taken long enough and finally Portland-based riff monsters ILS are back with their second full length, “To End Is To Begin”. I think I’d heard the songs from “Curse” (their first LP) so much between compulsive repeated listens and so many live shows I thought they might be the house band for at least three different venues here that they had lost all meaning. But it’s been a spell since the dudes played around town and they’re now packing this new collection of rippers so I’m back in too. I think, overall, they’re moving at a quicker pace than before and there’s definitely more influence from the Northwest Botch/Narrows school of hardcore, particularly on “Fallen” and “Frig”. That’s not to say the throat-eviscerating, chunky riff machine they demonstrated so well since their inception is not in full effect either. “Don’t Try Me”, “Light ‘Em Up”, and “Hail Mary” all have that songwriting style they’re known for that makes the necks sore and countless beer bottles held high/fist pumps in the air. I’m glad to see Ils back at it and now I can go see them a million more times until I hear these songs in my sleep.
And moving just north of yours truly to my much fancier neighbors in Seattle… CONSTANT LOVERS new record came as a total surprise to me because, quite honestly, I hadn’t listened to them much before. But I knew of them and i knew they had a saxophone and synths. I had imagined them being more of an indie band that had some chill R&B tendencies, in whatever way that makes sense. But the reality is they’re so much weirder on their new record “Manifesting Now”. Yes, they use some synths. Yes, there are horns. Yes, there’s some soulful energy and pop tendencies (“Clean Pure Magic” even makes use of the dreadful auto-tune vocal effect over a gnarled and filthy DFA 1979 style bass riff). But the whole record begins with a slow march that sounds like a Pissed Jeans song filtered through a jet engine and could have been a B-side on the latest USA/Mexico LP. From there it straddles the line between brash noisy punk that can sound sassy, narcissistic, catchy, drug-addled, and vicious all at once. With some synth and horns. I have no label for this and that makes it rad. Oh yeah, there’s also some really cool artwork that comes with this and while the album itself is just digital they did make a lyric book, like a hardbound book, with all this really nice artwork to go with each song. It’s a cool little outside-the-box bonus item.
Now let’s make our way to the flat and geographically uninspiring Midwest (that has historically made up for their dull horizons with way above-board bands) with a couple newer bands doing great things.
First off, I’m occasionally reminded that making assumptions about things isn’t always a good way to go. Such is true upon listening to the new album from UPRIGHT FORMS. All I really knew about the band was that Nick Sakes plays guitar for them and if that rings any bells it’s because he’s shredded eardrums for decades in demented math-y noise rock groups like Dazzling Killmen, Colosomite, and Xaddox. Ya know, bands’ bands. So it came to my surprise that Upright Forms often sounds, at times, poppy, and dare I say, catchy. “Blurred Wires” is the effort and , sure, there’s times where a sung vocal is traded for some angered shouting and the music gets a bit more aggressive. But there’s really no fretboard acrobatics, or twisted chord fingers to be found here. Hell, the opening track is basically a power pop earworm with more distortion. I think it’s pretty great overall and balances a bit of Shallac-style post-punk aggression with catchy rock goodness.
Next, I like to focus on more proper efforts from most bands but I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to make a mention of a new single from Chicago youngins’ LIFEGUARD. It’s just a new song, "Ministry/Energie” but with a quick and to-the-point Wipers cover tacked on the back end. I think Lifeguard are one of the more interesting newer bands out there doing something very original, especially for their age. There’s something akin to the spooky mystery of Unwound, Mission Of Burma’s ethereal punk rock beauty, and a bit of that Chicago fuck-all attitude that makes them a delightful and exciting listen. I’m totally intrigued by what they do next.
Finally, just a bit further east, but still considered the Midwest (I guess), I gave a shout out to Ohio noise rock duo WE. a little while back and recently they hit me up about re-releasing something old turned new. They mentioned it was a ‘remix’ record. To me that screams bad idea because in my head I’m thinking crappy failed DJs and studio types deconstructing songs and adding stupid techno beats to them, which just feels awful to me. But let me just say, this remix of the band’s initial EP “rIB” from 2019 is not that. I completely missed the assignment. And I’m also not one to review old material, but I think this is warranted. If you listen to the original version of this EP it’s definitely lacking power and clarity to songs that are actually pretty awesome. This remix job brings out so much of that energy to these absolutely wild and crushing songs. Just a two-string bass (that definitely borrows some slide twang from Morphine) and drums (and vocals) causing all sorts of maniacal ruckus and riffs a plenty. It’s seriously night and day between the two versions. Get the new one. It may as well be a brand new collection from this group.
Finally, we end up pretty much at the East Coast and two bands that are neighbors to one another (both geographically and sonically) provide us with new EP efforts:
GLOOP have been consistently releasing banger after banger for the last few years at a pretty steady clip. While messing around with their style and presentation from release to release you still know it’s them and they retain their identity. But a bands got to try new things to keep it interesting, right? On their new EP, “Tension” they come in with what feels like an overall ‘heavier’ recording. There’s a bit more heft to all these tracks whereas past efforts felt a bit more spastic and sassy, for lack of a better word. There’s still a dominance on the bass and laying down slinky, sneaky-catchy riffs while the guitars run manic, slashing away at the air. But there’s bulk to all these songs, just added weight that makes them a bit more menacing, a bit more ham-fisted, and I’m into that approach. I like their past stuff a lot too. This just adds another dimension to their sound and is worth the approximately 13 minutes of your life you will spend diving into their chaos.
Last year Baltimore’s MAST YEAR leapt right into the fray with their clangy feast of ill will via the record “Knife”. They have returned with a new EP that I feel is a bit more direct, a bit more concise, and “Point Of View” is that EP. There’s a couple tracks that are just more of interludes/outros of atmospheric noise so really you get four new tracks all told, but they’re nice and dirgey. They definitely share some sonic reference points with neighbors Gloop, as well as the sonic fury of the Yinzers in Mirakler. I suppose if you combine the two, geographically speaking, you could end up in Baltimore.. or maybe Ohio? Either way, I think this is a good foot forward for Mast Year in developing their sound. It’s not a re-invention of the AmRep wheel, but it’s a serrated knife of noise rock pulverizing worth taking a listen to.
