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.
