SHOWS THAT BANDS ARE PERFORMING AT

Stop sweating. August is going to be a banger for rad bands on Hex. Rare treats and special sweets. Rot your teeth and pump your fist. I'm going to be a show-going freak in the next few weeks.

ACHILLES will be playing a few very special shows in the next month or two, which is rare since they are only able to play a handful of shows a year. Between members commitments in POLAR BEAR CLUB and SOUL CONTROL, as well as parenthood, it's pretty tough for the guys to get together. But when they do it tends to be one of the best live sets you'll see.
Friday, August 27th @ Mohawk Place, Buffalo, NY w/ Make Do and Mend
Saturday, August 28th @ Westcott Community Center, Syracuse, NY w/ Make Do and Mend
Saturday, September 25th @ Party Expo 929 Broadway, New York, NY w/ Ruiner, Another Breath, Mayflower, and more

OAK AND BONE will be doing some weekend action with locals SHOPPERS as well before doing some Fall tour action. It's a cruel Summer.
Thurs., July 29th @ Half Penny Pub, Syracuse w/ APM
Fri., August 6th @ Hole In the Sky, Washington DC w/ Shoppers
Sat., August 7th @ .... somewhere else? w/ Shoppers
Sun., August 8th @ St. Bernards, Bethlehem, PA w/ Shoppers
Mon., August 9th @ Westcott Community Center, Syracuse, NY w/ Engineer, Native, Former Thieves

Additionally, while not a show, it's event worth noting as it pertains to special dude who has been a big part of Hex Records. I'd like to extend a giant congrats to Aaron Jenkins from Ed Gein who will be getting hitched come August 28th. I know, I know, show conflict with Achilles in Syracuse but what are you going to do? It's not like they're going to blast "Bathed In Orange" while they come down the isle, ya know?

REVIEW JAMS

I've been slacking in the reviews department! I have a mess of stuff to get some scribbling done about, but I've been so busy pimping the big ass sale I still have going on that I plum forgot about review stuff. So bear with me while I catch up. Below are some goods. Check 'em out. Or don't. I just like to write about them.

“AL BURIAN GOES TO HELL” by Al Burian
Being a big Al Burian fan I was immediately excited to see this in the mail stack, very unexpectedly at that. All is the author behind the infrequently published Burn Collector zine, quite possibly my favorite (semi) regular zine out there. This particular one-off is a comic book done in his simplistic, yet fitting, style based around “Dantes Inferno” and comparing it to Al’s regular and mundane activities of being a shiftless shoplifting bum at a dead-end job and the ever-encroaching feeling that he isn’t going to amount to jack shit in this meaningless life. Sounds depressing right? Thankfully, Al’s cynical and somewhat endearing sense of humor shines through to make this a fun read overall. At times you really want to hate him for taking the world for granted, complaining about it, and generally being a bum. On the other hand, it’s just a comic and ought to read with a degree of levity, which I tend to do with all of Al’s material that I have checked out over the years. (Migrane/Microcosm)

BALANCE AND COMPOSURE/TIGERS JAW split
Each band drops four new jams making for basically a full length of material. Balance and Composure are a lot better on this split than on their debut LP and I’m glad to hear that they’ve become a bit more rough around the edges while still maintaining a strong melodic backbone. Elements of Small Brown Bike and Polar Bear Club are evident, the vocals have that gruff melodicism that teeters very close to being too clean and annoying at times. Yet overall, it moves relatively slow, with some nice ebbs and flows and breaks into some great swells of loud guitar and crashing drums. I dig. Tigers Jaw wrap up the record with their four songs of poppy, synth/organ-accentuated rock. They seem to be kind of the hype band right now and I can see why a lot of people like them. From what I understand they have a female vocalist, but she only seems to do back-up’s on this recording, which is kind of shame as I feel the music would stand out more if she were to be more up front, or at least alternate with the male lead (who has that sort of low register like Alex from Lemuria). Musically, these quick songs could be a poor man’s Paramore with more heart, I’m not really sure. I’m not trying to be insulting with that either. It’s just that this is indie rock that could easily blow up mainstream style. It’s a nice listen regardless and I’m picking up what they’re laying down, so to speak. (No Sleep/Run For Cover)

CHOOSE DEATH #4
I dig the writing in this zine. As far as content it is truly your local zine featuring local bands, tour diaries, and the like. But it’s the comical and quick-witted way in which it is written that makes me look forward to each issue... even if it only takes me all of 15 minutes to read it cover to cover. The boys in Mayflower are interviewed, as is the now-defunct Syracuse/Florida connection of Eating Machine. Plus, you get a hilarious tour diary from White Guilt’s East Coast jaunt. It’s well worth a couple bucks for some cheap yucks. Plus, now that Josh has a newfound interest in all things Jim Goad I can only see this thing getting more ridiculous. (Barbarossa Records)

COLISEUM, “House With a Curse”
So I hear the first song off this record a good month before it is released and am confused by it’s very ‘rock’ vibe. I kind of dismiss it and yet somehow find myself humming it over and over for the next few weeks. Then I get the whole album and again, am confused by this change in direction for the Louisville trio. Gone are the full-speed ahead ragers fans are used to, and in their place is an overall slower affair. I wasn’t upset in the least, but I certainly was taken aback by some of the musical avenues they chose to explore here. Plus, I knew long time fans who were expecting a certain sound would be sorely disappointed. They haven’t all out abandoned their sound, of course. These are passionate and raging songs. Ryan Patterson has a very distinct voice that continues to shine through, and the catchy anthemic choruses are still present. That sense of melody amongst all the chaos is amplified and you can tell that many of these songs are much more thought through in their creation. Bassist Mike Pascal delivers not only a sweet tone but some very nice complementary lines to Patterson’s riffs on tracks such as “Crime and the City”, “Lost In Gronigen” and “Statuary” (my current favorite track on the record with it’s absolutely wall-shattering stop-start thick slabs of riff meat closing the track out). I think the only thing that feels a bit odd to me is I caught a small Young Widows vibe off of a couple tracks- that thick and catchy bass under a flurry of unique guitar effects present especially on “Perimeter Man”. While it shouldn’t surprise some, seeing as the Patterson brothers have been in more than one band together and have similar musical backgrounds and influences I don’t want to make it seem as if they are aping one another since their respective bands are typically considered quite different. But I can’t help but notice this small similarity here and there. Regardless, the more I listen to this the more it gets under my skin and I could really care less what they are ‘supposed to do’ in terms of fan expectations. This will do just fine. (Temporary Residence)

END OF A YEAR, “You Are Beneath Me”
This is easily one of my favorite bands going today, and part of that is because they are simply an unclassifiable group that strides the line somewhere between indie rock, old school ‘emo’, and all out punk. Musically, it takes an odd turn down loose and melodic indie rock with a penchant for the occasional odd time signature, near constant catchy riffs, and an often driving push that keeps one listening intently. Then you throw vocalist Pat Kindlon in the mix and you get this added weirdness of a guy with a raspy and bizarre inflection to his voice spouting off some of the best lyrics around about divorce, being broke, and one of the best closing lines of any album ever (“Your arms wouldn’t reach around my balls”). The words lie somewhere between intellectual asshole, outright hilarity, and quirky anthemic sing-along. So, yes, it’s a mixed bag that will confuse many, but I like a challenge. And, in all honesty, the hardest part about getting into this band really, is trying to come up with some quick subgenre categorization to describe them. And it’s not going to happen. It boils down to just good and melodic rock with an oddball vocalist. That’s as simple as I can make it. And on, “You Are Beneath Me” they come up with some of the best material they’ve written yet. They try some new sounds on songs like “Eric Hall” and the instrumental “Sara Hayden”, as well as the hilarious sound-check style rock and spoken word on opener “Composite Character”. Of course, they also stick to what is a bit more familiar territory on tracks like “Bo Diaz” and “Charles Ewert”. My advice is just check this out regardless of what you like because it is just a damn good record and you need to hear it. (Deathwish Inc.)

“FIREBRANDS”, by the Just Seeds Collective
Just Seeds is an art group that I found out about at the height of my interest in stenciling. While that interest in making them has waned considerably in the last couple years I still thoroughly enjoy looking at them. Regardless, Just Seeds had a website showcasing a lot of politically-oriented stencils. But they have branched out quite a bit to include other artists who work in a number of mediums, but tend to consolidate things under a unifying theme of screenprinting their art which is always motivated around radical politics and social issues. This book not only showcases much of their art, but also discusses their subject matter. In this case, every page has a portrait of an important figure in social justice causes with an accompanying short biography of them on the next page. While this is hardly an original idea it should be noted that many of the people they choose to discuss are lesser known, though equally important, figures from various struggles. Big Bill Haywood, Emma Goldman, Angela Davis, and Sitting Bull may sound familiar. But try looking up Grace Lee Boggs, or Justin Dart Jr., or even even Yuri Kochiyama (I actually met her once!). While a little more history about each of these people would be nice I also know how to look people up and get a bigger picture of their impact and this book introduced me to some of these folks whom I will be checking into. Oh, and the art isn’t half bad either. (Microcosm)

“IF IT AIN’T CHEAP IT AIN’T PUNK” DVD
Oh good lord, a documentary about Plan-It-X Records and their big annual fest thing. OK, for starters, my dislike for Plan-It-X has been quite vocal for some time now, but I must plead ignorance in making broad, sweeping generalizations regarding their bands and fanbase. Well, maybe I’m not too far off because watching this thing you get a pretty good idea of what sort of kids are into this stuff. Musically, I really just don’t like folk punk one iota. I simply don’t like it. At all. That music does nothing but annoy me. Yet, it is true that not every band under the Plan-It-X banner plays this way. Take Halo Fauna for example. They’re a pretty bad ass band that certainly sounds more akin to upbeat, mid-90’s emo like Braid. Or Latterman, who were a rowdy punk band (loosely associated with the label). But by and large, the dopey, off-key acoustic Woody Guthrie wannabe, cum-bay-ya feel-good sappiness simply turns me off. And yet, I see how they operate this label, which is VERY admirable. I see how this fest is one big fundraiser for a number of wonderful charities, which is also admirable. I can certainly appreciate the way that giving workshops on just about every topic there is, in addition to the music is a great thing to do that is sadly missing from big music events (and used to be fixture at big events such as this years ago). So in some ways Plan-It-X definitely knows what’s up and does their thing in a truly righteous way. But if I showed up there I’d probably want to punch out every train-hopping, panhandling, drunk-as-a-skunk suburbanite dropout who tried to play me a shitty song in exchange for a free sandwich or money for their beer/ elixir of life. On the other end of the spectrum, I’d also like to tar and feather the hordes of pseudo tough guy mesh short, sideways hat wearing poseurs who think they’re hard-as-nails because they can spin kick higher than anyone else when Madball shows up to town. Simply said, there’s lots of people I don’t like. So I’m sure Plan-It-X also has a fan base of well-rounded and intelligent people amongst their ranks as well. But I still don’t like the music. (Cantankerous Titles)

LEATHERFACE, “The Stormy Petrel”
I saw Leatherface about 10 years ago and that was also about the last time I listened to one of their records so you’ll forgive me if I can’t remember jack shit about what they sounded like then. All I remember was that I wasn’t terribly impressed and I’ll try and chalk that up to a bit of youthful naiveté. Now, having a been a band for a bazillion years and releasing a thousand records Leatherface strike back with “The Stormy Petrel”. They’ve often been known as the band that Hot Water Music got their sound from and I can see that in a small way (but I’ve always thought HWM was a direct rip of Mike Hirsch’s excellent late 80’s/early 90’s band Fuel- look them up), but to me, Leatherface have a lot more in common with the likes of The Replacements and Husker Du. It’s that sort of punk that young kids hear and say, ‘this ain’t punk! This is indie rock!’ or some shit. But old dudes state, ‘Hey! It’s the best we could do back then!’ and some other ridiculous bull. Either way, this is something I appreciate moreso than something I’m going to listen to a lot. There certainly are some catchy riffing, and a careful, delicate approach to the way these songs are crafted. Frankie Stubbs raspy whisper of a voice and oddball rhyming sets of lyrics may be my favorite part since a lot of it sort of comes out of left field. So if that sounds like the Leatherface you know and love, by all means check it out. I know my memory doesn’t serve me a better comparative description. (No Idea)

MAYFLOWER, “Second Best Sunsets” LP
Hell fuckin’ yeah. I know these dudes worked long and hard to make this full length and it pays off in spades. “Second Best Sunsets” is the debut from these Syracuse area (Oswego if you want to get exact) punk rockers and it’s pretty much a non-stop blast of catchy and anthemic punk rock from start to finish. Sure, they sound quite a lot like Dillinger 4 and Off With Their Heads, but so what. They’ve done it really well and I’ve been spinning this consistently since I first heard it. With a nice combination of subject matter ranging from being down in the dumps and working dead end shit jobs, to strong political and environmental convictions Mayflower do so in a way that is extremely catchy and often lyrically inventive. And while it switches week to week, I think my current favorite tune is “The World Needs Ditch Diggers”, with it’s chorus of “I’m a hack of all trades, master of none!” Ah, truer words in my life have never been spoken. Easily one of my favorite records this year. (Kiss Of Death)

HEX RECORDS BIG ASS SUMMER SALE AND MORE!

OK, so there's a lot happening in the Hex camp this month. So let's do some bullet-point style housekeeping and propagandizing. Here we go....

MVD SALE

Our distributor, MVD, is doing a sale on ALL Hex Records titles throughout the month of July. Every last one! Everything (and I mean every physical title they have in stock) is marked down 40%. Yup. So whether you have a store, distro, or just like cheap music, now is the time to get a lot of stuff for a bargain.

Here's the link for that: MVD sale


WEBSTORE/ LP SALE

On the homefront, we’re trying to clear out some much needed storage space so we’re doing a special 2 for 1 deal on all 12” records.. Two LPs for the price of one. This is quite a deal considering most of our 12” releases are pretty fancy-schmancy- gatefold packages, colored vinyl, etc. But because of that, and the cost, this offer is only good in the U.S. So take your pick- Ed Gein, Achilles, The Helm, Prize Country...
Follow the link and choose, but choose wisely! Hex sale


LEMURIA- SECOND PRESSING

The second pressing of the “Ozzy” 7” from LEMURIA is now in! If you missed out the first time you can get it now. A slightly different package holds this jammer together and two different vinyl colors (yellow and white) make up the new pressing. Two songs on the vinyl, plus an extra track on the download card. Catch them on tour all summer and look out for their next full length on Bridge 9, being recorded this month with J. Robbins.

Get the 7” HERE


OTHER NEW STORE ITEMS:

We have a couple other new things in the webstore to check out:

OAK & BONE/ LIKE WOLVES split 7”- Two of Upstate NYs best bands on one record. Courtesy of Barbarossa Records

TRANSLATE #4- Zine jammer. Color cover, hand-made stuff, comics, travel, punk, death, cheap. Worth your couple clams.


THE HELM WEST COAST/ NORTHWEST TOUR

This is starting, basically, now. Sorry I didn't get this up earlier, but I didn't receive all the tour info until just the other day.

July 9th- Portland, OR @ Brick Shithouse
July 10th- Oakland, CA @ 924 Gilman
July 11th- Reno, NV @ The HQ
July 12th- Salt Lake City @ Worshipping the Space Jesus
July 13th- Denver, CO @ Blast O Mat
July 14th- Boise, ID @ Secret space
July 15th- Spokane, WA @ Cretin Hop

LEMURIA, "OZZY" REPRESS NOW IN!

So everything is in with the second pressing of "Ozzy", the bitchin' 7" from Buffalo's LEMURIA (you may have heard of them, they tour a lot). Everything came in a bit earlier than I expected, so orders will start going out IMMEDIATELY rather than after the holiday weekend.
Awesome right?
This pressing has a slightly scaled down packaging, but it's a little different and still looks really cool (cue the picture up top). Additionally, the pressing is split into two colors of equal amounts- yellow and white.
So there ya have it.

Be on the lookout in the next couple of weeks for some great summer sales from us as well. Our prices will be... insane.

Order the LEMURIA 7" here

IT'S TIME FOR REVIEWS!

It has been far too long since I've posted some of these up. But to be completely honest, new stuff that I have been interested in writing about has been somewhat few and far between and primarily procured by mine own hand rather than some publicist sending to me. Nevertheless, here's what keeps me up this Sunday night/Monday morning, and that you can freshen your coffee to. And seeing as I am such a great writer (cough) try and keep score of how many times I use the term 'bad ass'. No thesaurus for this guy, no way.



108, “18.61”
This may or may not be the last thing 108 records (though we’ve heard that one before... amirite?), so I wanted to see where it was all going, and how well it held up to... well, essentially everything else they’ve ever done. Upon my first listen I was amazed at how quickly it flew by. Is this an EP? Did nine songs really just happen? Yes they did. A few more listens separated things a bit more for me, and then getting into the lyrical meat formally sealed it for me, proving this to easily be one of the better records 108 has done. I like that it’s a little short. “A New Beat...” was a great full length, but after a year of non-stop listens I felt like there were almost too many songs and a couple of them felt like filler. This is just right. Faithful fans will recognize the killer driving chops that Vic writes, mixed nicely with the chunky, feedback encrusted bass sloughing Triv contributes. Additionally, I may have to fact check this, but much of the lyrical fare seems to have been penned by vocalist Rob Fish, as opposed to the usual share that Vic DiCara adds. It’s just the way it is written and the subject matter that seems different. I’m not sure if I like it better or not, though I think I prefer the way that Vic writes lyrics. This is pretty bad-ass though, especially on “Relentless Masters”, the chunky riff-dominated track that is my personal favorite on this. Closer, “Early Funeral” is the odd track out, but it shouldn’t come as a total surprise to 108 fans. An entirely acoustic song with sung vocals is a great ode to death and dying, and a cool way to close things out. If this ends up being the band’s final release (they have alluded to continuing on in a different fashion) I’ll be totally satisfied.. well, except desperately wanting to see these songs played live and freaking the fuck out to them. (Deathwish Inc)

AUSTERITY PROGRAM, THE, “Backsliders and Apostles Will Burn” CDEP
Big Black worship, no other way around it. Two dudes, a lot of analog equipment, and a drum machine that is definitely NOT trying to disguise itself as real drums. Angular riffs, stop/start blasts of wired noise, and slurred vocals are the bulk of these four new tracks from one of NYC’s more obscure outfits. I feel as if the idea here is a good one, but it doesn’t totally deliver. There’s something lacking (and no, it’s not a living, breathing person behind a drum kit) that I can’t quite put my finger on. It’s more in the actual songs and how they’re lacking some excitement of some sort. I suppose I’m referring to their other releases, in which the songs were a bit shorter overall, a little more direct. Each of these songs average near the five minute mark and it feels a bit too long to keep my attention up for the sort of thing they’re doing. Of course, if you’re an Albini fanatic, and enjoy examining music under a fine lens to dissect all the nuts and bolts of gear and studio nerdery, you will more than likely enjoy what The Austerity Program has cooked up in their lab (AKA, their backyard shed). (Hydrahead)

BLACK BREATH, “Heavy Breathing”
I do not claim to be a true metalhead by any measure, but damn if this isn’t one hell of an awesome metal record. From what I can tell, Black Breath are riding a hype wave and I say good for them as I feel they are deserving of the excitement surrounding them. What I find almost amusing is that the two guitarists here both come from youth crew-ish type bands and are now in this full-on metal mode and not half-assing it (as many HC dudes seem to do when they make attempts at playing metal). Getting that same deep and dirty tone I’ve heard (most recently) on Trap Them records... and what a great bad-ass sound it is... there is something both heavy as shit and really catchy all at once. The majority of this record lies somewhere between the thrashing speed of East Bay metal, like old Exodus, and the heavy gallop of Entombed’s mastery of the riff. My favorite tracks on this full length are the lightning fast “Escape From Death”, followed by the chuggy fist-swinger, “I Am Beyond” and it’s much-too-long (albeit necessary just to prove how bad ass it is) extended ending. It almost brings to mind the closing riff of Damnation AD’s “The Hangman”. Yes indeed, if you are like me and only dabble in heavy metal, this is a great record that basically anyone who is a fan of any sort of fast and heavy music can surely appreciate. As Andy Bernard would say, “(they) nailed it”. (Southern Lord)

COWARDS demo
The set up for this new Syracuse band is vocalist, drummer, and dude who plays guitar through guitar and bass cabs. It’s really loud, sludgy, slow, and heavy and I can get down with this sound. If it makes any difference their guitarist also plays in Architect and you can hear those super dense, grooving bottom-heavy riffs, which I like. Yet there is also an element of that Crowbar sludginess and screeching feedback made lovable by Eyehategod, so take that as you will. Lyrically, one song called “Don’t Feed the Animals” about not giving bums change and another called “Over the Line”, regarding those abusing government hand outs. Yes, Colin hates bums. In all seriousness, the hate isn’t from some right wing conservative tightwad angle, but more of a Travis Bickle/Walter Kovacs- ‘society will pay’ kind of vibe. Yup. So, as Jeffrey Lebowski would say- the other Jeffrey Lebowski- ‘get a job, sir!’ (http://www.myspace.com/wearecowards)

HARVEY MILK, “A Small Turn Of Human Kindness”
I’ll never quite understand what made this band the cool hipster hype band to like because they’re really a hard pill to swallow. I remember first hearing them several years back when the now slumbering Escape Artist Records re-issued one of their records and I thought I had it playing at the wrong speed seeing as how low and slurred the vocals were. Of course, this would have been impossible since it was a CD. So, yeah, I remembered pretty much hating it. A few years later, and a bit more mature, I can appreciate this band laying down a sweet riff, or throwing some really off-kilter parts to their songs, but I still can’t get over those vocals. It’s literally like listening to a record meant for 45 on 33. So on this, their newest full length, it appears the Athens, GA sludge rockers are going for a general theme here. Just about every song flows into the next one without a pause, and takes that ultra slow and mean approach to things. They get a really great, truly sinister bass sound here, coupled with an almost bluesy feel (with some wonderful organ accompaniment, particularly on the how track 4, “I Alone Got Up and Left” ) and the whole affair feels really, really depressing. If you take the vocals out of it it really reminds me of NYC doom-mavens Bloody Panda, but I suppose that is sort of moot reference point. Either way, for me the jury is out on my feelings on this. I can appreciate how well it is crafted, but this isn’t something I want to just break out and hang with very often. (Hydrahead)

LIGHTEN UP, “Absolutely Not”
Not too shabby- a quick jolt through fast and fun hardcore that bears a strong resemblance to earlier Paint It Black stuff, what with some of the unexpected twists and turns, stops and starts it presents within these dozen stingers. I can only imagine their shows being nothing but fun. And if they’re not, and these are boring dudes, well then, nertz to them. I’ll just keep imagining the fun side if I may, thanks. (Jump Start Records / Ass Card Records)

LIKE WOLVES/ OAK & BONE split 7”
Without question, two of the Central New York areas most engaging bands share seven inches of wax and give you, the listener, something you need, whether you know it yet or not. Rochester’s Like Wolves lay down two songs that are easily the best stuff they’ve written to date. The band consistently improves upon their songwriting skills with each release, focusing on cohesive songs that still feel really loose and wild, but honing in on those catchy parts. I know I’ve said it before, but Black Cross worship tenfold and I don’t mind that a bit. “New Circles” is my new favorite song of theirs and I like the quick nod to At the Drive-In right at the beginning.
Oak and Bone flesh out the B-side with two songs that the faithful will recognize from their live sets as of late. “Dirt” is a straight crusher, immediately starting off with a mean-ass riff that just gets meaner as the song goes on. “Acid Coffin” is the flip side to that, showing the more jamming, psychedelic persona of the group- guitar effects fucking with your sense of balance throughout before settling on a driving and catchy riff. The only downside to their side is a recording that does no justice to how bad-ass these songs are. The vocals, while strong, are way too high in the mix and everything else feels buried and compressed. It’s just not the recording these dudes need. But you’ll still get the idea of what’s happening and make it all the more impressive when you finally see them live. (Barbarossa Records)

SNACK TRUCK, “Spacial Findings 1-7”
I’m a bit conflicted by this record. From the start it gets carried away into Hella-style ridiculous over doing it for the sake of over doing it and I was pretty turned off. But then they got a bit more restrained for most of the other songs and add some really nice-sounding synth and keys to these all-instrumental songs. Thankfully, this is a band that makes good use of keyboard to add a lot of dynamics and a refreshing sound to a subgenre that can get pretty tired pretty quick. Noodley instrumental bands are rarely my thing for more than one song, so there were many instances on this recording where I was happy to see a band doing something different, whether it was the aforementioned nice use use of keys, or focusing on a good riff to carry a song. The occasional ventures into overly-complicated territory proved to be considerably less than what I had initially assumed they would be, so that was nice. Though one final, quick gripe- is there really ever any point in the last 6 minutes or so of a bands record to be some experimental noise and feedback remix that sounds like a broken computer game? Is this really ever necessary? I didn’t think so. Otherwise, a nice little change of pace from my usual listening selections. (Rorschach Records)

WHITE GUILT tape #2
There are bands that go for a particular sound, but try to pretend that they’re something else when it’s as plain as day as to who they are aping and that kind of annoys me. I thought early on that locals White Guilt might have fallen into that category. But with a little time and a few new songs I really don’t give a shit what they think they’re doing, or not doing, because regardless of what sort of influences fall into their songwriting this just kills. More or less, I’m just hearing all out rage and chaotic skull-bashing in these new songs. So I’m pretty much done wondering what sort of band they may want to be and am just going with my initial reaction to this, which is pleasantly surprised. Vocals with insane reverb/delay on every song speak of thinning out the human race, amongst other things, and most of the songs are tied together through feedback. A slow and repetitive bassline opens “Human Flood II”, and slowly builds into a frenzied chugging before bursting forth with harsh noise, and the repeated chorus of “he never wanted us” over and over. It’s sort of the odd song out here, as the rest of these five songs are pretty damn fast overall, but it’s my favorite. In fact, the whole tape is good so if you enjoy really messy, fast, and raging hardcore with a bit of a weird side (-ahem- the vocals) I’d suggest giving this a try. (Drugged Conscience)

TOURS!

Some bands are on tour right now that we like.
Here's the dates:

END OF A YEAR
05/25: Tijuana, MX @ Bar 1979
05/26: Canoga Park, CA @ Cobalt Cafe
05/27: Ojai, CA @ Ojai Womens Club
05/28: Berkeley, CA @ 924 Gilman
05/29: Tacoma, WA @ Rainfest @ The Viaduct
05/30: Tacoma, WA @ Rainfest @ The Viaduct
06/02: Kansas City, MO @ Scion Lab
06/03: Omaha, NE @ Ghost House
06/04: Minneapolis, MN @ Eclipse Records
06/05: Bay City, MI @ Snuggly Mug
06/06: Cleveland, OH @ Tower 2012
06/07: Kingston, PA @ Black Lodge
06/09: Brooklyn, NY @ Party Expo
06/10: Amityville, NY @ Long Island Fest 2010 At Broadway
06/11: Syracuse, NY @ Westcott Center
06/12: Burlington, VT @ 242 Main
06/13: Albany, NY @ Valentines


ENGINEER
May 26 - Rochester, NY @ Monty's Krown w/ Ken Mode
May 27 - Toronto, ON @ Sneaky Dees w/ Ken Mode, Buried Inside, & Titan (431 College Street)
May 28 - Brooklyn, NY @ Union Pool w/ Ken Mode (484 Union Ave)
May 29 - Philadelphia, PA @ Broad Street Ministries w/ Ken Mode (315 South Broad Street)
May 30 - Richmond, VA @ The Triple w/ Ken Mode (3306 W. Broad Street)
May 31 - Greensboro, NC @ Legitimate Business w/ Ken Mode & Low Sky (1317 Grove Street)
June 1 - Morgantown, WV @ 123 Pleasant St w/ Anchient Shores & Passage Between
June 2 - Western MD @ TBA w/ Anchient Shores & Passage Between
June 3 - Baltimore, MD @ Charm City Art Space w/ Anchient Shores & Passage Between
June 4 - Doylestown, PA @ a church w/ Passage Between & Rosetta

TRANSLATE ZINE #4 NOW AVAILABLE!

Lots of cutting and pasting and drawing and photoshopping and writing and so forth have cumulated in a new issue of Translate zine, the print organ of the Hex empire (which, basically, offers little to no propaganda about Hex Records at all). Personally, I think it came out pretty cool.
The fourth installment of zine nerdom packed into 32 pages and wrapped in a fancy-shmancy color cover. The upsides of cross-country travel in the name of punk rock and over-the-hill show going interspersed with the gut-churning lows of becoming a grumpy old bastard consumed with morality and death. Plane flights, stage dives, a last will and testament and, coincidentally enough, an interview with Brooklyn post-punkers Obits. Storytelling and cheap comics. Deal.

Get it in the webstore