APRIL REVIEWS TIME!

Hoo boy, this late Winter-into-Spring transition has been a real motherfucker.  Good thing some incredible records have already dropped this early in the year.  I mean, there's a few top of the year contenders here.  I highly suggest readers check out some of the things I have reviewed here for themselves.  Please.  Really.  I mean it.

 

CHRON TURBINE, “Skull Necklace Just For You” LP

This sounds like if The Cars were raised on a steady diet of records released on Amphetamine Reptile, but the catchy pop aspect won out in the end.  It’s actually pretty fuckin’ great if that first sentence made no sense to you.  Thick, riffy, and noisy, but brilliantly catchy.  It loses a bit of steam in the middle, mostly from slower tracks that aren’t as easy to get stuck in your head.  Yet despite all that it’s a great listen, one that certainly surprised me, and I was happy to have heard it.  I might actually be a better person because of it now, so thanks for getting songs like “You Can’t Touch My Shit” and “Trans Jamder” embedded in my cranium!  Printed on a wild silkscreened cover and limited to something like 200 copies.  Neat!  (Peterwalkee Records)

HEIRESS, “Early Frost”

While this band has been going for quite a few years now their level of activity has been fairly timid, aside from releasing a few seven inches here and there.  And I’ve never found them to be exceptionally compelling musically.  But for some reason I really wanted to get this record.  I think it’s because the simple cover photo looked really cool to me.  It’s one of those ‘behold this majestic mountain that alludes to how heavy this band is’ sort of thing.  Either way, I was sold.  And while that cover is cool, the rest of the packaging looks like some scroll from Lord Of the Rings, and I swear that a riff in “Damaged New Wind” was lifted from the theme music from “Dune” (which, by the way, I’m totally cool with).  So yeah, think rather epic stuff here.  I’d say in all Heiress is in a Neurosis frame of mind when writing, and filtering it through a sort of mid-90’s heavy emo core execution.  The plus is that it’s not something one really hears much these days.  On the negative, it can get a little dull at times.  Overall, it’s a fairly engaging listen.  (DeathwishInc)

IRON LUNG, “White Glove Test”

This will most likely be one of, if not the most intense records I hear all year.  Fucking fuck, Iron Lung are unsettling to listen to, incredibly abrasive, and so pissed.  It’s just two dudes coming up on their 40’s and fucking shit up harder than anyone else in this universe.  Bow down as schizophrenic riffs blast between powerviolence speed and pounding Swans-inspired sludge.  Wrap your little brain around the other half of this duo who smashes his drums like a jackhammer with a giant metal fist at the business end of it.  Both dudes do vocals.  Now imagine this non-stop pulverizing for a good 20 tracks (in about 22 minutes), and stare at the insane cover art of a cleansing hand melding into a head full of junk.  Read the words about medical malpractice, disease, and little people being crushed under a latex glove that smears them out with a fake vaccine.  “There is no hope for them” goes the line throughout “Brutal Supremacy” (1-3) and it’s a fitting description for the panicked music Iron Lung drops on you like so many anvils.  Now, one more thing to fuck with you:  they created a companion album to go with this of noise, soundscapes, and assorted industrial clanging (much like Neurosis’ “Times Of Grace” and “Grace”).  On it’s own it’s exactly as I described.  But as a bonus they combine both albums to make for one fucking crazy synced-up conglomeration of powerviolence and noise.  This is so damn good and intense.  Lose your mind to this.  (Iron LungRecords/ Prank Records)

NAILS, “Abandon All Life”

There’s no reason one should attempt to do some deep searching when breaking down the newest offering from Nails.  It’s pretty much the heaviest thing you’re going to hear all year.  That’s about it.  In about 17 minutes they drill 10 songs into your skull of the heaviest of heavy metal.  Some of it lurches, sledgehammer in grimy fist, smashing all in its wake.  Some of it has the subtlety of a blitzkrieg, lightning fast and terribly violent.  None of it is positive.  You won’t feel happier after listening to it.  And sometimes that’s fine.  The photo on the inside cover makes Todd Jones look like a skinny version of that wrestling manager Paul Bearer (R.I.P.).  Purchase and despise humanity.  (Southern Lord)

NIGHT MARCHERS, THE, “Allez, Allez”

A few years ago The Night Marchers emerged with ambition.  Their first release was a double LP.  Yeah, take that bands that just put out seven inches!  Considering that main man John Reis (Rocket From the Crypt, Sultans, Hot Snakes, Drive Like Jehu) basically eats, sleeps, and shits songs coming up with enough to fill two records worth is not a huge deal.  But the band has remained silent since for the most part.  And honestly, I thought that first Night Marchers thing was a bit dry.  They were really going for a retro garage rock sort of thing, lots of clean playing, clean production, and a few catchy songs too.  So now that they have awoken once again I feel Reis is really writing shit that harkens to what we all know best from him- loud, brash, loose, and hot shit rock songs.  This new Night Marchers record may as well be an unreleased Hot Snakes record with a couple Rocket From the Crypt tunes thrown in for good measure (I’m sorry, I will forever associate any song John Reis sings and plays guitar on that involves horns to be a defacto RFTC song).  I don’t say this as a bad thing.  This record is beyond awesome.  They know how to dirty it up with rumbling bass on the opening track (such a great riff), and in “Loud, Dumb, and Mean” the vocals get so static that it sounds like Reis is going to break the damn mic.  Sing along choruses abound, witty lyrics that are both humorous and clever, and so many damn riffs you could pack a garage full of them…  this is the way to go.  Congrats to this band for fully bringing on a kick ass record from start to finish.  (Swami Records)

PISSED JEANS, “Honeys”

I gotta say, Pissed Jeans never disappoints.  But for some reason this record is getting less attention from my turntable than previous records have.  Maybe it’s because the band have honed in on their ‘thing’ and are on a sort of repeat function?  I can’t say.  Their first LP, “Shallow” was raw, wild, and crazy.  “Hope For Men” followed with many challenges to the listener, separating the true believers from flavor-of-the-month bandwagon jumpers (yet when you put a face smasher like “Fantasy World” on your record you could put an hour of noise over the rest and I’d still buy it).  “King Of Jeans” really got the band on solid footing and has proved to be their overall most solid record.  I guess maybe they saw the sonic success of that record and hoped to go for it again.  Present are the barnburners (“Bathroom Laughter”, “Health Plan”), the slow and sludgy grumblers (“Cafeteria Food”), the humor (“Loubs”, “Cafeteria Food” again), and the swinging riff fests (“Male Gaze”).  So yeah, it’s a friggin’ awesome record.  But I feel like I’ve heard it somewhere before.  No disappointments, just nothing new either.  (Sub Pop)

RESTORATIONS, “LP2”

Top ten of the year territory for this here record.  Restorations have a thing going on that is all their own and they own it.  Big anthems, warms sounds, lush organs, raspy vocals, massive fuzzy bass, riffy guitars and a sense of songwriting that shows years of experience.  This band is deserving of every dick-stroking comment that comes (cums?) their way.  “LP2” is full of the type of big songs that made their debut LP so great (See “D” and “Adventure Tortoise”), as well as some dabblings in new sounds that add some trippy, psychedelic riffing to their post-hardcore rock sound (“Quit” and “Kind Of Comfort”).  I am fully down for every tune on this record and can’t wait to see them showcase this stuff on the live front.  Unless you strictly like your music with blast beats or breakdowns, or straight from a shitty gutter than there is probably something about this band you can relate to, and therefore enjoy thoroughly.  Well done fellas.  (SideOneDummy)

RUN, FOREVER, “Settling”

Here’s my compliment that I will bestow upon Run, Forever:  this record’s got some really nice packaging.  That whole glossy, embossed type on the whole thing looks real good.  Oh, the music?  Eh, not my bag.  Sort of folky-punk/mainstream rock, touches of Against Me here and there, sensitive-guy-with-a-bit-of-a-grudge-against-his-CEO-Dad sort of vocals.  You know the deal.  Some people fall over themselves for this sort of stuff and have these semi-seizures (AKA, sad white people ‘dancing’) in crowded basements and that’s all well and good for people who are into that.  I, personally, am not.  And that’s what I got to say about that.  (Tiny Engines)

TWO NEW RELEASE COMING THIS SUMMER!

Two new bands will be releasing records through Hex in the coming months.

The first is Vancouver, BC- based Taxa (members of Damages, React Records).

The post-hardcore band uses heavy bass tones, weird melodies and alternating male-female vocals that places them somewhere in the realm of Unwound meeting up with Mission Of Burma.

They recorded a handful of songs, 2 of which will appear on their debut 7”.

One of the tracks (as well as a track not appearing on the record) can be heard here: http://taxa.bandcamp.com/

The second release will come in the form of an LP by Syracuse-based Blood Sun Circle.  When Engineer (Hex Records, Black Market Activities) called it a day the three brothers opened up a music store.  The bug to create a new band soon followed and they paired up with a new drummer and began banging out songs that took a considerably different direction.  They’re still loud as hell, but picking up similar notions that bands like Young Widows and the Bad Seeds have been crafting, and putting their own take on it.  They currently have a demo online and will begin recording right at their home base, Gorham Brothers Music.

Check it here:

 http://bloodsuncircle.bandcamp.com/

MORE TITLES ADDED TO BANDCAMP

So we continue to add more titles to the bandcamp page, including the overlooked, yet hugely rocking LP from Portland's PRIZE COUNTRY.  In the last couple weeks we've also added the entire ACHILLES catalog, the OAK & BONE 7", the NIGHT OWLS ep, ENGINEER, ED GEIN, and more.
So if you're type who is not into physical, material things anymore, but highly enjoy digital files of music (and also honest enough to pay for them), please, by all means, check out some stuff on the bandcamp page.  Hell, you can listen to it for FREE.
I'd like to add that people who pay for downloads on the page will receive an e-mail with digital files of the lyrics and artwork to go with it.

BANDCAMP PAGE HERE.

HEX RECORDS ON BANDCAMP!

I started making a Bandcamp for all Hex releases so you can purchase them digitally (if you don't already)... or just listen to them. Mind you, it's a work in progress, so there's just a few things up at the moment, but we'll be adding to it as often as we can. Started off with a couple out of press releases and one nearly out of press release. Check it: http://hexrecords.bandcamp.com/

JANUARY REVIEWS FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE COLD

After a basically non-existent Winter last year 2013 actually feels like a real Central NY Winter.  So that means I'm bored, cold, somewhat depressed, and I leave the house pretty much only for work.  That leaves plenty of time to listen to records and be miserable.  Thus, there are kind of a lot of reviews this month.  When does it stop being dark all the time and Spring arrives?

 

ANCHORS, “At the Bottom Of the World”

I thought this was the European straight edge hardcore band, back for more!  Alas, it was some other band with the same name that sounds quite different.  Seriously, in 2013 how hard is it to do a google search for your bands name to make sure no one else has it yet? Additionally, as things stand one might want to consider coming up with a name slightly more original as well.  All that aside, I put this thing on and was softly slapped across my jaded mug to about a dozen songs that all sounded like Polar Bear Club meets a bad power metal band.  It’s not something I’m terribly interested in re-visiting.  At least they play fast.  (Creator-Destructor Records)

BLOOD MONEY demo

I’m getting kind of an Eyehategod-meets-Majority Rule sort of vibe from this new Syracuse three-piece.  While that sounds totally awesome to say, consider it more of those two bands meeting in their own demo stages.  These tunes have a lot of dual strained shouting, the occasional awesome riff (the weird lead riff in the first song being the strongest), bursts of chaotic damage, and lots of droney feedback.  While some people are all about this style I have to admit doing the long and drawn out endings with really slow feedback-drenched riffs isn’t always my bag.  Blood Money makes use of this in a few of their songs and I tend to think it goes on a bit long at times.  But again, some folks live for that stuff.  Not a bad start though.

FUCKING INVINCIBLE, “Very Negative” 7”

Friggin’ fast.  Reminds me of the short-lived Louisville band Pusher in a lot of ways.  Basically, if a song hits two minutes than the band probably gets bored.  Fast part, really fast part, quick breakdown, and out. The sike-out at the end of “Anti-Tomorrow” is pretty funny, so they make up for it on the B-side with “Death Defier”, the closest they get to a slow song and that’s just because it chugs along so heavily.  I’m an instant fan of this.  Played really tight, really fast, really loud, and damn heavy too.  (Atomic Action!)

JOWLS, “Cursed” 10”

By the way the record is laid out one might think Cursed released new material titled “Jowls”.  It could be.  But it’s not.  This is the band Jowls, and the rest of the layout doesn’t really give any indication of what they have going on, other than possibly saggy faces.  Whether or not that is true Jowls do have a good thing going on.  Burly and chaotic, yet tight playing with some sense of melody…  it’s about as good as one can hope for under a banner of ‘screamo’, battling the shitty version that passes for music these days.  Think more Shotmaker and Torches To Rome with slightly more heaviness and groove.  Approved.  (TinyEngines)

KOWLOON WALLED CITY, “Container Ships”

East Bay sludge metal dudes return with a record that is actually a bit less on the heavy side and more on the contemplative end.  Yeah, that doesn’t sound good, I know.  But hear me out.  They still offer up a couple more upbeat songs, and those bowel-loosening sub-sonic tones are still present in the low end thankfully.  I won’t lie, I’m more of a fan of the ultra-heavy dirges on their last LP, “Gambling On the Richter Scale”.  It was so damn heavy.  But take that KWC you are familiar with and insert a sort of Hoover-meets-Neurosis vibe here and there and that’s not a bad thing at all.  No sir.  (Brutal Panda)

RESTORATIONS, “A/B” 7”

Two songs to satiate us fans until their new LP drops in the Spring.  Philly’s Restorations found their thing and have been rolling with it for a couple years now.  And man, whatever that thing is they got it in spades.  This really picks up right where their excellent LP left off.  They find a nice grooving riff and kick your ass with it, a nice melody on top of it, turn the whole thing into an anthem, those wonderfully gruff vocals, and then jam out the end so it all sounds pretty epic.  “A” is a bit slower and “B” is a bit faster.  Both songs are bad ass.  Keep it coming.  (Tiny Engines)

STEREO STATE, THE, “Crossing Canyons”

This is the sound of a sad, flaccid penis dry humping a cold, damp pillow.  Could mainstream rock be any more dull and predictable?  Am I listening to Nickelback?  Meh, who am I to criticize?  I thought Sensefield were the shit and they were totally wimpy radio rock.  But yeah, this just sucks.  (Creator-DestructorRecords)

“THE PEOPLE’S APOCALYPSE”, by Ariel Gore and Jenny Forrester

The cover has a raised Black Panther style fist with a mushroom cloud behind it.  The idea is to collect stories and survival tips about when the shit hits the fan it seems.  The result?  Not exactly.  There certainly are some good short stories in here outlining an end times scenario (the one about the Mars dust affecting the population was by far the best, with the animal uprising and basement apartment dwellers as the only survivors stories not far behind), as well as some general lists of things one might need in a post-apocalyptic world.  But there are also a lot of short stories that seem to have nothing to do with the end of the world.  They’re just general stories, so I’m not sure why they’re included in here.  Overall, pretty entertaining and a fairly quick read too.  (Lit Star Press)

TORCHE, “Harmonislaught” 7”

Back to the heavy with this one.  I may be in the minority here, but I’ve always enjoyed Torche’s EPs as opposed to their full lengths.  I felt “Meandrathal” and “Harmonicraft” had some good songs, but some filler too.  Yet, basically everything on “In Return” and “Songs For Singles” (which is arguably an EP) I feel is golden.  So, this new 7” offers two slabs of down-tuned musical concrete and both are winners.  “Harmonislaught” brings back the bomb string for pretty much the entire song to great effect.  The flip side, “Rock N’ Roll Mantasy” gives us a bit of current Torche, complete with an interesting lead and a bit more upbeat, but still on the heavy side of things.  A great single from an awesome band.  (Amnesian Records)

“UNSINKABLE”, by Robnoxious

Here we have a zine/small book about a few folks who decided one day to build a pontoon boat out of scrap and sail it down the Missouri and Mississippi River.  They literally used scrap wood, junk, buckets, and other random shit and made an 8’x20’ boat for under $100 and sailed it for about 250 miles.  They took a couple months to go all that distance too.  Nevermind that the same distance could be travelled via automobile in about 3 or 4 hours.  The book is broken down into the mechanics of how they built their craft, and then journal entries of the strange times they had with river life dealing with twisters, downpours, mud, floods, the little towns they came across with small town people, and being savage crust punk hippies who I can only imagine smelled to high heaven after a month of living on a shanty boat with nothing but beer and wild forest berries to feed them.  Not a bad story overall.  My only question-  why on Earth bring a dog with you the whole time?!  Why would a dog want to hang out on a tiny boat with three other people for weeks on end?  That just seems cruel.  (Microcosm)

UNWOUND, “Live Leaves” 2xLP

Unwound, who hailed from the Pacific Northwest and have been split up for over 10 years now, were what I felt were the perfect combination of post-hardcore’s burly groove and Sonic Youth’s noisy inventiveness.  By the time they released their final album, the wonderful double LP “Leaves Turn Inside You” they had transcended easy-to-place labels and really came into their own with longer winding songs, weird textures, occasional keyboards, and just general awesome songs.  I’m a bit more of a fan of their previous LP, the slightly more rocking and grooving “Repetition”.  But I digress.  This double LP, just released, documents live recordings from various stops on their last tour where they played as a 5-piece (as opposed to the three-piece set up they’d had for their whole existence).  The record(s) consist mostly of “Leaves…” material, with a couple covers and the classic “Corpse Pose” (probably the most well-known track off “Repetition”) thrown in for good measure.  The sound quality on most of these recordings is pretty decent overall, though could use a little work in some areas.  Apparently, these recordings were kind of rough and took a long time to get a good sound out of.  For the Unwound fanatics out there this would be worth your time to check out.  Comes in a fancy cardstock sleeve with a screen printed cover.  (Kill RockStars)

FAVORITE STUFF OF 2012!!!

RECORDS (in no order):

TITLE FIGHT, “Floral Green”

Never would I imagine that as a 35 year old man I’d fall head over heels for a band that typically attracts an under 20 year old crowd for the most part…  especially a band that started off as very generic pop punk.  But somehow these young dudes were able to perfectly channel everything rad about 90s punk and alternative rock and play it as if they were there to experience it.  I’m hearing a lot of Superchunk and Seaweed, some Nirvana, a touch of Quicksand, and a couple Hum B-sides all competing for space on this near-perfect record.  “Secret Society” is not only one of the coolest videos I’d seen in ages, but easily my song of the year. 

UNSANE, “Wreck”

Without fail Unsane will always deliver the goods.  By far the most consistently great band to tread the heavy music waters these dudes just get more grizzled and mean with age, and after over 20 years together they still have a lot of anger management issues that are resolved via some of the loudest and dirtiest music to emerge from the NYC gutters.  Some may say all their records sound the same.  That may be true…  but it’s a helluva a great record!  Just listen to the slow, drawn-out tension of “Stuck”, or the wailing thumping of “No Chance”.  Even with the great Vinnie Signorelli sidelined for most of their touring this year they still managed to beat heads silly across the US and abroad.

EVERY TIME I DIE, “Ex-Lives”

So if you don’t like this band that’s one thing.  But no one can deny how wild and out of control their live shows get.  Easily one of the best live bands on the planet.  This new record makes you feel that vibe through mostly short, blasting songs.  The cover shows riot cops busting in on some heads and that’s what the record feels like, a riot from start to finish (well, except maybe the more cock-rock-ish “Revival Mode”….  which ended up being one of my favorite songs on the record).  They even threw on some bonus tracks, which if you didn’t get that version than you’re just plain dumb because, again, some of the best songs they’ve done in years.  Wild dudes with brains going crazy.  I love it.

BURNING LOVE, ‘Rotten Thing To Say”

Just like Hannibal from the A-Team, I love it when a plan comes together.  That’s the feeling I get when listening to Toronto’s Burning Love on their second proper LP.  Their first record hinted at great things, but didn’t have all the elements properly in place.  Now it feels like they have everything where they want it and they are displaying it in all it’s ass-kicking power on this righteous follow up.  From Ashes Rise meets Turbonegro?  Non-stop hardcore ass-kicking all over the place here, every song a ripper.

GYPSY, “Giants Despair”

More 90’s love going on with this record, though a little more rooted in post-hardcore styles, and a lot of Seaweed.  For a band that rarely plays a show they have a great sense of songwriting, vocal melodies, and togetherness that shines on songs like “Selfish Blues” and “I Know Who You Are”, as well as awesome sing-alongs on “Unconditionally Dependant” and “Count your Blessings”.  The perfect complement to the Tile Fight records mentioned above.

NARROWS, “Painted”

I’ll admit, I do have a soft spot for bands that can take influences that I really enjoyed 15 years ago and insert them into the present.  And with this band that’s no problem, since most of their membership was alive to be a part of those times.  Narrows second LP has been kicking my ass all year and I’m happier for it.  Bold, rocking hardcore giving us thick bottom end like The Jesus Lizard (see  “Face Paint”), spazzy guitar-effected riffing (see, the entire A-side), mammoth sludgy dirges (the incredible “SST”), and even an awesome KARP shout-out (“It’s the Water”) Narrows happily take most everything I really loved about late’90’s noisy hardcore/math rock and apply a fresh gloss over all of it to make a motherfucker of a record.

DRUG CHURCH 7”

It’s funny how this name keeps coming up on my list, but when hey were around I was never huge on Seaweed.  I liked them, I just didn’t listen to them much.  They just seem to encompass a highwater mark of great 90’s music that balanced equal parts alternative rock, skate rock, hardcore/punk, and post-hardcore.  I’m also thinking the heavier moments from Farside records as well.  Drug Church do the same thing on the three songs from their debut 7”.  Again, more old dudes who have been around the block, yet continue to make great music.  Of course, front man Pat Kindlon (whom is more known for his vocals in Self Defense Family) shreds his wry wit and cynicism in one of my favorite songs this year “Mohawk” with lines like “Heard you got that job/ Heard you got that truck/ Heard you got off drugs/ Heard I should give a fuck”.

BLACK THROAT WIND, “Between White Worlds”

Why wouldn’t I put a record I released on here?  If I didn’t like it this much I wouldn’t have released it.  People who are too cool to put their own releases on their year end lists can suck it.  Be proud of what you helped create, damnit!  Nevertheless, I can’t think of a local band doing anything near to what these cats are making here.  I can’t even describe it.  Probably because I usually don’t listen to stuff like this.  Either way, beautiful and psychedelic, heavy and roaring, melodic and clever… all things they bring to the table.  I can’t describe it, and I listen to this and wonder what they were thinking when writing this….  aside from ‘let’s smoke some more pot’.

THE EVENS, “The Odds”

A late addition to the list.  Ian McKaye can do no wrong.  Together with his partner Amy Farina (one of the most inventive drummers I’ve ever heard) The Evens can do no wrong.  Both people involved in creating groundbreaking music for over 25 years take a few years off and come back with this album whose songs instantly get lodged in your brain whether it’s from how clever they are, or how catchy…  but often both.

BEST SHOWS OF 2012 (in no order):

Harkonen/ Zozobra/ Whores/ The Atlas Moth- Boston, The Middle East, 6.14.12- Basically this was my bachelor party and each band more awesome and louder than the next.

Kill Yourself Fest/ final Oak & Bone and White Guilt show, Syracuse, Badlands, 6.9.12-  A space that comfortably holds 50 people packed with 100 people, smoke bombs, fireworks, blood (lots of it), sweat, broken walls, broken heads, and complete chaos.  And end to something violent and ugly.

Black God/ Like Wolves/ Oak & Bone, Rochester, Pussy Barrel, 5.24.12-   Three of my favorite bands rocking out in an apartment to about 20 people on a weeknight.  All of them rocking the shit out of the room.  Black God ended up driving back to Louisville the next day.

Rorschach/ Converge/ Indecision, NYC, Le Poisson Rouge, 5.26.12-   In all honesty, I didn’t care about who was playing with them, I was just happy to see Rorschach one last time.  And man, were they good.  While most everyone watched in curiosity, a handful of people (myself included) were raging to their impossibly surreal and thrashing music.

Black Throat Wind record release show, Syracuse, The Lost Horizon, 6.29.12-  It’s awesome when everything comes together the way it ought to.  The band had been getting more and more people to their shows, most everyone had heard the record at this point, and here a shit ton of people showed up, everyone sang along, and I’d never heard them sound bigger than this.

Sick Of It All, Rev showcase, NYC, Webster Hall, 10.13.12-  I wasn’t going to go to this based on the cost.  But I hadn’t seen Sick Of It All in nearly 10 years and I was already in NYC.  I could do without the Chain Of Strength reunion, I only wanted to see SOIA.  And holy shit, do SOIA still deliver.  Their whole set was pre- ’92 material (with some classics from “Scratch the Surface” and “Built To Last” thrown in) and I felt like a little kid again going nuts with the rest of the people in the room.  Never a let down.

Into Another, St. Vitus Bar, NYC 10.13.12/10.14.12-  I put two dates on there because they were supposed to play at 11 PM on the 13^th, but didn’t start until 12:30 AM on the 14^th.  That was the only bad part.  But otherwise, the first time seeing one of the more interesting bands from the 90’s in over 17 years was nothing short of amazing for me.  The energy of the packed-to-the-gills crowd of 200 people in the small room as they sang along to every word of every song was invigorating.  And these guys played as if they never stopped playing, and sounding way better than a lot of bands who never did stop playing for the last 20 years. 

Restorations, Ithaca, Greenstar Space, 3.5.12

Restorations put out a hell of a record last year and I’d seen them once while it was out and was really hoping they would come upstate and spread the word to people here.  So they did, and everyone was blown away by how powerful and soulful their performance was in this tiny little spot in Ithaca.  Big sounds, powerful voices, energetic performance…  I was left wishing they’d played two sets in row.

BEST STUFF OF 2012 (in order):

1.     Getting married

2.     Moving into a killer new house with way less people

3.     Going full time at my job and actually having some money for a change

4.     Starting up an awesome face-shredding new band and having fun

UNLEASH X-MAS TIME REVIEWS

Yo!  So this will probably be my last batch of reviews for the year, aside from an end-of-year favorites list type thing.  Going into the new year I'm not sure if I'll continue to do reviews like this.  I'm frankly getting a bit tired of it...  even though I greatly enjoy listening to new music all the time.  I'm thinking of doing a bit more reflective stuff, like old show flyers and write up's on fun, old wild shit, as well as current travels/shows (which I have been doing).  We shall see.
In the meantime I'd like to think there was some pretty excellent music released this year, especially in the last month or two.  So here ya go.

BASEMENT, “Colormekindness”

There’s been this group of bands that have released post-hardcore/90’s rock styled records this year and have totally nailed it.  A lot of bands go for that vibe, but don’t quite get it.  But records from Title Fight, Gypsy, and Basement sound as if they all were yanked out of the time stream where they all were about to open for Seaweed in 1994 and ended up here.  And for a guy in his mid-30’s, and lived through that time (and that era consequently producing some of the most influential music upon my young, impressionable mind), this stuff is pretty great.  It’s been a good year for music for me.  Basement hail from the UK, put out a record before this that didn’t quite sound like “Colomekindness”, and this is also their swansong as I believe they split up upon it’s release.  Well, it’s a heckuva way to go out.  Many of these song focus heavily on layered melodies, some pop-punk leanings, as well as a taste of classic Sunny Day Real Estate (as shown most clearly on my favorite song of the record, “Covet”).  It’s a nice surprise to hear another band that is culling their influences from an era of music most groups can’t get an adequate grasp on, and showing them all how it’s done.  (Run For Cover)

“BEYOND THE MUSIC:  HOW PUNKS ARE SAVING THE WORLD WITH DIY ETHIC, SKILLS, AND VALUES”, by Joe Biel

This book takes many, many, many (that’s a lot of ‘manys’) interviews with all sorts of people who have grown up punk and taken what they’ve learned from being interested in that term and applied it to things they do currently.  For instance, the owners/operators of 1984 Printing Press, or the founder of AK Press publishing- they took things they picked up on being involved in punk and applied to how they run their business now.  There’s a guy who got into vegan straight edge through the hardcore scene and now runs a company that installs biofuel systems in cars.  Then you have Will Meek, who runs his own psychology practice; Brea Grant, a television actress who grew up going to punk shows.  I’d say there are way too many people interviewed here who reside within the writing/publishing spectrum of things and it’s a bit unnecessary to get a number of similar stories out of them.  Also, some of these interviews tend to go on quite long (Richard the roadie more or less details every nuance of his punk upbringing down to what he had for dinner two days ago) and could use some serious editing.  Like, why do separate interviews for both owners of a printing press, or interview AK Press twice?  I get the intention of this book:  people get into punk, they take those ideas beyond mere spectator of a show, or fanzine writer, or dude in a band and make an impact upon society with something interesting.  It’s a good premise and a number of these interviews certainly are interesting to read through, but some of it goes on a bit long and gets a bit redundant.  (Cantankerous Titles)

CERCE, 7”

I’m pretty stoked on what this band is bringing because they bring it in such as ferocious manner.  Between lots of amps and cabs they blast through several songs in a few minutes.  Fast, pissed as anything with snotty/screechy vocals and done in a way that makes this very young band deliver their craft in a way that suggests a much more seasoned band.  Immediate comparisons could be made to Punch (really fast, two-step breakdown, screeched/screamed female vocals) but Cerce has their foot ever-so-slightly in a metallic realm, or to Code Orange Kids (same level of off-the-wall pissed/vicious rage), but Cerce actually writes a song with parts that reasonably go into one another.  So that might give some idea of where they are at.  I’m a little bummed there was no lyric sheet with this record, and that the recording doesn’t quite do justice to how massive they sound live.  But other than that this is a quality release and I hope to see more rage from them in the near future.  (Solidarity/It’s a Trap)

CONVERGE, “All That We Love We Leave Behind”

I’m pretty late to the game on this one because who, this year, has not actually heard this record?  Converge is sort of a no-brainer because most everyone interested in  heavy/punk music knows who they are and knows what they’re getting, even though the band is pretty good at making a killer record every single time.  But I’m not one of those people who worship at the alter, or freak out over what weird vinyl variant (or how many) I can pre-order.  Though I certainly do like Converge and respect the fact that they always release something respectable, put a lot of time and effort into every detail, put on a really good show, and run their band on a great DIY model and still play to sold out rooms all over the world.  Kudos to them for being a band that consistently makes music the majority of people would cower in fear from, yet by all accounts would be considered quite successful.  That all being said, I enjoy this record. I still have no idea how people actually sing along to Jacob’s unhinged yelping, but that’s besides the point.  I’m particularly swayed by the ultra-heavy steamroller of “Shame In the Way” (which could have been an out take from Cave-In’s, “Until your Heart Stops”), equally as I am by the blasting speed of “Tresspasses”, or the ass-kicking death rock vibe of “Vicious Muse”.  There are plenty more songs on here, all with their own vibe.  Some are wilder, faster, or moodier, but those three are my favorites I think.  I think my only real gripe with this release is that it seems most of their records will have one song that, in the span of less than 2 minutes, will have an incredibly fast first half followed by some insanely heavy breakdown, a la “Axe To Fall” or “Concubine”, or even “Forsaken”.  Not quite present here.  But hey, who am I to complain?  This is a great release for them.  I dig it.  (Epitaph/Deathwish)

EVENS, THE, “The Odds”

It has been quite a long time since Ian McKaye and Amy Farina have churned out a record from their collective project known as the Evens.  Part of that may have had to do with starting a family and raising a youngster, but that’s just a guess.  Still, the wait has been worth it as the duo once again presents an albums worth of stripped down songs that, while only employing a baritone guitar, drums, and both their voices, gives the listener so much to proverbially chew on.  The time has been put into their craft in such an interesting manner that I just want to dissect each song, lyric, and sound on this record.  When two people have such an extraordinary (and quality) catalog of music under both their belts the minutia of how they create new things together is fascinating to behold.  Amy not only has a soulful, and slightly sinister, voice, but is one of the more creative drummers I’ve witnessed.  Her off-time patterns that fall out of place and then lock into step once the vocals kick in to find the rhythm is incredibly clever, just as much as the straightforward thump that drives “This Other Thing” is direct and driving in it’s approach.  McKaye once again employs the range of his baritone guitar to get low bass tones, as well as the melody of guitar and uses both to find wonderful harmonies that work well with both their voices.  His lyrical ponderings on such songs as “Let’s Get Well” are wonderfully written (actually, I’m not sure who writes the lyrics- I imagine it’s collaborative- but since he sings this one I’ll attribute it to him), and put together well.  While many might feel some skepticism when listening to The Evens simply because it does not ‘rock’ as hard as the members previous outfits they are sadly mistaken.  This has just as much weight and depth as anything they have done in the past.  And it certainly makes me think, and inspires me to be just as creative in my own endeavors.  Any creative type should hope to have this many ideas and inspiration after 30 years of making music.  (Dischord)

PIG DESTROYER, “Book Burner”

Man, you wait five years and then Pig Destroyer fucks your shit up with another LP aiming to ruin your day.  Relentless is an apt term for their delivery, like all their material.  Most songs come at you so fast and then rip you apart in the space of under two minutes.  I love it.  Some friends had critiques of this record saying it doesn’t rage as much as their previous records.  So after getting my face replaced with lava once I got through this record I put on a couple of the old ones for comparisons.  Indeed, there are subtle differences.  New drummer Adam Jarvis (of Misery Index) has a tighter and more technical style than previous blast beat magician Brian Harvey, whose style was still technical, but a little more loose- adding to the unhinged grindcore/violence that Pig Destroyer were so awesome at.  Jarvis still lays down some great stuff and this record still does slay.  The opening track, “The American’s Head”, the title track, and “The Diplomat” all do a fine job of opening with salvos of blasting grind, followed by sharp attacks of surprise breakdowns and JR Hayes wretched screams amongst it all.  Another quality record from a heckuva band.  (Relapse)

WHY THE WIRES, “All These Dead Astronauts”

Ithaca’s Why the Wires unleash their third LP in about as many years.  For a bunch of dads who make this band a very part time thing they sure are prolific.  This record only continues what they have been doing and improves upon the quality.  They are clearly a somewhat less technical Sweep the Leg Johnny, though I fear that description does not help most hoping for an easy description.  Well, think guys who really like stuff like Hot Snakes and other rocking garage punk, but can’t help themselves to putting in some gnarly math rock parts, and various additional instrumentation such as saxophone and accordion to many of the songs.  This comes in a nice gatefold cover and heavy vinyl.  How do they afford to do stuff like this when they rarely play out?  The passion is in the project I suppose, and if you ever get a chance to see them play it’s definitely in the performance as well.  (Rorschach Records)