BITTER BRANCHES, “This May Hurt a Bit” EP
This is a really weird juxtoposition. Imagine taking D-FENS from “Falling
Down” and dropping him into the middle of the Captain Chaos scene of “The
Cannonball Run”. Sure, it might
make for some unique results, but it doesn’t exactly fit. Here we have a project of older
hardcore dudes playing a style of post-hardcore akin to bands whose entire
discographies are relegated to split 7”s with glued-together covers and
handwritten inserts. And the
frontman of this group is none other than Tim Singer, known for such
emo-centric lyrics as, “you can’t kill yourself because you’re already dead.” So, on here with Bitter Branches, Tim
Singer is still doing Tim Singer- working out his frustrations, arguing with
himself after 12 espressos, a nervous tick, and punching a bus driver- and then
the rest of the band, who are trying to find that perfect link between old UOA
records and early Boy Sets Fire.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy this.
It’s just a weird mix and doesn’t exactly gel considering the resumes of
the members involved. I’m really
liking the bouncy stop-start riff from “Her Disease” though, that’s a keeper.
(self-released)
EYE FLYS, “Tub Of Lard”
On Eye Flys initial outing their wink-wink, nod-nods to
their influences were about as blatant as a Gallagher magic trick involving
watermelons. I thought it was a
little too on the nose, even if they did have some serious riffage oozing out
of their filthy pores. I’d like to
think that Eye Flys have grown a bit here, much in the same way that sonic
brethren Wrong have evolved past mere Helmet worship and now do… well, they do
Helmet worship with some tricks of their own making it a unique experience (at
least to me). Eye Flys are on a
similar track. There’s not a whole
lot of nuance to their game. It’s
all about instant gratification that comes from overblown distortion on
instruments delivering gigantic riffs and pulverizing beats. It’s the same kind of sonic overload
brought forth by groups like Fudge Tunnel (who seem to be a keen point of
inspiration here), who equally throttled their instruments in search of that
perfect hair-bending feedback. Eye
Flys manage to lay out exactly what the entire album sounds like within the
first two songs- the title track, with it’s mid-tempo whiplash, and
“Guillotine”, which manages to liquefy eardums with one sludgy riff and lots of
guitar torture with a backbeat over two minutes. (Thrill Jockey)
Various remnants of Syracuse’s Bleak and If Hope Dies gather
in an abysmal pit to summon filthy grind with caveman sludge and ‘fight me’
vocals. The result is Fed Ash and
fuck you while we’re at it. That’s
what any person with a functioning amygdala would be saying after hearing this
anyway. Let’s be clear- this is
not a pleasant listen. It’s not
meant to soothe you and should appeal the crust-grind-grouch inside you. While relentless grind spasms tend to
dominate this effort I find myself leaning more into the sludgy riffs and
between-song noise patterns.
However, if this record were only those things I’d probably kind of shit
on it. The noise and sludge needs
the grind, and the grind needs those other parts to make it all work. Give the people some flavor is what I
say. I’m partial to the track
“everythingallthetime”, even if the title sounds like it belongs to some emo
sourpuss band. Music for getting
into a fight with a parking meter.
(Astralands)
KISSED BY AN ANIMAL, s/t LP
At this point in my life, reading a band bio is generally
about as comfortable as reading condom instructions. However, when your bio is as colorful and filled with neat
artwork who really cares what it says right? Equally as engaging is the exceptionally wild gatefold
artwork for Kissed by An Animal (that’s the best band name they could come up
with?) and their debut full length.
It’s an engaging listen chock full of power pop goodness made for sunny
days either laying in your backyard (or on your roof), or playing fetch with
your dog, who may or may not have doled out kisses and maybe that’s where the
band got it’s name? Do you like
feel good power pop similar to baddies like Chisel, Teenage Cool Kids, or Dead
Mechanical? Well, meet your new
baby daddy. Expect large doses of
average-whites-living-in-Brooklyn-lackadaisical-sweet vocals laid atop sturdy
bass lines doing the heavy lifting, catchy guitar work alternating between
clean riffing and the occasional slide, as well as some nice keys showing up
for texture. It works, it’s fun,
and a delight to look at.
(Handstand Records)
MELKBELLY, “Pith”
I’m not sure if the cover is supposed to be some abstract
sculpture, or what was left of a ten-foot hoagie after cubicle drone
appreciation day over at the regional Liberty Mutual offices. Bad cover art aside, Chicago’s
Melkbelly have returned with a whopper of a second LP. It’s so badass that if it were a
teenager it would have a dust stache, wear a jean jacket with the sleeves torn
off, and do donuts in the Grocery Outlet parking lot in a Camaro while
simultaneously flipping off their boss and quitting their job. The formula remains the same from their
first LP, but everything is just stepped up a notch, and they have some new
tricks up their collective sleeves here.
Picture, if you will, The Breeders with busy drumming, a bit more noisy
flair, and occasional massive swells of noise, reverbed vocals, and feedback. These cats can be fun (check the bouncy
get-up of “LCR”), goopy emotional (“Humid Heart”), super dreamy (closing track
“Flatness” is an airy ‘see ya later’), and still get weird and blow up your
stereo (“Kissing Under Some Bats” spends it’s last three minutes continuously
swirling and getting louder and louder until it consumes all within a mile
radius). There’s not a dud on the
whole thing so take that as an official decree that this kicks butt. (Wax Nine/ Carpark)
Two members of Low Dose get together with another ex-member
of Fight Amp to make a demos worth of material that sounds a lot like Low
Dose. I’m not one to complain
because since that Low Lose record came out I’ve been wondering when their next
effort would drop, but also… I
don’t see a whole lot of difference between that and this. Take it as you will, because they’re
straight up giving you 4 songs of grungy-noisy, punk rock glazed donuts for
nothing. So no griping you ritalin-addled
whiners, just shut up and bang your head and smash a bottle on the floor.
(Knife Hits)
Before they prematurely split up, Portland’s Marriage and
Cancer had trimmed down to a trio, which worked really well for them in my
opinion. Their ear-bleeding
loudness becoming stripped down and somehow heavier and promised great things
to come. Well, maybe
guitarist/vocalist Robert Komets gained some insight from that because his new
project Still/Form pushes sonic excess as a trio in ways that will murder your
speakers. That same feeling of unease
between the guitars and raspy vocals that comes off like a tweaked out vagrant
skulking filthy alleyways on a foggy night remains present in this new project,
however I’d say where Marriage and Cancer displayed heaviness with cleaner
guitars Still/Form gives a high-flying ‘fuck you’ to that notion and turns the
distortion up to 11. This sonic
dirge, akin to a garbage compactor being used as a projectile against a
hurricane, is most evident on the squealing guitars in “Hydrate” and the
absolutely crushing “Just Adjust”.
One song harkens back to that unsettling clean style from M and C on
“God Will Understand Why You’re Horny For Kids”, but- if the title is any
indication- the lyrics are about as cringe-heavy as you can get. Yikes. Either way, this 5-song sonic leveler is an exceptional
follow up to past projects and I’m really hoping this one takes off. It’s a fucking crusher. (self-released)
STUCK, “Change Is Bad”
Studio engineer types getting together as a band to record a
perfect-sounding record is the fantasy equivalent to a horny teenager
discovering he has self-lotioning palms.
In this case Chicago’s Stuck have gone through a box of Kleenex on their
newest outing, if you get my drift.
They have taken their skills in the studio and applied it to their
melodic, sometimes weird, punchy post-punk. It’s an engaging affair that runs the gamut from tightly-wound
moody minimalism ala My Disco, to off-kilter pop beauty reminiscent of Talking
Heads, and then somewhere in the middle of more modern sounds that tie all that
stuff together. They were supposed
to do a Spring tour with USA Nails (who I feel have a similar sound, albeit
with more noise and chaos), but of course that shit got nixed. Stuck are like a restrained version of
that with a touch of XTC or similarly odd melodic thoughtfulness. Jittery and wired, but somehow playing
it cool. It’s definitely a neat
record, detail-oriented, and sonically pristine. (self-released)
