Monday LXXXVI

Damnyo.

La Casa Fantom - Feed My Silence (2012)

Doomy noisecore from "the forest of Norway". Been rip-roaring since 2000.



Last.fm

Crywank - Tour Demos (2013)

At the beginning of the year, James "Crywank" Clayton released these demos for his January tour. The tour may be over but the demos are still really nice, including some solid rerecordings, and all the cash brought in from the demo goes to more touring and more music recording. Also, this demo features the new member providing percussion to the Crywank sound, Dan "The Snail" Watson.

If anything, you should at least listen to this.



Last.fm

Wiltz - Sea Dog (2013)

Irish instrumental math rock outfit, Wiltz have recently decided to call it quits. It's always a shame to check up on a band you haven't heard in a while and discover they are done making music together.

At least they left us with good music.


You can pick up Wiltz's last album, entitled, Sea Dog over on their bandcamp or from Little League Records - who have been releasing all sorts of unique music from bands left and right as of late.

Last.fm

Monday LXXXV

Mondeep. 

Radiator Hospital - Something Wild (2013)

Radiator Hospital play quirky lo-fi indie pop for the young people... whether you're young or you're not. It's the kind of music that you listen to and remember that not everything needs to be taken seriously or make sense.

This is their summer release, Something Wild.



Last.fm

Soft Skills - A Future to Remember (2013)

Soft Skills (always thought they were called "Soft Skulls") are an emo/math rock band from Portland, Oregon.

Very reminiscent of early emo bands mixed with the driving instrumentation of another Portland band, Duck. Little Brother, Duck! But I guess that shouldn't be such a surprise considering Kyle and Phil from DLBD! are also keeping time in this band. So yeah, that's pretty sweet as well.



These guys should not be confused with the Indiana band of the same name.

Last.fm

So Stressed - Attracted To Open Mouths (2012)

Stomping noise rock one minute, emo punk the next. Sacramento's own, So Stressed and their indecisiveness for what kind of music to make might actually be their greatest strong point. Whatever they play next, it will probably be loud, noisy, and totally new.

Attracted To Open Mouth is one of the freshest and most interesting albums I've come across in some time. Every song takes you on its own little journey through unknown landscapes and bizarre realms without ever explaining itself or bringing you back to where you started; it's a wonderful mess.

The only problem is it leaves you wanting more...


Definitely check this out. Trust me.

Last.fm

The Reptilian - Low Health

The Reptilian - Low Health (2013)

The Reptilian are a 3-piece from Kalamazoo, Michigan, a made-up sounding town for made-up sounding music genres. That being said, The Reptilian specialize in the art of math-y, twinkly emo - a complex way of saying they play very technical, noisy, and passionate music all at once... at least that's what I hear.

Low Health is their new full-length and a follow-up to their excellent 2010 release, Full Health. It definitely makes my list for must-hear music of 2013 if I had one, no doubt.

Highlights: "PAN (Sucks)", "Chimney Wizard", "San Haircut", "Keif Puck", and "Dk Mode". It's all good though.


Similar sounds/acts: Native, Kidcrash, Jowls, Toasted Plastic, Grown Ups, Innards, Victor! Fix the Sun, Boyfriends, 1994!, and other good stuff.

Bandcamp
Last.fm

NFT's Got You Covered with Phillip Miller!

Phillip Miller - Hecka Sad Chips (2013)

Phillip Miller plays guitar in the Sacremento band, Alan Heart of the Lion who play emo/screamo/passionately sad music. He also likes to make old-school video game soundtracks. Hecka Sad Chips is a combination of those two things: emotional music and video games; the result: chiptune emo. Well, sort of...

Hecka Sad Chips features 10 songs by relatively emo-y/screamo-y/melodic hardcore bands turned into 8bit video game-sounding gems. They don't really sound sad, but rather like they came straight from that Game Boy Color that you totally still have kicking around somewhere. You know what I mean.

The bands included in the chiptune transformation include some bands I'm pretty familiar with like CityCop, Comadre, Tiny Moving Parts, and Kidcrash along with a few other sweet new finds like Missive, Leer, Kite Runner, Place Called Home, and Phillip Miller's aforementioned band, Alan Heart of the Lion.


The cover of Hecka Sad Chips also features an old-school video game/pixel art transformation of Place Called Home's Eternal Sunshine (2012), CityCop's Family Tides/Labors of Love split w/Les Doux (2013), Tiny Moving Parts's This Line is Long & Full of Friendship (2013), and Missive's Not a Minute Goes By (2012) album artwork.

Enjoy!

Facebook (Alan Heart of the Lion)
Bandcamp
Last.fm

Monday LXXXIV

Moondate.

Glocca Morra/Summer Vacation - Split 7" (2013)

Good stuff from both bands right here. If you don't know either of these guys yet please do yourself a favor and get acquainted. For your health!

Seriously..

Last.fm (Glocca Morra)

Last.fm (Summer Vacation)

Wood Burning Cat - Karate Trophies (2013)

Wood Burning Cat are a three-man power pop band. I guess that means they are Weezer, right?

Whatever it is, it's pretty fun and even includes some upbeat keyboard action. 

Karate Trophies was recorded via Mike Cunnane's Cut The Shit mobile recording studio. 

Last.fm

Milo - Milo Takes Baths (2012)

Milo AKA Rory Ferreria takes Baths AKA Will Wiesenfeld instrumentals and puts obscure references on top of them.

Hopefully if I talk about him enough I can get a Nostalgia For Tomorrow pop some day. 

Really digging the last track, "The Mumblings of Mr. Wav". I had never heard Baths "Seaside Town" before this and nearly jumped out of my seat when I first heard those Kiki's Delivery Service samples. I'm a real softy for Hayao Miyazaki flicks...

Last.fm 

CUT THE SHIT!

There's a substantial lack of local stuff in here right now. So, here's this:

Various artists - Portland DIY: CUT THE SHIT! Vol. 1 (2013)

CUT THE SHIT! is a "quasi record label" directed by Mike Cunnane. It also serves as the basis for a one day DIY project where 10 bands came together and recorded a track with Mike. According to the bandcamp, it was one hell of a day...

It would only be fitting that 10 bands hanging out for the day trying to record something new would turn into a mishmash of collaborations and gang vocals. That's exactly what we get with CUT THE SHIT! and it makes for a perfect batch of organic local-ness. 

The bands that gave it their all for this project include: Foam Castles, Duey Meadows, Video Nasties, Leaves Leaves, Mouth Washington, CUSS, Fur, Metal Feathers, GIMME GOLDAR, and AWAAS in that order. There's also a bonus track by Fireland featuring lots of folks from the bands above. Check it out:

Also, be on the lookout for Volume 2 coming this fall.

Tumblah
Bandcampah

Monday LXXXIII

Music or lose it.

Langosta - Super Nature EP (2013)

Langosta is a hell of a lot of fun math rock 'n' roll band from Connecticut. Super Nature is the name of this EP and also the name the band formerly called themselves. Super Nature is the name originally used by Salt-N-Pepa as well.


Last.fm

Fearless Leader - Half Dead EP (2013)

Fearless Leader is a Seattle based math rock meets post hardcore band that mixes twinkly technical-sounding instrumentation with intricate shouting/spoken word. The result is a mess.


A fearless mess.

Last.fm

The Sarcastic Dharma Society - Live At Laughing Horse (2013)

The Sarcastic Dharma Society AKA Mat Vuksinich is back with new music and he's not alone!

I'm really glad to see and hear that this band is back and wish them the very best of luck. Mat has a very interesting voice and it's really cool to hear what he can do with a band behind him. I'm not gonna gush but damn this is some of my favorite indie music.


You can also watch the video of Mat and his now four piece band play their five song set from the Laughing Horse in Portland, Oregon, here.

Last.fm

Toasted Plastic - June Highs

Toasted Plastic - June Highs (2013)

I figured these guys have been plugged enough in the Monday posts for the past two years that it was time they got the full recognition they deserve.

Toasted Plastic play a very unique and exciting blend of math rock and punk that is mixed in a big bowl of noodles and served hot. Yet it goes down so smooth. Bon appetite.

Toasted Plastic released June Highs while I was away this summer, so I didn't have the privilege of spinning this bad boy until now. It's easily my favorite release by Toasted Plastic and super easy to digest from beginning to end. I hope you like it, too....

Highlights: "Empty Hands", "Tremor Easily", "Isolation", "Last Rites", and "Great Thinking".


Similar sounds/acts: Sirs, Girl Scouts, Girlfriends, Tawny Peaks, Our Sunday Affairs, 1994!, Algernon Cadwallader, etc...

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Last.fm

NFT Summer Sounds '13 mix

It's been a while since I posted one of these things.

Since I was gone for two months recently with very little resources for finding music, I don't really have any mixes made up for June or July - however, each year I make a little mix of tracks I liked to listen to for that particular summer. So, that's what this is. It covers all the goodies I jammed out to from later May until right up until this last weekend. There's a lot of tracks missing, of course, because Spotify (wine, wine), but it's the easiest way to stream music these days. Check it out:

RIP summer 2013. 

Monday LXXXII

Back to school edition.

Monsters of the Antipodes - Houses (2013)

Math rock meets progressive rock, complex yet melodic, with meaty bass and super addictive guitar licks for days; this is Monsters of the Antipodes.



PS: If you DL Houses (which you should at least), you get a bonus track!

Last.fm

Kilgore Trout - immemorial (2013)

Kilgore Trout is Kurt Vonnegut screamo. They are a lot more brutal than that Slaughterhouse-Five book.



Last.fm

Mononoke - Aussicht?! (2011)

German Skramz featuring violins, field recordings of beaches, and even glockenspiel. Really good stuff like that, you dig? Listen!


Last.fm

A plus to going back to school: that's when I have the most time to work on NFT stuff... so get excited for more things to come!