From the ashes of local legends, Conifer and Ocean came a new experiment to enter the dark dimensions of the musical subconscious. The year was 2011, and new bands from Maine were popping up left and right, including aformentioned louder-than-hell brigade, Awaas. Now it's 2014, and Awaas, like any cool local band should, are calling it quits.
Almost two Sundays ago, Awaas took there music, set it on fire, and rode off into the sunset, (almost) literally. Awaas's final performance was a viking funeral through Casco Bay. While there may or may not have actually been fire aboard the Casablanca booze cruise, from the sound of things it was quite the burial at sea. As a fan of both music and boating, that is probably the most badass way to go out.
Along with the Casablanca Cruise being the final show for Awaas in Portland, it was also the birth of their cleverly titled new album, It's Great Dying. Whether or not the 'waas team knew they would be releasing the damn thing on their death bed, It's Great Dying is certainly their swan song.
Riddled with the instrument of choice circa 1983, the synthesizer, Awaas goes completely in direction not yet heard on It's Great Dying. It seems a bit risky at first, mixing their minimal approach heard on the 2011 self-titled EP with a much more prominent gothic to industrial pop feel. Still, even with the fond interest in the synth, Awaas retained that heaviness that I remember quite well last time I saw them (opening for Thee Silver Mt. Zion in Portland).
It's Great Dying is not like a lot of music being released these days. Coming from Awaas, this is no surprise to me. Awaas is not music you can easily define other than throwing out a few meaningless phrases like krautrock, electro, industrial, or drone with names like Swans, Lungfish, Bauhaus, and The Birthday Party. At the end of the day, Awaas is just Awaas - as cheesy as that may sound - you can't put a finger on something that doesn't have any guidelines or rules other being completely DIY and has the need for really loud synth.
Highlights: "A Simple Horror", "Big Fun", "Tiny Monsters", "Magnetic P.I.", "Cauterize", and the rest of the album.
Also, feel free to read more about Awaas and their final show via Post Mortem, here.
I LIKE TRAINS (formerly iLiKETRiANS) re-released their 2008 instrumental concept album entitled, 'The Christmas Tree Ships' after the tragic November 23, 1912 sinking of the Rouse Simmons, a schooner that was nicknamed the Christmas Tree Ship since it carried Christmas trees.
This time though, I LIKE TRAINS has decided to make it one continues stream of music rather than 5 different tracks. Usually I'm not a big fan of tracks from albums becoming one long piece for my convenience, but this is really much better as one entity. Plus, it's post rock. Post rock tracks are supposed to be long and contain all sorts of parts or "scenes" to give them that orchestral story-telling feel.
The Christmas Tree Ship's "scenes" include, the opening title track about the Rouse Simmons itself, the next three about the other ships that sank that night: "South Shore", "Two Brothers" and "Three Sisters", and the last track, "Friday, Everybody Goodbye" which is dedicated to the opening line of a message in a bottle thrown overboard by the captain.
Also, if historic ship-sinkings and everyone dying doesn't get you in the holiday spirit, I LIKE TRAINS also have their rendition of "Last Christmas" which is still available here.
The writers at SPIN have put together a 20 song mix featuring hits off their "Best Metal Albums of 2012" list.
While I'm not a big fan of some bands listed (Meshuggah, Gojira, Torche) and others I haven't listened to in ages (Lamb of God, Napalm Death, Deftones), there are still some good picks and new faces to the metal game that I agree deserve a spot on a best of list somewhere. Whether or not it's missing some of my favorites or your favorites... It's still (free) metal; a genre that now a days is so mixed and misinterpreted that it's almost impossible to follow and know just who are the 'best'.
In honor of Halloween, I present NFT's top 6 favorite Goosebumps episodes (and their books)!
Here we go...
6. Welcome to Camp Nightmare
Plot: A kid named Billy is sent to Camp Nightmoon instead of visiting his family for the summer. Unfortunately for him, Camp Nightmoon isn't your average summer camp. Right from the get-go we are introduced to characters that mysterious start to vanish overnight. When Billy asks his hard-ass counselor about his missing cabin mates he just gets scolded for asking questions. When he asks the man running the camp, Uncle Al, he get's the reply that there was never even campers by those names. More questions start to come up as the story moves on like, what or who is taking these missing campers? What's up with the forbidden cabin? And what's really up with Camp Nightmoon?
Best parts: I love camp-themed anything. Especially when people go to camp and shit-goes-down. The twist is probably the most complex even though it's basically a Twilight Zone rip-off but even re-watching it for this list, I didn't see the twist ending coming. Probably one of the twistiest of twists in this here R.L. Stine series.
Memorable bits: Honestly, I don't actually remember this story all that much until I discovered it just before making this list. I remembered there was a few camp related 'bumps tales I watched as a child and the one I was actually thinking of is an episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark? - a series that was on around the same time Goosebumps started to air. But this story itself impressed me so much even without any nostalgic value that I had to put it on this list. So, here it is.
Campy parts: (Other than R.L. Stine putting the camp in campy)... I don't think they did a very good job with that bad-ass kid with the bandanna and leather jacket. Everyone knows those characters and accessories are reserved for the bullies in the 90's! But no, he was just a friend, and even later on, comic relief. If you are going to put your character in a leather jacket, they gotta be the bully... that's the rules! Also, how did everyone already know each other's names when they've never met before coming to Camp Nightmoon?
Anything else worth noting: In the book version, Uncle Al gives the kids a ride the rest of the way to camp after the bus driver just leaves them in the middle of nowhere, but in the show, they have to walk a mile in the woods.
Plot: One day, a garden obsessive father comes home with two new pieces for his tacky masterpiece of a lawn. The plastic statues standing in the back of pop's flatbed are two tall and ugly lawn gnomes that clearly look like they are up to no good. Turns out they really are up to no good as they start to wreak havoc on the neighbor's - who happens to be some sort of general - spotless yard and garden. Of course, no one's going to suspect that these hideous gnomes that look nothing like small people in plastic outfits as the culprits, so the general starts blaming the son. You know, since young boys are always trying to mess with neighbors' gardens. The son, being the only rational human-being and all, blames it on the gnomes and tries to prove that they are the ones coming to life and FSU-ing all night long...
Best parts: Come on, it's lawn gnomes coming to life and terrorizing stuff! The first time we see the gnomes getting count in the act and how they move and look (even if the gnomes are really campy and just little people in goofy plastic costumes again), it's still kinda creepy. I'll admit it.
Memorable bits: Not sure if this is memorable but did anyone else ever notice how little they used the mom in this episode book? Also, this story reminds me of that All Grown Up episode where someone is stealing all the lawn gnomes in town. Remember that?
Campy parts: The gnomes, The general and his crooked hat, The classic "I didn't do it! I swear" kid and his, "yeah right." sister.
Anything else worth noting: The ending in this story also differs between episode/book. I don't think I read the book but I do remember something about hundreds of slave gnomes trapped in the general's basement or something along those lines.
Plot: It's Halloween and Drew and her friend Walker are pondering what they can do to make this year better as Tabby and Lee (two classic pranksters) have ruined Drew's favorite holiday two years in a row. On Drew and Walker's brainstorming walk home, they run into two of Drew's long lost friends and next door neighbors' Shane and Shana who are in town for the night and have a perfect plan to get back at Tabby and Lee for all the crap they have pulled on Drew. Shane and Shana tell Drew and Walker to invite Tabby and Lee to trick or treat with them and Shane and Shana will cover the rest. So, Drew and Walker hook up with Tabby and Lee for trick or treating with no sign of Shane or Shana anywhere. As the night goes by the group run into two pumpkin-headed figures that know the best spot for candy. What the unsuspecting kids don't know is that the pumpkin heads have brought them to a parallel dimension where you can never stop trick or treating! Are the pumpkin heads Drew's friends? Is this their sick trick to get back at Tabby and Lee? And are Drew's friends even human?
Best parts: The thought: 'what if we could not stop trick or treating?'
Memorable bits: I remember this one pretty well just on the premise that it takes place on Halloween night and while you think you have the twist figured out, Stine goes and twists it up some more! You bastard, you.
Campy parts: While the Goosebumps series weren't by any means memorable for their special effects (was there a kids show in the 90's that was?), the super fake looking pumpkin heads actually worked perfectly for the story since the kids argued that the pumpkin heads are just crappy costumes and got a good spook when they removed one to reveal - dun dun dun - nothing! Unfortunately all the other effects like the talking pumpkin head on the ground and the random orange bolt of lightning were a bit of a miss. I won't even mention when they reveal what the pumpkin-headed friends of Drew actually looked like... Oops.
Anything else worth noting: (Spoiler alert): If the aliens ate those four missing adults, who were those four possessed adults handing out candy in the infinite treat or trick dimension? Also, in the book, the only way to make room for more candy to keep trick or treating was to eat all the candy!
Plot: When a girl (Lucy) leaves her 'blades' at the library after Reading Rangers, she stumbles upon her librarian, Mr. Mortman, partaking in a feast of crickets and tarantulas. He's not just feeding the tarantulas though, he is taking large handfuls of crickets and shoving them into his disgusting librarian face. Lucy continues to watch this hideous act until Mr. Mortman's body turns into... yes... A MONSTER! Unfortunately for Lucy, all her monster bluffs in the past have caught up with her and no one believes her when she tells them she has finally seen a real monster!
Best part: The Girl Who Cried Monster has arguably the best twist in Goosebumps' history. It's by far my favorite twist of any Goosebumps story/adaptation/video game and I dare anyone who has never read or seen this classic Goosebump' before to predict the ending. No, I double dare you!
You'll never get it right.
Memorable bits: Growing up (not that I'm done), I never read/watched Goosebumps for the spooks really. No, I was already into cult horror flix like Stephen King's It and The Leprechaun at the time, not too sound like a cool kid or anything, but I was a bit ahead of my time for my age. What I would really read/watch Goosebumps for - was their twists. The Girl Who Cried Monster was probably one of the last 'bumps books I read and I can still remember it really well. What will always stick in my head from this story, is the twist, of course, but also the way the librarian was described and how much I despised him for some reason. Maybe it wasn't because he was a slimy monster that ate bugs, but rather because he was a librarian. I hate librarians. If I was a monster, I would have eaten him, too.
Campy parts: It's camp-less.
Anything else worth noting: There's a subtle Fahrenheit 451 situation going on this story when Mr. Mortman tells Lucy she should stop reading scary, nonsense stories and start reading more classic novels. This was R.L. Stine's little poke at teachers who thought Goosebumps were not good for children because they didn't teach kids anything. Also, I used to imagine Mr. Mortman was an old lady. I don't know why but I have a feeling it has to do with all the librarians I encountered when I was younger.
Plot: A family of scientists move to a secluded swampy town to study things. The scientists' son, Grady, eventually befriends one of the only kids in town, Will. The kids spend most of their time hanging out in the swamp where the swamp hermit lives. Will informs Grady that the swamp hermit is a werewolf and shouldn't be fucked with and that the swamp is called Fever Swamp because anyone who goes into it soon gets a fever that causes them to do crazy things. One night, Grady and the rest of the family are woken by a howl and scratching at the door. Come to find out that it was just a big dog behind the door the whole time... or at least this time it was...
Best part: This Goosebump' had the potential to be the scariest and most graphic. That is, until I saw the episode adaptation and didn't see any deer guts or blood of any kind. What did I expect though? This is Goosebumps we're talking about. The Werewolf of Fever Swamp is still one of my most remembered stories of the series and, though the twist is not as crazy as The Girl Who Cried Monster, it is still twist. Even if you can figure it out right away. Knowing the twist to this story doesn't ruin the whole thing in this case. That's what makes it such a good story.
Memorable bits: I remember reading this in one day and going back to the library the next day to pick up the episode on VHS. I wanna say it was the closest Goosebumps story out there to gave me the creeps. I think it may have something to do with the woods I had out back behind my house and the time I found what looked like someone's shack. I went in and there was the swamp hermit just waiting for me. I tried to run but it was no use... psych. That never happened. Spooky though, right?
Campy parts: More classic skeptical parents that get proven wrong in the end. Also, why does it seem that the parents in these stories are always scientists or doctors? Goosebumps also always a high likelihood that the story revolves around a family of four and the main character usually just flip-flops between brother and sister. The only 'bumps story I can think of that deals with a single parent and their child's bizarre situation would be, 'Don't Go To Sleep!'.
Another else worth noting: The study the parents were working on was if deer can live in Florida or not.
The real twist: The Swamp Hermit was actually Doc from Back to the Future.
Plot: In an attempt to have a really cool costume for Halloween, Carly Beth looks to an old and run-down but newly-opened novelty shop. Unfortunately, the shop is closed when she gets there but for some reason she is let in my the shop owner. Inside, Carly stumbles upon a back room filled with freakishly realistic masks - one of which she has to have. The shop owner refuses to sell her the masks, however, so Carly grabs the mask, throws her money at the man, and dashes for the door. That night for trick or treating, Carly has the scariest mask and knows it. Along with the mask, she carries around a plaster head on a stick her mom made for her. Coolest costume in town right? Well, come time to remove the mask, Carly is unsuccessful! The mask is stuck to her face and won't come off! Uh oh. What now...? Dun dun dun..
Best parts: The Haunted Mask is the Goosebumps book I first think of when I think "Goosebumps". It's an essential Goosebumps story that also takes place on Halloween!
Memorable bits: For me, The Haunted Mask is probably the most memorable book cover of the Goosebumps series. It's just a classic must-read/must-see Goosebump'. If you didn't read this book or watch the episode when you were a kid, you are truly missing out, my friend. I would even go as far as saying that you are not a true 90's kid even if you were born in the 90's for not reading or watching The Haunted Mask. Which sucks for you since being a 90's kid is clearly the best kind of kid you can be. I would know. The internet told me so.
Campy parts: Not too many that I can think of other than that creepy plaster head Carly carries around that is supposed to be very fragile.
Another else worth noting: Rumor has it that the actress who played Carly Beth actually ate a real sandwich filled with real worms. Also, I can't help but be reminded of Halloween III when I watch this episode. For all those who haven't had the pleasure of seeing Halloween III: Season of the Witch, it's the one without Michael Myers and all the must-have Halloween masks will magically turn the kids into monsters on Halloween night! Or kill them... I can't remember.
I did a little research before putting this list together (but already had my favorites in mind) and noticed that ThatGuywiththeGlasses.com also has a list of the best Goosebumps books hosted by CR in his 'Familiar Faces' series. Turns out, CR and I have a lot of the same favorites! the video he made's kinda corny, but also very nostalgic. Check it out!
6 Degrees, hailing from the great Mother Russia, provide a beautifully gray scene of post rock/metal and sludge that is sometimes dabbed with peoples' voices concerned about global warming. Like I said, perfect storm music. Errrr, minus the perfect storm part.
These two albums (I &II) only hold three tracks each. From "Fifth Degree" to "Sixth Degree". Most tracks are over 7 minutes (lots of 10 minuters) like any post metal piece should be, but I suggest listening to them as one big long track if you have the time.
In all seriousness though about this storm, even though I wasn't hit with anything more than a bit of zealous wind, other places like New Jersey took Sandy head-on and unfortunately, some parts are pretty much underwater. As metal as that might sound even without the mention of the sharks, that brutally stinks. Just something to keep in mind when you are whining about how wimpy this storm was and how hype-happy the media got. Storms suck whether they are the biggest in years or not.
Two Knights are a twinkly math rock two piecer from Texas. Along with their super addictive tapping and fun for everyone drumming, the singer/guitarist has some splendid singing chops that I personally think are begging to be heard. You might disagree, I don't know. Whatever, it's what makes them stand out amongst the rest of the emo/twinkle toes playing around these days.
The members of Two Knights are also in a screamo band with a member of Innards. They are called Father Figure and are pretty swell as well.
James Clayton himself tipped me off to his new album the other day and I couldn't have been more interested in hearing it (and more from him all together), especially since his last album was called, 'James Is Going To Die Soon'. Narcissist On The Verge OF A Nervous Breakdown is the name of the new release by James's moniker, Crywank and is very much a vehicle of coping with his sadness, hence the name - a play on the words of the expression 'tearjerker'. I'm not sure if I could ever say this release tops his last but that may in part be due to the number of short songs it holds. I have no problem with simple little songs, I just wish I could hear more out of them.
Soon after learning about Narcissist On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown, I found out about a little gem that James and his friend(s) recorded that not only features some early takes of tracks on Narcissist like "Thomas Saunders Lloyd Webber" and "Little Creepy" but also some silly covers and a goofy rendition of "Welcome To Castle Irwell" which is probably my favorite song by 'wank. The recordings I'm talking about are called, 'I Daren't Call This Stoner' and the genre of music is called "Gettin' blazed in Ric's Room". I can't say I condone such actions here but the results are pretty entertaining. It'll probably make its way on to NFT's Got You Covered some day. If I ever get my act together and stop forgetting to put up those posts.
Anyways, if you liked what you heard from Crywank last time I posted his work or even a little interested in this depressed singer-songwriter: download this one and give it a listen. It won't hurt and that's all he really wants anyways.
A couple weeks back I posted about a band called Terraformer who where from Belgium, played math rock instrumental music and featured members from the screamo band, Isaïah. Well, this is Isaïah. They rock hard and are pretty brutal. They're also pretty epic. There's some epic bits here and there on this release that lead to spoken word. Presumably french spoken word. It's pretty, well... pretty. Fucking intense pretty.
Though Isaïah is from Belgium, they do speak French (or at least write their stuff with French) and therefore I would still consider them 'French screamo'. I guess you could still call it Belgian screamo but who are we kidding... call it what it is: heavy-ass emotionally violent music!
I stumbled across this EP today while looking for things to post and remembered that I had forgotten about it. I forgot to remember that this was Rosetta's four track ambient noise piece that was released around the time of Wake/Lift. According to Wikipedia it is not meant to be synced up with its companion album despite what I have heard in the past. Either way though, Cleansing Undertones is still a really interesting listen and not just good for putting on right before bed to help you fall asleep. No, it actually has enough substance in it that you can actually sit down for a listen and it'll tell a story. What that story is... is up to you the listener.
Twelve minutes in we hear a male voice that comes in and out of the static that dares you to keep listening. Soon you start to wonder what will happen and where the music will take you. You try to hold on to the sound or that voice but it eventually dies out and all you are left with is a feeling of contentment and pressure. Once all noise has dissipated, the pressure is lifted. You are free.
You can also listen to The Cleansing Undertones of Wake/Lift in its interiority here on the youtubes.
The Black Hours is the newest release by trashed-out and blacked-out metal band, Katahdin, slaying from the western parts of thrashed-out and blacked-out New England. And this time, they brought some friends along for the ride!
Along with Katahdin on this "cohesive onslaught" (I like that a lot) is the choir metal/medieval folk rock act, Aoi from Brooklyn (no less) and Progressive black metal band from Massachusetts, In Human Form.
...
This three way dance comes with a lot of unique looks into the depths of where metal has gone, can go and where the northeast is capable of taking it. The fact that Aoi sandwiched the two other bands was a pretty clever tool as it set up the album for what's to come and let you breath before the unrelenting storm of guitars, screams and double basses comes after you in the case of both Katahdin and In Human Form. Aoi kicks off the album with a church choir of a tune before In Human Form steps up to the shredding metaphorical plate and plays about 18 minutes of raw in your face progressive blackened death metal. The unpolished sound of IHF really takes on a life of its own and is actually quite impressive. A mere 10 minutes into IHF's two songs (tracks 2 and 3) I realized how much these guys remind me of Portland's progressive black metal/death metal band, Waranimal! I'm no booker but those guys could seriously have one hell of a show together! Some kind of beach party from hell theme would definitely be in order! Throw Maine's Folk metal enthusiasts Falls or Rauros in there and the rest of the bands on The Black Hours and we would have ourselves quite the ungodly event!
The album wouldn't be complete though without Katahdin, who like In Human Form, are ushered in by Aoi, starting with a chanted chorus leading into a medieval fairgrounds anthem. Aoi settles down and in comes Katahdin like a metal bat out of metal hell, relentlessly exploiting the meaning of thrashy black metal for 13 and a half minutes. With walls of sound thicker than blood and machine gun blasting, Katahdin's three tracks (tracks 5-7) are sure to make your head spin. Hopefully even bleed. The album soon after caps off at track 8 ("Todos Los Santos") by Aoi who play one more medieval jig before calling it good.
All three of the northeastern bands on The Black Hours come with a different approach at metal and/or folk and it surely makes for quite a listen. I'm not a big folk metal fan, but that's okay because this really isn't even folk metal... it's medieval folk rock in between black metal and New England folklore. And that my friends, is something I want to listen to.
Sorry for my laziness this week but I was pretty lazy and did not want to be not lazy. I must also apologize for the absence of NFT's Got You Covered this week and hope to have one hot and ready for all y'all next week. If all goes well, that is.
A lot of my laziness came about due to the sweet day off from a snow day! And while I was all set to surprise you all with a link to one of the greatest Nickelodeon movies of all time (Drum roll, please), Snow Day (2000)! A perfect movie to watch on such an accession that this year in Maine where I reside, seemed like was never going to happen (Believe it or not). I remembered that for one, YOUTUBE does not like seeing copyrighted material on their site with such unprecedented awesomeness as Snow Day and Megavideo, well, is associated with SOPA's bitch, Megaupload. I'm not really a big fan of torrenting movies either and would rather complain about how much the MAN is bringing us down and keeping us from doing things we are going to do even though they do not want us doing them. Why? Because they are corrupt and we are broke ass individuals who, even if we had the money, definitely would not be giving it to them. So, that's why I didn't post a Snow Day post... Something no one was even looking forward to anyways because I did not even advertise it but rather hinted at an upcoming surprise on the first snow day of this winter season for my school district here in Southern Maine in a post way back when.
I still feel all bad inside of my tummy for lack of postage this week, maybe it is just that odd looking quesadilla I had for lunch today (was it full of chicken? Or was that steak?), but I'd like to believe it is guilt I'm feeling and to make up for all this and what have you, I present: Friday Streaming...
Every week I look for some of the best stuff that I can find for the Monday post (stuff I've already found usually gets its own post or is an exception/showcase or don't have to much to say about it). Usually at the end of the week, say friday, all I have left from or for the Monday post(s) are either things to be posted on Monday, things that are too much like other stuff already posted that week, or cool gems that I do not have DL links to and don't necessarily even want to find possession of... I just like listening to them and then put 'em away ("streaming" is what they call it in the blog business). All of which is what I've got for you today.
Nitty gritty post punker noise makers from Mass, Grass is Green just released a new one for us the other day, yesterday actually! (Woah, NFT's on top of things for once... almost!) It's got all that splintering guitar work that we've heard from these guys from Yeddo and Chibimoon but this one seems to also have a bit of a more listener friendly sound that goes along with it as well. I don't mind it though and even if it lacks the angular down play of Chibimoon and the stoner math rock approach of Yeddo, Ronson still carries its weight and features a lot of variety. Variety examples would be the noisy Pavement jams like "Life of Mike", classic GiG loud basement tracks like "Three Little Chickens"and "Riff Sibling", super melodic tracks with baritone guitar like "Ruffleball", funky mclusky sounding stuff like "Jesse's Fashion Show" and "Downward Bound" and even some dance punk revival with the track name like "Dance Punk Revival School For Kids". This release could easily become by favorite of theres...
This is a little something something I stumbled across after seeing that Cattle Drums had posted it on their Facebook. Cattle Drums being one of those bands I found out after the fact that had come to Portland and could have possible had seen them (something that happens a bit too much in my life), I figured I check these guys out even if Cattle Drums are just shamelessly promoting their friends or something. I don't see anything wrong with that.
Our Daily Fix can be described as math rock with a saxophone. Now when I heard the word saxophone I thought of two things, 1. They sound like that band A Troop of Echoes who always advertise themselves on other math rock bands' Last.fm accounts with the question, what would (name of math rock band of your choosing here) sound like with a saxophone? it might sound like this: http://atroopofechoes.bandcamp.com/ or 2. a math rock band that used to play ska but now play math rock but kept their saxophone player.
The combination was a little something like A Troop of Echoes who I just advertised despite making fun of them for shameless advertisement (dammit!) and a band that may have also been a ska band at one time... but I think these guys are really in it for the math rock. While the beginning of the first track suggests that they might blare there horns and start skanking all over the place, that does not happen. What actually happens is the music stays very unpredictable, never breaking out into a ugly off-beat frenzy and instead takes a turn for a fusion sound almost. Eventually vox are introduced and we even get to hear the sax playing in unison with the guitars. It all sounds good to me.
Julie Christmas is that emotional sounding lady in those songs by Made Out Of Babies, Battle of Mice, and Spylacopa. And I love it. This is Christmas's first debut album, The Bad Wife, and just as the artwork displays, this release is a delectable treat. As a buddy of mine once said when this first came out, "it's like Made Out Of babies except not as technical... but come on, it's Julie Christmas!" I'm not sure if Christmas is your thing but if you don't know, check her out! Oh yeah, check her out...
I always forget about her solo release and I just recently revisited it from beginning to end this week. I really don't want to forget it again next Christmas, so I'll just post it know. Here it is.
People other than Julie Christmas in this solo release include production by Andrew Scheinder (who's worked with Cave In, Unsane and The Blue Men Group if you can believe that), music written by fellow band mates from MOOB and Spylacopa, Mel Lederman of Victory at Sea and helping hands from Joe Tomino of Dub Trio, Oddity and Tony Maimone (who has also helped Pere Ubu and Tom Waits).
Fang Island is a hell of a drug if bands were drugs. In 2010, Fang Island came out with an album called Fang Island that was pure high-dive high-five pumped up rock n roll with exploding Bruce Springsteen guitars and "if your team wins we riot" resilient drumming. The album kicks of with crackles of fireworks and electro-organ to began, almost as if this whole "everyone high-fiving everyone" mentality was pump up music for the after party; victory lap rock you could even call it as you peel your face off the wall while the last song is nearing a close. I'd call it some kind of celebratory Andrew WK math rock hybrid if they didn't actually get Andrew WK to sing on a track called "Patterns On The Wall" (a Joe Buzzell cover not featured on this release but on a special edition 7 incher) and even played along side Andrew as he performed "I Get Wet" in NYC during Fang Island's CD release party @Santos Party House (which was hosted by Andrew WK himself). If not only being compared to Andrew WK but also playing with him and having him host your CD release party doesn't get curious about a band then... what about a band that also played a show for kindergardeners in their place of origin, Providence, Rhode Island:
It's just not possible to ignore them. If only they got as much hype as they did in 2010 for a few seconds there... I almost didn't find these guys at all back in 2010 though, as it was the height of Witch House and thousands of bands were coming out with two noun names and such.
It probably doesn't help their case either that the band features the guitarist from the noisy mathcore band, also from Rhode Island, Daughters! Nicholas Andrew Sadler. Trading in a life of a noisecorer with a life of an infectious group-hug vibe* indie rocker (*as Pitchfork called it, I guess).
Some of my favorite tracks have to be: "Daisy", "Life Coach", "Sideswiper", "The Illinois" and "Welcome Wagon". The last song also ends with the firework crackling/organ churning effect as the first song had to signify an end... the only way something this energetic and American could, of course.
Similar Artists/sounds: Daughters, Andrew WK, Titus Andronicus, Adebisi Shank, Battles, You Slut!, Finn Riggins, Pterodactyl, and Delicate Steve...
iLiKETRAiNS is a pretty silly name for a way too serious band. They rock on the post spectrum with a nice 6/8 feel (at least on Progress Reform). There is also singing. And what they sing about is usually history! That's right! A historic post rock band from Leeds, England that features prominent melancholy vocals and black ties. The whole thing may seem a little goofy but it's actually quite epic and moving.
iLiKETRiANS - Progress Reform (2006)
The only things that I would have to say that are negative towards this album, is the fact that every song kind of sounds the same (which can also be a good thing). It may also become a little cheesy after a good few listens. But other than that, Progress Reform is absolutely worth your time.
Some of the history that I'm aware of in this particular album includes a song for Bobby Fischer and the unfortunate Terra Nova expedition - which is actually a pretty wild story if you have ever heard about Robert Falcon Scott and how he led what he thought was the first expedition to the South Pole only to find out that he had been beaten out by a Norwegian expedition. Then, on the way back, everyone died.
At least that's how I interpret the story as...
One last thing. If you are totally not buying into the singing, I suggest you check out their purely instrumental post-rock album, The Christmas Tree Ship.
