The first thought I had after clicking on grafted, i am's sample-heavy opening track "sun-dry" was damn, this sounds awfully familiar in the vocal department. Once I got to the second track "the outstanding debt"though, I knew right away that this was Sam Judd's (formerly of Cattle Drums and Monster Machismo) new project. A new project that mixes Sam's vocals in with all sorts of different sounds not explored with his previous band Cattle Drums.
grafted, i am's self title is a short one with only five songs, but with the math-y guitars, banjos, duel vox, and art punk (if that's a think) vibes - grafted, i am keeps you both intrigued and asking for more. That being said, I hope there will be more!
Mylets is a one-man math rock excursion by Henry Kohen. Using the power of loop pedals and a super catchy vocal arsenal, Mylets is a simple meets complex listening experience. A must for any fan of Tera Melos, Girlfriends, Boyfrndz, Monster Machismo, or Adebisi Shank.
I was surprised to see that Time is a Machine did not receive much attention after the large praise that Wooden Heart got a few years back. Still, Time is a Machine is not far behind where Wooden Heart left off and will certainly hold up in time for when people really start listening again.
2013 was definitely The World is...'s biggest year to date. From the raise of the shitty "mememo" terms to someone behind Buzzfeed figuring out there's still a genre called emo and it doesn't suck, The World is... seemed to be the front runners of a cool new thing. They have a really long ridiculous name and just as ridiculous lineup, why wouldn't they be the stars of the next "emo revival" generation? Hell, maybe next year The World is... will be on SNL!
Whenever, If Ever really is a solid album though whether you wanna believe the hype or not.
Serengeti's alter ego, Kenny Dennis returned this year with a bang when the Chicago native dropped his LP on the world. K.D.'s repetitive and sometimes incoherent rap style puts me in a hypnotic trance that makes me want to watch old NBA games and play Sonic on my aunt's Sega Genesis.
Favorite track: "Directions"
Along with Kenny Dennis's LP, Serengeti also released Saal, C.A.B. (a follow-up to C.A.R.), a single featuring a b-side about "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, and his Yoome project's (along with Renee Louise Carafice and Tony Trimm) June album.
Russian Circles just being Russian Circles. The groovy post metal lords even throw in a little number featuring vocal duties by Chelsea Wolfe which resembles a True Widow track that never was.
Favorite track: "Memorial (Ft. Chelsea Wolfe)" and "Lebaron" (for the more traditional RC experience)
Foxing - An Albatross
Toasted Plastic - June Highs
A Great Big Pile of Leaves - You're Always On My Mind
Phantom Glue - A War of Light Cones
One Hundred Year Ocean - Where Were You While We Were Getting High?
Rosetta - Anaesthete
The Reptilian - Low Health
Leveret - Infinity
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...
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.
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.
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.
This intense cover of two songs originally by Mogwai from their album, 'Come On Die Young' comes from Deafheaven's 12'' split with Bosse-de-Nage. While the "Punk Rock" (the intro), and "Cody" are two different tracks on Mogwai's 2006 release, Deafheaven has combined them into one big post black post metal post rock track.
Deafheaven also mix things up with their choice of a spoken word sample for "Punk Rock". While Mogwai's original featured Iggy Pop discussing punk rock no less, Deafheaven's rendition features the words of William Faulkner (talking about fear I'm guessing) followed by some atmospheric black metal piano!
Take a listen:
Be sure to also check out Bosse-de-Nage's side of the split as well.
...and Mogwai's tracks "Punk Rock" and "Cody" if you haven't heard them before:
Both Deafheaven and Bosse-de-Nage are from the "Bay Area" (San Francisco, California). They both play a unique blend of black metal without being from Norway or looking the part. Some like to call that hipster black metal.
I could care less what they wear or where they're from...
"Emotionally charged indie rock" blah blah blah twinkly stuff from Gainesville, Florida featuring members of Dikembe and a thousand other bands past and present. Really digging their EP's and recently got into this one.
Very emotional pop-punk from Mass. It gets a bit mushy here and there but is definitely a fine listen. The last three songs top the album off splendidly.
Merchant Ships were a very influential and influenced screamo act that called it quits in 2010.
"Dying" is probably the best track on For Cameron in my opinion but the mostly spoken word track, "Sleep Patterns" is definitely a stand-out all on its own.
Houston We Have A Problem was the first ("real") "screamo" band I ever encountered and even though I would begin listening to this 2006 release, 'Shipwreck' mostly for the edgy post rock crescendos and texture it featured, I would eventually, over time, come back to it for the way that they blended the vocals and screaming into such an emotional atmosphere. Sometimes screaming is just another instrument, sometimes it's a cry for help. Houston We Have A Problem successfully used both to their advantage. And by successfully, I mean pretty freakin' well.
Apart from manipulating the post rock to screamo, slow to choatic approach like that of City of Caterpillar and/or Men of Trees, Houston We Have A Problem (especially on 'Shipwreck') used extensive samples (obviously a big interest of mine) that open the songs up like story books and accent their instrumental work that overlaps the words. And as the album name as well as the song titles "Poseidon, Angered", "Titanic, The First Victim", "Calm Seas Become the Squall", or "Valdez, Drunk Driving is Punishable on Water Also" suggest, this is a maritime themed (and maybe conceptive) release. That may not be as cool to you as it is to me but I live for this kind of stuff. It's in my blood. The conversations and words that were sampled in this album, self-released by the way, don't seem like they are sea themed as the rest of the album tends to lead you on about, but are actually mostly from a movie called, 'The Legend of 1900' that not only deals with life at sea but also the music of the time after World War II. I have yet to see this film but from what I know about it, it sounds right up my alley.
Also, one of the coolest parts about the screaming that goes on in this album is that it isn't just one guy screaming his brains out non-stop, but the whole band, and with the whole band on vocal duties, it makes for quite the listen. Most notably due to all the different shrills and yelps that each member of this four piece brought to this recording... a recording that surely has some of the most original yelling I have ever heard, hands down.
Houston We Have A Problem has since broken up, but not without releasing three self produced albums (The Sky Did Not Crack and the Stars Did Not Fall, Punk is Dead, and Shipwreck). After calling it quits, some members went on to form Who Goes There? and the others went on to form Perfect Future. If you're liking what you are hearing from HWHAP, I definitely suggest you go check those bands out as well. There's not a lot of ways to listen to them but hey, this is 2012, kid... you'll figure it out.
Similar acts/sounds: City of Caterpillar, Gospel, Circle Takes the Square, Envy, Who Goes There?, Perfect Future, Men As Trees/Locktender, I Create, The Caution Children, We Were Skeletons, Lizards Have Personalities, and other bands not named Houston We Have A Problem.
"Take a piano. Keys begin, keys end. You know there are 88 of them. Nobody can tell you any different. They are not infinite. You are infinite...
Since I mentioned this album in my last post, I figured I'd post it now for your enjoyment and your ears. Plus, it really does go hand and hand with 'Travels In Constants 13' by Appendix Out, in my opinion.
There Will Be Fireworks is an indie/post rock/shoegaze-y band from Glasgow. Their self-title debut was self-released in 2009 and features a whole bunch or scottish accents, spoken word by Kevin Macneil*, orchestral instrumentation and fanfare, emotional and angsty autumn/spring feels, and yes, even fireworks.
Maybe.
With all the twists and turns of this album like that of changing seasons, you can absolutely tell this album took a year to record. Take it for what it is and ignore the name. Or the haters. Or love the name. Or love the haters.
*The three spoken word bits are performed by:
Kevin Macneil, who lent his voice for the first track, "Columbian Fireworks". The narration was written and recorded exclusively for the band.
and
Marshall Craigmyle, the bands soundman, on the track, "A Kind of Furnace". He was reading a passage from the Ian McEwan book, Enduring Love.
and
Lastly, Edward R. Murrow quickly appears on the end of "Says Aye". Murrow is sampled from a 50's US Government informercial about nuclear warfare.
I sound like I know a lot about this album but I really just read this play-by-play article I found on Scotsman.com. Check it out after or before listening if you want, depending on if you like ruining surprises or not.
Similar acts/sounds: We Were Promised Jetpacks, The Twilight Sad, Frightened Rabbit, Idlewild, My Latest Novel, Arab Strap, The Appleseed Cast, Moving Mountains and more post rock with words/scottish accent bands.
2049 was a screamo band from Cleveland, Ohio that experimented with La Dispute story-telling vox and sporadic keyboard action. Torches, is a little all over the place with ideas but they all seem to be things people like and have heard before. I'm not too sure how much of the direction they had on this one they continued on with in Old Phyrexia (just a two song EP) but all came to an end in summer 2010 when they called it quits, so we'll never know what else they had in store for us.
Since it's the last day of April, which is national poetry month, here is Listener's poetic masterpiece, Wooden Heart. This time though, it's the more stripped down and even more "talk music" version that does include some acoustic guitar here and there but is mostly just Dan Smith reciting his little spoken word numbers from the original Wooden Heart with no instrumental accompaniment. Definitely a must have for anyone who likes Listener or poetry! Hope you guys had a good April by the way.
Girlfriends, one of the various artists on this compilation by Big Scary Monsters, tipped me off to this super sick thing of super sick awesomeness on his Facebook page. It's a compilation that you can get free when you buy a shirt with that very same cover art like the one up there on it! Being the impulse buyer/secret wrestling fan, I instantly started marking out and bought the thing as fast as I could find the add to cart button. Forgetting that Euros are less than American dollars and things shipped overseas is a little more expensive, I was a little put back by what I had done when I finished my order and saw the receipt but it's really not that bad, considering I was so pumped about the shirt I forgot about the music, and in the end it comes out to be no more than the price of a brand new, vinyl LP. So yeah, it's totally worth it.
For the compilation and the music itself, I haven't gotten the package yet at this time of typing and usually don't like to give away the surprise of a new CD (or in this case, digital download), so I haven't listen to it yet. But, I can say that Tall Ships, Socks And Shoes Off, Crash of Rhinos, Girlfriends (just "Untitled #3", so no surprise there), and Oh No! Yoko will be on it along with some other new names I've have previously not heard of like, Killington Fall, Bear Cavalry, Delta/Alaska, Doctrines, and Adults, The Elderly And Children.
I may have not listened to it yet, but feel free to give it a try yourself. While you are at it, buy the shirt! See if I care... You'll surely have the honor of owning the same shirt as the writer and creator of this blog. Cheers!
Buy the 10 track comp and pink and blue Ultimate Warrior/Making Music's For Pussies T-shirt here.
PS: can't wait to see what they got in store for the #002!
Kolya were a late 90's emo band from the midwest that featured narrative type vox and slint like instrumentation. The band has since broken up but their spirit still lives on in mediafire links, lucky fans who have had the chance to grab up their physical copies and music forums, blogs and Last.fm. After breaking up, members went on to form the short lived band, The Union Ares and I'm not sure what happened to them after that. I will say though, that with only two 7inches and self-titled LP they released, this band and their music is something to not forget about or let get lost in the ends of time and space somewhere. I mean it.
Kolya is just one of those bands that you need to hear everything by because, well, there really isn't a lot that exists and all the stuff that does exist is amazing. Their discography only consists of 13 or so songs. A Shame, I know, but it is what it is and what it is, is super good music, especially for fans of Slint, June of 44, Sun Pelt, 90's emo in general and/or narrative spoken word music. Take a listen to the first track I heard from these guys called "Still Life With Candle" from their first 7" released by One Week Records with another song called "Iditarod" below.
The lyrics (and delivery of the lyrics), like the ones in the very beginning, "Are you going to bed yet? I hadn't decided/I might have to go to the bathroom/And I had planned on eating something...", remind me of the song "To A Husband At War" by a slightly different emo band, I Hate Myself except, in Kolya's case, the music and energy builds and builds but doesn't become chaotic. The noise just settles and we never hear Todd Giles (the singer/guitarist) lose his cool. There's no change in the tone. It's really not him who is giving off the full emotion for this "emo" band but the sounds from the instruments on and around him that are giving off this feeling of (emotional) content. A sense of somberness but not sadness. It's that subtleness about them that makes them stand out and goes to show you just how different these guys where than other "emo" bands of their time and the ones now.
Similar sounds/acts: Slint, Native Nod, The Union Ares, June of 44, Bells on Trike, Storm and Stress, Rodan, I Hate Myself, Plunger, and a few other 90's math rock or 90's emo pioneers or influenced acts.
PS: Sorry for the little/bad quality cover art of the 2000 7". It's the best I could find... If you have a better one, please send it my way! Thanks!
Fun (with Wikipedia) facts: Kolya is the nickname for the Russian name, Nikolay as well as a 1996 Czech film.
Honestly, I forgot about this gem a friend of mine showed me last year. Some of that forgetfulness may have been due in part by the attention the last track had on me, which is a killer remix of The Tallest Man On Earth's "The Wild Hunt". The remix is called The Wild Grit and is introduced by a True Grit sample (the original I believe). But The Wild Grit is not the only thing being remixed or filled with fun and/or goofy samples. No, actually that's what this albums all about! Every track is a remix, or sample really, of an indie band's work. And though I may have been stuck on how cool it was to see a indie folk star like The Tallest Man On Earth being used in a super bouncy and moving number, the whole album has great examples of what can be done with a normal old indie rock n roll track in a bedroom dance and hip-hop-y format! Even though I'm not a big fan of bands like The Decembrists, Local Natives, Kings of Convenience, and Little Joy, the tracks that their work represents in the album is really interesting and gives them life (not to say that they don't have life by themselves but... LEANN GRIMES makes 'em sound.. fun!).
I don't wanna give anything else away though! Some stuff is just meant to be listened to and not picked apart. I will say that The Wild Grit has always been my favorite track, I'm also now a huge fan of Keep Me In Grimes, Memory Noise, Got To Grime and Cats & Dogs in Idaho, I'm also a big fan of classic Disney movies redone in 3D and long walks on the beach but none of that matters... All the track should be listened to!
Loma Prieta are a heavy hitting screamo and emotionally violent sounding hardcore rock band from San Fran that just put out a new album earlier this month. It sounds really harsh and noisy! And angry!
Did you know Loma Prieta are made up of some members from Punch, Beau Navire, Sailboats, and us, haunted bodies, and Archeopteryx? Did you also know that I only knew that because it says it on their Last.fm... except I put the bands in order of how much I know them?
Old Gray are an emo revival, spoken word, talk to yell bands that come from New Hampshire. I don't know how many of those bands there are down there but I think it's pretty cool. Maybe they'll crawl up to Maine sometime. Maybe they already have... and brought back a deer head for there 2011 release, Do I Dare Disturb The Universe, artwork.
Do I Dare Disturb Universe may only feature 4 tracks but it is full off goodies that will fill you up. They are satisfied with what it sounds like and "put all they had into it". Plus the last track, cleverly titled Instrumental, features the classic Network sample! Yeah its also been used by Maybeshewill, Mouth of the Architect and Transit but it still kicks ass every time I hear it used!
I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore! Find a different monologue for heaven's sake!
Wiltz is just the kind of the thing I've been missing from my music diet lately. It's instrumentally technical but not too mathy, off the grid rock-structure wise but not too post rocky, and twinkly but only to a point where it keeps you interested and wanting to listen on.
If only there wasn't already an Irish band with the same credentials.... And that band is Enemies. Hah, would you look at that. No pun intended.
Meanwhile, Back in Communist Russia... - Indian Ink (2002)
More post-rocky balboa stuff. This time in the form of laid back instrumentation and somber tones and narrative vocals. Female narrative vocals! Provided by singer, Emily Gray. The music that surrounds vocalist Emily Gray, created by keyboards, guitars, samples and drum machines, is very dark and decaying. It flows dramatically over Gray's poetic monologues every time. You soon catch on to what this band was capable of playing but there's nothing wrong with that.
Despite the clever name, they were actually from Oxford, UK. Hence Gray's additive accent.
The band called it quits in 2004. They released two studio albums, a 7 inch featuring the tracks "No Cigar" and "Morning After Pill", a split with a Moonkat, three Peel Sessions, and a 10 inch. They were also the winners of a "worst band name" poll by BBC Radio 1 in 2003 according to Last.fm.
Similar sounds/artists: Arab Strap, A Silver Mt. Zion, HRSTA, iLiKETRiANS, A Whisper in the Noise, Valley of the Giants, Slint and more post rock bands that I could name because they are also post rock...
Four guys from around Maine messing with music they like to listen to. The name comes from the Fugazi album. Fugazi are also a big part of their sound and influence but definitely not the only part. You can also hear a lot of influences of post punk, early 90s math rock pioneers, screamo and all sorts of jamming and improving with friends.
I finally managed to see these gentlemen at the end of summer this year after missing them a couple of times when they played more up north. The show was super solid! I remember some the band members saying after their set that they felt like it was kind of shit show. They had not played together in a couple of weeks and there was some guitar issues. I was blown away though... If that was them at their minimal and it still kicked major ass, they must leave kids lying in the streets at their best. Even their "shit shows" are totally moving and enjoyable. To me, that says a whole lot about a band. Not to mention the raw talent that oozes out of each and every member including Dan Smith (formerly of Grunt) on the plinky plinky stick and Matt Houston (also of local legend rock n roll team, Pamola) on the groove machine and sparse vocals that are sometimes spoken word or aggressively steady over the angular instrumentals.
Ancient Cartography is self recorded by Matt Houston and just a taste of what Red Med are capable of. Go out and find these guys playing somewhere!
The last track on the EP features a totally epic tale by Dan Smith. I'm pretty sure.
James Clayton plays a kind of anti-folk influenced by punk and outsider music. I like to call it acoustic. Whatever it is, I can handle it. It's pretty simple and sentimental (more to him than me really).
The only thing I don't like is that name.
If you've ever lost a friend or lover and "Welcome To Castle Irwell" doesn't touch you in some way... I feel bad for you son.
Female fronted scream heavy music from Chicago. The lo-fi sounding vox give this band a little of their own character which is always a thrill these days. I can't promise you'll like it but if you're feeling angsty and tired of the boys yelling... I'd suggest Punch suffix.
Spoken Word from New York. Influenced by La Dispute/The Exploration/Listener. Doesn't really sound like anyone of those bands in particular or "twinkly" as I keep reading on and on from their Bandcamp and Last.fm. The speaker's voice does however remind me of something... I just can't put my finger on it.
These guys are fresh and very much in the demo stages of their career. All of which can be found on their Bandcamp. Worth the listen.
Grass is Green is mega tight. Every time I see these guys I am envious that they are not from Maine. The fact that these guys always (maybe not always but it feels like it to me) seem to find their way up to Maine, however, is still really awesome and I am always (always) thankful to see them back up here and bringing the muckerfothering ruckus with them.
They play all that post stuff that the kids love these days with their amps turned up to 11 and beyond!
Listener is a spoken word type monster of a project by Dan Smith and Chris Nelson. They call it "talk music" and I call it beautifully emotional and powerful music that will rip your heart out just see if it still beats like it did when you were a small child and actually cared about things with all your might. Dan Smith (not to be confused with Dance Myth of Red Medicine) isn't out to poetically impress you with his hip mustache but convence you to just listen to the stories and imagery that he is capable of spitting out. The way the lines are delivered is like getting punched my words... or a thesaurus (take your pick).
Listener - Wooden Heart (2010)
Along with Dan's mad spoken word chops there is also the mostly overlooked work of Chris Nelson, who puts all the music together that accompanies but not necessarily backs up the spastically moving talker. The music behind Dan is just as conveying and moving as the lyrics, while not stealing the show or overloading the picture that is being thrown up on the already dirty canvases of our minds.
Dan Smith has also cut his teeth with the hip hop collective of Deepspace 5 as well as one half of the hip hop duo known as Labklik according to wikipedia.
Every line he speaks is for you the listener. So shut up and listen.
My good friend, Pat once read Seatbelt Hands at a little poem reading session and boy, did it gave me goosebumps...
La Dispute is a very passionate and attention seeking band. They play a post-hardcore and emotional choice of music with a unique way of belting out their lyrics that they are trying to sell you. And boy am I sold. This though, this is La Dispute's Ep series Here, Hear (all recorded by the drummer, Braid). It's much more of a look at their influences on mythological stories and literature. The first Here, Hear is mostly all spoken word and kicks off with an exert from Tim Robbin's Still Life With Woodpecker and moves on to other stories that I'm not too familiar with. The second installment is a lot like the first; continuing with the spoken word but adds a little more instrumentation. The third Here, Here is my favorite and is even a little bluesy. All four tracks on Here, Hear III are styled a bit differently. It still incorporates the spoken word aspect that runs through the whole series while introduces a much fuller and atmosphere bed room or DIY recording sound that I really enjoy. I could talk more about the La Dispute sound and Jordan's intoxicating vocal delivery but Here, Hear is different. And it's right here, here:
