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Lately I've been waiting for that awesome big something to come along, smack the last of the awful sickness I've had out of my face (I was down for the count with who-knows-what for a week) and, by extension, give me something actually sick to write about. Thursday comes along and in my emailbox appears a note from the STATS dudes offering up their latest e.p., Marooned.
Not so many weekends ago, while hanging out with bassist Tony Gedrich (who also plays in Extra Life, worth checking out), Tony busted out the unmastered recordings. A bunch of us rocked out to them and probably drooled a little more than Tony was expecting, so I had baseline expectation of what I was gonna hear. Also, STATS has been playing this stuff for their past few live shows, but one can never quite be sure how it's all going to transition from the live set to the recorded tapes.
Well I can now unequivocally state that this three-song, 19 minute e.p. is bloody-nose inducing. They really cranked the low-end here for maximum womp. There's no way to say this without sounding like a total tool, but STATS is fucking groovy. Groovy math. You wanna get a bunch of epileptics with Tourettes to boogie? This is the perfect band for that. Give them earplugs, too, because it's necessary.
Big dumb smiling, mouth-breathing, gut-evisceratin' jazz tunes. These guys are friends of mine and perhaps the nicest guys around and always a hoot to play shows with; I've called them the most underrated band in Brooklyn and I stand by that. STATS creates the most thouroughly thought out goofball music that's not actually goofy or stupid, but just what awesome rock 'n' roll music should be. For thinkin' folks. Mischievously dark and, yet, positive. It's gonna give your kids their first cigarette, show 'em dirty magazines and help with homework just to keep on your good side. Because they look like good kids and yours shouldn't be hanging around with those dirty long hairs down the street with the illegal firecrackers.
Not murderers or rapists!
So now that I've said all this crap, how do you get your hands on Marooned? At the moment they have it available for free download, all you have to do is email them at [statsbrooklyn at gmail.com] and they'll send you the link. Then go donate some money to them for their efforts (paypal info will be in the email) because they put way too much effort into making these awesome songs extra awesome. To get a feel for what this is all about visit their myspace where they've posted the track "Yo King". I dare you to try and get it out of your head. I also dare you to figure out how they piece their songs together because, frankly, I find the prospect of an actual answer too daunting and frigtening to ask them.
One of the few things I miss about life in the Mid-Hudson Valley is the waterfalls. Back when I was living there we'd pile in cars during the summer and drive from Poughkeepsie to a sweet, secluded spot about 45 minutes away. After a short hike through the woods, there was an amazing waterfall with a huge pool at the base. The water was generally cold as hell, but if you timed it right, the sun would filter through the trees and keep everything a perfect temperature. Me and my friend Dave used to not bathe and use that as an excuse to go to the falls every few days. It was amazing.
Anyone who knows me well knows that my stories, if they have a point, generally take way too long to get there. So there is a point to the above story, particularly if you've ever had a transcendent experience with a waterfall. Not too long ago somebody posted two tracks from a French band named Year of No Light. I loved the two tracks and couldn't wait to get my hands on the full record. I can't even remember who posted those tracks (though a huge Thank You if it was you). All I can really say is go buy Nord straight away. Get it straight from the band. Crucial Blast is releasing it stateside; get it from them. People have been throwing around all sorts of crazy descriptions of this band. "Brutal shoegazer" and "The Cure playing sludge" are both hilarious yet fitting. I put it on and, while digesting, memories returned of sitting under those falls being crushed by constant torrents of water. In my opinion the territory covered is where I would have preferred Isis gone after dropping Celestial; heavy, predominantly dark atmospherics mixed with industrially-tinged post-metal. Although they don't really sound like them, YONL remind me of City of Caterpillar and may be a functional equivalent in this genre of what CoC was to their Virginia hardcore counterparts.
Writing about music never makes any sense, just go check this band out. I really hope they tour here, I'll be there in a second.
Great show last night at Lit Lounge featuring some friends' bands. I can't hear anything today 'cos I forgot my stupid earplugs, but I digress....The show featured the recently posted-upon Rising Up Rising Down and Brooklyn locals Stay Fucked.
Stay Fucked totally ripped shit up and it was the first time I've seen them live. Normally I just hear them across the hallway in our respective practice spaces. Their drummer, Hank, keeps two blogs going so I'm putting up links to both of those (one is for the band) so go see what they're all about if you've never heard of them. They like jazz, they like rock'n'roll and they like to make you boogie when you can follow the beat. It's great.
Stay Fucked's blog
Dark Forces Swing Blind Punches
The RURD boys informed me that their album will be officially coming out in late May and will be having a release party with fellow Hudson Valley-ites Dead Unicorn. The show will be May 24 at the Rosendale Cafe up in Rosendale, NY. I'm gonna try to get up there for that somehow because risinguprising-Dan Madsen told me that Dead Unicorn's new album is amazing. I find this all to be exciting. Now go do your (music) homework.
Two reviews in one day? I'm throwin' rocks tonight! As I continue through my box of CDs that I ignored for months, I've pulled out one that I've tried to listen to a few times already but had to put aside for reasons of retaining sanity. Pittsburgh's (((Microwaves))) have one of those great names that lends an idea of what greets your ears. In the case of Contagion Heuristic that means wiring your head to your household appliances while completely fucking stoned. Tonight was the first time I got through the whole thing, mostly because it's such a laborious listen. Now I'm not saying that this album is terrible or unlistenable, because it's not. More accurately I'd say that it's incredibly dense and well...
This album abounds with textures surprisingly uncommon in the digital era. There are cracks, pops, fizzles, weird synths and a friggen panoply of distortion tones layered throughout. I chaulk that up to a masterful production job and an extensive knowledge of effects pedals. Unfortunately, though I do find a lot of the sonics here to be impressive, too much of the songwriting leaves me wanting. Experimentally structured, Contagion Heuristic can come off as "jam" of sorts. The album was probably a hell of a good time to make, and involved some fun drugs (unless these guys are of the drugless-genius-of-Zappa-variety), but I ultimately had to force myself through it over several listens that were weeks and weeks apart. For the most part I would take a look at "(((Microwaves)))" and say to myself, "shit, I know I should listen to this, but I'm really just not in the mood to deal with it right now." So yeah, I guess that thought kinda sums up this record, a lot of really impressive ideas that don't really end up going anywhere, or at least places I would want to go on a regular basis. There's gotta be folks out there completely digging this, these are just one man's opinions.
You can find this over with the folks at Crucial Blast.
Black Elk - s/t
Crucial Blast
7 November 2006
5 Stars
So a new "genre" has been developing over the past few years, a mature riff-rock with its foundation in hardcore and punk. In contrast to a metalcore who got way too big for its britches and became a mainstream darling, more discerning heads have been countering this awful trend with musicianship and thoughtfully heavy songwriting.
Portland, Oregon's Black Elk have crafted an album that displays their range as musicians with delightfully varied influences. Inventive (and un-ordinary!) lead lines counter sludgy march-like rhythms that could pass for either a zombie parade or a trudge through a peat bog. There are also faster passages that reveal a distinct Botch sensibility. I mean, these guys are from the Pacific Northwest, so why not pay a little homage to one of the best bands from the region (and probably one of the best bands ever, but I digress...).
Overall this album is a straight-through kickass listen. I couldn't pick out any weak points, and there was consistent energy from start to finish. Well-written, worldly lyrics and great album art round this package out. I hope this debut album only hints at where these guys can go. Well done, gentlemen. Definitely pick this up.
The rain keeps coming, and thanks to Electricity Bill's Premiership "Preview", everything feels a little more English around here.
Now for something emphatically not English...
Lower Forty-Eight - Apertures
Monotreme Records
17 October 2006
3 stars
I'm assuming there are plenty of Avail fans reading this (and you can count me among them), but I'm wondering how many of you really appreciate their work since they jumped to Fat Wreck. It was about that time that the material began to sound overproduced, their original passion seemed to dissipate and Tim Barry's vocals just went somewhere else. I have no idea where they went really, all I know is that there are few new-millenium Avail songs that really hit me. Well, Lower Forty-Eight vocalist Andrew Lund sounds exactly like what Tim Barry sounds like now.
San Francisco's Lower Forty-Eight lays out a tight mixture of mid-90s post-hardcore and early- to mid-90s skatecore. They display mature songwriting with complex guitar and bass lines supported by very solid drumming. While this band retains a certain level of technicality, it is never reaches the point of being unnecessary; it's generally mid-tempo music that remains interesting and listenable. Unfortunately, for all these positives, the vocals ruin the album.
I'm not sure what else to say. I really miss my old Avail. I really wish this band Lower Forty-Eight would rethink their vocal styling because otherwise they're so damn good. This is all a bit depressing especially since it won't stop raining.
Across Tundras - Dark Songs of the Prairie
Crucial Blast
22 August 2006
3 Stars
For now I am going to try and overlook the fact that the cd I received to review was scratched or damaged in some way. The inevitable noise issues and skipping certainly threw a wrench into my listening attempts, nevertheless, I got a good idea of what this Colorado trio has constructed. Across Tundras takes their audience (and their album art confirms such) into mid-nineteenth century America via a time machine made of modern electronic instrumentation.
Dark Songs of the Prairie is countri-fied post-metal along the lines of what Earth did for their recent Hex album only with more juiced amplification à la Neurosis or Isis. This work is heavy and straightforward, unfettered by any unnecessary technical musicianship. As far as my current listening preferences go it's a bit lacking, though it is still quite good and I can't say that I have any qualms with the songwriting. As their name suggests, I think I would have a greater appreciation for this material if it was the dead of winter and I needed something to help melt the ice from my beard. Right now I'm not quite feeling this, but as the seasons change I'm sure this will find its way through my speakers more often.
When these guys came to town on April 28th I was totally blown away. I'll let my review words speak for themselves, instead of writing a dumb preface.
You Will Die - s/t
Hawthorne Street Records
5 stars
"No, we don't want a vocalist." And they don't need one either. You Will Die is an instrumental trio that hails from Indianapolis, not exactly a bastion of heavy music as far as I'm aware (Racebannon being the only other notable Indiana band I can think of at the moment. Sorry, Indiana). Here on their debut these guys have produced a whirlwind of face-smashing rock'n'sludge with plenty of grind-esque shrapnel thrown in to keep you on your toes. While they shouldn't be considered a "tech" band, they do keep their shredding slightly unorthodox and the songs never get stale.
You Will Die reminds me of a more pissed-off Keelhaul--who I love--so this album is a total winner. In their own words they describe their sound as, "The soundtrack to someone's last minute on earth before they headbutt a tablesaw." It works for me. Scoth's (yeah, Scoth) guitar and Jason's bass lines aren't exactly straightforward, but they come at you in a no-bones-about-it-I'm-gonna-kick-your-fool-ass kind of way, which rules. Here you'll find some super-crunchy hardcore riffage over bass that actually moves you as it adds dimension. The drumming on the album is nitro-fueled, gargantuan and downright impeccable. Whereas many great drummers can be boring to watch, (Brann Dailor comes to mind, though no offence intended) Errol is not. These guys have fun while they're playing and what they're playing is fucking fun. Despite the fact that this album is way too short even for my "leave me wanting more" standards, I haven't stopped playing it for the past month. Guys, seriously, give us more.
So there's been a ton of stuff preventing me from posting this last week, but I'm starting to get back into the flow of things. Here's something good that's been on the burner for too long:
The Heuristic - Parapraxies
Black Box Recordings
Though I must say that the whole tech/math metal thing has overstayed its welcome with me, The Heuristic has put together an enjoyable album that is a novel take on the whole premise. There are actually scientists in the band, so their musical perspective is something that runs much deeper than any trend. Refreshingly intelligent and sincere with just the right proportion of humor, these guys possess what most of their contemporaries lack. I must commend the band for not engaging in pointless wankery just to impress the audience; the parts are well-thought and actually work to create shifting moods. The only band I can possibly think to compare them to are Colorado's The Great Redneck Hope, though The Heuristic possess a more varied repetoire. This is a short album, too, which by any normal standard would be an EP, but these nine songs leave me wanting more, which is always a positive in my book.
(An aside: At first I thought "There's No Square Root of -1 In Team" was just a silly title until it was pointed out to me that the square root of -1 is i. This lack of mathematical prowess probably helps to explain why I enjoy techy/mathy stuff as a sort of novelty, but don't engage in it much. So yeah, there are math references that lose me a bit, but I'm a sucker for their Civil War-related songs. Anyway, check these guys out, it's well worth it.)
