Sharks Kill

Once upon a time, I was on tour and instead of going to eat at a restaurant with the rest of the group, a friend and I just went and got a little thing of rice and sat outside eating. Very randomly a woman approached us and told us that her son had recently passed away. She was on her way to the record store to sell off a large portion of his collection when she spotted us. Apparently, we were dressed in the same manner her son had dressed and she decided that instead of selling this large bag of records, she would just let us have them. This bag was FULL of treasures. For example:

Sharks Kill!
The first thing I noticed about this 7" was the care that went into it. It was packaged in a nice, stiff hand screened cover and included a 16 page self-published zine entitled "This could be the day..." (which is also the name of the record) and a 16 page lyric booklet with pictures and all the thoughts that were going through the bands head as they wrote the songs and what exactly it was that had gone into the making of the record. I was struck by how honest and caring the band seemed and I spent the rest of tour pouring over the zine and lyrics, finding myself agreeing completely with what they had to say and wholeheartedly identifying with the situations that crafted the songs.

When I got home to my record player, I was so pleased to find out that the actual songs bled the same emotion as the inserts. So honest, so heartfelt, so raw and unforgiving. It's toe tapping, it's out of key, it's off time and they don't care at all. These songs meant the world to them and you can feel it from start to finish.
~MK

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Mach Tiver - S/T 7"

Mach Tiver - S/T 7"

Mach Tiver was a 2 piece emo band from Trenton, Ontario that existed during the late 90’s. Made up of brother and sister Adam and Shannon Goodwin, Mach Tiver played punk rockish emo in the same vein as Shotmaker or Heroin.

Admittedly I don’t know too much about Mach Tiver, but from what I’ve read they were a 2 piece bass and drum combo, with Adam providing the shouted vocals and bass and Shannon drumming and screaming. This 7” is pretty relentless and driving with the only real break in speed coming at about halfway through the last song. For a 2 piece this record has as much punch and melody as a traditional guitar/bass/drum band, and is another great example of how amazing Canadian emo is.
~AB

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Soft Floors - S/T

Soft Floors - S/T

Soft Floors was a great band from the Toronto area…unfortunately I believe they broke up. Their album is available for free in a few places on the internet, but I figured I’d post it for anyone who hasn’t heard it before.

Soft Floors seemed to be a couple years ahead of the groovy technical emo stuff that is gaining popularity right now. (Native, The Reptilian, Grown Ups). The music on this record is awesome. Very driving yet dynamic post rock influenced emo. The bass has an amazing tone on this record, and definitely keeps the music moving. (I’m starting to realize I’m a bass man…hmmm) The guitar work is also pretty terrific, with the guitarist knowing when he should be hitting hard, or holding back and letting the drum and bass section do their thing. You can really tell this was a band that really knew how to read each other, and I’m always bummed that I never saw them live. The vocals on this record are the only thing I can see holding people back from really enjoying it. I personally love them, but I understand where people may not. Shouted and a bit shrill, they remind me a lot of older Sinaloa or North of America….intense, without screaming. Love it!
~AB

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COUNTERBLAST - BALANCE OF PAIN

Counterblast; masters of heavy, jarring, atmospheric, misanthropic crust. As far as I'm concerned, Balance of Pain perfectly represents mid 90's swedish hardcore. This album will crush you. And (most importantly!) the lyrics are fantastic. As soon as I get my scanner back in order I'll do a re-up and post the lyric sheet and album art. This album is absolutely essential for any fan of apocalyptic sounding crust, without the stigma of being just another Amebix rip off. Live it. Love it

-MK

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Elliot - Hateful Days (7")

Elliot was a band from Winnipeg. They do not sound like Elliott, the Revelation band most people know of. That's really all I know about them.

Elliot played hard hitting hardcore, with just enough of an emo flavor to keep it really interesting. The recording is very abrasive and dirty sounding...I love it. The bass has a great groove to it, which drives the music along, while the guitars provide a wall of noise and melody. Four tracks in just over 9 minutes.

Anyone who digs bands like Heroin, Shotmaker, Draft Dodgers, Rites of Spring will probably dig this a lot. (The rip of the 7" comes courtesy of Mr. Kevin Stebner....if you ever want to know about great Canadian emo, talk to that guy!)
~AB

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(Unfortunately I can't find a myspace)

O'Lucky Man - When I was Young....

O'Lucky Man - When I Was Young I Would Type Your Name...

There once was a man named Tim Kinsella. He played in a few bands here and there, some you may have heard of, some you may fervently worship. O'Lucky Man have obviously heard of Tim Kinsella, which is in no way a bad thing. Like most bands that fall into the "Kinsella-esque" category, OLM plays frantic, noodly upbeat emo-pop-rock stuff. But what really sets these guys apart is the speed they play some of their songs....it's mind boggling. Even more mind boggling is the idea that these songs are played sans effects pedals. These gents obviously know what they're doing. This record may not appeal to anyone, but fans of Cap'n Jazz, Algernon Cadwallader, Hella, Piebald, etc etc will probably dig it a lot.

Go to their myspace and buy their stuff. Both releases are $6 total. Insane!
~AB

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BLOG! BLOG! BLUGH!

So you found the music blog of one MK and one AB. We like music, but rarely the same music, so expect this blog to have a bit of a personality disorder. We're gonna try and update it 4 times a week, twice each, so keep coming back. AB posts will likely be better, but as an A I'm biased. MK posts will be pretty awesome too. WTF