Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Danton

This is the demo from German emo/hardcore band Danton. I don't know too much about them but I hope that they're named after Georges Danton (important figure from the french revolution) because a Danton/Storm the Bastille split would be way too hilarious and awesome. Anyways, this demo is great and I hope you all think so too.
-MK

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

With Horses in Here Eyes - Prologue

With Horses in Her Eyes was an awesome screamo/hardcore/skramz/fuckyou band from Atlanta. They released Prologue, a CDR, and changed their name to Histories....but sadly broke up in 2007. It's really too bad, because I personally feel like this band was doing some really killer stuff with the genre...maybe not groundbreaking, but they did it exceptionally well. The screams are some of my favorite I've heard on a screamo record in a while, incredibly frantic and intense. The music is heavy and driving at one minute, incredibly melodic at the next. Some of the poppier parts remind me of mid 90's emo like Mineral or Evergreen. The last track is acoustic, which is super cheesy and totally reminds me of 90's metalcore weenies Red Roses for a Blue Lady, but if you can look past the cheese, it's actually a pretty sick ending to a fantastic album. Anyways, really awesome record by another band that unfortunately came to an early end. I heard that a member of the band had all the remaining copies of this record in his car...the car was stolen. Bummer.
~AB

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Arsen - Black Sunday 7"

Arsen is a rad crusty emo/hardcore band from Germany who released a 7" on React With Protest in 2002. They play very dark and heavy emo/hardcore influenced by bands like Union of Uranus and Orchid, with a bit of a His Hero is Gone or Tragedy crust vibe too. This 7", Black Sunday, is incredibly noisy and heavy. The vocals are mixed fairly low in the mix, and range from high picthed screams to deep growls. It actually reminds me of Black Magic Pyramid a lot, just more "punk" sounding. Only complaint is the guitar tone which gets a little grating after a while. I don't know what else to say about this really, it's a fast, heavy and vicious 10 minutes of music. Germans scare me.
~AB
(PS. If you downloaded Ekkaia, you'll probably dig this record)

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

To The North - Landscapes

To The North is an awesome Math Rock/Indie Rock band with some emo influence. Super jazzy noodley guitar bordering on Kinsella-esque, dancey upbeat dums, and rambled shouted vocals with a heavy Australian accent. I've noticed Australia has a great scene going on. Tons of great bands, especially involved with the Hey Presto Label. Check it out if you dig bands like Castevet or Soft Floors.
~AB

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Ekkaia-Demasiado Tarde Para Pedir Perdon

Once again, I hope this band isn't new to many people but they're just too good not to post.

Hailing from Spain, Ekkaia plays an amazing blend of emo and hardcore. This album leans more to the hardcore side of things but it's a great place to start and is my personal favorite from their catalogue. This band is just further proof that (as far as I'm concerned), Europeans are way better at punk than North Americans.
~MK


Monday, December 14, 2009

James Dean - S/T 7"

A lot of people like to argue over the use of the word skram to define a genre. While I agree the term is silly, so is "emo" and arguing over genre names is even lamer so suck it up because this next record is a "skram" record.

James Dean was a rad skram/emo band from Australia who sadly broke up in 2007. This is the 7" that was supposed to come out on Hey Presto, but from what I can tell it hasn't, which is too bad, because I'd love to have this on wax. James Dean plays very melodic but frantic style of emo not unlike bands like La Quiete or Suis La Lune. The vocals are what really hook me on this record, they are screamed at times, but the vocalist has a great hoarse shout/sing style as well. The guitars are played with very little distortion, so the whole record has this trebley clean vibe to it and really helps maintain the melodic element of the music. Not a lot of noise on this record. Nothing too groundbreaking, just 4 really enjoyable songs. In The Hospital is a banger!
~AB

PS. I just heard that Bringin' it Down is back on the air starting tomorrow evening! Support these gents, they play good tunes and are fervent supporters of local independent hardcore! Maybe they'll let myself and MK do a GonnaGetSued night. (Wink wink...nudge nudge)

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Betercore - Youth Crust Disco.

I know that this band isn't (or shouldn't be) news to anyone but lately I've sort of re-discovered them after a long break. I first found them when I was 14 and was perusing the Hardcore Holocaust site and they really stood out from the rest. Maybe it was the naked man.

As far as I'm concerned, this band is everything punk should be about. It's fast and angry and abrasive but its still SO much fun. It's silly and witty but well thought out and intelligently presented. Seriously, best band.
~MK

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

York Redoubt - Cheap Funerals

Halifax is probably one of my favorite music scenes in Canada. Not only is it home to one of my all time favorite bands, North of America, it is also a hotbed of fantastic angular, weird poppy indie rock. Some amazing bands like Special Noise, Tomcat Combat, A History Of, The Holy Shroud, and The Medium Mood have come out of this scene. Halifax bands have the noisy mid 90's indie rock that was pioneered by bands like Pavement and Archers of Loaf on lock. I don't know what it is about that town...strange. (Reminds me...I always wanted to start a Punk Rock Geography blog, focusing on certain North American scenes, and their distinct sound...Chicago emo anyone?)

York Redoubt is a fantastic new(ish) band from Halifax featuring members of Tomcat Combat (Killer post rock band...check them out). On "Cheap Funerals" their debut tape (I think) they play really awesome fuzzed out pop music, with a heavy 60's rock influence, which is apparent on the last track, "Backyard Garden" which starts off with a strange, angular bass driven riff, but breaks into a soaring chorus that would not be out of place in a Beatles or Zombies song. Other songs like "I Want To Die" explode out of the gate with some heavy Weezer-esque riffage buried under layers of fuzz, distortion and noise. Seriously, this is not the style of music I normally dig, but York Redoubt does it so honestly and well that it's hard not to love these 4 songs.

Bart Records has a few in the distro, so next time you see Mr. Stebner, grab this. It's definitely a gem of Canadian indie rock, one I can see becoming a fairly sought after collectors item if the band continues on the path they're on right now. York Redoubt also just released a full length 12" limited to 100 copies, so head over to Hot Money Records to snag a copy ASAP.
~AB

Monday, December 7, 2009

Adam & Naive - Summer in the Storm Cellar

A slight departure from the regular posts on this blog for today. Adam & Naive are not a punk rock, hardcore, or emo band. I'm not even really sure how to classify them. Weird indie rock drenched in reverb and delay. This record really is very appropriately titled. It makes me think of hot, sweaty summer nights spent in basements dancing with your friends after a long day of eating Viet subs on the steps and playing soccer in the field. It just has a really great laid back vibe going on with it's twinkly guitars, shouted-sang vocals and meandering drums that sort of skip along. This record is definitely going to help me get through this cursed time of year we lovingly call winter.

Stand out tracks for me are Rainy Day, as song comprised entirely of stomping, clapping, chanting, and shouting and Candy Baby, a reverb soaked slide guitar jam. Rad!

Best thing about this band? They put all their records up fro free on their myspace. I've put the link to Summer in The Storm Cellar here, but you should go to their myspaca and check out the other records, and maybe purchase some merch if you feel so inclined. Great band!
~AB

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Chamberlain - Fate's Got a Driver

Chamberlain (formerly known as Split Lip) was a emo/punk/rock band from Indiana. They released Fate's Got a Driver in 1995 under the band name Split Lip, and at the time played a great brand of punk rock that was obviously heavily influenced by Jawbreaker...in fact Fate's Got a Driver could be a Jawbreaker record, so I guess you can take that as good or bad. Despite the similarity, it's still a great record, one that I think is vastly underrated and overlooked. In 1996 they changed their name from Split Lip to Chamberlain in an effort to distance themselves from the hardcore scene that had made them who they were. It's unfortunate because they went on to play a pretty boring country fried rock sound that was no where near as good as the early stuff. (The singer actually releases solo records under his own name on Doghouse now...pretty boring, adult contemporary stuff my mom would dig....I guess we all gotta grow up at some point).

Anyways, I guess I shouldn't shit on what the band became and focus on what they were. Really melodic punk/emo stuff, tons of great riffs and basslines and hooky vocal lines. The vocalist is actually a very good singer, and definitely stands out in a genre that doesn't always place importance on such things. (Probably why he went on to release the kind of records he does). There's even a pretty rad acoustic track at the end, which I guess in a way would hint to their later work, with the leaning's toward the rootsy country vibe they would embrace on the next record, but I think it still works well on this record and serves as a good closer. Definitely check this out if you're a fan of Jawbreaker, early Jimmy Eat World, Christie Front Drive, etc.
~AB

Floodgate - 7" + I Choose Danger Double 7"

Floodgate was a California emo/punk rock band formed in the early 90's. Very reminiscent of early DC bands like Rites of Spring, One Last Wish, Embrace, etc. Very frantic vocals over top of jagged and noisy guitars and groovey basslines. I don't know a ton about these guys, but what I've heard is really rad.

I decided to upload their 7" release and their double 7" release "I Choose Danger". Stand out tracks are definitely "At Rest" that has a great guitar hook and a bass line that makes me think of 80's new wave/pop (I'm not sure why) and "The Organic" which is a frantic little gem with a Waiting Room-esque bass line (Maybe even a little "Come As You Are" - Nirvana steez too). Very catchy dirty sounding emo punk rock! Dig Dig Dig. (Side note: The art pictured above is for the 7", the art for the Double 7" is included in the download file, it just wasn't big enough to bother posting)