Merchandise - S/T

I've been sitting on this one for a while. It's not hard to find, and any fan of Cult Ritual will have probably downloaded this off their blog already...but I figured it was worth spreading around.

Merchandise is from Tampa, FL and plays post-hardcore, post-punk, whatever. Honestly, the first time I heard this I thought it was total bullshit...but the more I listened, the more I got it. These guys are taking back a genre that has been demonized, bastardized, and generally fucked with by bar star bands and terrible "punk" media. It's catchy as hell and the band isn't messing around, these are tight jams played by really talented musicians. Oddly enough, it all still feels like an obscure punk rock record. Trust me...it doesn't make any sense.

The bass tone on this record is CRAZY good and really moves this record along nicely. The opener track "I'm Still Right" is perfection in my books with it's slow meandering drum and bass groove...I've even grown to love the last minute or so where it turns into a banging rock and roll song. The vocalist has this great wail that would fit nicely in any radio friendly "emo rock" band, but manages to not sound like he's in a band like that. Make sense? Probably not....like I said, this band doesn't make any sense to me. A lot of you will likely hate it, but I urge you to give it a shot. There are some solid songs on this 6 song EP. Snag it from Drugged Conscience.
~AB

DOWNLOAD