I Can Put My Arm Back On You Can't - s/t 7"

I uploaded I Can Put My Arm Back On You Can't's (from here on out know as ICPMABOYC) full length album a while back...it's total ripper. I knew this 7" existed but had to be able to find a copy of it anywhere. When Titan came through town last week they had a small distro of mostly various I Spoke records, but sitting off to the side was a nondescript looking 7" in a white paper sleeve in a clear plastic slip. The slip had a small label in the top left corner with song titles and a brief description of the recording process. Printed in silver on the blue label was ICPMABOYC. Distro gold!!

Anyways, I'm not too sure what the story with this 7" is. Whether it was a teaser 7" of material the band was working on before they ultimately disbanded, or old songs that they wanted to release, I'm unsure. Both tracks on this are total bangers, and not far off from the full length tracks. Maybe a bit more raw in sound, but that's more a product of the recording. Regardless, this is definitely worth snagging if you ever come across it, especially if you're a fan of the band. All the web addresses on the 7" are dead, so I really don't know where you'd be able to get one online. If you're ever in Toronto check the bargain bins at your fave record store...I bet there is one or two floating about. (I'm told James Ternovoy has 2 copies of this in his distro. So if you're in Edmonton, make sure you grab this from him. Physical copies are always better than digital.)
~AB

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Wilderness - Vessel States

When I picked up this album, oh say, 5 years ago, I hated it. I found the guy's vocals to be galling. But now... Oh now! I realize my error. Wilderness are awesome. I now find James Johnson's atonal hollers to be so compelling and perfect. It's become the dealmaker, I only just understood it now. It's just the way it has to come out. To sing "normally" would be a disservice to it all. You just got to give in.

If ever I read a review of Wilderness, I find Lungfish continually name dropped - which was the thing that got me to check Wilderness out in the first place. I never quite saw the connection at the time, but it's "the groove" & breath & space that both bands understand so well (and that so few bands do). Knowing when to step back and keep things slow and simple. Take an interesting line, and loop it over and over until it becomes a sort of musical mantra - and thankfully kept free from post-rock self-indulgence. "Beautiful Alarms" is an subtle work of art, the one that perhaps stands out as the track that is most obviously catching - one channeling "Hear the Children Sing" and stuffing it through a reverb tank.

If you don't get it right away, that's alright. Just let it be around. The day it finally takes root, that's a great day.
~KS

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