Life At These Speeds - To Your Health

 AB: This should have been upped about 3 weeks ago but life got in the way. Sorry!

 

KS: Firstly, sorry for the huge gaps between my posts. What with whirlwind GreyScreen tour, releasing tapes, playing in 4 bands (17 sets in 5 weeks!), aging another year, recording the new Stalwart Sons' LP, I've been a busy guy.Life gets in the way of the internet. Good for me, but bad for you who need more jams. Fret not, chums, I'm getting back at it. 

Collective memory is a fickle thing. It's curious to go through records and see just what remains spoken of fondly, and which are somehow completely forgotten. When I was a lad, Level Plane Records was king of the post-hardcore world. Literally dozens of my favourite records in my collection are out on Level Plane, (they put out Norts, for goodness' sake!) so for the most part anything on Level Plane is worth at least a cursory listen. I'd have to say that this Life at These Speeds LP is one of the best. 


Life at These Speeds have another LP prior to this, one that is much more hard hitting, and a few other splits - which are definitely all worth hearing - but To Your Health is without a doubt the most mature. I'd say if your looking for something a little more hardcore, go earlier. But this final LP does away with much of that, and instead opts for a more subtle approach. Though, don't get me wrong, this record rocks. I talk a lot about my love "breath" in hardcore, the way bands will slow things down, trading in speed and fury for emotional catharsis, and on this release LATS have it in spades. "Heavy Hand" in particular quietly meaners for most of the track before before exploding into emo boombast. Think a more-alterna-400 Years or something like that. Solid.

~KS 

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Navies - An Estate

AB: New post from Mr. Saskatoon himself, Mr. Soulz.

My teenage years were largely built on the foundation of Lovitt Records, best known for releasing music by emo and hardcore heavyweights like Four Hundred Years, Bats and Mice, Frodus, Sleepytime Trio, Milemarker, etc. Lots of music to have feelings to, y'know?

Thank goodness I followed Lovitt's discography in a near-religious way, otherwise I would not have stumbled upon a mysterious little band called Navies, who none of my peers seem to remember. This band broke the label's roster mold at the time in several ways, though with driving bass lines a la Shotmaker and screechy schizophrenic guitars, Navies certainly lived up to the reputation Lovitt had for releasing interesting post-hardcore. With song lengths slightly beyond what is normal for the genre, the band certainly appeared to take great pains in composing and arranging these jams and weren't afraid of creating linear journeys out of bangin' riffs. Overall, the balance and interplay between psychotic rhythmic freakouts and brief melodic lulls make them sound like Fugazi on acid, or if Black Eyes weren't so inspired by disco and trash-can tribal music.
~AS

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NicsPicks: Kodan Armada/Pretty Faces Split

AB: New post from our best bud, Nicholas. Calling it NicsPicks. Not sure he'll love that.

Kodan Armada was one of those bands that sat in my Last.fm recommendations list for a good while. I am not sure where exactly I started in there discography but I was hooked in an instant. The collector in me wanted every releases these guys had put a song on. The hunt was on I found a couple splits relatively easily and bought them. But there was always a released mentioned that had not surfaced on any of the fan sites or blogs. That release is this post Kodan Armada/ Pretty Faces, there very vague mentions of this split being out but I never found any solid info. I actually thought it was not a reality until a copy popped up on the ebay. The band was not fond of ebay as stated on the cover of one their split with gospel, “Fuck Ebay”.

This release package is crazy, it contains three zines a package of rap trading cards and a bunch of nic-nacks from the label. I must say it was overwhelming to unpack it. It also come with a photo attached to the back of the envelope carrying all these goodies. I am not sure if the label does this for all of the releases or just this one. I am also not sure how many where actually made but I have a feeling that only pre-order versions went out. My copy has 420/500 marked but is also pre-order 12 so I am not sure on the number. This release is truly packed to the brim though. Picture will be included in the zip.

Lastly I want to talk about the sound of Kodan Armada, I have left this till last because I suck at describing sounds. Kodan Armada are nothing if not screamo but that carries such a wide frame that I must narrow it. I feel they hit everything I am looking for in my screamo, chaotic while still having melodic parts, screaming that counters clean parts, and fast mixed with slower parts. From that last sentence they may seem like a contradiction but they are far from that, they are more like a sweet mix of everything that defines screamo. I hope you find what I found in this band and fall for their sound.
~NR

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Taken - Between Two Unseens

Taken was a metalcore/hardcore band from California that were active from 1997 to 2004. Members went on to form the far less impressive Mikoto and Circa Survive. I understand if you stop reading by this point, but bear with me...this is a gem from a genre that produced a lot crummy and underwhelming records.

Listening to Between Two Unseens now, it almost feels cheesy. The guitars are a bit noodley, the rhythm section a bit chuggy at times, and the gang vocals gingerly toe the line between awesome and cornball. I'm not sure if that's a reflection on the band, or the fact that it falls within a genre that largely became a parody of itself. In spite of that, it's still an incredibly beautiful and heartfelt record. It's heavy without feeling forced, relying on passion and urgency rather than machismo and bravado and it's melodic without resorting to awful emo-pop vocal hooks. I'm unsure of how popular this record is, but I can definitely see it's influence in a lot of the emo that has recently become so popular.

I discovered this record at a time in my life when my passion for emo and hardcore was declining, and this album really helped reignite that, so I will always hold a special place in my heart for it.
~AB

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Plate Six - Battle Hymns For A New Republic

Plate Six were from Alabama and had a really rad sound that I'm having trouble describing. Post hardcore with the thoughtfulness and restraint of Sinaloa, the burly machismo of Ancestors/Town Ship, and maybe a bit of Enablers-esque meandering and I think you've got a pretty good description of Plate Six. I actually wasn't super sold on this band on first listen. The vocals have this gruff hard rock twang to them which was off-putting at first, but soon meld with the music so perfectly. Plate Six manage to come across aggressive without falling into the usual cliches that can really break a band with this sound.

By the way, I downloaded this album from the amazing blog Forget The Radio. The guy who runs that blog knows a ton about mid 90s emo and indie rock and I always find something I've never heard. One of my fave blogs. Check it out.
~AB

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Okara - Months Like Years

Doing that Shotmaker post has put me back in Ottawa mode. Pulled out everything that ever came out on Great American Steak Religion and Spectra Sonic Sound, two great labels who, at the time of the early-mid 90's, put out and documented some of the best stuff coming out of that area. And believe me, there's a lot of it. Blake, Uranus, Union Young America, One Eyed God Prophecy... there is an embarrassment of riches in this scene/era, but the one band (other than Shotmaker, of course) that, I feel, really needs a revisit for many (or perhaps an introduction to you fresh faces) is OKARA.

Formed in 1995, Okara played some super rhythmic post-hardcore. Ultra tense, sharp guitar lines, weighty vocals used as if it were part of the rhythm section. If you need some touchstones musically, Shotmaker is likely the closest thing. There's also elements of the rhythmic-math stuff of Louisville bands like Rodan/June of 44, but definitely keeps free of the meanderings of that stuff. Okara were pretty succinct in their approach: hit hard, do something interesting, get out.

I'm probably not making it too clear, but I LOVE this record. Stand it next to Mouse Ear (Forget Me Not). Canadian gold.

I'm almost certain Spectra Sonic Sound still has copies of this LP - I am unsure if it is still in the works, but there was also talk of a discography CD which should include the INCREDIBLE demo Okara did (which deserves a GGS post all it's own) - We are big fans of Spectra Sonic Sound here at GGS; many great records are on that label. Head over there and make Sean dig gold out of boxes.
~KS

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Play Guitar - Shields/Don't Worry About Death 12"

I can't explain Play Guitar very well...much like I can't explain most records. What I'll tell you is when I listen to this 12" I can vividly remember the smell of the library my Dad used to take me to find books and CD's. I can remember thumbing through the selection, reading the names of rock bands, choosing the most absurd or the most familiar. Bringing those albums home and locking myself in my room, like some ridiculous treasure hunter hoarding loot that is largely meaningless and worthless to anyone but himself. Pretending, naively, that I was the first person to ever hear these wonderful sounds and that distinct feeling that I needed to share it with everyone I knew for fear that it may disappear into thin air. Does Play Guitar sound like the Smashing Pumpkins, Pavement, Nirvana or Garbage albums I made home copies of? No...not at all. But the spirit of a new discovery is there, and maybe that's why I'm so fond of it. One day when I'm an old man, hopefully I'll pull this out and remember sitting with my friends on the cold floor of this old house listening to this album spin on the turntable. So if that holds any meaning to you I hope you enjoy this record as much as I do. Buy it you nerds!

Musically...think weirdo jangly indie rock with the catchiest hooks possibly. Halifax does it again! (I told you I can't explain it)

PS. We started a Facebook page...so go like it...or whatever.

~AB

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