Built on a Weak Spot

As you probably can tell, I made some slight changes to the appearance of BOAWS. I never really dug the bigger font and the spacing, etc. That and I couldn’t add as much linkage as I would have liked, however I think this works. Nothing major obviously, but I hope this seems a little bit less “big”. Just trying to keep things simple really. Anyway, back Monday as previously mentioned…

Since I typically don’t do much during the weekends, as far as updating this thing, this seems like as good as time as any to get the mix up for this month. Give it a spin over those two days maybe? Anyway, as usual if there is anything on the mix that grabs your attention then by all means pick up an album from the featured artist/band. The names have all been linked to a place of purchase wherever applicable. With that I am out and will return Monday with regular updates. Enjoy!

01 – Eat Skull – Stick to the Formula
02 – Reports – Sassy Glasses
03 – Theory of Ruin – Profiteering
04 – Difference Engine – 5 Listens
05 – Colossal – Short Speech
06 – Alger Hiss – Eastern Rhetoric
07 – Donkey – Fear Not Wandering Soul
08 – Fresh Meat – Get to Work
09 – Staynless – Relax and Color
10 – The Simple Ones – T-Shirt (Hell on Wheels)
11 – TV Ghost – Prodrome
12 – House of Large Sizes – A Tower Bends
13 – Cinemechanica – Rivals
14 – Zahir – They’re Coming!
15 – Snowing – Kirk Cameron Crowe
16 – My Dad is Dead – I Had a Dream
17 – Lookwell – Autobahn
18 – Control Freak – S.O.U.S.
19 – Mars Accelerator – 1040 M

Download (.zip file)

What you see above is the debut single Wanna See My Gun from the Brooklyn based trio Pregnant recently released this past February through the excellent Don Giovanni Records. The single lays down four tracks of the bands mish mash of indie/post-punk that sort of is toeing the line between the trashy garage stuff that is making its way back. No matter though, Pregnant have found a pretty solid balance between some of the more rigid sounding DC post-hardcore stuff and the lo-fi aesthetics that should satisfy ones thirst for that…if that is indeed what you’re looking for. The A-side rips through three very enjoyable tracks, featuring probably my two favorites back to back in “You Give it To Me”, which takes on a bit of a Fugazi or NoMeansNo vibe, and the ultra catchy but short “God is Nein”. The flipside features the title track and is the lengthiest of the four, but still rocks nonetheless. I think the band has a full-length planned which I believe is set to appear on Don Giovanni as well. For now though, check out the tune post below.

Pregnant – You Give it to Me [MP3]

For those interested in picking up Wanna See My Gun, then just head on over to Don Giovanni.

Based out of Birmingham in the UK, Shapes have only been around since early 2008 however are already on their second EP in the form of the recently released The Pasture, The Oil through Big Scary Monsters. Despite that, this happened to be my introduction to the band and what an introduction it was. Shapes get straight to the point with an absolute burner of a lead track titled “Trampled by a Horse”. A title that seems a bit too fitting after all one minute and forty seconds of it tears through you with their mathed out brand of post-hardcore. The rest of the EP may not continue at that sort of exhaustive pace, however it most definitely continues on with just as much energy. And while it would be easy for Shapes to get caught up and succumb to repetitiveness, “The Moon is Bright but Coned Off” sits firmly in the middle of the EP as a shining example of their excellent songwriting ability being a strictly instrumental track that ventures off into spacey guitar noodling between their hard hitting blasts of jagged distortion. As a three piece, Shapes sure make themselves sound much much larger than such on The Pasture, The Oil. Production wise, the EP is top notch as well. Give them a listen below…

Shapes – You Butcher [MP3]

For those interested in picking the album up, it’s available through Big Scary Monsters. Strongly recommended.

I had been waiting for this album from Norway’s Maribel to come out ever since hearing their single for “Taste the Trash”. Thankfully they didn’t waste any time getting their album out, as Aesthetics was just recently released through Quince Records and if you’re a fan of noisy MBV inspired shoegaze then I suggest picking it up. They definitely take a page or two from the recently reunited greats, but I also pick up a lot of Medicine vibes too as they seem to have no problem venturing out from the sugar coated melodies and applying an abrasiveness that is certainly noticeable at times. To these ears though it’s very welcome and in fact I would probably enjoy this record even more if it kept with that focus. But despite that, Maribel seems to build a good portion of their sound around a heavier garage-rock slant while working in the same sort of gnarled guitar rhythms that dominated much of the genres sound in the late 80’s/early 90’s. It wouldn’t surprise me to find this one at the top of the heap of shoegaze related releases at years end; a very solid debut album from these guys for sure.

Maribel – Ecstatic [MP3]

Thankfully this just became available here in the states, thanks to Tonevendor. Definitely pick this up from them if you enjoy the tune above.

Anyone out there ever pick an album based on hearing a song or two thinking the rest of it was going to be like those? If so, then you’ve probably found that most of the time that doesn’t end well. However, there is the rare occasion where something comes completely out of left field to really surprise and ultimately impress. Black Cock and their recently released debut Robot Child with a God Complex pretty much shattered any preconception of what I thought I was going to hear when I initially purchased the disc. I’m not necessarily sure what I was thinking I was going to hear, but I am pretty sure it wasn’t this. However, after listening to Robot Child with a God Complex a few times through now, it’s apparent that whatever I was expecting wouldn’t have held up to this.

Funny thing, I began to write this late last night around 4 in the morning, but by that point the sound of lying down on a comfy bed was just too much to resist. However, while laying in bed I began to think about when I worked odd hours at my old job, remaining awake for practically 24 hours or more and how the state of sleep depravation that I would feel kind of related to how Black Cock basically sound. There are moments of dreamy synth that go from soothing to jarring and just downright creepy at a moments notice. The same goes for Whitney Jordon’s vocals, which tag right along. Their music is ultimately the soundtrack you would hear in those last moments where everything/everyone around becomes nothing but muffled noises and just general incoherency. The difference being Black Cock is far from incoherent, as they’ve seen this sound all the way through with pretty great results. There is dashes of everything from Jesus Lizard to early Faith No More to be found here. One write up mentioned that they showed flashes of an old 4AD band, which I can very much agree with…however more so like if they had collided head on with a diesel or something. This is very cool stuff nonetheless.

Black Cock – Harvey’s Machine [MP3]

For those interested in picking up Robot Child with a God Complex, then head on over to the bands website. Also, the whole album is streamable through their Bandcamp site and available for digital purchase for those who prefer that method. Enjoy!

It doesn’t seem, at least to me, that too many bands start out as a country/folk outfit and eventually grow into a predominately punk/indie sound. It seems you see more of the reverse actually. However, they could just be me. Anyhow, that’s what Unwelcome Guests were initially before ripping off a strong run of 7 inches that showcased the band and their more punk inspired leanings. Of course the band still bares a fair portion of its past within its current sound giving them that late 80’s/90’s gritty alt-country/indie-rock sound of sorts. The Painter 7’’, which I have here, is probably some of their best and most rockin’ material that was released late last year through a collaboration of multiple labels (Art of the Underground, Dirt Cult, and Feral Kid). Two tracks to each side, all of which keep it snappy and feature a loud wallop of bass and drums combined with some rough around the edges guitar haze that make it seem as if these songs were destined to be listened to on a 45. I think they have another single on the way, which is definitely good news. Anyway, check out a tune from The Painter below…

Unwelcome Guests – Painter [MP3]

If you’re enjoying what you hear then be sure to pick up a copy of the single, which can be had over at their MySpace along with most of their past material. For anyone that is curious of their beginnings, then they have a compilation for sale on CD Baby. Check it out.

Photo courtesy of http://www.davidjcubberly.com/

Not long after Chris Powell and his band Ring, Cicada released their much anticipated second album History’s End digitally; he followed that with self-releasing the debut album from his other band Heroes of the Kingdom through the very same method. While physical copies of either album would certainly be my preferred choice, I can’t help but be a bit ecstatic about the amount of material released all within the same period, especially after Ring, Cicada remained mostly dormant for an extended period of time. Anyway, I certainly wasn’t expecting an album from Heroes of the Kingdom, as I hadn’t even heard talk of a release or really much in the way of recording an album, but then low and behold a link shows up on their MySpace and there it is. There in lies the benefits of the digital age, that said…a nice large slab of wax with these songs on it would still be very awesome. Regardless, I am a happy camper with this and HOTK delivers in much of the way I’d hoped. I swear I must have listened to the “Instrumental” track on their MySpace dozens of times before the release of the album and the rest of the tracks that I hadn’t heard before stand up just as well.

Heroes of the Kingdom appear to be more of a traditional rock band for Powell, in that the music is not heavily instrumental like in Ring, Cicada and puts Powell’s vocals to work far more. They end up fitting quite nicely with what the band is doing, especially on some of the slower numbers that are definitely cool to hear. HOTK is a lot less jammy too, and like most Midwestern influenced rock it has an added focus melodically. While HOTK was definitely anticipated at some point, it came as wonderful surprise for me this year. Also with the addition of ex-Riddle of Steel bassist Jimmy Vavak to the bands lineup not too long ago, I hope there is much more to be heard from this band.

Heroes of the Kingdom – Wild Eyed Creatures [MP3]

For those interested in picking up HOTK, it can be had digitally through Bandcamp in just about every format you could possibly want. So give it a go if you dig what you hear.

Having since changed their name from Stay Fucked to the slightly less confrontational STATS, the band has been working on material for an upcoming EP tentatively titled Marooned. Some may remember the bands previous release Windpipe that appeared on the blog back in ’07. Since its release the band may have toned down the name, but there is certainly nothing toned down about the music which has seemingly grown even more powerful since I last heard them. Marooned, like their last release, as of right now is three songs of sprawling knock you down math-rock with a bit of a riff heavy metal twist to it that gives it an added degree of force in my opinion. Although not completely similar, the guitar tone and style vaguely reminds me of Deadguy on their Screamin’ With the Deadguy Quintet 10”. While the bands previous material was shorter and more concise, they have seemingly fleshed out many of the songs here anchoring them with a heavier bass tone and slowing the pacing down some while throwing a stronger emphasis on melody. That said though, STATS certainly belong in the same camp as Dazzling Killmen or Breadwinner, which is good company if you ask me. Give them a listen if you will.

STATS – Yo King [MP3]

Keep checking in on the band at their MySpace page for updates on the EP’s progress. Things could very well change from now until the actual release of it. In the meantime befriend them and let them know what you think!

I had been meaning to check out this record from Richmond, VA’s Food. I finally got around to laying down some cash and it arrived this past weekend just in time to sit down and see what the band was all about. After hearing five tracks clocking in at just less than forty minutes, I’d say what they are all about is delivering some face melting low end heavy fuzzed out sludge. These are some pretty killer tunes and not the typical kind of drawn out slow churning stoner sort of fuzz that I generally shy away from. While essentially anything like this will get some Melvins comps Food brings the full force rocking with a pace more so in the way of I’d say Floor or possibly Buzzov*en (sans vocals/samples), especially with the grimy outsider/downer feel the record manages to convey. While the songs are typically stretched out and fairly lengthy Food have no trouble maintaining the intensity and riffage for the duration, stopping for a breath here and there only to amp things right back up and in your face. All I know is that it’s heavy, loud, and that I dig it. Here is to hoping that despite the time it took the band to record this monster (over three years I hear) that more material shows up sooner rather than later or if it all. For now though, give this a listen.

Food – March Forth [MP3]

For those interested in picking this record up, it’s available through Molsook Records. Check it out if you’re digging the tune above.