Riddle of Steel, Traindodge, Stella Link @ Record Bar 4-28 / Melt-Banana - Bambi's Dilemma

Traindodge singer/guitarist Jason Smith

Hope everyone had a good weekend. I managed to make my way down to the Record Bar here in KC Saturday night and catch Riddle of Steel, Traindodge, and The Stella Link all play. Needless to say the show was quite the display of ass kicking rock. I remember after the Stella Link set turning around and hearing the guy operating the sound board make a remark at just how loud it was. And indeed, it was loud…in fact everyone was loud and it was fucking great. I didn’t even bother to listen to anything in my car on the way home because it would have had to been cranked up for me to even hear it well enough. For anyone that hasn’t checked out any of these bands yet, please do so.

Riddle of Steel – Lovers of Nothing [MP3]
Traindodge – Wolves [MP3]
The Stella Link – Undetermined [MP3]

All three bands are on the fabulous Ascetic Records. Head on over there and purchase mucho CD’s, merch, etc.


I don’t know how I missed this one but apparently those crazy spazzed out noise makers Melt-Banana have a new album out called Bambi’s Dilemma. For those not familiar with the band, they play what I guess could be described as an avant-garde amalgamation of punk and grind. Seriously, I have no other way to describe just what Melt-Banana does. While this new record is still filled with quite a bit of that distinct Melt-Banana sound, it also could be considered the most accessible album I’ve ever heard from them. Some of the songs even stay tame long enough to get into a slight groove, however keeping in line with their unpredictable style of play, the albums direction changes on a dime and you’re greeted with multiple 30 to 40 second songs full of blast beats, distortion, and waves of electronic screeching.

Really, although maybe a slight departure, this is about where you’d expect the band to be after their last album Cell-Scape. They are every bit as otherworldly and unpredictable as they’ve ever been. For fans of the band, this shouldn’t disappoint in any way.

Melt Banana – Green Eyed Devil [MP3]
Melt Banana – Slide Down [MP3]

Bambi’s Dilemma just came out last week, so head on over to Amazon and pick it up.

Monthly Mix: April

I’m just a little late with today’s update. Well ok, I’m quite a bit late...but nevertheless I am here to deliver this months mix. As usual, I have provided links to purchase the fine tunes that I have chosen below where it is applicable. Everyone have a good weekend, I’ll be back Monday. Enjoy!

01 – Arab on Radar – My Mind is a Muffler
02 – Oswego – Lemonade’s Cheap at the Petting Zoo + Mallet Snare
03 – Last of the Juanitas – The Sky is Splitting on Me, Anyway
04 – Jawbox – Manatee Bound
05 – Thug – Quiet Room
06 – Destroyalldreamers – A Summer Without You
07 – Wicked Farleys – Dig the Ring
08 – Tiny Hawks – Tornado Children
09 – Royal Trux – Ratcreeps
10 – Archers of Loaf – What Did You Expect
11 – 6L6 – Dead
12 – The Oh Sees – It Killed Mom
13 – These Are Powers – The South Angel
14 – Jasper TX – Winter, Midnight, Suicide
15 – Seven Storey Mountain – Tip
16 – New Ruins – Nameless
17 – Tanner – Computers That Breathe
18 – Ancient Greeks – You Are Not a Wire
19 – Godflesh – Anthem

Download (.zip file)

Plum - Your Witness to Fall

The Polish trio of Plum has been together since 1999 and during that time has been a pretty active band stacking up numerous releases of great noisy rock; although for most of us over here in the US we would never know it. Plum has just recently put out their 6th release out on Gusstaff Records called Witness of Your Fall and it’s yet another solid addition to the bands fast growing catalog.

I didn’t really get around in time to listening to the bands last EP Sink or Swim last year when it came out, and I actually wanted to write about the band then, but obviously that never happened. As good as that EP was I am glad my negligence, laziness, or whatever it is held me off until this album came out because this is definitely a shining example of what Plum can do. Their sound isn’t too terribly far of from the likes of the great 90’s Touch and Go era, however with a bit of a mathy/post-punk twist thrown in there. It’s definitely something that fans of the genre should check out. Some pretty solid stuff indeed.

Plum – Sight [MP3]
Plum – Out of Burden [MP3]

If you dig the tunes above Witness to Your Fall can be had over here. Also check out the bands MySpace for some more tunes from some of their past releases. Enjoy!

Pink Reason - Cleaning the Mirror

Welcome to Kevin DeBroux’s world of disappointment and depression. Debroux, who records under the moniker of Pink Reason, released the album Cleaning the Mirror on Siltbreeze a couple of months ago and I must say it’s absolutely fantastic. As most out there know, it’s incredibly difficult to feel good all the time and for those moments when you think you’ve hit rock bottom, well then Cleaning the Mirror is the type of record that should be at the top of the list to be thrown on during that oh so enjoyable period of time. The album follows up an equally amazing 7 inch that was put out in 2006 on Savage Quality/Criminal IQ.

Cleaning the Mirror is a journey through six songs that while all featuring bare bones guitar work and the warmth of lo-fi production, is able to really utilize a lot of different instruments while keeping with the ultra sullen sound. The song “Up the Sleeve” is particular impressive with its usage of a banjo. My favorite moments are however “Goodbye” and “Storm in Heaven”, both of which wrap themselves with the distant and haunting vocals from Debroux along with a slight touch of feedback making them both excellent murky displays of frustration and sadness. The album is full of variety and interesting ideas, which keeps it from falling into any sort of rut. This is highly enjoyable stuff to accompany any self-loathing that may take place in the future.

Pink Reason – Goodbye [MP3]

Cleaning the Mirror can be currently had over at Amazon. Do be sure to pick this up if you enjoy what you hear.

Lilys - In the Presence of Nothing

I am a huge fan of lists, which doesn’t work very well for me because I happen to suffer from being too lazy as well. The combination doesn’t really ever work out, as I’ve recently been trying to put together a list of my favorite 50 albums of all time. In actuality I’ve had the idea to do one floating somewhere around in my head for about a year so now, but that’s where the lazy factor comes in and why I am just now beginning to put it together. I won’t go into great detail as to how it will be compiled, because if I did I am afraid many would want to reach through their computer screens and strangle me while shouting, “WHY!?!?”. So, I’ll save everyone those details. But anyway, I put together a quick list of potential candidates and while compiling that list it led me to the album that is the topic of today, In the Presence of Nothing by the Lilys.

During the earlier stages of the Lilys existence they were yet another band that could easily fit right into the shoegaze crowd, playing completely fuzzed out distortion with that ever so deliciously warped sound to it. In the Presence of Nothing gets a lot of flack for sounding pretty similar to Loveless, however how many bands did really? A lot from what I can tell. Is it really that bad to sound like the album that is widely considered to be one of the landmark albums of the genre? Regardless, In the Presence of Nothing doesn’t really sound all too much like it in my opinion anyway. The album occasionally dives into more ambient/psych territory while also not relying as heavily on the “wall of sound” either, often sounding very poppy on some songs.

To be honest though, In the Presence of Nothing gets mucho points for providing one of my favorite songs that has ever came out of the genre with “Tone Bender”. Really there are very few songs out there that sound as heavy as this one but yet are as beautiful as well. It’s a great song off of a great album.

Lilys – Tone Bender [MP3]
Lilys – Periscope [MP3]
Lilys – Snowblinder [MP3]

Sadly this album remains out of print and really the only way it can be had now is digitally through sites like Rhapsody and Emusic, unless you’re one of the lucky ones out there that have managed to run across it.

Eloe Omoe - Marauders

Starting off this week is the debut full-length Marauders from the Boston, Massachusetts duo of Eloe Omoe, which is comprised of Sam Rowell (bass) and Tim Leanse (drums). On their album they rattle off six tracks of complete rumbling destruction that if played live is sure to have clubs/venues busting out plenty of mops to clean up the mess afterwards. Rowell experiments with mega bass distortion while leaving drummer Leanse to go completely wild, which lends it to be somewhat comparable to the improvisational ideas of free-form jazz, but you know, with ear splitting feedback.

Eloe Omoe’s sound is one that I am naturally drawn in by. Containing a super sludgy low end along with screeching amounts of feedback, what’s not to like about that? However, what I really enjoy about this and music that is very similar to it, despite being much too rare to find, is that it’s completely unrestrained and is truly free-form. Sure, it’s noise…however there is noticeable interplay between the two musicians that obviously has taken time to establish. That’s quite impressive on its own. For those looking for something that operates on pure raw aggression and you can wrap your mind around through a few listens, then I highly suggest checking out Marauders.

Eloe Omoe – Shagreen [MP3]

Marauders is out now on the always great Animal Disguise, so if you’re into the track posted above head on over there and pick up the real deal. Enjoy!

Sweet Pea - Chicks Hate Wes

Back in the infant stages of this blog I talked a bit about Distorted Pony and their absolute noisy brilliance. To sort of continue on with that post today, I wanted to mention the album that David Uskovich did with the band he formed after Distorted Pony called Sweet Pea. They weren’t around very long at all, but they did release their only album Chicks Hate Wes on Trance Syndicate in 1996 before breaking up. I am pretty sure most of the members went on and joined Uskovich in forming his later band SWITCHhITTER, however their sound was a step away from the sludgy distorted mayhem that was commonplace within Distorted Pony and Sweet Pea. But anyway, Sweet Pea is sort of a lesser known project that may have been overlooked and their one album together is definitely worth checking out for those that are fans of noise rock with a shit ton of low end, and especially if you like Slug.

Sweet Pea – Sandbox [MP3]
Sweet Pea – Gabriel [MP3]

For those interested or for anyone that hasn’t ever picked this up, it can be had for pretty cheap used over at Amazon. I’d definitely recommend it.

Self-Evident - Self-Evident

Out sometime in May through Doubleplusgood Records is the new album from Minnesota post-emo/math rockers Self-Evident, which is simply Self-Titled. Their last album Epistemology was a bit of a challenge to listen to, as I couldn’t help but gather the strange suspicion that the band was trying with all their might to squeeze in as many odd time signatures and overall crazy riffing as they could. To be honest, it sound forced and it brought down the moments I really enjoyed about it. So, going in listening to this new album, I wasn’t really sure what I was going to get. However after listening to the 12 songs that make up this album, I can honestly say that it’s a pretty big step up. It’s an effort that ultimately sounds a whole lot more cohesive and the songs aren’t lacking melody either, which was something that sort of plagued their last album. On their latest it seems like the band has found a really nice middle ground between their early 90’s math/emo influences and the result is pretty impressive to these ears.

Something I’ve come to enjoy about Self-Evident is that they can go from a delicate, almost jazzy, meandering sound to an enormous rock giant in the matter of seconds. It keeps you on your toes, that’s for sure. Whether it’s the bands goal to defy all categorization or not, they’ve maintained my respect throughout the years for taking on a multitude of different ideas and influences while working them into roughly three minute songs. It’s a difficult task to which on this album they have successfully made it all work.

Self-Evident – Qat [MP3]
Self-Evident – Fraid [MP3]

Be sure to check out the album when it comes out in May. Continue to check out the bands MySpace and head on over to Doubleplusgood to pre-order the album!

Vitreous Humor...

Vitreous Humor was a really great post-emo/indie group that formed sometime in the late eighties in Topeka, Kansas. However, they didn’t really fully come together until the early 90’s when they decided to just go with the trio of Danny Pound (vocals, guitar), Brad Allen (at that time bass), and Dan Benson (drums) after a revolving door of other bassists. With that lineup they released a three song 7” on Crank! in 1994. Soon after Brooks Rice joined up and took over bass duties while Brad Allen then moved to second guitar. With being able to have a second guitarist, it allowed the band to really expand on their sound and gave it the meatier punch that it needed.

Other than a couple 7 inches and a split with Boys Life, the only other thing that the band released while they were actually together was their self-titled EP in 1995, which was also put out by Crank!. For those that are pretty big fans of that whole Midwestern emo/indie sound, then I sure hope that you own this EP. It’s pretty definitive stuff that kind of gets overshadowed by some of the genres better known bands.

After gaining a respectable following from basically just the EP, the band succumbed to tension within and called it quits not very long after. In 1998 Crank! put out a posthumous release of recordings from the band, not so cleverly titled Posthumous. It’s a pretty good collection of material from the band that rivals their EP in terms of quality and also features my favorite song the band ever did in “Why Are You So Mean to Me”, which was originally only found on the split they did with Boys Life.

Vitreous Humor:
Vitreous Humor – Applaud Water [MP3]
Vitreous Humor – Squares of Squares [MP3]

Posthumous:
Vitreous Humor – Why Are You So Mean to Me [MP3]
Vitreous Humor – Science Has No Soul [MP3]
Vitreous Humor – Tough Women [MP3]

After the band called it quits the original three members of the band reappeared as The Regrets, which also released one album but in my opinion never really were at the level that they were with Vitreous Humor. Both the self-titled EP and Posthumous are still available from Amazon, both used and new. Do check it out if you like the tunes.

And This Army - Foe

As I get older it seems like I begin to know what to expect out of things more often than not. This is more so for things that occur throughout my day, however the same could be said for music. It gets harder and harder to really be enlightened by new music, which is kind of scary in a way. Although I am quite sure it will never happen, will there be a point to where there just isn’t anything that genuinely surprises me anymore? I doubt it, but the thought still creeps into my head every once and awhile. But anyway, the reason I bring it all up is that I’ve been listening to the album Foe from the Brooklyn, New York trio of And This Army, which has put to rest that horrible thought and been quite the pleasant surprise for me. After listening to a couple songs on the bands website I really didn’t know what to expect. I could have listened to the whole album, but I chose to wait and here it on something other than my computer speakers. All I can say is that I am really damn glad I did. I don’t know what really best fits to describe them, but it’s somewhere in the post-metal territory with a slight touch of shoegaze thrown in here and there.

From the opening couple minutes of the song “Jezebel” I was pretty much already drawn in from the dark sounding bass line, then the vocals kicked in and that was it. If there is one thing that sets the band apart it’s the vocals from Brendan McDermott, which are truly breath of fresh air for music of this type. It seems like it always either has to be instrumental or the “indecipherable growling” route. McDermott’s vocals are perfect for what And This Army is doing too, being perfectly absorbed into the mix. It’s too bad that more bands can’t sound like this. On top of the absolutely stunning vocal work are the songs themselves. And This Army have crafted six songs that at times have managed to make me drop what I am currently doing and just soak in the melodies. For a trio these guys create a sound that is so full and gorgeous that it’s hard to believe that no one has taken a flier on this band yet.

And This Army – Blackbeard [MP3]

According the groups website, Foe will be officially released on April 20th. It is said it will appear on iTunes, Rhapsody, and etc. I suggest keeping an eye on the bands MySpace or website for future updates and for exact details on where and how to obtain the album. I highly suggest doing so as the album is amazing.

Glazed Baby - Ancient Chinese Secret

One of the most underrated bands to grace the 90’s noise-rock circuit was Massachusetts own Glazed Baby. Even I neglected to really pay much attention to them when they were actually around. Due to my negligence it made things a bit trickier to track down some of the bands earlier singles and whatnot. However, that has and still is slowly being taken care of. I started in late with Glazed Baby, so my first actual exposure to the band was their final album Ancient Chinese Secret, which to most probably isn’t the number one choice when it comes to their albums. However, for me it was just what I needed to hear at the time to send me tracking down the bits and pieces I had missed and that’s why I am featuring it on here today. For those that are interested in the bands earlier but equally great material then I highly suggest checking out the Glazed Baby post over at the wonderful blog Noise Show. There is plenty of good stuff there to be heard and a lot of information as to the whereabouts to most of the parties involved in this noise-fest.

Under the “sounds like” portion of their MySpace (yeah, they have one of those), it is described as “you are being crushed”, which couldn’t be any more true for Ancient Chinese Secret or really any of Glazed Baby’s music. It’s the type of sound that is almost so disgustingly low-end heavy that it makes you sick to your stomach. It’s that relentless and exhausting, but yet it’s everything I love about heavier music. There is a strong industrial element to this album as well, which extends fairly far back in the bands discography, but is swung into full force here. I personally think it fit them well, as the added monotony of tribal like industrial beats only added to the bands already devastatingly crushing sound. I am proud to say that Glazed Baby makes the type of music that would probably clear a room in less than thirty seconds. That’s definitely a compliment folks.

Glazed Baby – Lying on the Killing Floor [MP3]
Glazed Baby – Jinx Remover [MP3]
Glazed Baby – Crushed Red Pepper [MP3]

There really aren’t many places to find this album anymore other than scouring the likes of eBay and such. Amazon has it, but it is super fucking expensive and I wouldn’t ever encourage anyone on dropping that much cash on anything. Thankfully though most of their other releases found there are relatively reasonably priced, so pick those up if you can. They are definitely worth it.

Guitar - Dealin with Signal and Noise

Have been listening to some good new music over the past few days, seems like it always comes in spurts where I’ll end up hearing back to back good upcoming albums. It’s streaky I tell you. Anyway, one album I am looking quite forward to being released is the latest from Michael Lueckner’s project dubbed Guitar. The album is called Dealin with Signal and Noise and appears that it will be out on May 15th through Onitor Records, although I had originally thought it was suppose to be out on the 27th of this month. I’ll just trust what most retailers are listing it as for the time being.

Dealin with Signal and Noise will be Lueckner’s 5th album as Guitar and once again it finds himself collaborating with singer Ayako Akashiba on four of the tracks for the album, whom has consistently appeared on past Guitar albums. Lueckner is also joined by the Seattle band Voyager One for a few tracks as well. On Dealin with Signal and Noise, Lueckner finds himself heading in the direction that was more so found on the projects first album Sunkissed, which remains a personal favorite of mine. While all of the Guitar albums vary in style and purpose I am fonder of the more blissful and shoegazy side, which is what appears here on his latest. However, no matter what direction the project takes, it always has a very familiar feel and sound that exudes a very relaxing calmness to it. Lueckner is always able to create incredibly beautiful music, which is truly impressive. That is certainly a large reason as to why I enjoy practically everything Lueckner puts out as Guitar. On Dealin with Signal and Noise the sound is almost so effortless and soothing that it practically puts me into a trancelike state before eventually chiming in with echoes of buzzing feedback. While a tiny part of me would love to hear another MBV inspired record such as Sunkissed, it is way more satisfying to hear Lueckner use that sound to help his own continue to grow and make yet another accomplished record.

Guitar – Sine Waves [MP3]

Dealin with Signal and Noise is available for pre-order from larger online retailers such as Amazon. Do check it out if you dig the music above. Also keep an eye out in May for a re-release of Guitar’s 2nd and 3rd albums Honeysky and Saltykisses that were originally released in Japan only. The re-release will combine the two albums as one and will be called Salt & Honey. That is also definitely worth checking out if you’re a fan of the music.

Gern Blanston - Gern Blanston

Gern Blanston was a post-hardcore trio from Portland, Oregon that was around during the early to mid nineties. They were one of the more prominent bands operating within the local scene during that time. Their first release was a split 7” in 1993 with Thirty Ought Six, also from Portland. In 1996 the band released an absolutely fantastic album through Cavity Search Records, which would be their one and only album as they broke up shortly after its release. Sadly, I know close to nothing about this band. I know some of you out there are fairly familiar with the goings on in the Portland local music scene from that time period. Any information as to what the members are up to these days would receive the utmost appreciation, as they pretty much disappeared after the album was released.

As for the album itself, I can’t recommend it enough for anyone that enjoys a noisier maybe metallic post-hardcore sound. It’s really an overlooked gem of an album that absolutely tears it up for eight songs. I’ve always liked how they mixed in audio samples from what I assume are movies; I recognize the Planet of the Apes clips at least. With the songs all being named solely by their track number and the band pretty much always remaining a mystery to me anyway, they actually fit quite well adding an extra sense of peculiarity to the bands sound.

Gern Blanston - #4 [MP3]
Gern Blanston - #7 [MP3]

Although the band may still toil in obscurity, thankfully you can still find their album and even the split they did with Thirty Ought Six over at Cavity Search. Definitely drop the cash for this album if the tunes above peak your interest, such a great album that shouldn’t be doomed to be lost in a world of Steve Martin Google search results. Enjoy!

I'm Back / Llorah - Llorah EP...

Hope everyone had a nice Easter weekend. I apologize for not updating basically since Wednesday. It ended up being a much busier week than I originally anticipated and it ended up leaving me pretty much exhausted for a couple nights in a row, which results in no updates for BOAWS sadly. Anyway, I am looking to get back into the swing of things for this week. I am hoping at least.

I really wish I was more up to speed with the music that is continually coming out of France because it seems like everything I manage to hear from the country, at least when it comes to harder music, is absolutely crushing. I happened to get the new Llorah EP at the beginning of last week and I have been rocking it pretty heavily since then. It was just released this past February and has been put out by the fine Atropine label which also co-released the Year of No Light album that I enjoyed so highly last year. Llorah are yet another fine example of the quality of noisy metal/rock coming out of France. The band on their debut EP play a sort of post-metal that throughout has a touch of the faster and more ferocious qualities found in noise-rock, similar to that of Breach maybe. There is plenty of rumbling low end, which I am always a fan of. One way I always distinguish that I really like something is when I am sitting listening to an album or whatever it may be and there is eventually something that just strikes me. I mean sure, I can sit through a number of albums and enjoy them, but in the end there isn’t a definitive memorable moment. However, every so often I hear a portion of a song that pretty much solidifies my liking for an album. During the song “Echos” from about the 3 minute mark to about 3:40 there is a riff that does absolutely that. All in all this is a really solid EP that is definitely worth checking out. There is a limited amount of these and they come in a really cool silk screened cardboard package.

Llorah – Echos [MP3]

If you dig what you hear, these are available directly from Atropine.

Sweep the Leg Johnny - Sto Cazzo!

For music lovers, I doubt there is many other things that make one feel better than hearing a band take that step forward and release an album that fully realizes their potential. It really is a good feeling. On their third album Sweep the Leg Johnny did just that, and to me it seemed like quite a large step. Before, I’d been a fan of the band…but never as much as I was after I heard Sto Cazzo!. The album consistently capitalized on the moments of brilliance that were scattered about in their two previous albums and for six seamlessly connected songs it absolutely tears you apart. Working as always within their intriguing set of influences ranging from jazz to noisy math-rock, Sto Cazzo! is the product of tension and chaos.

One of the best things about Sto Cazzo! is its production. While it may or not work for other bands, for Sweep the Leg Johnny the live feel and sound that they achieved on the album couldn’t be any more perfectly suited. Throughout the album one of the most amazing things to listen to is the interplay between the alto sax played by vocalist Steve Sostak and guitarist Chris Daly. If anything just listen to the song “Columbus Day”. It’s a shining example of just how talented this band was, the melancholy moments gradually built up to sax accompanied chaotic blasts still sits as one of the best things I’ve heard.

Sweep the Leg Johnny – Columbus Day [MP3]

For those that don’t own this album, then find yourself a copy. It’s a must own for anyone that is a fan of noise-rock/math-rock. Head on over to Amazon where you can find a few used copies left for a relatively good price. Great stuff.

Kerosene 454...

Kerosene 454 is one of my favorite DC related bands and I’ve never really put up anything by them on the blog I realized. Originally formed in 1993, the band released 3 albums along with a few singles in their earlier stages. Those were collected, along with their first album Situation at Hand, on a compilation titled Race on Polyvinyl Records in 1997. Pretty good collection for anyone that doesn’t have those singles, some of the bands best material in my opinion was their earlier stuff. Situation at Hand, in particular, is an amazing album to this day. I honestly don’t know many other bands that wrote as catchy but yet powerful/heavy music as them during that time. The dual guitar force that was Erik Denno and Jim Wall, not only on that record but for the groups entire existence, made it incredibly easy to love the band.

As the group evolved, it became more and more fun to listen to drummer Darren Zentek become almost the centerpiece to the band. On their second album Came By to Kill Me, the band began to move towards that familiar DC Dischord post-hardcore sound opening up the chance to let him do his thing, and boy it shows. Their third and final album At Zero should be owned by anyone that is a fan of post-hardcore. It tied up some of the loose ends from Came By to Kill Me and contained better production along with some of the best songwriting the band ever did. A really really solid album that may fall under the radar these days unfortunately. Check out the tracks below. For the record, I chose to use tracks off of Race for fidelity purposes for the album Situation at Hand and the single posted.

Situation at Hand:
Kerosene 454 – Pointer Ridge [MP3]
Kerosene 454 – Dirt [MP3]

Came By to Kill Me:
Kerosene 454 – Injection [MP3]
Kerosene 454 – T-Minus 100 [MP3]

At Zero:
Kerosene 454 – Negatives [MP3]
Kerosene 454 – In For Even [MP3]

Blown Clean 7’’:
Kerosene 454 – With Age [MP3]

Most of Kerosene 454’s full-lengths are available over at Amazon used. If you dig the tunes then definitely make your way over there and pick up an album or two. After the band split up members went on to be in a number of different bands, notably Oswego which featured both Darren Zentek and Erik Denno, they released some great stuff as well worth checking out. Zentek can currently be found playing drums for Channels.

Joy Wants Eternity - You Who Pretend to Sleep

Joy Wants Eternity is a 5 piece band based out of Seattle, Washington that by sifting through materials online would lead you to believe that they are another instrumental post-rock band. Honestly that’s what I figured it would be when I initially checked out the group’s page on MySpace, but I was pleasantly surprised to hear what began to play as soon as it loaded. The song, which was “Existences Rust” from their upcoming debut album You Who Pretend to Sleep, sparked the thought in my head that if I were to be in a band like that, then this is what I would want to sound like. So I was thrilled to find the actual album show up in my mailbox this past Friday and it has proved to be every bit as good as my first impression of them led me to believe.

Comparisons to fellow post-rockers like Mogwai, Mono, and etc. are sure to be pinned on these guys. It’s obvious that there are parts of You Who Pretend to Sleep that draw from these bands, but I found myself being taken in by the amount of warm feedback and the almost full scale ambient direction they tend to take the music at times. I would consider this album to be more motivated by past shoegaze acts than anything else. The crashes of slow melting feedback are quick to remind me of either Slowdive or Flying Saucer Attack, especially the more ambient and spaced out tracks like “Death is a Door That Opens” and “What Lies Behind”. To me, this is where they really excel, in creating such warm and lush sounds that will do more than get your blood pumping for a few mere minutes. Joy Wants Eternity has created an exceptionally beautiful and powerful sounding record that will wrap itself around the listener for eight solid tracks. I can’t recommend this one enough for those that enjoy both post-rock and shoegaze; it’s a great mixture of the two that will surely please fans of either.

Joy Wants Eternity – Yet Onward We Marched [MP3]

You Who Pretend to Sleep will be released on May 22nd through the bands own label Beep Repaired. If you dig the tunes above, be sure to pick it up when it comes out. For now, check out the bands MySpace for some more tunes and to keep up to date on the album.