Built on a Weak Spot

Had I known this record was coming out I probably would have been a bit excited for it. Back in 2007 or so the Dunedin, NZ trio Die! Die! Die! released their second record Promises, Promises, that I enjoyed to a pretty high degree. But as with most things in my life, maybe more so with music, things get lost in the shuffle and I kind of lost track as to what these guys were up to (I’m sorry guys, please don’t hold it against me). Apparently they’ve been at work on their third album titled Form, which was just released in their homeland through the amazing Flying Nun. Wasn’t really sure what to expect with Form, as the jump from their self-titled debut to Promises, Promises was a bit of a change of pace even then for the band. Seeing them go from their rougher cut and jab style of post-punk to a bit of a cleaned up approach but keeping the bounce and remaining every bit as challenging. So I had to go into Form thinking that this was in fact a possibility once again.

Pretty much from the opening track “Caseman” I realized that this was indeed going to be another step in the bands continuing evolution, being different already in a lot of ways to their previous material. However, as soon as Form moves into the next couple tracks “Lil Ships” and the fantastically catchy “Howye” it’s even more apparent what Die! Die! Die! are aiming for here and where Form is likely heading. Much of the discordant beginnings and nature of the band are gone on the record in favor of a much more melodically focused sound that often finds it tapping into some shoegazey moments of humming distortion. Combined with their post-punk background, their sound has flourished into something much larger and immediate on Form. It still contains enough bite here and there that it doesn’t feel like the band has turned a new leaf; the record still has a darker underlying vibe to it despite the shift in sound here. It seems almost as if they’ve followed a progression that is similar to that of Love of Diagrams and their record last year, which I absolutely loved. I don’t know if that’s fair or that accurate really, but when I listen to Form and relate it to their previous material…it seems similar in both where the bands began and where they are now musically. No matter though, Form has vaulted itself up there as far as favorite records from this year go. It’s undeniably catchy from start to finish thanks to fantastic writing.

Die! Die! Die! – Howye (stream)

I know this record is rather expensive for those of us in the states to obtain right now…however that will change come late October when it should see a USA release, but if you can’t wait and wish to pick it up on either CD or LP it’s available through Flying Nun. If you’re more so interested in digital files, well they have you covered too for a bit cheaper of a price. In the meantime, enjoy!

The Bismarck have been together for nearly a decade now, released a total of three albums, and haven’t had nary a word said about them really. It’s a bit disappointing, but the thing is though I imagine they are bit less disappointed by this than I actually am. The band seems more focused on having a good time and performing to rooms of like minded people that are also there to simply have a good time. And when your band is made up of four close friends, I imagine this type of endeavor becomes a bit easier to accomplish. With that said, Great Plains is in fact The Bismarck’s third album and was released this past May on their own imprint Pride of Dakota (most, if not all, of the members are originally from North Dakota). And as one of their first EP’s suggests, they most certainly do not “bring the weak shit”…maybe more so on Great Plains than any of their previous records. This is a full on display of rock from start to finish with loud ringing Burma-esque guitars that as much as they are there for the hooks are maybe even more so to coax shouting matches out of the members with their shared vocal duties. I’m not going to waste any more of your time however, since the band has the whole album up for streaming on their Bandcamp site. So instead of me posting the typical file to stream or download…just go listen to the whole thing below.

The Bismarck – Great Plains (album stream)

If you haven’t already clicked the stream and seen, the album is available for download for a mere five dollars. Trust me, it’s worth every cent of that…even if you aren’t into the whole paying for digital files thing. Enjoy!

A lot of times I’m in the position where I get a nice little brief explanation as to what I am about to hear when a record arrives at my doorstep (or in my case a box that requires a key). More often than not I have hard time understanding where half of those ideas came from because I’m obviously not hearing the same thing or it’s not really an ounce close to what it wants to be. It’s just the cold hard truth of it all I guess. Why am I bringing this up? Well Generalissimo passed along their record Western Medicine not long ago and like many before them it had a nice little write up attached to it. However where they set themselves apart is that the write up actually kind of works or is something that I can in fact buy into. It’s a nice change of pace.

So what is Generalissimo? They are a five piece from Oakland, CA that has members that have spent time in a few other notable bands such as Angel Hair, Stay Gold Pony Boy, and Boyjazz. I actually had to kind of take a double take when I noticed the Angel Hair connection. Quite a bit of deviation in styles, but hey that’s cool. Anyway, the band seemingly takes great pride in their strict and precision based style of punk/post-hardcore. With five members, three of which are playing guitar here, you’d think this would just be a clusterfuck of noise or giant blown out riffs, but rather Generalissimo seem to get their reputation from the restraint and execution of thick catchy rock. They aren’t working towards completely ripping your head clean off with blunt force. Their style is more so in the repetition or stealthily wearing you down so they can creep up behind you and slit your throat. It’s sneaky good in a way. While the comparisons that were expressed to me to such bands as Killing Joke and/or Melvins are pretty apt in this case, there were also bits and pieces that reminded me slightly of earlier Clutch. You know, before they were full-bore into jam band territory. It might be the rigidness in which this is played that draws me to that, who knows? Regardless, give Generalissimo a listen. It’s worth your time for sure.

Generalissimo – Yoked (stream)

Those of you interested in picking up Western Medicine can do so by heading on over to the bands website where they have it available in 180g vinyl or on CD, whichever floats your boat. Enjoy!

Coming across Fatalists was just the result of my rather late night boredom and mouse clicking. It all eventually led to me to some of the bands tunes and it was enough to compel me to grab their debut record Between the Aisles released not long ago on Gamma Proforma. Thankfully the songs I heard were pretty representative of what I would end up hearing on the rest of the album. In whole, this is some fairly discordant post-punk that doesn’t stray too far from the McLusky/Future of the Left side of things. That however may be partly attributed to the noticeably playful lyrics that seem to be a continual occurrence throughout the record. Fatalists certainly seem to have a bit of a rougher edge however, favoring a bit more abrasiveness instead of the more bass driven groove typically attached to such music. I’m certainly enjoying what these guys are offering up though, as it kind of incorporates the both of best worlds from post-punk and the noisier spectrum of rock that I so love.

Fatalists – Leave Me Undead (stream)

Those interested in picking this up can head on over to Gamma Proforma or Amazon for copies. Enjoy!

A couple or so years ago a review popped up on Your Flesh penned by AmRep founder Tom Hazelmyer for the disc Harlem by the Denton, TX group White Drugs. Seeing as how a large chunk of my music taste and a slightly smaller but still rather large chunk of my music collection have been molded around Mr. Hazelmyer’s label, I took the heaping praise he laid upon the disc to heart and sought it out. Unfortunately at the time Harlem was a bit harder to get a hold of, but nonetheless I got a chance to listen to it and it proceeded to prove why it got all those kind words/comparisons with a blistering set of dirty garage flavored noise. Information about the band seemed pretty scarce however, even with the presence of a MySpace and an actual working website. There was little in the way of actual activity from the band, other than the physical evidence that is Harlem which was released on the bands own label Kunstwaffe

So yeah, that was probably early ’08 and time passed and then I noticed the name White Drugs in a list of bands that would be performing in August at the AmRep 25th anniversary bash. Very cool I thought, however I couldn’t quite figure out how they fit in with the whole thing aside from definitely sharing many attributes of plenty of bands that were part of the roster over the years. Then out of pure coincidence an opportunity arose to hear the bands new record Gold Magic and I gladly jumped at the chance to do so. However, not only was I extremely pleased to hear a new White Drugs record, I was given my answer as to why they were playing the AmRep bash in the first place and that’s because Gold Magic is in fact being put out by AmRep in conjunction with Kunstwaffe on July 20th.

With Gold Magic the band continues onward with the full rock ‘n roll swagger that their previous material was dripping with, maybe even more so than before. All I know is that this thing locks into a groove pretty early and keeps with it for damn near the entire half hour by pumping out absolute riffs galore that are given a deep bathing of filthy feedback. To put it simply, you’d be wise to check this out. It’s everything you would pretty much want to hear on a release from a label that has helped develop a certain style of music as much as it has.

White Drugs – Black Wizard Gloaming (stream)

As of right now, you can pre-order Gold Magic through the bands Kunstwaffe label. It’s limited to a pressing of 350, so don’t slack folks and pick this up. For those interested in hearing the bands previous record Harlem, which I highly suggest you do, it’s also available on the site now as well. With that, enjoy!

Despite a pretty active run between the years of 2005 and 2008, Spineless Wonders serves as my introduction to Boston’s The Conversions. An introduction that would have likely came much later or maybe even never had Ride the Snake not put this out. Apparently Spineless Wonders was recorded quite awhile back and had originally been slated for a release on the prominent hardcore/screamo label Level Plane, which was home to the bands first album Prisoners’ Inventions in 2007. Some complications that I am not aware of however halted the release of Spineless Wonders sadly. But, if Ride the Snake has enough faith in this record to put it out long after the band has given their farewell, then that says a lot really.

I originally thought I was being treated to a fairly straight forward hardcore record when the first track began, with some pretty intense female vocals attached to it. And in the end it very well may still be a hardcore record; however what The Conversions have put together here is a sound that takes a lot the attitude and frenetic charge of hardcore and meshes it pretty successfully with the bouncy jagged rhythms of post-punk. Many of the albums tracks twist and bend their way around a minute and a half to two minutes worth of head turning guitar work. The bass is pretty cranked up on this as well, but with that you get a chance to hear some of the strange lines that are tied up in that. And by albums end that’s sort of what I am left with here, is that The Conversions were certainly an oddity and one with plenty of ideas too. Spineless Wonders made good on a lot of those and it’s pretty easy to see why they are being remembered here in the year 2010 with the release of this record.

The Conversions – Passing Through [MP3]

If you’re interested in picking up Spineless Wonders, then just head on over to Ride the Snake. Enjoy!

Up until maybe a month or so ago, I had no idea what ever happened to the great and highly underrated post-punk group Sloy or what some of the members had gone on to do. Well, I happened across 69 not too long ago thanks in part to the excellent French site Nextclues and low and behold it contains 2/3’rds of Sloy. The two members being Armand Gonzalez and Virginie Peitavi and they have been cranking out completely warped post-punk/new wave jams under the 69 moniker for awhile now. I’m going to assume Novo Rock is their debut album, but I’m not going to say I’m completely positive on that.

I originally wasn’t planning on writing about this album and in fact had planned for the song “Mpop 80 Xplosion” to appear on this months mix. However I kept finding myself going back to that track and listening to it over and over, which then eventually led to me listening to the whole damn album again and again. So with that, I realized that 69 should probably be heard by some folks out there, and hell…it’s completely made up of ex-members of Sloy so why the fuck not? Novo Rock is certainly one of the more interesting items I’ve had the pleasure of listening to this year, that’s for sure. Somewhere between or maybe just a weird combination of Devo and Pere Ubu type twisted nature. Armand Gonzalez’s vocals, for those that remember them in Sloy, are most definitely a perfect fit here in contrast to everything else you’re hearing. I certainly can’t do it much justice through my words, but it’s bound to find some accepting ears and maybe even a few new fans out there I think. And if not, well keep listening…

69 – Mpop 80 Xplosion [MP3]

I’m not sure if this available through any US outlets, I’m thinking no, however you might give it a go on the bands website where they have it for sale. Definitely pick it up if you can if you enjoy the tune above. I know I certainly am.

This sort of ties in with the previous post, in that deep Snapper have appeared here before, are from Denton, Texas as well, and in fact have had all four of their albums (that includes this one) recorded by Tre Orsi member Matthew Barnhart to some degree or another. And since deep Snapper’s latest album Pi on the Side is nearing a release as well, seems as good as any time to get it up here on the blog.

The band certainly doesn’t make it easy to describe their records, which it seems often time is a compliment in itself. One thing I can say is that, like most of their records, Pi on the Side is a mixed bag of styles that are all working in an effort to convey the often clever tongue in cheek humor of the songs subject matter. In the end, it’s easier to just say they are a rock band. And while I’ll fully admit the humor all runs secondary to the actual music for me, it’s still a bit of fun to read through the CD jacket where anecdotes about the songs origins and inspiration are laid out by the members of the band. It’s an interesting bonus really. However, what really gets me excited about Pi in the Sky is that the band has really strung together a solid set of songs here and has obviously taken it a step above their previous material in terms of songwriting. I say that because as the album draws to a close, that’s where the band reveals some of the best tracks they’ve probably ever recorded in “Too Thick to be Sliced” and “Shark Dad Owes Back Taxes to the Porpoise House”. The band also tacks on three “hidden” untitled tracks on the end, which again end up being a couple of my favorites off the album, which is a shame because I have no idea if they have titles or not. Either way, Pi on the Side packs in 19 tracks that has absolutely no trouble keeping things interesting for the listener. And if you’re a fan of what has been coming out of Denton lately and/or 90’s flavored indie-rock, then certainly give deep Snapper and their latest album Pi on the Side a shot.

deep Snapper – Too Thick to be Sliced [MP3]

Keep an eye out for this one on the bands website or MySpace page. In the meantime I have an extra copy of Pi on the Side that I would be more than happy to give away to one of the readers out there. Consider it a contest I guess, but more so me probably just picking a name out of a hat again. However, to make things fun…e-mail me and in order to be “entered” your message must contain a dirty joke. Also be sure to put something like “deep Snapper contest” in the subject line so I know not to delete it. All right, hope to hear from a few of you and as always enjoy!

I just realized that after listening Cannons and their debut Friendly Muscles that I really haven’t heard too many records this year that would necessarily be in the area of “post-hardcore”. It seems strange to me, since in the past it seemed like such a common occurrence. Maybe subconsciously I avoided records of this type after unknowingly being beaten senseless by the tons upon tons of horrible glossed over retreads that pass for such these days. Just tune into your local “alternative” station and brace yourself for it. The Philadelphia based Cannons have done me a favor however, and that is reinvigorating my desire to listen bands that often fall in this increasingly burdensome genre. Like anything however, if you search hard enough you’ll eventually find something notable and I believe Cannons are just that.

On the surface there is certainly a minor late 80’s/early 90’s DC influence running through the bands sound, but by the time I got closer to the end of the record I found myself hearing a few more details that for whatever reason had me thinking of a more garage centric Tanner. And that’s certainly good, in that they don’t necessarily lean too heavily on one idea. The band has just recently self-released this record, despite only being together maybe roughly a year or so. Give the track below a listen if you like!

Cannons – In Times of Crisis, People Direct Traffic [MP3]

Not quite sure if there are any physical copies of this available or not, couldn’t hurt to hit up the band to see. However I do know that it’s currently available digitally through iTunes or Amie Street. Definitely throw down the few bucks for it if you like what you hear.

Brooklyn’s The Men were undoubtedly one of the best musical discoveries that I came across last year. Their self-released We are the Men 12” EP put out during that time was four songs of ripping blown out post-punk that ended up being more than enough to help top out my year end list for ’09. They followed that with a cassette split with Nomos that, as you might have guessed, rocked pretty hard as well. Now however, the band has just recently laid upon us their first proper full-length album Immaculada, and it’s quite the curveball…possibly a wicked 12 to 6.

All corny baseball references aside though, Immaculada is a far different listening experience than I had planned for. Had I had the chance to see these guys live a time or two, I might have been a bit more privy to what they had been up to, however living in the Midwest comes with the disadvantage of often not being able to see many acts of interest. But anyway, the album is 8 tracks where practically every one of them has the band exploring a different sound. Really the only thing that they all have in common is that they are drenched in plenty of fuzz. It’s certainly not what I was expecting, but in the end Immaculada is most definitely all the better for it. The Men have opened up a wide range of possibilities here, and whether or not I hear more tracks like the shoegaze inspired “Lazurus” or the stoner riff heavy “Madonna, The Star of the Sea” is ultimately up in the air, however I can feel assured that whatever they end up attempting that it will be top notch as evidenced throughout the handful of tracks here.

The Men – Lazarus [MP3]

It appears Immaculada is still for sale from the band via their website, however there very few copies remaining as of this writing. Good news is that the band will have a second pressing for those that aren’t able to grab a copy now. In the meantime, you can download the whole album from the excellent icoulddietomorrow blog. Be on the lookout for a third LP come this fall as well! In the meantime however, enjoy!