Built on a Weak Spot

The Boston based Soccermom has been slowly putting things together for about five years now, beginning as a solo recording project for member Dan Parlin (guitar/vocals) on a completely opposite coast. After making his way back east, there Soccermom was formed by enlisting Danielle Deveau (bass), David Kaplan (drums), and William Scales (guitar) to round things out. I believe almost every member here has spent time in another Boston act Spanish Armada whom has appeared on these pages before as some may remember. Despite being together in some form or another for as long as they have, the band has only played live a handful of times and this two song single represents their first official recorded release. So I wouldn’t be expecting an album anywhere in the near future. However, what we do have here is pretty solid and if it makes me wish there was more to hear, then it’s certainly doing its job.

The band self-released this single, which is a bit surprising as I would have definitely thought this to be attached to Midriff in some way due to the associations this band has to much of its roster. But by that you can still sort of form an idea as to what Soccermom are dealing here on these two songs. There are still some qualities here that remain similar to their hometown roots, despite this maybe straying further away from what would be considered the norm I guess. The band certainly doesn’t hide the fact that they are a bit of a throwback, taking their unanimous love for nineties indie-rock and using them to churn out some rather catchy fuzz driven tunes. They’ve gotten their fair share of comparisons to what has become known as a Chapel Hill sound, which to an extent I can see. However, there are definitely equal parts Sonic Youth and/or Swervedriver to be found here. I’d like to see these folks last, but I surely hope it doesn’t take another five years before I’m hearing some more material.

Soccermom – Bill Cosby in Glamorous Chains [MP3]

I believe the band has copies of this single by this time, so if you’re interested in scoring a copy then by all means shoot them a message on their MySpace page. Enjoy and everyone have a great weekend!

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!

Keith Canisius has been a regular favorite on this blog pretty much since its inception back in ’06. Starting with his work in shoegaze/dream-poppers Rumskib and then quickly moving on to his solo work, which to this point has seen the release of two pretty solid albums in Ferris Wheel Makeout and Waves. In keeping with his feverish pace, Canisius has been hard at work on a third album that I believe is still scheduled for a release this year in September through Darla. However, during the process these four songs that make up this recently released EP were created with the full intention of them being a part of said third album. It turned out though that the songs had taken on a bit of a different creative turn and found themselves without a place, and thus Openness is Dreaminess & Everything in Between was created in a roundabout way.

Things like that make EP’s a bit more interesting to me, although I realize that not all bands or artists use the format as such, I do think it’s fairly neat when they use it in a way that displays a side that maybe fans haven’t necessarily seen or heard before. Canisius doesn’t get too wild here on Openness is Dreaminess & Everything in Between, but each song featured here does represent a bit of a different direction than what maybe people have come to expect from him. Opening track “Okay Then Copenhagen” starts off with a familiar sound but then takes a sharp turn and heads for some nostalgia styled psych-pop that wouldn’t bee too dissimilar to something like Black Moth Super Rainbow. The title track is quite possibly my favorite from the release, which may or may not be because it somewhat reminds me of Formula era O.L.D. and its industrialized slicker sound. Kind of interesting, but in the end is very much Keith Canisius doing what he does best in pushing dream-pop forward. The EP closes on an ambient track that serves well as a final track to a variety filled release. This certainly gets me excited for his third album, which will hopefully be out in September according to Darla.

Keith Canisius – Openness is Dreaminess & Everything in Between (stream)

The EP is available for pre-order though Darla, it comes with a digital download for those that are interested. Definitely pick this up if you like what you hear.

Kind of a change of pace, as I get caught up on some things I want to listen to. A long while ago I wrote about the Athens, Ohio based God and Texas…mostly focusing on their first couple of albums. I highly recommend tracking down either Industry Standard or History Volume One. Not to say their later albums are lacking, but that’s where the primo stuff is in my opinion. But then again, I imagine you really couldn’t do yourself wrong by checking out just about anything from the band. Anyway, what I have here is their 1992 single featuring the tunes “Comrade General” on the A-side and “Chromalox” on the B-side. To my knowledge “Comrade General” is exclusive to this single, so I figured some may be interested in hearing it. The song “Chromalox” actually appeared on the bands third album that would appear in 1993 called Criminal Element. The two songs certainly serve as a glimpse to what was to come, featuring a much “meatier” sound. The band was obviously heading in a less noisy direction, but still it remains very appealing to those interested in such sounds.

God and Texas – Comrade General [MP3]
God and Texas – Chromalox [MP3]

The bands last couple albums can be found on Amazon for little to nothing; however the other two may take a bit more searching on the likes of Musicstack or other types of marketplaces. 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!

Has it really already been three years since Bottomless Pit put out their debut Hammer of the Gods? That just almost seems crazy to me and at the same time makes me a bit sad. It gets me wondering how little time I actually get to spend revisiting albums like that as opposed to constantly seeking out the new. No matter, Bottomless Pit have put those thoughts at ease for now as they have a new record on their hands titled Blood Under the Bridge that is currently up for grabs at Comedy Minus One.

There are really few bands these days that can release a new record and before even listening to it I can be assured that it will be solid. And no, it’s not because I’m a fan boy (ok, maybe just a bit). I mean I’ll fully admit right now that the new Autolux record is shit, and this is coming from someone that adored the first record, loved Failure, and digs plenty of shoegaze. So yeah, there are few things in my musical world that are “automatic”. However, Bottomless Pit is just about as close as it can get in my opinion. For those that are maybe just tuning into the band, well they are made up of former Silkworm, Seam, and .22 members. And not to discredit the other bands mentioned here, but Silkworm were a band with a pretty flawless track record in my opinion and to have a band like Bottomless Pit that has continued on in a somewhat similar fashion is rather exciting to me. Their debut Hammer of the Gods was a grower, as the differences were one that took some getting used to, however after a couple spins or so it was one of my favorite albums of that year. It’s just a grade-A rock record. With Blood Under the Bridge, the band don’t drift too terribly far off from what has made all of their previous material so repeat worthy. This record however does seem to change moods and tempos more dramatically than anything that I’ve heard them do thus far. With tracks that range from lighter and more melancholy to vaguely Americana inspired driving rock. The album closes with what may very well be my favorite track they’ve done so far in “38 Souls”. And the fact that it’s the album closer fits extremely well. Give it a listen.

Bottomless Pit – 38 Souls [MP3]

If you’re enjoying what you hear, then definitely head on over to Comedy Minus One and pick this up. Enjoy!

It seems like the first couple weeks of this month absolutely flew by, but then came to screeching halt over the last few days. The culprit to this never ending span of days was my car and laptop which both felt like eating any extra cash I had. However, at least both are in working order now and all is well. So with that all out of the way, I am happy to get this month’s mix up for those of you out there to sample and enjoy over the weekend. The mix for this month is very “new music” heavy, so those of you that might prefer that will be happy. As always, if there is something on the mix that you enjoy then please by all means click on the artist link where applicable to pick up the record. Aside from that, download and enjoy!

01 – Drunkdriver – Choking Hazard
02 – Major Stars – Low Grade
03 – Tennis – Baltimore
04 – The Black Clouds – 5 Years Behind My Time
05 – No Joy – No Joy
06 – The Non – Pigeon Force
07 – False Virgins – Insomnia
08 – Lemon’s Chair – Selsius
09 – The Electric Bunnies – Pretty Joanna
10 – Brava Spectre – Bouquet Appendages
11 – Horrid Red – Lung Death
12 – Dis- – Cage Me Safely (7-inch version)
13 – Beat Mark – Cool Fur
14 – Love 666 – AR-15
15 – Nü Sensae – New Lies
16 – The Fucking Cops – Kansas City
17 – Nice Strong Arm – Amnesia
18 – Das Black Milk – Looks Good on You

Download (.zip file)

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!

I am pretty ashamed of myself for completely forgetting that Jethro Bodine had a sister named Jethrine. This is coming from a person who spent a large portion of their summer vacations away from elementary school plopped in front of a television watching reruns of The Beverley Hillbillies since we only had about 4 other channels to choose from. Anyway, I mention that because not long ago I was passed along an EP from the Portland band Jethrine, whom have apparently taken a liking to the rather obscure character. It wasn’t until this point that my memory was jogged. Anyway, the EP, which is titled Wildlife, was just recently self-released by the band and made available digitally for free via their Bandcamp site. Although they are from Portland, all the members have at one point lived in either Chicago or St. Louis during the lives. It certainly must have rubbed off rather heavily on at least a couple of them because Wildlife is pretty much a direct leap to about 15 to 20 years ago when a label like Touch & Go was dominating many peoples listening habits. I’m certainly ok with that and I’m thinking quite a few out there may very well feel the same, so I couldn’t let this one just slip by.

Jethrine – Narcosis [MP3]

Due to the relative ease of obtaining Wildlife, I would hope many out there will give this a listen. If you’re interested then just head over to the bands Bandcamp site where it is available for free download in a number of different qualities and formats for the pickier types. Enjoy!

“This album was recorded in our practice space in the month of April 2010. We were very drunk, and very stoned. We’ve recorded quite a bit of stuff before, but this recording actually captures realistically what we do and how we do it. Cheap, loud, and drunk”

Well, I can certainly believe that after having listened to Peaced, the new five song 12” from Austin, TX’s When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth. Some may remember seeing their last album Not Noiice on these very pages a couple or so years ago. At the time I believe there were upwards of around seven people in the band, however they’ve since brought it down to five. I’m not quite sure having any more members would have changed much about this record anyway, as it’s basically a high volume treble heavy blast of noise from start to finish. If this is in fact the way they do things, then I am kicking myself for not finding a way to see them when they rolled through Kansas City a couple months ago. On record, over the last couple at least, they really don’t sound much like they do here on Peaced. In fact, this seems to be heading more so in the direction of Expensive Shit, a side project that contains three members from When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth in which they are pretty much free to indulge in as much noise improv as they please. Peaced probably blurs the lines here a bit more however, still employing traditional riffs underneath a very heavy coating of fuzz, reverb, and maniacal shouting. All five tracks seem to take the same three components and shape them into a noticeably different style however, which for five dudes that had probably completely lost track of time and their whereabouts is fairly impressive in a way. If you’re looking for more Texas noise/scuzz, then Peaced is definitely a good place to look.

When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth – Closet Athlete [MP3]

For those interested in picking this up, hit up the band here for copy. For those over seas, Riot Season/Black Labs is doing a short run of 100 that can be pre-ordered now.