Raein recently revealed their new album, "Sulla linea d'orizzonte tra questa mia vita e quella di tutti" and are allowing you to download it for free. I haven't listened to it yet, but I'm sure it's great so I'm posting it without caution. It comes out soon in Europe, and will see a US release in the near future. Go read about it and check it out at Raein's website. There is also a link there to make a donation when you download it, if you so please.
1. Se la notte sogno, sogno di essere un maratoneta 2. Nirvana 3. Trasparenti oscure virtù 4. Costellazione secondo le leggi del caso 5. Raein: rumore. Tre 6. Oggi ho deciso di diventare oro 7. Attualità dell'utopia 8. Abitudine, cerimonia, magia. 9. Dopo di noi la libertà 10. Come materia infinita
Sometimes I'll go on excessive new-music-hunting bouts, and in general when I download a band's music, I try to get their discography. One thing I love about bands like Daïtro, Envy, and Funeral Diner, who do a lot of split records, is all the little bits of new music I get to hear while obtaining all of the focus band's music. Admittedly, not all of it is good, but a lot of the times you become acquainted with a gem of a band you may not have heard were it not for the split. Sed Non Satiata (French for "Still Not Satisfied") is one such gem. I already knew I liked Daïtro (and I actually heard them on their split with Raein first), so I was getting all of their music, and was surprisingly blown away when I ended up favoring Sed Non Satiata's side to Daïtro's! Don't get me wrong, Daïtro exhibits everything you'd expect from the coveted Euro emo-violence outfit. Excellent displays of emotion through their music, heartbroken vocals that don't seem down & out, superb compositions... but Sed Non Satiata's effortless ambiance fitted by blue vocalizations seamlessly interwoven with downcast fits of screaming and dissonance all packed into seven-minute displays of heart are what catch my ears on this split. Both bands hail from France and nearly all their writing is in French, which I'm a glutton for hearing, even though I don't understand a word of it. I like to treat acts with vocals in a foreign language as almost purely instrumental, letting the vocals become just another instrument to display feeling. Lucky for us, plenty of bands from outside the United States (often including Daïtro) will translate their lyrics to English. Unfortunately, I don't own a copy of this record so I couldn't tell you what they're saying, or even whether it's translated or not! Nonetheless, I recommend you check out this split and enjoy both bands' talents.
"Les hommes sans visage ont investi les rues, ils trainent..."
I tried some translators, and I think that means, roughly, "The faceless men took to the streets, and they marched..."
Sed Non Satiata 1. Less Hommes Sans Visage 2. Des Masques 3. Interlude 4. Des Ruines Daïtro 5. De L'eau Coule Sous Les Ponts 6. Place Tolozan 7. Nous Ne Participons Pas tous Ici A La Même Utopie 8. Un Fleau Pour Un Autre
This band is playing Arizona on May 29th (Tempe), and 30th (Tucson), and in anticipation of seeing them, I'll be posting their Fun 7" also known as the Hot Green EP. Everyone makes the comparison to Cap'n Jazz and says it's exactly like it, and though I definitely think they have a sound very similar to them, and share a lot of the same characteristics as them, I'd hardly say they sound exactly like Cap'n Jazz. They've still got some of their own stuff going on. They're kind of like a contemporary version of Cap'n Jazz. They're really fun, but kind of in a different kind of goofy way than their predating counterparts were. The vocals are sort of similar, but whereas Kinsella's vocals were a lot more moany singy wailing, the vocals in Algernon Cadwallader are more straight fun and singy. The music in Cap'n Jazz was really chaotic, but still grooving, and this sounds a bit more clean cut and rhythmic, but super entertaining. If you like energetic Midwest indie-emo or anything along those lines, give this a try, and try to listen to it thinking of how it differs from Cap'n Jazz, rather than how it's similar, so then you don't end up just writing it off as a rip-off or something. This EP is a really good sample of what they're like, and if you're into it, I definitely recommend their full-length "Some Kind Of Cadwallader." I actually prefer it, but thought an EP would be a better way for others to access this.
"Let me tell you what I think about frog spit. I'm for it."
This was a super sweet screamo band from Germany, mostly on the softer side relative to a lot of their European peers in the emo-violence scene. They have kind of a zangy sound a lot of the times when they're doing softer stuff, and it transfers well into their more chaotic parts. They can also get really clean (i.e. Mica) and it sounds great. They're just a really honest-sounding emo band, true to the genre.
I'm glad I found out about this band. The way it went was I took a chance on a show for a German screamo/hardcore band I'd never heard of called Trainwreck a long time ago, and ended up loving it and they became one of my favorites of the time. I read about everything they were doing on MySpace after their tour had concluded, hoping they'd say they were coming back (they never did come back to the west coast). I saw this one flier for a local show they were playing, and a lot of German fliers tend to have descriptions of the band, and Grave, Shovel... Let's Go! was playing this show, and I decided to check them out based on their description and I'm so glad I did. Kind of just a chance encounter. Unfortunately, they didn't do a whole lot. Just this demo, a split 7" and a split 12" (those are both really good, especially the 7"). But the 10 songs they put out are enough for me.
"Heart in the hand. My life is your life."
1. Stopp Motoren Under Overfarten 2. You're My Best, Always 3. This Basement Flooding 4. Mica
Your average title: The Third Victim Of Abigail Rutledge - Now The Wine Taste Fermented
So, a friend of mine was recently in a serious accident, and he's now injured, unemployed, uninsured and has a lot of money owed for hospital and ambulance bills. Everybody's broke these days, but he's selling his 5-song demo for just $2 on bandcamp. Seems pretty reasonable to me, considering the circumstances. So, for your convenience, click on the image below to go to the bandcamp, listen to the demo for free, and then if you feel so inclined, purchase it for a mere two dollars. It'll help.
1. Jafronese Dance Party! 2. Crime Scene 3. The Argument 4. So On And So Forth 5. 12/24 6. A Movie Fragment
I've been wanting to post this for a while but for whatever reason just haven't gotten around to it. The Pine are a band who you'd suspect to be around in the early nineties based on the sound of their music and recordings. They were actually around from about 1999 until 2005, but if they'd been playing shows a decade earlier it probably could've been with bands like The Hated, Rites of Spring, and Evergreen. They're mostly pretty fast-paced and energetic emo with a lot of melody, but they also slow it down sometimes ("Face Drawings" and "Shovelglove" stand out). The thing about them that will really stand out though, is their signature vocals. I've never heard another band with similar-sounding vocals, and I can only describe them as eerie. They may come off as whiny, and they kind of are, but not in that flatulent, self-important way that just sucks. It's more of a moan that is perfect for what they were doing. I've really been meaning to listen to the rest of their discography but I'm so stuck on this that I haven't really been motivated to. This album is pretty long because it's their first seven-inch and full-length combined and re-released by a different label.
"This is my place. This is my face. This is my time. Stop wasting my time..."
1. Cubicle 2. Ten Years Old 3. Slug 4. You're The Only One I Hate 5. Wearing Thin 6. Face Drawings 7. My Two Feet 8. Windmills 9. Shovelglove 10. Charred 11. Running On Empty 12. Forced Gratitude 13. Hangnail 14. Numb
Seven days definitely wasn't enough for me to post all the local bands I wanted to share during locals week. I kind of made it a point to post broken up bands during that week, and as a follow up to locals week I'll be posting current bands. Most will be ones formed by members of bands I already posted last week, but I may also just post some bands I just really wanted to include. I won't be as consistent though since I don't have some event like before to motivate me, haha...
Juliet was formed in the wake of Mouth Of Man, and some of these first songs were actually written for that band before they called it quits. This band has the same guitarist who is now also doing vocals, and the same drummer. They're very new, only playing their first show about a month and a half ago, but they've got a few recordings already and they're working fast. Juliet plays 90's style indie/emo kind of along the lines of Texas Is The Reason, but with the raw aesthetics of Indian Summer. To me they sound a lot like The Hated, or more recently, The Pine. I think this band is going to do some really cool stuff for anyone who appeals to that type of music at all.
"I'll bet you wonder when I wrote this song. I hummed it in my head all day long."
Christmas Island 1. Atlanta 2. Aly Goola 3. Mineral 4. Providence
Unlike every other band I've posted over the past week, I didn't get to grow with this band. I actually just showed up at their last show and saw them by luck. It was a really good one. Final Fight was the touring band, Values Here and Can I Say both played their last shows, and Red Son and Day After Day played, too. It was at a long-gone, sorely-missed venue too: The One Place. That show is just full of great things in memory. I bought my first piece of vinyl at this show, before I even had a record player (Final Fight / Life Long Tragedy 7" because Final Fight impressed me so much). Values Here impressed me too, so I bought this farewell EPCD. I also got a Red Son shirt and a Day After Day demo, and leaving the show I felt like I totally scored, having never bought anything from any small-time bands. The show was supposed to be Can I Say and Day After Day's split 7" release show, but they didn't have it ready in time. I bought that at the next show I went to where they had it. This show was really formative for me and music. Values Here played a Descendents cover (Bikeage) which is what made me listen to "Milo Goes To College" for the first time. Quite a while later when I was interviewing Deadair (two guys from this were in it) for my zine, they told me they learned that cover in the van on the way to the show when they were coming back from Las Vegas. I have to wonder if they played it well, given that I didn't know what it was supposed to sound like at the time. Sounded good to me!
"I'm the king of this gloom, but my scars show through; reminding us of the knife that went down in our tombs."
1. The Stranger* 2. Tulsa 3. Track Down And Kill What Swallows You Up
* Guest vocals courtesy of Drew Wilkinson of Run With The Hunted-fame
I was looking through all my music trying to figure out what to post next, and this one definitely stuck out even though there were tons that I wanted to include. Malakai were (and on special occasion, are) so fun to see live. They played downcast, dramatic mathcore, and when I say dramatic I mean they utilized drama for the album. The thing that made this album stick out in my search is that the lyrics are a script and the album tells a story of the struggle between an emperor, his son, and his court. This is still an extremely unique concept to me. I've heard of albums that tell a story, but the way this one was executed is stupendous to me. III & V are my favorite acts. If anyone is interested, I could transcribe the lyrics/lines.
"Bow your head, and still the drums. Make way, for The Emperor comes."
Antietam (later known as Days of Awe because of a previously Antietam-named band, and that's funny because these guys had a sister band called Butcher Jones which ended up being a taken name as well) were straight edge band that played sophisticated, melodic hardcore with intelligent lyrics. A few of the guys in this band started a new project called The Rule, The Law so keep an eye out for more from that. There seems to be a theme with this Locals Week thing ... "Sad to see them go."
"I'm so utterly misguided. I keep mistaking the streetlights in the morning for the moon."
NOTE: I compressed the files before scanning the CD insert for a good album artwork image, so if you like to have good album artwork, don't forget to copy and paste the image below.
I'm not so sure whether or not they've called it quits for good yet, but I hope not, because this is/was one of my favorite local bands. Another one that could bring me to a show just because they were playing. And I'm not sure why this didn't catch on, because it's just so damn catchy! Pop punk done well. Very well.
"From day one I never wanted me, and that works because neither did she."
1. The Other Side Of Garden State 2. Wagons East 3. Haircuts Don't Lie 4. Moving On Vs. You 5. Live Some, Learn Some
Like so many other times before, this is a band that really started to show some promise and then sunk. Throughout their developmental stage, they released a few demos leading up to what would be their first legitimate release, this self-titled full-length, but it seems they met their end at an unfortunate time: right in the process of releasing it. Though it never saw proper distribution, I was lucky enough to get it from a good friend from the band, and I wish things had worked out better in regards to the band in general because I really like these songs! They're soft. Some of the guys from this band started a post-MOM band called Juliet which you can listen to at juliet.bandcamp.com
"Everybody has your love. I'm just not the same."
1. New Romantic 2. Dallow 3. Spicer 4. For Summer 5. [untitled] 6. Pinkie 7. Violet 8. I'm All Tongue 9. Cubitt
Here's another band that I was sad to see pass. They played dark hardcore with a metal overtone. I never had anything but good to say about them, and I still listen to this demo all the time. Brings back memories of good times.
"With all the "cheer up kid!"s and the "remember when?"s, there are too many "I feel dead."s for just one pen."
1. The Ghost Takes Flight 2. This Is Not A Welcome 3. Dead Letter Office 4. Behold, The Arrows Of The Day
Easily my favorite local band. They're the only one I would actually try to go to every show for, strictly to see them. And I'd always be so bummed if I missed their sets. Their live shows usually consisted of a sparse crowd that just stood there, but the band was always full of energy and played really well no matter what. There was always this cool feeling about them because they were strictly a live band to me since they never released anything, and so I only ever got to hear them live and that made their songs seem new and impressive every time. Eventually after they kind of fell apart, their drummer gave out the recordings they'd done. Their discography is eleven songs from two different sessions. Chaotic, spazzy punk with heavy, noisey guitars over fill-filled drums and shrill screams; kind of Converge-esque, but it's hard to make truly accurate comparisons.
"We can't hold it in forever; with our hands in the air. But our inner selves wear the guilty faces. Let's build these monuments to the sky."
Enchantment Under The Sea (Demo) 1. So This Is It 2. The Wave Song 3. Black Knee 4. Imagine A Snake Singing This Song 5. Hearts Became Machines 6. Creepshow
No Movement 1. Intro 2. What The Kids Are Doing Now 3. Falling Deep 4. Hidden Tension 5. Monuments To The Sky
From what I've read, these are supposed to be alternate demo versions of the material for "God Loves, Man Kills" with Rob doing vocals, recorded in 2006. These are my favorite songs of their's. They really show their technical, fast-paced side.
So I was looking through Final Fantasy guides for ideas on names for a band I'm starting, and one of the ideas I wrote down was Rinoa (Final Fantasy VIII). After I'd written down anything eye-catching, I went ahead and checked to see which were already bands. Rinoa has been used as a name twice already, apparently. The Rinoa I'm talking about though, is the UK variation, from Essex. I decided to check out their stuff because the biography on last.fm sounded cool (said they're along the lines of Envy, Mono, and others). Listened to it, and thought you would like it! I suggest you listen to it.
"I'll wait for spring. Her throne will shine again."
1. Past Maidens 2. This Land Will Hold Their Wings 3. Sol Winds 4. Fires In The Distant North 5. An Empty Canvas 6. This Is Our View 7. Memory 8. The Gates
After posting Frodus, I listened to Stop It!! and thought there were some striking comparisons, particularly in the quality of their sounds. Stop It!! is a lot like Frodus; very methodical, heavy, and smooth all at once, except their song structures are a bit more compact than a lot of what's on "And So We Washed Our Weapons In The Sea." Unlike Frodus though, Stop It!! were a screamo band with a lot of groove, and a very prevalent sound with every part of the mix. This is one of my favorite records, and I'd say it's an essential for anyone who is even remotely into screamo or mathcore. Robotic Empire put this out in the earlier part of the new millenium.
"Some writers write all night; ten-thousand words of truth. Then they drink themselves to death upon finding it. Sometimes I write all night, ten-thousand critics come, and if they're telling the truth than that has to mean I'm lying to myself. But I'm not lying."
1. Maybe She's Born With It 2. Name + Number 3. Amen & Boys 4. A Clever Play On Words 5. Remove Your Teeth 6. S.S. Betrayal 7. Captain Roboto 8. Here's To New Shortcuts 9. Beethoven's Funeral
Frodus (Conglomorate International) A.K.A. F.C.I. were an amazing post-hardcore band from D.C. in the nineties. They toured with Refused in 1998, and are often compared with them even though they have very disparate sounds. Thrice covered their song "The Earth Isn't Humming" on their Alchemy Index release. You could basically call them mathcore. Their songs build on themselves, becoming very spacey and dynamic and they create such a unique sound that I imagine must've been far ahead of their time. I wasn't there. I don't know. Regardless, this is a perfect album in my opinion. It was their last, being released by Fueled By Ramen in 2001, and is without a doubt their best material. Especially as a whole; this album is best listened to from start to finish rather than just hearing individual songs. I think it's supposed to repressed on vinyl sometime this year by Lovitt Records. They reunited for SXSW 2009, playing at the Lovitt area, and I think they may have actually recorded a 7" last year... Not too sure about all the details, but it sounds like they're working on things again.
"The machines never died! We will be vindicated!"
1. Red Bull Of Juarez 2. The Earth Isn't Humming 3. There Will Be No More Scum 4. Out-Circuit The Ending 5. Chiriaco Summit 6. Belgian Congo 7. The Awesome Machine 8. 6/99 9. Hull Crush Depth 10. Year Of The Hex 11. And We Washed Our Weapons In The Sea
This is L.A./Inglewood, California letlive.'s first release, circa 2003. Far different, and noticeably 'earlier-sounding' than their later releases, Speak Like You Talk, and Fake History, Exhaustion... has a bit more of a screamo tinge, while still sounding like an underproduced Glassjaw (that sounds great to me - don't know about you). Every letlive. release has been very different, and this as well as Speak Like You Talk aren't even really acknowledged by the band these days, but I have a very hard time picking a favorite between their three releases. Neither of the first two albums are very easy to find, so downloading is the way to go if you want to hear them (and I recommend all of letlive.'s music). I wanted the lyrics to these songs so bad, but they weren't in the insert, nor on the Internet, and it was bugging me but I finally figured out that the lyrics are on the CD itself. In case you were interested, I copied and pasted the lyrics into notepad and saved them in the folder. They're pretty cheesy, but I love it.
Currently, letlive. is finally getting some recognition and going places. They recently signed to Epitaph, who will be re-releasing Fake History with three extra tracks, and I'm beyond excited for them. Read about that and check out the video for their song "The Sick, Sick 6.8 Billion" on Epitaph's site.
"The day I decided to live with my heart on my sleeve I came home shirtless, bareback, and wondering why it's so cold in here..."
1. Adjectives Might Work 2. With A Mouth Sewn Shut (You're Pretty Well Spoken) 3. Comprehension Is Overrated 4. Showcase Heart 5. Heroic Suicide 6. Nightmare For Care 7. Cigarette 8. October 30th Syndrome
La Dispute was one of those bands who I never really imagined myself getting into, but every time I heard them, I got into it. So far, I like everything they've written and think they're an extremely creative band. They're my current obsession, and I'd recommend not only listening to this short release, but all of their stuff. It's superb... superb. Both of these songs have plenty of the elements they're known for, namely the energetic and smooth melodies that are just too catchy for words if you ask me. Listen for yourself.
Awesome screamo band with dual vocals, abrasive yelling over high screams. I think they do a great justice to their genre. Listen to "With Horses In Her Eyes, She Spat Like A Wildcat" (in the video below) and tell me that isn't a perfect screamo song. I feel like the opening track, "We Only Fuck To Black Sabbath Vol. 4" sounds a little too rock sometimes, but don't let that get you down if you don't like it. Things only get better. Also, I like their song titles... "Get going cowboy... to those horses you think so much of."
1. We Only Fuck To Black Sabbath Vol. 4 2. Tips For Avoiding The Clap. 1. I Wouldn't Piss On A Scorpion If It Was On Fire 3. Das Plague (French For Germans) 4. With Horses In Her Eyes, She Spat Like A Wildcat 5. Hunger Like Numb Toes On An Oslo Sidewalk 6. The Tropics Of Cancer, Capricorn, And A Smashed Face 7. I May Have Cried A River For Him, But He's No Depardieu 8. This Charade Has Lasted Well Past The Curtain's Fall 9. We've Built Our Tombs And Now We're Sleeping In Them 10. The Graduate Walks With A Distance Gait
I saw this band at one of my earlier hardcore shows, at a house, when they were on a winter tour with Restrained. So-Cal powerviolence with a very metal vibe. I was really impressed with their set, so I bought this tape. Unfortunately, they didn't play the seven-minute jam song from the end of the 7-inch / tape at that house show, but a friend of mine saw them at Sound & Fury a few years back and said at the end of their set the vocalist just walked off stage while they played that song. I tend to think of this album in two parts, the short powerviolence songs at the start and the super metal jam at the end, and both parts are superb! I'm not a die hard fan of either genre really, but I love these recordings.
"Earth shall burn. Everything gone..."
1. Devoid Of Reality 2. Interlude 3. Investment In Knowledge 4. Ascension 5. Besiege 6. Earth's Charred Corpse 7. Banish The Cross 8. The 9th Circle 9. Untitled
I don't know quite where to place this guy's music. Everyone else says "obvious Smiths tribute" but I don't really see it. I mean, I see where they're coming from, but I'm sure there are better, more accurate comparisons (though, in the song "Sacred Heart" that comparison is quite accurate). Nonetheless, it's some sort of pop. When I put on Cass McCombs radio on Pandora, the only band I recognized was The Jesus And Mary Chain... I heard of Cass McCombs first when watching the Enjoi skate video, Bag Of Suck, where that song I mentioned, "Sacred Heart" was one of Jerry Hsu's songs along with Sonic Youth's Carpenters cover. I thought it was a good song so I got the album and wasn't as impressed with the rest, but after listening to it more, it grew on me. I feel like other people could appreciate this more at first impression than I did. I'm considering editing the last song on my iTunes though because the last seven minutes are a car alarm going off, so I want to cut that out. One time I left this on while I was sleeping, and that part woke me up the same way an alarm clock would!
"For all my alases, I cannot mend this massive slashing..."
1. Equinox 2. Subtraction 3. Multiple Suns 4. Tourist Woman 5. Sacred Heart 6. She's Still Suffering 7. Cuckoo 8. Bury Mary 9. City Of Brotherly Love 10. All Your Dreams May Come True
Check out "Sacred Heart" on Jerry Hsu's skate part from Bag Of Suck (such a great part).
The name of the album, a reference to the assassination of Malcolm X is very fitting, considering the content of the record is focused on politics, and specifically civil rights. There are even clips of Malcolm X's speech, "The Ballot Or The Bullet" during the title track of this album, as well as other clips on the subject of minority empowerment. I love the sound clip at the beginning of the whole thing. It's so energetic in a way I'm not used to. This is a great album that steps over the boundaries between punk, hardcore, and screamo so easily. Musically, it sounds a bit like Das Oath, while politically it gives me a Yaphet Kotto feel (it's an Ebullition release). This was world-famous DJ Steve Aoki's hardcore band and he was so frantic and energetic as a vocalist that it makes me want to describe them as sassy and out of control.
"Go eat some words and I'll bury in the sand."
1. Cracking The Mask 2. Bending The Erotic 3. Giving Testimony 4. Our Histories Have Burned Holes In Your Flag 5. Running With All These Names 6. Breakdown 7. Hearts And Minds 8. Death In The Audobon Ballroom 9. And The Weight Of That Silence Alone Will Choke Us
Great screamo album by one of the most well-known European screamo bands, Raein (pronounced like rain, a combination of both the words rain and rein) hailing from Forlì, Italy. If you're a fan of any form of emo (or punk in general even), and haven't heard this record yet, I suggest you get on that.
"This is my tigersuit!"
1. The Tree 2. The King Is Dead 3. From 3 To 1 In 2 And 4 4. Il N'y A Pas De Orchestre 5. Tetradycal Fluctuating Faster Than The Speed Of Light 6. Artmachine Observation Tower 7. Miss Kelly Dathe 8. Tigersuit 9. She Wears My Blood 10. I Was Fine Before You Came
This is my favorite Promise Ring material along with The Horse Latitudes. As you'd expect from their first records, it's a lot more gritty than stuff like Nothing Feels Good or Very Emergency; far less poppy, their early emo stylings are apparent, et cetera. This is exactly my style, but I think most people opt for Nothing Feels Good (which is great too!). Anyways, this is an impressive demo in my opinion. I hope you love it.
So, yet again it's been a while since I've posted anything, and I'm going to stop saying that I'm gonna try to post more often, because that's probably not gonna happen. Not even gonna play...
This album is sweet. I feel like if you like The Smiths you can't dislike this, but that theory's already been disproven. Whatever. 80's "sophistapop" from Hull, England that I think is extremely catchy, and I'm probably going to end up overplaying it very soon. I was originally attracted to this band solely by their name, because it sounded like a name I might come up with, and luckily, upon buying this album, I liked it! Don't be stupid. Give it a shot.
"Did you come here to shoot me down, bury me in my own home ground?"
1. When All's Well 2. Ugly Little Dreams 3. Shoot Me Down 4. Are You Trying To Be Funny? 5. Sean 6. Ballad Of The Times 7. Anytown 8. This Love (Not For Sale) 9. Trouble And Strife 10. Angel
