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
Lacking
1. Lacking
2. About A Girl (Nirvana)
Locals Week Day 7 - Values Here
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
Locals Week Day 6 - Malakai
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."
1. I
2. II
3. III
4. IV
5. V
6. VI
7. VII
Locals Week Day 5 - Antietam
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.
1. Streetlights (AM)
2. The Hounds
3. Lichen
4. Obergeist
5. Streetlights (PM)
6. Resonant Frequencies
Also, here's a review of the EP that was written for a zine my friends and I used to make.
Locals Week Day 4 - Summer Happened
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
Locals Week Day 3 - Mouth Of Man
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
Locals Week Day 2 - Deadair
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
Locals Week Day 1 - No Movement
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.
"I don't see much but red these days."
1. Fuel (2006 Demo)
2. Professional Insomniac (2006 Demo)
3. Ropetrick (2006 Demo)
4. Aghori*
* Aghori was recorded separate from the other three, and has a different quality.
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
