Thursday, October 25, 2012

Beau Navire - 2011 Hours


Band : Beau Navire
Album : Hours
Release Year : 2011
Genre : Screamo | Emo Violence

Tracklist :
1. Hours
2. The Looking Glass
3. A book, a mind
4. Reinventing The Veil
5. Respire (meta)
6. Cloud City
7. "It's Not An Art, It's A Myth"
8. Bare Trees
9. Lost and Leaving
10. interlude
11. Solemn Moon
12. Remnants
13. Respire (sync)

Throughout the screamo scene there’s been an ongoing trend of incorporating post-rock build-ups and sweeping clean guitar parts, particularly in Europe. The sound has received a lot of criticism for being perfected and over-used. However the problem isn’t the fact that the formula has been abused, but perhaps the emphasis on the formula itself. Of course there’s nothing wrong with orchestration and great transitioning can be the crux of a group. Nevertheless, all of these symphonic groups seem to suffer from a set in stone linearity that makes every heartfelt swell sound like an exercise, never taking risks within the structure or being able to dwell in any sort of repetition or non climactic texture. The most essential part of screamo has never been dynamics or technique, but striking a chord in all of the accumulated, often dissonant, heartfelt madness; creating some sort of moment of clarity within all of the hardcore and the passion that resonates. If you look at the group I Wrote Haikus About Cannibalism in Your Yearbook, which contained members of Beau Navire, they were, in the strictest of musical senses, amateurs. The voice-cracked screams were off rhythm and would often clash with other background vocals and the guitar sounds were probably some of the cheapest ever to be put on record. Yet the lone cries of “Save me from my room. Save me from my thoughts” over lone guitar noodling created a strangely desolate effect that displayed only the most sincere passion.

Beau Navire’s Hours is a gut-wrenching synthesis of that classic touch and technical precision. While their previous LP, Life Moves, established a recognizable gloomy, lo-fi sound, their new release takes the sound and transcends it into a messy, yet extremely well crafted and produced magnum opus. The sounds on Hours are developed and professional, yet retain the fiery intensity that laced the group’s previous recordings. The songs often transition from gentle ambient guitar harmonies into short, yet effective moments of grinding rhythms and frenetic instrumental work. The group knows how to build into those soaring hardcore moments that many bands have perfected, yet they often show up unpredictably, catching the listener with a tight grip, only to let them go into noisy oddities and colorful jams. The manner in which they switch between the two sounds is displayed with beauty on tracks like “It’s Not An Art, It’s A Myth”, where the band reverses the order and forms a funky little jam, while sporadically breaking into piercing screams and tremolo rhythms. While the bands previous efforts had come off as rad collections of individual tracks, the new record has a magnificent flow, using ambient instrumentals and detailed composition to create an incredibly complete and cohesive effort.

However Hours best succeeds in its cathartic qualities; the vocalist, Trei, has this voice that pulls off the desperate, “crying at the mic” vocal technique that manages to avoid sounding contrived. He finds the most subtle, yet brilliantly orchestrated moments to release his desperate tales over, whether it be in the form of a shout or a spoken word. Hours has a sort of cryptic quality that keeps the band’s music from hitting immediately, with mostly indecipherable lyrics and unorthodox instrumentation. However the group’s music slowly grows upon the listener, grabbing at them in ways unexpected, in genuine heartfelt moments of dissonant passion and musical brilliance. I find myself writing about it too often, but there’s nothing more refreshing in music then to hear a band carefully use their resources and energy to create masked, yet relatable clashes of music and feeling that resonate in the best of ways. Beau Navire not only seize and capitalize on moments like these, but they successfully integrate the various facets of the genre to do it with finesse. An immense screamo album to remember.

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Birds in Row - 2012 You, Me, and The Violence


Band : Birds in Row
Album : You, Me, and The Violence
Release Year : 2012
 Genre : Hardcore | Crust

Tracklist :
01. Pilori
02. There Is Only One Chair In This Room
03. Cages
04. Guillotine
05. Walter Freeman
06. Last Last Chance
07. You, Me, & The Violence
08. Grey Hair
09. Cold War Everyday
10. The Illusionist
11. Police & Thieves
12. Lovers Have Their Say

"You, Me, & The Violence" is the latest masterpiece from Birds In Row. The album explodes out of the gates with "Pilori", a sonic crash and bang statement of personal independence among with society's faults and fractures. Birds In Row then continue down this road, expressing disdain and struggle in songs like "Cages", "Guillotine", and "Walter Freeman". All of them musically harboring a beautiful tangle of emotional vocals and distortion. And just when it feels like the album is almost too overpowering, Birds In Row unfurl a moment of musical clarity in "Last Last Chance", a haunting guitar and vocal break. Their collective control of their dynamics is masterful work. "You, Me, & The Violence" and "Grey Hair" are near perfect examples of this, naturally shifting between searing and serene in tone. If you weren't in awe of Birds In Row in the first eleven songs, the twelve minute closer "Lovers Have Their Say" will leave you floored, as it is an ominous epic that artistically unwinds in truly spectacular fashion.
 
 
 
 
 

Barren Womb - 2012 On the Origin of Fæces


Band : Barren Womb
Album : On the Origin of Fæces
Release Year : 2012
 Genre : Hardcore | Punk | Experimental

Tracklist :
01. Mohawkwind
02. My fault, your fault, default
03. Less is Roger Moore
04. Pink funeral
05. A matter of life and death metal
06. Are we werewolves yet?
07. I have a hobbit to support
08. My pal Trench Foot

Barren Womb are a noise punk/hardcore duo hailing from Trondheim, Norway. Formed November 2011 by Timo Silvola and Tony Gonzahl after the disbandment of their former band, Like Rats From A Sinking Ship, Barren Womb blend hardcore punk with elements of black metal, grindcore and country.
On the Origin of Fæces Containing 8 intense protest songs lodged.

Two guys who used to be in Like Rats From A Sinking Ship makes up this noise duo from Norway. Have to admit that I was never a fan of lrfass neither on record or live so I did not have high hopes for this when I first put this on. Press-description was short but managed to include ‘protest songs’ and this combined with the EP title and track titles like ‘Less is Roger Moore’ and ‘I Have a Hobbit to Support’ did not lift my spirit neither. Have no lyrics so we will just have to take their word that these are indeed protest songs.
Musically this is far better than lrfass. They got rid of the super annoying synth elements and have stripped their music down bridging noise, metal and more punk elements together with a thick and heavy sound that suits them good. At times they are quite melodic (‘Are we werewolves yet?’) and other times they are playing a whole lot faster bordering towards straight up hardcore (‘I have a hobbit to support’). They are at their best when they slow down and play as ugly as they can (‘A matter of life and death metal’). Over the course of the 8 songs though, they are losing my attention as this gets to generic. Norway has been spoiled with bands in this genre lately with bands like Noxagt and Årabrot and although Barren Womb do a decent attempt this just shows they have a long way to go if they aim to step up to the throne. -Kjetil Holstad (collectivezine)





BATS - 2007 Cruel Sea Scientist


Band : BATS
Album : Cruel Sea Scientist
Release Year : 2007
Genre : Post-Hardcore | Mathrock | Progressive | Experimental

Tracklist :
1. Death To Kent Hovind
2. These Ones Lay Eggs
3. Nautilus Vs. Irish Ferry
4. Husband & Wife (Sliced Lung, Served Cold
5. Atom & Eve

Formed in the early part of the Pliocene age by complex molecules, BATS (featuring ex-members of Martha Washington) have spent millions of years developing their sound from a series of intermittent bleeps to the sexy sonic bullets they create today. 4 out of 5 BATS hail from Ireland's alpha-smoke- Dublin, while the other crawled his way on bloody knuckles out of the haunted town of Carbury, Kildare in the mid 1600's.
Cruel Sea Scientist is just a smidge unsatisfying, if only because it begs to last longer. Question marks remain over the group’s originality: both instruments and vocals sound a little too imitative of their influences at some points, whether it’s the Blood Brothers-like call-and-response routine and funky hardcore riffs, the Todd Smith-like spoken passages, but these inconsistencies will surely be ironed out over time and Cruel Sea Scientist will be remembered as a rough but eminently replayable slice of premium musicosity.
 
 
 
 
 

Arms - 2012 Bunk Alchemy


Band : Arms
Album : Bunk Alchemy
Release Year : 2012
Genre : Mathcore | Experimental

Tracklist :
01 - Alpha
02 - Graph
03 - Pope
04 - Teeths
05 - Moth
06 - Exchange
07 - Apothecary
08 - Index
09 - Grain
10 - Ambix

Ex/Members of CIty Of Ifa, With My Bear Hands, and Remy Lebeau. For fans of COI, The Number 12, check them out now!! Highly Recommended!!
 
 
 
 
 

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Archives - 2009 Decline


Band : Archives
Album : Decline
Release Year : 2009
Genre : Screamo | Post-Hardcore | Post-Rock

Tracklist :
01 Skvotter
02 A Sharp Increase in Decline
03 Victory Gin
04 What's With All the Brutal Honesty?
05 Including the Mezzanine
06 Divine Circuitry

The band sat somewhere between screamo, post hardcore and post rock and were influenced by the likes of Daitro, Envy, Red Sparowes, From Monument to Masses.

So in the midst of writing a new album, the dudes from Archives decide to disband, but luckily also decide to release the written material. And to be completely honest, after listening to this release it makes me want to cry like a girl and piss my pants out of sorrow for the loss of such a great band. This stuff is brilliant and deserves to be listened. Enjoy!





All Human - 2012 Catholic Guilt Or The Queerest Of Thoughts


Band : All Human
Album : Catholic Guilt Or The Queerest Of Thoughts
Release Year : 2012
Genre : Indie | Electronic | Experimental

Tracklist :
01. We’re Alive And Well
02. Play Date With The Opossum
03. Utah
04. Appendage Envy
05. No Love Here
06. The House Of Striaght & Narrow
07. Fat Accidents
08. Jack Off Capital Of The World
09. Rabbit Hole
10. All Human
11. Oh My My Boy (This Island Has A Sex Drive)
12. Let Me Be Your Daughter

"Catholic Guilt Or The Queerest Of Thoughts" by All Human is a highly textural Electronic Indie album.

Songs within the album draw the line between a chilled out vibe, and an urgency that excites and draws the listener in. This combination creates an interesting conflict that gets resolved somewhere between heavy electronic textures, eerie songwriting and vocals, and a constant driving alt rock spirit.

Songs like "Oh My My Boy (This Island Has A Sex Drive)" start off with sparse production, a raw beat, and then the vocals flesh out that skeleton (along with techno noise) with dirty lyrics and an array of dynamically different vocal harmonies. The dynamics of this particular song can serve as a mirror for the entire album... moods shift, feelings change, and nothing is ever set in stone. -Michael Rickert (examiner.com)
 
 
 
 
 

A Lot Like Birds - 2012 Conversation Piece (Deluxe Re-Issue)


Band : A Lot Like Birds
Album : Conversation Piece (Deluxe Re-Issue)
Release Year : 2012
Genre : Post-Hardcore | Progressive | Experimental

Tracklist :
 1. Orange Time Machines Care
2. Think Dirty Out Loud
3. Vanity's Fair
4. Properties of Friction
5. Truly Random Code
6. Abbr.
7. The Blowtorch is Applied to the Sugar
8. A Satire of a Satire of a Satire is
9. Sesame Street is No Place for Me
10. Tantrum (Far From the Tree, the Apple Grew Rotten)
11. What Didn't Kill Me Just Got Stronger
12. A Satire of a Satire of a Satire is Tiring (Remix by F3RAL)atire of a Satire of a Satire is Tiring (Remix by Spencer Faber)
14. Tantrum (Far From The Tree, The Apple Grew Rotten) (Remix By Zachyg)
15. Orange Love Machine Gets Me the Wolf 2 (Drew Owens Mix)

The deluxe version of A Lot Like Birds’ Conversation Piece. The deluxe version includes the original album plus a handful of remixes handpicked by the band.
 
 
 
 
 

All the Best Tapes - 2011 This is Not a Record, This is All the Best Tapes


Band : All the Best Tapes
Album : This is Not a Record, This is All the Best Tapes
Release Year : 2011
Genre : Punk | Mathrock

Tracklist :
1. Old Device
2. Pious Fool
3. Caterpillarism
4. PDW Ribbon by PDW Ribbon by All the Best Tapes

All The Best Tapes are a four piece punk band from Stoke, UK who suffer from a bad case of gruff vocals with tinges of harmony, an obsession with odd timings, widdly riffs, and Rush.

Forming at the very end of 2010, Tapes have since built up a strong collection of song and released their first real E.P., 'This Is Not a Record, This Is All The Best Tapes...', on Circuit Scene Records. As well as t...his record the band have proved their ability as performers with a tight, powerful set destined to make even the most hardened cynic think about unfolding his arms and moving away from the back wall.





Araby - 2012 Alone


Band : Araby
Album : Alone
Release Year : 2012
Genre : Screamo

Tracklist :
1. continent
2. altars
3. growth
4. blindness
5. weak teeth
6. november
7. parallels
8. brick & mortar
9. borders
10. pangaea

Araby is a two-piece band from Burlington/Grimsby, Ontario, Canada. They playing a kind of screamo with chaotic influence. Alone is a really nice album, well check this one out if you don't!!!





Thursday, October 18, 2012

Alpinist - 2010 LICHTLÆRM


Band : Alpinist
Album : LICHTLÆRM
Release Year : 2010
Genre : Hardcore | Crust | Screamo

Tracklist :
1. Deliberate
2. Rogen
3. AIDT
4. Licht
5. Yarncarrier And Break
6. Neverest
7. Project Fatigue
8. The Cursed Word Open-Minded
9. Hak Nam
10. LÆRM

Alpinist is a Dark-Hardcore/Crust four-piece band from Münster, GERMANY.

It’s easy to ride Alpinist off as a novelty. Truly it is, as the band hasn't really made any waves in the states. Being fairly young, and originating from Germany, Alpinist haven't truly grabbed the attention of many. Their oppressive sound combined with an angry aesthetic doesn’t exactly do much in the way of creating anything revolutionary, which hasn't helped their odds of breaking out. With "Lichtlarem" being their sophomore effort, the band has a lot prove.

That being said, “Lichtlaerm” is stunningly solid. Surprisingly so, considering the general inexperienced nature of the band. It’s frenetic nature somehow feels as if it’s been polished to a sheen, and everything seems incredibly well organized and well thought out. Its crusty aesthetic creates an all around dense atmosphere, which adds a little bit of character to an otherwise chaotic and unruly album. This is where the album truly shines, in its brazen yet wonderfully refined and tightened sound. Because of this, “Lichtlaerm” is heavy but perfectly contained, offering up a bevy of dense and crushing instrumentals , complimented by some rather intense and passionate screams.

Along with the wonderfully solid sound, the production is also pretty fantastic, which helps bolster the whole affair down. While not perfect, the crude nature of the sound adds a lot to the album's feel, piling up even more character to “Lichtlaerm.” The drums are crystal clear in their tenacious crashing, and the guitars are tuned to a fine degree of heaviness and cleanliness. Everything works and sounds as it should, and the product is excellent because of it. And while a little on the grating side, the album sports some pretty decent vocals. It’s obvious they guy is putting a lot behind them, and the exuberance shines clear through something, that by all rights, should sound fairly obnoxious. Regardless, his raw emotion gives the album a certain genuine feeling, which helps the album feel a little more personal.

This unabashed emotion resonates throughout the work's entirety, making nearly every song stand out to some extent. And while it may take a few listens to appreciate, “Lichtlaerm” offers an impressive and diverse track list. There’s loads of variety throughout, making everything incredibly interesting and fresh. Aside from a few homogeneous portions of rather bland selections, the album makes very few missteps. “Licht” and “Yarncarrier And Break” offer more instrumental songs, with a heavier emphasis on mood and atmosphere, while showcasing the band's more subtle songwriting abilities. After all, Alpinist are more than a group of angry young men making angry sounding music. Rather, these tracks highlight the more creative aspects of the band's sound. Situated in the middle, the two tracks anchor the album down with a fine transition change, that is before the chaos re-ensues. ”Deliberate” is an excellent opener, as it starts off very menacing, but quickly leads into a brash and rapid combination of riffs and cymbal crashes. Chaotic and brash, the track is a great intro. “Neverest” boasts the albums most fierce and interesting track. Featuring some great guitar work and vocal interplay, the track is tremendously solid, and an all around standout. The mid-section boast a wonderful guitar piece, which truly makes its presence known in respect to the surrounding maelstrom.

With “Lichtlaerm,” Alpinist are out to show the world that they’ve got something to prove, and prove it they do. With incredibly intense and vivacious material accentuating their crusty-hardcore aesthetic, Alpinist demand to be on your radar.

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Town Portal - 2012 Chronopoly


Band : Town Portal
Album : Chronopoly
Release Year : 2012
Genre : Progressive | Mathrock | Instrumental

Tracklist :
1. Chronoceros
2. Mad With Power
3. Samoan Maneuver
4. Entropia
5. Cool Face Doom Service
6. Infinite Improvidence
7. Uncle Genie
8. Coordinated Universal Time Stretch

Just about one year has passed since Town Portal captured and released the first fragment of their non-verbal musical universe in the shape of the EP Vacuum Horror, which was merely released digitally on a pay-what-you-want basis. In spite of humble circumstances, the record acquired a much less humble amount of attention, receiving praising reviews in leading Danish music magazines like Soundvenue (5/6), Devilution (4/5) and Geiger, who said that “Town Portal manages to utilize all the means of music and does so on an exceptionally high level. The energy of a band young at heart, and the notion of a feeling of no limits to their own prowess, shines through…”. Furthermore the Vacuum Horror EP was launched into the international blogosphere, and got the band touring around most of the European mainland.

Since then the constellation has been reduced from four men to three, forcing Town Portal to decompose and reconstruct approaches to sound and composition. These endeavors has resulted in the debut album Chronopoly (from Greek ‘chronos’ and English ‘monopoly’). Like its predecessor this record still offers instrumental rock-music with a sludgy dropped tune hook, which serves as counterweight to complex and playful compositions. With a tireless curiosity new ways are sought out, of combining tones in untraditional ways, with the traditional guitar-bass-drum constellation. On Chronopoly though, these well-known components mutate to their extremes, and form a release that is both more complex, melodic, direct, and boundary pushing than the predecessor; an exponential development in a well-governed welter of metal, shoegaze, indie, and progressive rock.

During this fall the album will be followed by a set of Danish shows, as well as Town Portal’s third international tour, that in the course of two weeks will take the band through Germany, France and Switzerland, in the company of American Feast of the Epiphany.





Friday, October 12, 2012

Trencher - 2006 Lips


Band : Trencher
Album : Lips
Release Year : 2006
Genre : Grindcore | Noisecore | Experimental

Tracklist :
1. Commissioner Of Sewers
2. Hung, Drawn Yet Shorter
3. Nightmares On Crack St.
4. Mouth To Anus
5. All That Blood And No Pain?
6. In Reverence
7. Two Semi's Don't Make A Hard-On
8. Lips Like Suicide
9. Chatter Of Slimy Teeth

Trencher is a band from London creating a particular Grindcore sound. But think of it as a band without guitar player and with a casio-tone toy keyboard. Original and with character. Like old DIY grindcore bands, but darker, and sometimes, rather more experimental.

To the untrained ear Trencher could very well sound like a creative dead end. Wrong. It’s important to take into account the humour at play here. Trencher’smusic is hellish, there’s no doubt about that. They certainly sounded like death on their early recordings lo-fi and formlessly segueing slabsof bottom-heavy grind that (dis)graced the world with their presence only on audio cassettes with tracing-paper sleeves. The Trencher of today are different though. Though still developing their beastly formula for Casio destruction they’ve developed a masterful grasp of structure, an articulation to their chaos that is hard to argue with. To counterbalance the heaviest, sludgiest sawtooth bass guitar there are ‘House Of Horrors’ keyboards; cute little stabs of Casio and clean and direct frequencies. Foregrounded and hilarious Trencher are all about surreal. Their 2006 full album Lips was a slight move away from the soundtrack to a carcrash that was Dracula..., you can hear aprogression away from total chaos and lack of control to something much more brutal, heavy and structuredkind of like an 18 wheeler at a monster truck show colliding in mid-air...on purpose.

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Snapcase - 2003 Bright Flashes


Band : Snapcase
Album : Bright Flashes
Release Year : 2003
Genre : Hardcore | Experimental

Tracklist :
1. Believe/revolt
2. Dress Rehearsal
3. Blacktop
4. Skeptic
5. Ten A.m.(good Morning, Mr. Coelacanth)
6. New Academy
7. Mountain Song
8. Depth Of Field
9. Freedom Of Choice
10. Gates Of Steel
11. Makeshift Tourniquet
12. Exile Etiquette (only British People Can Fly)

SNAPCASE is known as one of the most progressive and influential bands in independent music. Bright Flashes is a must-have for any SNAPCASE fan. This album showcases a new level of creativity for SNAPCASE, shines some light on artists that have inspired SNAPCASE and sets the tone for artists to follow.





The Locust - 2003 Follow the Flock, Step in Shit


Band : The Locust
Album : Follow the Flock, Step in Shit
Release Year : 2003
Genre : Grindcore | Noise | Experimental

Tracklist :
1. Follow the flock, step in shit
2. Coffin Nails
3. Red

On This recording, The Locust have documented their early larva stage. They take the abrasiveness and aggressive sounds from their predecessors and bring them a few steps further. This CDEP consists of the two tracks from the band’s split 5″ EP with Jenny Piccolo, and “Red” from the “Cry Now, Cry Later Vol. 4" compilation.