The Sick Lipstick - 2002 The Sick Lipstick

Band : The Sick Lipstick
Album : The Sick Lipstick
Release Year : 2002
Genre : Noise | Punk | Experimental

Tracklist:

1 The Bloody Ropes
2 Creamy Plastic Pink Leotard
3 Sermon From Between His Legs
4 Smudged Lipstick
5 Cardinal Newman
6 Let Me See Your Woman's Bump

Shortly after the demise of their former band Black Cat #13 in 2001, Lindsey Gillard and Mark McLean joined forces with Allan Graham to form the quirky punk rock group The Sick Lipstick. During the two-year period in which Black Cat #13 was together, they managed to garner a large, devout following, even though they only put out a handfull of vinyl-only releases, including a 7” on the influencial Three.One.G label.

The band’s debut EP was released by Sound Virus, an up and coming California label that has put out records by great and cutting edge bands such as The Blood Brothers, Liars and Pretty Girls Make Graves. Since it’s release in September of 2002, the EP has sold strongly with little promotion, due to the large following of Black Cat #13.

A punk album on acid. This is absolutely NOT for the typical punk fan, but for a more open minded punk fan, if any. A homerun for the noise punk/lo-fi genre!

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An Albatross - 2003 We Are The Lazer Viking

Band : An Albatross

Album : We Are The Lazer Viking
Release Year : 2003

Genre : Grindcore | Psychedelic | Noise | Experimental

 

Tracklist :

1. I am the Lizard Viking
2. Let's Get On With It!
3. Electric Suits And Cowboy Boots
4. Revolutionary Politics Of Dance, The
5. Triumph Of The Lazer Viking, The
6. Get Faster, Cry For Happy
7. Wrgggggggrkyyyyyyy!!!
8. Manifesto Of The Divine Children, The
9. j7j7j7j7j7j7j7j7j7j7j7j
10. Vitally Important Pelvic Thrust, The
11. w7w7w7w7w7w7w7w7w7w7w7

A band that is equal parts Mario music, Refused and Naked City is a hard one to classify. The best possible classification for An Albatross is Noise Rock, fitting in with bands like Lightning Bolt and Locust. They have also been described as "spazz core", an extremely fitting label. "We Are The Lazer Viking" isn't always the easiest album to listen to, clocking in at just 8 minutes, "We Are The Lazer Viking" sounds like Pacman, on steriods, kicking the crap out of the local neighborhood cat. Not the most accessible album, or the conventional, "We Are The Lazer Viking" is enjoyable nonetheless. What makes this album so good is that it is so danceable and has so much groove. Despite Ed Gleda screaming his head off for all 11 tracks and the guitars and drums making as much unsavoury noise as possible, these tunes are extremely easy to shake your hips to. Each song consists of Grind style blasts of noise, mixed with keyboards that sound like they are from old video games, with Ed screaming nonsensical lyrics all the way through (if there is anything insightful, An Albatross aren't making it easy to decipher).

For an album of 8 minutes and 18 seconds, An Albatross do an admirable job of making music that is catchy, fun and silly and the same time as being insane. This album is not one for everyone, but those who do give it a shot and enjoy it are in for a wonderfully fun time. A delightfully wierd, crazy, fun and all out stupid (and that's a good thing!) record. Highly reccomended for those who want something fun and silly as well as extremely crazy.

 

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run,WALK! - 2012 ☤

Band : run,WALK!

Album : ☤

Release Year : 2012

Genre : Mathrock | Noise | Experimental

 

Tracklist:

1.Intro
2.Blank Canvas
3.Black Dreams
4.Out Of The Blue
5.I Don't Know What The Real World Is Like
6.Dead Room
7.Warm Skin
8.Lose All Your Fear
9./////
10.Under A Rock

"The album is about growing up, meeting new people and coping with extreme change. A little snippet of our lives from the last year or so. We hope you like it. Thank you if you've supported us on our journey."

 

Run, Walk, in their final recording session, produced an album with Jason Sanderson (Rolo Tomassi, Brontide, Crocus, basically everyone good). 10 songs, and just a shade under 30 minutes, this is the bands catchiest, most intricate, layered, direct, emotional, poppy, heavy material. It will also be their last. Bass/Drums and so, so much more.....

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Zebras - 2012 Zebras

Band : Zebras

Album : Zebras

Release Year : 2012

Genre : Post-Punk | Noise | Experimental

 

Tracklist:

01. The Dying Sea
02. Mighty Bayonet
03. Queeny Gloom Doom
04. A Turd By Any Other Name
05. Black Cancer
06. Field / Noise
07. Diablo Blanco
08. The Dirty Dice
09. Tension
10. Wiener Kids
11. The Serpent & The Pig

Zebras started in 2007 and toured the states many times over. They have had a few member changes and set backs but are back with a new album and a new drummer.Their current members are Vincent Presley (also a member of Those Poor Bastards), Shane Hochstetler (also a member of Call Me Lightning and previously in Haymarket Riot, Hero Of A Hundred Fights & Managra), and Lacey Smith (also a member of Those Poor Bastards). This is their new album, 11 songs with a pure noise, spastic and yet beauty!! Well, just check them out now!!! Enjoy!!!

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FAKEFAKEFAKE - 2012 Positive Reactionary {EP}

Band : FAKEFAKEFAKE

Album : Positive Reactionary {EP}

Release Year : 2012

Genre : Hardcore | Noise | Power Violence

 

Tracklist :

1. Positive Reactionary
2. Unbearable Compassion
3. McKenna
4. Deja Vu
5. Kinism
6. Blind Magic

FAKEFAKEFAKE is noisy punk band from Boise, ID. After the defuct of Animal Skins, the drummer, vocalist, and the guitarist form this band. They home recorded this EP and mixed and matered it by themself, and the sound is so fucking amazing!! Well, if you love something heavy, noisy, and fast, please go check them out now!!!

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Child Bite - 2012 Monomania

Band : Child Bite

Album : Monomania

Release Year : 2012

Genre : Post-Punk | Noise | Experimental

 

Tracklist :

1 Wrong Flesh
2 The Nab Munch is On
3 Smear Where the Face Was
4 Vapor in the Orphan Loop
5 Begin The Hiss
6 Scum Gene (Trash Vibrato)

 

The foundation for Child Bite’s quirky instrumentals and noisy pop gems comes in the form of Zach Norton’s fuzzedout bass & Danny Sperry’s hectic drumming. Shawn Knight’s guitar & keyboards poke in and out from song to song, along with his signature vocal warble. The music is a combination of punk vigor and avant-garde ideals; the infusing of unconventional sounds with palatable arrangements.

In the midst of recording albums for their other bands, Knight, Norton & Sperry thought it would be a good idea to tackle yet another project. Child Bite was formed in late 2005 with an experimental writing style in mind; to document a handful of improvised sessions and later edit them down to concise arrangements for the band to learn. Recorded in two days at Chicago’s Phantom Manor, the eleven songs featured on “Wild Feast” are the outcome of this process.

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Mother Night + Dropouts - 2012 Garbage Fire (Split)

Band : Mother Night + Dropouts

Album : Garbage Fire (Split)

Release Year : 2012

Genre : Progressive | Mathrock | Noise

Tracklist :

 1.Mother Night - Uprising of the Beast
2.Mother Night - After the Good Life Fails
3.Mother Night - Mookie Blaylock
4.DROPOUTS - Party Violence Acts 1-3

Split from 2 bands from New Bedford Massachusetts, Mother Night and Dropouts. Mother Night is playing akind of progressive and mathrock, and Dropouts is playing akind of noise rock and doom style. This one is really good split, get it and enjoy!!

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Pigs - 2012 You Ruin Everything

Band : Pigs

Album : You Ruin Everything

Release Year : 2012

Genre : Hardcore | Noise | Sludge

Tracklist :

1. Give It
2. Whitewash
3. Massive Operator Error
4. Drained
5. Outburst Calendar
6. Contrition Dilemma
7. Scrum
8. Small c Celebrity
9. Mashantucket
10. At Least It’s An Ethos Pt.1
11. At Least It’s An Ethos Pt.2

When Unsane bassist Dave Curran started writing songs on guitar with drummer Jim Paradise (Player’s Club, Freshkills, Hellno) the name they tossed out for their fledgling project was simple: PIGS. “We figured it was short enough that press and promoters couldn’t fuck it up.” Producer Andrew Schneider (Cave In, Converge, Made Out of Babies, Unsane, Keelhaul) was invited to fill-in on bass for a couple of shows and, much to their delight, has refused to leave.

The sound? PIGS sound like the last forty-five minutes of that interminable haul from Portland to San Francisco when both patience and air conditioning are long gone; like a petty, early-morning drunken argument in a gravel parking lot about the stupid, impossible math of how to divide forty-one dollars three ways; like when the left rear bearing on the van that’s been squealing and then grinding for days finally gets hot enough to weld itself into the axle and the ancient Detroit Deathtrap grates to a final, shuddering halt. Pigs sound like three guys who have played countless shows in many bands for a couple of decades in several dozen countries and still can’t leave it alone.

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Johnny Mox - 2012 We=Trouble

Band : Johnny Mox

Album : We=Trouble

Release Year : 2012

Genre : Gospel | Noise | Experimental

Tracklist :

1.We=Trouble   
2.Oh Reverend   
3.All We ever wanted was Everything   
4.Steady diet of Loathing
5.VHS Vampire
6.For President
7.Wallgaze Sermon
8.Benghazi عربية الربيع

Johnny Mox is the project of the italian multi-instrumentalist Gianluca Taraborelli (Nurse! Nurse! Nurse!, Fonda Sisters).
"We = Trouble" combines gospel, spirituals, blues, with a raw punk influence. Through the construction of real-time loop, Mox works overlapping choral harmonies, beatbox noises and creating an edgy and original sound. A castle of voices, pedals and beatboxes meticulously stacked one inside the other. The result is a sort of skeletal Gospel pierced by rusty noise and heated by electronic grafts. Ossessive spirituals for punks in search of redemption, nailed Soul, millions of growing voices trapped in the rib cage, ready to grow and devour wires and amplifiers. 

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Chinese Cookie Poets - 2012 Worm Love

Band : Chinese Cookie Poets

Album : Worm Love

Release Year : 2012

Genre : Freestyle | Jazz | Noise | Experimental

Tracklist :

01. “Plastic Love”
02. “Free the Monkey”
03. “En La Mano del Payaso”
04. “European School of Homegrown Worms”
05. “Chinatown Blues”
06. “Hakkeyoi”
07. “Discipline and Manners”
08. “Three Worms – Jukai”
09. “Three Worms – Koan”
10. “Three Worms – Ziran”
11. “Worm Love”

I've been waiting for this one!! The New release by Chines Cookie Poets sounds so awesome!! They playing jazz, noise, and chaotic in beautiful way!! If you love Naked City or John Zorn, you gonna love this one too!! Highly Recommended!!!

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Bubonic Bear - 2011 Fleshworld

Band : Bubonic Bear

Album : Fleshworld

Release Year : 2011

Genre : Hardcore | Sludge | Noise

Tracklist :

1.young professionals   
2.moist   
3.protect your plow   
4.occult farmers   
5.parade in sweat
6.anonymous and forgotten   
7.west of broad   
8.shaved at night

Bubonic Bear are a two-piece sludge/punk band from Philadelphia.This is their debut LP called Fleshworld, 8 songs with so much influences inside. They playing a kind of great hardcore sound mix with noise and sludge, and it's so fucking good!!! Well, just check them out, their discography is available on their Bandcamp. Enjoy!!!

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A Place to Bury Strangers - 2012 Onwards to the Wall

Band : A Place to Bury Strangers

Album : Onwards to the Wall

Release Year : 2012

Genre : Indie | Noise | Post-Punk | Shoegaze

Tracklist :

01 I Lost You
02 So Far Away
03 Onwards to the Wall
04 Nothing Will Surprise Me
05 Drill It Up

When the New York based noise rock trio introduced themselves to the public with their homonymous debut, the torrentous response of the press / media was immediate. Triggering the critics' immeasurable hunger for newfound adjectives, A Place to Bury Strangers was usually parted with several words of bombastic enthusiasm, like cranium-crashing and bull-rushing, tagging the band as "New Yorke's loudest". Now, 5 years after that small triumph, a slightly worse second album and a couple of Eps, the nu-gazers return with Onwards To The Wall, a five-piece Ep that finds the band in less frustration, which seems to inevitably translate as "less inspiration".

Onwards to the Wall kicks in with "I Lost You", a song that resuscitates the cozy, bass driven, frenetic riffing that made A Place to Bury Strangers a ferocious, yet captivating listen. The seething guitar frenzy calms down though, and this becomes evident soon enough, as the familiar abrasiveness paves the way for a mature, post-punk approach in songs like title the track, where the quick paced strumming is replaced with downhearted murmuring melodies. This transition marks a mild downfall, as "Nothing Will Surprise Me" is pretty much a boring track, which several distorted leads can't save, with "Drill it Up" being completely uninteresting and devoid of that seducing fuzz or beat which the Ep promises by its beginning. "So Far Away" though, catches a murky groove which alongside Ackermann's gothy delivery feels wispy and catchy.

Onwards To The Wall neither marks A Place to Bury Strangers' degradation nor finds them evolving their sound. Having lost a load of the stomping power that characterized their previous releases, the band seems to slowly settle in the safer, post-punk environments. And while it is not clear that they have settled for such a direction, it is improbable that their visceral outcries will stop echoing in a future that musically seems to delve deeper and deeper in the noisy territories. -scissorlocked

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Fat Janitor - 2012 Lurk

Band : Fat Janitor

Album : Lurk

Release Year : 2012

Genre : Noise | Post-Hardcore | Experimental

 

Tracklist :

1.Laughing Sick   
2.French Winger   
3.Lizard Kissing Papa   
4.Squelch Hag   
5.Human Sandbags   
6.Two Nights In Hell

This one is coming from Glasgow. Fat Janitor is been  described as a mix of Swans and Pg 99 at points. They playing a kind of hardcore sounds with noise and shoegaze influence. They also add a synthesizer and some electronic equipment to their music, and make a perfect noise sound. Well, all in all this EP is pretty awesome, they mix a lot of genre to their music and make it as a new original sound, and i call it as a good experiment, and i need more bands like this for sure. So, give them a listen and get it now!! Enjoy!!!

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Trencher - 2011 All suffering...soon to end

Band : Trencher

Album : All suffering...soon to end

Release Year : 2011

Genre : Grindcore | Noise | Experimental

 

Tracklist :

 1. All Suffering...
2. Maggots
3. Fucking a Corpse
4. Vlad Tapas
5. White Light/Black Plastic
6. ...Soon to End.

Self proclaimed 'casino grind' band Trencher have certainly created an album with plenty of atmosphere. The quintet from London established themselves as one of the most exciting bands you've probably never heard of in Britain with the release of the terrific LP Lips in 2006, fusing noise, grind, synth and God knows what other elements brilliantly.

 

This time round though the band appear to of lost the energy and utter ferocity of Lips, opting instead for a darker experience. Make no mistake though, this band will still kick you in the dick. The atmosphere culminates nicely after the introductory track slides into the stomach churningly heavy 'Maggots' which showcases Trencher's slower, more doom orientated sound.'***ing a Corpse' begins with an onslaught of Locust-esque percussion, presented to you by the band's talented drummer Lock Monger. The song culminates into the terribly catchy shout of "Still makes me stiff!" which is accompanied nicely by some simple, but satisfying, synth work. And of course a sense of shame.

The fourth track 'Vlad Tapas' again showcases drummer Lock Mongers ability, and it is probably my favourite track, combining all instruments brilliantly with singer M. ***s switching between deep growl and haunting half scream half anguished moan. This track is an example of why toy keyboards and doom surprisingly work well together, the synth again adding a much needed extra layer to what I fear would otherwise be a pretty standard song. This culminates nicely in an orgy of noise that leads to the eerie track 'White Light/Black Plastic'.

The bass is given a much more prominent role in this track, the first 90 seconds reminding me of Head Wound City's track Michael J. Fux, not because of any musical plagiarism, but because of the hypnotic tune it drilled into my skull. This leads to what can only be termed as a hideously demonic three minutes of big drum hits, guitar slugging and bass smashing accompanied by the eerie synth and quasi-medieval religious chanting of M. ***.

Then the album finishes with three minutes of guitar feedback. Which is nice. I suppose. Whilst adding to the atmosphere, I did feel slightly cheated.

Overall, All Suffering Soon To End is a very solid album. It conveys a lot of emotion and atmosphere which a lot of noise influenced bands fail to convey, the LP itself is very haunting and songs like 'Maggots' and '***ing a Corpse' really resonate in the memory. Some of the tracks do feel slightly padded out however and there are no tracks that demonstrate Trencher's ability to melt your face off with frenzied noise like the Lips track 'Two Semis Don't Make a Hard On'. It's still a very good listen though, particularly if you're partial to a bit of demon possessed noise. -IHeartRomans

 

 

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Gay Kiss - 2011 Dumpster Rules

Band : Gay Kiss

Album : Dumpster Rules

Release Year : 2011

Genre : Chaotic | Hardcore | Noise | Experimental

 

Tracklist :

1.Rant

2.Sealed

3.Hunting Party

4.Dumpster Rules

From the stupid idiot desert of Phoenix, AZ, comes this masterpiece by the (self-proclaimed) pioneers of the [non-existent] sketchy dude hardcore genre, Gay Kiss. This 7” is a total labor of love and hate and take-out Mexican food and work. This band defines the statement “oh great, he’s here now.” This is the best (and only) Gay Kiss material released thus far, with 4 “ragers”(???) that have lyrics about things. THINGS!!! Fronted by Iron Risky Roger Carson “Gay Kiss” Calamaio, the assualt of guitar, bass, drum sounds and yelling never ends until it does in fact end. -anxietymachine

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Gills - 2011 GILLS IS DEAD

Band : Gills

Album : GILLS IS DEAD

Release Year : 2011

Genre : Noise | Mathrock | Instrumental

 

Tracklist :

1.Tom's Song   
2.Chocolate Milk Champions 20XX!!!   
3.Troglodyte Euphoria   
4.Noam Chomsky is a Pretty Cool Guy   
5.Crust/No Crust   
6.High School for the Histrionic

Gills, a noisy math rock band, consists of Bernard Casserly, Tom Maher, and Jeremy Ross Smith. They released a six-song EP, entitled Gills is Dead, on anthillconglomerate, December 5, 2011. They do not have lyrics and vocals written for these songs; they hope that by sharing their music through the creative commons licenses that you can participate in exploring the strength of instrumentality to influence lyric writing and vocal style.

"This is a band that makes what I'd call instrumental math rock or post-hardcore. It is most certainly best heard loudly, for the quality of recording doesn't do any favors for mellow listening. Can get awfully close to instrumental metal with the guitar parts, not that there's anything wrong in that. These guys know how to make exciting and intense rock, perhaps just needing definition." - spacerockmountain

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well, here's another update from the band!! If you really like their music and want a physical copy, they have a tape for $3.00, they are available at the anthillconglomerate bigcartel (anthillconglomerate.bigcartel.com).
Also they will be releasing a split with San Jose space-rock noise makers Breathing Patterns later in the spring, and i hope the band will drop the split here too hahah :D.

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The United Sons of Toil - 2011 When The Revolution Comes, Everything Will Be Beautiful

Band : The United Sons of Toil

Album : When The Revolution Comes, Everything Will Be Beautiful

Release Year : 2011

Genre : Post-Hardcore | Noise | Experimental

 

Tracklist :

1.Alcoholism in the Former Soviet Republics   
2.Overturning the Rumford Fair Housing Act   
3.ILO Convention 169   
4.The Concept of the Urban Guerrilla   
5.The Shining Path   
6.Sword of Damocles   
7.The Contrition of the Addict   
8.Operation Cast Lead   
9.State-Sponsored Terrorism

The United Sons of Toil are a collective deeply rooted in the grinding noise and math rock that bubbled up from the Midwest during the mid ’90s. This is not to suggest that the Sons are a retro band in any sense, simply that the hoarse vocals, guitar damage, starts and stops, and sometimes-convoluted arrangements and time signatures hark back to a time when labels like Touch and Go, AmRep, and Dischord lorded over the indie-rock landscape.

Highly recommended band!! I never heard them before, they mix noisy sounds with post-hardcore perfectly. I really love all the songs titled and its background stories. This album is about The story is one of an oppressed and hopeless people. Pushed to the brink by corruption and squalid, inequitable conditions, they resort to violence. As they struggle, they convince themselves that their violence is justified and, in fact, that they have no other choice. When they come to power, they face the same problems as those they replaced and become oppressors themselves. Dissension within the new order sets the cycle in motion again.
Fundamental societal change can emerge only through radical individual change.

I don't have any words again to describe how awesome this album is, and i found a great review by MetalSucks, which you can read here. 

 

 

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Cutthroat Convention - 2011 Peeling the Sea

Band : Cutthroat Convention

Album : Peeling the Sea

Release Year : 2011

Genre : Post-Punk | Noise | Experimental

 

Tracklist :

01 Molten Arthur
02 Flag Ash
03 Idiot Annihlation Service
04 CParasites on solar driftwood
05 Gate 19

“Heavy interseting stuff, what the fuck timing is this music????? sounds like a gang of punks batting a post rock band round a car park with laser beam baseball bats…….”

I really got no words to say, it's too complex and too good to describe it in words!!! The only word in my mind when i listen to the is "SICK". Just go get it!! For those who really love experimental music and always trying to find something new!!

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SLOTHS - 2011 Transit

Band : SLOTHS

Album : Transit

Release Year : 2011

Genre : Chaotic | Post-Hardcore | Noise

Tracklist :

1. Redundant
2. Transit
3. Postcards of Darby Crash
4. Restless

When listening to a piece as heavy and discordant as SLOTHS’ Transit, I wonder whether the grimy, coarse effects are a deliberate decision by the band or whether the fact that there wasn’t the equipment or money available to wipe the grease off was simply the harsh reality facing the DIY process. The sludgy, punk, metalcore sound (these are going to be the last genre tags used here, for good reason) exhibited by SLOTHS is made all the more affecting by the distinct lack of polish. Throughout, a likable sloppiness permeates Transit. It makes the piece all the more gut-wrenching, but this binding factor is only the peak of the mountain. Beneath, there lies a focused, emotional powerhouse, the gravity of which came as a complete surprise. Transit is a dizzying, oscillating EP that carves down terrain from pounding bass lines, to a hail of crashing chords, to cathartic crescendos, yet always remains grounded by its solid songwriting. The vocals with their indecipherability, exacerbated and sharp in their delivery, only heighten the discordance of the record-- what gives SLOTHS such a palpable potency. Because of the general focus and flow among bandmates, what would normally come across as a spastic clusterfuck, instead reveals itself to be incredibly immersive.

More impressive, even, is the layering. Buried under the unabashed Botch-esque fury is a post-rock sort of adeptness, instrumentals you’d expect to hear on an old, lush Mogwai record. A few listens through Transit and it’s obvious that the main draw isn’t for picking out specific elements of “heavy-genre-here.” Rather, the appeal is the ferocity, the succinctness yet fulfilling feeling that the EP exudes, and that all the emotions exuded from post-rock, or punk, or whatever still come crackling in waves-- only without those nagging feelings when you say to yourself “Oh, this is just like ___ but without the __ and with the ___ !” The visceral likes of Transit is anything but contrived, again reinforcing the general feeling of dread that pervades the album, especially when tempos are slowed to a grinding, sludgy slow on “Postcards of Darby Crash.” In retrospect, it’s difficult to imagine that the tiny, DIY epic created by SLOTHS is so punk out of necessity only. And while the fantastically-named SLOTHS may not have the same name-recognition as counterparts who have released equally-harsh and heavy albums like Ampere, Weekend Nachos, and Pulling Teeth, it’s hard not to listen to Transit without feeling like it deserves a place among them-- based on merit alone. -Eric

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Straight A's - 2010 Self Help

Band : Straight A's

Album : Self Help

Release Year : 2010

Genre : Mathrock | Thrash  | Noise | Experimental

Tracklist :

01 Permission To Speak?
02 Up All Night
03 New Lease On Life
04 The Whole Package
05 Hit A Guy With Glasses
06 Awkward Silence
07 Witch Hunt
08 Electric Candelabra
09 Forgot To Laugh
10 Night Vision/Dayglo
11 Cause For Alarm
12 Perfectly OK*
13 Dunce Cap
14 Trestles
15 Dumbwaiter
16 Zkittlez
17 Ornithophobia
18 The Wilderness

What would happen if Battles and Fantomás decided to tag-team an album? More than likely, this would be the result. Freaked out, whammy-laden guitars tweak out over tight, razor-sharp bass lines and some fantastically creative drums that would do quite well in a Swing Kids track. Overall the production on this album is great; everything seems to get a chance in the limelight. The vocals spend most of the time buried in distortion, but the melodies ring out almost despite this fact, just another display of how on-point the vocalist really is.

This album really is a smorgasbord of sound and while the main backline of drums/guitar/bass remains, everything from horn sections to pianos to freaked-out oscillator action seems to fit in comfortably. “Awkward Silence” sounds like a ska tune from Hell, while tracks like” Electric Candelabra” and “Trestles” show that sometimes music speaks louder than words. The instrumentation all through the album is flawless, with the drums becoming increasingly more involved as each track passes, especially shining through in the jazzier sections.

This album definitely keeps you on your toes – no two songs are alike, and there’s rarely room to relax. It’s definitely one for those of us with a short attention span, and a liking for the more eclectic side of music. Drop in at any point in the album and you’ll immediately get hooked, if not by a melody then definitely by wanting to figure out how whatever is going on happens. Like a musical chemistry experiment gone horribly right, Straight A’s Self Help keeps you guessing. -Lee Yoresh

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