dreamdecay - fern (20??)

hey! i just got sent this record earlier today and its been a very pleasant surprise......dreamdecay are from seattle and play unique, noisy hardcore/punk that owes alot to sonic youth and jesus lizard.......five songs of disjointed, noisy slow-burning tuneage........they seem to be the west coast counterpart of psychic blood, but less focused and rockin and more noisy and obtuse.....in any case its extremely good stuff and i bet they would be fun live (meredith (shoppers) loves 'em) like a shit-ton of new bands ive heard over the past year, i hope to see them live at some point........highly recommended!

dreamdecay - fern

gay kiss - "dumpster rules" "7 (2011)

this was another record that i wasn't aware of at the time it came out, but now i listen to it multiple times a day........gay kiss are a band from phoenix that operates in a unique space not occupied by too many other bands........loud, brutal, yet with a definate sense of melody...almost sassy at times......best description i can come up with for their sound would be breather resist meets wipers........its defiantly different and awesome.......a band that i NEED to see sometime soon......excellent band, excellent record.....they have recored new stuff recently and im actively looking for it as we speak.....recommended! also you can get physical copies at  www.anxietymachine.bigcartel.com. 

gay kiss - dumpster rules

laughing dog/catherer tour 2012

kinda bummed that there are no michigan dates, but so be it.

shoppers / panzram split "7 (2012)

ive been waiting for this record to drop (technically it hasn't yet, the vinyl ships next week) and now ive got it! (at least in digital form)  any record the shoppers are part of are a must listen for me of course.....anyways panzram kicks off this record with two songs "born with a bad haircut" and  "cause celebre"  ............the first time i heard these guys i thought, "hmm, sounds like majority rule"  but on subsequent listens, that comparison kinda fell away (not totally though) its a kind of loose-fitting, kinda metallic, noisy emoish type deal thats reminiscent of alot of sounds i remember from the mid 90s....there are alot of bands that come to mind, but no one that i can point to and say "yep, thats where these dudes get their sound from". they also got a small hint of crustiness that pops up now and again too.........all in all they have a real good noisy-edged powerful sound  going that isnt like most of what is going on today, and i applaud them for it wholeheartedly. hope they come up here sometime this year and play! on the flipside are of course, the shoppers, and their two songs pick right up where  "silver year" left off...noisy uplifting, amazing melodies that hit me right in the heart....i expect nothing less for this group of people...they played both these songs, both times ive seen them...."amazing" is this bands default setting. in fact i cant listen to their side of the split more than once in a row or i get extremely emotional.........same with the lp........its like flying too close to the sun and getting burned up by its overwhelming solar energy.......their music provokes overwhelming emotion in me and alot of times, i really dont wanna break down crying after i listen to a record.........its just so beautiful and  inspiring.....i love these people and i love everything they've done so far (i cant imagine that their future endeavors wouldn't be awesome as well)  this is my top record of 2012, and its gonna take a hell of an effort for someone else to knock this one off its pedestal (like maybe another shoppers record! haha!)  HUGELY RECOMMENDED.

shoppers/panzram split

sled - parasitic host (2011)

here we have a band with a long and illustrious pedigree in south carolina hardcore. sled arose from the ashes of assfactor 4 (the best band in a long line of bands that shared the basic core of members going back to tonka in the early 90s) and in listening to this record, you can hear the ghost of that band soaking through in alot of the songs here.....generally though, its heavy dirty hardcore in the vein of his hero is gone.....actually maybe  splicing his hero is gone with assfactor 4 would be a near perfect description for the sound of this band.........thick, noisy and brutal, but with a hint of frantic melody........i dont know who the lyrics are about or if these guys have a general political bent, but musically this is on point.....ive known of this band for a while and have heard their early stuff, but it always flew under the radar for me........came late recognizing the awesomeness of this record, but hey, better late than never right??  anyways awesome shit, and i really hope they decide to maybe take the show on the road at some point......

sled - parasitic host

great american witch hunt / tristram split tape (2012)

here we have two new-ish bands from michigan.......the tape begins with two songs from tristram, who i believe are from detroit.....they play with a crushing aural intensity...their songs have a nice thick, plowing feel while retaining an emotive strain within.....they don't really blaze any new trails with this material, but they do do it well enough, and with enough of a rough edge to keep it out of  the generic "loud-soft/scream in the breaks" territory alot of bands of this type seem to be mining.........my first time hearing them and they sound like they'd be pretty killer live........great american witch hunt are from grand rapids i believe and occupy the rest of the tape with 3 songs......their music is rough and melodic, not quite "emo" and not quite "screamo" (really hate that word) kinda of indie-rock-ish and unique...."topanga lawrence is the only girl i will ever love" might be the best song title ever.......very nice........they had their release show for this tape tonight (old soul (band i really wanna see) shattered badge and madonna (local GR thrash) all played that show too) and is still going as i type.........i wouldve loved to be down for that, but money is tight =(  anyways this is a great split and  is something ill recommend to anyone into emotive harsh shit......(the tristram tracks especially)

great american witch hunt / tristram split tape

pliant "7 (2012)

this is a brand new record from an almost brand new band......it was literally recorded like yesterday...they hail from amherst, MA and DC....anyways its right up there with the doctorshoppers lp as the best thing ive heard in 2012......although the year is young, and im sure there will be other great records, this one is currently flattening my ass with its crushing goodness........each track charges forward with brutal crusty force......the songs appear, obliterate your ears/brain and then leave as quickly as they came...only one exceeds the 2 minute mark.....short, savage and to the point........no matter what i do, i cant shake the HHIG comparison for bands like these.....the rusty, blackened, corrosive guitar tone combined with simple straightforward drumming owes much to that band.......they are a bit more straight ahead than HHIG, but my comparison still stands........in any case this is a hell of a record if your into fast crusty devastating hardcore.......look forward to perhaps seeing this ban live in my neck of the woods (michigan) sometime this year maybe?  anyways highly recommended, and is an early candidate to make my end of year best of 2012 list.

pliant "7

im overthinking again........

in a couple months im gonna be 34……..that old “aren’t you getting too old for this punk shit?” line of thought creeps its way into my head everytime at this time of year…..this invariably leads to other lines of self-questioning: “have i wasted the last 16 years of my life listening to this music/going to shows/writing zines?” “have i done anything worthwhile over that length of time?” “are my priorities all fucked up?” “what do i have to show for it?” this in turn, leads to self doubt and then depression………its not as bad as it once was, but im always comming back to this line of thought each time the odometer flips another yearly mile on my life…..i generally answer these doubts by clinging more tightly to the music and memories i love…….its the experiences i’ve had that keep me here, keep me going to shows, meeting people, comming back for more………ive had so many amazing expiriences within hardcore, its been such a mainstay of my life for so long that i dunno what my life would be like without it, and i dont wanna know what it would be like……….i have a pretty good idea that i would be much less of a person without it, or at least someone who would be so completely different from who i am now that i couldn’t recognize myself………i also take heart from freinds who are older than me and still going to shows/involving themselves in the scene……….my freind jana will be 40 this year and shes been going to shows and taking pics of bands since the mid 80s! i feel like im more connected right now to hardcore/punk than i have been in a long time…….i have made connections/established relationships with people who are dear to me and ive connected with brand new people who i am just getting to know (mr brewer, that’s your cue!) i feel like i belong right now……that there is a place and a scene that people actually want me to be included in rather than just going to shows but feeling like im in a bubble with no contact with the people around me whatsoever, (weather its my own fault or  theirs for not talking/connecting with me) this means the world to me….that i am wanted……that i mean something…….not just being another isolated, invisible person who is just a transient with no roots or connection to what is going on……..this is what makes punk relevant to me. the freindships, the music, the expirience of being at a show and making freinds or just shooting the shit with people you already know and not having it feel forced or just a method to kill time until the band sets up…….for all of you who know me or write me, please know that you all mean so much to me…more than you know….you are the reason why i keep comming back and why i feel like punk will continue to be a big part of who i am for the foreseeable future…..and those of you ive only begun to know……your amazing too and i hope to know you well as time passes………

im not getting older, im getting better…….

wow.......

ive been getting alot of facebook hits lately......i think their coming from the mind intrusion facebook page, but i hardly ever have people getting added to it anymore and no one really comments there either (i post updates, but probably less frequently than i should).........word of mouth?  i dunno, but i like it =)

Population @ The DAAC, 1/28/12 (Pt 2)

Population @ the DAAC,1/28/12 (Pt 1)

Royl Space @ the DAAC, 1/28/12 (Pt 2)

Royl Space @ the DAAC, 1/28/12 (Pt1)

Xtra Vomit @ the DAAC 1/28/12 (Pt2)

Xtra Vomit @ the DAAC, 1/28/12 (Pt 1)

i<3 sock!

Shoppers @ the DAAC, 1/28/12 (Pt 2)

PT2!

Shoppers @ the DAAC, 1/28/12 (Pt 1)

<3<3<3!!!!!

cousins - axthoxy ep (2011)

another big surprise for me........cousins are a band from Milwaukee who play mindlblowing shoegaze.........i mean holy shit this is good.....the opening track alone is worth the price of admission..........fucking majestic and towering over you as it winds its way along....one of the best tracks of any kind ive heard in a while........overall it reminds me of a much better version of the man i fell in love with......they just hit all the right buttons on this record..........the packaging is also superfuckin good and amazing........best packaging ive seen for a record in a very long time.....not often that you get a wood insert (with a woodcut too!) with your record........i really cant wait for this band to play on the other side of the lake (grand rapids to be specific) just cant stop spewing over these dudes...best thing ive gotten to review so far this year, and had i gotten it last year, it wouldve made my top 3 of the year easily.......A+ effort guys........cant wait for the next record!

cousins - axthoxy

something ive been thinking about writing about for a while now.......

every generation thinks they have perfected whatever artform they (think they) invented, and hold succeeding generations to scorn & ridicule……..take punk rock for instance……the generation that came up with black flag and minor threat thought that punk/hardcore had been perfected in the 80s and everything else was just poseur material……..they heckled and ridiculed the movements that started up in the 90s…….”thats not punk!”……”your not doing it right!”….”this new hardcore sucks!!”…..ive heard all of this and more from lots of older people who were “active” in the mid 90s……….i despised those people and their shitty attitudes put me off alot of older stuff (i was a toddler when black flag/minor threat, ect, were in their prime, so i never really got a chance to grow up with this stuff) they held their precious 80s bands up as the end-all be-all of hardcore and i wanted nothing to do with their cherished sounds or style…….turn the clock forward a decade to 2007 or so and i found myself  disparaging the current incarnation of the scene, “its all either shitty nu-emo or 80s thrash retreads………fuck all these bands, the current scene blows” i cant remember how many times i said this on messageboards or just to myself….it wasn’t until later, when i started my blog and began actually listening to some new music that i figured out that it wasn’t all bad……thinking back, what if i was a 20 year old kid in 2007 and some old dude came along and took a shit on the scene i worked so hard to help build? i feel kinda shitty now that i acted just like the douchebag hardcore dudes from the 80s who took a shit on everything that meant anything to me back in the 90s………bands like the shoppers/cloud rat/psychic blood/procession, ect, helped me realize that there’s a whole thriving ocean of good bands/music/ideas out there who are connected to a spirit and philosophy that’s always been at the core of hardcore and never really went away……i guess the moral of the story is keep an open mind and dont be a douchebag  and lord it over people younger than you……you might find yourself with very few freinds and on the outside looking