hey

kinda takin a break right now. hopefully ill be back fresh with new shit soon but for now im just kinda burnt out on everything.

dolores "heartless" (2000)

this was the second "7 released by this brutalizing MD/VA unit. more grimey ugly shit, possibly even more brutal than the first "7. reminds me at different times of absinthe, zorn, mine, and even thoughts of ionesco.....this shit will gut you. there was word of an unreleased lp from 2002 somewhere...hopefully it surfaces at some point in the near future....

heartless

rachel "last songs"

6 days into august and im finally back with a new entry. yea, i know, ive been slackin lately.

anyways this was another one of those rough, rather badly recorded "french emo" bands that overcome their studio shortcommings with a shitload of energy and emotion. i think these guys were active towards the tail end of the french emo movement in the late 90s after the big boys like fingerprint, jasmine and ivich had all called it a day. this was recorded in 1997-98 or therabouts and didnt come out until 2000 or so when stonehenge put it out in europe and ricecontrol (run by virginia scene afficianado/sometime HaC contributer forbes graham) records put it out in the states. as the title of the album states, these where the last songs the band recorded before they broke up. this is good stuff.

rachel "last songs"

ACRID - Fireside Bowl 1998

pneu "pince monseigneur" (2008)

im not sure what it is with france and 2 man bands but they seem to be everywhere there lately.......these two dudes are from tours and play some nasty complex shit very similar to countrymen 37500 yens.........maybe with a bit of chevreuil mixed in.......as usual with the vast majority of this french shit, its fucking excellent....cop this.

pince monseigneur

brazen "orphaned" cd (2003?)

this was the first proper full length by this swiss band, i put them stylewise alongside bands like lvmen, gnu, doppler, ect. however, this cd and the split with kevlar, are a pretty radical departure from what they where doing before........the unique rhythmic noise slathered hardcore of the first "7 and the "as floods decrease" "10 was replaced by a more melodic, controlled concoction, they retained the moody and explosive character of their earlier releases but twisted it into something much more accessible. although i still love the early work, this cd has grown on me alot.....i dig the musicianship but im still not feelin the vocals......dude was better when he was screaming....anyways brazen dident fall off, they just morphed into something new while retaining the things that made their music unique and great in the first place.

orphaned

Full Service Quartet (1995) pt3

full Service Quartet (1995) pt2

Full Service Quartet (1995) pt1

the great unraveling discography

one of the long string of "tonie joy" bands.....began its existence a few months after UOA called it a day in 1995 and lasted until 1997-98. this includes their lp, the "space flight" "7 and the "angel rang virtue" "7 ....this was an extension of what UOA played but with more groove and repetitive riffs and a tad less chaos than their forebearers.........anyways i decided to post this in reminder of the UOA reunion shows happening this month (i learned about them too late in the game for me to actually marshall my resources and get my ass to the east coast for one of em)

UNIVERSAL ORDER OF ARMAGEDDON

REUNION SHOWS

JULY 24TH 2010

WHARTSCAPE FESTIVAL

BALTIMORE MD

JULY 25TH

DEATH BY AUDIO

BROOKLYN NY




heres the sound:



great unraveling

dolores "poison apple" "7 (1999)

this band came from  the marlyand/virginia area in the late 90s and played some of the ugliest hardcore ive heard in a long time.....mangled, noisy, messy, incredibly ugly.......a bit of a mosh feel at times, somewhat atmospheric and expirimental at others....actually reminds me of the old swiss band mine....for a long time i thought these guys where from europe (germany i thought) and only recently did i find that they where american.......anyways this shit kills, if it was a liquid it would be stored in bottles with EPA warnings on it......

poison apple

my winter jane "7 (199?)

another of those japanese indie rock/emo bands from the 90s (im guessing that this came out sometime in the mid-late 90s cause it definatly sounds like part of that era) that no one on this side of the pacific knew about......unlike alot of japanese bands the (female) vocals are sung in near perfect english........musically the first two songs are along the lines of braid or goodbye blue monday, melodic, rolling "midwestern" style 90s emo with just a slight edge of messiness and dischordance, the vocals remind me of allison of discount alot too.. the last two songs sound newer and have a slightly more modern, commercial sound.....the recording job is on par with most of the american bands playing this style in the same era......all in all this is a damn good record and y'all should check it out......

my winter jane

your adversary "3" cd (1999)

this band was from NYC and existed in the late 90s and featured ex members of the yum yum tree and future members of books lie. driving, rockin personal/political hardcore that was just catchy enough to get stuck in my head ("plan for long term growth" especially) male/female vocals interlace on most tracks making this a bit unique as there werent (and still arent) many bands utilizing male/female vocals together at the time (i only remember kill the man who questions and a few other crust and emo bands doing it back then)the only releases i remember that they had were this cd and a "7. anyways have a listen for yourself!

"3"

mind intrusion mixtape #1

so i thought it would be fun to gather a few obscure tracks from some obscure bands and put em on a mixtape for all you guys/gals. this might turn into a (semi)regular thing depending on the feedback.

9 songs, 7 bands.

tracklist:

land of the wee beasties: "enter the jerk"

cowpers: "dont trust in me"

the greening: (pre reversal of man) "against their will"

held: "overdue"

hybris: "portraits defining"

hybris: "to remember why"

voices forming weapons: "soulchoir"

universal aka the mental toilet: "computer crash"

universal aka the mental toilet: "toilet in my head"





mixtape #1

cripple kid / little dipper split (1998-9?)

i believe one of these bands was from ohio and one was from connecticut, though im not sure which is from where.....the came out in the late 90s and is a forgotten gem of 90s pop punk/indie rock. cripple kid starts things off with some huge noise drenched melodies and  a soaring skyhigh feel to their fresh pop/rock/punk, if you like the raymond brake, dinosaur jr, christie front drive or treepeople you'll blow wads over this......catchy great, amazing, fantastic, you know the deal............little dipper was somewhat more raw sounding but still melodic and catchy...maybe "4 minute mile" era get up kids with a somewhat rougher recording job? for me cripple kid wins this split but ill let you decide for yourself. anyways

brush off the dust, kick the tires and take 'er out for a spin!

cripple kid/little dipper

faith of blind "peep" (2002?)

the great majority of japanese bands never get any respect. sure, bands like GISM and forward have dedicated cultlike followings here in the US for all the maniacs who love that old buzzsaw "japcore" of the 80s (i personally could never stand that kind of stuff) but on the whole, if you where from japan and your band wasnt thrashy or weird and noisy nobody gave a shit. recently thats changed to a degree with bands like envy and killie garnering some international acclaim, but still shitloads of quality bands play out their lifecycles and breakup without any notice beyond japan's shores...faith of blind is (or was, as i have absolutely no idea if this band is still going) one of those bands. formed in the early 90s and going strong for at least a decade. bits of dinosaur jr, braid and party of helicopters, stir in a little shoegaze, let it congeal and you have the framework for what this band is doing (or did). excellent wall of noise/pop punk/emo that is (was) unique and catchy.

check it out my brothas (and sistahs)

peep!

groundstate "pinwheel cement driver"

this band was from detroit and existed in the mid 90s. this is the only record of theirs that im aware of. pretty typical moshcore/sXe related stuff that was very common during that era. good nonetheless. some "emo" instrumentals here and there too. members were also in a few other bands (the ska bands skalars and telegraph) this cd is almost impossible to find.









pinwheel cement driver

majhas "stepping into character"

this band hailed from indianapolis and was formed from members of ice nine  in the late 90s. they had a cdep on happy couples never last before this which was decent.......this record however, kills that one. chaotic, moody, noisy, messy, its all that and more....kind of like kiss it goodbye but with a more evolved, moody, modernized sound.....im not sure if this band is dead or on a longass hiatus, if the latter is correct than i hope they hit us with a new album soon cause this one was a doozy.

stepping into character

The J. J. Paradise Players Club - Stash Panties

2010-01-31 - Inade - L'Archipel - Paris #6/6

IRM "oedipus dethroned" (2000)

im posting this because this was the "band" (maybe "unit" or "outfit" would be better terms when discussing noise/ambient/power electronics)along with the grey wolves and institut that turned me onto the whole power electronics thing  10 years or so ago. to this day id have to say that this is my favorite record from that genere of music....just creepy, terrifying and amazing, things i cant say about stuff like merzbow or much of the rest of the japanese groups who do this (though i havent heard the whole merzbow collection so maybe i should withhold judgement on that, but still, his stuff dosent affect me like IRM does.) kind of thing. anyways IRM consist o two individuals, martin bladh and erik jarl (who does some really good dark ambient stuff on his own) and hail from norkoping sweden, they know how to construct harsh abrasive soundscapes without it feeling like someone shoved a power drill up your ear canal (though i guess thats the point for alot of noise "outfits") they are experts at layering sounds over eachother and creating something that is brutal and sometimes repetitive but almost always enjoyable.....that they use (harsh) vocals and actual lyrics is another plus in their corner as it adds more direction to the music........if i had to recommend one album from this genere, this would be the one. they hve alot of material out and id recommend checking out all of it.

oedipus dethroned

pinehurst kids "7

portland's  pinehurst kids are/were one of those fun sunnyday indie rock bands that youd love to listen to in your car with the windows down, sun shining, blue skies, pedal to the metal 75 mph down 1-75 (or maybe the pacific coast highway for all you cali/west coast readers). just catchy memorable stuff.........this "7 hits me right in that sweetspot......"dumb enough" is an absolute masterpiece of that kind of rock, but with just the right pinch of  a wistful melodramatic feel that just intensifies my love for this tune all that much more.....fans of the treepeople/halo benders/acrobat down will dig the shit out of this...(their a bit more bouncy and "kool-aid" than those bands but close enough) their lps are all good to and expect to see more fro mthis band pop up on here in the near future......

"7

small brown bike "dead reckoning"

im sure this has been posted on other blogs but since this band meant alot to me over the past 12-13 years and im still rocking their shit without letup after all this time its more than worthy to post here. small brown bike is one of those few bands who have no affectations whatsoever. just  4 dudes from michigan who love playing together and hit you with straightfoward gruff, rough punk/hardcore. their lyrics are honest and to the point without any arty affected bullshit, theyve always said what they meant, never making the listener beat around the bush. its emotion distilled to its purest, rough edged form. i saw these guys more than any other band, at least a dozen times in their heydey between 1998 - 2003 and everytime they brought the energy and drive, im not sure if there is such a thing as a bad SBB show. all their records where quality shit, even "the river bed" which was hands down their weakest effort, had gems like "a declaration of sorts" and "a lesson to remember"on it. after a spate of reunion shows in 2007 (of which i caught one, in kalamazoo) they apparently reformed as an active full time band and i think have released something on no idea recently if im correct.......anyways "dead reckoning" was their strongest effort, barely edging out "our own wars" and the early shit on the first collection cd for the honor......they put it all together on this album.............just an absolute pinnacle of gruff punk..........much moreso than anything hot water music has ever done.......ill be keeping an eye out for local shows in the future.....seeing them in '07 was kinda like visiting a freind you havent seen in years but when you finally do all the memories of the good times come flooding back and its like they never went away in the first place.......

"I sit above the rooms of our home.

Expose myself to a loss that I've known.

No clouds exist in this blue sky.

I use my sense for the first time.

My hands hold on to the horizon.

Can't catch my breath, so I stop trying.

This small part of me counts down mathematically.

It will bury me with you.

I am here for just a short time.

You've been gone for this stretch of my life.

Please live through me.

Now this tragedy becomes reality to our family.

I am here for just a short time.

You've been gone for this stretch of my life.

This small part of me counts down mathematically.

It will bury me with you."

 

dead reckoning

doppler tour to defy 2008

DOPPLER

DOPPLER

paul newman "machine is not broken"

the third full length from this austin/chicago/nyc band....recorded in 2000. a masterpiece of near instrumental rock.....flawless, magnificent, awesome, too many adjectives to cram in before it gets tedious. similar to tristeza but i would have to say this album is superior to anything that band has done. im not sure why, but this album got some bad reviews when it came out, i guess maybe because the late 90s-early 2000's were crammed full of bands playing this kind of sleepy, mathy instrumental stuff and paul newman kinda got lost in the shuffle. now hardly anyone is playing this kind of stuff and maybe thats why it hits me even harder. i slept on this record for years and have only recently discovered the level of  awesome contained within these tracks. hopefully you will too.

machine is not broken

iscariote: genese et agonie, 2000-2004

this is a collection of  "7's, splits and miscellanious stuff from the swiss/french band, iscariote. it includes songs from their first 7, split cd with envy and a couple other tracks that im assuming were from comps....anyways all this stuff was recorded between 2000 and 2004 and is a bit rawer and dirtier than their full length...loud, fucked up and intense.......theyve been compared to botch which i guess isnt too far off the mark....id say these guys where a bit more unforgiving than that band but whatever.......france seems to have turned into a wellspring for the twisted brutal stuff beginning at the end of the 90s and stretching through the decade and iscariote was a prime example of  that.

genese et agonie

John Brown Battery - Electricity

videoooosssss

so year i went a little videocrazy late last night. i would have put all of these in one post but for some reason i couldnt figure out how to do that (blame it on the drowsiness i guess) anyways enjoy! ive been wanting to post some videos for a while now....probably will again at some point....