Monday, September 28, 2009

Pianos Become the Teeth


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This band seems to finally be getting some of the recognition it deserves. After the departure of their synth player and original bassist, Pianos Become The Teeth, who hail from the greater Annapolis/Baltimore metropolitan area, have re-vamped their sound and recorded their first full length LP, Old Pride amid a hail of critical acclaim from the independent music world.

Pianos' firts EP, Saltwater, was a solid first release from a band finding their voice, despite the fact the band felt they had been cheated on the mixing and mastering aspect of the record, and when one listens to it, it seems true; the volume is not quite "competitive", and overall the record sounds a bit tinny and muddy. But songs like "Gift of the Giver" and "Houses We Die In" proved that the group was a force to be reckoned with.

By 2008, after getting some touring under their belt and writing new material the group released a split 7" with Ezra Joyce from New Jersey. Ezra Joyce's side is good; their solid, no frills brand of screamo works for them, and fans of Saetia should find their side of the split a welcome addition to their collection. But, in my opinion, Pianos' side dwarves it. I remember that one review I read of the record broke it down at "Epic screamo vs. even more epic screamo". And that's about right. The first song, "Creatures of Habit", clocks in at just under nine minutes long. It begins with a quiet, slow guitar riff that wouldn't sound out of place in the middle of a Mogwai album before slapping you in the face.

Part of the reason that Mike and Chad get away with so much outright post-rock riffs is the fact that their drummer David is an animal behind the kit; just when you think you put on a post-rock album by accident, vocalist Kyle Durfey's distinguishable yelp soars above the rock solid rhythm section and reminds you that you are definitely listening to Pianos Become the Teeth. The second and final song on the split is a re-recording of "Houses We Die In", and it sounds like an entirely new song. My one complaint about the recording is the sound clip...I can't help but skip over it every single time I listen to the song. It just seems a little corny to me. But otherwise, this is a monster of a song, lyrically, musically, aesthetically. And unfortunately, since they began performing the Old Pride material live, one I have not seem them play in quite some time.

Old Pride differs from the first two releases for one obvious reason, which would be the absence of the synthesizer. But, aside from that, Old Pride differs because it is a more cohesive, mature musical statement. The percussion pummels you as the guitars schizophrenically shift and mold from pretty, delay-laden passages to crushing riffs with wild abandon that take directions completely different from what you were expecting to hear next. The album climaxes at "Cripples Can't Shiver," but the final two tracks draw the album out with a sense of conclusion, finally ending with the excellent instrumental, "Young Fire".

Guitarist Mike York also briefly played in and helped form Baltimore screamo outfit Age Sixteen. Check them out here.

Chad writes a really awesome blog called Stoking the Roots. Check it out!

Order Old Pride

Myspace

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Saltwater

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Pianos Become The Teeth/Ezra Joyce Split (2008)

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Old Pride (2009)

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Kidcrash - Snacks


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I just got the leak of this record a while ago, so here you go!

Personally, I find this record to be a bit of a let down after the one-two punch of the '06 Demo and 2007's Jokes, which, despite it's lack of dynamics, is certainly one of the better screamo albums of the decade. Overall, their vocal approach has changed from the last record, and some reviews are calling this more of a mixture of the New Ruins/Jokes sound, a statement I would not agree with, seeing as this doesn't really sound like a "pop-punk" record (like New Ruins basically was) in any sense of the term.

Don't get me wrong; Snacks is a pretty solid sophomore LP, but I feel it lacks an overall growth in direction that the band should have taken off with after the release of Jokes. Again, my main complaint is a lack of dynamics. As good as their drummer Buster may be, he needs to learn when to hold back a little bit. Same goes with the guitars on a lesser level. I do have a feeling that this will continue to grow on me, but never quite reach Jokes status in my mind. Give it a download and decide for yourself.

Order the vinyl from Denovali.

Previous Kidcrash posts

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LINK REMOVED BY REQUEST UNTIL OFFICIAL RELEASE OF RECORD

Monday, September 21, 2009

Vaccine


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Here's another hardcore super group featuring Will Killingsworth. This band features members of Relics, Ampere, Orchid, Think I Care, Failures, Glue, Bucket Full of Teeth...okay, basically every band Will Killingsworth has ever been in plus a few others.

Vaccine plays very fast, very powerful, very short powerviolence with a straightedge message. And by very short, I mean extremely fucking short. Like, their five song demo clocks in at a little over two minutes.

This demo was originally released on a cassette limited to 100 copies which has been long since sold out.

You can order the one sided 7" from Killingsworth's label Clean Plate, or Red Room Records. Each site had only 35 copies of colored vinyl for sale, so I'm sure they're gone for now, but there should still be copies of black vinyl available! (I would reccomend Red Room, since Clean Plate can be a wee bit slow sometimes...)

Vaccine's website


And guys, sorry about not updating much lately. I'm really going to start posting more frequently!

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Demo (2009)

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Good Luck


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Sometimes you hear music so heart warming that you start to get that warm, fuzzy feeling, and for the time that album is on, everything seems okay.

Good Luck, hailing from Bloomington, Indiana, makes music like that. You may recognize bassist/vocalist Ginger Alford from her Bruce Springsteen tribute and collaboration with the beloved Paul Baribeau (which you can download here). Here she mostly backs up lead vocalist and guitarist Matt Tobey, who's nasally yet pleasant voice (somewhat reminiscient of John Samson of the Weakerthans) takes charge on most of the songs here, although Ginger takes the forefront on a few songs, like "Stars Were Exploding", "Same Stories", and "Sleep With No Bad Dreams", all with great results.

2008's Into Lake Griffy, their sole output thus far, is a great debut. There are plenty of great sing-a-long melodies and uplifting, jingly guitars that noodle their way in and out of tracks. Every song on this album has great, insightful lyrics that are so damn Posi it makes you wanna jump on a bike and just cruise around listening to it. If I had to describe this group in two words I would say, "Cute and fun."

So download it! Summer's almost over, but there's still some time to cook out with your friends and have this playing in the background.


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Into Lake Griffy (2008)