Towers

So last week I was talking to my friend Paul about bands and shows and whatever when he showed me the blog he ran. My band was going to play the last show at his house in California but his landlord told him he couldn't do it or something, but it was cool because we got to play with Glasses and Comadre that day. Anyways, while I was looking on his blog I saw that Towers and Dogs of Ire played at his place on their tour this summer promoting their split. Naturally, I asked Paul if he had any of their tracks and he told me that it was fucking impossible to find their discography. He was right, kind of. It took me a little while to find out that most of their releases are not really circulating the web, but you can go onto Towers' bandcamp and download a good portion of their earlier work (any split on there only has the Towers' tracks, but its better than nothing). I already had an album called "Collections", which seems to be an earlier discography or something, but I didn't see it listed on the band's discography section of their site. I did my best in locating a large portion of their material, but alas, I couldn't find all of it. I could not find their splits with They & The Children, Dogs of Ire or U.S Funk Team, although I have the later on vinyl and will upload that when my record player gets sent to me.
Towers is a an experimental hardcore band from Philly. Their sound is comparable to Dawn Treader and Capsule I suppose; it utilizes hardcore and punk elements but throws in "weird" shit here and there. I once read that Hell Songs by Daughters was a mescaline trip put to music, but I think that that label is more applicable to Towers. I'm pretty bummed that I haven't got the chance to see Towers live yet, but hopefully that will change soon, this band seems pretty active. I strongly suggest that you download this shit because they are one of the better bands coming out of New England/The Mid Atlantic right now. Below is as much of their music as I could find and a video. BTW, they also have a song on both the 75:24 and Emo Apocalypse compilations, which can all be acquired elsewhere on here. BUY THEIR SHIT.



If you have any albums that I don't, like always, give them to me in a comment or something and I will put them up. Word.

PS. THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH TOWERS BUT STREET SMART CYCLIST IS HAVING A REUNION SHOW IN BETHLEHEM, PA ON DECEMBER 26TH.


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Full Circle


Self Titled LP


Self Titled 7"


Collection


Demo/Split With The Exelar


Towers / D'amore Tracks from both bands, thanks THIOB


Songs from Split with Take Down Your Art

The Saddest Landscape

So The Saddest Landscape came out of retirement a while back and everyone flipped their shit. I had the chance to play a show with them in Delaware and I was blown away by their drummer (who I believe is a new addition?) and how fucking awesome their bassist is. Mike is one of the coolest dudes ever. I actually got the chance to kick it with him again when I went up to Boston earlier this fall, which was really cool.
I'm sure that anyone reading this knows who The Saddest Landscape is, seeing as they are one of the older screamo acts. Since they are back in action I suppose you could say that they are one of the longest running screamo bands around, but their break lasted like seven years or something. I never really got super into TSL, but I always liked their music. If you really have no idea who this band is, their sound is similair to post-rock screamo bands like City of Caterpillar, A Day in Black & White and Pianos Become the Teeth. This year alone they have released three albums as of now, two of which are splits and one is a full length. They also were featured on the newest Connections compilation. Below is everything that they have put out, as far as I can tell. They play shows and shit again, so go check that out, and please make sure that you give The Saddest Mike a high five. Heres a video.



If you have an album that I don't, please let me know and I will put it up here. Word.

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You Will Not Survive


The Saddest Landscape / Funeral Diner


The Saddest Landscape / Pianos Become The Teeth


The Saddest Landscape / If Footmen Tire You, What Will Horses Do?


Connections Pt II


I Don't Want To Miss You Anymore


The Saddest Landscape / Trophy Scars


Lift Your Burdens High For This is Where We Cross


The Sound of The Spectacle


All is Apologized For, All is Forgiven (pre '09 Discography)


A Promise Was Made


The Saddest Landscape / The Pine

Surroundings

I've been posting a lot of powerviolence/hardcore lately, so I figured I would keep the theme going.

If you're from the Baltimore area, chances are you know who Surroundings are. I've heard words like stoner, powerviolence, sludge, and doom all be thrown around when describing these guys. The band pretty much embodies a little bit of everything listed and a little more. With influences like Discharge, Eyehategod, and Neurosis you can get a good idea of what's going on here. Throw in some Dropdead (it seems like every heavy band with any crusty trappings owes a little something to those 90's greats these days) and some bong smoke and you've got Surroundings. They aren't afraid to go from breakneck speed to grimy, slowwww breakdowns and their new self titled album is a hardcore album that doesn't disappoint. Instead of rehashing the same five riffs and paying mindless, drooling homage to their idols, Surroundings continues to makes a name for themselves in the hardcore scene by writing intriguing and original material that keeps the listener on the edge of their seats. "Man Has Failed", a 6 minute long grinder, is followed up with "No Seed," a straight up thrash track that fills out nicely at a slim fifty eight seconds.

Unfortunately I've actually never seen these guys live, but by all accounts it's pretty badass.

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Monuments in Ruins 7" (2007)



World Darkness 10" Split w/Pellinore (2008)



Surroundings (2010)

75:24 Compilation

So a while back Ticklebutt Records/Soft City Records put out a tape compilation that featured a slew of Pennsylvania bands. My roommate just gave me the mp3s, and seeing as I haven't found them on the internet I figured I might as well throw em up here. I don't know if you can still actually buy the tape, but I'm sure there are copies floating around if you look hard enough. Below is the track list and the download link.

1. No Toy - Ape Up!
2. Smiles are Contagious - Best Friends
3. Soft Pretzels - Peter & Craig
4. I Left My Tattoos At Home - Boys & Sex
5. Hilarious Combinations of People - 1994!
6. Swallowing Cities - Cassilis
7. Well, I Did Spend A Year In College - We Were Skeletons
8. Sickpits - Miami Dolphins
9. Wonder Why - Bandname
10. Super Tape Worm Level 1 Area 2 - The Joints Chiefs of Math
11. Apartment Buildings - Hightide Hotel
12. You Bring Something ... No - Snowing
13. Chobra Son - Boyfriends
14. Priests with Laser Eyes - Towers
15. Black Clouds - Algernon Cadwallader
16. Indiana Pete - Kite Party
17. When You're in Town - Dangerous Ponies
18. Options - Hop Along, Queen Ansleis
19. Be Free Monster - Craig Woods
20. The Old Cherry Tree - Mike Bell
21. Deep Dark Start - Dragonzord
22. Hallmark - Matt = Tank
23. Pirates - Airports
24. Party Song - Why-No
25. Thomas The Puppy Dog - Peter The Pianoeater
26. Tow of Flax - Those Galloping Hordes

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75:24
FIX'D THE LINK, STOLE IT FROM THIOB

Iron Hand

Here's another awesome crusty hardcore band that was recommended to me, this time by Chris of the awesome blog Elementary Revolt.

Iron Hand hails from Connecticut, and serves the long proud tradition of nasty hardcore bands we've come to expect from the Northeast U.S. over the years. Like Chris says, this is for fans of bands like Perth Express, Zann, and Ghostlimb. Go ahead and throw in some Furnace, Dropdead, and straight up metal influence and you flesh out a pretty good idea of the band's sound. Nothing awe-inspiring here, but definitely a solid crust demo for all to enjoy.



Website

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Demo Cassette (2008)

Lapse

I recently recieved this demo in an e-mail. I get a good bit of albums sent through to my e-mail address, but with my crazy schedule and recent lack of updates on my part (you can thank Robbie for keeping up with the blog so well) I barely get a chance to hear a lot of the bands that send stuff my way. Lapse caught my eye because they're from the D.C./Baltimore metro area. I'm not sure if these guys have been in other bands or anything (their myspace page is pretty cryptic), but I'll definitely be looking forward to seeing them play live.

Their debut demo cassette (coming out soon on Heaven's Gate records) comes off as a solid powerviolence effort. Raw vocals, grimy bass and raging guitars are all a factor here. Songs are, as to be expected, short, except for the album's closer "625," which clocks in at just over 3 minutes and adds some sludgy, doomy texture to the band's sound.

Check it out!

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Demo Cassette (2010)

Pansori EP & other shit

Pansori has been really active recently, recording these three songs for three separate releases. Since "Eight Hundred Years of Silence" they have changed vocalists (originally it was the dude from Towers/Boat Water whos name is escaping me right now, now its Erik from Let's/ The Summer We Went West). Their songs have become alot more epic and melodic, which allows people who are fans of bands ranging from shit like Envy to The Appleseed Cast to enjoy their tunes. The songs on this cd are for a 7" with Edhochuli, the 5-way 12" on Bear Records and maybe something else but I don't know. Oh well. You really should download this because aside from being a really awesome band they are awesome people and really good friends of mine. Word.

Heres a video Rob took of them in MA

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Summer EP


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I also wanted to take this opportunity too briefly talk about two other things. The first is that the lineup for The Fest 9 is posted up, and if you have the money to go you really should. The bands playing this year rule so hard, I really with that I could attend.

The second thing is that Punch and Loma Prieta are playing two New England shows mid-November. The first is at Charm City Art Space in Baltimore with Vaccine, and the second is at ABC No Rio in New York City. Once again, I wish that I was attending and I hope that anyone within driving distance attends.

Osceola

Osceola is a screamo super group based in Maryland that has shared members with, amongst others, Tunes For Bears To Dance To, Dawn Treader and Fair Roots. As far as the music is concerned, they use pretty technical guitar work with wonderful tone and driving rhythm sections along with Mikey's mixture of yelps and singing. They have toured the U.S with Army of Kashyyk and Suis La Lune, and have put out a slew of releases. Utarid Tapes recently put out a discography tape, which you should pick up sometime. I was originally just going to put that up here, but I decided to put all of their shit because all of their splits are really good and you should check out all the bands they have worked with. So below is their Discography, "Our Words Speak Blank Stares", The Japan Tour cd, The Osceola Ep plus the track "Translucent", their splits with Army of Kashyyk, Suis La Lune, Monarchs & their 4-way split with Boy Problems, Lautrec and The Reptilian. I also added a video of them playing "Malax". Go buy their shit and keep an ear out for an upcoming show. They are currently inactive. Word





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Osceola / Army of Kashyyyk Split


Osceola / Suis La Lune Split


Japan Tour Demo



Osceola Ep + 1


Our Words Speak Blank Stares


Discography Tape


Osceola / Monarchs Split


Osceola / Boy Problems / The Reptilian / Lautrec Split

Arse Moreira

So if I had to name my top five favorite bands, Arse Moreira would be amongst them. They play a style of screamo similar to bands like Eucalypt or Louise Cyphre. Their shit is incredibly chaotic and all over the place. One of the coolest things about this band is the fact that all of their releases have been compilations or splits. The bass player now plays in Te Lloraia un Puto Rio and was in charge of Escucha Records, although now he lives in Canada and runs Bluegrass Records. Arse Moreira put out splits with Kidcrash, Resurrectionists & Beneath Low Flying Planes. They have also been featured on the Emo Annihilation and Apocalypse and are on the first Connections 6-way split. A while back I found a "split" that they did with Loma Prieta, but I'm pretty sure it was never released. I put it below, but it sounds like its just two demos from each band that were lumped together. Hopefully Charley will read this and leave a comment explaining that shit. But anyways, below is everything they did except for the Emo-End-of-The-World shit, which can be found elsewhere on here and a link to a video of them playing a Halloween party or something. You should buy whatever records of theirs that you can find. Word.

Halloween Party Video

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Arse Moreira / Resurrectionists Split


"Misspellings" Kidcrash / Arse Moreira Split


Arse Moreira / Beneath Low Flying Planes Split


Arse Moreira / Loma Prieta "Split"


Connections Pt. I

мища Discographie So Far & Split with Oppenheimer Limit

This is a post about my band again. Our friend from Noise Park Activies made us a discography cd prior to the recordings we did this spring for the Oppenheimer Limit(Ex-Gumilinski) split and the Bear Records 5 way. He drew a sick picture of us playing and hand painted all the cds. We sold out of all of those on tour. I think that he made more. Before we went on the road we made tapes of the Oppenheimer Limit split because Chucky The Rat never sent us any copies, if there were even any made. We have a few copies of that laying around, but if you want to buy anything you should just talk to Bear Records or Unity Through Harmony. We recently recorded for a 7" with We Were Skeletons which is slated for New Years, and the Bear Records split with Color Chromatic, Pansori, DEERS! and Animal Lover is supposed to be out by the end of November (we made tapes, and the East Coast bands/Bear Records have copies). Below is the split with Oppenheimer Limit and the Doscpgraphie So Far cd, along with a video of us in Missouri. THANKZ CHIRS MOORE. Word


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мища / Oppenheimer Limit Split


Discographie So Far

Beau Navire / Carrion Spring / Te Lloraria Un Puto Rio / The Discord of a Forgotten Sketch Split

It seems like this is the season for splits. Luckily for everyone involved all the releases that have caught my eye have been amazing, including this one. Basically, all four of these bands rip it really hard, but I had only heard of two of these groups prior to receiving this record. Bear, Forever Escaping Boredom, D7i and L'oeil Du Tigre Records put this out on 8" recently. Bear's website says that its limited to 500 copies. You need this record. First off, Te Lloraria Un Puto Rio, who are from Mexico, are fucking amazing. They sound alot like Arse Moreira (they share a bassist) but with a more post-whatever feel to it. Beau Navire, who have already been on this blog, have some amazing stuff on here as well. These recordings, as far as I know, feature Sean from Loma Prieta on guitar. Carrion Spring are from Portland and surprised me with their songs; I visited their myspace a while back and wasn't really into it, but once I heard their songs for this release on vinyl I changed my mind. The Discord of A Forgotten Sketch are also pretty dope, I think they are Canadian. Like I said, buy this record from Bear so he can continue to put out amazing releases and shit. Also, if you live in the greater Boston area he throws shows at his place (The Wacky Kastle), so go to those shows and give him beer. Below is the record. Word.



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4 Way Split