1994! FCKYRHED

1994!'s new LP, FCKYRHED, picks up where the band left off with their previous release, last year's split with California's Spires, incorporating epic math-rock riffs with all the energy and fervor of the entire No Idea Records back catalog thrown into a blender and then dropped off a ten story building. I guess you could call this release a full length, although, at seven songs and eighteen and a half minutes, it doesn't seem like it should be. But, after a listen or two and hearing the group plowing through the valleys and peaks of fluid, hyperactive attack fans have come to expect, and hitting the high point of the album with the excellent sing-a-long "Thanks All you Guys Helpening", (which might be the best thing the band has put to tape since their last such track, "Steep Cliff Mountain Type Jaunt", from their debut LP, 2008's Thank You Arms and Fingers), you'll hardly feel like the album is too short. The band bounces back to burst through the short but hooky "Damn You's" before fading away with the sound of loud snoring after the guitar line fades from "A+ Brain", which leaves you waiting to roller coaster through another seven or eight songs until you dumbly realize the records is over.

In this case, short and sweet is just that. The band's busy touring schedule, and steady output of material since their inception (a two songs demo, followed by a debut LP, then a split 12", and now FCKYRHED) all in a matter, more or less, of two years might have meant that any other band would have burned themselves out on the tour circuit and to their hometown crowd. But by staying increasingly relevant and original in a DIY scene that is diverse and, thanks to the advent of the internet, full of buzz bands, 1994! have found their own niche, hitting stride by maturing without losing the initial energy and apparent desire to beat the shit out of their instruments that made them so captivating the first time I heard the opening lines of "Sexual Alien Vs Sexual Predator" on their '08 Winter Demo.

1994!'s small-scale, two man approach might just be the reason they continue to succeed at what they do. All to often a band will put out a strong, promising demo or LP before finally calling it quits because of losing members or internal dispute. Chris and Mike's obviously close-knit relationship and love for what they do will, hopefully, leave us with a lot more releases like FCKYRHED before they decide to call it quits.

I've also thrown in an upload of the new Boyfriends single, which 1994! has been giving out for free on their tour. Boyfriends is a side project that any fan of the band should enjoy. The song will be released on a split seven inch by Count Your Lucky Stars Records in the coming months. Look out for it!



Order the LP HERE

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FCKYRHED (2010)



Those Dudes Boys (2010)

Tiny Hawks

Tiny Hawks was a two piece duo consisting of Art Middleton on guitar and Gus Martin on drums. Hailing from the Providence, Rhode Island area, the band's peers include the likes of Daniel Striped Tiger, Sinaloa, Ampere, and Death to Tyrants, although the Tiny Hawks sound is a bit less rooted in the hardcore tradition than the work of their peers. They combined a flurry of hardcore influences with a jangly, tumultuous rhythm and all the spasms of a thrash band to create a sound that has been emulated by bands all over the country, perhaps most notably the Lancaster based 1994!, who have helped blaze the trail Tiny Hawks began to forge.

Their discography is rather brief; one 8 song 12" EP and one full length, but both are packed with a dizzying array of off-kilter melody, jarring drumbeats, and innovative guitar riffs.

P.S. Notice Slingshot Dakota drummer Tom in the background of the band shot at the top of the post.

Both members current play in a band called Arcing, who as of yet, have no recorded music. There is a video on their myspace.





Fingers Become Bridges (2005)



People Without End (2006)

1994!/Spires

1994!


Spires



Happy 2010! With the first post of the New Year I give you the 1994!/Spires Split, which is a post I've been sitting on for a while.

I picked this record up quite a while ago when I was in Lancaster and it looks great on blue opaque vinyl. It's limited to 500 copies so buy it quick here.

The split features two bands signed to the up and coming Inkblot Records (who can now boast a roster including the likes of scene darlings like Mammoth Grinder, Loma Prieta, Antilles, and In First Person); Spires, from Oakland, California, and 1994!, from Lancaster, PA.

Musically, the two bands are quite different, but not to the point where their sounds clash with one another. Each side is a nice compliment to the other.

1994! continues to blaze their own path with raucous, jangly, and, on this split, far more anthemic post-hardcore jaunts that make them one of the most interesting bands around right now. The three songs they offer up here harken back to the more epic feel of their first demo while retaining more mature, tight sound of their debut LP (both of which can be downloaded here). They always put on a great show, so if they're coming to a town near you go check them out!

Spires' three songs were a great surprise, because I had actually never heard this band until I played this split. They play a gritty, yet restrained and subtle brand of hardcore that reminds a bit of a more straight-up hardcore version of Storm the Bastille, with a little bit of Funeral Diner thrown in.

Hope you enjoy it!

Spires on Myspace

1994! on Myspace

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1994!/Spires Split (2009)

Tera Melos

Thursday night was fucking cold. I'm talking like ten degrees cold. For some reason I thought that it would be a great idea to not wear a jacket during the walk from the car to The Blue House, and to my surprise it wasn't that bad. Thank you Cannabis and other plant I can't spell.
We arrived at the show like a half hour after the show was supposed to start. We heard a band playing, but it wasn't Tera so we just stood outside and smoked. This was the first house show I have been to in Olympia, so I had no idea what to expect. We made our way down to the basement, which was pretty nice, and watched the first band play. The band was made up of the kids who lived in the house, I forget what they were called. It was okay. They did the switcheroo like twice with drums and guitar. One cool thing that they did was use some effect to make some Red Sparrowes-esque effect on the guitar that sounded like wind or something.
Tera Melos played second and it was pretty sweet. The guitar was a bit low, and the vocals were pretty high, but it may have been because I was standing behind the band near the bass cab. I didn't think I was going to like the new drummer because I normally don't like it when bands switch members, but this dude was legit. The guitarist, who looked like he was shrooming, was the focal point of the set, aside from the kid playing the bells and unplugging the guitar amp and the kid who was freaking the fuck out the whole time. We have dubbed that dude Freak Out Kid. This was the second time I have seen this kid, the first was at a Kidcrash show in Portland. There is a video of him, and when I get it it will be up here.
Anyways, Tera played a few songs that I'm guessing are off their new album, I didn't know them but they were pretty cool. They also played a Pantera cover, a bunch of songs from "A Complex Full of Phantoms", and some melodies. "40 Rods" was also played. After Tera was done we left.
Tera Melos is a math-rock band from California that has evolved from a noodley instrumental band to a more effects driven math-rock band with vocals. Aside from their full lengths they have a split with By The End of Tonight and an EP of covers. Its all below, as well as a video from way back in the day. Word.


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Demo


A Complex Full of Phantoms (split with By The End of Tonight)


Drugs to the Dear Youth


Tera Melos


Idioms Volume I

Colossal

Formed in Elgin, Illinois around 2001, Colossal featured members of renowned punk acts like The Lawrence Arms and Tuesday. However, Colossal's sound was much more rooted in the gentle, jazz-influenced emo styling that dominated Chicago's music scene in the mid-90's; taking a nod from bands such as Braid, Friction, American Football, and Cap'n Jazz (huh, imagine that) Colossal's sound is characterized by clean guitar tones, jangly pop riffs, the occasional flourish of trumpet, upbeat drums, and baritone vocals.

Pat Ford is the primary vocalist here, and his deep voice dominates the tracks. However, when other band members pipe up the result is absolutely wonderful (check out "Plateau Song" on the EP and "The 1/5 Compromise" on the full length).

The music that Colossal has created is imaginative, and rehashes many staples of the midwestern emo scene without making them seem old and worn out. So check it out!

The band is currently on hiatus.

Their myspace is here.

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Brave the Elements [EP] (2003)



Welcome the Problems (2004)

1994!

I haven't seen this album, or their demo, for that matter posted anywhere else, so here goes:

Two dudes! One plays guitar, one plays drums. Simple enough. This is what someone else had to say:

Intricate, melodic and mathy post hardcore from this Lancaster, PA drum and guitar duo. Imagine Hoover in overdrive or Ghosts & Vodka with vocals. Throw in the revolution summer influence of bands like Embrace and Rites of Spring and you will start to have an idea of what to expect.

Okay, I'm not really seeing it, but whatever. These guys have an original sound. It's mathy post-hardcore, I'll meet you half way. But I'm not seeing the whole Dischord comparison really, maybe I'm just out of the loop. I would say it's kind of reminiscent of Tiny Hawks to me, circa People With Out End. I guess I could say they sound a bit like Hoover, but with the sad bastard factor turned way down. To be honest with you I don't listen to too much Dischord stuff. There, I said it.

Pounding drums kinda make these songs careen into one another, while gruff shouted vocals provide atmospheric melody over top of the whole shebang. I'd say two of the biggest highlights on the record are "Steep Cliff Mountain Type Jaunt," which features gang vocals and kind of just hangs out in your brain, and the track that immediately follows, "Stutter Like You Mean It", which hosts some awesome guitar riffage. To be honest, I kind of prefer the demo versions of "Sexual Alien Vs Sexual Predator" and "Tough Guy Older Brother Shit", but maybe I'm just being sentimental or something. Maybe it's because ever since I heard "Sexual Alien" for the first time that awesome melody has just been stuck in my head...

"I'm pulsing again/I've been pulsing for years..."

Download all of it.

These guys are from Lancaster, PA, and the sort of Central/Northeastern PA area is seeing a huge explosion of good fucking music right now. From the Lehigh Valley to Philly, Pennsylvania is pretty fucking rad right now, home to bands like these guys, Algernon Cadwallader, Slingshot Dakota, Street Smart Cyclist (R.I.P.), Storm The Bastille, We Were Skeletons, and about one million other bands, which probably features at least one member of one of the bands I just mentioned.

Speaking of side projects, these guys just started one called Boyfriends. Check it out here.

I've only seen these guys live once, at Barclay House in Baltimore. It was a good show. Read about it here.

They have a myspace.

Oh and here's a video of them playing "Termineighbor 2 The Misspelling" at that show at Barclay I was talking about.



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'08 Winter Demo



Thank You Arms and Fingers

Video of new Native Song

Here's a video from Native's blog of them playing a new track, "Pony Boy". I'm really excited to hear some new output from these guys. Check out the drum fill at 3:00! Awesome stuff.


Native - "Pony Boy" from Hannah Rosner on Vimeo.

Toe

Hailing from Japan, Toe's composition and style varies greatly from many of the more traditional soft/loud dynamic-oriented post-rock groups (like Explosions in the Sky, Mogwai, etc.). I would also dare to say they could be classified as math rock as well, due to the complex structure of the songs. If I had to make a comparison, I would say they are much more akin in style to Pele than anyone else I can think of off the top of my head, although I'd say their songs are more compact and structured than Pele's lilting, dreamy style.

Propelled forward by the unbelievably talented Kashikura Takashi on drums, Toe's melodic tendencies develop beautiful results. His fills are lightning quick, and he has one of the most original styles I've ever heard. Rolling bass and fast-paced, riff-oriented guitars create a beautiful patchwork to match Takashi's beats. While "Vague Plot" focuses more on jam packing rollicking post-rock compositions into a three minute pop song structure, their newest output "New Sentimentality" relies upon subtle shifts in rhythm to build tension while still utilizing clean, melodic, (and even acoustic) guitars. Download it all!

Here's a really amazing video from their RGBDVD release. The song is called "Kodoku No Hatsumei".




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Songs, Ideas We Forgot (2002)



Re:designed (2003)



Pele/Toe Split (2004)



The Book About My Idle Plot on a Vague Anxiety (2005)



New Sentimentality (2006)

Antlers

Antlers hails from Richmond, Virginia - a town and area of Virginia well known for churning out great DIY oriented/punk bands for years and years. They are some kind of indie super group. The band features members of Gregor Samsa, Olive Tree, Resonance, and Mass Movement of the Moth.

These songs are mostly instrumental, and the structures are refreshing; the group does a good job of not being too redundant, a trap many instrumental (or mostly instrumental) bands fall into. And when vocals do grace a few tracks, the result is wonderful. Group sing-a-longs that have become notorious at shows harmonize with a female vocal to create beautiful melodies with simple yet powerful lyrics. Twinkling, jangly finger tapped guitar riffs and a tight rhythm section propel the songs forward, while brushes of brass, melodica, and more keep the songs from seeming too bland. A must have for any music fan.

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Antlers (2007)

The Kidcrash

First off, I would like to say that Kidcrash and The Kidcrash are the same band.

Anyways, Kidcrash is four piece based up in Washington, originally from New Mexico. They play some really original mathy screamo, and used to be a pop-punk band. Their first album, New Ruins, is on iTunes, but Kidcrash has this to say about it:


"Please don't order this cd (New Ruins). After spending more than $10,000 of our own money recording it, Lujo Records continues to try to justify their right to continue to collect 100% of the royalties from mp3 sales, after four years of selling the album on itunes and amazon. At one point we requested a box of cds for a show, they sent them way too late and they didn't arrive for the show. We never ended up selling them, but according to them we still owe them $400 for those cds and with that included they are still out about $500 recouping their $2000 investment. Reality is, we are still out about $8000, and they are honestly out maybe $200-$300 and have plenty of copies of the cd left. But there is no way for us to know how much they have made off of the sales of our mp3s. We have, on multiple occasions demanded that four years is long enough, and that the mp3s be removed from itunes. The response has been a load of bullshit about how we will get 50% of the royalties once the label recoups. But we don't want those royalties, and don't want to make money for those music monopolies. Amazon.com does not have the legal right to sell our mp3s and continues to after hours and hours of phone calls; we never signed anything granting Lujo Records the right to sell our music on iTunes, so when the time comes and we want it taken down, they have no right to refuse to respect our wishes. After all, they dropped us in a myspace message, why are they holding on so tight to our music. The only way we can force this to stop is by giving away this album. We wouldn't ever want to encourage people to listen to this album with the belief that if you like Jokes that we think you'd like New Ruins. So it is only posted here in protest of Lujo Records' lack of consideration for our wishes and legal rights as the composers, and REAL financiers of the record. DO NOT BUY IT!"

After releasing New Ruins, they progressed wonderfully with every ensuing release, including the rare EP "I Haven't Had a Date..." and the self titled 2006 demo. Their full length Jokes is a screamo masterpiece.
They put up all their recorded music on Denovali a while ago, including rare pre-New Ruins demos and releases put out by the band early in their career; however we didn't download them before they were taken down. If anyone has these releases, please comment.

If you like what you hear, buy their shit off of Slave Union and Denovali or whatever, BUT NOT ITUNES!

Here's a video of them doing A Conduit Rather Than A Vault.



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New Ruins (2004)



I Haven't Had a Date in Four Years Goldie Hawn Goldie Hawn Goldie Hawn (2005)



Demo (2006)



'Misspellings' Arse Moreira Split 5" (2007)



Jokes (2007)



Coffin Dancer Split 10" (2007)



Heavy Nugs and Heady Chugs - The L'antietam Split (2008)

Daughters

You already know who Daughters are, duh! I've got all of it, enjoy!

If you're truly in the dark, then click here.

Here's an early video of them doing "The Ghost With The Most", please watch if you have never seen this before, it will make you love Daughters even more. Three words: angry. feminists. daughters.




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Daughters 7" (2002/Tour pressing 2008)



Canada Songs (2003)



Hell Songs (2006)



Live at CBGB (2008)

Botch

Botch is one of those band's whose impact goes unnoticed by so many kids. Bands like Norma Jean, not to mention hundreds of other such modern "hardcore" bands are totally in debt to Botch's sonic impression on the genre. All you need to hear is one song off of "O God the Aftermath" (Norma Jean's second full length) to realize just how...closely that groundwork is followed. But this isn't the place to talk about Norma Jean's shortcomings as a band.

Botch formed in 1993, according to AP's (yes, AP) oral history of Botch, as a bunch of bumbling kids sharing a love for hardcore music. In fact, Dave V. claims he started screaming because he was so horrible at singing. The band's first full length, The Unifying Themes of Sex, Death, and Religion was released in 1997, quickly followed by a signing to Hydra Head Records and the ensuing release of American Nervoso in 1998. 1999 marks the year that Botch would leave perhaps their greatest impression on the American hardcore scene. We Are the Romans was Botch fully realized: epic as fuck. Dave Knudson's mathy, intricate guitar work came to the forefront on this album, held together by a rhythm section apparently hell-bent on punishing their instruments. And lyrically, Dave V. had hit his full stride, writing lyrics that make up the stuff of legendary basement sing-alongs. From a dissection of organized religion in "Saint Matthew Returns to the Womb" to the ultimate juxtaposition of American society to Greco-Roman tradition encased in the album's title, Verellen's themes had taken on as grandiose a scale as Knudson, Cook, and Latona's musical compositions.

Interestingly enough, the fifth track on the album, "C. Thomas Howell as the Soul Man" is about a band featuring future members of the now enormously commercially successful Fall Out Boy (no link needed, I think we've all heard them...) Racetraitor. Racetraitor was a vegan straightedge band featuring Andy Hurley on drums as well as a certain Pete Wentz as a frequent live fill-in on bass (both now members of Fall Out Boy). They were known for their radical far-left politics, and for lack of a better word, preachiness. Apparently, this didn't sit well with Dave V., who's contributions to the track include lines like, "The worst music I've ever heard, honesty that touches a nerve/The words fall onto the floor, drove home with no lessons learned," and "Stop the show listen up cause we've got something to say and it's important/Can't hear the notes you play or the words you say and you're not changing the world." Just thought that was an interesting little anecdote...

In any case, Botch left us with three full lengths, a few splits, an EP (my personal favorite!), and a posthumous live CD/DVD. Almost all of Botch's recorded material is included below. (I'm missing the Black Sabbath cover I believe).

Members went on to form bands like Minus the Bear and These Arms are Snakes, and have been associated with projects like Russian Circles.

This video is of the last song they ever played live. Yes, that is Brian Cook fighting with security. Yes, they are destroying the stage lights. Yes, it is total fucking destruction.





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American Nervoso Re-Issue (2007)



We Are the Romans 2 Disc Re-Issue Disc 1 (2007)
We Are the Romans 2 Disc Re-Issue Disc 2 (2007)




Unifying Themes Redux (2002)



An Anthology of Dead Ends (2002)



061502 (2006)

Adebisi Shank

Adebisi Shank is this wild three piece from Ireland. They are incredibly spazzy, and to be honest I don't really understand how you could begin to play shit like on their track "Horse". I'm pretty sure the bassist always wears some weird mask over his head, so that's pretty brutal...if you're into that kinda shit. These dudes are really experimental, as douchey as that sounds, but i swear they are really worth listening. They only have one CD that i know of, I stumbled upon it by chance. Here's there myspace and heres the link to their record label in Ireland, where you can buy their shit!

Here's a video! This song is called "Voodoo Economics".





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The EP of a Band Called Adebisi Shank

Giraffes? Giraffes!

Giraffes? Giraffes! is a fucking crazy math-rock/ experimental two piece from Massachusetts. I had no idea they were a two piece until i looked on their last.fm, it sounds like a shitload of dudes. I was wrong. Their stuff sort of reminds me of bands like By the End of Tonight, or Hella. If that isnt cool enough, check out the growth on the guitarists chin. They also really get down with punctuation and shit.

They have a myspace and a last.fm


They have two cds out, and they both are amazing. If you dig it, i recommend you buy the records and show off your cool music to your not-so-cool friends.

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1. Giraffes? Giraffes!- More Skin with Milk-Mouth

2.Giraffes? Giraffes!- Superbass!!!