NAH & 1994!

I just got an email from Mike which contained two new releases from his projects. He lives in Belgium now (lucky) and that's where the NAH album was recorded.

The first new thingy he showed me was NAH's new release, entitled "Difficult". This album is way less hip hop beats and more weird stuff. It isn't too far out there or anything, but its like semi crazy drumming over somewhat spacey tunes. This stuff sounds almost like club music, if you know what I mean. Maybe its just the quality of the drums, but it totally sounds like it was recorded in a huge room. I also just found one other album of his that I didn't have, called "OTHER", that I threw down there as well. There is also some thing called "Special Reality Mixtapes" which looks like it is an ever expanding collection of loops and stuff that will be updated at random. I'm not going to download it and put it below because the list will be changing, but I will obviously provide the link so you guys can be up to date on that kind of stuff.

The other thing that Mike sent me was a link to a new 1994! record, poetically titled "Fuck It". This is what was written about the album on the bandcamp:

 This album was recorded during the tail end of January 2013 in London, Manchester, Sheffield, and Brussels. We recorded it ourselves using an iphone and a shitty, knock off sm58. It is intended to work as one piece of music, not as separate tracks. There are no plans for a physical release as of yet. Thank you for listening. 

 So yeah, still sounds like 1994! just lower quality. Still sounds fucking dope, just obviously intentionally lo-fi.



Okay so yeah, check out everything below, give them money, and yeah. Good dudes, so support them if for some reason you don't already. Word.

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DIFFICULT

OTHER

Special Reality Mixtapes

Fuck It

NAH

NAH is the solo project of Mike from 1994! He just sent me his songs the other day and I have been bumping them so hard recently. Honestly, the best way I can describe this shit is "What I Would Hope To Hear At The 1996 NBA All Star Jam". Or 1994, get it.

Its all hip hop. I would call it hip hop. Beats and stuff. Live drums and then some electronics and other stuff recorded in his basement. Some dude raps on the first demo song. He chopped and screwed one of his songs, straight up party jams.

That new joint, "TapeFuck", is a lil weirder. More energy, more fuzz. I like it alot. Way jammin. It sounds like he uses more guitars than electronic on this release, but I could be wrong. Imagine if Wizardzz is Mf Doom recorded an album on a tape deck, thats kind of whats going on. I heard that '94 was gonna do a rap album, I wonder if that was just some NAH hype. Who knows. Download both NAH releases below and then go party. Word.








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Fall 2011 Demo


TapeFuck

1994! - Most Deaf

There is still time for you to go check out 1994!, Snowing and Algernon on their U.S tour. Also, if you are in Europe, Algernon and '94 are coming your way in like a month. This is their new 7", which I should have picked up in Chicago but I had no money. Story of my life. Two new jams, and radical as they come. Check it out, buy it, and go see them on tour. Def one of the better bands out right now, and really good dudes. Mid-Atlantic all day.

Word.


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Most Deaf

Snowing / Boys & Sex / 1994! / Algernon Cadwallader 4 Way Split

Crazy, right? Four of Pennsylvanias more popular bands on one release. I'm assuming all these tracks are new. The record was put out on 7" by Slow Growth Records, and I would imagine these bad boys are selling like hot cakes. I havn't listened to it yet, mainly because I'm watching Just Shoot Me, but we all know these songs are going to be good. Algernon, '94, and Snowing are touring together ("U.S.A and beyond" = outer space), I would imagine they will have some of these records for sale then. Download it below. Two posts in a day, but, now I can go outside tomorrow.


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Summer Singles

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

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)

Boyfriends

Boyfriends is a group from Lancaster, PA that shares both members of 1994!. Mike, drummer of '94! takes over guitar duties while a dude named Bean picks up the sticks and Chris, guitarist/vocalist of '94! focuses his attention on vocals.

The result is similar to 1994!, but less mathy and more anthemic, and definitely a lot of fun. I highly recommend checking these dudes out, and checking out their dates on their website, listed below.

They're actually playing my house on May 7th, so check it out if you live in Maryland!

May 7th
9 W. 6th Street
Frederick, MD 21701

Boyfriends
Our Parents Forgot Us

I forget who else...I'll probably be at work anyway.


Boyfriends' website

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Demo (2009)

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)

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