Vikings! is a band that both the writers of this blog play music in.
Below is what I copied and pasted from what I wrote for our bio on last.fm:
Vikings! is a three piece hardcore punk/screamo band from Hagerstown, MD. They formed in the winter of ‘07/’08 and began playing shows in mid 2008. They have released a debut EP (2008 EP) which was recorded by Mike of Pianos Become the Teeth at the Crawlspace Studio in Eastern Maryland. They have played shows with bands like Algernon Cadwallader, The Blue Letter, We Were Skeletons, Nationale, Fine Lines, Pianos Become the Teeth, Age Sixteen, Sawhorse, Debelia Debelia, and L’antietam. Their sound has been compared to bands like Envy, Funeral Diner, I Hate Myself, and even Explosions in the Sky.
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Le Pré Où Je Suis Mort plays an epic brand of screamo rooted in the European sound - which makes sense because they're from France. Their self titled 12", (their only current release), contains only four songs, but the shortest song clocks in at 6:24.
Le Pré Où Je Suis Mort have mastered a sound that is distinctly European without sounding too much like Daitro or Raein, which is a pit many European screamo bands seem to fall into. The songs are much less disjointed, straying from the emo-violence route taken by some other French bands, such as Mihai Edrisch and The Third Memory. Their style is flowy and distinctly darker than many of the other European bands - imagine Louise Cyphre writing 7 minute long epics with deeper, more abrasive vocals. One of the biggest highlights of this record is the final track, which continues to build up, wash away, and build up again for almost fourteen minutes.
For anyone who was wondering, Le Pré Où Je Suis Mort translates to "The Field [or Meadow] Where I Died".
This is a little different from the kind of music we usually post. I think that every once in a while I'm probably going to do a post that strays from the realm of screamo/electric punk, just for a little variety.
With that said, I give you Paul Baribeau, one of my favorite artists. Paul is a folk singer who is signed to Plan-It-X Records, which is run by Chris of Ghost Mice, Captain Chaos, etc. etc. Paul sings simple, endearing folk-punk songs that sound like they could have come directly out of his journal (which they very well may have). His rhythmic, palm-mute-heavy sound and brash voice have become his trademark. All these releases are DIY, low budget affairs, which only adds to their overall charm. The story is (if I recall correctly) that the aforementioned Chris heard a live demo that Spoonboy brought back from some show somewhere, and Chris sent Paul a letter asking for another demo so Paul recorded his first album in one night and sent it into Plan-It-X, who immediately signed him.
Plan-it-X says:
Many reviewers call paul brutally honest. he hates it, but it's true. he sings from the heart about things we all understand. he sings about family problems, loneliness, broken hearts, crushes, romances etc. he will destroy you, if you're a human.
This is a video of Paul playing a cover of Leonard Cohen's "Chelsea Hotel No. 2" from If You Make It (which you should definitely check out if you haven't already)
A little note on the Darkness on the Edge Of Your Town:
This album is made up entirely of Bruce Springsteen covers and were recorded with Ginger Alford. Reviews of this album are mostly endearing, but every once in a while you'll hear someone bash it. Those people are most likely not even Paul Baribeau fans in the first place. If you like folk punk, have even a marginal interest in Bruce Springsteen's music, and are under the age of 35, you'll most likely fall head over heels in love with this album. If you're over 35 and know Springsteen only as "The Boss", this album will either leave you scratching your head or blowing smoke out of ears while you rant about "sullying the Boss' good name", or something. But really, how many people over 35 even read this blog? Seriously, I wanna know. Comment or something.
Since 2005, React With Protest has put out three great international screamo compilations. Vinyl-only releases, but these comps have gotten around mostly due to blogs. Admittedly, there are quite a few songs on these compilations I skip every time, and I find some of the spoken word tracks to be extremely corny. But these are a literal gold mine for any DIY/screamo fan. These comps have turned me on to some great bands I had never heard of before, as well as feature some fine work from some legendary bands. Definitely worth your download.
Here's a list of just a few of the bands you'll find on these comps: Daitro, Raein, June Paik, Loma Prieta, Suis La Lune, Louise Cyphre, La Quiete, Funeral Diner, The Apoplexy Twist Orchestra, Cease Upon the Capitol, Towers, Pyramids, Balboa, Arse Moreira, Battle of Wolf 359, Comadre
Carlisle was a emo-violence band from the mid to late 90's. They share members with Reversal of Man, Rosalind and Adversary. Their sound is similar to One Eyed God Prophecy and I Spoke. I have what I believe is their discography, I hope you enjoy.
Any band that starts off their lone release with a clip of someone reading Kafka is A-OK with me. Morning Wood is, like every other band I've been listening to, Italian, and play some really sweet screamo! They come from Arezzo, and in my mind they have picnics with La Quiete and Raein. Like I said earlier, they have one release out right now, but, they are putting out a split soon, so look out for that shit. They are going on tour around Easter in Germany with the band Chinese Drama, so any readers across the ocean GO CHECK THAT SHIT OUT AND REPORT BACK TO US! I don't know for sure if they are signed, but, they are somehow affiliated with Dance Tonight records. I encourage all of you, yes that means you, to buy their t-shirt and patches as well. You can contact them at: epilogueofacarcrash@hotmail.it OR morningwood@hotmail.it we encourage you to buy everything.
Here's the space. (These dudes are really cool and will actually talk to you on myspace if you comment them.)
Eucalypt was a fiercely DIY screamo band from Australia that broke up in mid 2008. I heard about these guys after they broke up, and I'm really glad I did. The farthest they ever ventured from Sydney was on a Southeast Asian tour (as far as I know), and I'm pretty sure no more than 200 of any of their releases exist. It was a chore just to find mp3's of these guys online, and I'm pretty sure I'm still missing some compilation tracks!
Eucalypt differs greatly from many screamo bands due to the fact that their guitarist's use no distortion whatsoever. Their clean sound is still extremely intense, due in part to great, energetic drumming. If you download anything by these guys, get the New Zealand Tour CD just because it contains the bulk of their output. My personal favorite song of theirs is "A Spotlight", off of the Connections split.
A split 10" with Majorca is still slated for release, and I've done my best to track down whatever might have been on the internet. If any of you Aussie's have their compilation tracks, please, upload them!
Go buy this really awesome collection tape that was released by Utarid Tapes!!!:
This is a really well done video of them playing "Last Things Last" a few months before they broke up. I also included a video of them playing "A Spotlight", which is a favorite of mine.
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".
K.C. Milian was an Italian instrumental band. They released one demo, a split with La Quiete, and an EP. Their sound is more chilled out, like Explosions In The Sky, but has some pretty sweet buildups. They are not very mathy or rocking, like Tera Melos and By The End Of Tonight, but their song layouts are similar to that of Piglet. Also, some songs have a trumpet, and another has some buried/distant screaming, but I can't really decipher what they are saying, so it may be in Italian, unlike Raein who tend to have English vocals. I read on a blog that the guitarist has tried to start other bands, but none have been as successful. It was really hard to find these albums, especially Season//Repeat. I can't find any videos, but, here are both of their last.fm accounts where you can hear their songs. They have two because their name is commonly misspelled, so heres number 1 and 2. Enjoy!
To say Oedipus is a grindcore band from the Baltimore area would be kind of an understatement, because they're more than that. These dudes play tasteful, heavy music that holds the attention. And they're fairly young - the oldest member is 19. This isn't that grind shit you listened to when you were 15.
To listen to their demo is one thing, but to see them live is another experience entirely. These guys ooze stage presence. Obviously blazed, these guys go absolutely ballistic as soon as their first song starts, with little to no regard for themselves or whoever might get in the way.
They just went on a short tour with Age Sixteen in early January.
We are committed to bringing punk rock to everyone! however, you must (read: should) delete these files after 24 hours - they are the property of the artists who wrote the songs and are not really ours to give out! Please, if you like the album, support the artists! Don't just pirate, it's selfish!
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AUTHORITY FIGURES: Most if not all of the music posted on this blog is either out of print, DIY, or released by an independent label with no ties to major distributors or the RIAA. Just sayin'.
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