reds is:means

this will be the last 'angry' album i post in a while cos i wanna keep this blog varied. quite an apt release, then, as this album is (like below) one of the most important hardcore/emo record of the last 10 years - yeah i went duur. i think this was released 2005'ish? feel free to correct me. either way it was a split-release with waking, clean plate, ape must not kill ape & sncl- good groups of guys then. as far as i know it is OOP, but i guess it might be in a distro somewhere or pop up on ebay. anyway, this is a fast, frantic, in-yr-face, verging on complete collapse, record. its kinda all over the place, but maaaan is it intense! there is proper feeling here; furious, angry, and chaotic yes, but it is dripping with passion. as cheesy as that sounds. these guys MEAN what they sing. and what they sing about is a big part of this record. you could probably listen to this completely oblivious to the political undertones but that would take away the real impact of what is a very lyrically frustrated album. for example, dividing unions is, i think, about same sex marriages - the stagnation of reform when it comes to accepting it, and the inability of various institution to evolve/progress. the narrative starts about the 'american dream', "...growing up i want to take part in the dream; a house, a kid, a life - be just like mom and dad. ill find the perfect partner to call my very own and we'd bound in matrimony." but it continues..., "your institutions have become a tool of exclusion - i want no part in it." it finishes with, "our life our ours, to live as we see fit, to love who we love, how we choose, without intrusion or your permission." other songs tackle the ideas of privacy, the intrusion of the state and notions of equality and other establishments (i even think i hear him scream about populism somewhere). this may sound preachy, but it isn't - its not done like that. it ain't vegan folk punx, guys. these are important and serious issues and reds manage to table their opinions without trying to form those of others. this may sound a little blergh, but they remain optimistic and positive in the belief that it isn't too late to change. cool, yeah.

listen
download

Stop it!! - self made maps

i think you might need to re tag this as 'stop it!!' not 'stop it !!' (the space, ken?). i forgot to do it before i zipped and uploaded it. anyway!

"... I think where Stop It!! really score is that there isn't really any other band out of the 'scene' they inhabit that sounds that much like them, which helps them stand out."

too true andy m.! this is such a good album that managed to slip under the radar of some people. members of stop it!! came from city of caterpillar and municipal waste, and then went on to form/join brainworms, cloak/dagger, pink razors and more. pretty good group of people then, eh? this record is pretty moody - but not in a CoC way, more like mixing fugazi with rodan or something and still managing to be epic (but only 1 song over 5 minutes). anyway, raspy vocals are pretty prominent here - someone give this guy a throat soother! some of the best sounding drums too - frantic! in fact, everything is thick as hell sound wise. it hardly ever gets muddy; everything sounds natural - the drums resonant and the guitars rugged but never gloopy. bass it tight! i don't know who mixed this record but it sounds HUGE. its got some major guts, man. packs a punch! super solid. there ain't a bad track on this either. most of it should get you fist pumping and slowly rocking back and forth, ya know. remove yr teeth is defo one of my faves - it starts with the shouting "...how many people in this room have had their wisdom teeth removed? i had them. can't fathom what it's like to be told the truth. and the captains abandoned ship. can you believe it. NO! they had to. NO! it wont do. NO!" and yr all like YES! nodding yr head and then it kicks back into a spoken word piece about writers and drinking and then he's all like "I'M NOT LYING!" and yr like NOOOOOO! and you just wanna wriggle on the floor screaming. S.S. betrayel is pretty epic too. the track i've always kept going back to since this record came out though, is the last - beethoven's funeral. the line about saying goodbye and not forgetting toothbrushes... man, so good! but yeah, in the last few months i've really got back into this record and i think that's because there's ain't many bands doing stuff like this anymore. perhaps a little strange it sounds more refreshing now than when it was released but there you go. this is easily one of the best records of the last 10 years when it comes to 'this' type of stuff. this record - backed hard. please buy it.

buy ($4.99 for the cd - lovely cardboard packing with a 12-page booklet)
download
listen to the whole album on last.fm

p.s. eliot - inverted romance in our troubled minds

this band is the definition of cute chicks. even if the band is a quarter dude. this is one of my favorite albums of 2009, it's got that pop punk feel to songs that just make you wanna dance. kindof low-fi, really cool! definitely give this a listen, way too cute.

listen

myspace

buy it

the casket lottery - choose bronze

so the casket lottery was around from about 1997-2004, they had three full-lengths, three eps and a handful of 7"s etc, this happens to be their first full length released in 1999. they're from kansas city, so they've got that whole midwestmo thing going on.

listen

myspace

how do we jump this high? - deep stationary

this album is summertime. this album is bike rides. this album is rolling your windows down. this album is wearing hats to cover wet pool hair. this album is picnics. this album is adventures. this album is awkward moments. this album is sitting in the shade. this album is cut off jeans. this album is sundresses. this album is pretty perfect.

try it out

myspace

buy it

i'm so sorry guys, this winter break has just been so busy! and not only has it been busy, i've just been super lazy. what i'm trying to say is that i'll be updating more frequently (hopefully) in the upcoming weeks. cool? cool.

sorry! (slackxcore)

lotte kestner - china mountain

lotte kestner is the solo project of trespassers william’s singer-songwriter anna-lynne williams. this is a pretty delicate record, and i definitely have to be in the right mood to listen to it - when in the right mood though, what a record! the first song is one of the saddest things ever, and it kinda sets the tone for the rest of an album. try mashing together joanna newsom and will oldham or something, and you might be close to what this sounds like. its pretty sparse; mostly just her voice and guitar (with the odd melodica and quiet woodwind instrument), but her voice is so sublime that she could get away with it completely a cappella. do not expect any urgency here. this is very gentle. very slow. like creaking floorboards. some heartache. some optimism. a bit like floating. it is a grower, and something you need to give attention. away you go...somewhere on your little shimmering boat.... cccrrrssshhhhbbbuuuuuhhh (the sound of waves, ya know? ya know!). “fainted twice / once like butterflies / and once like ice.” lovely.

download
buy
myspace

funeral diner - yeah, you remember that

you will not find me posting much screamo. in fact, this will probably be it. mainly because screamo is dead - europe killed it - my interest slowly waning as somewhere, some french dude is jaming repetitive octaves for seven minutes. even bands like funeral diner test my patience sometimes... i can remember always struggling to sit through the underdark. but. but but but. this song (yeah i know, just uploading one song. so what) from the welcome the plague year 7" split is probably the best modern 'screamo' song (in my opinion etc...blah). its got the totally INTENSE pummeling crunching all out kick in the balls attack mode riffage; the breakdown; the quiet sobbing ("...as if bleeding was even enough for you!"); and the off the chart epic punch in face ending that makes you want to cave your own face in. this is repetitive without being boring. inspirational without being tacky. relentless in its complete attack on the senses (and emotion) but without taking the listener for granted.

download
(i think its oop - prove me wrong and buy it somewhere)

ethel meserve - the milton abandonment

"Ethel Meserve was the name of a store on Allen Street in downtown State College, PA run by a woman of the same name. She ran the store for several decades selling various knick-knacks, home furnishings, lamps, candles etc. In the early to mid-90's, shortly after the band formed, she stopped running it herself when she became too old to manage her business. The store finally closed in the late 90's while the lady was close to a 100 years old, and the band itself found its end in 1998. Ethel Meserve = name of store = name of woman = name of band."

i remember i bought this cd pretty blindly from tree records (one of the best labels ever?). GOOD CHOICE. this band have done a handful of 7"s (yadin's hair is probably my favourite thing they've done), appeared on some comps too (post marked stamps), but this is kinda 'the' release. lincoln, hoover, boys life, drive like jehu, slint, native nod, june of 44, fugazi, 90s emo. - if you like this, get this. in fact, yeah, if i had to compare this record to another it would be departures and landfalls by boys life. it has the same tone/feeling. some quiet\loud moments. those total punch the air THIS FEELS GOOD moments too. the whole record starts and end with some cello. neat, huh. unfortunately tree records went bust a while ago. ken was getting rid of stock cheaply through the webstore for a while and then ebay, but now i have no idea where you'd pick this up. pretty essential though.

download
myspace

also, if anyone has rips of the 7"s please let me know. thanks!

a day in black and white - notes

so i've been superbad at uploading lately, very sorry! hopefully i'll get a decent amount of stuff done over the holidays. anyway, a day in black and white were (indefinite hiatus) a D.C rock band. skramz kids went crazy for their first record ('cowboys...'), so this one kinda panned because it was so different and didn't have gutty screaming, big build ups, and OCTAVE guitar. this kinda sucked because this record is much better. its more mature, the recording is absolutely spot ON, and there is a certain (D.C) groove that has been missing from modern hardcore/emo. this sounds like it was released by dischord..., even if it was put out by level plane. i think that's what put a lot of people off this record when it came out. it sounds more like fugazi or q and not u (even sonic youth) than city of caterpillar. produced by kurt ballou it has some of the best sounding drums i've heard. damn! and ok, i have to admit there are a one or two duff tracks on this. sometimes it kicks into some pretty predictable and lazy patterns, but by keeping this record short (30 minutes) you don't get bored. so one or two duff tracks yes, but jeezzzo there are some seriously seriously SERIOUSLY max-out-woah songs on this that will get you so pumped. a literal tale, lame duck, a good turn (!!!), roland's right (bass is so tight on this one. so is the ending). MAN! these guys know how to write a song. so yeah, get this record. it sucks they kinda faded away without much credit for notes cos this slays like a major.

download
buy cd/lp ($6/$8!!)
myspace

noumenon - discography

noumenon is a mathy, fun band from chicago, il. unlike a lot of math bands from chicago, these guys are still around and playing shows. if you're into bands such as native or piglet or anything along those lines, check em out.

download

harrison bergeron - dead bergeron

harrison bergeron is a hardcore band from pennsylvania. they were around in 2005-2006 and made this one demo, "dead bergeron", it has 6 songs on it, and they're not in the best of quality, but this band rules so hard, i just wouldn't recommend trying to blast this out of shitty car speakers, cause you probably won't hear anything. "darkness washed over the dude" is one of the best things i've heard. anyway, the members of this went on to be in street smart cyclist, storm the bastille, get to the chopper and boy problems. they toured on the east coast with make me in 2006, and probably should have been a band longer. i would recommend listening to all of the bands that came from them though.

listen to it

download it

orwell - discography

well, orwell was a band from chicago, il in the 90s. to be more specific, april '95 - may '96. members included bob nanna, sean o'brien, demetrio maguigad, and billy smith. aka members of braid, friction, gainer, hubcap, the city on film, the sky corvair, traitors, etcetc. they didn't play a whole lot of shows, and they only have 9 songs, only three of which were actually released. "angular momentum" was on the "direction" compilation and "4242" was on another compilation called "emo shcmeemo" which you might be able to find on ebay if you really try. and "bandsaw architecture" which was on the "ground rule double" compilation. these guys rule and this is a must have if you're into braid or friction or whathaveyou. sometimes the stars hit me like racecars.....

listen to them

try it out

and then buy it! (if you can find it..)

february stars union - adults are threatening creatures

there isn't a lot that i can find on this band other than the fact that they were from illinois and were around in the 90s. also i really dig the female/male vocalist thing.

i actually found out about them from mitch's blog but i'm re-upping it because it's pretty awesome and i really want more people to hear this. more bands should sound like this.

download

kickball - abcdefghijkickball

this album rules, this group rules. they're full of energy, and their music couldn't prove this more. they're from portland, washington and still love playing in basements. taking an excerpt from a review from a portland newspaper: "The trio creates its own energy with frantic, schizophrenic disco beats that drive adventurous basslines and start-stop buzzsaw guitar?the whole mess of which can juggernaut from sexy, bleeding-heart dance funk into soaring, ecstatic Arcade Fire-style choruses before your oft-shaking ass can tell the difference." yeah. enough said?

download

listen to it/buy it

the love of everything - ghosts and friends

the love of everything is definitely one of my favorite bands, and this has to be one of my favorite albums of 2009. filled with bobby burg's (from joan of arc etc) off-key singing and looped guitar strummings, this album is perfect for everything. "safety first" is one of the best tracks on here, as well as "i love all you guys slow" (which is also on the split with mount eerie, i highly recommend getting this split asap, even though i think it's out of print now). so if you want to listen to a record which i can promise you has plenty of chimes, bleeps and bloops, then this album is pretty perfect.

myspace

buy (ps, i think this has the split with mount eerie back in stock!)

download

park ave - when jamie went to london... we broke up

this very short lived project of kids from omaha, nebraska still seems to have a pretty big fanbase. this is mostly because conor oberst was in this band, as well as the drummer from the faint and two girls who later went on to play in tilly and the wall. but also, this album is actually really adorable. this band actually broke up because jamie went to london (hence the title of this album). but before this happened they released a split 7" with the wrens on saddle creek records and then this record, which went out of print shortly after released, but conor oberst re-released this album on his own label in '06. this is really good to listen to when you're in the mood to listen to some really cute indie pop songs with spaceship noises and off-key singing. fun fact: none of the girls in the band knew how to play their instruments prior to being in this band. but this is still a cute album, nonetheless.

download

buy

myspace

the firebird band - the setting sun and its satellites

sorry again for the lack of posts. lindsay and i are crackin' down at school and haven't had a lot of time to update this. priorities, y'know? however, this blog is not dead, not gone forever, shall live on!

okayokayokay, the firebird band. where should i begin? well, they're from chicago. reason enough to listen to them, right? greatestcityonearthblahblah. also, it's chris broach... you know... braid... his brother was also in the band, and they were originally called the firebird "suite" but after braid broke up this turned into a full-time sort of deal. these songs are absolutely gorgeous. "gift" is probably one of the best songs i have ever heard, just reminds me of christmas so much, and it's a great song for playing on those chilly mornings. nothing not dance party is a little more upbeat. "they caught you dreamin', they caught you sleepin' again." also, "the way to go sound on sound" might be a favorite off of this album. "three months in chicago keeps you pretty....." maybe this band is just a chicago thing, but check it out.

download

apologies for the lack of music. both of us are pretty heavy under with work. i don't know about delia, but i am completing my dissertation for my final year at university as well as getting prepared for january exams. expect a lot more music over christmas when we're too lazy to work though!

tree hopping - a hospital

tree hopping is another one of those fun bands from florida (like previously mentioned forest clay and totally nebular, so i'm imagining if you like both of those, you will probably like this as well). i can't really think of any other words to describe this album as anything other than "so dang cute". it's got some strings. it's got some sticks. it's got some other fun noises thrown in there and it makes you want to lay on your floor all day as the sun shines through your window hitting your face just the right way. the myspace has all of the albums to download, but here's this one anyway, just 'cause. most of these songs are 1 to 2 minutes long, but it's perfect anyway. personally my favorite song is "k hospital" but i can't think of a song you would skip on this record. take a long drive, hug a kitten, clean your room! this album will make you dance in your chair.

overall: fun/10

download

take a listen, download the rest of the albums