Kind of Like: Tera Melos, Piglet, Volta Do Mar Genres: Math Rock, Post-rock, Experimental, Psychedelic Preview: Bandcamp
"Giraffes? Giraffes! is a psychedelic math rock band from Western Massachusetts made up of Joseph Andreoli (guitar, loops, effects) and Kenneth Topham (drums, percussion, glockenspiel, bells, pots and pans)." -Last.fm
This is their latest album; they haven't come out with anything since Milk Mouth in 2007. I think I may have featured that album on here as well. It's pretty rad. from what I've heard so far.
"Champion Sound is an album by the duo Jaylib (hip hop musicians J Dilla and Madlib). Half of the songs are produced by Madlib and feature J Dilla on vocals, and the other half are produced by J Dilla and feature Madlib on vocals. This album was the first of the Madlib duo collaboration albums made during the 2000s."
-Wikipedia
I just picked this record up from Vertigo yesterday. I was between this and a reissue of J Dilla's Ruff Draft. A great album for anybody into hipster-hop. I mean hip-hop.
FFO: Defeater, Touche Amore, Pianos Become the Teeth listen here Bandcamp
Remember to buy the album when it comes out October 4th!
I'll shape this post a bit later, I'm on my phone right now but this is undoubtably a great album for my favourite group. Edit
I think this album is unreal. It has the same heart as their last albums, I feel its incredibly easy to get into the album with such a strong introduction of the first three or four tracks. unlike their last two full length releases (which can be found here on sigd) this album starts with an ease in, whereas the iconic beginning of somewere at the bottom... is impossible to not know, and future wars is insatiably heavy and enticing. the track ``Kings Park just blows me away.``
I think the musicianship is just as good as on any record they`ve produced, its just a matter of listening until my ears bleed before an appreciation can be really consolidated and contrasted the vast love I have for Somewhere at the Bottom... and vancouver. jordan's lyrics lack none of the poetic and honest values i adore, and still its apparent that this album revolves heavily upon the maturity of the vocalist. its especially easy for me to fel involved in this album as much of the beginning content is a struggle between the depression and psychotic natures of a dead love that is all but living within what i call a pure heart, a poetic mind, or more dramatically, a male soul that is oppressed by the strark realities of the modern feminist movement towards their self-realization. i see this as a window into the life of someone slowly being destroyed by this female maturity into realizing its power, and its use of it, as i might posit, is a destructive force that our ancestors probably understoods as too wild to be left untamed. not that i dont believe in human rights, or the oppression of women, rather i believe that if a sex is too immature to value conceptions of love as more than bodily pleasure and happiness, they should not claim to be strong enough to ruule over men and the world in turn. anywhom, I`m getting this on vinyl, its been pre ordered. Despite having this pre-release which I appreciate so much, I can`t FUCKING wait.
also sorry I haven`t posted anything in a while, I`ve been pretty busy with school and organizing a couple house shows at my place. If you`re in Halifax, 1977 Preston on October 24-8th for some screamo shows. Edit
I titled this wildfire, haha I read it wrong for so long, and only realized my mistake while listening to a lyric that said wildlife, probably all because I really wanted it to be a WILDFIRE.
"You should listen to the album for what it is and not expect it to be like the average "rap" stuff you’re probably used to. Geedorah is a space monster. He's not from the Earth. I made it different on purpose. A blend of ill lyrics and instrumentals. To me its way iller than any of the wack shit out now... This whole album is Geedorah's alien perspective on humans. This is done intentionally to show the listener a mirror image of his/herself and the way we see each other. On the album we cover different subjects ranging from race issues to the neglect of children. Some might find the word "Nigger" offensive, or the line about the young girl not being able to read maybe considered a "bad taste" joke. All these insecurities are within us."
-Daniel Dumile aka King Geedorah aka MF Doom
This is MF Doom's first LP under his alias King Geedorah in reference to the Godzilla character King Ghidorah. Basically if you dig MF Doom and still haven't been turned off by how he's been treating his fans the past couple years with his imposters, then you will dig this. The more I hear about how he keeps doing this and tries to justify it, turns me off more and more. I still can't deny how much I like his songs though.
Genres: Progressive, Psychedelic, Stoner rock, Death Metal Preview:
Swedish death metal icons, Opeth, Return with their 10th studio album in 14 years. Heritage employs a very progressive and psychedelic feel and far less of the death metal influence they are typically known for. For those that aren't familiar with Opeth, traditionally they are known for 8-12 min epics that create a story with acts and a plot arc musically more so than "standard" songwriting would dictate. For fans of Opeth, Heritage brings back the dynamics and feel from Damnation and improve on it tenfold. This is a very unique record by a hugely influential and amazing band. Highly recommended.
Kind of Like: Thousandaires, Spraynard, Get Bent, For Serious This Time, Shinobu Genres: Punk, Indie Preview: Myspace
"Hard Girls have a lot to live up to. The three members represent most of San Jose's unsung punk rock heroes Shinobu and Pteradon who have continued to live in the town. They also represent 3/4 of Jesse Michaels' new band, Classics of Love. Not surprisingly, their first EP is totally awesome and lives up to the precedent that has been set forth, mixing minimal sunny indie rock with furious spastic punk rock and everything between. Very fucking awesome!"
-Quote Unquote Records
I'm trying to figure out how this album slipped through the cracks. I also am trying to figure out why I can't sleep right now.
Kind of Like: Mogwai, rooftops, Explosions in the Sky Genres: Emo, Indie, Post-rock, Math Rock Preview: Bandcamp
This band is play Midwest Fest in a couple weeks. They also distribute this through Count Your Lucky Stars, a label that has probably worked with a lot of bands you like. It's nice to see more bands like this from Michigan.
Kind of Like: Washed Out, Toro y Moi, Com Truise Genres: Chillwave, Electronica, Psychedelic Preview: NPR
"Overall, Era Extraña is fun to listen to for it’s emotional and intellectual qualities." -SFStation
Behold the third (er...fourth?) big chillwave album to drop this year. I'm throwing this up because the Washed Out show is coming up son, and it should be a fun show. If you like Washed Out, you'll prolly like this guy, guy.
Kind of Like: Koji, Joyce Manor, Brand New Genres: Indie, Emo, Post-hardcore, Punk Preview: Bandcamp
Thank god for phone hackers. If you can't appreciate that thing of beauty then I don't know what to tell you. Let that be a lesson to you kids, don't save pictures of yourself on your phone. Especially if you are Scarlett Johansson.
But back to the music. Seahaven was recommended from last.fm. They will be touring with Touche Amore and Pianos Become the Teeth soon, so be sure to check them out. I'm not too big on Touche, but I like Pianos, and I am really digging this band too right now. This isn't really the popular noodly stuff, this has somewhat of a throwback feel. But you know, still feels fresh. Meh, it's kind of cliche to say that by now isn't it?
Kind of like: a groovier Liturgy Genres: Black Metal, Shoegaze, Post-rock, "Depressive Experimental Doom" Preview:
I really like the idea of "Post-Black Metal". I am not super into really crusty black metal and, honestly, a lot of traditional BM annoys the shit out of me. with that said, Liturgy opened up my mind to the progressive side of this new genre. Netherland's An Autumn For Crippled Children bring more of the shoegaze (blackgaze) element to the table than bands like Liturgy and Wolves in the Throne Room, and this creates a very interesting atmosphere that is actually catchy and groovy. They do retain elements of traditional black metal and have some incredibly epic crescendos that climax in a hail of buried screeches, thundering double bass, and soaring guitars, but it is the softer dynamics that really appeal to me on this album. And I can't quite figure out why, but this reminds me of The Smashing Pumpkins in a very obscure way. Enjoy this western European gem.
Kind of Like: My Heart To Joy, Joie De Vivre, Prawn Genres: Emo, Post-Rock, Indie Preview:Punk News
I try not to post things right after Circling the Drain posts them, but I got an e-mail from Greg asking me to. I see him around turntable.fm and he seems nice enough. Oh, and I like their music too, so that helps. Haven't listened to any of Deer Leap until this, and I really dig it. Hopefully this propels them a bit.
Kind of Like: Off Minor, Pg. 99, Envy, Pianos Become the Teeth, Loma Prieta Genres: Post-Hardcore, Screamo, Punk Preview: Bandcamp
These two bands have been featured on here with their respecting EPs. Now here is some new material. They each have two songs on this split. I don't really feel like reviewing this, so here is someone that spent an excessive amount of keystrokes writing a review on a split. I only have one day off, so I'm getting a lot of albums done today.
"Hella began in 2001 in Sacramento, California as a two member band consisting of Zach Hill and Spencer Seim writing technically intricate music of a highly spastic nature. They play a blend of math rock and noise rock. On early albums, the band forged their classic sound, playing minimally arranged, abrasive instrumentals that still retain an idiosyncratic sense of melody."
-Last.fm
Kind of Like: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Smith Westerns, Bright Eyes Genres: Shoegaze, Garage Rock, Indie, Rock
Preview:
The song starts off slow for sure, but the further it gets along, the more I like it. They have a shoegaze feel, but at times explode with some heavy garage rock/rock n' roll riffs. They feel almost nostalgic at times, especially in the last couple minutes of this song. Their other songs are also pretty varied, ranging from folky/indie-y Bright Eyes stuff to surfy sounds. So far I like "Alex" and "Vomit" a lot. Then there are songs like "Die" that have straight up Queens-of-the-Stone-Age guitar riffs that I think even Kenny might appreciate.
Other news:
I'm sure you all heard, the beloved band, Snowing, has broken up. It's a shame because I really was interested to see what their next LP brought. I feel like they were getting a lot stronger as a band. Not to mention, the title of this blog is lyrics from one of their songs. I'm happy I at least got to see them twice before they broke up, and hopefully we will be seeing new projects by them soon.
Those of you waiting for the Prawn/For Hours and Hours split, I talked to Tony the other day, and it looks like it won't get a formal release. They did sell about 100 cd's of the split while they played with For Hours and Hours in Texas, but that is the only format that the split will see the light of day. They weren't happy with the quality of their songs, but he did say the songs will be released on a forthcoming EP after they are rerecorded. So if anybody in the Texas area got their hands on the split, and would like to share it, I'm sure people would still be interested.
So, Fest released it's schedule, and I finally got my tickets and my mode of transportation set. The end of October can't come soon enough. It's going to be a fantastic road trip. I even got all organized and made a spreadsheet of the bands I want to see and when they are playing. What a nerd.
***=I won't really care if I miss them for some reason.
And I also want to visit this place to or from it. It's a town of hundreds of cats, living in hand carved buildings. D'awwww.
Kind of like: A Jealousy Issue, Hopesfall (old), Remembering Never Genres: Melodic Hardcore, Hardcore, Metalcore
This band single-handedly made me love harder music and it was a sad sad day when I found out they went on "hiatus" in 2010 (let's be honest, they're done). Below is their entire discography. Active for over 10 years and being signed to both Trustkill and Ferret Records (plus a brief stint w/Atlantic records), PTW have put out some of the best hardcore albums ever, hands down. Everyone should listen to and love the shit out of these guys.
Genres: Screamo, Post-Hardcore, Emo, Math Rock
Preview/download:Bandcamp
This is FFL001, or, the first release from newly created Portland label Friends For Life Records. They are offering this 14 track compilation of all Portland bands for free through Bandcamp, or you can order the tape here in a limited edition run of 125, with a hand screen printed cover for only $4! Here is the tracklist:
1.Carrion Spring - Scumfuck Angel
2.Wild Guess - Card
3.Cower - Exit 296B
4.Forest Park - Portland
5.Desert of Hiatus - In Spirit of The Spirit That Will Tell Us Why We Exist
6.Kotten Dik - I Had A Dream Once
7.Zoogirl - B-Day
8.Duck. Little Brother, Duck! - Anarchy Will Make You Pay Five Dollars At The Door
9.Sloths - Seasonal Depression
10.Girlfriends - Brobocop
11.Pardee Shorts - Livejournal Pt. 2
12.4
13.GrandFather - Song 3
14.Oker - 1
Kind of Like: Lightning Bolt, Battles, Animal Collective Genres: Electronica, Experimental, Noise Rock
Preview:
" Zorch (US) is an experimental/noise rock band consiting of two members Zac (keyboards, omnichord and vocals) and Shmu (drums, omnichord and vocals). The band currently resides in Austin, TX. The 4 song demo was tracked live to tape in a day at Cacophony Studios." -Last.fm
Kind of Like: CSTVT (new), Piglet, You Blew It!, Brave Bird Genres: Emo, Math Rock, Instrumental, Post-rock, Indie Preview:Bandcamp
Sorry for the lack of updates. Like I said, I have been busy working, and doing important things (watching the first three seasons of Parks and Recreation). I do have a couple of great bands to share with you to make up for it, courtesy of Lori. This will satisfy most noodle heads/twinkly faces.
Super tired and I have a long day tomorrow, but I wanted to post this nonetheless. Beautiful female vocals accompanied by piano and sparse deep and full bass tones and electronic drums. Submotion Orchestra blends jazzy progressions and atmosphere with Dubstep tendencies and arrangements in a very mellow and soft way. I've been on a very interesting kick lately involving unique electronica music, and this comes highly recommended; specially when listening loudly though a quality set of speakers, or a good pair of headphones. Turn the lights down low, smoke down, and throw this on for an amazing and relaxing experience.
