Power-pop, garage-punk rockers Low Culture and Needle//Pins have both been on my radar for a while now. When I heard that the two were putting together a split release, it just made complete sense.
Low Culture won me over hardcore when I was introduced to them while staying in Las Cruces. Featuring members of Shang-A-Lang and Marked Men, the foursome blends in the perfect amounts of rock and punk making for tunes that can easy fuel a good time by all.
British Columbia’s Needles//Pins are more of a power pop garage act that I have recent been getting into thanks to their latest release Shamebirds. This band is to me the saviors of old school punk pop. You know, the good stuff that did not get suffocated by talentless acts with more t-shirts for sale in a Hot Topic than quality songs.
Low Culture hammered out with “Reservations”, a fun, infectious garage rock track with plenty of drumming and distorted guitar. I loved the break downs at the end that eventually led the song into a climax of sorts only to drop more signing that sounded like a new song, but alas, it was still the same track.
“Don’t Tell Me” was equally as fun to listen to. The guitar solos were quick at times but also memorable on this track about a solitary man. This track was not nearly as scattered as the previous but just slayed in a good good way.
“Hateful” by Needles//Pins was gruff yet thoughtful to listen to in regards to a crashed relationship. I felt like some of the lyrics were plucked out of my past thoughts in regards to crap relationships. “And I hope you don’t think that I’m hateful, it don’t matter very much to me” were lyrics that stuck to me especially.
“Bored” followed and pretty much could either have continued talking about poor relationships or perhaps just being old in the scene. The more I listened to it, the less I thought it was about an actual relationship with someone and more so with some other form of attraction. Clearly I think weird. Deal.
It is no surprise that the two acts decided to release a split together. Both bands really compliment one another’s sound making for a great listen. Currently available on iTunes and also on Spotify, the split was put out by the amazing Dirtnap Records and the 7″ should be available very soon for purchase on their site.
If you like classic bands like the Ramones, The Ruts, and The Weirdos, do yourself a favor and get into both of these bands now. They are both too good to not know about.
I remember the very first time Electric Six (E6) hit my ears.
I was working at a Borders Books, Music & Cafe in some fancy Cleveland suburb one night just minding my own business. One of my co-workers was unpacking all of the promotional CDs for the listening booths and asked me to help him out.
Flashback Memory: As I am sure many of your remember, there was a time when CDs were the staple of the music industry and at Borders, we literally had to manually input CDs into the CD players that were locked below the CD shelves. This was done so all you consumers could come in and check out an album prior to its release. Duh.
Anyways, I remember seeing a copy of E6’s debut release Fire sitting out on the counter. For whatever reason, I picked up the CD to see what it was all about and soon flipped it over to see the track titles. I decided to sneak in a listen after I put the CD into the listening station. I have been a fan ever since. I just sat there on the floor of the music department loving every song on that title. Needless to say, I snagged that CD the day it officially released and have had it in rotation for years.
I can’t say every release since Fire had as huge of an impact on me, but I have always appreciated what Dick Valentine and crew have done for 10+ years now. Last years Mustang left a pretty good impression on me, but I just was not blown away completely.
The Detroit garage/rock/funk/disco/jam/electronica/jack-of-all-trades genre-bending act just dropped an all new album titled Human Zoo. I am happy to say I mostly enjoyed the living hell out of it and I am pretty confident any E6 fan out there will too.
“Karate Lips” opened with an enthusiastic chant of “Electric Six” that quickly changed to “karate lips”. The song, clearly about some tough-ass women, was heavy on the funk with an electric indie rock style that closely resembled stuff you might hear from the The Faint.
“It’s Horseshit!” was almost too much for my brain to compute yet I loved it. It was like listening to a late 80s boy band infused with Daft Punk. Definitely a track that people can get weird to. The music and just overall feel of this song really resembled that vibe I first felt on Fire.
Valentine swooned beyond senselessly in “Alone With Your Body”. I listened to this track a couple of times over because I liked it so much. This was like the working man’s love jam. Valentine sang as a simple man with plenty of Detroit soul backing him up. I adored the back up singing as well as candid lyrics like “I’ll be there in a jiffy with a stiffy”.
“Satanic Wheels” grew on me after listening to it a couple of times. I loved the synth throughout. I felt like I was listening to typical E6 but with keyboard playing taking queues from 80s arena rock bands. It was psychedelic yet indie if that makes sense. I guess what I am trying to say is that this song ruled and was one of my favorites on the album.
“Gun Rights” was bizarre and unexpected. I thought I was listening to Ween mashed with Mike Patton. “Don’t take away my rights, my gun rights” repeated over and over with a fun Mexican folk melody. The quick spoken-word of Valentine in the middle just kept things even more interesting.
“I Need A Restaurant” just did not do it for me. The song seemed to just downgrade from all the craziness I previously was engulfed in. Sadly, I skipped this track halfway into and barely made it through “Worst Movie Ever”.
“I’m the Devil” sounded more like something Tenacious D would have done one of their albums. It was not terrible by any means but seemed more of a skit than a song. I almost wish Dave Grohl would have jumped in on this track dressed as the devil. I did like the Young Guns-like guitar playing style. The best part of this track was at the very end when apparently Jesus Christ had a speaking roll. Who knew he was such a burnout?
“The Afterlife” ended with a synth-pop tune that thankfully did not let the album end on a bad note for this listener. I wish it were a little more sped up but for what it is worth, it was not a terrible listen by any means.
Human Zoo overall was a blast. E6 continues to entertain but I will admit the latter portion of the album kind of fell short. Regardless, most of the release got me all sorts of excited just like their debut did over 10 years ago. This band in my opinion still entertains on a higher level.
I was waiting for an album to drop this year that would completely steal my undivided attention. Xerxes has just done that to me.
If any of you know me, chances are you know my love for bands like the Refused, Murder City Devils, Gallows, Thursday and At The Drive-In. The vocal styles of all those acts is one of the main reasons I have such an appreciation for them.
Xerxes’s new album Collision Blonde seemingly took queues from all those acts and more throwing them together into one killer release.
I love it. I adore it. Thank you Xerxes and thank you No Sleep Records for throwing their album on your label.
This young post-punk act from Louisville, KY mixes in so many different musical styles in their jams, I almost hate to classify them into one genre. With elements of punk, post-hardcore, goth rock and more, this avant-garde act blew me away the moment I heard their sophomore release Collision Blonde.
This album overflows with plenty of mental anguish guaranteeing to satisfy any emotional train wreck out there. Pain, love, and drugs seemingly fueled this release and I’m pretty sure anyone who hasn’t always been in a positive path through life will totally get into Collision Blonde.
Once “I Was Wrong” started I knew this was going to be one of those albums I listened to all the way through with no interruptions. Calvin Philley just destroys his voice throughout with plenty of distortion that would make Trent Reznor proud.
“Criminal Animal” appealed to me with a garage rock start quickly morphing to something a little more hardcore. I got a huge kick out of Philley switching to almost a furious spoken word only to start singing again. “Knife”, toned things down for a moment and clearly was about some object being stuck into one’s back.
“A Toast” had this Cure-like melody and bass line hiding behind intermittent hard riffs and screaming vocals making for a great listen. The transitions from the singing to the spoken word throughout this track made it even better to listen to.
“Collision Blonde” was beyond a daunting track with Philley just spilling his guts out on top of a melody that easily could be mistaken with The Jesus And Mary Chain or even Bauhaus. Although dark and lonely, this track really was amazing in so many ways once you got past the emotion and pain.
“Nosedive” ended the album with Philley screaming “just make it stop” over and over. It was almost like this entire album was a brutal nightmare and it needed to come to an end.
I am not sure if this album was a revelation of pain or a public cry for help. Regardless, it is powerful lyrically and musically making Collision Blonde easily one of my favorite releases of 2014 so far.
Perhaps I took in this album a little differently from others. Having grown up listening to darker styles of music in the 80s and 90s like The Cure and Jesus and Mary Chain, I always wished it were heavier back then. I loved the music but craved more vocals. Xerxes seriously captured some of my favorite band styles and added their own harsh twist on it satisfying that younger request. The result is just insane and I adore it.
Collision Blonde drops on Oct. 21st. You can pre-order it now over at No Sleep Records.
For those of you who checked out the interview I did with Joey Cape months back, you may have learned about One Week Records. For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about, I suggest you take a moment and read that awesome interview.
Chris Cresswell of The Flatliners was one of the first artists to hole up in Cape’s abode and record an album. In one week, the two recorded 10 amazing songs and skipped out on any type of over-producing. The result was just an amazing release that I was not expecting.
Cresswell is typically known for his gruff vocals in The Flatliners but he’s completely cleared his throat for his One Week Record. In fact, I was set back for a moment on how different and appealing his singing style was. Having known he’s stripped down his style before, I suppose I just did not know what to expect prior to checking out this release.
Listening to “Meet Me in the Shade” was just so heavy on the heart. I could almost relate in my past to the feelings Cresswell transformed into song. Full of lyrics of dismay and solitude, Cresswell seemingly dumped heavy emotion into this track. I really fond myself enjoying the song even more so when the piano playing snuck in.
Picking things up was “Little Bones”, a track what sounds like some serious swooning until the moment you realize that the lyrics on this track were pretty much Cresswell tearing a certain someone apart for being a cold, heartless human being. The lyrics were amazing on this album.
“Stitches” really collaborated Cresswell and Cape’s talent in a great way in a song about healing and moving on. Perhaps the best part of this track is when Cresswell belted out “I fall in love again with the silence in this song” over and over at the end. Hands down, this was best track on this album.
Hearing the cover of Dead To Me’s “Arrhythmic Palpitations” was a nice bonus on this album. Cresswell recorded a damn fine version that I may seriously now prefer over the original. Everyone needs to hear this track.
“On the Day That You Died” was beyond somber and yet so beautiful. This is the kind of song that brings tears to eyes while saying goodbye to a loved one. Seriously, this track should be in the next Zach Braff movie he releases. So sad…
Overall, this album far exceeded my expectations and I am going to be pre-ordering the vinyl release soon as I know this will be an album I will listen to quite frequently.
I think the thing I like best about this album is knowing that Cresswell and Cape recorded all of the songs in 7 days in Cape’s home. I also love knowing that at the end, Cape handed Cresswell a Sharpie marker and told him to draw up the album cover.
The album is available digitally now on One Week Records for just 5 bucks. The album is also going to be pressed on vinyl (as previously mentioned) thanks to Fat Wreck Chords and will be dropping soon.
I have always enjoyed watching bands grow, mature, and most importantly, succeed in the music world.
Honestly, if it were not for all the bands out there, this blog, or whatever you want to call it, probably would not have lasted as long as it has.
Like many of you, I don’t always stay a fan of a band throughout their journey due to conflict between the listener (me) and the the approach that the band may take on over the years. Sometimes it has to do with change in style due to bandmates coming and going. I can name off a handful of bands right now that I feel that has happened to, but I would rather get to my point.
Rise Against are definitely a band that I have grown with over the years and have remained a fan. The Chicago punk rockers have more or less transformed themselves into outspoken rock heroes without losing that punk edge that helped capture me as a fan early on. As they moved from the small stages to headlining, I was there never growing tired of what they continued to push. Sure, bandmates have come and gone, but I just feel Rise Against never lost their initial style.
With that said, their latest release, The Black Market, is their most radio-friendly album I have heard and I am ok with that. I have listened to this album over and over and I must say, I am digging it more and more with each listen.
The Black Market is more something that fits in with material you might hear from the likes of Foo Fighters or Thirty Seconds To Mars at times, but don’t threat, there is plenty of that signature Rise Against contained we all know and love.
If anyone knows anything about Rise Against, it is that they love to speak their minds in their material. This album certainly showcases that with plenty of pleads for change, forgiveness, and acceptance.
“The Great Die-Off” started the album off with such force as Tim McIlrath and crew rocked out and soon declared “we want it all and we want it now” over and over. I loved the hammering of the bass and heavy drumming throughout. Full of just force and just overly catchy, this track is why I will always be a Rise Against fan.
“I Don’t Want To Be Here Anymore” was the first single off of this album and with good reason, this track is amazing. From start to finish, this song is just a beast. Mixed with plenty of punk, rock, and even a touch of hardcore, this track about potentially giving up is forceful and likable.
“Tragedy + Time” sounded like a sequel of “Ready To Fall”, a track from the band’s previous album The Sufferer & the Witness. Once again, McIlrath sung about someone on a rooftop, but this time it’s someone different and they were looking for reasons to continue on.
I would not be surprised if the next single off this album was the title track “The Black Market”. I loved the break-downs on this track almost as much as the singing. I have the feeling this song is going to get some attention.
I loved “The Eco-Terrorist In Me” as it started off more old school Rise Against with McIlrath clearly giving it his all vocally. “When it all comes down will you say you did everything you could” repeated throughout with the rest of the band playing their hearts out.
“A Beautiful Indifference” carried that sound that make me think of Thirty Seconds To Mars. Don’t worry folks, it is not bad at all and I think plenty of people will be thinking the same “Methadone” was another track that would slay during a arena show.
“Zero Visibility” sounded a little astray from the other tracks at the beginning but soon conformed with the rest. I liked the change ups throughout the track and especially the lyrics of defeat and victory. The last 1:30 minutes of the song was pretty bad ass too.
“People Live Here” was really a song of closure for me for another Rise Against track. For years, “Swing Life Away” haunted me as the song once was deemed “our song” between yours truly and someone that destroyed my heart. Even though I am over that part of my life, “Swing Life Away”, when heard, always seemed to try and cut open that healed wound. This track alone hit me in a good way and literally brought a smile to my face.
Rise Against have continually polished their sound making necessary changes that ultimately have resulted in maintaining and building upon their fan base. I know I said they sound more rock than punk earlier, but that is ok. They have not lost their sound at all and continue to prove to me they are a strong act with no intentions of slowing it down.
I will admit, when Rancid opened up for Rise Against in 2009, I was confused and felt it should have been the other way around. Years later Bad Religion did the same. It occurred to me though while Rancid and Bad Religion will always be two of my favorite bands, it is Rise Against’s time to shine and they deserve to be headliners. They have worked so hard and continue to impress this fan, that is a fact.
Having have the opportunity to have done volunteer work with 3/4 of the band, I know they are quality musicians and care about humanity almost more than touring. For more on that, check out my post I wrote up a few years back.
The Black Market is on sale at pretty much every record store and retail giant out there.
Power-pop, garage-punk rockers Low Culture and Needle//Pins have both been on my radar for a while now. When I heard that the two were putting together a split release, it just made complete sense.
