Chune - Nine Ways To Sunday

Label: Headhunter
Year: 1995

Nineties emo (a la Boys Life) meets nineties San Diego post hardcore (a la Drive Like Jehu). Chune were contemporaries of bands like Drive Like Jehu, Tanner, fluf, Boilermaker, and No Knife in the San Diego scene, they did a split with Garden Variety, they put out records on subsidiaries of Cargo, and they weren't afraid to let their songs "jam" a bit.
If you are of a certain age, or a big enough music nerd, then that is all you need to know.

DL

Kepone - Skin

Label: Quarterstick
Year: 1994

This one was requested a long time ago after posting the first and last Kepone albums. I believe it was referred to as the "good one", maybe even by THEE James Joyce himself.
Like all other output from the Kepone camp, I would call this one "spotty", with some very high highs, and some...regrettable...lows. There is a lot of  grungy alt-rock style 90's stuff floating around on here, some Fluid style, some Mudhoney style, some Gruntruck style...those types of styles. There's a little bit of SST vs. Alternative Tentacles influenced noise rock as well, if that means anything.
I would again ascertain that Best Of Kepone could be a pretty great album, but quality control and editing was not their strong suit.

DL

Rational Animals - Bock Rock Parade

Label: Katorga Works
Year: 2011

Something about this band seems Australian circa 1987, as if they would have been playing shows there with Thug, Beasts Of Bourbon, and Feedtime, as opposed to actually being a band out of Rochester, N.Y. circa now, who would probably rather be pummeling through a basement hardcore show. But that's just the way the world works sometimes.
Sounds like D.O.A. as played by Pissed Jeans. Good? Yes.

DL

Dead And Gone - God Loves Everyone But You

Label: Alternative Tentacles
Year: 1997

A lost gem. (old) Neurosis + Cop Shoot Cop + Loudspeaker + Christian Death = Dead And Gone.
This was their last record prior to changing their name (and lead vocal duties) to Creeps On Candy, only to change it all back to Dead And Gone in 2000. Makes sense.
The world needs more of this.

DL

Author & Punisher - Ursus Americanus

Label: Seventh Rule
Year: 2012

Remember just a minute ago when I said I didn't want to make a habit out of linking to Bandcamp sites? Well, I didn't really keep me word. Apologies.
The thing is though, this record, and this "band" (not the right word, I know), are doing something so fucking incredible right now that you absolutely have to hear it, and support this innovative approach to making music by purchasing it. Crapping you negative, this is an ESSENTIAL purchase.
I will freely admit to being late to the Author & Punisher party, I had never heard of him until reading a review of this new album, and more importantly seeing video of Tristan Shone, the sole "member" of Author & Punisher in action. But that first video was mesmerizing to me, and since then I've tracked down everything I can find and watch of his works.
Short version of the story: metalhead guy is really smart, gets engineering degree, plays in metal bands, gets job in highly specialized technology lab, burns out on it, burns out on playing in metal bands, has opportunity to assist former professor/artist with installation in Finland, light bulb goes off that he can mere his two passions of music and engineering, begins fabricating instruments out of high grade materials in an effort to make "nasty bass tones", those machines evolve and make nastier and nastier bass tones, there is no need for traditional instrumentation, man and machine.
The easy version of the story is: if you like Godflesh, Sunn, Big Black, Skinny Puppy, Killing Joke, or the "drop" noises in a dubstep song, then you will eat this record up.
If you enjoy music that is both visceral and unique, then you will eat this record up. Promise.

DL

Sofy Major + Membrane - Split 12"

Label: Bigout
Year: 2012

I'm not trying to make a habit out of linking to Bandcamp sites, but as you well know, I don't condone pirating music, and when a band is out there busting their asses putting out records, touring, and giving it their all, and their music is as good as this, then I gotta send you to the source. Hopefully, you'll agree, you'll buy the record, and they will retire to mansions in the south of Spain, fanned to sleep in the soft Mediterranean breeze by olive-skinned beauties. That's my hope.
Sofy Major play the kind of really heavy noise rock I can't get enough of, the kind with elements of JJ Paradise Players Club, La Gritona, 16, Unsane, and Deadguy. They live on the border of hardcore, sludge, and noise rock, you know, not the nicest neighborhood, low resale values, and shitty public schools, but a raging block party every year.
Membrane bring more of the same, a suffocatingly hot blanket thrown over your head, followed by a barrage of blows raining down on you, coming from every direction. Are those fists? Was that a pipe? A bat?
Go listen, then go buy.

DL

Rights Reserved - Rights Reserved 12"

Label: Assorted Porkchops
Year: 1996

The Late Bloomer demo (and more specifically the Scout talk) might have opened the floodgates to some mid-90's southeastern emo. Not sure yet, but this Rights Reserved 12" certainly gets the ball rolling in the right direction.
Rights Reserved were in the same little scene as Tonka, Unherd, Cornelius, Assfactor 4, Bedlam Hour, and later Eagle Bravo (next door neighbors to the little scene that had In/Humanity, Antischism, Initial State, Unpersons, and those types). It was a scene based in the college towns of North and South Carolina, that took the O.G.D.C. (Original Gansta District of Columbia...duh) emo sound and started tweaking it. They added noise, spastic freak-outs, math rock stutters, and straight hardcore muscle. Each band was a little different, but they all were pushing their music further out into new territory, each release was better than the last.
In particular, Rights Reserved were specialists in taking punchy, melodic hardcore, and layering on what were new emo stylings of the day; some big dynamics, some messy indie rock (they were from the Research Triangle area after all, so Polvo, Superchunck, Archers Of Loaf, and all them were right there), and luckily none of the squealing, roll-on-the-floor histrionics of some of their contemporaries.
Essential.

DL

Late Bloomer - Demo

Label: Self Released
Year: 2012

When someone says "ex-Scout" around here, it certainly gets more attention than maybe it does in 99.9% of the other households in America. Scott Wishart of Scout fame, Ostinato Grove fame, Such As fame, one half of the good-timin' Wishart brothers, Lunchbox Records honcho, and all around nice enough fellow, was a fixture in the Atlanta punk/hardcore music scene as I entered it (from the rear of course) in my early 90's college days. I was a a fan of his band Scout, and their mathy/emo/rock records, and then he started going into deeper mathy/indie territory, before ultimately going completely off the deep end and moving to South Carolina (the shittiest of all Carolinas). I will say, he eventually wised up and moved to the superior Carolina, North Carolina, where today he operates Lunchbox Records, and has had his hand (consonance!) in some fantastic releases from Atlanta's past (Car vs Driver, Fiddlehead, Scout, Inkwell, Hal al Shedad, etc), and Charlotte's present (Grids, Meth Mountain, etc.).
That aside, Scott is still playing drums, and most recently in this three piece throwback to the glory days of North Carolina indie rock. All ragged, and earnest, and catchy, the way they used to do it around Chapel Hill.

DL 

Noxagt - Peel Session - 07-14-04

Label: Bootleg
Year: 2004

The original three piece lineup (no to be confused with the original one piece lineup that predated it), captured by John Peel while on a European tour in 2004. Drums, bass, and viola...yes, viola that churn up a moody sludgy mix of Lightning Bolt meets Guapo meets Totimoshi. No vocals, if that bums you out, I don't know.
Highly recommended.
It might help lift your spirits after a disappointing Manchester Derby this morning.

*Originally posted 04-16-11 , re-up'd 05-08-12
DL

Polvo - Peel Session - 02-07-93

Label: Bootleg

Year: 1993

Polvo did two Peel Sessions, one in 1992, and this one, recorded February 7th, 1993. I don't have the other one, otherwise I would have made this post the ole' Two-fer Tuesday style, but alas...it is the crappier One-fer version. A thousand apologies.

This particular session is pretty weird, even by Polvo standards, and the songs are coated in a pretty thick sheen of guitar noise, sometimes to the point of, "oh, wait a minute...I know this song" a minute or two into the song. I think that's a lot cooler than just playing 'em straight though, and it makes this a worthwhile listen in and of itself. And by the way, that photo up there actually is Polvo sitting in a boat. Google image search...I love you.

Just as a sidebar though, there are a lot of requests being posted in that dialog thing over there on the right of the screen, and that's fine, in fact keep them coming because it sometimes jogs my memory about something I haven't listened to in awhile, but, make sure you also check the search function in the upper left hand corner of the page. Some of the stuff being requested has already been posted back in time somewhere. Also, if a link is broken on one of the old posts, it's better to mention it in the dialogue box rather then in the comments of the original post, as I (speaking for myself here) don't make it a habit to go back many months to look for new comments on old posts, so if it's there, it may never get seen, or at least not in any timely sort of manner. Cool?

Alright, that'll do for this evening.

* Re-up'd 05-02-12

DL