V/A - Triad

Label: Neurot
Year: 2006

Three bands, with two songs apiece, it's on Neurot, from 2006, and you're dealing with musicians who like to stretch out and get weird. Post hardcore, space rock, post-Neurosis, post-Swans kind of weird. Expansive and creepy and sometimes peaceful but at other times abrasive. Right?
The bands are:
Red Sparowes - members of Mustard Gas & Roses, Neurosis, A Storm Of Light, Blood & Time, Battle Of Mice (hey! wait a minute...), Isis, The Gersch, Palms, Windmills By The Ocean, Angel Hair, Slaves, The VSS, Pleasure Forever, and a bunch more. They are big, sprawling, instrumental post-metal that shows its Isis roots.

Battle Of Mice - members of Made Out Of Babies (what the?!), Red Sparowes (c'mon now...), Glazed Baby, Chilmark, Shiner, Book Of Knots, J.J. Paradise Players Club, Red Krayola, Pere Ubu, and again, and million more. Julie Christmas fronted sneak and lurch post metal that fit right in to this particular time and place in the music world.

Made Out Of Babies - members of...well, a lot of the same, but add in Unsane and Bad Powers, and that'll about cover it. Another Julie Christmas lead joint, and this time less Neurosis and more noise rock. My personal favorite of the three bands represented. If that does anything for you.

DL

Todd- Vvitch

Label: Riot Season
Year: 2005

Four songs at 45 rpm, in an edition of 500, and...poof....gone.
But in the roughly eight minutes you are allowed, Todd is going to take you by the scruff and lower your tender parts onto a belt sander just to watch you squirm.
They go from blasting, borderline industrial grind to a droning sludge plod without thinking twice about the ramifications to your psyche. Complete noise overload to destroy your ears.
Would you have it any other way?
Loudly please.

*originally posted 10.20.15, reposted 02.27.19

DL

Sunset On Tokyo - Demo 1997

Label: self released
Year: 1997

Reverse forensic detective work! Came across this one on the ole computer (aka "Big Phone") a couple days ago, and for the life of me could not remember what it is. Or was. Googling the phrase "Sunset On Tokyo" is frustratingly obvious in its resulting imagery of beautiful twilight photographs over the skyline of...you guessed it...Tokyo Japan. Even adding the words "band", or "demo 1997" did nothing to narrow the search.
So, I got real smart, and I thought, "I'll LISTEN to the files, and maybe that will give me some clue. Or at least give me reason to delete this thing off the computer (a constant chore)". And you know what? That's exactly what I did.
Thirty seconds in, and it was obvious that what we were dealing with was a Jonathan Rothman related project of some sort another. An self-respecting Car Vs Driver fan worth their salt could i.d. that guitar style from fifty paces. The first of the four songs on this demo sounds like it absolutely could have been a lost Car Vs Driver song, which in my book, is a goddamn good thing.
Well now, if you're digging for dirt on any ephemera even tangentially smelling like mid-90's Atlanta emo, then you're wasting your time if you aren't dialing up James Joyce's (yes, THEE James Joyce), dare I say, obsessive Beyond Failure blog. It's the internet's premiere repository for useful Atlanta-centric music knowledge circa 1989-1999(ish). Possibly the internet's only repository for such information.
And wouldn't you know it? Mystery fucking solved! Sunset On Tokyo was in fact the band Jonathan Rothman formed after moving away from Atlanta, and his former band Car Vs Driver. This demo is all they recorded, but if you are a fan of Jon's work in CVD (and you should be) then this is more than just a "lost relic". In the vein of good emo, before you couldn't even say "emo" without shaking your head in disgust. Real deal, emotive post hardcore.

For your viewing pleasure, please enjoy this photo of a Sunset On Tokyo.

DL

King Fu - Cobracadabra

Label: self released
Year: 2017

Chalk this up to: "you should check your messages more often". Back in August of 2017 the band sent this to our attention asking for a general opinion, and we (I mean, "we" is "me", but I am using the royal We in order to obfuscate and confuse) agreed to do just that.
And where does the time go?
A year and a half later...here we are.
Sorry King Fu, that was very rude of we. Me.
The band is from Belgium, where I am certain folks are more polite about their correspondence and record keeping. They play an amalgam of sort of murky, jangly garage rock with 90's grungy alternative rock, and 90's noise rock grim mixed in to keep it honest. So, it's catchy, but the bassist hits the distortion and takes the low end into overdrive to keep it from being "too catchy". Seems to work out pretty well. I enjoy it. But...it's been established that I have terrible manners, so take that into consideration. From an inconsiderate person. Me. We.

DL

Brain Banger - Yellow Belly

Label: Hawthorne Street
Year: 2008

You know that scene in that one movie where that one actress (I believe it's Angela Bassett...although it could be Angela Lansbury...I'm terrible with names) burns a bunch of her (ex?)husband's shit by walking away from the pile and casually throwing a lit cigarette over her shoulder to ignite the pyre? Remember?
Yeah, well, that's me in relation to this past work week. Fucking nonstop deadlines and headaches. So I'm all "fierce" and shit tossing my smoke into a pile of completed projects. Except I'm doing it in slow motion! (which, to be fair, might have been the way the movie was shot as well...truth be told, I never actually saw it, and I'm not 100% sure it even exists). And Brain Banger is the soundtrack to my triumphant "fuck you"!
Louisville noise rock of the highest order, with personnel from Young Widows, Black Cross, Lords, and Breather Resist. Perfect for your own triumphant "fuck you". Go out to today and give someone special the "fuck you" they deserve.

*Originally posted 10.23.15, reposted 02.11.19

DL

Antioch Arrow - In Love With Jetts

Label: Gravity
Year: 1993

Back from vacation in the mountains. No bear sightings, though my parents had three in their driveway Saturday morning. I saw a single turkey, that was about it. A single turkey and a metric ton of beers.
Glad to be back, thanks.
Do you remember when this record was exciting? It came out on the heels of Antioch Arrow's really super great debut 12", and there was a lot of new energy coming out of San Diego. A lot of crazy chaotic energy that was giving hardcore a shot in the arm. So, I was ready to go all in on Antioch Arrow when this second 12" came out. All in. Full on Kenny Rogers in the 'Gambler' type shit.
Do you also remember hearing this record the first time and thinking, "hmmmm....do I like this? Wait a minute, was that a keyboard?!"? That ring a bell? It was confusing. A confusing time to be sure, but this particular record started a shift in the cosmos that I'm not sure I fully followed. It was the stepping stone away from the frantic slash and burn hardcore and a step towards the black and gloomy post punk posturing. Which, to be fair, was at least a new tact, and in some cases came off well. But in a lot of cases....not so much.
Do you remember me asking you if this record has stood the test of time? Cause I did. Just now in fact.
Did it? Honestly asking.

*Originally posted 10.13.15, reposted 02.04.19

DL