Cestine – Rugosa

April 24, 2015 • Hacktivism Records

Another followup EP this week: Cestine's Rugosa, a fantastic sequel to Other Half / Bright Encounter.

It's more of the same droning ambient, but again Cestine does it in a very effective way that few similar artists can do. While the music is relatively simple, it's produced in a way that is both engaging and relaxing. It has a hazy, fuzzy aesthetic created by huge, monolithic slabs of synth waves (or whatever they're using—it's always so hard to tell) and reverberation, layered up and sent cascading down. Although it's a bit slow-burning and takes its time getting the listener absorbed into it, if you have the patience for this sort of stuff it absolutely pays off—especially the EP's ending: a bittersweet string and wind ensemble over choppy bass rumbles and a bit of field recordings. A beautiful way to wrap up.

My only disappointment with it is that the tracks are far too short; three to five minutes is nowhere near long enough for this style of music, and that's something Other Half / Bright Encounter didn't have a problem with. On Rugosa the first three tracks seem like they're over before they've even started, and spooling them out to ten minutes or longer would have been simple. I could be very happy with these same four tracks in a longer album format.

Still, as they're presented they are wonderful to listen to and I'm glad I got this EP. Cestine (as a group) has sadly ended but hopefully the members' solo work can stay on the same level (I just have to remember to keep up with it!).

Inferni – The Doctor Is In

March 10, 2015 • self-released

Inferni is back with a slightly different name and a much different sound; though I've covered this band before they deserve a revisit after putting out this new release. They've ditched the old acoustic pop melodies for something more on the post-punk / emocore side. It may be my own genre bias talking, but I think the change suits them really well and this EP is a really great listen.

I'd call the music on this EP some kind of emo, but there are a lot of different influences getting mashed together here to pin it down well. However there is a sort of minimalist approach here which works very effectively—only one guitar keeps things from getting to messy, and the vocals are sparse to both draw attention to the music when needed, and to have a healthy emotional impact. But my favorite thing about these songs is that they have hit on just some really awesome riffs; my favorite is probably the progression in "Ondine's Curse", there's some great interplay between the choppy guitar playing and smooth bass on that track (although the arpeggios and such in "Stockholm Syndrome" are up there as well).

Among these five tracks there isn't a single weak one, and I'm personally really happy with this release. Maybe we can see another EP or even a full-length sometime in the future? hmmm? Anyway, definitely give The Doctor Is In a try. Great stuff.

Aziza + Extra Ears – Jack of Diamonds EP

October 11, 2014 • self-released

I've been vaguely aware of the tiny vaporwave scene that went on recently, but there's still so much I haven't really dug into. Jack of Diamonds doesn't go quite as far as the full-on retro-corporate-Muzak vibe, but that's the closest anchor point I'm getting when listening to this. It has more of a minimalist jazzy electronic sound, with just a few voices at a time playing some nice mellow swing rhythms and soft retro synth leads. It somehow feels old and new at the same time—which I suppose is how a lot of underground music is making its way recently.

I was kind of surprised at just how much is done with this single genre in just a half hour; each track does something a little different and interesting while still keeping the whole EP cohesive. It goes to a few extra-weird places with some dissonant noises and creepy sound effects, especially in the shorter tracks.

There may not be a whole lot of substance to this EP, but as far as something minimal and textural, it's quality stuff. The dated-yet-modern aesthetic is a trend that's probably not going to take off or ever do anything too terribly interesting, but the few releases (like this one) that I've heard have been enjoyable for what they are.

Rosary – #1

January 10, 2015 • self-released

Though I don't listen to it a whole lot, I do have a soft spot for minimalist melodic ambient, one of my favorite kinds of ambient thanks to things like Stars of the Lid and Music for Airports. Synthesized piano, some droning pads, just something to relax and zone out to. Rosary delivers just that, and for a debut EP it does a pretty decent job of it.

#1 has four bite-sized tracks of looping ambient. Though it's short, it does skirt the line of just the right amount of repetition; it's true that "Vein Drain" is nine minutes of the same eight-second loop but the way it's delivered, with the soft noises in the background, keeps it from getting tedious.

There isn't a ton to say about this little slice of music but I like what it's doing a lot so far. There is some room for improvement—I'd like to see maybe a bit more complexity and layering—but I can see a full-length in this style working well if it's fleshed-out enough. #1 is a fine start, though.

Shahman – Demise of a Body

October 16, 2014 • Dismal Niche Tapes

Usually I prefer to listen to (and review) music without too much unnecessary context, but Demise of a Body is one release where it adds a whole lot to the experience. These two tracks are more than just an EP—they're like an event, a service. The music is in tribute to the musicians' mother who had recently died, and they do a great job at conveying that.

There are two parts: The opener is a spoken poetry piece backed by some meandering '70s synth; nothing fancy but it serves as an excellent opener and really puts the listener in the right mood. But the real meat of the EP is the second track, which is this slow, plodding, minimalist doom-rock kind of thing; there's this nice tribal drumming and layers of good guitar work that just wash around each other in a very hypnotic way. I didn't listen to the album this way but I bet it would be excellent for one of those lights-out-nighttime-headphone sessions, just getting totally immersed in this music.

Of course it could all be that (as I've said before) I'm a huge fan of anything that's just devastatingly sad, and this is certainly up there with the saddest. The simple, pure, realness of the whole presentation really seals the deal. But even that aside it's still a great chunk of music, so go listen to it already.

Rosetta – Flies to Flame

October 14, 2014 • Translation Loss Records

If, like me, you've been following Rosetta's trajectory for the last almost-ten years since I first heard The Galilean Satellites, then I barely need to talk much about their last release on Translation Loss, Flies to Flame. Let me state off the bat: Yes, Rosetta is still a good band; yes, I still enjoy their music; yes, this EP is still good; yes, I bought the record. (Gotta have that green vinyl.) But since they are one of my top-favorites it's too easy to judge new material harshly, like I did with The Anaesthete, and it's tough to judge releases like this.

With that in mind: Every time I've listened to this EP, all I can think is "yep, just more Rosetta songs." And that's just what they are: the slow chord progressions, walls of echoing guitar washing off every surface, drumming that just can't go without filling every eighth note with something. I mean, yes, obviously I like it. But they've got thirty other songs that sound just like it! (The guitar-drone-only "Seven Years..." is a bit unique for the band as far as I can tell, for what it's worth.)

The EP does have a very soft sound, though, especially compared to the metal juggernaut that The Anaesthete was—seriously, listen to these back-to-back; it's like getting punched. So for anyone who does dig Rosetta when they're a bit more quiet and introspective is going to enjoy this. I won't say it's my favorite of their styles, but they are still quite good at it.

But I have to say I'm still excited for the band. They've got that new documentary out (hopefully there'll be a piece on that here soon), and self-funding seems to be working out well so far, so it'll be neat to find out where things go from here. Flies to Flame is a fitting goodbye to their old label and their old ways; let's just see what comes next.

Ando Laj – Miriam Transmission

November 30, 2014 • Hacktivism Records

I love when this kind of music drops in my lap. There's just too much electronic music out there, and so many kinds, that I'm usually too overwhelmed to be good at finding something I like. Thankfully I got a hold of Ando Laj's EP Miriam Transmission and I'm hooked. It combines a kind of minimalist-IDM-slash-techno with a touch of ambient droning in a way that is just right, except for the fact that there simply isn't quite enough of it here.

On the whole, this EP has a bit of a pseudo-retro feel to it—it's not full-on vaporwave or anything, but it has a soft, floaty, atmosphere to it thanks to some dreamy synthesizers, cut-up sampling, soft static... Like twenty minutes after the rainstorm in Blade Runner clears up. I really like, for instance, the echoing industrial feel of the drums and low synth melody in "Convalescence"—very '90s throwback without actually feeling dated.

The atmospherics and texture are one of the release's strongest point. While the skittery beats and melodies are definitely great, the backing noises are exquisite. I'd probably say that my biggest complaint about this EP is that it just needs more of that delicious drone! Two- to five-minute track lengths don't feel long enough to really nail that aesthetic down and for me to get truly lost in the music. That said, it does complement the more heavy IDM stuff well, and I definitely appreciate that.

Anyway, it's obviously an EP worth listening to, and fortunately for me there's quite a bit more at the website to dig into. It looks like there's even a bit of long-form ambient stuff. Awesome.

Terminus Cursus – 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6

November 26, 2014 • Bridgetown Records

More good stuff from the always-on-top Bridgetown Records today: another little-known but well-deserving band with a new EP out delivering a neat take on rock that, while not perfect, shows a lot of promise.

The EP starts off as something like minimalist psychedelic post-punk—simplistic drum patterns, wailing electric guitar, wavering warbly anguished vocals, all drenched in a thick, sopping blanket of reverberation. As the songs go by, they transform from something a bit Joy Division-esque to add a bit of Wire, and we eventually wind up in this weird land of freakout-punk before heading back to where we started, more or less. It's a weird ride and, although it's a short one at only five songs, it's still pretty interesting and Terminus Cursus shows they have a nicely diverse set of skills to show off.

On the whole, there's some of 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 I like and some I don't. They do have a really good handle on balancing the faster / punkier songs with the slower post-punk ones; at no point does the EP feel very repetitive or rehashed. (Of course, it's not very long either, so that helps.) On the other hand, their actual production style feels a bit uncomfortable—particularly the bizarre vocals, which often have the weird warbly effect on them I mentioned earlier. I guess it kind of fits the overall aesthetic and it is a pretty unique element, but I am not really a fan.

On the whole, though, I think this EP is pretty neat. At the very least, it's definitely something different which is good enough for me. Looking forward to the next output from this band.

Like Pigs on Embers – Demo 2014

Julu 23, 2014 • self-released

Another hardcore punk demo today, this one from France's Like Pigs on Embers. To be honest, I'm a bit ambivalent about it, but at the same time I'm still not a huge fan of modern crusty metallic hardcore in general, so take this review with a grain of salt.

The songs have a relatively modern-sounding hardcore punk style, with less of the pure aggravated fury and a little more introspection, with an overall slower chugging slam sound. The riffs themselves are usually of the old-school three-chord variety—simple, but they get the job done. Of course there's still intensity as it is needed, with some blasting and chaotic fast riffs, and I have to admit that these sections (such as most of "Peacefull Knight") are when the band is at its most interesting. On the other hand, this kind of variety is sorely lacking in a lot of hardcore, so I can't really complain.

So I'd say Like Pigs on Embers isn't totally unique or groundbreaking or anything like that, but they're not bad and the demo is certainly worth a listen if you're into this kind of music (at least a little bit).

Atif X Aslam – Lund Na Khao

November 14, 2014 • self-released

I barely have time to write anything as this seventy-two-second EP blitzes by, but I think this might actually be my first time hearing a band out of Pakistan (they're from India too but that's a tiny bit more common in my experience). Admittedly, there isn't anything particularly south-Asian about this band's sound that I noticed, but it's a good sound—the sort of raw, underground, DIY punk ethos applied to some hard-hitting powerviolence. Special mention goes to the excellent drumming; it's technically impressive and does a great job of gluing up the guitar and vocals.

There's really not much to say about this band yet with just this EP, but I'd definitely be interested in some more stuff. Keep it up!

Bastos / Pandrea – Split

September 24, 2014 • Fading Halo Records

This is a quick split single from two Romanian bands—a country I almost never hear anything from, so it's pretty neat to get a hold of this.

Bastos plays mostly-instrumental math rock that's a bit on the heavier side, like a tamer 65daysofstatic without the electronics. Pandrea is similar, but a bit more grungy-alt-rock with this odd jaunty sort of very-Eastern-European vibe going on under the hood. It's a nice pairing, although I have to say personally Bastos is the more appealing band to me—they both have their charms, though.

Without substantial vocals, there's a bit of a lacking feeling on these tracks. They're definitely off to a great start, but I think to truly come into their own there's a bit more fleshing-out to be done. I won't say adding vocals is definitely the way to go, however.

Either way, this is definitely a neat little split with two bands that are worth checking out.

Remote Outposts – Sounds of the Mission

December 26, 2012 • self-released

I'm a huge fan of field recordings, and that's a kind of sound art that I don't really listen to nearly as much as I should. So I thought I'd plug this little release by punk and DIY blog Remote Outposts. It's a recording of eight blocks of Mission Street in San Francisco. I love the sounds of city life and this little jaunt is a very vibrant sample of such. Street vendors, snippets of Spanish, bits of diegetic music, kids playing in the street, and of course plenty of traffic.

I love cities and even though I live in a pretty big one myself, I don't get to actually walk around and take it in too often—and even when I do, it doesn't sound much like this. And sometimes it becomes a little game to try and guess what various sounds and vehicles are. A very interesting and relaxing recording.

Original article + download

7 Inch Grab Bag, part 3

In case you missed my recent haul post, I got a grab bag of ten randomly-selected 7" records. Here are my thoughts on the final four!

Bevil Web / 3 Dream Bag – Split

1995 • Simple Solution Records

Lo-fi rock from the hazy days of the mid-'90s. It's a bit too slow and uninteresting for me, though I have to admit Bevil Web can gloom it up with the best of them. It just feels a bit too sloppy and unrefined to really be of any excitement. Both bands are basically the same thing, though 3 Dream Bag is a bit more acoustic and nasally. Neither are really that great. Oh well.

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Destroy! – Burn This Racist System Down!

1992 • Havoc Records

Yes, finally, more grindcore! This is old-school stuff, too, from the early '90s. Songs are short, to-the-point, growly, razor-sharp; there's also a couple really long meandering ones in there too which is interesting. It's hard to expand much on what makes a grind EP good, so just take my word for it that these guys had their stuff down. Totally recommended (just don't cut yourself on those edgy lyrics...).

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Digression – Controlled

1996 • Surprise Attack Records

Early metalcore, and a very kind of primal version at that. Very aggressive, lots of chugging breakdowns, but also with this lo-fi punk aesthetic. It's probably not something anyone would consider "good" from a purely artistic standpoint but it's interesting to me because, for all the awful DIY punk I hear, I never have really heard any DIY metalcore, and it feels unique just for that. But that's just me, and this still isn't that great. Maybe. "Diary" is pretty good.

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Love + Respect – Deep + Heartfelt

1989 • Penultimate Records

I still don't like garage punk and I don't really like Love + Respect, but there's definitely worse out there. I don't like how most of it is just kind of dumb; I guess Love + Respect is at least tongue-in-cheek about it but that doesn't help that much. The music is just too simple-sounding to hold my interest. I dunno. At least "If I Only Had a Brain" has this neat noise rock thing going on that is a bit different from the rest of the tracks; I like that one.

7 Inch Grab Bag, part 2

In case you missed my recent haul post, I got a grab bag of ten randomly-selected 7" records. Here are my thoughts on the next three!

Humanbodyflawed / The Jan-Michael Vincent Car Crash – Split

2001 • Obtuse Mule

Grind! Grind! Grind! At least I think that's what's going on with the Jan-Michael Vincent Car Crash. It's crazy, technical, mathy stuff, and a great big mess of it. Weird growly bass, oppressive angular guitar, muffled screams make for a bizarre and alienating listen. Humanbodyflawed is similar but, somehow, even weirder; the extra guitar fuzz tries to mask some truly strange musical forays that go from Dillinger Escape Plan to Pig Destroyer to god knows what. This is an EP worth seeking out, for sure.

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Big Meat – Botulism

2003 • Sit on My 2-Faced Bitch Records

Not sure what I'd say this is. Hard rock with a punk edge? Garage rock, maybe? Probably. Anyway, I'm not totally thrilled by it, though it's not awful. Just kind of generic aggressive rock, very indicative of its time (early 2000s). Worth one listen, and then I forgot all about it. "Thundercleese" is a little catchy, though.

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Play Your Own Theme Song

1999 • Mortville Records

I hate reviewing splits, but at least this one has the unique premise that all four bands are recording theme songs for themselves. Kinda neat, kinda silly.

• The Chumps – Awful garage rock. Cheesy, unoriginal music, bad vocals, goes on way too long. Not even worth thinking about. Please move on.
• The Commies – Snarly pop-punk kind of stuff, a big anthemic song. Also cheesy but at least they seem to know it.
• Los Tigres Guapos – Something like horror punk maybe? It's also a little silly but these guys are actually kind of good. Not much to say about a one-minute track, though.
• Reclusives – More straightforward old-school hardcore punkabilly. I'm not a huge fan, but I can tell they're not a bad band.

7 Inch Grab Bag, part 1

In case you missed my recent haul post, I got a grab bag of ten randomly-selected 7" records. Here are my thoughts on the first three!

Medicine Man – Céad Míle Fáilte

1993 • Thrashing Mad

I wasn't expecting this at all. From the cover, it looks like some kind of cheesy folk rock, but in reality it's more like old-school hardcore punk, Minor Threat style, with a bit of a hard rock / heavy metal feel at times and not-very-good vocals. The riffs are a bit dissonant and not particularly memorable, but there's some really nice bass work going on. All in all, I kinda like it. Not something I can see myself getting super into, but it's pretty good stuff.

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The Rumour – Frozen Years / All Fall Down

1979 • Stiff Records

Cheesy '70s pop/rock, as I had suspected. Sort of an XTC feel with the spacey synthesizers and acoustic guitars, but not as carefully composed or expressive and it's a bit too repetitive for me. The B-side "All Fall Down" is definitely a bit better with an interesting dub feel, but it quickly gets too silly. Nice guitar soloing, though.

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DCOi! – DCOi

2008 • xTruex Records

Nice and crusty! Fast, modern-sounding west coast punk (well, it was 2008), and it's some really good catchy stuff, switching between noisy blasting and crunchy, driving rhythms. I won't say it's the best modern hardcore I've heard and they're certainly not unique or anything, but it certainly gets the job done well for when you're in the mood to break stuff.

Anger House – Asleep

June 3, 2014 • Happy Ass Records

I've reviewed Anger House here before; see my review of Loss for a good overview. Their brand of old-school emocore harkens back to the D.C. school of Rites of Spring and their peers and I love how they're doing it. Asleep is essentially just more of the same, so there really isn't a whole lot for me to say about the EP. But in no way do I see this as a bad thing. "Devotion" is probably their best song yet and one of the best post-hardcore songs I've heard in a long time. They are very consistently putting out good material, and I basically just wanted to put out yet another good word for them. So go listen!

Lobby Boxer – Lobby Boxer

May 16, 2014 • self-released

I haven't written any new emo reviews in a while (okay, any reviews, for that matter), and since there have been a million of these bands crawling out of the woodwork there certainly hasn't been a shortage of good stuff to recommend.

Lobby Boxer takes the midwest-emo-revival sound and puts a slightly more aggressive pop-punk sound on top, a style which I've noticed is gaining a bit of traction lately. I won't say they do it the best of any band I've heard, but they definitely are doing it well. The songs have a very natural ebb and flow to them, back and forth from stomping start-stop rhythms to calmer introspective textures. And they can get heavy, too—that last track "Fragile Girl" is a real pounder. The level of dynamics is pretty impressive.

Special shout-out to the bass guitar player; there are some surprisingly detailed lines going on there that really help give the music a unique sound.

Anyway, yeah, another band to keep an eye on. Might as well give it a spin if it sounds even remotely interesting—hard to beat that download price.

Mason Mercer – Slobber

June 6, 2014 • self-released

Just a quick review today of a little EP that was recommended to me: Slobber is some kind of island neo-psychedelic art rock trip, with driving acoustic guitars in front of huge industrial drumming. It has this very ethereal and dreamy sound, helped by its clever use of samples and huge variety of different instrumental voices. It sounds pretty dense at times but never overbearing. When it's not so dreamy, it has some really great rhythms, (especially in "Scrappy Doo"); I've rarely heard acoustic guitar sound quite so heavy.

It's a bit repetitive and all the songs are pretty much the same (although "The Water Helps" has this really cool heavy rhythm in it about halfway through), but there's clearly a lot of production talent here regardless. Definitely an EP worth a couple spins. I'd be interested in something a little more full-featured.

Danny Spiteri – Crea Island

April 24, 2014 • Cridius Collective

I don't know if I've gotten too predictable lately or everyone I talk to is incredibly good, but either way the recommendations I've been getting lately have all been spot-on. Today's suggestion is a wonderful (and unfortunately short) trip through seven electronic / downtempo / plunderphonics tracks that have a fantastic atmosphere and surprising depth.

Crea Island is, at its core, very simple electronic music, but it has a lot attached to it to give it a great feel and experience. There is a slight vintage aesthetic to it, kind of like a cheesy soundtrack to some low-budget tape from the '80s, but without the actual cheesiness and bad production. It has those same warm synthesizers, echoing arpeggiating melodies, and Casio drums, entwined with plenty of samples and noises and textures that give it a kind of laid-back colorful tropical feel to it (which I surprisingly really enjoy) (also, is that Katamari Damacy I hear in that last track??). It's very atmospheric and ambient, with a soundscape sort of feel to it rather than distinct songs. The whole experience just has a very honest and simple and welcoming feel to it. It's so easy to just put on and totally get lost in.

It's a pretty simple premise so there's not much to elaborate on in a review like this, so all I'll say is that it's absolutely worth listening to and I'm intrigued enough to check out the rest of Danny's material. Very nice job.

Alpha – Burn Down Your Neighborhood

May 16, 2014 • self-released

Alpha delivers the kind of punk that's more in line with the old-school approach of doing whatever you want, as long as it feels right. It's not the pretty, slicked-up hardcore we get these days—which can still be good in its own way, but I still enjoy this kind of stripped-down DIY punk and I'm glad it's still popular enough nowadays. Burn Down Your Neighborhood (great title, by the way) feels like it should be playing on a ratty old cassette tape in a basement party.

Anyway, the music: there's a mix of traditional '80s-style punk, some high-speed powerviolence, some crusty chugging breakdowns, raw screaming vocals, and lots of screeching feedback. Just about everything you need in minimalist punk, and nothing more.

Alpha might be a bit too oddball for this release to be something that will top my 2014 charts but for right now it's really hitting the spot.

(And yes, if you want it to be, anything can be an instrument. Even mayonnaise.)