Chumbawamba – Tubthumper

September 23, 1997 • Universal Music

This is totally going to date me, but anyway: As you may remember, "Tubthumping" was a huge radio hit in 1997 in the US. I was eight years old and thought (for some reason) that it was the greatest thing that I had ever heard; my parents then bought this album, which was the first CD I ever personally owned. (In a disgustingly-romantic coincidence, it's also the first CD my girlfriend ever owned.) And, like most of the one-hit-wonders of the '90s, the album is unfortunately mostly forgettable—but not for me, as a nice little slice of my childhood.

What most people probably wouldn't guess is that the album isn't full of cheesy dance-pop anthems. Sure, there are a couple other ones and they are equally silly and kind of dumb. But buried in the middle of the album there are some actually-good songs, notably "The Good Ship Lifestyle" (by far my favorite) and "I Want More". And just about every other track, while certainly flawed, have a few little bits and pieces that are worth listening to. Many songs have little intros or outros of wildly different genres or with neat samples, which go a surprisingly long way to keeping the listening experience more interesting.

Unfortunately, most of the songs really aren't very good. Maybe I'm too acclimated to all of it, but just about every track has some aspect (if not the whole thing) which is just a bit too cloying or silly. Maybe it's something you have to be in the right mood for; generally I'm not in the mood for this kind of dance-pop.

I won't say this is necessarily a good album, or one that people should listen to even if they were into "Tubthumping" back in the day. On the whole, it's not particularly noteworthy or even listenable. I'll still take two or three tracks, but that's not a very good percentage.

The Church, The Sharp Things

March 7, 2015 • The Grog Shop, Cleveland, Ohio

A trip up to Cleveland with the SO + her family, to finally go to a venue I almost went to ten years ago to see Isis (but didn't because I was a minor). It's actually a pretty nice place—at least, a step up (albeit a small one) from most of the dingy bars I go to in Columbus. I guess The Church is one of the most well-known acts I've seen in a long, long time, so it's somewhat fitting. Although they also sell out huge venues like the Opera House in Australia, so what do I know.

The Sharp Things

I'd never heard of this band before and after today I'll probably never think about them again. They're supposed to be some kind of big chamber pop / pop-rock group, but at this show there were just two guys, one on bass and one singing and on guitar or piano. They played incredibly generic pop ballads, I think; I barely remember because it was just so forgettable.

The Church

For a band who I really haven't heard much of (one album off-and-on a while ago) and a I was pleasantly surprised by this show. As I often forget, with concerts what matters usually isn't what you play but rather how you play it, and even though I'm pretty ambivalent about their studio work I thought the show was done very well. For a bunch of old dudes they actually do still rock sufficiently. I didn't recognize most of the songs they played (I knew three out of about fifteen) but most of them were still fun to watch in their own way. They tended to go off on extended post-psych jam sessions at the end of some songs which usually wound up working really well, though it sometimes seemed to clash with their poppier tunes a little. On the other hand the mix of styles, old and new, helped keep the long show from getting stale too fast (though I was ready to go home about five songs before they stopped, but I was pretty tired anyway). Some enjoyable banter from Steve Kilbey helped keep things light too. All in all, enjoyable stuff; I'm glad I went.

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.

Torche, Broughton's Rules, Maranatha

September 23, 2014 • Ace of Cups, Columbus, Ohio

Finally! It feels like ages since the last concert I went to (okay it was only July, but still). Back at good old Ace of Cups, where everything is always amazing.

Maranatha

A local band who I'd never heard of but they instantly impressed me. They are a really heavy style of sludgecore, with some brutal dropped-tuning chugging, some hardcore rhythms, and even a little bit of death metal sprinkled in here and there. Definitely one of the best examples of the genre I've witnessed so far—I won't say they quite touch Struck by Lightning (not that they're trying to), but they were still impressive enough for me to pick up their EP (which is free to download by the way). Cool dudes, cool show.

Broughton's Rules

I'd never heard of this band either, but one of the guitarists used to be in Don Caballero, so they oughta be good, right? Nah, not really. They were this kind of odd psychedelic instrumental post-metal thing, with lots of jamming on a single section with lots of dissonant noisy guitar bits and the occasional heavy riff. There is a bit of promising material buried somewhere in there, but the rocking out never lasted very long and they spent more time goofing around with the awful noise than actually playing. They weren't bad, but they definitely weren't the kind of band I'd seek out or ever listen to again.

Torche

I've already written plenty about Torche, including a live show two years ago, their last album, and various Floor stuff. So it should be no surprise that I was psyched to see them again and that I had an excellent time—they were easily better than when I saw them supporting Converge in 2012. I suppose that's partly because I've had more time to get to know Harmonicraft, so everything they played was familiar to me. But they also simply just put on a damn good show. It always warms my cold heart to see Steve Brooks dancing around in a very silly manner when starting off a song. You can tell they were all still so happy to be there and play. Absolutely worth checking out whenever they're around.

Boris – Noise

June 17, 2014 • Sargent House

Boris has gotten a bit of a bad rap lately. And I can understand it—a string of less-than-exciting albums in 2011 and the stinker that was Präparat last year would be enough to put most people off. And I'll admit I had pretty low expectations for Noise—which is probably why I'm not feeling particularly disappointed with it yet. It's not great, not by a long shot, and it has its share of problems, but I'll take it for now.

Sound-wise, no surprises whatsoever: we still have Boris' standard alternative/stoner metal sound for half the tracks, some kind of post-rock thing for the other half, and remnants of that J-pop melodicism from a few years ago still hanging around. It's kind of like Präparat version 2, one of those mixed-bag albums where every track is a bit different and Boris still seems to be playing around with a lot of different styles because they can't decide on one consistent sound for one album, without really trying to nail the songwriting. At least this time they seem to be a little bit more focused than the last album.

But at the same time they still pull out some really awesome stuff now and again, and there are some moments on this album that make it worth listening to at least once. "Vanilla" has these really short sections where they transition into this super-atmospheric sludgy thing and it's fantastic. The slower post-rock-ish songs and doomy ones like "Heavy Rain" and "Angel" are pretty good as well—they are still pretty good at creating those kind of slow, jamming, crushingly heavy tracks. It's just a bit jarring when they move from one of those straight into something light and poppy like "Taiyo no Baka"; it feels so wrong.

All in all, handful of good riffs, lots of good atmosphere, but not a lot in the way of really great songs. It still feels like they're just going through the motions and I'm not sure if they'll ever put out something truly great again. Or maybe it's just that I really don't like the J-pop influence that creeps in where it doesn't belong. In short, probably exactly what I should have expected. If I didn't always listen to albums in full, this is one that would get severely edited in my library, but it'd still keep a few songs.

Reighnbeau – Hands

May 1, 2014 • Bridgetown Records

What a difference two years can make. Okay, so Reighnbeau really isn't that different from when they released their last album Ashes, but am I glad I took the chance to look into them again. I liked Ashes quite a bit, but Hands is a fantastic followup and one shows some great growth for the band.

It's is still a slowcore album, for sure; the lolling tempos and dragging rhythms and gloomy atmosphere is all intact, and Reighnbeau is still one of the better bands to do this particular sound that I've heard (though I've never been a huge fan of the genre anyway). Again their focus on texture rather than songwriting is probably why they appeal to me so much, but man can they ever do texture well. That's not to say their songwriting is bad; there are quite a few songs here that are actually pretty engaging when the drums and well-defined chord progressions kick in (things like the climax of "Dust" with its heavy, driving sound are especially great).

Though I think they've really improved their skills with their sound. Hands mixes their old style with this hazy, slow, drugged-out, almost-psychedelic production, landing closer to the My Bloody Valentine end of the spectrum and farther from the Slowdive end. It's a bit radical compared to the clean and empty style on Ashes—although things never get so thick as to be overbearing, there's still a sort of wall-of-sound effect going on at times. It works pretty well, though, and they really use the production to their advantage to keep songs interesting. It becomes the kind of thing where you can just sit back and get lost in the sound as it washes over you. I'm not sure how I feel about the vocals, though; they're always at a near-whisper and mixed very low, so they often get lost in the fog. But maybe that's what they were going for.

But again I'm mostly talking out my ass because I don't listen to shoegaze or slowcore very much and when I do there are about two bands I actually enjoy. But regardless, this is still something I am liking, so it's got to be at least a little good for your average slowcore fan, right? I dunno.

Have a Nice Life – The Unnatural World

February 4, 2014 • Enemies List Home Recordings

It seems like Have a Nice Life's debut Deathconsciousness was the talk of the town for ages after it came out, and the hype level for their second album has been nearly as high. Though I thought it sounded like something I'd be into at first, I couldn't really get into their first album much, and it doesn't seem like much has changed this time around.

Stylistically, Have a Nice Life toes the line between dreamy, murky shoegaze and noisy ambient, with some dark and clanky industrial beats underlying much of it and the occasional post-punk grooving. It's an interesting mix (albeit not too original in this day and age). I definitely like the more rock-like songs better ("Defenestration Song", "Unholy Life", and "Dan and Tim" remind me of maybe a more modern The Cure), although "Music Will Untune the Sky" has a great majestic droning feel to it that sets it apart.

On the whole, the album feels like the sort of music that wants to feel epic, and begs to be played loudly and consume the listener's space, but it's not really as compelling as it wishes it could be. There are plenty of solid ideas and the execution is decent, but I don't think enough of the songs are particularly strong, and it feels like Have a Nice Life doesn't have a clear picture of where they wanted to take some of their ideas, leaving a lot of the tracks to just kind of wander around aimlessly.

Don't read too much into that paragraph, though. It's definitely not a bad album, and I'd be okay with spinning it a few more times casually. But it hasn't quite won me over in the same way it's done to a lot of people. Maybe I need to back and listen to Deathconsciousness again, or just wait for their next installment.

Alcest – Shelter

January 17, 2014 • Prophecy Productions

I used to be really into Alcest and I still consider their debut to be one of my favorite albums, but over the years I've slowly been losing interest in the band. It's almost definitely due to their shift in sound over the years, from a pioneering atmospheric black metal band to the dream-pop-shoegaze sound they have now. Shelter is just another step on that road, and while I won't say they're bad at what they do, they definitely aren't nearly as interesting to me as they used to be.

This is certainly their lightest and softest work to date—if this were the first Alcest album a person heard, they'd probably have a hard time believing they used to be black metal at all, as any traces of it that were on their last two albums have finally vanished. Niege's clean, melodic vocals are still quite well-done, though, and veering more into some kind of ambient pop style with soft inflection and lots of layering (I might be hearing some female vocals in there as well). The jangly guitar lines have a bit more post-rock influence, with lots of texture and reverb; there are some decent lead melodies though. Overall, their style really doesn't sound that bad, for what it is.

But I'd be lying if I said I really enjoyed Shelter that much. It's not that I resent them switching styles—plenty of bands pull that off just fine—it's just that I'm not really a shoegaze guy at all. I was already pretty iffy about Les voyages de l'âme, and finally on this one there's simply nothing for me. I know it's still Alcest and it still sounds vaguely like Alcest, but it doesn't feel like them anymore. I guess I'm just not part of their target audience anymore.

And really, that's fine. They can make whatever music they want, really. I'm simply not really qualified to talk about it anymore, nor am I really interested. And that's just the way things go sometimes.

Inferni333 – I'm Still the Doctor

September 1, 2013 • self-released

Inferni333 is an acoustic-indie-rock band from Missouri. They also have an unhealthy obsession with Dr. Who.

Standard folk rock tropes apply (drums, acoustic guitar, bass, vocals) and the instrumentation is quite well-done. The drumming especially stands out as the EP's strongest point, and there are some good guitar moments as well (in the songs' intros, mostly).

But the songwriting itself is a bit simplistic and unchallenging; even with the short-ish runtimes it is all too easy to get bogged down in the repetition (especially "Death of the Ninth Doctor", which is the same four bars for over five minutes). Props for the string ensemble bits, like on "Bad Wolf", for mixing things up, though. I also can't get over the incredibly cheesy lyrics either, but then again maybe I'm just taking this way too seriously.

For what it is, this EP isn't bad. It's not really my style of music so I don't feel like I really should be any authority of whether it's any good or not. That being said, it's still free to listen to all over the place, so it's easy to decide for yourself.

Sigur Rós – Kveikur

June 14, 2013 • XL Recordings

I guess Sigur Rós is on their way back up. I guess the short break a couple years ago was really good for them, or maybe it was the slight lineup change (four members to three). Regardless, the pleasant return-to-form that was Valtari continues with their newest offering, with some of the best tracks they've done in a long time.

At the core it's still the same Sigur Rós we've known for years—the same brooding yet pretty melodies and vocals, the same soaring song structures, the same majestic feel. The basic post-rock-meets-dream-pop-meets-mordern-classical sound hasn't changed much, but there's loads of variation within that sound on this album. Tracks like "Brennisteinn" and "Kveikur" have a very dark and brooding tone (emulating the unsettling cover art) with some heavier production (distorted bass, industrial-style drumming, and walls of background sounds). Others have a softer and dreamier sound, like "Yfirborð" or the Takk...-like "Ísjaki". Naturally they do both very well, and is leaves this album with enough here to please everyone. All in all, it creates a very diverse listening experience that rewards close listening. (Admittedly, I like those two dark, rock-style tracks better, and it's a bit unfortunate that they're the only ones.)

The other side of that coin is that Kveikur doesn't feel quite as cohesive as most of their other albums—even Valtari—so it's kind of like just a compilation of different tracks which were all written separately without much regard for flow or consistency in atmosphere. I guess that's forgivable when just about every track is as good as these are, but it leaves the album feeling a lot less solid than, say, ( ) did. The album's sound is more song-focused than texture-focused, as opposed to the last album, and its structure as a whole has to fit that direction. It didn't really happen that well here.

Regardless, this is definitely one that will please its listeners. I guess my prediction based on Valtari that Sigur Rós haven't lost it yet was true—this is certainly might be their best album since Takk..., and though I have my doubts that they can match the peaks of their glory days in the early 2000s, who's to say?

7

Palms – Palms

June 25, 2013 • Ipecac Recordings

After a band like Isis breaks up, I imagine it'd be difficult for the members to move onto something else; how can you possibly try anything that would live up to the legacy? Palms is three-quarters ex-Isis members and one-quarter Chino Moreno of Deftones, in what should (theoretically) be one amazing supergroup. Though their debut is a little underperforming for what they have to live up to, it's not bad and there's plenty of room to move forward.

It's almost impossible to listen to Palms outside of an Isis or Deftones context, but I'll try. Essentially, the sound they're going for is a heavy-alternative-rock sort of thing with quieter post-rock-like bridges and intros. Nothing terribly groundbreaking, but for what it is, it's pretty decent. There are plenty of good riffs all around, especially the trudging heavy parts, and the vocals don't feel that out of place.

There's not much else good to say about the album, though. The songs do tend to run a bit long, though, especially with their meandering and often-repetitive structures, making the album a bit difficult to get through all at once. It kind of feels like it should be over after the third song. And the sound itself is pretty empty. With only one guitarist, there's a lot of empty space that the vocals can't really fill. Maybe this is just me trying to compare it to the thick, dense sounds of both Isis and Deftones, but Palms just comes off a bit lacking.

I can't say I'd recommend this album to anyone outside the original bands' fanbases; Palms seems like a novelty release for right now and there's really nothing interesting about it that anyone unfamiliar with Isis would appreciate. That being said, I hope they try another album because there's a lot they could do if they really wanted. It just didn't happen here.

5

SRVVLST, Peace Be Still, Maumelle, Prize the Doubt

July 5, 2013 • The Summit, Columbus, Ohio

It was a bit weird to learn that The Summit is actually distinct from Café Bourbon St.—two equally tiny, grimy bars sharing the same building. Can't say it's not good for an emo show, though. While this was probably the lowest-attended show I've been to yet (top five, at least), I gotta say it was a pretty good time.

Prize the Doubt

These guys were really interesting for sure. It was a weird combination of dissonant screamo and hard-as-shit metalcore, with the occasional grindcore and post-rock segue thrown in. I thought they were too weird to enjoy at first, but they really grew on me during their set. Performance was middling, but the music was very neat. Worth seeing.
7 • Best Power Stances Award

Maumelle

I've got conflicting opinions on Maumelle. First off, the music is awesome—kind of typical midwest emo, with the stereotypical twinkly guitar (albeit very well-done, some really great licks) and excellent songwriting. The vocals seemed really out-of-place though, nothing but full-on screams the whole time; it was a weird juxtaposition that didn't make a lot of sense to me. It didn't bother me enough to not enjoy the hell out of the band, though.
7 • Best Mullet Award (aka Worst Mullet Award)

Peace Be Still

Even though Peace Be Still had probably the most generic sound of all the bands that played, they were still quite good in their own way. Horrible vocals, but in the satisfying emo way; well-played guitar and drums; above-average bass grooving (probably one of the better parts of their sound). I could have done without the between-song "stories" or whatever. Still, good stuff.
7 • Most Frequent Unnecessary Tuning Award

SRVVLST

These guys had a much more math-rock oriented sound, kind of like an emo Battles, with a similar focus on instrumentals instead of vocals. Lots of 5/8 time and things like that, which was a nice change of pace. The complexity made for a slightly sloppy performance, though, but I guess that is understandable. I did really enjoy how for their last song, they invited everyone up on stage (maybe a dozen of us) to watch. It was a very cool experience, definitely they show's highlight; made everything seem a lot more special. Recommended.
7 • Best Fingertapping Award

Boris – Präparat

March 6, 2013 • Daymare Recordings

Normally I'd be one to jump all over a new Boris album (as happened a couple years ago), but I've been really struggling with Präparat. It's been out a few months now and after a handful of listens I'm still finding it tough to get a good handle on it, and I'm finding myself more disappointed with it than anything else.

My main issue is that it's such a disjointed affair—the first few tracks alone jump from post-rock to sludgy alt-rock to noise to shoegaze. This kind of internal inconsistency makes it really tough to get through to as a whole. Each track jolts the listener with something unexpected, and while that's sometimes a good thing, here it's not executed well at all.

Even that aside, the songs themselves simply aren't really that good. It's especially disappointing because I know Boris can do better; every one of the three albums they put out just two years ago was better than this. Even the more "traditional" rockers like "Method of Error" and "Bataille sucre"—probably the two best tracks—feel like they don't really have any purpose, as if they were just thrown together without any sense of quality control.

I guess Präparat isn't horrible; there are a few decent tracks here and there, but it's probably one of the last canon Boris albums I'd ever want to listen to. Even after at least four listens (probably a lot more), everything about it just feels empty and kind of pointless. I hope the band hasn't totally lost their focus and can come back to their senses with something solid in the future. But until then, I'll just be sticking with their older stuff.

5

The Appleseed Cast, Muscle Worship, Ease the Medic, The End of the Ocean

April 17, 2013 • Kobo Live, Columbus, Ohio

Just another Columbus rock show, nothing terribly spectacular. Although The Appleseed Cast is apparently a much more popular band than I was aware of. Not that that's a bad thing, but there's little to be said for an overcrowded, tiny venue like Kobo was. Still an enjoyable show, I suppose.

The End of the Ocean

A local post-rock band, the sort of emotive crescendocore in the vein of Explosions in the Sky with more compelling songwriting, better riffs, and a slightly heavier feel. One of those sets where nobody else in the audience really seemed to care (they were all asleep most of the whole show anyway), but I quite enjoyed them. Lots of energy for this sort of band, and fun to watch even for an instrumental band.
8 • Tiniest Keyboard Award (Although This Moment in Black History's Might Have Been Smaller, It's Hard to Say)

Ease the Medic

Another local band, this time with a more emo-meets-post-hardcore sound, a bit like Brand New with a poppy and emotive edge. While their songwriting and riffs were a bit generic, leaving not a whole lot to say about them, they definitely weren't bad. Outstanding bass work, as well, especially considering it was the bassist's first show with the band.
6 • I Honestly Can't Think of Any Single Award

Muscle Worship

I quite liked this act as well; they have a sound reminiscent of Bear vs. Shark (apparently I can only come up with comparisons to describe this whole show) with more of a garage rock/math rock feel to it. (As I'll never see BvS live, this is probably as good as I'll get.) Special props to the drummer, who was especially talented and had a really neat complex style. At this point, the show started to get too loud to the point where things were sounding muddy (especially the bass)—not sure if that was Kobo's fault or what—so I didn't enjoy them quite as much as I should have. Still a good set, though.
7 • Best Use of Pedal Loops Award

The Appleseed Cast

Apparently it's been a while since I listened to this band, because I definitely don't remember them being so much post-rock and so little midwest-emo. Not that they're bad, but there were definitely some bits that dragged on and on, especially the instrumental pieces (then again, I was really tired by this point). The older tracks (e.g. the encore ones that everyone seemed to know) definitely performed better live. Still, a pretty neat show; their music is obviously still quite nice. Clip (warning: shitty vertical video—I saw the person filming this, too, she obviously had no idea what she was doing)
7 • Most Useless Keyboard That They Only Used on Half of One Song Award

Drose – A Voice

June 4, 2012 • self-released

I'm not sure how I found this band, but they immediately caught my eye due to the fact that both of their EPs were recorded at a place I used to work (and it's a research lab, not a recording studio). Even though I've never felt too in-touch with the Columbus music scene, bands like Drose do feel comfortable to me—even though A Voice should be considered anything but.

As best as I can put it, Drose plays a very intense, visceral sort of sludgy noise rock; though calling it "noise rock" is not anywhere near a satisfactory description of their sound. It's incredibly gritty and doomy, with a highly rhythmic nature evoking mechanical imagery. The two middle rock tracks are bookended by a drone piece and a Khanate-esque doom improvisation—spooky stuff, and very effective. The sung vocals seem a bit out-of-place at first, especially since the guitar is definitely non-melodic, but seem to add to the discomfort the EP is meant to invoke.

Anyway, this is definitely a niche record, but it has this weird appeal to it that I really got into. Worth a listen just for the uniqueness, if nothing else.

6

Reighnbeau – Ashes

January 2, 2012 • Bridgetown Records

I can't say I know much about slowcore, even having been a fan of Red House Painters for a short time, but that's about as far as I've ever gotten. Reighnbeau's Ashes is, therefore, probably a horrible choice for me to review, even though it's quite a good album.

At the very least I can contrast it to Down Colorful Hill: Ashes is much more focused on the music and the mood than the lyrics, which I appreciate. The vocal delivery is very hushed and pushed back in the mix, bringing the moody, introspective guitar and rhythm section to the fore instead. On the whole it's a very dark and atmospheric take on slowcore—even though the production is pretty clean, there is a very oppressive and gloomy atmosphere over the whole thing from the hushed vocals and minimalist drumming. It's all very effective, especially when they bring other sounds into play like the subtle ambience on the title track or the woodwinds section on "Fingers". Somehow, it's even catchy at times, like the surprisingly major-key riff of "Snakes" and the more aggressive drum groove in "Restless".

Whereas other highly-acclaimed similar bands like Low get all the praise, I never liked how repetitive and stale their music was. Reighnbeau, on the other hand, never seems to get anywhere near as monotonous—and it really works, like I mentioned in the above paragraph. And consequently, despite its slow pacing, the album seems to fly by pretty quickly... I suppose that probably just means I like it more than anything, but I was surprised at the level of engagement I got with it.

Then again, it's from Bandcamp, the legendary website of neverending music gems, so I guess it's par for the course. Anyway, it's good stuff, so go stream away.

7

Paris, Texas – Action Fans Help Us!

July 24, 2007 • Polyvinyl Records

I mentioned this EP a while back in my Polyvinyl haul post, as they were kind enough to throw Action Fans Help Us! in as a nice little free bonus. It's not fantastic, but it's a fun little EP with a couple good tracks on it.

The songs are relatively generic, as far as this sort of happy-go-lucky indie-pop-punk goes. However I have to admit that at least a couple of these songs have really grown on me, specifically "Gemini", "Your Death", mostly due to some insanely good choruses. The other three tracks are decidedly not as good, though they're still decent. even if they may be a bit silly, they were still pretty good at what they did.

The EP is short and a bit samey, so there isn't much else to say about it—if you like indie rock or the kind of stuff Polyvinyl puts out, this falls squarely into that same category. Of course the band has long been broken up—since 2005—but that doesn't mean that this sort of stuff isn't worth looking into, at least for a listen or two.

6

Airs – Gloomlights

October 31, 2011 • Music Ruins Lives

Oh no, not the dreaded double album. If I haven't made it clear before, I almost always despise rock double albums; they are almost always half-full of horrible garbage that shouldn't have been recorded in the first place. I won't say there's much I'd call garbage on Gloomlights, but it's clear that there

The band tends to genre-jump a lot on this album, and it's tough say if that's necessarily a good thing. Many of the shorter tracks lie somewhere in the shoegaze / post-punk realm, sort of like the very fuzzed-out guitars of My Bloody Valentine combined with the gloomy melodies and atmospheres of The Cure. (Admittedly I've never listened to much shoegaze in the first place, so I don't have much to compare Airs to.) The band also experiments a bit with music ranging from post-rock to stoner rock to black metal to pop-rock to drone, all with the same sort of lo-fi aesthetic.

I have to give Airs credit for managing to write so many songs in such different styles and none of them are particularly bad (except the repetitive and dull opener "Harvest Moon"), but none of them really stick out either, and the band definitely can't keep up the pace for the entire hour and forty minutes the album lasts. By the time the second disc starts up, I'm ready to call it a day. I guess that probably says more about my attention span, but still, they don't give much of a reason to stick around.

Also, this is probably just me, but I find the synthesized drums and bass guitar really distracting. Excessive reverb doesn't hide the fact that they're both quite amateur-sounding.

So I guess your enjoyment of this album hinges on how into this style you are. I'm ambivalent, so Gloomlights is listenable but definitely nothing special. Maybe others will be amazed by it, and I can understand, but not me.

5

Three Trapped Tigers – EP2

August 17, 2009 • Blood & Biscuits

This band was hyped on Rate Your Music so briefly that I almost missed them. I'm glad they managed not to fly under my radar, because they're pretty dang good, with a really unique and interesting sound.

Three Trapped Tigers create a sort of post-rock / math rock fusion, like a collaboration between Battles, Holy Fuck, and 65daysofstatic. Fast, stuttery keyboards and clean guitars take the forefront while some aggressive polyrhythmic drumming holds it all together. The electronic element in the music is huge, with some almost chiptune-like voices that sound like some video game soundtracks I've heard, but it's still all definitely in a rock context—a bit weird, but it works so well.

I guess it's the overall sense of rhythm in these songs that makes it so damn catchy, so easy to get into a groove with and just kind of ride it straight through to the finish. It all sounds very focused, and even through four relatively short tracks you still see a lot of fantastic things. Not an EP to be missed.

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Tigon – Infinite Teeth

August 11, 2012 • The Ghost Is Clear Records

Is it metal? Is it punk? Is it math rock or emo... or what? I dunno, but all that matters is whether Infinite Teeth is any good. It's a bit of a strange album, to be sure, and takes time to get used to but I think it's pretty good.

Stylistically, Tigon is doing a lot on this album—there are as I mentioned elements of math rock (most prominently) but also emocore, sludge metal (mostly in the guitar riffs), and even some mathcore ("Whale Maker" and maybe "Plague Apparatus"). Somehow it doesn't feel totally disorienting, as the band manages to meld everything together well into their own unique sound. It's a sound that may take a bit to get used to and some elements tend to not gel terribly well—mostly the spoken, atonal vocals alongside the heavy, gritty guitar lines, and the very dissonant and even random-sounding melodies. The album's aesthetics weren't at all appealing whatsoever the first time I heard it, but they grew on me and I'm enjoying what they're doing here.

but the mood and atmosphere of Infinite Teeth is definitely good. The melodies and rhythms can get very tense and depressive, making the music seem very burdensome (if that makes any sense). But it can also become uplifting, with hints of that twinkly indie-emo sound (or is that post-rock?) during more quiet parts. Nothing ever sounds out of place, though, and though the album throws the occasional surprise at the listener it still all fits together well.

It has its flaws, of course—few of the songs are particularly memorable, it's a bit anticlimactic, and as I mentioned the vocals don't always fit the music well—but all things considered it's not bad at all. It's probably not going to top anyone's list of math rock or emo albums anytime (the songwriting is good but not fantastic) though Infinite Teeth is an impressive start, and hopefully we can see something improved in the future.

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