Extended Play

The most important music in the world is happening right now.

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<a href="http://2tonbug.bandcamp.com/album/thrillsville" data-mce-href="http://2tonbug.bandcamp.com/album/thrillsville">THRILLSVILLE by 2 Ton Bug</a>

Here's some more dumpster punk from New Haven's 2 Ton Bug. This most recent single Thrillsville is a smatter of energetic lo-fi grime with heavy four four beats and southern twang. They do some neat stuff on this single with sampling and warbly synthesizers. Definitely worth a listen.

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It feels good to be back. When I was churning out two posts a week while working a shitty retail job that required listening to punishing music at punishing volumes, I felt like I was cravenly investigating the nadir of contemporary music hoping the Gods might smuggle some tasty morsel of sound through the judashole provided I stare into the abyss long enough. "If you stare into TV static, visions emerge," "The better you look, the more you see," & cetera. Now, I feel refreshed.

Yea verily, The Growlers' "People Don't Change Blues," is the perfect summer song. No one gave this single enough attention when it came out two years ago. I normally do not go in for the California-reverb-surfster-Endless-Summer-throwback aesthetic (the phrase "bullshitty" comes to mind), but this track is undeniable. Restrained regret requires a nimble balancing act, and The Growlers avoid its most obvious pitfall: the blase shrug. Instead, they sound weary, which feels more True given the song's content. Please enjoy.

-Emmet

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I kicked off my summer by seeing Guerilla Toss play (with the much adored Fat History Month) in a Chicago basement. They writhed, screamed, and shook all over the tile floor. It was easily the craziest shit I've seen all summer. Guerilla Toss hails from Boston and makes noise rock that's fast, abrasive, and smart. Most of the crew attends a conservatory in Boston, and it shows. Their sense of instrumentation is brilliant; sometimes just a few instruments flirting with each other before erupting into cacophony. They're scary good musicians too, stopping on a dime and rocking out in bizarre time signatures. But all music geekiness aside, their an agressive powerhouse that will knock you against a wall. It was truly a spectacle, and their lo-fi recordings certainly hold up to their live set. 

Lastly, they're all really nice people. I got a chance to talk to them after the show, and they were super friendly and excited about playing in Chicago. Due to many line-up changes, they have a vast discography for such a young band, but you can find their most recent tape at Spookytown Records. They also have an LP coming up on Feeding Tube. Pick up their stuff, and see them if the play in your town.

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Greg graduated and Emmet quit his job; we're back.

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Sorry for the inconsistency of postings; Greg is very busy in school and Emmet just went to SXSW.

Not sure how or when we'll get it together, but we really like writing about music, so stay tuned.

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<a href="http://willstratton.bandcamp.com/album/post-empire" data-mce-href="http://willstratton.bandcamp.com/album/post-empire">Post-Empire by Will Stratton</a>

Will Stratton is a friend of mine from college. He's a few years my senior, and I don't think we said more than five words to each other in the one year we were both in attendance, but we got to know each other afterwards. Thank God, cause he's a scary good songwriter, a seasoned musician (with three full albums under his belt,) and an all-around cool dude. He sent me an incomplete version of Post-Empire a few months ago. I really liked the record then, and it's really rewarding to hear it now with additional vocals and a louder presence overall. The instrumentation is sparse; just  vocals, guitars, and string quartet, but it's very effective. The songwriting is introspective, personal, and sometimes brutally honest. And needless to say, Will shreds  hard on acoustic guitar. The album has a lot of standout tracks, but "When You Let Your Hair Down to Your Shoulder" gets me every time, and I think it'd be a great place for anyone to start. Give it a listen for free at his bandcamp; you won't be disappointed.

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<a href="http://onehundredyearocean.bandcamp.com/album/poison-smoak" _mce_href="http://onehundredyearocean.bandcamp.com/album/poison-smoak">Poison Smoak by One Hundred Year Ocean</a>

Appropriate, I think, that One Hundred Year Ocean arrives from the unspoken nothing that is Connecticut. While the lyrics and vocals can veer dangerously close to the ever and uniquely cringeworthy teenager-with-his-first-acoustic-guitar-at-open-mic-night territory of earnestness, something always happens to snatch a song from such a freshmen error. A musician willing to risk so much and succeed arrests his listener. Poison Smoak, as a release, is provincial in the best way: it deals in a specific locale without promising or pretending to do anything else. It has everything to do with being lost and trapped in an out-of-the-way New England town. Given the content and execution, One Hundred Year Ocean smartly avoids diary entry songwriting (often the birthplace of the aforementioned risks) for the fragmented, the epistolary.

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Rittz's White Jesus mixtape, expertly hosted by DJ Burn One, is one of the best and most slept on mixtapes in the past year. I hadn't even heard it until recently and it came out almost exactly a year ago. I first heard Rittz on a few Yelawolf tracks and was bowled over by his tone, flow, and specificity. All of those traits are perfectly showcased on White Jesus. I've been bumping this mixtape almost once a day since I first copped it two weeks ago. The production is solid, as are the guest spots, but what's got me hooked is Rittz's willingness to be vulnerable and the precision he uses to satisfy that desire. Yelawolf comes off as a cultural representative, while Rittz appears wholly human, individual in his approach. The most surprising moment for me was when, on "Sleep At Night," he raps, "You said that we were taking a break, how the fuck is that breaking up for good?/On your facebook page I see your status is single./You had some photos of me and you in your photo album and all I see is shit with you hanging out with the same dude./Posing with your cameraphone./What the fuck, that motherfucker got sandals on?/Are you kidding me?/I been drinking constantly, drowning in my misery/and you been out fucking somebody else not even missing me?" Not only is that part hilarious, but it achieves that koan-like quality of being so specific as to be universal. I laugh whenever I hear those lines because it's true and I've been there; I think most of us have. But the memories conjured along with the laughter are often painful, my most desperate and lost moments. Any artist that can yoke together honest pain and laughter so successfully possesses true talent. Get this.

-Emmet

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<a href="http://likebats.bandcamp.com/album/midwest-nothing" _mce_href="http://likebats.bandcamp.com/album/midwest-nothing">Midwest Nothing by Like Bats</a>

To be honest, I've been putting off writing about this album, because when I heard Midwest Nothing it leveled me. These Chicago/Indiana boys aren't breaking the mold musically, but the whole package is what got to me. I have a difficult time explaining what it was like growing up and living in the Midwest. It's close to a feeling of entrapment, some dull ache. Like Bats manage to recreate the ineffable dilemma of living in a place where winter is five months long and everything is flat: "We burn like a match. You can pray for light,/but it ain't coming back," (from "Empty Sky; Grey Tomorrow").

In Illinois, you grow up feeling like you can never leave, and when you do, it's as if your hands never can come clean of it. I'm almost too close to this record to write about it, as I'm sure you, reader, can tell. This album can be summed up in lyrics from the last song, "The Last Catholic in America": "Just a Midwest nothing from a small suburban town. You walk the streets of your old home town looking for your first love's face, but they [sic] never come around. And it's nothing new." Like Bats doesn't write pop punk songs for summer loves, they write pop punk songs about entire winters squandered on Old Style hangovers, Bali Shag, and junkie girlfriends. 

-Emmet

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Yesterday Christopher Reimer, guitarist for the art rock band Women, passed away in his sleep at the age of 26. If you haven't heard Women before, they play really fantastic angular rock music. Their albums are jangled and exciting with a healthy dose of noisy tracks to keep things artsy and interesting. Christopher Reimer, from what I've heard on record, is a pretty awesome guitarist. The counterpoint guitars on the track "The Shaking Hand" get me every time. I never saw them live, but it had been on my bucket list since I first started getting into their self-titled album last winter. I'm really bummed I'm not going to get a chance to see them (at least not with Christopher Reimer.) So, big ups to Christopher Reimer and Women. Rest in Peace. And for the rest of you, check out the song posted below.

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<a href="http://deadnorth.bandcamp.com/album/spot-remover" _mce_href="http://deadnorth.bandcamp.com/album/spot-remover">Spot Remover by Dead North</a>

After music hunting all last week I found my love for pop punk completely rekindled. So, y'all are going to see a lot of that coming down the pike. And, as of right now, I'm convinced that husky dudes from the Midwest churn out the highest caliber pop-punk in the world. Cincinatti's Dead North are a prime example. There's something endearingly "aw shucks" about these guys, like they might get flustered by a pretty girl complimenting their set after a show. I mean, the influences here are easy to trace, but I don't care about that. What I need from this band, what it gives me, is a break from all the other bullshit I listen to, e.g. hip hop songs about clothing/money/butts/guns, hardcore songs about self-loathing and societal angst/personal integrity, and indie songs about existential crises while obtaining one's liberal arts degree. Dead North do tidy pop songs about girls and being confused and thank God that's what they're up to.

-Emmet

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<a href="http://katadreuffe.bandcamp.com/album/period" _mce_href="http://katadreuffe.bandcamp.com/album/period">Period by Katadreuffe</a>

All I know about Katadreuffe is that they're from Amsterdam and that I have listened to their EP Period several times in the last 48 hours. They're a noisy post-hardcore band that dips their toes into some beautiful pop moments which are ultimately obscured by their total blur of sound. What really makes this band interesting to me is the way all the instruments mix together. The drums are blunt and to the point with a very dry sound, which is accompanied by the abrasive growl of the bass. The rhythm section plays a counterpoint to the wash of guitars and synths which are drenched in distortion, delay, and octave pedals. The guitars are a catchy blur; they're memorable, but impossible to sing along to. All of this is punctuated by the seething monotone vocals. The emotional energy of Katadreuffe is a self-contained abrasion. Period is simultaneously brooding and effervescent, and I can't get enough of it. Check out their bandcamp or the video below.

KATADREUFFE // Katzwijm 3 from Katzwijm Records on Vimeo.

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Casper's originally from Augusta, Georgia, but his mother moved him back to Germany when he was little. He was in a metalcore band called A Fear Called Treason, and ventured into hip-hop in 2006. XOXO, his latest effort, came out in 2011 and I just caught wind of it. I don't speak German, so I have almost no idea what this dude is saying, but I know good hip hop when I hear it. The beats on this album, Casper's flow, the sound texture, grace, all of it--Casper takes a pastoral approach, which I never thought fully possible in hip hop. Through really, really smart layering in the mix Casper imbues the tracks on XOXO with cinematic energy that unrolls itself like lush hillsides. XOXO excites me in a way I rarely feel anymore. Who'd have thought post-rock and hip hop could be welded together so seamlessly? Casper makes me believe in posibility in hip hop again. 

-Emmet 

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(For journalistic integrity, I should mention that I play bass on one track off this record. That said, I didn't write any material for this record, nor do I serve to gain any money from this record, or have any stake in promoting it aside from it being really good.)

I went to school with Adam Tronsen when he released this debut EP, B.C. Recently he had the tracks professionally remixed and remastered, and now rereleased on CD. Tronsen's music is an interesting beast; heavily inspired by 1980's pop music, at heart he is a singer songwriter who uses beats and synthesizers to paint some compelling and emotional material. In addition to that, this re-released EP is seriously stepping up his game, moving from the bedroom to the dance floor. Everything is mixed really well, knocking the listener against a wall with its force and presence. His lyrics are often subtly hypersexual, but always clever, like the hook off the first track: "You know we can make our own rhythm but not with this echo between us." B.C. is a fluid, emotional, and body moving record from a raspy voiced, electronic songwriter. Check out the video below.

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<a href="http://disobey.bandcamp.com/album/human-suffering-in-five-movements" _mce_href="http://disobey.bandcamp.com/album/human-suffering-in-five-movements">human suffering in five movements by Disobey</a>

Straight outta Hillsborough, NC, Disobey brings the crust carnage. Often I like the idea of crust more than I enjoy the actual reality of it, and by that I mean that I value the grittiness, the feral angst, the sincerity, etc. but a lot of it suffers from what I assume is a willful inability to engineer a record. Recording equipment isn't that expensive anymore; getting a clear sound is significantly less of a challenge than it used to be. I believe the prevailing failure of crust is its misguided habit of equating authenticity with lo-fidelity--"You can tell we mean it because you can't hear anything discernible." Luckily, Disobey's a solid band who has decided to adopt crusty, d-beat aesthetics without adhering to the single-SM85-dangling-from-your-mother's-basement-ceiling acoustics. My favorite cut on here might be the last, "Inhaling Rust." It's certainly the most diverse, expansive, and original work on here. I admire Disobey's sense of texture and density--most bands of their ilk just try to play the music, while this band is creating a sonic space in which the intent of the music can be investigated. Perhaps it is best then to actually think of the songs as movements.

-Emmet

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<a href="http://inonewindmusic.bandcamp.com/album/how-bright-a-shadow" data-mce-href="http://inonewindmusic.bandcamp.com/album/how-bright-a-shadow">How Bright a Shadow! by In One Wind</a>

How Bright a Shadow! is a downright beautiful record from In One Wind, an ensemble of musicians from Brooklyn. It was released by Primary Records this past September, and it's been on heavy rotation since I got my hands on it. It's indie music with deep roots in both folk and jazz. It's also pretty art school; clearly they're well trained and intelligent musicians who are creating interesting music, but at the same time they're not just trying to show off their intellectual and instrumental chops. In One Wind's music is relatable and inviting. It's music with a lot of heart that happens to have a brain, too.

Their music boasts interesting forms, odd time signatures, and sudden dynamic shifts. It's kind of like math rock in that way, except totally not. It's just exciting. "Go Follow John" starts off with a nice groove for a few seconds before leaping to another driving rhythm in a different time signature, and then back again. They bounce back and forth like this the whole song before reaching a climax of jazzy guitar chords and dissonant vocals, and then ending with the records heaviest, almost grunge-like groove. It's an exciting song, and pretty much every piece on this record is just as enthralling.

Their bandcamp only has two (of my favorite) tracks, but it's highly worth dropping a few bucks on if you want a artfully crafted and heartwarming record.

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I went to college with Floetic. I never got to hear his music while we were in school together, but he sent over this video and I fell in love with the track. His flow and performative ability are exhilarating. Expect a post about his mixtape when it drops.

-Emmet