The Kockpit

All the new underground music you should hear and all the classics you should have already.

[beatasticband]

the new EP - 0 11001 01010 1

out NOW!!!! pay what you like

on https://beatastic.bandcamp.com/

artwork by http://jenexisteplus.tumblr.com/

[thekockpit]

Take the time to check these guys out. They've got a good sound and I'm excited to see where they go.

[thekockpit]

Classic Review: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Let Love In

Since joining his Bad Seeds after The Birthday Party’s breakup in 1983, Nick Cave has dipped his fingers in every flavor of post-punk over the course of a whopping 15 studio albums. On Let Love In, perhaps the most popular and well-loved of those 15 releases, we taste every one of those flavors, making for a deeply eclectic yet surprisingly cohesive LP. Despite the various influences, Cave is consistently over the course of this album at his most brooding, his most intense, and his most chilling. His unbridled aggression on tracks like Jangling Jack and Loverman is tempered by slow, iconic ballads like Nobody’s Baby Now and the eerie classic Red Right Hand. A thin vein of gothicism runs through this entire release; its dissonance and heavy use of bells making for a truly subversive experience. Sprinkled amongst all this though, we get tints of the avant-garde, bursts of noise rock, and heavy doses of the kind of bluesy psychedelia that would today be called desert rock. One track Thirsty Dog, even brings to the table the kind of raw, fast-paced punk rock one might not necessarily expect from a Nick Cave record. Second only to his sexy, haunting, inventive melodies are Cave’s lyrics, often cryptic and always poetic, bringing to mind the dark, drunken romanticism of Tom Waits. The LP’s first line; “I found her on a night of fire and noise...” sets the tone beautifully, making way for the further weavings of a true storyteller. 9/10

[thekockpit]

heavy rotation 3/16-3/22

[thekockpit]

Review: Touché Amoré/Self Defense Family - Self Love

The Kockpit is breaking its hiatus with a review of the new collaborative single from post-hardcore contemporaries Touché Amoré and Self Defense Family. Expect weekly reviews of this nature from this point forward; and don’t forget to make suggestions and submit your own music for review. 

It’s been over a year since both Touché Amoré and Self Defense Family, formerly End of a Year, released their last full length LPs. Touché Amoré’s 2013 Is Survived By offered little in way of innovation but brought the same candid emotionality we’ve come to expect from the band. Self Defense Family’s Try Me, while difficult to get used to, proved an irresistible listen. On these two new tracks Frontman Patrick Kindlon’s unique vocal style and cynical, hard hitting lyrics continue to feel fresh and innovative over their traditional post-hardcore backdrop. On the A-side, Circa 95, Kindlon’s vocals engage in a particularly dynamic call and response with Touché Amoré’s Jermey Bolm’s typical lanynx-shredding yelps. Low Beams, a vaguely quieter track, feels significantly more like Try Me material than the A-side with its tinny, melodic leads and bright tonality. While there’s nothing overwhelmingly creative going on here musically, both tracks offer undeniable catharsis and the intermingling of two iconic voices. 7/10

Listen here.

[thekockpit]

heavy rotation 3/8-3/14

note: all weekly playlists from here on out will be cut from 15 tracks to a shorter, easier to consume 10 tracks

[thekockpit]

Quality new track from rap goddess Azealia Banks

"Chasing Time" by Azealia Banks, off her upcoming debut album Broke With Expensive Taste. "Heavy Metal and Reflective" available now on iTunes: http://bitly.com/HMaR_iTunes INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/azealiabanks TWITTER: twitter.com/azealiabanks FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/azealiabanksmusic YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/user/AzealiaBanks

[thekockpit]

heavy rotation 9/8-9/14

or The Fifteen Tracks That Got the Most Action on My Phone/Turntable/Laptop in the Past Seven Days, Vol. 8

[thekockpit]

Classic Review: Circle Takes the Square - As the Roots Undo (2004)

9.5/10

For any fan of screamo (or Skramz, or Whatever,) there are a few absolutely vital releases that need to be given at least one thorough listen before the words "Hot Topic ruined screamo" even have the right to escape your lips. Among these are Document #8, City of Caterpillar, and most importantly, Circle Takes the Square's As the Roots Undo. 

Intro: As intros go, the intro to this LP is perfectly lovely, featuring eerie whistling paired with gregorian chants and the soft sound of wind. 

Same Shade As Concrete: Immediately, Circle Takes the Square are overwhelming, wordy, and lyrically artful. Their musicianship is sporadic and mathy, often building up to multiple, massive, consuming climaxes. The male/female vocal dynamic of Drew Speziale and Kathleen Stubelek makes for a unique, almost folkish sound which juxtaposes brilliantly with the band's immense power.

Crowquil: Speziale screams "My bow never breaks, I don't stumble into anything" before the track explodes into outright metallic riffage. The melodies on this track are even more complex and difficult than on the previous ones, and the vocal harmonies become bigger and artsier. 

In The Nervous Light of Sunday: This track is an automatic explosion of sound, making use of crushingly sinister melodies as well as some straight-up hardcore chord progressions, before devolving into a rootsier, folky sound speckled with larynx shredding screams, all adding up to what ultimately sounds like a combination of Pg. 99 and 10,000 Maniacs. 

Interview at the Ruins: This, by far the best track on the LP, and an absolute masterpiece in my opinion, establishes a tonal theme which it twists and revamps liberally while still keeping it poignant and exhilarating. The track ebs and flows articulately, eliciting the highest of emotions. Speziale and Stubelek end the track on a fresh and scarring note, singing it out a cappella in a well executed round. 

Non Objective Portrait of Karma: This begins as a gentler, more classically emo track before exploding into a storm of passion and catharsis, soon to find its rhythmic stability and break into some actually danceable grooves. 

Kill The Switch: Here, Circle Takes the Square deliver a legitimate epic, exploring several different musical themes over the course of nine and a half minutes, simultaneously giving the album's lyrics their conceptual climax; "I know it's all been done before, I wanna do it again, I wanna do it again."

A Crater to Cough In: This closer track revisits musical themes from earlier on the LP in a creative way which gives the album sonic closure to accompany its lyrical closure. Its final several moments swell with almost symphonic potency before simmering down and fading out with a few gentle notes.

You can (still) listen to As the Roots Undo on Bandcamp here. 

[thekockpit]

heavy rotation 8/31-9/7

or The Fifteen Tracks That Got the Most Action on My Phone/Turntable/Laptop in the Past Seven Days, Vol. 7

[thekockpit]

No review today, but this is sick; clipping. - Inside Out [OFFICIAL VIDEO]

[thekockpit]

Album Review: Phantom Lanterns - Growing Apart

9/10

As I dive more deeply into the pool of seemingly endless talent that is the local Baltimore punk scene, I continue to discover notable, groundbreaking, and oftentimes outright sick acts from a variety of sub-genres under the broad umbrella that is alternative music.

Phantom Lanterns are a Baltimore based emo three-piece whom I unfortunately missed the opportunity to see recently when they played at Ka-Chunk!! Records, a popular Annapolis record store. They released their first EP, Growing Apart, through Bandcamp last month.

Growing Apart is a release instantly reminiscent of the midwestern emo renaissance of the late 90s, full of twinkly, sad, harmonic riffage and howling, sorrowful vocalism. Phantom Lanterns, while undoubtedly honoring a certain sound, also set themselves apart with unique pedal effects, especially prevalent on the track All Of Your Bridges Burn, as well as incredibly skilled, compelling guitar work. While maintaining for the most part what I would call a classically emo sound, the EP also has its more complex, math rocky, melodically unsettling moments such as on the track Better Off, which can oftentimes be an outright emotional assault, and is also a showcase for some of the EP's more aggressive vocals. Overall, I strongly recommend this EP for any fan of emotional hardcore and its offshoots. 

You can listen to Growing Apart on Bandcamp here.

You can also now like The Kockpit on Facebook. 

[thekockpit]

Oh shit! I almost forgot to post...

heavy rotation 8/24-8/30

or The Fifteen Tracks That Got the Most Action on My Phone/Turntable/Laptop in the Past Seven Days, Vol. 6

(Yo, you can now like The Kockpit on Facebook)

[thekockpit]

taking monday off for labour day -- be back on wednesday with a review of Phantom Lanterns' new EP, Growing Apart 

[thekockpit]

Album Review: ... But Not Forgotten - Chapter I

6.8/10

Keeping with the theme from Wednesday, ... But Not Forgotten is a black metal solo project based out of Newport, UK. Their latest release, Chapter I, was recommended to me directly by Nathan Allison, the man behind the act, and is the first full length LP released through the project's Bandcamp. ... But Not Forgotten cite the influence of genres such as symphonic metal, ambient electro, and DSBM (Depressive Suicidal Black Metal), the last of which I was regrettably unfamiliar with until today, but frankly it just seems like a touchier term for emotionally raw post-black metal. Die-hards: correct me if I'm wrong. 

Chapter I brings the intense ferocity and wintriness of traditional black metal while also experimenting with elements such as symphonic instrumentation and fiercely distorted vocals. Its strongest points are its predominantly piano driven tracks; XIII Death and IV The Emperor, both of which beautifully splice the minor-key gentility of the piano with Allison's fuzzy, shredding vocals. In general the vocals on this release are heavily distorted and intensely trebly, creating an effect which can often feel cathartic but sometimes feels simply a bit obnoxious. Also a bit obnoxious, III The Empress is an appallingly weak point on this LP. The production feels quite cheap and the musicality arbitrary and repetitive. Luckily, it's overshadowed by some of the stronger tracks; XIX The Sun is refreshingly thrashy and by far the most solid metal track on this album, without compromising its weighty depression. The LP's lengthier, post-rocky outro, XVII The Moon, sets a mood and runs with it. Overall, this is a satisfying initial LP from a respectably novel black metal outlet, and a recommended listen for anyone akin to the edgier side of heavy, depressive music. 

You can listen to Chapter I on Bandcamp here.

[thekockpit]

Album Review: We Came Out Like Tigers - Ever-Crushed At Pecket's Well

note: with school back in session, i can already tell that i won't have the time or capacity to post a full length track-by-track review three times a week. that said, i'll be posting all new album reviews in the "highlight reel" format from this point on, saving the track-by-track format for classic reviews which i'll post every monday. on those occasions when i find myself preoccupied, you can expect something small in lieu of a review.

7.8/10

We Came Like Tigers, a deep cut from Liverpool, UK, spin a brutal, stylistically ambiguous brand of blackened screamo; an ingenious fusion, combining the weight and desolation of black metal with the melodic catharsis of emotional hardcore. The inclusion of folky, gaelic strings adds an entirely other, unique element to the music. 

Ever-Crushed At Pecket's Well, the band's second full-length release, is intense and astounding, experimenting with such oddities as traditional African-style vocals and orchestral instrumentation without compromising an ounce of its tremendous force. Highlights include Careworn, a track exemplary of the band's stylistic diversity, which pairs delicate, emo-tinged riffage with earthy strings before descending into a storm of noisy chaos, and Concrete Blocks of Empathy which brings to mind, as any great black metal track should, a chapel on fire, with its cold, satanic vocals and fiery, metallic guitar riffs. The only thing inhibiting this LP's full sonic capacity are it's rather awkward transitions. Otherwise, this is an essential listen for any fan of heavy, emotional music.

You can listen to the full release on Bandcamp here.

[thekockpit]

Classic Review: Shellac - At Action Park (1994)

7.9/10

For those of you unfamiliar, and you ought'a be fuckin ashamed, Shellac are a self described "minimalist rock trio" consisting of Todd Trainer, Bob Weston, and, most notably, Steve Albini. Albini, or course, made a name for himself in such seminal post-hardcore acts as Big Black and Rapemen, as well as by producing albums from Nirvana, Slint, and Fugazi (The last never saw daylight, but the production did in fact occur).

Over the course of their 22 year career, Shellac have released five stellar studio albums, and have promised another to be released next month. In anticipation of what is undoubtably going to be a raw, energetic bit of post-hardcore, here's a taste of Shellac's debut studio LP, At Action Park.

My Black Ass: Right out of the box, Shellac are crunchy and abrasive; atonal and cathartic. Weston's thick, distorted bass drives this heavy opener with brooding intensity. Albini's lyrics are wry and cynically playful, as would become a theme over the course of Shellac's career. Track one sets the stage for a noisy, loud, and appropriately edgy exercise in true post-hardcore.

Pull The Cup: Excitement seems to slow up on this track, which oftentimes feels like no more than a repetitive, uncreative bit of instrumental filler. That said, it does possess the capacity to be a pleasingly overwhelming assault of noise; scratchy and anxious. 

The Admiral: Here, Shellac continue to pair distant bass and treble tones with unsettling, dissonant genius. Albini's lyrics are wry, dark, and degenerate, his chords fresh and dissonant and Weston's bass is driving and danceable, creating a sinister groove you could almost call catchy. 

Crow: This is yet another track driven by Weston's bass, with a feeling of urgency reflective of the existential anxiety expressed by Albini's lyrics; "Your life is only that with which time has its way with you." During the last couple minutes, the track breaks into some intensely catchy riffage as Albini shrieks us out. 

Song Of The Minerals: Albini sounds perhaps his most exasperated on this, another absolutely harsh attack of noise paired with Weston's snide, domineering bass. There's plenty of dissonance and sound play here, the likes of which would make any respectable purveyor of the avant-garde turn green. 

A Minute: On this punky, rapid track, Albini seems to almost channel his inner Henry Rollins, spitting his lyrics with the intensity and conviction reminiscent of the classic hardcore punk. 

The Idea Of North: This one starts out as notably delicate for a Shellac track, driven predominately by Trainer's steady drumming before Albini's melodic distortion kicks in, giving the track new life. Overall it moves slow and is neither overtly exciting nor incredibly beautiful, but it's certainly an enjoyable listen. 

Dog And Pony Show: On this track, not a real highlight, Albini delivers his lyrics with a typically relaxed, sporadic cadence and strums out some almost metallic guitar riffage.

Boche's Dick: This, the shortest track on the album, is easily a tiny, musically concise gem. 

Il Porno Star: At Action Park's closer honestly doesn't feel like one, and is all the better for its non finality. It's average length, and in all other ways average, save for the sludge-metal-like slowness and intensity with which it often swaggers. 

[thekockpit]

heavy rotation 8/17-8/23

or The Fifteen Tracks That Got the Most Action on My Phone/Turntable/Laptop in the Past Seven Days, Vol. 5