The Philosophy of Noise

Chronicling the musical underground. Portland, OR.

[thephilosophyofnoise]

INTERVIEW: SLITEN6IX

Sliten6ix are a four piece band from Phnom Penh, Cambodia, whose style has evolved over their six years of existence from a deathcore influenced sound to a more theatrical, elaborate black metal style. I interviewed the group’s vocalist, Vanntin Hoeurn, to talk about the band’s influences, musical evolution, and their experiences playing metal in Southeast Asia.

MB: How was heavy music introduced into your life, and what made you decide you wanted to play it?

VH: Well when I was growing up the internet wasn’t really there, and even cable TV wasn’t there until I was older, so I wasn’t really aware of rock or metal. I was learning English at that time, and the teachers were putting us on to all this pop music, so we all kind of learned about music through that.

But then cable TV finally arrived, in 2000 something, and there was this channel called Channel V, which was kind of the equivalent of MTV. Through that I heard Linkin Park for the first time, and I just remember being like “oh my god this so heavy!This is amazing!”.

From that channel I also found bands like Slipknot, and then once the internet came and we could use YouTube, the music really caught on with everyone.

MB: When were you inspired to try to make heavy music like the stuff you were listening to?

VH: Well, in terms of metal, it was and still is a very small scene. But I met up with Alan, our drummer, and he loves metal so he kind of brought up the idea of playing our own metal music. We knew full well we weren’t going to get anywhere with the music, but it didn’t really matter.

MB: What kind of musical and lyrical themes have developed in the band over the years, and how are those themes related to your life and experiences living in Cambodia?

VH; Well I’ve always written lyrics with kind of a “whatever’s in my head” approach in mind. When we were a deathcore band the lyrics tended to be a bit more politically challenging, but now with the black metal sound I‘m kind of fed up with all the politics shit. So now it tends to be more personal, though it still has a hint of philosophies on life and that kind of stuff.

We’re actually writing a new album, and the lyrics on that are all very personal. They’re all written about my experiences having sleep paralysis and the images I see when I’m paralyzed. It’s something I’ve had since I was very little so I figured instead of just suffering through it I might as well make something out of it.

MB: What is the average person’s reaction to punk and metal in Cambodia? Is there any awareness of heavy music in the mainstream here?

VH: No, not really. There’s very little awareness of genres of music outside of what the mainstream feeds you, and I think that has a lot to do with the war and the genocide. We had a psychedelic rock scene in the 60s, there was underground stuff going on but when Pol Pot came in they killed anyone with a profession. You’ve got long hair, you’re a musician? They killed you.

It has a huge impact on every part of Cambodian society. If you go to Vietnam or Thailand the food is very authentic and it has variety. Here, not really. It’s a combination of Vietnamese food, Chinese food, really whatever is around because we lost all our recipes with the people who were killed. And that applies to music as well.

There’s not a lot of motivation to play heavy music, especially since the easiest way to make money is through plagiarism. I know a lot of people who love heavy, heavy music, but they end up playing rock because they need to make money. It makes perfect sense if music is going to be your career. If you want to be a musician you’re going to have to play what people want to hear because you’re not going to make it as a metal band in Cambodia. Not really.

MB: How has the underground scene in Cambodia evolved over your years as a band? And what part has the “Cambo Headbangers” Facebook group played in Cambodia’s scene?

VH: Well, we had met these guys on Hi5, which was a social network website around a little before Facebook. Asians love Hi5 and stuff like that. So a while after we all got Facebook and these few boys decided to get everyone together in the group. So all these people who thought that they were alone in liking heavy music suddenly realized there were others who were into the same stuff. This was around four years ago, when the scene was bigger. It all kind of died away as everyone got jobs or decided on new musical preferences.

It really small but it was cool, you knew everyone and people were always excited about the scene, trying to throw events or make music. But that was when we were all younger and didn’t have to have jobs.

The scene was truly “below underground”, it’s not like there were shows to go to every weekend. So it really created an intimate, family type atmosphere.

MB: Is there a network of bands throughout SE Asia, or are the scenes in each country pretty independent of each other?

VH: Well the scenes in places like Thailand or Vietnam are bigger for sure. Another thing I think is related to the war. We have some international bands. One Singaporean and one American guy who are ex-pats here are always contacting touring bands going trough SE Asia and trying to get them to come to Cambodia. So through that there’s some contact between us and Vietnam and other places, which is really good.

MB: What are some bands and venues in the Cambodian scene that people from the US or other places should know about?

VH: Nightmare AD, they’re all ex-pats but they put a lot of effort into the scene and getting international bands to come here.

Doch Chkae, the boys in this band actually come from a very humble background. They all were born in the orphanages and are from a village background. I don’t want to put my words into your story, but you should definitely check them out. There’s been a few articles written about them I think they’re a band people interested in the Cambodian scene should listen to.

In terms of places for metal music there’s Oscar’s on the Corner, a bar in Phnom Penh. That’s where the guys from Nightmare AD have shows when they get international bands to play. Another less metal, more kind of alternative, grungy kind of bar people should check out is Showbox. I play in a blues band as well and that’s our favorite place to go.

Sliten6ix’s music can be found here: https://sliten6ix.bandcamp.com/

Nightmare AD’s music can be found here: https://nightmaread.bandcamp.com/releases

Doch Chkae;s music can be found here: https://yabmoung.bandcamp.com/track/chkut-doch-chkae

[thephilosophyofnoise]

INTERVIEW: LIMBS BIN

Limbs Bin’s sound is one of noise at its most raw: the project sounds the deranged howls of an apocalyptic Earth’s last surviving man, coupled with mind-numbing distortion and hellish feedback which scrapes across the ear with the rage and ferocity of a razor blade in the hand of a chimpanzee. I was lucky enough to talk to Josh Landes, the person behind Limbs Bin, about his experiences with underground music and how they’ve shaped his musical output:

MB: Many artists approach noise, and other forms of art, as a cathartic release. Do you feel Limbs Bin is a cleanse of negative feelings, or do you see it more as an expression of thoughts and emotions which transcend the music and stick with you even after making a release or preforming live?

JL: Life is about understanding and confronting change, so learning how to tap into your own experience as this constant flow you can draw from, interpret, and express, gives you direction to make honest, immediate art. Limbs Bin celebrates the extremities of life by bringing them out of the shadows and letting them be themselves for a brief window. Creating this kind of space in my life has allowed me to not treat feelings of fear, paranoia, or loss as something disparate to who I am, but part of my identity. The idea that any one gesture removes part of who I am is an illusion. It's also a space of joy and focus and enthusiasm. The  feelings being expressed are threads that will likely extend throughout my life. But who knows. Maybe revolutionary new surgery or a medication is around the corner.

MB: You've said in the past that your music is heavily influenced by your experiences living in dense urban settings. A large amount of extreme music has been made by people in similar situations. What is it about "urban stress" that inspires bleak, abrasive music? And do you think the experience of that stress is a necessary component when making extreme music?

JL: Certainly the music I've made since 2013 has been heavily influenced by life in first New York City and then Cleveland. But that would do a disservice to my formative years spent in the relatively serene but menacing beauty of Western Massachusetts- there's no urban requirement to making extreme music. Most of the artists I most respect tend to come out of the corners, not the limelight. That being said, NYC is a huge, teeming petri dish of humanity, filled to excess, both crumbling and flourishing in grand gestures, constantly surrounding you and forcing you to adapt to the realities of society without much delicacy. You do not need to live there. The best things about it are the best in the world- or at least, the most intense. The worst things about can grind you down into a miserable lump. Worth exploring, maybe only move there with a solid plan. It's a lot. I can't stress enough that quality is almost never guaranteed by one's surroundings. A good artist could live in a shack in Kansas or a loft in Taipei. For some people, being around others is part of their process; for some people, being in solitude- or isolation- is how they get their fix. Blessings on us all for trying.

MB: You've spent time in both the hardcore and noise scenes. Do you notice any particular traits or personality types in people who are attracted to making or listening to noise?

JL: The lowest of the low. The community around noise music is just like any other community- some garbage, some gems. I will say, the people who stick it out and show up and remain constants through the good and the bad have amazed me with their generosity, kindness, and good spirit. It's not a cool or particularly fun scene, so the people intent on keeping it creative and inspired tend to have some level of commitment that must account for something. Hardcore is definitely better on your resume. Teaches you how to think more specifically than noise does. Unity, you know?

MB: Do you make each release as an artistically separate entity, or are there overlying themes or messages across your discography?

JL: The general theme is "what's grinding my gears this week". The discography is like a diary of places I've been, what I've felt in those places, and my own attempts to explain my dreams, fantasies, and the reality around me. 

MB: When you're preforming live do you feel like your normal self, or is there a mindset/side of your personality which only exists in that context?

JL: The sense of focus when I perform is what distinguishes it from my daily life. I am locked in to a place where I am communicating with more than words, and it requires all of my attention and power to express it correctly. I'm present, aware, and high on the whole thing.

MB: You've talked recently about incorporating other people into Limbs Bin, including a bass player and/or a drummer. What are you future plans for the project's sound?

JL: I've had many people join Limbs Bin over the years, and the band has been presented in different ways with different configurations. My upcoming release "18 Rack Demo" features Wyatt Howland on bass, for example. Get the tape on Torn Light Records this spring. But the only future plans are to push myself and keep finding ways to take Limbs Bin to greater heights, to still be important to me and worthy of the effort that goes into it. I'm embarrassed to admit I've actually added a piece of gear to the pile as a part of this endeavor, so we'll see if that's a total mistake or not soon.

MB: What currently active bands/projects inspire and interest you the most?

JL: Skin Graft, Collapsed Arc, Scald Hymn, Kjostad, Heat Signature, Crazed, Bastian Void, Consumer Electronics, Sete Star Sept, Noise Nomads, Jeremy Bible, Telecult Powers, Paranoid Time, Stroker, Wolf Eyes, The Body, Facialmess, and Lana Del Rey.

All of Limbs Bin’s releases can be found here:

https://limbsbin.bandcamp.com/

[thephilosophyofnoise]

DEMO REVIEW: HAIR PULLER

Hair Puller are a three piece hardcore band out of Portland, OR. In their self titled demo the band produces a staggering mid-tempo burst of sound, drawing up power from crushing guitar, vibe heavy bass lines and furious vocals. Hair Puller’s particular brand of hardcore draws to mind bands like Rage Against the Machine and Incendiary, but with an element of emotive melodies and vocal structure. The back and forth calls between the band’s two vocalists are violently delivered and pack an emotional punch. Every track on the demo is arranged and recorded meticulously and the songs are consistently full of passion and deeply personal, making the demo a model for the level of emotional expression many bands strive to achieve.

Hair Puller’s demo is excellent, with catchy, mosh ready riffs, raw, wild vocals and instrumentals which will make you want to punch a hole in the wall. Portland can at times feel over saturated by hardcore bands, but Hair Puller are a unique addition to the scene, who deserve recognition for their emotionally charged and instrumentally proficient approach to the genre.

Hair Puller’s demo can be found here:

https://hairpuller.bandcamp.com/

[thephilosophyofnoise]

SPLIT REVIEW: EAST SHERMAN AND STOIC

This split is the newest release from two of my favorite underground bands currently active, Washington state’s East Sherman and Whyoming’s Stoic. Both these bands seem like they’re constantly on the road but that definitely does not take away from the quality of their recordings. East Sherman opens up the split with two tracks of immense, crushing heaviness. The band brings together elements of hardcore and black metal which combine to create a haunting soundscape that feels deeply and authentically tortured. Frost bitten vocals combine with eerie cascading guitar melodies to bring together a chilling atmosphere perfect for the dark Northwest forests of the band’s home.

Stoic’s side of the split attacks the listener with crushing, bass heavy slams interspersed with furious and desperate vocals. The band never slows down, with neck snapping breakdowns and raw aggression dripping with sludge being pushed through the speakers at full force throughout the band’s four minutes. A huge amount of emotion is packed into a short amount of time in this release, and Stoic utilizes every second of it, delivering a heartfelt testament to pain, sadness, and all consuming anger delivered in the form of colossally heavy hardcore.

The split can be found here:

https://eastsherman.bandcamp.com/album/split-with-stoic

https://stoicwy.bandcamp.com/album/split-with-east-sherman

[thephilosophyofnoise]

ALBUM REVIEW: GODZ-”RAIN OFF A ROSE 2″

Rain Off A Rose 2 is the newest release from Portland based psychedelic EDM artist GODZ. A follow up to last June’s Rain Off A Rose, this new album pushes the themes of the original ROAR to new levels. The dreamy, ambient beat style of ROAR is relived in this release, with snappy trap snares and sunny, drawn out keyboards echoing across the soundscape. But the sequel takes the ambient style to a different place, making the chillness more extreme (as silly as that sounds). Nowhere is this better illustrated than on the track “Try Out”, where echoing wind chimes and a haunting vocal sample create an uneasy atmosphere that at times sounds almost like an EDM version of ambient black metal. GODZ seems to be flirting with this darkness, subtly bringing out this more unsettling tone under the cover of euphoric melodies and vibe heavy bass. This contrast plays out through the album and is a major factor in making ROAR 2 GODZ’s best work to date.

Every song on the album can stand alone and retain quality, and together they paint a sonic picture of the blissful, childlike state GODZ seeks to create in all his releases. ROAR 2 is at this point GODZ’s defining album, showcasing the most passionately put together stuff he’s ever released. Once again GODZ proves his sound is ever changing, never content to stay the same between releases. ROAR 2 is simply put the best music GODZ has ever put out, and I look forward to seeing how he tops himself in the years to come.

ROAR 2 and GODZ’s other releases can be found here:

https://soundcloud.com/godzpdxorca/rain-off-a-rose-2

[thephilosophyofnoise]

ALBUM REVIEW: GUILT TRIP-”UNRELENTING FORCE”

Guilt Trip are a four piece hardcore band from Manchester, UK. Their sound fits within the crossover thrash revival which has been growing over the last several years. However, don’t take this to mean Guilt Trip are just another Power Trip clone. The band delivers explosive guitar and pummeling drums, with powerful vocals which energize the listener the way hardcore and thrash is meant to. Guilt Trip were clearly taught the way of the riff through thrash, but their hardcore edge is quite clear through the intense vocal delivery which bring to mind modern hardcore kings like Downpresser and Trapped Under Ice. And like all good hardcore bands Guilt Trip delivers on the breakdown, delivering a bumping, rage soaked attack coupled with the occasional mini solo to serve as tribute to their old school roots. Unrelenting Force is an apt title for this release. Guilt Trip sound dangerously furious at the world around them, and Unrelenting Force could serve as the soundtrack to kicking someone’s teeth in. My impression is don’t sleep on these dudes.They’re sick as hell and Unrelenting Force should be the next hype ass album in hardcore circles. I hope these dudes will be heading our way very soon.The US can always use some tough as nails hardcore to vent our frustrations, and Guilt Trip are the perfect band to do it.

Unrelenting Force and Guilt Trip’s other releases can be found here:

https://guilttripmhc.bandcamp.com/album/unrelenting-force

[thephilosophyofnoise]

ALBUM REVIEW: KILL THE SHARK-”WE SHOULDN’T BE HERE”

We Shouldn’t Be Here is the first full length release of Vancouver, WA based hardcore act Kill the Shark, an album that the band had been preparing for quite a while before it was released. Full length albums are challenging undertakings for underground bands, and can easily end up sounding half-assed or rushed. We Shouldn’t Be Here is neither. Mixing punchy punk rock drumming, crushing hardcore riffs, and at times moody, emo influenced guitar passages, Kill The Shark delivers an explosively energetic album that is as fresh and vibrant sounding as it is emotionally charged.

Every song on this release is recorded excellently, with each instrument coupled perfectly with the other, giving the album a strong sense of direction and clear minded purpose. A large range of vocal styles run through this album, some of my favorites being the disgusted, Terror-esq growling on the song “Does Not Compute” and the old school punk bark on “A Convenient Inconvenience”. Kill The Shark’s music is a new take on hardcore, reaching back to the genre’s roots while integrating developments of the new school, ultimately crafting an engaging and lively sound that brings some soul back into a genre that can so often slips into cliches.

We Shouldn’t Be Here can be found here:

https://killtheshark.bandcamp.com/

[thephilosophyofnoise]

ALBUM REVIEW: FARTING CORPSE AND WAVES CRASHING PIANO CHORDS- “7‘ SPLIT”

This split is a collaboration between two of the most intensely anti-social musical acts in America today: New York state’s Waves Crashing Piano Chords, and Michigan’s Farting Corpse.

I have been a  big fan of WCPC since I discovered some of his live videos on YouTube early last year. Everything about his music is engaging, from his destructive bursts of feedback and occasional pounding, rough spurts of rhythm, to his primal screams and relentlessly disturbing imagery. A raw, animal hatred runs through his music, and this split is no different. The vocals on this album are fucking terrifying, a hellish meld of a drunken abusive father and a schizophrenic homeless person howling at you from across the street. Its hard for me to call to mind words that do this artist justice, so I’ll just summarize: Waves Crashing Piano Chords kicks ass, and your favorite band can’t come fucking close to this level of horror.

Farting Corpse hold their own on the other side of the split with blistering, wild gorenoise. Finding the perfectly disgusting ratio of feedback to drums, Farting Corpse could not sound more horrifying. The best way to describe the sound would be fleshy, as it doesn’t sound so much like human musicians as the sped up sound of postmortem defecation itself. Farting Corpse’s sound is fucking filthy, an oozing pussy wound of a band. I highly recommend them for any fan of music that brings to mind surgery gone wrong.

Waves Crashing Piano Chords’ side of the split can be found here:

https://wavescrashingpianochords.bandcamp.com/

Farting Corpse’s side of the split can be found here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODcxurqVcKw&feature=youtu.be

[thephilosophyofnoise]

ALBUM REVIEW: RUINED IT- “DEAD TO ME”

Ruined It are a four piece punk band hailing from Portland, OR. Dead To Me the band’s first ever release, is an electric, exciting six song slam of hardcore punk rock. Blending elements of old school hardcore and street punk, Ruined It cover loss, self loathing and rejection of religion all under ten minutes. Bands like this are near and dear to my heart, as this particular bland of spiteful, in your face punk was my first introduction to underground music, and even years later it still has its punch when done right.

My favorite track off the album is the band’s anthem, the snarky and sarcastic “Ruined It”. This song is a classic punk rock thrasher, with funky bass and rolling drums that conjure up an image of a crowd of kids skanking across the stage before leaping off a monitor head first.

Ruined It is a band for people like me, who grew up on bands like Motorhead, Black Flag, and Fear, and are happy to hear a band that does tribute to old school bands with care, passion, and talented songwriting, rather than the cynical use of cliches that is so common.

Dead To Me can be found here:

https://ruinedit.bandcamp.com/album/dead-to-me

[thephilosophyofnoise]

DEMO REVIEW: FVRLVRN-”DEMO 2016″

Fvrlvrn, (pronounced “Forlorn”) are a grindy black metal band hailing from Ardmore, Oklahoma. Their newest release is a destroyingly heavy three song demo, which in its brief ten minute time frame melds together elements of black metal, grind and the heaviest of hardcore, along with an intense and relentless vocal attack ranging from gurgling gutturals to howling shrieks. Fvrlvrn’s sampling of diverse sub genres is not some kind of attempt to give themselves an engaging mystique: They draw the best elements from each genre in order to craft a diverse, uniquely brutal sound in the vein of bands like Dragged Into Sunlight and Young and in the Way. My favorite track on this release was “Lurking”. Opening with a eerie, haunting guitar instrumental and then without warning launching into a earth shattering slam of a groove, the track is simply bad ass, and would be loved by any extreme music fan, whether their into grind, black metal, or beatdown. Fuck, even deathcore kids could get down to it. Fvrlvrn is truly a unifier in hate filled music.

Demo 2016 can be found here:

https://fvrlvrn.bandcamp.com/album/demo-2016

[thephilosophyofnoise]

ALBUM REVIEW: GIDRAH and URCHIN-”SPLIT”

Portland doom heroes Gidrah have just released a new recording, a split with fellow smog filled lurchers Urchin. Unfortunately only Gidrah’s side of the split is currently available online, so I’m not able to get a full picture of the release. But I absolutely loved Gidrah’s side of the release, a powerful fifteen minutes of all encompassing darkness and cold. The tape opens with “Unending”, a twisting behemoth of disdain and hate, combining powerful guitar grooves with howling, hellish vocals. The vocals on these songs really stand out. They feel like a deeply personal, primal scream, and coupled with Gidrah’s ever evolving instrumentals they add an edge of nihilistic blackness that most doom oriented bands cannot match. While Gidrah is on the surface a very classic doom metal band, little details like that add dimensions to their sound that recall black metal or even drone bands like the almighty Sunn. The drone element of Gidrah’s music is no more evident than on the closing track of this piece, the beautifully composed instrumental song “Overcast”, which brings the level of dread in Gidrah’s sound to its peak.

I’ve written on Gidrah in the past, and what I’ve said before about them becomes more true each time they put something new out. Gidrah are an ever evolving band, changing and fine tuning their sound to become more intricate and different with each recording they put out. They are not content with simply being a stoner or doom metal band, instead they build on that idea and create a sound that is uniquely theirs. And that is the kind of attitude and creativity I think all artists, no matter what medium they choose, should strive for.

Gidrah is currently touring the Pacific Northwest. Their split with Urchin can be found here:

https://gidrah.bandcamp.com/album/split-w-urchin

[thephilosophyofnoise]

ALBUM REVIEW: L.I.A.R-“TOUR TAPE ‘16″

Tour Tape ‘16 is the newest release from Portland based metalcore four piece L.I.A.R. This tape, released fresh off the band’s West Coast tour with Portland hardcore heroes Akira, is four songs of bubbling, writhing rage.Vocalist Killian Harris’ howls cut right through the listener as the instrumentals pummel you like an approaching horde.The tape is very well recorded, with snappy, brutal drums, booming bass and grindy guitar very reminiscent of the album If God Only Knew The Rest Were Dead by early 2000s metalcore destroyers Disembodied. It’s honestly hard to pick a favorite track out of this release; each song stands alone while maintaining a consistent sound and common cohesion throughout the tape. But the second track of the album, “Egocentric” stands out particularly well, with its slam-friendly beat, teeth rattling bass and electric mix of vocal styles. The whole song is just about the best any fan of passionate, old school style metalcore could ask for. Totally kick ass stuff.

L.I.A.R’s next show is October 28th at the Tardis Room in Portland. Tour Tape ‘16 and L.I.A.R’s other releases can be found here:

https://liar.bandcamp.com/album/tour-tape-16

[thephilosophyofnoise]

ALBUM REVIEW:  MEYO-”SOLSTICE”

Solstice is the newest release from Portland based electronic artist Meyo, a teenage musician known for his crafting of dense and intricate ambient soundscapes that develop an aura of childlike wonder and peacefulness. This newly released EP does not fall short of this reputation, packing within 24 minutes numerous trippy, blissful samples. Much of Meyo’s beats and melodies sound like they’re straight out of a video game from my childhood, like Yoshi’s Island or Mario Kart DS, with infectiously catchy and adorable synths and keyboards, coupled with an uptempo and repetitive beat. This is often contrasted with the trippy arrangement and booming bass that is such a staple of Meyo and other artists associated with the Portland electronic beat collective Sweam Label. But I found that Solstice downplayed the more intense aspects Meyo’s style, instead crafting more accessible and sedated tracks. This is not to say the songs on the EP are in any way one sided, in fact quite the opposite: The staggered snare beats on “Snow Off A Cone” create a unusual rhythmic pattern that gives the whole song an almost otherworldly sound, and the combination of intense bass and cute little bubbling samples on the track “Pixies” is a prime examples of the two sides of Meyo’s music I spoke of earlier. My personal favorite track on the EP is the spacey and wonderfully arranged “Takeoff” a song that perfectly builds an aura of blissful travel through the farthest reaches of space. In many ways, Meyo’s music is a sonic glimpse into the world beyond, into the stars and heavens, and into a blissful part of ourselves we had let be forgotten a long time ago. Meyo is a musical exercise in meeting the world with the wonder and love of a child, and Solstice captures this wonder beautifully.

Meyo is preforming live on October 28th at the Tardis Room with Sweam label-mate Godz, as well as local hardcore act L.I.A.R and my own band Isolation Chamber. Solstice and Meyo’s other releases can be found here:

https://soundcloud.com/stuart-meyer-3/sets/solstice-tape

[thephilosophyofnoise]

TRACK REVIEW: SQUALOR-“HOW I SPENT MY WINTER EXISTENCE”

Squalor are a hard hitting four piece hardcore/emocore band out of Portland, OR. How I Spent My Winter Existence, the band’s latest release, is a preview track for their upcoming album Brain Dead Generation, and if this song is anything like the rest of the album, it’s going to be fucking killer. The track kicks off with rumbling punk rock bass, and then launches into a thrashy, defiant hardcore assault, with emotion strained vocals grabbing the listener by the throat and feeding them stories of woe and anguish. The vocals on this thing are fantastic, dripping with fury and angst. However, it is Squalor’s passionate, well written lyrics that really serve as the icing on the cake. The writing in this song is as raw and honest as emo and hardcore can be, without sounding contrived, dramatic, or cliche. At the end of this song, when Squalor is joined on guest vocals by the vocalist of fellow Portland hardcore act Akira, is indescribably powerful, with the howls of “I’ve given up” leaving the listener with a haunting, lingering feeling of unease and a desire to act out against those who have abused or betrayed them in their past. This kind of reaction, I feel, is one most hardcore bands can only hope to create in their audience, but one that Squalor creates in me every time I hear their music.

How I Spent My Winter Existence and Squalor’s other releases can be found here:

https://squalorpdx.bandcamp.com/track/how-i-spent-my-winter-existence

[thephilosophyofnoise]

ALBUM REVIEW: WINDEX-”DRINK THE BLUE”

Windex are a four piece band out of Slat Lake City, who play the kind of wild, destructive punk rock bred by being surrounded by nothing but Mormons and jazz for miles. Drink the Blue is a seven minute burst of unfocused angst, content to smash anything it can get its hands on. Thrashy bursts of guitar are coupled with the primal vocals which at time sound like their being hollered from the bottom of an elevator shaft, in the best way possible. This release is best enjoyed if the listener has had the chance to see Windex live. The ski mask clad ensemble charges into their performance with intense energy, with the singer leaping into the crowd and the band desperately straining to keep up their break-neck pace. Windex’s music feels almost like a tower of blocks that one is barely managing to keep from falling down, and this sense of chaos and unpredictability is exactly what makes the band so engaging. Windex are a revival of the sense of danger that old school hardcore fed on, and with that comes that irresponsible fun of a wild party. Windex bring back the vibe of bands like Black Flag to a new generation, without any of the old school’s stereotypes, posing, or bullshit.

Drink the Blue and Windex’s other releases can be found on City of Dis Record’s bandcamp page, a label run by the band’s singer and his brother to put out the music of SLC locals:

https://cityofdis666.bandcamp.com/

[thephilosophyofnoise]

G.L.O.S.S, Pure Disgust, Firewalker, Franky, and In Flux at Bassanova Ballroom:

I was extremely excited when I heard Gloss were coming to town. The legendary Olympia, Washington punk band were high on my list, and they were one of the first hardcore bands my girlfriend had ever gotten into, so going to see them was an extra special occasion. The show most definitely did not disappoint.

Local punk outfit InFlux opened the show with groovy, bass heavy hardcore that hit the listener like a sledgehammer. I absolutely loved the vocals of this band, furious and rough with just a pinch of melody. The music’s wildness left it hard to pigeonhole into one sub-genre, which is absolutely alright with me.

Franky were the second of two locals opening. A straight forward punk band, I found some aspects of the band’s music engaging, like the harsh growl of the vocals and the hypnotic, repetitive rhythms of the bass. But generally I felt the band could benefit from either being more polished or more outrageous, or both.

Firewalker from Boston hit the stage next, and they hit it hard. Rolling drums, crashing riffs, booming bass all complimented by harsh, gravely vocals... They were pretty much everything someone could want in a hardcore band! There’s not much else to say other than they blew my fucking mind. Give this band your money, go see them when they come to your town, they kick ass.

Pure Disgust, a badass hardcore band from Washington DC were up next, and they had one of the more interesting musical combos I’ve heard in a hardcore band in a while: Rough, brutal vocals over energetic posi hardcore. Almost like Weekend Nachos covering Youth of Today. They were fast, they were heavy, and they brought inescapable mosh pit vibes to the whole show, the perfect band to lead into Gloss’ set.

The entire room held an aura of anticipation as G.L.O.S.S took the stage. And what I witnessed that night was true connection between a band and their audience. You could feel the love the crowd had for this band, and the deep connection they felt with their music. And even though I am not someone who identifies as queer, and so I know the emotions expressed in the music aren’t meant for me, it was really amazing to see such a sincere moment of love and community through music. Gloss rocked the fucking house with their electric, high energy hardcore punk, and the stage dives and moshing at that shows were some of the most raw and passionate reactions to music I’ve seen in a long time. Incredibly inspiring, and an awesome show.

[thephilosophyofnoise]

TRACK REVIEW: LIAR- “WALLS”

A four piece Portland hardcore outfit, Liar have been tearing PDX’s punk scene apart for several years now with their infectiously violent riffs and guttural, moaning vocals. Their recent change of vocalist has not slowed the band down a bit, as evidenced by Walls, the preview track of the band’s upcoming Poison Earth EP. The track is a brutal attack of a song, with slicing metalcore riffs and primal howled screams from vocalist Zoe Brittell. Everything about this track is intensely dark, from the snappy, wild drumming to the unsettling sample at the beginning (”I just committed a father’s greatest sin” stuck in my head for days). Walls sets a very high standard for Liar’s upcoming EP, which I expect will exceed all preconceived notions of this already kick ass band.

Walls and Liar’s other releases can be found here:

https://liar.bandcamp.com/