if you were into We Were Lightning, you will very much want to check out this band. Boris Smile started out in 2004 as a one man band, and in 2005 they released their first EP, and in 2007 they released their first album. both of these were on a label called Toy Records. in spring, 2008 yet another album was released… and come autumn, come Beartooth EP. I have no idea what the availability of these other records are, but I’ll try to find out and edit this sentence accordingly. Beartooth is an extravagant adventure of a record. try on Brandon Flowers’s (of The Killers) vocals on top of upbeat and catchy chamber pop. with a heartfelt nerve, Boris Smile explores both darker sad feelings as well as joyful happy feelings in this journey of wonderful stories and gentle sounds. I highly recommend you download this! and that you buy it from http://www.cylsrecords.com – yes, it’s yet another release on the great label Count Your Lucky Stars. get this.
archive for March, 2010
Boris Smile – Beartooth EP
Monday, March 15th, 2010Cindy – The Influence
Friday, March 12th, 2010Cindy are one of the many great bands from Narvik (Norway) that are either broken up or not situated in Narvik any more and performing under a different name. thankfully, this band isn’t among the broken up ones. they are alive and well under the new name The Hex. I have no idea what they are doing, but they told me that an album should be out this spring – so look out for that; I know I will. but anyway let’s talk about this 2006 release – The Influence – by Cindy. comparisons to other bands from Narvik like Cactus and Please Turn Over (now known as New Frequency) are more than appropriate. for those of you oblivious to either of those bands, this music draws influence from many different sounds. alternative bands like Foo Fighters, early Radiohead and Muse, are maybe the main focus, but there’s quite some bit of emo bands like Dominic and At the Drive-In, as well as some more straight rock oriented stuff like newer Turbonegro. there are even hints of mid-career A Fire Inside. the vocals kind of remind of Davey Havok’s tone… at times at least. anyway, my point is that this is fairly general rock music, though with plenty of different intriguing elements within the sound. this means that this can easily attract any audience; any fan of rock music. their sense of melody, atmosphere and overall understanding of how to compose music that feels accomplishing and rewarding to listen to despite its approachable and “poppy” sound, makes The Influence a truly interesting piece of music that can be valued by both the casual music listener, as well as the above average musically interested person. it’s catchy and light without being shallow. to put it short: Cindy rules. download this.
Heart Eyes – Demo 2009
Thursday, March 11th, 2010so I heard this chick had covered Fugazi on the ‘ukulele. initially I was worried this would just be a gimmicky silly “omg l00k @ me I cover emo/hardcore bands in an unconventional manner”. it’s not. and she covered “I’m So Tired”, so it’s not like she’s doing “Turnover” or “Shut the Door”. and her cover just goes to prove that if you’re going to cover Fugazi with an ‘ukulele, then “I’m So Tired” is the right track to cover. she pulls it off quite nicely, to be quite honest. but she pulls off her own material even better! and her American Nightmare cover is also impeccable. if you – like me – have an indescribable affection for Hawaiian instruments… or just good music… chances of you getting into this are high. the honesty and boldness in the lyrics and tone somewhat contrast the – to me – joyful and happy sound of the ‘ukulele. unfortunately the tapes are sold out, but hey – at least you get to download it from that’s punk, eh?
TEETH – Demo
Wednesday, March 10th, 2010if you are longing for something more violent than the latest posts, then my friend – TEETH are for you. early ’90s sounding power violence with some amounts of grindcore, some amounts of hardcore – and some crust. very bass-heavy, and with fade-outs on every song. I’m not a fan of fade-outs at all… but fade-outs on *power violence songs*? that is just amazing. in under fifteen minutes, TEETH deliver some very much refreshing as well as crushing power violence in the vein of Man Is the Bastard, Hellnation and even Dropdead at times on the faster songs. oh, and with fade-outs! the recording quality is so so. the cymbals are very loud… and most of the other stuff is not so loud. but I mean they get their point across just fine… and they cover Napalm Death. so I’m very much looking forward to hearing more from this band, because this demo gave me a very appealing first taste of TEETH.
Empire! Empire! (I Was A Lonely Estate) – When the Sea Became A Giant
Thursday, March 4th, 2010I’m happy to say that this posts completes the e! e! discography here at that’s punk. this was their first release ever, and is well out of print. so for those of you who have been looking for this and those of you who didn’t even know of its existence – here you go! and to those of you who haven’t yet been exposed to this magical journey that is Empire! Empire! (I Was A Lonely Estate), please proceed to download this (and the other posts of this band). e! e! sounds like someone carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders whilst constantly stepping on needles, partly to be reassured that he’s still able to feel anything at all – and partly because no matter where he treads there are no safe spots to be found. this band is damned depressing. but they are depressing without being cliché or stupid. and that by itself is a strong feat. if you can’t stand “whiney” music, you might just do yourself the favour of staying away from this. if however you are open to this kind of stuff, stuff like Mineral and American Football, you will like this. I like this.
The Tie That Binds – Slowly Sinking Under
Monday, March 1st, 2010I present to you The Tie That Bind’s début. so if you missed out on these guys the first time, this is the time to pick them up. and if you remember the first The Tie That Binds album I posted, then you no doubt remember it fondly enough to pick this up. it’s fairly reminiscent of their second album, though with a slightly different line-up. imagine if Evergreen and The Pine were catchy enough to play the Warped Tour. like if they’d fused a bit with Taking Back Sunday. throw in some Jawbreaker and you are already in possession of a fairly accurate description of The Tie That Binds. sounds pleasant, right? well it is. if I had to compare them to just one band though, I think I might have landed on gods reflex. because like gods reflex, The Tie That Binds have that very emotional approach mixed with the upbeat and catchy song structures and great rock guitars with plenty of little solos. so check this out. you won’t regret it!