if seven minutes of Evolve wasn’t enough for you, then here’s a seven inch! with six songs, it’s eleven and a half minutes long, and includes most of the songs from the demo, and some new ones. it’s all furious (and cool!) hardcore played at a blistering tempo. Evolve are old school and legit. buy here http://www.evolve.bigcartel.com/ – limited to 200 copies, and it’s only €5.
archive for July, 2010
Evolve – Evolve
Monday, July 5th, 2010Evolve – Digital Demo 2010
Monday, July 5th, 2010Norwegian hardcore has been absent from this blog for quite some time now. so guess what? Evolve are a Norwegian straight edge hardcore band influenced by the classics of the genre, like Youth of Today and Chain of Strength. this seven-minute demo introduces Evolve as a blast from the past, clearly heavily influenced by both the American (both East and West coast) sXe hardcore of the ’80s. there are occasionally guitar licks or melodic hooks, but Evolve largely favours it heavy and fast. like a punch to the throat, Evolve says hello. hello! if you like hardcore, you’ll want to check this out. if you don’t… then this band won’t convert you.
Caitlyn Bailey – 2009 Luzon Tour EP
Sunday, July 4th, 2010it’s been well over a year since I first posted Caitlyn Bailey. if you don’t remember them – or never got to know them – they are a Filipino train wreck of a screamo band, and they are very determined in their calling, namely destroying everything that comes their way. this EP is chaotic, dissonant and ugly. just like punk rock should be. they don’t fuck around, so I won’t either. download this if you like: rapid fire drumming, heavy thrash riffs, screaming, and a filthy, bloody fucking mess. if you can appreciate a melodic mess, that’s a plus as well.
Lizards Have Personalities – Snows of Kilimanjaro
Saturday, July 3rd, 2010the skram worshippers Lizards Have Personalities are already back with another effort, and now they are a trio instead of a duo. though the follow-up came sooner than at least I expected, it’s more than welcome. formed initially as a potential joke screamo outlet, they soon got serious. seriously skram. these guys won’t get disappointed or sad if you compare them to random late ’90s/early ’00s screamo band, considering their obvious skram worship. they might be a serious band, but they are definitely a humble band, that wants to pay their respects to the legends of the skram past. however, they still want to sprinkle their own flavour over their sound. and they are extremely successful with that on this record. on their début, they were far more generic skram. they sounded almost like a tribute band. but no one cared, because they were so fucking great. they were residing between Saetia and I Hate Myself, and pulling off the sound excellently. on Snows of Kilimanjaro, something has changed. they have matured a great deal, and in such a minor time span! it’s almost unbelievable. other influences becomes audible. the guitars Funeral Diner and Neil Perry, their Suis La Lune flirt “C’était hier l’été…voici l’automne”, and the chaotic approach of Orchid and Ampere are some of those influences. lyrically though, the same qualities are present. they are still bordering both the cliché and the ridiculous. screaming «my memories hung themselves/staring up at the moon for too long/remembering how you said we’d take the world by storm» with a straight face might seem impossible, but Lizards Have Personalities not only scream it, they mean it. their lyrics – however absurd and over the top they might be – come off as believable and honest. musically this album is as stated previously different to the previous album. one of the biggest of those differences is the more chaotic and fast approach taken here, as opposed to the slower In All Honesty. this album is far more to the point, with most of the songs making it to around 2:30. the one notable exception though is the title track which stretches to 9:46. this track is reminiscent of the songs from the first album, being a mid-tempo heavy screamo song with great licks and a long build-up, that eventually ends up climaxing into a satisfying end of the album. Snows of Kilimanjaro displays a wide variety of influences, and it might sound like Lizards Have Personalities have found their very own sound, instead of merely mirroring their influences as best they can. a fantastic album that you really should take the time to check out.
It’s Just Vanity – Here’s What You Remember from A Coma
Friday, July 2nd, 2010earlier on I posted It’s Just Vanity’s first record, The Strangers EP. if you would recall, I bragged about that record so much, one would think It’s Just Vanity had hired me as their PR person. they hadn’t. and I am infinitely pleased to inform you that starting today, It’s Just Vanity are giving away their new record for free. but only for a week though, so act fast. time is of the essence in this dire matter. and believe you me, it is dire. It’s Just Vanity plays the dreamy, angst-y and melancholic sort of emo perhaps best compared to The Shyness Clinic. and like Youth Pictures of Florence Henderson and Empire! Empire! (I Was A Lonely Estate), It’s Just Vanity are master conveyors of emotion. their new record is completely stunning and utterly amazing. mixing the emotionally charged ’90s Midwest emo sound with nothing short of explosive progressive rock crescendos into full blown brilliance, this band is simply outstandingly good at what they do. Here’s What You Remember from A Coma is glorious and gracious beyond compare. one of the tracks are appropriately titled “Forgive Me, I’m Blowing Your Mind”, and It’s Just Vanity: let me – on behalf of every emo fan ever – forgive you for blowing all of our minds with this mind blast of a record. whilst many albums have certain phases and/or elements that are highly enjoyable, this album is just fifty minutes (and some more) of highlights. a thoroughly accomplished record from start to finish. it grabs your attention from the first tone, and then refuses to ever let it go, even holding it for hours, days if not weeks after you’ve first listened to it. it’s impossible to shake the feeling It’s Just Vanity’s second release gives. this delivers one of the most emotional experiences any music has ever done. download this album, then buy it. please. P.S. this album is up for free forever, apparently. good on them! round of applause for the boys, please.
The Kidcrash – Snacks
Thursday, July 1st, 2010it’s 2010 and people still whine about The Kidcrash being called Kidcrash. but more importantly, it’s 2010 and (The) Kidcrash are still an active band that puts out first class emo. (Snacks was first out in 2009 though.) if you don’t know who The Kidcrash are, then you must be very little interested in the skram, or extremely unlucky. the main things to know about this band are that they started out «in 2000, used to sound different, have toured the U.S. three times, [E]urope once, and love to make friends”. oh and another thing, their music is marvellous. from the very first noodle to the last, The Kidcrash play a fairly unorthodox style of scream, at least for an American band. The Kidcrash could just as well have been from Norway, France or Italy. they largely favour concord over discord, with fairly clean guitars and soft drums. they are not as explosive or aggressive as typical Antioch Arrow influenced American screamo bands like Jeromes Dream, nor like the most popular ’00s skram bands (Saetia, pg.99, Hot Cross, etc). they are far more melodic, with noodle guitars that are far more easily compared to American Football than Ampere. on Snacks, they aren’t even screaming any more. the vocals are sort of like Daniel Striped Tiger’s, shouting more than screaming. this is an overall softer effort than their previous one, Jokes. softer but not less intense. so check out this great record if you like harmonic and well crafted modern screamo (without screaming), and not just explosive bursts. download this! it’s as if Daniel Striped Tiger started a French screamo band. also – you can buy Snacks and everything else by this band from http://www.denovali.com – in several different editions.