continuing where they left of, the punk collective Bomb the Music Industry! strikes back with more infectious punk rock. Scrambles starts out with a demo-quality track, and then moves on to a “real quality” ska-tinged melodic punk rock track. sounds familiar? yes. the whole album is really “nothing but” a continuation of the previous album, or to be more precise – a perfection. it even includes quite some elements of ye olde Bomb the Music Industry! like synths and bells and bold jumps and quakes. so it’s still quirky and introspective lyrics on top of quirky and melodic music. it’s the same formula. but it’s has never been better employed throughout their career than now. they have simply grown a lot, and learned many new things. there is nothing that screams rock anthems more than a piano. while not *all* Ben Folds’s songs are good, the foundation is really cool, so ripping him off *is* a good thing… and so on. all these experiences make this a thoroughly enjoying album, full of pure quality, and lots of diversity. on “$2,400,000″, it even goes into Wingnut Dishwashers Union land! the lyrics are always honest, modest and somewhat sad, though at the end I always find optimism in there somewhere. there’s always hope in the end! this is inherently a joyful album, in my humble opinion. and it’s a *damn* fine album, that deserves your listen. download it! and buy it on CD/LP from http://www.asianmanrecords.com, or donate via PayPal to info@quoteunquoterecords.com, including the name of the band or the album in the title or body of the payment. the CD/LP is really worth it though, because you get this awesome fanzine with it (both the CD and the LP), that features many cool tips. not to mention you get this glorious album! the definite culmination of everything that is good with this band – including one of the finest punk anthems ever – “(Shut) Up the Punx”. this is one of those albums where almost every song is an anthem! get it!!!
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Bomb the Music Industry! – Scrambles
Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010Bomb the Music Industry! – Goodbye Cool World
Monday, March 22nd, 2010more quirky lyrics and quirky music? more Bomb the Music Industry!? yessssssss. here is “Goodbye Cool World”. how is it compared to the other two albums (which you obviously have already downloaded)? well, it’s more what old people would call “mature”, in my opinion. attempts at ripping off The Hold Steady and mid-tempo arena rock anthems are some of the ingredients of this album. but don’t despair, there are still some high paced ska/punk songs. there are just fewer of those rowdy punk rock songs, compared to the number of synth-heavy feelgood tracks. despite some really unorthodox genre blending and jumping, I think it’s worth noticing that Bomb the Music Industry!’s lyrics are sincere and how they usually make really valid points. they speak their opinions loudly, and I gather they’d expect to be taken seriously. no matter if they play a synth-reggae song, or an ’80s alternative rock song. the fact is just that this band is just immensely creative, and seem to feel a dire need to experiment with genres – thus making the end result all over the place, which is a great deal of what makes this band so fun to listen to. and then on this one track there’s a ‘ukulele… which pretty much constitutes awesomeness! get this! and keep donating by sending some money (maybe $5 or so?) via PayPal to info@quoteunquoterecords.com. put the band name or album title or whatever in the title or body of the payment, so they know what you are donating to/for.
Bomb the Music Industry! – To Leave Or Die in Long Island
Friday, March 19th, 2010I wrote a lengthy thing here, but it wasn’t saved so I’m now writing it for the second time. that pisses me off. but anyway, we’re wasting as little time as possible here at the that’s punk community. so let’s continue our dive into Bomb the Music Industry!’s discography. this is a band that has as quirky lyrics as music. sounding somewhat like a Christmas album made under the heavy influence of crystal meth and various other substances, To Leave Or Die in Long Island stands on well balanced hardcore and ska legs, but everything from the legs and up consists of what they themselves elegantly describe as «[s]ing-alongs, drum machines, synthesizers [and] saxophones played faster than fuck». a fitting description, indeed. though there are actually some calmer points to this album, just as the début. there’s even some sort of uhm… ballad..? yeah. the lyrics still revolve somewhat around the hardcore scene and punk rock – but the main themes are still the band itself, and the lyricist. from being broke and stuck in a minimum wage job to their bassist applying for Every Time I Die, it’s diverse enough to not constitute nagging. Bomb the Music Industry! continues their avant-garde punk rock thing with style – and energy. if you liked the first album, you’ll like this. if you didn’t like the first album, you won’t like this. if you haven’t heard the first album, get both, and play them. play them hard. download this! oh, and you can still donate by sending money via PayPal to info@quoteunquoterecords.com with the album title or band name in the title or body of the message.
Bomb the Music Industry! – Album Minus Band
Monday, March 15th, 2010if you’ve already heard this band, chances are you’ve already downloaded their discography and indulged in it heavily. if you haven’t heard this punk collective – now is the time. and there’s no better place to start than the insanity of their début, a messy beating of an album. the music is… pretty hard to categorise and speak of… let me get back to that. the lyrics are easier to decipher, so I’ll do those first. they could probably be categorised as “offensive”, when they just throw it out there in the open, that maybe George W. Bush (president at the time) should blow his brains out on national TV. dealing with everything from social politics, to personal day-to-day issues, to “the scene” – and how stupid bands who think they are “cool” are. usually employing a rather simplistic straightforward though slightly comedic approach to lyricism, Bomb the Music Industry!’s songs are highly refreshing. now to try to say a few words about the music… well… it’s definitely energetic, intense and ferocious. firmly rooted in punk rock, with plenty of ’80s east coast hardcore and ska influences… with drum machines and synth and American Steel/Against Me!-esque vocals and uh stuff… but this album essentially sounds like it was recording whilst the performers had a constant itch. it rapidly jumps between different blends of musical genres. who would know that putting synthpop on top of ska makes a totally legit Harvey Danger cover? but what I am in fact trying to say here is that this band sounds like no other band. and no matter if they are doing sped-up lounge rock in 8-bit electronic synths combined with a dancehall-ish ska back-beat, acoustic guitar ballads or furious harDCore punk anthems – they do so in a highly authentic and believable way. this album has some of the most intense quick-paced energy bombs put on record, some cracking social commentary, great and ambitious genre blends, and a completely beautiful ballad to end it all. seriously – it rocks so hard that you can’t even begin to imagine how much it rocks until you put it on… which of course means you’ll have to download this asap! yes, that’s right. this band isn’t only great because of its music, but also because of their impeccable diy ethics. I just hope this band is remembered just as much for their great music as for releasing their music for free on Quote Unquote Records. you can donate by sending money via PayPal to info@quoteunquoterecords.com (suggested donation is $5, but it’s up to you), and putting the name of the band or album or whatever in the donation title or body. I recommend you do, and help these guys to go on forever and ever! and remember to check out the epic Black 47-esque album closer!
Screaming and Dreaming – Pleasant on the Ears
Thursday, February 11th, 2010Ethan from [insert half of the bands on that's punk here] is back with a band called Screaming and Dreaming, in which he and his brother pretty much hammer through these ten uplifting tunes. sounding like something between the psychedelic schizophrenic rock of Rudimentary Peni, the carefree experimental jams of Edward Kasperl Band and the insecurity of screamo bands that never made it out of the rehearsal room – this record shows us all that rock isn’t about technical ability or production value. it’s about expressing yourself in a manner you deem fit. thus this record is an exoneration to all the punks and a penance for all the math and prog kids. download this and go nuts, like these guys did when they recorded it.
MEHE – MEHE
Thursday, November 5th, 2009the first thought that runs through your head while listening to MEHE might be WTF. there’s actually a good chance that’ll be the last thought as well. especially the first time you play through this album. starting out like a thrash metal version of The Locust, and passing through droning sludge and spastic punk on their way, MEHE leaves an everlasting impression. a neurotic and violent cross between punk and metal like none other. a bit too abrupt and hyperactive to be labelled sludge, but far too experimental and noisy to be labelled metal or hardcore punk. I don’t really know what just hit me. I just know that it rules. it sounds like the entire band recorded this during an epileptic seizure.
Monument – Florida
Friday, October 30th, 2009despite citing Braid and American Football as their influences, Monument are definitely a band with their own sound. a lot of bands citing American Football as a main influence sound pretty much… exactly like American Football, with some minor twists. and those bands are generally great, don’t get me wrong! but I must admit being pleasantly surprised with Monuments more jangly and distorted emo rock that feels almost as home with Pavement – or, to take a totally different band that they also sound like, Built to Spill – as it does with late ’90s and early ’00s emo. they are at times loud like Pavement, hitting you with a wall of guitars – but other times they play sensible and twinkly guitar-based rock like Built to Spill, or even Yo La Tengo. there are some noisy ambient-like tracks and an acoustic guitar track to make sure it gets diverse enough for everyone. the acoustic song is actually the closest Monument ever get to American Football in their exploration of different sounds. anyway, this is an interesting journey by a band that might not yet have found it’s sound, but experiment with lots of different sounds, all of which are interesting in their own way. give it a go.
Emo Summer – The Emo Opera
Thursday, May 28th, 2009making an emo opera that lasts over half an hour is a great idea, yeah? especially when it thrashes so fucking hard as this one. this is thirty minutes plus of great riffing, dynamic drumming and so on. it’s just an overall display of diversity within a soundscape. it’s Free Emo. I wouldn’t compare it to Ornette Coleman’s Free Jazz any more than with that reference, but hell… this is great. imagine sticking it to a scene kid’s face. like, turn off that My Chemical Romance “opera” and put this on. they would immediately start to cry. but not because they are attention whores or whatever the reason for them crying usually is – but because this is so fucking hardcore, it will make them shit themselves. and consequently cry because they are embarrassed. I mean they shit themselves in front of you. who wouldn’t be embarrassed? but I sense that I’m straying a wee bit away from my original point, which was – get this. there is no reason in the whole world why you wouldn’t want to listen to this. actually, if you’re not going to download this – send me a mail with a legitimate reason, and I might let you off the hook. but unless you have some medical condition that prevents you from listening to pure awesomeness, don’t expect to be excused from being spat on by this monster album. GET IT.
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Emo Summer – DVD Soundtrack
Thursday, May 28th, 2009from the utmost jazzy opening to the inspiring track titles, this is emo at its finest. I think. while you most of the time probably won’t have a clue what the hell you’re listening to, when you do – all is well. placing themselves somewhere between The Shaggs and Antioch Arrow, Emo Summer are a pretty original band. the stabbing guitars, off-beat drumming and background-laughter all contribute in making this a relaxed and improvised jam that at should be appreciated. if not as a musically technical triumph, then for its heart and originality.