When Double Dagger broke up I didn’t really give much thought to the sort of groups that would form in the wake of it. I figured members would splinter off and start similar bands, in the way that typically seems to happen. It never once crossed my mind that something like Roomrunner would be the next step, but apparently for Denny Bowen it was the way to go. A band that has no problem with reaching back into the bountiful heyday of 90’s grungy/alterna-rock airwaves. I just picture these guys fitting snugly within the track listing of a Crow or Empire Records type soundtrack. It kind of baffled me momentarily while listening to this six song debut on Fan Death, trying to figure out exactly why anyone would want to tread through this sort of territory, but then it quickly came to me that this shit couldn’t be consumed fast enough 15 to 20 years ago so why not give it another go around? Seems due I suppose. I mean, I’ll be the first to admit that I was right there enjoying a fair amount of it and the tracks that Roomrunner lay down here seem to be fixated on some of the best qualities from those days, and that is hooks and melodies galore intertwined with that all so familiar clean guitar crunch. Consider me on board. A strong debut from these guys, in the most unlikeliest way.
Roomrunner – Bathtub (stream)
Anyone that wishes to grab this can do so by hitting up Fan Death Records where it’s available on cassette or it’s also up on the bands Bandcamp page.
I remember some time ago I got an e-mail from a member of Nonagon promoting an EP of theirs, or it could have even been a message through MySpace (that shows just how long ago it was). It doesn’t matter though, I ended up losing the message and I remember spending a nice chunk of time trying to figure out just what band it was that sent it, as I recalled liking the tracks that they linked to. Sadly I didn’t figure it out until much later. I’ve always kind of felt bad about that, as I usually try and get back to people with legitimate inquiries. So with that, it’s cool that these guys passed along their latest release People Live Everywhere despite me accidentally giving them the cold shoulder the first time around.
Nonagon are a three piece from Chicago who, despite being around for roughly six to eight years now, are just now releasing their second official record People Live Everywhere. The band has a nice palate of sounds going on here, one of which obviously reflects the city in which they reside. Other times Nonagon show flourishes of a wider/thicker Midwestern sound mixed with some of the influence of more oddball post-hardcore/punk bands from 90’s DC. In turn, the five tracks featured on the EP are vaguely mathy without being too mechanical in their approach giving them a noticeable liveliness. One of the aspects of this record that I think really seems to contribute to that is the excellent recording job done by Justin Foley, member of The Austerity Program. The EP as such an open and live feel too it, especially when it comes to the drums, which sound absolutely fantastic. For someone who spends a good amount of time writing/recording music for a band that eschews actual drums, Foley shows that he has a real knack for recording in general no matter the instruments involved. Really a job well done with this record, both musically and production wise. Definitely give this a listen.
Nonagon – Fresnel Lens [MP3]
Those that wish to pick up People Live Everywhere can do so by simply heading over to the groups Bandcamp page, where you’ll find it available both on record and digitally. 300 pressed, don’t miss out.
Ah, good to finally be back. Incredibly sorry for the long break there, but getting settled into my new living quarters took a bit longer than I’d expected. There are still some things to take care of, however time is freeing up some and BOAWS should be back in action now. And with that said, on to the music…
A Butcher’s Waltz may very well be the first four way split that I’ve ever really written about on these pages. After getting a look of the bands involved, it was made pretty clear to me that I’d probably find a lot to like on it. And even the one group that I wasn’t familiar with, Power Take Off, turns out to be the new band featuring Gus Engstrom formerly of Grids. As most of you know, that certainly makes it something of interest around here. The other bands contributing some songs are Seawhores, Skoal Kodiak, and Gay Witch Abortion. So yeah, a pretty nice collection of bands, to say the least.
Opening things up on the a-side of A Butcher’s Waltz is the collective known as Seawhores who, for whatever reason, have pretty much eluded me since their excellent LP Forest back in 2006. I do recall listening to Opus Magnanimous somewhere in between there, but at this point likely needs a re-listen. The band also put out a one-sided 12” on Amphetamine Reptile just last year, but I didn’t have the dough for that and in turn haven’t had a chance to hear it. Judging by the songs featured on this split however, I’m going to have make more of an effort to do so as the three tunes that they share with us here are pretty fantastic. Both “Our Embassy” and “The Cleaning Lady” are steamrollers of vaguely groove oriented noise-rock. And of course, they manage to throw in a bit of the spontaneity that has become sort of a signature to what they do with a track like “The Architect” that sounds more like Freddy Votel’s other project Skoal Kodiak here. Good set of tunes, and if anything, I’m happy that this record could jog my memory a bit about these guys.
Filling up the rest of the main side is Power Take Off, which as I previously mentioned, is the project of former Grids member Gus Engstrom. The track “Plow Share” is the lone helping here from the band, however it happens to span a lofty 10 minutes. If you’ve ever had the pleasure of hearing one of Rusted Shut’s lengthier noise excursions on any of their records, then you already have an excellent idea of what Power Take Off sound like. The track leaps into a slow distortion heavy trudge that rolls along for a good portion of the track, really only taking a very small break somewhere in the middle of the song for what I would assume is a sample of an auctioneer at a cattle auction. Ah, the Midwest. This isn’t as hateful/miserable as Rusted Shut, but certainly has the same crunch to succeed in the same type of way. Dig it and definitely look forward to hearing more.
On the b-side is Skoal Kodiak leading the way with two songs that certainly fit the bill for this project of mutated noise and dub heavy beats. They are fresh off a solid record that was just released on Load Records, and it’s safe to say that those of you out there enjoyed that, then these tracks will likely be of interest. Often sounding like every part of every appliance you own circling the drain, Skoal Kodiak skillfully sketch together funk laced beats and the swirling noise to present something that often truly sounds otherworldly. It’s no secret that Minneapolis has been a breeding ground for this type of experimentation over the years, and with Votel’s time in both the Cows and Seawhores, this almost seems natural. Almost.
I feel that the pairing of Skoal Kodiak and Gay Witch Abortion on the b-side was a good idea, as they both tend to explore an uncomfortable mutoid type of rock and give this record somewhat of a tale of two sides feel. Gay Witch Abortion kind of sit closer to something like Lightning Bolt I’d say, with a rather significant focus on percussion. They have six songs on the LP, and as you may have guessed, they are quite short in length. The briefness of it all almost makes it sound like the entire thing runs together for one longer bi-polar track, which actually kind of works in their favor. I like it, but need a bit more to get me off the fence on these guys.
Seawhores – Our Embassy (stream)
Power Take Off – Plow Share (stream)
Skoal Kodiak – Ruined Rings (stream)
Gay Witch Abortion – Angola Rodeo (stream)
Anyone looking to pick this up can do so by hitting up Learning Curve Records. Definitely worth it if you’re a fan of one or more of these groups.
Please note that the address for any submitted material has changed. If anyone has sent stuff to the old address, don’t worry, it will still end up where it needs to.
Normal updates should resume here in the next couple days.
Thanks!
Yes, I am once again in the process of moving and heading back over to the Missouri side. That’s why there has been such a lack of activity on here lately and I apologize. I don’t currently have Internet access but will in a couple more days (I’m writing this from my phone actually). Anyway, the address on the right side of the page will be changing, however anyone who has sent items for review to the current address have no need to worry as I’ll still be able to recieve them for the time being. Hope to be back soon and as always thanks for reading!
Despite their debut Braille Animal coming out in 2008, I’d never heard of Buildings up until last year. It may or may not have been the best time to discover them, since just as soon as I had a chance to listen to Braille Animal I was made aware that they had a new album coming out in only a matter of a month or two. I’m not sure if that complicates things sometimes, but the immediate reaction is always the more the merrier. Their debut was a pretty solid offering of noisy inspired rock with some Midwestern influences thrown in for good measure. That’s not all surprising though given their locale of Minneapolis, which as many know, has a rather significant history with that type of music. By and large Buildings are an obvious product from which they are from.
As far as Melt, Cry, Sleep goes, the band hasn’t necessarily changed their sound much but definitely have steered further towards the noisier side of things, with a more noticeable influence closer to Jesus Lizard…particularly on the track “I Don’t Love My Dog Anymore”. I like the fact that the production isn’t super slick, leaving it a rougher aesthetic that bands of the same style occasionally forgo, which I’ll never quite understand. In a way these guys are pursuing a similar type of path as Young Widows, at least with the first couple albums I’d say, but with an increased habit of latching onto bigger riffs at times. Not sure how much further they can go with this sound, but I’m up for hearing more. Overall, good stuff if this is your sort of thing.
Buildings – Wrong Cock (stream)
Anyone that wish to pick this up can do so by hitting up Doubleplusgood for the CD version or the recently resurrected Cash Cow Records for the LP. And of course, there is always Bandcamp for the digital only folks out there.
Happened upon the St. Louis trio of Britches awhile back when they had a five song online demo up for download. Admittedly I didn’t give them much thought afterward, but then this album showed up late last year and happily gave them another go around. At the very least the demo was oddball enough to warrant it. They seem to have a recurring thing with incorporating the word “demo” into the name of their releases, this one being Demonstration and the previous release titled Democracy. I assume that these aren’t just cleverly named demos though. Really, this is pretty much a different band than what I remember listening to some time ago when it sounded more like some guys just screwing around and being outwardly weird. With Demonstration the group sounds far more focused; taking a big step away from the simple basement sort of jamming and creating a distinct mood/vibe with a mixture of psych and abrasive noise experimentation. When I received this, it was described to me as being a type of “noisy rock”, which certainly rings true as far as the noisy part goes. However, Britches rock more so in the way of bands like Mouthus and later era Sightings choose to rock. They don’t necessarily achieve the twisting mind altering levels like either those bands tend to, however are certainly operating within the same type of dark and post apocalyptic world. It should be interesting to hear these guys moving forward.
Britches – We’re Both Ready [MP3]
If you’re interested in just checking the entire thing out, the band has it available for free download via their Bandcamp.
More noise from Finland based monsters Throat. This time throwing two new 7-inches at us, one being a split with fellow Finnish sludge mongers Fleshpress. I can’t say I’ve really given much of a listen to Fleshpress in the past, but what I have heard was some incredibly slowed down and exhausting doom/sludge material on their LP Pillars. So, it goes without saying, I was a bit surprised to hear them on this split coming out of the gate with a more traditional type of noise-rock stomp. Solid stuff, and something that will probably force me to scour their back catalog some more. The Throat side of things is some pretty standard stuff from them, in terms of what their past discography has to offer. It gets into a rather Unsane influenced groove towards the end of the track. Each track here from the bands are untitled by the way, with nearly as little identifying which side is which on the actual single. So people who are unfamiliar with both may have a difficult time differentiating the two bands on this split. A co-release from Kaos Kontrol and Kult of Nihilow.
Fleshpress – Untitled (stream)
Throat – Untitled (stream)
The second of the two singles, is strictly a Throat release titled Pee, out now on Kaos Kontrol. Featuring two more new songs from the band, side-a houses the track “Prison Shower” and turns up the hate some. Not that they’ve really ever lacked in the department of bad attitude, but “Prison Shower” seems to be really channeling it hard. The flip of “Pet Peeves” mixes it up some, and even midway through kind of adopts some classic rock ‘n roll riffing before dropping out completely and pounding out a slower monotonous sludge like riff surrounded by high pitched feedback for the last minute or so. Definitely dig that track and may be the winner of the two here. Generally into what these guys are doing and it’s no different on this release. Fans of the band will probably want to grab this.
Throat – Pet Peeves (stream)
I believe both of these releases are available through Kaos Kontrol, however the split it is also available through Kult of Nihilow if you can’t happen to find it there.
It’s odd to be able to describe a record like this as being “lively”, but as bleak and gloomy as Bestial Mouths appear to be here on their debut LP Hissing Veil, they play with a type of energy that throws most of what people have come to expect about goth/death-rock for a gigantic loop. A large chunk of this is due to drummer Ebrahim Saleh’s frenetic style often clashing alongside a lurching type of synth based melody, which in itself nearly gives this genre bending attributes. All of this adds up as a huge platform for vocalist Lynette Cerezo to greatly expand her theatrics and likely terrify those in the process. Where most bands would be constricted by the dreary and plodding pacing that typically gets adapted, Cerezo is able to go completely wild with with a variety of wailing and hair raising screeching/screams thanks largely to the open ended drumming of Saleh. There is so much space to move around here and Bestial Mouths do an amazing job of filling most of it. Always moving, but at the same time sketching out a world view that is none too pretty for those that choose to listen. Really good record that shouldn’t go ignored if you’re remotely interested in this type of thing.
Bestial Mouths – Gulls (stream)
To those interested in purchasing Hissing Veil, it’s available through Dais Records or their Bandcamp page for those who prefer digital. It comes strongly recommended.