It would be a surprise if Friend Collector was actually out there making good on their name and actually, ya know, making friends. However, judging by the sort of nihilistic noise and message that comes together on the bands debut album they probably aren’t winning them over in droves. As has been the case with Jason Donnells’ past projects such as The New Flesh and Pfisters, where they dished out yet a similar brand of unrelenting brand of noise-rock. Where does Friend Collector stand in the mix of things? Well, certainly more towards the frustrated and violent characteristics of The New Flesh and not so much the more rock n’ roll or Jesus Lizard type of sound that Pfisters presented. However, that’s not to say that Friend Collector doesn’t bring together a bit of both here. There is definitely noticeable hints of rhythm here and there as opposed to the straight run of monotony of a Swans like bludgeoning. There is still certainly plenty of that as well though, leaving it loud and bursting at the seams with bass and drums. Showing their disgust to those that are misinformed and inept at making commentary towards this country, it certainly adds to the levels of intensity and vitriol that spews forth from collection of tracks here. Friend Collector successfully creates the type of imagery of a spiraling present and a not so bright future if current trends continue. Give it a listen.
Friend Collector – Pinpointing the Enemy (stream)
Anyone that is interested in picking up a copy of Friend Collector’s debut, just simply hit up the groups Bandcamp page where it is available on LP and digital download.
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’ve fallen behind some over the past week or so due to a number of things, one being a nasty cold that I somehow picked up during that time. So now I have a backlog of stuff that I want to get up here, which is actually kind of a good thing I suppose. Anyway, I’m basically cold free now and hopefully can be a bit more productive in something other than generating snot at a great rate.
Apologies to Baltimore’s Multicult for having to follow the whole cold/snot rambling. If anyone was grossed out by that, trust me it gets better from here. This here two song single follows a twelve inch that the band put out earlier this year and is still available I believe. If you were to search around and make an assumption based on the very little information you can find about the band, then you’d think they were merely focused on some blunt forceful sounding noise-rock. Granted, the band is in fact a bit noisy, but their music is greatly beat/rhythm driven. Much more than I think they would lead you to believe, it’s almost as if they are selling themselves short. Both sides of this single combine some razor sharp guitar plucking with very strong rhythms that has a bit of a Skin Graft vibe to it, albeit not as damaged or arty. It’s a bit of a meeting between a lot of the noise that’s been heard out of Baltimore lately and the workman/technical side of things of the past Midwest. Really dig this.
Multicult – The Costume (stream)
For those that are interested in picking this one up, it’s available on their Bandcamp. I think they have instructions up there on how to obtain a physical copy of the single. It also comes with a digital download that includes a couple extra tracks. Enjoy!
Baltimore has seen plenty of love from me on the blog over the years with bands like Double Dagger, The New Flesh, Thank You, and so on. However, I believe it’s been awhile since I’ve touched upon anything coming out of the city, but alas that changed with this EP from Lady Piss who after seeing their name pop up in a couple different reliable spots moved me to check them out. Taking a few cues from the sadly defunct Philly outfit Clockcleaner, Lady Piss look to explore a similar dark and scum riddled variety of post-punk on what I am going to assume is their debut EP Streaming. Also, word of advice if you’re looking this up, be very careful in your choices of Google search results. The combination of the words lady, piss, and streaming don’t exactly bring back pleasant ones. Unless of course you’re into that, then it’s a win-win. But yeah, Lady Piss seem to lay back from the creep mode some in favor of a bit more straight on aggro mid-90′s noise-rock type vibe. The songs are there on Streaming and in fact they are actually a bit more tuneful than one might suspect, rather than overbearing the listener with inordinate amounts of needless noise. Songs like “Absence of Sunlight” and “Never Come Back” have some serious hooks believe it or not; allowing them to curb some of the criticism that would come their way of being merely a clone of bands before them. Still some room to grow, however…this EP is a damn fine place to start.
Lady Piss – Never Come Back (stream)
If you’re interested in picking up Streaming, then it’s available through their Bandcamp page, where there is the option to get it on 12” vinyl or a digital download at the measly price of 3 bucks. Give it a go if you dig the tune above. Enjoy!
