Got to admit that my writing energy is being drained by another project I have going at the moment, plus I am doing the world a favor by raising five cute little kittens and being their mom is a full time job. Since the furry critters are asleep now, I thought about merging two review requests into one, especially since both these bands asked to be hosted on the blog and later they did a split together. Don't be fooled though, this seemingly cool idea is just present to mask my inability to write properly these days. Read at your own risk.
Ruined Tongue - All Of My Bad Habits 7'' (2011)
First in line is "Ruined Tongue", a five piece band coming from Las Vegas which brings along some quite demented and wild tunes. The dudes got together in 2009 and after a lineup change, a demo and a split with "Residuals" here we are today. I still haven't listened to those recordings, but this 7'' was enough for me to get interested, start writing and promise to check those tunes out as well. This record bursts with seemingly typical hardcore punk, but along the way you notice a really weird twist. A combination of extremely eerie lyrics, raving vocal performance and crazy melodies promises to provide you with an intriguing ten something minutes, which is the duration of the five songs present on this release. Staying true to their description on Last.fm, "All Of My Bad Habits" catches you in a whirlwind of sound, leaving your brain boggled in its wake.
The thing that initially caught my attention is the vocal, more specifically the lyrics. All written words on this release are short and simple, yet really bizarre. I don't know if it's just me, but the words managed to spark quite a gloomy mood. It is probably the way the texts are written, since in essence they aren't anything spectacular, it is just that they are overtly direct and without anything holding them back. Completely in your face and the lyrics manage to create a great melancholy filled image whilst you listen. I think that just quoting a part of "Daylight Wastings" will be enough as a preview: "I live my life like a piece of shit, running through bowels of our youth". What further adds to the overall atmosphere is the vocal performance itself, since the singer sounds like a raving maniac. Once again, it is nothing spectacular or revolutionary, just a scream, bit it is the way he howls and wails, combined with the above mentioned lyrics that make this excellent. At this point you realize how this band is great at sculpting an amazing song with typical tools, since this simple/effective clause applies to the instruments as well. The riffs are flowing excellently, but are cut with unexpected outbursts of violence or nutty sections. A good example is the opening song, "Son of a Biker/Ghost Rider", which is slowly building up only to explode in the last couple of seconds in a completely unexpected fashion.
This album was really a neat surprise and I really enjoyed it. Needless to say this release is actually old news, since this year has been quite productive for "Ruined Tongue", the band releasing a live album recorded in "Texas Toast Haus" and a split with "Colombian Necktie", about which you will read in a few moments. In the meantime, follow the band and get in touch via their website found here. One last important note, the band is collaborating with three labels, those being "Reckless Minds Collective", "Radical Friends" and "Irish VooDoo Records".
Colombian Necktie - Self Titled (2011)
http://colombiannecktie.bandcamp.com
Yet another band from Las Vegas, "Colombian Necktie" is a quintet or much rather a sextet if you include Tim, the band's "spiritual advisor". Much like their mates from "Ruined Tongue", this band is also signed to "Irish VooDoo Records" and "RMC", through which they plan to release three upcoming splits (one of which is the split at the bottom of this post). Prior to this self titled record, the band has yet one more split release behind them, done with "Pariah" from Southern California. You can take a listen to those tracks on the band's bandcamp page, which I am also yet to do.
The self titled recording brings us five songs with roughly eighteen minutes of tunes, during which "Colombian Necktie" manages to lash out some truly excellent metallic hardcore punk. I was reading some tidbits about the band online and several times they were compared to acts such as "Converge" and "His Hero Is Gone" and I can definitely say that they rise up to those names. Their influences are easily recognized, with a trace of technical playing and some start-stop rhythms of "Converge" and the dirty, unpolished aggression of "His Hero Is Gone", though the band successfully transforms the sound into something rightfully theirs. These eighteen minutes are full of constant violent pounding on the ears, with a minor break in the form of the piano song "Lirit", the aggression taking various shapes. The sound is constantly morphing, one second you have a fluid, melancholic tune and the other second a massive breakdown-like beat which pummels upon you...after which a sluggish tune crawls away and finally turns into an almost gentle harmony. The songs have great twists and turns and really keep the listener under tension and eager for more.
Yet another band from Las Vegas, "Colombian Necktie" is a quintet or much rather a sextet if you include Tim, the band's "spiritual advisor". Much like their mates from "Ruined Tongue", this band is also signed to "Irish VooDoo Records" and "RMC", through which they plan to release three upcoming splits (one of which is the split at the bottom of this post). Prior to this self titled record, the band has yet one more split release behind them, done with "Pariah" from Southern California. You can take a listen to those tracks on the band's bandcamp page, which I am also yet to do.
The self titled recording brings us five songs with roughly eighteen minutes of tunes, during which "Colombian Necktie" manages to lash out some truly excellent metallic hardcore punk. I was reading some tidbits about the band online and several times they were compared to acts such as "Converge" and "His Hero Is Gone" and I can definitely say that they rise up to those names. Their influences are easily recognized, with a trace of technical playing and some start-stop rhythms of "Converge" and the dirty, unpolished aggression of "His Hero Is Gone", though the band successfully transforms the sound into something rightfully theirs. These eighteen minutes are full of constant violent pounding on the ears, with a minor break in the form of the piano song "Lirit", the aggression taking various shapes. The sound is constantly morphing, one second you have a fluid, melancholic tune and the other second a massive breakdown-like beat which pummels upon you...after which a sluggish tune crawls away and finally turns into an almost gentle harmony. The songs have great twists and turns and really keep the listener under tension and eager for more.
One great addition to all this mayhem is the very production of the release. As I said before, the tracks seem as if not polished, thus you have a constant crunchy sound which goes perfectly with this kind of music, since it gives the instruments a deep, menacing growl. I really had the pleasure to just sit and listen to a specific instrument, being amazed at how I can easily discern every part of the band, despite the chaos of the songs. This extremely added to the overall enjoyment, since you can find some really interesting melodies inside...or just forget about the philosophical stuff and let yourself loose side by side with the aggression unleashed by "Colombian Necktie". Get in touch with the band through their facebook page found here and thank them for an amazing release.
Ruined Tongue & Colombian Necktie - Split 7'' (2011)
This seven inch split, which you can listen to on the above posted bandcamp pages, came out this July. It features four songs, two per band, and I have to say that both names continue doing what they do best.
The two tracks from "Ruined Tongue" come rushing in with that cool eerie style which they imprinted so well in my mind. Their songs dedicated to this split are more punkish in comparison to their "All Of My Bad Habits" and the tracks are both shorter than two minutes. Additionally, I think that here there is a bigger accent on the clash of melody tempos and much less on that unexpectedness trait which their previous release had. Both songs start fast, but moving toward the end they get dramatically slower and dragging. In any case, if you enjoyed the above posted release, you are bound to like their side of the split for sure.
As for "Colombian Necktie" side, their songs are much longer, not just compared to the "Ruined Tongue" side, but to their self titled release as well. Like their split mates, they pretty much remained good at what they do, so if you liked the previous recording you will like this one as well. However, the two songs present here bear much less tension and sudden melody shifts, those being replaced by either flowing and greatly melded melodies (like in the song "Gemini part 1") or the constant effort of producing as much noise as possible (song "I can feel everything......"). Where the former song is in the vein of their self titled release production wise, the latter song took the crunchiness on a whole new level and we have just a giant buzzing wall of sound in front of us.
Either way we get to hear some slight changes in sound and cool details from both bands, which makes this split quite interesting. Both bands are pretty much active today and I am really eager to hear more from both projects, hopefully they will continue pumping out releases like they did so far. Check them out, you won't regret. Enjoy!
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