City Cop - The Hope In Forgiving & Giving Up Hope (2011)

http://citycop.bandcamp.com/

Summer quietly crawled and is already here with it's heat for some time now, but it seems that it is getting more vicious with each passing day. I can barely think amidst this barely breathable air, but cold drinks and a great record just may succeed in providing a sanctuary from the outside.

"City Cop" is a four piece screamo act hailing from Ashtabula, Ohio. This little jewel of a release has been around from the beginning of January and once I took a listen to it I was really surprised that the band has a low number of listeners, according to Last.fm at least. A dear friend of mine told me that this is a strong contender for screamo album of the year, a definite top three material and I honestly have to completely agree with him.
The whole "City Cop" story begins at an unknown time, since either my investigation skills suck or the band didn't put that information online, when two friends started writing some acoustic tunes. Some time later they were joined by two more dudes, in the process adding more and more layers of different sounds and coming with this amazing final product. What we got in the end is screamo imbued with acoustics and sometimes indie, sometimes mathy melodies. Seeing as how screamo is obviously one of my favorite genres and additionally adding to that my profound love for acoustic tunes due to the work of my own band, this type of fusion really hit a certain soft spot for me. Aside of my vulnerability for these sounds, this release by itself is quite capable of entangling you into its grip in a very subtle manner. The album begins with "X", a chaotic and rending melody screeching toward you from the speakers accompanied by clean and somewhat gentle screaming. One could say a seemingly typical skramz opening, but masterfully done nevertheless and it is in fact what is coming after that which is even more grasping. The violent sounds drop and transform into an almost background like music, while the vocal also suffers mutation and turns into a mellow talking voice, bearing a likeness to that of "Koji", "La Dispute" and even "Thursday". Those few seconds of gentle sounds are again broken by the chaos from the beginning and this up and down shifts in pace and aggression continue throughout the song. Initially I thought that "X" could prove as a perfect example of what "City Cop" is able to perform, but I was grievously mistaken. In fact, the whole album provides you with various angles and maneuvers as you delve through it, as if you are reading a story and "X" was just an introduction. For instance, "Ode to Bula/Flight Lessons" gives you a more melancholic and bittersweet twist in tunes and words, as well as a bit more epicness, since it is the longest song. In contrast, the "Free Bird Part II" shines with a more driving and optimistic energy, ending in an extremely passionate way, while after that you are get to hear track four, "Humanity Is Sinking", a very pissed off and angry song showing some misanthropy in it's wake.
Once you listen to the whole record and the entire story unravels, you feel a strong need to take a listen to it again simply because the initial listen can't provide much understanding about it due to the fact that the album is quite vast in both length and detail. On first glance it does seem long because it features ten songs, but once you start listening the journey seems doubled. This is thanks to two things, one being the amount of different melodies and playing styles incorporated inside, the other being the vocal and lyrics which really provide a storytelling trait to "City Cop". The lyrics are quite amusing and written in a great fashion, but the audio manifestation of the words is just amazing. Be it screaming or talking or singing, whichever the form, the vocal performance flames up your interest as much as the instruments do. Many are instances when you completely focus on either the vocal or the instruments, since both parts of the band shine exceptionally well and it is a shame to give this band just a shallow listen. This is one of those projects to which you come back to time and time again, every time discovering something new.
As I said at the beginning of this review, I definitely agree with my friend that this is one of the best releases this year thus far. And once again, I am really surprised with the low listener count and honestly hope that this writeup will somehow aid the band and attract more people to it. In any case I highly recommend to all of you to give this band a try, you are bound to like it and all I can say in the end is that I really hope we see more of "City Cop" in the future. Enjoy!

PJ Bond - 22 April: Vienna, Austria (2010)

22 April: Vienna, Austria (2010)

Judging by the title of this post you'd think that it is a gig review or something. Not quite correct, but then again it isn't far from the truth either. This is a writeup dedicated to PJ Bond's second release, recorded on April 22 in Vienna, Austria during a break on his tour. So yeah, one could definitely consider this like a special tour show just for the listener of this release.

PJ Bond is a singer/songwriter with an acoustic guitar in hand and quite a lot of emotions and energy coming out of his pocket. You can find his biography on "The Black Numbers" label site (found here), which you should check out since it is a very interesting read, but now I'll just give a quick glimpse of it. Coming from New Brunswick, New Jersey he was rooted in the diy basement scene for the majority of his time. When his first and probably most loved band parted ways, he was bouncing from band to band and while this experience was probably memorable, he missed something. He felt caged and longed for creating, touring and making friends along the way. After deciding to go solo and taking probably the hardest first step to do so, here he is today.

To be honest, prior to hearing from Phil, who is a member of the above mentioned label, I didn't know about PJ Bond and his music. The only bits of info I found out was from that biography I recommended for reading and this release. When you read it you see that PJ has quite a nice number of songs under his belt. I am yet to check out all his work, so for now I will be focusing just on this release.

Despite the fact that I really don't listen to this type of acoustic music a lot, which I should since it reminds me of my significant other, this "genre" is actually my soft spot. It is hard to explain, maybe because for some reason tunes like these aren't on my mind that much, but once I settle down and take a listen I usually end up melting from enjoyment. I presume that this is also why I find it hard to write about projects like these, since you don't need to talk about them. I mean, it is a singing guy with a guitar, what is there to write about, right? But that very simplicity is there just to clear the path to the heartfelt lyrics and the passion one man can dedicate to making music. You just need to sit down and absorb all these melodies and pure, raw emotions radiating from every possible second.

Hm, seems like I trailed of from actually talking about PJ's tunes. Well, all that is written above can be applied to him of course. When you put this into your player you get a dose of excellent tunes which will make your day better in an instant. PJ reminds me a lot of Eric Ayotte when it comes to lyrics. I did a review of Eric's gig with "Adorno" a few months back (you can read it here), falling in love with his performance and I think that the same would happen to me if I saw PJ play live. Simply put, there is really something driving and inspiring on this release and all you need to do is just let go and enjoy. There are six songs with around sixteen minutes of tunes here, with "Untitled (Robot Golf)" being my favorite. I am quite eager to take a listen to the rest of his work, since this grasped my heart and attention the first moment I pressed "play".

In the end, I hope that I managed to reflect my feelings about this release onto this writeup. PJ Bond makes amazing music and you should absolutely check out his work for yourselves. I really hope that he continues to journey on the path he took and that he finds all the happiness and success he could wish for along the way. You can get in touch with him on his myspace page here or even follow him on Twitter here. Enjoy!

Adorno & Eric Ayotte - Split 7'' (2010)

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I guess it just comes natural that after such a show I upload this record. And of course, no need to write now, the writing of the review below really took it out of me. Besides, I think it should convince anyone to at least try and listen, this is really a work of art.

Gig review: Adorno, Eric Ayotte

Usually when a show you went to was good you tend to realize that fact on your way home, talking to friends you were with and saying "yeah, it was an excellent show". I believe it's because in the moments when the music hits your ears and when your eyes feast on the stage, you overtly forget the fact that you will have an opinion about it later and you just enjoy the moment. But yesterday's experience was 180 degrees different. Maybe because I'm in a sensitive time on a personal level or because I generally like to think about the music I indulge in. Maybe. But then you think about it a bit more carefully and come to a conclusion that it's not you, that you could have been in the worst or the best mood, it matters not, for you have witnessed artists who detonated an emotionally charged bomb in front of you and you had nowhere to run. Then again, why would you?

The lines above probably made zero sense, since last night I was again introduced to the meaning of words "stunned" and "speechless". Until I get a grip on myself and get into the proper writing mood let's just take it the old fashioned way. The show was held yesterday evening (now actually the day before yesterday), 29th of July 2010 to be exact, in a venue named "REX" in Belgrade. Although the venue is in my hometown I never actually visited "REX" before and I have to say that I was quite impressed. It's quite a small place, but designed and decorated perfectly, reminding me a bit of the Student Cultural Center (SKC) in Belgrade. To make it even better, the room where the actual gig took place has excellent level of acoustic and the sound doesn't get splashed and deflected around, giving you superb sound quality during the show. The show was set to start in 9 pm and with a slight but tolerable delay of about half an hour it started around 9:30 pm.

As my friend and myself entered the venue I was kinda bummed at the extremely low number of people who attended, somewhere around 20 or so. "Adorno" and Eric were probably satisfied with even those low numbers, but it still justifies the fact that this type of music is not really common in my country. That, plus the retarded thing that a lot of people I know just don't like going to shows, they'd much rather listen to music at home. Whatever the reason it's a completely different subject, so I won't stray in that direction.

"Adorno" opened explosively and the first thing you notice is that instead of two, they played with three guitars. I haven't seen them live before, so I don't know how different it is compared to having just two guitar players, but this kind of band composition really adds something more. Even the gentlest songs from the "Said and Unsaid" release sound much more expanded, powerful and creatively layered. The most amazing thing is that despite the creative chaos bursting all around you, you still fully get to feel that specific, amazing vocal type, a literally soothing sound. If I remember correctly, all songs from "Said and Unsaid" were played, songs in which I'm very much in love with, so I got my share of singing along. During the early moments of the show, Joao (one of the guitar players) talked about how happy he is to be able to play with his friends and that in fact this show was their 100th gig. Heh, that really made me both happy that they celebrate it here with us and sad since they really deserve more people to hear their music. But there is also next time to correct past mistakes, right? At least the crowd was alive, not much dancing, but quite a lot of cheering and clapping.

As the show progressed "Adorno" played some of their older tunes with a bit of a heavier sound at moments sounding a bit post-rockish. This is where the 3 guitar combination really excelled. The sound radiating from the speakers was just gigantic and explosive, a behemoth literally crashing down and swallowing you without remorse. I stood there in the front row for those blissful half an hour or so and was quite shocked and stunned with what they threw at us, such emotionally infused music which I really had no idea I would experience at this level of amusement. I have to admit though, I am bad when it comes to knowledge of their older songs, especially the last song they played. I think (but I'm not so sure) that the last song was "Fetishized Facts" and the amount of pure epic proportions was unimaginable. The end was particularly impressive, when one by one they left the stage while the rest continued to play, the guitar players even leaving their instruments face-down on the ground which gave way to some unique sounds. I don't know what else to say about Adorno's part of the show other than that it was amazing beyond my thoughts.

After a little break and a visit to the merch section (yay for my new "Adorno" T), Eric Ayotte took the stage. Ok so, as the story goes on the interwebz, he is (and I quote) "the nicest man alive". And the only thing I'm gonna say to that "yes he is". Period. If the scientist of this world could improve the cloning program so that a mass production of this man could ensue and every household has one to have him sing and talk you to sleep I think that then the world would be a much better place. I have never heard such beautiful music, accompanied with an amazing humor enhanced talks with the audience, as well as meanings of the songs he plays...so amazing. The amount of smiles on my face during those thirty plus minutes surpassed all my good mood I amassed for the past few days before the show. Eric really managed to create a friendly and warm atmosphere, basically you have the feeling that he is playing in your living room instead of a club. My heart was quite full when my favorite song was played, namely "Bear You Are", but during the show I think I discovered a new music love in the form of the song "Fallujah". I heard the song before, but while it was played I was absolutely stunned by the amount of passion it radiated and during the song you really feel how the lyrics are sad and heavy. At the end, the crowd didn't let Eric go so easily, so we got a bonus song.

After the show I walked away with my friend and even before it was mentioned in the upcoming conversation I realized that I already knew what to say and how my opinion on the show looked like. It was probably the first time in my life that a show review was literally writing itself in my head without the thought-hibernation time, every step away from the venue a letter on a page. It's so amazing to witness how music can pull together such talented, passionate and nice people, no wonder you walk away inspired and with a heart filled with joy. In the end I would just like to thank Joao for being quite friendly and taking a few moments to talk to my friend and me and for actually being a follower of my blog. And of course, thanks to anyone who managed to organize this event and bring these great artists to Belgrade, this has the potential to be the best show this year.

Endless howling VII

Again I won't be home for a few days, so here's some old stuff. I have some posting requests and I will really try to review a few during my absence, since I realized that it's quite bad not posting for more than three or four days, you kinda end up losing inspiration and will to write. 2006/7 heavy post...Ah, good times.

Lion of the North - The Compass Calls EP

Lizards Have Personalities - In All Honesty (2010)

Lobo's Son - The Circle Cuts (song)

Logs - Logs (2007)

Mans - Summer Tour Demo (2006)

Mans - Summer Tour (2007)

Marat - Demo (2006)

Me and Goliath - Demo cd-r (2007)

Meleeh - To Live and Die Alone (2010)

Monument - 3 song 7'' (2008)

Myra Lee - Self titled (2004)

Lobo-guará - Lobeira (2010)

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I remember the first time when I heard about this Brazilian project through the previous release named "Quatro Musicas". The four songs on the said release were quite refreshing, since the acoustic detail is not quite exploited in the screamo genre, with only a few other bands working that way. The beautiful guitar playing, splashed with raw, emotion packed screaming made "Lobo-guará" stand out as a quite unique band.

So now, not even a full year after "Quatro Musicas" (released in Autumn of last year, 2009) comes new material by the name of "Lobeira" carrying with itself vast improvements in both song structures, flow and performance. Not that the previous release needed improvements, might I remind you. New album delivers some nearly symbolic numbers, six songs with a total of six minutes and five seconds of yet again raw screamo in its purest form.

At this rate, the project will hopefully evolve more and more. Which is really bringing me joy, since I find "Lobo-guará" very interesting, unique and generally an enjoyable band. Check it out and support it, the attention is well deserved!