Reservoir

http://www.reachthetracks.bandcamp.com/

Wow, almost an entire month without a single update. Most of you probably think that both me and this blog are dead, but rest assured that it is not the case. Still pretty much alive, but without a lot of time to write and in fact this month I have been lacking hours spent on the internet in general. Starting somewhere next week you can count on more regular updates in the future due to my wish to try and be as creative as possible.

"Reservoir" is a four piece project hailing from Pennsylvania formed in late 2010. Ever since then the band has been playing some exquisite post-hardcore/emo music which is, thus far, packed into a demo, one seven inch release and a stand alone track. In short, if you are a fan of acts such as "Small Brown Bike", "Mineral", "Sunny Day Real Estate" or "Braid" then this band is worth your time. A while ago, I have been contacted by Justin from the band in hopes of me doing a review of their latest release and he was kind enough to also send me their demo recordings. It took me quite a lot of time to get to write about "Reservoir", for which I am sorry, but needless to say I fell in love with their music instantly and all of their output deserves to be talked about.

The demo saw the light of day in early 2011, namely second February is the official date of release. Twelve minutes of music are sculpted into four songs which really grow up to the older bands already mentioned above. The intro song called "Still" takes you on a one-breath ride and there is seriously no place to push pause or stop until the entire demo is over. All tracks are constantly flowing on fast pace with a lot of twists and turns along the way, being in the form of various bridges, slight tune drops and buildups of intensity. The diversity of sound was really interesting to behold, since there is always something unexpected going on. Repetitive song sections are minimal or almost nonexistent, which makes you just sit, absorb and analyze their sound. I particularly enjoyed the vocals on this release, since you get to hear a crude, raspy throat being intersected with a more clear, gentler voice, with various changes as far as dominance goes and multiple spots with pack singing/screaming. The same goes for instruments, since most of the times everything is just perfectly melded together and then you get to hear a certain band member being pushed up front under the spotlight for a few seconds. Melodies seem to be connected well and extremely precise, in my ears sometimes grabbing a few attributes from certain mathy genres.

"Forgetting and Trusting" is a song that came out in July 2011 and it represents a great transition and bridge between the demo and the band's latest release. As with all young bands it is really obvious to expect some kind of change in sound and this song is a good example of evolution. At first glance, the song is longer than previous output of the band and, once it starts, changes are apparent. Here the band experimented a lot when it comes to various paces of their tunes, which resulted in a much slower track. It floats from slow to medium tempo, with the sound itself also swinging between quiet and calm to occasionally bursting with volume and reaching toward fast pace. Overall, it is an interesting song, definitely paving the way toward the new material. "Into Endings" is the most recent creation of the band, coming out on 21 October 2011 as a 7'' release by "Upside Down Records". The three songs which are present on the record seem like the most solid form of output the band came to write, taking the best from their demo and just further bettering it. Once again, songs are really fast and this flow is the dominant one for the ten minutes featured on this seven inch. The very sound quality of the recordings has dramatically changed for the better and witnessing the already mentioned complexity and precision in songs is much more enjoyable now. Melodies remained raw and truly heartfelt, at times reminding me of a mix between "Merchant Ships" and "Title Fight". Bet you didn't see that one coming. Either way, the band really took a huge step forward and the transition is amazing.

Currently, "Reservoir" has a couple of gigs lined up, but as far as new material goes I have no idea what they are up to. All of you who have a facebook account can follow them on their page here and you can also visit the website of "Upside Down Records", found here. I sincerely hope that this band stays together and that they continue writing music, since they are all extremely talented. Definitely check them out, you'll love them for sure!

Juliet

http://juliet.bandcamp.com

Ah, finally the time has come to get my writersuit on, have a cup of coffee (yes, drinking extremely hot coffee in the midst of this sickening hot weather is great for inciting delirium) and sit back to take a listen to some new music with my cat. She is actually sitting next to the speakers at the moment and since we have similar taste in tunes I guess that it is enough to signal a writeup full of praise.

"Juliet" is a four piece noisy emo band coming from Arizona. I've been contacted by Keegan from the band about posting their "Christmas Island" EP back in February and due to my sloth-like speed of posting they also managed to pull out a split with "Blackwater" in the meantime. I'll be talking about the EP first and then later reflect a bit on the split, since at first listen it seemed that there was a slight change of sound going on.
In any case, "Christmas Islands" came out in February, featuring four amazing songs with around fourteen minutes of tunes. I have to be honest that at first I thought that I will have a hard time writing about this due to my somewhat strange music mood in which I find myself recently. My previous month was grasped with melodic or acoustic tunes and in a moment I thought that I kinda lost touch when it comes to chaotic or noise music. Lucky for me, "Juliet" managed to sweep me of my feet and cast me back into the neglected turbulent sea. The opener of the EP is a song called "Atlanta" and believe me when I say that it was instant love. As previously stated, they whip out some pretty sweet noisy emo tunes toward the listener, completely charged with passion and a certain mood which is dragged along with the music. What was personally very peculiar for me when it comes to this song is the thing that initially attracted me toward it and it is the lyrics. Usually, I first take a focus on the instruments or more likely the band as a whole, but this is probably the first time when I had a feeling like I am just listening to the words and nothing else. Maybe because I am in a touchy-feely sort of mood and the lyrics really remind me of a "certain someone", but in any case I consider this as a very important and big merit of the band, since they definitely succeeded in invoking something new in me. The vocal itself is great, walking the fine line between singing and plain talking, though it has an excellent tone like the voice is about to crack and the singer will just drop to the floor and start crying which is nothing short of perfect if you ask me.
Once I turned my attention to the instruments I realized how amazing they are and how great they are entwined with the vocal. The sound which they create has a stunning flow to it and no matter how much they change melodies in the course of a song or how much chaos they create it all seems so nicely packed into a great whole. "Aly Goola" is a perfect example of this. It has a fast paced rhythm at the beginning, a beautiful melody reminding me of some 90's emo tunes, but then everything takes a slower turn, becoming mellow and gentle, going so far to the point where we hear whistling from the band members. So basically, from fast to slow pace, but still it drives you so nicely that it just washes over you in a single wave. It is quite hard to explain, but I definitely have a great feeling while listening to their tunes, sort of like listening to one big song other than four.
The split with "Blackwater" came out in May and it brought two more songs from "Juliet" to see the light of day. I wanted to leave some space to talk about this split, because I think that there are some new layers to their sound present here. In contrast to the EP, it seems that the band went a tiny bit further into the noise area, since their sound became somewhat more crunchy while still keeping all their traits from the previous release. The guitar playing was also pushed to the front and now it is not completely melded down with the rest of the band. Now it is not just contributing to the background noise, but much rather it takes a great role in supplying some interesting melodic parts like in the song "Dead Teens". As you can see, these are just slight changes, but it is definitely cool to hear a band slowly evolve in this fashion...or maybe I just get into my music a bit too much.
It took me some time to think of possible references and influences the band might be associated with, but nothing seems to cut it. They remind me of a lot of other projects, but they still have an extremely strong sense of uniqueness, so you always ultimately fail when trying to tag them. The closes thing I came up with was "Die, Empreor, Die" and "Boats Against the Current"  mixed with "Japandroids" for a noisy garage edge. Sounds weird, huh? It probably does, but trust me when I say that this is definitely something you shouldn't miss.

I always get scared when I discover a band and then think that they may have broken up in the meantime, but luckily "Juliet" is still alive and kicking. They have a gig lined up for 9th July along with "Joyce Manor", "Rumspringer" and "Come On Die Young", so if any of you lucky boys and girls can go to their show, just rush over there and dance like crazy, no second thoughts allowed.
Oh and by the way, my cat is still hanging out here and she definitely gives a seal of approval on this fine quartet.

Interview:Bâton Rouge

Very proud to present to you the interview I did with the new, wonderful sound coming from France under the name of "Bâton Rouge"! I didn't get the chance to review their "Fragments D'eux Mêmes" release, so if by any chance you haven't been introduced to this band then this is the perfect opportunity to do so. Members of "12XU", "Daitro" and "Mihai Edrisch"...what to say more?! Enjoy!

1. First of all, thank you so much for taking your time for this interview. Please introduce yourself (yourselves) and the rest of the band.

Gwen: I'm playing bass and I sing as well in "Bâton Rouge"

Julien: hi, I'm julien and I play guitar and sing in "Bâton Rouge"

Samuel: Hi, I'm Samuel and I play guitar. There's also Benoit who plays drums.

2. Some of you guys know each other from previous bands, but how did the idea to form "Bâton Rouge" come along?

Julien: We knew each other more or less from childhood actually. We hung out with each other before playing together and learning how to play an instrument. 2 years ago, Benoit was kinda fed of playing "Daitro" songs but wanted to keep on playing music together because we were still all living in the same town and also because we're the best friends ever. So we kept on playing together under a new name and a new direction for a band.

Gwen: I met these 3 guys in 2001 and I saw their first show when they were playing with "Daitro". I joined them in 2004 and I never left them because they are really cool. "BâtonRouge" is the following of this friendship, with another kind of way to play music.

3. France plays a big role when it comes to both European and worldwide emo/screamo/punk sound. What are your personal impressions about the French underground scene?

Sam: I don't really know what French screamo is... maybe the lyrics in French make something very special, I don't know. About underground scene in France, there's still some nice people in many places that are involved into that, playing bands, makings labels... But I have the sensation that there's less and less good places to makes shows.

Gwen: Everybody says that French screamo is very typical, but even if we were playing with "Daitro", we are not very involved in screamo stuff so we don't really know what is this French specificity. About the French underground scene, we can say that many people are working in the way of DIY in different cities even if we cannot keep our squat open more than 3 month.

4. And how about your local scene in Lyon? Anything particular you love or hate about it?

Gwen: I think Lyon is one of the most active scene in France because there are many people from there involved in underground stuff, because a lot of people from outside are coming and leaving all the time, because this city is well located on the French map, I think that's why there is a perpetual activity. Of course, we love and hate our city for many reason, that's what we were singing with "Daitro" in "Y".

Sam: Since a long time there's a big and interesting activity about alternative music in Lyon. There are always some new bands, new people, that are involved into that. There are different persons who organize events, shows, play in bands,... in a DIY spirit, but in different kind of style. That makes something interesting and rich. At this time most of the shows, events, happened in place called "Grrnd Zero". It's also where we have our practice room. I'm really attached about local scene, in music or in art, and I think it's important to keep it strong. I'm always very curious to see what happened in the city, see new bands from here playing...

5. Some members of your band have played in a plethora of other bands, all being strictly diy. What originally managed to draw you into the movement?

Gwen: When I discovered diy stuff, I was playing in "Simfela", a powerviolence band from a small city close to Lyon and we discovered "Daitro" in the same time, so we were both new in this big city full of underground stuff and we decided to do things together.

Julien: 12 years ago I've been to a small show here in Lyon and the band kicked my ass. Friends from SK records were organizing the show and they were also doing a small DIY label. They showed me it was possible to do things on their own for great bands. Then we started to organize our shows with our good buddies from "Simfela" and "Mihai Edrisch" as well (for our bands, but for touring bands as well) and go to play together in other cities altogether too. We saved and collected all the money we got to put out our first releases because it was obvious nobody will do it for us. Eventually we realized what we were doing was starting a DIY label. It started like that... very naturally, with close friends.

6. Do you consider that your involvement in such music defined you on a personal level?

Gwen: For my part, I don't think so. Life is a mix of many things and I am the product of all that things, so not only defined by a musical involvement even if I learned a lot on myself with playing music with my friends.

Sam: Not really... of course it contributes to build my personality, like everything you do in life. I think the most important thing I learn with that, it's that you can do something that really works by your own and don't wait the others to do it for you.

7. In the same sense, what have been your experiences with diy thus far, good ones as well as bad ones?

Gwen: I think that good experiences came with the bad ones. A tour for example is done with cool evenings and shity ones, and the cool ones are becoming cooler if you compare with the crappy one you had the day before. Spending 8 hours on the Turkish border was a nightmare during this 8 hours, but it became a very good recollection because of this unlikely situation. But a rainy Monday in Switzerland cannot be more than a rainy Monday in Switzerland...

Sam: Good things are to met nice people in many different places. Discover cities and places, travelling... to see how many people and places are connected by the simple idea to do constructive stuff in an alternative way. The things that get me tired are all these persons that consider themselves as very radical and politics, but only speak to same people that always agree with what they say... what a fight!

8. What are your thoughts when it comes to diy and internet? Do you follow/participate in some webzines or blogs?

Julien: Any! I personally use internet to check my emails and look at some cool vintage guitars and records I want to get, that's all... I also check some message boards out (mostly the one in Lyon) but I don't post often. I'm not really an internet person and not very at ease with that modern way of communicating, besides email of course...

Gwen: I don't know how to do an attachment with my computer, so...

Sam: I most use internet for emails and classic stuff. I'm not an "active" person on internet.

9. What inspires you most when it comes to writing and which themes do you like to grasp with your lyrics? Does only one member write the words or are more of you involved?

Julien: No, we're all in the process of writing lyrics. Someone comes with rough sentences and we build this up together on vocal melodies, with everybody giving his point of view and approvement on them. Writing lyrics is a hard task. Especially because we don't want them to be like "Daitro", where Aurelien and I were sharing them...

Gwen: Lyrics are always the last thing we are doing for a song, this is not our favorite time when we are writing music...

10. "Daïtro" has been famous for being both romantic and revolutionary. Do you plan to sculpt "Bâton Rouge" in a similar fashion? And how much experiences from previous work do you actually carry over to new projects?

Gwen: One of the reason of the hiatus of "Daitro" is that we made things to much complicated, especially in trying to make sense for everything, that's why we are trying now to be more in emergency.

Sam: "Bâton Rouge" must be more simple in many ways, it's what we want.

Julien: Not really. We're still the same but we need to say different things in a different way. "Bâton Rouge" is more spontaneous, more simple. More straight forward.

11. Before your album came out you did quite a few shows. Which show under this name has been your most memorable thus far?

Gwen: The two most memorable was the first one because it was the beginning and the last one because we were playing only the record songs for introducing them.

Sam: Yes the first one was nice and quite strange in the same time. It was fun to play together other songs than "Daitro" ones. At this time we don't play so many shows with "Bâton Rouge". So it's hard to say which one is the more intense... in general I liked the last shows we played in Lyon.

12. Care to share your favorite releases of 2010 and some of your overall favorites?

Julien: I loved 'Plain Language' by "Delay". Awesome record. I listened to it all summer long.

The new "Daniel Striped Tiger" is great as well, but it's not out yet... I got the MP3s from Seb/Purepainsugar... I listened to a lot of the "Heratys" LP, a swedish band playing raw and fast punk a la "Totalitar"... really good. "The Good Damn" from Lyon released a fantastic album called "I Can Walk With My Broken Leg". They remind me some "16 Horsepower" / "Black Keys" stuff... Still from Lyon, the first full length from "Reveille" is great too. I listened to a lot of the "Obits" 7"es as well. The new "Old Growth" LP as well, but it's not out yet as well... "Mass Hysteri" last LP is great too. "Thou" "Baton rouge..." LP and that incredible "Nirvana" cover! 2010 was a good year... I might be forgetting some though...

Gwen: For my part, I spend half of the year to listen "anchronous" from "Tubers", so I think I missed a lot of things, but that one was so so so great.

Sam: From 2010... I really like the "Yrsel" album. The 2 "Obits" 7" also, I listened to them a lot ("put it in writing", best song ever!)... I probably forgot a lot of stuff.

13. Time for you to interview me!

Julien: Ok...

Where were you born?

Born in Belgrade, Serbia. Always lived here, basically never moved to live somewhere else.

Do you have any brothers and sisters?

Nope, I'm the only child of my parents.

What did you enjoy doing as a child?

Spending as much time outside as possible, had many friends in the neighborhood, so we all used to play outside and have fun. I liked to spend a lot of time with my cousin, with whom I'm playing in a band today. He and myself used to to all sort of crazy stuff when we were kids haha, fun times.

What's the first rock record you enjoyed? And last one you bought?

Tough question. My initial interest in music was sparked thanks to my already mentioned cousin. He got into music quite young, so I presume it was natural that he radiated that onto me. If I remember the first bands I heard from him were Metallica, GnR and Iron Maiden, which records and which was the very first I can't really recall. As for the last record I bought it was actually a batch of records: "Army of Flying Robots" - "Life Is Cheap" LP, "The Spirit of Versailles" - "In Line For Halos" 7'', "A Fine Boat, That Coffin" - "Second Nail" LP, "Dazd/Order of Vulture" split.

What are your favorite places in Serbia?

Hm, another tough one. I can't really name a specific few places because I am sentimental about a lot of spots. I have a vast number of great memories which are linked to hanging out with good friends on a specific place in the city, or even a whole city section due to long walks I used to take with my girl. I am a dude who finds love in small details, so even the tiniest thing can make me love and remember a certain place.

Also there are some things I want to ask you, but maybe it's too rude, I don't know... you'll tell me... as a Serbian, you obviously didn't have the same peaceful youth as we had in France because of that horrible conflict which happened in ex-Yugoslavia in the 90s. I'm really sensitive to the fact that we're not that far from each other, maybe 1500km or so but we didn't have to experience the same things during our youth. Is it still a taboo / painful topic to talk with your friends and family over here? Or still taboo to speak about it in the news etc, even though the government recognized Srebrenica? Do you feel any unconscious guilt, pain or whatever as a Serbian, like for example German people felt years after world war II?

Despite living in such a hostile environment, I never really felt that since I was a kid when those conflicts were active. I guess that my parents did an excellent job with isolating me from all of that. I was aware that stuff is bad, but I was too small to actually have an opinion about anything and I even have extremely hazy memories from that period. I do however remember the NATO bombings, since it was much later. But generally, despite my friends remember all that, we never actually talk about stuff like that. It was horrible, but it is also behind us, no point in talking about it nor reflecting upon it. Same thing with Srebrenica and all that. People are either indifferent or pissed off and fanatical about our past, luckily for me I am in the circle of people who don't give a crap about stuff like that. I can't blame nor am I interested in blaming my (or whose ever) stupid ancestors for fighting each other or other nations. I mean, you also can't blame every German person for the things Hitler did so long ago right? Only thing we can do is make sure nothing like that ever happens again.

I'm aware these are not the happiest questions ever... don't reply to them if it brings back too bad memories... Maybe these bunch of other questions will be easier though... here we go :

Led Zeppelin or Black Sabbath? Black Sabbath

Pavement or Smashing Pumpkins? Smashing Pumpkins

Pearl Jam or Nirvana? Nirvana

Fender or Gibson? To be honest I don't make much difference here, but lets say Fender.

Stooges or MC5? Stooges

Queen or David Bowie? David Bowie

Ebullition or No Idea? Ebullition, but it is a tight decision.

Daitro or Mihai Edrisch? Both, shoulder to shoulder, they fall together into my "best band ever" category.

Television or Talking Heads? Talking Heads, since I don't know about Television haha, shame on me.

12" or 7"? For some reason I prefer 7'' more, I really dig smaller records. Don't know why, maybe because my first record was a seven inch.

Blur or Oasis? Oasis

Black Flag or Minor Threat? Minor Threat

14. What do you enjoy doing outside of band work, any hobbies or past-times?

Julien: Doing artwork... shoplifting books in big libraries... hanging out with my girl... listening to music and reading books. I don't really have other hobbies besides music. Old vintage guitars maybe and documenting myself about music in general and punk and hardcore...

Gwen: Travelling, drinking coffee, smoking cigarettes, watching football games, talking hours, watching mafia movies, screwing around.

Sam: Watching football and talk about it with Gwen! Art stuff and exhibitions, reading books, drinking beer on a bench with friends when it becomes hot outside.

15. Do you have some plans for the future as a band? More releases, splits, tours?

Julien: Recording our new songs and do a 7" that we were to release first and playing shows.

16. I usually don't like asking matters of previous projects, but I guess that a lot of readers would go nuts if I don't do that now. Do you have some plans you wish to accomplish with "12xu" in the future? And are there any signs of "Daïtro" coming back to life?

Julien: With "12XU" we just finished the 10th new song supposed to be on our first LP that we'll record in june 2011. We're spending a lot of time in the practice room to arrange the details on all these new songs... We have a 7" split with "Abject Object" which may be out sooner or later, we're doing our own version of Green Day's "Coming Clean"! I don't think "Daitro" will be back to life to write new songs or doing new tours. Writing new stuff with "Bâton Rouge" is more exciting for us now... We still might play shows again if it makes sense... if good friends of ours come and tour here and ask us to play for example... or in a cool festival where the 5 of us would be into it, that kind of stuff...

17. Thank you very much once again for this interview and for the interest in "Natures With No Plagues". Do you have some final message for the readers?

Gwen: Congratulation for the Davis Cup you won against us, grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!

Theme Of Laura - Demo (2010)

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Before I even knew it, my inbox on gmail became really cramped with a lot of submissions and I'm due to do a lot of promised reviews and posts. And I will actually, not a single band will go unnoticed, since every submission was great. This release arrived to me yesterday and it's the newest one in, but I just had to post it right away. So sorry for all the others waiting, but this really blew my brains away.

So, what do we have here? A trio playing screamo (non-intentional rhyme) in the vain of the legendary "1000 Travels of Jawaharlal" and the newer wonder the "12XU", carrying the sound under a name inspired by a Silent Hill reference...and they are French. I just have to take a moment and praise glorious France, there isn't a single bad screamo/emo band which came from that country. Not only are the bands not bad, they are incredible and I have an extremely soft spot (edit:addiction) for French screamo. The country exceptionally keeps the European screamo scene firm and strong, basically making that into a tradition rather than an effort.

To try and be a bit more serious now, "Theme Of Laura" justifies well the successful line of French bands. As mentioned above, the band brings forth sounds which are on the border of screamo, emo and punk. The first track instantly greets you with exploding and rending guitar riffs, heart-pounding drumming and an excellent ambient like filler in the form of bass. It is a fast and rushing song, but what is most interesting is that it has a certain something that Akira Yamaoka implemented into the Silent Hill soundtracks. It is very hard to explain, but if you took a listen to the soundtrack you will know what I mean. Basically on every turn of this song you expect something from SH to jump at you, sound wise. The track has some mid pace elements, but those just explode and beat your chest into a pulp near the end. Fast song tempo really dominates on this release, but considering that you have five songs and around 18 minutes of music, you are in for some long yet fast songs.

So there we come to a trait this band has that really astounds me. Several bands which I heard before that had the "long fast songs" composition are rather dull and repetitive. Here it's different for 180 degrees. Their songs literally flow due to the speed, but there are constant changes in sound, the smallest shifts of pace which really stand out and an ever present unpredictability of melodies. It is almost a whirlwind like experience, you are carried high with the very speed of the demo, but are further tumbled around by all the unexpected elements which hit you constantly.

As for the instruments and vocal performance, I'm without complaints. Guitar bears minimum of alterations and effects, so you have a really pure and natural sound with a very light and high tone. Drumming is perfect, a bit raw in contrast to the guitar, but very melodic and greatly adds to the unpredictability trait. Bass also carries a standard sound, but the style of playing is quite rad, since it plays an amazing part as the mood-setter for the songs. As far as vocals go, they are in the form of constant raspy screams, sometimes followed by pack screaming.

Is you haven't figured it out yet, I really liked this project. French screamo is yet to fail me and these guys are really making that task harder. This is a pretty young band and this demo is due to be released soon on 100 cd-r with screenprinted cover art. It is worth mentioning that they are part of the "Dreams Come True" association and are friends with "Emotionally Unstable Records", labels which were already introduced to us by a much respected person by this blog, Ianik from Chaos Is... . You can get in touch with the band on myspace here or bandcamp here. Enjoy!

In the end I would like to thank Stephane from "Theme Of Laura" for contacting me about his band and for having to say some very nice words about the blog. Hope this band flourishes in the future!

Endless howling XV and a short report

I have been meaning to post some new stuff (which I promised I will post soon actually), but the fact is that I am so damn tired. The last few days were quite brOOtal for me, Friday was consumed with me helping out a friend with her master degree work, but yesterday was even worse. At noon I had a job interview, which luckily went good, so I got a new job. It pays shitty, but it seems it is not so hard and time consuming so we'll see. But the day didn't stop there, I had another job interview later that night, applied for some writing job over the internet and I had to write three articles...fuck, that was so brain melting. Needless to say, I pulled it off, only for the employer not to show up...

But enough talk, I'll just post some old stuff tonight, since I really can't push myself to write, yesterday killed me. Just for the record, this post seals the old link threads, so this is the final "endless howling" compilation, if we are to call it like that. The good thing is that it ends pretty well, me getting this job will help out the diy workshop project I mentioned in the previous report. These "compilations" didn't really contain a lot of old tunes that I love, but I will definitely be posting those older screamo projects, some time in the future. Hope you enjoyed the howling...

Watership Down - 7'' (1997)

Went - How Are You (2009)

While You Wait - A Life For A Life (2008)

Endless howling XII

Heading out to the "Failed Suicide Plan" gig tonight, so I thought I throw in a bunch of these. Started studying for some nauseating exam, feel so tired and my brain is melting, literally no strength to write.

Teleport me, Johny - EP (2010)

The Black Heart Rebellion & Autumn Delay - Split (2006)

The Hope And The Failure - The Lights Are On But This Dance Never Ends (2005)

The Paddington Bear Affair - 7'' EP

The Saddest Landscape - The Sound of the Spectacle

The Saddest Landscape - Lift Your Burdens High For This Is Where We Cross

Broken Chords Can Sing A Little - Discography (2010)

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Those of you who follow me on twitter already know that I failed to go to the "Alpinist" show, so no gig review today. Luckily, there will be a show which I will both attend and review and that is "Failed Suicide Plan", yet another screamoish band from Germany. And one other great thing is actually this very post. I was contacted by the very friendly guitar player Chris from "Broken Chords..." about posting their discography, pretty much on the day when I found out that I won't be seeing Alpinist, so this was really a medication on the wound so to speak.

And why is it healing? Well honestly, "Broken Chords Can Sing A Little" is a very much loved band by yours truly, yet I completely forgot about them in the past year. I remember being introduced to this band by the very end of 2008, back then listening to Prologue and Parts I and II being completely amazed. I was stunned by their completely raw, distorted sound and emotionally charged lyrics, all of that wrapped into releases which are purely flowing due to the fact that each song continues on one another. Yet somehow, I really neglected them and nearly forgot about the whole project, despite my jaw being on the floor while taking the first listen. As I said, luckily I have been reminded about them, won't turn my back this time.

"Broken Chords Can Sing A Little" are a quartet coming from Lancaster/Lemoyne PA, gathering together in the fall of 2008. They quickly released Prologue, Part I and Part II, being very lo-fi, followed by Part III, IV and V recorded in the winter of 2009. The latter releases are not as lo-fi as the first ones, bearing a much clearer sound since they were recorded in a professional studio in Reading, PA. Broken Chords revisited some of their old songs on newer releases, for instance the "Chapter I" track which is on both Part I and on Part III (Part III actually being a split with Giuseppe, a band found here) on which it has a different name, "Lightning Blinking Where They Land". Maybe a bit confusing, but it is very interesting when you hear it all at once and in retrospect. As I mentioned above, the first three sets of recordings are very lo-fi, basically representing an amazing amalgam of chaotic and gentle tunes. Their Last.fm description serves them well, stating that "music they give to the world is filled with emotion and desperation that is best described as beautiful." And yes, you can sense the sadness and heaviness of the melodies, but at the same time it is quite beautiful and gentle. Yet on the 2009 recordings go the other way around, carrying a lot more gentler tone with desperation and chaos being right on the next corner. It seems that these sessions inspired the band on a larger scale, since Parts III, IV and V bring a series of diverse melodies and song composition types, really managing to expand the band, so to speak.

Overall, we are gifted with twenty songs by "Broken Chords Can Sing A Little", a total of nearly 40 minutes of beautiful tunes. It is quite important to write down that both the lo-fi and the clear recordings fit perfectly with this band, since the amount of honesty, passion and emotion is definitely not injected less within the newer releases. Parts III to V are surely less chaotic, but here they gained an atmospheric trait and it suites them well. The gentler and calmer sections of songs really excel here, but despite the change you still know which band you are listening to, since their "style" can clearly be recognized, even with new additions.

As far as their myspace (found here) provides information, they are still alive and kicking, writing some new songs. Hopefully you will want to contact and support them after taking a listen to their tunes and reading this writeup, they definitely deserve your attention. I'd like to thank Chris for contacting me and being interested in "Natures With No Plagues", big hugs. Enough talk, listen and enjoy.

Endless howling XI and an update

Haven't posted some old stuff in quite a while so here they are. To be honest, I'm without new stuff to post, so this is basically to keep the blog running.

I'll be doing a lot of writing in the coming period, hopefully that will hold your attention. As I stated already, there is an exciting show coming up this Sunday in Novi Sad, namely "Alpinist", "Reflections of Internal Rain" and "Conviction", so I will most definitely be inclined to write a review about the event. Also, I have several writing projects on my mind which I have thought about in a while now and I'm really hoping that I will manage to set them in motion soon.

Also, the buttons are coming to a finish, so expect pictures of the final product! Probably next week all will be completed. 30 buttons are being made, so it's quite limited.

Schotel Van De Dag & Lost Bear - Dooei Mus Split (2009)

Sed Non Satiata - Demo (2004)

Sore Eyelids - Sore Eyelids (2009)

St. Alban's Kids - Tales Of Late Night Excursions Into Urban Wastelands (A Political Economy Of Noise)

Suis La Lune & Osceola - Split 7'' (2009)

Endless howling X and a rant

Just a regular stash of old links bearing some sweet tunes, but I also wanted to use this post as a report of sort. Plus I'm out of things to post so I'm buying some time, hehe.

Ok, so first thing, kinda bad. I'm seeing a lot of my links being just taken away and put onto other blogs without being asked about it in the first place. I don't know, but it kinda pisses me off. Every link I post is uploaded by me, despite bad net connection and other possible web difficulties, and I generally frown when I post a link which is uploaded by someone else. Even when I do that sort of thing it's either because I was asked to do that or because my internet sucked so bad that I couldn't upload shit, both times followed by me at least saying thanks to the uploader. I'm not trying to give myself credit here or some random thing like that, it's just that these blogs are connected to music which is diy and running these blogs is itself a sort of diy thing. If you can't use half an hour (or more or less) a day to upload something or at least write "hey I took this from blog/person xyz, thanks" then you are either extremely inbred or you are a blogrunner who is doing this shit just so you can say that "you are a dewd from a kewl skramz blogzor" and not because you love what you do. This is not about prestige or glory, it's about passion, diy, friendship. If you can't put an ounce of effort into it then fuck you. At least do yourself some good and learn some ethics, you don't go and steal shit from someone.

...So... now that that is out of the system, the point of me saying this is that from now on, all future uploads on this blog will be password protected or I'll be inserting a notepad file into an upload, haven't decided yet. I know it sucks and it's boring shit, but try to understand why I'm doing that.

Onto some good news. Interviews were well received from people who commented and shared thoughts about them, so they will be a regular part of the blog. I'm thinking of possible bands who I'd like to interview, so stay tuned for more on that.

And also, quite a nice thing, I'll be doing a small number of buttons dedicated to the blog with the moth logo. Two sets will be done, one with black background and one with a white one. I wanted to do a new design, but I had no time, hopefully in the future. I'm really excited about that and I'll keep those who are interested regularly updated. Don't know how long they will take to make, but I'm guessing not too long, probably at the end of this month I will have the buttons ready.

One other cool tidbit, there is an amazing gig coming up here, featuring the amazing "Alpinist" from Germany as well as local support "Reflections of Internal Rain" and "Conviction". So be prepared for an event review.

Enough of writing, check out these tunes!

Reflections of Internal Rain - Demo (2005)

Reflections of Internal Rain - Last Flood (2009)

rha. - ep (2009)

Radio Burroughs - The Principles of Hope or Hybris (2009)

Reaching Away - 3 song "demo"

Rosa Parks - EP (2010)

Endless howling IX

It's been a while since I posted one of these. And at the moment I'm out of new stuff to post, to be honest, as well as the fact that I'm involved in some other writing based projects and it really takes it out of me.

By the way, I love "Osceola".

Nikad - Nikad

On the Might of Princes - Sirens

Osceola & Monarcs - Split (2008)

Osceola - EP

Pianos Become the Teeth - Old Pride (2009)

Polina - EP

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.

V.A. - Connections Part II - Six Way Split (2010)

Download

I am absolutely excited about hearing this! Just pushed "play", but I wanted to share this with you boys and girls as fast as possible. Will do a write-up about it when my thoughts on it settle down. Thanks to The_Poltergeist for sending this to me, I owe you one!

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)

Todos Caerán - Ep (2010)

Download

Despite the fact that I first heard about this band when Jordan (a member of "Todos Caeran") contacted me, I had a feeling of nostalgia and excitement purely invoked by the name of this project. A few years ago I had a big exam on my faculty on the subject of Art History and although the exam was brutal it's just one of those obstacles which you remember fondly, so this EP immediately threw me back into that period. Why? Well, the name "Todos Caeran" is Spanish for "All Will Fall", referring to an engraving by Francisco de Goya done at the end of the 18th century. Educational blog is educational and yes, I am a nerd.

In addition to the said personal liking and closeness to the name of the band, I was quite pleased and happy once I heard for myself that the band is excellent. Let's get a bit technical now. "Todos Caeran", or just "Todos" for those who don't know how to spell the entire name, is a four piece from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. They play an amazing mix of screamo, emo and somewhat jazzy hardcore. One of the first things that I realized is that all of the five featured songs are so well composed and perfectly fit together. The instruments seem like they are infused together so tight that no sound goes away from the others and the whole release just flows through your ears. The flowing feeling is so remarkable that the fourteen minutes of music pass by so quickly, basically the tunes just flooding over you, so you end up pressing "play" once more. Also I have to admit, I really dig the vocal. Although it is kind of a constant, rasping scream with not much change and diversity to it, it is quite excellent and I feel like, should it had different aspects to it, it would be unnecessary and it would probably disturb the song fusion and flow mentioned above.

Overall, as you see I am quite intrigued by this project. The personal connection, backed-up by some amazing tunes makes this a release to remember and come back to. This quartet has a lot of talent and potential, really looking forward to some more releases. Take your time and check them out, I'm sure you'll like them! You can contact them here. And while you are at it, you might enjoy Goya's work as well.

Endless howling III

While I'm searching for new stuff to post I guess I'll throw you a bunch of old links again, since writing these past few reviews really took it out of me. Some great stuff featured in this post though.

Daitro - Laissez Vivre Les Squelettes (2006)

Daitro - Y (2009)

Das Plague - ST (2006)

Dawn Treader - Deconstructing the coffin (2006)

Ding Dong Dead - Nie Wieder Morgen! (2009)

Document of Forgotten Smiles - Demo cdr (2009)

Downfall of Gaia - Tour Ep (2009)

Duna - In-motions (2007)

Melete 7''

Honesty from the start, it never really crossed my mind to do a review of this release. I have some promised records I have to do write-ups for, but I didn't had an idea to do it for this one, despite having it in material form for a few days now. Things tend to change apparently and in quite a rapid rate I might add, so here I am with an immeasurably vast wish to spill my thoughts about this 7''.

Writing about this is going to be hard. Not because it's a bad release, believe me, it's far from that. Nor because I don't know what to say. My hardship with this is the sheer state of being stunned by something I haven't really felt in a long, long time. Let me elaborate that a bit. "Melete" I know for about a year now, first introduced to them through a show in Belgrade. One of the first impressions was pure amazement, since they sounded so powerful yet in the same time so emotional while they played their music. I particularly remember a part of one song they played ("Rhodonea..." I think, but I'm not sure since that song was featured on this release and not on the tour ep, but nevermind), when they stopped playing and just screamed the lyrics as one. The amount of passion was brilliant and I was completely blown away and moved in those few moments. Also, I remember that the singer talked about the meaning before every song, discussing homophobia, racism, people who "make money from hardcore" and other things that plague the scene, as well as human minds in general. On a whole they seemed like good musicians with a few interesting statements.

But let's get back to this release. After the show, I quickly posted their tour ep on my ex-blog, "Skream Your Lungs Out", and due to my correspondence with Luka, singer of Melete, he told me he was so thrilled to see the release that he wanted to give me their new 7'' as a "thank you" present. Fast forward quite a long time in the future, namely a few days ago, I receive the 7''. I browse through it, great cover with interesting art, a small non-stapled booklet, completely diy and looking excellent. And today I'm sitting here at my desk, studying, when my gaze falls onto the vinyl again and I remember that I haven't read the booklet.

But wait a second, let's flash backwards to the gig they played on Sunday (review found bellow). They played and again there was talk of all the bad things crawling into other people's brain and into the "scene". And after the show, during a break between "Melete" and "Shades of Gray" I had a very interesting conversation with one of my mates who just heard "Melete" for the first time. "They talk of homophobia and that all cops are bastards, but they present their songs in a chaotic non-understandable way. How can I get a point out of their songs when I can't understand what he is singing about?" while another mate (who is out of the whole underground music thing, so basically he should be ignored) "All that talk is major poseur crap, just for show." I continued onto the first mate's statement and defended "Melete" in saying that you simply cannot GET the point out of the lyrics at the first show, if nothing, simply because you actually can't hear the lyrics as a whole, nor do you have the time to study and explore every part of the band. If you get attracted by their performance, you then explore them inside your home, where you can find out the "point" the band is trying to achieve. And while I was actually stoic in my statement, it made me wonder: are they like that beyond the "stage"? Don't get me wrong, I'm not asking do they go home and listen to "insert random mainstream brainwashing mass consumerism act" and indulge in fascist activity. No, I'm asking is it all just for talk, or is there some work being done without the instruments and microphone in hand? Of course, even if they do, they wouldn't be the first to do stuff like that, but it's just that I don't know them in person and it just tickled my interest.

Returning to today and me opening the vinyl package to get to the booklet and read it. In all my life since I have sentience and interest in music I haven't found something that moved me so much. Something so small and plain, with only typed words, yet so strong that after reading it I felt like standing in a field after a thunderstorm. Stunned, deeply inspired, by a thing which came and went in ten minutes time. Eight pages filled with lyrics, two fiction stories, one sort-of essay on hardcore, several pages of the band saying thanks and one blank page. The amount of passion from the pages shocked me. Honesty literally exploded into my face and brain out of these typed lines. The excitement and happiness of being a part of such a band and writing about it in the booklet inspired me, for I would most definitely share the same feelings if I was a part of something like that. A single blank page left so that the one owning the record can give his personal insignia onto it, making a unique record for himself, contributing and not being just a consumer. After reading everything, I felt like some unknown force was hidden inside the pages and it raised and punched me straight into the chest. In that single moment, all those questions and doubts were answered and wiped away, for "Melete" is a band working through and through, with both instruments, voices and pens. They stand for things which they are proud of and brave enough to show in every way possible.

The amount of thoughts rushing through my mind at the moment were swirling around and I was instantly inspired on writing and dedicating something for them. And that is why this is hard to write about, as I said at the beginning of this review. The sheer quantity of thoughts and impressions and consternation makes me want to say a million different things, but unable to pick the right ones. I honestly hope that I have accomplished at least a bit in the task of sharing those thoughts in the proper way. For some of you, this may seem stupid, lame, a bit too emotional, a bit too carried away, or just plain retarded. Accept this review and these words however you like (and this band's work for that matter), but I will tell you just one thing. I love quite a number of bands, but what "Melete" earned from me, aside of love, is RESPECT.

And since this seems to be more of a band review, I'll get a bit technical about the record. Three completely new songs, composing of eleven minutes of screamo, emo, hardcore or whatever you want to call it, it matters not. Trust me on this and contact "Melete", buy the record, visit their shows. Bands like this deserve all our support. Contact them via their blog here.

For the end of this review I would just like to share one part of their lyrics to the song "Rhodonea....", most likely my favorite song.

Yesterday I had sex with

a girl with no left arm.

Today I have a date with

a boy who has no legs.

Tomorrow I will marry a

deaf dog. And friends

keep asking what's

wrong with me. I say,

"Nothing, you're just full

of prejudice."