Expectations - Self-titled (2012)

All of a sudden I have so many different things to post on here and I found myself not knowing where to turn first. After this review I will be publishing some updates which will happen on the blog, as well as some other ideas I have at the moment. Until then, hope you enjoy the read bellow.

Today we have "Expectations" under the spotlight, a five-piece hardcore outfit hailing from Sofia, Bulgaria, going strong since 2009. Previously, this band has already been mentioned on the blog when I did a tour diary concerning my time spent on the road with "Downfall of Gaia" last year. I saw them live in Sofia, a write-up which you can check out here, and I have to say that I went home fairly impressed. Even if you managed to skip that concert review, the band was on the road through Europe this September, so some of my readers maybe even grasped the privilege to see them live.
So in case you skipped my concert review, what's the deal with "Expectations"? They throw at us some truly emotionally charged modern hardcore, where you can hear a lot of possible influences, ranging from "More Than Life", "Carpathian", "Ruiner" and even some "Funeral For A Friend" moments, all the while being twisted with a touch of their own style. Pretty much everything I liked about them live has been transferred onto the recordings. Usually I end up liking these types of bands more during gigs than on recordings, but here it ended up being equally enjoyable. I ended up rewinding the seven songs present on this release numerous times and each time they just keep growing on you.
Their songs are very dynamic and energetic, consisting of an equal dose of rushing, chest pounding tunes and slower, more dragging sections. The faster melodies can truly throw a punch at your ears, something that I remember surprising me quite a lot last year. There's a fine number of atmospheric sections floating on this release and they manage to slightly push this band away from those more generic and common hardcore acts. At moments, their tunes come close to sounding like a fairly heavy post rockish incarnation and an accent is put on the overall ambient. Faster song sections are pretty straightforward and I really enjoyed them in the same amount as I did live. On top of all that, you notice that the band likes to toy around and experiment with their melodies, so various tempos and styles of playing can be heard on this release.

I also loved the occasional appearances of other band members on vocals, who sound awesome altogether and definitely add a lot of flavor to the overall feel of the tracks. "Only Real When Shared" is an excellent example of this, since it features the drummer on vocals, if I recall well from their live performance. Singalongs, or well screamalongs, are also present which is a thing really loved by yours truly.

This manifestation of "Expectations" comes in CD format, released on 25 March 2012. It arrives in a really neat, high quality gatefold package. Once you open it, the outside expands the cover picture while the inside pages reveal the lyrics. The overall design is rather simplistic, yet oozes with melancholy. If you are interested in hearing or downloading this release you can do so on the band's bandcamp page found here. Additionally, if you desire to grab some other merch, the band has set up a big cartel page, which you can visit here. On both links you will notice that the dudes managed to put out some more new material, an EP named "Gone", so check it out while you're at it.

Overall, this is a really neat release. The band managed to spark a fire with their potential and they don't seem willing to stop. "Expectations" already announced that they are booking a new European tour next May, about which I will make a post soon enough. I am yet to take a listen to their newly released recordings and my readers might beat me to it, but if they continued in the fashion of this self-titled then you have nothing to fear. Check them out, stay tuned for the tour dates and I hope you enjoyed the read.

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!

Taste The Void - In Search For Light (2011)

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Wow, it seems that time flies even when you are not having fun. Quite a horrid period for your host on a personal level, so in a blink of an eye I realized that more than a week has passed since my last post. The low post counter drives me nuts, so I'll try and be more active after this entry.

"Taste The Void" is a quartet coming from Nantes, France. It has been quite a lot of time since I have had the privilege to be introduced to a French band and I was really excited about hearing this. Most of my readers know how much I praise this country for its screamo projects, but this time we have a post metal/hardcore band on our hands, showing how much the land has various tricks up its sleeve. Ok, I got a bit philosophical with this paragraph, but the excuse for such mumbling is that you really can't find a lot of info about this project, other than that it is a four piece and that they have just this release behind their backs, which came out on 2 February 2011. The mere fact that it is a French project should be enough to get you interested, trust me on that.
Getting a bit to the point, this release, named "In Search For Light", brings us two songs which combine into a fifteen minute giant. After a few seconds of distorted, scratching sounds greeting you at the beginning, you immediately realize how enormous this monster really is. The riffs are sluggish, yet extremely powerful, while the drums provide a persistent beating on all your senses, slightly reminding me of "Time To Burn" or "In The Final Analysis". If you listened to those bands then you will know how much chaotic and massive their sound is. Of course, everything is accompanied by quite a grim and sort of depressive tone, which pretty much justifies the name of the band. At times the mood is splashed with some very slow and gentle parts, harboring quite a lot of melancholy within.
The things I wrote thus far don't sound quite revolutionary when it comes to the genre "Taste The Void" is associated with. This may sound like a flaw, but hey, why would it be? The merits of this band are found in their skill to sculpt the genre in their own visage, which they managed to do quite well and in a lot of different ways. First of all, there is interesting variation when it comes to the vocal performance. Starting out as a screamed, raspy vocal, the voice morphs in the course of the songs into gentle and quite clean singing. Other times however, it becomes a near humming like sound, which is very interesting, since it provides a unbelievable amount of contrast to the music. For instance in the first song, the first time you get to hear that soothing singing the music keeps the dark and brooding tone, which actually makes quite an eerie atmosphere.
Aside of the vocal, the very music itself is extremely interesting. Despite the fact that it clings to the, I'll use the brutal word, "cliches" of the genres, it provides a score of unique details. One of the aces really sprout out of the songs and hit me in the head, that being the fact that amid all of the chaos there is a specific repetitive tone which connects everything together. This is somehow omnipresent for the duration of a specific track and it kinda gives a flowing feel to the tunes. The existence of something like that is a very good composition move, since the songs in general provide a lot of variation in the form of tempo changes, different riffs and rapid mood shifts, so if there was nothing holding all of this together we would have an entirely different tag for this band.
Usually when it comes to bands like this I need to find myself in a specific mood to be able to listen, but thanks to the flowing yet sluggish shifting melodies of "Taste The Void", the band managed to completely grasp my attention without any personal adjustments. They definitely succeed in tickling your interest with the initial entry into your player and that is quite a rare trait. Overall, I enjoyed this release a lot and would really like to see some more work from these four dudes. My sincere recommendations go to all of you to take a listen to this band, since I absolutely stand by the statement that you won't regret it. In case you want to throw just a glance, you can check them out on their facebook page here or on their bandcamp page here. The bandcamp profile also contains a video of their live performance, so be sure to drop by and view it. Also, the posted download link in this review is courtesy of the band. Enjoy!

Troubled Coast - Letters (2011)

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A few days of pause with writing due to me preparing my final exam, yet there  are still two more shows from my trip to be reviewed. In the meantime, once again I decided to splash a band between gig related posts, simply because all the band submissions are beginning to pile up a lot. And additionally, the fact that this band really caught my attention immediately once I listened to it this morning, so an extreme urge to share it exploded in my head.

"Troubled Coast" is a quartet from East San Francisco Bay Area, California. This melodic/post hardcore act has been active from the year 2009, yet despite their young age as a band they have been constantly active and pumping out releases. The initial year of their birth saw the release of their 10'' LP named "100 Miles From Home" which came out on "Creator-Destructor Records" in December. Only a few months later they returned to the studio and recorded "Vagabonds EP" which was self-released. Finally, in late 2010 the band entered the rehearsal room once again and by March 2011 this, latest, album was recorded and released.
As you can see, quite a turbulent and productive band history. Judging by Cory, guitarist of "Troubled Coast" and the dude who contacted me about a possible review, the band went through sound metamorphosis with each new album during which they added a more melodic tone to their music and adding additional layers of harmonies and depth that set them apart from being just a standard hardcore project. Sadly I didn't listen to their pre-"Letters" material, but listening to this album now really makes me want to check out their previous work.
So, what is it that you actually get to hear on "Letters"? Imagine a combination of pop punkish melodies from a band such as "Title Fight" and song structures like we can hear on "Touche Amore" releases, having the lyrical concepts of "La Dispute" yet with a more aggressive approach of "Verse". And this is all just talking in a nutshell. The cool thing however is that while listening to "Troubled Coast" you can witness just a glimpse of these influences, since most of the time the band sounds overtly different and unique. Additionally, this album is quite hard to grasp and describe in its entirety, since it is packed with songs that are various in style even to one another. It is enough to listen to a couple of tracks and you very well become aware of the fact that you will need to go over and over throughout the whole release to experience it fully. So for example, the opening track named "Amends" is a sort of buildup song featuring some coarse vocals and pack screaming, which melds toward the second song titled "Wolf Republic", which keeps swinging between being melodic and aggressive with the vocal calming down and becoming more of a half screamed, half spoken one. Both of these are less then two minutes in length, so "Breathing" kicks in and introduces a longer type of song and an even further change in the vocal which now becomes gentle and almost whisper like. So as I said, during the course of only a few tracks you get to hear that the band likes to experiment with their songs a lot. Throughout the entire album, featuring thirty eight minutes of music by the way, the song structures are complex and diverse without a single song being similar to another one. "Letters" even includes some guest appearances which manage to spice up the album even further.
As I have only a handful of bands within these genres, "Troubled Coast" came as a welcome addition to the basket and quite an entertaining one. My wish to share this release as soon as possible probably crippled this review a bit, since I am certain that I would actually need a few days of listening to have a solid critique opinion about it and point out all the highlights, which are abundant believe me. But one thing is for certain and that is that I really enjoy this album and it will grow on me even further in those upcoming days. Definitely check these guys out and judging by their performance thus far we are most likely for more surprises in the future. Enjoy!

...So Yeah, We're Werevolves - Werewolfs

This will be pretty short boys and girls. I already wrote a more in-depth review of this project back in October, so if you are interested you can read it here. This is more of an update post, so no reason for me to be philosophical about it.

Somewhere mid December, Eric from "...SY,WW" wrote to me about some pretty interesting news concerning the band. They are demoing tracks for their upcoming debut self-titled LP which is due to come out this year. Extremely excited about that. But, while we are waiting for this new wolf pack strike, they are throwing at us something sweet. They will be Re-releasing the "Cadavers" ep from 2009 along with some additional demo tracks. This Re-release goes under the name of "Werewolfs" and it contains nine tracks.
The main reason that I'm posting this is that the "Cadavers" release I reviewed is actually not an official release. Seems like my network of music gathering is more underground than I thought. Needless to say, the wolves were pleased with my words for them, but I just felt it right to update the readers on this. So, the download link in the previous review will be removed and a link to the band's bandcamp page will be added. You can find the download link for "Werewolfs" over there and the page will most likely be quite important for updates considering the upcoming LP. Check it out!

http://soyeahwerewerewolves.bandcamp.com/

...So Yeah, We're Werewolves - Cadavers (2009)

http://soyeahwerewerewolves.bandcamp.com/

Seems to me that this will definitely turn out to be a non-screamo week, but why the hell not. You see, there is this band Colors from Colorsland and they turned out to be a well of infinite wisdom, since through them I found out about two more bands that are going to be posted on this blog. This happens to be one of those bands and I'm quite excited about posting it!

Back when I did the Colors interview, I hanged out on their myspace page for some research and stuff, and I saw these guys on their friends list. And as you all know, I am such a sucker for band names that include the words wolf, wolves, werewolf, werewolves, fucking werewolf and so on. One click after I got on their profile and boom, instant love. Even better, Eric happens to be ubercool, so he approved of their posting here and gave me a download link.

There is not much information online about "...So Yeah, We're Werewolves", despite the band having both a myspace page and a bandcamp. They hail from Colorado and judging by their myspace pictures, they are a three piece. No matter their numbers, this pack of wolves makes a lot of noise playing some very interesting punk/post hardcore in the vain of "From Ashes Rise", just less crust and more melodic. I usually don't like comparing bands, but I guess that is also a part of criticism. Anyways, vocals backed up by bass and drum playing, as well as occasional keyboards make the base of this band to be quite unique. The songs they unleash upon your speakers are very hard to describe, since it is a combination of very deep tones, but at the same time the sound has a splash effect and is not focused onto a specific spot, but it's everywhere. That virtue reminded me of the above mentioned "From Ashes Rise", namely the song "Concrete and Steel", just with Werewolves it's minus the d-beat moment, as I wrote already. In addition, their tunes are extremely chaotic, but also melodic at the same time, absolutely creating rushing and chest pounding music. Of course, there are slow tempo instances here and there, but not even long enough for you to rest, the band exploding quickly yet again. See what I mean that it's hard to describe?

One major contributer to the overall chaotic nature of this band is the fact that there is a lot of pack screaming and singing and sometimes you have no idea who is saying what and when. This combined vocal effort really compensates for the lack of a guitar player. Don't be fooled though that a bass alone is not enough! Bass playing here is absolutely stunning in it's own right, really serving well to the whole deep-splashing sound. On several occasions you get to hear the bass almost alone and you actually see that it has a very buzzing sound, but once mixed with both vocals and drums you realize there is a lot more to it. Drumming is, of course, very aggressive, fast and exceptionally pounding, highly enjoyable, especially if you just focus on it.

I am very glad I found out about this project, basically I loved them from the moment I took a listen to them on their myspace page (found here btw). The fifteen minutes on this release really fly by you, one of those albums that you listen to in one breath. As far as I heard, they had a little break, but now they are back together and ready to tear your ears apart once again! Highly recommended band, be sure to check them out.

Caravels - Floorboards (2010)

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Before I opened this blog, 90% of the time I used to just fulfill the requests of people on what to post. It was kinda cool, since someone always wanted something, the bands were always good and I ended up always having material to keep the previous blog alive. With this blog however, I changed my approach a bit. First of all, the blog was "owned" by me alone which enabled me to put more of myself into reviews, the writing becoming more personal. And for some reason, the style of band selection changed as well, since no longer do I pick the bands, but rather bands turned to pick the blog. I don't know how that metamorphosis happened and why, but it definitely opened new vistas for discovering music. Establishing a close connection with the artists whos music you are to write about really makes its imprint on the review, especially if the first contact is a friendly one.

Why the long intro? Well a bunch of times I encountered bands who make excellent music, but people are jerks, which takes away the passion the music is trying to get to the audience, at least for me (luckily no such bands on this blog, proud of that). And dear "Caravels" here really attracted me with how friendly they were at the first contact. It is amazing when someone says nice things about the work you do and when they recognize that you put your heart into it. So this review will be a sort of thank you for the recognition they showed.

"Caravels" are a quintet hailing from Las Vegas, Nevada bringing us tunes fused with elements of post-hardcore and early screamo. Personally, I find the combination of the said genres rater dull and plain, since many bands with such a mix of influences never really caught my ear. Hard for me to say why, basically I find it without that something that makes you go "wow". Well, shame on me for pressing play on Caravels with those thoughts in mind, because they pretty much impressed me!

"Floorboards" brings us 6 songs with a total of 25 minutes of music which you listen to with one single breath. They ooze with the thing I said I miss in the specific genre combination, a chest pounding and adrenaline pumping twenty five minute monster. You just press play and let it flow right to the end, not for a second wishing that some part wasn't there or that it lacks certain bits and pieces. Epic buildups, explosive crescendos, tune drops and slow bridges, everything is present but nothing is out of place, a perfect composition model. The production is superb for this type of music, since we are talking about quite loud, chaotic and "vast" tunes, so here you get to be able to focus on those various elements in the songs, because the recording has a clear sound despite the chaotic nature. This virtue actually cleared the way for me to notice some things that really blew me away. I myself being a bass player really notice that in many bands bass is in the shadow of other instruments. Either it's not very "alive" (despite the genre, be it sludge or screamo, no matter) or it is purely swallowed by the other sounds being produced by the band. In the tunes of "Caravels" it is a completely different story. All instruments are very well balanced and each of them is excellently discerned during songs. The bass itself amazed me quite much, it is highly melodic and has a powerful deep sound which really adds various levels and layers to the music. It is active and omnipresent, a very strong plus in my book.

As a contrast to the deep tone of the bass, the drums have a dull (not dull as in boring, dull as in blunt) sound, which contributes to the instrument equilibrium I mentioned above. And continuing on that, the guitars are actually somewhere between bass and drums, a bit of a mid field, rending and buzzing riffs, completing the circle. The vocal, I must be honest, didn't fit my liking at the first moment. I am quite much used to hearing screaming at various pitches and sections featuring "spoken word". Here it's a kind of constant raspy voice, somewhere between talking and screaming/yelling. Once I actually analyzed the songs, I really saw how this specific vocal performance goes perfectly with the music of "Caravels", simply because while you listen you can almost see them play. A scene where the vocalist is standing and literally preaching and storytelling while the entire ambient around him explodes with chaos and aggression. This ability to almost generate a visual aspect is really inspiring. And since I am mentioning the vocals, I definitely have to add the fact that the lyrics of "Floorboards" are simply amazing and you should absolutely read them, they add quite a bit of something to the overall tunes.

So in the end you come to realize that you are introduced to honest people making really heartfelt tunes. And it comes down to this, that this type of music was always about the community, people being connected by the thing that drives their passions. I'd like to thank Mike for contacting me and for showing me his band, it is really a project worthy of time and support.