Friday, February 28, 2014

Perpetual Motion Machine - S/T


genre: Punk (Dan will come after me if i put anything else)

year: 2013

tracklist: 
1. eight by ten
2. ugly family portrait
3. enemies among us
4. our feral fire
5. we are not here to make friends


PMM are some good friends of mine and a amazing punk band. Now for some more detail, this self titled opens up with ambient instrumental over a sample and quickly breaks into a fast aggressive section that any fan of *cough *cough screamo will enjoy. The album is full of driving energy with strained vocals and screechy guitar. This release is really solid, they recorded it in a walk freezer at the Che Cafe and the quality is not the best. But if you can look past that there is a really great first release flowing through you ears. I highly recommend that you listen to this and keep an eye out for future releases.

-Conner Sgarbossa

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Ground - Under


Genre: Powerviolence

Year:2013


Tracklist: 
1. Deceive//Neglect
2. Dyke Spike Domestic Goddess
3. Minimal Effort
4. Combat Cocktail (F.U.B.A.R)
5. No Sympathy 
6. Dog Face Skank
7. John On the Prowl
8. This One's About...
9. Led Astray
10. Hate When You Speak
11. CUNTsumer
12. Thoughtless
13. Slave To Me 
14. Supposed To Rot (Nihilist Cover) 


14 tracks of blisteringly fast powerviolence, mixed in with slow grooves and beatdowns and everything else you could wish for in a release. Heavy, aggressive and massively underrated, make sure you check this out, its unmissable. 

-George Inman

Monday, February 17, 2014

Weak - Weak

genre: screamo

year: 2014

tracklist:
1. haunt
2. 000000
3. end;


Weak s/t is a solid effort, it is raw and full of emotion. That being said i have some issues, there isn't really anything unique about this release, it sounds like any other generic screamo release. That being said Weak is still good and fans of the genre will most likely enjoy it. They have potential and I would really enjoy some exploration in terms of sound and direction.

-Conner Sgarbossa

Nails


genre: Dark Hardcore-y stuff


Not going to focus on a single album... just listen, you won't be disappointed.

-Conner

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Meryl Streaker - I've Lived Long Enough - Demo


genre: screamo

year: 2013

tracklist: 
1. Peace and Quiet
2. Death Of A Young Planet
3. The Hardy Boys Kill A Rapist
4. Collage Portraits


Meryl Streaker is a 3 piece emoviolence band from San Diego, California. Their first Demo, I've Lived Long Enough, expresses precisely the sentiment that its title suggests. The lo-fi, 4 song barrage of rumbling feedback and piercing squeals clearly maintains an overlying theme of apathy; between the improvised vocals, particularly minimal moments, and "Sorry about that, this, uh, the thing fell off-- at like halfway through the song" that obviously suggests hasty recording. However, Meryl Streaker definitely pulled off the lo-fi. You always wish that the drums were better quality in these things, but their harsh, dense guitar tones/recordings provided a very nice atmosphere, even in the brighter emo parts, surprisingly. The multiple guitar parts layered very nicely and seamlessly, and just turned out awesome granted what they were working with. Despite the hasty feeling the recordings give off, you can certainly tell what parts were written with more care when the drums/guitars/vox align out of the chaos and just jam. Some truly groovy shit you weren't expecting during the clusterfuck just 10 seconds ago. If nothing else, please listen to "The Hardy Boys Kill a Rapist" for the stellarly-written Yamantaka 
Eye-esque vocal wobbles.

-Kyle

Monday, February 3, 2014

Left Astray - Confines.


genre: dark hardcore

year: 2013


tracklist:
1. Wither
2. Lesser
3. Dwell
4. Abrasion
5. Sleepless

Left Astray is a hardcore band from LA, playing a style darker style of hardcore. I am almost reminded of Loma Prieta at times and that is awesome. This album is a 5 song gem that grabs you and doesn't let go. I have had the pleasure of playing with these guys and they are really awesome dudes. If you are into hardcore or screamo or whatever i highly suggest you check out Left Astray.

-Conner