Thursday, November 26, 2009

Hey Vampires - Problems, Solve Yourselves EP

Catchy, noisy post-hardcore from Glasgow. A lot of people describe them as 'dance punk' or something dumb like that. I can see a lot of people being into this. Last time I saw them play they had added a second guitarist and it didn't sound anywhere near as good. Maybe this will be the only cool thing they release.

Problems, Solve Yourselves

Monday, November 23, 2009

Chinese Dama - S/T 7''

Chinese Dama are influenced by other Italian screamo bands like La Quiete and Endless Inertia but put their own twist on things to set themselves apart. This EP is almost a year OOP now.

Self Titled

Get Rad - Say Fuck No To Rules Man

My internet connection is on the bunk again. Rather than let my posting trail off, I'm borrowing a link from the awesome Toxicbreeds Funhouse blog.
Get Rad play ripping positive hardcore. This is their best stuff to date, I think. They played some Minor Threat covers at dudefest that you can find on youtube! Pretty good stuff and probably the first 'positive' hardcore band that I've thought were rad!

Say Fuck No To Rules Man

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Magpyes - 2007 EP

Here's a change of pace with Magpyes' 2007 EP. Nowdays, these guys play black-influenced grind (think Anaal Nathrakh) and have a real drummer, but at the time of this release they were playing breakneck-speed drum-machine grind. I find this really addictive. Recommended.

2007 EP

Reds - Demo

Reds are great. Here are three early versions of songs that ended up on the LP. One of my favourite bands. Get it!

Demo

Meandgoliath - Demo 2007

Meandgoliath are one of the most exciting bands in the UK. In a time where screamo bands are all doing pretty much the same thing, it is very refreshing to come across a band as original and aggressive as this one. They played CMAR last year and have just released a 10''. If you can get your hands on it, do so! When it goes OOP I'll rip it for here. This is their demo from 2007. Essential listening whether you like screamo or not.

Demo 2007

Gramercy Riffs - Demo 2008

Gramercy Riffs were a short-lived hardcore band from Nottingham, England. I got this cdr by pure chance off a guy who was selling some old demos cheap. These guys played with Pulling Teeth, Career Suicide & Rot In Hell before they split. They have recorded songs for two splits that, as of July 2009, "may still happen".
Every song on this is really good and I used to play it a lot when I first got it. Now that I've broke it out again, I'll probably be listening to these 3 songs on repeat most of the night. Pissed, ripping hardcore. Get it.

Demo 2008

Kids Return - Tongue Tied


I'm digging through a box of cdrs and came across this gem. I thought that I would post someone else's upload here but I couldn't find anything other than a couple of reviews and a torrent. I guess that a lot of people haven't heard this yet.
Kids return play driving, melodic emo and have some excellent, intelligent lyrics. This EP, for me, falls into the category of 'recent emo that is as good as the old days' alongside Reds' 'Is:Means' LP and Empire! Empire!'s 'Year of the Rabbit' 7''. Perhaps some Reds comparisons are warranted.
I was lucky enough to see these guys play a few months ago with Lemuria. Kids Return easily stole the show. I remember thinking "man, this is what it must have felt like to be there the first time around".
I'll argue that Kids Return are a completely different band live and if they ever play near you, you should do everything in your power to get to it. Amazing. Don't sleep on this any longer.

Tongue-Tied
Note: I ripped this cdr with iTunes, so the tracks are in M4A format. I can't be bothered shopping around for a decent, freeware mp3 ripping program but if you email me about one, I'll get on it and re-up whatever I post today.

Grand Nutz Da Ladies Man

This is a strange one. I was listening to John Zela's Typecast from June and he played a track by this guy. I looked into it and found some info and an upload on Music For Maniacs. There is a story about how this tape came into being posted there:

"Here’s the story:

I was working at a record store on the south side of Chicago a few years back, and this kid walks in and asks if we sell local music. So I try to point him towards our local section, but he’s like “naw…I make music.” So I ask him “Oh are you a rapper? Do you make beats?” He replies… "No, I sing R&B.” And he hands me a 90 minute Maxell cassette tape with a photo of himself on the cover and the words Grand Nutz Da Ladies Man on the cassette label. With that, he walked out of the store. So, of course, I immediately put it on.
What happened next was something magical. All the crusty jazz dudes perked up their ears and came up by the counter and listened with me as we heard this cacophony of failed R&B acapellas sung by someone who is most obviously tone deaf. But the thing is….he’s 100% committed. There’s Boys II Men harmonies, ad-lib rubber duckie rip offs, scat sung TV theme song flubs (Flinstones, Scooby Doo) and even a few moments of Karaoke style bliss as he puts on a boombox in the background and attempts to sing along. It’s unbelievably precious."

I'm not sure how valid my input is after all that. You'll probably either be already downloading it or will have decided to stay clear. All I'll say is that this is very infectious and probably the least pretentious thing posted on this blog to date.

Grand Nutz Da Ladies Man