Saturday, January 22, 2011

The Cancer Conspiracy

                                                                   Prog-Rock

 This group has a deep and true love of King Crimson, from an instrumental standpoint that is. A short lived group that left an influential mark on many, its hard to believe that its a trio playing at times. Any fan of rock music would enjoy this. The guitars are hard hitting and the drums are too restless to pin to any one style. A dear dear favorite of mine for awhile now. Both releases are worth taking a look into. Audio Medium is way more adventurous but doesn't always hit the mark. When it shines though it really is perfection. Omega is solid throughout but lacks the highs that Audio Medium achieves.


Audio Medium (2002)

Omega (2008)

Friday, January 21, 2011

Adebisi Shank - This is the Second Album of a Band Called Adebisi Shank (2010)

math........ RAAAAWK

Less focus on odd time signatures more worrying over face melting distortion rock. Never did I jump on the wagon for these guys until this second album. Its a more thoughtful outing altogether. The drums ground the group and the guitar revels in its pedal loving glory. From clean chunky math riff to balls to the wall of sound distortion. These guys are getting a large amount of praise for their live shows as well with a great amount of energy. Give it a shot



The is the Second Album of a Band Called Adebisi Shank

Thursday, January 20, 2011

We Insist! - Oh! Things are so Corruptible




vocal centric alt. prog rock

 Obviously instrumentally proficient (not too mention highly interesting) This French group have some ripping vocals.  At times its hard to pick which one you'd rather pay attention to.  Really sounds like updated prog rock from the 70's juiced up and ready to go fight a group of punks. I cant shake the feeling that I'm listening to some kind of alternate universe Tool mixed with John Zorn. Songs mix up feelings so nothing ends up sounding stale at all. Use of horns is always appreciated as well :)


Edit: fucking nice to see some singing drummer action by the way

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Ui - Answers (2003)

 Post funk jazz rock


 This group owes much to artists such as Tortoise and the 90's new post-jazz crew. However Ui internalizes those feelings and comes out a fun funky post rock beast. Nothing too cerebral going on here, just relax and have a good time. A few songs even push you to DANCE! and when was the last time you could say that about your post rock?




ANSWERS

We Versus The Shark - Ruin Everything!

 Alternative math-pop rock

 Previously Athens Georgia's math rock misfits, this group has a nice blending of styles going on. Vocals are sung or shouted almost at random with some nice male/female back and forth. Instrumentation is where things come together for me though. The guitars can get mathy but prefer to use chunky 90's inspired riffage to get their point across. Drums are a true treat and very rarely in any of the songs fail to impress. Also of note do not be discouraged by the production...I agree not the greatest but certainly not where it effects the songs. CH CH CH CH CHECK IT!




Ruin Everything!

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Them Roaring Twenties - Future Sandwich

Chicago jazz math rock

Rarely will you find a math rock group that is intentionally trying to be funny not just in their song titles but also in their music. Featuring massively auto-tuned vocals used sparingly and lyrics that some would consider "off-color" at times I can honestly say this is a one of a kind group. If the instrumentation wasn't so crazy tight it would be a mess. Most times one guitar seems to be doing something jazzy while the other almost seems to be doing its best to trip up the other guitar. Doesn't sound like it should work but it works in spades. Sadly not together anymore.

Future Sandwich

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Monster Machismo - Aye Aye Porcupine (2010)



 Pop Math Rock

This sadly defunct Math Rock group by way of Oneonta NY in their short span left a fairly large mark. What is unique about this group is that they blend the stylings of highly tech. musicianship with pop hooks. They can be ridiculously fast traversing through time signatures and equally capable of slower more chilled out passages as well.  Vocals are spread out very nicely and lyrics can be a little odd but surprisingly memorable. These guys toured with and are friends with one of my favorite groups in the area Zona Mexicana. Machismo have currently split into two groups, Cattle Drums and Dan Drake Ensemble.

Behold...the Arctopus - Nano-Nucleonic Cyborg Summoning/ Skullgrid

 Progressive Tech. Metal



All three of these gentlemen should get some sort of award for song composition. Seriously twisted passages that give way to even more sick metal riffs. Probably not for everyone but hey what really is? This band can get melodic at times or down right shred-tastic (which they more than frequently do) Oh yes and that massively behemoth guitar that Colin Marston is playing is called a Warr Guitar. It is a 15-17 stringed instrument covering both electric and bass guitar. The guitar features an extremely low action for better tapping capabilities. Any fan of technical music or metal in general should at least take a gander.


Nano-Nucleonic Cyborg Summoning

Skullgrid