Pensioner - Yearlings (2011)

Pensioner from Scotland certainly have caught my attention and others as well. At the base they are a post-hardcore/math rock hybrid that seems to have more fun jamming as many awesome ideas into a song as they can. Vocals are also deliciously present. Here lies a problem with most bands that do employ vocals they tend to play second fiddle...not so here at all. An Incredibly solid release with nothing too technical but some herky jerk rhythms get thrown in out of left field. It keeps you on your feet and you'll frequently be surprised by some of the structural choices going on. Don't worry no surprise gangster rap outro.

I guess you could say its just a really sweet and inspired rock album that is as vocal centric as guitar led. Which I think more bands should try to follow. Here that other bands?

Yearlings (2011)

Sweep the Leg Johnny - Going Down Swinging

I'm hoping there are those of you out there that are not super familiar with these guys.  Although if your even slightly schooled in the off time arts you should have at least heard mention. Those that do know, as far as mid to late 90's early 2000's math rock, Sweep the Leg Johnny was an important and impressive musical force. What they are most known for is the inclusion of not just vocals but a vocalist that also plays saxophone. Very cool rhythmic ideas at work but not especially frantic. They do get slow and at times resemble a fairly standard early 90's dissonant indie rock band (not a negative thing) Going Down Swinging was to be there last release in 2002 and a great place to start when checking them out. They seem to be at the height of their style playing very intricate extended rock. This is some excellently crafted and very much a classic Math rock group.


Going Down Swinging (2002)

Jerseyband - Beast Wedding (2009)

I feel slightly embarrassed on this one, mostly for the fact that these guys were formed in Rochester NY during the same period I was going to school there.  Not the point however. Jerseyband play their own sort of mash up of two very singular genre's Jazz and Metal. While this doesn't sound that new and exciting for those of you familiar with Mr. Bungle, Zappa or Estradasphere to name a few they have a way of breaking away from the pack. Self describing their music as "Lungcore", This large ensemble utilizes their horn section almost in a "big band" sort of fashion while the guitars and drums play metal breakdowns. It all comes together in a surprisingly organic fashion and not at all like the musical experiment it could end up sounding like. I will say a couple songs end up reusing certain riffs and horn interplay but for the majority of this release there are some excellent variety being displayed.  So if your into any of the above mentioned bands.....or even if your not check these gents out.

 Beast Wedding (2009)

metaghostin' Vol. XIII - Capsule Corporation's "Encapsulated Copulation"

Capsule Corporation's "Encapsulated Copulation" - 41'55"

///

1. Walk Straight Down the Middle / Kate Bush / The Sensual World (1989)
2. The Seven Pillars of Gulu / Stage Kids / Killer Tofu (2011)
3. Box Up My Bones / Cynic / Carbon-Based Anatomy (2011)
4. Gamma Knife / Kayo Dot / Gamma Knife (2012)
5. Heartbeat / Damiera / Damiera EP (2005)
6. The Order / Children of Nova / Complexity of Light (2009)
7. WAY / AS MEIAS / AS MEIAS II (2010)
8. You Won't If You Don't Want / Happy Body Slow Brain / Dreams of Water (2010)

///

Pop Quiz:

1. Who left their caps lock on?
2. Which band is most likely to dub helicopter sound-effects into their jammy jams?
3. How many inane contradictions is too many?
4. Name that interpolation —
5. Arrange the above songs in order of power level. (You can assume they all trained inside the time-chamber, geez. NO MORE QUESTIONS.)

The Weeknd- Echoes of Silence (2011)

As per usual, I am hearing about so much music all the time these days that random things get plopped into my lap that I dont have much time to absorb or appreciate. Such was the case in a conversation I had with Acey the other day, where I asked him for his top 3 recommendations of the music he's been listening to in the last few weeks. We got to talking, and we both realized I had let Damiera completely slip past my ears. Acey flipped his shit about that, and eventually came to also recommend the first Stage Kids album, as well as telling me to really sink my teeth into American Don.

Then today, a friend recommended the 3rd free release by a mysterious solo artist named The Weeknd. He wrote a trilogy of 9 track albums, all released through his website for free download spread across 2011. It is foreboding, dark electro r&b, with a nice selection of instrumentation and a killer voice that he doesn't mind obscuring in production trickery; but he knows when to pull back the curtains to give you that clean hook and harmonies. These 27 tracks have been added to my new Must-Listen folder in my iTunes; this the first track off Thursday, his 2nd album in the trilogy. All three albums are available for free at his website, below:
The Weeknd - Lonely Star by The_Weeknd
___________________________________________________

houseofballoons/ thursday/ echoesofsilence