Plenty of Swords

Graph - "EP 2" - 2009

2012-02-23T01:19:00.002-05:00

This EP contains nearly everything I like about music in one convenient, easy to swallow package.

Graph is your typical trio of guitar/vox/bass/drums. They are expert songsmiths, and they alternate with ease between full-band assaults and sparse sections that let the instruments speak to their full potential.

The vocal phrasing is interesting, the melodies are catchy, the sounds are compelling, and the songs make me feel things. Extra instruments are added to fantastic effect - I can't help but smile every time I hear the horns drop in during "Framed with Gold."

While some of Graph's other material is definitely worth checking out, with "EP 2" the band has put together a really tight, valuable work.

Graph - "EP 2" is up on Bandcamp.

Stations in the Valley

2012-02-22T21:00:00.000-05:00

http://stationsinthevalley.bandcamp.com/

This comes recommended from Zefs Chasing Cara (one of my favorite math rock artists) so obviously it had to be checked out. Really nice driving indie rock with math rock flirtations. free download at the bandcamp. muah

Yeah Great Fine - Yeah Great Fine (2010)

2012-02-22T20:45:00.000-05:00

Portland boys always seem to know how to mix the genre's into a delicious slurry of awesome. Yeah Great Fine continue this general position by angling themselves in a fairly unique way. Lets cheat and at the fore front say guitar led indie rock. On top of this is a healthy dollop of sweet sweet pop music. This is mostly evident in the vocals and harmonies...kinda summery beach boys type progressions (the simple ones that is) I can hear you thinking already "jesus dude this sounds like your describing 100,000 bands" but wait theres more. This is where the Math Rock steps in. A lot of it is yes the drums being awesome and all over the place but there is certainly some rhythmic complexity weaving in and out with the guitars. Some of the songs do come off a bit generic when they dont try and stick their head above water to soak in the math rock rays of the sun as much as they should. Thankfully the EP rectifies this issue and injects some seriously saucy rhythmic jaunts. Makes me all the more excited for a full length.

ps. im catching like a sun shiny maps and atlases with a less tap happy bent.

Yeah Great Fine (2010)
Circadian EP (2011)

miRthkon - Vehicle (2009)

2012-02-19T20:56:00.001-05:00

Angry Zappa? Avant-Prog? Jazz-Metal? R.I.O? ugh you prolly get the idea at this point. super tight compositions going on.

vehicle (2009)

Noxious Foxes - Legs (2011)

2012-02-18T20:15:00.000-05:00

Instrumental Math Loopers from Brooklyn NY. Surprising sense of melody with songs that are so rhythmically interesting. Excellent use of pedals where it doesn't feel like your getting pummeled over the head with odd noises for heavens sake. Technical without drawing too much attention. Super amazing stuff.

Legs (2011)

Gifts from Enola - S/T (2010)

2012-02-14T20:18:00.002-05:00

These guys tend to run in the same circles as a lot of really boring post-rock bands. At first, I lumped them in with some of the worst offenders. However, they actually have some pretty interesting guitar work and nifty rhythms. I wish their songs were 4-5 minutes long instead of 6-10, but I suppose that comes with the territory.

My favorite thing of theirs is their 2010 self titled EP (5 songs, 35 minutes). It loses a little steam during the fourth song. Production is a little heavy-handed in trying to make them sound HUGE, but overall good. These issues aside, a lot of the is really good. I heard a snippet of the first song, "Lionized," during an NFL game one time. So at least they have a good agent!

They have some older and newer material. Quality ranges from good to boring, but I haven't really listened to their other stuff too closely.

Check it on their Bandcamp, and if you like it, mediafire links abound.

Russian Circles- Enter (2006)

2012-02-14T02:26:00.006-05:00

I met a new friend tonight, and once Don Cab was mentioned in our conversation we went math on each others asses. I showed him some Stage Kids and Mister Metaphor, and he in turn told me to check a bunch of bands.. handsome boy modeling school, pelican, isis, and above all Russian Circles. I know nothing of them, and though I have seen them referenced here at the Swords, I have never checked a review of any of their albums. I know they are a trio; that is it. Listening in a second; track one off their first album, Enter:

enter

Cloud Nothings - "Attack on Memory" (2012)

2012-02-14T01:17:00.003-05:00

Before this album, I didn't get the buzz behind Cloud Nothings. They consisted of a young dude with a laptop kicking out the occasional catchy song with stretches of grating, immature material in between.

And then "Attack on Memory" happened.

And how it happened. This album is a ripper.

After two releases as a solo artist, Original Dude recruited more dudes to join his band, and after some extensive touring, hired Steve Albini Dude to record them.

Whatever happened to this band on the road did them wonders. Subtle but edgy and propulsive instrumentals occasionally boil over into pure frenzy, while Original Dude's impassioned emo-y vocals soar over the whole mix. Most bands I listen to seem to have an amateur steering the vocals/lyrics/songwtiting ship, so it is an absolute treat that Cloud Nothings have packaged interesting instrumentals with a frontman achieving at high levels.

I tried to find a stream of the album somewhere, but instead I found a link to download:

Cloud Nothings - "Attack on Memory"

Macho Muchacho

2012-02-12T21:07:00.000-05:00

Math Rock from Ecuador. Fairly new as of last year. Couple solid tracks on the bandcamps. I sense a pretty amazing full length in future.

bandcamp

Carbon Tigers - The Dover Sessions Vol. 1

2012-02-09T22:09:00.000-05:00

Wonderfully produced Chicago group that dial down the math element and create some honest indie rock. Surprising moments of riffs pop in sparingly to add that much need tapping element or a time change. Otherwise this is some solid stuff. Kinda reminds me of Minus the Bear a bit with some Reign of Kindo (minus the jazz). Mainstream without falling into all the some pitfalls that similar groups get stuck in. My favorite part? Vocals. Awesome all around. Dont wait and check their EP out from 2010. Just as great.

The Dover Sessions (2011)

Interior Palette Toeshoes - Nude (2011)

2012-02-06T16:40:00.004-05:00

I was searching for information regarding the still-delayed new Natsumen record and stumbled upon a brief recommendation to check this EP out, bolstered by their description as a Toe/Mouse on Keys hybrid. Nothing is particularly stellar, but they manage to maintain the illusion that every Japanese band is comprised of robots set to "Extreme Technical Proficiency" and there are some hummable melodies here and there. Production is lackluster, doing its best to compress all life out of each performance, but at least they got some claps in the percussion track. Worth a listen if you got that itch.

Nude EP

(Password is "music".)

No More Books?! Don't Worry Zammuto's Here

2012-02-05T21:46:00.000-05:00

If you read this and instantly thought I was going to reference some Bradbury level shit well....your wrong. The great and mighty emotional sample heavy band "The Books" is no more. This concerns me if only for the fact that these guys really had this singular sound that I have rarely heard done. Every release of theirs has been carefully listened to countless times by myself. The Lemon of Pink being their mastepiece.
Oldish news I suppose but there happens to be light at the end of the tunnel for the faithful. Nick Zammuto (principle vocalist of said group) has assembled a mighty team with the appropriate title "Zammuto". Their full length is set to drop very soon although an EP has crept in. Truth be told my skepticism level was shall we say "MONUMENTAL". If I may be so bold that this EP will have my utmost attention as any Books release after several listens. Im getting a more cohesive band oriented Book's vibe going on with more pronounced vocals. What's that you say? you're wondering about that superb Books style percussion aren't you? don't worry its slick solid basting sauce. Check it and wait with me for the full length :)

Zammuto - Idiom Wind EP

Apollo's Arrows

2012-02-05T08:44:00.000-05:00

If you dont know now you know.

Into it Over it - Proper

2012-02-04T22:28:00.000-05:00

Do Not Be Fooled By This Picture.
Now that we have that out of the way I suppose I will keep with the loose theme I've got going this weekend of Indie Rock.

Enter one man Evan Thomas Weiss (ex/ the progress, ex/up up down down left right... ex Damiera bassist) This is Evans joint through and through and if any of the above mentioned bands perk your head then listen up. To be fair this stuff is done by a lot of bands but where it excels is in pure execution. So we've got your indie rock, intricate guitar lines, twisting drums and awesome memorable vox. This stuff is like a brain worm. None of these songs will ever leave you...ever, you've been warned. I realize this isn't a lot to go on but this stuff lays it on from the gates and never lets you go. Even when its dialed down with some acoustic its A-OK. Great driving music as well. So lets take this recent odd weather (at least for the northeast) and take a cruise with this joint.

Proper

Also odd link between this post and last...here me out. So before Damiera (as mentioned above Evan played bass for) Lead Dave Raymond played in a band called League. League had an obvious love of...Counterfit! Why would I say this? well one of League's songs cribs an entire line from a Counterfit song.
cough cough league cough cough :)

Counterfit - Super Amusement Machine/ Helen Earth Band - Our Own Ghost City

2012-02-04T10:44:00.000-05:00

Incredibly solid group from the early 2000's. If your looking for something experimental or unique unfortunately you should check out some of the other posts here. What I can say is these guys have an excellent ear for a vocal melody and actually some nice rhythmic guitar work. I'd say a more tech version of your indie rock bands with some chimmy chimey guitars. This music does get stuck in your head and you will feel super ok about that.
Counterfit - Super Amusement Machine
____

Fun Fact: one of the guitarist's and the drummer are currently in the band Helen Earth Band. They have a more pop oriented slower kind of sound than Counterfit. Not 100% sold on these guys yet but I haven't been able to spend enough time on their first release. Let me know what you guys are thinking.
Helen Earth Band - Our own Ghost City

Skeletons - MONEY - 2008

2012-01-31T20:09:00.003-05:00

I guess you could say that this highly experimental pop album is loosely based in funk. There are some hot rhythms, choice horn parts, good vocals, strange lyrics, ragged noise, muddiness, and a huge sonic palette. Digs into your ear canal to lay its eggs. Occasionally they'll sound like they're ripping off some more well-known bands, but there's so much bizarre shit going on that its an easily-forgivable offense.

Nail it on their Bandcamp.
________________________________
Dont mean to butt in on Frankie's excellent post but I have been a large fan of these guys for years. Sadly I had lost touch with the group and only really gotten a chance to enjoy their 2007 effort "lucas". Of course I enjoyed them more when they were called "Skeletons and the Kings of All Cities" but whats in a name really?
- Acerola
Lucas (2007)

Kit Fisto - II (2011)

2012-01-28T22:44:00.000-05:00

Math Rock can be taken in more directions than one would think. Not to say that this particular brand gets snubbed but the straight up party math rock tends to be made to DD the night of the big shindig. Kit Fisto exist in a realm where metal, alternative rock and tap happy math pump their collective fists in the air. The sense of enjoyment from these guys is just extremely in your face. Did I mention their from Florida? Sounds about right. Whenever I listen to them I half expect them to break into some Chon style riffage and at times they come close however they always reign it back in. If these guys can harness more of whats going on in these three songs, up the very welcome vocals that sneak their way in, possibly kick up BPM's a titch we will have a dangerously amazing little LP on our hands. Excited to see what a next time bring's.

II

Vasquez - EP

2012-01-28T20:13:00.000-05:00

math-ROCK p A r T Y ROCK pop!

Watch these guys this year. 20$ their full length rocks your face. great pedal work. Nuff said in the words of Stan the man Lee.

EP

Monomer- Ranger Wars (2011)

2012-01-27T01:04:00.003-05:00

I just reunited with a childhood friend who I had lost contact with many years ago; in that time he went to Berklee and learned some fucking tricks. Acey, check this shit immediately; It is so completely your thing, and everyone here at the Swords for that matter; legit videogame soundtrack action. Immediate download.

&lt;p&gt;&amp;lt;a href="http://monomer.bandcamp.com/album/ranger-wars-ost"&amp;gt;Ranger Wars OST by monomer&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Antoine Dufour - Existence (2008)

2012-01-26T21:15:00.000-05:00

A change of pace here for myself but no less awesome. Antoine Dufour is a Canadian "finger-style" acoustic guitar player. Think in the same vein as Don Ross, Micheal Hedges and more recent contemporary Andy Mckee. Truth be told I am not huge on a lot of the other gents I just mentioned but Dufour's progression choices and playing style almost remind me of some kind of acoustic video game soundtrack...or something. All of his releases are super excellent picking this particular one was not easy. I will keep this short though and let you guys form your own opinions. Can't think of many that wouldnt find at least something to like about this.

Existence (2008)

With Eyes Abstract - WEA (2011)

2012-01-22T20:44:00.000-05:00

Let me start by saying I have found it impossible to not like an album recorded at "The Thousand Caves" with Colin Marston at the helm (Behold the Arctopus/ Dysrhythmia) The sound is certainly a throw back and he always knows how to make the guitars sound just right.

"With Eyes Abstract" have this small release recorded at the end of 2010 and are apparently poised for a full length this year, color me excited. This is dark/prog jazz metal in a lot of the same fashion that Dysrhythmia is. I would say though that they possibly have more jiggs and jaggs thrown in making it sound super dense and busy (I LOVE THIS). My musical ADD needs constant stimuli and "With Eyes Abstract" never let me down. Surprisingly tuneful as well which I wasn't entirely expecting. The more I've been playing this as well the more things I find that I enjoy about it. Like I said not without its share of sleeved influences but singular in their own way. Well worth the time if you fancy yourself a lover of that "brutal prog" sound.

WEA (2011)

X-Ray Press - UVB-76 (2011)

2012-01-21T22:36:00.000-05:00

The moment that you stop caring what a group sounds like and give in to the album that the band has presented you with is when everything comes into focus. Most math-rock fails utterly in this respect, throwing a series of exercises in instrumental prowess flecked with heart pulls. That is what we except as a great math album but it doesn't have to be this way. X-Ray Press gives us an alternative. The album as a whole is dangerously brilliant and sequenced better than i've seen a group tackle in a long spell. The obvious question and one I really wanted to distance myself from was tagging this. This is a great rock album updated for 2011 to appeal in an impressive way to those that enjoy unique instrumentation and tasteful vocals. (my answer) The answer you likely want is that this sounds like progressive post-punk math rock blanketed with a disjointed 90's indie rock bent. I feel like this tag really cheapens what these guys have going but if you needed that then there it is. The guitars and keyboards are frequently distorted and from song to song take great joy in never settling for any specific style. You can tell there is a deep love of prog going down but stripped of straight up technicality and pomp help this go down smooth. The ensuing jagged structures are made tuneful with the help of really great vocals. In the end its hard exactly to tell who's doing the coolest thing in a song. I strongly urge everyone to take the time and sit with these all the way through. I feel like a lot of times im guilty of blasting through so much music that you really miss those groups that are trying to get you to sit and take in their story. My ears are all yours X-Ray Press. I suggested you all do some ear lending as well.

UVB-76 (2011)

Valerian Swings - A Sailor Lost Around the Earth (2011)

2012-01-18T21:35:00.000-05:00

Sometimes you know instantly when a band is going to fill you with sweet joy. From the opening few seconds of "Dr. Pengle is There" from Valerian Swings 2011 release, there was no doubt that entered my head that this would be anything less than stunning. The excellently named group are from Italy and you can expect a lot from them over the course of "A Sailor Lost Around the Earth". While a lot of other bands wear their genre's on their sleeves this trio make it a bit trickier. A group with an equal love of progressive rock, psychedelic rock, jazz, metal, post-rock, and mathcore. Blend on high. Throughout the album you just wont care what your hearing because its always so well crafted. Vocals occasionally make a nice appearence as well. This is just an album that begs you to sit down and soak up because it's just that incredible. Wonderful song structures as well that always flow from one great idea to another. Driving to soft and Hard hitting to calm, never missing a beat or your interest.

A Sailor Lost Around the Earth (2011)

Invalids - Eunoia (2012)

2012-01-17T21:42:00.002-05:00

Let the math pour over you in the name of the fa.....Oh! Hi how's everyone doing? I was actually just dropping in to post about Invalids (Pete Davis on everything except Nick Shaw on bass) because well its flipping amazing.This is Math Rock, something we never speak about at the Swords but hear me out. The unique part of this whole one man bandish group is that you can tell it is the vision of one person. Meaning that you can up the time bending quotient by about 1200. This is tech as a tiger if your wondering in every manner of instrument. Guitars are known to get a bit tap happy while the drums are jazzing the junk out with the bass. Vocals actually make a prominent spot here too. Think a kind of emo style but not super annoying. Thankfully nothing ever feels like any one element is competing for space which with music like this youd imagine there could be issue. For an EP and a side project your going to be hard pressed to find something better so far this 2012.

Lastly let me close by saying:

EVERYONE GET THIS IN YOUR EARS!!

Eunoia by Invalids

First Post: Cutting Pink With Knives

2012-01-17T21:14:00.004-05:00

Hey all, new contributor on the blog here, I figured I'd kick it off with one of my favorite bands, the UK's own Cutting Pink With Knives. They were around from 2004 until 2008, and did some of the most inventive techno-grind I've ever heard. When I first heard them it reminded me of Genghis Tron but a lot sillier (mostly because both bands use drum machines). They started out as a relatively one-dimensional drum machine grind band, but as time went on they incorporated more synths and major chords/chord patterns into their songwriting. Their third and last album, Populuxxe, is near-perfect; I can't think of an album that mixes the heaviness of grindcore with poppy dance music with over-the-top guitar lead lines better than this.

Oh Wow!

Populuxxe

Live, demo, EP, and unreleased tracks

Please Join us on the Facebook!

2012-01-15T22:47:00.000-05:00

Listen, I wanted to interrupt the normal flow of the blog to urge everyone reading to click below and follow us on the old Facebook:

Plenty of Swords

Why? well its an equal opportunity for everyone to post video's, talk about how much we dont/do like "insert band name", band suggestions, ect. This creates a looser and more fun environment where extra content and sharing come into play.

Also because it wouldn't be fair to have everyone read my 30 seconds of promoting (its for you own good) I have also included a link below in the comments to an extra awesome album.

You can thank me later and thank you for reading.

Fish Tank - Henry

2012-01-15T22:11:00.000-05:00

UK MATH POP #@RU(QR#PFJ FA!!! ALL OVER THE FUC......

Excuse my outburst fellows and fellows ettes, in keeping up with my obvious love for UK bred math rock.indie pop hybrid beasts (Tangled Hair, Colour, Pharoahs so on and so forth) is Fish Tank. This three piece have dropped on us an EP that eats like a meal or an LP (your choice). Giant sized rock outs, wonderful breakdowns, sing alongs, awesome vox, tapping, keyboards, horns? check. These boys are not afraid to jam heavy on a great chorus or conversely rip through a couple time signatures with some guitar acrobatics. Make no mistake though this stuff will get caught in your dome. It seems as though a full length is to come rather soon and I can't help but be on my chair about it. Criminal that they aren't more talked up because they are a sight better than a lot of this "sensitive math with strong guitars".

Pro-tip: Hand claps in a song = + 5 to crushing brilliance

HENRY

Pensioner - Yearlings (2011)

2012-01-14T21:50:00.000-05:00

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

2012-01-12T23:06:00.000-05:00

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)

2012-01-10T20:37:00.000-05:00

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"

2012-01-10T12:43:00.000-05:00

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

///

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

///

Pop Quiz:

Who left their caps lock on?
Which band is most likely to dub helicopter sound-effects into their jammy jams?
How many inane contradictions is too many?
Name that interpolation —
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)

2012-01-10T09:22:00.007-05:00

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

AS MEIAS - self-titled & II

2012-01-07T20:56:00.000-05:00

Japanese math rock is always crystal sharp in its execution and never a nary note thrown in. The most important aspect of my mass generalization is that their drummers are ALWAYS amazing. AS MEIAS is no exception to either of these rules. The singing here is a highly melodic emotional style that works well with the music and never tries to follow the rhythmic curve's going on behind it. Both guitars get locked into some solid steel counterplay with some riffs that I'd dare say are pretty original especially rhythmically. My issue (however slight) is that the riffs don't change as often as I'd like. Confession time I have musical ADD, no surprise. So many of you might listen and think "hmmm he's full of junk hell" Drums are pretty incredible in that they never play with the guitars and are always trying to (F) the beat up. This is super solid across the waters level biz.

Self-Titled (2004)

II (2010)

Happy Body Slow Brain- Dreams of Water (2010)

2012-01-06T00:20:00.004-05:00

I was reminded that I had yet to post about these guys when Acey thanked Ghost for recommending track 8 off their 2010 debut, Up Late. What an excellent track to start off with: a majority of the album is melodic, minor keyed synth pop, and Up Late stands out as a track that especially showcases their skills in that regard. The album is great; standout tracks include the opener Everything You Know, and as i must show you in video form, this excellent acoustic version of track 10, Emperor. Full-band version is sick as balls, but its really nice seeing them perform a song like this as a duo:

_________________________________________________

Dreams Of Water by Happy Body Slow Brain

Arietta - Migration (2009)

2012-01-05T21:52:00.000-05:00

Arietta - meaning "stop" in french

A Canadian group that has managed to keep me coming back time and time again to their 2009 release "migration". If your thinking this is because these guys play some kind of future bending face melting psych drone alien pop well your wrong. Arietta do almost nothing that you haven't heard before. Sounds like a bad start but consider this.
These guys travel in a highly refined pop / post-hardcore climate that is a seeming distillation of both of these genre's best aspects. Fairly complex without being heavy handed as well as some interesting jagged riffs that have been sanded to perfection. Its this balance that keeps Arietta from sounding like a boring copy of other such bands. Vocals are well sung and lyrics dont become too embarrassingly ridiculous. If your not sold by this description well you should be. This is incredibly well constructed song craft and 85% of these songs are catchy as sin. I'm a super sucker for catchy hooks and memorable chorus's just as much as I fiend for stabs of dark dissonant mayhem, again balance. Always surprised that I don't see these them getting talked up more because they are easily more deserving than half of the groups I hear twirling their guitars around.

Migration (2009)

Kayo Dot - Gamma Knife (2012)

2012-01-04T19:47:00.003-05:00

Following up on last month's Maudlin of the Well post, we've got the sudden release of Kayo Dot's latest full length, a partially live record of all new material that was recorded this past fall. Book-ended by a pair of beautiful "ballads", Gamma Knife contains some of the most blisteringly brutal fuck-your-face outer thought broadcasts that Kayo Dot's put to tape, full of raucous bass and guitar counterpoint punctuated by brass stabs and guttural screams. Fuck if I know what an "Ocellated God" is, but these jams are fierce and endearing.

The live material is a bit muddy, with the vocals buried amidst the madness, but the performance is great and they managed to achieve a fair bit of separation in the mix. When horns blaze high and mighty, you won't be thinking about what the man's singing anyway.

5 Dollars at they bandcamp: http://kayodot.bandcamp.com/

If you a stingy fuck, Toby Driver says:

If you're gonna download it illegally anyway, just email me and I'll send you a download code so you can get the authorized version instead of having to go through some other asshole who uploaded it. In return, I get to put you on my mailinglist and also get to put your name on my voodoo list.

A Troop of Echoes-Tour Starts 1/4/12!

2012-01-03T15:06:00.001-05:00

Just wanted to add a quick bumpity bump to restate that starting tomorrow, January 4th, our fellow ninja FranklinDCs group A Troop of Echoes is kicking off their tour at Precinct in boston; metaghost and i will be going, and hope to see some more of you Swords folks at the show. They'll be touring all over the northeast, so get ready to rock out to some sick tunes. Heres a neat video for their song Little Bird off their 2010 album Days in Automation, and again tour dates below:

4 Boston, MA - Precinct (w/ Zvoov, Strange Mangers)
12 Baltimore, MD - Charm City Art Space (w/ Fires, Sea Patterns)
13 Greenville, NC - The Tipsy Teapot
14 Charlotte, NC - The Common Market (w/ David Cox)
15 Columbia, SC - Conundrum Music Hall (w/ Pan)
16 Nashville, TN - Exit / In (w/ Call it Anything, Chris West’s Junkyard Horns)
17 New Orleans, LA - Hi-Ho Lounge (w/ Autotomii)
18 Athens, GA - Go Bar (w/ Sleep Dance)
19 Charleston, SC - Village Tavern
20 Baltimore, MD - Sidebar Tavern (w/ Zvoov, Time Columns)

PLOKK - A + B

2012-01-02T21:54:00.001-05:00

PLOKK are a 5 piece from Hamburg. (EDIT: 3 piece ((even more impressive)) )
PLOKK are freaking amazing

Just listen to the facts. This is a franken beast that makes so much sense when you hear it. Depending on the moment you might catch them in the middle of some kind of quasi dissonant guitar battle that sounds like its about to fall apart. Two seconds later you could be thrashing to an all out alternative metal riff. It never turns out sounding at odds with itself though and flows organically on its way. The band itself says "intelligent krautrock" which I suppose you could tack in there. A better idea as far as other bands go would be a more disjointed and less jazzy version of Fago. Sepia, a wonderful comparison in my opinion. So i know i must say this a lot but if you enjoy math rock in any of its aspects this is not something you can pass by. Don't even think about it.

A + B

Audiocæneat! - Red Sessions (2011)

2012-01-02T20:51:00.000-05:00

Post-rock can be a tricksy beast. It is often a downright boring and formulaic genre affair (as anything can be) But when you are distilling many different genres down the roots system you've gotta have your weapon enchanted with just the right amount of elemental forces to stand ahead. This brings us to Audiocæneat! from Germany who play a classic post-rock (think epic guitars) pounding drums, some great structure and shoegaze thrown in to flesh out the proceedings. What I can and always do give props to is the attention of production, everything is in your face and crystal. Also if you think that this is your grandpas old post rock with down time they remain always interesting. Do I hear some metal influence in those guitars? You bet your bottom. These guys put a lot of the main streamers to shame. So what does that mean for you? it means clickity below fellow's.

Red Sessions (2011)

The New Year - Newness Ends (2001)

2011-12-31T21:16:00.000-05:00

Eh? Eh? Ok I know it might seem a bit cheeky to do what with it being New Years Eve and all but lets talk stock.

So The New Year features the talents of the Kadane Brothers formerly of the kings of sadcore Bedhead. Certainly check into some of their other amazing albums as well as they practically invented the genre. Newness ends doesn't really tred new ground but its incredibly solid with some really nice lyrics about getting older. No blistering solo's here these guys are all about the slow burn rock and its moody as all hell. You can practically smell the cooling rods from the time machine powering down after being transported to the early 90's with these guys but honestly I find myself yearning for that simpler rock music landscape sometimes. So crank these jams and be safe tonight. Happy New Year everyone.

Newness Ends (2001)

Harsha Iyer- Curious Toys (2011)

2011-12-30T01:58:00.005-05:00

*BUMP UPDATE*

After listening to Harsha a bunch, and talking to him from india to Boston over the facebooks chat, i have come to realize how wide a range of music this dude digs on and ends up subtly and at times overtly adding to his own songs. My initial review favored the comparison between Overcautious as a pop song to songs by The Kinks and OTC. But that is the tip of the iceberg; Overcautious is one song in the style of Pop Music this dude enjoys writing. And needless to say, dude is prolific. Hes working with a lot of different musicians while writing solo stuff. Hell yeah. Tracks like Not Yet Dead really blew me away in listening to Curious Toys: it is moody and sparse, dark, with excellent vocal melodies, guitar work and string arrangements.

Below Not Yet Dead is my initial review of Overcautious, with a link to his bandcamp page for his 2011 album, Curious Toys:

Harsha Iyer - Curious Toys - 06 Not Yet Dead by ninko

------------------------------------------
This 19 year old artist was just recently introduced to me by a well-respected musical cohort who always gives me great recommendations. At this point, i do not know much about his story. I know he is from Chennai, India, and in his relatively young life he apparently grew up absorbing a great mix of varying influences in music. Though his styles cover a wide spectrum of sounds, my initial first impressions are a bit more straightforward.

By Overcautious, track 2 off Curious Toys (which is the only album of his that i know is in existance; apparently he was in a band, possibly though highschool etc.), Olivia Tremor Control immediately came to mind. But, as Olivia seemed to model their music distinctly on The Beatles and The Beach Boys, Harsha struck me as presenting a similar idea of keeping the classic instrumentation and experimental ideas as Olivias does with their influences, only with bands more along the lines of The Kinks and The Soft Boys, but also Love and Television, mixed with other punk/rock sounds i cant quite place.

Overcautious struck me as a prime example of a take on the darker sides of pop music in these respects, with a verse in a minor key using catchy bouncy lyrics and those damned sweet harmonies to color it all in, which then gives way to a more legato chorus line that eventually leads into a dissonant solo section. Everything is tied together so very nicely; This is some neat stuff. Dig it.

Curious Toys by Harsha Iyer

curious toys (bandcamp free download)

Dull Blades and Guilty Trades

2011-12-26T02:29:00.001-05:00

This is a post for all of those albums of yester-year that creep in and out of your life like old friends. They could be albums you still enjoy but that you feel secret shame or just albums you have thus far in your life out grown. A lot of what we do here is to inform those of the new music that we discover whether through friends, file sharing, music sites, seeing live shoes, ect. But realistically these choices have all been informed by music of our past. I have invited each of our resident swordsmen to partake in this and hopefully we can have some fun.

As a side note to all of our readership: Please feel free to mock and laugh accordingly.

_________________________________________________________________

ACEROLA:
Osker - Idle Will Kill
(Pop-punk with bad vocals. Although isn't that built into the genre? Still surprisingly catchy)

AFI - Black Sails in the Sunset
(Some sort of punk, alt., emo glam beast. All of their records were pretty good.)

Juliana Theory - Love
(Catchy Alt - Prog-lite. Over produced and all the better for it.)

Thursday - Full Collapse
(Sadly one of my first intro's to post-hardcore. uninspired but very loud and dramatic about it. 16 year old me loves this)

Millencolin - Pennybridge Pioneers
(Catchy pop punk. so good)

Green Day - Dookie
(No link? because if your around my age you listened to this enough. my cassette of this broke because I listened to it too many times. true story)
______________________________

METAGHOST:
Shootyz Groove - Jammin in Vicious Environments (RAP-METALLLLLLL!!!)
Another Society - S/T (Couldn't find a link. They were like... a Nirvana knockoff from Alabama or something)
self - Subliminal Plastic Motives (Pretty sure this was the first album I bought. Still kinda ok.)
______________________________

NINKO:

blink 182- dude ranch (Dammit was the first song i NEEDED to learn)
metallica-..and justice for all (this is where my guitar teacher took me)
barenaked ladies- stunt (i also really dug this in middleschool)
phish-a live one pt1; pt2 (then i smoked pot and wound up here)
blues traveler-four (somewhere in the middle, i heard this)

korn- follow the leader (before smoking pot, i was angst-y)
limp bizkit- three dollar bill ya'll (and i really liked the finger tapping going on in this)

gruvis malt- sound soldiers (and then this happened)
sigur ros-agaetis byrjun (i got really into this at music school)
beastie boys- hello nasty (favorite hip hop of mine in 9th grade)

______________________________

FRANKLINDC:

I was all about Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Santana, Jimi Hendrix, Garage a Trois, Dave Holland, ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead, and a local alt/emo band called Premonition. Actually I should post them soon. The only emo band I know that had a djembe.
_____________________________

Merry Merries from the Swords!

2011-12-25T01:30:00.006-05:00

Merry Merries, dingleberries! This will be brief. Hope all of you are enjoying some awesome time with your families, listening to dope jams and jibbin' plenty of flibbits. Again, we want to extend a heartfelt thank you for checking in here and conversing with us about the things we love; its a great community and we are so glad to be a part of it.

As thanks, I want to show you something i just dug up from my oldschool iPod, which is packed with all the music i was listening to from highschool through my early 20s, as well as being filled with things i was recording at that time. Two good friends and I were out visiting Metaghost and abigail wonder at their college, where Ghost had access to an amazing recording studio. One night, Ghost and i were in studio jamming out some Father Geoghan when the pals i drove out with showed up with more of our friends. We decided to record some random zombie noises to use in unspecified projects; prior to this, i had been practicing Proud Mary by Creedance. If the first 4 minutes of zombie nonsense/ jamming does nothing for you, skip to 4:15 where i decided to kick into Proud Mary. It was hilarious. And the quality of the recording was so good. Just ridiculous. Happy Holidays pals.

00 - Zombie Chorus by ninko

Ninetails - Ghost Ride the Whip

2011-12-23T21:56:00.000-05:00

Ninetails hails from England and play an interesting blend of rock music's. Love the name by the way. We get a small idea of what these guys are bringing to the table with this three song EP. Post rock, indie rock, indie pop, math rock yet pretty vocal driven as well. Structurally these songs are interestingly arranged and its nice to be kept on your toes a bit where each song is going to turn to. HOWEVER some kind of synthesizing would be appreciated as I can see a full length of this sort of strategy getting a bit flim flammy. For a short player it's nice to see a group spreading its feathers and I certainly look forward to more.

Ghost Ride the Whip

Strange Mangers - S/T (2011)

2011-12-22T15:17:00.005-05:00

Kids these days.

Strange Mangers are a new-ish band of teenagers from Boston that includes a heavy dose of jangly guitar in their indie rock brew. The songs tend to be pensive and catchy. The rhythms aren't at all mathy, but there's so much jangly guitar, effective dynamics, and well-placed vocal harmonies that you'll forget everything is in 3/4 and 4/4. The vocals are sparse, airy, and strong.

The one iffy moment is a misguided sample-based piece about the financial crisis in the middle of the EP. It doesn't really add anything and kills the EP's momentum. But thats what skip buttons are for, I suppose.

Stream/download Strange Mangers on their Bandcamp.

The Velvet Teen - No Star & Cum Laude

2011-12-20T20:51:00.002-05:00

The Velvet Teen are an alt indie group with some rocking gutairs. Most interesting and delighting to me is their drummer Casey (one of my favorites) also drums for The America's
(click the link to time travel)

This group is something of a shape shifter and can sound pretty radically different depending on where you catch them. The No Star EP is a pretty guitar heavy album which is why its one of my fav's. Also of note is their album Cum Laude which is just straight awesome sauce and has some nasty keyboardage. It's a must have so please Seek and Destroy

Cum Laude

No Star

The Cabs - First Incident

2011-12-20T19:45:00.000-05:00

Japanese emo/ indie rock with some math rock flirtations. Some pleasant vocals mixed screaming. When the tempo slows down these guys seem at a disadvantage but raise the BPM's and suddenly the drums and guitar go all kinds of math wonky. Its pretty good stuff but I cant say for sure how long it will stay in the rotation. Is it worthy of a look? Hellz Jess.

First Incident

Ninko/ Carved in Clouds- Original Linkzz

2011-12-20T02:29:00.009-05:00

Yo. So again, i have been digging through old things that i was working on right as my old computer crapped the bed. Through this digging, i have a few things i want to show to you. First, as a follow-up to Sunrise in Cloud City, the track i wrote to come in immediately after, Trouble Brewing:
Trouble Brewing by ninko

I was talking to Metaghost about this next one; we agree that it was something we jammed on after listening to lots of Toe. We jammed out, and i returned home and recorded all the things i remembered by myself:

king:
King by ninko

Finally! The grand jewel of all halted projects! I have rediscovered a 2 minute clip of the first section of an epic, 12 minute piece called Arcobot. Metaghost and i composed this beast of a song over multiple writing sessions, which we pieced together into a truly epic jam. Our goals were beyond our means though, and the project stalled, but we have the grooves under our belts; it is ready to go. This intro track is one of my funnest guitar creations to date; it is just a melodic, tricky guitar part that took me long hours to master. I hope you like:

Arcobot by ninko

Vasudeva - Roots of The Tree EP

2011-12-19T22:29:00.000-05:00

Quartet hailing from Brooklyn, Vasudeva have dropped a pretty rollicking EP here with their brand of instrumental tap happy math rock. The drums keep things driving along at a pretty nice clip not to mention a pretty varied attack. The guitars actually launch into some fairly memorable melodies (sometimes not often enough). If what your reading sounds like something you've heard before...chances are your not to far off. Believe me when I say though that its worth a listen. Perhaps with some more structural twists and turns it could be elevated to another level of awesome.

Roots of The Tree (EP)

maudlin of the Well - Part the Second (2009)

2011-12-17T21:22:00.004-05:00

I don't know why it's taken me so long to make a post about this record. Probably has something to do with why I rarely make posts about any records — I let acerola do that shit, fuck finding links!

But no, this is some top-notch music that does a great job of bridging the gap between the previous pair of maudlin of the Well records, Bath and Leaving Your Body Map, with the more ornate modern classical compositions of Toby Driver's solo work and Kayo Dot. As with all of his projects, there are always those elements that can be a bit grating if you don't keep an open mind towards the experiential nature of what he writes (like all the groaning on Rose Quartz Turning to Glass), but there's simply not a whole lot in the world that's like this, just things that are somewhat similar. A must listen for fans of Henry Cow, Final Fantasy 7, and slutty guitar solos.

Free download in FLAC and all that other shit: Cha-Ching!

Stage Kids - Killer Tofu (2011)

2011-12-17T17:38:00.000-05:00

Previously on Plenty of Swords.....

They are back and JESUS MAGIC CHRISTMAS this couldn't get any better. Those of you out there that thought they were too young or lacked ideas well your face just got noise checked. This is as sure footed as it gets for instrumental math rock. Super well produced and spit shined. I think its also safe to smack about the fact that everyone must have leveled up on their instruments at least 5 times as well. The ideas flowing here are numerous and are just curve ball enough to make you fist pump at the same time as your brain smiles. Electronic elements are sprinkled into the math rock this time ever so slightly as well as the completely electronic songs.

If you missed them the first time then heres your second chance at a brand new life filled with lush guitars and complicated poly-rhythms. Put this under the tree because your entire family will thank you for it.

Killer Tofu

(also nice Doug reference.....)

Jo Jo and the Scooters- Inspiration (Graceland, 1986)

2011-12-16T01:19:00.006-05:00

I will not say much, because i do not feel entitled to talk about something of this magnitude with my insufficient knowledge of it. The other day, on a break at work, i had the sudden urge to hear You Can Call Me Al. And luckily, now that i have a nerdphone, i looked that shit up and watched the hilarious video with Chevy Chase. Later that night, i went to see a friend play an acoustic set at Owen O'Learys, and at one point in their set, the excellent Ryan McHugh, who was serving as a stand-in-for-the-night guitarist, kicked into a nice version of Graceland. When they finished, i mentioned to my drummer pal vince that i had just had that sudden urge to hear Call Me Al; Ryan the guitarist said "oh yeah? lets do it" and Mia B and the two of them kicked it out proper. I returned home and immediately found myself a copy of Paul Simons landmark 1986 release. I have not absorbed it fully yet; I have been alternating between Phontes latest and Graceland.

All that said, Graceland is one of those albums, like Moondance or Thriller, that are just untouchable: Pop Music cornerstones. I am deep in this right now. Perfect pop sensibilities to keep in mind for Jo Jo and the Scooters. So that covers a classic of undeniable pop which enters into the Olivia Tremor Control category of the band equation; next, please cite a math/rock/pop outfit that influenced excellent current bands like Mister Metaphor. Part 3 is electronica.. lets see what you got.

graceland

Ninko- Sunrise on Cloud City (Linkzzzzz)

2011-12-16T00:38:00.001-05:00

Fellas requested for linkz; here is one. Just as my old computer began its downward spiral, the 2011 RPM challenge was under way and i had a game plan. I created a few tracks, but was sidelined by my malfunctioning audio software. It was a concept album about a galactic fight taking place on earth and in the cloud cities above it, and the first track is one of my better electronic works. I had different plans for it, but once my computer wasnt able to allow me to record live audio i was at a stalemate. This is how it ended up:

Sunrise by ninko

there ya go.

The Prophet Nathan

2011-12-15T21:26:00.000-05:00

Get ready for this.... "Tennessee Two-some" as they embark on a stylistically interesting musical adventure. like some sort of math-pop monster that at times tears up the landscape with awesome drum and guitar. Other moments shift to some soft singing or samples but always the drums remain consistently great. Influences drip off the sleeve but there is a large honesty that keeps me pulled in. Not too mention the previously stated instrumentation. Both releases are well worth the gandering.

The Prophet Nathan

Phonte- Charity Starts at Home (2011)

2011-12-15T00:18:00.008-05:00

I have proclaimed much love for The Foreign Exchange, and afterwards Little Brother, and a big part of my appreciation of these two groups came down to the Phonte factor; Phonte fronts Foreign Exchange, and began his music career in Little Brother. He is a gifted vocalist/ rapper, renowned (in not only my own world) as a chorus genius, proficient foremost in creating vocal harmonies that go 6 parts deep with hooks to match. I mean, check out the chorus of the Foreign Exchanges track, Maybe She'll Dream of Me. Ain't no room for suckers in that studio; just the straight sickness right there.

So, 2011 finally saw to Phonte releasing his first solo effort as an artist, Charity Starts at Home. As usual, when given the mic to talk about what is on his mind, Phonte rises above any fronting and speaks about life as an artist making it through each day to rise and shine with the next. His rhymes are very personal, introspective and creative, and he knows when a tracks melancholy only requires subtly, and knows when to drop a serious chorus to enrich the positive emotions he talks about (as he does in Sending All My Love). It seems Phonte favored focusing on his rhyming on his debut solo release, letting some lovely female vocalists fill in on his hooks while he focused his own vocal parts on the verses. Great stuff; he worked with a number of producers for this release, including a much anticipated (for myself) reunion for a few tracks with 9th Wonder as his beat maestro; track 2, The Good Fight, properly kicks the album up a notch after starting so very strongly with Dance in the Reign (produced by Swiff D). Blam: The Good Fight:

Phonte - The Good Fight
__________________________________________________

charity starts at home

Jo Jo and the Scooters

2011-12-15T00:07:00.002-05:00

So, i have big personal news for all you Swordsers: i finally have a working laptop capable of letting me produce intense, gigantic audio recordings. I am very excited. Ive been talking to Metaghost about how liberating and exciting it is to have a high-class machine ready for me to use its audio functions to their potential, and i have a lot of ideas that have been laying dormant since about six months ago, when my previous computer stopped working properly.

One of these ideas was borne from a fake band name my father referenced a while back; i was home, listening to some random music when my dad peeped his head in to ask what i was listening to: "who is this? Jo Jo and the Scooters?". He makes up names like this all the time; his standby fake band name is Mickey and the Finns, but he often gets creative with it. Jo Jo and the Scooters stuck with me for some reason; i was listening to a lot of Mister Metaphor (for the first time), and had also rediscovered my love for Olivia Tremor Control. At the same time, i was deeply involved in electro-pop, listening to loads of Hot Chip, Starfucker and Miike Snow; expanding my technical production ideas by absorbing myself in electronic-heavy dance/pop outfits.

Anyways, this mostly goes out to Acey and Franklin (as metaghost already is in on this): Here we go gentlemen. When my father first uttered the words Jo Jo and the Scooters, i thought of classic do-wop pop music, only updated to modern standards. I expanded this initial idea to becoming a mix of Olivia Tremor Controls vocal stylings, Mister Metaphors polyrhythmic math/pop skills, and added electronica as bonus points. Im ready to go. Things to come. This is a warning.

Louis C.K.- Hilarious (2011)

2011-12-10T02:30:00.003-05:00

I am a frequent viewer of the Onion AV Club, and recently came across one of their annual "best of" lists of the year 2011, from albums to movies to comedy records, but this time specifically their Top 10 comedy records of 2011. Their list is filled with awesome comedy i knew about 25% of, and as i saw as a natural choice as their number 1 standup special came to Louis C.K.s special, Hilarious.

I do not really have to say anything more about this: It is a landmark special from one of the most prolific creative comic minds of our times, who has recently been very well rewarded for his unique voice and comic vision. His FX show Louis is the most original stuff out there. The Louis in his television show is one person; the Louis in his standup is a much deeper person. Although he just gets sillier and more raunchy in being uncensored, his heart is on his sleeve and he is fun to relate to.

hilarious

Anathallo - Floating World (2006)

2011-12-05T21:21:00.000-05:00

The now defunct Anathallo (hailing from Michigan and Chicago) had a couple releases under their belt before dissolving in ought 9 . Floating World being the one in which left the greatest mark on me. Think a mess ton of soulful singing and harmonies. Baroque pop and indie pop make the solid base with an emphasis on rhythm and interesting structures. First of get the thoughts of "sleepy pop group" lulling you to sleep out of your head. Sure some songs are crawlers but they are nice enough to get through to the brass and percussion awesome that more often than not makes its presence known. Not the usual post for me but don't let that fool you, there is more than enough here to like.

Floating World (2006)

metaghostin' Vol. XII - Film School on Paper

2011-12-02T11:12:00.001-05:00

Film School on Paper - 32'01"

///

Possessed / The Great Unraveling / The Great Unraveling (1997)
Several Circles / Tidal Arms / The Sun Exploding (2011)
Frame by Frame / King Crimson / Discipline (1981)
Behaving Badly / Animals as Leaders / Animals as Leaders (2009)
Let's Get Tired / Zona Mexicana / 3 Song EP (2009)
Landscape with Gun and Chandelier / Upsilon Acrux / Radian Futura (2009)
There's Nothing More / Jonny Classic and the Classic Johns / Your New Favorite Record (2005)

///

When you listen to music in public, is that music a diagetic soundtrack to your own experiences or an extra-diagetic score for the world around you?

Jibbin' Flibbits: Tim and Eric- Father and Son/ Billion Dollar Movie

2011-12-01T02:54:00.000-05:00

With the new trailer for Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie floating around, I have been reenforcing my love for all things Awesome Show (and Steve Brule). As the best example of what makes these dudes great, I present to you Father and Son. Tim and Eric wrote and filmed it for the Funny or Die HBO series, but in doing so they gave their fans a brief glimpse into how they would take one particular idea and stretch it out across a much longer time frame than they usually allowed in their previous efforts.

Before there was any semblance of Billion Dollar Movie actually happening (and also serving as a bittersweet new project coming so soon after their final season of Awesome Show), out popped Father and Son, a truly ridiculous story of friendship and unity. I can not explain this in any way that would do it justice. It is polarizing, just as Awesome Show was; some people will dig it a lot, and others will hate it. But oh shit, that death scene and the ensuing non-consequence/ plot progression has me laughing every time. Blam, mothadanglers!

-"Lord, you blessed me with a weeeeird stepson."
-"Well ya know what, I had a black son until this asshole killed him, so, fuck you guys."
-A special aw yeah to having Dan Lauria (the dad from The Wonder Years) as a judge for the Father and Son proceedings.

Ill Movie Corner- Drive (2011)

2011-11-28T02:04:00.005-05:00

Short and sweet: metaghost and i set out and saw DRIVE while it was in theaters a few months back, and we both dug the shit out of it (if i recall correctly). It had a very basic save-the-damsel-in-distress plot, with an awesome noir vibe and a style that stressed the main characters actions relaying his emotional connections with the story to the audience; he was very quiet, and hardly spoke throughout the film, but what he does to protect who he cares about carries the action. As I have read in reviews, it was influenced by a combination of the classic Grimm's Fairy Tales and the main character from Sergio Leones' Man With No Name Triology (the most historically significant example being from The Good, The Bad and the Ugly).

The main character is only referred to as the Driver, a man who works a steady dayjob as a stunt driver for Hollywood films by day, and who pilots getaway cars for hoodlums robbing people by night. His life is defined by his driving skills, and he has no other back story: he just drives. He meets a lady in a dire situation and creates a bond with her and her son, and is soon enlisted with her fresh-out-of-jail husband to pull one last heist for the big money, and is quickly placed in the midst of circumstances that directly affect the damsel and her sons well being. His heroic instincts kick into action, and the remainder of the film deals with the things he has to do to ensure his Maidens safety. Epic.

Here now is a clip from the film, entitled by youtube as "Hes a Good Guy", which demonstrates not only the Drivers good nature and affection for a lovely lady and her cute son, but also the need Driver has for a relationship beyond his normal routine. Needless to say here on the Swords, the soundtrack plays a major part in the film: such subtle awesomness.

Blam: Hes a Good Guy; movie trailer below:

I want to include a direct link to the song from the Hes a Good Guy clip, because i have been obsessing over that track for the last few days. Though it is really just bass, drums and sparse extra electronics, the vocals really kick my butt and i had to learn it once my obvious obsession of it kicked in. College feat. electric youth.

drive (film)
drive (soundtrack)

Bastro - Rode Hard and Put Up Wet (1988)/ Antlers Live (1991)

2011-11-27T21:42:00.000-05:00

If Bastro is not a band that rings familiar in your dome well that perhaps is history's fault.

Time for a little Social Studies. Open your page to 182 please and follow along. Squirrel Bait from Louisville KY an up tempo shifting rock group broke up at the end of the 80's. Skag Heaven their crowning achievement is an interesting listen today. Not for its impressive musical nature per-say but because you will consistently get the feeling you've heard it before. This could be because many argue that the group foreshadowed the grunge and math rock movements 90's (true). Aside from being important on their own their dissolution actually caused more of a splash than anything else. Here's the run down and you tell me.

Squirrel Bait Members:

Peter Searcy - Vocals (Big Wheel, Starbilly)

Clark Johnson - Bass (Bastro)

Britt Walford - Drums (Slint)

Brian McMahan - Guitar (Slint, The For Carnation, King Kong)

David Grubs - Guitar (Bastro, Gastr Del Sol)

_________________________________________

While most folks focus on the Louisville second coming of Jesus ( read: Slint) a lot of folks should be shifting their gaze toward the other more prominent group on this list. Bastro was certainly the more interesting of the two in my opinion. Their first EP Rode Hard and Put Up Wet (1988) is a widly pleasing release. Clear love of Big Black runs rampant with the the drum machine going full tilt but mathier elements do rear their head however subtle they may be. Each release after found the group settling into a post-hardcore punk style of melodic rock that smacks of the math we love today.

Sorry for being long winded but my point to this is that Bastro should be counted as the first modern math rock group. Sure we can all sit back and bandy about this influence and that influence through prog rock and modern comp but honest to flip here it is. If your still not entirely convinced check out Antlers live. released in 2005 these recordings were culled from various shows in 1991 and find the group at the end of their life span. The sound of which is true blue math in all its rough and ready glory. John McEntire is punishing behind the kit (as well he should being a percussion major) and in my opinion the greatest of the early math drummers. Does the name sound familiar? that may be because McEntire went on to join Tortoise where he essentially became their musical leader.

If your at all interested in the roots of early math rock, or late 80's early 90's rock you can not pass this up. Seriously.

Squirrel Bait - Skag Heaven

Bastro - Rode Hard and Put up Wet

Bastro - Antlers Live

DD/MM/YYYY - Black Square (2009)

2011-11-24T11:37:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving Fellow Swordsmen. Please eat your turkey responsibly today. That is all...

Just saying but no human should be without DD/MM/YYYY this holiday season. They are a mix of a lot of different things blended fairly well together. At the heart these Canadians would be considered an indie rock group but rhythms can get math-tastic and their are mild electronic elements cram jammed in there. Certainly not something super normal that has any direct reference which is a positive. Maybe not the most festive of holiday musical choices for today. Would anyone rather I post the 45 Sufjan Stevens Christmas albums? ...... maybe next month .....

Black Square (2009)

A Ninko Original- Bishops Mother

2011-11-23T02:25:00.003-05:00

I have been going through my half-finished songs recently, and after sharing The Hero with you guys, i wanted to continue into a brief bout of songwriting i did while i was learning the ins and outs of Record, the audio/ engineering program by Propellerhead. I knew the basics of programming synths etc within Reason, but Record gave you all the benefits that Reason provides PLUS the addition of live audio tracks into their already awesome grid-like song building layout.

At some point a few years ago, I was looking through old 20 second loops i had created to see if i had left something cool behind, something not fully thought out. I came upon the loop that begins Bishops Mother; it was a solo guitar track, just the palm-muted guitar progression that starts the song. I dug it, so i added bass and drum tracks to the guitar and created a 2 chord loop that i recorded a guitar solo over. I continued on writing, thinking that i would be able to come up with some vocals to go over it, but i never could realize the proper words to fill out the song. The second section is one of my favorite pop achievements. Vocals please?

Bishops Mother by ninko

Pop Music Challenge- Feist

2011-11-22T02:17:00.003-05:00

Im gonna kick off this Pop Music Challenge with an old favorite. Feist is just lovely; not only is she a hot lady who plays music, but she also writes some really catchy shit. Shes been a part of some really neat side projects, like her work in Broken Social Scene and her awesome rendition of 1234 for Sesame Street, and her solo works have been continuing into more interesting territory. From her debut forward (2004s Let It Die) she had my attention, kicking off her career with tracks like One Evening and Secret Heart, but really snaring me in with track 2, Mushaboom.

Again, this shit is just pop gold, and the video compliments the song greatly: from the start of the video, she gets out of bed singing along to her own song being played on the radio. The lyrics talk about optimism and being happy with what you have, with dreamy undertones of the possibilities of life and love with a properly stoked imagination. When she suddenly enters the dream world, where everyone on the streets turn into her backup dancers and things happen because she wills them into existence, it is just so damned fun and happy. I love the effect of having the song enter full range stereo as she transitions from her life in the apartment to her dream life in the streets.

let it die

Pop Music Challenge- Talking Heads

2011-11-22T01:29:00.000-05:00

I have officially hijacked the Swords to fill it up with pop music, new and old, and I have no shame in this action (my facebook post of The King of Wishful Thinking notwithstanding; it IS catchy, and damned hilarious).

To continue on, i must mention this favorite of mine for the last few years. I will get straight to the point: This Must Be The Place, off of their live album Stop Making Sense, is Talking Heads at their very very super-berry best. I have been listening to it a lot recently; it instantly puts me in a good mood. I first critically noticed how very repetitive the rhythm section is in the track.. The bass, guitar and percussion play precisely the same progression through the duration of the song, which in certain instances can mean a very redundant sound, but David Byrnes varying vocal melodies (with the great harmonies provided by his backup singers) lend the track many unique sections, with such nice lyrics behind them:

"Home is where i want to be/ But i guess im already there
I come home/ she lifted up her wings/ i guess that this must be the place"

stop making sense

Pop Music Challenge- Ninko

2011-11-22T01:14:00.001-05:00

As another "thanks" (as we quickly and quietly passed our 30,000 views milestone), and also as an inclusion to the Pop Music Challenge, i wanted to show you guys another song of mine. It came about while i was listening to a lot of Flying Lotus, and set out to create an 8-bit sounding instrumental track in his style; i wrote up to the 40 second mark without any further thoughts and decided to take a break for a shower, when the vocal melody hit me. And bam, in about 5 hours i completed the entire track; sometimes you get rolling and cannot stop it. The lyrics are about wishing you were The Hero in your story, the guy who saves the day and rescues the princess. Blam!

06 The Hero by ninko

Bloc Party- I Still Remember

2011-11-21T03:54:00.013-05:00

I realize now that, by this point, i have not posted half as much Bloc Party as i should have. Though the crew and our readers here at the Swords favor a more mathy steez, and i definitely love the massive amount of awesome music coming from our blog, Bloc Party fits a way more mainstream mold of songcraft. I feel as to issue a challenge to my fellow Sworders, to post or comment current pop music that tickles your fancy. I have a nostalgic love of musicians who make songs that are not only tight and interesting, but also refined in their skills at making a more simplified chord progression unique, and at writing songs that catch you on an emotional level.

I Still Remember is probably the most sentimental example i could use for a starting point though: the lyrics are pure emo pop gold. The verses talk about fleeting moments with a person you are crushing on, and the longing for something more to come of the times you spent with that person. Then the chorus hits, with lines about wishing the signals had been more clear between the two of you. This can all easily be read as simplicity expounded upon, but the song craft lies within its execution. The instrumental layers and catchy melodies really kick my ass, and even though its cheesy, i can rely upon this song to remind me that love can be more a reaction than a feeling in uncertain instances.

it comes at the tail end of a darkly optimistic album that i have loved for many years now. the link is below; more to come.

a weekend in the city

Tidal Arms - "The Sun Exploding" (2011)

2011-11-16T13:50:00.001-05:00

In 5.5 billion years, our sun will have spent its first batch of nuclear reaction fuel and will rapidly expand, forming a red giant that envelops the inner solar system in a cloud of nebulous 1000-degree gas. If Tidal Arms' "The Sun Exploding" is any indication, this will be a snarly, melodious experience.

Tidal Arms have put forth a pretty solid effort here. Production is stellar (har), and a number of songs are pleasantly heavy and technical while still retaining a good sense of melody. There is some generous use of reverb, reminiscent of Brit-rockers Doves, if Doves listened to a steady diet of technical post-hardcore. There are a few uninspired tracks, but nothing offensively bad. Definitely worth a listen.

"The Sun Exploding" is available to stream in its entirety on Tidal Arms' bandcamp.

(BUMP BUMP IN THE NIGHT)
The Sun Exploding (2011)

Acerola -
"Thanks Frankline for the heads up on these guys. Just wanted to post a link to the album and say that after spending some intimate moments with this release its pretty jawsome. All should join in the sweet sweet post-punk math loveliness."

Dionaea - Still (2011)

2011-11-15T19:48:00.000-05:00

Post-Grind? Djent Metal?

ugh what?

Can we dispense with the silly genre tags for a moment and let me just say that this is some exceedingly creative music. For three musicians to make this kind of racket takes true skill. Swinging from full bore blast beats to majestic post-rock passages is something that I wouldn't really have believed would work so well until this. Its mathy and technical nature never detracts from the other more serene builds balancing very between the two. To say that this has been in heavy rotation in my ear holes would be an understatement. So let me just stop right here and tell everyone to indulge because you all have to get a load of these guys. Classy

STILL

Imperial China - Methods (2008)

2011-11-14T16:01:00.003-05:00

This is some tasty shit right here. Mathy drum beats, post-punk guitar parts, electro-synth, and some sparse vocals. This shit is tight.

Methods came out in 2008 and garnered Imperial China some buzz around the DC area. These guys have since put out a full length that has a few cool songs on it, but kind of falls flat. But this EP rips. They have a new LP coming out soon which hopefully finds Imperial China returning to ace form.

Methods

The James Cleaver Quintet - That was Then, This is Now (2011)

2011-11-11T22:22:00.001-05:00

I have been a patient man awaiting this album to come out. After hearing a track or two off some compilations my anticipation has been mounting. UK group James Cleaver Quintet have been carving out a name for themselves with some heavy touring and a lot of energy. This however doth not makith an excellent group and they have many favorable items in their corner. The guitars like to flit between post-hardcore, straight punk and hardcore and yet with the harder edged genre's they still remain pretty poppy. That is of course helped by some extremely varied vocals. There isn't anything DIRECTLY mathy about them but their bass and drum section loves the starts and stops, and interesting rhythmic patterns. Its a grab bag really but with so much energy thrown in it just works so damn well. Think something akin to the "Big Scary Monsters Recording" roster but after being off their meds for awhile......I mean that in the best way possible.

That was Then This is Now (2011)

(props to "Me and Music Call It Insanity" for the link. They are super boss)

metaghostin' Vol. XI - In Fidelity

2011-11-06T21:00:00.001-05:00

In Fidelity - 43'07"

///

Caçada / Chico Buarque / Quando o Carnaval Chegar (1972)
She's Too Much for my Mirror / Captain Beefheart / Trout Mask Replica (1970)
Emily Sagée's Secret / Giraffes? Giraffes! / More Skin With Milk-Mouth (2007)
Invention 1 / Vismal / Inventions (2004)
Double Bind / mouse on keys / An Anxious Object (2009)
Little Bird / Troop of Echoes / Days in Automation (2010)
Signals / The Appleseed Cast / Low Level Owl Vol. 1 (2001)
Colorado / Grizzly Bear / Yellow House (2006)
Life in the Hair-Salon-Themed Bar on the Island / Owls / Owls (2001)
New Grass / Talk Talk / Laughingstock (1991)

///

Have you ever noticed that the phrase "beat around the bush" serves as an easily understood sexual entendre that as an act (masturbating in proximity to a hairy vagina) happens to be something that could be construed as "beating around the bush"?

Linguists, please tell me there is a term for this phenomenon.

Zona Mexicana - S/T (2011)

2011-11-05T16:06:00.001-04:00

YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES

...I'm sorry. These three are personal favorites of mine and having seen them numerous times its easy for me to say they are the math band to beat these days. Tight hardcore styled pure 90's emo with lots of twisty turny mathy goodness dripping all over. I covered them long ago with their first EP and heres another four to blow yer skull. By the by "Waking up with Dedication" has been a live favorite of mine for awhile, thankfully its here in all its structured glory.

S/T (2011)

The Joe Beats Experiment - Indie Rock Blues (2005)

2011-11-04T12:53:00.002-04:00

This is another album I've slept on for far too long. This album had a lot of buzz (at least around Providence) back in the mid-2000s, but I never got a chance to pick it up until I found it in a used record store a few months ago. But since then, I've actually listened to this more than anything else I own.

Basically, this is an album of remixed indie rock songs. Not some annoying frantic mashups, but rather fleshing out existing songs and making them totally baller. The original songs are all pretty great, and surprisingly effective with some extra magical beats. Club-ready songs with depth. Mmmmmm...

Indie Rock Blues

Some trivia: Guess who's in the blue shirt behind Joe Beats?

Tyondai Braxton - Central Market (2009)

2011-11-03T13:46:00.002-04:00

Despite my love of Battles and all the fuss surrounding the album, I never picked this up until very recently. (Shameless bragging alert: the first time I heard it was through the control room monitors at the studio it was tracked and mixed at while tracking the A Troop of Echoes album). This is possibly the most whimsical record ever produced. Its packed with fun noises, sweet guitar parts, and reverb-drenched vocals. The song structures can be a little wonky. While most of the buzz surrounds the classical-style compositions, I'm actually into the shorter, more pop-structured pieces a little more. The other stuff is interesting, but a little meandering. You gotta give it up to the guy, this shit is insane and sounds like nothing else out there.

Central Market

1Q84- Glenn Gould

2011-10-31T03:39:00.014-04:00

This is a rather random post. As some of you may know, haruki murakami recently released his 2009 novel, 1Q84, in the States, translated from his native japanese into english. He is a very intriguing writer, with works that instantly grab you with their thoroughly detailed descriptions of mundane life that quickly turn surreal and engrossing, demanding your imagination in ways that relate to dream states and memory. 1Q84 is his grandest work, and throughout it he mentions pieces of pop culture, referencing songs and places and historical milestones to help you subtly set the scene as you read. As i have been reading along, whenever a song is mentioned i will quickly search it out and play it in the background as i continue through a scene. It is a fun way to "read along", as i am sure that while he was writing these passages he too was listening to the songs mentioned. He is an avid music collector, with an office lined with countless vinyl.

To make a longer story short, he mentioned a Bach piece called Well-Tempered Clavier early in the novel, as a focal character was introduced: I went to youtube and found the piece, preformed by the (apparently) legendary Glenn Gould. He was a highly regarded pianist that interpreted classical music with critically acclaimed style.

As i read, i had to stop my progress in the novel to watch the performance Glenn gave of this selection of the Clavier pieces. I thought of its execution as compared to watching a spider weave its web: you understand it fundamentally, as a flawless piece of mathematical construction; you can tell that the subject creating it has its scheme built into its nature, its very existence; and though you may doubt the slow, meticulous, ever-complicated crescendo of its progression while it is being created in front of your eyes, the end result is perfection.

For those of you not keen to most classical music, please skip to 3:40. Shit just gets out of control from that point forward. Below is Goulds interpretation of Bachs Goldberg Variations, another epic piece of classical solo piano subtlety.

goldberg variations

Cyclamen - Senjyu (2010)

2011-10-29T12:04:00.001-04:00

As is often the case, I don't know too much about these guys, but I first heard some of their tracks via Travis Orbin who had posted some videos of him recording drums to a couple tracks off this record. The band itself appears to primarily be a studio project for Hayato Imanishi, as he composes the material independently and then gathers various musicians to perform whatever instrumentation he doesn't feel like performing. Overall, the sound encompasses elements of post-hardcore, metal, and math-rock in a very polished form, with plenty of technical flourishes and half-time breakdowns, reminding me at times of equal parts Envy and Meshuggah. Definitely worth a listen if you enjoy harsh screams, chuggity-chugs, and twisting polyrhythms.
&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://cyclamen.bandcamp.com/album/cyclamen-senjyu"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Cyclamen - Senjyu by Realising Media&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;
You can explore their entire catalog at their Bandcamp: Cyclamen

Neil Cowley Trio - Radio Silence (2010)

2011-10-29T09:57:00.001-04:00

Jazz as genre is one that casual music listeners just don't understand. When you hear "mall /department store jazz" your entire life your concepts can be hazy for sure. Luckily Neil Cowley Trio will show you the true light of day. These guys throw some nice curves in there to keep things interesting. Obviously instrumentation is top notch. There are shades of post rock structures and awesome melodies abound as well. Also worth mentioning is the title track "radio silence" is the song I wake up to almost every morning....it's just that god damn gorgeous. Inject some Jazz in your life, we all need it.

Radio Silence (2010)

Olivia Tremor Control- Dusk at Cubist Castle (1996)

2011-10-27T01:55:00.009-04:00

To me, Olivia Tremor Control, and the two albums they have put out, are a rare musical gem hidden from so many people that finding someone who knows about it and loves it (as most are wont to do) is just as rare a specimen as their musical output is. The only fault in their amazing pop music is that certain spans of the album devolve into exceedingly psychedelic experimental tracks, more noticeable on their 2nd album Black Foliage, but certainly undermining a fair amount of their overall work. But that is just hindsight speaking; the overall flow of both their albums fit in these extended outbursts between track upon track of solid, Beatles and Beach Boys- influenced pop rock that dominates anything else currently pursuing this style of music.

That very very small negative aside, Dusk at Cubist Castle is an album to rival the likes of Sgt. Peppers in catchy tunes combined with psychedelic experimentation. A majority of the album, most notably the first half, flows wonderfully with tune after tune of nostalgic, classic pop realization, with hints of the madness to come in the later sections. And even through those sections of experimentation, moments of vocal harmony and melodic dedication shine through to let you know something cohesive is certain to take center stage, as Gravity Car does at the very tail end of Cubist Castle. Tracks like Jumping Fences really stand out though, that particular song serving as track 3 in the amazing run of songs in the first half of the album. It is just so fucking catchy and direct (just as the rest of the songs in the first half are): no its, ands or buts about it, this track is solid pop gold. I mean, damn, check out those harmonies. They just dont stop:

dusk at cubist castle

Kosuke Jodai - Scissorcuts Reunion (2010)

2011-10-23T21:06:00.000-04:00

When we are talking left field music the Japanese always seem to be pushing boundaries. Math Rock as a genre is pretty new and there is still room for growth. While there is much in the way of awesome time bending groups today, I think we can all generally agree that not many venture past the typical expectations. Enter Kosuke Jodai, I have no information other than this concerning this release so we will let the music speak for itself. This is some serious stuff. Equal parts noise, synth laden math rock its hard to keep your baring at times. It walks the line surprisingly well all things considered because there is just a lot going on. What actually came to mind similarity wise was the cram jam math rock super beast "Hey!Tonal" previously covered. This is great stuff and I wish I had more info on it at all. Certainly fans of the genre need to check this out.

Scissorcuts Reunion

R.I.P ROOFTOPS 4/28/11

2011-10-23T20:40:00.000-04:00

sniff sniff sniff sniff

1994! - FCKYRHED (2010)

2011-10-22T07:55:00.001-04:00

This much spoken about duo from Lancaster PA doesn't really play in the same realm as their two some brethren. I'm so glad to hear vocals going especially since they are done with complete conviction. Yes they are shouty and gruff but they hold a certain melodic quality that singers of this style miss. The guitars follow suit in this respect, at times intricate and melodic but with a gritty and repetitive metal tinged sheen. Musically think a stripped down indie math punk band and speed up the BPM's. The album itself really didn't affect me that much until I had a chance to see these guys live earlier this year. My lord these guys tore house. I wont even mention names but the groups I was most looking forward to catching dropped the ball, while 1994! earned their keep. Its sad that this kind of energy isn't easily found in groups these days.

Town Portal - Vacuum Horror

2011-10-20T22:37:00.001-04:00

When I hear of math rock across the ocean I get excited to catch a listen as it can be a unique affair. Denmark's power trio Town Portal do not in fact bring anything horribly unique to the table but have seemed to reanimate the corpse of 90's De Soto Records stalwarts such as "Shiner" and "Jawbox" which is just awesome for me. Another group previously covered that Town Portal reminds me of is Mike Banfield's (Ex Don Cab) current group Knot Feeder. Maybe not as in your face as Knot Feeder but Town Portal lay down some pretty gnarly grooves and keep it all pretty lock tight. Great Drum and Bass in sink with the guitar belting out some really nice alt-math metal skronk. The time changes miiiiight not be as labyrinthine as you'd expect of the more tech groups out there but its done so well your not left wondering when something cool is going to happen...it just is constantly happening. Very much worth your time to give this a gander, I promise you will keep coming back to it as its a solid first outing for this new group.

Vacuum Horror

Hi-Rollers - Hear B Monsters (2006)

2011-10-16T15:18:00.000-04:00

Never understood why more hub bub hasn't been made over this Greensboro NC two some but they make a glorious racket. Extremely tizzight math rock going on with these two. It just so happens drummer Jeremy Fountain was a former member of personal fav's Cinemechanica and short lived off shoot Serka. If that gives you any sort of indication what your in store for. Unfortunately this EP is short and sweet and I'm sure everyone will find themselves listening over and over again....or maybe that's just what I do, enjoy all the same.

Hear B Monsters EP (2006)

Zazen Boys- I (2004)

2011-10-16T04:26:00.008-04:00

Oh those Zazen Boys. Another band that deserves much recognition here at the Swords, Zazen Boys are japanese outfit that specialize in amazing math pop rock, and their catalog moves through various phases; their major releases (that i am familiar with) span from I-III, with EPs dotted throughout, all progressing forward to more popular sounds; with Zazen Boys I, they debuted as a 4 piece mathrock outfit, emphasizing catchy vocal choruses, with monotone vocal verses layered on top of complex guitar/ bass/ drum instrumentation, very well choreographed for a quartet. The styles of the songs range from chill dub sounds, to balls to the wall rock, as track 2, USODARAKE, demonstrates below:

02 USODARAKE by ninko

The album is sick tits. I did want to include a video, so this is the title track to their 2005 EP, himitsu girls top secret. Epicness ensues. Dig it ya'll.

zazen boys I
himitsu girls top secret

Equals - Self-titled EP

2011-10-15T20:25:00.000-04:00

For a self-titled EP this sure is a hoot and a half better than I'm used to hearing. Texas school mates Equals provide an extremely diverse palette of energetic post-rock with a clear love for the sweet sweet mathy goodness. Also of interest is the electronic end of things which more and more post-rock groups are pocketing these days. To be honest there are a lot of groups trying to ape that electro flim flam 65 days of post-math that is very rarely done well. Equals dials down the electronic elements and focuses on engaging songwriting, mood and at times pretty intricate instrumentation. What happens to be refreshing and sets these guys apart in addition are those melodic guitar lines that are getting dropped all over the damn place. If Equals can keep this kind of momentum up I dare say we should be looking at a pretty classy full length in the wings.

Equals EP

Ebu Gogo- Worlds (2008)

2011-10-14T02:00:00.007-04:00

OK ya'll. This one is a fucking godsend if you are unfamiliar. So, the Swords are renowned for Acerolas fantastic tastes and knowledge of all that is math rock, but so far in our coverage of all that is badass, Ebu Gogo has escaped our radar. And it is easy to forgive: the epic trio of Justin, Gavin and Brendan (all original members of the futurerock band Gruvis Malt), upon reaching a permanent hiatus with the band they formed as teenagers, decided to get together as a trio and write music that went back to their roots. What inspired them as musicians? What did they love to listen to, and what musical themes made practicing a fun exercise, instead of the soul-crushing perfectionism that came with a major labels demands? They found that release in Ebu Gogo, a band dedicated to oldschool videogame soundtracks, 80s movies and classical motifs. The results were staggering. Their two albums, Chase Scenes 1-14, and their follow-up, 2008s Worlds, are epic instrumental albums of insane musicianship, melodically intertwined bass, drums and keyboard that shine in all dimensions.

Chase Scenes was a hell of a debut, but in Worlds, they found a flowing videogame theme that made the album something special. There are recurring themes, such as the three part Waterworld suite that spans across the album; nods to the always appreciated Training Montage, and the wonder that is H.U.G.S.

Besides H.U.G.S., nothing says Ebu Gogo better than British Knights in Miami, which has one of the most badass breakdowns of all time. Oh god do i love how the drum and bass respond to Gavins keyboards at about 1:13. That shit is just the tightest breakdown of all time. Enjoy, bitches.

British Knights in Miami by ninko

worlds
although it is available there for free, i hope you appreciate the folks in the band enough to donate to their cause at their website, integersonly.

Don Cab's Final Tour Diary and American Don

2011-10-09T01:12:00.000-04:00

(Eric Emm, Damon Che, Ian Williams)

I realize there has not been a proper Don Caballero post on the page and there are sound reason's for this. I presume those that frequent here enjoy math rock and thusly must be at least semi-familiar with Don Cab. This is not the post where I gush wildly about their influence on modern rock or their progression from Pittsburgh Math Metal to Avant Math Rock but a chance to showcase one of the storied pieces of writing from the era. It was written by Fred Weaver who was on tour with them at the time and gives an extremely thoughtful approach to what we normally come to expect from a tour diary. I will say it's a bit long but an excellent read if you value this group. It covers some of the very final days of Don Cab discussing the large tension between Damon Che and Ian Williams after the release of American Don not too mention the horrible car accident the group was in as well.

For reason's of being my favorite Don Cab release lets jive a little about American Don. Now down to a three piece (After 1st guitarist Mike Banfield left) this left much more room for Ian's more avant classical bent. While holding down those rockist drum and bass parts it was really the final form these guys could have taken. As such it was the groups last proper release before the group disbanded and Damon Che hijacked Pittsburgh's resident Don Cab sound alike band Creta Bourzia to "re-form" the group. If anyone knows Damon's contact info please inform him that he is an amazingly awesome drummer and if he wants to have a band not to sully the name of Don Cabs any longer because its bullshit.

Final Tour Diary

American Don

25,000

2011-10-07T03:32:00.003-04:00

Shit son,
I thought i was keeping an eye on the count, but apparently i lost track cuz us at the swords have done reached 25g's in site views. Fuck yeah swords fans! Thank you so much for checking in on us in our attempts to share cool things with people. As thanks, im going to add this track of my own; a Ninko original. I recorded it a little over a year ago; one of my favorite personal tracks ive written. Again, thank you all.

Bounce by ninko
by the way, that picture is not of us at all.

metaghostin' Vol. X - Any Color You Want

2011-10-06T10:55:00.000-04:00

Any Color You Want - 38'35"
---

The Juggaknots - "Jivetalk" / Clear Blue Skies (1996)
Souls of Mischief - "What a Way to Go Out" / '93 'til Infinity (1993)
Pharoahe Monch - "Hell" / Internal Affairs (1999)
J Dilla - "The $" / Ruff Draft EP (2007)
Lootpack - "Weededed" / Soundpieces: Da Antidote (1999)
Raekwon the Chef - "Glaciers of Ice" / Only Built 4 Cuban Linx (1995)
Dr. Octagon - "Girl Let Me Touch You" / Dr. Octagonecologist (1996)
Count Bass D - "Ohio Playas" / Dwight Spitz (2002)
El-P - "Truancy" / Fantastic Damage (2002)
Goodie Mob - "I Didn't Ask to Come" / Soul Food (1995)

---

NO MESSAGE

Wolf Parade

2011-10-05T04:13:00.004-04:00

I feel this is a long time coming; for those of you unfamiliar with the Wolf Parade action, hello! Good morning. Are you ready for some sickness? Wolf Parade was a happy accident; they formed in Quebec when Spencer Krugs record label asked him if he could throw something together as an opening act for a label-sponsored tour. He recruited fellow songwriter Dan Boeckner, and the two formed the basis of what was then dubbed Wolf Parade. They were artists I was completely unfamiliar with in their solo projects, but after their maiden tour together, when they were ready to release their first LP as a band, they did so in a very unique manner. Spencer and Dan work very well together, but have their own distinct voices and writing styles, so the three Wolf Parade albums that have been released share a similar A-B-A-B rotation, where the two songwriters bounce songs off each other, each song switching lead singer/ songwriter credits while incorporating the others respective skills into the instrumental and harmonic aspects of their tracks. Their debut, Apologies to the Queen Mary, is a doozy, especially as debuts go; their sophomore release At Mount Zoomer is 2/3s awesome; and their third, Expo 86, is an outstanding indie rock album: at this point in my love of Wolf Parade, i am not sure if Queen Mary or Expo exceeds the other. I have digested Queen Mary a bit more deeply than Expo, so I will continue with that in mind.

For an act to debut an album such as Queen Mary is an anomaly: finding a cohesive sound and flow for an album basically written by two different people shows that they not respect each others choices, but put so much effort and intricacy into using the skills of the "second fiddles" to round out the mechanics of each individual track. It is a badass album; You Are A Runner starts the LP off with Spencer taking lead, but immediately bleeds into Dans amazing Modern World. The flow of the album is wonderful; so many standout tracks. I do want to highlight Dans track This Hearts on Fire, before getting into what I set out to talk about.

I'll Believe In Anything is one hell of a track. Shit ya'll. I could analyze it but i feel like it speaks for itself. The lyrics convey a sense of longing to be the savior of a woman needing to escape, while the video adds the twist of doing so just to prove the point that you are the better man in a competition for love.

apologies to the queen mary

Sorry No Ferrari - Ternary

2011-09-28T22:54:00.000-04:00

I will start by saying that these guys never impressed me enough to give notice. Which does sound harsh but hear me out. A few years down the road (they have now since disbanded) I give Sorry No Ferrari a second chance to prove themselves. Ternary, the groups last album finds them playing the kind of interlocking math rock that owes more than a little to video games of our treasured past. Its not super catchy or even hyper technical but what it lacks in those two categories Ferrari certainly makes up for in song structure. Laying on a riff but never overstaying there welcome, the tasteful three guitar attack never sounds like any one person is trying to compete for their 15 minutes of fame. Each time I make it through the record I actually find new things that I enjoy about it and I'd say that's fairly rare with music like this. So revive a ghost with me and spin this.

Ternary

Giraffes? Giraffes! - Pink Magick (2011)

2011-09-22T23:51:00.004-04:00

Its here, and its a ripper! The new album from Giraffes? Giraffes! is out - their first studio effort since 2007.

I've been eagerly awaiting this disc for a long time. G?G! is one of my favorite bands of all time. Their stuff is super complex and mathy, but the melodies are what really sets them apart. They're not super obvious - they have some depth which requires a few listens to really dig into.

They seemed to take this a step further with Pink Magick. They get a little noisier and more aggressive than previous releases. While at first there are no "hit singles" that really pop out at you, after a few listens the rich complexity and depth is really apparent.

G?G! have also taken a more aggressive approach to production, using overdubs, looping, effects, and EQ to their advantage. There are shouts and bells and whistles all over the record.

While this record may not contain any iconic individual works, it is more consistent than their previous releases. More notes are played, making this record more subtle, if that even makes sense!

Pink Magick is available on Bandcamp.

James Blackshaw - Holly EP

2011-09-20T00:25:00.002-04:00

Heir apparent to the golden twelve string altar that houses such greats (Leo Kottke and John Fahey among others) is James Blackshaw. Just like his predecessors Blackshaw doesn't rely so much on ridiculous guitar runs and other such indulgent trappings that a lot of the newer "finger-style" artists fall into but rather its all about the preservation and mood of the piece. Don't get me wrong it's clear that he is a highly skilled player but its in that restraint that lies a mature musician capable of knowing when is right and when is wrong. All of his releases are great each with their own set of high's and lows. The "Holly EP" is a great two song entry into his work and in my opinion some of his best yet. Can't imagine any human beings being immune to such beautiful guitar pieces but then again people listen to ICP as well so there's that I suppose.

Holly EP

Stateless- Matilda

2011-09-19T23:03:00.004-04:00

I will keep this brief because honestly, i do not know enough about these guys to go into any certain detail besides having a vague understanding of the group for about half a year. Metaghost mentioned them to me, having heard of them from either Gav Castleton or Wallpaper (i think), and showed me a few tunes after he had given the album a thorough listening-to himself. His recent mixes have included Stateless tracks, and after seeing yet another song of theirs among the tracks of his latest mix, it finally hit me to put down some dollars on the iTunes stores and pick up Matilda, their 2011 release. I have only heard it through once, but what has struck me is how coherent it is as a whole. It flows really well, which is something i have appreciated after digesting Dark Side of the Moon, bombed out and alone in a dark room, as a teenager. My favorite artists usually share that trait, and I always love finding a new album that flows as though not only did deep thought go into each song, but also how they relate to and blend into the others.

Ariel is track 2 off Matilda. Its spanish intro guitar lick, and the electronics that enter and sustain after the first chorus lay a nice foreground to the sparse, glitchy drums and dreamy music box ambient synths. And mentioning dudemans voice is not necessary; he carries the album with great melodies and the harmonies to back them up. Check it:

You can pick up Matilda here at the ninja tune website, or pick it up on the iTunes store.

Mew- No More Stories..(etc) 2009

2011-09-13T22:41:00.007-04:00

i found this Danish trio a year or two ago while rocking some Pandora, and had to stop everything to check into what the hell it was i was hearing. although they are studio fiends and im not sure if they have a bigger band for live shows, No More Stories is a tight rock/pop album with great hooks. it goes many interesting places with a distinct, purposeful layout of songs, some rocking the fuck out with a huge sound, while others will be nicely composed minimal tracks with just piano and vocals. they start things off with a proper bang, after an intro track, with their single Introducing Palace Players, and a few tracks later comes Repeaterbeater, below. a bit artsy fartsy vid but aww yeah.

no more stories..

metaghostin' Vol. IX - If I saw double once, then again.

2011-09-12T19:52:00.000-04:00

If I saw double once, then again. - 43' 26"
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Side A - What's cooler:

The Microphones - "Here With Summer" / Don't Wake Me Up (1999)
The Weeknd - "The Birds (Pt. 1)" / Thursday (2011)
RX Bandits - "White Lies" / Mandala (2009)
Penpal - "Bed Bugs" / Postscript EP (2011)
Genesis - "Chamber of 32 Doors" / The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974)

Side B - An Eclipse or a Syzygy?

TV on the Radio - "Playhouses" / Return to Cookie Mountain (2006)
Stateless - "Visions" / Matilda (2011)
Gavin Castleton - "Swim Good (Frank Ocean x Portishead Mashup/Cover)
Mister Metaphor - "The Sunset Song" / This Is How the Day Goes (20XX)
noumenon - "Pimpin' Zenith (Pt. 2)" / Split 7" with Rooftops (2009)

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Don't you guys hate when albums are shoddily sequenced? I know people mostly just be listening to their tunes with complete disregard to context, but goddamn do I get salty when I put on a record and things just be arbitrarily jammed together like a motherfucker ain't never eaten a PB & J sandwich. I used to buy Mars Volta LPs, and the first thing I would do is rip it and re-sequence, because those dudes are basically retarded and put their ballads next to their helicopter sound effects.

Gotye- Making Mirrors 2011

2011-09-11T20:18:00.001-04:00

I give thanks to the folks in Happy Body Slow Brain for turning me onto this Australian multi-instrumentalist known as Gotye. They posted a link promoting his 3rd release, 2011s Making Mirrors, and after reading into it a bit I found the first single, Somebody That I Used to Know; the artistry and lovely melodic building that shows in the track had me hooked immediately. He's got a killer Peter Gabriel impression going on in that chorus, and the neat rhythm section and acoustics work really well with minimal electronica and nice vocal layers. Ive listened to it about 6 times since i first heard it; thats my first hint at being onto something that I will love, when i cannot get enough of it until it i have integrated it into being a part myself.

making mirrors

Kimbra- Vows 2011

2011-09-11T20:11:00.006-04:00

Keeping on the Australia kick, after digging into Gotye, i checked in on the lovely lady, Kimbra, who lends her voice to that Gotye single above, and was pleasantly surprised with her solo work. Shes got some really good production on her album, but what won me over on her was a series of Sing Sing Studios live performances up on the youtubes. In them, she performs 4 or 5 tracks from her album Vows with a slick band that help her to lay down some live looping for her more intricate vocal showcases from the album, but also works to strip the songs of their more glossed over details. Seeing her with a 4 piece band kicking out tracks like her single, Cameo Lover, give it a much more jazzy, motown sound that the electronic version from the album conveys, until that chorus kicks in. That chorus is straight motown no matter how you cut it. Dig her live version of Settle Down, track one off Vows.