Adebisi Shank - This Is The Third Album Of A Band Called Adebisi Shank (2014)

well i think the title speaks for itself really! Another great release by the Irish trio.

BANDCAMP

BRIAN! - BRIAN! I

It's rather lovely when you see a lot of hard work paying off for an individual and his group. BRIAN! is a group from Ithaca NY and play a lovely blend of genres.  At the heart of it all is a clear harkening to classic progressive rock and R.I.O groups. Close behind in the race is our favorite stand by math rock and some experimentation.  Its admirable that the left field throws don't get out of hand and stay pretty grounded for the most part. What is made even more interesting in this three piece is the inclusion of a bassoon player. Which to be honest is done incredibly well and lends an almost modern comp. bent to the whole affair.

When I first saw them play they were a much more experimental duo with just guitar and bassoon. They had a lot of great idea's to be sure but still had some thing's to figure out. The drums were the final key to fleshing out the song's and its obvious a lot of time was put in to making them click just right. Gotta say its a lot of fun and there really is something for everyone into this sort of biz. Can't say there is much going right now that is on this vibe..all the better. Wonderful

Refused-The Shape of Punk to Come

I was just surfing through some of the older posts on this site to get to some more downloading, and while doing so I was reminded of Refused for some reason; I was listening to A Troop of Echoes when i decided to look up the universally revered album that lead to the dismantling of the band behind it.

I remember seeing the video for New Noise back in highschool on some MTV afterschool and loving it, but never picking up the album; i would forget about them, and until just now I haven't heard anything else from their definitive masterpiece. Just from the first few tracks, i can tell how much they must have influenced bands like Mars Volta, Dredg, Bloc Party.. the list could go on. The range of sounds on this is truly special; in 1998, they were mixing a lot of sounds together that at the time was very new; great production for a punk-rock band, first and foremost, but then how they also added sampling in both spoken vocal snippits, but also sections of cool electronica; singing, screaming, winding song structures, and just limitless creativity for a 4 piece hardcore band. Here is New Noise:



It builds up some sweet heavy tension, before letting go to a cool electronic interlude before the vocals enter; The track is the centerpiece of the album, and after hearing the first 4 tracks that lead up to it, i can see how it is a song they decided to put dead center because it really solidifies the themes and sounds they spend the first 20 minutes of the album building, and put it to use for a very cool 5 minute single. I wont say anything more as I am just now starting to dig into the rest of The Shape of Punk to Come, but i am very glad i have rediscovered these guys. Dig it, fools!

the shape of punk to come

Bloc Party

Before i discovered Ra Ra Riot, i had been searching around desperately for another band to satisfy me as much as Bloc Partys first two albums did. I listened to a lot of shit in this time period, testing the waters of the genre with more mainstream, crappy stuff- The Editors and The Cribs come to mind; i still havent checked out The Killers beyond their singles, but they never really did it for me anyway.

Bloc Party was another purchase i made on a whim. A roommate of mine was heading out shopping and i wanted to tag along and grab some new music, so i quickly checked the Onion AV clubs record reviews, and the best reviewed album of that week happened to be A Weekend in the City. Unknown to me, Bloc Party was delivering a second album after being very well received after their debut. Where Silent Alarm was a minor-keyed pop rock album, it was still very easy to dance to and full of great hooks. Like Eating Glass opens the album and is one of their strongest tracks. It builds so well, and those drums are just bombastic.



But A Weekend in the City just got darker and more creative, adding in deeper studio work while using the 4 piece band to its fullest potential. The lyrical content got much more defeated and scared, second guessing the places they were in their lives and clinging to hope, yet the melodies of the verses and hooks that the singer uses are all very unique and dynamic. It was the strength of the band around these unique vocals that instantly drew me to them.

I Still Remember is probably the most friendly from A Weekend at the City, but it is also just a powerhouse example of how well these guys could write a pop song. The album adds a lot more electronics that were nonexistent on their debut, but I Still Remember is just the band alone, writing a nice love song with a great beat.



silent alarm
a weekend in the city

Bonus Track: two more years, a single the wrote between the two albums.

Funky Drummer Challenge - Minutemen

It is no secret around the swords that I am not a large fan of funk. This is not to say I cant enjoy it just that my funkiness training is lacking. I want to throw George Hurley of Minutemen into the ring for the Funky Drummer challenge. That's right the 80's politico punk funk rockers themselves. In the 80's there was very little to compare them to and as far as drummers go especially in the hardcore filled era many drew inspiration from George's shifting drum styles. One thing is for sure, every drum lick this man did had pure funk flowing through him.

Just check out this video for "Maybe Partying will Help" jesus those magic flowing locks!

Double Nickels on the Dime

Seriously one of the greatest releases of the 80's

Drumcorps - Grist (2006)

I can best describe this as a musical tightrope. At this level of cross polination between the two genre's of hardcore and electronic music there is very little that you can truly say both share. Aaron Spectre however does just this with  a forceful air of confidence and an ear for a great hardcore scream. If we are being honest though this is electronic music at its heart with the trimmings of a hardcore punk group guesting. Don't misunderstand me though there are portions that do rock boxes but the electronic elements added sometimes feel too tacked on. I highly suggest anyone who is a fan of either to check it out. Its good stuff and nothing stays for too long if you have a problem with a riff.

Grist (2006)

Natsumen

First off would like to thank Metaghost for getting me into these guys years ago. There are really only a couple things you need to realize about Natsumen. They describe themselves as a "Japanese Progressive HardCore JAZZ Aggressive Improvisation ROCK band" and really I'd be hard pressed to argue with such a tagging.  This stuff is gold with noisy abrasive guitars, intricate drumming and soaring horns. Maybe think Broken Social Scene with some balls minus vocals. Awesome Sauce

Natsumen

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

math........ RAAAAWK

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

The is the Second Album of a Band Called Adebisi Shank

Laddio Bolocko - The Life and Times of Laddio Bolocko

    Close in sound to groups such as "This Heat" Laddio Bolocko have a more rock forward approach to song structure...at times while in the same instant owing much to past free-jazz heroes. Its truly hard to say from song to song what face these guys put on but they do it all well. This is experimental noise rock if you had to peg it to one area in particular but they do shine in slower outings and drone as well. Math elements poke their head from time to time but mostly in the drumming. It makes sense seeing as Blake Flemming was from Dazzling Killmen (an early math-rock band) he even spent time in Mars Volta.
    This group in my opinion has had a large impact on the experimental rock of our current day. With members from influential bands and also went on from this to form other amazing groups.  Members went on to play in Psychic Paramount and Electric Turn to Me.
     Highly recommended to anyone that claims to enjoy left field rock music.While they are gone I would say after enjoying their collected works here you turn to Psychic Paramount as they remain close to the same style and are an excellent band in their own right. Enjoy.


The Life and Times of Laddio Bolocko