I wrote a review on this band's first album, This Wreck is Goin' Down (1996) about a year ago. Blue Funnel World (1998) was the band's only other full length release. The release came out on Rhubarb Records, which was the band's founder, Greg Jacobs' own start-up record label in classic DIY fashion. The music again centers around Jacobs' vocals, guitar, and songwriting, but the writing is more diverse and the production is better than on the first album. I find more indie pop going on here, particularly in the album's best song "You Do Everything But Heal Me", even a label such as "shoegazing" wouldn't be far off the mark at times, but the acoustic guitar still makes its presence felt predominantly within the music. About half the album is instrumentals and I would say that in general the album's better songs reside in this half, but no exclusively. The general feeling tends to be up-beat although the lyrics run counter to this in general. The result is beautiful melancholy that benefits from the solid recording production.
Weeping in Fits and Starts - "You Do Everything But Heal Me"
My Bloody Valentine pops in my head as I listen to the reverbed and heavily distorted guitar running underneath the vocals on this song. Percussion is almost unchanged throughout the song and the guitar doesn't do too much, but when it does it is done well. The layered guitar that appears briefly around the 2:21 mark is a nice piece of production and a nice tweak to the song. The vocals feature male and female voices appearing together and perhaps the best vocals sung on the whole album. It's a very simple song with just a few added quirks, overall very well produced, and still emotionally evocative.
Weeping in Fits and Starts - "Rhedd"
Weeping in Fits and Starts - "Liliacs"
One of the many instrumentals on Blue Funnel World, "Rhedd" totals 3:25 in length and is heavily guitar driven with minor percussion in the background. The song builds up with added percussion and stronger guitar play until about the 2:14 mark when cymbals kick for a part and are carried off and into the next song, "Lilacs" a more somber keyboard (organ sounding to be exact) instrumental song.
After searching around online for a while, I could not find a copy available used or otherwise of Blue Funnel World, though I did find Weeping in Fits and Starts Facebook page that has some more information about a few shows they may be playing as a reformed group. Since the album is out of print, you can find and download the whole album freely available by clicking on this link: Weeping in Fits and Starts - Blue Funnel World.
Two Guns, Twin Arrows came out in 2002 on a small label 54º 40' or Fight! based out of Michigan. There is a great in-depth review of this album over at Hardcore for Nerds, which I highly recommend. I'll go ahead and throw my two pennies in here anyways, mostly because I find myself listening to Two Guns, Twin Arrows tonight and really digging it. Abilene was one of guitarist/vocalist Alex Dunham's many bands (Hoover, Regulator Watts, Radio Flyer). Like most (well probably all) of his bands, Abilene's sound is distinctly driven by his guitar sound and play. What set's Abilene's sound on this album apart from Dunham's other bands is Frederick Erskine's presence. Erskine played in other post-hardcore bands such as the mighty June of '44 and Crownhate Ruin. Erskine did not appear on Abilene's first album (s/t) and his role in this album, though not changing the underlying mood of Abilene songs, added a new wrinkle that must have been surprising even to the band themselves. Erskine's influence on the band's music, on the whole, resulted in one of Dunham's most experimental sounding (not unlike some of the June of '44 material Erskine was a part of) creations. So it is with these two creative figureheads in one band, coexisting and allowing each other's creativity and improvisation to flourish, at times complementing, at other times simply getting out of the way of each other, we all end up benefiting. Even if only for this one album's worth of material. I've only hinted at Abilene's sound on this album thus far, as there isn't really any need to try and compartmentalize their sound with any other label than say post-hardcore, which in itself gives little of what to expect.
Abilene - "Twisting the Trinity"
All of the songs on this album, there are eight in total, sit around the five minute mark in length. "Twisting the Trinity" was a solid choice for the first song on the album because it allows for the introduction of each instrument distinctly. Additionally it presents a seperation between the instruments and vocals, as if you can picture each piece sitting in different corners of your bedroom, living room, car, wherever the hell you are listening to this song at the moment. After the initial loud entrance into the song, things are calmed down and the mood takes a darker, cooler feel to it. The song features trumpet and guitar parts that alternate leads. Here we see, maybe more than anywhere else on the album, how these two instruments (and to an almost equal degree the drums) support each other. The secondary instrument, whether guitar or trumpet at the moment, progresses in a way to provide a steady rhythm and basis pulling or grounding the listener. It's not jazz, but you get a similar feeling, just rolled into a rock song.
Abilene - "Fellini"
The trumpet here is used to accent more than anything else in the beginning of this song. When things breakdown a bit about a minute into the song, I find the simple open chord guitar strums as perfectly placed amid Dunham's calls out. About two and quarter through the song, the chords change and a steady pounding pace takes over, which once the vocals subside, the trumpet runs away with the rest of the song. Controlled while still unique.
This album looks to be out of print. You can find a few hard copies of the cd at Amazon. I also came across the whole album available for digital download through a media fire account if you feel so inclined.
Last Great Sea (2002) is a three song release of previously recorded (well shottily that is) demo material from circa 1992. Burn formed in NY in 1988 and held together through '94. They have since come together in various forms and on occasion to re-record this material and release it through Revelation Records, and in 2001 recording and releasing the EP album Cleanse on Equal Vision Records. Burn is one of those special bands from my late adolescent and young adulthood days of gobbling up any sort of hardcore music I could find that has transcended my obsession at the time and remains equally rewarding to listen to today. My only contention with the band is that they released far to little material. Three EPs over the span of their existence. I believe I just tracked down their original EP formatted as an MP3 (the album was only released in vinyl) so that I can write about it in the future and put the material out there as well since it is long out of print. For the meantime I'll turn our attention to Last Great Sea, which is substantive record on its own, though not quite to the level of self-titled original EP. Chaka Malik's unique vocals are well recorded and his voice remains as strong as ever, carrying well over the music, but without being overbearing. The band stood apart from the typical NY hardcore band of the late 80s early 90s era in that it incorporated vast creativity within its songwriting. I've always thought of their sound to be of a heavier version of Quicksand. Of course drummer Alan Cage went on to play in Quicksand after Burn, so it's certainly not that far of a stretch.
Burn - Tales of Shatou
"Tales of Shatou" runs at a quicker pace than the other two songs on this EP. Probably the most similar to the typical chord progressions seen within the greater genre, particularly if you consider the year the song was written, of any of the Burn songs on this or the earlier album. Each Burn song stands out on its own, whether through some distinct set of lyrics delivered by Malik's powerful voice or some guitar hook. The tempo changes are all Burn. The break at about 1:40 is my favorite part with drum rolls and some sort of almost inverse guitar chord (whatever that means) progression, that then leads into a short guitar soloing and finally a breakdown and away of everything but minor percussion and bass. The end of the song builds back up to and closes strong.
It looks like Revelation has this album out of print as well as the first EP. So I'm going to post all three songs here for download if you want the whole thing. Amazon has a few copies for sale as well.
My Room is a Mess arrived in 2003. Crow had a few previous releases, but this one stands out the most to me and I have been giving it continuous play of late. Crow is one part of the duo that is known as Pinback. I reviewed one of their EPs a few months ago, Arrive Having Eaten. In comparing Crow's solo work to that of his partner in Pinback, Armistead Burwell Smith IV whose own solo project, System's Officer, is worth a good listen, Crow's work stands out as being more varied, looser, and less formulaic. Crow's voice and strong song writing carriers this album to much more than what would normally be expected from a solo release. There is a lightheartedness in the lyrics and even within the songs themselves (sound effects from this old Casio Rap Master keyboard that I remember having when I was a kid show up out of nowhere during "Iocane"). Pay specific attention to the layering of vocals and guitar, as the mixing is another strong suit of the album. Songs are fairly short and straightforward, with wonderfully written guitar parts and progressions.
Rob Crow - "Beyond Him"
Crow's smooth vocals blanket this song from beginning to end. The cleanness of the guitar is the other thing that stands out. Initial lyrics are drawn out over clean picking on guitar. Then the next shift is keyed by a little guitar hook that is used often in the song when shifting parts and used excellently towards the end of the song, appearing in layers and sharp quick changes. The vocals change briefly in the middle of the song, and layered as well. The guitar hook mentioned just before appears here, and is followed by a return to the chorus part from the beginning of the song that closes it out.
Rob Crow - "Over the Summer"
The longest song on the album at 3:39. Possibly the catchiest songwriting on the album as well. The guitar progressions on each section are attention grabbers. The vocals, as usual, are sung beautifully over the music. The basic drum track in the background is steady and fits in simple support. There is a break near the middle of the song, where guitar is slowly built while vocals become a little harsher and direct. This changes back into the chorus, which washes over in warm smooth waves.
This album is fairly easy to find online for purchase at Amazon.com in CD form or mp3. He has also released another solo album since this release. Living Well came out 2007 and is available on Temporary Resistance Records on CD and LP. It is also chock full of Rob's eccentric yet endearingly warm songwriting style.
I stumbled upon this late '60s band through the FHF Internet Music Show that was mentioned over at Aversionline (hat tip). The guy at FHF has an amazing knowledge of music and each individual past show is available for download streaming, so I recommend checking it out. From the little information available online about this band, I have gathered that Heron had come into existence in Maidenhead, England in 1967. These recordings represent everything that they had recorded between 1970-72 on the record label. There are 43 songs included on the 2 cd set, and rounds out at about 2 1/2 hours of listening in total. There is certainly a development in songwriting from the first cd (earlier material) to the second. It seems that after going into the studio to record an initial single, the band was unhappy with the whole studio experience. The band got a decent mobile recording set-up and went out into a field away from society to record in a setting fitting their music, complete with the sounds of birds chirping away in the distance. As you may have guessed, their sound is definitely folk, progressive at times, but influences from Bob Dylan to the Incredible String Band have been noted. I can picture some Bert Janech at time's as well. It's really an incredible experience when taking in the setting of the recording and considering the time period and cohesion of the band-mates. The band's obscurity adds to the mystique and sense of detachment from society when listening, with much of the popularity of folk in the last ten years, and particularly folk-ish musicians from this era (Nick Drake, Dylan, Janech, etc.) it is surprising to find this band buried away as they have been.
Heron - "Car Crash"
Even on cd you immediatly here the soft hum of the outdoor recording, the mics taking in everything of the surrounding. Softly strummed guitar, and dual vocals, panned one the right one to the left. The dual guitars split off at times. The vocals are seperated just barely at times and this creates a wonderful echo-like effect. The lyrics paint a wonderful picture matching the natural setting, particularly I love the following passage:
the running damp of raindrops is as water
paint to wash away
thoughts of you
Toward's the end of the song, one of the guitars frees itself and wonders off on its own momentarily. There is about twenty seconds at the end of the song where one of the band-members can be heard remarking about the "little black insects crawling all over" in the field.
Heron - "Madman"
"Madman" is the first track from the second cd, and was originally part of the band's final release Twice As Nice & Half The Price. The album was also recorded outdoors, but with a few more instruments including a cleanly played electric guitar. "Madman" carriers an infectious bouncy rhythm, a Sunday afternoon feel to it. Also the percussion is simple but much more pronounced than anything from their earlier outputs. The wonderfully done dual vocals remain a staple, but we see even more guitar lines flowing here and there. Nothing overly original per se, but layered very well and creating quite a bit of warmth. The fact you can hear laughter at times and discourse between the band-mates towards the end of the song only adds to the fun and looseness of the album. Hell, its not rocket science if you think about, having a relaxed recording environment helps to translate to the creation of a very relaxing sound.
These recordings as mentioned above were released on Dawn Records, which existed from 1970-75 and was notable for releasing a couple Donovan albums amongst a few other releases. I've seen a couple Upon Reflection... cd's over at amazon.com. I found a link to a rapidshare posting of both album's for download. Currently, I'm enjoying the earlier works (the first cd) a bit more, its simple and really relays the tone of the music and feel of the band a little better. But, there are some strong songs on the second cd as well ("John Brown" and "Winter Harlequin" as examples) and the songs are more diverse here. Heron has done a great job of creating a truly varied and honest set of recordings combined here on this double cd release.
This one definitely stands the test of time for me. Direkt Aktion was released through the very solid Prank Records in 2003 and I'll continue to go back to it again and again and find it sounds just as good as the first time. Guyana Punch Line were a hardcore-punk band formed from members of In/Humanity, Antischism, and .fuckingcom, and were based out of South Carolina. Part of what keeps this album so well is its brevity (13 songs in about 20 minutes) and its diversity around the fast-paced music. The vocals settle in the screamed/yelled department, chords are progressed through fairly quickly, but the rhythm is tight and well developed. Drums are tight with the rest of the music as well and sound pretty decent in regards to the recording. Vocals are biting and witty political criticisms, a large part of the feel of this band comes from it. The band didn't last all that long after this release, calling it quits before the year was out.
Guyana Punch Line - "Direkt Aktionists Daily Affirmination"
This song follows a short (30 second) noise track entitled "The Electric Cha Cha Macarena Boogie Slide", so the return to the open guitar chords and subsequent bass line is more pronounced when the songs are listened to in succession (as on the album). I like that they allowed the bass to have the lead here in the beginning, it changes things up a bit. When the vocals kick in, we get the more typical Guyana Punch Line sound. Terrorizing up and down the spectrum as the simple chords are ran for longer stretches before both vocals and music intensifies, the chord changes sticking with each word screamed. They bring back the bass leadwork towards the end of the song, before returning to the main part of the song again to close things out.
Guyana Punch Line - "Security"
I think my favorite song on the album. "Security" starts out with an eerie guitar riff that builds when the band comes in and then changes and speeds up, getting a head start on the vocals. The music and vocals are as tightly played here as anywhere else on the album. The drumming stands out on the song as well. The pounding beats of the snare accelerates the pace near the midpoint of the song and variety is seen in rolls and cymbal play.
This is truly an album where if I go to it, I listen to the whole thing. The songs flow into each other with little to no breaking, and the whole thing is right to the point. The closing song, "Terror in Toyland" carriers some of the better vocal moments on the album and I would say is the band catching a "second wind" if they ever showed signs of slowing down in the first place. After the band split up, the non-vocals portion of the group went on to form Thank God, while the band's singer, Chris Bickel went on to focus on his noise project Anakrid. You can find Direkt Aktion through the Prank Mailorder page for about $10 with shipping included (Media Mail).
I have been an Evan Patterson fan for some years now, going back to his work in The National Acrobat and Black Cross (originally called Black Widows), and more recently Coliseum, (though for some reason I haven’t given Breather Resist all that much of a try). I was interested to hear that he was involved in a new band that, though likely carried some similarity with his other works (they all have his distinct imprint even though the bands span across different genres), was another avenue for his creative guitar sound and songwriting. Young Widows, like the previously mentioned bands, are based out of Louisville, KY. The three piece group featuring Jeremy McMonigle, Evan Patterson, Nick Thieneman, released Old Wounds a couple years ago (2008). You can expect a heavy dose of discordant guitar and math-rock like song structures (though not too overwhelming) mixed with equal parts melody and a rough Midwestern feel to the whole package. Vocals are sung, but are bit rough. The recording is done very well, with attention to the sounds produced from the low end and guitars. The whole album runs through 11 songs in just over 32 minutes, never getting overly burdened with repetitiveness. I would say the song writing is better here than on some previous works (Black Cross for example) resulting in more memorable songs, which aren’t overly complicated for the sake of complexity.
Young Widows - "Took A Turn"
Opening things up on the album is "Took A Turn". We are treated to grinding bass panned hard right while spoken/sung vocals begin hard left in the mix. This groove sums up the feel of the whole album pretty well. Dark, dusty country road, middle of nowhere and not exactly innocent. When the drums kick in alongside the bass, still panned hard right, we get a buildup to what was surprising a slower beat than I had expected and really worked well to keep the mood created by the bass going instead of copping out into something quicker. Then the guitar enters and everything pans out equally from the middle and a few seconds later the song starts to drive foward, drums and bass throbbing, guitar edgy and disjointed at times. The song shoots straight into the next song "Old Skin", which serves as an fine transition to a more traditional strong structure, but not losing the mood built up by "Took A Turn".
Young Widows - "Let Him Be"
Nearing the end of the album, "Let Him Be", a short (2:22 minute) song is composed of and features straightforward vocals over pounding guitar and drums, and a bass line that noodles its way around within the mix. The instruments are played together tightly and the pace is faster than what you normally find within the the album. This pace only lasts for about half the song, as after a short break where only the background sound of a crowd is heard, vocals usher back a percussive driven ending portion of the song that is accompanied by more of that grinding bass.
Young Widows are aided by being on a strong indie label in Temporary Residence (Coliseum, Pinback, Three Mile Pilot, The Books) and you can find this release there in both CD and LP versions for $10.
