Tera Melos - Drugs To The Dear Youth

Tera Melos is a "math rock" band from Sacramento, California. I write "math rock" because that very narrowly describes the sound they create. If one to were to ask the band they would say they play "punk rock", but their music is a genre-bending fusion of jazz influenced post-hardcore with odd time signatures. They also make use of live electronics to add an extra layer to the sound. This record has had two pressings, the first of which was released back in 2007. This first pressing was  limited to only 500 copies on colored 12" records. The second pressing (which is the pressing mine comes from) was remixed/remastered and re-released in 2009  as a 10"with the help of the underground record label Sargent House. This album is the first one the band records as a three piece instead of four which in no way hinders their uniquely rich sound. Due to the fact that this is only their second ep it's amazing how much the band matured. On their previous album some of the songs meandered aimlessly, but on this release there is a much more clean, focused, well knit approach to their sound. One highlight on the record is the eight minute long "40 Rods To The Hog's Head." This song is by far the longest on the record and the band makes good use of the time. Although on might expect it, because of the length, they never bore the listener with mundane post-rock passages. It starts with beautiful progressive parts and the interplay between the drums and guitar is nonsensical but beautiful.  This track also shows the most use of the live electronics. The packaging for the vinyl has really cool art on it. The image is what I would expect if Dali re-imagined a Picasso. Also, the vinyl is a sweet clear/blue/green/purple splatter color. Overall the vinyl is a wonderful misadventure into the far reaches of the math rock genre and is highly recommended over their most recent release "Patagonian Rats."

Drugs To The Dear Youth:

http://www.mediafire.com/?ylmzzlz1jzm

Tera Melos Website:

http://teramelosmusic.com/

Buy Drugs To The Dear Youth:

http://teramelos1.tumblr.com/dttdy

-Jas

Arab On Radar - Soak The Saddle

Soak The Saddle was Arab On Radar's first release on Skin Graft Records. The album was recorded between February 21-26 of 1999 and was recorded by the infamous Weasel Walter. One might ask oneself "Why is this young man reviewing an album that is over ten years old?" And that's a valid question, but I believe that Arab On Radar's music is more relevant today than ever. The music scene is flooded with carbon copy cut out bands and AOR bring something fresh, albeit weird, to the table. This album has had two pressings on vinyl, (mine being one of the second pressings) the first pressing was back in 2000 and then the second, entitled the "Back In The Saddle Edition", was released in 2010.The second pressing came colored (green and black splatter) with hand silk screened covers making the entire vinyl package a cool keepsake piece of art. The album is confusing, not in a sense of chaos necessarily, although there is plenty of that, it's more about how the band can take take all your dreams, hopes, fears and frustrations and make you feel them simultaneously. To add insult to injury the tracks are titled #1, #2,#3 etc. but they aren't in numerical order. This only adds to the derangement of your mind. The record has a unique charm in that it is totally inaccessible which gives it a raw "standing naked under a magnifying glass" feel. A couple highlights on the record are #1 and #3. #1 employs a cool stop start technique along side the singers disorderly squeals and yaks. #3 is the standout track, though. It sounds like what I would feel if a plane was going down while I was in it. The drums are almost dance influenced in this song and the guitar has this hypnotic repetition that entrances you and almost comforts you as you get lobotomized by the singers ferocious chatter. One downside to the album is that on several of the songs the vocals are not that easy to hear. Although, that is pretty typical among bands of this genre it is a bit irritating at times because the vocals really make AOR standout from other noise bands. Although this album is often hidden in shadow of their masterpiece, "Yahweh Or The Highway", it is definitely worth a listen. 

Soak The Saddle:
http://www.mediafire.com/?7mjjafw2im2

Arab On Radar Website:
http://arabonradar.info/

 Buy the vinyl at Insound!:
http://www.insound.com/Soak-the-Saddle-Reissue-Vinyl-LP-Arab-on-Radar/P/INS80398/

Snowing - I Could Do Whatever I Wanted If I Wanted

Okay, so I found out about this band when one of my favorite Portland acts, Girlfriends, was touring through the area. Snowing was on the bill as well as Algernon Cadwallader and 1994! I had never heard Snowing before but I had heard a lot about them and I was excited to see them. Their set was spastic and brief with poor sound (we couldn’t hear the vocals at all), however, it was fun. They were very engaging with the crowd almost in a loving way. I decided to pick up one of their 12” vinyls, entitled I Could Do Whatever I Want If I Wanted, just to see what they would sound like on some recordings.  This was little to no help. It just sounded like a botched recording session. Vocals were a little more conceivable than the live show but still hard to discern and the guitars/drums sounded distant.  I mean don’t get me wrong, I do love bands that have the “rough sound” but it just doesn’t work with Snowing’s poppy indie-emo math rock sound. All that aside, the album is just below mediocre. The opener “I think were in Minsk” is a boring early 90’s emo rip off track and truth be told it holds the mold for the rest of the songs on the record.  The whole thing sounds like a bad cut and paste job. Lyrically the album doesn’t do much for me either. It’s almost as if the singer is reading to us out of his 3^rd grade journal. The lyrics do the emo genre justice however with typical themes about wanting an ex back and being alone. There really were no highlights on this album for me. If pressed, I would say the best track is “Why Am I Not Going Underwater?” and that is only because my record player malfunctioned towards the end of it and started making this droning looping sound. Nevertheless, these emo revivalist bands have become very popular so I will post a link to the music. The vinyl is in standard packaging with a full page lyric insert. Best thing overall about the record is the cover art. It looks like my cat.

Side note: After the show while talking to the band I asked them where I could find a digital format of the album. They said: “Mediafire.” Lol.

I Could Do Whatever I Wanted If I Wanted:

http://www.mediafire.com/?rvlo2c4qo9i7tlm

Snowing's Myspace:

http://www.myspace.com/snowingtheband

Snowing's Website:

http://www.snowingtheband.com

-Jas

Ad Astra Per Aspera - Catapult Calypso

Ad Astra Per Aspera was an obscure amalgamation of all musical avenues from Lawrence, Kansas. From noise rock to tropical to avant-garde to punk this band has it all. The project consists of Mike Tuley on guitar/vocals, Kurt Lane on drums, Brooke Hunt on guitar, Julie Lane on keyboards and Scott Edwards on bass. For me the main focus of the band is Tuley's idiomatic approach to singing. Whether it be with a barbaric yelp, a scream, or a slow sauntering whisper in your ear; he always has a peculiar way of keeping your attention. The bands premiere full length on Sonic Unyon Records, Catapult Calypso, garnered much acclaim in the underground music scene. This is the bands most mature and eclectic material to have been released. From the album opener "Voodoo Economics" we see that they have no problem switching genres within the same song several times. While this band does pull from the likes of Fugazi and Brainiac it's only in the way they approach their music, leaving plenty of room for originality.  Highlights on the album are "Scatter Baby Spiders", "Globos Illuminados", and "Flannery's Home Coming." The vinyl edition of the album comes with different album art than the CD version and it comes with a full page lyric insert. The vinyl itself is colored with black, white, and yellow splatters!

Catapult Calypso:

http://www.mediafire.com/?fhylnlmmn0w

Ad Astra Per Aspera Myspace:

http://www.myspace.com/adastraperaspera

Blue Collar Distro (you can buy the vinyl here):

http://www.bluecollardistro.com/adastraperaspera/product_info.php?products_id=2853&cPath=12_264&store=#.TrhEHLKDmSo

-Jas

The Locust - The Peel Sessions

Today I have a special treat for you, The Locust’s latest release The Peel Sessions!  Recorded back on August 19^th 2001, this album was long overdue. It’s comprised mostly of tracks from their pre-2004 discography all of which have been re-imagined and recorded live. The album was released May 18^th, 2010 and features, for the first time, Gabe Serbian on drums. The locust play a fast paced, short length, synth entrenched version of powerviolence with a grindcore edge (and yes I am aware of the ongoing war over whether they are grind or not and frankly I don’t care, they’re great). Although I am a huge fan of this band I never got to see them live and The Peel Sessions gives you a taste of that. In the tradition of The Locust, the album is 16 tracks long and still totals a mere twelve and a half minutes. The LP has a more raw edge to it than the studio recordings and the band has incorporated more/different synth passages into the songs.  The album art is pretty cool too, the front has a huge list of all the bands that they are influenced by which range from Cat Stevens to Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds. The front also has a silkscreened locust emblem. The back side of the album has a photo of them playing in their traditional garb, goggles and facemasks. The record was the third release from the bands own Radio Surgery record label and it comes with a digital download card! If you haven’t gotten ahold of this on vinyl, DO SO! They’re being sold on the bands website and now come in a cool clear and yellow splatter colored vinyl.

The Peel Sessions:

http://www.mediafire.com/?nmdtnzymonz

The Locust's Myspace:

http://www.myspace.com/thelocust

The Locust's website:

http://www.thelocust.com/

-Jas

Band Of Horses - No One's Gonna Love You 7"

This album is very dear to my heart. My husband, Jas, bought me this album, because it is the single release of our song, "No One's Gonna Love You" by Band Of Horses. We used this song for our first dance at our wedding. I know some of you will read this and disagree with our decision, but I don't care. Interpret it how you want, and I will do the same. Band Of Horses was formed in 2004 by Ben Bridwell (vocals, guitar), and is classified as an indie rock band. The a side, "No One's Gonna Love You," starts of with a lovely double guitar riff that immediately warms the listener's heart. And then, the vocals come in...it sounds like Ben is singing a lullaby. This is one of those songs that you just close your eyes and sway to. It feels like they are delivering a dreamy array of emotion rather than a piece of music. It's really quite magical. In the background, the band uses an organ to give this track a rich and full texture that is accentuated by the vinyl. (If your listening on any other media form, you're missing out!) The b side is a live cover of "Am I A Good Man" by Them Two. They stayed very true to the original song; the only real difference being the distinct vocals of Ben Bridewell. His vocals are very folk-y with a dash of soul and a pinch of country twang. They recorded this track on KEXP from the Gibson New York Showroom during CMJ on 10/19/07. The band has 3 full-length albums out: Everything All The Time, released on Sub Pop in 2006, Cease To Begin, released on Sub Pop in 2007, and Infinite Arms, released on Columbia/Brown/Fat Possum in 2010. If you haven't already, I strongly suggest checking this band out.

http://www.bandofhorses.com/us/home

http://www.facebook.com/bandofhorses

http://www.myspace.com/bandofhorses

*Shawn-o

p.s. My husband and I got the album art inked!

The Number Twelve Looks Like You - Nuclear. Sad. Nuclear.

The Number Twelve Looks Like You (TNTLLY) was a very influential band in the underground hardcore music scene. Originally forming in 2002, without a bassist, under the name And Ever the band soon started to change their direction and added a bassist, Mike Smagula, and then changed their name (which was taken from an episode of The Twilight Zone). Their sound is a unprecedented fusion of hardcore punk, jazz, progressive metal and noise. The band bears two lead vocalists with unique vocal approaches. They utilize deep growls, a type of "whiny screaming", "strongman vocals", as well as high and mid ranged screams (see how I have to make up vocal techniques for them? That's how you know they are good). Their album Nuclear. Sad. Nuclear. was their first full length on Eyeball Records which was released on June 7, 2005. The album was recorded with a sense of urgency, in only seven days, and you can feel that when you listen to it. The album opener does what any album opener should, blow you away. The track is called "The Devils Dick Disaster"  and it's all over the place musically. Opening with an almost indie rock riff the song then goes berserk! Fancy guitar work and spastic drumming riddle through the entire album, but TNTLLY are not afraid to show you their gentler side. The track "Remembrance Dialogue" is a post-rock masterpiece clocking in at just over seven minutes; the song creeps slowly along in the tradition of bands such as This Will Destroy You. Of course, the band adds their quirky vocals over the top and some feedback for good measure. The album features two re-imagined songs off their 2004 release An Inch OF Gold For An Inch Of Time, "Like A Cat" and "Clarissa Explains Cuntainment." The better recording quality for these songs, thanks to Eyeball Records, allows for the listener to be better abused by the bands fantastic musicianship. My personal favorite on the album is "The Proud Parents Convention Held In The ER." This song drips with sass and has a much heavier feel than the rest. If you don't have this record on vinyl I suggest you take care of that because it gives the music a distinct texture.

Nuclear. Sad. Nuclear.:
http://www.mediafire.com/?j5xmzzhgnmy

TNTLLY Myspace:
http://www.myspace.com/tntllu

Link to purchase album via Eyeball Records:
http://www.eyeballrecords.com/release/368

-Jas

Cage The Elephant - Ain't No Rest For The Wicked 7"

Cage The Elephant is an indie/garage rock band from Bowling Green, Kentucky. I first heard them on Fuse when I saw the music video for "Ain't No Rest For The Wicked." This 7" has, of course, the title track and, the b side is a cover of "Psycho Killer" by The Talking Heads. This self described "funk punk" band delivers a raw plate of garage rock with a side of pop sensibility. The first track on the album introduces their soulful guitar licks and Jack White-esque vocal stylings. Throughout the song, singer, Matt Schultz does his own slow motion rendition of rap over the top of dancy soulful rock music. The theme of the song is that life is hard and we all have to do what we have to do, but we aren't always proud of it. This theme brought the song to the forefront of their debut Cage The Elephant because their listeners can relate to it. On the b side is their version of "Psycho Killer" by the Talking Heads. They stay true to the original music but add their quirkiness and speed it up a bit. I dare to say they put the psycho in psycho killer. It's refreshing to have a new band enter the league of The White Stripes, The Hives, The Strokes and The Rock 'N' Roll Soldiers, adding a little something new. The 7" is a double sided picture disc released on relentless records.

http://www.myspace.com/cagetheelephant

http://www.cagetheelephant.com/

*Shawn-o

Drowning In Lethe - Self Titled 7" EP

Drowning In Lethe (DIL) is a little known indie/screamo/emo band from Bothell, Washington that formed in the summer of 1999. I can't quite remember how I came across this band but I am so glad that I did! They have taken influence from acts such as Botch, The Locust, and the like. They stay true to the traditional screamo mold while still bringing something new to the table. Their sound is trade marked by the unique use of multiple vocalists (both screaming and singing) and the use (not overuse) of keyboards. The self titled album is only four tracks long but still manages to pack quite the punch. The first track "Lie Bearing Shroud" is the perfect album opener. In the first five seconds DIL gets there point across. A barrage of emotional screaming, twinkly guitar work and pounding drums attack the listener right off. The band then introduces keys and a "call and answer" vocal technique. The next track is "Fiction In My False Depiction." This track starts with really emphasizing the vocals while the guitar and drums kinda hang out in the shadows. When the instruments do kick in, they infuse random synth sounds to create a unique sound-scape. This kind of reminds me of The Locust (KIND OF). The track ends with an eerie guitar riff and the unique use of cymbals. The third track, "Sounds Of The Seductive Siren", begins like creepy elevator music without vocals and then after about ten seconds the song kicks in utilizing the same "call and answer" vocals and open airy drums. It eventually works it's way into this macabre sort of circus-cabaret music and finishes out with some neat drum work and chanting. The final track, "Backwards The Boreal Horizon", is a much more emotional song with more emphasis on singing. It starts with an amazing combination of piano and guitar and a clever use of the snare drum which hints at what is to come...war. Then the screamer comes in and the whole song is infused with piano melodies. This song specifically kind of reminds me of The Burning Room. The song eventually dwindles down to a lull and it's just the piano and drums and just when you get comfortable it picks up again. Drowning In Lethe definitely knew how to instill experimental tendencies into traditional screamo music. This 7" was released on Pictora Pilota records. It comes in really cool hand made packaging and, bonus, it's translucent yellow!

Link to some Drowning In Lethe tracks:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=4FFEKRJT

Link to their Myspace:
http://www.myspace.com/drowninginlethe

Really cool blogspot that has a post about DIL:
http://hesheattle.blogspot.com/2009/01/drowning-in-lethe.html

-Jas

P.s. They were supposed to release a full length called Alpine Lakes Wilderness but it hasn't surfaced. If anyone has the the tracks send me a link please.

Raking Bombs - Meet Me Mezzanine

I first heard about this band on a Mars Volta fan-site, which is fitting because they are very influenced by The Mars Volta (TMV). While most just dismiss this band as the "typical hipster garbage", I think there is more than that here. Hailing from the great white north (Canada) these self proclaimed "dukes of soul-psych punk" bring an interesting twist to the ever stale independent music scene. They combine progressive song structures with art rock and a tinge of noise. The last album they put out before disbanding was entitled Meet Me Mezzanine (pictured above). Mezzanine shows a bit of maturity from their 2003 release You Are The Resliazjiax, Unlike 01100110. The album starts of with the track "Geneve" which begins with an all out assault of spastic guitar and drum work and near whispered ghost like vocals. The track eventually finds it's way into a controlled frenzy with the singer, Tome Jozic, using high pitched vocals in the vein of Cedric Bixler-Zavala. The second track on the album "Adaptor" starts with an almost jungle like drum beat then introduces guitar blurps here and there again with the whispered vocal technique and then some pretty sweet time changes and chanting. The third and final track on the album is entitled "Tuck Tiger Cuffs" (my favorite). This track, to me, is where there TMV influence is most prominent, I mean seriously, the track could have been on a Mars Volta b-sides album or something. Being the longest track on the record they had time to play around a bit  and they made good use of that. The track starts out like the other songs but then slows down to where it's just cymbals (and maybe a xylophone?). It almost sounds like mice are running across the drum set. Then the guitar kicks back in with this beautiful looping riff that kind of reminds me of Tera Melos and then slowly drones out. Meet Me Mezzanine is a nice refreshing taste of underground music. The album was only released on hand numbered blue/red vinyl (mines #68/500) the packaging isn't much but the music makes up for that. The band has long since disbanded and reformed under the moniker Basketball.

http://www.myspace.com/rakingbombs

http://www.myspace.com/basketballanimal

-Jas

P.s. If anyone has the tracks to You Are The Resliazjiax, Unlike 01100110 please send me a link.

About this blog.

My wife and I love vinyl records and this is where we post our collection. With each post there will be a photo of the record along with an album review and, if available, a download link. Enjoy.