4/12/11

Battles- Gloss Drop


Battles- Gloss Drop
Genre: Experimental, Math Rock, Fucked Up
What set they rep? New Yawk
TRAX:
01. Africastle
02. Ice Cream (feat. Matias Aguayo)
03. Futura
04. Inchworm
05. Wall Street
06. My Machines (feat. Gary Numan)
07. Dominican Fade
08. Sweetie & Shag (feat. Kazu Makino)
09. Toddler
10. Rolls Bayce
11. White Electric
12. Sundome (feat. Yamantaka Eye)
EER
(MF)

yo, we ain’t dead.  pick dis up, some flame shit.

-Sol(ution) Rosenberg

12/31/10

ERGOPHOBIA'S TOP 10 OF ERGOPHOBIA'S TOP 20 ALBUMS OF 2010

 Here it is everybody- OUR TOP TEN ALBUMS OF 2010!!! We hope you're happy and will check 'em out, because the voices here at ergophobia have been clashing and warring and bickering with each other about which artists’ albums of 2010 should make it into the top 20.  As usual, Our collective of snobby music voices has produced an eclectic and varied list that has something for everyone.  Our subjective-asses had a hard time figuring out what spots belonged to whom, but overall We are pleased with how the list turned out.  The team of voices all contributed some little nugget-sized reviews to let you know what the sound is like.

All of these albums are available for free download via the links provided in the respective titles of the album above the reviews. This is for the purpose of getting the sultry sounds of these musicians to the ears of listeners all around.  As stated before, this is for sampling purposes to see if you enjoy the artist, so We have some rules…

HERE ARE THE OPTIONS YOU HAVE IF YOU DOWNLOAD AN ALBUM:
- You must tell EVERYONE YOU KNOW that you think would be interested in the album to CHECK IT OUT.
- You must ATTEND SHOWS whenever the band comes through your area.
- You must consider PURCHASING the physical copy of the album, UNLESS the band is ran by a major record label.
- You must look into BUYING MERCHANDISE, such as T-shirts, posters, hoodies, etc.
- You must LISTEN WITH AN OPEN MIND
- And finally, you must ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS SPREAD THE GOOD WORD!

Here’s what all you pseudo-faggy hip dudes were waiting for- the adorable Zooey Deschanel is not only a sultry looking actress, but a great folk artist as well.  She is a multi-instrument musician, but above all else what makes Volume Two is her soothing and personal voice.  i know it’s the middle of goddamn winter, but it must be mentioned that  She & Him make for perfect tunes to listen to while sipping lemonade on a hot-ass front porch in the summertime (when the living’s easy).  Though i do indeed advise you all to attend their shows, be wary of flying busted hipster-loads floating around the crowd.
Favorite Song: Ridin’ My Car

 -Timid-Kid

i’ve always liked the smooth jazz radio stations (which have since been taken over latin music), but they were always so corny and i usually just listened to the stuff by myself, like some kind of soul-junkie or something.  Anyhoo, Big Gigantic is two dudes who handle electronics and one blows crazy parts on the saxophone.  A Place Behind The Moon is their most recent release- it takes the soulful jams of smooth jazz sax players, but lays them over filthy phat electronic beats.  These guys are definitely one of the highlight groups within the burgeoning electronic scene.
Favorite Song: Sky High
-STEPHEN DUBSON

A good contemporary ska band, you say?  And it’s not Streetlight Manifesto?!  Indeed!  Bomb the Music Industry! is one dude, Jeff Rosenstock, and he is a goddamn DIY prince.  Previously BTMI! was solely ran by this valiant man, who recorded every single instrument on his album.  Now, on the gut-bustingly titled ADULTS!!!: SMART!!! SHITHAMMERED!!! AND EXCITED BY NOTHING!!!!!!! he is aided with a full band to deliver sincere and emotionally riveting punky ska music.  He doesn’t just stick to the formula though- the album is complete with synths, a few hardcore screams, and other little quirky ditties.  Skank the night away!!!
Favorite Song: Planning My Own Death
-Hurt Brobain

These dudes NEED to be heard.  i was lucky enough to catch these dudes at some hip art gallery venue called Club 2720 in St.Louis, it was my first date with this cool chick Molly.  My god, what a live show, Zoogma takes the flow and energy of a DJ and mixes it in with jam band styled songs, i.e. Umphrey’s McGee.  Along with the virtuoso instrumentation and badass light show, these men should be sure to get a following in the future, one that i am now a part of.  Recreational Vehicles is their debut EP, so grab it and start listening if you want to be into these guys before the masses.   Plus, if you like/love Ghostbusters, they do an amazing cover of the theme song!
Favorite Song: Incredible Machine
-Shablaman Shablaca

Coming from the beautifully crafted sing-along album The Satanic Satanist, Portugal. The Man has once again made another turn in their style.  American Ghetto takes the undeniably catchy style of their last album but puts a dark spin on it, shooting for an atmosphere that is all but their own.  Portugal. The Man has got to be one of the most prolific bands out there right now, and they always seem to be open to changes in style.

American Ghetto is, once again, a stellar album released by these Alaskan natives.  A reliable, chillaxing listen, guitarist John Gourley’s falsetto will draw you in and literally force you to groove out.   This album will be sure to get many a play, as well as attract many a new fan.
Favorite Song: 1000 years
-Sol(ution) Rosenberg

Let’s all agree that Gorillaz is the best animated band in the universe (Dethklok can suck a ripe dickie).  Don’t tell me that you weren’t trying to be cool and memorize all the verses of “Clint Eastwood” or bumping around to “Feel Good Inc.”.  With Plastic Beach, Gorillaz once again do what they do best- find a way to make consistently catchy and fun poppy tunes.  This time, there’s a load more of funk, and a whole shit-ton more of guest appearances on the album including Snoop Dogg, Mos Def, De La Soul, Bobby Womack, a bunch of random Syrian Orchestral musicians, Kano, and Mick Jones and Paul Simonon from The Clash.

Damon Albarn, the man behind the animations, weaves the theme of pollution into almost all the songs, making Plastic Beach somewhat of a concept album i guess. But, even if you don’t give a fuck about the environment, Plastic Beach is yet another album from Gorillaz in which they manage to stay fresh, not stale.
Favorite Song: Empire Ants
-yemsel

i have to give mad respect to MGMT for releasing an album like Congratulations, especially after Oracular Spectacular, an album that relied almost entirely on singles (Time To Pretend, Kids, Electric Feel).  It’s so badass that a two-man electro-pop outfit (with some merit, don’t get me wrong) took on a complete transformation into a 5-piece rock band, heavily spiced with retro ‘60s psychedelic vibes.  Unlike their previous album, Congratulations flows like a solid album should.

An album written about the regrets of surfing major success by going on MDMA binges on the regs…what a sweet, sweet treat.  Definitely a great CD to chill in a garage during the summer, gettin’ lifted…on the regs… Who would have thought MGMT would make an album like this, or a 12 minute song, for that matter?  Erase everything you used to think about MGMT, listen to Congratulations, and prepare to see a band taking the first steps in a promising new direction.
Favorite Song: Siberian Breaks
-Shablaman Shablaca

In a world filled with annoying-ass attention-seeking high-pitched vocalists in bands that fuse “emo gayness” with other “eclectic” shit that “defines their sound”, Circa Survive has always pulled through- like a diamond among a bunch of dingleberries.  It’s a very nice occurrence when a solid band moves onto a major record label but doesn’t lose all of its substance.

Blue Sky Noise is a release worthy of carrying on Circa Survive’s still-youthful career.  A lot of Us would certainly love another Juturna, and though Blue Sky Noise is not Juturna 2.0, the off-kilter melancholic rhythms found in Circa’s debut album can be found in this one as well (“Glass Arrows”).  Combine those with the blunt, unfiltered energy of On Letting Go and you have Blue Sky Noise, another addition to Circa Survive’s growing repertoire.
Favorite Song: Strange Terrain
-Cayce Grace

Pretty Lights is the shit, man.  The dude’s name is Derek Vincent Smith, and he’s seriously BLOWING UP within the electronic dance scene.  But hold the phone- this isn’t some wack Rusko cookie cutter dubstep bullshit- with a live drummer and a collection of retro samples mixed in with catchy, bumping mid-tempo beats, it’s made apparent that Pretty Lights stands out among the droves of chumps looking to catch a ride on a trendy style.

Making Up a Changing Mind is the first of a trilogy of EP’s that Pretty Lights released throughout the year.  The other two should have been on this list, but We decided to have one album max per artist.  Though the true way to experience Pretty Lights is to be engulfed in the energy found on a dance floor or a festival resting on trampled grass, complete with a CAPTIVATING light show, Making Up a Changing Mind is still able to get you bouncing with its recordings.  i am completely in love with Pretty Lights at the moment, and so should you…
Favorite Song: I Can See It In Your Face (TOP SONG OF 2010)
-STEPHEN DUBSON

Since 2005, Tera Melos has been consistently adding more and more tunes to their ever-changing, eclectic, and unique collection of music.  They mix together a variety of elements into their songs- chilled out ambient sections contrasted by abrasive noise freak outs, extreme spastic and precise technical parts occasionally graced with minimalism, and just recently a higher priority on including vocals.  It’s jazzy, heavy, groovy, happy, crazy, and all kinds of other adjectives ending with a y.

With Our number one album of 2010, Patagonian Rats, the bold move of adding catchy, hook-heavy vocals to every single track by guitarist/synthesizer/everything-dude Nick Reinhart was a risky one at that.  Did the release of their first single, the simply structured “Frozen Zoo”, scare the shit out of me and bring me to tears? Hell yes.  Would Tera Melos ever be the same again?  Apparently not.  The instrumental, spazzy-rock-loving individuals like myself were bound to feel alienated and betrayed, right?

WRONG AS FUCK! 

Tera Melos has truly accomplished a great feat with Patagonian Rats- they’ve crafted a stellar collection of sounds that enables the addition of poppy vocal hooks and the chaotic instrumentals of Tera Melos’s math rock roots to live in harmony.  Please, for the love of science, listen to this album. 
Favorite Song- Sky Watch
With love, Sol(ution) Rosenberg and the rest of the folks at ergophobia, have a great fucking new year!!!

12/29/10

TOP 20 ALBUMS OF 2010 #20-#11

Alrighty everybody, the voices here at ergophobia have been clashing and warring and bickering with each other about which artists’ albums of 2010 should make it into the top 20.  Within this post we have numbers 20 through 11, saving the top 10 for a separate post to be posted on the final day of 2010.  As usual, Our collective of snobby music voices has produced an eclectic and varied list that has something for everyone.  Our subjective-asses had a hard time figuring out what spots belonged to whom, but overall We are pleased with how the list turned out.  The team of voices all contributed some little nugget-sized reviews to let you know what the sound is like.

All of these albums are available for free download via the links provided in the respective titles of the album above the reviews. This is for the purpose of getting the sultry sounds of these musicians to the ears of listeners all around.  As stated before, this is for sampling purposes to see if you enjoy the artist, so We have some rules…

HERE ARE THE OPTIONS YOU HAVE IF YOU DOWNLOAD AN ALBUM:
- You must tell EVERYONE YOU KNOW that you think would be interested in the album to CHECK IT OUT.
- You must ATTEND SHOWS whenever the band comes through your area.
- You must consider PURCHASING the physical copy of the album, UNLESS the band is ran by a major record label.
- You must look into BUYING MERCHANDISE, such as T-shirts, posters, hoodies, etc.
- You must LISTEN WITH AN OPEN MIND
- And finally, you must ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS SPREAD THE GOOD WORD!

Are you in the mood for some sentimental singer/song-writer music?  Cool!  Go listen to The Wild Hunt.  The Tallest Man On Earth is quickly gaining notoriety for his distinctive voice, stellar guitar playing, and sincere, emotional lyricism.  He also puts on a great show, especially for being just a single dude with a guitar.  Ladies, swoon away for this lovable little Swede.
Favorite Song: The King of Spain
-Timid-Kid
19.  Brothers by The Black Keys
Never quite listened to The Black Keys too much, but i cannot deny Brothers being a great album within their bluesy little niche genre.  It’s nice to see a band that doesn’t have to be like, “No dude, we’re a progressive crossover techno-jazz fusion band”.  Brothers consists of straightforward, fuzzy rock that’s catchy and gets the job done, grooving along in the process.
Favorite Song: Tighten Up
-Rock the Nugz

A post-punk  outfit with a 7-foot tall singer…from Australia.  Upon hearing that at this year’s Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago, i was immediately intrigued into seeing Liars live.  Yes, the singer was tall as fuck, a gangly Aussie yelling and singing and shimmying around the stage, backed up by a moody, dark, and noise-heavy group of musicians.  Want some interesting music?  Get on this.
Favorite Song: Here Comes All The People
-yemsel

Wavves is a fuzzy buzzy buzz band that falls into this near-retarded, uber-hip, “chill wave” surf rock shit that seemed to arise over the summer.  Unlike the guitarist’s girlfriend’s band, “Best Coast”, Wavves does not suck complete dick.  King Of The Beach is quite a change from Wavves previous, lo-fi sound.  It probably has something to do with them being signed by a label ran by MOUNTAIN DEW (LOL). 

Anyway, King Of The Beach is a fun album to listen to, and now that the rhythm section from the late Jay Reatard’s band (RIP) have become members, the live show has been kicked up more than a few proverbial notches.  For real, i caught them playing at some bullshit yet free college venue on 9/11, and my science, they were some offensive pricks (pretty funny seeing the looks on that conservative Christians’ faces when some distasteful-ass jokes were cracked.  But come on, what else do you expect from some asshole chill wave riders?
Favorite Song: Super Soaker
-Jurgensen (the Peanut with a Nose)

THE SELF-TITLED DAUGHTERS, THE THIRD (AND FINAL?) ALBUM FROM A NOISY-AWESOMELY-BITCHIN’-CORE BAND IS PERHAPS THEIR BEST SO FAR.  SURE, YOU CAN MOSH TO THIS SHIT, BUT REALLY i FEEL LIKE DAUGHTERS IS MORE OF AN ALBUM THAT IS IDEAL TO LISTEN TO AS YOU GO ON A SERIAL MURDER SPREE.  SO WHEN ARE YOU GONNA BALL UP AND KILL SOMEONE?

THE SINGER SOUNDS LIKE ELVIS GETTING HIS BALLS TORTURED, WHICH IS A GOOD THING. IT’S A GODDAMN SHAME THAT DAUGHTERS HAD TO BREAK UP DIRECTLY AFTER RELEASING THIS CD, BUT IT PROBABLY HELPED PREVENT A LOT OF POSSIBLE CASUALTIES.
Favorite Song: Our Queens (One Is Many, Many Is One)
-Harry-IT THE SPY
HOLY SHIT i HAVE TWO REVIEWS IN A ROW FOR HEAVY-AS-TITS BANDS.  WANNA KNOW WHAT MY FAVORITE MOOD IS? PISSED OFF!  DANGERS IS A PISSED OFF HARDCORE PUNK BAND THAT DOESN’T FUCK AROUND.  GO LISTEN TO MESSY, ISN’T IT? SO AS TO FAN THE FLAMES OF YOUR DISCONTENT WITH THE WORLD AND THE BITCHES WHO LIVE IN IT.  IT’S FAST, IT’S HEAVY, AND… IT’S DANGEROUS.
Favorite Song: Check, Please
-HARRY-IT THE SPY

The nephew of John and Alice Coltrane comes through with his 3rd LP, an amazing tripped out epic of glitch hop called Cosmogramma. FlyLo comes to the table with all the amazing glitch sounds of the future while still mixing in live musician's string compositions, saxophones, trumpets, and amazing bass (by Thundercat).

My favorite album of 2010 is Cosmogramma because no matter where i am, what mood i am in, or what i am doing, the soundscapes and amazingly natural and deep beats FlyLo gives puts me into some tripped out awesome trance. Seeing him this summer at North Coast Festival was an amazing live show, for he was toking on a fat blunt while he played.
Favorite Song: Do The Astral Plane
-Higgins (a contributing voice)

YOU WANT HEAVY? DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN WILL GIVE YOU HEAVY.  UNLIKE THEIR PREVIOUS RELEASE, “IRE WORKS”, THIS TIME THE BAND DOESN’T FUCK AROUND WITH TOO MUCH OF THAT “LOOK HOW QUIRKY WE ARE” PANSY CROCK OF SHIT GIMMICK.  DARE i SAY OPTION PARALYSIS IS A TURNAROUND FOR A BAND i THOUGHT WE HAD LOST, A BAND THAT REGULARLY INDUCES THE THROWING OF HORNS?  YES, i DARE.
Favorite Song: Room Full of Eyes
-HARRY-IT THE SPY 

WOMP WOMP WOMP WOMP.  Do you like WOMPIN’?  Not sure?  Well obviously you should listen to Timestretch, one of two EP’s that Bassnectar released in 2010.  If the onomatopoeia confuses you, it should be made known that your abode lays underneath a large rock in Iceland.  For real though, you don’t know what WOMPING entails?  Phat elektro-beatz, dude… 

Bassnectar is all about the drop, that big WOMPING son-of-a-bitch drop.  His beats are “filthy”, as the dub-heads like to put it, and dangerously fun.  And for all you indie kids trying to keep your musical credibility, do not be ashamed to listen to Timestretch, a balls-out dubstep CD, because…uh…Bassnectar is actually cool.
Favorite Song: Here We Go
-STEPHEN DUBSON
Murder By Death is one of those bands that changes drastically with each transition from one album to another.  Since their inception they’ve made more and more moves towards a western feel, from the Americana-influenced (CLASSIC) album Who Will Survive and What Will Be Left of Them to singer Adam Turla’s voice becoming extremely similar to Johnny Cash on Red of Tooth and Claw.  Regardless of the style, Murder By Death has retained a highly emotional and poetic beauty in all of their music, while at the same time being able to rock out and have fun. 

This is no different for Good Morning, Magpie, a predominantly melancholic album that, as said before, still keeps up the adrenaline in honor of rock n’ roll roots.  If you like whiskey, you’ll be sure to proverbially drink yourself to death with Murder By Death’s most recent effort.
Favorite Song: As Long As There Is Whiskey In The World
-Rock the Nugz
 

12/8/10

Marek Hemmann- In Between

Marek Hemmann- In Between
Genre:Techno/House/Minimalist
Released: October 2009
What set does he rep? Jena, Germany

Jamz:
1.  Alias
2.  Tagoma
3.  Kaleido
4.  Compass
5.  Inessa
6.  Gemini
7.  Yvette
8.  Swarm
9.  NTMYT
10.  Down
(on mediafire)

Please welcome the emergence of a new voice that has joined Us, his name is Unit 45 and he lives behind my left eye.

i am so pleased with the way my imaginary robotic ears have been being treated with the musical compositions of Marek Hemmann.

It is widely believed by many that automated machines, even if they are extremely advanced and intelligent, do not sense excitement, or any emotion for that matter.

But they are wrong.

The compact disk “In Between” contains 10 musical compositions that are just as enthralling as they are energetic with the use of minimalist, yet harmoniously entrancing hooks.

The stand out track, “Gemini”, is also the composition with the greatest length, spanning 9 minutes and 8 seconds, but the large amount of time seems like much less with how incredibly easy one can listen to it and be soothingly energized by Hemmann’s carefully crafted song structure.

i hope you will listen to this album.

Even robots can fall in love, as long as their love is electric.

Farewell, humans.

-Unit 45 

P.S. Here is the song "Gemini", you must listen to it immediately.

12/6/10

The Everybodyfields- Nothing is Okay

The Everybody Fields- Nothing is Okay
Genre: Folk/Indie/Country
Released: 2008
What set they rep? Johnson City, Tennessee
Track list:
1.  Aeroplane
2.  Lonely Anywhere
3.  Don’t Turn Around
4.  Leaving Today
5.  Birthday
6.  Savior
7.  Be Miner
8.  Wasted Time
9.  Everything is Okay
10.  Tuesday
11.  Over and Done
12.  Out on the Highway
(download via mediafire)

Hey there y’all, today We have another contribution from a voice foreign to Our usual homestead.  Enjoy, fiends…

We’ve all had the pain of what it feels like to have someone love you. It’s quite possibly the most beautifully excruciating game. Yes, Love is a game, so fuck off Lady Gaga*, you’re capitalizing on a cliché, you’re not cool. Anyway, when in the throes of love or lust or what have you,  it’s a delicate balance of appreciation, damaging actions, and madness i feel. i mean i could be wrong, but i’m not. It’s crazy, it’s exhilarating, and it’s certainly worth it- and it takes a band like The Everybodyfields to ingrain that little sentiment so far into your soul you can feel it on the tips of your eyelashes.
Their album, Nothing is Okay is more than an appropriate title for their impressive 52 minute and 21 second conceptual blockbuster. To me, their opening song Lonely Anywhere emulates the feeling one gets when you know you’re getting used, yet don’t have the respect for yourself to do anything about it.  This makes the worst aspects of relationships romantic and sickening- you can’t help but to sway your head with your eyes closed and have that awfully heartrending feeling you get in the bottom of your stomach.  Jill Andrew’s voice comes through her soul and into your own when she sings:

and send me a little note in the mail
when my name appears on your list
of things to do
if you ever can see past you
i’ll keep some days clear

You always hope it might happen but men or women like “that” don’t change. We all know that, but We all hold on to that stupid idea that they will. We should stop doing that. The slow strumming on her guitar pervades your mind and suggests the sadness you should be feeling if you aren’t a ragin’ sociopath; it’s nice to feel sad sometimes, it makes you more creative. So wallow in your pit of despair, you owe it to yourself.
But the most badass part of this country folksy blue grassy work is that they’re not entirely emo and cynical about their failed relationships.  They also break your heart with sung stories, like Out on the Highway. You’re swept off your little hipsta feet and brought back into the prohibition era in Kentucky, something i’m oddly fascinated with, so now you’re about to read about it. Anyway, it starts off:

out on the highway, son, be careful, your mother sure loves you.

Well mommies are great, let’s all agree on that. This song tells a story about this kid who smuggles whiskey over the state lines. Pretty legit. i mean who the fuck wouldn’t want to be that person who decidedly disobeys the law? i mean shit, i base my life off of civil disobedience. Again, i digress. Basically, this son is damn good at being a lawless badass, and laughs when cops shoot at his car while they’re violently chasing him. i repeat, badass, i mean i’d tap that bad assery, you’d be silly to not want to.  The most depressing part of this entire song is when Sam Quinn sings in his voice of wonders:

your mother got at night
she’d just sit there by the window
crying boy oh when you comin’ home
at night i see her there on her knees and in her prayers
she says oh Jesus don’t leave us here alone

You’d be soulless to not stop what you’re doing and think about how much your mommy rocks, even though, generally, she’s a raging psycho who has a control complex, but hey what mom doesn’t? Because mine definitely does. It’s sad, and sad boosts your creativity so listen to this song album, and CERTAINLY listen to the cap of the album, Aeroplane, it’s simply lovely. i’ll let you explore that one yourself. It’s the opposite of harsh. Simply said, this is the greatest way to do country. And i hate country, call me closed minded, i promise you i’m not.

-Tha Hipstah Heatwave

*note- The voices at Ergophobia neither truly despise nor dote on Lady Gaga.

11/30/10

Andrew Jackson Jihad- People That Can Eat People Are the Luckiest People in the World

Andrew Jackson Jihad- People That Can Eat People Are the Luckiest People in the World
Genre:Folk/Punk
Released: September 2007
What set they rep? Phoenix, Arizona
Songs:
1.  Rejoice
2.  Brave as a Noun
3.  Survival
4.  Bad Bad Things
5.  No More Tears
6.  Bells & Whistles
7.  Randy’s House
8.  A Song Dedicated to the Memory of Stormy the Rabbit
9.  People II: The Reckoning
10.  Personal Space Invader
11.  People
(download on mediafire)

Today, We have a special guest voice… One that just happens to reside in another shell…

It’s what i’m thinking. It’s what you’re thinking. It’s what they’re thinking. The difference between us and Andrew Jackson Jihad is that this band is brave enough to sing about it. You know, the manic emotional war in your head between utter hatred and irrevocable love for the people who surround us—our teachers, our parents, the apathetic Wal-Mart worker, that bum on the corner you see sleeping on the concrete while you chain smoke—whomever.

So it’s very fitting that AJJ has seamlessly combined the rebellious side of punk with the affectionate, “let’s-all-get-stoned-and-cuddle” mood that acoustic folk music seems to provoke within us music enthusiasts. Coupled with Sean Bonnette’s high-pitched, urgent-sounding voice, the overall tone of the album is clear: fuck the pettiness, listen, and be happy. It’s the kind of music that invokes within you the urge to do a circular, overenthusiastic jig despite how mentally incapacitated you might appear. Though it ends leaving you in a bewildered daze, one couldn’t possibly demand this album to be any longer—those 25 minutes are so jam-packed with prophetic wisdom, i swear i can picture Socrates in the corner of a show, awkwardly swaying along in his toga to the beat of the upright bass, nodding his head in approval.

Bonnette gives us a Utopian vision of a perfect world, one with “no more bad times, no more bummers, no more SUV’s and no more Hummers.” You know anyone hatin’ on Hummers is legit. Instead, AJJ wants only the best for us—“happy times and half-assed rhymes…most of all no more tears.” They order, “Be the best fucking human that you can be!” and calls us out on our lowest and most depraved moments—“How can you put that straw up your nose when you know how coke is manufactured?...It’s made by babies who’ve been captured.” Maybe it’s because, as he sings, We’ve all got “a Nazi and a rapist living in our tiny hearts.” Yeah. i said it. We are all evil and self-serving.

It’s an album that i, for over half a year, have continuously returned to. I felt as though Bonnette had snuck from the wires of my headphones right into my soul. “Shit,” i said aloud as i thought about the schoolwork i should have been doing while writing this review. “i’ve got essays, i’ve got finals due/i have got lots and lots of problems,” Sean sang despairingly, mimicking my tone.

He continued reading my mind, singing “Your bi-polar illness, it comes and it goes/your parasympathetic nervous system reacts and you’re in fight-or-flight mode.” And yes, AJJ throws around smart people words like “parasympathetic” a lot. These dudes are the goddamn philosophers of our lost and lonely generation.

So go listen. And give your mom a hug, because even though she maybe gave you a few complexes throughout childhood and still pisses you off a lot, “people are the greatest thing to happen.”

-Deepster McPBRlover

11/29/10

Twain Harte- A Sunny Place For Shady People


Twain Harte- A Sunny Place For Shady People
Genre: Math Rock/Post-Hardcore
Released: 2007
What set they rep? Livermore, Northern Cali

TWAIN HARTE IS FUCKING DEAD
(try em if you dig: Tera Melos, At the Drive-In, Maps & Atlases)
Tunes:
1.  Raped By An Octopus
2.  Shipload
3.  Nothing Sounds Much Better
4.  Circa January 27th
5.  Pyramids
6.  Untitled Track
GET IT HERE
(mediafire)
HEY THERE ALL YOU BROMO-SAPIENS-
i’ve been snacking on some tasty NorCal math rock, topped with sultry post-hardcore seasonings.  The now defunct Twain Harte is like, the bajillionth band with complex, catchy and fun music you can get into.  It’s upbeat with a lot of jarring guitar lines that still maintain to go easy on the ears and get stuck in your head.  i can for sure see some punk influences throughout the disk, both stylistically and how you can feel the energy in a similar way. 

Personally, i think the vocals fit well with the whole down-to-earth way they play, just seeming to have fun.  They mainly shout, but vary the delivery (ATD-I) in a way where it doesn’t get monotonous.  This kind of music is all about release, so the harsh singing may not sit well with some listeners.

Too bad these guys had to break up so fast, they’re supah-young.  Have a gander at this little NUGGET

Well i guess that’s about it, try a listen, spread the good word
-Cayce Grace