Time for a (belated) Fun Friday post, and you know that when I'm looking for fun, heading-into-the-weekend energy, there's one well to which I regularly return. Yes, it's time for you to endure another Dance Gavin Dance song. I'll make converts of you yet!
This time around it's the fast-and-furious "Carve" from 2013's Acceptance Speech that I'm recommending you sit through. If you've ever lamented that DGD might be too "radio friendly" or something similar, "Carve" should hopefully convince you that the band is at least capable of some shred-inspired heaviness. Not metal, certainly, but maybe not verboten either?
Showing posts with label Dance Gavin Dance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dance Gavin Dance. Show all posts
Tuesday, 22 September 2015
Wednesday, 19 August 2015
Oranges - Snow Monkeys (So You Think This is a Fucking Game?)
Want some more new music? Of course you do! It's why you're here, isn't it? Don't answer that.
Today's short, sharp new song comes from new Blue Swan signing Oranges, and if you know anything about Blue Swan (founded by Dance Gavin Dance's Will Swan) or the label's current roster (which includes bands like Eidola and Hail the Sun, to name just two) you should be able to extrapolate from that to something resembling a vague idea of what Oranges is all about: high-energy, technically-above-par, ever-so-slightly-proggy post-hardcore that fucking goes.
Suitably post-hardcorishly-titled new single "Snow Monkeys (So You Think This is a Fucking Game)" is three minutes of this particular post-hardcore brew that succeeds in tickling my fancy. Regular readers will know the soft spot I've got for this kind of stuff (including the aforementioned Dance Gavin Dance, Eidola, and Hail the Sun), so I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for this one when it drops in about a month or so.
Today's short, sharp new song comes from new Blue Swan signing Oranges, and if you know anything about Blue Swan (founded by Dance Gavin Dance's Will Swan) or the label's current roster (which includes bands like Eidola and Hail the Sun, to name just two) you should be able to extrapolate from that to something resembling a vague idea of what Oranges is all about: high-energy, technically-above-par, ever-so-slightly-proggy post-hardcore that fucking goes.
Suitably post-hardcorishly-titled new single "Snow Monkeys (So You Think This is a Fucking Game)" is three minutes of this particular post-hardcore brew that succeeds in tickling my fancy. Regular readers will know the soft spot I've got for this kind of stuff (including the aforementioned Dance Gavin Dance, Eidola, and Hail the Sun), so I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for this one when it drops in about a month or so.
Friday, 17 July 2015
Wednesday: I the Mighty - Lady of Death
As I've now established (and as you'll hope agree, to at least some degree), it's good to get out of your comfort zone once in a while. I made this point yesterday in reference to my own journey to the darker, crustier fringes of metal via bands like Abyssal. But what if that kind of extreme metal is your comfort zone? What do you do then?
You come to Loud Noises and listen to something worlds apart from that, like your Wednesday song from San Francisco's I the Mighty. "Lady of Death" is the first full track from the band's latest, Connector, and it's a microcosm of what I like best about I the Mighty: highly energetic, highly melodic, vaguely proggy post-hardcore with a sheen of poppy hookiness over everything. Comparisons to Dance Gavin Dance come to mind quickest, but I also get shades of Hail the Sun, Stolas, and even Coheed and Cambria sprinkled throughout Connector's running time.
The rocking energy does seem to drop off a bit towards the second half of Connector, alloyed with some electronic elements and some slightly more varied song moods and tones, but overall there's still enough here to possibly grab even the most blackened of metalheads. Give I the Mighty a shot today.
You come to Loud Noises and listen to something worlds apart from that, like your Wednesday song from San Francisco's I the Mighty. "Lady of Death" is the first full track from the band's latest, Connector, and it's a microcosm of what I like best about I the Mighty: highly energetic, highly melodic, vaguely proggy post-hardcore with a sheen of poppy hookiness over everything. Comparisons to Dance Gavin Dance come to mind quickest, but I also get shades of Hail the Sun, Stolas, and even Coheed and Cambria sprinkled throughout Connector's running time.
The rocking energy does seem to drop off a bit towards the second half of Connector, alloyed with some electronic elements and some slightly more varied song moods and tones, but overall there's still enough here to possibly grab even the most blackened of metalheads. Give I the Mighty a shot today.
Thursday, 21 May 2015
Dance Gavin Dance - Variation
Have any of you tr00 metal badasses out there taken my advice yet, swallowed your unnecessarily restrictive preconceptions about style and genre, and had a go at some Dance Gavin Dance? If you have, good on you, whether you dug them or not. And if you haven't, the band's new record is the perfect excuse to get off your duff and dance, Gavin.
The reason for that is that, for my money, last month's Instant Gratification was DGD's strongest outing in a while, with more cool tunes that I've found myself really digging than their last couple of records combined. More importantly, as far as you might be concerned, I'm getting a vibe from this one that's just a teensy bit heavier than usual.
Don't get me wrong, Dance Gavin Dance is still firmly post-hardcore, for good or ill, and they're not going to be exchanging hipster haircuts for blastbeats any time soon. But there's tasty wee morsels of heavy here and there and it's a nice amount of spice to songs like "Variation", with its heavy, little groove about two thirds of the way through, all wrapped up in textbook DGD catchy melodic post-hardcore. This one's just plain fun, so have at it.
The reason for that is that, for my money, last month's Instant Gratification was DGD's strongest outing in a while, with more cool tunes that I've found myself really digging than their last couple of records combined. More importantly, as far as you might be concerned, I'm getting a vibe from this one that's just a teensy bit heavier than usual.
Don't get me wrong, Dance Gavin Dance is still firmly post-hardcore, for good or ill, and they're not going to be exchanging hipster haircuts for blastbeats any time soon. But there's tasty wee morsels of heavy here and there and it's a nice amount of spice to songs like "Variation", with its heavy, little groove about two thirds of the way through, all wrapped up in textbook DGD catchy melodic post-hardcore. This one's just plain fun, so have at it.
Monday, 4 May 2015
Sunday: Polyphia - Aviator
I'm going noodly and instrumental for your Sunday song, which kinda sounds like the start of some kind of inappropriate joke about an Asian restaurant. But rest assured, today's noodling is all sweet, no sour.
Yes, that was pretty bad, but the guitar work from the guys in Polyphia, along with guest Jason Richardson, should be enough to make up for it. The band recently signed to Equal Vision, leading to the rerelease last month of their debut LP Muse, and smart lads that they are, they're supporting the record with a tasty tour (with Dance Gavin Dance, Hail the Sun, and Stolas, no less!) and a new video for the song "Aviator".
Whammy work and other fancy string slinging abounds here, starting off bubbly and upbeat before eventually taking a more menacingly metal-sounding turn, with melody a heavy emphasis throughout. "Aviator" and Muse are good, but give Polyphia a little more maturity and they could really be a force to be reckoned with.
Yes, that was pretty bad, but the guitar work from the guys in Polyphia, along with guest Jason Richardson, should be enough to make up for it. The band recently signed to Equal Vision, leading to the rerelease last month of their debut LP Muse, and smart lads that they are, they're supporting the record with a tasty tour (with Dance Gavin Dance, Hail the Sun, and Stolas, no less!) and a new video for the song "Aviator".
Whammy work and other fancy string slinging abounds here, starting off bubbly and upbeat before eventually taking a more menacingly metal-sounding turn, with melody a heavy emphasis throughout. "Aviator" and Muse are good, but give Polyphia a little more maturity and they could really be a force to be reckoned with.
Tuesday, 7 April 2015
Sunday: Jaga Jazzist - Starfire
Maybe I should have done a theme week of long songs or something, because after "yesterday's" relatively brief Dance Gavin Dance song, I've got yet another epic number for your Easter Sunday song. Ready for some spaced out instrumental electro jazz? Sure you are!
Norwegian band Jaga Jazzist isn't an outfit I was familiar with until recently, but it's now on the list of acts I need to get to know better. Based on the strength of its title track, I think their upcoming album Starfire, due out in June, could be the perfect opportunity to do exactly that. "Starfire" is a seriously massive slab of proggy and jazzy grooves that I've listened to a fistful of times now. The fact that it's nearly nine minutes long won't really even register until you get done and look down to hit repeat. Check this one out post haste.
Norwegian band Jaga Jazzist isn't an outfit I was familiar with until recently, but it's now on the list of acts I need to get to know better. Based on the strength of its title track, I think their upcoming album Starfire, due out in June, could be the perfect opportunity to do exactly that. "Starfire" is a seriously massive slab of proggy and jazzy grooves that I've listened to a fistful of times now. The fact that it's nearly nine minutes long won't really even register until you get done and look down to hit repeat. Check this one out post haste.
Saturday: Dance Gavin Dance - Stroke God, Millionaire
How was your long weekend? Was it as unproductive as mine was? Now that you've emerged from your ham-and-or-turkey-induced food coma, come join me for yet another lengthy game of catch-up.
First, a Saturday song. On Friday, I had you check out the first track to be released from Between the Buried and Me's upcoming rock opera Coma Ecliptic. Your Saturday song isn't anywhere near the epic length of "Memory Palace", but it does continue the theme of new and upcoming deliciousness.
This time it's the second track to be released from the upcoming Dance Gavin Dance record Instant Gratification. "Stroke God, Millionaire" demonstrates DGD's continued ability to craft tasty little packages of pop-flavoured post-hardcore with just the right amount of tech (or tech-sounding) flair. If the rest of this record were to turn out at catchy and snappy as this one, I'd be a happy camper. And the icing on the cake? This ain't no lyric video son, it's full on animated mayhem. Peep it up yo.
First, a Saturday song. On Friday, I had you check out the first track to be released from Between the Buried and Me's upcoming rock opera Coma Ecliptic. Your Saturday song isn't anywhere near the epic length of "Memory Palace", but it does continue the theme of new and upcoming deliciousness.
This time it's the second track to be released from the upcoming Dance Gavin Dance record Instant Gratification. "Stroke God, Millionaire" demonstrates DGD's continued ability to craft tasty little packages of pop-flavoured post-hardcore with just the right amount of tech (or tech-sounding) flair. If the rest of this record were to turn out at catchy and snappy as this one, I'd be a happy camper. And the icing on the cake? This ain't no lyric video son, it's full on animated mayhem. Peep it up yo.
Tuesday, 24 February 2015
2014 Round-Up: 2015 Top Prospects
Since we're already almost a sixth of the way through 2015, it's about goddamn time I got part 2 of my 2014 round-up posted, right? Lucky for me, none of the records I anticipate below have come out yet, but there's one or two that are right around the corner, so you'd better get reading!
Tool - ??? (???)
I thought I'd get this one over and done with right off the bat. Everybody and their mother's dog knows that Tool operates on a much longer album cycle than virtually anybody else on the planet, but since it's been almost nine years now since the release of 10,000 Days even Maynard and company are getting to be about due for some new material. The last year or so has seen a number of rumours and vaguely enticing social media posts that seem to suggest work on a new record is ongoing, perhaps even nearing completion, but just when we might get to hear any of this new material is anybody's guess. I'll believe this one's coming when I'm holding a copy in my hand.
Uneven Structure - La Partition (summer)
It's been nearly four years since France's Uneven Structure blew me and a lot of other listeners away with their so-much-more-than-just-djent debut LP Februus, but the band is finally putting the finishing touches on the follow-up to this masterwork of dense groove and atmosphere. The internet buzz seems to think that this one will be out by the summer, and I for one hope the internet is right for once. La Partition could well be a monster, so keep your eyes and ears peeled.
Chimp Spanner - ??? (???)
Regular readers will know that I'm a fan of progressive instrumental music, so the prospect of new material from everybody's favourite one manimal army Chimp Spanner is something I'm 100% onboard with. 2014 saw a new track called "Aurora" unleashed upon the interwebz in demo and playthrough form, but Mr. Ortiz was otherwise largely silent, studio-wise, instead spending the year playing shows and festivals around England and across Europe. That's all well and good, but Chimp Spanner fans elsewhere in the world (read: me) are due for their own dose of Paul Ortiz, and a new record would be the perfect way for us to get it.
Blotted Science - ??? (???)
Speaking of instrumental prog, tech supertrio Blotted Science also seem to be working on some new jams. Their 2011 EP The Animation of Entomology was an absolute beast, a labyrinthine slice of technicality and compositional virtuosity -- guitarist Ron Jarzombek utilized a "Twelve Tones in Fragmeneted Rows" system of his own design to cook up all the weird and wonderful riffs and chord progressions on the EP (ask your music-nerd friends to explain it to you). Of course, you don't have to have a graduate degree in music theory to appreciate the madness contained on this EP, or to be excited about the prospect of further experiments from the Blotted Science laboratory.
Dance Gavin Dance - Instant Gratification (April 14th)
By any standard of modern music you'd care to name, Sacramento post-hardcore act Dance Gavin Dance have had a pretty prolific run so far. Five studio albums, an EP, and a live record in the last eight years or so would be a good track record for any band in any genre, but for band that writes stuff that's a little heavier, a little more technical, it's downright impressive (even if DGD aren't the heaviest or the most technical band in the world...). DGD has undergone several line-up changes over the years, particularly in the vocalist department, so it's always good to get the news that the guys are back at it again with new material.
Coheed and Cambria - ??? (spring/summer 2015)
Times flies when you're having fun, doesn't it? It seems like Coheed's stellar (pun sorta intended) double album The Afterman came out just yesterday, but second installment Descension is already two years old. Seen in this light, I guess it shouldn't surprise me that Claudio and company are gearing up for another record. Coheed and Cambria's catalogue has its ups and downs, but The Afterman was a bit of a return to form, so the prognosis (pun kind intended yet again) for album number eight looks good.
The Fall of Troy - ??? (???)
Like Dance Gavin Dance, this is another one of those bands that tr00 metalheads might look down their nose at a little bit, but I've been a Fall of Troy fan a long time. As such, the news that they were getting back together definitely piqued my interest. The subsequent news that they might be working on new material hooked me even more. There's not a whole lot of word on what form new material might take, or when we might hear it, but the fact that singer/guitarist Thomas Erak has left his gig with Chiodos seems to bode well for a return to full-time TFOT recording and touring. The stars fell out of alignment for me a few years back when I had tickets to one of their farewell shows and the couldn't attend, so here's hoping that I'll get another shot to catch them on the road, preferably supporting a new record.
Deftones - ??? (???)
A new Deftones record is always something to get interested in, if not excited about, and this one should be no exception. The chances of this one being the "lost" album Eros, the last recording the band did with late bassist Chi Cheng, may be slim to none, but the fact remains that Chino and Company have been pretty strong on their last couple of outings. Assuming that the band's next effort is more Koi No Yokan or Diamond Eyes than Saturday Night Wrist -- which might be a pretty big assumption, who knows -- new Deftones material could kick a surprising amount of ass.
Mandroid Echostar - ??? (???)
As is the case with so many of the entries on this list, there's not much information to go on here -- no title, no release date, no single, nada -- but Facebook tells me that the actual recording process is indeed complete and the band has moved on to the mixing stage. These guys are not only "friends of the blog" (oh how I love being able to say that, even if it's only very loosely true), they're also stupidly good at crafting catchy, shredtastic pop-prog. Keep doing Canada proud, boys.
letlive. - ??? (???)
I got into The Blackest Beautiful in a big way. Chief among the reasons for this is definitely the fact that, as I've said umpteen bazillion times before, letlive. feels like the successor band to perennial tease Glassjaw, and boy do I loves me some Glassjaw, especially Worship and Tribute. That album's got such a vibe, such an energy, and letlive. manages to tap into that same kind of vibe and energy in spades. I've have no idea what direction the follow-up to The Blackest Beautiful will take, nor do I even know what direction I want it to take, but I can't wait to hear it.
Tesseract - ??? (???)
A new Tesseract record. With Dan Tompkins back in the mix. Need this Tesseract-loving, Dan Tompkins fanboy say more? No word on when this one's dropping, but in my opinion it can't be soon enough. For now I'll just have to content myself with waiting for the live album/DVD Scala/Odyssesy that's still, at the time of this writing, "coming soon".
The Ocean - ??? (???)
I may be a bit of a latecomer to the 'The Ocean' party, but I got into the band's last record Pelagial pretty hard. Progressive post-metal with a veritable fuck-tonne of groove, and a high concept to boot? Sign me up. The guys in The Ocean have some pretty deep shoes to fill (see what I did there?) with a follow-up to Pelagial, but if they can pull it off, it would very likely be an Album of the Year contender.
Plini - The End of Everything (March 11)
Last but most certainly not least is another "friend of the blog", namely Australian guitarist Plini, whose third EP The End of Everything will be coming out in just a couple of weeks' time. Since Plini's previous work is some of the most badass-yet-chill songwriting I've ever heard, the culmination of his trilogy of EP's is definitely something I'm looking forward to -- I've got my preorder in and everything. If guitar-based instrumental jams in which songwriting doesn't take a back seat to technicality but is rather served by it are your thing, The End of Everything should be perfect for scratching your itch. Now all Plini needs to do is stop going to school and traveling around helping people long enough to write an LP already.
And there you have it: a small selection of upcoming and possibly upcoming albums that I'm looking forward to this year. I'm sure I've probably missed scads of records-in-progress by scads of great bands, but these are some that I've read about, or at least heard rumours about, that have got me stoked up for the next ten months or so.
Now, you may have noticed a trend in the entries above, namely the profusion of question marks sitting in for actual album titles and release dates. You may also wonder why this profusion is so...well, profuse. In a nutshell, it's because that's the sum total of the information I have about these records. Contrary to what you might think, I have very little insider information about any of the above (read: none).
But rather than just write about the few albums I do have solid title-and-date information for, I thought it'd be more fun to give you a cross section of some of the stuff I'm looking forward to, or just hoping for, in 2015. If even half of the aforementioned new material ends up coming out this year, 2015 is going to be nice and heavy.
Tool - ??? (???)
I thought I'd get this one over and done with right off the bat. Everybody and their mother's dog knows that Tool operates on a much longer album cycle than virtually anybody else on the planet, but since it's been almost nine years now since the release of 10,000 Days even Maynard and company are getting to be about due for some new material. The last year or so has seen a number of rumours and vaguely enticing social media posts that seem to suggest work on a new record is ongoing, perhaps even nearing completion, but just when we might get to hear any of this new material is anybody's guess. I'll believe this one's coming when I'm holding a copy in my hand.
Uneven Structure - La Partition (summer)
It's been nearly four years since France's Uneven Structure blew me and a lot of other listeners away with their so-much-more-than-just-djent debut LP Februus, but the band is finally putting the finishing touches on the follow-up to this masterwork of dense groove and atmosphere. The internet buzz seems to think that this one will be out by the summer, and I for one hope the internet is right for once. La Partition could well be a monster, so keep your eyes and ears peeled.
Chimp Spanner - ??? (???)
Regular readers will know that I'm a fan of progressive instrumental music, so the prospect of new material from everybody's favourite one manimal army Chimp Spanner is something I'm 100% onboard with. 2014 saw a new track called "Aurora" unleashed upon the interwebz in demo and playthrough form, but Mr. Ortiz was otherwise largely silent, studio-wise, instead spending the year playing shows and festivals around England and across Europe. That's all well and good, but Chimp Spanner fans elsewhere in the world (read: me) are due for their own dose of Paul Ortiz, and a new record would be the perfect way for us to get it.
Blotted Science - ??? (???)
Speaking of instrumental prog, tech supertrio Blotted Science also seem to be working on some new jams. Their 2011 EP The Animation of Entomology was an absolute beast, a labyrinthine slice of technicality and compositional virtuosity -- guitarist Ron Jarzombek utilized a "Twelve Tones in Fragmeneted Rows" system of his own design to cook up all the weird and wonderful riffs and chord progressions on the EP (ask your music-nerd friends to explain it to you). Of course, you don't have to have a graduate degree in music theory to appreciate the madness contained on this EP, or to be excited about the prospect of further experiments from the Blotted Science laboratory.
Dance Gavin Dance - Instant Gratification (April 14th)
By any standard of modern music you'd care to name, Sacramento post-hardcore act Dance Gavin Dance have had a pretty prolific run so far. Five studio albums, an EP, and a live record in the last eight years or so would be a good track record for any band in any genre, but for band that writes stuff that's a little heavier, a little more technical, it's downright impressive (even if DGD aren't the heaviest or the most technical band in the world...). DGD has undergone several line-up changes over the years, particularly in the vocalist department, so it's always good to get the news that the guys are back at it again with new material.
Coheed and Cambria - ??? (spring/summer 2015)
Times flies when you're having fun, doesn't it? It seems like Coheed's stellar (pun sorta intended) double album The Afterman came out just yesterday, but second installment Descension is already two years old. Seen in this light, I guess it shouldn't surprise me that Claudio and company are gearing up for another record. Coheed and Cambria's catalogue has its ups and downs, but The Afterman was a bit of a return to form, so the prognosis (pun kind intended yet again) for album number eight looks good.
The Fall of Troy - ??? (???)
Like Dance Gavin Dance, this is another one of those bands that tr00 metalheads might look down their nose at a little bit, but I've been a Fall of Troy fan a long time. As such, the news that they were getting back together definitely piqued my interest. The subsequent news that they might be working on new material hooked me even more. There's not a whole lot of word on what form new material might take, or when we might hear it, but the fact that singer/guitarist Thomas Erak has left his gig with Chiodos seems to bode well for a return to full-time TFOT recording and touring. The stars fell out of alignment for me a few years back when I had tickets to one of their farewell shows and the couldn't attend, so here's hoping that I'll get another shot to catch them on the road, preferably supporting a new record.
Deftones - ??? (???)
A new Deftones record is always something to get interested in, if not excited about, and this one should be no exception. The chances of this one being the "lost" album Eros, the last recording the band did with late bassist Chi Cheng, may be slim to none, but the fact remains that Chino and Company have been pretty strong on their last couple of outings. Assuming that the band's next effort is more Koi No Yokan or Diamond Eyes than Saturday Night Wrist -- which might be a pretty big assumption, who knows -- new Deftones material could kick a surprising amount of ass.
Mandroid Echostar - ??? (???)
As is the case with so many of the entries on this list, there's not much information to go on here -- no title, no release date, no single, nada -- but Facebook tells me that the actual recording process is indeed complete and the band has moved on to the mixing stage. These guys are not only "friends of the blog" (oh how I love being able to say that, even if it's only very loosely true), they're also stupidly good at crafting catchy, shredtastic pop-prog. Keep doing Canada proud, boys.
letlive. - ??? (???)
I got into The Blackest Beautiful in a big way. Chief among the reasons for this is definitely the fact that, as I've said umpteen bazillion times before, letlive. feels like the successor band to perennial tease Glassjaw, and boy do I loves me some Glassjaw, especially Worship and Tribute. That album's got such a vibe, such an energy, and letlive. manages to tap into that same kind of vibe and energy in spades. I've have no idea what direction the follow-up to The Blackest Beautiful will take, nor do I even know what direction I want it to take, but I can't wait to hear it.
Tesseract - ??? (???)
A new Tesseract record. With Dan Tompkins back in the mix. Need this Tesseract-loving, Dan Tompkins fanboy say more? No word on when this one's dropping, but in my opinion it can't be soon enough. For now I'll just have to content myself with waiting for the live album/DVD Scala/Odyssesy that's still, at the time of this writing, "coming soon".
The Ocean - ??? (???)
I may be a bit of a latecomer to the 'The Ocean' party, but I got into the band's last record Pelagial pretty hard. Progressive post-metal with a veritable fuck-tonne of groove, and a high concept to boot? Sign me up. The guys in The Ocean have some pretty deep shoes to fill (see what I did there?) with a follow-up to Pelagial, but if they can pull it off, it would very likely be an Album of the Year contender.
Plini - The End of Everything (March 11)
Last but most certainly not least is another "friend of the blog", namely Australian guitarist Plini, whose third EP The End of Everything will be coming out in just a couple of weeks' time. Since Plini's previous work is some of the most badass-yet-chill songwriting I've ever heard, the culmination of his trilogy of EP's is definitely something I'm looking forward to -- I've got my preorder in and everything. If guitar-based instrumental jams in which songwriting doesn't take a back seat to technicality but is rather served by it are your thing, The End of Everything should be perfect for scratching your itch. Now all Plini needs to do is stop going to school and traveling around helping people long enough to write an LP already.
And there you have it: a small selection of upcoming and possibly upcoming albums that I'm looking forward to this year. I'm sure I've probably missed scads of records-in-progress by scads of great bands, but these are some that I've read about, or at least heard rumours about, that have got me stoked up for the next ten months or so.
Now, you may have noticed a trend in the entries above, namely the profusion of question marks sitting in for actual album titles and release dates. You may also wonder why this profusion is so...well, profuse. In a nutshell, it's because that's the sum total of the information I have about these records. Contrary to what you might think, I have very little insider information about any of the above (read: none).
But rather than just write about the few albums I do have solid title-and-date information for, I thought it'd be more fun to give you a cross section of some of the stuff I'm looking forward to, or just hoping for, in 2015. If even half of the aforementioned new material ends up coming out this year, 2015 is going to be nice and heavy.
Thursday, 19 February 2015
Dance Gavin Dance - On the Run
Sometimes I know about a band's new record well in advance, because of pre-orders or studio diaries or whatever, and I anticipate accordingly. Other times, as the music blogger in me is almost ashamed to admit, I'm caught completely off guard when hearing the news of an imminent album release by a band I dig. This post stems from one of those latter, vaguely embarrassing times.
OK, so I'm not actually embarrassed when I learn that a band was in the studio and I didn't even have the slightest inkling about it -- I might be kicking myself for not being as thorough as I could be, but 'embarrassed' is too strong a word. Whatever the feeling, I get over it pretty quick and move on to being pleasantly surprised, and then excited, by the idea of new music coming out of the blue at me.
Thus it was that, upon learning of the impending release of the new Dance Gavin Dance record Instant Gratification in April, I stopped for a second and thought, "Wait; there's new DGD afoot? Say what?!" Sure, the metalheads among you who look down on bands like Dance Gavin Dance don't give a shit about this news, and Instant Gratification's lead single "On the Run" is likely to further cement your not giving a shit, but anyone out there who digs DGD or other bands in their poppy-screamo little corner of the post-hardcore world should enjoy it. If that's you, give it a listen and get yourself some instant gratification.
See what I did there?
OK, so I'm not actually embarrassed when I learn that a band was in the studio and I didn't even have the slightest inkling about it -- I might be kicking myself for not being as thorough as I could be, but 'embarrassed' is too strong a word. Whatever the feeling, I get over it pretty quick and move on to being pleasantly surprised, and then excited, by the idea of new music coming out of the blue at me.
Thus it was that, upon learning of the impending release of the new Dance Gavin Dance record Instant Gratification in April, I stopped for a second and thought, "Wait; there's new DGD afoot? Say what?!" Sure, the metalheads among you who look down on bands like Dance Gavin Dance don't give a shit about this news, and Instant Gratification's lead single "On the Run" is likely to further cement your not giving a shit, but anyone out there who digs DGD or other bands in their poppy-screamo little corner of the post-hardcore world should enjoy it. If that's you, give it a listen and get yourself some instant gratification.
See what I did there?
Friday, 30 January 2015
Wolf & Bear - Oil Cup
Regular readers stand a decent chance of knowing that I enjoy the post-hardcore stylings of bands like Dance Gavin Dance. That kind of thing might not be Metal enough for some, but I grew up on various forms of it, and it still does the job for me. So I'm usually pretty interested when I come across somebody doing something similar.
Wolf & Bear do something similar, in that they're also purveyors of energetic post-hardcore fronted by a twin-vocalist attack. Indeed, listening to their new single "Oil Cup" will likely make you think of DGD pretty readily, if DGD is something with which you're familiar. But Wolf & Bear is a bit of a different flavour, with the pop dialed back a notch and the post-hardcore up a smidge in its place.
Is it a world of difference? Not really. Is it different enough to warrant a place alongside Dance Gavin Dance in your collection? You decide!
Wolf & Bear do something similar, in that they're also purveyors of energetic post-hardcore fronted by a twin-vocalist attack. Indeed, listening to their new single "Oil Cup" will likely make you think of DGD pretty readily, if DGD is something with which you're familiar. But Wolf & Bear is a bit of a different flavour, with the pop dialed back a notch and the post-hardcore up a smidge in its place.
Is it a world of difference? Not really. Is it different enough to warrant a place alongside Dance Gavin Dance in your collection? You decide!
Saturday, 11 October 2014
Twenty Questions with Andrew from Eidola
Hey everybody, happy Friday! It's been a while since the last Loud
Noises interview, and it's time once again to rectify this unfortunate
situation. As always, I try to keep things interesting around here, and
to that end I've gone with a band that's somewhat less "metal" this time
out, but no less awesome for it.
So: who, or what, is Eidola? Why don't you read on to find out?
- LN: Why don’t we start by getting your name, what you play, and who you play it for.
Andrew: My name is Andrew Wells, I sing and play guitar for a band called Eidola from Salt Lake City, Utah.
- LN: Band nomenclature is a constant fascination to me, so I’m going to subject you to the same question I ask everybody: where did your name come from? You’ve got some stuff on your Facebook relating to the Greek word “eidolon”, but I’m wondering how you came to this as the source of your name?
Andrew: We went through hundreds of names when we started. We wanted something short and simple, but with some contextual weight to what we wanted to do as a project. Originally I wanted to name the band Jagannatha after a Hindu deity. One of the first songs we wrote together was entitled Eidola from the core semblance of multiple ideals being grouped together as an amalgamate. After a week of playing together and writing lyrics to that song we decided to swap the names. It just felt better that way and the lyrics ended up fitting much better under Jagannatha.
- LN: How did Eidola first come together?
Andrew: Eidola first started after my previous band Follow The Earth broke up, of which Brandon and James were both a part of. After a few weeks of writing by myself I met up with my old high school nemesis Matt Dommer and it was magic. Eventually we recruited James Johnson and Harold Riding to start mapping out songs and developing live show aesthetics. We recruited Zac Bryant (My Fair Fiend) and recorded a home demo 4-song EP. When Zac bounced to play in Sea Swallowed Us Whole we recruited Matt Hansen and fell in love. I had known that dude for years from multiple local bands and always admired his playing, so I asked him if he wanted to join up with us. Brandon and I are brothers, so we kept in contact for about a year after FTE broke up. When we signed to Blue Swan and started writing Degeneraterra I wanted to take the band to new heights and recruited him on guitar. The guy is insanely talented and we could not be more stoked to spend sweaty nights in the van with him.
- LN: Your music isn’t exactly overly technical, but it isn’t exactly simple either. Do any of you have any musical training, or are you all essentially self-taught?
Andrew: The definition of technicality is always funny to me because it's incredibly subjective! I think the reason we didn't do a lot of crazy shredding on The Great Glass Elephant was because we were really focused on creating a conceptual atmosphere and concentrated more on the dynamic elements than the mixed meter structures and polyrhythms. The new album's concept certainly called for much more technically inclined parts matching the dynamic elements and we're really excited to release it. A few of us are self-taught, and a couple of us have some formal training, so it creates an interesting balance.
- LN: You guys are from Utah, which is not necessarily somewhere those of us out here on the internet might think of as a hotbed of interesting music, heavy or otherwise. Prove us ignorant and narrow-minded and tell me about anybody cool I should know about from your neck of the woods.
Andrew: Hahaha that is the best way I've ever heard that phrased! Utah is surprisingly rich with talent. Whether you're looking for metal, indie-folk, pop, electro-hippie-jam-stank band music; Utah has got you covered. Cool bands I would recommend checking out? Visitors, Wearing Thin, Captives, Grass, I Am Designer and My Fair Fiend are all incredible bands that I would highly recommend looking into.
- LN: Like I said, I dig names, so I’m curious about the name of your latest record, Degeneterra. The meaning, so to speak, of that title might seem somewhat obvious, in an etymological sort of way, but I’m curious about what it means to you guys.
Andrew: So DegeneRAterra was a title we came up with when observing the scope of the album. We wanted to offer up something that really captured a conceptual piece that James and I had been refining for like six years. The original idea for the name came from the physics term for the third stage of the entropic cycle of the universe, The Degenerate Era. After a few weeks of kicking that name around I think it was Matt that suggested we bring the words together and add the extra "r" to add real world relevance to the term in an attempt to create something we hadn't really seen or heard before. Degeneraterra was the result, and we could not be more satisfied with that decision.
- LN: From what I can tell online, it looks like Degenterra is your second full-length album. How has the writing and recording of Degeneterra differed from that of The Great Glass Elephant?
Andrew: It was completely different! Without going into too many details the differences were stark. Writing for TGGE was pretty scattered and laid back, over the course of many months. Degeneraterra was a much more consolidated writing process with a very detailed conceptual basis in mind. I quit my job for six months and locked myself in my house to write, refine, re-write and demo out Degeneraterra. The Great Glass Elephant was recorded over the span of like seven months in various shady locations. It was done pretty much DIY with the help of a guy named Randy in Provo, UT. Degeneraterra was recorded at the incredible Pus Cavern in Sacramento with Josh and Will, so the experience was completely different. Will and Josh were hands on producers too, which we really liked, and the outcome is vastly different than anything we've done to this point.
- LN: How did you guys get hooked up with Will and Blue Swan Records?
Andrew: We got hooked up with Will through Sergio Medina of Stolas. We opened for Stolas on the "Living Creatures" tour and we just hit it off. I ended up giving them a copy of TGGE, word got back to Will and we had some lengthy talks. After a while of pre-pro demos being sent back and forth we worked out a deal, drove to Sac, and made an album.
- LN: You’re about to release Degeneterra this fall – what’s next? Maybe some touring?
Andrew: We are indeed! The wait has been arduous for a lot of people that have been with us from the start, but all good things come with time. We are working with Josh and Will to ensure this is the best release it can possibly be before we put it out. Once it's out there we want to tour as much as humanly possible. 400 shows a year? Yes please!
- LN: Speaking of touring, any plans to come north of the 49th? Canada – specifically eastern Ontario – would love to have you...
Andrew: I would absolutely love to come to Canada! If we can swing it, we'll be there in 2015 ;)
- LN: How about a few quick ones, like: Dance Gavin Dance or Secret Band?
Andrew: DGD fasho. Love me some Tilian and Tim. And now Aric from HTS has been killing it with them, so yeah. DGD.
- LN: Favourite Blue Swan labelmate?
Andrew: Stolas. We wouldn't be where we are without them. Plus, Sergio and I are pretty damn close. I would do anything for that guy.
- LN: Band you wish were a Blue Swan labelmate? (Hint hint, Will...)
Andrew: That's a tough one! If we're offering hints to Will, I would probably have to say my boys Visitors from SLC.
- LN: Favourite city or venue to play?
Andrew: SACRAMENTO! Hands down. We opened for Birds and HTS on a tour last summer and it was amazing. The crowd was insanely receptive and we loved every minute of it. Eidola has never played there, but Houston slays pretty hard. We would love to get out there and show Crimson Arrow and Mosaic Dream some love.
- LN: Worst tour or show story?
Andrew: Oh Jesus. . . There are a few. The worst tour story I have is way too long. Basically, we got stranded in Los Banos, CA on our way to Los Angeles. We took our van into the shop and the mechanics gave us some bull shit story and said it would be a week to get it fixed. We ended up renting a u-haul and towing the van, trailer, and gear to Vegas only to find out the fucking mechanics cut our breaks and fried our engine computer.
- LN: Now for a few of my standards: If you could make everyone stop what they’re doing and listen to one song right this minute, what song would it be?
Andrew: "Something" by Snarky Puppy. Lalah is one of the most talented singers I have ever heard. Her voice is mind blowing.
- LN: Dream Tour: who would you guys open for, or who would open for you?
Andrew: Dream tour for me would be: Deftones, Circa Survive, From Indian Lakes, Eidola. Hands down.
- LN: Almost done. What have you been listening to lately?
Andrew: Personally, I've been listening to a lot of Snarky Puppy, but I've always got a slew of artists on repeat. The new From Indian Lakes jams are incredible, Hail The Sun's new album "Wake" is one of the best records I've ever heard, and I'm extremely excited for the new Stolas jams.
- LN: Last one! What’s your favourite metal album of all time?
Andrew: Favorite metal album?! Too many to choose from! Probably Panopticon by ISIS or Paranoid by Black Sabbath. Both of those albums were what got me into heavy music in the first place and will always remain sacred in my heart.
As usual, my Jerry Springer-esque Final Thoughts before I wrap this one up:
- I know Eidola isn't a heavy-as-shit metal band, but Hindu deities = heavy-as-shit, metal band name-wise. Just saying.
- I don't know what I was expecting when I asked about Eidola's worst tour story, but somehow I'm not at all surprised to find that it involves the band's van. If I ever win a shitload of money in the lottery or something, I'm going to buy some bands some better vans.
- I'd see that tour, Andrew. Make it happen. ;-)
- Hail the Sun's new album Wake *is* pretty awesome. Methinks those guys have some more Songs of the Day in their future...
- Excellent choice of metal albums. Panopticon's where it's at in terms of Isis, and obviously Paranoid is a piece of heavy metal history.
And there you have it. Another day, another round of questions. Got a suggestion for who I should grill next? Leave a comment, and then stay tuned!
So: who, or what, is Eidola? Why don't you read on to find out?
- LN: Why don’t we start by getting your name, what you play, and who you play it for.
Andrew: My name is Andrew Wells, I sing and play guitar for a band called Eidola from Salt Lake City, Utah.
- LN: Band nomenclature is a constant fascination to me, so I’m going to subject you to the same question I ask everybody: where did your name come from? You’ve got some stuff on your Facebook relating to the Greek word “eidolon”, but I’m wondering how you came to this as the source of your name?
Andrew: We went through hundreds of names when we started. We wanted something short and simple, but with some contextual weight to what we wanted to do as a project. Originally I wanted to name the band Jagannatha after a Hindu deity. One of the first songs we wrote together was entitled Eidola from the core semblance of multiple ideals being grouped together as an amalgamate. After a week of playing together and writing lyrics to that song we decided to swap the names. It just felt better that way and the lyrics ended up fitting much better under Jagannatha.
- LN: How did Eidola first come together?
Andrew: Eidola first started after my previous band Follow The Earth broke up, of which Brandon and James were both a part of. After a few weeks of writing by myself I met up with my old high school nemesis Matt Dommer and it was magic. Eventually we recruited James Johnson and Harold Riding to start mapping out songs and developing live show aesthetics. We recruited Zac Bryant (My Fair Fiend) and recorded a home demo 4-song EP. When Zac bounced to play in Sea Swallowed Us Whole we recruited Matt Hansen and fell in love. I had known that dude for years from multiple local bands and always admired his playing, so I asked him if he wanted to join up with us. Brandon and I are brothers, so we kept in contact for about a year after FTE broke up. When we signed to Blue Swan and started writing Degeneraterra I wanted to take the band to new heights and recruited him on guitar. The guy is insanely talented and we could not be more stoked to spend sweaty nights in the van with him.
- LN: Your music isn’t exactly overly technical, but it isn’t exactly simple either. Do any of you have any musical training, or are you all essentially self-taught?
Andrew: The definition of technicality is always funny to me because it's incredibly subjective! I think the reason we didn't do a lot of crazy shredding on The Great Glass Elephant was because we were really focused on creating a conceptual atmosphere and concentrated more on the dynamic elements than the mixed meter structures and polyrhythms. The new album's concept certainly called for much more technically inclined parts matching the dynamic elements and we're really excited to release it. A few of us are self-taught, and a couple of us have some formal training, so it creates an interesting balance.
- LN: You guys are from Utah, which is not necessarily somewhere those of us out here on the internet might think of as a hotbed of interesting music, heavy or otherwise. Prove us ignorant and narrow-minded and tell me about anybody cool I should know about from your neck of the woods.
Andrew: Hahaha that is the best way I've ever heard that phrased! Utah is surprisingly rich with talent. Whether you're looking for metal, indie-folk, pop, electro-hippie-jam-stank band music; Utah has got you covered. Cool bands I would recommend checking out? Visitors, Wearing Thin, Captives, Grass, I Am Designer and My Fair Fiend are all incredible bands that I would highly recommend looking into.
- LN: Like I said, I dig names, so I’m curious about the name of your latest record, Degeneterra. The meaning, so to speak, of that title might seem somewhat obvious, in an etymological sort of way, but I’m curious about what it means to you guys.
Andrew: So DegeneRAterra was a title we came up with when observing the scope of the album. We wanted to offer up something that really captured a conceptual piece that James and I had been refining for like six years. The original idea for the name came from the physics term for the third stage of the entropic cycle of the universe, The Degenerate Era. After a few weeks of kicking that name around I think it was Matt that suggested we bring the words together and add the extra "r" to add real world relevance to the term in an attempt to create something we hadn't really seen or heard before. Degeneraterra was the result, and we could not be more satisfied with that decision.
- LN: From what I can tell online, it looks like Degenterra is your second full-length album. How has the writing and recording of Degeneterra differed from that of The Great Glass Elephant?
Andrew: It was completely different! Without going into too many details the differences were stark. Writing for TGGE was pretty scattered and laid back, over the course of many months. Degeneraterra was a much more consolidated writing process with a very detailed conceptual basis in mind. I quit my job for six months and locked myself in my house to write, refine, re-write and demo out Degeneraterra. The Great Glass Elephant was recorded over the span of like seven months in various shady locations. It was done pretty much DIY with the help of a guy named Randy in Provo, UT. Degeneraterra was recorded at the incredible Pus Cavern in Sacramento with Josh and Will, so the experience was completely different. Will and Josh were hands on producers too, which we really liked, and the outcome is vastly different than anything we've done to this point.
- LN: How did you guys get hooked up with Will and Blue Swan Records?
Andrew: We got hooked up with Will through Sergio Medina of Stolas. We opened for Stolas on the "Living Creatures" tour and we just hit it off. I ended up giving them a copy of TGGE, word got back to Will and we had some lengthy talks. After a while of pre-pro demos being sent back and forth we worked out a deal, drove to Sac, and made an album.
- LN: You’re about to release Degeneterra this fall – what’s next? Maybe some touring?
Andrew: We are indeed! The wait has been arduous for a lot of people that have been with us from the start, but all good things come with time. We are working with Josh and Will to ensure this is the best release it can possibly be before we put it out. Once it's out there we want to tour as much as humanly possible. 400 shows a year? Yes please!
- LN: Speaking of touring, any plans to come north of the 49th? Canada – specifically eastern Ontario – would love to have you...
Andrew: I would absolutely love to come to Canada! If we can swing it, we'll be there in 2015 ;)
- LN: How about a few quick ones, like: Dance Gavin Dance or Secret Band?
Andrew: DGD fasho. Love me some Tilian and Tim. And now Aric from HTS has been killing it with them, so yeah. DGD.
- LN: Favourite Blue Swan labelmate?
Andrew: Stolas. We wouldn't be where we are without them. Plus, Sergio and I are pretty damn close. I would do anything for that guy.
- LN: Band you wish were a Blue Swan labelmate? (Hint hint, Will...)
Andrew: That's a tough one! If we're offering hints to Will, I would probably have to say my boys Visitors from SLC.
- LN: Favourite city or venue to play?
Andrew: SACRAMENTO! Hands down. We opened for Birds and HTS on a tour last summer and it was amazing. The crowd was insanely receptive and we loved every minute of it. Eidola has never played there, but Houston slays pretty hard. We would love to get out there and show Crimson Arrow and Mosaic Dream some love.
- LN: Worst tour or show story?
Andrew: Oh Jesus. . . There are a few. The worst tour story I have is way too long. Basically, we got stranded in Los Banos, CA on our way to Los Angeles. We took our van into the shop and the mechanics gave us some bull shit story and said it would be a week to get it fixed. We ended up renting a u-haul and towing the van, trailer, and gear to Vegas only to find out the fucking mechanics cut our breaks and fried our engine computer.
- LN: Now for a few of my standards: If you could make everyone stop what they’re doing and listen to one song right this minute, what song would it be?
Andrew: "Something" by Snarky Puppy. Lalah is one of the most talented singers I have ever heard. Her voice is mind blowing.
- LN: Dream Tour: who would you guys open for, or who would open for you?
Andrew: Dream tour for me would be: Deftones, Circa Survive, From Indian Lakes, Eidola. Hands down.
- LN: Almost done. What have you been listening to lately?
Andrew: Personally, I've been listening to a lot of Snarky Puppy, but I've always got a slew of artists on repeat. The new From Indian Lakes jams are incredible, Hail The Sun's new album "Wake" is one of the best records I've ever heard, and I'm extremely excited for the new Stolas jams.
- LN: Last one! What’s your favourite metal album of all time?
Andrew: Favorite metal album?! Too many to choose from! Probably Panopticon by ISIS or Paranoid by Black Sabbath. Both of those albums were what got me into heavy music in the first place and will always remain sacred in my heart.
As usual, my Jerry Springer-esque Final Thoughts before I wrap this one up:
- I know Eidola isn't a heavy-as-shit metal band, but Hindu deities = heavy-as-shit, metal band name-wise. Just saying.
- I don't know what I was expecting when I asked about Eidola's worst tour story, but somehow I'm not at all surprised to find that it involves the band's van. If I ever win a shitload of money in the lottery or something, I'm going to buy some bands some better vans.
- I'd see that tour, Andrew. Make it happen. ;-)
- Hail the Sun's new album Wake *is* pretty awesome. Methinks those guys have some more Songs of the Day in their future...
- Excellent choice of metal albums. Panopticon's where it's at in terms of Isis, and obviously Paranoid is a piece of heavy metal history.
And there you have it. Another day, another round of questions. Got a suggestion for who I should grill next? Leave a comment, and then stay tuned!
Thursday, 25 September 2014
Dance Gavin Dance - Pussy Vultures
I've mentioned Dance Gavin Dance a couple of times lately in passing -- featuring a song by heavier side project Secret Band, talking about a band or two on guitarist Will Swan's new Blue Swan label -- but it's been a while since DGD had a song featured.
Lucky for me then that they've just gotten around at last to releasing a promised B-side from the recording sessions for last year's Acceptance Speech. "Pussy Vultures" is equal parts big melody and high energy, and even though it's not quite as noodly as some of their work, it's still decidedly Dance Gavin Dance.
I'm sure there were reasons why this track didn't make the final cut, but honestly, for straight quality I'm digging on this more than some of the stuff that did make Acceptance Speech. It's that good, and more than anything else it makes me want a new DGD album. Make it happen boys.
Lucky for me then that they've just gotten around at last to releasing a promised B-side from the recording sessions for last year's Acceptance Speech. "Pussy Vultures" is equal parts big melody and high energy, and even though it's not quite as noodly as some of their work, it's still decidedly Dance Gavin Dance.
I'm sure there were reasons why this track didn't make the final cut, but honestly, for straight quality I'm digging on this more than some of the stuff that did make Acceptance Speech. It's that good, and more than anything else it makes me want a new DGD album. Make it happen boys.
Tuesday, 16 September 2014
Monday: Lizard Kingdom - Suture Babez
Just now I was talking about Secret Band as a heavier spin on the style of Dance Gavin Dance, both in the sense that it's sonically similar to DGD and in the sense that it's actually the members of said band. But let's say you'd thrown all those elements in a blender -- DGD's style of post-hardcore, done a little heavier, maybe a little weirder or more out there -- and gotten Secret Band, and then gone "meh" and hit puree again.
That kind of bold "what if-ery" might result in San Jose's Lizard Kingdom, an experimental post-hardcore four-piece that's got some of that Dance Gavin Dance noodleyness in with the rest of its spazzy, jazzy melange. So maybe if Secret Band wasn't your jam, Lizard Kingdom will be. Have a listen to "Suture Babez" from the recently-released Back to the Suture EP just to make sure.
That kind of bold "what if-ery" might result in San Jose's Lizard Kingdom, an experimental post-hardcore four-piece that's got some of that Dance Gavin Dance noodleyness in with the rest of its spazzy, jazzy melange. So maybe if Secret Band wasn't your jam, Lizard Kingdom will be. Have a listen to "Suture Babez" from the recently-released Back to the Suture EP just to make sure.
Sunday: Secret Band - Meat Fetish
It was a bit of a lazy weekend here at Loud Noises HQ, hence my being behind by a couple of days. But we're going to get you nice and caught up today, and on top of that I promise that I wasn't slacking off 100% over the weekend -- I've got a few irons in the fire that I'm working away on, so stay tuned for those.
In the meantime, however, let's get right to all that catching up, shall we? Starting with Secret Band, which you can be forgiven for not having heard about. It was a secret, after all, apparently from then-Dance Gavin Dance clean singer Jonny Craig.I guess with Craig gone, Secret Band is a secret no more.
In essence, Secret Band is Dance Gavin Dance with no clean singing, but the riffing is a little more out there and the "core" is almost a little mathy. If you don't dig DGD at all, then chances are you won't like Secret Band (surprise!). But if ever a DGD song tickled your fancy and you wished it could be just a little bit heavier, have a listen to "Meat Fetish", the opening track from Secret Band's self-titled debut, and see if that's the flavour you're looking for.
In the meantime, however, let's get right to all that catching up, shall we? Starting with Secret Band, which you can be forgiven for not having heard about. It was a secret, after all, apparently from then-Dance Gavin Dance clean singer Jonny Craig.I guess with Craig gone, Secret Band is a secret no more.
In essence, Secret Band is Dance Gavin Dance with no clean singing, but the riffing is a little more out there and the "core" is almost a little mathy. If you don't dig DGD at all, then chances are you won't like Secret Band (surprise!). But if ever a DGD song tickled your fancy and you wished it could be just a little bit heavier, have a listen to "Meat Fetish", the opening track from Secret Band's self-titled debut, and see if that's the flavour you're looking for.
Sunday, 24 August 2014
Stolas - Solunar
I've written about post-hardcore band Stolas before, but they've got a new record coming out (on none other than Blue Swan) so it's high time they got another day in the spotlight.
"Solunar", the first song to be released from the forthcoming Allomaternal, is a bit of a step up from material off the band's previous record Living Creatures. It's not worlds different, but it's tighter, more energetic, fleeter-fingered. More of the same, but done better.
Of course, this means that if you didn't dig their style of post-hardcore before, you probably still won't be interested. But it also means that if you're a fan of old Stolas, or Hail the Sun from the other day, or even a little Dance Gavin Dance really, then you should find a lot to like in what we've heard so far of the new Stolas material. Go see which camp you're in right now.
"Solunar", the first song to be released from the forthcoming Allomaternal, is a bit of a step up from material off the band's previous record Living Creatures. It's not worlds different, but it's tighter, more energetic, fleeter-fingered. More of the same, but done better.
Of course, this means that if you didn't dig their style of post-hardcore before, you probably still won't be interested. But it also means that if you're a fan of old Stolas, or Hail the Sun from the other day, or even a little Dance Gavin Dance really, then you should find a lot to like in what we've heard so far of the new Stolas material. Go see which camp you're in right now.
Wednesday, 20 August 2014
Hail the Sun - Human Target Practice
Everybody should know by now that I dig Dance Gavin Dance, whose guitarist Will Swan runs a little record label called Blue Swan Records.
What does this have to do with today's song, "Human Target Practice", from California post-hardcore band Hail the Sun? The band's forthcoming debut LP Wake is due to be released in September on Blue Swan, that's what! There's a bit of sonic similarity here too, if you ask me: Hail the Sun sounds a little like the energy and riffiness of Dance Gavin Dance fronted by the vocal range and style of, say, Anthony Green from Circa Survive and The Sound of Animals Fighting.
Sound like a tasty combination? It is, at least for this bearded cat. I for one will most definitely be paying attention to this one when it drops.
What does this have to do with today's song, "Human Target Practice", from California post-hardcore band Hail the Sun? The band's forthcoming debut LP Wake is due to be released in September on Blue Swan, that's what! There's a bit of sonic similarity here too, if you ask me: Hail the Sun sounds a little like the energy and riffiness of Dance Gavin Dance fronted by the vocal range and style of, say, Anthony Green from Circa Survive and The Sound of Animals Fighting.
Sound like a tasty combination? It is, at least for this bearded cat. I for one will most definitely be paying attention to this one when it drops.
Wednesday, 23 July 2014
Eidola - Going Nowhere
If I had to pick a genre umbrella under which to stick today's band (which I guess I don't, but I'm still going to see this intro through...) I'd go with post-hardcore. But don't let that vague, vanilla terminology dissuade you from discovering a pretty interesting listen in Eidola.
Snappy energy, vocal harmonies and acrobatics, a smidgen of atmospheric post-progaliciousness even -- Eidola's debut LP The Great Glass Elephant reminds me a little of Death Before Disco or even Dance Gavin Dance, if perhaps a tad less... emo than either.
Have a listen to "Going Nowhere" from 2012's Glass Elephant and get into an Eidola mood, then come await the band's new album Degeneraterra with me, because this could be one very tasty sophomore record.
Snappy energy, vocal harmonies and acrobatics, a smidgen of atmospheric post-progaliciousness even -- Eidola's debut LP The Great Glass Elephant reminds me a little of Death Before Disco or even Dance Gavin Dance, if perhaps a tad less... emo than either.
Have a listen to "Going Nowhere" from 2012's Glass Elephant and get into an Eidola mood, then come await the band's new album Degeneraterra with me, because this could be one very tasty sophomore record.
Tuesday, 15 October 2013
Dance Gavin Dance - Doom & Gloom
Metal purists and elitists alike beware: the following post may induce fits of shouting "fucking scene kid" at your monitor. Please refrain from doing so in public places.
So you should all know by now that I dig post-hardcore noodlers Dance Gavin Dance, and you should similarly know that I've been looking forward to their new album Acceptance Speech since I discovered it was in the works more or less by accident a month or two ago. Now that I've had some time to digest it, I've decided that while the self-titled album or Happiness are still vying for the title of my favourite DGD record, Acceptance Speech is at the very least as good as their last couple of outings.
Of course, if you fall into one of the categories I warned above, I doubt any amount of recommending on my part will change your mind about Dance Gavin Dance. But the open-minded among you purists and elitists, as well as the rest of all you general readers out there, just might dig "Doom & Gloom" from the aforementioned new album Acceptance Speech. It's got some heavyness to it while still retaining DGD's noodly, jangly melodicism. And that riff at about 2:10 ain't too shabby either.
So you should all know by now that I dig post-hardcore noodlers Dance Gavin Dance, and you should similarly know that I've been looking forward to their new album Acceptance Speech since I discovered it was in the works more or less by accident a month or two ago. Now that I've had some time to digest it, I've decided that while the self-titled album or Happiness are still vying for the title of my favourite DGD record, Acceptance Speech is at the very least as good as their last couple of outings.
Of course, if you fall into one of the categories I warned above, I doubt any amount of recommending on my part will change your mind about Dance Gavin Dance. But the open-minded among you purists and elitists, as well as the rest of all you general readers out there, just might dig "Doom & Gloom" from the aforementioned new album Acceptance Speech. It's got some heavyness to it while still retaining DGD's noodly, jangly melodicism. And that riff at about 2:10 ain't too shabby either.
Monday, 23 September 2013
Song of the Day: Dance Gavin Dance - Tree Village
Lots of albums I'm excited for coming out in the next month or so, including the latest record from today's band.
Saturday, 27 April 2013
Song of the Day: Stolas - Medusa
I pride myself on being able to bring you new stuff every once in a while, stuff that you hopefully haven't heard yet and that you might get a kick out of. It's not every day that I find something new and cool, but I'm always pleased when I can. Today is one of those days.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)