Isaac Hurt - Post-rock from New Jersey. A mostly instrumental band that sounds like a mixture of Explosions in the Sky and Russian Circles. There are some sparse vocal moments ala Mogwai, but Isaac Hurt pushes them more to the forefront of the song rather than lower in the mix. Members have also played in Fight Amp.
p.s. All of the bands posted in the last week or so are bands that Scrape and Scatter Media is working with to get a vast majority of their material out there, which is for the most part unreleased or released at a very limited capacity.
The Glasses Otter - Best described by Kerrang! as “alternative noisecore” the Otter has every finger and every toe in a separate pool of aggressive abrasive music. Guitars have the alternative rock feel, a little Glassjaw post-hardcore with the tight heaviness of The Minor Times, and the timing precision of The Dillinger Escape Plan. The drumming is a non-stop onslaught that hints towards a Ben Koller of Converge influence and the unhinged vocals spiral through every level of a manic depressive asylum patient. Check the facebook page for a completely mutilated Thrice cover.
Bear - Bizarre, erratic, carnival-esque metal from Asheville, NC. They have that similar eerie amusement park feel as Radiation4, with some of the technical aspects of The Dillinger Escape Plan, and when it’s straightened out for the heavy head nodding trudges, the slower parts of Some Girls and Botch come to mind. The schizophrenia of it all is reminiscent of The Sawtooth Grin. Vocals are a combination of SG’s Wes Eisold and the first DEP singer, Dimitri. Scrape and Scatter is currently working with Bear to get a couple of demos and an unreleased EP recorded at Jamie King’s Basement Studio (Between the Buried and Me) out to the public.
Pygmy - Jazzy, mathy, under-appreciated indie rock from Miami, FL. Almost as technical as The Dillinger Escape Plan, but lighthearted and avant-garde enough to be compared to The Flaming Lips. Maybe like a more quirky Faraquet. It just has to be heard. Leaving very little space for classic patterns, the vocalist creates well thought out verses for the technical parts and doesn’t waste an opportunity when the music finally does straighten out to belt out catchy melodies. A lot of songs contain an interesting instrumental emotional dive into jazz influenced indie rock before frolicking back into the more upbeat moments. Although an indie band, the live show did contain a DEP or even At the Drive-In intensity to it.
Members have gone on to form the bands The Down Home Southernaires and Animal Tropical as well as solo projects Can’t Stop and Adames.
The Franklin Cover Up - Party Like It's 1989 by scrapescatter
The Franklin Cover Up - Boise, ID Sociopolitical punk/metal band taking their name from a non-fiction book of the same name divulging a child prostitution ring that is said to have involved many higher-ups in Washington. Expect lyrics that cover that very subject, as well as topical lyrics about other issues plaguing our nation. Expect the tunes to sound similar to Refused, Botch, and Every Time I Die. The new EP was released today and is available for free at http://thefranklincoverup.bandcamp.com/
Members have gone on to be in other Boise heavyweights Bone Dance and BLACKCLOUD
Kings of Prussia - Experimental instrumental metal with an electronic influence from Asheville, NC by way of Miami, FL. Think if Pink Floyd, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Nine Inch Nails, and Radiohead collaborated to score a zombie movie soundtrack.
Masters of the Side 1 Track 1 intro. Every release opens with a distant static-y guitar lazily building into an explosion of heavy music as Brendan McAndrew never fails to scream the word "fuck" in the first line; "I'd like to see you word fuck your way out of this." to the more anthemic (as you'll see below) "Fuck me? No, fuck you." to "Turn up the fucking static." (I usually try to edit this and keep it clean, but not this week). Yeah, I know, that sounds like some angsty Korn junk that would attract mall dwellers that swoon for any kind of foul language in music. I've usually clung to the notion that using "fuck" in lyrics is a cheap ploy to attract the forever present angry youth demographic. However, The Minor Times are a lot more clever and way more frightening than that. These aren't gimmicks to lure in the simple minded. It's an alert to warn you about the aural altercation you're about to endure. So put up your dukes because it's too late to talk your way out of this one.
This isn't a prize fight either, it's a sweaty basement near Philly in August. So forget the bells and whistles. In fact, The Minor Times kind of sound like Botch without the bells and whistles. The relentless heavy churning feels a little like Kiss It Goodbye, and a few off beat starts and stops to give a nod to tech metal. Where The Minor Times stand out are the more subtle aspects; lumbering smooth groove and a keen songwriting ability. So many heavy bands try to find a niche, but usually are more successful (assuming they're successful at all) at finding a schtick instead. Lost on the instant gratification generation is the ability to lead into a song (mentioned above), pulverize and smoothly transition into the next phrase without losing force, pace, or attention. All the while still being able to surprise the listener and keep it fresh even with multiple listens. It's a good thing, too because when Mr. McAndrew changed his vocals from the higher pitched screams on the first EP (and a couple of compilation songs) to the more guttural Turmoil-esque tough guy bellows on the full lengths, it was TMT's songwriting ability that kept me interested. It's what separates them from similar sounding acts like Achilles and Engineer. Not that those bands are bad, but The Minor Times are just more crafty. Drummer, Brian Medlin's refusal to use a double bass pedal was also an impressive move and certainly the road less traveled in the realm of heavy music in the last decade. Medlin is a madman behind the kit, too, often sounding like he's perfectly copy and pasted a tech metal drum session under these thick grooves.
Back before the whole social media age, people used to spam message boards with their mp3.com link... um, myspace link? Hopefully, you remember at least one of those. Anyway, I was on one of these message boards when one of The Minor Times members posted their band's link. I quickly clicked to listen so that I could, no doubt, ridicule this silly spammer and tell him just how awful his band was. I suspect it was about a year later when I was making the 5 hour drive to see The Minor Times with Ed Gein. Couple that with the fact that The Minor Times frontman joined Ed Gein for a crowd pleasing rendition of Coalesce's "You Can't Kill Us All" and it was all worth the 5 hour drive back that same night. Of course, The Minor Times are no more and members went on to be in Person L, Wives, and Ladder Devils to name a few. Most of the members of The Minor Times came from a band called Inkling which was kind of similar, but incorporated a lot more singing and softer parts.
Where They Started: 2002's Chris Chambers Never Misses EP
Where You Should Start: It's very hard for me to recommend a 5 song EP over a couple of full lengths unless it is absolutely phenomenal. And that's where we're at. Definitely dive into the EP. I love the higher pitched vocals. They also have 2 songs on a Robotic Empire sampler that also feature that vocal style, but were later reworked and rerecorded with the deeper vocals for the debut full length. I'm not saying the full lengths aren't worth getting... eventually. If you like those deeper vocals then by all means go with one of the full lengths.
Essential Song: I would be remiss if I didn't include all of their Side 1 Track 1's
Essential Live Video: Has to be the crowd favorite. People just like to say "fuck."
Pop music is evil. I don't mean in the "destroying the industry" sense, but more in an infectious disease kind of way. Especially when the band is initially masked as something else. You're lured in with clever and unique drumming and a darker chord progression than what you were expecting and now you're captivated. However, the singer kicks in and, though good and intriguing, it's the kind of vocals where you just think to yourself that he's obviously trying to garner some mainstream attention. You're hit with the chorus and there it is; the 4/4 drum beat and recognizable, yet forgettable riff and catchy vocal pattern. Then you black out and when you come to, you're whistling the chorus as you walk out of your room, or car, or mom's basement only to run back and press play again for the 18th time in the last hour (slightly over 3 minutes per song, the perfect pop length). You're hooked (yes, that's where the term comes from) and you couldn't be happier about your slow demise into the realm of pop music.
Although the above scenario is what happened to me when I first heard These City Limits, I don't mean to criticize their pop sensibilities. Their songs are anything, but forgettable and the vocals, though more accessible than most music I listen to, are definitely the most infectious part of the songs. Having been a privy to guitarist/vocalist Randy Vanderbilt's musical output since the inception of his first band, Scarlet (back then they were called Blindfold Coalition and he was the drummer), I've been able to follow the growth of his musical genius through the years. These City Limits have a sound that is similar to The Dear Hunter, and though they have that prog rock kind of feel, they don't really stray too far from the verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus song structure hinting at a Muse influence. Vanderbilt's vocals are reminiscent of the aforementioned bands and when the choruses come in, the melodies sound like Finch's later material. What sets These City Limits apart from those bands and other artists skirting the boundaries between pop and rock is that Randy hasn't completely abandoned that dark Scarlet guitar tone. A few of TCL's riffs would have fit right in with Cult Classic. Even the lyrics have similar apocalyptic themes. It leaves These City Limits' music fresh without alienating the casual listener.
Where They Started: From what I can tell, they're a relatively new band with just one demo. Fellow Scarlet alumn, Andreas Magnussen, mixed and mastered the recordings.
Where You Should Start: It's not quite the same, but I really like Scarlet and if you like These City Limits at all you should kind of move backwards through Scarlet's catalog since their last record, This Was Always Meant To Fall Apart, did have the most singing on it. It's all good to me, though.
Essential Song: Listen to the whole demo below. The first 2 songs are definitely my favorites.
So I used to be pretty consistent with the (whatever) of the week posts, but obviously (to me) I’ve fallen off. I could blame some of it on a move halfway across the country… so I will. Also, I have quite a bit of albums that I haven’t listened to in full. So, in order to give them all a fair shake without getting bored and forcing myself to listen to records I’m not in the mood for I have decided to listen to every single song I have in alphabetical order. Kind of like listening on a predetermined shuffle just to assure myself that I actually do listen to all of the songs in my library. I did this once about 4 years ago. I was able to listen to my whole library in just under three months. Well, I’m currently just under 3 months and I’m only approaching the end of D. Not like I don’t allow myself some wiggle room; songs I just have to hear, new material I’m really interested in, iPod listens, etc. However, when I do tackle something like this my slight OCD kicks in and it’s hard to pull me away, thus the lull in actually sitting down and listening to a band’s catalog in order to formulate a new post here. I know you weren’t interested in an explanation, but you got one anyway, buddy.
