Band of the Week - Playing Enemy

"I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN..." scrapes through the throat of Demian Johnston as Playing Enemy's second full length album, I Was Your City, begins with a noisy guitar and bass, yet drum-less, intro track.  Sure, we've all thought these words, we've probably even heard them in many songs before.  However, this isn't your typical angsty hardcore band with trite hate-filled lyrics.  You see, even though Playing Enemy broke up nearly 5 years ago, they were already veterans having come from bands like Undertow, Rorschach, Nineironspitfire, and, most notably, Kiss It Goodbye.  At this point, if these guys are still angry about something there's a pretty good chance it's legitimate.  Also, Johnston's scream isn't some cackle that is so overproduced and contrived that it doesn't sound human.  No, his scream is about as raw and honest as you'll ever hear.  He's not screaming like it's some effect that goes along with the music, he's screaming like if he wasn't holding a guitar he'd be holding a fistful of your shirt and he's going to make you listen.

As album opener "Cancer" fades, "Jade" rushes in with guns blazing.  Noisy speedy punk riffs ride over some of the most creative and complicated drumming you will ever hear.  Dude sounds like he's playing 3 songs at once.  I Was Your City is Shane Mehling's first Playing Enemy full length on bass and rather than play a supporting role to Johnston's strumming, Shane battles each riff as the low end combatant.  These guys are too smart to be angsty.  This is raw passion by guys with dues paid and lessons learned. On "The End of Something" (which boasts a melodic riff that still gives me chills) when he belts out, "With all that I gave up/With all I would give up/Sure, I'll go with you/Sure, I'll leave with you/I bet we look good together" it's the raspy vocals that actually give validity and meaning to his words.

Where they started: 2001's Cesarean

Where you should start: Cesarean certainly is the more Kiss It Goodbye sounding record Playing Enemy released, maybe because every member on that album was in KIG at some point.  I favor I Was Your City (if that wasn't already obvious) and I really like their posthumous EP My Life As the Villain.  Playing Enemy also released a number of splits, self-released tour CD's (aptly named Gas Money and Fly Us Home), and EP's, one of which contains a great cover of The Beatles' "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" and another track that's over an hour long (yes, they still called it an EP).  If either Cesarean or I Was Your City strikes you, it's definitely worth sifting through all of their material to find the many gems that aren't on proper records.

Essential Song:


Essential Live Video:


Some Other Stuff: It's all pretty rad, but it gets ridiculous at 1:50


Some Other Stuff They Do Now: I Know Demian Johnston does some solo stuff, as well as working with Shane Mehling on some noise stuff, or at least used to.  Demian is also one of my favorite artists and posts a lot of his work here www.demianjohnston.com. Shane writes reviews for Decibel Magazine and they're easily the funniest music reviews you will ever read.  Also, during Botch's final show members of PE joined Botch on stage to contribute to the madness during "Man the Ramparts."

Song of the Week: Ambulette - If You Go Away

Something a little different this week since a) nobody actually reads this which leads us to b) who cares?  "If You Go Away" is actually somewhat of a cover of a cover.  The song was originally written in French by Belgian Jacques Brel under the title "Ne me quitte pas" ("Don't Leave Me").  The English version based on "Ne me quitte pas" was written by Rod McKuen. The song has been recorded by Neil Diamond, Frank Sinatra, Tom Jones, Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, among many others.  All of this you may know.

What Ambulette is able to bring to their version of the song that the other legendary artists weren't (all of which I listened to) is a haunting weight to the despair.  And it really isn't fair because Ambulette is armed with the gently wailing apparition that is Maura Davis (Denali, Glös).  Her voice glides through and hits you with such honest sadness that it feels as if she wrote the song herself.  As Maura strums through the first few versus on her own the rest of Ambulette quietly starts their crescendo adding a certain heaviness (of the indie rock variety) to "If You Go Away."  A few "Oooooo's" and "Whoa's" to close the song out and you're left with a penetrating plea that would be pretty hard to turn away from if she was on your dimly lit porch singing it straight to you. Unfortunately, Ambulette (originally dubbed Bella Lea) had a very short existence only releasing one EP, The Lottery, with Astralwerks.

Essential Song (probably because it's the very song I'm talking about):


Fun facts: Poison the Well's song "For a Bandaged Iris" is about Maura's voice.  She is the sister of Engine Down vocalist/guitarist Keeley Davis.  The two have collaborated on a few different projects which brings me to this:

Some other sweet song Maura sings on:

Band of the Week - Bad Mask

Since 2000's masterpiece We Are the Romans, there have been a slew of bands interested in recreating Botch's style.  If any artist is ever sincerely compared to the metalcore (yeah, I hate that word, too, but what are you gonna do?) legends then you know they've got talent and chops.  If they're able to mold the style and make it their own, then you know they've got something worth listening to.

Bad Mask are your boys. Twisting angular riffs, complicated competent drumming, odd time signatures, and even some patented Knudson slide effects wind their way across each relentless song these guys noodle through.  The vocals are actually similar to those of the band Fall Silent, but if you don't know who that is then just think of a higher pitched Some Girls-era Wes Eisold scream with a few clean parts that call to mind Alexis Marshall's drunken slurring on Daughters' Hell Songs. There's some lower bellows thrown in, as well, but honestly, those seem to work better live than on record. Regardless, Bad Mask bring back late 90's integrity to the genre, writing serious songs that are seriously good and avoid any of the trite metalcore (Dang it! There it is again) formulas.

www.facebook.com/badmask

Where they started: 2010's V2

Were you should start: They only have the 2; V2 and Strange Phrases and they're both available for free on the band's bandcamp site (http://badmask.bandcamp.com/) so why not get both? 


Essential Song:


Essential Live Video: Can't really find a high quality one, so deal


I actually found out about this band as they were getting trashed on the Lambgoat.com message board, but if anyone gave any merit to any opinion that vomits itself out on that site then none of us would be listening to anything.

Band of the Week - Duck Duck Goose

All too often with the music I have come to adore (because I have the musical integrity of a high school brat) there is the unfortunate occurrence that I may introduce a band that has met an untimely demise before you get your waxy, grimy little ears on them.  More likely, I'll drop the ball and not accidentally stumble across a band like Barstow CA's Duck Duck Goose until it's too late to enjoy them while they're still producing music and silly antics.  Now, I'm sure I'm like you. I see a daffy name like Duck Duck Goose (get it?) and completely over look a band who toured with the likes of Poison the Well until the day it's played through the speakers without me being able to see the name first.  Then it becomes clear why they would brand themselves with such a moniker: it's just fun, frenetic, fast and once you get past a certain age you should feel ridiculous for still liking it, but you kind of don't care.

It's apparent that these kids have mastered describing themselves as simply as possible when they name their first EP Noise, Noise, and More Noise.  I refuse to be that guy who promotes a band for something as inane as breakdowns in this genre because that's not a "guy." That's a kid.  I think it's over done and, quite frankly, a cheap ploy to lure in simpletons.  Consider me baited.  With tons of overdrive effects, Duck Duck Goose race through their dissonant crashes that bring to mind March on Electric Children-era The Blood Brothers with Last Night in Town-era Every Time I Die (you know, before ETID got raped by Lynyrd Skynyrd and started producing southern fried hardcore), but more fun.

There's rarely a sign of any formulaic song structure, which, of course, is pretty common for chaotic metal/hardcore. Few discernible verses, no choruses, and lots of off time starts and stops mixed with goofy riffs. When DDG throw their hair back and assume the crab position to go for the half-time head nods that often plague this genre? Yeah, they don't reach for the chug-squeee pit fall. Nope, their breakdowns sound less like Opposite of December and more reminiscent of Me and Him Call It Us. You know, like they're raising every appliance in the kitchen above their heads and slamming it on to a concrete floor? The recording certainly captures this onslaught well. As soon as the shrapnel starts to spray, vocalist Davey Ribera screeches (not unlike an aforementioned Buckley/Whitney combo) "PANIC FUELS THE CROWD" and you can tell he really hopes so.  Of course, the staying power of a borderline joke band performing in a genre that's already kind of a borderline joke is very hindered, but Duck Duck Goose made it enjoyable.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Duck-Duck-Goose/133599036659691

Where they started: 2008's Noise, Noise, and More Noise EP


Where you should start: Sporting just an EP and one full length, might as well check out both.  Noise... is the more breakdown heavy of the 2 and has the better production value as well as being the chunkier release.  However, Off Yourself does show the band maturing a little (as mature as a band like this can be, anyway) and throws in some clean vocals which certainly adds another layer to the chaos.

Essential Song:



Essential Live Video:



Some other stuff: