**PLEASE READ THE BOTTOM FIRST**
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Antlers - S/T (Rorschach Records)
Richmond is fertile ground for punk bands. And they tend to be good ones at that. Really good. Rorschach Records also has a roster stock full of them. Not even overwhelmingly so. They seem to have carefully chosen bands that create some sort of community. Communal living style. A sonic punk commune. A few select bands with a variety of takes on a single genre. It all fits together nicely like something maybe only Dischord and few others could claim. And thats kinda where Antlers makes a lot of sense in this scheme of things. Comprised of a slew of prolific musicians, Antlers creates a community with their sounds. Something to rally around and something to sit down reflectively with, like a good friend you have had, sharing both rousing and quiet moments in the passing of time (or maybe you party all the time, and damn it good for you.) Antlers and Rorschach have a very good set up going on right now and it would be a shame if more people werent looking for that kind of community in their daily goings on.
Failures - S/T (Clean Plate)
When I first heard Failures it was live at ABC No Rio earlier this spring. I saw Will from Ampere/Orchid hanging around and thought maybe Ampere was going to play too. They werent on the bill, though it seemed appropriate. Brainworms played along with ...Who Calls So Loud and Apeshit! and a band called Failures, whom I was just about to witness. Will went up to stage and picked up the guitar and was joined by 3 people who werent in Ampere. What happened next not only made my jaw drop straight to the floor, my jaw then actually crashed right through the shitty busted floors of ABC No Rio. I witnessed CHUDS lurking underneath making screenprinted patches and upon opening their murky ceiling with my unhinged jaw, they pounced up and wreaked intense havoc in the tiny ground floor of poor ABC No Rio. They flipped some guys peanuts in the crowd and when the pitch of the music revved up even fast, Wills fingers burning on the fret board, mid hop, they even began chewing on the innocent bystanders. What started as good punk lovin fun ended in a bloodbath of victims that never knew what hit them...
Actually it was just Mark McCoy completely freaking the fuck out. It was still quite an awesome and energetic sight, comparable to that of twenty or so CHUDS ripping down your entire house around you and then eating your face to boot.
Suis La Lune - Heir 10"(Ape Must Not Kill Ape / Release The Bats / Escucha)
Suis La Lune makes me smile everytime I put them on. A sort of knowing smirk to myself. This is mostly due to that fact that I didnt find them that appealing at first. I still wonder how or why to this day I didnt eat it up right away, and there in lies part of the smirk. At this point I would have to say they have become one of my favorite things to listen to for about 2 years now. The other part of the smirk lies in the simple fact that they remind of so many good things. Memories of my favorite songs, tapes made for friends, walks on breezy days, and some kind of unnamed appreciation for the little things, be it a knowing glance or a certain progression of sounds and tempos that enliven and invigorate at the same time, and in the most welcoming of ways. Suis La Lune means more than either they know or I know. Theirs is something innate, encoded in their music, and daring you to recognize your own pulse and your own primal sense to not just live, but live greatly and passionately, with critical yet loving care and a raucous sense of when to veer the whole ship into reckless abandonment.
(US citizens should order from Escucha for better shipping)
Timber - s/t 7" (Something Crucial)
Timber is another band from the fertile crescent of Revolution Summer inspired punk, residing somewhere near the mason dixon line in Maryland. Timber supposedly only got together as a project between some friends that were home from school and if thats the case than it is one of the finer and more convincing of projects I have heard. Sharing much in common with their regional brethren both current and times past, Timber display a deft balance of some of more urgent sounds from that area. It reminds me of a mix of Brainworms and Stop It!! but with a punkier Dag Nasty element to it. Its anthemic, its fast and its melodic as hell. I only wish we were guaranteed to see more from these talented young folks. I tossed in their demo which is pretty sick. You can grab the 7" for $4 ppd from their site
Young Widows - Old Wounds (Temporary Residence ltd.)
This shit right here folks, is one of the finest records I have heard in a fat chunk of time. I feel like this record will go down as one of my favorite records of all time in fact. There is nearly nothing I dont like about this record. From the first song a progression of sparse, cold instrumentation and dry apathetic lyrics introduces the record, teasing you with drum rolls and fills, before igniting all cylinders and chugging right over your measly human form. The second track doesnt let up either, fiercely dropping you into a psychotic blues stomp before tossing you back and forth again. It is seriously one of the best one two punch openings I can think of. (both tracks one and two are present here). The rest of the record displays such a variety of sounds, amazingly played and unbelievably recorded, so much so that I am at a loss as to how to accurately paint a picture to you the listener. Suffice to say that I believe Steve Albini would even like this record.. So would David Yow. I hope youre catching my drift and I can only add that this record and these three individuals (only 3!) offer so much more in the way of intensely created and played songs than that statement could dare to suggest. Go get this shit, at all costs and listen to it from start to finish. Dont talk to me if you dont like it, just move along. I wont be having it.
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Well, if you came here first, thanks. First off, dont bother downloading each file, they are all one file with everything clearly labeled in their proper folders. Secondly, I formatted it like this for aesthetic reasons. I felt a block of type wasnt very enticing. At least "please read below first" is intriguing, at best. Moving on...
In the recent years, records have been bought by the dozen. My old habits of procuring aurally and visually exciting material has risen to equal the youthful enthusiasm I once had for the format. I figure some of you still enjoy purchasing music these days and maybe you want to know but cant check all the avenues for details on something of particular interest. Maybe you already have a place that could place you 'in the know' on your latest musical craze. Maybe the internet is just too damn big and it never hurts to hear praise of something good from sources you trust, en masse. Maybe its because I was going to write about it anyway.
To entice any new listeners I have included portions of the records (or EPs in some cases). I basically dont want to deprive hardworking bands of all their chances of income. In all cases each record is as fantastic as the part displayed. And the artwork on all the albums is very great (Especially the Antlers LP). These are no parlour tricks to generate income. This is an appreciative nod to those who inspire, and not just musically, but artistically, ethically and enjoyably so.
