For The Crown - Demo 2001

First off, a big THANK YOU to Insane Sasquatch on Last.FM for helping me find a download of this. I have been (unsuccessfully) searching the interwebs for this demo forfuckingever since I lost it and I am now at peace knowing I have these songs once again.

For The Crown were a west coast band and come to think of it, I don't think they actually ever made it out this way to my neck of the woods on the east coast. If they did then I am an idiot for not going to see them but I am pretty sure they didn't. Regardless, I never regretfully never saw them. I remember learning of them through the InStrife message board in 2001 when the guitarist's (I think?) brother used to post on there and mentioned this band. I do recall the dude who posted on the board was named Nate. I instantly fell in love with the music. Musically, it reminded me a little of Reach The Sky at the time without being a carbon copy of them. I very much enjoy the full length they put out a few years after this but I always felt the vocals were much better on this demo. "Counting Footsteps" was one of my favorite songs for a very long time and I am happy I can listen to this over and over again.

Check it out and hopefully someone will enjoy this demo half as much as I do.

DL HERE!!

So I know it is quite early, but here is my top 10 for 2009 so far...

Like I said, I am aware this is kind of premature but I kind of felt like jotting down my top ten releases of the year so far and seeing if and how much it really changes by December 31st.

1. Touche Amore - ...To the Beat of a Dead Horse
2. Iron Age - The Sleeping Eye
3. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - S/T Full Length
4. Pulling Teeth - Paranoid Delusions/Paradise Illusions
5. Jay-Z - Blueprint 3
6. Incendiary - Crusade
7. Government Warning - Paranoid Mess
8. P.O.S. - Never Better
9. Shadows Fall - Retribution
10. Municipal Waste - Massive Aggressive/Every Time I Die - New Junk Aesthetic TIE


This is a list excluding and EPs or demos.

I KNOW Another Breath - The God Complex would be on top of the list but since it hasn't been released yet (and I don't know when the fuck it will be) I have excluded that from this list as well. Sadly, Polar Bear Club probably will not make it this year but they were close as is Trapped Under Ice and The Black Dahlia Murder. I still haven't listened to the new Brother Ali, Converge, Strike Anywhere, Rise and Fall, Lewd Acts, Raekwon or Ghostface releases yet so I don't know if they will make it into the top ten.

Have Heart - Live at CBGB

Live set from 2005 I believe. The closed with an Inside Out cover. Always delicious.

I am going to miss this band...a lot.

DOWNLOAD HERE!!

Bad Secrets

Evan Patterson of The National Acrobat/Black Widows/Breather Resist/Young Widows fame returns with his new side project with Dan Davis of Kodan Armada, Bad Secrets. This 9" record was just released on Robotic Empire.

Similar to the work Evan has been churning out with Young Widows, but with a much more stripped down approach. Using only drums, guitars and vocals, the duo blends elements of drone, country, shoegaze and post-punk/hardcore on this record and recorded the whole thing on a four track cassette, which adds to the lo-fi aesthetic elements of this record.

I find this record to function well as both background music and something to attentively listen to.

Decide for yourself.

*Dudes got mad, link removed*

buy / listen

Favorite Track: Lay Down

Rating: 7 Out Of 10

Horror Show - The Holiday EP

Final release from one of the only good things to come from Philadelphia. I kid, I kid. But really, they are one of the few awesome things to come from that place. Fuck the Phillies.

PS - I JUST ripped this 7" into mp3 format and I didn't tag it properly and I also didn't bother to clean it up very much, so if you don't like all the crackles and all that jazz in there, I apologize.


Favorite Track: One For The Angels

DOWNLOAD HERE!!

Nightmares For A Week - A Flood Tomorrow

Nightmares For A Week is a three-piece punk/folk-rock band from Kingston, New York and right now they are currently among my three favorite locals (along with Document and Dead Channels). This band consisting of ex-members of Jerk Magnet/Ana Divine strays far from that mid-to-late 90's pop-punk sound and focuses more on a twangy guitar-driven country approach to punk rock. With the Jawbreaker influence blatantly obvious (what, you couldn't tell from the name of the band?), they also draw influences from the likes of older Against Me!, Lucero and Hot Water Music while still focusing in and delivering on a sound I would like to think as their own. This five-song EP showcases some of their best songs while at the same time leaving the listener anxious to hear what this band has in store next. If you dig what you hear, take a trip to their Myspace page and pick up a copy of the cd.

Favorite Track: Tour Song

DOWNLOAD HERE!!

Texas Blind

There were a few dudes from my area who had a band...or still have a band. They always used to remind me of At The Drive-In...or maybe they still remind me of ATDI. They haven't played a show in forever and PROBABLY SHOULD GET ON THAT SOON.

Anyway, I present you all of this bands recorded material. Texas Blind is RIYL At The Drive-In, Fugazi and The Mars Volta; and even if you do not like those bands you should probably download this anyway.

DOWNLOAD HERE!!