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Psychic Limb

2009-11-24T19:01:00.004-05:00

It was only his second show singing for them.
That dead rat in the beginning is in a light of the practice space we both share.

Psychic Limb - Silent Barn - 11.20.09 from Benjamin Lim on Vimeo.

Bottle Rocket

2009-11-16T17:54:00.002-05:00

Hailing from Long Island, Bottle Rocket is a pop-punk band that played only about 20 shows and was lead by Brian Cozer who would go on to join both Latterman and Iron Chic.

Following a similar style of other Long Island pop punk bands chock full of catchy riffs and gruffer sounding punk vocals, their demo is fun to listen to, but some songs are much stronger than other one.

Take a listen for yourself.

dl

Favorite Track: I Want To Watch The Grass Grow

Rating: 6 Out Of 10

Scraps and Heart Attacks - S/T

2009-11-12T01:59:00.002-05:00

Zack requested some Scraps and Heart Attacks and I followed through. You're welcome, you sexy beast.

Anyway, I'm sure most people reading this blog are at least aware of this band's existence but for those of you not in the know, Travis from This is Hell and Kellen from I am the Avalanche were in this band prior to their current bands. In my opinion Scraps happened to be way better than TIH (and those who know me know I really do LOVE This is Hell) and they are about a trillion and one times better than IATA (and those who know me know I HATE I am the Avalanche. The Movielife was a far superior band. Although I am the Avalanche has entertained me when I have seen them, their recordings do not give me a boner. But I digress.)

Scraps were around for only a few years but I had the pleasure of seeing them live a few times, once happened t0 be immediately after they changed their name from the Heist. (Tangent: The Movielife played that show with them at The Chance and I really want to say Brand New did as well, but I might be confusing shows. If it wasn't Brand New then it was definitely One Line Drawing.) They played a somewhat controlled but still chaotic style of hardcore not unlike their fellow Dead by 23 Records brethren Frostbite, although the SAHA recordings were a lot less cohesive and focused more on guitars feeding back and coarse vocals that pummeled through with a sense of urgency. I have always loved their lyrics (so much so that the sidepiece I plan on getting will have their lyrics going along with it) and can always appreciate it when a band wears their influences on their sleeves lyrically, in their case making references to Jawbreaker and Inside Out lyrics. Also, any band that says "kids like you are fucking spent/do us a favor, get fucking bent" is pretty much the best band ever in my opinion.

Anyway, I am tired and anything else I have to say about the band is probably going to be stupid/unfunny/uninteresting, so I leave you with this: their Self-Titled release which contains their 7", demo and a live set. Enjoy!

DL HERE!!

For The Crown - Demo 2001

2009-10-26T21:04:00.003-04:00

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...

2009-09-22T22:38:00.004-04:00

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

2009-09-22T02:22:00.002-04:00

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

2009-08-30T12:18:00.008-04:00

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

2009-08-18T12:55:00.002-04:00

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

2009-07-25T17:08:00.002-04:00

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

2009-06-01T11:20:00.000-04:00

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!!

One Last Wish

2009-05-11T22:39:00.003-04:00

Damn, we fell off for a minute.

Anyway...I've been listening to this alot lately.

Completely underestimated this band. Kind of sounds like Rites of Spring (which is fitting because this band formed out of their break up) mixed with The Clash/Joy Division. Super catchy hooks with lots of punk energy and I love Guy Picciotto's vocals on this.

dl

Favorite Track: My Better Half

Rating: 9 Out Of 10

Death

2009-03-30T19:56:00.003-04:00

THIS is fucking awesome.

READ about it here.

I know its a little late...

2009-03-23T10:45:00.003-04:00

...but I wanted to post my top ten favorite releases for 2008.

1. Young Widows - Old Wounds
2. Shorebirds - It's Gonna Get Ugly
3. Earth - The Bees Made Honey In The Lion's Skull
4. Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band - 13 Blues For 13 Moons
5. Pygmy Lush - Mount Hope
6. Failures - S/T
7. Dillinger Four - C I V I L W A R
8. SunnO))) - Dormkirke
9. Melvins - Nude With Boots
10. Grails - Doomsdayer's Holiday

Post some comments.
Post yours.

Life Detecting Coffins

2009-03-03T23:43:00.006-05:00

In my opinion, probably the best band from Orange County, NY (just waiting for the response comment on that) and when you share members with Off Minor, it's not hard to see why.

Haunting, simple melodies dancing amongst sparse monotone vocals summarize Life Detecting Coffins interesting and original sound. You can hear influences of Fugazi, Black Flag, At The Drive-In and early 90's screamo.

Catatonic Begat Napoleonic

Bill Tone, I still want your guitar, but Dave Grohl had to steal that shit.

Favorite Track: Wolf Boys

Rating: 8 Out Of 10

Deathcycle - S/T 7"

2009-03-02T17:05:00.002-05:00

Missed their last show. I don't wanna talk about it.

DOWNLOAD HERE!!

Can I Say - The Last Goodbye

2009-02-28T00:17:00.001-05:00

Awesome EP from an upstate New York band that went way under the radar. The broke up a while ago. Singer went on to form Dead Hearts. Fin.

DOWNLOAD HERE!!

SICK

2009-02-27T13:49:00.003-05:00

Jaci hooked us up with a sick banner.
We are thankful and stoked.
I suddenly have motivation to post again.

Eat a dick lucid, ours is way better.

Divided By Hate - Sediments Of Shame

2009-02-24T12:55:00.002-05:00

I was bored last night and decided to rip a few of my 7"s to my computer. This was one of them. This is for all the older dudes out there who might actually check this blog out.

DOWNLOAD HERE!!

The Beach Boys

2009-02-12T10:58:00.003-05:00

This is my jam today.

That is all.

Rockets And Blue Lights (Close At Hand)

2009-02-08T20:53:00.004-05:00

I haven't been doing that good of a job updating lately, luckily XFraggleX has been doing a much better job than I have.

Anyway, this band means alot to me because they were my favorite band in Albany while I was going to school there and a band, to this day, I still frequently listen to. This is perfect album to listen to when you are in a weird mood because it will pull you right out of it.

They had such a great live show and I had the pleasure of being able to see them 4 times.

Of course I'm talking about Rockets And Blue Lights (Close At Hand), and this the CD-R version of A Smashed City that has 8 songs on it instead of the LP version which only had 4.

Favorite Track: What They Made You Mean

Rating: 9 Out Of 10

The Mighty Underdogs - Droppin Science Fiction

2009-01-26T21:04:00.001-05:00

This album has been blowing my mind lately. So good.

DOWNLOAD HERE!!

Common Market - Tobacco Road

2009-01-12T10:25:00.005-05:00

Music with substance, who knew it still existed? This is some chilled out hip-hop brought to you by the producer from Blue Scholars (Sabzi) and a dude who kinda reminds me of Talib Kweli (RA Scion). This made it into my Top 10 List of last year. Check it out.

Favorite Track: Gol'Dust

Rating: 8 Out Of 10

DOWNLOAD HERE!!

Happy New Year, by the way!

Stuff You Should Listen To

2008-12-18T16:55:00.004-05:00

Woah, looks like I forgot to update for a while. Just been kind of busy and sleeping on the blog.

I'm back with some stuff New Hampshire, don't really want to waste a whole of time describing it because this is one of my favorite albums. Do yourself a favor and just check it out.

To bad they aren't around anymore...

Anyway, it's about time to wake up...and...uh...be.

Favorite Track: Al Extremo Del Tren

Rating: 10 Out Of 10

A New Enemy - S/T

2008-12-02T21:40:00.000-05:00

Aside from The Misfits (obviously) this band right here is probably my favorite New Jersey band. Heartfelt hardcore punk, sincere lyrics, awesome vocals, catchy melodies, songs about skateboarding and a Bad Brains cover. What more could you ask for?

Singer went on to front Robot Whales, Spanish Bombs and probably 19872817978972987 other awesome bands I'm sure, but I have always liked A New Enemy the most out of his projects.

DOWNLOAD HERE!!

Greyarea - Fanbelt Algebra

2008-12-01T00:43:00.003-05:00

Haven't posted in a while. Not really sure why to be honest, but to make up for it I offer one of the best albums ever.

Favorite Track: Colossus

DOWNLOAD HERE!!