Stinking Lizaveta

I caught this band on tour with Torche and The Sword. You might have some weird feelings about this band when they walk on stage as the drummer some one's Mom, the guitarist looks like some one's stoner uncle and the bass player looks like some someone's weird cousin. Basically it's some one's weird family (which shouldn't be surprising as the guitarist and bassist are actually brothers), but someone should be stoked because this band puts on a pretty killer live show. Combining progressive techy guitar licks, intricate song writing and a steady flow of WOAHs coming from the guitarist throughout the performance, they don't disappoint.

Although this album is recorded by Steve Albini, you will be sadly disappointed by this album if you compare this recording to the band's live performance. Leaving the record very empty and boring sounding, their music doesn't translate very well.

Its at least worth checking out to get a feel for their sound, but seeing them live is well worth the money.

dl

Favorite Track: To The Sun

Rating: 4 Out Of 10

Election Day - Demo

Election Day is a melodic hardcore band from all over Western New York. It is a little difficult to compare them to any band because no bands come to mind as a direct influence or rip off at any point, but I can see vague resemblances to Dag Nasty and maybe a hint of Champion from time to time. The vocals, lyrical content and the structure of all of their songs seem to set them apart from a lot of modern day hardcore bands of the same style and I can truly appreciate that. I remember the first time hearing them (maybe a year or so ago?) and it was like a breath of fresh air to hear a current hardcore band of this style playing it the way it SHOULD sound. I don't remember being floored by a demo like that in quite some time and I haven't had that feeling about a band's demo since. Go to the band's myspace page, stream all of their songs and if you really enjoy what you hear, go to the Secret Jams myspace page and purchase a copy of the demo 7". One of my best friends Chris put this record out and he put a lot of work into making the vinyl happen and I know him, the band and the buyer would all equally appreciate the purchase of one of the records. I hope you enjoy the music as much as I do.

Favorite Track: Sector 4

Rating: 10 Out Of 10

Cursed - III: Architects Of Troubled Sleep

After catching wind of their recent breakup earlier in the week, I became thoroughly bummed out with this news and decided to deal with it by listening to the newest, and in my opinion best, Cursed release. Cursed was one of those bands that every time I made an attempt to see, something either came up which prevented me from attending the show or they just happened to cancel. I have always been a fan since I first heard them & knew that anything with members of Haymaker, Chokehold and The Swarm were involved in was going to be both important and intense, and after this final release of theirs I am deeply regretting missing out on the opportunity of seeing them live. This album is one of the more violent records I have heard in a while, from start to finish ranging from slower sludgy parts to crusty influenced grindy blast beats, the riffs and drumming are sure to grab your attention and not let go. I believe III to be their most mature and most cohesive album while not losing an ounce of the chaos in their music they have been known to pull off quite well. The only complaint is that the quality is a bit iffy on this release, but it isn't so bad as to be distracted by it while listening to the album. Definitely a must have for any fan of Cursed.

Favorite Track: Friends In The Music Business

Rating: 9 Out Of 10

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Makara

Until recently I really didn't like this band because they have some of the worst recordings. However, if you're really willing to sit down and give the music a chance you'll be blown away by how good this entire record is. Then, once you start getting into it, you can get stoked about how many songs are on here because it is their entire discography + a few live tracks.

What you should really care about: this band came out the demise of Mohinder and went on to form one of my favorite bands EVER. SO, you really might want to give this band a solid listen. You can learn more about their relationship to other bands some more here.

dl

Favorite Track: Paper Cuts

Rating: 8 Out Of 10

Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band

A Silver Mt. Zion is back with their latest release '13 Blues For Thirteen Moons'. Again stepping away from the almost transparent transition they made from Godspeed You! Black Emperor with their first release 'He Has Left Us Alone But Shafts Of Light Sometimes Grace The Corner Of Our Rooms'.

This being their most "rock" album to date and keeping in line with what was only hinted at on 'Horses In The Sky', the group moves to a steady/consistent, progressive beat/rhythm. There is even some semblance of a movement toward a traditional verse/chorus style with some repetition of specific parts within the song. Keeping with this same pattern of growth, Efrim is singing more on this album than he has on any album to date and there is much more focus on lyrics as the center of the each song.

But fear not longtime fans of Godspeed. The album still swings into long, droney, builds leaving even the most pretentious noise-nik satisfied.

Do yourself a favor and catch them on tour, like I did last night. They're playing 2 new songs.

dl

Favorite Track: BlindBlindBlind

Rating: 8 Out Of 10

Aesop Rock - Fast Cars, Danger, Fire and Knives

At this point and time with his extensive touring, work with The Weather-
men, making numerous guest appear-
ances, making promotional exercise music for Nike, and being MTV's Artist of the Week back in late last year, I would be surprised if anyone involved in any form of underground music said that they had never even heard Aesop Rock. With his career now spanning over a decade and his constant work ethic of putting out album after album, this man has proved to be one of the best emcee's in underground hip-hop or even hip-hop in general. Aesop always finds a way to combine his original and fresh rhyme schemes with amazing beats laid down a lot of times by Blockhead or even sometimes himself. Constantly redefining himself with each release he also manages to redefine hip-hop at the same time, seemingly setting new standards for any rapper to reach. This EP was put out after Bazooka Tooth to hold fans over while he was able to write enough new material for the None Shall Pass full length, and this like much, well all in my opinion, of his other work does not disappoint one bit.

Favorite Track: Holy Smokes

Rating: 8.5 Out Of 10

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Shorebirds

If you're a rabid Latterman fan like I am. You were dying to hear anything from this band as you found out about this project. I mean Matt Cannino from Latterman and Chris Bauermeister from Jawbreaker in the same band?!!

You also may have watched the youtube videos excessively and were just itching to catch any news of any releases coming out soon. You may have caught the article hinting on the full-length due out soon. However, you may missed any news about the 7" that slipped out under the radar on Matt's super DIY, olympia based label Rumbletowne Records.

To all these people, this won't disappoint.

Favorite Track: Tinctures Are 90% Alcohol

Rating: 9 Out Of 10