Sunday, August 31, 2014

Willing in Woe by Threading

Willing in Woe {Threading}
1. Heat
2. Urchin
3. Gloom Wild
Another short release off of Known Pleasure Records, Michigan Shoegaze band's 3 song release, Willing In Woe, is full of emotion and sad shoegazy things that make shoegaze shoegaze. Shoegaze is some weird sub-genre of alternative rock that got called shoegaze because a bunch of emo musicians probably started using peddles and looked at their feet a lot. Or maybe not idk it's shoegaze it's awesome. Shoegaze is really spacy music, all sorts of guitar effects and vocals are nice and calming. Literally just walls of sound. Anyway, these three songs are on the longer sides of songs, run times around 3-5 minutes. As far as shoegaze bands go, Threading does a really good job. All of the songs have essentially the same type of feels and sound to them so they all run together and sound like one big song and it's a little hard to tell them all apart but that's not really a bad thing. Tempos are slow and relaxing, vocals are set back and not really important, and production is on the highest end of all of the lo-fi stuff. This is a release I'd check out if I didn't know what shoegaze was and wanted to get into it, and also if you did know what shoegaze was and wanted to hear a good shoegaze band, or if you don't like shoegaze and don't want to hear this, you should listen anyway. Essentially listen to this. 


Favorite track: Urchin



**I said Shoegaze 13 times in this post
***14

Saturday, August 30, 2014

Peter Crisis/Until by Myrrh Myrrh

Peter Crisis/Until {Myrrh myrrh}
1. Peter Crisis
2. Until


Known Pleasure Records's latest release from three-piece Myrrh myrrh is a quick one, the two emo/punk/shoegaze-esq songs lasting a little over 7 minutes. I'm really digging the feel to the entire thing, it's got this weird grungy feel to it, the kind of stuff I'd love to see live. Grainy, yet well done production quality. Vocals are set farther back, and everything is so spacy, like if I was Afraid met the first half of "darker things" by Choir Vandals  or some other horrible comparison like that I guess. It's a really chill release yet at the same time it's also something to listen to and actually get interested in. Drumming is great, like most emo drumming, and guitar and drums are so grungy distorted that half of the time you can't even understand what they're playing. Vocals are great, everything's great this is something I'm going to listen to a lot and fall asleep to and I'm really glad I found this. Definitely something you should check out. So yeah check it out.



Bandcamp

Band Bandcamp

Band Facebook

Interview with Tyler Amman of Balls Deep Productions

Tyler Amman, founder of Balls Deep Productions, was kind enough to answer some interview questions about Balls Deep Productions, local 417 hardcore/mixed genre promoter company. Balls Deep specializes in the underground aspect of the local music scene, dealing with large varieties of bands, different venues and house shows, and really promoting the whole idea of the "Do it yourself", or DIY. Without BD, I personally feel like the Springfield music scene wouldn't be where it is today. They give chances to any band that works hard, and they put on some awesome as hell shows while they are at it.



Why did you start Balls Deep Productions, and who did you start it with/did you start it by yourself?

I helped form Balls Deep back in the summer of 2007 with David Blacksher, Daniel Wells, Toby Ayres (R.I.P.) and Andrew McWilliams(R.I.P). We formed it because we were tired of traveling to Joplin, Missouri (An hour away) for shows. 

Why the name "Balls Deep?" Any funny story or did you choose it just because?

No real reason. We were just stoned and it made us giggle like girls so we decided to go with it. My friend Andrew came up with the name. 

Do you remember the first band/first show you ever booked?

Our first show we booked was an all local show November 30th, 2007

What's your favorite kind of show to book?

My favorite kind of show to book is obviously hardcore. 

What would you say is the biggest band you've ever booked?                                                 
         
We've booked a lot of bands before they blew up so that's kind of a tough one. 

What is the dream band for you to book?

I've always wanted to book Terror. Yup.

What does DIY mean to you and what should it mean to other people?

DIY to me means being involved and taking on responsibilities of your music scene. Showing up is cool but do something for your music scene. I think everyone has a different perspective on what DIY means. 

What is your opinion about the 417 Music Scene?

I think we have something very special here. Bands [that come through] are always impressed by the crowd reaction and attendance.

Are there any bands from the good ole 417 that you think everyone should check out?

Free at last, the itch, dream ritual, pizza breath, low life, space waste, this above all. 

If every band in the Springfield music scene got into a huge battle royal, what band do you think would come out on top at the end?

I think all the juggalos and dirty rap artists would win. 

Lastly, what are some upcoming shows people should know about?

We only have Twitching tongues, disgrace, jungle juice + 2 locals in November. The new blood touring coming up will be two bands that have been here this year already and one heavy weight midwest hardcore band headlining the tour in November. 

Well I'm sure excited to hear about this upcoming show. Balls Deep should be announcing it sooner than later.

It was really cool of Tyler to do an interview with me, when I asked he was more than willing and happy to. 


Thanks Tyler!!

Check out balls deep productions facebook here:

Facebook

For booking inquires, email these emails:

Tyler: bdproductions417@yahoo.com
Vimo: vspears.bdproductions@live.com









Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Midnight Sun by Tyler Stanton-Bond

Midnight Sun by Tyler Stanton-Bond
1. Life is Sweet
2. Love of Mine
3. Never Again
4. On Repeat

local 417 singer/songwriter Tyler Stanton-Bond's debut demo, Midnight Sun, released off of Spacetime Records. Tyler plays that soft acoustic rock music you listen to on the radio. That good stuff. Jack Johnson, that kinda stuff. And man can this guy sing. Instrumentation is simple, guitar, vocals, and a shaker at some points. The songs are the normal verse/chorus/verse/chorus kinda thing that most songs these days have, but still luckily the songs aren't that long. Average to below average run times. The four songs have good production, and the topics are those normal things you get from this type of music all the time. Love won, love lost, won't love again, why does this keep on happening. 
Not the best release ever, but it's something that I listen to from time to time because it's actually pretty catchy and the songs get stuck in my head.

Favorite song of mine: Life is Sweet


Monday, August 25, 2014

Reverie by Malon

Reverie {Malon}
1. Happy People
2. Under A Red Sky
3. Your Invitation
4. Chrysanthemum Sonata
5. Magnolia Cacophony
6. Orchid Requiem 
7. In Life or in Reverie



Reverie: 
Rev-er-ie
a state of being pleasantly lost in one's own thoughts. 
In music: an instrumental piece suggesting a dreamy or musing state

Takin' it back with one of the saddest bands I know, Malon's (pronounced alone with an M), Reverie is an old 7 song release from 2012 that I wanted to talk about. I reviewed Malon's Portraits of Dying a long while back, and I still listen to that thing. 
Malon mixes the soft and sad aspects of contemporary emo/twinkle music with the harsh, cathartic, still morbidly sad aspects of Skramz (re@al Screm0!). Guitars are high, drums are overly interesting to the point of annoyance, and bass actually does something important. 
Reverie is similar to Okkoto's Sleep Talk, as to get the full feeling from the release, you need to listen to entire release all the way through. With this release, it's a lot easier since all seven songs add up to only 19 minutes. The release is correctly titled Reverie because that's just what it is. Suggesting of a dreamy or a musing state. Aside from the music actually being good and all, I really dig the vocalist's vocals, his strained, quiet singing, mixed with his cathartic, chaotic screams.  
I always take a break from this band, but keep coming back because they're really really good. You'll just have to listen to them.
I still don't know how to review music.

Favorite Track: In Life Or In Reverie (Breaking bad audio clip much sad RIP WALT JUNIOR) **

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Bandcamp

**Walt junior is not dead

Sunday, August 24, 2014

One-Eyed Doll - Monster (Remonstered)

"Monster" by One-Eyed Doll

Tracks
1. Intro
2. Be My Friend
3. Brief Candle
4. UFO
5. Bulimia
6. Roses
7. Plumes of Death
8. Fight
9. Pretty Song
10. Pao
11. Monster
12. Rambling of the Ungodly
13. I am a Viking
14. We're One-Eyed Doll

Background
 One-Eyed Doll is a duo based in Austin, Texas consisting of guitarist and singer Kimberly Freeman, and live drummer, bassist, keyboardist and producer Jason Rufuss Sewell (Aka "Junior"). Paul Evans handles drums in the recordings on this album, and bass live. "Monster" is their second album released in 2008, and was re-released and remastered five years later under the title "Monster (Remonstered)." 
 Kimberly Freeman is an extremely interesting woman. I feel like I have to talk about her life before I talk about the album. She grew up in Oregon, and does not do drugs, in fact she barely drinks coffee. She makes most of the merch by hand. When you buy a shirt from them, you're buying a piece of her work. For a lot of their career they couldn't afford to well... buy anything. She was homeless. She would use whatever she could find to make merch- old tee shirts she found on the streets and bleached the logo on (She washed them after she sold them of course), jeans to be made into patches- and the DIY attitude and level of personal relationship she has with her fans is absolutely astonishing. There's a documentary on them about all of this that you can find here. It's quite amazing to watch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6T9rYRX0EWI

Now, about the album itself
 The album starts with a live recording of the singer introducing the band. The audience's reaction is pretty funny, she introduces the musician, and they say "Hi ______" really enthusiastically, almost like you would hear a classroom introducing a new student. Immediately, it jumps into "Be My Friend," the album's single, and really showcases the band's combination of very serious topics with comedy. She's singing about killing people with a very happy, smiley voice. Also, there is a banjo sample which plays occasionally throughout the song. The next song features some synths after the clean intro. It's interesting because takes a break from the very preppy voice. "UFO" gets stuck in my head a lot, and is one of the heaviest songs on the album. "Bulimia" features lyrics like "There is snot in my macaroni, it's salty." This is one of the few songs I get choked up about, despite the playful lyrics and her preppy voice, because it reminds me of how many people are going through this, and I just start thinking about how much it ruins people's bodies. "Roses" is about a situation after a show where a group of guys started telling Kimberly to "bend over." She replied by breaking a vase of roses she was holding over their heads. The next two songs I have nothing to say other than the fact that they're absolutely awesome. "Pretty Song" is an acoustic. "Pao" is a song entirely in Mandarin Chinese, a language Kimberley is fluent in. "Monster" is an almost 8 minute epic, written by a very young Kimberley. One of the few songs that gives me the chills. "Ramblings of the Ungodly" is an acoustic. "I am a Viking" features entirely synth instruments, and though I'm not usually a fan of them, it works pretty well for the song. The last song, "We're One-Eyed Doll" is pretty much the intro, just strung out, has guitars, and the gang vocals aren't live. It's interesting that she refers to herself as "Kimberly," Junior, the drummer as "A drummer."

Overview 
I recommend this to everybody, especially girls.
9.4/10
Favorite song: "Be My Friend," for the lyrics "Serial killers are people too, if you take away the voices, I'm just like you." It shows how anybody can be whoever they want to be. 

Thursday, August 21, 2014

The Chosen by A Universe Within

The Chosen {A Universe Within}
1. Coitus Hiatus
2. Homobrophobia
3. Omega Point
4. Somniloquy
5. Existential Crisis
6. Negotiating with the Arbiter

So I'm a big fan of Djent music, and djent music accessories, so I kind of searched this one out on the good ole' Bandcamp. Surprisingly there are quite a few of the bands, however there aren't that many pay as you will/free download bands. So I came across A Universe Within, band out of Harrisonburg, Virginia.
If you don't know what djent is, it's a spinoff of heavy metal that was originally created by Meshuggah.
A lot of people make fun of it because the guitars essentially use only the top strings in most songs, and the highly tuned down strings make a sound that sounds like the word djent. Weird time signatures, either all heavy vocals, or a mix of heavy and clean, and probably some other weird things. Played with 7 or 8 string guitars. Double bass peddle, a genre people don't consider a genre sometimes.  Progressive shit ya know the likes. Watch this, i find this hilarious.
Anyway, The Chosen by A Universe Within is a 6 song release that is chock full of the djenty djent noises that anyone could ever want. The music is really good, with a hardcore aspect thrown in. "Coitus Hiatus" has a totally cool *MOSHE* part that I would get down to. Especially if you like Djent music, or progressive and stuff, this is the kind of stuff you can get into.
Clean vocals clean up the chorus for "Homobrophobia" so if you're into metalcore and stuff that's the song for you. Plus, again, you've got some awesome music.



Overall, what I see for this release, is that the music is something that I like a lot. Vocal wise, the screams are good and are what are needed for this kind of music. Clean vocals are pop-ish and stuff. This would be an amazing release if I wasn't so against what these guys were singing about. Especially the first song.
Shut your fucking mouth
Get your knees up off the floor
Shut your fucking legs
Bitch, quit being a whore
ALMOST all djent bands are made up of guys that are like this, wear bro-tanks and stuff, so I guess it just goes with the genre. But yeah, anyway, good music if you can deal with not the best opinions.

Bandcamp


I hope to god your dick falls off!
lol memes

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

We Are the Quarry by Cutters

We Are The Quarry {Cutters}
1.  We Are The Quarry
2. Good Morning Boys
3. Savage Nights
4. X-Cutioner's Song
5. Excitable Liefeld
6. Young Gods
7. Batman 666
8. I Just Wanted To Walk On The Surface Again

"Is this all that I have to offer a world in which I'm insignificant?"

We Are The Quarry by Cutters is an 8 song art rock release from the New York, New York band. 
Catchy choruses, easy to listen to vocals, well used instruments, and good recordings make this a release I can listen to over and over again. Bass and Guitar dance around one another, and mixing for the entire thing is really more laid back. This for sure isn't a Golden Noose, in terms of loudness. 
Main vocals are smooth and folk-like in some parts, and backing vocals that are scattered intermittently add a wonderful spin to the songs. Song times are on the shorter to mid-range side, and the release isn't exactly a Dream Theater release. 
I'm not exactly the biggest fan of Art rock music, not exactly sure why, it all sounds good. But anyway, I can really get into this, because it also has like an ambient// "Post Punk" feel to it. Song wise, all four tracks are something to enjoy, and something of their own yet to me I enjoy the last two tracks most of all. The entire release, having built up, releases the last of it's energy in the final two emotion driven songs, melodic, simple, easy, fun to listen to. Check this release out, I really dig it and you will too. I'd love to see these guys live and I hope they go on some kind of midwest tour. 

Favorite Song: I Just Wanted To Walk On The Surface Again







Wednesday, August 6, 2014

GHOST MACHINE/ MACHNIE by Brazil


GHOST MACHINE/MACHINE by Brazil

Tracks:
Trees
Bed
What a Dream
Never Want To See You Again
Awake
Heaven
Summer's Day
Pictures
Again
Townie
Junkie 
Machine
Offensive To Cats??

Warning: this band isn't from Brazil, click the link below and then continue reading. Or else.



Brazil is from Boston, MA on Waybridge Records that pulls a lot of cool and interesting flavors and textures in their release GHOST MACHINE/MACHINE.

 At first listen of Trees, I thought was in for another junk acoustic release, but then I took a closer listen and then discovered the way the vocals flow on top of the catchy guitar riff kind of a dreamy-vibe to them. Really makes ya think about trees, ya know? Anyways, the next few tracks open up to a full band sound (which I prefer most) but continues to carry that dreamy-state as the first song does.

This album kind of goes back in forth between just acoustic-guitar and vocals (and a harmonica nicely used on Awake, bonus points) and a full-band sound. Which keeps things interesting, and not so predictable, which I'm all about. Summer's Day starts with neat (and standard) disco-drum beat that has a reggae-vibe to it and it just grooves for the entire 2 minute run-time. A cool thing I've noticed as well is that each song makes feel like around or near or doing whatever the title is. Trees makes me think of trees, Bed makes me think of being in bed, etc. etc. etc.

Key songs I wanna/need to talk about: 

1)What A Dream: Starts with this cool concerto sound that quickly comes friendly with a swing-y bass guitar/snare drum which brings Vampire Weekend to mind and is a fun little song that has a Latin-ish chord progression and otherwise worn out-feel to it. Pretty much like when somebody is coming down from being over-caffeinated.

2) Never Gonna See You Again: Starts with a cutesy acoustic guitar riff that adds some layers (like slapping the strings on 2 and 4) and when the vocals you get this sick Jack Johnson-vibe. Introduces some cool harmonica lines and extra guitar layers. This song just keeps adding in layers of cool sounds giving a very cool, trippy-sound. (show to all your LSD-using friends)

3) Machine: FFO: Funeral Party, OK Go, Postal Service, The Little Comets. Nick And Norah's Infinite Playlist.


 The MACHINE part of this album (last two tracks) are more a dance-pop sound to them that I can get jiggy with. Reminds me of Funeral Party but not as bright in the production. I hope this is a direction that they seek to try out, because it's cool.

Definitely looking forward to whatever else these guys are going to release. Rad group. Stay rad.

Fav Tracks: Never Gonna See You Again, Machine, Trees

 

Saturday, August 2, 2014

All Pit, No Pendulum by Cathedral Fever

All Pit No Pendulum {Cathedral Fever}
1. Spiders Encircle
2. Monolithic Rapture
3. Black Art Cometh
4. Synthetic Echo
5. Oblivion Bed
6. Cavern of the Rapid Eye
7. Reprisal at the Dawn of Genesis

Saint Louis Missouri. Cathedral Fever. Dark Hardcore.


I'm a big fan of Hardcore music, and an even bigger fan of dark/chaotic hardcore music, such as Code Orange, Sabertooth, and, Surrender. Cathedral Fever brings their own to the table. High, cathartic vocals, strong backing instrumental tracks that bounce around strongly, adding a layer of difficulty to the simple hardcore genre. The seven songs featured on "All Pit No Pendulum" from the four piece which features three instruments,( Guitar, bass, drums) and two vocals (drummer also does vocals) is full sounding, well recorded, and, in my opinion a damn good release. I feel like there is a black metal influence to this band, but seeing as how I'm just a 17 year old kid who doesn't really listen to black metal***, I could be wrong. I just think of some weird deviation of black metal mixed with hardcore when I think of this. 
Vocals are set back in the mix, which gives the entire release an almost hollow, darker sound to it. Mixing is actually peculiar on this entire thing, but I like it. In "Oblivion Bed", you can barely hear a really awesome guitar riff over the rest of the instruments. The release is loud and in your face. I really enjoy the instrumental talent of these guys, the bass lines and guitar riffs featured in these songs make me smile. Not a dull moment, nothing really dragging on and repeating, even with the medium length run times. Check this release out. Missouri has some awesome gat dang bands.

Favorite track: "Reprisal at the Dawn of Genesis" (Cool ending parts/cool song parts/cool song)



*** Someone email me some god damn black metal bands that I can listen to that isn't burzum.