Feed Into Your Mind by Bad Investments

Feed Into Your Mind by Bad Investments

Tracks:

Informalites 

Swollen Pigments

Feed Into Your Mind

Trophy Wife

Side B

Loud, loud, loud, loud, loud, loud, loud, loud, loud, loud, loud. This band is loud. Bad Investments is a loud band from Columbia, MO that just got off of tour with Grammer, about a month a go (odd tour combo, but whatever). Feed Into Your Mind starts off violently and distorts the mind as the static and white noise convulse into wicked guitar riffs and shouty-vocals. It actually reminds me a lot of Mr.Bungles "Everybody I Went To Highschool With Is Dead" off of Disco Volante but 5 songs oppose to one.

Bass is very apparent in the mix, which is unusual, but cool. The riff towards the end of "Informalites" reminds me of The Sword, and the drum part towards the end of "Swollen Pigments" sounds like it would be awesome, but the clear-as-mud production of the track makes it where you can only hear the hit-hat, the ride and the snare drum (faintly).  Nothing about this release makes me think of The Chariot (that's a lie, the whole thing makes me think of The Chariot) especially the songwriting.

Fav Track: Side B

Bandcamp

Mason Mercer announces "SLOBBER". May 15th

Mason Mercer announces "SLOBBER"

Upcoming release from solo artist, Mason Mercer, Slobber is expected to drop May 15 through a TBA independent record label. Labeled as “adventure pop”, this release was mixed and mastered by 417's very own Jonathan James from “Someone still Loves You Boris Yeltsin”. Mason originally hails from Ozark, where the writers for this blog are all from. Cool thing however, Mercer announced that a certain Celebrity discovered his music on the internet and will be grooming Mason to a higher level of music. The identity of this celebrity isn't going to be disclosed till May-ish so we'll have to wait to find out who that is.

Check out Mason on the following sites for updates:

https://twitter.com/masonmercer

https://facebook.com/masonmercermusic

Sick promo Video can be seen HERE

and also here

Also you can see a video of him interviewing people about his newest release. HERE

ALSO HERE

Iron Born--Crimes Against Humanity

Iron Born--Crimes Against Humanity

note: ACAB

Tracks:

Crimes Against Humanity

Survivor

Birthrite

St. Peter

Earth & Hell

Evil Thing (Danzig cover)

Yeahhhhh, Iron Born, is a OK metallic hardcore band. Man, these guys are heavy, not like sludge-heavy, but HEAVY. This ep is so tight and clean. It almost sounds professional (probably is). Crystal clear and on fire, Crimes Against Humanity starts off with your typical hardcore open strums. \cool/ The vocals on this track has a lot of attitude, so watch out cops, you're not safe while this is playing. The riff that slows down at the end of the first track increases heaviness by 20%. The beginning of Survivor probably has the tightest groove I've heard in awhile, I just want to listen to that groove for the 2:24 time slot. (I don't have anything else to say about the rest of that song)

Birthrite comes out like a punch from the south, blues-rock influence is strong and I dig it. The bluesy guitar lead/solo totally compliments this. Vocals are very sassy. The only thing I could think about during St. Peter is this is probably what RZL DZL would sound like if they took themselves seriously. (lol) Earth & Hell gets all 80's trash going here, digging those groove parts, homies.

That Danzig cover was tight.

Note: Drum tones sound better than most hardcore eps I've listened to (I need stop listening to so much poor-recorded emo crap) and also, I played with these guys in sometime in January (In springfield) with my band, Alpha.

fav track: Birthrite

Listen here, friends

New Beginnings by Firestarter

New Beginnings|Firestarter

1. New Beginnings

2. 49 Stow

3. Myrtle Ave. 

4. Worth My Time

5. Three Years

If you're a pop punk band and aren't The Wonder Years, or Hometown Heroes, I probably am not the biggest fan of you. It's not that I'm against pop punk, i'm against generic pop punk, which is what most pop punk bands are. I was a little skeptical when I first listened to Firestarter after buying their EP at a show that I played with them, and it took more than a while to formulate any opinion of them. Hailing from New York, Firestarter's release is an in-your-face kinda release. I'm not saying these guys aren't generic p0p punk$$$, but they do it really really well, making them one of the few pop punk bands I will voluntarily listen to. Drums are heavy in the mix, which I'm really digging. Guitars soar around and don't do anything too amazing, and when it comes to bass, unless it's a bass line they wanted to hear, you can't really hear it. Did I mention that the drums are really heavy in the mix? Maybe this is just a pop punk thing and if I wasn't such a damn music elitist about it and listened to more of the genre this wouldn't be such a big thing. These guys sound really professional on this release, and live they sound just as well. Lots of good sing along things. Lots of good things to say about this band. If you're a fan of the genre and you've not listened to Firestarter yet, you should get on that, I feel like these guys should be signed to some big label or something.

Favorite track: 49 Stow/Three Years

Bandcamp

Witches Take Them In by Quarrels

Witches Take Them In | Quarrels

1. Cupped Hands

2. Morning Sickness

3. Best Intentions

4. Scenes from a Jagged Sea

5. Bella Strega

You say your cursed but I went back to where you were born
The seasons there are changeless and the men live on the shores
You’ll find another man to fill you up to the brim
And I’ll drink water from cupped hands and start living, silent 

Hey, cool band from Boston, Quarrels plays an indie pop/ indie rock/ emo influenced style of music. I've listened to this release almost non-stop these past few days. Run times of the songs land on a longer length, which can be both a good thing and a bad thing. In this case it's good. Production is done really well, and vocals(all clean) are amazing. This guy really knows how to sing. 

A few things  

The first song, "Cupped hands" is by far the best song on the release. the influence of twinkle/emo music is obvious. The song levels out at the end acoustically, and runs into the second song, "Morning sickness" perfectly. The band is really good at songwriting, and these songs won't bore you at all.  Instrumentally, I'm getting a Vessel vibe in all the songs. Guitar tone is light in most parts, nothing too heavy but not exactly twinkle light. The bass lines in this band though. Mostly great bass lines throughout. Not too high in the mix but still heard. In all of these songs, the lyrics are really well done. Nothing too cheesy, nothing too straight forward. Just the right amount of poetic. 

"I've got a master plan. 

I've got the best intentions"

Another cool thing is that everything about this release is really catchy, it'll stay stuck in your head for a while. Boston just seems to have an awesome music scene. I don't really know exactly how to describe this album, it's a hard one for me, so you'll just have to check it out yourself. So yeah, think of like a Basement-esq band but with a bit of a more popish feel. Check this release out, it's really good and one that you don't want to miss. 

Favorite track: "Cupped hands"

Bandcamp

#BloodBrothers by Käptain Krünçh Cîdz

Grade: 6.0

1. Nightmare

2. Bloodshot Eyes and an Existential Crisis

3. It'z Krunch Time

4. Fall's End

5. Blood Brothers

Listen Here!

Disclaimer: I am friends with the guys that made this album. In fact, they write for this blog. That bias exists but I want to make sure you all realize that I am attempting to be very objective as I review this.

This album drips of adolescence, and that's both a strength and a weakness. Its bio on Bandcamp is very short and admits of the band's inexperience. It says that it is the group's first release That's really quite evident. The general lack of direction is annoying at times because it is difficult to get inside the artists' heads, but its also intriguing- mysterious almost.

The songs are placed in a very logical order, but there is no continuity to the piece. The songs all flow well musically, but when it comes to the lyrical content of the songs, the listener is left confused. I'd almost say that it needs to be longer- that it needs a few filler songs that will better fuse the album together and give it some direction. Truly, there are a lot of shitty songs on a lot of great albums which both propel the lyrical narrative and give skin to the bones of the thematic skeleton established by the album's high points. With that being said, understand that this criticism is not that serious. It's very hard to give a 5 track album the strength of a full-length album. I wonder why Käptain Krünçh Cîdz didn't label this as an EP; that's really what it is.

There is a specific sound to each of the songs. I'd like to make note of the influences that I noticed throughout.

1. Nightmare- Queens of the Stone Age, The Clash, Soundgarden
2. Bloodshot Eyes and an Existential Crisis- Animal Collective
3. It'z Krunch Time- Modest Mouse
4. Fall's End- Green Day, My Chemical Romance, Rise Against, Joy Division
5. Blood Brothers- Animal Collective (Avey Tare)

Other influences that showed throughout: Metallica, Black Sabbath

The first track starts slowly and disjointedly, and then builds to erratic mayhem. When the vocals come in, things calm down a bit. Adrian Sprague's voice has a lot of character and he's capable of achieving many different ranges and styles. In this song the vocals remain calm and almost sadly apathetic. Think of the calloused melody of a grizzled punk vocalist's voice. It's a very strong start. 

Then comes the second track, whose lengthy, pathological title perfectly labels the erratic rhythm of the song. It meanders a bit too long- as do all of the songs on the album. They aren't particularly long, but it seems to take them a while to get where they're going. However, whenever the vocals do come in, there's no build up to them. They began and then they stay the same for the entirety of the song. This is particularly true on the second track, but it's also true on the other tracks. Kasey's vocals on this track are very, very emotional. He squeals... Almost wheezes out the incomprehensible lyrics to the song. That seems like a negative description, but in this song I think it works very well. As stated previously, he reminds me a lot of Avey Tare in this track and the last track. 

Track three is really where the album starts to fall apart. The first two songs are very solid and I like them a lot. They establish a very distinct style for the group. Track three is essentially an interlude. It's very short, it has no vocals, and it leads to track four fairly well. The problem with this song is that an EP does not need an interlude. An EP should not fuck around. It should get straight to the point and have less-than-perfect transitions. If an EP flowed from one song to the next flawlessly, the entire album would sound like one long, fucking song. Often times tracks with interludes sound like this on full-length albums, but the albums are long enough to support the illusion. I just see no need for such a short, pointless track on this album. 

Track four really doesn't need an interlude. It's quite solid on it's own. If Käptain Krünçh Cîdz had a large collection of songs, I really think that this would be the quintessential one. It meanders a lot and really keeps you guessing. The vocals come on suddenly and don't abate until the end of the song. Adrian rasps and moans like the bastard child of Billie Joe Armstrong and Ian Curtis. It's really good. Most music critics believe that Joy division spawns the punk movement. The vocals in this track help prove this and meld the two styles in a very artful manner. 

The final track attempts to slow things down a bit as the album comes to a close. It doesn't really do this well. It almost seems as if there was a lot that the listener missed out on. This album really feels like an LP. It has long instrumental portions and a senseless interlude. It's almost as if someone truncated a full-length album and released the first six songs. 

Once again, the album is short and it is clearly difficult to develop the theme of a short album. With that being said, there is evidence of a lot of boredom, teen angst, and introspection in the lyrics of the piece. this strengthens my opinion that the whole album needs to be developed more fully. 

Stray observations: 

• Punk musicians are pissy, and generally they relish in telling us all about it. The angst present in this piece seems rather unarticulated. The listener is left to wonder what the musicians are pissed about. 
• I heard very subtle (but deep-seated) 80's hard rock sounds. I may be judging this incorrectly, but I kind of feel like most people in a rock bands have been influenced by bands like Metallica and Black Sabbath. That's not exactly my cup of tea though, so it's hard for me to say with much confidence. 
• I know that it makes me pretentious, but I think that the hash-tag in the title is gimmicky.  
• They did name your own price on Bandcamp! That's badass!

Caterpillar by Buttons and Mindy

Caterpillar | Buttons and Mindy

1. Brian Fantana

2. Tai Chi Chai Tea

3. Orange Mocha Frappuccino!

4. I don't know the first thing about Kiefer Sutherland

5. The Haitian Sensation

You still taunt me with your green eyes

Where do I belong?

Before I review this: I think I've listened to this release so much and I think I enjoy it so much that whatever review I'll give it will be 100000% biased and just me complimenting every aspect of it. 

Anyway

Math Rock/Art Pop band Buttons and Mindy show a catchy art pop side to the emotional genre that is twinkle/math rock. Production is really really good, and from the first track, the band had my attention. This is the band I'd show people that I want to get into the twinkle/Math genre, but who aren't accustomed to the style. 

Lyrical wise, these songs are as catchy as the swine flu if you've got a bad immune system. I've listened to "Orange Mocha Frappuccino!" about a million times, and know mostly all the lyrics to this release by heart. Vocal wise, this guy knows how to sing. 99% clean vocals, there are some yells in this weird inhaling voice during one of the songs, but it's far back in the mix and is really just there to add the aesthetics or whatever.

"I like the vocals because they are catchy and sound good"

Guitar playing is amazing, obviously because it's twinkle music. If the guitar player wasn't skilled then this 

wouldn't be a math band. But what makes it even more cool is that the guitar player isn't only the main vocalist, but he is also the only guitar player. I'm a sucker for two and three piece bands because you've gotta be really creative to not make your songs boring and this band does a great job with the whole creativity aspect. "I like the guitar because I play guitar and it's cool"

Bass wise, I really love to listen to these bass lines. Not much I can say about them except they are really cool and stand out in the mix, which would be a problem, again, if the bassist was just some shmuck that played roots and clipped every time he touched a string. "I like the bass because it's not boring and sounds good" 

Drums compliment the tracks perfectly and don't over power anything. Sorry drummer guy, I'd talk about your awesome drums more but the only drum beats I can play are four-in-the-floors and blast beats. "I like the drums because I can't drum like this guy drums"

Finally, in all of the bands I play in, we like to string our songs together with our live set, kind of run them together, and it's something that I always love when bands do, so I'll just throw out that the small fact that Buttons and Mindy do that on this release is totally cool to me. 

Anyway, another horribly worded review. Check out the release. 

Favorite track: Orange Mocha Frappuccino!

(Check out the review I did on their split before I liked them a lot) 

Bandcamp