4 EPs

It’s probably just a weird coincidence, but for the last few months a lot of the stuff I’ve been reaching for again and again have been EPs, so let’s take a look at these 4, two metal(ish) releases and two reasonably popular up and coming emo bands.  The two emo bands have since released full lengths, and they are both pretty good, but nothing beats that first stuff you heard, right?

Moose Blood- Moving Home

With as little hyperbole as I can muster, this is the best emo release since, like, The Devil and God. It's got that simple emo-tinged rock and roll sound (nothing twinkly here), with some fun guitar work. The full-length doubled down on the dad issues lyrically, but the EP focuses more on the experience of being a directionless 20something, which I definitely cannot relate to at all in the slightest, no sir. Drinking coffee, listening to American Football, and wondering “where our lives went wrong,” delivered with a charming accent and absolute sincerity.  This is a gem.

Beach Slang- Who Would Ever Want Anything So Broken?

Pour one out again for Grantland, RIP. Definitely the best find I got from their music guy, Steven Hyden, back when this EP came out a couple years ago. A full feature on the band would later be his final column for the site.

Beach Slang play even simpler and rawer style rock than Moose Blood. Every song sounds like it came straight from that dingy bar right on the edge of the cool part of downtown that always puts on the coolest shows for 12 bucks. 4 simple but impossibly earnest songs about being young, being in a band, and life on the edge of nowhere. Singer James Alex has that “whisper-sing” style vocal down to a T, and delivers the lyrics with all the sincerity they need and then some. The drums are given a lot of room to breathe, and the hazy guitars carry everything along.

The full-length LP is definitely worth a listen, but start here (their other EP Cheap Thrills on a Dead End Street is more of the same as well). It’s four songs, 11 minutes to make you believe that rock ain’t dead and never will be.

Grey Waters- Below the Ever Setting Sun

A depressive rock/ blackgaze collaboration between D. of Woods of Desolation and Tim “Sorrow” Yatras of many bands, but most notably Germ (you might also recognize the name from his feature on the 2013 Thy Light album No Morrow Shall Dawn). Based on what I’ve read this one is almost certain to be just a one-off. It’s a shame, but let’s not lament what could have been and instead enjoy what we have right? This is mid-paced depressive rock drenched in distortion, with clean vocals throughout. This is what propels the EP to the top of my favorites list, as the vocals really set it apart from a lot of other current blackgaze bands like Cold Body Radiation or An Autumn for Crippled Children, who I like but still aren't doing anything any better than Austere already did. I find this has a lot in common with Jesu, both stylistically and thematically. In the past I’ve burned this and Opiate Sun to one CD for playing in the car at night. This is a great entry point for anyone interested in the “gazey” sound but turned off by the shrieking vocals of DSBM bands, or interested in depressive music in general.

Gallowbraid- Ashen Eidolon

A one man black metal band with a triumphant, symphonic sound that dials down the cheesiness and turns up the intensity. The EP only has two proper songs, with two interludes alongside, but the two main tracks combine for 26 minutes and stretch through multiple movements. Jake Rogers has an excellent singing voice, and sticks mostly to black metal rasps for much of the EP, and he is remarkably decipherable. This is great news, but the lyrics are excellent. They tread some well-worn black metal paths (death, sorrow, the end of mankind, and so on), but are a stellar example of the form. 

There is a clear downside to the EP in the iffy production job that often comes with the territory of a one man demo EP. The acoustic guitar tends to be too high in the mix, and the cymbals sound terrible. But it’s a nitpick, and the overall quality on display here far outweighs the downsides.

It’s been more than a few years since this EP was releases, and there’s been little news of anything else in the works. Rogers has recently found success with Visigoth (who released a very good classic heavy metal album last year), so hopefully Gallowbraid is just on hiatus and will return at some point in the future.

Daft Punk- Random Access Memories

For the last few days I’ve been absorbed in a deep dive into the realm of disco while preparing a playlist for an upcoming party. Disco is a very misunderstood genre- nowadays mostly associated with the “worst” of 70’s music, polyester clothing and John Travolta. But it was an incredibly subversive style- a haven for African-Americans, gays, and other marginalized groups to take center stage. It also has a lot more to offer musically and technically than is frequently thought of. Probably the last great horn-dominant music style (ok, ska, but…), and a treasure trove of underappreciated guitar work.

But enough about the 70’s. Disco hasn’t fared particularly well in the ensuing decades. It’s influence is undeniable (hello, house music), and the four on the floor endures because it’s ability to make the human body move is one of the strongest forces on earth. But there are few contemporary artists working in the true disco sound. The Norwegian pair of Todd Terje and Lindstrøm have made both made interesting stuff in their slowed-down “space disco” sound, but the kings are the French duo Daft Punk. And in Random Access Memories they decided to double down on their influences and make a true disco album. And they hit it out of the park. The guitar lines are funky, the guest spots are super strange and super on point, and, most importantly, this record makes you move. Both Pharrell tracks

If there’s any downside to the album, it’s that the abundance of out of flow interludes limit its ability to be played straight through at a party. Giorgio Moroder’s interview, the opening credits flourish on “Beyond,” whatever is going on in “Touch”- all are great little parts and I wouldn’t want them taken away, but they require a little editing to prep the tracks for the dancefloor. Beyond this most minor of quibbles however, the album is note-perfect, so I’ll breathlessly mention a few more highlights: that intro to “Contact,” Julian Casablancas’ incredible feature on “Instant Crush” (“kinda counted on you being a friend…”), that stomping beat on “Lose Yourself to Dance.” This album owns. 10/10

Song Roundup of 2015

Here’s a few great songs from the past year whose albums won’t make it to the year-end list.

Pentimento- “Sink or Swim”

Local band from Buffalo, NY (716 forever). Solid if unspectacular emo album, highlighted by this track.

Ryan Adams- “Style”                                     

-mostly forgettable cover album, but this one eschews the boring coffeeshop sound that dominates the rest of the album for a 70’s Bowie-disco romp.

Beyond the Black- “Songs of Love and Death”

Female-fronted Gothic rock/metal. I know, I know. But goddamn if this isn’t so catchy that I don’t care.

Nightwish- “Edema Ruh”

The new album (first featuring Floor Jansen) is fine, nothing special, though they killed it live. This one wasn’t played, but for me probably a top-5 career track.

Black Tongue- “L’appel du vide”

Monstrously heavy. There’s a lot of bad deathcore in the world, but this just works.

Gorgio Moroder- “74 Is the New 24”

Though the album was uneven, this song is fire.

Avatarium- “Girl With the Raven Mask”

This album drew big headlines for most of the year, and though I didn’t dig the whole thing, the title track absolutely rocks.

Entries from the Top 100: Coconut Records, "West Coast"

Location: 20ish

Seeing Jason Schwartzman on Bill Murray’s (largely forgettable) Netflix Christmas special brought to mind this little gem from Schwartzman’s solo project Coconut Records. For years I thought it was a side project of the singer from Phoenix (who are also featured in the special), but that’s not the case at all. Anyways. This is a finely crafted little indie pop song. The lyrics are simple and poignant, and “tonight I think I’ll be staying here” gets me every time. For me it brings me back to a trip from a few years ago, combining the fond nostalgia from an enjoyable week tempered with regret for an opportunity not taken. Without that context I can see this ending up just another cute indie pop song, but there's nothing wrong with that. Throw in on some playlists (especially given the relative lack of polish on the rest of the album) and enjoy.

La Dispute- Wildlife

It’s almost not fair to make this album the first entry, as it’s one of my 2 or 3 favorites ever, and easily my most listened to in the years since its release. But the CD just came in so it hasn’t left my car player (No Sleep Records is having a sale like every week right now, go pick something up) and here we are.

Consistency has been one of the hallmarks of La Dispute’s young career. All three albums have not only been strong as a whole, but each have few holes in their tracklists. Wildlife’s interludes (“a Poem”, “a Letter”, etc) make the album a more uneven listening experience than the straightforward Somewhere at the Bottom of the River, but the album flows well, using the interludes to underscore the themes of the album while providing a respite from the maxed out emotional stakes. The main tracks are where the action is though, and for my money showcase a band at the peak of an already brilliant run. These are songs that are hard to imagine being made by any other band. Jordan Dreyer is in a class of his own as a lyricist as it is, and on Wildlife he does best work to date as a vocalist.

I’ve seen criticism that Wildlife represents a step back for the band instrumentally from Somewhere at the Bottom of the River. And maybe that’s true. Guitarists Kevin Whittmore and Chad Sterenberg have less room to flex on Wildlife, and the music doesn’t have quite the same ferociousness as Somewhere. But the music still complements the vocals and story very well- see the excellent bridge in “King Park”, or the guitar line through “Safer in the Forest”). You’re coming for the lyrics on this one- they’re too good to not be the prominent feature of the album. But after awhile you’ll find yourself staying for the music too.

I could go on for far too long about this album, so let’s cut it short. This is melodic post-hardcore (or flamenco) of the first-rate, with absolutely unrivaled lyrics and storytelling. One of the must-listen rock records of the last 5 years. 10/10.