Podcast #41, “Geekery”

planetcomiconlogofull-cropThanks to some kind folks at Kansas City’s Planet Comicon, this week’s episode is a little more than the usual babbling and punk rock. We were lucky enough to be able to talk briefly with artist Ben Templesmith (of 30 Days of Night, Choker, and Wormwood), as well as writer Jason Aaron (of Scalped and Wolverine). Many thanks to both gentleman for taking time out of their busy convention weekend to talk into my recorder.

So, in honor of the con and all things geeky, we’ve got both interviews, as well as some thematically appropriate music.

Podcast #41, “Geekery”
Continue reading

Thee Oops, “Taste of Zimbabwe” LP

cover-thee-oopsThee Oops
Taste of Zimbabwe
(Slovenly Records)

Thee Oops are so very very fast. They are a garage punk band with the heart of a hardcore act. This is like listening to Minor Threat cover a bunch of classic Nuggets numbers. Honestly, this release speeds by so fast, jumping from number to number so quickly that it’s difficult to determine where one song ends and the next begins.

I am frankly afraid to listen to this LP in conjunction with the consumption of caffeine. I fear I might to harm to myself as I thrash about in my desk chair. Alcohol is needed to prevent the listener from being too intensely rocked.
Continue reading

Shards, “Shards” LP

cover-shardsShards
Shards
(Sorry State)

Why don’t more bands sound like the Criminals? Shards manage to take that menacing, slightly mush-mouthed delivery for which Jesse Luscious is known and fuse it with faster, more evil instrumentation. The temptation to compare Shards to the whole crack rock steady family of Choking Victim, INDK, et al, is tempting. The North Carolina act does resemble those New Yorkers, especially in that the bass is at the forefront of most songs (especially “Suicide”), but the music really owes more the early ’80s SoCal hardcore scene than recent New York crust developments.
Continue reading

Now Denial, “Fuck Now Denial” 12-inch EP

cover-now-denialNow Denial
Fuck Now Denial
(Tor Johnson Records)

Boston’s Now Denial have a good listen with this 12-inch EP, entitled Fuck Now Denial. Lots of hoarse-voiced screaming over deeply-hitting rhythms, and that all has the counterpoint of sparse guitar licks against stoner-metal riffage. The mixture of hardcore punk’s anger and frustration with the tuneful nature of classic rock is entertaining … while I’m listening to it.
Continue reading

Podcast #40, “Wanted On Wax”

stack-of-cdsLet us discuss the ridiculous irony inherent in the fact that this podcast took longer to do than the regular ones. That’s right: ripping tracks from CDs (a process that should be nearly instantaneous) took more time than recording songs from vinyl LPs and singles. In addition, I didn’t even get the pleasure of listening to the tracks as I recorded them.

On a positive note, I think the idea of “albums that’ve not been pressed on vinyl” makes for a nice unifying theme for this week’s podcast. It allows me to play a bunch of tracks that would otherwise be exempt, and also reminded me of some great albums that really ought not to be collecting dust in the living room. The likelihood of any of these albums ever seeing a vinyl release are infinitesimal, save maybe the MxPx record, but one can always dream, right?

Podcast #40, “Wanted On Wax”
Continue reading

Monument, “Goes Canoeing” LP

cover-monument-goes-canoeingMonument
Goes Canoeing
(Tiny Engines)

Monument‘s Goes Canoeing is a late ’90s throwback. Despite the fact that I really don’t want to pigeonhole Monument as a tribute act, when listening to Goes Canoeing, it is certainly difficult not to notice the moments that remind me of other acts. There are some Bright Eyes elements – the trumpet on “Roots Run Deep,” for example – as well as the choral breakdown on “No Sleep, All Play,” that exactly apes the cadence of Piebald’s “Long Nights.”
Continue reading

Jeffrey Novak, “Back At The Bottom”

trouble-in-mind-logoToday sees the release of two new EPs on the always-excellent Trouble In Mind. The Chicago label has issued solo releases from Alex Cuervo (who fronts Austin’s kings of garage the Hex Dispensers) and Jeffrey Novak (of the Tennessee garage-popsters Cheap Time).

Also out today from the label are LPs from the Wrong Words and the Paperhead, meaning you might as well just head on down to the record store after work today and throw down some cash for wonderful tunes. Alternately, you can just head on over to the label’s website and grab them all direct.
Continue reading

Stripmines, “Sympathy Rations EP” 7-inch

cover-stripminesStripmines
Sympathy Rations EP
(Sorry State)

The first song and title track on StripminesSympathy Rations EP fuses hardcore and thrash into a powerful piece of work. Until the 7-inch’s last track, “EmptyThreat,” it’s pretty much unmatched. The middle of the EP is nice and strong, but nothing really makes them stand out. The middle three tracks are fairly basic and otherwise unremarkable hardcore. It’s the speed and intensity of “Sympathy Rations” that causes it to stand out, while “EmptyThreat” is a wallop to the back of your head. It’s all rumble and chug, until it ramps up the tempo, working your ears like a speed bag.

Still, these two tracks certainly live up to the Totalitär comparisons made by the label. While not quite as overtly violent in their delivery, Stripmines certainly take a lot of their focused anger from that bunch of Swedes.

Tin Horn Prayer, “Get Busy Dying” LP

cover-tin-horn-prayerTin Horn Prayer
Get Busy Dying
(Bermuda Mohawk Productions)

If Tin Horn Prayer‘s Get Busy Dying was nothing but a one-sided single containing only the song “Crime Scene Cleanup Team,” it would still be worth purchasing. With the opening line, “Crime Scene Cleanup Team – I’m sorry for the mess I’m gonna make,” as well as the grimly picturesque “The first thing that you’ll notice as you waner down the halls / Is that red Picasso painting that I painted on the walls,” it’s an eerily jaunty murder ballad from the portrait of a suicide. It’s a modern-day update of the “bank come to take your house” tale that’s been told ever since there was a bank to take your house.
Continue reading

The Slow Death, “A Little Bit More”

cover-slowdeathIf you follow punk rock cartoonist Mitch Clem at all, you’ll know that he’s been working on a super-secret project for about the past year, which has pretty much kept him from releasing anything aside from the occasional comic for Razorcake. His project has been revealed, and it’s a fucking doozy, courtesy of Silver Sprocket

Not only is it the debut issue of Turnstyle Comix, it’s a 7-inch record! Tour stories from Jesse Thorson about his bands the Slow Death and the Falling Angels, as well as a back-up story from Mikey Erg! And if pages upon pages (40, to be precise) of gorgeously water-colored art, courtesy of Clem and the Nation of Amanda weren’t enough, you get the four-song debut from the Slow Death. It’s up for pre-order now, with the first 500 copies on bad-idea blue vinyl.
Continue reading