Listen to Wake, right now


In rare thing, we’re just going to tell you to go listen to this EP from Richmond’s Wake. We got the e-mail announcing the impending vinyl release of the self-titled 7-inch yesterday, and promptly started listening. It’s snotty hardcore, and while Rival Mob might be the big new in terms of hardcore releases this week, take a moment (quite literally, less than ten minutes) to listen to Wake. It’s almost better than a big cup of coffee to wake you up and get you moving. It kicks off with thirty seconds of gang vocals, so get your fist-pumping and finger-pointing skills up to snuff before you click play.

The vinyl is so newly-announced, Glass Nail Records doesn’t even know the colors yet. It’ll be out in July, though, and you can pre-order that sucker through the Glass Nail store. How’s that for being on the bleeding edge of news?

Marine Electric, “Restrained Joy” LP

cover - marine electricBrooklyn’s Marine Electric have a nifty idea with their recent full-length, Restrained Joy. They recorded the instruments live, and then recorded the vocals later. It certainly lends the instruments a certain urgency and heft that one can only get from a live setting.

That said, though, there’s a flipside: the vocals seem rather flat in comparison. It sounds good, but the vocals just seem to lack the resonance held by the instruments. You lose the slight echo and reverb that a live room gives you when you step into a booth to sing.
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“Till Death” a gory Valentine’s Day card

book cover - till deathThe upcoming release of Till Death… A Guide to Love and Loss is sure to be a big deal for fans of New Years Day and its frontwoman, Ash Costello, as well as Kriz DK of the Genitorturers and Deadstar Assembly. It’s a wonderfully shot series of photographs by Jeremy Saffer, and the concept is that it “shows what it might be like to date a Gothic matriarch, like Morticia, Elvira, Lily, etc. prior to them meeting their Gomez or Herman.”

It’s a 70-page, full-color hardcover, with the images within hewing to “Addams/Tales From The Crypt” sense of humor. Essentially, that means some very cheesy (cheap Valentine’s Day level, really) visual puns, coupled with some excruciatingly gory imagery.
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Run, Forever, “Settling” LP

cover - run forever settlingThe first long-player from Run, Forever in a year and a half — and the first recordings from the band in over a year — Settling is an album that’s been long-awaited. Now that it’s out on Tiny Engines, what do we have?

Run, Forever’s sound on Settling is the natural successor to the late ’90s / early ’00s acts who filtered alternative rock through a pop filter (i.e., the entire Drive Thru records roster). On this LP, Run, Forever flip the equation, filtering alterna-pop through an indie rock filter.
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Jowls, “Cursed” 10-inch

DOG164 JACKET FINALThey still make screamy, angular indie rock, thank heavens. I’d been afraid that screamo had co-opted this style of delivery almost completely, but JowlsCursed, out now on Tiny Engines, comfortably delivers screaming and impassioned lyrical delivery from breakdowns and mall hair.

Cursed is jam-packed with metronomic pulses which abruptly shift, lurching and jerking into another cyclical section, which will itself be punctuated by agonized vocals. The first side’s three songs hew so closely to this template that it’s almost as if it’s one long song, each track seperated but nothing but a quiet drum roll.
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Ex Friends, “Twisted Around” 7-inch

cover - ex friends twisted aroundThe latest EP from Philadelphia’s Ex Friends, Twisted Around, is an enthusiastic bit of punk rock which hearkens back to the ’90s era of Gilman Street. It’s street-punky and anthemic, with a rock ‘n’ roll — not hardcore — influence. Ex Friends have a hint of that Philly punk style one hears in the likes of Kid Dynamite or Paint It Black, but more along the lines of the Loved Ones.

Ex Friends are lyrically simplistic, but the enthusiasm behind them make the entirety of this 7-inch an absolute joy to hear. Additionally, lyrically simplistic just means that after one listen to both sides, you’re good to sing along, at least to the choruses. Although, in the case of “Vexed Question,” you’re good for the entire song.

It’s out now via Germany’s Yo Yo Records, and is limited a pressing of 300 on black vinyl and features handprinted jackets designed by drummer JP Flexner. The lithograph cover is vibrant and striking, much like the music itself.

Berwanger announces split with TK Webb

art - berwanger tk webb split
We’ve demonstrated some love for Berwanger a lot recently, and it’ll only ramp up now that the band’s getting ready to release their full-length, All You Can Eat, later this spring. In advance of all of that, however, will come this split 7-inch with TK Webb on California’s Creme Tangerine Records. Berwanger’s contribution, as you can see, is the track “Neon Corners.” No clue as to when the split will see release, but keep an eye on the band’s Facebook page for more updates.

You can hear a live version of the band’s track below, in a live video shot by Sid from Too Much Rock during their show at the Jackpot in Lawrence on Thursday, February 7, 2013.
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Yo Gabba Gabba live at the Midland this weekend.

yo gabba gabba liveThe past couple of weeks, I’ve been driving to work, listening to the same CD — namely, the fourth volume of the Yo Gabba Gabba “Music Is… Awesome!” series of compilations. For them’s that don’t have kids, Yo Gabba Gabba is a show on the Nick Jr. cable network, and was co-created by Christian Jacobs, who readers of this site might better know as MC Bat Commander of the Aquabats.
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Death Waltz Records announces their Record Store Day releases

Death-WaltzSome of you may have recently become acquainted with the UK’s Death Waltz Records via their profile in Spin. Well, the fine purveyors of horror and sci-fi vinyl announced their releases for Record Store Day 2013. They’re fucking choice. While the soundtracks to Horror Business and the short film Yellow will have a lot of the folks out there most excited, I’m pretty jazzed about the series of three split 7-inches of TV themes.

There’s Star Trek / Lost In Space on black and glitter vinyl, The Twilight Zone / The Outer Limits on clear and black vinyl, and Alfred Hitchcock Presents / The Munsters on white and black vinyl. They’re all in exlusive Death Waltz die cut retro disco bag sleeves (300gsm card with matte varnish and black paper inner sleeve), include a free 7 x 7 artprint, and are limited to a one-time pressing of 1000.

WANT. HARD. Somebody in the UK needs to figure out a way to get me one of each, please. Check the art below.

“TV Horror” more notable for what it omits than what it covers

book cover - tv horrorLorna Jowett and Stacey Abbott‘s new book from I.B. Tauris, TV Horror: Investigating the Darker Side of the Small Screen, is an excellent, scholarly look at how the horror genre is portrayed on television. The authors look both to Stephen King’s oft-quoted opinion that television limits the terror that can be portrayed, as well as examining the possibilities offered by the small screen.

It’s strange, though — the book mentions the likes of the X-Files, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, the Twilight Zone, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and even the likes of Twin Peaks. However, the greatest number of pages are devoted not to those particular shows, but to Doctor Who.
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