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Fresno, California... Yeah, I could go on and on about how I think it might be the 7th level of hell and all that. I have been there numerous times due to the fact I dated a girl who lived there for awhile. I found that city to hold little to no redeeming value. I don't want to talk shit about anybody's hometown though, so, I will just say this... I can completely understand why every Cabin Fire song sounds so pissed and desperate. For a two-piece, these gents sure do make a lot of racket. These two new songs are following along the same path they have been creating for awhile now. Fast, faster, fastest until the bottom drops out and the death knell crushes you like a 10-ton industrial press. Reversal of Man and Combatwoundedveteran are worthy reference points as well as more modern bands like Holiness Church of the Valley and Caust. The lyrics are cryptic and to the point, usually dealing with inner turmoils, societal ills and the stark reality of a future with no hope. These songs are raw, honest and very worthy of your time.
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Coming from Paris AND featuring former members of Belle Epoque were just two of the reasons I was so interested in this band from the start. Naming themselves after a Drive Like Jehu song certainly wasn't a detractor for me either. And, just like their name would lead you to believe, these guys play it all jittery, driving and claustrophobic almost as well as Jehu played it. Now, some of you might scoff at that sentence, seeing as how Drive Like Jehu were and continue to be one of the most revered Post-Hardcore bands of all time. There have been many bands over the years who have tried and failed to emulate the urgency and raw emotion in song the way those boys from San Diego did it.
Do You Compute have succeeded.
The 10 songs on this full-length are a testament to Punks growing older, breaking free from the confines of any one genre and creating something that pulls from all directions. These songs can go from caustic, throbbing Post-Hardcore to distortion drenched, AmRep-style Noise-Rock to an almost Crust-n-Roll barrage of machine gun riffs in a single turn. The vocals aren't screamed so much as hoarsely shouted, which makes it pretty easy to understand what everyone in the band is yelling about. That's another thing I like... Three of the four guys are singing, growling and bellowing. It makes for a very well-rounded listening experience, with voices coming at you from all directions.
While some of the songs do pull heavily from that Jehu influence, they aren't overly reliant on that one sound. As I was saying, I detect everything from Jesus Lizard nihilism to the mathy aspects of Hero Of A Hundred Fights to the wall-of-sound confrontation of Tragedy or His Hero Is Gone. From Post-Metal to Aargh-Core to Indie-Thrash and everything in between. There is going to be something here for fans of any and all forms of heavy music.
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Ukrainian Post-Rock with Screamy Hardcore flourishes, or Post-Screamo, or Post-Hardcore with Screamo leanings... These songs defy categorization. There have been a few other blogs that have posted this, though none of them seem to have taken the time to actually describe the record. They have all just cut and pasted the Facebook and Last.FM descriptions which I think is pretty lazy. When I first heard this, it reminded me of Envy and Aussitot Mort. The more I listened, the less I heard Envy and the more I hear bands like June Paik, Louise Cyphre or Suffocate For Fuck Sake. Basically this band can go from a sullen, barren dreamscape one moment to a raging, violent suffocation the next. They have shared the stage with other, forward thinking Screamo/Post-Everything bands like Sen Deni, Esazlesa, Date Rape and The Death Of Her Money. I love this. I am enjoying a joint right now while listening to it. I suggest you do the same.
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I have been revisiting old, beloved records pretty regularly these days. Empire State Games were from Detroit. They only lasted for two years, but in that short time they were able to create some of the finest Emo/Post-Hardcore that has ever existed. They could best be described as a meshing of Jawbreaker, the Hated and, perhaps... Um... I will say... No Knife. Aggressive as hell at times. Poppy and sweet at others. I don't feel like writing anything too in depth right now as I am at work and busy IMing and watching movies. Anyway, I can't recommend this discography enough if you have any interest at all in 90's Emo.
