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The last time I reviewed Cutters, I likened their lo-fi approach to bands such as Built To Spill, Cloud Nothings and Teenage Cool Kids. On this new record, I believe they certainly retain a lot of that sound & feel, while throwing in a lot more straight-ahead rock-n-roll along the way. The vocals are still strong and clear and sung with so much heart it's near impossible not to sing along. The lyrics are brimming with positive vibes and hopeful miseries and I am more than reminded of Piebald in the lyrical and vocal delivery. So, Cutters have blessed their first LP upon the world filled with a little pop, a lot of rock-n-roll, a liberal dose of ramshackle fuzz and a whole lot of gusto. This time around, I am reminded of Piebald, Oxford Collapse, Reigning Sound and the aforementioned bands from the last review. All in all, this record has all the bases covered for fans of the straight up, good ol' fashioned boogie.
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These young guys from Texas are playing well-informed Post-Hardcore with a confidence and strength that brings to mind 90's luminaries like Jawbox and Seaweed coupled with a more modern, melancholic approach as approved by the likes of Title Fight and Tigers Jaw. The crunch of the guitar adds a heft that I can really feel in my chest. Digging it!!!
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Odd Dates are another example of a two-piece band sounding so much more full than the sum of it's parts. I was actually quite surprised to find out this wasn't a four, or even five piece band while I drunkenly listened to them last night. I guess my inebriated ears were playing tricks on me... Anyway, These dudes are from Grand Rapids, Michigan, which, in and of itself isn't that extraordinary. What I find completely phenomenal is how their take on the modern "Post-Hardcore" thingy has been turned on it's ear with the addition of some sad bastard Indie Rock flourishes and a wonderful grasp of wild, Psyche-Rock styled guitar acrobatics. A band like Stolas could actually learn a thing or two from these gents. Vocally, the songs are sung, or spoken-shouted with the occasional screaming outburst. My favorite example of this is during the last verse in the song 'Get Even.' Hell, I guess I should hesitate to describe it as a verse-chorus-verse arrangement. The lyrics are written in more of a fractured prose style, which is seemingly quite common for this kind of sound. Do you remember what Piebald sounded like when they were still a shouty, screamy Post-Whatever band, before they became all super inside-jokey and started writing songs that could have been featured in laxative commercials? Well, take the songs from '...Venetian Blinds' and throw in a little bit of Eiffel and Braid and you should get the picture. I am completely enamored with this band, you should be too.
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Punk Rock spirituals!!! This band nailed it with their own description!! Cutters are a New York four piece specializing in fuzzed-out, Lo-fi jangle Punk with so much heart and positive gusto, you can't help but get hooked. I am trying to figure out just exactly who these folks remind me of... I hear little bits from the likes of Teenage Cool Kids, Built To Spill, Titus Andronicus, Cloud Nothings and Kind of Like Spitting. Hell, I think these songs would even appeal to fans of Tigers Jaw. No matter where your tastes lie, I truly believe there is something here for everyone. If you like to smile while shaking your ass at a sweaty basement rock show, Cutters might just be for you!!
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Waytaker are a band from the Ukraine whom I very much wish I would have discovered when they put this demo out earlier last year. This certainly would have made it on to my year-end list, for sure. Citing influences ranging from Small Brown Bike to Make Do And Mend to Samiam to Texas Is The Reason, you probably have a pretty good idea what you will be getting into with these songs.
Dripping with melancholy and a gruff sensibility, these relatively short bursts do encapsulate that grey area between raging Emo and Indie Rock. While the vocals are mostly sung, there are flashes of screamed catharsis here and there, which only adds to the overall sadness of the whole thing.
Listening to this demo, I am gladly transported back to the mid/late 90's, when bands such as Midvale and Inkwell were dominating my life with their overwrought bombast. Harshness coupled with calming serenity and an overwhelming sense of self-deprecation to create a four song barrage that is equal parts open diary and caustic manifesto. This is just wonderful.
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Sometimes, It's just easier to let the music speak for itself. These boys and girl from Ireland are creating a sweet, fuzzy, poppy Emo racket that just sticks to my ribs and makes me smile. I always get a nice twinge of excitement when I can't find other bands to compare. right now, as I listen to these songs for the 6th or 7th time in a row, It is almost impossible for me to find a comparison. This demo reminds me of the 90's. It reminds me of living room shows in Madison. It reminds me of cute, nerdy Emo girls wearing backpacks filled with Sylvia Plath and Emily Bronte literature and dancing wildly while The Promise Ring plays away on stage at The Loft... This is the sound of youth and I can't get enough. I will be celebrating my 35th birthday this coming week. I am glad there are bands around like The Winter Passing to remind me that life is still worth living and living is always more fun when we don't allow the constant oppression of time to weigh us down and turn us sour on the wonder that is hope.
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San Jose, California isn't generally known as a hotbed of musical ingenuity. Actually, off the top of my head, I can't even really think of a single band from San Jose that has ever done anything of note. Let me just say, Vulture Smile are here to change that. When the request came in to review this, I was a little put off by the idea of a band combining Indie-Pop and screamy Emo. Boy oh boy, I am so stoked that these songs exist!! I never would have thought songs could work written within this framework... Imagine throwing the Shins, Desert City Soundtrack and Kolya together and watching them make a baby. There are ultra-somber moments of blissed-out melody here intertwined with sharp snaps of raging anger. Though, the screamier parts are few and far between, they do exist in potent enough levels that the songs don't get bogged down in that meandering Indie nothingness that so many bands unfortunately suffer from. I am completely addicted to the second song 'Disappearances.' There is something about Ed's vocal drawl that I can't get enough of. I have been struggling to find a comparison. I am just going to give up. I haven't heard anything this refreshing in a long time. Do yourself a favor and give Vulture Smile a listen. These songs will get stuck in your head and you will thank them for that.
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Thank you to My Endless Minutes for introducing me to this amazing band. This is the best thing I have heard in weeks!! A little Screamo, a little straight forward Hardcore, a smattering of Indie Rock and some beautiful spoken word interludes make for one of the most complete sounding EPs of all time. I might have a new favorite band!! Well, to be fair, I seem to have a new favorite band at least 6 or 7 times a month... These five songs though... Wow!! This should appeal to fans of On The Might Of Princes, My Heart To Joy At The Same Tone and all 90's Emo.
