Shizune - La Voyageur Imprudent

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Italy and screamo have gone hand in hand for years. With the likes of Raein, La Quiete, A Flower Kollapsed, Violent Breakfast, Endless Inertia & The Death Of Anna Karina paving the way for younger bands to carve out their own niche in a scene that has some really big shoes to fill. Shizune are filling those shoes with aplomb. This is the newest record from a band who have already proven themselves worthy of carrying the torch passed down from their progenitors. This is classic 90s influenced post-hardcore with very apparent emoviolence flourishes peppered throughout. Super passionate vocals sung and screamed in English, Italian, French & Japanese weave themselves seamlessly through tightly wound guitar lines that have an almost post-punk/goth feel, reminding me at times of bands like Echo & The Bunnymen or The Jesus & Mary Chain. That's pretty vague and I'm not sure if the band would agree with me on that one, but that is what I hear. If you can't get on board with a band experimenting and/or you don't like great post-punk, don't let that comparison dissuade you from checking this band out. This is a screamo record, through & through. Do you favor the Italian school? You will love this. Do you like Beau Navire, Disembarked, Vowel, Cavalcades & We Were Skeletons? You will love this. Do you appreciate DIY and the many facets that culture entails? You should support this band with everything you've got.

Things Fall Apart - S/T

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     I'm pretty sure we already have a contender for AOTY with this, the new record from Ohio heartthrobs, Things Fall Apart (TFA). These gents are part of the skramz vanguard & have perfected their take on somber, heart wrenching screamo through their newest batch of songs. The instrumentals lilt and swell with precision until the inevitable outburst brings everything crashing down around you. The vocals travel from a hushed murmur to an outright screaming aural assault, attacking from every angle, though never taking away from the power of the instruments themselves. Everything is as it should be in the mix which makes this whole thing feel that much more powerful. Having only had the chance to listen to this record a couple times so far, I can say with certainty that these songs have that lasting quality that means they will be stuck in my head for days, which is definitely the sign of a strong release. I don't really know what else to say about this... If you are a fan of their past work, you will most assuredly enjoy this. If you are just getting into real screamo and you would like a recommendation on a good band to start with, I can't praise these guys enough. If you are a fan of late 90s/early 00s screamo & post-hardcore, I would be flabbergasted if you couldn't find something to enjoy here. If you enjoy bands like Indian Summer, Ivich, Manku Kapak, Anomie, Carlisle, Anasarca, Old Gray, Calculator, Indian Taker & Suis La Lune, you WILL enjoy this.

Ephemera - S/T

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     Ummmmmm.... I feel a little strange writing about this band because I keep wanting to use the word "supergroup" and I feel like that is just such a stupid word in general, but I don't exactly know how else to describe the combined effort it took to create these songs... Basically, what exists here are beautiful screamo/post-rock songs built by a bunch of movers & shakers within the modern skramz scene. Folks that helped craft these works of art play in or have played in bands such as: Suffocate For Fuck Sake, Shirokuma, Totem Skin, Sore Eyelids, Anemone, Via Fondo, Heart On My Sleeve, Trembling Hands, Rainmaker, Coma Regalia & Vi Som älskade Varandra Så Mycket. If that's not enough of a solid pedigree to get you to dive headfirst into these songs of sadness, beauty and insanity, I don't know what else to do for you. 

     All you need to know is this; The musicians who have come together and taken the time to create this record are some of the most talented, dedicated punks in the world. There is so much heart and passion pulsing through these compositions that it's almost impossible to keep it contained. These songs sound like they are constantly on the verge of complete collapse, and you should feel very good about that. I would recommend this to anyone interested in the above bands as well as Tristan Tzera, June Paik, Funeral Diner, The Kodan Armada and/or Laeirs. This is hardcore for the hardcore.

Ask For Answers - Speak

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     I'm gonna keep this review short and sweet because I think the music here can just speak for itself. Ask For Answers are a "virtual skramzgaze" band that exists between two different points on the map. Amado lives in Texas and Filip lives in Serbia. Together, they create songs that borrow equally from screamo, noise-rock and shoegaze and they do it damn well. These songs are terse, sharp bursts of lo-fi violence that will have you pinned to the floor and begging for air in no time. Imagine Jeromes Dream, Deafheaven, Idiot Pilot and Durga spending the weekend together in some dirty motel room off I-80 and you will have a pretty good idea what this sounds like. 

Hurricäde - Anachronisms LP

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     My goodness. Today marks an end to one of my longest inactive streaks ever. I couldn't think of a better way to pick up where I left off than by talking a bit about one of the great heavy hitters of the Spanish post-hardcore scene. Hurricäde is a 3-piece band who hail from Girona, a city in the northeastern part of Catalonia. They formed in 2007 and this is their first LP and third release overall after two stellar 10" records prior. Though this record came out in 2014, it's never too late to heap praise on perfection in sound. 

     As most of you know, Spain has long been a fertile breeding ground for some of the harshest, most inventive screamo of the last 15 years. I don't know what combination of ingredients came together to make the area so perfect with regards to birthing such an amazing and vibrant community, nor do I really care to know. The point is, Spanish screamo bands such as Costacurta, Heads And Heads, Ulises Lima, Colchon, OSTENde, Arse Moreira, Under The Waves, Enoch Ardon, Standstill, Gone With The Pain, Viva Belgrado & Hurricäde have all had a hand in creating music that continues to inspire and invoke heartfelt rumination.

     Musically, these guys take the best parts of the bands that came before and blend them to create an interesting amalgam of intense, noisy and claustrophobic screamo/post-hardcore that has certainly been hard to describe. The vocals are appropriately screamed with the occasional off-key singing part or spoken word build-up that brings to mind luminaries such as I, Robot & Yaphet Kotto. The guitars twist and flail around in an almost math-rock fashion which makes me think of Botch at times and June of 44 at others. The rhythm section certainly keeps the backbone strong here, with a heavy low-end and a drummer that can turn on a dime. Sometimes, the band will drop the chaos and settle into a bass-heavy groove where I can also decipher some influence from bands like Slint, Drive Like Jehu & Polvo. Definitely not a bad batch. 

         Saltamarges Records is a label you should definitely give your undivided attention to if you find yourself enjoying the heavier, noisier, post-rockier side of things. I can't recommend them enough. This LP is a perfect place to start.

Best of 2014 - Top 80

This list is in NO PARTICULAR ORDER. All of these records are amazing and should be spinning in your head and bleeding from your speakers 24 hours a day.

1. Viva Belgrado - Flores, Carne
2. Kaddish - Thick Letters To Friends
3. Blue Friend - I Will Be Your Blue Friend
4. Yumi - Epicureans
5. We Were Promised Jetpacks - Unraveling
6. La Parade - Voces Del Exilio
7. Perfect Future - Manifesto
8. Forever Losing Sleep - I Lost Myself Again
9. Courtesy Drop - Stabilize
10. Frameworks - Loom
11. Citycop - Loner
12. Vi som älskade varandra så mycket - Den sorgligaste musiken...
13. Nous Étions - La Manière Noire
14. Fuck, Wolves! - Jetzt ist nicht jetzt, jetzt ist immer.
15. Youth Novel - Turned Around Abruptly Beside a Mirror and Jumped...
16. Celebration - Sompting
17. Ito Project - 遠方より終着 & 喚起 / 契約
18. Downfall Of Gaia - Aeon Unveils The Thrones Of Decay
19. Cara Neir / Flesh Born - split
20. МАЯК - Искусство приводить себя в беспорядок
21. Elephant Opinions - Awakening Will Be A Journey
22. Locktender - Rodin
23. Human Hands - S/T
24. Monte Ida - Devotion
25. Young Mountain - Fragile & We're Drowning In Slow Motion
26. Handwriting! - You're Mad And I'm Still Here
27. Ritual Mess - Vile Art
28. 52 Hertz - Somnolence.
29. Black Love - S/T
30. Aviator - Head In The Clouds, Hands In The Dirt
31. Bag Of Bones - Third Dimension
32. Killeur Calculateur - Book Of Flags
33. Capacities - S/T
34. The Great Old Ones - Tekeli-li
35. As We Draw - Mirages
36. Devil Sold His Soul - Belong ╪ Betray
37. Alaskan - Despair, Erosion, Loss
38. Rosetta - Flies To Flame
39. Sport - Bon Voyage
40. Øjne / Улыбайся Ветру - split
41. Crows-An-Wra - Kalopsia
42. Plaids - S/T
43. Old Soul / Lentic Waters - split
44. Storm {O} - Sospesi Nel Vuoto Bruceremo In Un Attimo...
45. The Tidal Sleep - Vorstellunskraft
46. Iselia - II: Dawn
47. Love American - Hollow Crosses
48. Причал - Отголоски
49. Plebeian Grandstand - Lowgazers
50. My Fictions - Stranger Songs
51. Tetola93 - S/T
52. Mariesena - Ruth
53. We Came Out Like Tigers - Ever-Crushed At Pecket's Well
54. Anopheli - A Hunger Rarely Sated
55. Weakness - Too High To Die, Too Drunk To Care
56. Aleska - Time Is A Curse
57. Flesh Born - Han
58. Jeanne - Demo 2014
59. Svffer - Lies We Live
60. Left Astray - Don't Look For Me
61. Disembarked - Nothing's Wrong Here
62. Nothing - Guilty Of Everything
63. Panopticon - Roads To The North
64. The Hotelier - Home, Like Noplace Is There
65. He Whose Ox Is Gored - Rumors
66. Fearless Leader - Fiercely Loyal
67. Hightide Hotel - Naturally
68. Palmkite - 2011
69. Pianos Become The Teeth - Keep You
70. Tiny Moving Parts - Pleasant Living
71. Charlotte Light And Dark - S/T
72. Jungbluth / Callow - Split
73. Batièn - Frammenti del mio flusso che insieme sono...
74. Manku Kapak - 2 Songs
75. I Refuse - Öffnen ​/​ Atmen
76. Baton Rouge - Totem
77. Sore Eyelids - For Now
78. Under A Sky So Blue / Celebration - Split
79. Remek - S/T
80. Shirokuma - Sun Won't Set

Strays - S/T EP

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     I thought this blog was dead. I haven't posted anything here for months, one of my longest inactive streaks ever. Leave it to my insanely talented friend Ben to get me back in the mood to fawn over another one of his awesome bands!!! Ben used to play in Sleepless, whom I have written about a couple times before. They became one of my absolute favorite Emo/Post-Hardcore bands almost instantly after hearing them for the first time a couple years ago. This post isn't about my love for Sleepless, this is about the Hard Rockin' juggernaut that is Strays. For a two-piece, the sound here is very full, building off some seriously scuzzed-out, balls-to-the-wall, revved-up Rock with instantly recognizable Post-Hardcore leanings. These Ontarians have created a Bluesy, gritty, Punk as fuck masterpiece that will have fans of bands like Panthers, Black Flag, Thin Lizzy, Planes Mistaken For Stars, Trapdoor Fucking Exit, JR Ewing, Malkovich & Stolen Bikes Ride Faster slamming around their rooms with wild abandon. While it is unfortunate that Sleepless is dead, I am so glad Ben is still rocking his ass off and having fun playing what makes him happy. Strays make me wish I had long hard so I could achieve the true hessian headbang to these songs. If you like your Punk with heavy doses of ROCK, you will not be disappointed.