Song of the Week: "Suburban Home" (Descendents)

In a couple of days I'm gonna be moving to a place that, according to friends and family, reveals that I'm finally "growing up." As you can imagine, these words are more upsetting than encouraging. To drown out their jeers, I celebrate with a song I've been enjoying since high school, from a record that, groove for groove, might be the catchiest of all time. So catchy in fact, I can imagine even Asian lesbian jock drug addicts forgiving the sophomoric lyrics and singing along. "Suburban Home" is not my favorite track on the "MGTC" LP, but every track on there is a winner in some way, and thematically it was just too perfect to pass up.

So with starting work up again, and with my records packed and stacked and probably no internet for who knows how long, posting will be even more scarce than it has been lately. This reprieve will also allow me a little space and time to make some decisions I've been grappling with about the future of this blog...

"Suburban Home"

Another Day In The Void

You knew Grievance would have to make another appearance here, didn't you? Before throwing this one against the wall to see if it sticks, I recommend sampling the previous 7" posted below. The 7" at hand today, which I'm calling "Un Altro Giorno" after the first track, is a bit flawed. Let's begin with the positive-- the songwriting is amazing! The guitars are even more dissonant than their other material, and while the tempos aren't as varied and oddly placed, the riffs perform some pretty impressive time signature gymnasticism. Where this little record falls short is in the weak production (specifically on the drums), and in the absence of the usual vocalist. But seriously, the music destroys.

Whenever I can I like to add a little bonus track. The "Resistance Is futile... Assimilate" comp has another outstanding Grievance offering (with the other vocalist!). It reverts back to their other 7" with its whacked-out tempo progressions and emotive build-up. I was going to just add this track, but I figured you might also like the other material from Konstrukt, Stalingrad, and No Comply (they do a Spazz cover with pretty much a drum machine and bass!).

Grievance "Un Altro Giorno" and "Resistance Is Futile" Comp.

Zorn

While drawing the contrast between '90's bands of Europe vs. America, I was led to dig up some old Zorn 7"s. No, not the Avant Guarde composer, nor the black metal band. You may know the hardcore band from the classic "Plot" compilation, or if you're German perhaps they were a household name. I fear they were glossed over in my country, although the harsh, metallic hardcore hybrids that came out a couple of years later (in Arizona, for example) share some things in common. The "Heftig Aufflammender Unwille" 7" brings us stiflingly heavy hardcore that is emotive without being "emo" and metallic without being, well, metal. The "clean" passages nicely break up the relentless pummeling of the guitars I think, but some of you I fear will probably just want the guy to hit the damned pedal already. Anyway, this is classic stuff for me, and if you already love Systral, early Dawnbreed, Ego Trip, Gogatha, Acheborn, and maybe Wounded Knee, this is a band for you (as well as for lovers of Absinthe, Unruh, Jeremin, etc.)

A simple click will also get you Zorn's split with Zelot, who fall into a similar subgenre slot. I enjoy the Zorn tracks on their 7" much better, but really both bands do a fine enough job on this one.


*I have to apologize once again for the condition of the vinyl rips. I bought these for a buck each out of a used bin circa 2000.

Zorn 7"s

Song of the Week: "Homo Afflictus" (Charred Remains a.k.a. Man Is The Bastard)

Still vying for my favorite Man Is The Bastard track is "Homo Afflictus," for the usual intensity these musicians always brought to their music, as well as for its unpredictability of structure and overall weirdness! I've said it before and will continue to do so: MITB's recorded material pales in comparison to their live sets. When these guys plugged in, the brutality was real, not just an aspect of the genre they played. If you were fortunate enough to see them a couple of times, just close your eyes and crank up the volume; maybe some nifty flashback experience will visit your consciousness. For others, the advice concerning volume is still recommended.

"Homo Afflictus"

I've been putting off a re-post of the excellent comp from which this song was ripped. I'll continue to place it high on my list of priorities.

If Just I Could Burn As Well...

Since we're on the topic of The Assassinators, I noticed that this CD is becoming harder to find outside of Australia. It collects the band's demo, comp tracks, and the 7" I posted a while back. All twelve songs are as consistently invigorating and catchy as you'd expect from this band...

D/L here (for a limited time???)

Buy here.

Song of the Week: "Mit Mareridt" (The Assassinators)

Here's one of my favorite Assassinators songs from a 7" I've been playing uncontrollably for a couple of months now. Addiction is inevitable with these Danes, from their tight, traditional structures and galloping punk drumming, to the contagion-laced vocal melodies and harmonies (the comparisons to Bad Religion and La Fraction are not entirely misplaced). This is one of the few bands I know that can somehow sound so sweet and digestible, and still hold a stern place in the political/crusty hardcore canon. I've also heard that the band is no more, sadly, but this 7" is available all over the place. So, support them, and while you're at it you can support DSB who is also rad.

"Mit Mareridt" by The Assassinators from the split with DSB

Ivich Part II

Ivich's one and only LP was a major discovery for me, right after another major discovery-- that of the Ebullition mail order list. Ivich was without a doubt hardcore, but not like I had heard it previously. In the DIY spirit, it proved to me that a band still didn't need a huge recording budget to create innovative and moving noise. It was also my first indication that the nineties experimentation in Europe was a lot heavier and less whiny than its American correlate-- two traits I still adore in these bands. "La Mort Heureuse" is noisy, messy, and unpredictable, but it's equally riveting, passionate and sincere.

You can also hear some of the band's earliest work in the 7" included below (thanks a million to the always awesome Fab!) and on the "Le Garage" comp posted a while back.

Ivich stuff is here

Ivich LP and 7"

I won't be posting the 10" as it is still available from Ebullition.

Song of the Week: "Gusano De Fuego" (Moho)

Well, the SOTW is way late, but that's how it goes on vacation-- the days of the week are thrown out with the alarm clock. Late rather than never, we have one of the vices of all my summers. Along with more melodic stuff, I tend to grab the slow and sludgy records too, complimented with some non-cigarette tobacco product and a little alcohol. Eyehategod and Cavity are defaults for porch-sitting capers, as is the mighty Moho. They fit the MO perfectly-- Low and dirty post-Sabbath riffs? Got 'em. Sickening vocals? In abundance. Oodles of feedback? Check. Bearded Southern guys loaded on meth and whiskey? Ooh, not quite. Moho is some ex-grindcore kids from the capital of Spain, but don't let that prejudice you; they can easily hold their own with the big guns.

"Gusano De Fuego" by Moho from "20 Uñas"