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As D.C. looses some of it’s recent hardcore big-names - 86 Mentality and Set to Explode - we’ve manged to keep on truckin’ with a couple nice venues (Bobby Fischer Memorial on North Capitol St. and Alfishawy Cafe on Georgia Ave.) and a handful of up-and-coming bands.
Here is a short, lazily compiled run-down of some recent bands within the 495 region that are worth your time:
Broken Bodies is a new hardcore band playing the best stuff - 80’s style hardcore. It’s fused with a couple wailiing metal riffs here and there, which is alright in my book if it’s kept at a minimum. Kind of angry and pretty fast.
Bad Habit. Number one, they cover Descendents live. Number two, a couple breakdowns. Number three, they cover Descendents live.
Mindset = constant fun straight-edge breakdowns.
Coke Bust is super thrashy, so I can’t get into it until they slow it down and allow the crust to settle (I’m so witty), but a lot of kids really dig this.
Time to Escape. Imagine some semi-crusty circle pits clearing out to make room for ‘bows gettin’ thrown during two-stepping and picking up change. Parsons voice is crackly and angry, yet somehow not too intimidating. Possibly because his former band Bail Out! revealed in their song “The Ballad of Bail Out!” that he once used sour cream for fun in the bedroom with a lady when he was out of whipped cream.
I’m sleepy.
http://www.purevolume.com/paintitblack
Paint it Black released New Lexicon on Tuesday.
This album is amazing. Here’s my review.
I work at an ice rink as a rink guard and instead of opting to listen to XM’s top 20 songs over the loudspeaker everyday, I hide my iPod headphones under my hood and skate around in circles enjoying my favorite music. Paint it Black’s third release, New Lexicon, came out last Tuesday, so by last Thursday I was awkwardly moving around on the ice as my ears told my body to two-step and bounce up and down to the heavy, yet melodic tunes that make up the new album.
Paint it Black is one of Dr. Dan Yemin’s four influential hardcore bands (Kid Dynamite, Paint it Black, Lifetime, and Armalite). Dan Yemin hides behind the guitar in his three other bands, but thank God Paint it Black uses him as their angry and loud, but honest and inspiring voice. In short, Dan Yemin is a badass vocalist. He roars about growing up and loosing friends on “The Beekeeper”, blind faith in religion on “White Kids Dying of Hunger”, and simply dispenses his everyday anger into each of the 15 tracks on the album. Yemin’s lyrics, although deep and sometimes difficult to decipher, are easy to relate to and encouraging. While the music can be super tough and heavy at times, the comfort of knowing Dr. Dan understands what you’re going through is prominent and might put a smile on your bouncing and two-stepping face. On “The Beekeeper” he ends with the lyrics “Live fast (but don’t die young)/ Slow down, but never, ever stop.” Aww, thanks for the encouragement, Dr. Dan. Maybe he’s so good at relating to others and understanding emotions because he has a PhD in psychology - he is a practicing child psychologist. While he tends to scream throughout the album, there are a couple fun “whoa-oh’s” on the tracks “New Folk Song” and “Shell Game Redux” to give it an extra tinge of melody. He’s been inspired by early hardcore bands such as Gorilla Biscuits, Minor Threat, and Black Flag, and now his bands have all been inspiration for my generation.
Although Dr. Dan Yemin is considered a hero to many, the other members of Paint it Black do their part to create the genius sounds on the new album. While some would probably brush it off as just another hardcore band and say that each song sounds the same, I believe Paint it Black has a very distinguishable sound. They tend to be very bass-heavy while often using the guitar for harmonics to counter the bass. In some songs, the guitar seems to be strummed sporadically, as if guitarist Josh Agron hadn’t planned on when he was going to play until getting to the chorus. Paint it Black proves that you don’t need a lot of guitar to create a heavy sound, just Andy Nelson’s (also backup vocalist) fast bass riffs and a lot of distortion. The drumming from Jared Shavelson ranges in speed throughout the album depending on the effect they’re going for. It tends to be slower during the badass breakdowns and brutal slow verses, but it will speed up along with the guitar during parts that resemble traditional punk riffs. They also collaborated with Oktopus, of hip-hop duo Dalek. Oktopus sprinkled industrial noise throughout the album to give it a little something to set it apart. The sounds aren’t excessive and they add something fun to the mix.
The third release follows 2003’s CVA and 2005’s Paradise, both tough albums to follow, but I think New Lexicon is the best so far.
Check them out at myspace.com/paintitblack.
Oh, just for shits ‘n’ giggles, here is a pic of me freaking out next to Dr. Dan.
Richmond, VA seems to be the nucleus of new music that falls under any subgenre of punk rock these days. If you live there you’re sure to get caught up in the double helixes and start a band or go to a thousand shows a week.
Recently I discovered a couple good Richmond bands at a show in VA Beach - Resonance and Permanent.
Resonance is a melodic punk band with members from Richmond and VA Beach. I saw them perform last Saturday at The Jewish Mother in VA Beach and they were a lot of fun. Their devoted hometown fans pissed off the managers of the place by stage diving a whole lot (why did you agree to have a hardcore show if you didn’t expect stage dives and/or slam dancing? . . . but that’s another story, I guess).
Not realizing who the band was when they started to play, I could hear in them a cross between Jawbreaker, Lifetime, and Hot Water Music. Interestingly enough hey list those three bands as influences on their myspace page in addition to Embrace and Turning Point.
The vocals are somewhere between singing and screaming and remind me of screamo bands like A Static Lullaby or Thursday, but the music defiantly takes the sound in a better direction. They aren’t really on the pile-on or two-steping side of hardcore, so tough guys might not find much appeal in this band. However, they are talented and make some really good tunes. Just check it out: myspace.com/resonanceva
(myspace)
Permanent. This is further up the tough guy alley, but still toned down enough for those who get sick of juggajugs and metal riffs. There isn’t as much melody, and there are a couple metal riffs. The vocals are all screams. In general, it’s faster and angrier. There are some beautiful breakdowns that’ll get you swaying back and forth wishing you could two-step.
Their sound reminds me a lot of Ruiner, but they are not as fast, which I think I enjoy more. They’re a lot of fun and I was surprised this band played first on the Dragonsaur bill last Saturday in VA Beach. These guys should be huge by now. Get into it!!!
Architecture in Helsinki recently released their third full length, Places Like This.
I’ve got to say, this new album is 150% more amazing than the last, In Case We Die. The songs have, on average, shortened by a minute as they have gotten faster and poppier. They have six members to play their large assortment of instruments including steel drums, xylophone, drum kits, and a tuba. Although their indie fans will do the “standin’ still” at shows, they know how to make fun, danceable music. Most members get a chance to sing on all of their tracks; the contrast between the male and female vocals add to the eclectic sound. They’ve thrown in a little more fun gibberish in addition to the lyrical content that’s never made sense to me anyway. Gibberish includes “waa waa waa”s, “boom da la la la la”s, and “hey ya ya”s.
This is probably the “feel-good” album of the year.
(myspace.com/incommunicadomusic)
Incommunicado is hands down the best punk outfit to come out of Pittsburgh, PA (That’s right. F**k off, Anti-Flag!).
Yesterday, Incommunicado released Losing Daylight, a full-length album, through A-F Records. It’s described as “12 songs, less than 30 minutes of erratic punk rock . . . this will be your new favorite band!“ Well, yeah. I think they are my new favorite band!
The band formed in 2004 and this album is their first full-length. The band is getting recognized for wild live shows and their ability to span every sub-genre of punk rock. It’s easy to hear traces of hardcore, screamo, post-hardcore, and pop-punk. They’ve also got a hint of funk, I’d say. They’re tunes are really fast and danceable while still pop-punky.
In all of the tunes, the bass seems to be a prominent instrument with it’s impressive fast riffs. Both guitars add to the speedy and erratic sound. The vocals are amazing. Chris, vocalist, has sort of a soothing voice even when he’s yelling. It reminds me of Davy Havok’s voice, but I get the feeling that this guy doesn’t wear as much pink eyeshadow. There is just the right amount of hollering to make it fun and not obnoxious. You can even make out the lyrics most of the time! That’s always impressive.
Incommunicado really sounds like they are doing something different. I am backing them 110%. They deserve all the attention they can get. I love supporting bands that are doing something new and spanning every possible genre.
They remind me of: (old) AFI, Bear vs. Shark, Strike Anywhere
I spend a lot of time on punknews.org and I recently took the time to listen to a couple album streams they’ve had up in their impressive sidebar (unlike my own).
Fox Trotsky is an amazing band I’m embarrassed to say I’ve only recently discovered. The best thing about them is that they’re creative tunes are hard to lump into one genre. That, and they scream a whole lot.
Fox Trotsky formed just 4 years ago in Atlanta, Georgia (a big variety of music comes out of this place). They have since put out their own EP and one CD with Alaska Records. They’re environmentalists and they know how to rock out. Let me attempt to describe their sound.
Take imagine a garage band with some heavy distortion, but upbeat melodies. Some impressive guitar solos add to the slow repetative riffs. The vocals are pretty scruffy-looking. I don’t think this guy has ever had singing lesssons, but that may add to the sound. The tempos vary, but for the most part you can tap your foot pretty fast. And although I can’t dance, I can definately bang my head, shake my hips, and wiggle my shoulders a lot.
Reminds me of: Hot Water Music, Bear vs. Shark, The Bronx
