Sunday, November 30, 2008

Grand Archives - demo

Another quick shot as we close out the month of November. Having booked his previous band, Carissa's Wierd, twice before their breakup, I had very high hopes for Mat Brooke's post-Band of Horses project. Chances are you're reading this in the process of completing your collection, so you've formed your own opinions of Grand Archives. I like it alright; in fact, I'd say I like the production and arrangement on these demos more than the finished product on The Grand Archives. However, kinda like Band of Horses (IMHO), the total output doesn't match the sum of the parts.

You're the judge...I'm merely the executioner.










Grand Archives - demo

RIYL: falling leaves, 40 beats per minute, ice cracking under foot

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Lucero - That Much Further West (bonus disc)

Happy Franksgiving, everybody! As soon as I shit, shower & shave, I'm packing up the fam and driving north to my folks' house, for a bounty of bourbon, pork and potatoes. Hooray!

If you like toys, and you want the dope on what's new, I'd recommend stopping by Plastic Jungle, which I'll be writing for. It's pretty cool; in theory I'll be getting paid to talk about designer toys. Who says there's a recession on?!?

As part of my Lucero bounty, here is the relatively-limited bonus disc from Lucero's That Much Further West. If you preordered the CD from Insound/Tigerstyle, you got this second disc of rarities & live product. Set in the same order as Lucero's 4th record, you get 12 alternate versions that add up to pretty good times. Worth downloading for the piano-driven version of "Mine Tonight" alone. This is one that I'll throw on my iPod if I'm driving late at night.










Lucero - That Much Further West (bonus disc)

RIYL: turkey, stuffing, wine, football

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Lucero - The Coldwater Sessions

There's a short list of things I never expected to do. Most of the activities I never expected to participate in involve home ownership. Today, I did two of them:

1) Pay a shitload of money for heating oil.
2) Restart a furnace that had been out of heating oil.

Party people, please buy solar, or use gas heat. Getting covered in 24 oz. of heating oil is no fun, no matter what the Hollywood stars tell you from the red carpet...

What you have here is Memphis, TN's Lucero, and the demos from their self-titled record, otherwise known as The Coldwater Sessions. Better men than I can clarify a couple of the song titles; I know a few might be off. And cheers to Gregor at Captain's Dead for the original post. This is in honor of the cold house I've had for the past week. Pour yrself a glass of Booker's and strap those headphones on REEEAAAALLL tight. Cuz, baby, it's cooooold outside...

Lucero - The Coldwater Sessions

RIYL: mid-September, porch swings, rusty chain link

Monday, November 24, 2008

Fucked Up - Daytrotter Session

So, yeah, if you like boogie rock, or hipster hardcore, or whatever the hell Vice Magazine is calling it today, you'll like this.

I, of course, like it in secret, behind closed doors with headphones on.

...beats the shit out of the Twilight soundtrack...










Fucked Up - Daytrotter Session

RIYL: Gentle Giant, Wall of Voodoo, Amon Duul II (but NOT Amon Duul I)

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Liars Academy - demo

I really should be cleaning the house right now, but balls to that. Here's the demo for Baltimore's Liars Academy. Made up of ex-members of Cross My Heart and Daybreak, this quartet released a pair of LPs and and EP on Equal Vision Records before breaking up, then reuniting two years ago for a 7" and a few shows. Great adult emo from a time when we thought the Promise Ring & Saves the Day were going to conquer the world.

Liars Academy - demo


RIYL: Deep Elm releases, chest-tapping, your friends onstage

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Negative Approach - The First Year

If you're like me, you enjoy drinking someone else's beer, turning up Negative Approach and running repeatedly into a brick wall. You don't like that, you say? Well, you are missing out. There are very few things better in life than N.A. and a pilfered six-pack of Shiner Bock.

Cheers to Henry at Chunklet and Benn & Rachel at Atomic Books for a rousing Rock Band party last Friday, and for the inspiration for this post. What you have here, in a mere 28 megs of file space, is the first year's output from Grosse Point, MI's finest. What you get is the first demo, the track from the Process of Elimination 7" and the self-titled 7". 21 songs, 18 minutes. You must break something. All of this should be on Guitar Hero, or Rock Band, or some video game.

Negative Approach - The First Year

RIYL: random acts of violence, 1981, shaved heads

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Sick Fix - demo

It's Sunday. I wish there was a good matinee going on this afternoon. I really feel like going to a show, finger-pointing and running around like an asshole. It must be cuz I've been listening to this demo again. Sick Fix is from D.C. You know what's awesome about these guys? Everything. Released in 2006, this is sick, fast, straightforward teenage sXe HC that have you Xing up and getting caught in a mosh. In addition to this here demo, Sick Fix has released a 7" on Nick Baran's Third Party Records. Both are pretty much must haves, eh?

Sick Fix - demo


RIYL: long-sleeved t-shirts sharpied up with band logos, being 17 & pissed

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Leatherface - Mush

I never quite got how anyone could slag off Leatherface. And yet I always read damn fools bashing them. I haven't been writing a lot, and today isn't going to bring any real change to that. Anything that could be said about Leatherface has already been said in a more eloquent and heartfelt manner than I ever could. I've had the pleasure of hearing them live twice: in 1999 and 2000. In 1999, I sat outside St. Andrews' Church in College Park, where Frankie Stubbs & co. headlined a Hot Water Music/Panthro UK United 13/Swank bill. I was dead broke, and only about 2 months into an 9 month stay at the University of Maryland. In 2000, Leatherface played the Sidebar in Baltimore. I got and stayed shitfaced drunk, Cross My Heart & Pezz opened, Leatherface lived up their reputation as a fantastic live band, and somehow I made it home, without a scratch. I'm still amazed at the humor, the sincerity and the love that's gone into ever piece of music released by Leatherface. For those folks out there who dream of punk rock that is more than just a caricature of white belts, foot-tall mohicans or eyelinered anorexics, I heartily recommend Sunderland's finest.

Mush is Leatherface's third full-length. Originally released by Roughneck Records in 1992, it received a limited U.S. release by Atlantic Records subsidiary Seed Records in 1993. Since then, Mush has gone in and out of print, with a re-issue coming in 2000 for their 2nd full U.S. tour, as well as a new re-issue coming a few years back on Fire Records out of the UK. This rip comes from the Big Rock Records release in 2000. It is a record I will hold onto for the rest of my life. Leatherface should be going on stage in a few hours in Gainesville...I'm very jealous of the few folks I know who made the trip from Baltimore.










Leatherface - Mush
(note, 1/11/09: I've pulled the link temporarily, since there have been a ton of downloads on this, so obviously cats are interested. I'll probably repost this link, with all-new text, in a couple of months. While Amazon is not very helpful if you want a physical copy of this, they do provide a nice, low-cost MP3 download alternative. So drop the $9, for crying out loud.)

RIYL: Tom Waits, singing loudly while drunk on cheap red, hope

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