Shock Mountain

When Have a Nice Life released their debut album, Deathconsciousness, in early 2008, the blog scene exploded. Authors everywhere were dumbfounded at how such a small and unknown band made of two guys from Massachusetts could have created such a devastating, powerful album without label support. Immediately, the band was almost unwillingly thrown into the public spotlight and copies of their debut album and the 70 page booklet that accompanied it flew out of stock from their online store (seriously, if you don’t have this album, get it now). The re-release of the album on vinyl earlier this year stirred up even more excitement about the group’s next album.

To make a long story short, it took Have a Nice Life over five years to record Deathconsciousness, and they show no sign of hastening their process anytime soon. Not that this is a bad thing at all, however. Tracks like “Earthmover” and “Bloodhail” are absolutely devastating fuzzed-out tracks soaked in reverb that require a certain extreme attention to detail. To placate fans hungry for a new album, the band has collaborated with others to compile Voids, a release that contains early demo versions of songs off of Deathconsciousness and others from an early EP the band put out. Chances are, you don’t have these, but they’ll definitely satisfy you. This album is not an official Enemies List release, but rather has been floating around the internet with approval from the band. This record keeps the same power the band has on Deathconsciousness but with a little rawer feel you would expect from two guys recording in their bedroom with the expectation to share their music with only a few choice people. In short, while these new tracks are nice and will definitely keep you busy, they still fall short of the sheer power of Deathconsciousness but will still be a nice addition to your library.

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-McKenna

Nearly every blog has already posted the new Fuck Buttons, but if for some reason you haven’t stumbled upon it, here it is.

This album is scheduled to be released on October 5, 2009 by ATP Records

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- James

One could say that with the triumphant return of The Jesus Lizard, who needs Pissed Jeans? David Yow and Co. haven’t released any new material (yet), so thank god for Pissed Jeans, bringing violence and danger back to music. Singer Matt Korvette’s murderous howl is backed by thunderous guitars and earth shattering drums, all of which seem to radiate danger, ugliness and frustration. So brash that they make fellow hardcore purveyors Fucked Up seem tame by comparison, and occasionally do the same to some of their influences: The Jesus Lizard, Black Flag, Flipper, ect. Driving about 13 hours to and from Chicago earlier this week, this album was all I wanted to listen to.

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THIS ALBUM WILL BE RELEASED AUGUST 18TH ON SUB POP RECORDS. PRE ORDER HERE

There’s something about Pokemon that brings people together. I fondly remember in 7th grade going to Alex Zahka’s house with all of my friends to play Ruby and Sapphire on Gameboy Advance, while watching a Pokemon film and eating a Pokemon Dairy Queen Cake (Love you, Zahka family). In fact, just last weekend I visited my friends, in Chicago and started playing a rom of Emerald, which they had all been training on. So when Jeff, the drummer of His Hideous Heart, told me that a band called Ponyta was opening for them I asked him to throw on the EP on the way home. On first listen, I thought they sounded like a noisier Crocodiles. The two members, who just graduated two suburban Cleveland high schools, have some major chops. They’re playing a fuzzy version of poppy noise rock that putts you off-gaurd until subtle hooks knock you the fuck out.

The band will be RAPIDASHING all over Cleveland in the next two weeks. First playing a free show at Bela Dubby in Lakewood on the 22nd, followed by a show with His Hideous Heart at The Grog Shop on the 30th. If you’re a Clevelander with nothing better to do, make it out to one or both of these shows.

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Tomorrow night, I’m seeing Japanther for the first time at Now That’s Class in Lakewood. I’ve been taking a bit of a crash course with their albums since I only recently got around to actually downloading them. Based out of New York, the two members, Ian Vanek (drums/cassettes/vocals) and Matt Reilly (bass/casio SK-1/vocals), have been together since 2001. Lots of people compare them to No Age, which makes me feel bad. This is one of those bands that just struck before the iron was hot and ended up being under-appreciated. I haven’t disliked anything of theirs that I have heard so far, so hopefully you won’t either. This isn’t nearly their discography, but it’s certainly a start.

Dump The Body In Rikki Lake (2003)

Leather Wings (2003)

1-10 7″ (2004)

Japanther/The Sneeze 7″(2004)

Master Of Pigeons (2004)

Wolfenswan (2005)

Skuffed Up My Huffy (2008)

Tut Tut Now Shake Ya Butt (2008)

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-James

A member of the Deerhunter forum recorded this album and mastered it 5 times before posting it in off topic. It’s incredibly fun noise rock with a punk aesthetic much like No Age, which seems like a generic comparison for modern noise rock bands, but I think you’ll see what I mean. Not anything too dynamic or groundbreaking, but it’s still a really good album to jam to. Has my seal of approval.

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-James

Ponytail start right where they left off on their second album, which came out last June. They definitely refined their sound when writing this album. It’s just as feel-good and fast as Kamehameha, with a slightly more centered approach. After having toured the country they created a more cohesive album, that is definitely worth checking out, if you haven’t already.

Ponytail is an experimental band based out of Baltimore, Maryland. They have toured with the likes of Battles, Hella, Don Caballero, and High Places. The band is comprised of three guy’s and a boyish girl who’s vocals are incredibly untamed. With punk beats and a truly open approach to music, they have garnered comparisons to Deerhoof and Yoko Ono. Lead singer Molly Siegel’s vocal stylings seperate this band from being an otherwise generic noise pop band. Fast and often dueling guitars weave an intricate pattern in your ears leaving you in a sort of passive excitement. What else could you expect from a band that named their first album after the signature move of Goku from Dragonball Z?

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Mi Ami was created in August of 2006. Two of the members were previously in now defunct Black Eyes. Their sounds are vastly different but the singer’s voice is still a very prevalent and powerful force in their music. Mi Ami creates a unique form of music that not everyone can enjoy on first listen. The drums on this album start out as normal as could be but soon tribal rhythms and effected beats back the inventive guitar playing. This is definitely music to listen to on your headphones after smoking some green. The channel changing is somewhat subtle, with chirps going off in the background of one ear that seem almost unnecessary until you realize that it is still a part of the sound collage they are creating. Due to a posting on ill-formed and a stream on Pitchfork for the first song on this album, I believe that you will hear more about this band once this album gets its official release.

This album is scheduled to be released on 02/17/2009.

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