Shock Mountain

Yeah, double post.

Merchant Ships is a yelpy, shouty band from Indiana. They play kinda loud, and it’s pretty fun to listen to. They sound like a more Midwest version of a lot of emo bands, sort of. They broke up, but then they got back together. While they were broken up, some of them played in Midwest Pen Pals. A while ago, Nick contacted me about trying to set up a show in Columbus in June, which I really hope happens because I feel like these guys would be really awesome to see live (if you can help out, contact me!). This isn’t their full discography because when I ordered it, they (accidentally, I’m sure) sent me a blank disc. Anyway, you should get this and rock out to it and definitely try and see these guys if they come to your town.

MySpace

Buy

-McKenna

PS: I just scheduled for Spring quarter, and I don’t have class Tuesday, Thursday, or Friday even though I’m taking 15 credit hours. So, if you are free those days next quarter, let’s be best friends. I’m not super crazy. You can Facebook stalk me to make sure. Or, alternatively, if you know of any jobs, tell me. Or give me a job being your best friend. Whatevs.

I really do apologize for not posting much lately at all. Like James said, I’ve been busy with school. Hopefully, this will make it up to you.

I just got the physical 7″ of this in the mail today, and I personally haven’t even had a chance to listen to it yet. It’s really high on my priorities list, I just didn’t want to put off doing things with this blog any longer. Anyway, this split features one new track from both bands.

The Saddest Landscape plays a brand of pure modern emo, in the vein of Suis La Lune or Her Breath on Glass. I don’t have nearly as much experience with The Saddest Landscape as I should and I fully intend on rectifying that as soon as possible.

I have much more experience with New Jersey-based post-hardcore group Trophy Scars, however. I first got into them with their release of Alphabet. Alphabets., but soon found their earlier catalog, especially Hospital Music for the Aesthetics of Language, to be more favorable. Anyway, I highly recommend checking more of their stuff out. Their song on this split moves in a more orchestral direction in the vein of their latest album, Bad Luck.

In summary, even though I haven’t listened to this as of this posting, I would be posting it in the first place if I didn’t have full faith in it being an awesome recording.

The Saddest Landscape MySpace

Trophy Scars MySpace

Buy

-McKenna

Saltwater

Old Pride

Earlier today, I was notified by a friend on last.fm that Pianos Become The Teeth might be playing a show in Columbus in January. I quickly made my way to their MySpace page where my highest hopes were sort of confirmed. While nothing has been finalized yet, I am incredibly excited for this show, especially since there is a rumored Max Levine Ensemble show planned in Columbus for a few days later.

Pianos Become The Teeth is a band from Maryland who recently signed to Topshelf Records (My Heart To Joy, Defeater). They’re an emo band who tint their sound with a lot of ambiance and beautiful soundscapes, not unlike Suis La Lune or Raein. While comparing a band to Raein might set the bar a little high, I think the energy the two bands put out are comparable. Since I’m seeing both bands live within a few weeks of each other, it’ll be interesting to see how the sounds and energy of both bands translate to live performances. Although both albums are full of excellent songs, one major standout is “Houses We Die In” off of Saltwater. The vocals sound so emotionally strained, mixed in with the mid-tempo, post-rock influenced music, that you can’t help but feel some kind of emotion. As I stated before, I’m incredibly excited to see this band live if their show does happen, and if it doesn’t happen in Columbus, I’ll probably travel to see it.

MySpace

Buy

-McKenna

I had the chance to see Touché Amoré last night at The Tower 2012. Having never been to The Tower for a show before, I was a bit nervous. However, the basement venue in a crappy area of Cleveland was everything I had expected and hoped for. Check out the band ending their set with Adieux and Honest Sleep below.

A few weeks ago, I was sitting in Thompson Library when I noticed that a girl sitting a few tables away from me had what I assumed to be a Transistor Transistor sticker on her laptop. After dropping a note off at her desk expressing my affection for Transistor Transistor and notifying her of this blog, I nearly sprinted out of the library, high as a kite on whatever chemical your brain releases after you do gutsy things. Once I was outside and confident any police officers following me would lose me in the crowd, I put my headphones on and turned this album way up.

Erase All Name and Likeness is one of those albums that kind of demands to be listened to at a high volume. Thrashy, technical punk is one of those musical genres that I pretend to profess to be knowledgeable about but in actuality probably know nothing about. I think I know what’s good when I hear it, however, and the song “Power Chord Academy” on this album is definitely a solid track, along with most other songs on this album. The technicality of the instrumentation shouldn’t be a turnoff to people who don’t have much of a background in hardcore, while the sheer power the vocals are delivered with should satisfy even the most devout follower of kvlt underground punx. This is definitely one of my favorite hardcore albums, and since Transistor Transistor keeps company with bands such as Hot Cross, Wolves, Converge, Circle Takes the Square, and Daughters, it’s easy to see that others hold a pretty high opinion of it too. If that doesn’t convince you, be aware that this band is made up of former members of emo legends Orchid and Bucket Full Of Teeth.

MySpace

Buy

-McKenna

I recently picked up this great 7″ from Brightskull Records for only $4. The A side contains 3 songs from Louisville punk band, Mountain Asleep. The b-side is 2 songs by fellow Ohioans Antilles who play emotive hardcore. Only 500 copies were pressed on beautiful marble grey vinyl. The album art is a two color screenprint. Everything about this 7″ is perfect from the bands down to the meticulously crafted liner notes. In short, it’s well worth your $4.

Note: I bought this 7″ after seeing a thread on the Plan-It-X Boards. I haven’t found anywhere to buy it online aside from emailing/paypaling Jamie at info@brightskull.com. Not to worry though, he had very fast response time!

Antilles

Mountain Asleep

Brightskull Records

- James

Dear Shock Mountain reader,

Knowing that you know your way around the music blogosphere, I’m not going to baby you and pretend that you haven’t seen this album posted somewhere before. Chances are, you have. If you’ve seen it but didn’t download it, this is your wake-up call. Take it from me, this album is incredible. I don’t care how many times you’ve seen it posted and passed it up for whatever reason, just get it now. Whiny, danceable punk rock is definitely the main classifier for this album, and this band sustains themselves on small, tightly-packed shows. Don’t let that put you off, however. This album is much more than some three-cord punk band. It’s raw emotion, musical skill, and energy. If I don’t get to see this band before they break up, I will seriously consider my life choices.

MySpace/Purchase Links

-McKenna

Ah, Circle Takes The Square, how long has it been? 6 years since your most recent album?! Oh well, I’m sure that when the new album finally does drop in 10 years it will become as important to me as As The Roots Undo. The band formed 9 years ago in Savannah, Georgia. Back then, the members were art students at SCAD with an passion for real screamo and humanitarian ideas. The aforementioned full-length is a concept album following an adventurer through his exploration of the human condition, leading to his suicide, rise to heaven, overthrowing of God, and subsequently his own fall from grace. However, Circle Takes The Square aren’t your run of the mill Screamo band with chaotic vocals and fast breaks. Instead, they rely on soundscapes that build to a cathartic release and some of the most complex drumming I have ever heard. I had the opportunity to see them in Columbus in November of 2007 and I was supposed to see them the following day in Detroit, but we were late to the show and missed their set. Max, from Bad Waves, and I are moderators of the forum that they sporadically post on with updates. Through said forum, the band recently revealed that they are lining up some dates in Canada and the mid-west this summer. Seeing as how Max and I first met in real life at the Columbus show it seems fitting that we road trip it to their Ohio date, which I am looking forward to more than any other show this summer. Anyway, I stumbled across this live recording from 2004 earlier today and cut up the tracks for your enjoyment. Give it a listen, find ATRU somewhere online and try to make it out to one of these shows. Hopefully with enough support they can finally get around to finishing the album that us fans are DYING to hear.

Note: I accidentally tagged track 6 as Houdini Logic. It is actually Comes With The Fall and should be changed to such.

Myspace

- James

One of the first posts that this blog had was Age Sixteen’s Spring 2008 Demos. Now, I am proud to bring you their first full-length effort, Open Up Finders, Please. The 9-track album clocks in at 20 minutes and features re-workings of 3 songs on the aforementioned demo.  Playing an impassioned mix of Punk and Hardcore, this band is making a name for themselves in Baltimore, Maryland.  I’m desperately trying to convince these guys to come to Cleveland this summer for what I am sure would be one of the most intense hardcore shows. They play in the style of early 90’s Screamo, which is reminiscent to current Europeans bands such as Raein, La Quiete, and Suis La Lune, with whom they recently toured. Instead of using overly distorted guitars and break beats that are often used by “new (read fake) screamo” bands, their guitars are clean and the drums are as complex as the messages behind the songs. The vocals on this album are clean as well in the sense that they are more of  desperate and exasperated yells of dismay than they are screams of anger, resulting in a cathartic release from song to song. Given the promise they hold and their willingness to play shows often, I really wouldn’t be surprised if they become an iconic band that future bands would note as a direct influence to their sound, if only in their hometown. The band has been kind enough to allow me to post the album in it’s entirety as they really just want to get their music out there. So, if you particularly like this album, I encourage you to support these guys and buy a copy for only $7!

Myspace

Buy

Honestly, I really wish this band was around when I was 15. This is pretty much exactly what I was looking for around that time. The vocals on this album are raw and have an energy that is literally inescapable. I challenge you to listen to this 8 song demo and not feel moved. Reminds me a lot of Thrice circa The Illusion Of Safety, if they had a slightly less refined sound. I’m definitely interested in seeing where this band takes things because I could see it going either way. Hopefully, they will continue to pump out solid material like this.

“I’M LOSING SLEEP, I’M LOSING FRIENDS. GOT A LOVE/HATE-LOVE WITH THE CITY I’M IN. I’LL COUNT THE HOURS, HAVING JUST ONE WISH. IF I’M DOING FINE, THERE’S NO POINT TO THIS!”

Myspace

Raein are a Screamo band based out of Forlì, Italy. They share members with fellow Screamo band La Quiete and Post Rock band Neil On Impression, both of which are definitely worth checking out. After going on hiatus for 2 years, Raein announced last fall that they were indeed back together and had finished a new album. That album was posted in it’s entirety on their myspace and the underground scene was all over it. Raein play an impassioned and incredibly technical form of hardcore that is as endearing as it is genuine. They have been active in the D.I.Y. community, putting out various splits over the past couple years, the majority of which can be found over at my friend’s blog, When We Were Younger And Better. Perhaps the best way to describe their approach to music is by quoting Artmachine Observation Tower, off of their second full length release.

“It is not just music for most of us. A recollection of hope, and broken dreams, that can leave you filled with anger, grief, joy, frustration and love. It flows from our heart, through our bleeding lungs, to reach you deep inside, to make you feel like we feel… Alive.”

-Raein

Myspace

Here is another myspace find. Age Sixteen added me as a friend over the summer and at first I thought “Great, another shitty metalcore band trying to sell their played out sound as screamo”. In reality, they know what is up. While browsing through some blogs, I happened upon my friends over at CHUG LIFE. Among other great Screamo releases, they had posted the Age Sixteen Demos. I immediately downloaded the 4 tracks if only out of curiosity. When I first heard the songs I knew what I was listening to, real emotive hardcore. The brand of music often known to those who listen to it as Skramz. This release shows great deal of promise and is deserving of a listen to by anyone that enjoys hardcore or punk rock. These guys seem incredibly nice and active in the growing D.I.Y. scene. They have a few dates lined up with Suis La Lune, who hail from Stockholm, Sweden. Kris, from the band, asked me to tell you all that they are releasing a full length album within a month. As always, support the artists if you can, they are providing life into something that a lot of people care deeply about, myself included.

Myspace