2015-2019 Record Reviews Reviews by Chris Auman Tyranny is Tyranny The Rise of Disaster Capitalism [Phatry] The fact that Tyranny is Tyranny took the subtitle of Naomi Klein's book The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism for the name of their latest full-length gives you a pretty good idea where this band comes from politically. Musically, they come from a bleak post-hardcore region of noisy sludge. Geographically, they hail from Madison, WI, which has a fair bit of snowy sludge for a good chunk of the year. I lived in Madison for a stretch recently and was able to catch this band of raging lefties in action a few times. One show was at Mr. Roberts, which Chicagoans should imagine as the Mutiny only with Packers/Brewers garb and signage instead of Bears/Cubs. The album contains only five songs, but they are all either mini-epics or full-on multi-part tunes that push the album past the 40 minute mark. Throaty screaming about the ills of capitalism running unchecked and amuck provides much of the subject matter. The album opens with "Or Does it Explode" a reference to the poem "Harlem" with lyrics inspired by two other Langston Hughes poems, "Lenox Avenue Mural" and "Let America Be America Again". The second track, "She Who Struggles," concerns itself with J. Edgar Hoover’s COINTELPRO program. It opens slowly with sparse instrumentation before bursting into rage. The album is not all full-on metal plodding, "Pillar of Cloud Pillar of Fire" features a somber trumpet as it builds and collapses. "Victory Will Defeat You" ends the album over the course of a nearly fifteen minute march. Being in a band can feel like a long hard slog sometimes and Tyranny is Tyranny delivers a good forceful pounding which post hardcore fans will enjoy regardless of their politics. The Central Discovery of a Rat [Blue Bedroom] The Central deliver a new twelve-song album from their home base in Madison, Wisconsin. The general population of the great “Cheese State” apparently bought the Trump line of gaudy merchandise hook, line and sinker, but I won’t hold that against this band or the 77 square miles surrounding its capital city. The Central, by its own admission, is a progressive grind band and they do grind, but this two-piece outfit is by no means a one-trick-pony. Their latest full-length album, Discovery Of A Rat, contains a full-on assault of extreme noise that is angry and raw to be sure, but there’s also quiet parts and little melodic worms that work their way into their songs and then into your skull. This includes but is not limited to the funky ditty “Palette Cleanser” which is the sonic version of exactly that. Many of the tracks contain as much groove as grind, and more math rock than full on metal mayhem. “Australian Karate Jew” has a 90s indie/math rock sound; “Totem Bowl” actually has a speedy, hyper kinetic pop sound; and “Pop Culture Prostitute”, which features audio snippets of Henry Rollins being a dick, is an especially thrashed out track. As a side note, the album cover is excessively gnarly. Discovery Of A Rat is cathartic, angry and loud, yet razor sharp. Don’t believe me? Stream it for yourself. Nathan Xander Blue House [Trailer Fire Records] Nathan Xander returns. Not that he went away, but he is back, nevertheless, with an album full of homesickness and being homeward bound. The Pennsylvania native is based in New York City these days, but he has enjoyed a period of wandering that has seen him living the nomadic life of a troubadour. This is evident on the 12-tracks of Blue House, which was recorded in Upstate New York, in a barn, painted blue, providing at least one meaning behind the album's title. Xander delivers his goods with simple acoustic arrangements and heartfelt crooning in a strained, world-weary voice. It's an approach that's he employs straight out of the gate on the opener, “Mount Washington,” a slow burner of longing if there ever was one. Like most of the songs on Blue House, it’s got an old school country twang combined with pop sense. The album continues to deliver with "Over Me, Over You," another slow and sad jam that would be at home on the jukebox next to Patsy Cline. "You're Never Wrong" captures the warm glow of 70s AM radio but washed in reverb and melancholy. "Enoch's Blues" does indeed have a bluesy swing that's hard to resist. "Pennsylvania" is about Xander's home state in which asks to be brought home because he hates his neighbors and he hates his job, but he doesn't hate Pennsylvania yet. There’s a sense of loss and being forlorn on Blue House, but there is a bit of defiance as well and Xander’s more versed in country than the blues, anyway. Whatever mood the songs reflect, the production remains bright and the pace never drags [Nathan Xander] Sweet Times Volume 6 Various Artists [Who Can You Trust?] Sweet Times Volume 6 is a four-way seven inch split compilation from the German label Who Can You Trust? You can generally trust WCYT? to put out some heavy rock and this sixth volume of their series is no exception. While I missed Sweet Times volume 1 through 5, I would imagine they contained similar efforts from like-minded bands. Oakland’s Dealer step up to knock out the first song of side A with a heavy slab called “Casino” which sounds like early 90s Sub Pop—maybe a few fingers borrowed from Six Finger Satellite. Sticking with the state of California, Char-Man, from Ojai, deliver a jangly Ramones-inspired fuck all tune about whatever “Freak Rock” is. Hydromedusa from Adelaide (in the Down Under) bring us a song called (and possibly about) Falco. And to bring it all home, L.A.’s Zig Zags bleed all over a track called "Blood" and a Black Sabbath-sized riff. The main thrust of this comp., and the bands on it, is heavy unbridled rock with a little metal and punk thrown in for good measure. I think they used to call this grunge, but I could be mistaken. This seven inch EP is a limited edition run of 500 and features a cover by Jesse California, seemingly inspired by Gilbert Sheldon’s Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers. Abstractithica Max Hall [Evil Hoodoo] Abstractithica is a 45 minute collage of field recordings meticulously culled from anywhere and everywhere, around the world, and in the UK in particular. Hall used a stereo field recorder to grab bits of conversations, street noises and anything else of aural interest to him. It took him a year to put the pieces together and the result is an interesting and mildly hypnotic recording. I found it quite pleasant to listen to whilst concentrating on other things, like writing reviews for example. Smatterings of applause pop up as does traffic noise, even snatches of a Manu Chao song reveal themselves at unexpected times. It’s like taking a walk down the street while blindfolded. A sensory stimulation and a out of body simulation. Public transportation and some circus or carnival music jars you out of the trances. This is a very limited edition run of 250 vinyl LPs that is worth investigating if you are into experimental music, sound collages and the like. Daydream Time Machine EP Wooing [Ba Da Bing] Rachel Trachtenburg’s latest band, Wooing, is looking to do just that with this three-song seven inch EP from Ba Da Bing. Though still shy of 30 by a few years, Trachtenburg has already had a long career in music. From her childhood days in the family band, The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players, and the pop project that followed, Supercute!, she has been a presence on the music scene in New York City since the tender age of nine. A long affiliation with NYC has rubbed off on Wooing in a good way and it's a good long way from cloyingly cute ukulele and keyboard music. The three songs on the band’s debut incorporate a Sonic Youth-inspired guitar noise assault and makes use of the loud/soft, sweet/noisy formula of 90s bands like Nirvana and the Breeders all. It works well when set against Trachtenburg’s sweet, youthful voice. “In Color,” a song inspired by the LSD experiments performed on housewives in the 1950s, starts with quiet guitar and hushed vocals that rise in a wave of reverb-soaked guitars and a sliding bass line that helps it builds into a bad trip freakout before resolving itself. “Tear World” is stressed out, screaming guitars that can only be soothed by Trachtenburg’s crooning pleas, ending with guitars that mimic the language of whales, if I’m not mistaken. On “Two Can Keep A Secret” the vocals match the agitated intensity of the rest of the band before it too resolves into sweetness and light. A solid three-song effort for this brand new trio and a hope that they maintain the effort. Early Iteration Grip [no label] When Grip’s debut album, Early Iteration, grabs a hold of your ears, good luck prying off those cold, dead fingers. From the very first seconds of feedback that signal the start of leadoff track, “Entrance,” until the album closes an hour later with “Judgment,” it’s all they way on. That’s not to say the pace never relents. There are brief instrumental interludes scattered about that give a respite from the aural anguish, but it doesn’t last. Even when things do chill out momentarily, the tension never fully abates for the majority of this 9-song album. Early Iteration is the result of nearly four years of writing and self-recording work. The tracks were recorded in Philadelphia and Chicago between 2016 and 2019. It’s the first release for this Philly band since their 5-song "Wolves/Fawn" EP in 2015, put out a year after the band’s formation. At this point in its tenure, Grip is a duo with Alex handling the guitar and vocals and Dan on the bass with both handling the drum programming. According to the description on the band’s Bandcamp page for the album, “Early Iteration draws upon a mythic structure to deliver a multifaceted narrative addressing sacrifice, belief, and the evolution of an idea.” The listener will have to take the band’s word for it, as the lyrics are not easy to decipher. They’re delivered with abrasive, throat ravaging vocals. Yes, there will be screaming—not all all uncommon in the post hardcore genre which seems to be defined by aggression and brutality. The album art, as sparse and bare bones as the music, was created by Alex. Grip also dubs and releases their own music on cassette, which to date has included a few singles and the previously mentioned EP, in addition to this full-length.
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2015-2019 Record Reviews

Tyranny is Tyranny

The Rise of Disaster Capitalism

The fact that Tyranny is Tyranny took the subtitle of Naomi Klein's book The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism for the name of their latest full-length gives you a pretty good idea where this band comes from politically. Musically, they come from a bleak post-hardcore region of noisy sludge. Geographically, they hail from Madison, WI, which has a fair bit of snowy sludge for a good chunk of the year. I lived in Madison for a stretch recently and was able to catch this band of raging lefties in action a few times. One show was at Mr. Roberts, which Chicagoans should imagine as the Mutiny only with Packers/Brewers garb and signage instead of Bears/Cubs.

The album contains only five songs, but they are all either mini-epics or full-on multi-part tunes that push the album past the 40 minute mark. Throaty screaming about the ills of capitalism running unchecked and amuck provides much of the subject matter. The album opens with "Or Does it Explode" a reference to the poem "Harlem" with lyrics inspired by two other Langston Hughes poems, "Lenox Avenue Mural" and "Let America Be America Again". The second track, "She Who Struggles," concerns itself with J. Edgar Hoover’s COINTELPRO program. It opens slowly with sparse instrumentation before bursting into rage. The album is not all full-on metal plodding, "Pillar of Cloud Pillar of Fire" features a somber trumpet as it builds and collapses. "Victory Will Defeat You" ends the album over the course of a nearly fifteen minute march.

Being in a band can feel like a long hard slog sometimes and Tyranny is Tyranny delivers a good forceful pounding which post hardcore fans will enjoy regardless of their politics.

The Central

Discovery of a Rat

[Blue Bedroom]

The Central deliver a new twelve-song album from their home base in Madison, Wisconsin. The general population of the great “Cheese State” apparently bought the Trump line of gaudy merchandise hook, line and sinker, but I won’t hold that against this band or the 77 square miles surrounding its capital city.

The Central, by its own admission, is a progressive grind band and they do grind, but this two-piece outfit is by no means a one-trick-pony. Their latest full-length album, Discovery Of A Rat, contains a full-on assault of extreme noise that is angry and raw to be sure, but there’s also quiet parts and little melodic worms that work their way into their songs and then into your skull. This includes but is not limited to the funky ditty “Palette Cleanser” which is the sonic version of exactly that. Many of the tracks contain as much groove as grind, and more math rock than full on metal mayhem. “Australian Karate Jew” has a 90s indie/math rock sound; “Totem Bowl” actually has a speedy, hyper kinetic pop sound; and “Pop Culture Prostitute”, which features audio snippets of Henry Rollins being a dick, is an especially thrashed out track. As a side note, the album cover is excessively gnarly.

Discovery Of A Rat is cathartic, angry and loud, yet razor sharp. Don’t believe me? Stream it for yourself.

Nathan Xander Blue House

Nathan Xander

Blue House

[Trailer Fire Records]

Nathan Xander returns. Not that he went away, but he is back, nevertheless, with an album full of homesickness and being homeward bound. The Pennsylvania native is based in New York City these days, but he has enjoyed a period of wandering that has seen him living the nomadic life of a troubadour. This is evident on the 12-tracks of Blue House, which was recorded in Upstate New York, in a barn, painted blue, providing at least one meaning behind the album's title.

Xander delivers his goods with simple acoustic arrangements and heartfelt crooning in a strained, world-weary voice. It's an approach that's he employs straight out of the gate on the opener, “Mount Washington,” a slow burner of longing if there ever was one. Like most of the songs on Blue House, it’s got an old school country twang combined with pop sense.

The album continues to deliver with "Over Me, Over You," another slow and sad jam that would be at home on the jukebox next to Patsy Cline. "You're Never Wrong" captures the warm glow of 70s AM radio but washed in reverb and melancholy. "Enoch's Blues" does indeed have a bluesy swing that's hard to resist. "Pennsylvania" is about Xander's home state in which asks to be brought home because he hates his neighbors and he hates his job, but he doesn't hate Pennsylvania yet.

There’s a sense of loss and being forlorn on Blue House, but there is a bit of defiance as well and Xander’s more versed in country than the blues, anyway. Whatever mood the songs reflect, the production remains bright and the pace never drags [Nathan Xander]

Sweet Times Volume 6 Various

Sweet Times Volume 6

Various Artists

[Who Can You Trust?]

Sweet Times Volume 6 is a four-way seven inch split compilation from the German label Who Can You Trust? You can generally trust WCYT? to put out some heavy rock and this sixth volume of their series is no exception. While I missed Sweet Times volume 1 through 5, I would imagine they contained similar efforts from like-minded bands.

Oakland’s Dealer step up to knock out the first song of side A with a heavy slab called “Casino” which sounds like early 90s Sub Pop—maybe a few fingers borrowed from Six Finger Satellite.

Sticking with the state of California, Char-Man, from Ojai, deliver a jangly Ramones-inspired fuck all tune about whatever “Freak Rock” is. Hydromedusa from Adelaide (in the Down Under) bring us a song called (and possibly about) Falco. And to bring it all home, L.A.’s Zig Zags bleed all over a track called "Blood" and a Black Sabbath-sized riff.

The main thrust of this comp., and the bands on it, is heavy unbridled rock with a little metal and punk thrown in for good measure. I think they used to call this grunge, but I could be mistaken.

This seven inch EP is a limited edition run of 500 and features a cover by Jesse California, seemingly inspired by Gilbert Sheldon’s Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers.

Abstractithica Max Hall

Abstractithica

Max Hall

[Evil Hoodoo]

Abstractithica is a 45 minute collage of field recordings meticulously culled from anywhere and everywhere, around the world, and in the UK in particular.

Hall used a stereo field recorder to grab bits of conversations, street noises and anything else of aural interest to him. It took him a year to put the pieces together and the result is an interesting and mildly hypnotic recording. I found it quite pleasant to listen to whilst concentrating on other things, like writing reviews for example. Smatterings of applause pop up as does traffic noise, even snatches of a Manu Chao song reveal themselves at unexpected times. It’s like taking a walk down the street while blindfolded. A sensory stimulation and a out of body simulation. Public transportation and some circus or carnival music jars you out of the trances. This is a very limited edition run of 250 vinyl LPs that is worth investigating if you are into experimental music, sound collages and the like.

Wooing Daydream Time Machine

Daydream Time Machine EP

Wooing

[Ba Da Bing]

Rachel Trachtenburg’s latest band, Wooing, is looking to do just that with this three-song seven inch EP from Ba Da Bing. Though still shy of 30 by a few years, Trachtenburg has already had a long career in music. From her childhood days in the family band, The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players, and the pop project that followed, Supercute!, she has been a presence on the music scene in New York City since the tender age of nine.

A long affiliation with NYC has rubbed off on Wooing in a good way and it's a good long way from cloyingly cute ukulele and keyboard music. The three songs on the band’s debut incorporate a Sonic Youth-inspired guitar noise assault and makes use of the loud/soft, sweet/noisy formula of 90s bands like Nirvana and the Breeders all. It works well when set against Trachtenburg’s sweet, youthful voice.

“In Color,” a song inspired by the LSD experiments performed on housewives in the 1950s, starts with quiet guitar and hushed vocals that rise in a wave of reverb-soaked guitars and a sliding bass line that helps it builds into a bad trip freakout before resolving itself.

“Tear World” is stressed out, screaming guitars that can only be soothed by Trachtenburg’s crooning pleas, ending with guitars that mimic the language of whales, if I’m not mistaken. On “Two Can Keep A Secret” the vocals match the agitated intensity of the rest of the band before it too resolves into sweetness and light. A solid three-song effort for this brand new trio and a hope that they maintain the effort.

Early Iteration

Grip

[no label]

When Grip’s debut album, Early Iteration, grabs a hold of your ears, good luck prying off those cold, dead fingers. From the very first seconds of feedback that signal the start of leadoff track, “Entrance,” until the album closes an hour later with “Judgment,” it’s all they way on. That’s not to say the pace never relents. There are brief instrumental interludes scattered about that give a respite from the aural anguish, but it doesn’t last. Even when things do chill out momentarily, the tension never fully abates for the majority of this 9-song album.

Early Iteration is the result of nearly four years of writing and self-recording work. The tracks were recorded in Philadelphia and Chicago between 2016 and 2019. It’s the first release for this Philly band since their 5-song "Wolves/Fawn" EP in 2015, put out a year after the band’s formation. At this point in its tenure, Grip is a duo with Alex handling the guitar and vocals and Dan on the bass with both handling the drum programming.

According to the description on the band’s Bandcamp page for the album, “Early Iteration draws upon a mythic structure to deliver a multifaceted narrative addressing sacrifice, belief, and the evolution of an idea.” The listener will have to take the band’s word for it, as the lyrics are not easy to decipher. They’re delivered with abrasive, throat ravaging vocals. Yes, there will be screaming—not all all uncommon in the post hardcore genre which seems to be defined by aggression and brutality.

The album art, as sparse and bare bones as the music, was created by Alex. Grip also dubs and releases their own music on cassette, which to date has included a few singles and the previously mentioned EP, in addition to this full-length.