Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Cherry Death - Stone Shake Golden Mile EP

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Wow. Ok... let me think about how to do this. This was a band this year that truly fucked me up. Cherry Death was a surprise set for me I guess they hopped on when a band dropped and just blew me away completely. At one point there were 12 people on stage. That can sound a bit deterring but it was all very calculated and created the perfect atmosphere. The understanding of dropping from complete noisy chaos to a soft simple and very clear melody that is so important to a lot of music this band pays homage to was perfectly executed. The set began with a loud somewhat discordant swell. One after another punctuated bursts of every instrument at once. I wasn't sure what to expect at all but suddenly as the wave of sound ended everything just burst into a beautiful melody. Drums took off and carried the harmony creating a driving feel that just felt like it carried your weight had me enthralled. One of the possibly five guitar players put on a capo and delivered the sweetest lead as the song began to come to a close and another began. One thing I found particularly interesting about the project is that they had two drummers. This could be complete garbage but somehow, some way both players delivered identical beats and fills deviated only intentionally for impact. I was blown away by this. To make it even more involved one was left handed and still matching stroke for stroke. It was the icing on the cake for me to watch. The music itself almost has a folky noodling to it (see "puppet dance" especially) all carried by chaotic strumming high on the neck and atmospheres reminiscent of some early 90s britpop acts. Extremely powerful stuff. I can't stop listening to this tape I love it. Thank you Oklahoma. Very few places can create this sort of thing so genuine. Bedroom project turned miniature symphony.

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The Deacons - Beat Up The World

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 '77, LA, NY, ugly and snide hardcore punk comin' at you. Some of my favorite sets I've seen recently. Bummed they couldn't make the fest last year but seeing The Deacons play twice on this last GAG tour was one of my highlights for sure. The cassette is infectious I keep flipping it in my van. Trae's vocal delivery reminds me a bit of the dude from F. I get those vibes from this release pretty heavy. Great stuff, count me in as a really big fan.

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No Tolerance - You Walk Alone

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The record finally came out, picked it up at Edge Day, ordered the euro copy and snagged it on cassette. I like it that much. As with all Hardcore full lengths with a formula they can be hard to break into but this one sits real well. Lots of direct song title homages on this one. Love No Tolerance. If I am at the gig you will catch me in the NT and Waste Man pit ALWAYS.

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The Flex - Flexual Healing VI Live From The Pain Cave

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Gotta love the Lads and their Flexual Healing line. I'm a big fan and was happy to receive Volume VI. Love these boys and hope to see them again soon. This cassette features a set live at the Pain Cave I'm pretty sure recorded during Red Flex because I remember Sam talking about it on tour and they also performed "Just Can't Hate Enough" and a lot of that set on the tour. That was a mad weird sentence. They come in, destroy the spot, and are out before you can get up. Beautiful. God I love the Flex.

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C.C.T.V. - Practice Tape 2016

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My god I've been waiting for this cassette for well over a year (might be two?). Since before I went to Not Dead Yet with Ooze and Big Zit. Mark sent me a video of a new CCTV riff that featured a small troll dancing on his phone. Since then I have referred to it as "The Troll Song" and have been asking forever when it will be recorded so that I can skate to it in a video. Well that day has finally come and it was released on this cassette as "Song About Shit Talker's Demise". Can't wait to make the edit. What a pleasant surprise in OKC, I tried to contain my excitement. Been jammin' it a lot these sunny days. Really digging "Song About A Big Plan". Also loving the tongue in cheek humor on the inserts.

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