Deathrats - Tape

Holy shit, DEATHRATS is one of my new favorite contemporary bands. Hailing from hardcore mecca Washington DC, Deathrats still manages to keep it fresh and by no means contrived. We played a show with them at a house in Philadelphia and their set was nuts! Great energy and the vocals are delivered so intensely I have no idea how she kept her voice the whole tour. I bought a tape [after my record plunders I was on a budget so I couldn't get the record] and was impressed by the lyrics. Fresh stuff! Check it out!

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Duress - 7"

Just got back from SIXES East Coast tour and boy do I have some cool things to share with you all. I'll start with this 7" released by a Chicago band DURESS. We played with them in a basement in New Jersey which, after typing, sounds pretty undesireable but it was actually awesome. Side-note: Fuck New Jersey. The aesthetic of this band is fucking great; wielding cinder-blocks while playing, gnarly stage presence with vocals delivered in furious short bursts, the back of the 7" reads "Straight Edge Fuck You". They even covered "'straight edge' in your face" into "chunks". This made it for me, I had to get the record. I had a confrontation with their roadie over something he said that almost ruined it for me. We talked it out after the show and it turned out to be a huge misunderstanding. Regardless the bass player came and talked to me about it and turned out to be more than open to discussion. I really enjoy that at shows. Confrontation that leads to some form of resolution or open discussion. We were both coming from different perspectives and were able to agree to disagree. After the show Tanar and I talked to them about sweet records and they referred us to a shop in Allentown called Double Decker. We went there and the owner was selling off his personal collection. I almost peed my pants rifling through all his sick records. Fix 'Vengeance', Necros 'Sex Drive', Minor Threat 'Filler', Agnostic Front 'United Blood', Black Flag 'Nervous Breakdown', Dead Kennedys "Too Drunk to Fuck", Clitboys "We Don't Play the Game", VKTMS 'Self Titled', and a Unity test press were among some of the records I thought I'd never be able to look through. There were too many to remember. I ended up buying a JFA, Release, VKTMS, and Deep Wound 7" along with a couple Sham lps, Black Flag 'Jealous Again', and Lewd discography. I ended up spending $120. I look back in both shame and extreme excitement. Whatever, they're all records I listen to a shitload and I spent money I get from the government for financial aid anyway. Anyhow, Duress was cool to cross paths with. My only criticisms are that the snare is cranked tight as hell and gets a bit annoying and songs about god are pretty boring to me. Check it out.



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Poseidon - New Demo!

Yes! New Poseidon. With the addition of Tony on second guitar and the replacement of Mike with Justin on drums Poseidon gets a bit of a musical makeover. It doesn't detract too much from the original sound but does make it a bit less chaotic. The songs are more full and the drumming less rushed. I really like Mike's drumming style so I'm bummed to see him part ways due to hearing issues. The new songs are awesome, three new ones on this release, "A Debt in the Family", "Bloodrush" and "Cum + Stuff" with re-recorded versions of two songs from the 7". The tracks are the unmastered versions, I'll replace them with mastered as soon as I get them. Also, Benn emailed them to me out of order so sorry if the titles don't match up. Poseidon is my favorite band.



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SCREENING THREAD!

Need T-shirts, patches, artwork, etc. screened for your band? Screening Thread, a new Olympia community collective, would be glad to do it for you! The prices are cheap and the getting is good! Check it out!

In Debt - Demo Tape

Contemporary hardcore from Olympia, WA featuring the godfather of OURSOUND. Adding to the musical diversity of the local scene, In Debt adds a sound that could be classified as "early 2000's" or contemporary hardcore. Fast with heavy breaks and lots of groove, but what sets it apart from similar acts are the lyrics. I hesitate to call it a concept band, it moreso just has a recurring theme that Steven cares a lot about; the control the banking industry has over the US government and its consequences on our lives. This theme encompasses the songs "The Banks Never Lose" and "Money is Debt". Other songs concern human rights, standing up to law enforcement, community rebellion, and lack of conviction in Hardcore music. Steven's vocals are furious on the recordings which adds to the intensity and urgency of the subject matter. You can see a progression from his humble beginnings in the Crazies to looking up and finally from blind (demos I will put up later, Crazies is already up). Live they are delivered with just as much energy. In debt features members of other Olympia acts such as Nervosa, White Wards, Foot Fetish, Red & Black, and Scary Man. More information and in depth lyrical explication can be found at OURSOUND.



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Board Youth - EP

The illusive Board Youth EP released in 2007. Not very many of these were made and Robert ended up giving the last couple to a bunch of dumb kids at the Redmond skatepark that probably didn't care. I know Miles doesn't have one and I'm pretty sure the rest of the members don't either. Unfortunately difficult to get a hold of, it doesn't beat the 2008 tape released afterward [which is where my heart lies ]. Dew Crew also has Miles singing on it (he starts it off); something he said he would never do. This tape is more reminiscent of bands like the descendents [which they cover on the tape] with a bit of a skate punk flare. I guess it's just a bit more pop sounding. I prefer the 2008 tape because it's much more Adolescents/RKL/Wasted Youth-esque. It seems they pull from more of their influences on it. What were you doing when you were 15? Nothing this cool.



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Oblivion - MMX

New band from Tacoma WA, self proclaimed "heavy hardcore". Before the demo was released I was given a copy at an Olympia show with two live tracks on it. The tracks were pretty much inaudible [so incredibly low the music just sounded like a rumble] so I didn't pay much attention to it. The other night they played in Olympia with Trainyard, Dehumanized, and the Separation and caught my attention. The live performance was nuts; loud, intense and heavy. I'm quite partial to fast music but it proved to be a pleasant aside. I'm not too familiar with the style of music (heavy the whole way through, no fast) so a critique is really uncalled for, nevertheless my only suggestion would be to fill in the empty space a bit. It seemed 'airy' at times which could probably be remedied by another guitar player. The band is quite unique unto its own (I can't think of any Northwest bands that sound like it) Check it out below and hugs and kisses to Tacoma.



Lyrics and other relevant information can be found here
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