Magic Man - Real Life Color

Real Life Color is the first release by the Boston duo Magic Man.  The album's birth can be credited to the duo spending the summer in France working on organic farms. Sam Lee and Alex Caplow took advantage of down time by writing music in the various areas they were staying.  This gave them the fortunate opportunity of writing at unique locations including a chateau, a farm, and a circus festival.  Once home at their respective schools they used the magic of the internet to record while geographically separated.

This is definitely a summer album for fans of synth pop.  If you loved last summer's Passion Pit and Phoenix releases I would strongly suggest picking it up.  My personal favorite track was "Like Sailors".  They are currently giving away this album for free so jump on it.

Try it

-Jim

New Wolf Parade leaked!

Apparently it leaked last Friday, but I just found it and gave it a listen.  Not too shabby.

Expo 86
-Jim

Suffocate For Fuck Sake translations

I finally stumbled upon the translations for the various interview samples on Suffocate For Fuck Sake's first full length.  They are attached in the link below as a Word document.

Enjoy!

Album

Translations

 -Jim

Emanuel and The Fear

Emanuel and The Fear are only asking one thing from you, the listener: Listen.

How appropriate is it then that the debut album from the 11-piece (yes, 11) orchestral pop group from New York is titled just that. Listen.
The band takes influence from a little band called Arcade Fire, and it shows directly in their sound. Instead of being a carbon-copy under a different name, though, they take the style and put their own unique twist to it and the result is something that is arguably better than AF. It's like when you see a set of twins, and realize that one of them has a special something that just sets them apart from the other.

Truly this is one of the undiscovered gems lying around there in the world, and it's a damn shame. So give it a listen and support the artists you enjoy!

Try It

Buy It

-Gio

Acres - Silos

The emo band Acres from New Jersey broke up at some point this year (I think).  It's a shame too because they were pretty great.  They are giving their Silos demos away now, while they compile some sort of retrospective discography.  So stay tuned for that because if these demos tell us anything, the discography will be worth the wait.

Download

Myspace

Sometimes the truth hurts.

 Check out the video on this guy's blog.   Basically it's a real writer taking the internet hype machine and bloggers (myself included) behind the tool shed.  He even takes on the mother of all hype machines Pitchfork.  His presentation was kind of harsh, but he did leave some words of wisdom that I hope everyone follows:

"Fuck the numbers.  Fuck math.  Today spend an hour listening to a radio station that doesn't cater to your demographic.  Buy a magazine that deals with a genre you aren't familiar with.  Create a pandora playlist based on an artist you only know one song by.  Download an album by a band just because you like their name.  Don't let math make decisions for you...don't believe the hype machine."

http://everetttrue2.blogspot.com/2010/04/this-is-best-fucking-rant-ive-heard-all.html
And yes the irony of me re-blogging this isn't lost on me.

-Jim

Pan Galactic Straw-Boss

Pan Galactic Straw-Boss started as a nameless noise duo in 2007.  Mike Twark and Steve Jordan dabbled in the experimental ambient noise department for awhile before adding Andrew Joseph on bass guitar a year later. "As a noise duo we didn't really accomplish anything", the band admits in many of their bios.  With the addition of a bassist their music took on a more conventional post-rock sound while still retaining their ambient and noise roots.  A second guitarist, Van Young was added before the release of their first EP.

Not much else is known about the band from Norfolk and that's OK, because their music does the talking for them.  With influences like Swans, Sonic Youth, and My Bloody Valentine it is no wonder that it's easy to hear traces of ambient, noise, and shoegaze in their work.  This coupled with a sinister ambiance creates a dark post rock experience that I can only compare to The Wind-Up Bird.  The first time I heard Mouth Crazy I found myself hypnotized by the crashing symbols and relentless guitars.  Before you know it you just lost ten minutes in their world.

Their work is extremely impressive, it's hard to say enough about it.  Earth, Flash, Heat is a slightly more ambient affair with touches of noise, while Mouth Crazy provides more elements of classic post-rock. This is NOT your typical Godspeed clone.  Check this out ASAP

Mouth Crazy 7" 

Whirlwind, Flash, and Heat 

Buy 'em
-Jim

Grown Ups - Songs

 

So Grown Ups is releasing their first full length in two weeks.  It's featuring six brand new songs and four re-recordings of the songs in the link below  You are going to have to wait until May 18th for aptly named "More Songs", but  they are currently giving the EP "Songs" away so download it and introduce yourself to this amazing pop punk/emo band.

Oh and not to brag or anything but I got the last copy of that beautiful DIY album above.  It's OK to be jealous.

Songs

-Jim

sleepcomesdown - Vapor Kicks

Drawing influence from the likes of My Bloody Valentine, Deerhunter, Sonic Youth, and Animal Collective sleepcomesdown presents a unique sound in the Milwaukee scene.  With influences like these it is no wonder their live performances consist of an absolute wall of sound made up of fuzzy guitars, synths, and various other reverb producing gadgets.   What is surprising is their ability to avoid pretension while flawlessly combining these various influences.

D.I.Y. to the core; you won't find sleepcomesdown on a major label.  You will however, find them booking their own shows, screen printing their own artwork, and even building their own practice space.   They are prolific performers (as I've stated in earlier posts), jamming as much sound and lights into a set as possible.  They are big budget sound for the basement show price.

So check these guys out if you like shoegaze, or post punk, or noise, or if you simply like a bunch of guys playing music for the right reasons.

Try

Seriously buy this

-Jim

M.I.A - Born Free video

Plenty of nudity and blood just a heads up

Gingers are so culturally relevant right now
-Jim

The Besnard Lakes Are Roaring HMHYHT!

Look! Another nice album cover by some band you might not have heard of!

The Besnard Lakes are a Canadian band fronted by a husband-and-wife duo (sound familiar?) who make some really good shoegaze with some post-rock elements thrown in.
Now, I'm not the biggest fan of the genre, but when something catches your attention, you tend to stop caring about all that.

On The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night, their third album, there's something I'd never experienced from a shoegaze group before, good vocals! They're really something special, along the harmonies, which sound a lot like Bon Iver's at some points, especially on Chicago Train.

If you've got 45 minutes to spend on listening to this gem, the I highly suggest you take advantage of it.

Download


- Gio

Malegoat - Plan Infiltration

Have you ever wondered what Algernon Cadwallader would sound like if they were singing in Japanese?  Or have you ever speculated what Cap'n Jazz would sound like if their name was Jap'n Jazz?  Wonder no longer.  All terrible puns aside,  Malegoat recently toured the east coast of the United States and caused quite the stir in the emo scene with their somewhat familiar, yet somehow refreshing music.  If you check their lengthy list of influences on their myspace it is no wonder that they present the sound you they do.  Their popularity on this side of the ocean has been growing over the last year so give them a shot. 

Shout out to to the guys at something about music for giving me a heads up on this band.

oh and an even more important shout out to ALI for making that cool Professor Bros. pic! (and for proof reading)

EDIT:  I really screwed up the try it link.  Fixed Now. Sorry

Try it 

Buy it
-Jim

Indian Summer - Science

You know those few days in autumn when the weather gets really nice and mild after you thought summer was gone for good?  It's pretty awesome isn't it?  For those lucky enough to live in a more accomodating environment; The Farmer's Almanac tells us that the period of sunny and warm weather after the leaves have changed and there was already frost is called Indian Summer.  One of the few gems of living in the midwest when it comes to weather.

Speaking of gems and enjoyable atmosphere I present you the band Indian Summer, a must listen for the emotive hardcore fan.  Bringing a mixture of chaos and calm Indian Summer's Science is a relatively underappreciated example of early punk influenced emo.  Their obscurity should come as no surprise due to their relatively short lifespan (1993-1994) and their limited touring.  Before a re-release of their complete discography much of their work was extremely hard to come by even on the internet.  Much of it was on rare tapes and 7" splits shared with even more obscure bands in the scene.  Their songs were actually never even named so all track names that you find were actually given lovingly by fans of their work.  Thankfully this issue was solved with a 2006 release of Science, a collection of their various tracks.

What we find in Science after over a decade of wait is a lo fi tribute to loud/soft dynamics.  Most songs begin with soft instrumentals and whispers that build slowly, giving the listener a sense of something big on the horizon much like the calm before a violent storm.  Once the climax is reached the band begins to absolutely attack their instruments creating a gale force of screaming guitars and frenzied screams.  This style of combining gentle picking followed by cathartic chaos is emulated by bands such as Envy, Pianos Become the Teeth, and City of Caterpillar.  That my friends, is a pretty darn good lineage.

So check it out and learn your roots kids.

Download
-Jim

The Post Stays Up, Sorry DMCA.

Dr. Dog, while not unknowns by any means, have put out a couple of great albums that you just don't hear name-dropped amongst elitist hipster circles.

............Hm, maybe that's not such a bad thing.

Shame Shame is the latest album from the group, and the follow-up to 2008's Fate, which just so happens to be one of my personal favorite albums.

On this record, it's more of the same old stuff you'd expect to hear on any of their records, though it lacks that certain 'wow' factor that Fate had throughout.

All in all, it's yet another solid record from a more than solid band that I'll be replaying over and over again into absurd hours of the night.

Try it

-Gio

Menomena - Friend and Foe

This album is known for its ridiculous album artwork and interesting recording software (read about both here), but overall I feel as though it is relatively under appreciated.

With tracks ranging from soft and stylish to driving and belligerent there is something on Friend and Foe for everyone.  This is a must listen if you haven't gotten to it already.

Try It

Buy It
-Jim

The Origins Of Post Rock

Talk Talk - Laughing Stock

Slint - Spiderland

I love these albums and so should you.
-Jim

Y'all better get on this quick-like.

Friends, today I present to you a little album by a band named Fang Island. The title....well, it's also named Fang Island, BUT ANYWAY, if you're a fan of bands like Marnie Stern or anything Zach Hill has touched in his lifetime, then download this immediately. Up until I first listened to it, it had been a lackluster year in terms of good 2010 releases, but this is what hopefully opens up the floodgates to some good tunes.

I haven't heard math rock this refreshing since I first lent an ear to Battles.

Hey man, have ya heard this?

No?

Well get to it.

Download

- Gio

Zola Jesus - The Spoils

 

Zola Jesus is a beautiful woman from Madison, Wisconsin making beautiful music.  The Spoils is an exercise of texture and mood creating an unsettling beautiful sound out of fuzzy synths, a hammering piano, and a drum machine.  Her classically trained voice floats angelically over the comparably uglier, more industrial noise her band creates.  Her songs build slowly adding layers of noise and wailing vocals until they reach an urgent apex, making the album an adventure you want to re-experience as soon as you are done.

As usual I am struggling to properly describe how amazing the work actually is.  So check it out now, as Zola Jesus is sure to take off soon.  With her internet hype building and a favorable score from Pitchforks you will most certainly be hearing more from this Madison artist.  She's currently touring the midwest, with more American dates to follow this spring (including SXSW).  So get out and see her live.  I'm willing to bet you won't be disappointed.

Download

Myspace 

-Jim

Doing my part in the viral marketing process.

So here's a quick run down.  Apparently for the last month a subscriber on youtube known only as Iamamiwhoami has been releasing mysterious videos containing music with female vocals and dreamy synths.  Check out their channel here.  A writer for MTV news took to the story early on tossing around ideas and theories about who Iamamiwhoami is, check the theories out here and here.  He then wrote an open letter to the band/artist asking them for any information they could offer.  Iamamiwhoami proceeded to pull the classic move of sending locks of hair and a creepy riddle, check pictures of that out here.

I'll let you draw your own conclusions, leave a comment and let me know your crazy theories.

update:  This is starting to look like lykke li.  She's Swedish and the character portrayed in the videos is a Huldra a character in Swedish folklore.  Plus that bottom row of teeth looks pretty similar

From the video:

 

Lykke Li

-Jim

Mark Linkous aka Sparklehorse died yesterday.

The celebrated musician Mark Linkous took his life with a gun on Saturday.  He was 47.

Linkous worked with well known acts such as Danger Mouse and The Flaming Lips under the guise Sparklehorse.  I've provided a link to his first album Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot.  Read more on his troubled life here

Download

-Jim

In b flat 2.0

A collaborative music/spoken word project 

Carissa's Wierd - Songs About Leaving

 

 Carissa's Wierd (yes it's spelled incorrectly) is a now defunct Seattle area "slowcore" band who unexpectedly called it quits in 2003.  Once the band split Ben and Brian formed well known Band of Horses and more recently the beautiful band Grand Archives.  Jenn went on to work solo under the name "S".  Apparently they are getting back together for a show (rumored tour) this summer.  Expect it to be limited to  a Northwestern regional affair.

Leave it to a band from rainy Seattle to create some of the saddest, most depressingly beautiful music from last decade.  Songs About Leaving is no exception to their gloomy discography, with lyrical content dealing with death, breakups, and relocation.  The lyrics are sung in a "call and response manner" much of the time, with Jenn whispering softly and Ben doing his best Connor Oberst impression.  Musically don't expect much percussion save for a few light beats and a few tinkles on the cymbals.  Do expect a doleful violin, twinkling piano, and plucking guitars all played slowly and somberly.

I'm not going to lie it's depressing, like capable of completely changing your mood depressing.  So keep that in mind when you check it out, I wouldn't want to accidently ruin your day.

Download

-Jim

Chalk Talk - Killing Spree

 

Normally I wouldn't be so quick to suggest a band whose lyrical content ranges from waxing poetic about the smell of their urine to singing passionately about slamming beers, but this band is impossible to dislike.

Once you lighten up a bit and get over the somewhat concerning lyrics about young girls you will be treating yourself to some amazing pop punk with bouncy music and harmonies that are almost impossible not to sing along with.  They are all about the fun, and it definitely shows.

So check out their Killing Spree EP, the sweet merchandise on their Myspace, and their collective Cake Life. I guarantee you will not be disappointed. They're going on an extensive tour this summer so keep an eye out for that, just don't bring your little sister.

Mad props for the guys from Something About Music for introducing me to their music.  You can snag the download link from them.

-Jim

Tenebre - In Everything Give Thanks

It's a Thursday night and there's a paper or work due the next day, you're struggling to focus on the task at hand, so you decide to put on some music. Do you put on the latest Taylor Swift record on repeat like the 15 year-old you really are, or do you put on some nice instrumental math/post-rock?

Yeah i thought so.

Well here's the album for this and any other occasion you see fit, Tenebre's "In Everything Give Thanks". The trio from San Francisco sound like God Is An Astronaut......if you sped them up, made them less boring and added finger-tapping guitar-work, that is......

Download

Suffocate For Fuck Sake - Blazing fires and helicopters on the front page of the newspaper. There's a war going on and I'm marching in heavy boots

 

 Suffocate For Fuck Sake hail from Sweden and describe themselves as Sigur Ros, Breach, Cult of Luna, Mono, and Mogwai (playing a the same time).  Other than that they are a pretty darn mysterious band.  There is absolutely no information on the members, or are there any pictures of the band.  I can't find any touring information and their Myspace is pretty bare.  What else would you expect from a band from Sweden called Suffocate For Fuck Sake?

SFFS definitely live up to their name during portions of their album, but it isn't all rage and fury.  They sprinkle a heavy sludge sound over vast expanses of beautifully dark instrumentals and samples of interviews in Swedish.  The focus of the interviews are about a young woman looking back at her time spent in a mental institute.  The quotes come from her, her friend, her mother, and her doctor at the time and they serve as a guide as the album meanders through the girl's terrifying story. 

It is a concept album so I would suggest taking the time and listening to it all at once.  I know from personal experience if you get through that first song you will be hooked.  This will be a challenging listen due to the long song durations and the experimental use of dialogue in a language you most likely won't be able to understand, but you will be rewarded with glimmering atmospheric guitar work, cripplingly sad piano, and violent vocals.

(I'll post the translations for the samples as soon as I find them)

Download

-Jim

V For Vendetta - Behind This Mask, Another Mask

Hello there, 7 followers and just as many lurkers! I'm the new guy posting on the blog, and I hope you enjoy my posts. Now:

Females? In my math rock? More likely than you think. V For Vendetta was a female-only duo hailing from Rhode Island who put out one full-length album, "Behind This Mask, Another Mask", back in 2002. (Yes, both the artist name and album title are cringe-worthy, I know.)

If you're into the weird time signature form of math rock, then this is definitely worth your time. As for the lyrical/vocal aspect of the album, it's one of the only drawbacks I could find, though they do seem to have some emo-ish qualities to them, so it's up the the listener to judge for themselves.

To whom it may concern:
Download

- Gio

pg.99 - Document #8

 

“We were just a group of friends who all wanted to play music and try to make our lives more incredible”.

pg.99 - Document #8

-Jim

Japandroids - Post Nothing

Summer seems like such a long time ago in the world of music, and in the world in general if you are relegated to parts of the world where you haven't seen the sun in weeks.  Last night I was pulled from the horrible winter doldrums when I heard a new Japandroids track on the radio.  So for the next post we can look back on last summer while we anxiously pine for spring.

Japandroids exploded onto this scene this summer after a couple years of EPs with their lo-fi full length "Post Nothing".  The duo from Vancouver makes surprisingly danceable tunes out of symbol punishing drumming and powerful, albeit simple guitar work.  The vocals consist of screamed out anthems that are often shared between the two members.  This creates the allusion of much more sound than you would expect out of a two piece band.  Most of the songs have fewer than five lines which makes them perfect for yelling out with your friends after a night of drinking.  The pair will also begin to release a series of 7" records of remastered tracks and previously unreleased material this spring.  I've heard one of the unreleased tracks and it is light years away from "Post Nothing".  Whether you consider this a good thing or bad depends on how much you liked that lo-fi, garage feel.   All this combined with the indie deity Pitchfork giving it a favorable rating, makes it no wonder why this band was so popular and will continue to be popular this year.

So give this an album a listen while you slam some brews with your bros.
Post-Nothing Download

*HMHYHT also has a new writer from the far reaches of California to share his knowledge of Math Rock and all things related to hipsterdom, so keep an eye out for his posts.

-Jim

Another Cool Show at the Eagle's Nest

I saw some Sunday Night goodness last night at the Eagle's Nest.

Myspace

The night started off with Maidens, a post-metal band which draws influence from Russian Circles.  It definitely has that Suffocate for Fuck Sake feel with heavy riffs and special attention to atmosphere.  Really heavy and really good.  Keep a look out for these Milwaukee area guys as they have just begun, but are already producing some pretty impressive work.

Myspace 

Next up was Parrhesia, a grind band from chicago.  Going into the show I had a very rudimentary idea of what grind is, having only heard studio recorded work in the genre.  Before the show I was very unimpressed, but I quickly found this is definitely a style of music you need to see live.  After some technical difficulties (which merely added to my anticipation) this band began to attack their instruments, themselves, and the crowd.  I experienced pure discomfort as I wasn't really sure if they were going to harm the crowd, themselves or my ear drums.  It was surprisingly enjoyable and liberating.  Check these guys out live if you can.

Myspace 

If you have been reading the blog you would know I tried to see Grown Ups earlier this month at Strangelight.  Unfortunately a speeding ticket and questionable navigation caused me to miss Grown Ups.  I wasn't too bummed however, because I knew I had another chance to see them.  This was my chance and they were everything I hoped for.  That pop-punk/emo sound I fell in love with on their studio album Songs translated quite nicely live.  Their energy and sound last night would have definitely made the Kinsella brothers proud.  I also purchased their last copy of their EP ever (hipster victory!).  It was the last night of their tour with Antilles who played next.

 

Myspace 

Antilles from Ohio had been touring with Grown Ups since the night after the Strangelight show, but they didn't let it show.  They didn't even want to stop playing.  These guys brought some serious energy and some humor.  Punk to the core, their intricate guitar work left my ears ringing.  Very awesome.

 

Myspace 

The night wrapped up with a band that is slowly becoming one of my favorites in Milwaukee, Absolutely.  As usual their luscious locks and mathy riffs blew me away.  If you live in Wisconsin you have to check these guys out.

How about some awesome spoken word?

La Dispute made three EPs with some pretty slick spoken word.  It's definitely a departure from their two full length albums.  Most of the "songs" are actually coming of age poetry (some written by them some not) spoken over minimal instrumentals.  A lot of the music of their Here, Hear EPs remind me of Slint's Spiderland, so if you are into that definitely check out these ten songs.

Here, Hear Volume I

Here, Hear Volume II

Here, Hear Volume III

Speaking of some awesome spoken word have some Saul Williams

 

The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust 

Self Titled 

Pianos Become The Teeth - Old Pride

Coming straight from the awesomely pretentious band name department I bring you Pianos Become The Teeth.  This screamo (or skramz if you are an asshole) band from Baltimore draws influences from both post-rock and post-hardcore which leaves the listener with something in the same vane as Envy, City of Caterpillar, or Suffocate For Fuck Sake. (gotta love the names).  

Unfortunately for Pianos they don't quite live up to the behemoths of the genre I mentioned.  Not yet anyway.  Some of the post-rock buildups are amazing (see "Pensive"),  but at other times the meander and end up falling back on mediocre post-hardcore riffs leaving the listener waiting for that climax that never comes (see "Young Fire").  The lyrics live up to the stereotype of the genre and are mostly underwhelming for the entirety of the album, minus the absolute tear jerker, "Cripples Can't Shiver", an incredibly emotional song about a loved one dying of a degenerative disease.

Although these guys aren't perfect, this album is still one of my favorites of last year.  So check out the album, then buy some merch or book them for your next basement show.  They'll be in Milwaukee June 17, where they will be playing however remains to be seen.  So if you live in the area keep that in mind, as it appears these guys will literally play wherever.  They seem to be extremely humble and appreciative guys and that's pretty fucking cool.

 

Download 

Buy/Book 

The Paper Chase - Now You Are One Of Us

 "I get a lot of e-mail that says, "Your music frightens my cat." -John Congleton

What do you get when the producer of successful pop acts such as U2's Bono, R. Kelly, and Explosions in the Sky decides to start writing his own music? Surprisingly you get some seriously spooky stuff.

Now You Are One Of Us wastes no time setting a creepy tone with a sample of a real radio interview of some wack-o who is supposedly flying over area-51.  From there you get a steady diet of uncomfortable subject matter being sung over jagged piano, ominous riffs and discordant melodies separated by equally creepy sample interludes.  The whole album feels as though you are listening in on a deliriously paranoid man's desperate thoughts and painfully authentic threats.  Deliciously creepy song titles such as "We Know Where You Sleep", "You Are One Of Them Aren't You", and "We Will Make You One Of Us" cements the feeling of intense paranoia.  Congleton's own experience with ardent panic attacks definitely seep through the songs giving the listener a taste of what it may feel like to truly experience hysteria.

The greatest discomfort of all comes when you realize that although some of the subject matter is over the top, all these feelings are human (even if they are at the very fringe of what is considered normal) and that all feelings most likely exist somewhere deep inside every one of us.  See the very ending of "At The Other End of The Leash " as a frightening example of the perpetual loneliness and boredom one can experience even while surrounded by creature comforts and people who care for you.

So give it a listen, but maybe turn on all the lights in your room first.

The Paper Chase - Now You Are One Of Us 

I forgot it was Valentines Day

 I guess that is what happens when your interests include writing a music blog.

Keep your love on lockdown ya'll!!!!

Kanye West- Love Lockdown 

Lotus Land Records on Friday

Saw a pretty good local show at the newly opened Lotus Land.  It was another well set up DIY show.  Here's who we saw:

Myspace 

White Problems- Fun band making fun music.  Think DFA1979. 

Myspace
Brief Candles- Technically sound indie rock with female lead vocals

 

 Myspace

sleepcomesdown- These guys blew me away.  They are everything you want in a shoegaze band and more.  I was totally taken aback at the amount of beautiful sound they could create. The streaming music on their myspace doesn't even begin to do their live sound justice.  If you are able I would definitely recommend seeing this sometimes haunting, but always powerful sounding band.  They also have some pretty nifty lights, which may be a plus for all I know.  I'm going to be ordering their full length soon, so expect another post on these guys.

Myspace
John The Savage- I was lucky enough to see a Milwaukee staple,  John The Savage.  They are well known in the area for great live shows and fun music.  They certainly lived up to that Friday.  Their set was an hour long dance party.  These guys take the attitude of Modest Mouse, the crazy big sound instrumentation of Arcade Fire, and vocals reminiscent of early Flogging Molly and create something that is absolutely infectiously enjoyable.

Absolutely also played during the course of the night.  Unfortunately I can't find their Myspace.  They play some pretty killer post-hardcore.  If anyone who reads this can point me to their Myspace please do (does anyone read this?)

edit: Found their Myspace

 

Myspace 

Come back tomorrow and I will share some music!

toe - Book About My Idle Plot On Vague Anxiety

 

Math Rock came to be in the late eighties as an offshoot of Post-Rock that concentrated on tapping and angular melodies as opposed to the concentration on atmosphere and texture that Post-Rock is known for.  The early bands in both genres shared many characteristics however.  See Slint as an example.

Like it's early brother in the Math Rock scene, Slint, toe borders on the edge of both genres.  They have no shortage of interesting time signatures and start stop rhythms, but they also take special care to create an interesting atmosphere.  This coupled with the technical drumming of Takashi makes this a Japanese export to check out.

 

toe - Book About My Idle Plot On Vague Anxiety

It snowed a lot today.

So have some music by a band called Snowing.  It's pretty much the best the current Emo scene has to offer.

My writing genius knows no bounds

 

EP Download
BUY BUY BUY

What has the Internet done?

I literally just found this: Pitchfork reviews Die Antwoord
 Expect that annoying guy standing by the keg to be shouting requests for Die Antwoord songs soon.
Interview discussing how gangster fairy tattoos are