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