I was flipping through the one lowly row of seven inches in my favorite record store last week when I took a peek below the shelves to scope the “overflow box.” Lo, I was freaked in my stomach to discover that where previously only one box had been, 10 (ten!) boxes were now sandwiched down there. (I’m sure all those other boxes were always there - I just didn’t notice them.) I didn’t have time that day to go through them them, so I vowed to come back next week. Being the man of my vow that I am, I did just that. I made it through six boxes (four more for next weekend!). I came out with 14 seven inches, many of which I’m super excited about (Shotmaker 7″ on Kung Fu/Manticore; Assfactor 4 7″ on Repercussion*; Sleeping Body 7″ on Vermiform; Han Shan 7″, etc.)… plus I was psyched that my total cost was $20. Crazy how these records don’t go up more in value. Anyway!
I got a bunch of 7″ compilations. Here are two of them (more will follow). I chose these two because they have a common link: Framework. But I hadn’t heard Framework before yesterday. According to my sources three of the members formed Earth Crisis around this time (1992). However, Framework reminds me a bit of None Left Standing (from the XXX comp… maybe I just think this because they both have a line that says, “I scream,” when they aren’t actually screaming), except more poundy and chuggy.
First up is the Realization compilation. Put out by Subjugation Records in 1993 (United Kingdom). On the comp are: Struggle, Feeding the Fire, Darkroom, Shortsight, and Framework. All these bands can be summed up as (straight edge) hardcore. Also - and this doesn’t matter or anything - but I’m guessing that most, if not all, of the members of these bands are of high school age. This is a compilation for animal rights. And each band includes some writings on the matter.
Except Struggle. They chose “War 1″ as their song for the comp (later put on their 12″, and titled “War #1″). It’s about the Gulf War. It’s a different recording than what’s on the lp. And correct me I’m wrong, but I don’t think this recording is on the discography CD. I remember when Kent was putting together the discography, and I told him that I could have sworn there’s a compilation out there with a different recording of a song that’s on the lp, and he told me I was full of bull. So I went through all the old heartattacks until I found a review for the Realization comp. Then I looked through his record collection, found it, and we played it and rocked out. But still, after all that I don’t think it ever made it to the discog. (There’s also an alternate recording of The Untitled (first song on side B of the lp) on the Lacking Mindset comp, which includes a voice over during the drumming part. That’s actually what I had been thinking of when I unearthed the Realization comp….) At any rate, now I finally have this record. When I found this I let out an audible “hwaugh!” and the cruster standing above me flipping through classic rock albums (what a poser!) looked at me like I was a dork.
Struggle - War 1:
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What’s especially cool about this comp is how international it is. Feeding the Fire (blazing fast, sorta like Seein’ Red) is from Holland; Shortsight is from Belgium (female-vocaled, sort of street punk thrash stuff, a la Suckerpunch, Reality Control)… huh, I guess the other three are from the US. Well, that’s pretty international. And it’s a great comp, too!
I can’t find a full Yuletide Records release list. They put out records by Frail and Spirit Assembly and stuff (um, obviousy… I dunno why I typed that), and are one of those labels that I won’t pass up no matter what. This comp has Policy of Three, Ashes, Framework, and Point of View. Like the comp above, it’s another (straight edge) hardcore record from 1993. The Ashes song is good (fem-voxed). Check out Framework:
Framework - Broken Mirror:
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I was looking up Wellington on last.fm and saw that the name was attributed both to a band from Arizona from the ’90s, and also a Hungarian classic rock band from the ’90s. This post is about the one from Arizona. They didn’t have many plays, though I’m sure most of this has been shared elsewhere. But, in case you don’t have it, here you go. In the download is the Thank You Jesus lp, the Waterloo 7″, the split 7″ with Fall Silent, and the song from the Amnesia compilation. I know that they also put out a split with Noothgrush. I don’t have that - if anyone does and wants to share it, please do so and I’ll edit this post to include the download. What else did they put out? I don’t know.
Last post I mentioned sludgefuzzed guitars. I think I mostly said that about Lewistown because Wellington’s guitar is kind of similar in tone. But Wellington does sludge like a band of demented sloths trudging through the black forest (though not quite as sludgy as others, such as Wormwood). I think the sign of a good sludgecore band is that halfway through the song you still can’t tell if it should be sped up to 45rpm. When listening to their song on the Fall Silent split, even after the vocals came in I still couldn’t tell if I was listening to it at the right speed. But as slow and steady and as mired in a swamp as Wellington are, they do spring together and chug toward driving fast parts. And when they do, it’s most satisfying.
for example, listen:
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That song, plus two others, are from the Waterloo seven inch. That’s my favorite stuff of theirs. It’s their earlier material - and the song on the Amnesia compilation is also an early one. Back then (1995) the vocals were a little more gruff. Later on (1996) they became a little bit more forced and varied in growliness and… more like Unruh (which, according to last.fm, band members later went in to (check my archives to find the Enewetak/Unruh split)).
One song from the Waterloo seven inch, “Please,” is also on the Thank You, Jesus lp. One’s with the earlier vocal style, the other’s with the latter. The lp is pretty excellent. And the opening sound is great - I wish I’d thought of it.
I included the Fall Silent song in the download. Right now I’m in a room with people that I don’t feel comfortable subjecting to this music, so I can’t refresh my memory of them. They are sort of chuggy and hardcore-ish, but the recording is rough and raw. Kick ass drummer. I’m pretty sure I saw them once.
All of these were put out on Fetus Records. The Amnesia compilation was put out on Ebullition (I only transferred the one song from that comp).
I think I got this Lewistown seven inch because I reviewed it. I dug it because of the nice and vaguely-melodic slugfuzzed guitars, and the snappy snare (tag line on the record: “Spreading the violence of ‘mid-tempo emo core’ since 1996″). I once played a show with them at a pizza place in Phoenix… in front of about six people, not including band members. I seemed to be the only one there who was totally psyched to see them.
It was put out on Bug Recordings. Both the label and band were from Richmond, Virginia. I reckon this is from 1996, but it could be 1997.
Their split with Target for Aggression is out there for download. It also contains “Breathe/Burn” (same recording… and the split also features Target for Aggression covering that song). And a bunch of other good songs that are worth tracking down.
Listen:
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You may remember that earlier I posted the Meadowlark/Slave One split 12″. The Meadowlark stuff on that split is pretty good, but so far I’ve had some trouble getting into it. This seven inch that’s downloadable below, on the other hand, right away makes me go Oh yeah, man, this is the stuff. I’ve had this for forever on a mix tape a friend made for me. But then I found it on butt white vinyl last week while shopping for records. Right after I found it I found out that the quote at the beginning is from the movie Dune. I say this line pretty much every time there’s a storm a’brewing. And now I know that it’s not only from the Meadowlark 7″, but also from a movie that I’ve seen.
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They are frantic and all over the place, which may seem sort of messy, but dang they do it well. Sort of remind me of Harriet the Spy, but can also be chunky and driving and fast, like His Hero is Gone (that may seem like a basic and off comparison, but there are some intense thrashy elements… so spit). I know I don’t comment much on lyrics and content, but I include the contents, so I leave it up for you guys to explore. Basically, these guys from Texas are honest (”fuck rights, I want my freedom”) and personal (”this is the sound of growing old too fast. this is the face of facing the future alone…”) and more. Nice insert also includes drawings and writing and a dedication.
Here are two seven inches by Ex-Ignota. They were from the greater Santa Barbara area, and back when I was a high school student in Santa Barbara during the mid-90s, I caught a bunch of their shows. I honestly don’t remember much from the shows, except that I enjoyed them very much, and often left them looking forward to the next time I would see the band play.
The group quickly became recognized for strange and extreme live performances consisting of the members dancing and crashing into one another amidst sounds ranging from pounding chords, to gentle guitars, to Italian zombie movie soundtracks. The band seemed to like nothing better than to challenge each institution they encountered, and audiences were turned on.
When they first got started, they were called IG-88. You may have heard the IG-88 song on the Heartattack #10 compilation. That’s Ex-Ignota!
One seven inch on this post is the Lazarus is Back… record put out by Ebullition in 1995. Ebullition:
The band consisted of kids that were going to the local university; many of whom were art students. Ex-ignota played hardcore that was definitely influenced by a lot of arty musical concepts; abrasive and melodic, with singing and yelling, and lots of variety. They strove to do things just a bit differently.
My record was the version with the oversized cover. And over the years it got tore up. So I had to get rid of the cover. But here is what it once looked like. After the break-up of the cover, my vinyl did NOT stay in top condition. So the two tracks from this contain snaps and pops. But I believe the record is not out of print, so buy it yourself if you want a fresh version.
Musically, these guys remind me a bit of St. James Infirmary mixt with Incurable Complaint and then mixt with whatever else. But that’s just me, and it doesn’t mean anything anyway. So here’s a preview track to help you decide for yourself.
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(that’s an entire side of a record.)
Laid-back singer/songerwriter Jack Johnson, when he was at UCSB, made a short documentary about Ex-Ignota. Here it is:
The other record on this post is the 7″ put out on Redwood, also from 1995. That’s what the above song is from. The two songs on this record were also on the split CD with Uranium 9-Volt.
In addition to these records, they also put out a demo (under the name IG-88, and if anyone has this, please send it to me!!), as well as a full length CD. I haven’t heard the CD, but I am very eager to do so. Until then I consider myself a failed fan. I should just order it from somewhere! (but if you have it to share, please do so.) And they put out a split with Barcode. That split was posted on one of the music blogs on my music blogroll… I don’t remember which one! It’s been months.
Other notes: in one of the photos posted on their last.fm page, you can see Dylan from Stratego in the crowd. The band members set up lots of shows in Isla Vista. I really like the sweet melodic guitar on “Truce.” If I could play guitar, I’d probably just play stuff like that all day.
also! If I can make some requests - can anyone hook me up with these:
– bob tilton - crescent (my cd is all scratched, and I like this album) Thanks Geno!;
– (as mentioned above) the ex-ignota cd;
– the Sunshine compilation. I have this, but I lent it to a friend enemy and never got it back. I still have the booklet, now I just need the music again.
–False Object Sensor compilation. I have this on vinyl, and it rules. x-mist put out the vinyl and vermiform put out the CD. So if someone has the cd version, I’d like to have the files. If not, I will just transfer it my damn self. Thanks Ricardo!
– lastly, an unknown band that I’m searching for (lost the mix tape). I know they made at least three songs, and the lyrics of one were, “Now that it’s gone, I can’t get it back. Now that it’s gone, I need it back.” they sung/screamed, and sounded like plunger, nuzzle, benchmark, indian summer, etc. and they had to have been from before 1997. I can’t believe it’s taking me so long to figure this out. help please… It was Pawn. Thanks Geno!
My typing fingers are a bit tired after adding all 116 song titles from this CD, so this will be short. Of course, a short message would be appropriate for this band - ‘cuz they mostly play really short songs. Mexican Power Authority were from the giant country of Canada, and were around from 1991-1997. This CD compiles a number of releases into one: More Discipline (cassette, from 1991, Break Even Records); Salmon Mask Mctallica (cassette, from 1992, Break Even Records); Haiku… Gesundheit (1992, cassette, Break Even); and the January Sessions (7″). This CD was put out by Ragamuffin Soldier Records.
It’s a bit hard to classify them, as they have a lot of range.
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The ‘zine Short Fast + Loud describes them as such:
MPA remain one of the least understood and most underrated bands from the ‘90s underground. Their style was entirely unique, borrowing from hardcore and grind, yet adding so many off the wall elements that the end results never quite equated with their contemporaries. Imagine Muppets who studied free form jazz playing punk rock songs with the RUINS at a high school music recital with students playing recorders. Odd clarinet sounds and yipping vox offset the spastic punkiness that abounds. Kev from the almighty NEOS is in this band, but don’t go expecting straight forward thrash. Maybe someday MPA will get the recognition they deserve, but for now check out this cult favorite if you want something completely beyond the radar.
Songs average around 30 seconds in length. There’s a swell mix of trash, rock, grind, and even, toward the end, some jazz grind with clarinet. Topics are light, and sort of humorous. A few songs reference popular rock songs within them. Some of the tracks on this are doubled up, since CDs don’t allow more than 99 tracks.
I find this to be catchy and fun to listen to. It can be a lot to take in at once.
Totally notable is the fact that they recently got back together and played shows, and are now working on new material. Stay up to date via their myspace page. And it looks like they have a double lp version of this CD still available.
side note: I added a plugin for the archives of this blog. Now they are easier to browse - browse by title of post (which is always the band(s)), and view them all without much scrolling.
Another side note, even less related to the MPA post:
Last spring I created a google map to keep track of all the pinball machines in the city. It went well, and we had a lot of data on it, and lots of friends and strangers helped keep it up to date. My h-mate/business partner (Sassy Moves Today) and I had dreams of turning it into a bigger site, with search functions and other neat features. So we’ve spent the last many months working on just such a site. Scott did all the perl and javascript and all that tough technical stuff. I was mostly just in charge of data, but I ended up doing (plenty of) the text, html, css, and images (which is why the site appears as simple/awesome as it does).
So, if you live in Portland and like pinball (which I realize probably amounts to like two to three readers of this music blog), I hope you check it out and I hope you like it! I think it’s rad.
Thanks for the feedback, homies. And so here are three seven inches by Manumission.
All of these came out in 1993 and 1994, I believe. Binary Lung was put out by Ebullition, Tremor on the Line by Repercussion, and Diego Rivera was a split release by Sovereignty and Ebullition. Manumission was from Goleta, California. Some of the members were attending UC Santa Barbara at the time. Jose (from Struggle, etc.) drummed for some of the songs, and I believe he lived in San Diego still.
They are one of my all time favorite bands. I was too young to ever see them live. The Binary Lung seven inch was the first Ebullition record I ever bought, and it basically turned me on to the rest of the catalog. They profoundly changed my perception of hardcore. I poured over the insert of this record and discovered sincerity, politics, and emotion. Hardcore wasn’t just brutally fast music with a bunch of screaming. The last on this record, “Humanity,” ends with Ani speaking the lines he had been screaming in the last verse. At first, through my lense of irony, I thought it was sort of goofy. But then a friend stood up for it and declared it to be the best part of the record. I then reevaluated my perceptions of the music, and I took a real look at the words and the ways in which it is all presented, and I recognized that it was sincere and substantial and should be taken seriously.
Manumission is a political band in many ways, but at the same time they are intensily personal. In high school I photocopied the lyrics of “Distance,” and had it tacked up on my wall. It seemed to perfectly capture my thoughts on relationships and gender.
Distance:
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There are somewhat disparate styles at play in their music. The drums are extremely fast, snappy, and tight; the guitar and bass are at times catchy and melodic, and during fast parts often played slower than the drums (or at least it sounds that way), but at the same time there can be some seriously crunch; the vocals are absolutely ravaged and brutal. All of it comes together for what I think is a unique interplay. They are tight, controlled, but also cathartic and blistering.
Check this song, “Guillotine,” off the Diego Rivera seven inch:
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So, download it all, and enjoy! Geno from the comments recently posted the Manumission side of their split with Los Crudos, so I included that in the zip, too. All inserts are included, as well. The second side of Diego Rivera is live from a radio show. “Hawthorne Effect” is originally on the 3/12/93 compilation (which I have, but it seems to have a small scratch).
Ricardo requested the insert/cover for this split (sorry for the delay!). But I couldn’t just post the insert and not the music! So here’s the total package.
Two songs by both bands. Easily one of my all-time favorite records. Reach Out continues right where their 7″ left off. Two vocalists, one shriller than the other, both punctuating a shared story. The guitars practically sing with them. The songs are progressively structured, not stuck in verse/chorus repetition. Both songs blend together (with lovely feedback), but I split them up. I thought about keeping them together, since they are practically one song.
Honeywell completely blew my mind on this split. I bought this for the Reach Out, but I stayed for the Honeywell. Just kidding - but you know what I mean. If… brings to mind a beast, breathing inside a cave, fumes and steam broiling out with each breath. And then it emerges and the whole world erupts. I obviously can’t write anything that will do this justice… so I’ll just say that the things I like about these songs are: super fast blasted drumming, with a steady bassdrum beat that’s half the time of the snare, absolutely devastating vocals that seem on the brink of falling into smoldering ruin, guitars that feedback, crunch, and speak sorrow all at the same time. If… is about uncertainty, complacency, etc. Five Minutes Only is about our cheap religions. Heaven is only an infinite treadmill away!
This came in 1993. I think it was on Anomaly Records. right?
The music shared here comes from records I've collected. The purpose is to get people, who might otherwise not have access, into the music. Links to purchase info are provided when available. Please tell me if you're affiliated with one of the bands and would like the content to be removed/altered.
Manumission is a political band in many ways, but at the same time they are intensily personal. In high school I photocopied the lyrics of “Distance,” and had it tacked up on my wall. It seemed to perfectly capture my thoughts on relationships and gender.
