10 (More) Bands You Should Immediately Educate Yourself on the Existence of: Pt 1 (10-6)

In the six months since I did the original list, three of the bands I mentioned (P.S. Eliot, Hunter City Madness, and Attack in Black) no longer exist. With any luck, I've started some kind of curse. Anywho, here's another list of bands you should keep your eye on in 2012.


10. Pianos Become the Teeth

The only reason Pianos are this high on the list is because they're probably at least on your radar already. Once considered (by me, anyways) to be the red-haired stepchild of "the wave," these dudes came out of nowhere to release one of the most critically acclaimed albums of 2011 in The Lack Long After. If you haven't heard the album already, do yourself a favour and pick it up. If the lyrics don't choke you up, you may have no soul. This band is right at the forefront of the whole "skramz revival" that's sprung up recently-- and for good reason. Nobody's doing it better.


9. Rain Over Battle

With the release of 2011's These Rocks in Our Bodies, the youngsters in Rain Over Battle have shown they're more than capable of nestling comfortably into a long lineage of notable Virginia punx. The album flew under the radar for the most part, but if ROB continue to perfect their blend of clever, catchy beard-core, expect to see their next album on a few top 10 lists. Their sound is one part Philly punk and one part mid-era Against Me!, blended together in the No Idea break-room and garnished with a healthy dose of Wonder Years-esque pop-punk. But instead of being a four-chord cliche, these guys are striving to write some of the most complex, textured tunes the genre's ever seen. Sometimes the band's ambitions get a bit lofty and they find themselves in over their heads, but I expect those bumps will smooth out with age and experience. I also expect these guys to blow up on Punknews any day now. I guess we'll have to wait and see.


8. Drug Church

In case you haven't noticed, I'm a bit of a Self Defense Family fanboy. Call a cop. Anywho, it always seemed a little odd to me that Patrick Kindlon, a dude who constantly professes his love for aggressive, moshy, sometimes ignorant hardcore, wasn't in an aggressive, moshy hardcore band. Enter Drug Church. The band's bio says it all: "No heavy trips about how you should live. No white guy slam-poetry about love. Just music you can push pit and stagedive to so you can forget for a moment that you have eczema and work at Pizza-Hut." These dudes dropped a very impressive demo last year, ("Visualize Latham" might have been the mosh-riff of 2011) and just recently signed to No Sleep. Expect their debut seven inch to make waves sometime later in 2012.


7. Loma Prieta

Holy fuck. January isn't even finished, and I've already got a few early contenders for 2012's album of the year. Loma Prieta have made their way into the conversation with I.V., a fierce, moody, monster of an album. The band perfectly blends noisy hardcore and noisy screamo for a very refreshing take on the whole "skramz revival" thing we've been seeing recently. If Kurt Ballou and Will Killingsworth somehow had a baby, it's band would sound like this (to be honest, I was surprised to find out I.V. wasn't recorded at God City). The band switches from catharsis to violence at the drop of a hat, oftentimes giving the listener mere seconds to breathe before pummeling them with a quick blast of pure vitriol. The album is relentless in it's approach, but more importantly, it's well written and unique. Expect to hear a lot more about I.V. -- and Loma Prieta-- in the future.


6. Joie De Vivre 

Rockford, IL's Joie De Vivre would have been on the last list I made if it weren't for the fact that they'd broken up earlier that year. With that in mind, I'm pleased to announce that y'all should check out Rockford IL's Joie De Vivre. That's right, they recently got back together, are about to embark on a Euro tour, and will hopefully be releasing a followup to their spectacular 2010 full-length, The North End sometime in the not-so-distant future. Joie is the epitome of the Midwest's current fascination with Mineral/American Football, complete with trumpets and all. But aside from being one of the most heavily indebted bands in their circle, they're also easily one of the best. For those of us who can't remember a time when "emo" wasn't a dirty word, Joie De Vivre is just as refreshing and effective as any of their predecessors.

~~~

So that's it for now. I'm gonna do some homework. Part 2 will follow within the next few days.

A chorus of screaming idiots

There seems to be an unspoken code in politics and political journalism that any non-inflammatory or politically correct idea, regardless of how innately stupid it is, should be given credence.

Take for example, Rick Santorum's recently resurfaced opinion on contraception laws. Although he doesn't come right out and say it (politicians never do), it appears Santorum would like to see all forms of birth control become legally unavailable.  This is a bad idea on it's own merits, but when you consider Santorum's stance on federal funding for public education and social services, his position becomes laughable. As anyone with half a brain could figure out, the numbers don't add up across the board: an increase in the number of kids, coupled with a decrease of money in the pot for schools can only mean a decline in quality of education. Lower quality of education goes hand-in-hand with things like a higher crime rate, a lower GDP, a higher teenage pregnancy rate and an overall lower quality of life, which is something that nobody in their right minds would want for their country.

This isn't my opinion, either, this is simple math: 1-1= 0. Everyone should know this. A lot of people do know this. So then why is nobody calling Santorum on his crackpot theories?

In a true democracy, that job falls to the public. Alas, the public doesn't have the tools or forum to do so -- and even if they did, it's safe to say that the majority of them either don't care or actually side with Santorum. As for his GOP opponents eyeing that same presidential bid? They're not going to bite on something like this. The primaries are shaping up to be a close race, and the candidates don't want to lose the "fringe lunatic" vote, especially when smacking Santorum around on this particular issue won't earn them any short-term success. For Romney and co., keeping quiet and silently hoping Santorum shoots himself in the foot is the only viable option right now.

With that in mind, the responsibility to expose Santorum's fraudulent ideas falls to us, the journalists. We are, after all, the faithful lighthouse keepers of democracy. It's our job to ensure the public stays informed of all pressing issues, and to encourage thoughtful, informed discussion in both the public and political arena. When frail, poorly strung ideas like this are brought up, it should be our job to strip them bare and expose the gaping holes in them.

So then why, time and time again, are journalists playing moral softball with rubes like Rick Santorum?

Right now, Santorum's ass should be roasting uncomfortably over an open fire. There should be a wall of microphones surrounding him, with people yelling stuff like "what about the spread of STI's, Rick?" or "how exactly are the states to enforce these laws, and what will the cost to the federal government be?" Instead, all Santorum had to face was some touchy-feely "it's not morally right to do this..." garbage from a few self-righteous TV personalities and BOOM, he was free to spout his deranged, dangerous rhetoric all over the rolling New Hampshire countryside. And it's not just Santorum and his ilk who get this treatment; every politician spewing some kind of ill-conceived bullshit, be it from the left or right, is given a few lame softball questions before they're allowed to continue bunging up the democratic process with their nonsense.

It seems to me that in a short time, political journalism (of the TV variety, in particular) has transformed itself from an democracy's sharpest tool into a(n often) vaguely leftist prescription drug pusher. Instead of blowing Santorum's bullshit clean out of the water, instead of attempting to hold the left accountable for their budget failures, instead of asking "why the hell are all these old people deciding the future of the internet without even understanding how to use it?" we continue to come back to these " public opinion" stories; this "who-said-what-and-how-the-public-feels-about-it" bullshit. We've failed, continually, to do the research and ask the questions that will hold politicians accountable. We've been quick to analyze and offer an opinion, but never on what actually matters; only on petty garbage.

So now, as a public, instead of having an informed discussion about how to change the course of a broken economic and political model, we're engaged in a series of ill-informed moral pissing contests. We're not solving anything. We're not getting any closer to the answers. We're just making loud noise from ivory towers while very real problems continue to affect all of us. Rick Santorum is very good at making noise. So are the people with the required lack of critical thinking skills to buy into his hackneyed plans. Noise isn't going to solve anything, only make more problems. Healthy discourse is the only way we can come closer to some sort of solution, and as anyone who's ever worked in a factory can attest, it's pretty damn hard to have a legitimate discussion when you can't hear a thing.

Watching our current state of political discourse is like listening to a really shitty choir. Everyone has a voice, but very few people actually care to use it properly. The talented, hard working, and faithful are being drowned out by the people who just show up for the sake of making noise. As journalists, we should be conducting, harmonizing the willing in an attempt to drown out those who care only to yell, yet at this point, the conductor is only concerned with being the loudest singer. Those with strong voices or just a desire to contribute are getting frustrated and are either leaving or starting to yell themselves.

So, it's come to this. At some point, the show has to end; and with a dwindling pool of willing and able contributors, and nobody to direct those who still care, it appears our swan song will be sung by a chorus of screaming idiots.

End of a Year vol. 3: Music Revisited

2011 was an awesome year for music. Well, for my music anyways. Time for me to ramble about more arbitrary nonsense!

2011 Band of the Year: End of a Year Self Defense Family

When it boils down to it, music is about two things: art and entertainment. Nobody knows that better than this band. Artistically, SDF released a handful of splits, seven inches, and random Tumblr streams this year, most of it ranging from "interesting to hear" to "the best shit they've ever written". As for entertainment value, well, you probably won't find a more entertaining band in the entire history of bands. Whether on their Twitter, Tumblr, Youtube, or other various social media platforms, this band has no shame in broadcasting their sometimes controversial, often insightful/hilarious and always entertaining opinions, without filter, for the world to hear. Whether or not you agree with them, you have to admit the way they maintain an open dialogue with their fans, journalists and other musicians just for the sake of fun is pretty admirable. Also, mad shout-out to Patrick Kindlon for being this blog's first interviewee.

2011 Record Label of the Year: Rise Records

Sorry B9, Run For Cover and Count Your Lucky Stars, but it takes more than putting out kick-ass music to top this category. In fact, if you look at what Rise actually released last year, that may not be a criteria at all. Rise earned this "coveted" award by topping the headlines with some of the craziest/most interesting/most hilarious punk-related stories of 2011. Most noticeably, they shocked the punk(news) world by signing a certain best punk band ever and a whole bunch of other bands who sound just like them, which kicked off their transformation from "joke label" to "legitimate player" in the world of orgcore. It also pissed off a lot of swoop-haired kids, which is hilarious. Speaking of pissed off swoop-haired kids and hilarity, Jonny Craig, crack cocaine, Emarosa, prison. That is all. This reminds me, I have a Twitter page for this thing. I'm also selling Macbooks on it, so check it out.

2011 Best Show: Every Time I Die/The Chariot/food band/Hunter City Madness in Ottawa

I went to a bunch of awesome concerts last year. From getting groped by a hot girl on my birthday at Protest the Hero, to my first two step to Title Fight, to a PWYC/BYOB jam in Kitchener with The Reptilian, to seeing Hot Water Music for the first time and beginning my Chuck Ragan shrine, 2011 was filled with memorable concert moments. This one, however, takes the cake. The night started off with watching my boys in Hunter City Madness tear it up in front of their heroes in ETID. Then, some shitty band came on and the lead singer rubbed the mic on his ass, so I went to get food. After that, The Chariot played. If you've ever seen them, you'll know that's all I need to say. I'm not a huge fan, but god, they rock hard. Then, after some scary, border-related delays, ETID came on and brought the whole place to the ground. As soon as they started playing, an urge to kill rose from within me, taking hold of my whole body and rendering me helpless to it's power. The next 35 minutes are tough for me to recall... I just remember flashes of violent push mosh and sweaty bodies. I have a court date next week. Damn good show.

2011's Most Overrated Album: Fucked Up- David Comes to Life (Matador)

What's worse than listening to a mediocre song? Listening to that song twice in a row. What's worse than listening to a mediocre song twice in a row? Listening to it 18 times in a row. Don't believe the hype.

2011's Most Disappointing Album: Protest The Hero- Scurrilous (Underground Operations)

This was a hard one. Protest the Hero are the only band from my hometown worth talking about, ever, so I feel kinda bad shit-talking them. Also, there was some serious competition in this category (USS put out a straight bomb of an EP, and those Glassjaw releases were all terrible). Alas, Scurrilous sticks out in my mind as the biggest disappointment, if only because how excited my friends and I all were. Sure, "C'est La Vie" was one of my top 10 songs this year, and the rest of the album isn't that bad, but still... It seems like the band traded all the interesting aspects of their songwriting for shredding, shredding, and more shredding. If I wanted to hear fast guitar playing without any discernible focus, I'd listen to Yngwie Malmsteen. Also, Arif needs to stick to being the primary lyricist. Sorry Protest, but this one just didn't stick. If it's any consolation, the artwork kicks ass.


Best Part of Music in 2011: Friends!!!!

It's some sappy bullshit, I know, but 2011 wouldn't have been half as good a year for music if I didn't have the best people in the world to share it with. For the first half of the year, I pretty much lived in a punk house, except it was clean (thanks, Chris), the people there didn't smell weird, and we were all in school/employed. I guess it was less a punk house and more a house where a bunch of dudes who liked punk/hardcore/metal constantly hung out and engaged in shenanigans. Through this place, I met so many cool people, heard so much cool music, and did so much cool shit that I don't even know where to start. Then, in September, I started school in a new city. I also started a band, which is really a glorified excuse to hang out with my best buddy and make fun of crabcore/listen to The Hip. I then joined another band, which is also filled with cool dudes and fun times. Both these bands are currently in the process of writing/tuning up our material, which I shall shamelessly promote on this blog when the time comes.

When I first made the conscious effort to immerse myself in independent music two years ago, I thought the most rewarding aspects would come from listening to the music itself. But while it's an undeniably amazing experience to hear a song that gives me goosebumps, discover an album that blows my mind, or watch a band pour their hearts out on stage, the most rewarding part of being a music fan has been the relationships I've made. It's amazing how many random people on the street you can have a meaningful conversation with just because of the shirt you're wearing. It's amazing how you can have an immediate connection with a new friend after a drunken conversation about music. It's amazing how easy it is to reach out to somebody you admire, and how humbled and willing they'll be to just chat with you for a little bit. It's amazing how many talented, interesting people there are out there combining their love of music with their other skills and passions to put out records, promote shows, take pictures, write stuff, do artwork, or the tons of other things that directly contribute to the music scene. It's amazing how much fun it is to create something with your friends. It's amazing how an inaccessible, aggressive, derivative form of music can bring so many different people together under one roof to enjoy a common experience. That is the beauty of punk rock.

Keep it real.

~~~

So, that does it for now. I plan on doing some non-music related year end stuff, as well as a look ahead to 2012, so if anyone's actually paying attention, stay tuned.

End of a Year vol. 2: Top 40 punk/hardcore songs of 2011.

In continuing with the year end theme, here are my 40 favourite songs to come out this year.

Songs:

40. Retox- Ready To Spit (S/T EP, Ugly Animals) 
39. Pianos Become the Teeth- Such Confidence (The Lack Long After)
38. Social Distortion- Bakersfield (Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes)
37. Dead End Path- Cathedral Bones (Blind Faith)
36. Earth Crisis- Neutralize the Threat (Neutralize the Threat)
35. The Reptilian- Eddie's Lane (Four Way Split)
34. Hot Water Music- Up to Nothing (The Fire, The Steel, The Tread b/w Up to Nothing)
33. Stray From the Path- iMember (Rising Sun)
32. Harms Way- Scrambled (Isolation)
31. City and Colour- Fragile Bird (Little Hell)
30. Pianos Become the Teeth- I'll Get By (The Lack Long After)
29. Touche Amore- Pathfinder (Parting the Sea Between Brightness and Me)
28. Cake- Long Time (Showroom of Compassion)
27. Empire! Empire! (I was a lonely estate)- The Horror of Riovanes (Four Way Split)
26. Lemuria- Wise People (Pebble)
25. Trash Talk- Awake (Awake EP)
24. The Warriors- The War Unseen (See How You Are)
23. Self Defense Family- I Heard Crime Gets You Off (I Heard Crime Gets You Off b/w To Your Scattered Bodies Go)
22. Black Lungs- Stay Outta Parkdale (Valley of The Dolls 7")
21. Empire! Empire! (I was a lonely estate)- Water (Home After Three Months Away)
20. P.S. Eliot- Untitled (Sadie)
19. Trap Them- Every Walk A Quarantine (Darker Handcraft)
18. Defeater- I Don't Mind (Empty Days/Sleepless Nights)
17. Title Fight- 27 (Shed)
16. Daytrader- Texts and Tomes (Mixed Signals)
15. KoJi- Peacemaker (Never Come Undone)
14. Polar Bear Club- Screams In Caves (Clash, Battle, Guilt, Pride)
13. Touche Amore- ~ (Parting the Sea Between Brightness and Me)
12. Defeater- Empty Glass (Empty Days/Sleepless Nights)
11. Joyce Manor- Leather Jacket (Joyce Manor)

10. Polar Bear Club- Killin' It (Clash, Battle, Guilt, Pride, Mixed Signals)

This song is so awesome it made it on two of my top 10 albums of the year. "Killin' It" is the crown jewel of Clash, Battle, Guilt, Pride, and arguably the best song Polar Bear Club has ever written.

9. Protest the Hero- C'est La Vie (Scurrilous)

A standout track on an otherwise disappointing album, this song manages to perfectly mix the fierce shredding of Scurrilous with the hook-laden songwriting PtH is known for. Unfortunately, this is the first track on the album, and it's pretty much all downhill from here.

8. La Dispute- The Most Beautiful Bitter Fruit (Wildlife)

Picture one of the more upbeat tracks off Altair all grown up; complete with more mature lyrics, tighter songwriting, and a more confident swagger. If this song doesn't want to make you swing your hips, you may need to check your pulse.

7. Self Defense Family- I'm Going Through Some Shit (I'm Going Through Some Shit b/w All Fruit is Ripe)

If this is "doing whatever the hell we want" sounds like, I encourage more bands to attempt that. This song/band is living proof that constantly pushing your sound in new directions almost always yields positive results.

6. Trap Them- The Facts (Darker Handcraft)

This song has a punk as fuck attitude, a heavy as fuck underbelly, and a catchy as fuck chorus. It pretty much punches you in the gut, spits in your face and fucks your girlfriend harder than you ever could. I AM THAT GOD DAMN SON OF A BITCH!!!!!

5. Make Do and Mend- Coats (Mixed Signals)

This song is essentially one big ball of energy, punctuated by tight-as-hell songwriting and some wicked effective guitar playing. As far as I'm concerned, this band can ride Hot Water Music's coattails as long as they want if they're going to do it this effectively.

4. Tigers Jaw- Distress Signal (Mixed Signals)

This song manages to perfectly balance the darker, more experimental songwriting of Two Worlds with the upbeat, catchy vibe of their earlier stuff. If Tigers Jaw keep this up, they'll be millionaires in no time. Also, since when can Brianna sing? I think I'm in love...

3. Form and File- New Love (This is Form and File)

Intense restraint; raw, ugly beauty; this song is a paradox in it's very existence. "New Love" manages to keep up a cautious energy for five minutes; you keep thinking it's about to fall apart at the seams, but somehow it never does. It's that wild ride that makes this song so damn good. These dudes captured magic on tape.

2. Title Fight- Society (Shed)

The beauty of this song is that it's deceivingly well written. At first, it sounds like a gritty romp through a straightforward punk song, but if you actually listen, "Society" reveals itself to be quite a little gem. The most well-written song on this years most well written album.

1. La Dispute- King Park (Wildlife)

Trying to describe this song with words would be a waste of time. Just fucking listen to it. Maybe the best song I've ever heard.

~~~

So, those are the best songs of the year. Stay tuned for moar rambling, as I've found this to be a really enjoyable means of procrastination!

End of a Year vol. 1: The obligatory album list.

It's (pretty much) the end of year! With that in mind, it's time for me to impose my meaningless opinions on you! (what else is new?) let's start this off with the obligatory list of my top 10 recording of the year:

10. Polar Bear Club- Clash Battle Guilt Pride (Bridge 9)

A lot of people really like this record, proclaiming it Polar Bear Club's best effort to date. While I prefer the more riff oriented guitar work on Chasing Hamburg to the open chord singalongs of Clash, it would be hard to deny that Polar Bear Club really hit what they were going for on this one. Clash, Battle, Guilt, Pride is a far more anthemic and mature record than anything they've released previously, and it seems to suit them rather well. They've laid the groundwork for the rest of their career, and I'm excited to see where they take it next. Also, for what it's worth, it's interesting to see how much Jimmy Stadt's lyricism has improved since The Redder the Better.

Listen to: Bottled Wind

9. Harms Way- Isolation (Closed Casket Activities)

About half way through the first listen of Isolation, I thought to myself, “what's the big deal about this band? Sure they're tight crunchy and all, but I've heard this a million times before”. Then, the outro riff to “Breeding Ground” grabbed me right by the dick and slowly dragged me through the rest of the album. From that breakdown on, Isolation takes a decided turn for the sludgy, as well as the experimental. It's here where Harms Way really step into their own thing and start showing off how good their songwriting can be. The band employ drum effects and samples in an extremely tasteful way, using them to punctuate their brutal sludge-yness and tasty mosh parts, instead of trying to detract from their deficiencies (a la Rise Records, etc.). The result is a very unique, forward thinking, grimy as fuck hardcore record. It turns out, you need the fun, moshy first half of the record to carry the momentum into the darker and ultimately stronger second half, which ends up working very well for Harm's Way.

Listen to: Scrambled

8. Trash Talk- Awake EP (Trash Talk Collective)

Trash Talk, in my humble opinion, is the only Pitchfork-hyped band that actually deserves the attention they've received. Far less pretentious then fellow P4K darlings Fucked Up's latest, and far better than recent releases from similar sounding hardcore artists, Trash Talk's Awake EP is at it's core, good, clean, punk rock fun. Skipping out on all the weird, nearly inaccessible thrashing the band's been known to delve into, Awake sounds like four dudes just having a good time. Don't be fooled however, these guys have the chops to back it up, keep it fresh and free of sounding like self indulgent masturbation. My only complaint? Way too damn short.

Listen to: Burn Alive

7. Form and File- This is Form and File EP (Self Released)

I've pretty much said everything I can about this EP and this band on this blog already. So to sum it up, stop being a hick and just buy this shit already. A fresh take on an old style of music played by great musicians who are really just in it to create art and have fun. Can't ask for much more than that.

Listen to: The whole damn EP

6. Various Artists – Run For Cover Records Presents: Mixed Signals (Run For Cover)

Anyone concerned with the state of music in the year 2011 obviously hasn't heard this compilation. If Run For Cover Records can find 12 similar sounding bands, each with killer tracks to spare for a comp, music's gonna be fine. One great thing about this compilation? At the time of it's release, only one of the tracks on it (Polar Bear Club's “Killin' It”) had seen the light of day. Another great part? Every single artist on this comp brought their A-game. Bands like Hostage Calm and Self Defense Family went straight up experimental with spectacular results, while bands like Make Do and Mend, Tigers Jaw, and Balance and Composure straight up wrote the best songs of their careers. Mixed Signals is through and through a testament to the strength of today's indie-punk/pop-punk/orgcore. Somewhere there's a kid in a Led Zeppelin t-shirt dismissing current music as “gay”, and one day that kid's gonna cut his hair, smarten up, and wish he'd always listened to comps like this.

Listen to: Daytrader's "Texts and Tomes"

5. Empire! Empire! (I was a lonely estate) - Home After Three Months Away EP (Count Your Lucky Stars)

On this EP, Michigan DIY indie darlings Empire! Empire! (I was a lonely estate) really hit their sweet spot. The band has a tendency, at some points, to get too far ahead themselves and kind of come apart at the seams halfway through songs. There's none of that on Three Months Away, however, as the band shows incredible restraint on a softer, albeit more impacting release. These four tracks are all gems in their own right, but together combine for 11 or so minutes of the most emotional music written all year. It's Mineral worship at it's finest, but in a quirky, completely unique fashion. The replay value on this EP is incredible; you almost can't help but listen to it twice in a row while pretending it's actually a full length.

Listen to: The whole damn thing!

4. La Dispute- Wildlife (No Sleep)

To be honest, I was worried about Wildlife before it came out. This band's first full length was amazing, and I was afraid La Dispute would go all Protest the Hero and take three years trying too hard to top it. However by the minute mark of “St. Paul's Missionary Baptist Church Blues”, all fear I had was stayed. Where to start with this one? First of all, Jordan Dreyer is a genius. Using an album as a collection of short stories? Are you fucking serious? If you have any doubts about his ability to pull this concept off, listen to “King Park” and kindly shut the hell up. The guy's a novelist trapped in a hardcore kid's body. As for the music, think Altair but with more restraint, more jazz, and more punk. In other words, some of the most interesting shit in modern music. The only downside to Wildlife is, like Altair, it's longer than it needs to be. However, that doesn't take away from how hard songs like “The Most Beautiful Bitter Fruit” and “Edward Benz” hit. Great stuff.

Listen to: Harder Harmonies

3. Defeater- Empty Days/Sleepless Nights (Bridge 9)

I can guarantee anyone who picks this album for their year end list is going to talk about the four acoustic songs at the end. To me, those tracks were just the cherry on top; Empty Days is a tour de force in it's own right. On this release, Defeater etched out their own little place in the annuls of hardcore history, moving out from the shadow of Mod Life/Have Heart with a sound uniquely their own. What's perhaps most impressive about the album is that it manages to keep up a heavy intensity without a single “mosh part” or chugga-chugga riff on it. It's atmosphere, subject matter, and Derek Archambault's piercing voice that make this album as great as it is. The Empty Days part of this album deserves a top 10 spot alone; Sleepless Nights catapults it into the top 5.

Listen to: Empty Glass

2. Trap Them- Darker Handcraft (Deathwish)

For years, Trap Them seemed to be lacking something vital. They've always been a talented band with a decent following, but could never separate themselves from the massive pack of “extreme music” bands nestled forever in the under-underground. With 2011's Darker Handcraft, the band seems to have broken that invisible ceiling in a highly unlikely way – with actual hooks! Sure, the guitar tones are amazing, the drumming is impeccable, and Ryan McKinney's vocals are crisp as all hell, but what makes Darker Handcraft a truly great album is the fact that it's actually a lot of fun to listen to. A lot of the songs on Handcraft follow a verse/chorus/verse structure, allowing the tasty guitar licks to get stuck in your head over and over again. Also, McKinney provides arguably the chorus of the year on “The Facts”. Seriously, listen to that song three times and try not to sing along by the last listen. It's impossible.

Listen to: Damage Prose

AND THE WIENER IS!!!!!!

1. Title Fight- Shed (Side One Dummy)

I don't know exactly what possessed me to love this album so much, but holy shit did I ever. My iTunes says I listened to Shed at least 86 times, and that's without mentioning the fact that the CD hardly left the player in my car all summer. Title Fight came out of left field on this one, shedding their pop-punk punch for a more mature songwriting approach and a sound heavily influenced by 90's post-hardcore a la Small Brown Bike. The results are nothing short of spectacular; old school emo mixed with older-school hardcore to produce a sound that's as relevant and refreshing as anything else out there. Add plenty of variance in tempo and dynamic, near-perfect production by Walter Schreifels, and a whole fuck-ton of energy, and you have your record of the year, ladies and gentlemen.  

Listen to: Society, or just go buy the damn record...

Honourable Mention:

Annabel/Empire!/JDV/Reptilian- 4 Way Split EP

Dead End Path- Blind Faith

Ghostlimb- Infrastructure

Joyce Manor- Joyce Manor

Pianos Become The Teeth- The Lack Long After

Daytrader- Last Days of Rome EP

Teenage Bottlerocket- Mutilate Me EP

La Dispute/Koji- Never Come Undone EP

Touche Amore- Parting the Sea Between Brightness and Me

Retox- Retox EP

PS Eliot- Sadie

I Hate Our Freedom- Seriously

Cake- Showroom of Compassion

Foo Fighters- Wasting Light

Shit I didn't get to listen to enough to make an opinion on/haven't heard yet.

Raphael Saadiq- Stone Rollin'

Wugazi- 13 Chambers

Bon Iver- Bon Iver

The Fucking Hotlights- High Society Torture Party

Foundation- When the Smoke Clears

Cancer Bats/Black Lungs split (SERIOUSLY! GET ME THIS!)

Self Defense Family/Fires split

New Coalesce

New Make Do and Mend

So there you have it, my opinions on some albums you'll never listen to/didn't like. Keep it real, nerds!

While I should be sleeping...

So I recently read an article written by Burning House Records owner Casey Schafer on how downloading is preventing the music industry from having truly "successful" artists like Nirvana emerge, and how we should all support the Stop Online Piracy Act in order to have the Nirvana's of the world emerge from the underground and change the face of music forever. While I can respect where buddy's coming from (he owns and indie label, there's no way he's not getting fucked from downloading), I wholeheartedly disagree with everything he says in his article, which you can read here. I was gonna leave a short comment on the site, but a short comment turned into a rambling diatribe, and here we are.


Dear Internet;


I respectfully disagree with the argument that Mr. Schafer has presented to you all. His argument that downloading is stifling "successful" bands only works if you define musical success as selling lots of records, leaving career fulfillment and the actual product (the music) out of the mix. Right now there are PLENTY of bands who are making great music with what little they have, and don't need stadium tours and blowjobs from groupies to feel good about doing it.

In fact, there have always been artists like this, especially in independent music, where I'd assume Casey Schafer and the majority of this site's [Alternative Press'] readers draw their allegiances. Watch interviews with dudes like Henry Rollins or Ian MacKaye; those guys slept on floors for years and it never seemed to negatively affect their musical output or outlook on life. And hey, they don't look like they're starving these days, either. 

The fact of the matter is, there are many ways to make a living in music. While Radiohead and the Pumpkins were playing arenas and sleeping in 5-star hotels, bands like Hot Water Music and Converge were sleeping on peoples floors and eating off the dollar menu. Fast forward to today, and all four of those bands are still around, living more or less off music. Granted, while the latter two bands are probably not as well off, they've also had to work much harder to get to a point where music pays the bills for them, which should be endearing to anyone who genuinely loves music/has a soul, and probably feels pretty damn good if you're those bands.

If anything, downloading has opened more doors for underground artists to achieve a "Converge status" so to speak. I can tell you for a fact that the only reason I started listening to this kind of music is because I was able to download it illegally. Why would I take a chance on a style of music I'd never heard if I had to pay a grossly inflated price to buy a punk record at HMV? I can't be the only person in this scenario, either. The bands that I genuinely enjoy would be sleeping on a floor with or without the hit downloading takes to their records sales, so they really have nothing to lose and everything to gain with the easy avenue of exposure that downloading provides. And hey, when I finish school and have a decent full-time job, I'll have a bit more money to drop on music, so there's a good chance I'll be in a better position to reimburse the artists that have impacted my life.

It all boils down to this: Models change, and people either change with them or get out of the game.  Trying to stop downloading is a) impossible and b) ridiculously short-sighted. What we're seeing with downloading isn't the death of rock and roll; if anything it's the opposite. We're seeing the beginning of an age where musicians are judged on talent, work ethic and creativity as opposed to a sexy image. Isn't that something fans of punk/music in general should be embracing? I mean, no matter how important music is to us, at the end of the day, musicians are just playing fucking songs. If anyone believes they're entitled to make millions of dollars for doing it, I'd advise seeking therapy. And as for the whole "being the biggest band in the world" thing, go ask Cobain/Hendrix/Morrison/Elvis how fulfilling  it was to them.

PS: It's all speculation on my part, but I don't think we'll have to wait too long for the next Nirvana. The underground now looks a lot like it did when Nirvana came out of the woodwork; there are a ton of really creative, diverse bands popping up everywhere building a lot of momentum within the underground. I wouldn't be surprised if something huge came up in the next 2-3 years *coughtigersjawcough*.

PSS: This article doesn't even delve into the business start-up/political ethics issues presented by the Stop Online Piracy Act. This act is seriously some draconian horseshit, and I encourage you to do something about it. I dunno, maybe occupy something or whatnot...

The 20 Best < 2 min. songs of the last 20 years (Part 2)

I just wanna preface this by asking the good reader something; do you know how many terrible grindcore songs and 40 second clips of people rambling in Ebonics you have to weed through in iTunes to find 20 good songs under two minutes in length? Literally thousands. I hope you enjoy the fruit of my labour, dicks.




10. Black Lungs- Stay Outta Parkdale

Okay, this is a good song and all, but what's with the "Parkdale is HxC" posturing? Parkdale's not even like the fourth sketchiest neighbourhood in Southern Ontario. Ever been to Windsor? Hell, that's not even getting into all that sketchy shit north of Hwy 7. I'd much rather a meth-head steal my bike then have some deliverance shit happen... just sayin'.


9. Every Time I Die- Gloom and How it Gets That Way

Jesus, it takes longer to write the title of this song then it does to listen to it. Anyways, this is a really good song, and I had no idea it was under two minutes, so I was stoked to include it on this list. Yeah, I don't really have anything clever to say here... move along.


8. Comeback Kid- Our Distance

Man, say what you will about Comeback Kid, you can't deny their guitarists write some gut-busting riffs. The outro riff to this song can only be described as "fuckin' tasty bro". PS, how do you spell tastey? Google Chrome doesn't like tastey, but tasty looks kinda stupid. Although now that I think about it, so does tastey. Okay, fuck it, it's a "delicious" riff.



7. Hot Water Music- Instrumental

Keeping with the theme of mindfucking, why the hell would a band name a song with vocals "Instrumental"? I mean, from what I understand, the song was originally written as an instrumental piece, but why wouldn't they change the title after adding words. I guess they were too jacked up on whiskey and "friendship" to care... Also, just so you know I'm not mindfucking you, the song above is called "A Flight and A Crash". It's just over two minutes, and on the same album, so I figured it would work for our purposes.*


6. The Reptilian- Peyote Ugly

This is a really trippy song... I wonder if The Reptilian wrote it on peyote. The lyrics certainly sound hallucinogen-influenced. "Footsteps made heavy trace our way/I don't know where I'd rather be than sitting on this porch with you till the summer goes away." Shit's pretty trippy man. After all they were talking about space nugs. I haven't done drugs in a while, so maybe that's code for something these days. God, pretty soon I'll be writing commercials for the government calling ecstasy "love drug" and stuff like that. I'm getting old...


5. Title Fight- Dreamcatchers

Yeah, I'm out of shit on this one... This is just a really good song by a really good band. Easily the highlight of that America's Hardcore compilation. Dig it.


4. Tigers Jaw- Heat

Is this song about the army? I tried to look up the lyrics, but I'm pretty sure they're wrong everywhere. If I'm looking into this correctly, Heat may be the first anti-Army recruitment song I've ever heard. I mean, there have been plenty of anti-war songs, but an actual anti-recruitment song, I think that's a first. That's pretty clever, especially considering I thought Tigers Jaw only wrote songs about chicks. However, I could totally be misinterpreting the lyrics here, so let me know.


3. Pig Destroyer- Thumbsucker

Every time I listen to the intro of this song, I get the mental image of a big black dude on a chopper wearing a German war helmet and a cutoff leather jacket, swinging a mace around his head while riding through the gates of Hell. That's probably the coolest mental image a song ever has given me. Well, aside from "Moist Vagina", but that's private.


2. Have Heart- Pave Paradise

You know when you listen to a short song that's really good, so you listen to it again and again until you end up listening to it for like 20 minutes straight? That's really all I have to say about this song.


1. The Flatliners- This Respirator

Apparently, I have a soft spot for songs about sitting in vans. Coincidentally enough, this is my little sister's favourite Flatliners song.

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*If you have any taste in music, you'll already know the song I'm talking about. HWM 4 LYFEEE!