Imagine its the final day of your life, a life wasted.
This is the soundtrack.
This band reigns from Nashville, TN. Their LP, “Despond” is released on the label Profound Lore, which is known for housing other amazing releases from the likes of WORM OUROBOROS, a crushingly beautiful band that blends post punk guitars with delay and interestingly placed drums under haunting female vocals. You can also purchase the highly recommended album “The Obsidian Planes” by appropriately named, WOLVHAMMER there, an album that without pretense fuses all kinds of the underground music into a hatefully passionate hammer that nails you into your grave….
This is the kind of music that is really convincing in its emotional quality, but also the instrumentation is perfect… The vocals growl and brood over defeating minor chords and soaring harmonies… the drums and bass also mix well under and around them. Its great… I won’t go too much into detail with frilly words and descriptions… Take it upon yourself to try out this release, this is a great accomplishment of musicianship and poetry, especially if you’re a miserable fuck from time to time.
Preview the song “Cut Up, Depressed and Alone” here.
Buy the album at the Profound Lore website linked above..
This is Daniel / Frdmwpn updating the blog here down in the meadows of Tennessee. I just wanted to let everyone know about my recording project “HUMAN FIGURES.” I started the project originally in 2008, but got swept up in the producer / DJ realm under my previous alias TALK. (I did releases and remixes for Lokiboi, AC and Dell, and the Nightshifters Berlin producer camp.)
After a while due to inactivity in that scene I decided to peace out and begin producing weird shit inspired by psychedelic rock, electronica, post punk, what have you.
This is the second album I’ve produced, and right now my girlfriend and I are working on putting together the next album, which will be available probably in late summer.
So if you’re into dark, haunting vibes go check out this album and purchase a song or two!
Text by Angela Morrish | photos by Nathan Jurgenson
Galaxy Hut was scraping tater tots off the ceiling and clearing out the smell of a blown PA Monday night after DC’s after Screen Vinyl Image took the stage with Sisters Of Your Sunshine Vapor, in support of the Detroit band’s second full length Spectra Spirit. For fans of the loosely defined Shoegaze genre, that killer bill joined by an extensive list of brews and vegan friendly menu shot thoughts of the looming workday to hell.
The Cricket Cemetery family runs red with thick blood. Label mates, Bitter American, a true testament to the hardcore punk rock of the 80’s, tore the seams from the carpet as they destroyed a set to pieces at American University this last Friday.
Honest, and angry, and certainly not kids, friendships and working relations be-damned, I’m honestly a die hard fan of this group.
Incidentally, their first release, “21” just dropped on the Cemetery. All promotional hype aside, it’s well worth picking up: HERE
Yes, I know, if you are familiar with my maiden Not a DJ Mix, you will recall that I made a lot of promises. They included an entire series of me explore mixes manufactured from sounds outside of the traditional “DJ” sphere. You said “Yes,” you said, “Please”, you said, “MORE.” I replied with “…”
However, my promises is not lost in a well of tears, it is merely moved along the space/time continuum. Besides, Vol. 2, which I’ve had planned from the very zygote, is more of a winter situation anyway.
But all is not lost, as I have two sub mixes to toss chumly out to the sharks for the interim. Starting with the only holiday worth celebrating, I sacrafice unto you an offering of Not a DJ Mix Vol. 1.666: Halloween.
Somewhere after my obsession with vintage Thai rock n roll compilations, I decided to embrace my ultimate cliché, and begin collecting Halloween vinyl. What better way to continue this series, and savor the short gasp of time before the bastard takes over everything, than to cobble together a short mix, recorded live from The Castle (my house, which is very much a castle, but not some sweet club you’ve never heard of), with two tracks each from some of the best of my slabs of Samhain sounds?
Herein lies a body of terrifying sounds, hellacious tales, and tarantular songs. Take note, as some of these are quite famous albums from the genre.
[Excerpt] A Night in a Haunted House – Sounds to Make You Shiver
Pipe Organ/Violin – Halloween Horror
Goon River – Introducing Frankie Stein and His Ghouls
[Excerpt] The Ghosts From Outer Space – Ghostly Sounds
The Blob -Little Stevie and The McQueens -Horror Rock Classics Vol. II
[Excerpt] The Story of Halloween Horror – Halloween Horror
The Bat – Monster Mash
Count Dracula – Sounds of Terror
Phantom Piano – Sounds to Make You Shiver
Dinner With Drac – Monster Mash
Lullaby of Ghost Land – Introducing Frankie Stein and His Ghouls
The Nightmare of Lost Souls – Sounds of Terror
Cemetery Girls – Barnes and Barnes
Outro – A Night in a Haunted House – Sounds to Make You Shiver
The house where Poe lived and wrote many of his stories is in trouble. When the city of Baltimore threatened to cut funding to the Poe House Museum, musicians inspired by the writer took action. There was a benefit show last weekend at the Velvet Lounge in Washington, D.C. Two local bands–Lions and Tigers and Whales as well as Lenorable–captured Poe’s spirit: LTW’s chaotic horror and Lenorable’s dark suspense were the perfect musical embodiment of the brilliant short stories that made Poe so famously influential.
I snapped some photos of the two bands and caught up with Ian and Lisa of Lenorable.
“The city makes millions off of a football team named after the author’s work, but wants to balance its budget by cutting that part of their city’s history?” -Ian, of Lenorable
“E.A. Poe remains to this day the greatest influence in my passion for the macabre, for he exposed the human spirit — in only a few pages at a time — as more terrifying than any horrid other-worldly creature we could imagine. He’s convinced me, as well as notable authors in the horror genre, that the short story is perhaps the most effective medium for telling a suspenseful horror tale that leaves the writer craving more thrills by way of betrayal, brutality and murder.” -Lisa, from Lenorable
“Baltimore’s plan to defund the place where he and his family lived and he wrote represents our country’s disjointed relationship with Poe, and many artists in general.”
“His legacy lives on here and around the world, yet he is still dismissed to an extent, just as he was while living.” -Lisa
Fotis Patikas from Take your shot was nice enough to sit down and type out how he feels about the new LTW 7 inch – TOTAL GARBAGE. Take your shot has been doing obnoxiously excellent reviews of hardcore and metal since 2004. We love Greece. Chirp Chirp.
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Record Review: LTW “Total Garbage” 7″
Cricket Cemetery is a US label that specializes in discordant, scorching hardcore punk that is definitely a step ahead of today’s standards. The label is releasing one crucial 7″ after the other, attacking the world with beautifully incomprehensible hardcore noise that goes unmatched in the current HC/punk (and even metal) scenes. This is our first Cricket Cemetery review, for the band LTW.
The phantom HC outfit which goes under the name of LTW is a perfect example of the label’s dilapidated take on hardcore, as their Total Garbage 7″ brings the noise like it aint no thing. LTW deliver three relentless hardcore blasts of rabid drumming, loud as fuck basslines, demented barked vocals and a production sound that is dirtier than CBGB’s toilet.
What is really going on here is a demolition and reorganization of hardcore’s bare essentials: short punk riifs, explosive layers of distortion and crazy breakneck rhythms. This ultra-sped Black Flag bastard of a son is combined with tons of feedback, well placed psychedelic breaks and some silent parts that indeed leave you wandering “what the fuck?” For sure, this would go down better with fans of powerviolence, fastcore, grind etc compared to the typical hardcore fan.
I guess Cricket Cemetary reinvents the hardcore of a new generation and, quite possibly, this is what the hipsters will soon be listening to (hopefully not). In either case, my ears hurt!
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The LTW – TOTAL GARBAGE 7 INCH will be out early November on cricket cemetery. Limited to 150 copies with hand screened covers. LTW plays at the red palace October 26 in DC with Beasts of no nation & the mostly dead. Check that shit out, it’s going to be a rager.
Like many, my introduction to The Faith was the legendary split with Void. Of course everyone today seems to talk about how amazing Void’s side is (and it is), but a few years ago I found myself playing The Faith side just as much. Songs like “You’re X’d” and “Face to Face” not only stand up with the best of DC Hardcore, but with Hardcore as a whole. When revisiting The Faith’s catalog one tends to forget how intense Alec MacKaye’s vocals were, which is what really set them apart from any of their HarDCore contemporaries. Instead of just the normal brash screaming and pushing everything all in one verse, Alec had a way of making these minute blast songs almost melodic without compromising or losing any intensity.
This past week Dischord re-issued Subject to Change on vinyl (re mastered and with demos), we’ll have that review up tomorrow, for now here is an interview I did with Alec MacKaye of The Faith last week. We not only do we talk about the re-issue, but what the early shows were like, recording the demos, and how the Faith/Void split came to be.
Faith – Aware
When The Faith started did you view The Faith picking up where the Untouchables left off?
No- if anything, Faith was S.O.A. continuing. When Henry left to join Black Flag, he suggested that I start playing with Michael and Ivor. But when we started playing together, we knew we were going to be different than our previous bands. Ivor had only done one show with S.O.A. Michael had some songs that hadn’t gotten sorted out, so those, along a couple of S.O.A. songs with new lyrics were what we started with. But really, we started pretty fresh. People learn and change quickly at that age. I knew Chris Bald from Wilson High School and brought him in to see if it could work and something gelled, as they say.
How did the idea of finally issuing the demos come about?
Ian came up with it. He was thinking of ways to get some of the old stuff remastered and back out and when it came to Faith/Void split, well it was hard to figure how to pull that apart. He hit on the idea of getting the demos out instead…
What are some of the things you remember most about recording that first demo?
Mostly the anxiety of being in the studio. We didn’t know how much time would really need to mix after getting the tracks down… We were really happy to be at Don’s though. It was when he had his studio in his basement. The vocals booth was in the laundry room, the control room was next to the furnace, the instruments were set up in his daughter’s play room, with dolls and a chest full of dress up clothes… Don was and is a masterful, calm and inspiring person.
The Faith added a second guitarist for Subject to Change, how did that change the dynamic in terms of song writing? Was song writing easier?
Well the dynamic changed – and the joy increased. It was so cool having Eddie in the band and it helped the sound stay solid on stage, as well as added a lot of depth and strength. Guitar parts that were hard to pull off live, were suddenly attainable for both Eddie and Michael. Song writing changed, too. Eddie brought a lot to the band. For me, the other impact was having watch out for yet another guitar swinging for my head. Eddie nailed me good at a 930 show and still have a scar on the top of my head from it.
Faith – In the Black
Subject to Change seems really focused, I’ve always enjoyed a song like Unititled which was just a well executed hardcore song, followed by the almost stooges-ish Subject to Change. Was in purposely done to make Subject to change almost more melodic than the Void split?
We weren’t purposely trying to be different from ourselves – we are just growing and changing. Read the title of the record again! We also spent a bit more time mixing Subject To Change. As much as we liked doing the split, we thought we could do better almost as soon as it was out.
Your vocals were always what I thought were the most interesting about The Faith, they weren’t the typical “hardcore” vocals, and it seems bands like Die Kreuzen would borrow from them almost. They seemed melodic in a sense, would you say this is what helped push the songs in different directions on Subject to Change?
Thanks for that. I actually don’t know what to say to say about my voice. I was just doing the best I could with what I had to work with. I would say that by the time we recorded Subject To Change, we had played and rehearsed a lot more – we had grown into the songs as well as gotten more in tune with each other. More confident even in allowing “mistakes” to occur (as opposed to when we were younger and trying to nail things tight). And we had Eddie in the mix which was huge for us.
In the American Hardcore book it said you sang so hard you would hyperventilate. Is this true? That must have freaked people out.
I suppose its true — but I don’t recall anyone freaking out. I always finished our sets as far as I know.
Keep in mind, the shows were often wild all over. Some of the shows were unbearably hot, too. Imagine an overcrowded church basement with all the windows and doors shut to keep the noise from bringing the cops… I remember watching a kid go into a full seizure in front of me on the steps at the Wilson Center. He just stiffened up and planked, face firs,t hand at his sides, onto the steps. I never did that.
Why did The Faith break up? Was it odd to have an EP come out and not be in that band anymore?
Being in the Faith was a bit like harnessing fireworks. After a while we just got so we didn’t want to do that anymore. I know we were proud of the way Subject To Change turned out and really wanted it released. It was worrisome, because in general, it didn’t make sense to put out a record if the band was no longer around to do shows and sell records– especially if there were other bands to put out. I am glad Subject To Change was pressed then, and I am really happy to see it getting re-released now! It looks so cool with a red sleeve and still sounds great!
Who’s idea was it to do the split with Void? Was it always meant to be a split?
Pretty sure that was Ian’s idea, too. I think it was just that neither band had enough material recorded to warrant a whole album, back then we always tried to fit as much music as mechanically possible onto albums. Void and Faith were definitely into each other’s bands but our approaches to music were so different that there there isn’t much point in comparing the two sides… though people always do. Its like comparing red vs. blue; The two things have their particular jobs to do. They are never close enough to compare, only to contrast and to compliment– and that’s the whole idea. I suppose it could be interesting to attempt to verbalize the ways that blue is different from red …
Looking back ’79-’83 do you feel that hardcore and especially the harDCore scene is romanticized at all? Do you enjoy or read the books and movies that have been made on hardcore in recent years? Do you feel there are some bands these books and movies have glossed over that they should have included?
— I wouldn’t say the scene is romanticized too much, in general. Some people do have astonishing, sometimes curious recollections, but I think that is bound to happen. And that can be fun to hear. As long as there are other voices to bring some balance (and discerning people to look for them and listen to them) some modicum of truth will be settled on.
I always read books about punk history and I always assume that some portion of it is bullshit. Anyone trying to contain a bunch of complicated, incongrous information and assemble a readable/watchable narrative for a book or an article or a movie is bound to cut out things that impede flow, eat up minutes, or interfere with the set-up of who is good and/or bad in the story and what was important, etc.
Trenchmouth were an amazing band to see. I wish they had made it into a studio! All there is is some cool rehearsal tapes on Scott Wingo’s web page. I would like people to listen to the two Limp Records samplers to hear the music that came just before hardcore, to get a sense of some of what we were listening to.
Subject to Change (Plus first demo) is out now on Dischord Records. Buy it here
I never felt great about supporting you American Apparel. Let’s face it, you’ve had a storied history with a creepy founder who sexually harassed women employees and trouble with allowing unionization in your so-called textile worker friendly business. But, I’m not going to lie. I loved your clothes. They were soft, and cut nice and had great colors. I own over 30 shirts produced by your brand. I’ve bought three “Legalize Gay” shirts. I touted you guys to friends, and got others hooked. It was the kind of word of mouth promotion that corporations love; free, personal endorsements. I moved product and converted others because, despite some questionable practices, I was happy to spend good money on quality clothing that was also made in the United States.
But you’ve slipped some bullshit by me. In 2010, adult film star and beautiful goddess April Flores (note, this link is NSFW) approached your company about a line of clothing for bigger ladies. You wonderfully blew her off stating, in paraphrase, that your company wasn’t interested in catering to that market. Honestly, if I had known that then, I would have walked on it. I was probably too busy watching Flores reclaim the definition of beauty and disrupting the hetero-normative, male centric, white, straight sexual paradigm with fury, vengeance and beauty. The fact that you couldn’t get on board with such an amazing artist, activist and feminist is appalling, especially since you have never shied away from the adult industry before. After all, your adds mimic softcore pornography and you embraced Sasha Grey at the height of her adult film career to sell socks. I admire the shit out of Sasha Grey, too. And I thought that was a bold move on your part, to sell sex with such an articulate, challenging actress. The dynamic was awesome and powerful. But I wonder what she thinks of you snubbing Flores because she doesn’t fit in to your companies ideal of what beauty is. And just so we are clear, American Apparel, April Flores is stunning. She has a charm, personality and playfulness about her being that makes the pale, pasty, kids you normally depict looking starved and fucked up even more pathetic.
It seems the backlash you all received for this triggered change. I was very, very happy about this. You decided to introduce plus sizes for women into your catalog, creating cuts for more body types. This is was actually awesome news. A company, that is fashionable and functional, finally embracing the broad spectrum of what beauty is. And then, you kinda mis-stepped. And honestly, when I heard about your campaign to find the next American Apparel model to sell your plus sizes, I gave you another pass. You utilized poor language in looking for “the next BIG thing”. It was insensitive word play. That should be pretty obvious by now. But you know what, not the worst thing you could have done. Language is tricky and word play can get you in trouble sometimes. It was dumb, clearly it was dumb.
Enter Nancy Upton. This awesome, 24-year-old Texas lady wasn’t to psyched on your ad campaign and talent search. So she decided to make a statement, entering the contest, posting in provocative(and often very beautiful) shots that included food. Not healthy food that we should all indulge in, but the kind of fat, gross, high calorie, low healthy nonsense us American’s shovel down with rapidity. Upton wanted to make a statement and she did. She also won your contest. Which honestly isn’t a surprise. I voted for her myself, because I felt like she created the kind of open and honest dialog this country needs when it talks about health, and body image, especially where women are concerned, and beauty. I also thought utilizing your platform, in contrast with your linguistic blunders was totally appropriate.
Up to this point, you and I were still cool American Apparel. It seemed like you were gonna take your lick with grace. I realized that obviously, Upton wouldn’t be your model and I didn’t even expect you to open a positive dialog with her about the project, your future ad campaigns or any of these issues. That wouldn’t have bothered me either. Upton’s activism was enough in my opinion to at least create some kind of public discourse. I wish the story of Flores had flourished a year ago like this one, because as much as I admire Upton, I think additional factors made the Flores debacle less succulent for blogs and press outside of queer porn bloggers and the adult industry. People didn’t want to touch it because it’s hard for the public to believe that a woman of Flores’s stature could be a porn star. Oh and also, porn is still taboo in this fucked up culture.
So why did your creative director Iris Alonzo have to write that open letter to Nancy Upton? I realize since then that you have reached out to Nancy and are making a modest, if less than humble attempt, to meet with her and continue this discussion. But seriously, I just can’t take the bullshit in this letter from you. It’s more corporate double speak trying so hard to evade responsibility for being stupid. And you’re not even fucking BP or Coca Cola or one of the other millions of shitty, unethical, violent, corrupt companies that exist. You aren’t perfect as an organization and a participant in capitalism, but you are so much better than this letter. So much better. You could have humbly taken the shot, recognized your mistakes, reached out to Upton and the public and your loyal customers and maybe even increased the dialog. You had an opportunity to make the real changes in the industry this letter states you desire to do, and instead you acted like an insulted politician and lashed out. And that was it for me.
Whatever becomes of this campaign, this debacle with Upton and the rest of your company no longer concerns me. I can no longer, in good conscience continue buying your products, recommending your company or associating myself with you any further. I’m not happy about this at all, either. But if you refuse to take corporate responsibility and be humbled by negative reactions from the public when they have a fucking point, then you are no better than your competitors and the other mongrels that are only concerned about profit margins. I will not use your products in my personal life, for any band or creative project or extol the softness and warm feeling I once received from putting on an American Apparel shirt nearly every day of my life. It’s over between us American Apparel.
Sincerely,
Erik Gamlem
Please Note: The views and opinions expressed above are those of the author alone. They do not necessarily represent the views of the other writers or staff here at Error Vizion. This opinion piece was written by Erik Gamlem without prior consultation with the other members of Error Vizion. If you have some hate you want to rock, direct it at him. He’s a big boy, both literally and figuratively, he can take it.
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