We’ve made it to the end of another week, thank goodness. Between a stressful election and rushing to finish the new issue of RVA Mag, sometimes it felt like the life-giving force of new music was all that got us through the days. Here are the new songs that helped us survive this week:
We’ve made it to the end of another week, thank goodness. Between a stressful election and rushing to finish the new issue of RVA Mag, sometimes it felt like the life-giving force of new music was all that got us through the days. Here are the new songs that helped us survive this week:
Their/They’re/There – Curtain Call
At a time when the music press is alive with talk of an “emo revival” (which, if it exists, has been going on for at least five years), the arrival of a new record from Their/They’re/There seems perfectly apropos. This grammatically-themed band brings together the leading lights of two generations of Midwestern emo–Mike Kinsella of 90s titans Cap’n Jazz and American Football and Evan Weiss of modern emo heroes Into It. Over It., along with some friends, to create jangly, upbeat, and slightly complex indie rock with distorted vocals and twisty guitar leads… yeah, it’s emo, no two ways about it. It’s also great, as you can hear on “Curtain Call,” the first track from upcoming EP Analog Weekend to be sent out into the world. A three-song joint release from Polyvinyl and Topshelf (also the top labels for two different generations of emo… this can’t be a coincidence), Analog Weekend will be available as a one-sided 12-inch EP, with an etched B-side and an accompanying digital download, on or around November 22. You can preorder it from Topshelf HERE.
Magik Markers – Bonfire
My first encounter with the Magik Markers was when they opened for Dinosaur Jr on their first reunion tour. At the time, the Markers were just making huge walls of improvised noise when they performed, and their set was enough to drive 90% of the relatively placid Dino Jr crowd out onto the sidewalk in front of the venue. I was part of the 10% who stuck around and loved it, and while the Magik Markers have evolved into a band that actually prewrites their songs these days, they’re still very similar to the wild n’ crazy noise merchants I fell for back in 2006. You can see that in the video for “Bonfire,” a new track from their forthcoming album, Surrender To The Fantasy. This lo-fi punk rumble of a track has distorted vocals and a driving beat, and makes me think of a jam session involving Teenage Jesus And The Jerks and early Poison Idea. Fast, sloppy, and beautiful, this track is a treat for anyone who prefers loud, heartfelt spontaneity to pitch-corrected perfection. Surrender To The Fantasy is out November 19–order it on LP, CD, or flash drive (!?) from Drag City HERE.
Crosses – Bitches Brew
Crosses is a collaboration between the Deftones’ Chino Moreno and Far’s Shaun Lopez, and with Chino also having two other bands–not just the Deftones but Palms, his collaboration with ex-members of Isis–you could reasonably expect that they’d fade into the background most of the time. However, they appear to be preparing for a burst of activity in 2014, and “Bitches Brew” is just the first taste of what’s to come. Featuring the ominous ambience of Chino’s best Deftones work, as well as some intriguing electronic textures, this track is both distinct from and reminiscent of the work that made Chino famous. However, who’s going to complain about more of that? Shaun Lopez adds some additional guitar layers for a positive effect, and the result does nothing more than whet our appetite for the self-titled album Crosses is scheduled to release in February 2014. Pre-orders begin Thanksgiving week–check Sumerian Records’ website for details.
Fuzz – You Won’t See Me (live)
Ty Segall just does not quit. He released three full-length albums with three different groups in 2012, a solo album in 2013, and another album with the recently formed Fuzz. This group features guitarist Charlie Mootheart and bassist Roland Cosio, both of whom have previously played with Segall in other groups. Ty is behind the drums for this group, but that doesn’t stop him from singing, as you can hear on “You Won’t See Me,” a live recording from a wild San Francisco set on Segall’s birthday. Fuzz bashes away at this dirty blues groove with the sort of rough n’ ready charm you’d expect from any Segall project. It’s enough to make you want to hear the whole set! Well, never fear, because John Dwyer of Thee Oh Sees is releasing it as an EP on his own Castle Face label. The record will be out December 3, and while there’s no pre-order info up yet, you could do worse than checking back regularly with Castle Face’s website (where you can also grab older releases by Segall, White Fence, and more).
Sepultura – The Vatican
I admit it–I quit following Sepultura back in the 90s when Max Cavalera left. They were getting a bit too moshy, and then Cavalera not only split but split to do Soulfly, who seemed almost nu-metal… the whole thing was just depressing. Imagine my surprise over a decade later, when a new Sepultura album manages to catch my attention with a totally brutal new song and video that is pretty much everything I loved about them two decades ago, minus all traces of nu-metal or overdone moshiness. “The Vatican” has the thrashy speed that made albums like Arise so great, but incorporates a solid breakdown groove on the chorus, along with some solid growling vocals from “new” vocalist Derrick Green (he’s been in the band for over 15 years) and some ripping solos from guitarist Andreas Kisser. Then there’s the video–Kisser told Metal Hammer that “it shows various obscure facets of the church, from corruption to pedophilia, a dark side that many people like to ignore… The video tells the story of a priest who wants to leave the church because of all this dirt, and suffers pressure from the inside not to leave.” It’s even more intense than that description makes it sound–priests doing lines of coke and suggestively patting the heads of little boys as Derrick Green sings menacingly, with his mouth glowing red, into the conflicted young priest’s face… it’s like something out of a Nathaniel Hawthorne story. A really thrashy Nathaniel Hawthorne story, that is. Sepultura’s new album, The Mediator Between The Head And Hands Must Be The Heart, is out now on Nuclear Blast. You can get it on LP HERE, on CD HERE, or digitally from iTunes HERE.
