Silkworm - Firewater

Drinking music. There's two distinct types of drinking music if you ask me, I mean there's the "fuck yeah, I'm drunk and I don't give a fuck so I'ma sing/shout some songs and not give a fuck" type (Catch 22, Queen, mclusky, Big Black, Oasi-I mean wonderwall etc.) and then there's the "I'm only drinking so that I can forget about my problems because I am so sad, so very very sad" sort of stuff (Matt Elliott, everything else is small time). Silkworm are a band that fit snugly in the middle. They're loud and shouty enough to provide that "fuck yeah" kick but they're gloomy and down enough for that "fuck no" attitude.

Needless to say, I love Silkworm for this very reason.

Firewater is probably my favorite albums of theirs because it's just the right mix between the fuck yeah and the fuck no. I mean, it starts off with the good ol' "GOD DAMN THE CIRCUMSTANCE THAT BROUGHT ME AND GOD DAMN YOU, MY FRIEND" shouty number "Nerves". But straight after you've got "Drunk" which is a pretty gloomy number about, well, drinking. The rest of the album follows suite with only one track sticking out like a sore thumb.

That track is called "Miracle Mile". It's a little acoustic number which lacks the fuzz and agression of the rest of the album but makes up for it in pure sincerity.

Oh.

And that kickass, fuzzy as fuck, louder than you can handle guitar solo that kicks in near the end. FUCK YEAH SILKWORM YOU ARE THE BEST BAND EVER.

Dig the likes of Archers of Loaf, Sebadoh and Polvo? Then this should already be in your collection.

Give it a listen

I woke up this morning after a heavy night of drinking with no real memory of what I did last night. I sure hope I didn't buy any more of those 90s american alternative rock albums. Every fucking time.

P.S. Eliot - Introverted Romance In Our Troubled Minds (2009)

Oh shit I love this album. It's like a mixture of everything I love in one beautiful, obscure record.

So get this. P.S. Eliot are this (near enough) all girl punk rock group that specialise in lovely fuzzy guitar melodies and even lovelier female vocals. Sounds like nothing special, right?

You're wrong.

Because they're so much more than just a punk rock band. They fuck that 3 power chords, 1-snare-3-4 drums and root note bassline routine and trade it in for sharp, catchy guitar lines that are reminiscent of twee pop bands like The Pastels and Shop Assistants, and a whole bunch of americana attitude (is dat sum harmonica?).

Don't get me wrong, they still write about those always-relevant-to-your-life-and-your-life-only songs that touch upon love and loss and all that crap. But it all feels so genuine. And I don't know about you but I'm a sucker for female vocals. Especially if the band is going to be singing somewhat bitter love songs.

So, to sum up. Female vocals, americana drenched punk pop, catchy as fuck, listen to it.

Give it a listen

Introverted Purchase In These Troubled Times?

Grammatics - Grammatics (2009)

Yes, I didn't update for over a month. No I don't really care.

So, Grammatics are a band I got into ages ago (see: before they were cool) back in the long forgotten year that was known as 2008. I was lucky enough to stumble across an article in some trendy, indie magazine (see: not NME) that namedropped this band called "Grammatics" and seemed to imply that they were somewhat decent. So I gave them a quick search on spotify and was surprised to see that such an obscure hip-as-fuck band would have a few songs on something like spotify. BUT I DIGRESS!

Long story short, I listened to their singles (and b-sides) and fell in love with their amazingly fresh, clean, and downright amazing sound. How a band made up of 4 people could create such a sound blew my mind, it seemed impossible. The only thing that was more impossible was trying to describe their sound to friends, ugh, let's see how I did shall we?

"they're like arcade fire if arcade fire only had 4 of its members"
"if alphabeat were more english...and not as poppy"
"mogwai-esque guitars from time to time, choir boy singing, killer drums...but it's all good. I SWEAR"

I don't think I ever really gave them credit, to be honest. Let's see if I can do a better job now.

So, each track they do is different and as a result it's hard to describe their overall sound since I guess there isn't one. Still, their lead singer has this angelic voice...but he plays guitar as well, and he used to be in a hard rock band (and it shows). But they've got this deeper, lusher, orchestrated sound. They always sound a bit eerie and weird. In fact, this album is interspersed with lots of random sound clips of people talking and such (sort of Smiths-esque).

Again, I'm not doing them credit. But it's hard to, since they're such an important band to me. Everything about them reminds me of a very important but odd time in my life, and I vividly remember listening to them every monday morning (another long story) and I certainly remember the day their debut album finally came out and I went out to get it (except I didn't, I got it the day after but shut it). It's an album that I sort of tossed away, I didn't listen to it too much. It was filled with different cuts of the songs I had listened to so much, and all of the new tracks weren't too great. Having listened to it again recently I can tell you that it's an amazing album with nothing but strong tracks. Especially "Broken Wing" which has always been my favorite track of theirs.

Give it a listen. You know you want to.

(also, I had a lot of brackets in this post, sorry about that)

(OH, and hopefully I'll start updating this blog thing again)

Give it a try

I bought it, so why don't you?

Come - Gently Down The Stream (1998)

Every city has a bunch of skinny white kids, clad in jeans and tshirts, playing noisy, slightly angsty, guitar driven alternative rock.

Now you could argue that Boston had Pixies, or The Breeders, heck you could even argue that The Lemonheads wer-the point is that the hilariously named Come may very well be a better answer.

Sounding like a mix between Seam and Archers of Loaf (and probably a bunch of other 90s american alternative rock bands that you've never heard of) Come recorded four incredible albums in the seven years the were together, no small feat I'm sure you'll agree.

Gently Down The Stream is, in my humble opinion, their finest release. It was the last album they put out and as a result shows the band pulling out all the stops, creating an album that's pretty different to their more slowcore inspired debut (which is also worth a listen if you can find a copy). At times it sounds almost blues rockish, sounding like something The White Stripes could have recorded way back when but at other times this sounds like the angst ridden, soundscapes that Seam threw together.

I don't know what else to write (I feel like I've written these exact same paragraphs for every other 90s indie band I've covered on this blog) but trust me when I say that this is an overlooked classic. There isn't a single bad track, instead each song is memorable and interesting. Sometimes they're unpredicatble, noisy and angry like in Stomp but sometimes they're incredly well thought, almost sorrowful and just plain incredible on tracks like Former Model.

If you're a fan of 90s alternative rock or a fan of good music you need to check this out (you owe it to yourself).

Give it a listen

Maybe if I buy this they'll reform? Hell, it worked for Pavement (anything is possible)

Colossal - Welcome The Problems (2004)

Words can't express how much I love this album. Really, it's hard to write about. I've been rewriting this first paragraph for about 20 minutes trying to find the words to describe this album.

Still, if this is what emo music sounds like in this day and age then it ain't bad. Sounds like a mix between American Football and Don Caballero ie. emo vocals and emo guitars but also math rock drums and math rock guitars. I guess I could also throw some comparisons to Look Mexico, but Colossal have some sort of an edge to them, some grit. It's like they're....damn.

It's hard to find the words. Hopefully you'll dig this, though.

Give it a listen

It's hard to find the words to describe this album but it sure ain't hard to buy it.

The Progress - Merit (2006)

The Progress were an odd band. Odd in the same way a lot of current emo bands are odd. They had everything you could ever need to be popular, great songs, great lyrics, tight guitar playing, hooks-a-plenty. Heck, they even have the "emo" tag which is so down with the kids. But they're weren't popular back when they were together and they're not popular now. They've been overshadowed by those mediocre pop/punk bands that, somewhere along the lines, have emo influences (or so sources tell me).

But fuck them. Fuck the kids. Fuck what's popular. This is an amazing record, and one that certainly deserves your time. It's not going to change your life, and I doubt it's something you've never heard before but in a decade filled with so much crap it's nice to know that a band exists that can still hit all the right notes.

Check it out if you're into bands like Braid, Look Mexico, The One Up Downstairs and heck I'd say there's even a little bit of Jawbreaker in this record if they're more your thing. You know the score, if you like emotional bullshit you'll like this.

Give it a listen

Downloading music is too mainstream, I only buy music

Seam - Are You Driving Me Crazy? (1995)

A harsh, high pitched bleep wakes you from your sleep, bringing you back into the world. It's the next best thing to pitch black in your room as you sit up in your bed, sleep deprived having stayed up till 5am. A draft of cold air rolls through the room, bounding up your back, sending shivers down your spine. Fuck this. You get up, move the curtains and look out of the window.

It's a typical cold, grey, miserable-as-hell winter morning. It looks like it should be 3am, but it isn't. It's 7:10, and you need to get ready. You try and fight it but you know you have to get washed and dressed, you know you have to face the world.

Fuck this, man.

She broke your heart, she fucking lied to you. Everything was going just fine and dandy and then.....then this.

Fuck this, man.

You pack your things and prepare to venture outside of the house. You're all wrapped up warm, but as soon as you walk out that door it doesn't matter. The wind is the perhaps the cruelest fucker on the planet. He goes straight through you, bringing a freezing sensation to your entire body. Heck, he brings a freezing sensation to parts of your body you didn't even know existed.

You stop for a moment. You look around. Cold, hungry, miserable as fuck. Heck, you're heartbroken. You want nothing more than to curl up in a ball and shun the world. And yet here you are on this miserable day, doing your usual thing like nothing's different.

The winter landscape with its dead trees, pale skies and dimly lit streets seems to reflect your own tormented soul...

It's a cold winter morning, you're tired, you're heartbroken and you've got a long day ahead of you.

FUCK YEAH, TIME TO LISTEN TO SOME SEAM!

Give it a listen

She said we should "just be friends" because I don't buy enough music

Carissa's Wierd - Songs About Leaving (2002)

As autumn begins to show its head and winter draws ever closer it's nice to know there's a depressing slowcore album to listen to when you get home from another harsh, cold, dark day.

Carissa's Weird never made it big, and doesn't that just bring tears to your eyes? It's even more shocking when you think that they recorded this album, one of the most beautiful slowcore albums ever made. Lyrics that touch upon every personal subject you can think of, vocals that pierce your very being, and music that would make even the manliest man weep.

If you're new to slowcore as a genre, dim the lights, get comfy, shut the world out, think of the saddest moment in your life, and listen to this album. Shit's awesome, right?

If you're not new to slowcore, why the hell haven't you heard this album yet?

Give it a listen

If I buy this album the pain will go away, right?

Favorite Tracks: Archers of Loaf - Wrong

Archers of Loaf - Wrong
From "Icky Mettle"
Year: 1993



I'll be honest with you, this wasn't my first choice of the evening. I was originally going to post/talk about/show my love for another Archers of Loaf song entitled "Web In Front". But after thinking about it for a while, I realised that this probably outdoes it in every single way. It's faster, it's noisier, it's got one hell of a killer guitar tone, and one of the greatest/angstiest shoutout lyrics to ever grace this particular brand of early 90's indie rock.

First off you hear this warm, fuzzy guitar playing away untill a whistle comes in...yeah, a whistle. Or a flute maybe...actually...what is that? Sounds weird...wait...is that a guitar? It is. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it is. How they managed that we'll never know (but MBV might, see "Soon" for more crazy flute/whistle guitar). And as soon as you've got your head around that, it kicks in. Guitar, drums, bass, vocals, weird flute guitar all kicking out the jams. And that's all this song is. It's a jam. I'm not gonna overcomplicate it, because it's such an uncomplicated track. Noisy and raw, just how I like it. OH, and of course there's that awesome lyric (voted family feelgood lyric of the year, all the years) that kicks in at the end.

"I do not think you could like me anyway, because you are inferior to me"

OUCH, that's gotta hurt the chick he wrote that about.

ART-SCHOOL - Charlotte E.P. (2002)

I apologise for the low resolution image you see before you, but I couldn't find a better picture on the internet. Now, you just KNOW a band is obscure when they have no high-res, heck even mid-res, album art on the interbutts. So I present to you, ART-SCHOOL.

Sounding like a cross between At The Drive-In and early Radiohead (like, Pablo Honey early, yes y'know the Radiohead album fans choose to ignore even though "Anyone Can Play Guitar" is the jam of a lifetime/end rant) ART-SCHOOL are an immensly enjoyable j-rawk band. They have the raw power and emotion you'd expect from a post-hardcore band and the razor sharp, melodic guitar hooks you'd expect from an indie rock band. And y'know what? It works perfectly.

I'm gonna suggest you listen to this particular E.P. because it really shows just what this band is capable of in just 6 songs (1 of them being a cover of the Eels classic, "It's a Motherfucker"). You probably won't know what they're singing about, it being in japanese and all but you can hear true, raw, honest to God passion in these songs. Oh, and the fact that most of their song titles are girls names will give you an idea of what they're about (Boo hoo, she doesn't love me, boo hoo).

Give it a whirl, it's straight-up, no-nonsense, awesome j-rawk.

Give it a listen

I'm just buying that stairway up to heaven

Look Mexico - This Is Animal Music (2007)

If you listen to one album today make it this one. The debut album from uber-awesome indie rock, math rock, emo band Look Mexico is a bona fide masterpiece. They sound like This Town Needs Guns and Algernon Cadwallader's lovechild, and that's no bad thing. With killer math rock drum beats you won't be able to get your head around, excellent, layered, math rock arpeggio wanking guitar creating catchy-as-fuck melodies that back up some amazing vocals (for an emo band, anyway) that are spitting out some genius lyrics. There's a bass guitar in there as well.

A while back I thought This Town Needs Guns would become my saviours, creating new, interesting second wave-emo inspired music. But Look Mexico's debut blows "Animals" (This Town Needs Guns debut, in case you're out of the loop) out of the water. It's catchy, it's quick, it's emotional and it's experimental (with a very Books-esque recording playing throughout the album). It's utter genius is what it is is what it is.

Give it a listen

I am a wonderful person and I'd like to buy this