“The Artist” - Old Gray

Skramz band Old Gray (or “three dudes” - I love Facebook “abouts”) recently released their eight-track, sub-half hour full-length An Autobiography. It’s having a bit of a moment, receiving high praise in certain corners of the  internet. Wary but with interest piqued, especially after finding that I’d “liked” the band’s page sometime in the last year, I jumped in the fray. 

Listening to An Autobiography was a perverse balancing of feelings of wait-and-see and let-it-loose. The band’s style and the album’s template are an often botched tightrope walk. Feelings and emotive instrumentation, screaming and spoken word poetry - it’s a recipe for an overly self-serious, stale, familiar stew when done without deftness. 

High-minded preamble aside, Old Gray hit their mark here. Aided by a tight, filler-free length and well-balanced climaxes and lulls, the album is a quick, swift skramz hit that dabbles in some nice effects (strings and such) and crosses over with the better parts of the La Dispute/Defeater styles (which helps explain the extra love it’s getting in certain circles). Old Gray sells the emotion and, as the immortal Anthony Anderson once said, they “burn this motherfucker down!”.

Additionally, the album is available for name-your-price download [link], an great way to buy goodwill. White LP pre-orders are also available through the links on the Bandcamp page.

- Tyler Hanan

Review: Tyler Hanan [3/12/13]

Pedigree, name recognition, a story - traits that are ever more important in life, and especially in an oversaturated online music community. Every artist and every band  has a hook beyond the actual hooks, whether it be “from the RCHP dude and the brains behind Radiohead” or “no, really, she lived out of her car!”

Úlfur Hansson - who’s been making music for years, it should be said - has a handful of hooks to help get his first album under his own name to capture more than a few eyes.

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“Immemorial” - Loma Prieta

I’m getting back on the horse with the heavier music. First I was swept up in the new RVIVR; a reminder that there is a new Old Gray album (which I will tackle later) and the news that there will be a Loma Prieta/Raein split 7” EP quickly followed.

That last bit is especially exciting. Loma Prieta is one of the premier names in the skramz scene right now, achieved with years of quality production that hit a high mark last year with the widely acclaimed I.V. and raved-about shows worldwide. Raein deserves no less praise - the proudly self-made Italian outfit is one of the still-standing old guards of screamo, who had an incredible 2011 with the release of a excellent, free new record (Sulla Linea D’Orizzonte Tra Questa Mia Vita E Quella Di Tutti) and a fairly great compilation (Ah, As If…). 

This is a wet dream pairing, and this first 46-second track bodes well for the final product. “Immemorial” can be had off of Deathwish’s Spring 2013 sampler. It features a few other unreleased song as well, and is available for free download from a variety of places [link].

- Tyler Hanan

“A Tooth For An Eye” - The Knife

Whether it be in listening to The Knife or reading about the Swedish duo, there’s always much to be discovered, learned, or, more appropriately, shown. 

Following the phenomenal, ferocious blasts of “Full of Fire,” “A Tooth For an Eye” (both song and Roxy Farhat-directed video) proves to be just as exotic, intimidating, and mindful of gender (baby) in a slightly less stark/more lush/half-the-length-of manner.

Shaking the Habitual and its 98 minute run-time - obscene by most standards, but not when crafted by some of the foremost minds in electronic music - will be released next month on the 8th (UK) and 9th (US) via Rabid, Brille, and Mute.

- Tyler Hanan

“So High” - Here Is Your Temple

With the coming release of their debut EP So High, yet another great group is emerging from Sweden. Here In Your Temple have already released the EP in their native country and are currently streaming to the rest of the world on Soundcloud courtesy of their label, Bolero Records. The title track gives us a taste of their thumping synth pop, dark and deliberate in its nature. The vocals from Emily McWilliam occupy the same hazy dream space that is shared with bands like Beach House. In a place known so well for its frozen landscapes, Here Is Your Temple manages to bring warmth to the cold by embracing it. So High will be released internationally on April 15th.

- Kevin Tappin

“Envenom Mettle” - Eluvium

I’m not sure how much more excited this man (or blog) can get for Eluvium’s Nightmare double album. Just typing those words unleashes even more dopamine in my brian (I think that makes sense, but it’s been a while since my last psychology class). Already we have another new track from the album, which was premiered by Stereogum but discovered by me via Eluvium’s tweet.

Closing Nightmare’s first disc with some noisy help from Explosion in the Sky’s Mark T. Smith, “Envenom Mettle” provides a fairly different flavor (with similar tone) than “Don’t Get Any Closer.” A piece with rather stark shifts from movement to movement, it’s easy to imagine the alternating pounding march, ambient drone, skyscraping end-of-movie crest, and soft outro absolutely, perfectly crushing listeners at the end of that first disc. “And we’re supposed to survive another disc of this?” we’ll ask.

We’ll have to wait until May 14th to see if it plays out with the resonance and emotional depth I suspect, when the album will come out via Temporary Residence Ltd.

- Tyler Hanan

“Liberty” - JFS (Nothing Sounds Better Premiere)

We’ve been given the chance to premiere the video for JFS’ single ”Liberty.” The omnious, moody beats have been put to appropriately industrial visuals, soundtracking a warehouse-set, quick-cutting, battle-to-the-death style showdown.

“Liberty,” along with other single “Rebel Daughter,” are the final two tracks off of JFS’ new album Artax Lost Forever. The ten track, synth-laden journey begins tomorrow, March 5, released by Post-Echo.

- Tyler Hanan

“I Am Trying” - German Error Message

We last heard from German Error Message almost two years ago, back when After the Warmth and ”In Comforting”/”Feverhead” were released in the first half of 2011. A new track from Paul Kintzing and Friends has finally arisen on this slow Friday, imbued with the same intimate warmth and inspiring swell that past GEM releases have all carried. “I Am Trying” has a wonderful build to it, escalating from soft, lovely folk into mini-orchestral crescendo with a well-rounded array of instruments. 

The track is the first from The Lifting, the new album that will be released April 9th. Hand Eye Records will handle the digital release, with Tent Revivalist Records putting out a limited number of cassettes. “I Am Trying” comes courtesy of Hand Eye Records’ introductory compilation streaming on The Wild Honey Pie. For those new to German Error Message, they can catch up in a fiscally responsible (yet generous) manner with name-your-price Bandcamp downloads.

- Tyler Hanan

“The Long Shadow” - Barn Owl

Guitar drone with an organ - delicious. If Evan Caminiti and Jon Porras bring to new album V merely a handful of the ideas and creative directions being posited as reality by the Thrill Jockey bio, it will make for quite the interesting record. The album drops April 16th; we’ll see then just how well the rest of the tinfoil-covered V drones.

- Tyler Hanan