A Handful of Dust: Low Red Land - Dog's Hymns (2008)

So, I think this little experiment in blog culture, a bloganeer if you will, is working out well. For one, it is getting me to write more, and while it may not be writing about something scholarly (warning:pretension), it's getting me back in the groove of things. Plus, I like to think that I am bringing some variety to the table. For one, I am not posting only the most elite of hardcore punk, there are other blogs for that and I can't deal with some snotty kid who thinks a specific age of Euro hardcore was done better by Japanese punks. Or one of the many blogs that is all about the 90's emo resurgence, which really just sounds like some Minus the Bear finger tapping with some moron shrieking into a mic. Or, last and surely not least, a Pitchfork hype blog or something of the sort. There are just too many of those regurgitating the same crap. Right? Right.

So, now that the self righteous rant is over, lets get back to business, the music. So far, I have been meeting my goal, granted somewhat easy to achieve. That is to post only hard to find/out of print/bootleg recordings of any sort. I'm a music nerd, I like hearing the hard to find stuff. This post has nothing to do with that, it is about exposing a band that simply doesn't get recognition. Low Red Land was a band from California who released only a few albums and most likely passed through your town once or twice. They have apparently gone separate ways, which is unfortunate, because they are a great band. And by the way, I need to thank whatever blog posted this years ago for exposing me to this band.

Let's get one thing straight here, this is a great record. For a band who was only releasing their second record, Dog's Hymns has an extremely mature sound. It can be loud, twangy, heavy, and quiet when it needs to be. And the album flows, especially in a day and age in which the full-length album is under fire. The title track, also the opener, is one hell of a way to catch someones attention, a song that starts quiet and explodes when the chorus hits. The song will be stuck in your head for days. The band continues to dabble with that dynamic, steamrolling through the first six songs, and then you hit "Gunfighter's Afternoon". A short, folky number that breaks up the monotony of the first half of the album, and the fact that it less than two minutes long leaves you wanting more. From this point, the album takes several turns, which not only shows a bands maturity level in the blending of sounds, but also in the subtle art of creating the order of the songs, the tracklist. "Hunt Song" couldn't be more different from the last, a post-hardcore song that barrels right into "Wovoka" which takes post-hardcore sound and meanders through a wall of noise. Once the dissonance of "Wovoka" is over, we find the true gem of the album, "Duke". An acoustic song that, once again, breaks the flow of the album. The singers vocals become less abrasive and the melody of the song takes over. The last song, "When the Tigers Broke Free", blends the sound of the record into a triumphant closer by the soaring sound of the guitars. Great way to end the record.

Yikes. That was a full on review. And long winded to boot. I apologize and for that, I offer cliff notes. Do you like Fugazi? Do you like Lucero? Do you like Unwound? Then you will thoroughly enjoy this record. In fact, even if you only somewhat enjoy some of the bands, just a song here or there, you will enjoy this record. Have I sold this to you yet? Because I am all out of ideas if you aren't convinced to get this now. Ok, Yeah.

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