Woody Guthrie - Dust Bowl Ballads (1940)

One last post to round up the evening, and I'll make it short and sweet. Woody Guthrie is the most important folk songwriter/singer in America, maybe even the world. Very political, socially conscience, smart, sarcastic, and around inspirational. His scope of influence can be seen everywhere, such as in the artists I have previously posted like A.A. Bondy, Will Whitmore, and Billy Bragg. Traditional folk music here, folks. A man whose music was vital to the people going through the times of the 1930's/40's, dealing with the depression among many other things. Also great are the tribute records done by Billy Bragg and Wilco, the Mermaid Avenue records. So, short and sweet. Time to listen to Woody and get in touch with my inner gold miner.

Tracks:

1. The Great Dust Storm
2. I Ain't Got No Home in this World Anymore
3. Talkin' Dust Bowl Blues
4. Vigilante Man
5. Dust Can't Kill Me
6. Pretty Boy Floyd
7. Dust Pneumonia Blues
8. Blowin' Down this Road
9. Tom Joad Part 1
10. Tom Joad Part 2
11. Dust Bowl Refugee
12. Do Re Mi
13. Dust Bowl Blues
14. Dusty Old Dust

But it can't kill me, no, it can't kill me.

A.A. Bondy - When the Devil's Loose (2009)

I must really be in a sharing mood, two, maybe three posts in one night? Wild. And here I am thinking I wouldn't be able to stop myself from posting once a day. This time around, I am going to share with you a record that has been a staple of my music catalog since it came out in 2009. A.A. Bondy's When the Devil's Loose, his second full-length. A.A. Bondy plays that beautifully subtle Americana style of folk music. Sparse instrumentals, a sultry voice, and knows his way around working a pen. Many critics cite him as Bob Dylan personified, and I am not sure about that one, that is a weird, lofty statement for critics. An easy way out. I do, however, know he is rather elusive, and is also one the greatest songwriters of our generation. Listen up, because this man is important.

When the Devil's Loose is much more adventurous than his first record American Hearts, which was mostly acoustic guitar. This record employs a myriad of instruments to achieve his sound. Hushed drums, and almost muted guitar sound wonderfully full, to give most of the attention to Bondy's voice. "Mightiest of Guns" is the perfect opener, a sparse solo number, that is a showcase for Bondy's gift of songwriting. Songs like "I Can See the Pines are Dancing" and "The Mercy Wheel" are just 2 of many other reasons why Bondy's craft is meticulously honed. But the real gem for me, is the second track "A Slow Parade". An atmospheric number that will have your foot tapping along with the slow pace. His voice, and quiet electric guitar are spot on, especially when the song seems to explode towards the end, in this haze of guitar soloing. If there is any relevant reason to compare such a man to a living legend, then this would be it, a truly great song.

This record is as close to perfect as one could get. A stroke of true genius. Hopefully he can get something else released rather soon, I know I would love to hear more progression.

Tracks

1. Mightiest of Guns
2. A Slow Parade
3. When the Devil's Loose
4. To the Morning
5. Oh the Vampyre
6. I Can See the Pines are Dancing
7. False River
8. On the Moon
9. The Mercy Wheel
10. The Coal Hits the Fire

There are ashes were you laid.

True Widow - As High as the Highest Heavens and From the Center to the Circumference of the Earth (2011)

One hell of a title, huh? I have a feeling this band jokes around often. Sure, could there be some great meaning in the naming of the record? Absolutely. However, as a band, long album titles are usually never taken seriously, due to the complications in promoting such a long title. Also, they call themselves a "stonegaze" band. Made up genres should never be taken seriously, such as the wonders of "crunkcore". What will people think of next? Intelligent or not, "stonegaze" does sufficiently describe this band, though most people think True Widow hearken back to the genre of "slowcore". All this genre talk is making me nauseous. Just know this, True Widow sound like a louder version of Low, or as a coworker told me, "pretty sludge".

By now most of you will not want to check this band out, which is fine. But you would be doing yourselves a disservice in passing up a great record. Do you really think I would post something I didn't think was wonderfully brilliant? As High As... is a long record of sprawling guitars and clean vocal melodies. That is what I enjoy about this band, that they are able to translate normally abrasive sludgey riffs into something with more melody. What is even weirder is that you can kind of tell that they band is from Texas. I am a firm believer of a person's landscape affecting their art, and it shines through in this case. Texas can be a pretty desolate, sprawling place, which shines through in the music. The songs meander through a grim place, slowly coming around time and again for air. The opening track "Jackyl" bears the weight of this feeling, as the opening chord hits you like a ton of bricks. I also really enjoy the pace of "NH", a ponderously slow jam that turns to be incredible catchy. This is also followed by the single the band is pushing, "Skull Eyes", another catchy tune that displays the pretty side of the band, in which the pretty is dragged through molasses. I would also like to point out the song "Interlude", which acts as it's title suggests, but reveals much more. The song breaks up any monotony through the obvious acoustic guitar work, but the atmosphere brings a whole different element. Sparse static is in the forefront of the song, almost as though it were recorded on the plateau of some mountain in Texas. Really beautiful stuff here.

Whether True Widow has a knack for pulling your strings or not, there is something beautiful in this record. How it brings you to the lowest depths of a sparse Texas well, only to glimpsed at by sunlight around every corner is exciting. It is this slow, heavy, and melodic dynamic that makes this band special, cut out from the rest. Give it a try, and proceed to buy the beautiful 180g double LP. I did.

Tracks:

1. Jackyl
2. Blooden Horse
3. NH
4. Skull Eyes
5. Wither
6. Boaz
7. Night Witches
8. Interlude
9. Doomser

(You would almost think they were a Euro Doom band with song titles such as those...)

Tow me a line.

***BONUS VIDEO***
The track "Aka" off of their first album, True Widow.

No Statik - We All Die In The End (2011)

I picked up this little gem today from the local record store to hopefully break up the monotony of my day. No Statik caught my attention due to it's stunning roster of bands whose sound is relevant to my interests. People who have done time in Look Back and Laugh, Talk is Poison, Artimus Pyle, and Scholastic Deth are who make up this group. Enticing, right? And I am sure you can imagine what this band sounds like, too? Straight, fast, hardcore punk with loads of influence taken from crust and Japanese bands. This is the type of band that makes me want to grow out some dreads, write an MRR column, and discuss the Utopian ideals of an anarchist society. Where trash can be free, my urban vegan garden can grow where ever, and my anarchist bookstore/coffeeshop/recordstore/whatevereleseitiscrustpunksdo can flourish. Smells great, huh?

We All Die in the End really is a great record, though. Side A is made up of 6 songs that are furiously aggressive, with incredible guitar work. I can't fathom playing some of this, just fast. Fast, fast, fast. Probably why I am not a guitarist. Lyrics are about a doomed world, typical of crust bands. Religious people have the Rapture, crust punks have the ongoing apocalypse. The end of the world scenario that they think we are already embracing, living in it, man. So deep. The B side of the LP is where things get really interesting. An instrumental track in which the first so many minutes are the band doing what they do best, but without vocals. Then the punk fades, and in it's place is an ambient, electronic drone. The best part is, it pulsates with the same rhythm as the music, which makes an appearance at the end. It was really nice to hear some variety, and a great way to end a record.

So, while you are downloading this great record, I am going to work on growing my dreads, denying myself some showers, and finally get around to putting those bullet casings that I have neglected into my belt.

Tracks:

1. When We Wake
2. The Corpse We Will Become
3. Recurrent Cycles
4. Surrogate
5. Deadly Repercussions
6. Ambivalent
7. We All Die in the End

Clarified, distilled, recomposed.

Blank Stare - White Hell (2006)

There isn't going to be some special introductory paragraph exploring the relative topics to this entry. Opting instead to focus on one of the most important contemporary hardcore punk bands for me. Blank Stare, from Massachusetts. A band that seemed to go under the radar for years, before their ultimate demise in 2009. Blank Stare were special. Not only were their live shows revered among the flock mediocrity within hardcore, but their music was vastly superior, as well. They were as fast as Tear It Up, as dirgy as later era Black Flag, and payed homage to other overlooked 80's hardcore bands like Crucifix. Their first couple records displayed their ferocious speed, but it was this 7in and the LP (along with a collection of random songs) that showed the meandering beast they were progressing towards. Still fast, but taking the time to slow things down via gritty nodes of repetition.

White Hell was their last of three 7 inches before their penultimate full-length. And this record is my preferred among the rest, with the LP close behind. Like I said, the music is fast enough to please any straightforward hardcore fan, but tonally heavy to please any crust punk. Well, I guess that is if any crust punk can be pleased, they always have to be disgruntled about something. Anyway, the tones. This is what sets the later material from the early. Blank Stare made their music have some beef, some real punch to it, and this record displays that sonic power perfectly. The lyrics are something to be reckoned with, as well. This records lyrics were written under then unifying idea of a "White Hell". Topics that take stabs at our countries obsession with the ugly; factory farming, racism, and the deterioration of our society. Substance, real genuine substance. Because where as most bands will write lyrics about hating their lives, leaving their live shows to try to shock the already converted, this band was looking at our lifestyle and culture from a slightly different perspective. In hardcore, if you aren't preaching to the choir, you're trying to alienate yourselves from it through idiocy and shock value. This band strayed from that path, taking on relevant topics of our times. Substance, people. A band like this comes around only so often, so enjoy them while you can.

Tracks:

1. White Hell
2. White Corpse
3. White Race - White Waste

Curtain of flies on this city. A fine mess, just as pretty.

Pedro the Lion - It's Hard To Find A Friend (1998)

Pedro the Lion is a name known to most people who stay up to date with independent music, along with it's creator, David Bazan. But what we are going to discuss here are associations, which is what made me neglect Bazan's music for years. Pedro the Lion, to a more or lesser extant, was a Christian band. That right there was a good enough reason for many people to easily stray away from his music. I personally know I disregarded his music because of the associations I had with most independent Christian music. If the pinnacle of such a genre was Cornerstone Fest, an annual Christian music festival in southern IL, I don't want any part of it. I am no overtly outspoken anti-religion fanatic, but I usually don't mesh well with some guy singing about his "lord" and or, "saviour". To each his own. But it was this association that I knowingly placed on Pedro the Lion, far after their demise, that I truly regret. We are going to get one thing straight here, Bazan is one hell of a songwriter and Pedro the Lion was an important band to so many people for a damn good reason.

Musically, most people pinned Pedro the Lion's music to the genre of "Slowcore"; ie, slow, usually depressing, indie rock. Kind of like 90's emo, but without the incessant yelling. Bazan has a wonderful ear for rhythm and melody, which shines through his songwriting. Either upbeat, or long, droning instrumentals are what makes the music, and the emotion conveyed through an electric guitar.

However, it's the lyrics that should be the focus of Bazan's music. Are there lyrics about Bazan's belief in the Christian faith? Yes. But, are they introspective, full of metaphors, or questioning the idea of having faith in something so ambiguous? Yes. Bazan understands the complexities in having faith in religion in the 21st Century, and even in his first album, It's Hard To Find A Friend, his devotion is starting to waver. Take "Secret of the Easy Yoke" for example, a song dedicated to questioning his devotion, having faith in something he can't see, something opaque. The line about "falling on my sword" gets me everytime, to rather metaphorically die than continue on his path is one hell of a way to put it.

It's Hard To Find A Friend is Pedro the Lion at it's best. Perfect music for when you need to hear a sad song, such as "Bad Diary Days", a song his devotion to his wife. Or perfect music for when you are vibin' a good jam, such as "Big Trucks", in which he tells his dad to beat down some dude that may have cut him off in a car or some sort. Give this a listen, if you haven't already, and don't let some label disrupt your notions of what good music. I sure did, but now I know better.

Tracks:

1. Of Up and Coming Monarchs
2. The Longer I Lay Here
3. Big Trucks
4. Suspect Fled the Scene
5. Bad Diary Days
6. The Longest Winter
7. When They Really Get to Know You They Will Run
8. Of Minor Prophets and Their Prostitute Wives
9. The Bells
10. Secret of the Easy Yoke
11. The Well
12. Promise

But if all that's left is duty, I'm falling on my sword.

Much Worse - Absolute Nightmare (2011)

For being eleven posts into the blog, I have yet to post something of this year, or the last, or the one before that. Time to make this experiment relevant of the times. I enjoy aggressive music. Many of my friends and or family that aren't involved in it, don't necessarily understand, but I enjoy the primal aura of abrasive music. Lately, though, I find myself harder to relate to some of the bands within contemporary hardcore punk. The agro, jock sounding hardcore is still as stimulating to me as a dead roach as it was years ago. And most of the current Youth Attack bands just sound redundant to me.

Fear not, I haven't lost my faith in hardcore, and this release proves it. Much Worse is a band hailing from the wonderful land of Minneapolis MN, and this would be their second release. Now the first 7in didn't do much for me, but this record blew me away. Pure, unadulterated Japanese influenced hardcore, and done fucking right. There is even some d-beat/crust influence thrown in for good measure, you know, just in case this record bored you. Now hardcore guitarists pay attention here, because the tone and musicianship is perfect. Which is great because sometimes the vocals can get somewhat monotone on me. "Tarred Lungs" is the perfect example of this, a perfect contemporary hardcore song. It just steam rolls right over you. Tones people, pure sonic blistering music. So if you have found yourself getting somewhat bored with your by the textbook hardcore bands, give this a try.

Tracks:

1. Saturation
2. Tarred Lungs
3. Absolute Nightmare
4. Dilapidated
5. Can't Bullshit a Bullshitter

You can't swindle another swindler.