10 Songs I've Been Listening to a Bunch

Here's 10 songs I've listened to a bunch recently.


1. Void- Who Are You (From 'Void/Faith Split' 1982)

One of those indescribably good hardcore songs. So catchy and weird. Who are you, why am I here?

2. Hickey- Hickey Blvd (From 'Hickey,' 1997)

Trying to explain the allure of Hickey is tricky. It's sloppy as fuck, but god damn is it brilliant songwriting.

3. Rudimentary Peni- 1/4 Dead (From 'Death Church,' 1983)

The first time I had ever heard this band was via this song, and I was fucking hooked by the intro bass line. It's very dark and commanding. It's got a great refrain too (three quarters of the world are starving, the rest are dead)

4. Underground Railroad to Candyland- Jimmy V (From 'Know Your Sins,' 2011)

The end of this song is so tight. You'll be singing along.

5. Soft Kill- From This Point On

These guys really nail the 80's post punk/new wave thing, which is oftentimes done poorly I think (looking at you Cold Cave and Merchandise.) This is my shit though. 

6. Henry's Dress- Treefort (1994)

One of those songs that legit calms you down. Her voice is so good. A perfect twee band to get stoned to. 

Sidenote: The singer of this band kinda sounds like her, I think.

7. Skip James- Hard Time Killin' Floor Blues (1931)

One of my favorite songs of all time, honestly. Hauntingly beautiful.

8. Joy Division- Twenty Four Hours (From 'Closer,' 1980)

Joy Division is my favorite band. I've mentally explored every inch of sound within the frequencies of every single Joy Division song, so to speak, but for whatever reason my interest in this particular song peaked only recently. I don't need to sing the praises of the band, but needless to say this is such a fucking powerful song.

9. The Creation- Painter Man (Single, 1966)

All things considered, kind of a silly little 60's garage song. But I'll tell you, once you hear that chorus for the first time it'll be stuck in your head. 

10. Modern English-Melt With You (From 'After the Snow', 1982)

My favorite love song. Never get tired of this one.

Iron Oath- Demo I

Iron Oath- Demo I

2014

Iron Oath is a straight edge hardcore punk band from Cincinnati. I am not straight edge. Doubt there was much question about that but figured I'd say it anyway. But this shit is so tight. I kind of admire straight edge kids because they're bonded by a philosophy and the whole point is to remain true to it, so "Iron Oath" is a pretty awesome name for a straightedge band, and every member in the band is straight edge and proud of it. Also, even though it's labeled a "demo" by the band, the recording of this 5 song EP is exceptional, and self recorded!

The EP opens with "Oath," a solid track which kicks off the EP nicely with a well executed (and catchy) riff, something familiar to Dustin Bingaman, a veteran in playing guitar in hardcore bands (see White Walls, Abduction). It isn't shy about it's straight edge message...

 This is a fucking oath. 

The final fucking nail. 

I remain this way for my fucking self. 

And for those I've seen struggle. 

And the track closes with Moss spitting the line "I'll take life as it comes" repeatedly. Solid opener. No weak points here in terms of performance- Dustin holds down the chops on guitar, Zach Colina is no stranger to this shit, he performs in his own group called Kinder Words, and Chad Duccilli holds down the low end well.

The lyrics are a strong point in this demo-- Moss tackles some heavy subjects, particularly in the song "Xanax," where he talks from the perspective of someone who has felt betrayed and abandoned by a close one who abuses pills. It's an angry tune (they are a hardcore band after all,) but the message is poignant, and Moss's words comes off as frustrated but sympathetic. Other topics include decrying those who make rape jokes and other insensitive jokes ("Dominated") and being uncomfortable in one's skin ("Underneath"). 

I'm a big fan of these sort of mid-tempo hardcore punk bands (see Stoic Violence/Warthog, two sonically similar groups,) and Iron Oath performs on the same level. Definitely worth checking out, especially if you're a straight edge kid who complains about their not being enough straight edge bands, just shut up and listen to these guys. Even if you're not straightedge, it's good hardcore music made by kids who mean it.

You can download this demo for free here.

Or you can order the tape from the Columbus Noise Collective here. 

Sidenote: I've played a show with these dudes and they kill it live. People go nuts for this shit so if you get a chance to go see em, do it.

Community Pools- Clown Shoes

Community Pools- Clown Shoes EP

Ok, so as to quickly announce this and get it into writing (the whole reason I started this blog was to honestly evaluate the music I listen to) let me say that I am not the biggest fan of this particular brand of pop punk. Sloppy, hyper honest pop punk, 90's throwback meets early Plan-It-X kind of stuff; early Lookout Records stuff, Carrie Nations, etc. There was a point in time where I would have bashed it in fact. But with a little context over the years and after seeing some proper pop punk shows, my opinion on this type of stuff has significantly improved over time.

These guys, who are from Oklahoma City, played sort of an overall bummer of a show in Cincinnati a while back (not their fault, just poorly promoted etc.) and I hung out with them a bit. Really good guys, which doesn't always translate into the music but with them, it totally did. They're a couple of guys who are good friends who play in a pop punk band together and obviously really care about the songs that they write and the whole idea of touring, and that alone is pretty much enough to win me over. That's what it's all about, isn't it? Also, Taylor Vinson, the guitar player, totally impressed me with his guitar playing. Dude is a shredder, and was of course insanely modest about it. Jerry and Ryan, drums and bass respectively, also hold down a solid pop punk rhythm section. Anyways, on to this EP, titled "Clown Shoes."

I wish the production of this EP was better-- the snare drum is kind of weak, the bass guitar is sort of nonexistent, and the recording lacks low end. But those are all just nit picky things. My best friend is a recording engineer, what do you expect? 

Point is it didn't change my mind on this kind of pop punk. Not sure anything will. Something about it is just impossible for me to fall in love with. 

But there's a lot of good stuff going on here. The EP features a pretty awesome cover of "48 Double Stack" by Rivethead. Honestly think I like the Community Pools version more. "Fucking Clown Shoes," features a pretty good call and response chorus and kind of an addictive guitar hook, and "Dude Bro Extermination Squad" has the feeling of an early Thermals track, it's pretty rad. Honestly these dudes are pretty good songwriters, and they play really well together.

So take my overall opinion of this with the proper grain of salt, because it's not really my bag. But I'd venture to guess if you were in Oklahoma City and drank a few beers with these guys and then saw them shred through a set you'd probably have a really awesome time.

You can download the EP for free here.

Pretty Pretty- Leather Weather 7"

PRETTY PRETTY- LEATHER WEATHER

"It's Leather Weather baby"

I was so excited when I heard several months ago that Pretty Pretty was going to be recording this 7". Not just because Evan Wolff and Larry Teevee are friends of mine. Not because I play in a band with Evan either. But because this is a band who writes incredible songs, and I was stoked to hear some clean recordings from them, a change from their first demo EP which came out in 2012.

The 7", recorded by Shane Natalie, drummer for Tight Bros (another band Evan plays in), didn't disappoint. Larry's singing is crystal clear on the record, which is great because it's certainly a strong point of the band. Her voice has always reminded me a bit of the singer of Henry's Dress; that sort of lovely sounding twee voice. It nestles in perfectly with Evan's Springsteen-esque guitar playing and singing and Jon Washington's ridiculously tight punk drumming. The production of the album is solid as well; thick guitar, punchy drums, all the good stuff.

The whole EP is laced with that familiar sonic feeling of being free spirited, driving with the windows down, and not givin' a damn. But if that were the extent of the content, I wouldn't like it nearly as much as I do, because a lot of that shit bores me. 

But for starters it's done so much better than the rest, both in songwriting and in performance, that it's impossible not to recognize that this is a band that knows damn well how to write a punk song. Evan shreds his way through the EP with downright solid guitar leads, an underrated accessory to many bands. Larry chugs through the album on the bass guitar as well, exceptionally locking in rhythmically with Jon Washington (there's a tight instrument break at 0:54 of the song "You Say" that I really enjoy).

 Additionally, the band is charming. The frequent mentions of rain falling in the lyrics, (and a song titled "Feels Like Rain"), put through the lens of straight forward punk rock and roll, give this EP an interesting feeling of acceptance of life's shit, and willingness to just throw on a leather jacket and go outside to have fun anyway. 

You can purchase a digital copy of the EP here, and a physical copy of the 7" will be available shortly from Let's Pretend Records and Mandible Records.

Also, if you're from Columbus or live in the general Ohio/Midwest region, go to the release show of this 7" Thursday October 2nd at Spacebar in Columbus, Ohio. They're even better live.

photo credit Andy Downing; Columbus Alive