REVIEW: These Branches - "Beliefs"

These Branches are back with a new EP. After the greatness that was The Payoff, my expectations were crazy high. These Branches exceed all expectations. Beliefs is a great record from start to finish. Everything the band has done on their previous releases is still here in pieces, but the band has branched out a bit.

Compared to their older releases, Beliefs feels like a much heavier record. I don't mean that in a shitty, all of a sudden metal kind of way. These Branches are still firmly entrenched in post-hardcore. They have stepped away from some of the more straight ahead, melodic punk stuff. The end result is a denser, more mathy kind of a record. Tracking the progression of this band, this is a far cry from what they were doing on This One's On You.

Using The Payoff as the transition record, Beliefs falls in line with the trajectory of the band. The melodic stuff is still there in part. The tail end of "Cavity," for example, still has some of the old, melodic stuff. Overall though, Beliefs is an dense, pissed off record. It is a fucking perfect nine minutes of post-hardcore.

I can't imagine why anyone who likes this kind of music would sleep on this record.


The Branches
Bandcamp
Store
Driftwood Records (US, cassette)

*This will also be released on cassette in the UK via Get Into It Records and on vinyl via Don't Live Like Me Records. I haven't found a link for purchase on those stores. I will update this later.

REVIEW: Bike Tuff - "Into Shore"

Mixing the gruffness of Midwest pop punk with a liberal helping of Samiam-esque sense of melody and structure, Bike Tuff have produced a really solid LP. Into Shores is a record that fires on all cylinders from the get go. "Each Purling Note" opens the record with a pretty straight forward punk rock song. While it is pretty by the books, it still serves as a great introduction.

The band stays really solid through the next song "Oak St. Market." This song shows the more melodic part of what the band is working with. In fact, that is the interesting part of the record from the start. It jumps around between straight ahead punk rock songs and more melodic, slower passages. Like, "This Canada House Is Not A Home" is very straight forward punk riffing. It sticks pretty close to the Epi-Fat melodic hardcore of days past. Then, on the other hand, we have songs like "Baby, You're An Anarchist" and "Sweet Berry Wine." They are less piss and vinegar type punk songs, and more spacious and melodic. This isn't to say they are emo songs or whatever, though the guitars DO twinkle a bit. They are much more pop influenced songs.

Basically, there is a little bit here for everyone. While the band draws from various influences, it never makes the record too disjointed. I can see this record appealing to The Fest crowd as much as the Warped Tour crowd. This is both positive and negative, I guess. While it has mass appeal, it doesn't really stick out as anything great. As a punk rock record, Into Shores gets the job done. As a band, Bike Tuff show a lot of promise. I don't know, I just feel like something is missing here.



Bike Tuff
BandCamp
Store

REVIEW: Nobody, Ever - "Everyone Stood By The Side Of The Road"

I hate to pigeon hole bands as one genre or another. At best, it is a bit disingenuous; at worst, it is lazy. Nobody, Ever are a band that exist in a middle ground. Everyone Stood By The Side Of The Road plays out like an indie/emo record. The band also keeps a firm foothold in gruff, melodic punk rock.

Everyone Stood By The Side Of The Road is a quick EP. Despite having a 15 minute runtime, it really hits all the right spots. Nobody, Ever take cues from the emo/post-hardcore side of punk rock. They remind me of certain Gainesville, FL bands in their delivery. Gruff, but melodic. Bits of twinkle mixed with driving guitar. It's like a mix of Dikembe and Finding The Rhythms era Hot Water Music.

All four songs on this EP are really great. "On A July Sunday" has a subdued kind of intro, then picks up to great emo/punk song. It has a great back and forth. It transitions seamlessly to "Snap To Zero Weather." As far as choosing a stand-out, "Not So Good, Al" really makes a case for itself. That song is just hooky and catchy. The backing vocals are super fucking strong there. The record closer "Everyone, Always" is right there too though. It is a really solid 4 and a half minutes that rises and falls perfectly. That song encompasses everything the band does on the record.

Nobody, Ever have produced a great debut EP. Everything about this record is promising. I'm really stoked to hear more. I really don't know how popular this band is, as they are from Leicester, UK. They should be huge. In the UK, stateside, and everywhere else. Check it out.


Nobody, Ever
BandCamp

REVIEW: Center Of The Sun - "Machine Gun"

I feel like the new wave of shoegaze influenced bands get needlessly criticized. I guess the reason is because how revolutionary the genre was when it first started. I mean, come on, some of those shambling British bands just came way the fuck out of left field. In recent years we have seen a lot of bands mixing more spacious indie rock with the dense, fuzzed out shoegaze stuff. The Joy Formidable and The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart are great examples. In a similar way, Center Of The Sun has crafted a hell of a record.

Machine Gun is, at it's heart, a pop record. While there are clear earmarks of the whole nouveau shoegaze thing, it never really insists on itself in the way some of these records do. While playing around with the genre norms, Center Of The Sun are able to maintain a pop edge. It can get kind of dense and gloomy sounding in spots, but there are some great melodies shining through.

What really makes this band so interesting is the very disparate range of bands all the members have been (or are currently in). Other projects run the gamut from metal to noise rock, to electro-pop. That such a wide array of projects could offshoot into something as fucking solid as this is kind of surprising.Everything just seems to mesh. Rick Contes' and Chris Nolen's guitars blend perfectly with Ally Hoffmann's voice. The interplay is really fantastic. This shines through on songs like "Cease" and "Reckless Sea." The rhythm section of Joe Elmore and Ben Gascho keep everything tight and moving.

For fans of the genre, there is absolutely something here for you. There are some great melodic, spacey bits in songs like "Turnabout." There are some heavy, guitar led songs like "Reckless Sea" and "Home." No matter what mood you're in, they got you covered. Just great gloomy, fuzzy songs. There is a lot to like here.

In short, this record will appeal to all sorts of people. Indie rock fans, shoegaze fans, and even those chillwave nerds can get down to this. Check it out.

Center Of The Sun

BandCamp

Mayfly Records -- (Buy It)

Self Aware Records -- (Buy It)

REVIEW - RVIVR - "The Beauty Between"

RVIVR is a pretty polarizing back. It seems like even people who love this particular brand of punk rock have some kind of issue with this band. A lot of this can be placed on the cult of personality surrounding Matt Canino and Erica Freas. Everyone has an opinion about the band's politics, and most people express it in very hamfisted ways.

That said, what about the music? Well, simply put, it is really fucking good. RVIVR have proven themselves to be one of the best, honest DIY bands going right now. They have the discography to prove it. Spanning multiple 7"s and EPs and the amazing self-titled full length, they have been putting out quality work since 2008. The Beauty Between only furthers that line.

"The Seam" opens this record like "Rain Down" did the last one. An extended instrumental intro before the vocals kick in. As an album opener, it more than sets the tone. Every song flows into the next one perfectly. The front half of this record is fucking loaded with greatness. Everything goes along briskly until the more mid-tempo "Paper Thin." Everything after that (on the second half) just works together perfectly. If the first half was a bunch of stand alone songs, the second half feels like a theme record. While this is obviously partly true with the three part "Hunger Suite" songs, it follows through to the end of the record. Tracks 8 through 14 all flow seamlessly into each other. It's actually really awesome.

There are so many songs on this record that could be considered "stand outs." Most anything on this record could be readily made into a single. There were some uneven bits on the self-titled, but this record doesn't suffer the same fate. Front to back, this album rules. "LMD" and "Rainspell" are certainly of note. Basically, RVIVR have once again proven that they are among the top tier of this kind of melodic punk.


RVIVR
Rumbletowne Records
BandCamp
Buy It

REVIEW: Rika - "How to Draw a River, Step by Step"

My first exposure to Rika was via their extremely great split with Empire! Empire! (I Was A Lonely Estate). Their song on that split was a very promising song. Being an Austrian band, I was very surprised how adept the band was at making music that sounds like mid-90s Midwest emo. They had a very Mineral-ish thing going on. There wasn't a bad thing about them.

How to Draw a River, Step by Step is very interesting, because Rika has stepped out of the shadow of their influences. You can still hear the post-indie emo sound in there, but they have expanded their sound to allow for some other influences that don't usually show up in this kind of music. They remind me of the local bands I was seeing around 10 years ago when I was in high school. Ostensibly emo bands, but so much more. This record feels like an emo record filtered through some great atmospheric post-rock and some indie.

Musically, this record paints a beautiful landscape. The guitars are strong, the vocal harmonies are amazing, and the addition of violins and piano really makes this record a great listen. It's easy to pigeon hole this record as just another emo revival record. That wouldn't be fair. This band has a lot to offer.

Rika continues to mature and advance their sound. I'm not sure how much of a foothold this band has outside of Europe, but they could be a great staple band in this genre. If this record is any indication, there is going to be some great things coming int he future.

Rika

Count Your Lucky Stars

Goddamn Records

Bandcamp

Buy It (CYLS - US)

Buy It (Goddamn - Europe)

REVIEW: Orphans - "Pack Mentality"

I don't fuck with hardcore too often. I mean, I really only partake of it when filtered through something else (or with the "post-" prefix). I know this sounds kind of dumb. Especially given my affinity for music that is, by it's very nature, rooted in hardcore. What does any of this have to do with Orphans?

Well, Orphans play screamo/hardcore with a bit of metal in there too. Think somewhere in the middle of Circle Takes The Square and Botch. Leaning more towards the former than the latter, this band employs a similar vocal and music style. While it can get a bit by the books, it is still rather enjoyable.

Musically, this band is tight as hell. They can play towards the chaotic, angular style, and then merge right back in to the straight up hardcore/metal stuff. Through this ability, they are able to meld a number of genres together in a short span of time. This is really noticible on "Dark Satanic Mills" and "White Guilt." The latter being the total standout on here.

This kind of stuff is hard to peg down, as it has been done to death over the years. Orphans are certainly very adept at making it their own. It's not anything new, but it is still enjoyable.


Orphans
BandCamp
Never Lost Records

(crosspost from my music blog)