undeniably upbeat, poppy, catchy, and inviting. But the vocals, in my opinion at least, are undeniably annoying. This is what initially turned me off, it’s high pitched and squeaky, like Gordon Gano without the irony. I can’t get over this, I don’t buy that every kid with a guitar and an out of tune voice has more heart. I know in some circles this is sacrilege, but it’s true. What redeems The Ensembles is strictly their lyrical content, their adherence to a blend of personal narratives and political insinuations. “Nuclearadio” accuses their own generation for lack of a political voice, and further indicts the repetitious attempt to manufacture one. Better yet is “Aren’t All Songs Political?” a sympathetic criticism of the vague sense of community and belonging in the underground. If you like the label, if you know the scene, you’re going to love this, but it isn’t for me. [Sousa]
www.plan-it-x.com
Monikers Wake Up
Monikers guitarist Ryan Seagrist was playing in standout pop-punk band Discount long before anyone had heard of that no-talent ass-clown Ryan Seacrest. It’s been the better part of a decade since anyone heard from Discount outside of singer Alison Mosshart resurfacing in as half of The Kills. Seagrist’s new project sounds significantly more like their old band, which proves to be a blessing and a curse. The twelve songs here waste little time, covering less than half an hour. It’s true that there are nods to Leatherface or Jawbreaker, and there are only a couple times that Monikers could hardly sound more like Dillinger Four than Dillinger Four already does. Most of the record is familiar, and easily categorized, but never overly nostalgic either. Only two songs (barely) break the three-minute barrier, though there is enough wiggle room and variation between them to make Wake Up a surprisingly complete record. The poppy snarl of “Settlement” harnesses Scared Of Chaka in the best way possible and is a definite highlight. So is the slightly slower “Them And Us”—a loose, mid-tempo, scratchy ballad that is perfectly-placed right in the middle of the record. It’s surprising that something so directly tied to the melodic punk rock of 8-12 years ago can end up downright refreshing. [Anderson]
www.kissofdeathrecords.com
Moving Mountains Pneuma
The basic elements of Moving Moutains’ sound are familiar and easy to pin down by the first notes of “Cover The Roots/Lower The Stems,” the second song here. Almost every note of Pneuma leans heavily, but not always predictably, on late 90’s melodic post-hardcore, especially the dynamics of early Jimmy Eat World or a more polished Mineral. A steady stream of much more polished, immediately-catchy riffs and vocal lines borrow from Brand New as much as Appleseed Cast. These more in-your-face melodies walk the line between catchy and obvious, usually landing on the correct side. Most of the songs share a common and time-tested arch, alternating between slow build-ups and soaring, melodic choruses. The obvious highlight is “8105,” which covers more than eight minutes, right in the middle of the record. Showing the quickest wit and strongest melody of anything here. Scarce, but effective trombone and piano parts add just enough of an extra layer here and there, without taking over. It has been the better part of a decade since I was prone to hang on every word and note of any record so deeply entrenched in this style. But Moving Mountains do it much better than most, regardless of how nostalgic it may seem. Naturally, there are trite moments, but there are few enough that it’s easy to ignore or even embrace most of them. [Anderson]
www.deepelm.com
40
Now Sleepyhead Nocturne
It took me several listens to really figure this album out, which tends to be a good thing right off the bat. The title of this release, Nocturne, is rather accurate, as this album sounds best when taking a long drive at night. This Richmond-based ensemble does a good job of writing pretty songs with downtrodden lyrics, with a generally-dreary atmosphere of music applied. They make good use of piano, acoustic guitars, and interwoven male and female vocals. The opening track, “Eternal Damnation,” is what hooked me on the album upon first listen, and at times it reminds me of some tracks from Hope of the States’ album “Lost Riots”, likely because of the general feeling of despair present underneath the delicate piano. I’m not a big fan of “Who The Fuck” because the chorus is a bit annoying, but the next track, “Pro Deo” is great. It features some rather poignant social opinions, as demonstrated through lyrics such as “There’s an empty expanse I felt since I was a kid. I gave my money to God. I wish I’d given it to someone who needed it.” It’s tracks like this one that make this release worthwhile to me. As the album progresses, it accumulates more hits and misses, but despite not being a perfect album, it still comes off as a sincere album written by seemingly earnest individuals. And because of that, it’s worth whatever attention you can spare for it. [Birone]
www.exoticfever.com
Off With Their Heads From the Bottom
With a couple years, a half dozen 7” releases (and subsequent CD collection), an EP and at least 15 different members under their belt, Minneapolis’ Off With Their Heads have finally delivered their debut full length. Channeling fellow TC’ers Dillinger Four, Leatherface and even late-90’s Social D, OWTH maintain relevance without straying too far off the path musically. Frontman Ryan Young seems to scoff of mere cynicism, with twelve songs that do nothing to mask their abject hopelessness. But rather than lash out or blame his problems exclusively on anyone else (an ex-girlfriend, an asshole boss, etc.) Young seems to accept, and often revel in his hopeless existence. Despite their decidedly one-dimensional subject matter, the songs are delivered in a darkly catchy way. The music that accompanies Young’s songs of is often anything but dour. There is something gruff and relentless about the delivery, though the riffs are almost always melodic, sometimes catchy and even downright bouncy a few times (see “Self Checkout,” the standout track). I wouldn’t call this poppy by any means, though it does channel a melodic delivery that was made famous in part by the bands listed above. OWTH uses a heavy-handed, mid-tempo approach to a typically fast and furious genre. The result is immediately effective, and unapologetically familiar, but rarely repetitive or even bordering on predictable. Musically, Off With Their Heads manage to err on the side of reminding you of the classics, rather than just copying them. Emotionally, From The Bottom is sort of like a YouTube video of somebody getting clipped by a car, or a puppy getting snatched up by a hawk. It’s sad, but you forward it on to all of your friends anyway, knowing they’ll enjoy it just as much as you did.
[Anderson]
www.noidearecords.com
Old Iron Sights
Ex Post Facto 16:29 (CDEP) Old Iron Sights are a new band, as I think these four songs are the first they’ve released. Their sound is rooted heavily in the best mid-90’s post-hardcore, very little (if any) came from the bands’ native Las Vegas. There are shades of The Jazz June’s jangly, melodic chaos, especially on “Epic Patriot,” the well-chosen opening track. The vocal lines are similar at times to old Piebald, though they are generally more on-key. The
:: THE NEW SCHEME ::
clash of melodic guitar lines, shouted backing vocals and choppy rhythms borrows from the mid-90s, Midwestern heyday. Braid (at their more straightforward), Texas Is The Reason and Garden Variety all come to mind along the way as well. These songs were self-recorded, most of it done live and it shows, but in mostly good ways. The recording quality is much better than most home demos, but still loose and untouched overall. Everything sounds really clear, and the lack of the requisite, digital effects— which are common, even on most home recordings now—is beyond refreshing. Hopefully Old Iron Sights stay at it, without losing the raw, tense feel to their sound on newer material. If these four songs are any indication, they’ve kept most of the best things about newer, melodic post-hardcore, while staying firmly-rooted in what made it so much better a decade ago. [Anderson]
www.myspace.com/oldironsights
Perth Express
Harrow and Wealdstone So apparently this band broke up. This is a bummer, because Harrow and Wealdstone is far better than anything they’ve done before. I’m not saying that it’s more original—this band has made no effort to conceal their huge debt to Botch and Tragedy at any point. However, their final release shows more variations in rhythm, tempo, and mood than their whole discography CD (which featured everything up to this point) put together. Skillfully drawing from the rockin’-est aspects of both aforementioned bands, Perth Express blends together tight rhythms and a crushing tempo while leaving out the pretension and melancholy of Botch and Tragedy, respectively. The result is an album that will have you head-banging and air-guitaring along from the first listen. They put on a great show while they were together (though they only came over to the states from their home in Germany a couple times), but I used to feel that their sound made for a tedious listen when recorded. Not the case at all with this album, and if it wasn’t for the boring and overblown Black Heart Procession cover they chose as the closer, I would reach the end begging for more. I don’t know the story behind the band’s demise, but I can safely say that this is going to earn them many new fans. I’m sure many will be wondering what could have been from this band that seems to finally have hit their stride, but such a great swan song leaves little room for complaint. [Moroni]
www.vendettarecords.de
Playing Enemy
My Life as the Villain (CDEP) Not long after Hex Records agreed to release this EP, Playing Enemy decided to disband. As with both of their full length releases, this takes most of the good things about metal-influenced hardcore and applies them in new ways. Even better, they manage to leave out most of the bad things as well. Building on the intricate (not just in the guitar noodling) tradition of bands like fellow Seattle-dwellers Botch, they use the space between beats or riffs to their advantage. This angular, chaotic approach has worked best for bands like Deadguy and Coalesce over the years, and Playing Enemy honor that tradition well. The obvious centerpiece here is the six-minute “An Admission to the Shoulders of Giants,” an angular, tense opus that covers a number of semi-related subgenres perfectly. These five songs are an incomplete—but fitting—final release, which is well worth checking out, even if it’s posthumously. [Anderson]
www.hanginghex.com