Exemption - Public Cemetary Party (2010)

I'll admit right away to being less-than-sober as I write this blurb, so I'll also apologize in this sentence if any of the following turns me to ramble:

I made the mistake of discovering this band the very day I met an absolutely vivacious (now ex-)girl(friend), as well as spinning Public Cemetary Party on the drive to-and-from the last lunch I had with her, and as such, this album, to me, will forever be associated with a shortlived and probably prematurely exhausted flame. Without delving into my personal life any further, I feel like drawing a comparison between this album and the aformentioned girl is valid in this case: Think of the most blisteringly hot Summer you can, whether that image comes from true experience or pure imagination, and try to imbue the feelings you felt during that time, minus anything negative, into a Saturday morning cartoon show that plays with the themes of childhood, growing adulthood and consequent responsibility, and love and loss. If I haven't lost you yet, hopefully you've got some general feeling brewing in your head that you, depending on how old you are, probably lost some time ago--something that that timeless innocence prevalent only on playgrounds can ever truly touch. That, right there, is what both Public Cemetary Party and my reminiscings of my one-that-got-away bring me back to: some space lost in a love letter that a third-grader never finished writing.

If you ever read this, Chelsea, this isn't for you--it's for anyone who still thinks that music can be one of many keys to unlocking our happiest moments. But bye anyway, kiddo.

@V0

22 - Flux (2010)

Panic! At the Disco are a fun and catchy, yet sentimental and consistently grabbing band. Meshuggah are the near antithesis of everything previously mentioned: dark and heavy, but still (ball)grabbing, and with their own brutal, manmade representation of what evil can sound like. Understand me when I (and many internet goers) describe this band as "Panic! meets Meshuggah." There's an inherent energy here: in both the singer's voice and his phrasing, the guitar and bass lines (and their near-constant duel for the limelight), the syncopated hand patterns of the drummer, and the absolutely driving and pulsing rhythms created by all of it together; but what really makes me love this band is the weird knack they have for seeming both robotic (those rhythms) and absolutely human (that vocalist). While they never, ever reach evil status, the sound that 22 create dabbles equally in the netherworldly, effectively creating some kind of spiritual experience... or at least that's what they seem to be going for. I'll buy it.

Note: Physical copies of anything by this band are nigh impossible to find for the time being. Rest assured, this rip sounds absolutely fine, and will work in any (i.e., most) media player, including iTunes (as it is Apple's native format). V0 will be up... soon.

@Avg. 261 AAC (.m4a)

First Signs of Frost - Atlantic (2009)

I discovered this band right around the time Atlantic was released back in late '09, and I was absolutely blown away by it from the start. Another band that's got it all: top notch vocals, riffs, basslines, and drumming. I suppose I could liken them to Saosin meets heavier riffs and better vocals (or old, Translating the Name-era Saosin meets precision), but that doesn't quite do them justice. If you're ever in the mood for something to bob your head to that doesn't overstep its self-set pretentions (whatever that means), these guys'll give you the fix you're probably looking for.

Betcha' probably knew: If any of you djent/Meshuggah guys think this vocalist sounds familiar, this is the band Dan Tompkins left behind to join Tesseract.

@V2

Last Chance to Reason - Level 2 (2011)

Get it while it's hot, folks. The first real gem of 2011.

I tend to post these blurbs in a hurry, and for no real reason. I feel rushed, though I'm only answering to myself and keeping to an extremely loose "schedule" that only I, myself, have made, and that's never been indelibly engrained into or on to anything, anywhere, ever. Once I start writing one of these things, my brain kickstarts an invisible timer, and if I haven't vaguely gotten what I want to say about a specific band or album into a word document by the time that timer hits its double-zeros... well, I suppose that's when that "very specific danger" that the OCD-laden hold themselves as submissives to appears in my itinerary, threatening to ruin my sunny day.

That's not happening this time.

No, I really want to say a lot of things about this album, but even if I don't, I want to leave you with a sense of what I feel it is. Level 2 isn't just a slab of metal--it's something that each of us experiences, time and time again, during our most translucent moments: a very resolute... something. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it's undoubtedly some not-quite-lucid-or-tangible sense of power. As an example: I tend to grin like an asshole whenever I feel absolutely confident, no matter who's around me; and I grin that very same grin whenever I spin this album. The way it opens, the way it climaxes, and the way it ends are all just so analagous to the human condition in its most triumphant crises. If you're wondering what that means, spin this one on an extra-hardy cardio workout or during your very own cop-chase--you may, then, have an idea.

The perfect digital marriage of Between the Buried and Me and Cynic.

@V0

Blakfish - Champions (2009)

I thought it'd be fitting to post this and Colour's Anthology back-to-back as they're both, at least to me, different takes on what's essentially the same sound: fun, mathy rock with accents. While Colour are really light and fun, Blakfish are really heavy and fucking awesome. Now, I know nationalities don't really matter, but I'd be lying if I said this band's vocalists' (plural) ridiculous accents didn't get me going in a number of directions, namely sexually, but also in a way that somehow compounds the amount of fun and innocent headbobbery that this album is absolutely filled to the brim with. Aye, this one's pure dead fuckin' brilliant.

@V0

Colour - Anthology (2009)

This band is like a really fun, math pop version of '80s-era King Crimson: wicked instrumentation with some occasional noodling, love-it-or-hate-it vocals with some (also occasionally) really, really nice moments, and an inconsistent player roster (though, in this case, just the bassist(s) and drummer(s)). The guitarists also have that Minus the Bear-esque "I only tap" thing working absolute wonders for them, and you've got to dig that filthy bass tone (see: "Jewels Like Fairy Lights").

I don't have any particular love for this band, but they have their (very awesome) moments, and they fit into their niche well enough (while doing their own thing) that I could never not post them here.

@V0: Part 1 & Part 2

Incura - The Lost EP (2009)

This thing is catchy. Singer's an acquired taste, though one that can't easily be shaken once it's secured a hold in your attention. If you're a girl, you'll love this either eventually or immediately. If you're like me and have that awesome Y-chromosome, it's a little more up in the air. Also, there's some angst here, but it's touching, I promise.

2009 - The Lost EP @V0

Homesick for Space - Discography (2001-2010)

So I'm back (at least for a little while), and rather than start off on a baller-ass note, I thought I'd take this opportunity to post something a bit (i.e., much) more melancholic and definitely meant for cooler months: Homesick for Space. Don't ignore their name, as even upon that stepping stone to the band's career, they touched on the single, inbetween emotion that would permeate their entire catalog: a longing (homesickness) for some space that can't quite be grasped. This stuff is horribly, awfully and terribly congruous to how I feel on my least-sober days following a not-quite-mutual breakup, and I've got an inkling that that might be a close heir to the headspace these guys were in as they wrote and recorded these three albums.

Note: Not for birthdays, congratulatory celebrations, or getting into that really cute and bubbly girl's pants.

2001 - Homesick for Space @V0

2003 - Unison @V0

2010 - All We Are Now (or, 2007's ...Please Continue renamed and physically issued) @V0