Sound&Shape - Now Comes the Mystery (2011)

I grew up with a dad that loved "easy-listening," or whatever that weird, niche-y, soft, '80s-sounding kind of music is that only looks to let you appreciate the quieter moments of life with a little background noise. The first thing I thought of when hearing the first song on this EP for the first time was "awesome easy-listening." While I wouldn't quite use that as a description for Now Comes the Mystery as a whole, its general vibe definitely warrants it, even if only a little. These guys suck you in, and regardless of your listening habits, never quite relinquish their hold on the peace of mind they helped to make.

I'll stop digging myself into a hole and simply state that this EP is a small taste of what I know Sound&Shape have in store for us. The potential here is something worth putting your dying mother on hold for. Absolutely love them.

Support these guys @$5 USD

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

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

Periphery - Periphery (2010)

4/22 - I just got the deluxe double-disc edition of this album in my mailbox and in my hurry to upload both of its versions (mostly for close friends, for now) I've neglected to write a proper blurb for it. Rest assured patrons: I'll remedy my negligence as soon as finals week is over.

Note: Got the idea to "invert" the cover art because the instrumental disc has the inverted colors on it. Unfortunately, this was after I uploaded the album. If you want in on my INGENIOUSNESS, this link may help you.

(Removed. Sorry guys.)

Kaddisfly - Discography (2002-2007)

I love this band. I really fucking adore this band. My inner eight year-old suddenly bursts forth in a frenzy of adventurous glee and seafaring surmise every time I spin Set Sail the Prairie; and whenever I hear Buy Our Intention..., a slightly younger conjectured child shows himself still, with that same gleeful expression eclipsing his face, but now with a newfound sense of green-thumbed innocence. Kaddisfly, to me, are a denouement, wrought from the idea that music can possess its own spirit, with no fear of undending ambition.

However pretentious and schoolgirl-like I may sound, Kaddisfly are the only band that, after years of listening and loving, still incite me to explore their wondrous world.

2002 - Humania @192

2003 - Did You Know People Can Fly? @192

2005 - Buy Our Intention; We'll Buy You a Unicorn @V0: Part 1 & Part 2

2006 - The Four Seasons @V2

Note: Apparently I don't know how to properly zip albums with the words "sail" or "prairie" in them, so the posting of this band's most recent opus has been delayed by way of God paying me back for all those nights of faking altruism to impress women. --But I'm not taking "Discography (2002-2007)" out of this post's title because I'm laz--I mean, because for some reason I can't. Yes, Blogger is the only one to blame here.

Sound & Shape - The Love Electric (2009)

Ever wonder what monstrosity would spring from the murky depths of The Fall of Troy if they simmer'd down a little and got a much less annoying vocalist that didn't scream? Yeah, well, here's what might come of it, although it's no monster. In fact, The Love Electric is pretty breathtaking while it lasts. The singer has that odd timbre that only he and Gavin Hayes from Dredg seem to have: oddly melancholic, yet powerful. He's also got some sick vocal lines that almost seem to be ripped straight from Queen albums too old to matter.

For anyone who enjoys calm post-hardcore - minus the core - with a great sense of pacing and ole fashioned non-pitch corrected wailing.

Myspace
@V2

Sun Kil Moon - April (2008)

This is a long fucking album and I'll admit, right now, to never making it all the way through in one sitting, but I'd like to think the man behind Sun Kil Moon has a voice that rewards anyone who actually does. April is a sit-backer. A lean-to. But it's compelling enough to keep anyone wanting a compelling listen...compelled? Or as in my case, interested for at least half of its total running time. I can't complain. My forte tends to be an attention-seeking tramp, and it's certainly satiated my drooling tongue for a good ten years now.

Anyone who likes to get lost in hard, melancholic melodies and near-droning, country-fied acoustic twangs can't go wrong here. Reserved for sleepless nights and cool mid-afternoon drives.

@V0: Part 1 & Part 2

Kong - Snake Magnet (2009)

Been anxiously awaiting this one's arrival in my mailbox, and wadda-ya-know. Kong plays this weird blend of grungy post-hardcore and frailed-at-the-edges sludge with mathy riffs tossed in for good measure. Once it comes together, it kind of sounds like the homeless child of Hella and The Melvins with yelled, mostly nonsense lyrics. In fact, that thing I wrote for Ehanre's The Man Closing Up applies here, too. But that's all irrelevant. This album is awesome, and I can't get enough. Most definitely destined for my Best-of-2009 list.

Buy this album
@V0

The Protomen - The Protomen (2005)

Here's another band that seems to have been quietly brushed under someone's "Welcome Home" mat, at least in the non-video game communities. The Protomen is a concept album about, what else, Mega Man, with a slightly different - and darker - take on the story. From the first minute of the first track, the storytelling is goosebump-worthy and the 8-bit synths are much more hook-laden than they should be, and, slowly-but-surely, you learn that the lead-singer's got pipes that would make World 7 blush. But what really pushes this album past the finish line is the atmosphere. I can totally picture pallid buildings, decayed at the base and sprawled to few-and-far between, throughout this entire album. I can see Megaman, disenchanted with humanity, leaving its people behind as they writhe in agony. I've never been one to pay a terrible amount of attention to lyrics, but this album absolutely demands that extra effort.

@V0

3 - Wake Pig (2004)

I can't talk 3 up enough. This band is like a straight man's Coheed & Cambria. The lead guitarist/vocalist plays a nifty blend of flamenco and slap, and has the vocal capabilities to back his garrulous fingers up. Think of the aforementioned C&C meets The Beatles. Production's a little soft, but it fits this album's style like a slightly-oversize glove.

Note: This is the reissue, but it's got the original's year in the id3 tags and the folder name. This is because I count this version as Wake Pig. It's also because the original isn't nearly as cool.

@V0: Part 1 & Part 2