Something I Learned Today

If you like loaded, pounding, repetitive riffs, banshee vocals, and the occasional 9 minute marathon then this is the shit for you. I’m feeling lazy today (today? how about the past two weeks) so I’m going to cut and paste from the wikipedia writeup on Washington state’s noisemongers Karp:

Karp was a rock band from Olympia, Washington, that formed in 1990 and lasted until 1998… Karp managed to mix the terror of hardcore, The Melvins, and Black Sabbath with an ear for pop-influenced song assembly. The band name is inspired from a newsletter/zine that bassist Chris Smith put out in highschool and is an acronym that stands for “Kill All Redneck Pricks”

Karp would release three full lengths (1994’s Mustache Ride, 1996’s Suplex, and 1997’s Self-Titled LP), with a singles comp (Action Chemistry) released in 2001. Bruising, punishing stuff here - one listen to “Bacon Industry” is proof All releases are recommended if this is your thing, Self Titled LP and Action Chemistry are my personal faves. Take a listen:

from Self-Titled LP
Karp - Bacon Industry.mp3
Karp - Bastard in Disguise.mp3
Karp - Spelling Trouble.mp3

from Action Chemistry
Karp - Freighty Cat.mp3
Karp - I’d Rather Be Clogging.mp3

from Mustache Ride
Karp - Flourpus.mp3
Karp - Me Big Mouth.mp3

from Suplex
Karp - Get No Toys.mp3
Karp - Schotzie.mp3

Notes:
** Pic from Karp page@myspace
** Drummer Scott Jernigan died in 2003.

It doesn’t smack you in the face or hit you over the head, but if you give it long enough eventually Breaking Circus will burrow into your brain like a parasite. Adjectives to describe the din include: terse, sharp, jagged, sinister. Musically akin to Roland from Big Black sitting in with Fly on a Wire era Effigies (that all could be suggested by the common locale of Chicago). Former Strike Under guitarist Steve Bjorklund was the mastermind behind Breaking Circus, releasing The Very Long Fuse in 1985. In ‘86 Bjorklund moved up I-94 to Minneapolis and began working with the Rifle Sport rhytm section of Flour and Todd Trainer. Two more recordings followed in 1987 - the simmering The Ice Machine LP and the 6 song zenith Smoker’s Paradise. Enjoy the beauty of “Knife in the Marathon”, the sharp cut of “Eat Lead”, and everything in between:

from The Very Long Fuse
Breaking Circus - Precision.mp3
Breaking Circus - (Knife in the) Marathon.mp3
Breaking Circus - Christian Soldiers.mp3

from The Ice Machine
Breaking Circus - Song of the South.mp3
Breaking Circus - Took a Hammering.mp3
Breaking Circus - Where.mp3

from Smoker’s Paradise
Breaking Circus - Three Cool Cats.mp3
Breaking Circus - Shockhammer 13.mp3
Breaking Circus - Eat Lead.mp3

In my original Hammerhead post I wrote “I’m going to save their albums for future discussion” . Well, 1 year, 10 months, and 18 days later I’m stepping up with the goods. Hammerhead were the shit, my favorite among so many top notch bands in the Amphetamine Reptile stable. The trio of Paul Sanders, Paul Erickson, and Jeff Mooridian got together in Fargo, North Dakota in the ‘89/’90 time frame and evenutally migrated to Minneapolis after cutting their debut LP. 1993’s Ethereal Killer was 33 minutes of edgy, guitar shredding post-hardcore nirvana that I played the shit out of. All 10 tracks are killer, but here are two:

Hammerhead - Blow-by.mp3
Hammerhead - Vegas Incident.mp3

1994’s Into The Vortex was darker, heavier, and more refined. I recall being initially disappointed upon it’s release but now I realize that this is the great step forward. Sanders spews pure bile, a scary thing on a number of these tracks. Erickson’s cuts have a heavy scifi vibe that balances things out. All in all, a masterpiece

Hammerhead - Swallow.mp3
Hammerhead - Brest.mp3

Duh, The Big City was Hammerhead’s finale, and displays the fractures of band coming apart. Sanders left the band at some point before the album was released, and plays on only 8 of the 12 tracks. Erickson played the guitar on the remaining cuts, and the best results, featured below, foretell what was to happen when Erickson and Mooridian regrouped as Vaz.

Hammerhead - Earth (I Won’t Miss).mp3
Hammerhead - Mune.mp3

Notes:
>> Buy Hammerhead releases
>> Rumor of an AmRep singles comp from the man himself
>> Anyone have the mp3’s from Paul Sanders post Hammerhead groups moreRAM and Fly Republic? (I have some of the FR stuff)

Although the news has now become fairly well braodcast on other outlets I still wanted to take a moment to remember Larissa Strickland. Details are sketchy, but Strickland apparently OD’d on Xanax last month. I didn’t know you could do that, but whatever. Strickland was the lead singer in early 80’s Detroit band L-Seven, but is better known as the guitarist for the Laughing Hyenas. Her unique playing style helped define the Hyenas raging noise/blues post “whatever” sound over the course of a dozen years. Noisy and tortured, yet oddly beautiful. Lullaby and Goodnight, Larissa…

L-Seven - Clear Vision.mp3
Laughing Hyenas - Playground.mp3
Laughing Hyenas - Dedications to the One I Love.mp3
Laughing Hyenas - Candy.mp3
Laughing Hyenas - Everything I Want.mp3

Previously posted - L-Seven, “Public Animal #9″, and Covers - Stolen Tapes 92-94

Other tributes:
Metro Weekly page
Punk Vault (Lots of great comments)
Last Days of Man on Earth
Chunklet

Laughing Hyenas Myspace page

The middle act in the John Reis - Rick Froberg trilogy, Drive Like Jehu was a giant in the “post-hardcore” scene. Without a doubt Jehu were my favorite of the their collaborations. The band’s brief tenure was marked by two albums and this lone single. The albums are both great, but the 1992 7″ release by the Merge label is over the top. Reis’ explosive guitar shards meld with Froberg’s manic vocals to create two near perfect aural stabs (especially on “Bullet Train..”). Swami (run by Reis) has included these tracks on the 2002 reissue of the band’s second LP Yank Crime. Check it out:

Drive Like Jehu - Hand Over Fist.mp3
Drive Like Jehu - Bullet Train To Vegas.mp3

Notes:

This one seemed appropriate, what with it being Mardi Gras and everyone focusing on the New Orleans celebration post-Katrina. This was Scream’s final release while a functioning unit, released in 1990 on DSI. The session that spawned these tracks would be released in 1993 as the Fumble LP. Fumble was delicately termed “uneven” by the critics, a nice way of saying it’s ahorrible bore. “Mardi Gras” and “Land Torn Down” were far and away the best tracks on the album: noisy, melodic anthems (minus the metal edge that plagued the rest of the album). When this single appeared it single-handedly help remove the bad taste left by their previous “uneven” albums No More Censorship and Banging The Drum. That may be a rough assessment, but I loved these two tracks (and still do). I’ll still recommend their landmark album Still Screaming before this - shit, it’s s landmark album and still one of my favorites - but this may be the best Scream moment post 1985

Scream - Mardi Gras.mp3
Scream - Land Torn Down.mp3

Sure, Crawlpappy were from New York City, and yeah, the had a couple of releases on NYC hardcore label Blackout!, and OK, they had a split single with Sheer Terror, but they weren’t a bland, by-the-numbers NYHC outfit. Call it “post hardcore”, or “power-core” or whatever, the fact is that Crawlpappy rocked during their short existence. Here’s a spot-on description from Blackout:

The Pappys were a late 80′’s/ early 90′’s post-hardcore rock band, contemporaries of bands like Prong, Helmet, or White Zombie. They rocked a sound like pre-Nevermind era Sub- Pop band hopped up on Sabbath. Crawlpappy bridged the gap between punk, metal, and hardcore and played lots of CBGB matinee shows for the moshaholics as well as night shows to an older crowd. In the days of the straightedge heyday these boys were drinkin'’ beer, throwing punches, and slinging some of the best goddamn rock this side of the Bowery.

Anyhow, the group disbanded in the mid-90’s leaving an underappreciated body of work. Here’s a couple:

Crawlpappy - The Street is Mine.mp3
From their 1990 self-titled mini LP. 6 songs in total, all with a nice and satisfying guitar crunch courtesy of Rick Roy. Like all of their material, this one is out of print

Crawlpappy - Mind’s Eye.mp3
The “B” side to their 1991 single on Blackout. Chunky guitars, tough vocals, excellent drumming courtesy John Stanier of Helmet. “I’m dying inside but my outside is goddamn mean”

Crawlpappy - Jack Shit.mp3
This one is taken from a compilation that appeared with Squat or Rot zine. I’ve lost the zine and the info sheet, so I’m going on memory. The song title may be incorrect, but hey, if you have info then get in touch. A solid tune, just wait for that kick-in at the 2:00 mark, it’s a killer.

Stuff:
* Guitarist Rick Roy went on to front Gin Mill who had one fantastic release in 1994
* The entire Crawlpappy catalog is out of print, but savvy searchers should be able to turn up a cheapo copy of their 1992 CD Deluxe.
* The original drummer for Crawlpappy was also a member of Alice Donut. Listen to Donut’s tribute to the band

Does anyone long for the days when Henry Rollins used to be “dangerous”? Before he was an ubiquitous talking head on VH-1? Before he displayed his questionable acting talents? Before he had a special on Comedy Central? Before he became another bland “rockstar” releasing one limp LP after another? Anyone else, or is it just me? I’m specifically talking about that time frame between the end of Black Flag and the beginning of Henrypalooza, that stretch between ‘86 and ‘89 when Henry sounded completely unglued, the band was tight, and the material solid. While I did continue to enjoy some cuts from later LP’s, the Rollins Band reached a zenith with the release of 1988’s Life Time LP and 1989’s Do It follow up EP. (Repackaged into one disc minus the live tracks)

Rollins Band - Wreck-Age.mp3
Rollins Band - If You’re Alive.mp3
Life Time is up there in my list of all time albums, if only for personal reasons. While it doesn’t have the same visceral effect on me as it did when I was 16, it still stands in contrast the rest of the Rollins Band material. Later albums would be burdened by overly long songs, boring arrangements, and “musical maturity”. Life Time features concise, edgy songs, piledriving production, and hellacious vocals.

Rollins Band - Move Right In.mp3
1989’s Do It 12″ featured 3 studio songs recorded during the Life Time sessions and the best songs off of Hot Animal Machine and Life Time recorded live in 1987. The studio songs are all covers, the best being the 7+ minute version of the VU’s “Move Right In”, which is a nice work out that shows off the band’s chops. (the ‘band’ being bassist Andrew Weiss and drummer Sim Cain from Gone and guitarist Chris Haskett). Iron Butterfly on steroids, perhaps?

While I was formulating this post I happened to find this site (via datajockey)
Sad but true. Has anyone died yet from Rollins overload?

After all these years I’m still not sure if it is “Soul Side” or “Soulside”. Even the Dischord site has it spelled both ways. Ah to hell with it. Soulside were responsible for churning out some dark, moody “emo” core ( for lack of a better term ) in DC in the late 80’s. They were quite prolific in their short lifespan - 3 full lengths and 7″ in less than 3 years. Progessing from a straight up “posi” melodic HC sound on Less Deep Inside Keeps to a dark, noisy realm on Hot Bodi-Gram, Soulside’s albums all sound a bit different and unique. 3/4 of the band ( sans singer Bobby Sullivan ) went on to form 90’s indie band Girls Against Boys ( and eventually 2 of those went on to New Wet Kojak )

Soulside - Walking.mp3
from their 1987 album Less Deep Inside Keeps. 11 songs of typical “emo” hardcore - soaring guitars, melodic choruses, plaintive, positive vocals. Slow start that builds to a speedy conclusion. Sounds like a mix of GI, Gray Matter, and Verbal Assault. Well, maybe not. This was released on the long lost Sammich label, which chronicled some of the lower profile DC bands ( Shudder To Think, Swiz ). Sounds positively sunny in comparision to their later releases. Still holds up pretty good.

Soulside - Name in Mind.mp3
From 1988’s Trigger LP on Dischord. This album is slower, darker, less immediate than Less Deep… But it’s many ways more powerful due to it slow burn nature. More accomplished musically with longer and more complex song structures ( for the genre ). The lyrics are less by the numbers. A great mood album. This track was also on the DC comp State of The Union

Soulside - Pembroke.mp3
From their final LP, 1989’s Hot Bodi Gram. Career climax, or the post Trigger backslide? I still can’t decide and I’ve had this thing for 15 years. Definitely noiser and more chaotic than their previous work, oft times dark and depressing. Stylistically you can see the future GVSB direction on this one. Still enjoyable if you can get past the cryptic lyrics and monotone vocals. All in all, this pairs up nicely with Trigger on the CD Reissue Soon Come Happy

Some overlooked noisecore from NYC.

Gin Mill - Ex-Patriot.mp3
From their one and only release, 1994’s Patron. Gin Mill was a NYC trio featuring ex-members of Crawlpappy. Their sound was straight up noise rock, sounding like a blended version of their former band and, say, Unsane. I’m not sure whatever happened to these guys. Patron only contained 7 songs ( 6 + 1 unlisted track ) which only served to whet the appetite for more. Nothing more ever came, as far as I know. Listening to this is making me nostalgic for that great 90’s “noise” sound: Hammerhead, Jesus Lizard, Jehu, even Quicksand and Jawbox, just to name a few.