The pop album that really isn’t – it’s cleaner, sure, but is it that much cleaner, that much more commercial? Most of their catchiest songs are on their debut and this record just doesn’t feel anywhere near as “commercial” to me as its reputation suggests. I guess they’re a little less aggressive, and a little …
Tag: Post Hardcore
Vee Vee (1995) by Archers of Loaf
This is a band that likes instrumentals more than most loud rock bands of their era but, even for a band that likes instrumentals, I’d say it’s a bold move to lead off your second album (the album that is almost always “difficult” for bands of this era) with a track that takes over 2 …
Archers of Loaf Live at Lee’s Palace Wednesday January 11, 2023
Last night I saw Archers of Loaf on the tour for their first album in something like 24 years. Like many ’90s bands, I got into them backwards (listened to their final album first) and can’t say I know them as well as many of their contemporaries. (I listened to their last album, then their …
The Mars Volta Live at Massey Hall, Wednesday October 5, 2022
The Mars Volta have reunited, much like At the Drive In did five years ago. However, unlike that reunion, this is a very different version of the band, if there new album is anything to go by. So I was slightly worried about this show. But that proved to be unfounded.
Document #8 (2001) by pageninetynine
Screamo surprised the hell out of me when it happened. I wasn’t as into post hardcore then as I am now, and I didn’t realize how long this type of music had been bubbling under the surface. I found it incredible that music that, in some ways, was so off-putting, could be so commercially viable. …
Candy Apple Grey (1986) by Husker Du
This is the last of the classic (i.e. everything but their debut) Husker Du albums I’ve listened to. And, not coincidentally, it seems to be the least well regarded. (I regularly start with bands’ best regarded albums.)
Tonic Immobility (2021) by Tomahawk
I possibly anticipated this record too much, despite being sort of underwhelmed initially by Oddfellows. (And I’d say I’ve come to like it more than I did on my first listens, but I haven’t listened to it in forever.) There are things about this record that just aren’t completely working for me right now – …
In My Head (1985) by Black Flag
I guess there was a point in my life where I could have become a big Black Flag fan and become interested in the little stylistic changes they made throughout there career. But that point was a while ago and, instead, I found other things that suited my desire for noisy music.
Flip Your Wig (1985) by Hüsker Dü
Time can really change perception, especially when it comes to cultural artifacts. I have read online abbout how this is one of Hüsker’s great albums, perhaps even their best. But I don’t hear it. I don’t know if that’s because I haven’t sat down and listened to New Day Rising recently or whether it’s because …
Lost Somewhere Between the Earth and My Home (1995) by The Geraldine Fibbers
YES Where has this band been all my life? I read about them ages ago and I just took my sweet time getting to them. And for that, I’m sorry.
White Pony (2000) by Deftones
I really thought the Deftones were a Nu Metal band for most of my life. And, while it’s true, that some of their music veers into Nu Metal, they are far more musically diverse than their Nu Metal contemporaries.
Domestica (2000) by Cursive
Context is so important and music. And not just historical context – did a record have a particular influence on music? – but also personal context for the listener. If you hear a record at the right time and it speaks to you, it’s going to be a big deal for you, even if it …
Rites of Spring (1985)
This is some fast, noisy rock music that’s clearly too damn melodic to be properly considered hardcore, but arguably not musically diverse enough to properly be considered part of the emerging genre of post hardcore. (Consider Minutemen or Husker Du, who were both doing way weirder things musically at this very moment.)
Strap It On (1990) by Helmet
This is some aggressive and and aggressively loud but knotty post hardcore/alternative metal that should be sought out by anyone who is a fan of either genre, or who wishes hardcore bands were more accomplished musically or metal was weirder.
Ball-Hog or Tugboat? (1995) by Mike Watt
What do I do with this sprawling, all-star record? It’s as if Watt wanted to make a new Minuteman record with 17 different bands. The results are, uneven, to say the least.
Operation Paralysis (2010) by The Dillinger Escape Plan
Despite my familiarity with this band – I’ve listened to all of their Puciato albums now that I’ve heard this one, as well as their debut, and I’ve seen them live – I always have the same experience when I listen to one of their (Puciato) records: I like it less than the ones that …
Wrong (1989) by NoMeansNo
I had no idea what I was getting into with this band, assuming they were just yet another pop punk band. So I was very pleasantly surprised by this record, which really gets in my wheelhouse at times. But I can’t love the record, because, well, I’ve listened to too many of the bands that …
Emergency & I (1999) by The Dismemberment Plan
Now this is right up my alley: indie rock that veers into post hardcore on occasion and also gets mathy.
Double Nickels on the Dime (1984)
The Minutemen’s magnum opus is really a magnum opus, coming in at a fairly ridiculous 45 tracks in 81 minutes. (That runtime is longer than Zen Arcade by over 10 minutes…) The band basically admits they included virtually everything they had, dubbing the final side “Chaff”. This is supposed to be a record by a …
Yank Crime (1994) by Drive Like Jehu
This is one of those bands who put out very little music but you hear a lot about. There’s always a danger with these bands that expectations will get in the way. Fortunately for me, I had totally forgotten about them when I got around to listening to this record. (As usual, I have somehow …
Rusty (1994) by Rodan
Whether or not you have read the comparisons, it’s pretty much impossible to listen to this record without thinking about Slint if you have ever heard Spiderland. Because these guys have heard Spiderland, and they want you to know that they liked it. They liked it a lot.
My War (1984) by Black Flag
This record has a very mixed reputation, with some people viewing it as a daring left-turn, and a major step in the evolution of a genre Black Flag usually had nothing to do with, and far more people seeing it as a utter betrayal of Blag Flag’s sound. I tend to think that the most …
How It Feels to Be Something On (1998) by Sunny Day Real Estate
Apparently these guys were one of the original Midwest Emo bands. I did not know that; really I knew nothing at all about them before listening to this record.
Two Nuns and a Pack Mule (1988) by Rapeman
Is it possible to talk about this band without talking about their name? Let’s try.
In on the Kill Taker (1993)
This record makes the fifth Fugazi record I’ve heard and I’ve finally figured out that I like this period the best. I find their earliest records to be a little less musically interesting than this and Red Medicine. And though it’s been a very long time since I heard The Argument, I didn’t enjoy that …
Leitmotif (1998) by dredg
Apparently these guys were Nu Metal once upon a time. You can sometimes hear that in the vocals – without actually knowing anything about Linkin Park, I’d say I hear a similarity in the way this guy sings – but on the whole the idea that this was a Nu Metal band on their EPs …
Today’s Active Lifestyles (1993) by Polvo
Imagine if Sonic Youth played Pavement-style indie rock (albeit longer songs), but more of a post-hardcore version of Pavement without their idiosyncrasies, you may get some vague idea of what Polvo sounds like. RYM lists them as a Math Rock band and frankly that mystifies me, even in the context of the early 1990s, but …
Hootenanny (1983) by The Replacements
This is a bizarre, jokey mess of a record, as much of a transition record (in hindsight) as any record I’ve heard by an American band.
On the Mouth (1993) by Superchunk
By reputation, I always thought No Pocky for Kitty was the Superchunk album to listen to. Then I listened to it and, though I appreciated why people like it, I didn’t love. I see the RYM rating is higher for this one. I think I know why. I mean, maybe I know why.
What Makes a Man Start Fires? (1983) by Minutemen
This is such a unique take on hardcore – if you can even call it hardcore, since it’s hardly loud enough or musically violent enough to qualify. It’s like something else. I see the descriptor “post punk” thrown around, which might fit, though Minutemen sound absolutely nothing like the British post punk bands (or the …