It's well-past midnight. Officially Tuesday morning. Experiencing a rare bout of insomnia on a work night, which isn't ideal. Figured I'd post some tracks. Enjoy. ____________________________ Meg Baird:  "Star Hill Song" (from Furling releasing 1/27/23 by Drag City ) Courtesy of Drag City. Knife The Symphony:  "Wildling I / Islands" (from All The Wrong Turns Taken To Get Here releasing 1/2/23 by Phratry Records ) All The Wrong Turns Taken To Get Here by Knife The Symphony No Base Trio: "ST [7]" (from NBT II releasing 10/15/22)   Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

To whom it may interest,  A few announcements for fans of the box: Engine Kid Everything Left Inside Southern Lord Released: 6.12.21 (RSD 2021-Drop 1 — Yes, this is late) Appreciators of sunn O))) and Goatsnake know Greg Anderson. Prior to the release of their new 6-LP box set, Everything Left Inside , I'm embarrassed to admit that I had no idea about Engine Kid , a Seattle-based post-hardcore trio whose initial make-up had been composed of Anderson (vocals/guitar), Chris Vandebrooke (drummer) and Art Behrman (bassist). From the promo selections that I've been able to listen through, Engine Kid's Everything Left Inside fits nicely alongside the audibly distraught and naturally abrasive sounds of Unwound, and would've been an obsession of mine during their days of activity had I been aware of them.   Treated for now as a Record Store Day release, which occurred 6/12, a later version of the box set meant for international distribution will be issued at a later date.  In t...

I was in Ocean City, New Jersey with a friend, sitting outside on a deck with a boombox resting between us. It was 1993. On this particular evening, I had something new that I wanted to pop into the tape deck I’d picked up earlier at the Surf Mall, a boardwalk superstore packed with clothing, posters, and other youth-marketed, alterna-junk. It was a cassette of Fugazi ’s latest release, In On The Kill Taker . I didn’t really know what to expect, but I was eager to hear it. In the song “Facet Squared,” frets are gently tapped, a couple sharp notes are plucked, a relatively understated rhythm gains traction and the sounds gradually build. And then all you hear are guitars cycling through a couple of glorious phrases as all other elements go silent. I felt elated when those riffs peaked, as if triumph had beset my ears, offering assurances that I’d found something for me, something that was going to be important to me for the rest of my life. I’m admittedly romanticizing this ex...

Channels released a new two-song single on Inauguration Day called "Backpfeifengesicht" b/w "Airstrip One", which timely documents the band's thoughts on the new commander-in-chief and the problems of xenophobia.  If you need some idea as to how the band aligns politically, "backpfeifengesicht" roughly translates to "a face in search of a lead pipe."   So, that should clear up any questions. You can give it a listen below.  The single can purchased at Dischord Records .  If you like what you hear, please support the band.   "Backpfeifengesicht" b/w "Airstrip One" by Channels Found at Bandcamp Daily . Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

"Yes I know this is politically correct But it comes to you spiritually direct An attempt to thoughtfully affect Your way of thinking That is if you believe in race Or that you were born in the right time or place This is a thought about face Your way of thinking Your way of... And the same could be said For all the people lying dead For them to die was a distraction And what they found out a bit too late Got covered up with all that hate And now its nothing but reaction If you have to carry a gun To keep your fragile seat at number one This is a bullet you can't outrun Your way of thinking So wait and see it's coming round Conscripted through the lost and found And still we find so tightly wound Your way of thinking Your way of... And the same could be said For all the people lying dead For them to die was a distraction And what they found out a bit too late Got covered up with all that hate And now it's nothing but reaction Action, Reaction, Action, Reaction." ...

E : "Great Light"  (via Thrill Jockey Records /YouTube) Uniform : "The Killing Of America" (via Rarely Unable/ Sacred Bones /Soundcloud) Droughts : "Welcome Back" ( Skeletal Lightning / Invisible Oranges /YouTube) Dan Deacon : "Opal Toad Segement" from the upcoming compilation, I Said No Doctors! (via Us-Them Group/ Dymaxion Groove / Stereogum /Soundcloud) Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Polonium Seraphim Controlled Burn Records Released: 4.8.16 If you’ve ever listened to the industrialized post-hardcore of The Austerity Program and thought to yourself, “Huh… I can get into this,” Polonium was the initial creative outlet for AP bassist Thad Calabrese and guitarist/vocalist Justin Foley , the mid-90s starting point. The album is called Seraphim and it rests nicely alongside much of what influenced its creation, Calabrese and Foley consciously adding to and subtracting from the Amphetamine Reptile/Touch and Go idiom in order to come up with what you’ll hear. It’s difficult not to cite either Godflesh or Big Black when listening to the contents of Seraphim , its generous Melvins -caliber sonic muck working so heavily within the aforementioned and, perhaps, accidentally perfect construct of “pigfuck” and/or post-hardcore.  The factorial blasts of drum sound and eventual sludge-laden crawl of "Bastard" set a precedent in some ways for the...

Young Knives Something Awful EP Gadzöök Released: 4.18.15 (physical); 5.18.15 (digital) "Something Awful" is a track from the Young Knives ' 2013 full-length Sick Octave , the band's crowd-funded LP that marked a change in the band's creative trajectory and took the obligatory "art" and "post-" prefixes very seriously.  As an expansion of the title track, Young Knives 's Something Awful is a decent companion to the LP, three additional tracks inspired by something   (fill in the blank)  . Building off the mutant swing and playful math-harmonic of the title track, "Something Sweet" brings some Wire -stride with sections of guitar generated shriek.  Vocally, the track resembles some strange pairing of Michael Crawford and Scott Walker , theatrical off-rhythm declarations of "I CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF YOUR SWEETNESS!!!" that almost crosses into spoken word.  Spoken vocals, though, do occupy "Something Tragi...

Fugazi First Demo Dischord Records Released: 11.18.14 Rollins Band Life Time 2.13.61/Dischord Records Reissued: 11.18.14 Between The Monkees and hair metal, you could find the 10 year-old me reconciling my want of connection to my father's generation and record collection while attempting to find my own way in the modernity of 1987. This was the year I saw my second concert, Def Leppard at The Spectrum. It was school night and I was a small child caught up in a floating miasma of Aqua Net, pheromone and secondhand smoke. I remember being draped in an oversized concert t-shirt while waiting in line to use the bathroom and being asked if I was snorting lines by some curly-haired Leppard head with an elastic headband. I also remember being convinced that guitarist Phil Collen had waved to me before the band exited the stage and feeling elated, special almost. I told everyone at school the following day, my exhausted and overwhelmed frame ready to fall over on my de...

It was announced months ago that Dischord Recors would be releasing Fugazi 's First Demo , the earliest recordings of tracks that would later comprise the band's eponymous debut EP, the 3 Songs EP and Repeater .  Though never officially released, most of these tracks were recorded onto cassette and distributed at shows.  First Demo will include "Turn Off Your Guns," which had been left off the original cassette. (Cover photo by Andy Perseponko) Dischord has been issuing a lot of demo releases over the last few years, having issued S.O.A. 's First Demo 12/29/80 earlier this year, Rites Of Spring 's Six Song Demo in 2012, Faith 's Subject To Change plus First Demo and Void 's Sessions 1981-83 which were both released in 2011 and Complete Session, Nov '81 by Artificial Peace .  Minor Threat 's First Demo Tape was released in 2003.   With this kind of legacy, there's obviously a wealth of unreleased material to delve into and pu...

Sore Saints Generous Lover 10" Dullest Records Released: 3.4.14 Sore Saints seem in tune with much of the noise/punk revitalization that's giving Canada some DIY cred, a scene rife with names like METZ , HSY , Odonis Odonis and White Lung , bands that deliver genuine and aggressive jolts of "looking back" post-hardcore, punk and post-punk that grant the music a much-needed second wind as opposed to a simple paint-by-numbers rehash.  The Brooklyn/Philadelphia four-piece delivered a 10" four-song EP called Generous Lover earlier this year and it's the type of sans bullshit rock culled from the emotionally brimming depths of late 80s/early 90s alt-rock that relies as much on its lyrical distress as it does the angst-riddled tone emanating from those blessed guitars. In some ways a sludge informed interpretation of Fugazi and Hüsker Dü , "Anhedonic" rattles till its stride is met, vocalist Nick Guidott working in multi-tracked growls as ...

On June 3rd, the wonderful people at Sargent House will be doing us all a solid and a half by releasing an excellent new split 12" from Helms Alee and Young Widows .  I accessed the stream earlier today and mentally added yet another "MUST OWN" to the wishlist, along with Helms Alee's full-length, Sleepwalking Sailors , which came out in February.   You can listen to the release at Noisey or, since you're already here, I've embedded the Soundcloud link below.  All info and links were provided by Us/Them Group.  Helms Alee & Young Widows split 12" streaming in full via Noisey Listen to Helms Alee / Young Widows HERE . Seattle trio Helms Alee wrapped up their tour with Young Widows this past weekend, and the split 12" exclusively available at shows will soon be available in stores and by download on June 3rd. To preview the release, Noisey is sharing a full stream to hear/share HERE . Helms Alee make their way back home with a ...

A couple more acquisitions from my last record store treks of 2013... Siren Records Doylestown, PA Deathfix s/t Dischord Records Released: 2013 Still trying to wrap my head around this one.  Upon first listen of the self-titled debut of Deathfix , (featuring members of Fugazi , French Toast and Medications ), I felt like I was listening to an amalgamation of Big Star and some Double Nickles Minutemen , which I initially found interesting (especially when I heard the song "Hospital" and there's something very rhythmically Mike Watt about "Playboy").  Now, I sort of feel like I'm listening to post-hardcore go through its Don Henley phase.  Deathfix has some good moments to it, though.  I really like "Low Lying Dreams," which sounds like it could've been pulled directly from any Mark Lanegan album post- Bubblegum . "Dali's House," though silly and a little overlong, has a groove that hangs out in your head long afte...

The Coathangers : "Adderall" (via Enabler PR/ NOISEY ) Tim Hecker : "Black Refraction" (via Rarely Unable) Nonagon : "The Pfister" (via Controlled Burn Records)   Post-Ape : "Limbs in the Dark" (via Sure Shot PR) Cleanteeth : " Sexual Mustache " (via Earsplit PR/ eMusic ) Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Wax Idols: "When It Happens" (via The Fader ) Wampire: "Spirit Forest" (via The Fader ) Odonis Odonis: "Better" (via The Fader ) Just a note: Odonis Odonis will be touring in support of METZ , who are also contributing to today's "Singles" roundup with a new video for the single, "Wasted." METZ: "Wasted" (via Stereogum ) METZ tour dates were provided by Sub Pop: March 5 - Gothenburg, SWE - Pustervik March 6 - Oslo, NOR - Blaa March 8 - Stockholm, SWE - Debaser March 8 - Malmo, SWE - Debaser March 9 - Stockholm, SWE - Svenaska Musikklubben March 10 - Zeewolde, HOL - Where the Wild Things Are Festival March 11 - Brussels, BEL - AB Club March 12 - Hasselt, BEL - Muziekodroom March 14 - Austin, TX - Brooklyn Vegan Party @ Stage on Sixth March 15 - Austin, TX - Stereogum/Hype Machine @ Hype Hotel (3:00 pm) March 15 - Austin, TX - Another Planet Entertainment Party @ Red Eyed Fly (5:00 pm) M...

Lorelei : "Hole Punch" (video provided by Force Field PR) Lorelei - Hole Punch from Slumberland Records on Vimeo . Tricky : "Nothing's Changed" (via Life Or Death PR & Management) Melody's Echo Chamber : "Crystallized" (video provided by Noisey) David Bowie : "The Stars (Are Out Tonight)" (Unsuitable for the cubicle!) Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

The Evens The Odds Dischord Records Released: 11.20.12 No Ripcord review Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

The Evens The Odds Dischord Records Released: 11.20.12 I've gotten through maybe two songs so far and I can't begin to explain how excited I am about this release.  The band's last album, Get Evens , was reviewed in 2006.  Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Dischord Records will be releasing Six Song Demo by Rites of Spring on October 22nd.  All info comes courtesy of Rarely Unable. Rites of Spring were among the most important and beloved bands to emerge from the DC underground music scene in the mid-80s. Formed by Guy Picciotto (vocals/guitar), Mike Fellows (bass), Brendan Canty (drums), and Eddie Janney (guitar) in 1984, the quartet released a self-titled LP and a 7” single before disbanding in 1986. They were central to what came to be known as 'Revolution Summer', a period of redefinition and creative burst from the DC scene in 1985. Before that – before they even played a show -- the band recorded a six-song demo tape at Inner Ear with Don Zientara and Ian MacKaye . After the dissolution of their previous band, Insurrection , in 1983, Canty, Picciotto, and Fellows joined with Faith guitarist Eddie Janney and began writing new songs. Unfortunately, just as they became ready to play out, Fellows announced plans ...

Grass Is Green Ronson Exploding In Sound Records Released: 3.1.12 I've been listening to Ronson , the third album from Boston post-punk/post-hardcore band, Grass Is Green , on and off since its release.  Many times I've sat listening to it and attempted to perfectly distill my reasons for liking it, which hasn't been easy.  Speaking objectively, Grass Is Green could serve as the functioning successor to Disc 2 of Dischord Records' 20 Years of Dischord compilation, their own sound the perfect culmination of many of the bands featured on that disc, namely Fugazi , Faraquet , Branch Manager , Smart Went Crazy , Jawbox and Lungfish .  Ronson captures many of the elements that shaped and informed early pre-Alternative 90s America, the sort of off-kilter rock sounds that epitomized the shift from hardcore to indie rock.  The combined efforts of guitarist/vocalist Andy Chervenak , guitarist Devin McKnight , bassist Michael Thomas and drummer Jesse Weiss , despite...