Farady: Slow the Surroundings

Farady was a short-lived band from the DC-area that I had the fortunate opportunity to play with and get to know. They fizzled out just after finishing the recording of this never released EP. One of their members went on to play drums for the Suicide Squeeze band, Metal Hearts for a bit. Their sound is very much like "We Have the Facts" era Death Cab with lots of weaving guitar lines. The best part about this band for me though are the bass lines. Extremely unique and always complementing the guitar parts very well. Check them out.

Listen Here

Myspace

The Butternut Quartet - Self/Titled

This will probably be the most obscure band I will post. Virtually unknown unless you were in the Savannah, GA area in the late 90's/early 00's. They all met at Savannah College of Art and Design and went through many changes before becoming the band they ended up as. Taking a lot of influences from bands like No Knife and Mock Orange, jazzed it up a little, and mixed it with a ton of other influences. As you'll be able to tell, their influences were definitely from all over the place. Some songs instrumental, some have vocals. Sorry I don't have the song names, I think I got a burned copy of this in 2001.
THE JAMS: song 4, 6, 8, 10-12.
Download Here.
Myspace

Hightide Hotel: Porch Luck EP

Hightide Hotel is a band made up of members of Street Smart Cyclist, Hollows, and Western Survival. Their frantic tempos and fill heavy drum beats remind me a lot SSC. They also have some pretty cool quasi-youthcrew, sing along parts which makes me think seeing this band would be a pretty stellar time. The EP itself is a little shakey at times. The drum parts can sometimes miss a hit here and there, and the EP on a whole could use a proper mixing job (vocals too prominent), but it is a great start for a new band. And plus, who can complain when they offer it for free on their myspace? They have a split 7" coming out with By Surprise coming out soon. Looking forward to hearing what these dudes come up with next!

Listen Here
Myspace

Them, Roaring Twenties: Future Sandwich

Holy crap this band...I played with them at a house show maybe a year or so ago and was completely blown away. You can watch a large chunk of their set from that show here. Think fast, mathy noodles mixed with Baltimore-ish hyper neon craziness. I'm not sure how active they are now, but I'd gladly bring this Chicago band back east anytime.

Listen Here
Myspace

Pirouette: Thinking In Subtitles

I can't tell you much about this band other than the fact that they are from Philadelphia (who isn't these days?) and have some totally CRUCIAL jams. Stylistically, think somewhere between Get Up Kids catchy pop punk mixed with your standard tappy stuff. Solid, but lo-fi production gives this stuff more charm. I am definitely hoping/looking to hear more from this band in the near future.

Listen Here
Myspace

The Appleseed Cast - Sagarmatha

Sorry to post twice in one day, but it's the new Appleseed Cast. 'Nuff said.

Pre-order it here.
Download here.

Castevet - I Know What A Lion Is

I cannot stop listening to this demo. They're a newer band from Chicago with members of Oceans and Bongripper. People have been calling them a mix of American Football, Mineral, and Cap'n Jazz, mixed with grizzly beardo vocals. Seriously, this shit is so good. Just download it now.

Listen Here
Myspace

Native - We Delete; Erase

Native is yet another post-hardcore/emo band based out of the Midwest. Unlike many of the Kinsella-worshipers in the area, Native seem to have a strong DC influence. Something about this is vaguely Q and not U, but I can't quite put my finger on it. The vocals can get a little grating after awhile but it's definitely a solid EP. I missed them when they came through town but I definitely won't if they ever hit the east coast again. Looking forward to what this band does in the future.


Listen Here
Myspace

Mirror - On, Then, In

Mirror - On, Then, In

Super fun, catchy, mathy instrumental stuff from Japan. Like pele and ghosts and vodka mixed together with maybe some faraquet stuck in there too. I suck at writing descriptions so just download it, or at least check out their myspace.

Colossal - Welcome The Problems

For my first post for this blog, I'll post what I feel is the epitome of "twinkly shit". This was their first, and only, full length release and is definitely their best material. Their instruments sound like if early Kinsella family bands listened to more "math rock" and kept it really upbeat, complete with trumpets and all! The vocals are definitely different than most bands in this genre, but that only adds to the overall greatness of this band. Lots of jangly chords and twinkly riffs in this one! They also released an EP prior to this and were on several compilations. Unfortunately, they're currently on hiatus, but I really hope to see more from them in the future.

Buy Their Records Here and Here
Download Here

p.s. - I just saw that their LP is only $4 from Grey Flight Records, which is really a steal!