AsleepInTheBack
Ben
Staff

Reviews 98
Soundoffs 73
News Articles 1
Band Edits + Tags 34
Album Edits 58

Album Ratings 2430
Objectivity 79%

Last Active 01-01-70 12:00 am
Joined 01-01-70

Review Comments 10,104

 Lists
04.05.24 sleeplog24(4)03.19.24 Headphones? Headphones!!! ♦
03.03.24 sleeplog24(3)02.01.24 sleeplog24(2)
01.18.24 Rating Art Is Dumb01.14.24 Good Music Books?
01.02.24 sleeplog24(1)12.30.23 a sleepy 2023 ♦
11.26.23 rec me: YOU!!! (December 2023: Final Ch ♦10.31.23 REC ME: pOst-hardcOre (November 2023: C ♦
10.01.23 REC ME: WEED šŸ„¦ (October 2023: Chapte ♦09.09.23 CUM on REC me NOISE (September 2023: Ch ♦
07.30.23 REC ME: experiMENTAL (August 2023: Chap ♦07.02.23 FUNK ME: rec (July 2023: Chapter 7) ♦
06.01.23 REC ME: FOLK (June 2023: Chapter 6) ♦05.01.23 JohnnyoftheWell recs me (May 2023: Chap ♦
03.31.23 REC ME: BLACK METAL ā€  (April 2023: Ch ♦02.28.23 REC ME: [H I P H O P] (March 2023 -:- C ♦
More »

REC ME: pOst-hardcOre (November 2023: Chapter 11)

Hi. My name is Ben. I know nothing about post-hardcore music. To educate me, pls rec albums. I will listen to 1 album a day in November 2023. I will then describe the album that I have heard in this list. Kind regards, Ben
1Polvo
Today's Active Lifestyles

1st November 2023 [mort]

WHY AM I DOING THIS LIST?! Good question. Uh. Mort kindly pointed out the "post-hardcore" shaped hole between the emo, hardcore and metalcore on my pie chart and I figured I should probably fill it. I have avoided the genre, idk why, maybe the its vagueness as genre has confused me (post- is irksome as a descriptor), or that it doesn't seem to share that much in philosophy as traditional hardcore mixes up my expectations, idk idk idk. EXCUSES EXCUSES lets listen to music!!

For a 40 min music album of sounds there is so much going on here jeez. Messy noisy math rock shenanigans not helping me delineate where post-hardcore starts and ends but does it matter when it uh bangs? The tangled, oscillating riffs on the opening two tracks are insane, closing three are v cool too, whole thing is nice but difficult to wrap noggin around in 3 listens in one day. Stinger took a few listens to get but is mega once clickin', though not quite on board with Tilebreaker and Shiska yet. Time Isnt On My Side easy highlight. Feels like a rusty truck shuddering down pothole coated road nuts and bolts flying off fluid all over the place crumbling to shit but nonetheless making it home after all.

Album rating: [3.7] for now im counting on this as a grower

Update (03.11.2023): With familiarity comes the goodness and the enjoyment (whoo). Sure Shot makes more sense, as does the relative subtlety of Tilebreaker c.f. the bombast of some of the more direct cuts (guitar freakouts near backend of Lazy Comet and front end of Action Vs. Vibe are both goated). Worked surprisingly well as a shower album blared out of phone speakers (mort dont hate me). [4]
2Unwound
New Plastic Ideas

2nd November 2023 [mort]

My views on this really havenā€™t solidified into anything cogent over the 4 spins Iā€™ve had with it today, save that it feels like a very thoughtfully composed slab of rock mukaz . Love the bass and drum work, lovely organic production helps both. Album structure is weeeirrrdd but cool(!) i.e. the way itā€™s thicc and straightforward to start wearing hardcore influences on sleeves and then gets more subdued, denser, tunes up atmosphere; I prefer the latter to the former (I already heart Leaves, so hardly surprising). Hexenzsene is where it starts to get properly interesting. Abstraktions to Usual Dosage = current fave stretch. HOWEVeR!!! iā€™m not finding much of anything thatā€™s easy to grab hold of = struggling to connect = not gonna be dumb dumb enough to rate and run in one day will instead let this stew over the next few days. [tbc]

Update (03.11.23): I don't think I've given a record this many spins before rating on the entire list series we are on eight (8) [VIII] spins, and, (a) my relative lack of interest in the first two tracks has continued but (b) my love for the rest of the tracks has grown. A very holistic, satisfying album experience, yet one with loads of delicious little individual moments: when the synths start on Abstraktions = surreal; the, presumably, never ending jam at the end of All Souls Day; into the harrowing opening melody on Usual Dosage, capped of with w-e-i-r-d fucking bass twangs to close; into unexpected respite/bliss at close of the groaning Arboretum, that tumbles into Fiction Friction, before getting blown to heck in dissonance and fuzz; fin. Maybe it's the complex, second tier feelings/emotions that this seemingly seeks to evoke? This isn't anger or sadness, it's disappointment / longing / sentiment / regret. It's alienating, but beguiling. Slightly worried for time if all recs require this level of unpacking, but! [4]

Edit: lol plot twist having said ALL OF THAT, i still find I'm struggling to connect with this on a level beyond appreciation. I think this is cool in an arms length way; it has not stabbed knife through my chest (yet). After another listen (jesus): [3.7].
3Brainiac
Hissing Prigs in Static Couture

3rd November 2023 [mort]

Phew this is a breath of fresh FUN after the distraught bleak deth of 2. Groove on PU55YFOOT1Nā€™ and V1NC3NT = eV3ryth!nG. Fruit loop silly silly (but FUN!) vocals that can easily distract from just how great the bass/drum/skreeskreeguitar combo is. If WEEN made post-hardcore. Mildly grating, but mostly good boogies. [3.5]
4Hot Cross
Cryonics

4th November 2023 [mort]

Meaty frantic chonk. Off Minor meets idk Fall of Troy and idk Botch (and maybe a bit of Dangers in the harsh vox?). Circle takes the square with the triple threat screm, but less annoying. Theyā€™re the reference points I have uhhhh do I like it uhhhh mostly when it slows the fuck down. Enjoying the mellow-er moments from mid point onwards more than the fractal moshingā€™, but tbf the youthful exuberance of the speedyspeedygofast bits are also fun. Wouldnā€™t mind a bit more distortion/filth/skronk but itā€™s mathy and earnest and cool so šŸ‘ [3.5]
5Q and Not U
No Kill No Beep Beep

5th November 2023 [mort]

Con recā€™d me this about 6 years ago. I strongly disliked it then, and I still kinda dislike it now. Not huge on the vox, the shrill///dissonant guitars and the general aesthetic. The production is crisp, yet itā€™s still feels very cluttered to my ears, idk what Iā€™m meant to be paying attention to in any given moment, disorienting but not in the pleasant way. In terms of sheer musicianship, I do tip my hat, but otherwise i I just do not think this one is for me. [2.5] willing to be proven wrong but I have a headache now
6Breach
Venom

6th November 2023 [Avagantamos]

Drastic improvement on the production front vs. Itā€™s Me God (which I already love) makes this an easy slam dunk. Feels as much aligned with sludgy metalcore as it does post-hardcore, though I know Mars has made the case for this being pioneering post-metalcore, so, uh, lots of genre labels to argue about ig. The nuts: it slaps. The bolts: there is nuance between said slapping. More of an unmitigated mosh fest than their previous album, but that suits me just fine. [3.7]
7Quicksand
Slip

7th November 2023 [Sharenge]

I think if I reconfigured my internal preconception of "post-hardcore" as interesting rock music rather than hardcore without spin kicks that'd probably be helpful. Anyway...

This is cool! Thicc hard (alt) rock / grudge adjacent tings. Half way through the opener it briefly becomes a Nirvana record before looping back to Soundgarden before doing its own thing aka fuzz plus groove plus melody plus whhHHHOooOOOO(s). Finds a strong sweet spot between the caveman chugging of 6 and onion-y songwriting/structures of 2. Immaculate production for how messy the bathroom is (bass/drum tone is gonna become a recurring strong theme of this list me thinks).

Idk maybe I am slowly figuring this out its like turning a square upside down and realising it was a triangle all along you were just drunk. The moment the distortion and harmonics on the closing two tracks got kinda teary eyed was a cool one. Also the reverse Easter egg of Omission "we have more sense than lies" being like HEY THATS THAT SONG THAT DANGERS DID IN 2006 OH WAIT THAT'S LATER IN THE SPACETIMECONTINUUM was a cool moment also. [3.7]
8Thrice
Beggars

8th November 2023 [bighubba]

That this technically falls under the same genre umbrella as the previous LPs got me even more confused as to where the boundaries lie this is the opposite of the intention of this list help me. Just how unashamedly melodic this is do be making me smile - Tom Yorke meets idk Bono vocal delivery at points is string cheese but also just kinda lovely with the reserved, undistorted soundscapes of niceness. Thoughtful, though. Not sure how to rate as it sticks out with sore thumb qualities relative to the rest of these recs, but I am very enjoying. [tbc]

Edit: actually I know exactly how I feel about this: hugs! Exactly the kinda comfort blanket Iā€™ve been needing after months outside of my comfort zone. Singalongable, earnest, obvious and friendly but kinda timeless sounding in that big charismatic uncomplicated vocal immaculacy. [4]
9Finch
Say Hello to Sunshine

9th November 2023 [Zac124]

Proper Burnout OST vibes oozing from these mid-00s thumpers yeeeeeet! Songwriting an arm and a leg above my understanding of this era of screm-along-able YOUNG ADULT rock TUNES - prog would be a stretch, but thereā€™s some cool lateral thinking among these cuts. Love how it occasionally just goes full blown Dillinger (The Casketā€¦) and fucking weird Mr Bungle-y moments (Dreamsā€¦) as and when suits, and obligatory vampire song was also cute. Biggest grower in a long time going from mid 2.5 to [3.5] after a couple of jams; letā€™s see how she sits after a few more (the melodies are growing oh lord)
10Lync
These Are Not Fall Colors

10th November 2023 [MoM]

Iā€™m not huge on this Sunny Day Real Estate adjacent lane of sadness, and the funnelling through the fuzz of post-hardcore appears not to have made a substantial difference to the equation. Iā€™m also not depressed at this present moment. [2.5] willing to change opinion upon obtaining the sadness

Update (09.11.23 /// the morning after): Actually quite a fitting hangover record lol slacker vibes and taste of regret on tonsils doing alot for me than when stumbling home in dark and kinda dizzy. [3]
11No Knife
Fire In The City Of Automatons

11th November 2023 [ashcrash9]

Cute lil' sliver of oddball midwestern cake yum. Agreed w/ fog's write up - very tasteful and reserved and modest in its amalgam of slow, mathy emo/post-ness and indie rock sensibilities; decidedly un-OTT. Closer is up there with Abstraktions for captivating """other""" guitar instrumentals; other tunes have a bright f-tuning bloc party pep; others soak in low key Burnout OST vibes (maybe its the occasionally good charlotte-esque vox); lots of cool and well choreographed / considered moments, the synths and quiet lead work near the end of Secret Handshake, unexpectedly beefy Heavy Weather (bASS!!!), entirely indescribable lick on Angel Bomb, eerie longing a la The Spy, drama of Under the Moon, soulful soft sing song Mission Control. Just really fucking good songwriting. Surprising dark horse. [3.7]
12Drive Like Jehu
Yank Crime

12th November 2023 [sniff]

Holy fucking shit. Houston, we have the sauce.

Finds that magical, impossible sweet spot between easy gargantuan grooves+melody and pure fucking carnage. Immense guitar tone, love the harmonics and feedback and skronk, topped with an insane rhythmic backbone, topped with a charismatic madman of a vocalist, topped with great album pacing and chunky monkey songstructures, topped with weird fucking riffs that ooze character and thoughtfulness but still kick the shit out of you; and it was released in 1994 are you kidding me. The shape of punk to come before The Shape of Punk to Come. Getting notes of Botch and Rites or Spring too. So good. [4.3]

Actually fuck it [4.5] insane
13NoMeansNo
Wrong

13th November 2023 [sloth (being wrong) sam]

The healthy thrum of bass. The skronking skree of riff. Absurd. [4.3] now articulation later

Edit: phew okay composure after a second listen and day at work - this is the SHIT almost earns its rating solely based on The Tower and funky math fury of the follow up track (literally perfect songs I am not kidding). Getting early The Stranglersā€™ vibes from the unhinged box of frogs vox, perhaps precursor to a bunch of the crazies in the 90s (Bungle?), but surprisingly undated, holds up in terms of heft and swag. Idk the jazzy lateral thinking and bonkers rhythm work here is beguiling and THICC, with occasional nods to thrash and their hulking hardcore roots (Bad Brains-y) and then weird beautiful melodic curveballs (THE END OF ALL THINGS WHAT THE ACTUAL FuCk) all in all Iā€™m in love probably underrating but I feel like Iā€™m getting overly worked up will reassess with a non-HYPEDTOHECK state of brain

Update (12.11.23): Ridiculous proto-RATM groovin', endlessly charming, not a filler track in sight, I am shook [4.5]
14State Faults
Desolate Peaks

14th November 2023 [hawks]

Oof after the thicc and near flawless romps of 12 and 13 this shrill shrapnel bomb of sadness what not quite what I had in mind. Initial impressions, having not dug into the lyrics, are okay. Vocal delivery is insane in both a good and bad sense: v emotion and v exhausting. Instrumental backdrop feels v messy and incoherent rn. I've tried this lane of the genre before and similarly not been enamoured (is this not more skramz than anything else?). First impressions [3] will be back later.
15Husker Du
Zen Arcade

15th November 2023 [TIM]

Is this like proto-post-hardcore but also not as thatā€™d just be punk and this isnā€™t just punk. Yā€™all all making all of my 5s seem foolish I hecking love this as well shitdamn, chiefly due to how insanely well they sneak melody and trad rock flamboyance in with the dissonance. Production is perfect, real time but beefy but also airy and therefore good, occasionally psych-adjacent, another non-dated oldie this cannot be from 1984 I will not acknowledge this. Also enjoying it structurally - each of the 4 sides feels like itā€™s own short story of carnage and boogies. I could listen to the drum fills and feedback on the closer forever [4.3] shut up [4.5] I have no self control
16Tragic Mulatto
Locos Por El Sexo

16th November 2023 [ars]

Gosh they sure know how to shove a raunchy bass line or bouncy brass wiggle where is has no place being, donā€™t they? But it fucking works donā€™t you know?! Sticky (in bed), sweaty (in bed), saucy (in bed): it does many things (in bed) and is sexy with a capital P (for penis) throughout all. Jiggles with smut and filth. Charismatic/disgusting vox. Lyrics require a masters degree in BDSM to process (luckily my dis was on R v Brown so Iā€™m halfway there). Someoneā€™s review is amazing and more seductive than mine. Itā€™s the melody (again!!!) that catches me off-guard, the way they sneak a touch of niceness and danceablity amidst the fuzz and screm. FU(CK)(N) FU(N)(CK). [3.5]
17Treepeople
Guilt Regret Embarrassment

17th November 2023 [chilli man]

Was about to write this off immediately like a judgemental numpty until the scuzzy solo on the opener cracked open the earth and the sun and the stars AND THEN IT JUST KEEPS GOING!!!! Each song feels like itā€™s trying to top the last for cool as fuck riff or bass groove, as it oscillates between pre-Nirvana grunge, snotty alt rock and straight-to-the-jugular punk. Fundamentally, again, it earns its stripes for the smile-inducing catchiness and cheeky hooks that it sneaks in through the back door . Something something scrappy and earnest it rocks get yours today!! Also by one of the Built to Spill people? Cool. [4]
18Beloved
Failure On

18th November 2023 [belovddd]

Conundrum!!! While I can appreciate the musicianship here - they ainā€™t no slouches re their instruments you get me - i am not on board with the general aesthetic/vibe: that squeaky clean prod, scene harsh/clean combo, triple threat guitar chugga + ethereal triumphant lead work THING. Some mathy midwestern-y tones occasionally that pickle tickle, but not sufficiently. If I were nostalgic for the early-00s screm occasionally devil wears prada but also emo thing, it mightā€™ve been different, but this was never where I obtained my shits or giggles, and it doesnā€™t have the quirks of 9 to rope me back in. [2.5]
19Number Girl
Sappukei

19th November 2023 [jonathan]

First listen was a complete fucking write off via high octane high sugar content chaos. Second and third listens, however, have been dreamy. Rarely does snare tone and snare tone alone elevate an album quite this high all on its own - visions of slamming kitchen cabinet (plural) in some frenzied wii music madness - but also thatā€™s not quite true. Songwriting is lush, songs evolve thoughtfully and naturally, with kick ass vox, perfect mix of math/noise rock and indie inspired guitar/bass, and a great eye for creating a moment of peace amidst darkness. Iā€™m content to accept the submissions of Mr ashcrash9 KC in respect of lyrical content / thematics being banging, based upon a rather tidy write up, and which the enthusiastic/dejected delivery corroborates (I did start reading the lyric translation but got distracted but how hard this goes). [4]
20At the Drive-In
Relationship of Command

20th November 2023 [hesp]

This is the awkward part where I reveal that this is the single sole uno reason why Iā€™ve largely avoided post-hardcore for the last 6 years. I am being slightly facetious, there were other reasons, but I distinctly recall jamming this as the big daddy of the genre, it doing nothing for me, 3ing it and Deloused, and running for the hillsā€¦

Good news! Upon re-inspection, I donā€™t hate it!

Pros: delightful smorgasbord of variously shiny things (variety); infectious energy; uber rhythmic in everything that it does; and good fucking songwriting.

Cons: Cedricā€™s complete inability to hit literally any musical notes (again, beware the mild facetiousness); occasionally shrill guitar skrees; and the prod is a bit LOUD.

On balance: positive, but mixed. I feel like if/when I learn the lyrics and can screm along thisā€™ll make a lot more sense. For now: [3.7]
21Super Thief
Stuck

21st November 2023 [Kompys]

Chat Pile adjacent glorious noisy clanging gimmiegimmiegimmiegimmiegimmie!!!!!!! Primal pounding like Whores. (the band) or Unsane (also a band) the skronk is strong with this one. Kinda flawless in its simplicity - it will fuck you up, you will be smiling, there will be bodies everywhere, it will be glorious. [4]
22Jawbox
For Your Own Special Sweetheart

22nd November 2023 [pots]

Thereā€™s a seamlessness here thatā€™s disarming, the catchy hands in air alt rock refrains with the dissonance of noisy bluesy hard rock and hXc, but the shine and the shimmer always wins out, despite these being a long ass stretch from squeaky clean (in prod or melodic choices). As with 11, I can feel it worming towards my chest cavity with each jam. [3.7] grow on me go on I dare you
23O'Brother
Garden Window

23rd November 2023 [Emim]

Happy to scratch this up on the old sputcore card; I heard this in 2017, wrote it off as generic atmos rock tings, but fuck this is way better than my 21yo sm0l brain comprehended. Love the sludge that burbles itā€™s way to the surface; vocal harmonies are beautiful; progressions are careful and kind; songs knitting together gorgeously with clever codas and contrasts (Easy Talk into Machines whooosh!!!). That one of the songs is called Sputnik is cute. [4]
24Minutemen
Double Nickels on the Dime

24th November 2023 [DAD]

iā€™m overwhelmed help 43 songs 74 minutes yet not the breakneck bamboozle fest I expected jazz/funk orientation got me confused itā€™s like snippets of coolness that give you the sauce and then bounce before you could possibly get bored. really chill. shockingly chill. no i have not formed a coherent opinion you dick this is immense and a terrible album per day rec and i fucking love it. [tbc]

Update (20.11.23): I love the analogy of this being the Donuts of Post-Punk: you get just glimpse into dozens of different worlds before getting whisked off to the next. Prod is arguably the glue, in that bass/vox/guitar/drums are presented spindly and distinct, showcasing each, as well as how well the band operate as a unit, bass accenting fuzz, pit pats punctuating yelps. Charming throughout. Im still fucking overwhelmed, but ima enjoy further unpacking this over months/years. [4]
25Hot Snakes
Suicide Invoice

25th November 2023 [artificialbox]

Very DLJ, I am pleased. Punk-i-er? Thereā€™s less to keep track of, less noise/math tendencies; instead, straightforward face thumping to study/relax to. Hornet nest guitar tone, clever rhythmic things, best damn vocals of all time by anyone ever; biting lyrics; good music. [4]
26The Plot To Blow Up The Eiffel Tower
Love in the Fascist Brothel

26th November 2023 [widow]

Aesthetically? Ten out of Ten! I love this skronk-filled noisecore nonsense itā€™s rough itā€™s ready itā€™s ready to kill you. In terms of actual songwriting and/or replay value, I found this less promising - two listens through its 24 min romp and Iā€™m kinda set for life. Nonetheless will still probs return to when I wanna hear the best damn bass over brass Iā€™ve heard in a long while (Drake the Fake!!! Insane!!! ā€¦ see also amazing mash mash key jamberino on Angry, Young and Rich). [3.5]

Edit: gave it a third jam and the hilarity and girth beats out the cynic in me; so very fun. [3.7] Iā€™m probably actually underrating this still lol what a uturn it has everything that makes 3 great except itā€™s LOUDER
2788kasyo Junrei
ā—‹ā–³ā–” (Circle Triangle Square)

27th November 2023 [porc]

Wins the nobel prick prize for hardest album to look up online jfc porc what are you doing to me bb??? Also wins prize for weirdest fucking shit of all time the album art is befitting. Psych tones to these impossible to follow prog infused tangled mathy loud bois, like if you took the Fall of Troy formula to its natural conclusion, and then further, and then further, until all the ridiculous riffs and brain shaking drums become entirely other and spacey and ayayayayayay my aching temples. [3.7] im nutting
28Hot Snakes
Audit in Progress

28th November 2023 [SOMEONE has checked in]

I am willing to certify as solid gold literally everything that Froberg touched (big rip damn) this is like 25 but dials up the FUN without discounting any of the nuance. Just unreal skronky jams oozing charisma and love for their craft, sticking to their guns and rocking socks, forever. [4]
29Fugazi
The Argument

29th November 2023 [cylinder]

In the immortal words of MR WEEN: i canā€™t put my finger on it. No idea why this works but it does and I am laughing and crying and screaming and sighing itā€™s terrific. Absurdly dynamic and thoughtful. Perhaps the prod is the star, as everything just hangs together so well, the driving pit pats warm bass beguiling double guitar and enchanting vox. Full spectrum of emotion in a compact, jammable, timeless package. [4.3] probs underrating
30Saccharine Trust
Paganicons

30th November 2023 [havey]

The last two tracks make this lil 16 min dirge worth a deep dive - proper foregrounding for so many reference points, the janky vampire yelps a la pg.99, with unwound circa slint atmospherics, just more (post-)punk in aesthetic. Slightly too straight to point punk in that Black Flag kinda lane, but with bigger bass bounce, which ainā€™t my lane. Dusty/influential feeling old boi though. [3]
31Reuben
In Nothing We Trust

31st November 2023 [MeatSalad]

This is eclectic and kick ass y and fun but nuanced hmmmm. Mixes tones and genres irksomely, gels like water and oil e.g. the fourth wall breaking and tongues in cheek undermine (imo) the genuinely techy heavy wonderfulnessness with SICK melodies and legitimately great songwriting innit. Iā€™m mostly being grouchy because the consistency of literally fucking everything that is 29 has reset my metric for what is that good shit. [3.5]
32Bitch Magnet
Umber

32nd November 2023 [sandwich]

I wonder why this band never found mainstream success?!?!?! Anyway BITCH MAGNET (fucking lol) made a really sick album sounds like it should be from the 90s not 80s but what absurd foresight do we have here thereā€™s that hefty alt rock thing with a few alt metallic touches, dab of noise rock, sprinkle of math rock, some proto-Slint stuff, forward thinking Fugazi things, backwards thinking straight rock and rolly things, the scuzzy fuzzy list goes on and on and on. Prod on the drums in particular is lovely, as is the drumming, which is cracked. Sandwich bringing the fringe fire. [4] not sure yet maybe slightly overrating but itā€™s fucking spicy
33Vision of Disorder
Imprint

33rd November 2023 [Dewi]

Thrashy metalcore for the meathead inside that constantly threatens to overthrow my brain. Whiffs of a kinda spineshank-y / nothingface-y nu-metal thing among these chuggas, but more mature and m/ leaning, idk whiff of DevilDriver and Chimaira. Occasionally alt rock / punk in its songwriting decisions. I ainā€™t complaining. [3.5]
34Emanuel
Soundtrack to a Headrush

34th November 2023 [Get Low]

Awful awful awful awful awful lyrics like really quite terrible BUT fuck it do be kinda riffy. Like the chonk to these melodies, definitely that FuneralForAFriend/Silverstein/Underoath emo///secondwaveposthardcore thing, that I have difficulty with (was never my tea cup) but this has a bit of a southern fried thicc riff element which I do kinda love. Unlikely to return for thirds, but but but I can see the appeal if this is your bag of nuts. [3]
35mewithoutYou
Brother, Sister

35th November 2023 [Blitzer]

Lyrics like interconnected mini novella (i.e. intricate colourful imagery laden and rich) no I have not marinaded on it fully yet but Iā€™ve always enjoyed Aaronā€™s flair for words and it shines here as brightly as ever, delivered flailing and alive with passion and doubt. Riffs like sadness and sputcore (CHECK) pushes the emotive buttons built irretrievably into my taste 8 years ago. Easy [4] thanks for the push to hop off of UK Spotify and pay the band some money to hear this
36Thursday
War All the Time

36th November 2023 [Uzumaki]

Worst prod on any rock-related album of all time ever?! Iā€™m being unfair itā€™s not that bad but gosh the papier-mĆ¢chĆ© drums and sandpaper riffs on the opener (which continue) took a while to get used to. Weā€™re safely in second-wave territory here right(?) I am therefore biased and prejudiced and mean against this grrr. On a serious note: kinda lit songwriting but aesthetically this isnā€™t serving up the goods for me - nasal screms with washed out angst again I just cannot get over the prod am I being pretentious or is it ass? I have not played a significant amount of attention to the lyrics are they worth the deep dive or shall I trust my nose? Gotta change my name to asleep in the chapel though hold up. Sighs in [2.7].
37Killdozer
Snakeboy

37th November 2023 [foxxxy]

Dirty rural blues sir this is a noise rock album you have submitted me a noise album of rock. Kinda fucks ngl great rabid vox boogie woogie bass lyrics and progressions that have a sense of place and space. Looooove butcherā€™s write up for this (where are youuuuuuuu) helped make a lot more sense out of the tangled filth. [3.5]
38NEW GRASS
Scordatura_Perforations

38th November 2023 [deez]

Literal underground noodles from unknown noodle merchant oooooh la la. Light ethereal skramz into the void with PxHxCx touches a la la dispute stroke touche amore but brings the techy swancore (am i using it right) through the back door, but light touch, and perhaps leaning more in a emo/math direction than anything else. Youthful exuberance flail vibes works really really well when played really really loud I got some looks on the train this morning jesus. The Stars of the Lid styled organ ambience this concludes with is also a master stroke compare contrast moment that I hope they work more intimately into future releases. Bright future ahead (I hope) [3.7].
39Glassjaw
Worship and Tribute

39th November 2023 [leatherneck]

Two spins in: feels like a caricature of a caricature of itself in a way Iā€™m struggling to parse/compute. So OTT / energetic / flamboyant / obnoxious / brilliant in a sense itā€™s aged dreadfully and in another benefits from how securely itā€™s rooted in 2002 yet in no way generic, you know? That the vox feel like I Brought You My Bullets era Gerald Way + a bouncy castle + distilled sugar cane is kinda working for me. The fidgety metalcore leanings of the opening one-two punch is tickling my guilty pleasure bone; the more atmos / texture forward cuts are taking longer to congeal. Currently looking promising. [tbc]

On reflection, what I love is this things sense of place / self / identity. However, I think I desperately wanted to love it (for that reason) more than I desperately (actually) love it. Vibe with the energy and aura, but find it grates on me all the same. That being said, AGAIN, sense this is a grower if you can sing along. Weā€™ll see. [3.5]
40Bear vs. Shark
Terrorhawk

40th November 2023 [KTDB]

Happyhardcore for the emo kids. Emo tunes for the math rockers. Math rock diddies for the indie hipsters. Hipster tunes for the clinically insane. Is this finally a 00s PxHxCx album I enjoy oh la la I think it is!!! Vocals lost in typhoon delivered like lost in typhoon with riffs urgently trying to claw out of typhoon with this un-fucking-canny knack for magic-ing a catchy earworm melody out of nowhere HOW?!? i say Iā€™m probably just in a vulnerable place or some bollocks (I think Iā€™m sleepy) god knows this just pushed some buttons. Probably wake up tomorrow and hate it and my naĆÆvety and my fucking lobes but right now Iā€™m just content to let the horns play us out. [4]
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