2000 and Mine

2009 was a pretty great year for music with all these releases and such. So much stuff that I'm separating full lengths and EPs. Will add descriptions later, but for now, my top favorite 20 albums and 10 EPs
Full Lengths

20. Mammoth Grinder - "Extinction of Humanity"


19. Title Fight - "The Last Thing You Forget"


18. Shook Ones - "Unquotable A.M.H."


17. Sabertooth Zombie - "And Your Fathers are Dead in the Ground"


16. Rise and Fall - "Our Circle is Vicious"


15. Castevet - "Summer Fences"


14. The Blinding Light -"Junebug"


13. Mother of Mercy - "III"


12. Narrows - "New Distances"


11.Reign Supreme - "Testing the Limits of Infinite"


10. Cult Ritual - S/T


9. Jeniferever - "Spring Tides"


8. Telefon Tel Aviv - "Immolate Yourself"


7. Bokanovsky - "We Stumble"


6. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - "S/T"


5. Magrudergrind - "S/T"


4. Pulling Teeth - "Paradise Illusions/Paranoid Delusions"


3. Touche Amore - "...To the Beat of a Dead Horse"


2. Converge - "Axe to Fall"


1. Iron Age - "The Sleeping Eye"



EPs
10. Foundation - "Hang Your Head"


9. Defeater - "Lost Ground"


8. Downpresser - "Age of Ignorance"


7. Power Trip - "Armageddon Blues"


6. Amenra - "Afterlife"


5. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - "Higher than the Stars"


4. Rotting Out - "Vandalized"


3. Balance and Composure - "Only Boundaries"


2. Tigers Jaw - "Spirit Desire"


1. The Hope Conspiracy - "True Nihilist"



Pieces of crap
The Fall of Troy - "In the Unlikely Event"
Brand New - "Daisy"
The Mars Volta - "Octahedron"

Not For Want of Trying

Band needs to come to the states. This song worked so well in the PRIDE highlight I was watching earlier. Vid fucks up the layout, but I don't care. Oh, and fuck this cough.

2 Months Away

2 shows in a row. FUCK YES

Throwing Copper

Touche Amore's "...To the Beat of a Dead Horse" came in today, along with my Banner tank top. Getting packages in the mail is one of the best feelings ever. Anyways, I've been listening to this record nonstop. The lyrics probably have to be my favorite parts of it. Plus they were printed on the back of this massive fold out poster. Can't wait to see them in the Fall with Thursday and TFOT. I pretty much know this record word for word now, and will continue listening for the rest of the night, then off to Inglorious Basterds.

Solar Doom

Saw Iron Age last night. Headbanged like a madman throughout the whole set. They didn't play for that long, probably because there were 5 other bands before. If I can remember, I think their set order was Burden of Empire, We're Dust, Dispossessed, Sleeping Eye of the Watcher, A Younger Earth and Arcana. Pretty much everything I wanted to see.

The other bands were solid too. Mammoth Grinder ruled, with Wacker getting pretty into them haha. Some hardcore kids were like wtf. Downpresser and Creatures were good. Power Trip was the other band I wanted to check out. Stoked they played "Vultures". Felt bad for Dead Hours because there was like 5 kids in attendance at the time, including me and Wacker. Not that many people showed up overall, I'd say about 60 kids max. Still pretty fun though.

Testing the Limits of Infinite

It's already the midway point of 2009, and great music just keeps cranking out. The new Reign Supreme is no exception. Start to finish, it's a 13 track ass kicking. I was pretty stoked to find out my two favorites from the demo, "Apostle" and "A Ghost in This City" were remastered. Instantly made this a favorite for album of the year. Blasting the last breakdown in "Apostle" full volume while driving pretty much gave me a disregard for human life at the time. The new songs are also super solid, with guest vocals from Travis of This is Hell and Andrew of CBK. "In Absentia" and "Persevere and Overcome" have to be my favorite new songs. Plenty of mosh parts, a couple singalongs and just overall chaos on this record. Iron Age's "The Sleeping Eye" has just slid into 2nd. Rgn Sup is now currently my favorite of 2009, but that may change when I hear the new Converge. For now though, this record will get heavy play from me.

In other events, saw Transformers 2 the other day. Somewhat underwhelmed, but also still enjoyable. My complaints had to be the twins, so fucking annoying. They were funny at times, but that kind of humor gets really old. I was hoping they would get annihilated by Devastator. SPEAKING OF, WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT SHIT. GIVING HIM BALLS, GETTING HIS ASS KICKED SOMEWHAT BY THE TWINS, AND BEING KILLED BY A FUCKING LASER OFF A BOAT. BULLLLLLLLLSHIT. Anyways, the main battle was someone disappointing, as I thought it would be more epic. The Fallen died so easily. Things I liked though was Soundwave, as I thought he was portrayed pretty good. I lost it at "Soundwave Acknowledges". Also, I thought it was badass how Prime "went out" halfway. Goddamn impaled and shot through the chest. Overall, it was entertaining, but still terrible.

Oh, and goodnight sweet prince to MJ.

Seven

October 10th Anaheim House of Blues
See you there.

Iron Age

Can't wait for this.


oh and recent hauls. Sorry Mike! ahaha

No Fucking Way

http://www.earcandybeat.com/?q=node/61

The Sleeping Eye

Iron Age's new record is already an album of the year candidate and the track listing isn't even out yet. First think that came to my mind when listening to this was "UR MOSHIN'". Crossover thrash/hardcore is so fun. Until I hear the rest of Jeniferever's "Spring Tides" and Reign Supreme's "Testing the Limits of Infinite" (which is pretty crushing), The Sleeping Eye is in the front running.

The influx of great new hardcore albums and bands makes me even more excited for The Sound and Fury '09. Also, from what I've read, United Blood '09 was fucking amazing. The pipe break/flood during Pulling Teeth (new album shreds), the beat down of the bro and his car, and the crazy pizza guy, it surely was a weekend to remember. Hopefully the same experience can be had during S&F. The lineup is already worth the price and only half of the bands have been announced. July is just too far away.

Oh, and thanks for the tip off Danny haha

Wasted Youth

Fucking B9boards, probably the funniest things I've seen all week. Rather listen to covers like this than some schmuck with an acoustic guitar playing "I'm Yours" in hopes to be some sort of fucking Youtube celebrity.
Luisito, Josue, y Paco- Lepers to Feed the Lepers

Spring Tides.

As you can see, my blogspot has been "Jeniferever'd" up for the time being. This is because their new album coming up on April 13th is my most anticipated this year. I've been into this band quite some time and I feel this might be their best work yet. There's something about them I love. Probably because their sound was perfectly described as "if Sigur Ros had a child with The Appleseed Cast", or maybe it's because there's never a bad time to listen to them. Anyways, the new songs on their myspace are too good. Plus the Bruce Springsteen cover is well, the only way I'll ever listen to Bruce Springsteen. If there was just ONE band from another country I wish would tour here, it would be them. They're slowly inching their way into my top 5.

Defeater - "Travels"

Very few concept albums have caught my interest throughout the story. Discovered this band earlier at a message board I post at. I rarely take recommendations, but this is an exception. When I started listening, the first track sucked me in. As each song continued, I read the lyrics, following this narrative along. The premise is very intriguing and flows very well unlike a lot of concept albums.

Basically, this album is about a story of a man from his birth to death. He deals immediately with the rejection and abuse of his father, alcoholism, debt, his dying mother, sibling rivalries, and things I won't spoil for you. For a hardcore album, this is pretty fucking amazing.

The musicianship perfectly complements the emotion being laid out. This is why I prefer emotional and melodic hardcore over the tough guy shit. Heavy yet melodic, and raw yet polished. I also found it really clever that in one of the songs, the narrator sees a transient playing a guitar on the street and at the last 2 minutes, it transitions to the acoustic song the man is playing. The end track "Cowardice" has some of the most dramatic build ups I've ever listened to in a hardcore song. Very fitting for the conclusion of this narrative.

If you're a fan of MLIW, Verse, and The Carrier, check this out. I think "Travels" replaces "Songs to Scream at the Sun" by Have Heart as my top hardcore album of '08.

"No judgment cast down this day, will set you free. You are forgiven my son, you are blessed and redeemed. You've found absolution here son, but only from me."

Summary for those who won't read the lyrics.

1. Blessed Burden
Birth of the protagonist in the family's run down apartment. The mother feels blessed while the father immediately rejects the son. He is an abusive drunk towards the mother, and while she prays for him to stop, he tells her that "god can't hear you, not down here. no one will save you because no one cares".

2. Everything went quiet
Fast forward to the man's childhood. He's with his older brother at the train tracks. He dares him to play chicken with an oncoming train. He tries, but bails out, and is basically shunned by his brother as " [he] can never live up to [him]". The train tracks will play a part later on.

3. Nameless Streets
The boy is wandering the streets of his broken town. He sees the homeless, thinking himself that will never be him. He remembers his addict mother, praying to her god and telling him to never leave her as the beatings continue from the drunkard father.

4. Forgiver Forgetter
The protagonist is a teen now. He awakes hearing yelling around the house. The father is saying the mother can't pay the rent because of her drug abuse. He comes to his mother's defense saying, all she did was raise him when his father was to drunk to. The father is offended, telling him he has nerve. The protag responds with "I never wanted to kill a man, like I want to kill you man." A fight ensues, with the protag killing his father. His mother screams in horror and his brother swears revenge. The protag abruptly leaves and his mother is now in God's hands.

5. The City By Dawn
The protagonist hops on a train to leave the city. He is trying to start over with nothing in his name.

6. Prophet in Plain Clothes.
The man has become homeless, something in the past he said he would never be. Wandering the streets in the snow and hopping from place to place, he is constantly barely getting by. He then sees a vagrant playing a guitar, singing "home is never home". This is something that will stick in his mind for the rest of his life.

7. Carrying Weight
Now wandering the country side, he is "carrying his own weight" around. Sleeping anywhere and everywhere possible, he still thinks about his mother. He is then taken up by a bunch of good Samaritans, telling him "redemption lies in an old farm house".

8. Moon Shine
They give the man words of wisdom. He is told he is not a man if he's always running from his problems. If he's got a battle back there, it's no reason to stay here. He decides to go back for his mother, telling himself he is not a "wicked man" and "don't you be like me".

9. The Blues
He hitches a ride with a local, and with a new found attitude, his "blues are dead and buried".

10. Debts.
He arrives at the slum he used to call home. Everything looked the same as before - broken and run down. He furiously goes back to his house, looking for his mother. His brother then appears and confronts him, telling him his addict mother is dead. The brother swears his revenge and calling the protag a selfish fuck for running away. He wants his life as pay back. With a gun to his head, the protag is lead back to the train tracks from his childhood. This time, things would be different as the protag would get the upper hand, throwing his brother into the oncoming train.

11. Cowardice
The man, now thinking to himself that there is no where left for him and is filled with regret, approaches the church. He confesses his sins to the priest, who says he has found absolution from him, but only him. Still distraught, the man goes on top of the bell tower, overlooking the city. He carves his name on the bell, so he can hear it when he goes straight to hell. With his final words filled with regret, "I ain't no wicked man", he jumps off the ledge, subsequently ending the story.

Break Up's of 08

There were a lot of good bands that broke up this year, especially in hardcore. The hardcore scene took so many hard hits this year as some of the most consistent bands ceased to exist. It's a shame that great bands break up, but shit like Aiden, Brokencyde, Nickelback and Hinder are still around and making bank.

Sinking Ships (2004-2008)
Really sad, as I they were really solid. They were nothing ground breaking, but still an overall good hardcore band

Modern Life is War (2002-2008)
Fucking came out of left field. Honestly, one of the best and most respected hardcore bands out and they break up. So many missed opportunities to see one of hell of a show they put on.

Our first show was on April 20th, 2002 in Tyler's parents basement. This makes our run as a band almost exactly six years. We want to send a huge thank you out to everyone who supported this band through thick and thin because you care about us as individuals, our music, our message or what we stand for as a band. We also want to thank all the people in the DIY/underground hardcore and punk scenes all over the country and world who work really hard and sacrifice a lot for little to no recognition or money because they love the music and message. I am really proud of all that we have accomplished but know that without the support of that community we would have never had a chance to tour and put out records for so many years. I don't want to get sentimental and there is no short way of wrapping up all my feelings about this band and these last six years. Above all...I hope we have made some people feel less alone and motivated them to think for themselves, be themselves and take action. Punk rock changed our lives. I hope we contributed something to keep the whole thing going. We are leaving soon...but The future is unwritten...so start writing it. Tour dates will be posted soon. Come sweat and scream and say goodbye to Modern life Is War.

Dead Hearts (2004-2008)
A band that I just got into recently and boy do I regret not looking into them sooner. They wrote some of the most epic and lyrically genius hardcore songs ever written in my opinion. The term "epic" is unnecessarily overused, but "epic" definitely fits the band. "Bitter Verses" will forever be in my top hardcore releases of all time.

Cursed - (2001 – 2008)
The circumstances for this break up is really heartbreaking. They tour Europe and pretty much everything from them gets stolen. Crucial tihngs like equipment, money and their passports all gone. Frontman Chris Colohan described it as a "bullet in the head". I would seriously agree with that statement if everything you had was gone in an instant. Such a shitty way to end a great band. I hope the fucker(s) that did this get Ukraine Hammer Timed.

The Receiving End of Sirens (2003-2008)
Straying away from the hardcore scene, this by far to me, is the biggest and most emotional break up. They were becoming one of my favorite bands and then they suddenly break up. I am still kicking myself after missing them play so many times. Goddamn you Andy, I'm fucking jealous that you got a chance to see them.

We are sure this comes as a surprise to most, and a let-down to many of you as well. For that we are eternally sorry. We all realize that the band five right out of high school kids started for fun has grown to be something bigger than any of us could have imagined. The music we have created has carried itself far outside the confines of the house we first practiced in, and the city we all met in, and has effected many more than just those of us who have been members of TREOS over the years.

What a surprise it was. I've watched videos of their final shows and the fact that Casey came back to play with them is really what got to me. Never has a band break up affected me like this one did. When the final song "Epilogue" was played, you could see that they were just as heartbroken as the fans were. If I were at these shows, I would have bawled like a baby.

Then who the hell was I?

Come on skinny love just last the year
Pour a little salt we were never here
My, my, my, my, my, my, my, my
Staring at the sink of blood and crushed veneer

I tell my love to wreck it all
Cut out all the ropes and let me fall
My, my, my, my, my, my, my, my
Right in the moment this order's tall

I told you to be patient
I told you to be fine
I told you to be balanced
I told you to be kind
In the morning I'll be with you
But it will be a different "kind"
I'll be holding all the tickets
And you'll be owning all the fines

Come on skinny love what happened here
Suckle on the hope in lite brassiere
My, my, my, my, my, my, my, my
Sullen load is full; so slow on the split

I told you to be patient
I told you to be fine
I told you to be balanced
I told you to be kind
Now all your love is wasted?
Then who the hell was I?
Now I'm breaking at the britches
And at the end of all your lines

Who will love you?
Who will fight?
Who will fall far behind?

Amazing, amazing, and did I say, amazing? I have absolutely fallen in love with this song. Justin Vernon's voice is truly heartbreaking and depressing in a good way. So much passion and intensity in this song, yet also calms your nerves. I just want to spend some time alone with a cigar in hand and a coffee in another just thinking about my life while this song is playing. Perfect if you just want to isolate your self and concentrate, in which ironically is what Vernon also did. He recorded this album by himself in a log cabin in Wisconsin for an entire winter and was self distributed. That's fucking dedication. DIY at it's finest. When he sings the lines I've bolded above, you can just see the passion in his eyes.

Top 15 Albums

This year is coming to a close, and pretty much everything I've been waiting for is out already. There's just so much good stuff it was hard to narrow down to 15, let alone originally 10.


15. Anathallo - "Canopy Glow"

The variety of instruments create a beautiful sound with such a laid back atmosphere. Perfect for rainy day drives or chill out Saturday mornings. Not as good as "Floating World", but still worth a listen.



14. Passion Pit - "Chunk of Change"

Very, very danceable. Really catchy songs, but it can be cheesy, which though it seems is what the aim for. Every song is listenable and has a part that just hooks you in. If you're down for dancing, fuck Lil' Wayne and blast this album.



13. City and Colour - "Bring Me Your Love"

First album I bought this year, and do not regret it. Dallas' voice sounds better than ever and his guitar playing is wonderful. Definitely worth a pick up if you have the chance.



12. Lights Out Asia - "Eyes Like Brontide"

Yet another one of my favorite post rock bands. They play my favorite type of post rock, the kind that relies a little more on electronics and drum beats. Very reminiscent of The Album Leaf and The American Dollar.



11. Carpathian - "Isolation"

One of the better hardcore records to come out this year. Carpathian has really matured music wise, as the musicianship is more tight, straying away from the chugga chugga tough guy hardcore band they used to be. Martin Kirby wrote some of my favorite lyrics, because hey, you can't go wrong if you have Joy Division influence, unless you are Interpol or She Wants Revenge of course.

10. Gregor Samsa - "Rest"

My favorite post rock band, behind Sigur Ros, releases another solid album. There's more piano involved with this record, and a change in sound from 55:12. This album is very soothing and is perfect for stress reduction. Beautiful melodies create for a nice walk outside on a cold winter night.



9. MGMT - "Oracular Spectacular"

One of the few bands that lived up to the surround hype. From indie rock, to funky bass lines to some electropoppish sounds, this album deserves the hype because of consistency of this record. There's song for everyone on this record, and personally, I'd get down to "Electric Feel". Plus, AVWG is pretty hot hahaha.



8. M83 - "Saturdays=Youth"

Love, love, love this album. I've had it on repeat when I first got it, and to me, this is M83's best album. A lot of the songs have an 80's like feel to it, which I am a sucker for. "Up", "We Own the Sky", and "Skin of the Night" are the stand outs to me.



7. Fear Before - "Fear Before"

This band continues progress more and more musically. Each album they create is always different sounding and this one is no exception. I don't think it's as good as TAOM, but overall still a great release from one of my favorite bands. I'm not a big fan of the name shortening though, but the reason why seemed, well, reasonable haha.



6. United Nations - "United Nations"

Good old fashioned 90's screamo/power violence. This super group consists of Ben Koller of Converge, Geoff Rickley of Thursday and Darryl Palumbo of Glassjaw, which automatically wins no matter what. Finally an attempt to revive this genre in this scene filled with mediocrity and falsely labeled "screamo" bands *cough*blessthefall**cough**Alesana**cough*. Let the chaos ensue once this record starts to play.



5. Sigur Ros - "Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust"

Sigur Ros does it again. This album sounds very different from their past work, as it is more folk influenced and a somewhat heavy reliance from the acoustic guitar. This album is poppier than usual, which could be a very bad or good thing depending on who you are. Very different from their old minimalist post rock sound, but still an amazing album, as seeing it live pretty much ranks as the greatest concert I've ever been too.



4. The American Dollar - "A Memory Stream"

My post rock release of the year. Basically what I named my blog after because the album was so good. Very relaxing, especially when driving in the rain, which I had first hand experience doing. The last half of "Anything You Synthesize" is just so beautifully epic, like the climax of a romantic movie scene. Their finest work today without a doubt.



3. Lydia - "Illuminate"

Leighton's voice is too beautiful to be human. This album is definitely one to play while getting laid. Seriously, the album really sounds sexy and seductive. I jizz my pants (fucking SNL) when Leighton says "I stole your soul" in "This is Twice Now". No Homo. Anyways, Mindy White's vocals also sound as good as she looks and Becky Filip also did the album art, which is definitely a plus.



2. Forgive Durden - "Razia's Shadow"

You saw this coming. I promoted the fuck out of this album, as seen in my earlier review of this album a month ago. I don't want to write about it all over again, but let's just leave it as the only reason I'll listen to Brendon Urie.



1. Have Heart - "Songs to Scream at the Sun"

Obvious if you've read my past blogs. The hardcore and overall best album release of the year for me. The first and last songs are some of the most epic hardcore songs ever recorded, up there with Dead Heart's "Dusk". Go pick up this album if you're a fan of real hardcore. I don't need to say more as I've all ready had a post dedicated to this album.

EDIT: I may have a new favorite album, which would have to be Bon Iver's "For Emma, Forever Ago." This man's voice just breaks my heart. I just want to sit on the beach in the middle of the night, smoking a cigar and think about my life while playing this in background.


Honorable Mentions:

The Evpatoria Report - "Maar"
The Carrier - "No Love Can Save Me"
This Town Needs Guns - "Animals"
Russian Circles - "Station"
Reign Supreme - "American Violence"
Santogold - "Santogold"
Shai Hulud - "Misanthropy Pure"
Jeniferever - "Nangijala"
Winds of Plague - "Decimate the Weak"
Late of the Pier - "Fantasy Black Channel"
Blacklisted - "Heavier than Heaven, Lonelier than God".


Biggest Disappointment:

1. The Sound of Animals Fighting - "The Ocean and the Sun"
I'm sorry, but my god this album sucked dick. Mr. Green, you're 0 for 2 this year.
2. Kings of Leon - "Only by the Night"
I wanted to see what all the fuss was about, but, they turned out to be over-hyped and overrated.
"Surely, we can do better for the platonic ideal of a rock band than four guys gunning for a spot rightfully inhabited by My Morning Jacket but instead coming up with the best songs 3 Doors Down never wrote." - I LOL'd hard.