Nick's Picks: Catch-up Round 4
Posted 02/03/2011 12:30PM by Nicholas Fritz as Nick's Picks
Every few weeks I’ll be choosing noteworthy releases that the site hasn’t reviewed in hopes that you’ll discover a new band or reconnect with one that you’ve lost touch with since their last album. The first few articles have been about catching up on albums from the beginning of 2010, but now I’ll be covering ones that are a bit more recent. The majority of these albums selected for this round were released in September and October of 2010. Enjoy!
Blank Page Empire – Sinners, Thieves, and Beggars
Wearing their influences on their sleeve, Minneapolis, Minnesota’s Blank Page Empire are obviously big fans of As Cities Burn. For those of you who miss the emotion and aggression seen on Son, I Loved You at Your Darkest, give this a try because it’s essentially the same formula, although the singing carries more weight than the screaming parts. (artist website)
Distress Signal – Expatriate
Distress Signal hails from the Philadelphia area and continues the trend for a city that consistently gives birth to quality bands. The quartet plays a style of hardcore that’s not very common these days and that I personally miss; it’s sludgy, gritty, but technically proficient and heartfelt at the same time. The best comparisons I can think of for reference would be Cursed, Disembodied, and The Abominable Iron Sloth. Also, I saw them live recently and despite blowing out my ear drums, they were awesome and clearly displayed these songs the way they’re meant to be heard. (artist website)
After the Fall – Eradication
After the Fall showcases a great mix of hardcore and punk influences on Eradication. Propaghandi and NOFX come to mind, as do Kid Dynamite and Verse (in their slower moments), making for an emotionally driven and aggressive full length. The band finally seems to have hit their stride with Eradication and the sky is the limit for them at this point in their career. (artist website)
The Xcerts – Scatterbrain
The Xcerts are essentially the Scottish version of Brand New. The distorted vocals that jump between singing and screaming are very similar to Jesse Lacey’s singing approach and the music sounds influenced by both the Daisy and Deja Entendu eras. Ripping off other bands isn’t so bad when it’s done well and Scatterbrain proves that to be true. (artist website)
Reno – The Year of Love
Playing chaotic hardcore from Belgium, Reno will appeal to fans of Converge and The Secret, while also sharing some commonalities with Every Time I Die. Some of the songs on The Year of Love are a bit on the short side but there’s enough content on here to get a good feel for what this band of capable of and merits a slot on your list of bands to watch in 2011. (artist website)
Midnight Souls – Colder
Another Belgian band, Midnight Souls uses a similar approach to hardcore as Modern Life is War and Defeater. The tempos are a bit slower and the vocals mixed with the melodic guitar work help to drive home the emotion behind the songs. With only five tracks, Colder leaves the listener hanging and it would be interesting to hear what this band could with a full length, which will hopefully come sometime soon. (artist website)
Make Do and Mend – End Measured Mile
End Measured Mile is a fantastic album and deserves to be heard by anyone who enjoys Hot Water Music or The Polar Bear Club. Make Do and Mend’s punk riffs keep the record feeling energized the entire way through, and the catchiness of their choruses is tough to beat. The band is smart enough to mix up the tempos and tone as well, making for a well rounded release. (artist website)
With Life in Mind – Grievances
With Life in Mind is a somewhat local band for me and they really impressed me when I saw them a few years back. I had stopped following them though and recently came across their debut full length Grievances, which was released by August Burns Red’s first label CI Records. The reason I bring that up is because With Life Mind is going to undoubtedly draw many ABR comparisons with their choppy breakdowns and melodic metalcore riffs. The band’s emotional lyrics and melodic hardcore tendencies help to separate them from the other ABR clones though; Grievances isn’t a great album but worthy of mentioning for metalcore fans nonetheless. (artist website)
The Chemist vs. The Computer – Hydrosufoolooween
The Chemist vs. The Computer isn’t really my cup of tea but some readers here may find a lot to like about the unique post-hardcore band. Trophy Scars and Fear Before are good bands to use as a reference point and while I like the band’s heavier moments throughout Hydrosufoolooween, the high-pitched singing is too much for me to handle. (artist website)
Called to Arms – Peril and the Patient
Called to Arms will mainly appeal to Between the Buried and Me fans, not only because both bands play progressive metalcore, but the concepts behind their albums are interesting as well. The Peril and the Patient is a musical interpretation of the book The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis, and while I’m not familiar with the novel, any band with a concept album immediately earns my interest. (artist website)
Convulsions – The Reaper’s Gift
If someone had played The Reapers’s Gift for me without telling me about the band responsible for it, I’d guess it was an early demo for Botch or The Dillinger Escape Plan. The EP is dark, gritty, and spastic with mathcore influences splattered all over it. The recording quality leaves a lot to be desired but on the positive side, it complements the grungy moments in the songs. (artist website)
The First Annual – Carolina EP
Big surprise, another good band from Boston, but I haven’t heard too many Americana bands like The First Annual come out of that area. The songs on Carolina are reminiscent of Bruce Springsteen and some of the slower tunes have a Good Old War vibe to them. Check out these guys if you’re looking for some soothing music that’s easy on the ears. (artist website)
Comments
Reno, NV
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London, UK
I seriously love the Called To Arms album . Definitely a very strong (if simplified) BTBAM vibe, this was on constant rotation for several months when I got this. I'd rate it right up alongside The Contortionist from last year
Currently listening to:
Jolly - The Audio Guide To Happiness (Part 2)
Leprous - Coal
Dillinger Escape Plan - One Of Us Is The Killer
Amorphis - Circle
Hope For The Dying - Aletheia
Best Of 2012 - Best Of 2013
Quakertown, PA
Yeah, I feel like it was really overlooked last year and I was surprised when I came across it, wasn't expecting the album to be that good.
Minnesota
Called to Arms was pretty good. I also dug After the Fall.
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Fishers, Indiana
Neat list! I'll be checking out Blank Page Empire, The Xcerts, and Make Do and Mend post-haste.
As for Called the Arms, I'm really interested in the concept behind the album. The Screwtape Letters is one of my favorite novels, and it's a pretty quick and engaging read for anyone at any point on the religious spectrum. To give y'all a quick rundown, a lesser demon writes a series of letters to his ...uncle? (it's been a while) asking for help in tempting a pious man. Lots of religious discussion in the subtext-- definitely food for thought for both those with and without faith. I'll probably be checking that album out too, if only the lyrics.
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Boston, MA
After The Fall is great. Glad to see I'm not the only one who listens to them. The First Annual is also good, Boston represent!
Stereo Typing
Tweet at me, bro
Canada
good call on called to arms, such a good album. would have been in my top 10 of 2010 easily. i cant believe i missed them
Quakertown, PA
Thanks man, that book actually sounds interesting, I'll have to check it out.
Fishers, Indiana
Make Do and Mend kick a shitton of ass. I'm on Blank Page Empire, and I dig it, mostly, but the clean vocals' tone is buggin me a little bit.
Top Albums: 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 || Tumblr | Twitter
Quakertown, PA
Awesome! I love that Make Do and Mend album, I regret not putting it on my 2010 Top Ten list. Blank Page Empire is decent, I don't think they're amazing but they're good at what they do...I agree with the vocal tone though.
Kansas
i'll be checkin out the first annual, with life in mind, called to arms, and the xcerts
http://rateyourmusic.com/~benny06
Quakertown, PA
Sweet, let me know your thoughts then!
NC/SC
Just wanted to pop my head in and say that we seriously really appreciate the support of our (CTA) album here. A friend sent me a link to this page and I was really stoked to see that some new people are still checking out the album 6 months+ after we released it.
Also, I'll definitely be checking out a few of these bands from this list who I haven't listened to yet.
Quakertown, PA
Excellent, I'm glad the word got back to you about the article. The whole point of this is to showcase albums that were overlooked upon their initial release so it's good to hear that the article is being effective!