New Noise Magazine Issue #28

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f there is one thing that people all across the globe have in common, it’s the love of music. It brings people of all shapes, sizes, creeds, and backgrounds together. Even though music has the power to unify, many members of the community still experience various types of discrimination. This can range from racism to gender bias to homophobia and beyond.

It’s a problem that Punk Out founder Michael McCarron witnessed firsthand, which is what prompted him to create Punk Out. Punk Out is a nonprofit LGBTQ+ organization that specifically focuses on the music scene. Their goal is to make the alternative music scene a safe, inclusive space that any music lover can enjoy. The organization has taken many steps since its inception to usher in a better music scene for everyone involved.

They have teamed up with many high profile artists in an effort to bring awareness to issues within the music community.

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“We believe in the power of education and communication,” McCarron elaborates. “We held discussion groups at Warped Tour last summer, which was very exciting. We had musicians discussing contemporary issues including homophobia and inclusion. It was a very productive event.”

of Punk Out. “We want to get to a point where we can supply grants to bands to help them record music. There are bands out there who share the same ideals as we do, and we want to be able to help them reach their dreams,” McCarron adds. “Additionally, we want to expand our HIV program. HIV rates are on the rise, and we are looking As Punk Out has grown, it has for unique ways to address that extended its reach from its problem. Our plan is to be able to home base of Philadelphia, Pa., offer free STI/HIV tests to conto places like New York City, cert and festival goers to make Detroit, and as far west as Seat- the process as streamline and tle. They partner with touring painless as possible.” musicians in order to run snack or supply drives for LGBTQ+ The music scene is a diverse youth centers in the area. One place, and Punk Out is obsesof their most recent partner- sively looking for ways to make ships was with the popular pop the scene safe and inclusive for punk outfit Modern Baseball. everyone, whether they identify Punk Out attended two of Mod- as LGBTQ+ and/or another miern Baseball’s shows and raffled nority group. McCarron believes off merchandise signed by the that as long as there is open and band to those who brought in honest communication, the an unopened snack for the local music scene can be available to LGBTQ+ youth center. McCa- anyone and everyone. “An inclurron is excited for the prospect sive music scene has a diverse of having a bigger reach and has group of people,” McCarron grand ambitions for the future says. “Music fans and musicians

have a responsibility to stand up when they see instances of bigotry or ignorance. Starting that dialogue and working toward understanding what the issues are is the first step to creating a more inclusive music scene.

It’s going to be uncomfortable and difficult sometimes, but it’s important that that first step is taken.”

Fans looking to support Punk Out’s cause can find more information on their website, punkout.org. They are running different events all over the country, and they welcome anyone who wants help out. The continued support from music fans and musicians is what keeps them going. .....

FQP shines a light on the joys and heartaches that lie at the intersection of the LGBTQIA+ community and the world of alternative music. While queer representation is often refracted through the prism of normative curiosities and concerns, FQP features queer voices saying whatever they want, however they want. Don’t fear the realness.

have the gift for making music. I was good at sports. But I didn’t read sports blogs, I read music blogs. So, how does this make sense? A frustrating conundrum, it seemed at the time.

It wasn’t until after college that I was presented with an opportunity to be involved in music in a way that required skills other than being able to write, record, and perform songs. Rather than plucking guitar strings, I hammer away at a keyboard. Rather than charming fans, I chat up music writers. Rather than create the music, I do my best to ensure that other’s creations are heard. It’s been a perfect situation for me, and I feel hugely blessed to work in a field that I love, even if it’s not what I originally envisioned for myself.

ON BEING QUEER IN THE INDUSTRY

FEATURING MICHELLE KING OF NOISY GHOST PR In 2013, then-Team Clermont national publicist, Michelle King, joined forces with Ryan Graveface—the mastermind behind Graveface Records—to form Noisy Ghost PR, an “independent boutique music publicity company” based in Austin, Texas, and Savannah, Georgia. Over just three years, King has helped Noisy Ghost build a diverse and impressive roster of artists, including The Appleseed Cast, Xiu Xiu, Night School, and Dott. When she’s not introducing the-next-big-thing to the scene, King spends her time running, biking, and swimming around Austin, crushing triathlons like a warrior, and hanging out on the Barton Creek Greenbelt with her partner

and their dogs. “Cheesy, eh?” she laughs.

ON FINDING HER PATH

Like many of us, I grew up loving music. Obsessing over music. I was the kid in a different band tee every day, likely purchased at a show the night before which my mother drove my friends and I to in her Toyota Sienna—thanks, Mom. So many of those friends also played in bands. I wanted to be in a band!

I guess I was in a few, though we were no good and my contributions certainly didn’t help the situation. I sang, I played a little guitar, I tried out the keyboard at an older age, but none of it stuck. I simply didn’t

It’s news to no one’s ears that there has been and continues to be a lot of hate in this world. The music industry is no exception, and the discourse around these issues is unavoidable and necessary. But I would like to say for the record that, in my world, it has been nearly a non-issue. Since coming out in high school, I have had an easy path when it comes to people’s opinions on my sexuality. Perhaps this is luck, but I’ve somehow managed to surround myself with positive people, and to this day, I feel entirely empowered and respected in my life and my career. […]

I have also been blessed to work with a good deal of LGBTQ artists, and I certainly have never encountered negative feedback from the media regarding the sexual preferences of my clients. Much the opposite, in fact. The number of queer-focused outlets for music discovery are numerous, and while there are publications that still lean their coverage heavily in the direction of straight male-dominated “rock” music, I argue that the cul-

ture is heavily shifting away from this.

This is all to say that our society is indeed much more accepting than it used to be, but that doesn’t mean it’s time to become complacent. I wouldn’t like to refer to it as a battle that we have not yet won, but rather a level of general understanding and equality that we can still improve upon. But it’s not always as bad out there as some would have us believe.

SOME WISDOM FOR THE KIDS

Keep a concert calendar. […] I recommend Google Spreadsheets, but even a paper journal would suffice.

Jot down the artist, date, venue, and maybe some notes on the show.

Did they play your favorite song?

How did you feel in that moment?

These are precious memories, and I wish I had more of them.

Listen to all kinds of music. Don’t discriminate. Just because your dad likes it doesn’t mean it’s bad, and just because your friends like it doesn’t mean it’s good. […]

And finally, don’t be discouraged if it seems difficult to create a career life you’re passionate about, especially if that involves the music industry. It’s a tough market for all of us right now—musicians, label owners, music writers, PR people, etc.—but there is always more than one way to approach something. Maybe you need to get in good with the right gatekeeper to get that first internship, or maybe you need to try a new path entirely.

Perhaps you’d love to be a famous musician—that’s a long road—and you gotta pay the bills in the meantime. Take the job that’ll support you while you find your way. It’s not selling out, it’s being smart. Be resourceful, don’t shut yourself off from opportunities, and always keep hustling.

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NEW NOISE 7

cian friend who I really looked up to. The band went through a lot of transitioning; we went through three different drummers. I was trying to see the positive in the negative. Overall, this album was maybe a coping mechanism for all that was going on. I tried to end on a brighter note, because that’s how I was feeling come the end of it.”

5 STAGES OF THE PIT- BRUTAL YOUTH

INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST PATTY O’LANTERN BY NICHOLAS SENIOR

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here are a good number of bands with an early Green Day-meets-Gorilla Biscuits sound—and for good reason, it rocks—but few do it with the sincerity and passion that Toronto-by-way-of-Newfoundland punks, Brutal Youth, have.

Their latest record, Sanguine—out now via Stomp Records—is a fantastic collection of shout-along bangers perfectly curated to cause insanity at the band’s renowned live shows.

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n just under a year, Seattle’s Four Lights have quickly made a name for themselves in the world of pop punk.

The band is comprised of vocalist and guitarist Dan Gardner, guitarist Jeff Mangalin, bassist Brian Lewis, and drummer Kii “KII” Kay, four musicians who are no strangers to playing in bands.

Gardner and Mangalin were previously in a project called The Dans, so when Gardner left his most recent band, Success!, Mangalin instantly came to mind. Gardner continues, “I had been sending demos of stuff I was writing to Brian,” and from there, Mangalin suggested Kay to flesh out the group.

Having known each other in the Seattle DIY scene for years, the four were already a great fit.

During his downtime between bands, Gardner had continued writing. In late 2015, the foursome started filling out the songs that Gardner had been working on solo. “By the time KII came in, we had 10 songs,” Gardner remembers.

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The album’s title means staying positive, especially in an apparently bad situation, and that’s exactly what Sanguine is about.

“When this thing started, it was just me in the basement, just writing cathartically,” O’Lantern says. “With having three other guys step in, I wanted it to be less about me and more about us, more relatable to everybody. It’s still a lot of personal things. Whereas before, it was more of a diary entry, this one I tried to make less From the get-go, their goal was to put out a full-length record. “We even set limits to the number of shows we were going to play—which we immediately broke—so we could just focus on the record,” Lewis reflects.

Kay anticipated that they’d only accomplish an EP and maybe have a few songs for compilations. However, he remarks that “in March, ambition took over, and we started preparing the songs.” Once they made it into the studio, it was clear they had enough material for a full-length. The 12 songs on Death To False Posi dropped Aug. 15 via Bomb Pop Records. Punk veterans, Bracket, lent their vocal harmonies on the titular track. “At Hangover Fest, [an annual Pacific Northwest fest on Jan. 1], we played [Bracket’s] ‘Sour’ and didn’t butcher it too badly,” Kay explains.

Shortly afterward, Bracket caught wind of the cover. Gardner and Mangalin met them at the Fat Wreck 25th anniversary

PHOTO: KAITLYN LAUREL MCGANN

precise to my life and tried to make the [songs] more open to interpretation. The album is dealing with loss or the potential for loss in life or shedding people that you don’t particularly care for.”

“If you look at the song titles, the five stages of grief are there, and the songs hinge on those ideas,” he continues. “It’s sort of moving through those stages. We had lost close friends. I lost a close musi-

In particular, “Whiteway”—with its heart-wrenching refrain of, ‘So glad you’re still alive!’—is about a powerful, personal story. O’Lantern states that the song gives him chills when he sings it live, because he thinks of the person it’s about every time. “It’s about someone who’s particularly close to me,” he explains. “I had a conversation with that person who said they were ready to [commit suicide], and the only reason they didn’t is because they couldn’t find the bullets to load the gun. Then, someone came over and wrecked their plan.

That whole idea that this person that I care about a lot had a moment where they may not be in my life anymore.”

“I can’t imagine being in that place,” he continues, soberly. “You don’t know the demons that people are being plagued by, and that’s really scary. I should be telling people that I love them and cherishing my time with them. There’s almost a machismo around not sharing your feelings, but you feel worse when someone is taken from you and you didn’t say those things.”

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SUIT UP FOR POP PUNK- FOUR LIGHTS

INTERVIEW BY KAYLA GREET and talked them into making an appearance on the album. “What they sent us just blew us away,” Gardner proclaims. “Maybe next time, I’ll ask them to record all the vocals!”

Four Lights—proudly named after a seminal scene from “Star Trek: The Next Generation”—offer up this record as a coping mechanism. Mangalin divulges that “we all have our own shit to deal

with. We’re just trying to get through life, and these songs are a reflection of that.”

Gardner continues that this record is about being honest with yourself and others. “Things aren’t always ‘no worries’ and good times,” he says. “Life is full of emotions, and we have to embrace them all.”

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alfornia-based emo/punk group I’m Glad It’s You experienced some growing pains over the course of creating their debut record. The Things I Never Say—due out via 6131 Records on Nov. 4—showcases the band stretching out their musical and lyrical wings.

It helps that I’m Glad It’s You stand out from the flock of emo revivalists. The group get it, and it’s clear from their ability to think outside the box that they want to do things on their own terms, rather than copying and pasting Pedro The Lion songs.

cause I was so new to songwriting and I didn’t have any expectations other than to have a song with enough words to call it a song,” he says, “but a lot of the recent ones were a little more difficult to hash out, partially because I really wanted to grow and get better. There was definitely an attempt to incorporate several unexplored albums and artists into my regular listening throughout the year, so there were enough unfamiliar sounds floating around in my brain to disrupt what would be coming out.”

PALM TREEMO- I'M GLAD IT'S YOU PHOTO: ZACH MILLER

Thematically, the record focuses on a simple yet important topic. Bader explains, “[The Things I Never Say] is just about trying to be present, and that started with the process of trying to make connection with other people the highest priority. Openness or being personal is sort of like a currency for that. It usually feels like it makes sense to carry yourself with this cool, jaded persona—

especially in the art world—in order to fit in or relate and have this sense of being un-alone in something. You come across as someone who ‘gets it.’ But, I think it’s really all that goofy, sentimental stuff that does the trick, even if you come off

GROWING UP & GOING FORTH- FORTH WANDERERS

will be co-released by Father/Daughter Records and House Anxiety/Marathon Artists on Nov. 11.

The band’s Midwestern emo style is colored by shades of Southern California’s sunny and melodic punk roots. The result is something that feels honest, playful, and open to change. However, vocalist and guitarist Kelley Bader explains that writing this album was not easy. “The earlier songs felt like they just came easily throughout the day, be-

PHOTO: GRACE ROSSI CONAWAY

INTERVIEW WITH GUITARIST BEN GUTERL BY F. AMANDA TUGADE

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f you ask guitarist Ben Guterl how Forth Wanderers came together, he’ll tell you honestly: “I actually sent [vocalist] Ava [Trilling] a song I had done as an attempt to make conversation, because I had a crush on her at the time.

She sent it back to me with her vocals

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he Tubuloids are the perfect skate punk band, and their potent, hardcore-and-surf-infused sound conjures up images of skate parks and cases of beer. The Vancouver-based group’s Beer City Skateboards & Records debut, It’s Getting Weird, is a match made in easygoing heaven.

The EP—due out Oct. 14—is full of fun, melodic bursts of multifaceted energy, but there’s more to it than silly anthems—though “B Double E Double R U N” is a highlight. Guitarist and vocalist Kevin Baxter discusses his lyrical inspiration for the record, explaining, “I try to put some thought into our lyrics.

I don’t want to be the guy onstage just yelling ‘fuck’ a thousand times. Most of our songs are either inspired by people we know or events in our lives. ‘Creep Boogie’ is specifically about how everyone can be a little guilty of being a creep now and then. Perfect example: the door

on it, and it sounded really good. So, we started Forth Wanderers.” He looked to his friends—guitarist Duke Greene, bassist Noah Schifrin, and drummer Zach Lorelli—to complete the package. The end result includes the New Jersey natives’ latest EP, Slop, which girl at one of our gigs once gave me a sketch she drew of what she thought I looked like masturbating. I’m not sure if she was trying to be seductive, but it sure was creepy.” Gross…

The Tubuloids’ art has a very unique, punk flyer style. Baxter explains that this was honed over time. “When we first started out, no one wanted to book us,” he says. “So, we booked our own shows in whatever dive bar would let us play.

I’d draw up a flyer, and we’d go to town hanging them up, just like our punk rock forefathers. More gigs meant more flyers, which meant more drawings and more practice. My old lady also happens to be an exceptionally good artist, so she’s given me a lot of free art lessons over the years to improve my technique and help develop a style.”

It’s well established that these new additions to the Beer City Skateboards &

INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST/GUITARIST KELLEY BADER BY NICHOLAS SENIOR

Slop picks up right where the fivesome left off with their 2014 album, Tough Love, in the sense that they’re still learning, growing, and figuring things out. “We were pretty young when we started, so we toured according to what parents allowed,” Guterl says. “It used to be that at every show, my mom would need to know a checklist of details about what kind of show it was, how far away from home it was, who booked it. […] It’s understandable, and it’s kind of crazy they would let us go out at all, but it’s nice now being able to book a two-week tour and not to have to write out an itinerary for them. Now, we all just have to juggle our college schedules, which may be equally as frustrating.”

While Guterl says he’s leaving Slop for his listeners to make sense out of, he admits that the album’s title track was the only song for which the title didn’t

as naive or someone who doesn’t get it.”

It should be no surprise that sentimentality is the name of the game for an emo group, but I’m Glad It’s You have enough personality and passion to make it work.

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change. “I’ll write and record the guitars to GarageBand, and I don’t really have any context to name them, so I’ll just slap something dumb on it and send it over to Ava,” he explains. “For example, ‘Caramel Emotion’ on [the 2013 EP], Mahogany, was originally ‘Prettyboihandsome,’ and ‘Sleeper’ on Tough Love was just ‘yas.’ ‘Slop’ was the only demo name we used on the EP.” Guterl opines that naming the EP after that song was an easy choice, as it stands to be “the strongest song on the album,” and it “ended up being the name that people hated the least.”

What will follow after Slop’s release are a few shows and maybe an LP, but only time will tell. “We have an LP in the works that we are very happy with so far,” Guterl confirms. “Not sure when that is going to be released. Other than that, we’re trying to figure out touring for the year. […] We’re trying to make more shows work during the semester for us this year so we don’t have to wait three months between every show.”

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BOARDS AND BREWS- THE TUBULOIDS

INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST/GUITARIST KELLEY BADER BY NICHOLAS SENIOR Records roster have been lifelong skaters, but what beer do these gentlemen grab on their beer runs? Baxter states that one member drinks Old Milwaukee, while another is a total hop-head. How-

ever, the band are rather tied to their roots: “Hands down, the standard issue for all Western Canadian hosers has got to be Molson [Old Style] Pilsner.”

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NEW NOISE 9

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eath metalheads probably don’t need to be told that the self-titled debut album from supergroup, Serpentine Dominion, is coming out Oct. 28 on Metal Blade Records. Serpentine Dominion feature vocalist George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher of Cannibal Corpse—a death metal legend-in-his-own-time—guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz of Killswitch Engage, and former The Black Dahlia Murder drummer Shannon Lucas. When the project was first announced, metalheads everywhere celebrated the most killer collaboration of 2016, even if it was a collaboration they never knew they wanted.

The album, Serpentine Dominion, more than delivers too. Its nine tracks clock in at a taut 27 minutes of brutal riffs interspersed with some truly gorgeous melodic passages. What?! you might be thinking, Corpsegrinder singing on an album with melodic parts? Oh, yes, and it’s a thing of horrifying, terrible beauty. “As far as I know, he really digs it,” Dutkiewicz—who wrote all of the music himself—says of

Corpsegrinder’s involvement in a project that isn’t all-bludgeoning-all-the-time à la Cannibal Corpse. “At least, I hope he does, because it’s too late now!” he laughs.

“I think it’s neat for him to do a project with melodic parts, since Cannibal is just straight up brutal all of the time. And funny enough, he said he would do the project with me even before I submitted any ideas to him. He’s so trusting!”

The project was first proposed all the way back in 2009, when the members’ bands all played together on the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival. Dutkiewicz told Corpsegrinder, “George, I want to write you a record.” Seven years later, the rest is history, as the project has finally come to fruition. “I began writing the material after the Mayhem tour,” Dutkiewicz says. “It took me a little bit, maybe a half a year, to finish all of the demos for the record. I then worked on recording the record whenever I could find time in between tours. Having George’s schedule and mine line up was a pretty difficult

FULFILL YOUR DESTINY- MAKEWAR PHOTO: KAITLYN LAUREL MCGANN

INTERVIEW WITH GUITARIST/VOCALIST JOSE PRIETO BY DAMIAN BURFORD

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hen asked if he believes in destiny, Jose Prieto, frontman for the Brooklyn-based band, MakeWar—formerly known as Sad And French—pauses before answering, “I believe I do. […] I thought I was going to get married to this girl, have kids,

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askitt released their second fulllength album, Old Fires New Frontier, on Sept. 16 via La Escalera Records. The record mixes fast, melodic punk style with big, heavy drums and epic vocals. Growing up, vocalist and drummer Matt Caskitt got a heavy dose of his dad’s favorite bands and played the trumpet in the school band at his mother’s insistence, but he really wanted to play drums. “I begged my mom for a drum set at 11 years old,” he says. “She bought me a snare drum and stand and said if I played that every day, without [it] collecting dust, she’d consider buying me a drum kit the next year. Needless to say, I beat the hell out of that thing and held her to her promise.”

“At first, music seemed like a chore, an after-school class I had to attend at the insistence of my mom, to keep me from getting into trouble,” he continues. “So, I couldn’t care less about progressing

10 NEW NOISE

and live in Florida forever. Sad And French was a way for me to try to get over that one ex who destroyed my world. When I found the band [members], I found a new inspiration to keep writing music. It’s not just about the breakup anymore.” It was moving on from or learning. But music was always there for me when I seemed to need an escape from personal chaos.” Caskitt eventually started playing in punk bands in high school, a move which seems to have not only changed his life, but actually created meaning within it. “The friends and relationships I’ve made because of it have defined me as a person and given my life purpose,” he confirms. “Without music, I wouldn’t be here.”

Caskitt-the-band originally formed out of a metal project Caskitt-the-man was playing in with guitarist Steffen Long.

“When I found out he was a much better guitar player than metal singer, [laughs], I talked to him about starting a punk band,” Caskitt explains. “He agreed, and we started hammering out some ideas I had and put together a six-song EP. Then, it just progressed from there.”

Bassist Jesse Hernandez later solidified the trio.

TAKING A BREAK FROM BRUTAL- SERPENTINE DOMINION PHOTO: ZACH MILLER

INTERVIEW WITH GUITARIST ADAM DUTKIEWICZ BY MIKE GAWORECKI thing to figure out for quite some time.”

Killswitch Engage are known as more of a metalcore group, so even Dutkiewicz was stepping out of his comfort zone with Serpentine Dominion. “I like listening to death metal, so this was just a new outlet for me to try,” he says. “It was a lot of fun writing stuff this fast and aggressive, and just exciting to make music with two that breakup that helped the band find their new moniker, MakeWar. “I’ve been dealing with lots of anxiety and panic attacks,” Prieto begins. “MakeWar is not about killing people. MakeWar is more about the wars that happen in your brain, internally.

MakeWar is about dealing with things so you can hang out with your friends.”

A chance encounter with Brendan Kelly of The Lawrence Arms during a freak blizzard that descended upon the East Coast in January of 2016 brought the band to the attention of Red Scare Industries, who will release their record, Developing a Theory of Integrity, on Oct. 7. “Brendan was stuck here,” Prieto explains. “We have a mutual friend, Seth, who owns The Starliner. Seth asks me, ‘Do you want to play with Brendan at my bar?’ I was itching to play. We were all so bummed when the shows got canceled [due to the weather]. I walked to the bar in my snow boots. I’ll play, even if it’s for just one person. I don’t care. So, I went there, and [Brendan and I] had never met before.”

PHOTO: PAUL SILVER

dudes that I respect so highly.” And if you’re wondering if you’ll ever get to see this group live, Dutkiewicz offers, “We want to wait and see if people actually like the record first! And if it ends up being received well, maybe we will?” If that’s all it will take, expect to see Serpentine Dominion on the road soon.

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“We go inside, we have a couple of beers,” he continues. “We really didn’t talk about the band or anything. He didn’t really seem to care. I went up and played all my songs. When I was done, I went back to the bar, [and] Brendan says to me, ‘Holy shit, dude! You’re, like, really good!

Now I’m playing after you? You mean I actually have to be good? Goddamn it.’

He played his set, and afterwards, we started talking even more. […] Brendan let [Red Scare head] Toby [Jeg] know he found a band. […] When I sent [Developing a Theory of Integrity] to both of them, they said, ‘Holy shit, this is amazing! Let’s do it.’”

Prieto believes it was a “‘right time, right kind of place’ thing.” “Destiny is definitely out there,” he confirms. “If you want good things for you and you keep on doing the right things, that’s going to happen. That’s the way I see it.”

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WAIT, THE DRUMMER SINGS?- CASKITT

INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST/DRUMMER MATT CASKITT BY KEVIN WELLS Though the band are still labeled as being from San Diego, they are all spread out between West Hollywood, Ontario, and Oceanside. The drawback is that practices are never spontaneous, but it

benefits them in regards to touring. “It helps that we all don’t see each other on a regular basis, because we’re all super excited to get in the van,” Caskitt laughs, “despite what the other two say.”

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eing in a band that works is like being part of an explosive solar system: the endless stars and eternal cosmos fluttering perfectly in your heart. Ithaca, New York’s Izzy True—a band who dig in deep with a distinct ephemeral light—rock hard and wide, dashing and sprinting toward that unique planetary arrangement. Their newest indie rock nugget, Nope, was released Aug. 5 on New Jersey’s Don Giovanni Records.

“The band is comprised of my brother, Silas [Reidy], and my two best buddies, Jon [Samuels] and Angela [Devivo],” notes Isabel Reidy, lead singer and guitarist for the band. “We’re all such pals and great traveling companions, and we’ve really jelled together. The new album is very fresh and is really an amazing thing.” An ethereal and airy workout, Nope floats in post-punk and edgy folkrock simulation, surprising and engag-

ing around every evaporating corner. It dances in soft, balletic twirls, gritty at the core, expansive and shimmery all around. It’s got a classic rock vibe with an underground mentality. It’s quite immersive.

“Initially, I didn’t listen to classic rock, because it’s often so flagrantly sexist and felt inaccessible to me,” Reidy expresses. “I didn’t grow up with it. I’ve always associated it with that teenage moment where all the young dudes are going off and learning to shred. I identify as non-binary, but I was raised as a girl, and it didn’t feel like a place I was welcome.

In all honesty, classic rock is stupid as hell and built on toxic masculinity. I get a kind of masochistic pleasure in that part of it right now. Recently, I’ve been writing songs that try to channel that same kind of bravado and turn it upside down.

The song, ‘Mr. Romance,’ is like that. It’s

ROCKING INTENTIONS- BOSTON MANOR

PHOTO: CHRIS CLOUGH

INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST HENRY COX BY NATASHA VAN DUSER

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definitely don’t think we’re a pop punk band anymore,” Boston Manor vocalist Henry Cox says.

“I mean, we were at one time. That sound is still totally familiar, […] but I just kind of think of us as a rock band now.”

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and breakups can be bitter, but when Ellis Anderson, Missy Thangs, and Noah Dehmer’s former band, Toddlers, split, they took that negative energy and forged something new. They formed No One Mind. “After [working on Toddlers] for two, three years and a lot of hard work and effort and emotion put into that, the group broke up, much to our surprise,” Anderson explains.

The sudden division spurred Anderson to take all his feelings and set them to music. Wanting to continue a working relationship with Thangs and Dehmer, Anderson presented them with these songs and started putting the pieces together to create No One Mind. The three of them were able to work through the breakup aftermath by cultivating a whole new bond. “[The breakup] was pretty emotional for all of us in a lot of ways,” Thangs expresses. “We had this sort of common feeling of just sort of feeling uncertain of the future, in what we wanted, and we all had the same kind of frustrations that we shared. We really

“Rock band”—that’s not really a phrase you hear much anymore. Nowadays, every sound is always so meticulously labeled as a subgenre of a subgenre of something that once, kind of sort of, looked like rock ‘n’ roll. And while the British-based band may not yet be of the bonded through that I think.”

With Dehmer noted as part of the creative team and the addition of live members Sam Logan and Joel Willis, No One Mind are ready to take their new project to the next level. Having a solid team has been a huge factor in the band’s excitement for the evolution of the project.

“Finding that really special connection with somebody musically, creatively, when you’re creating things together, you sort of start building symbiotically,” Thangs says. “That’s really hard to come by. That’s been a pretty thrilling experience with this project.”

On Sept. 9, the band released their self-titled debut album via Third Uncle Records. The album speaks on the band’s feelings prior to their split with Toddlers and offers listeners a truly unique sound that is raw and off-kilter, but undeniably entrancing. “I think that [writing the album] started out as a way for me to process personal feelings and try to understand a different perspective,” Anderson

REVIVING THE RIFF- IZZY TRUE

I N T E R V I E W W I T H VO CA L I ST / G U I TA R I ST I SA B E L R E I DY BY C H R I STO P H E R J. H A R R I N G T O N one of those ‘sorry babe, I’m only in town for one night’ type songs, but it’s actually just about how I get my heart broken all the time. Bottom line is: I can’t let anyfull Mick Jagger Swagger persuasion, their frontman is right about one thing: their only intention is to rock.

Boston Manor gained a decent amount of traction through a set of EPs and signed with pop punk mavens, Pure Noise Records, who released their debut album, Be Nothing, on Sept. 30. The record is a statement piece that moves Boston Manor from the niche categories of rock into the overarching parent.

“Musically, it’s definitely a progression in the sense that we totally kind of wiped the slate clean,” Cox continues. “I think, with this record, we were just like, ‘Let’s only write music that we really want to write and disregard what this person might think or that person might think and write just for us.’ We really wanted to challenge ourselves, and I don’t think we’ve ever pushed ourselves more than when we were writing this record.”

Pulling influences from bands such as Thrice, Taking Back Sunday, and Radio-

one ruin sweet guitar riffs for me. I love the sound of electric guitar; it makes me want to cry. All I want to do is shred.”

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head, Boston Manor showcase a diversified take on the contemporary state of rock, from heavier tracks like the aptly titled “Lead Feet” to more pop-oriented jams like the single, “Laika.” “There’s a song called ‘Broken Glass’ that I love,” Cox explains. “It’s very personal to me.

I wrote the melody, and then, we kind of just sat down with an acoustic guitar and wrote the song in 10 minutes. That’s something that we’ve never done before.

We don’t really write that way, and that’s the most natural song that we’ve ever done.”

Boston Manor are a fledgling band, but with the positive attitude Cox and his bandmates hold, it seems like they are in it for the long haul—in fact, they just landed their first headlining tour this fall. “The headlining tour is a chance to sort of step into our own,” Cox concludes. “I’m in this band solely to play live and for no other reason, really, and I hope that shows onstage.”

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BREAKUP MUSIC- NO ONE MIND

INTERVIEW WITH ELLIS ANDERSON AND MISSY THANGS BY ANNETTE HANSEN explains. “It was kind of my way of try- band’s future. “I love creating things as a ing to be empathetic, or to gain a better musician and an artist,” Anderson says. learning of another person.”

“That’s my mainstay: making things and finding a sustainable community to As No One Mind continue to move continue making things. That’s the goal. forward, each member seems eager to continue to build a foundation for the

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NEW NOISE 11

O

n Instagram, Andreya Casablanca and Laura Lee of Gurr reveal that the secret to having fun fully relies on your best friend. Their off-centered selfies and short clips of band practice give a sneak peek into their friendship, their fitted high-waisted jeans, and their recent tour with Bleached. Recording at the studio, playing gigs at various spots, catching up with friends, and traveling together are the new normal for the Berlin punk duo as they prepare for the release of their debut album, In My Head, on Oct. 14 via Duchess Box Records.

“Sometimes, it feels like the band is our friendship now,” Lee says. “I mean, we rarely do anything else anymore when we are together but make music. A couple months ago, we decided to plan a date night again and went to the cinema to see a movie.”

Watching movies and listening to music are what brought the two together

In My Head dives into 11 fast, catchy tracks. The duo—who describe their style as “first wave gurrrlcore”—draw inspiration from a variety of acts, including the B52s, Jeff The Brotherhood, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and The Beatles. They also look to artists and writers to help their music transcend beyond songs and capture moods that create moments.

LET YOUR FREAK FLAG FLY- DAYSHELL

INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST/GUITARIST SHAYLEY BOURGET BY NICHOLAS SENIOR

L

et your freak flag fly. That’s the unspoken motto of California-based rock band Dayshell and their excellent second album. Nexus—due out via Spinefarm Records on Oct. 7—sees the band doubling down on everything that made their 2013 self-titled debut great. Dayshell aren’t really like anybody else: their approach is

F

or years, Seattle-based singer and guitarist Stig Barker and drummer Ian Shelton have worked toward making music together. With their emo outfit, Hiding Place, Barker and Shelton—along with guitarist Waylon Trim and bassist Landon Boyd—have found a musical outlet that lets them flex their talent. With backgrounds in the West Coast punk scene, forming Hiding Place was an opportunity for Barker and Shelton to show off their more sentimental side. “Stig played me his acoustic stuff a really long time ago, and I was like, ‘Dang, we need to do a band like that,’” Shelton expresses.

As the band worked out their sound, they found themselves drawn to the raw honesty of emo music. Despite emo’s polarizing presence in pop culture over the years, the genre has captivated many listeners with its ability to cut deep lyrically and be immensely expressive musically. That was something Hiding Place appreciated

12 NEW NOISE

GURR(LS) JUST WANNA HAVE FUN- GURR

to begin with. Casablanca and Lee met in October 2010. College students at the time, the two retreated to Lee’s apartment to write songs about the movies they watched. “I also remember that one afternoon—I think we barely knew each other—we booked a flight to England and decided to travel for five weeks,” Casablanca says. “There, we basically already told everyone we had a band, so when we came back, that idea started to take shape. We’ve been friends for around a year before we started the band, but it surely is a huge part of our friendship.”

much headier and considerably less dark than other bands who are influenced by late ‘90s hard rock—there is no nu-metal here.

Embracing uniqueness isn’t without its challenges, however. Vocalist and guitarist Shayley Bourget explains, “I’m

and sought to emulate. “I think [emo] is more sentimental, just the way that it’s projected through vocalists and through how the vocals transcend through the chords,” Barker says. “It really speaks, and it’s not false advertising for a certain lifestyle. It’s really honest.”

After spending the last couple of years writing music—even completing a whole album before tossing it—Hiding Place released their self-titled debut EP on Sept. 19 via Alternatives Label. The album showcases the band’s ability to capture the heart of emo without sacrificing the hook. “We’re very chorus-oriented,” Shelton explains. “In writing the songs we write, we always try to find where it’s going to pay off. I feel like, among other emo bands, sometimes that gets lost, and it’s just a continuation of an idea.”

Now that Hiding Place’s efforts have finally come to fruition, the band are thrilled

PHOTO: MARCO LEITERMANN

I N T E R V I E W W I T H A N D R E YA C A S A B L A N C A A N D L A U R A L E E B Y F. A M A N D A T U G A D E That moment—for now—is caught up in In My Head’s album cover, which features Casablanca and Lee in the backseat of a car. A piece of a city landscape is painted behind them. They are in transit.

Next stop? “The next big thing is that we are going on tour with Jimmy Eat World in Germany,” Lee says. “Those will be the

biggest shows we’ve played so far. We are super excited and peeing our pants a little too. We will also play a small tour when our album comes out, and then, get ready to tour a lot next year, and hopefully, play in the U.S. as well. That would be a dream.”

not afraid to admit that we’re that band that kinda is just smack in the middle of all these genres. We’re metal-y, but we’re not that heavy. We’re fucking poppy, but we’re not poppy enough. We’re sort of radio rock. We’re not defined by one category; we’re that oddball. That’s why I tried to amp it all up on this album, just go all out: make it more energetic, make the riffs heavier, make the kids go nuts at shows. Hopefully, this album turns it around for us [so] that we can really find our niche, because this is it. In my opinion, if this album doesn’t get us to the next level, you gotta cut your losses and figure out plan B.”

but was tragic but not fatal. “When we did the first album, we were all gung-ho about it,” Bourget says. “The light at the end of the tunnel was our [current] manager, Mike Milford. Prior to that, people were leading us in a wrong direction, putting us in debt, and making us feel guilty about it. That’s the worst thing you can do: make somebody feel guilty for trying. I take that shit to heart.” That frustration clearly lit a fire in Bourget, who admits, “With Nexus and having all this time to think about everything, we literally had about 40 song ideas. I just hope we picked the right ones,” he laughs.

“It’s a gamble,” he continues. “Honestly, I thought I had it figured out. ‘I’m gonna be the best fucking singer in the genre. I’m going to write the coolest, most original tunes, and kids are gonna like it, because it’s different.’ No, kids don’t like different. They want the same band over and over until the next trend comes out. Fuck,” he laughs.

After the tumult of the first album cycle and readying Nexus, Bourget says he feels “truly nervous,” but “I am confident in my music and in myself,” he adds. “It’s scary, but the way I look at it, if this is it, it’s it. We got to make two albums and travel the world, and we made people happy. I just have to remember the good times.”

The letdown Dayshell felt after their de-

.....

.....

PLAYING HOOKY- HIDING PLACE PHOTO: CHE HISEGATTONE

INTERVIEW WITH STIG BARKER AND IAN SHELTON BY ANNETTE HANSEN to finally be heard. “For Stig and I, this has been, like, a two-year process leading up to this, and it feels great to finally have the ideas out there,” Shelton says.

According to Barker everyone involved feels the same. “It’s a nice relief for everyone after literally years of sitting on what me and Ian have been doing,” he concludes.

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GREAT APES

S

an Francisco’s Great Apes are not ones to shy away from a concept album. Their last effort, 2014’s Playland at the Beach, was all about their hometown, past, present, and future.

So, it’s not hard to believe that the band have once again sought a consistent theme to tie together the songs on their latest album.

California Heart is a stellar, at times tragic, collection of songs that center on a creative and thoughtful adolescent with substantial alienation and mental health issues, living in Fresno.

“The theme was developed before the writing process began with the band,” vocalist and guitarist Brian Moss says. “I may have mentioned this in prior interviews, but a while back, I became pretty disenchanted with writing about myself. It started to feel too easy and repetitive.”

To keep things challenging and less self-indulgent, after the band’s initial 7” releases, Moss made a personal commitment to keep his band’s lyrics focused on other people and bigger issues.

California Heart comes out on Asian Man Records on Oct. 14.

The band’s second full-length and sixth release overall, it is easily their best. It's smart, melodic punk rock that brings to mind bands like Dillinger Four and Jawbreaker. Opting to set the record in Fresno was a bit of a challenge as Moss did not know much about the area at first. “I wanted the songs to paint a picture of California’s Central Valley. I wanted to portray a location in the state that didn’t involve beach stereotypes, major cities, or common reference points,” Moss says. “The culture and lifestyle out there is so drastically different than what many of us are used to or what we think about when California gets brought up.”

Drummer Matt Kadi grew up in Vacaville and guitarist Chris Chapel grew up in Grass Valley— both smaller California towns— so discussing the subject with them was helpful. Moss explains, “The Central Valley makes up a large portion of the state, is often overlooked, and for some reason, writing about a kid stuck in a farm city’s suburbs in the heat, dust, and cultural doldrums, trying to navigate life and a troubled mind interested me.”

By his own admission, Moss grew up as an outcast as well, so that part of California Heart hits a

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ALAN SNODGRASS

INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST/GUITARIST BRIAN MOSS BY JOHN B. M O O R E little closer to home. As a teacher, he’s also worked with children and young adults who are having a difficult time internally and with the world or social groups around them. “It’s pretty sad to witness it, and a desire to help kids dealing with those issues was a huge motive in my decision to go into the profession,” Moss says. “Both through personal experiences and in my work, it’s evident that, while youth can be a wonderful and inspiring time in life, it can also be intensely painful and isolating. I’ve always thought people who claim high school was the best time of their lives are fucking miserable and insane.”

Great Apes have a few Bay Area shows set for October, but are taking a break from writing. “At the moment, I think everyone— perhaps me most of all—feels creatively exhausted from the last record,” Moss says. “I can’t imagine jumping into new lyrics at the moment. After a new release comes out, we usually take a break from writing to reset, hone a new set, and let the next step appear naturally. Forcing material never works for me; it comes in natural creative rushes, and that’s when I do what I think is my best work.”

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DEATH VALLEY HIGH

I

ndustrial goth-punks Death Valley High stepped outside of their comfort zone for their upcoming release, CVLT [AS FVK], out Nov. 4 via Minus Head Records.

“We work hard, we play hard, and unfortunately, sometimes, that makes the working hard part really daunting, or maybe even painful,” lead vocalist Reyka Osburn laughs.

“Going down to L.A. was beneficial, just getting away from our comfort zone and from having too many distractions. We didn’t have every single night where people were saying, ‘Hey man, let’s go hang out’ and ‘Let’s go get drinks.’ So, the difference being there was a lot more productivity, I think, going into this record, preproduction-wise as well as when we were in the studio.”

14 NEW NOISE

This time around, the band— which also includes drummer Adam Bannister and bassist Huffy Hafera, with Daniel Ka$$hu on guitar as Sean Bivins takes a step back to take care of family matters—worked with producer Ulrich Wild, who Osburn says really polished the band’s sound. “Ulrich, he’s more meticulous in the way he approaches things,” Osburn adds.

“He can make more ideas pop better; he had standards for us that were higher than what we worked with normally. In that regard, I think you can completely hear it at the end of the day. The earlier records had more of a raw edge, like we don’t really care if it’s that much in tune, we don’t really care if the synth is sitting right on top of the guitars. There was a difference

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ERICA VINCENT

I N T E R V I E W W I T H R E Y K A O S B U R N BY G A B I C H E P U R N Y this time around that really shows in having Ulrich on board.”

Death Valley High fall into a grey space between music genres. Their tunes on CVLT [AS FVK] stay catchy while bringing in a harsh edge and still somehow remain inherently goth to the end. “We wear a lot of black, we wear war paint on stage,” Osburn offers. “I wouldn’t necessarily pigeonhole us in goth at all, in fact, but just being that

we come from this church of doom and more gloomy type of approach, I can see why we get that. As much as we really like to play a lot of the horror theme—it comes up a lot in the lyrical content, so I guess that’s maybe where it comes from as well, but I wouldn’t say that I don’t like it.”

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BRAIN TENTACLES

T

ypically, when well-known musicians get together, it is customary to label them a “supergroup,” but when supergroup status is the goal, the resulting music too often becomes a noisy, disjointed mess. In the case of recent Relapse Records signees, Brain Tentacles—comprised of multi-instrumentalist Bruce Lamont of Yakuza, Corrections House, and Bloodiest; bassist Aaron Dallison of Keelhaul; and drummer Dave Witte of Municipal Waste and Discordance Axis—the results are not only super, but also noisy, disjointed, and perfect!

Like the music they would eventually start making, the band’s formation was very unusual. “Dave got asked to do a food [and] drink blog while on tour for the Scion car company’s magazine, and he asked me if I wanted to start a project together and take part in the blog,” Lamont recalls. “I said yes, then he got us on a tour with Melt Banana. We wrote songs, we played shows, we ate food and drank good beer. We decided we wanted Aaron to play in the band as well, and here we are today.”

Once the band was solidified, they began exploring their intense mixture of improvised acid jazz and extreme metal, signed a deal with Relapse Records, and hit the studio with legendary Chicago producer—and occasional contributor to their various projects—Sanford Parker.

The end result is a magnificent self-titled debut, which was released Sept. 30.

Though the music on Brain Tentacles seems wide open, spontaneous, and completely off the rails, “most of the music is structured and planned,” Lamont admits. “We have some spots that are more open and can have some room to improvise. If we are working on something improvised, we would do a couple takes and pick one depending on the overall vibe and performance.”

On paper, it may seem difficult to create truly terrifying extreme metal with just a bassist, drummer, and saxophonist, but Brain Tentacles accomplish this perfectly, particularly on “Hand of God.” “[That song] was one of the ones where we wanted to focus on being really heavydoom-death, and I think it sounds even heavier with a horn,” Witte confirms.

“We found influence in many things and tried to capture a bunch of different vibes within the song structures.”

The album is full of incredibly intense music, but the band also found room

INTERVIEW BY BRANDON RINGO for samples that range from the obscure to the hilarious. “Most of them were from friends of ours being themselves in random states of social behavioral experiments,” Dallison reveals. “In other words, drunk people recorded with phones. I think a sample or two came from some drivers’ education films from the ‘60’s as well. One sample in particular—the beginning of ‘Fruitcake’—inspired the main horn riff. It’s Will Scharf [of Keelhaul and Craw], being himself and doing something wacky [and] funny in a video message, so we took it and made a riff from the noises he made.”

After venturing through the band’s wild, erratic, and at-times horrifying riffage, Brain Tentacles ends with an appropriately weird prank call from a local icon.

“I have a friend here in Cleveland who used to do prank calls many years ago,” Dallison admits. “Most people know him as Original Pranksta. He did the infamous ‘Metal Joe’ black metal prank.

Well, after 15 or so years of retirement, we—being fans—asked if he would dust off the cobwebs for a Brain Tentacles prank. Much to our delight, he obliged.”

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MANNEQUIN PUSSY

P

hiladelphia’s Mannequin Pussy began with the duo of vocalist Marisa Dabice and guitarist Thanasi Paul, and through the power of the law of attraction, became a four-piece less than four years later. “We never were really looking for anyone else,” Dabice says. “We never asked anyone else to join our band, but it just kind of happened, I think because we wanted it. And sometimes, if you—you

16 NEW NOISE

know, manifestation: if you think positively, it’ll come. That’s pretty much how we met Kaleen [Reading], and she’s the most amazing drummer ever. Then, it was the three of us for about a year, and then, maybe a year into living in Philadelphia, we met Bear [Regisford], who became our bass player, and that’s all of us.”

The band’s second full-length, Romantic—out Oct. 28 on Tiny Engines—clocks in at about 17 minutes and is the result of the five stages of grief experienced over two years, mostly in a city that Dabice credits as being full of friendly competition amongst musicians. The vocalist explains, “I know so many of my friends and my peers [in Philadelphia] are incredible musicians, and they really inspire me to work very hard at the thing that I love. There’s just so many incredible bands, and everyone is constantly making music where, every time you hear it, you’re like, ‘Damn, that’s even better than the last thing that they made,’ and you also want to contribute to that.

You want to be constantly working on the next thing, and I think that’s a really

INTERVIEW WITH LEAD VOCALIST MARISA DABICE BY GABI CHEPURNY important thing to be doing, to constantly be challenging yourself to get better all the time.”

Romantic came together as 11 tracks of whirling, East Coast, emotion-infused punk that are well worth the wait fans had to endure between now and their last release, 2014’s Gypsy Pervert. “We all, as individuals—and Thanasi and I as primary songwriters—we don’t always deal with the things that happen to us in the most constructive ways,” Dabice says. “I feel like a lot of the times when you’re going through something that is hard for you to understand, people recommend that you go to therapy and go talk about it, but neither of

us are very good at doing those things, and we’re really trying to get better at that. So, music is really the way that we write about the things that we’re going through.”

“It is an album that I think is heavy about loss and transformation in a lot of ways,” she continues. “We talked a lot about the stages of grief throughout the recording process.

Those five stages of grief are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

I felt like I was in the depression phase of grief when we came in to record it, and that, by the time it was all done, I felt like I had finally found myself in acceptance. But, you know, it changes all the time.”

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THE BEST OF FRENZAL RHOMB 11/18/16

NEW ALBUM OUT NOW!

WHO KILLED MIKE HUNCHBACK? 7” out now!

I WANNA DIE IN LOS ANGELES 7” out now!

2nd installment of the ORIGINAL DEMOS series

FATWRECK.COM

IMPLANTS T

he Los Angeles-based melodic punk rock five-piece, Implants, started out five years ago with one mission: have fun writing and recording some songs.

From there, things took off. Fronted by lead vocalist Ken Conte of The Tank, with guitarists Rob Ramos of Strung Out and Jim Blowers of Pulley, drummer Chris Dalley of Ten Foot Pole and Authority Zero, and recently recruited bassist Matt Riddle of No Use For A Name and Face To Face, Implants have an impressive punk rock pedigree.

Now, throw all that out and start over.

Conte admits that having fun is really what it’s all about. Before the release of their 2013 Cyber Tracks debut full-length, From Order to Chaos—and their new five-song EP, The Olden Age, released Sept. 9—Implants were just some dudes getting together to rock out. “We were originally just going to record five songs. We weren’t even going to put it out,” Conte says of the band’s genesis. “But then, the chemistry of the members, we all clicked really well, and that’s when it grew into this monster.

So, we started recording more songs, and that became a record, then we hooked up with Cyber Tracks.”

The band close The Olden Age with Cheap Trick’s “Come On, Come On,” proving that punk rock is whatever you make it. “Part of the whole reason this band was formed was so that we could do what we want to do. That’s really what Implants is about,” Conte asserts.

“There’re times when you’re in a band and it feels like a job—and realistically, it is. With this band, it doesn’t feel like work. It feels like fun, and that’s really what it’s all about.”

NOFX guitarist and Cyber Tracks head honcho, Aaron “El Hefe” Abeyta, and producer Ryan Greene—who recorded NOFX’s Punk in Drublic and has worked with seemingly countless punk bands—coproduced The Olden Age. “Oh, God, it was a blast!” Conte recalls. “It’s really funny: when you’re in the studio, a lot of times, there’s lots of pressure involved, depending on what part of the cycle you’re in. With this, it was just a great experience. We laugh a lot in the studio, and we like to have fun.”

Working hard to deliver a quality live performance is something Conte says Implants are all about. “We don’t want someone to say, ‘Wow, that record was great, but man, they suck live!’” he laughs. Conte also confirms that, yes, there will be another full-length. What Implants have going is special, and he

MUSTARD GAS & ROSES F or guitarist Mike Gallagher, Mustard Gas & Roses—or MGR— began as an outlet, a way to make cinematic, pensive postrock that didn’t quite fit into his day job with the post-metal band, ISIS. Two years ago, MGR became something else when A Storm Of Light frontman Josh Graham asked Gallagher along on their European tour. “I was hesitant to play MGR as a one-man guy with a loop machine,” he explains. “I liked doing it that way, but I missed performing [with a group].” Graham suggested Gallagher write a few songs with his band. “We got together and practiced for a few days, and it came together really nicely,” Gallagher recalls. “I spoke with my wife during the tour, and she wondered who she was talking to, and why I sounded so happy and excited to be calling her from tour [laughs]. I was really loving what I was doing for the first time in a while.”

Thus, the idea of Mustard Gas & Roses the band was born, and Gallagher recruited members of Ides Of

18 NEW NOISE

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ALAN SNODGRASS

INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST KEN CONTE BY NICK HARRAH doesn’t take it for granted. “My family is obviously the number one priority in everything I do. Music is right after that,” he emphasizes. “It’s really about keeping things in perspective and not jeopardizing your family and your livelihood, but at the same time, giving it your all when you can and making sure that you’re not half-assing what you do.”

tough time or it makes them happy or nostalgic. When we hear that, that’s the motivation to keep us going and do what we do.”

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“[The band] does keep me sane,” Conte admits. “It keeps me grounded as well, just being humbled every time [we] play in front of a crowd and speak to the fans and hear how our music has impacted them, whether they’re dealing with a

PHOTOGRAPHY BY MICHELLE PULLMAN

Gemini, Chelsea Wolfe, and Mother Tongue to round out the group. “[The new album] was mostly me,” he says.

“I sketched it all out, and the guys filled in the blanks. As we went along in the process, I grew to trust them more and really appreciated their abilities and input.”

Becoming—due out via The Mylene Sheath on Oct. 14—became something that breathed new life into the project and Gallagher, creatively. The album’s themes and motifs correlate strongly with Gallagher maturing as a person and a songwriter. He explains, “I had an idea of what the direction was going to be, but I am trying to be, at this stage of my life, open to the experience and seeing where the day takes me. There was a lot of that. Basically, some songs came together really easily, and other songs you just have to beat to death and try every damn little silly nuance to get aground.” This TLC is apparent on Becoming. It’s a daring listen, bringing in elements of folk, doom, and psych rock to create something

INTERVIEW WITH GUITARIST MIKE GALLAGHER BY NICHOLAS SENIOR that feels like an Americana postmetal masterpiece.

“I named it Becoming for a reason,” Gallagher reveals. “As humans, if we can just see that we have the potential to be something better and more excited and exciting, that’s a gift. If you can call upon that drive from time to time, it’s a wonderful thing.” In this same vein, making the record was a very fulfilling endeavor.

“It was nice to be more at the helm.

It was interesting to have a vision and see it through,” he says. “Often in my life, I’ll start something and not

finish it.” However, this doesn’t mean Gallagher isn’t a bit nervous. “We’re all putting ourselves out there,” he admits. “It was very intimidating.

It’s one thing in the practice room, but when you go to share it, then it’s scary.”

Nerves aside, when one becomes someone or something better than before, the difficult journey is worth the exciting destination. Certainly, Becoming is a record that will stand tall, even against Gallagher’s best work in ISIS.

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SONIC AVENUES A

ccording to Sonic Avenues vocalist and guitarist Maxime Desharnais, the Montreal-based punk/ power-pop band’s fourth album, Disconnector—out Oct. 7 via Dirtnap Records—wasn’t even supposed to exist. That would have been a shame, as the 12 songs that comprise the album are some of the band’s best to date. “We hit a bit of a rough patch,” Desharnais confides. Sonic Avenues toured extensively, worldwide, after the release of their 2014 EP, Mistakes, and “came back exhausted.”

Without getting into too much detail, he says they “almost terminated the band completely,” but he makes sure to note that the reasons for wanting to disband had nothing to do with the bandmates’ relationships.

While Sonic Avenues’ future was in limbo, Desharnais formed a side project called Static. He began writing for that outfit, but they faced insurmountable scheduling difficulties.

So, Sonic Avenues got back together and decided to keep at it. “We have good chemistry. It’s hard to restart a band with people you haven’t played with before,” the vocalist explains.

To reenergize themselves and keep

SEEKER

W

hen Texas death dealers, Seeker, first came onto the scene in October of 2013 with their Victory Records debut Unloved, their acrimonious anthems were just the “golden snitch” fans of the deathcore and extreme metal genres had been searching for. While the album was a critical success—which isn’t always easy to achieve with a debut record—the band refused to stop there. Their new album, Loss, will be released Oct. 14 via Victory Records. “Writing for Loss began almost immediately after we released our first album,” vocalist and bassist Bryce Lucien explains.

However, as is often the case, life got in the way and derailed the process. “We stopped touring in August 2014 after I had to leave the band. A really horrible situation was continuing to get worse, and I had to take care of it,” Lucien admits. “The guys continued on playing sporadic shows without me and just continued working, living, and all that. Our

20 NEW NOISE

things fresh, the band all agreed on a songwriting philosophy going forward. Desharnais recalls guitarist Seb Godin saying, “‘If we do a record, it’s [gotta be] a different one or not at all.’” The singer says, “He reiterated exactly what I was thinking. I’m so happy this happened, because since I started to write for Disconnector, the inspiration hasn’t stopped.” Some of the songs that made it on to Disconnector—like “Illusions: The System”—were actually ideas from Static. “I had fully-written songs, so I was like, ‘I’m gonna recycle these into Sonic Avenues songs,’” Desharnais says. With this newfound creative spark, Desharnais divulges that he’s already working on the next Sonic Avenues record.

The lesson that has emboldened the band to go in a different direction is to not “write songs for other people. Be at peace with adapting a new compositional approach,” Desharnais says. This thought process of trying new things began while writing for Mistakes and went even further during the Disconnector sessions. “I don’t wanna write the same record over and over,” he explains, adding, “You try to expose yourself to moments of creative discomfort.”

Years ago, he wouldn’t have allowed himself to write slower, darker songs, “but this time around, there

PHOTOGRAPHY BY NICK BALL

INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST/GUITARIST MAXIME DESHARNAIS BY JANELLE JONES are songs with palm mute acoustic, that still have explosive moments.”

In the past, they would’ve been deemed “too weird” to make it onto a record.

Inspiration for this records’ particularly darker, synth-ier—but still punk—feel came from bands like DEVO, Gary Numan, and The Sounds. “The synth sound on ‘Burn Like Fire’—I remember thinking I wanted a sound that sounded like The Sounds,” Desharnais reveals.

Similarly, he wanted a crisp drum sound reminiscent of DEVO’s landmark album, Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!

As an “old geezer band”—as Desharnais jokingly calls them—Sonic Avenues enjoy taking different approaches to writing and recording, as well as working with different people. “It’s pretty crucial for the longevity of a band,” he notes. “Ten years in rock ‘n’ roll for a band is pretty old.”

Still, don’t expect Sonic Avenues to stray too far from their youthful, energetic old-school punk roots. “We’re all punks,” Desharnais assures. “This will always somehow transpire through whatever musical endeavor I’ll be in myself as a songwriter, but also the other guys as musicians.”

.....

old bassist was a tattooer, so he jumped back into that full-time. Our drummer moved to Dallas from Oklahoma City.

Our old guitarist moved to Austin.”

Unwilling to be held down, the band were eventually able to recover despite shaky circumstances and regroup to begin work on their sophomore album. “We started seriously picking it back up in January 2016,” Lucien confirms. “It’s hard to sum up what our mindset was. We were totally scattered and recovering from an extremely difficult period of time. We got the band going again because we needed it. We had to do this record.”

Though the band weren’t in the best headspace when they recorded Loss, they were able to take the emotions of the past year and convey them through another uniquely brutal musical adventure. “All we knew was that we wanted it to be as extreme and fearless as possible.

We didn’t want to set any limitations on ourselves or try to go for a certain sound or please a certain group of people,” Lucien says. “We wanted it to reflect where we had been at emotionally for a very long time, and we wanted to do everything musically that we had ever wanted to do. The

INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST/BASSIST BRYCE LUCIEN BY BRANDON RINGO more comfortable we became with that approach, the more the sound developed, so it was a totally organic process.”

The band’s reemergence as a three-piece might seem like a potential hindrance to their sound, but it has actually served as an augmentation. “Becoming a threepiece is the best thing that we’ve ever done,” Lucien assures. “Any of the challenges presented in a live situation are honestly a ton of fun to work through.

The writing process is so much smoother than ever before, touring is so much easier, and we just generally get along way better. There’s no more bullshit.

The three of us click so well musically, and after spending years together, have such a deep understanding of one another that we never really have any issues.

It’s such a nice change of pace after years of constantly replacing members. We’re not planning on going back to a four- or five-piece anytime soon.”

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MESHUGGAH I n October of 2016, the Swedish monstrosity known as Meshuggah will be celebrating two monumental occasions. On Oct. 1, the band will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the release of their first full-length, 1991’s Contradictions Collapse, through Nuclear Blast Records. A mere six days later on Oct. 7, they will unleash The Violent Sleep of Reason, their eighth full-length, and an album that easily qualifies as some of the best material they’ve ever done.

One listen to Violent Sleep of Reason’s complex, concussive riff-grenades is all that’s needed to have nonbelievers bowing in holy reverence. While, the record does differ greatly from their past few offerings, according to drummer Tomas Haake, the songwriting process started off the way it usually does. “We’re very much solitary writers in a sense,” Haake admits. “It’s not really jamming music; it’s not something you can just jam up. Basically, we sit by a computer, and that’s how it starts.” One element that did change was the involvement of bassist Dick Lövgren. “[Dick and I] wrote a

WHORES.

E

verything about Whores. has a deeper meaning, something unexpected below the surface of their abrasive first impression. That’s the way the band like it according to vocalist and guitarist Christian Lembach. It starts with the music. From the beginning of their excellent new eOne debut, GOLD.—due out Oct. 28—Whores. have sharpened their feedback-laden noise-rock to a deadly edge, but it’s not metallic. It’s just the loudest, most bombastic punk imaginable, and it’s a whole hell of a lot of fun. It’s like Torche, but with a lot more piss and vinegar.

Lembach laughs about how misconstrued their music is. “I think of our band as more Pixies-influenced than Sabbath-influenced,” he admits, “but it’s really loud, bombastic music, so

bunch of the stuff for this album, six out of the 10 songs,” Haake confirms. “So you have, in a sense, a new member as far as being involved in the writing, and obviously, that’s gonna have a direct impact on how the songs turn out.”

The recording process for Violent Sleep of Reason also marked the first time in 22 years that the band recorded live in the studio together. “We actually haven’t done that since the None [EP in 1994],” Haake reveals. For Haake, everyone being in the same room with their cabinets cranked all the way up not only gave the album a more “real” sound, it also gave it a sound more evocative of their older albums like 2002’s Nothing and 1998’s Chaosphere. “With [2008’s] obZen and [2012’s] Koloss, as great as we all feel they came out, they are a little more dead, because they’re very kind of fixed,” he explains. “It doesn’t sound live, because it isn’t live. That’s one aspect of why this album sounds more old-school, and that’s what we went for.”

The increase in their collaborative process and choice to record live in the same room also made the experience a lot more enjoyable for the band creatively. “We really tried to write songs in tempos and styles that were comfort-

we end up playing with bands with vests with all the patches and beards and songs about mountains, wizards, and weed. That’s all rad, but it’s not where we’re coming from at all.” However you view Whores.’ music, this furious batch of tunes are 10 M80s ready to explode during their upcoming live dates with Red Fang, running Nov. 18 through Dec. 16.

Lembach isn’t shy about talking politics, and he explains why he’s frustrated about the hullabaloo over his band’s name. “I’m as left wing as they come, almost democratic socialist. I have no patience for any sort of sexism, racism, [or] homophobia. It makes me feel let down that people who I would consider allies—socially or politically—misinterpret the name of our band. […] The whole point in naming the band that is to say that, unfortunately, everybody seems to have a price. There are very few people who don’t. We’re calling ourselves whores. I didn’t expect people to misinterpret it so thoroughly.

At this point, I can’t change the band name. I’m not giving in to those people.

It’s about realizing we’re all in this together. We recognize we’re broken, but we’re imperfect together. You find solace in knowing you’re not alone.”

Even the period after the name—both the band’s and the album’s—is in-

22 NEW NOISE

INTERVIEW WITH DRUMMER TOMAS HAAKE BY BRANDON RINGO able,” Haake says. “I think that’s kind of what you hear on this album, that kind of playfulness that comes out when you feel good about playing those things at those tempos.”

Meshuggah were already destined to go down in metal history, even prior to inspiring the birth of djent. While it would be understandable for them to look down on their swanky-haired progeny, they instead embrace them and continue to raise the bar to greater and more impossible heights. “We try not to put any

focus on what other bands are doing, and to be honest, we feel more flattered than anything else that so many bands see us as the forefathers of this genre,” Haake says. “So, to us, that’s humbling and flattering, really. But, for each album, we want to write something that sounds new to us, that’s something that we haven’t heard in ourselves before or haven’t heard at all, and that’s the main goal and approach for us.”

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY PAUL SILVER

INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST/GUITARIST CHRISTIAN LEMBACH BY NICHOLAS SENIOR tentional. Lembach explains, “The full stop is a strange choice to make, because it can come off as super pretentious, but in the context of minimalism, it works really well. If it’s simple, everyday words, it works, because you think maybe it takes on an opposite meaning. It gives something simple a lot of depth with one really easy move.”

It’s no surprise that Lembach’s political passion bled onto the songs on GOLD. “I try not to be overtly political,” he begins, “but I’m very much into personal politics, because it’s the only thing any of us have any sort of

agency over: our own life, choices, and our own attitude over the world. It’s become really apparent that there’s a real disparity between the haves and the have-nots. It hasn’t always been that way, but it’s really getting to a fever pitch, especially in America.

People are starting to catch onto that and get pissed off about it. […] I think about this stuff a lot, and it makes me really upset and powerless. From that comes this unfathomable abyss of darkness. It seems like we’re gonna have to burn it down and start over. I hate to be so fatalistic, but it doesn’t seem like it’s getting better.”

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JOE MCMAHON S

moke Or Fire frontman Joe McMahon’s first solo outing has been about five years in the making. Over the course of writing the songs that would eventually become Another Life, he ended a seven-year relationship, lost his house and his business, fell in love, and moved to Germany to be with his girlfriend. “The title is pretty much what it is. Six years ago, my life couldn’t be more different. I lost pretty much everything I had,” McMahon says. “It was the lowest point in my life.

Now, I live in Germany, I play music fulltime, and I’m the happiest I’ve ever been.

It’s strange how the one thing you think is the worst that has ever happened to you,

KHEMMIS

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ast year, the metal scene was floored by rookies, Khemmis.

These Denver dudes toured fervently after their debut, Absolution, anchored most “Best of 2015” lists. The more astonishing move from the doom-mongers is that they are already back, on 20 Buck Spin, with a proper full-length full of heavier, fiercer songs. Hunted’s more fleshed out songwriting culminates in the 13-minute titular closer. Vocalists and guitarists Ben Hutcherson and Phil Pendergast say they are now eagerly anticipating their hometown album release show on Oct. 21.

“It does seem fast,” Hutcherson admits of the turnaround time for Hunted, “but you have to remember, we actually recorded Absolution in November of 2014.

By the time it came out, we had been writing songs for six or eight months.”

This songwriting momentum was ignited by idle hands and opportunity.

“As soon as you get recorded, you start getting that itch to write again,” he says.

Despite the successive releases, Pendergast declares that the recording was not rushed. “We waited for everything

24 NEW NOISE

you look back and can’t imagine your life if it didn’t happen and wouldn’t change it for the world.”

The initial plan was to record the songs on little more than an acoustic guitar and release the album as a barebones affair, but McMahon says, “As the songs started coming together, I heard the songs fullband. The songs were depressing, and I wanted to keep the feel but do something a little different. I decided to take my time with it and really let it become what I heard in my head.” Now, listeners can finally hear what was in his head. On Sept. 2, Another Life was released jointly

by Smartpunk Records in the U.S. and Gunner Records in Europe.

The move to Germany came after a whirlwind romance with a German girl McMahon met when Smoke Or Fire toured Europe in 2013. Their first show was in Münster, and after the gig, he met his now-girlfriend, Maggie, for the first time. They kept seeing each other at shows across the tour and fell for each other quickly. At the end of the tour, he cancelled his trip back home to spend two more weeks with Maggie. “When it was time for me to fly back to America, Maggie and I were trying to figure out a way to be together. She couldn’t move to

to be written and [for us to] be happy with it,” he says. “This time, we had more of a vision.”

INTERVIEW BY JOHN B. MOORE America and asked if I would ever move to Germany,” he says. “About 10 months after we met, I was on a one-way flight back to Münster with a bag of clothes and two guitars.”

The music scene in Münster reminds McMahon of the one in Boston where he and his band got their start in the late ‘90s. “People go out to shows just because there’s a show,” he explains. “I’ve seen a lot of my friends from America more here than I did in the States, because their bands come through to play so often.”

Despite having started his new life in Europe and released his solo record, McMahon says Smoke Or Fire are not over yet. “I love those guys so much, so I don’t see us breaking up, because there’s no reason to,” he says. “I would love to write another Smoke [Or Fire] record and record it, but it doesn’t make much sense if the band isn’t going to tour.” For now, McMahon is focused on promoting his solo record with a slot at FEST in October and then, a tour of the East and West Coasts.

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY JORDAN HYDE

Hutcherson elaborates on the aspects that differentiate the band’s two LPs. “This time, we had a clearer idea of the elements we wanted to focus on,” he explains. “We emphasized choruses and traditional song structures, even when writing 13-minute songs. We wanted more than riffs that make you bang your head. We wanted to write memorable songs.”

Hunted illustrates Khemmis’ patience and focus. The vocals croon and seduce, then switch to a menacing growl, all to support the haunting atmosphere. The epic climate triggers emotions and unsettling memories.

Calculated patterns, drums, and riffs stir fortuitous curses. The audience can hear each section grappled and adjusted from a predictable form. Pendergast confirms this more discerning approach. “There is not a distinctive change to our sound with Hunted,” he assures. “These are more concise songs. […] We spent time cutting anything that was unnecessary. If you hear a riff repeat, we changed something underneath it, maybe a drum pattern.”

Hunted’s smoky mood often succumbs to the harder grooves and thick

INTERVIEW WITH BEN HUTCHERSON AND PHIL PENDERGAST BY HUTCH crunch—such as on “Three Gates”—but better musicianship does not equate to softening or pulling back on aggression. Pendergast extrapolates this push for traditional doom facets. “For me, I emotionally connect to doom more than other genres,” he admits.

“Doom has more songs that resonate emotionally. I feel I have a voice that may connect to people with doom.”

Both members are excited to be playing a hometown show on the album’s actual drop date of Oct. 21. They will be joined by two Denver peers, Spectral Voice and Cult Of The Lost Cause.

Then, the band hit Southwest Terror

Fest 2016 in Tucson, Arizona, the following day. They also recently completed a 12-day tour. Pendergast, exhausted, reveals, “It’s good to be home from tour. The 12 days wrapped with Migration Fest in Olympia, Washington. It ended with a 21-hour drive back home,” he laughs.

Pendergast is also excited to announce that Khemmis have “lots of stuff up in the air for spring of 2017, but nothing locked down yet.” When those plans are secured, more crowds will be awed by this stronger, sharper Khemmis.

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DENY THE CROSS T

he frantic minds of drummer Dave Witte, guitarist Dan Lactose, bassist Ramon Salcido—aka Frank Ripple—and Carlos Ramirez despise stagnant moments. This fever renders another brutal, low-end frenzy for hardcore and powerviolence fans: Deny The Cross. The band’s members, collectively, have been in Municipal Waste, Spazz, Discordance Axis, Hope Collapse, Black Army Jacket, Agents Of Satan, and more.

“A few years ago, Dave and I were hanging at a Municipal Waste show here in Los Angeles,” Ramirez explains. “We were talking about grind and powerviolence bands that we had played with back when we were in Black Army Jacket [together].” Witte is one of metal’s most revered drummers. Add in Lactose and Salcido—who Ramirez and Witte have known since the ‘90s—and Deny The Cross were birthed. “It took a few years of talking about it,” Ramirez says, but finally, Alpha Ghoul was released via Tankcrimes in August.

Due to being spread between Richmond,

WORSE

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he collective punk pedigree of Brooklyn’s Worse is impressive— boasting ex-members of seminal New York punk bands from the last decade like Nomos and Shoxx—but the band don’t want to be pegged to any genre or even defined by an opposition to one particular sound. “I’ve never had this freedom before,” guitarist and one of two vocalists, Rob Davis, says.

That freedom was exemplified by a foursong demo tape released in late 2015 that saw the band masterfully straddle the line between caustic and melodic.

Their heavy sound—reminiscent of the aforementioned bands—is imbued with an undercurrent of feedback and noise throughout. Songs like “Coming Together” and “Long Nod” reshape old hardcore formulas, injecting elements of acute psychedelia and guitar tones that shift from piercing to sludgy.

Worse manage to mine subtle pop hooks underneath their harsh affront and dual vocal attack. There’s momentum in lieu of traditional song progression

26 NEW NOISE

Virginia, and various cities in California, recording and playing are infrequent for Deny The Cross. Ramirez admits, “We’ve only played the Brainsqueeze Festival, which Scotty [Heath] from Tankcrimes did back in 2014. I’m hoping we could do some more shows within the year.” Ramirez laments another aspect of the geographic limits, adding, “I wish we could have banged the record out together in one studio, but we had to figure another plan of attack.”

Regardless, Alpha Ghoul is a cohesive album. Witte’s skills and fury manifest in “insane drum patterns that lift everything to another level,” Ramirez says. The vocals are soaked in vitriol and coarsely screamed, the riffs are tight and urgent, and the production is crisp, but thick with the bass pushed in the mix. “I think that’s another aspect of Deny The Cross that stands out,” Ramirez notes.

“Ramon is doing really interesting runs that add color. […] We had a clear sonic mission. It was important that the material wasn’t just a chaotic blur of noise.

Dan knew how to write riffs that got to the point, remained vicious, but also had a catchy quality to them.”

is much stronger than it was back when I was in my 20s,” he says. The anger is as venomous as anything he has screamed in the past. “A few songs […] deal with my distaste for organized religion,” he explains. “There’s a song called ‘Everyone Is Wrong’ that is my take on all of the political talking heads on CNN and Fox [News]. ‘Vigilante Fantasy’ was inspired by my love of ‘80s exploitation films like ‘Vigilante’ and ‘Vice Squad.’”

Lyrically, Ramirez is confident in the words he spews. “I think my lyrical game

“Deny the Cross is a straight up kind of thing. The guys didn’t get cute with shit,”

INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST CARLOS RAMIREZ BY HUTCH Ramirez says, endorsing the simplicity in his band. Alpha Ghoul is a masterful, malicious album that portrays the seasoned talents of four vets of the scene.

Ramirez wants to capitalize on the release’s momentum. “I’m optimistic that we’ll be doing more stuff together in the future,” he says. “I mean, I’m getting hit up by promoters and other bands, about doing shows, so the interest must be there.”

.....

and a new type of melody forged largely through a commitment to repetition.

The line “Let’s not buy in / Let’s just stay in” from the song “Off” is repeated until it becomes indelible.

The demo is loud and crisp, but retains the essence of something lo-fi. Davis gives credit to producer Ben Greenberg who has recorded for numerous bands and has played in a slew of noisy New York outfits including but not limited to The Men, Uniform, and Pygmy Shrews.

“A lot of bands want to sound like the early ‘90s. They want that lo-fi sound, but they don’t know how to do it other than to just recording poorly,” Davis says. “Ben knew the difference.”

Greenberg also recorded the band’s debut LP, Rubber Burner, due out Oct. 21 via Canada’s venerable Deranged Records. Davis—who has known Greenberg for nearly 10 years—says their familiarity and history aided in the recording process. “He knows us, and he picked up on things we liked about our old bands, elements we wanted to include here,” he explains.

According to Davis, the latest batch of songs on Rubber Burner is the result of

INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST/GUITARIST ROB DAVIS BY JOHN PHILLIP T A P P E N a collaborative songwriting process and a willingness to embrace disparate influences. “Some weeks, someone would be listening to a lot of Harvey Milk, and they’d come in with half a song or an idea, and we’d riff on that,” he recalls.

The congealing of influences has produced a noisy and slightly melodic punk band who take equal cues from hardcore and Butthole Surfers or Cows.

The original conceit of Worse, Davis says, was not to sound like anyone in particular, but rather, be a venue that accommodates for varying tastes, evolv-

ing week to week. Davis pointed to their recent cassette release comprised of different songs, live audio, and new material they’re working on—stuff that doesn’t necessarily sound like the demo. “Having that flexibility to be able to write and record anything and put the name ‘Worse’ on it, it’s great,” he says.

Worse will play a record release show for Rubber Burner in October.

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L

ike a good wine or a pair of leather boots, Bay Area thrashers Testament only get better and more enjoyable with age. And like that pair of boots, age has also made Testament tough as hell!

That toughness came in particularly handy during the recording process for their new album, Brotherhood of the Snake— out Oct. 28 on Nuclear Blast— thanks to the band’s incredibly busy schedule. “There were a few different time periods [for writing],” vocalist Chuck Billy admits. “I would say the majority of it was in late 2014, and then, we had a bunch of stuff that took up to this point to get finished.”

While touring constantly is the ultimate goal for a lot of bands, it can also serve as a major doubleedged sword. “We recorded [Brotherhood of the Snake] all in one shot,” Billy explains “but just trying to get it done, we kept getting tours offered to us. A Slayer tour, a Lamb Of God tour—those are tours that you don’t really wanna pass up. So, you take a break from it, come back and work on it

some more, take another break, come back and work on it some more. Then, the holidays came, so we took a break and worked on it some more. So, it was a long process for sure.”

Though the band’s schedule made the deadlines for a new album much tighter than they would have liked, the pressure facing them helped push them creatively. “A lot of [the songs] came at us as we knew we had a deadline to meet, and as the deadline closed, we kind of lit a fire under everybody to get it done,” Billy says. “A lot of it came together as we were in the studio recording it. So, something about being on the spot or having the pressure on you, I think it came out really good compared to having a lot of time to sit on the song.

Maybe it was just made a little more creative, I guess.”

Testament fully intended to have a new album out sooner than 2016, bug their touring schedule wasn’t the only issue holding up the process. They also had to replace bassist and founding member, Greg Christian. Fortunately, their former bassist Steve DiGiorgio

was waiting in the wings. “Steve was there for [1999’s] The Gathering, and when we did the reunion gig. We had always hoped that we would still have Steve, because he was a part of the band,” Billy admits. “When Greg decided he was leaving, it was like, ‘All right, well, Steve is gonna come back now. That’s Greg’s decision to not play, so Steve’s coming back.’ It’s a great fit. He’s a great guy; he adds a lot to the band with personality and musicianship, so it’s been great.”

Brotherhood of the Snake strikes a wonderful balance between sounding clean and huge like an atomic bomb of thrash, but also raw and salty like a good old-school thrash album should.

One of the biggest reasons for this perfect storm of metal is the band’s maturity and their exploratory approach over the years. “When [we were] younger, we were always involved with a lot of the mixing; [we would put] more effects than probably need be on stuff, and actually made them sound like smaller records,” Billy explains. “Whereas, with the last couple of records, we’ve been more

confident in having the mixes a little more dry, especially vocally.

Like with this record, the vocals are really dry and it just adds another element to where you can mix the guitars and the rest of the band.”

Though the band’s writing and recording process and their lineup have evolved massively over the last two decades, their ability to roll with the many punches thrown their way has been the main component to their continued success. While some may think that the old days provided better opportunities for bands versus today’s economic downturn, Billy is the first to admit that music has become more financially viable than it was in Testament’s heyday.

“Those days are over where you’re getting a lot of money and it’s like a bad credit card,” he confirms.

“So, bands aren’t hurting as much and filing bankruptcy because they’re in debt so deep. Those days are over of the big budget, the big studio, and the big video, so bands do things on a much smaller scale financially. We’re still doing records that sound just as big as half a million dollar records.”

...

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ALAN SNODGRASS

28 NEW NOISE

A

pocalyptic illusions existing in unnatural and swirling wormholes can be difficult to navigate. Yet, through the bleakness, a slithering perfection to behold, extreme and comfortably terrifying. If you persist in this cold dimension, you grow accustomed to its sheer insanity. Step inside the dark desert textures of Birmingham, England, duo Anaal Nathrakh, and you’re right there: a quickening and constant blast of terror and beauty. The band’s newest album, The Whole of the Law—due out Oct. 28 on Metal Blade—digs deep inside your inner fears, creating a sort of code of invisibility. You feel lost, pummeled, and yet you fight through, growing infinitely in the transformation. Is it a lesson or a widening abstraction?

“Our music is generally neither dialectic nor ideology,” notes Anaal Nathrakh vocalist Dave Hunt, who sometimes uses the pseudonym, V.I.T.R.I.O.L. “Both of those things

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are essentially dialogical, whereas what we’re interested in is more a matter of expression. Mick [“Irrumator” Kenney] is interested in making music that he thinks sounds cool, which is largely a self-referential notion. And I’m just trying to articulate what’s in my head. Articulating isn’t explaining or talking to someone about something. It’s more onesided; it’s utterance as opposed to communication. People can make of it what they will; it’s often the case in music that people recognize some part of themselves in it. That’s part of what makes music resonant and can make it feel strangely personal. But that’s something that happens for a listener. Whether or not those who made the music intended one reaction as opposed to another is separable from the reaction itself.”

The Whole of the Law takes the cue, dropping into a well of infinity and letting you swim its punishing waters on your own.

The music is intense, even if you think you’re ready for it. The band mold medieval symphonies, an industrial-ish black metal, and a constant and pulsing shipwreck of visions. Across the sea of doom, an angel is trapped and shining: is it true or something visiting you momentarily? You journey to her, because you believe. Anaal Nathrakh succeed mightily in pushing a vision: the more creative, the more devastatingly epic.

“It’s important that the listener experiences something as a result

of listening, but that something could be anything as far as we’re concerned,” Hunt explains.

“We’re interested in showing the listener an experience, but we’re not concerned with whether that experience changes them.”

The song “On Being a Slave” flutters in contemporary modes, whirling some sort of interdimensional tale.

Taking place in the future, the past, on a nether world far, far away—it matters not. You gain a peek inside a world. The Whole of the Law is prophetic without every pushing a single idea. Prophecy is creative, not ideological. A dark world inhabits us. Do we see the light?

“I don’t foresee a happy ending for the things talked about in the song ‘On Being a Slave,’” Hunt says. “I don’t think humans are privileged over other aspects of the natural world, so to that extent, we’re all part of a natural order. But I don’t think there’s much about human society that conforms to any ‘natural’ order in terms of hierarchy or anything like that. Perceived differences between individuals and societies are human constructs, and any hierarchical stratification is merely the current state of a continual negotiation between groups standing in asymmetrical power relations to one another. That’s what makes tragedy absurd, and possibly makes the absurd tragic— it didn’t have to be this way.”

Take a trip to a challenging dimension: The Whole of the Law is born free, letting you travel its mirrored expression.

.....

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JAMES ALVAREZ

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JAMES ALVAREZ

W

hen Punch announced they were calling it quits shortly after releasing their critically acclaimed 2014 fulllength, They Don’t Have To Believe, the hardcore scene was stunned.

The dissolution of Philadelphia emo outfit Snowing caused a similar reaction; the band were rapidly rising to the forefront of their genre when they split up. The timing was unpredictable in both cases: one act fresh off their biggest release to date, and the other reaching the peak of their popularity. Each breakup also left fans with more questions than answers, building mystique around what might come next.

This backstory is essential for understanding the growing excitement around Oakland, California’s Super Unison. Featuring vocalist Meghan O’Neil Pennie of Punch and drummer Justin Renninger of Snowing, the noisy post-hardcore three-piece—rounded out by guitarist Kevin DeFranco—made an immediate impact with a self-titled four-song EP in the first half of 2015.

News that members of two beloved

32 NEW NOISE

yet stylistically disparate bands had started something new was enough to earn headlines by itself. It was also enough to get the attention of Rolling Stone, who named the band one of “10 Bands You Need To Know” in May of that year.

the lines. Their sound channels everything from Drive Like Jehu— from whom the band derived their name—to Sleater-Kinney, infusing ‘90s post-hardcore and riot grrrl influences with tasteful rock ‘n’ roll swagger.

“Both of my bandmates are from Philadelphia, Kevin and Justin,” O’Neil Pennie says. “Kevin and Justin were playing music together, with our old guitarist Danny [Goot] too. I knew Kevin at the time, and he approached me—it was just after Punch broke up—about singing for the band, and I later said I wanted to play bass as well.”

While traces of the members’ legacy acts are present, Auto makes it immediately evident that Super Unison is its own entity. Whereas Punch delivered punishing hardcore at all times, Super Unison opts for guitars with more breathing room, giving O’Neil Pennie space to expand her range while holding down a driving bass presence.

DeFranco’s guitar playing adds pedal-driven texture, unafraid to carry jagged melody lines over serrated riffage. There’s no apparent template here, and as O’Neil Pennie explains, the band don’t shoot down ideas for not fitting any sort of mold. “We don’t feel like we have to limit ourselves in terms of genre or what it has to sound like,” she says. “Sometimes, Kevin will show us a part he’s written and say, ‘Oh, I don’t know if that’s a Super Unison song.’ But, I’m always like, ‘Well, it can be.’ I don’t want to have these

If Super Unison felt any pressure to deliver under anyone else’s expectations, however, it doesn’t show. On their debut full-length, Auto—out Oct. 14 via Deathwish Inc.—Super Unison sound confident and self-assured, delivering a dozen sharp blasts of discordant post-hardcore. Abrasive without being metallic, melodic without being pop, and familiar without being derivative, it’s an aggressive yet accessible take on modern punk that isn’t afraid to color between

clear-cut definitions of what’s a Super Unison part. It’s just more fun not to limit yourself.”

This sense of creative freedom and independent spirit makes it impossible to pin down Super Unison as a simple “ex-members of” band.

In fact, attempting to understand their present by looking at their past may cause many to miss what makes them such a compelling outfit. While band breakups often result in members playing it safe and splintering into similar sounding acts, Super Unison have started fresh without concern for stylistic boundaries. And for a group with such a strong cross-genre pedigree and a debut LP on deck for one of hardcore’s most respected labels, their focus remains refreshingly simple…

Three friends playing passionate punk rock for its own sake and free from pretense. “We’re along for the ride,” O’Neil Pennie says. “What’s important to us is writing and playing shows. Of course, I’m sure all three of us have different goals, but I think it’s nicer just to see what happens.”

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T

he turns are swift, dazzling, lurking, and steep on Vancouver-based progressive rockers, Anciients’ newest orb of eternity, Voice of the Void—due out Oct. 14 on Season Of Mist.

The grizzly northerners manage to wrap a solid and reverberating individuality around a loose and varied formula. It’s the luscious melodies, geometric bridges, and recharging size of the circular realms the band visit that keep you glued and steady: headbanging and tripping out to the fourth dimension like the eternal spirit of the universe. The new album is a psychedelic trip, equal parts tension, rainbows, and doom.

“I think progressive music has to be forward-thinking and incorporate several types of music within one project,” lead guitarist and vocalist Kenneth Cook notes. “I don’t think you have to make 20-minute flute-based interludes to be a truly progressive band, just write songs that are based outside of standard formulas that aren’t afraid to take a left turn at any moment. I am usual-

34 NEW NOISE

ly trying to practice something new when ideas for songs arise; messing around with unfamiliar scales or chords usually sparks the initial ideas for songs. Then, it’s just a matter of building parts around the initial ideas. I’m usually just thinking about how I could become a better musician.”

Isn’t that the basis of the progressive rock movement birthed in the late ‘60s? You bet it is.

What Anciients do exceptionally well is the melding of breakneck instrumentation with melodic and engrossing song structure.

There are jazz moods tucked in the band’s wavering scales, a sharp and bleak darkness woven throughout, and a visual and philosophical hymn to the overall anthems on the new album. Voice of the Void carries a stinging heartiness: mold, sun, and darkness reign hard. You can listen to this over and over and still find hidden pockets of starry transcendence.

“The visual theme for this record was basically based around the

idea of the earth being sucked dry of all its beauty and left black and desolate,” Cook explains. “The artwork has some strong similarities to the music if you listen closely to the lyrics. I believe that music can paint a picture and create an atmosphere for the listener if done correctly. For me personally, I was thinking a lot about things that are incredibly wrong with our planet: aspects of religion, the economic divide, and war and terrorism just to name a few. Things of that nature set the tone for this record; the music is darker this time around, and the lyrical themes follow suit.”

As you delve further and further into the rabbit hole that is Voice of the Void, you at once shrink and enlarge, bouncing around the cavernous realm in a spiritual and creative trance. It’s an album with real feeling and a timeless starkness. Set it in between your Pink Floyd and Enslaved records and it still glows spectacularly as a true and unique vision. There’s an obvious extreme and heavy

angle to the record, but underneath lives a mind of hope and softness. A balance. The spirit of the eternal psychedelic aesthetic burns hard in the heart of Anciients.

“Psychedelic music is most definitely inspiring to me, personally,” Cook exclaims. “One of my favorite bands is Pink Floyd— aside from the overplayed radio hits—I will never get sick of their early stuff, it is simply great music, and masterfully crafted. I am constantly listening to so much different stuff on a regular basis.

What I was into most around the time of recording the new album was Wishbone Ash, Rory Gallagher, and a band from California named Astra.”

Spiraling, tunneling, mathematic, and free, Anciients offer modernity, complexity, and a sprit that was birthed so long ago: this stormy and earthy soul, this leap of faith into the darkness, this distant calls to infinity, this Voice of the Void.

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N

ots never do anything halfway. Onstage and on record, the Memphis foursome—vocalist, guitarist, and lyricist Natalie Hoffman, drummer Charlotte Watson, bassist Meredith Lones, and synthesizer player Alexandra Eastburn—generate an overwhelming wave of rhythm and noise, marked by fractured melodies and skewed rhythms that move the music—and the listeners—into unfamiliar territory. The tempos are blistering, and there’s as much turbulence in Hoffman’s singing and lyrics as there is in the music.

She grapples with the conflict between light and darkness, chaos and order. “We don’t play love songs,” Hoffman says, with a chuckle.

36 NEW NOISE

Once the music starts, it doesn’t stop. It flows out of the band, carrying them away on a wave of exuberant emotion. “We’re pretty rowdy onstage,” Hoffman says.

“We don’t pause between songs.

We tend to write new little bits on the spot to connect the songs we’ve already written, so a performance becomes one fluid thing.

There may be a moment when we all stop, but usually, one of us continues playing between songs to create an all-encompassing experience. The other players have to dive in and keep up.”

“Recording our new album, [Cosmetic], was pretty rowdy too,” she says of the band’s Sept. 9 release for Goner Records. “We all know and trust each other and wanted it to feel like a live show. We’ve recorded a few other albums with

Keith Cooper, our engineer and co-producer, and know the kind of sound he creates in his home studio. We wanted to record with a friend, direct to tape, and he has a good ear. We used a Tascam 388 analogue reel to reel 8 track recorder.”

The songs on Cosmetic were captured live, with the band playing together. They weren’t touring, so they had the luxury of spending several days intensely focusing on each song. “We’d record three or four takes of the same track and pick up the best one,” Hoffman explains. “We maybe overdubbed one or two guitar or bass parts, and I added vocals later, but everything else was live.

We wanted that live energy to be present in the record. A lot of the songs weren’t completely written

when we started, so each take was a bit different, which is what we wanted. [The album] doesn’t have a super polished feel; it’s definitely got a live energy feel.”

The band delight in laying down breathtaking tempos that recall the early days of punk, while Hoffman’s angular guitar work straddles post-punk, art rock, and pure noise. “My guitar style devolved into chaos in Nots,” she admits. “When I was trying to teach myself to play, the kids I knew learned scales and played along with the radio. I couldn’t do it, so I made up my own chords, got a computer, and began recording things on my own. I didn’t know what I was doing, but it sounded cool, so I went that route. My parents got me lessons, but they didn’t stick.”

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T H E

A G O N I S T

:

F I V E

Written and performed by The Agonist Vicky Psarakis: Vocals / String composition Danny Marino: Guitar Chris Kells: Bass / Backing vocals Simon McKay: Drums Pascal Jobin: Guitar

AN AUDITORY ASSAULT OF MELODIC DEATH METAL AND METALCORE! Produced and mixed by Mike Plotnikoff “The Wake” mixed by Igor Khoroshev Engineered by Hatsukazu “Hatch” Inagaki String arrangement by Igor Khoroshev Editing by Paul DeCarli Mastered by Maor Appelbaum at Maor Appelbaum Mastering - California - U.S.A (maorappelbaum.com) Assistant Engineered by Shaun Exrol, Carl Stoodt Recorded at West Valley Studios, Woodland Hills, California Album Artwork by Gustavo Sazes (abstrata.net) Band photos by FAYA (thefaya.com)

Searing Guitars Riffs, angelic Melodies, demonic Growls and all out Aggression!

T H E A G O N I S T W O U L D

L I K E

T O

T H A N K

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N

ew York’s premier maniacs of wild time signatures, Candiria, are back on the scene in a big way. While the band have once again been playing shows for thrilled fans around New York for over a year, they’re now preparing to release their first album in a whopping seven years. Titled While They Were Sleeping, the Oct. 7 Metal Blade Records release will be first new offering fans have had in nearly a decade. “I think we needed a break. We were all kind of just tired, especially after the accident,” vocalist Carley Coma says, referring to the band’s 2002 van crash. “That killed a lot of momentum, it just wiped us out, and you know—we tried to come back, and we had a good run, but all the work that it took, to me personally, I was a little burnt out.”

‘Oh yeah, great, here’s a record.’

We’re not Radiohead or The Rolling Stones or something like that where you can just put music out. […] You gotta go out and really work hard, and nobody really wanted to do that then.”

Guitarist Michael MacIvor echoes, “Yeah, I think [Coma] hit the nail completely on the head. I think it was more of a lack of desire to do everything it meant to be Candiria. […] Because, at the time that we went away too, it wasn’t this thing where we could just make a record and be like,

“At least we got to play one more show with him,” Coma says.

38 NEW NOISE

Coming back from their long furlough, the band have gained drummer Danny Grossarth. “We love [former drummer] Ken [Schalk].

I played with him for many years, and he actually taught me a lot of things,” Coma says. “But, long distance relationships never work.

He’s out in California, but he might as well be on Mars.”

They Were Sleeping is a concept album, a whole new endeavor for the band. Coma says, “Well, [the band] approached me—because, like I said, we were on a long hiatus—and said, ‘Carley, we have a song for you, we want you to record vocals.’ I said, ‘OK, let me give it a shot.’ It turned out better than I thought it would. [...] And [guitarist] John [LaMacchia]’s like, ‘Ah, c’mon, let’s tour,’ and I’m going, ‘Nah, get out of here, one and done,’ right? You know what I mean? And then, as time went on, it just reignited the fire between us.”

“Yeah, and he played on two songs on the record, which is great,” MacIvor adds.

“Then, Mike approached us and said, ‘Let’s do a record.’ But then, I thought about, ‘What am I going to write about?’ because to be honest, looking back at some of those old records, I don’t know what I’m talking about,” Coma laughs. “It’s the headspace I was in at the time. [...] Over the last couple years, I just got really into storytelling, and I said, ‘You know, this is going to be hard, but let’s do a concept album.’”

Grossarth isn’t the only new thing for Candiria this go-round. While

The tale is based around a failed musician living in a social me-

“Yeah it’s already difficult for us, and we’re all here in New York City,” MacIvor interjects. “So, unfortunately, we couldn’t make it happen.”

dia-driven, dystopian New York, who rises up to fight the monarchy that controls the city. Coma pieced together the premise through news and social observation, pulling from things that he felt people could identify with even when taken to extremes. “I don’t want to give away too much, but I definitely like how the album starts off with the nemesis so to speak. It sets the tone for the record,” Coma shares.

Candiria are excited to finally share While They Were Sleeping with fans. “I know a lot of people say this, but I think Candiria fans are the best,” Coma says. “You know, when you’re away from something, you realize how much you love it, and just being onstage and seeing them hang on every word, and just seeing how much they missed us… completely crazy.”

“There are people out at the shows that I haven’t seen in 10 years, and then first show after 10 years, boom, there’s that person. It’s like, this is crazy,” MacIvor adds. “At the drop of a hat, here are these same people, and there’s new people too. So, it’s pretty cool.”

....

I

n 2005, with only an EP and two full-length albums under their belts, Michigan-based band Bear Vs. Shark disbanded, leaving a flood of lifelong fans behind to wonder what could have been. Frontman Marc Paffi, as well as his childhood friends and bandmates, put immense pressure on themselves, and the intense emotions that followed proved to be the catalyst for their breakup.

get back together, I would have said, ‘No way.’ All of our lives are getting more complicated. Putting this whole tour together was quite the Tetris puzzle, but we made it work.”

that 6 0 0 people want to see us at Bowery Ballroom.”

“We were pulling away from each other, and there was some strife within the band,” shares Paffi, now a member of Bars Of Gold. “In hindsight, we should have taken a reasonable hiatus and stopped touring for a little while. But, thinking back to the emotion of that time, my thought was, ‘No, we just need to stop.’”

The beloved post-hardcore band first announced a benefit show in Flint, Michigan, and fans from all over flocked to the city in crisis, positive that would be the only opportunity to see the rekindled group perform. Despite the lengthy hiatus, stepping onstage together seemed as simple and as natural as it did 10 years ago. “Marc didn’t even have to sing the songs,” guitarist John Gaviglio admits. “Everyone sang every word. It’s crazy to see how much passion there is for our music, how much passion has been grown and created over the last 10 years.”

But then, an impulsive string of events resurrected the band from their decade-long hibernation. Paffi’s Bars Of Gold bandmate, Scotty

Paffi noticed the effortless transition as well, noting how every chord and every word rushed right back to the tips of his fingers and tongue. “It

In terms of what the future holds, Bear Vs. Shark cannot promise much, but that feels fair considering devotees have already received

Lulianelli, snapped a shot of three Bear Vs. Shark members onstage and posted it to Facebook, captioning it with words that implied their comeback. What began as a joke instantly turned into a real and far-reaching reunion. Around the same time, Equal Vision approached the group about putting out a double vinyl album featuring both of their records—a joint release of 2003’s Right Now, You’re in the Best of Hands. And if Something Isn’t Quite Right, Your Doctor Will Know in a Hurry and 2005’s Terrorhawk. The combination of happenstances sparked their momentous return, much to the disbelief of the band and admirers alike.

was like riding a bike,” he admits.

“Once everyone picked up their instruments and once I sang the first line, everything snapped right into place.”

much more from the band than they ever expected. “We have no expectations as far as what’s next,” Paffi says. “I think this is how we pictured it to end. These are going to be our last shows, so if you never had the chance to see us play, or if you’ve been waiting to see us again, this is the best opportunity to do that.”

“To be honest, I didn’t know this was going to happen,” Paffi says. “If you asked me a year ago if we would

40 NEW NOISE

A week later, the band announced a massive tour spanning both coasts and the Midwest. But despite the stunning love and support abounding in Michigan, Gaviglio wondered if that same reception could be sustained outside of their home state.

“I was giving Marc a ride home after practice one day before the tickets went on sale, and I remember saying, ‘I’m so nervous. What if all this crashes and burns and nobody remembers who we are?’” Gaviglio says. “I was at work the day tickets for the New York shows went on sale. They sold out in two hours. It’s humbling and astounding to think

What truly surprises Gaviglio is that, after all this stagnant time, the band have gained a following far beyond the one they had when they were first playing. “Back in the day, we never had an audience like that.

We had hardcore fans, but now, it’s bigger than it ever was,” he shares.

“It’s crazy to think that we didn’t do anything for the last 10 years. We’ve been defunct for so long, but Bear Vs. Shark has legs beyond anything that we ever imagined.”

However, holding onto hope is what Bear Vs. Shark supporters do best and Paffi’s bandmate seems to be a bit more hopeful himself. “I think we’d be foolish to say that nothing will ever happen again,” Gaviglio admits.

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NEW NOISE 41

T

he singer creates atmospheric music that blisters with fiery passion, and her 2014 debut, Some Heavy Ocean, felt like Rundle was trapped in a body of water that would not let her out. Rundle’s sophomore release, Marked for Death—released Sept. 30 from Sargent House—pulses with more of a grim cadence, a ghastlier presence.

Each song across Marked for Death is relatively simple in structure, but it’s Rundle’s careful attention to textural layering that grapples the listener in. That is her favorite part of the writing process. “Once the bones of the songs are there, I like to add all the other guitar parts that I think take the music into more of a space,” she explains. The significance of space is what makes a song like “Protection” that much more attractive. With brilliant amorphous singing, Rundle lets her guitar take over and crash through the roof of atmosphere with a hail of distortion and swirling effects. It’s the unleashing of the singer’s soul, which not only escapes through her lyrics, but through her ability to make songs feel tangible.

Rundle’s lyrical themes complement Marked for Death’s dark sonic presence. “There is a theme that I tend to gravitate towards, which is this idea of a kind of redemption after a fall,” Rundle reflects. Across the album, Rundle seems to be searching for a way to deal with pain and suffering

42 NEW NOISE

that lends to any form of resolution. Even in the music, there is a natural transformation that takes place in each song, swinging between ambience of complex layering—like on “Marked for Death”—and stripped-down performances—such as on “Heaven.”

But even stripped-down, Rundle is adept at rendering the content with just as much meaning. With “Heaven,” the minimalism is intentional, with the drums being used as a catalyst to capture the emotional complexities.

“I fucked around with having drums and how much drums on that song and the record in general,” Rundle explains. “It was a give and take a lot until I found a place where I felt like it was doing the song justice.”

To write Marked for Death, Rundle went to the desert, where she didn’t leave the house for 25 days, rarely ever seeing the outside world. “It was kind of crazy; I don’t think it was entirely healthy,” Rundle comments, continuing, “I am a big believer in the spirit of the space.” Marked for Death ends with “Real Big Sky,” on which a gritty acoustic guitar hums through a bass rig. “If you can get through all that grating sound to where the emotion is, I think you’re ready to hear it and be open to it,” Rundle admits. The song is about the difficulty of dealing with the loss of a loved one—pushed through the afterlife where Rundle wanders close, in her own space, but still breathing through her music.

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44 NEW NOISE

W

hales and Leeches, the 2013 blockbuster of an album

by Portland, Oregon’s Red Fang, put the band on the U.S. Billboard charts for the first time, garnered wide praise from fans and critics, and even led to a performance on Letterman in January 2014 during which Paul Shaffer sat in with the band.

But none of that fazed Red Fang when they went into the studio to record Only Ghosts, the follow-up due out on Oct. 14 from Relapse Records. “Personally I didn’t really feel any pressure to do anything other than make a kickass record that we could be proud of,” drummer John Sherman says. “I didn’t think about the last record at all when we were writing this record or when we were recording it. We were just totally consumed with the now, and it was really awesome.

I had more fun recording this record and writing this record than any other record, so I’m excited.”

However, they did slightly change up their formula. Red Fang didn’t impose a deadline on themselves

when they started writing Only Ghosts—at least initially. “With Whales and Leeches, we basically wrote and recorded that whole record in three months, with the deadline hanging over us, so it was stressful,” Sherman says. “This one, we just started writing songs and were like, ‘We’ll book studio time when we’re ready.’ Eventually, we realized that we would never book studio time if we didn’t impose a deadline on ourselves. But, we’d gotten so much work done that we felt like, ‘Okay, let’s go ahead and book studio time, and then, we’ll have to be as ready as we can be by then.’”

They ended up booking that time at the Venice, California, studio of Ross Robinson, who has worked with everyone from The Cure and At The Drive In to Slipknot and Machine Head. Working with such a legendary producer didn’t faze the band either. They were laser-focused on the mission at hand, Sherman says—even though Robinson’s home studio is right on the beach.

“Right outside the studio door is the beach, but we didn’t get outside of the studio door very often. We

never really left the studio,” Sherman says. “The whole experience with Ross was just insane. I’ve never recorded like that before, where we were totally immersed, living at the studio, just breathing this record 24/7. So, that was intense.”

For every other record that Red Fang have recorded, Sherman explains, “you go to the studio, and then you go home, and then you go back to the studio, and then you go home.” But this time, “There was no escape, which was good. It kept us in the zone. We couldn’t go wash it off and sleep in our own beds. We had to keep at it. We stayed there for a month, which was one week longer than we originally planned. Still didn’t seem like quite long enough, but eventually, you gotta just stop.

With all art, I think you gotta, at some point, stop [and] walk away.”

It wasn’t just the extreme focus on making music that made the experience so intense, however. “For every song—even songs that we thought we had completely finished when we got there—we’d go in and play the song, and Ross would listen,” Sherman says. “And then, he

would come in, stand in there with us as we’d go through the song, and stop us at different points, and we’d talk about why we made certain decisions or he would suggest things.

We’d just kind of work through the song like that until we got to a place where we all enjoyed it and thought it was good. And then, we’d sit around and talk about why: why we were singing the song, why we were playing the song. That was pretty intense. It became like therapy sessions every day. Ross doesn’t roll tape until he’s satisfied that everyone is 100 percent wide open and ready to go. It was heavy-duty.”

The results speak for themselves: Only Ghosts tracks like “No Air”— which Sherman calls “caveman prog,” because “it’s not fancy enough to be prog, but it’s too proggy to be super caveman”—are, if anything, even more invigorating and hook-laden than anything on Whales and Leeches.

Sherman sums it up thusly: “There’s no bullshit on this record.

It is 100 percent authentic emotion.”

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M

aking music may be the focus, but traveling is another important field of any band’s expertise. It’s a key part of the all-encompassing journey, rounding out any musician willing to tour, but can also impose a monstrous weight on one’s personal life.

members that now make someone whose home inup the band.” volves different spaces each day, imposing more losses.

The opening cuts from “Day to day, for me, tends to Transit Blues, “Praise Poi- be a lot of anxiety—specifson” and “Daughter,” find ically, born from restlessthe band ripping through ness or boredom or exhausthe atmosphere with barba- tion,” Hranica says, openrous syncopation, focusing ing up about the things that on choppy riffs that cause weigh him down as he tries the earth to tremble. Packed to grow as a person. This is with explosive, energetic in reference to “The Condibuilds, the mix on Transit tion,” a song based loosely Mike Hranica—vocalist Blues is more straightfor- on a poem called “Salt” by of Chicago and San Di- ward, raw and punchier. nayyirah waheed. ego based band, The Devil Wears Prada—has been very much involved in gallivanting across the world, so much so that the group’s recent Oct. 7 release for Rise Records is aptly titled Transit Blues. Despite the glory of traveling, there can be a bit of a fog to see past.

Hranica reflects on the name of the LP, saying, “I think Transit Blues looks at more topics than our other records. Although, if there was one common theme through much of the songs, it’s the inevitable separation involved in going from one place to another.”

That weighty inevitability is often overlooked when people consider traveling.

With that in mind, Hranica and company focused on taking the tough, intrepid headspace that comes from the road and weaving it into the most intense offering by The Devil Wears Prada yet. Hranica feels accomplished with Transit Blues’ tone and sound, stating, “I’ve always felt that the band should be more raw, and I think we’ve been able to establish that with age and the

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After blowing through pounding assault after pounding assault, Hranica finds a more reflective approach to take on “Flyover States.” As if howling from the inner depths of an apocalyptic wanderer, the vocalist screams, “Across land, across sea / We can’t count the miles / The days, the weeks, the months, the years / We can’t count the miles.” It’s a gripping stance, forcing people to expand their viewpoints to consider the daily life of

To Hranica, life is a sort of ailment, and each day, one must try to find a form of relief, an idea that can be found embedded in the lyrics of “To the Key of Evergreen.”

A love song based on “Lolita” by Vladimir Nabokov— Hranica’s favorite book—the track “specifically utilizes the peace and beauty found in an expansive, cross country car ride,” he says. This creative charm woven into the song is contrasted by “To the Key of Evergreen” starting as one the heaviest

tracks across Transit Blues.

Drums roll like thunder, guitars explode from chugged palm mutes to vibrant leads, with Hranica’s desperate yells provoking emotional responses drifting across black ice to find peace. As the song’s middle section approaches, the conceptualized beauty of the car becomes clear in the escalating build, utilizing soft choir vocals to transcend the clean guitars. Hranica lights the torch and charges into the song’s final movement, a bombastic progression full of rich melodies.

It’s this creative space comprised of contrasting themes that continually allows each of The Devil Wears Prada’s new releases to stand out against its predecessor. Hranica states, “Recognizing complacency is also a fundamental part of growing, so that’s another aspect that’s helped us to create material we can stand behind.”

That growth is evident on the titular track, which closes the record. There’s a soft introspective calm in the final notes, but not before The Devil Wears Prada tear through their sonic palette. “You can’t feel the transit blues without losing something you thought was true,” Hranica yells with a visceral might, expressing the real anxiety that has plagued the vocalist for years. Despite the vast amounts of loss and separation imbued in the meaning of Transit Blues, there’s unity to be found as well.

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY JACKI VITETTA

NEW NOISE 47

W

ho are you? How do you identify yourself ? Once you’ve figured those questions out, how do you live in this life with all your personal baggage? California hardcore band Dangers really don’t take the nice and easy route with these quandaries on their third record and Topshelf Records debut, The Bend in the Break, out Oct. 13. Here, Dangers’ punk-hardcore-mathcorenoise-hybrid style is at its most potent, and the intense meaning behind the songs gives them a wealth of depth.

Dangers frontman Alfred Brown IV is one of the best, most challenging and charmingly sarcastic lyricists around. He hones in on the idea that words and thoughts are dangerous, since they can transform someone’s opinion. For The Bend in the Break, Brown hadn’t completed the lyrics before going into the studio, and at the time, personal tales were clearly on his mind. As a result, “there’s more storytelling in this record,” he says. “I’m older now, and my favorite musician is Neko Case. I tried to think of why I love her music so much. She’s really great at telling stories of quiet moments that take

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on a lot of meaning. There’s a song she wrote about a stop in Honolulu and this kid’s mother yelling at her, and Case is thinking, ‘Your mother doesn’t love you, but I was there to witness it.’ That’s a really quiet moment and really powerful.”

“I tried to take a page out of Propagandhi’s book,” he continues.

“They tell stories in their songs, and through that story, you get to really feel connected to the weight of what’s going on. ‘The Devil I Love’ is about how my nieces are 11 and 8 right now and how much I love them and care about them, how they’re pretty much my favorite thing in the world. But at the same time, I’ve done shitty things to women in my life, and that means there’s gonna be men who do shitty things to them. That breaks that my heart. I did take a conscious effort to put myself into the record more than I ever have before.”

So, why all the storytelling? “When you’re a younger kid, big ideas tend to be easy to gravitate towards,” Brown explains. “So, you can listen to Gorilla Biscuits, but once you start to picking apart those songs, it’s a spirit, not a story. I recognized

there’s a safety and a shielding of oneself if you’re just talking big ideas. I’m at the point of my life where honesty trumps all things in art. I might not like the art, but if you’re being honest, I’ll respect it. The writing process was more of ‘what’s going on in my life, what can I put into this thing?’ I thought, ‘Who are you, motherfucker?’” he laughs. “‘Why should anyone listen to me; why should anyone give a shit about who I am?’ That, to me, is far more dangerous territory: here I am, folks.”

Brown’s upbringing influenced his desire to explore the realm of the in-between. “I was raised by a lot of really strong women,” he says. “My dad cheated on my mom when I was 3, and I knew about it. I watched my dad be a womanizer growing up. I respect that he was a great father, yet he was a man that I didn’t respect at the same time. That was difficult. In the meantime, I’ve got these women who are very strong and proud, and they were my foun-

PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAN RAWE

dation. I grew up in this place where I didn’t respect who men were to women, but I found myself being a man who was heterosexual.”

“One of things I think about a lot in terms of the flexibility of sexuality [is] the language we used to refer to one another,” he expounds. “This goes back to how everyone says Obama is our first Black president, and I sit there as the child of a Black father and white mother, and that’s disenfranchising a whole type of person who he actually is, and it’s denying half of his heritage. We want to smooth over nuance. My sort of masculinity is its unique thing that I think is fucked up as well. On tour, my nickname used to be ‘The Christian,’ because I tend to not hook up randomly when we’re out and about, even if I’m single.

Generally, that’s not what I’m looking for. Part of what this record is about is exploring estuarial spaces, the in-between.”

The title, The Bend in the Break, embraces this idea. “It’s really what all the songs are about,” Brown says, “that feeling when you recognize that snowflake idea that everyone is unique and how bullshit it feels, but

really, we’re all in our own in-between world. No one is 100 percent straight or gay or 100 percent male or female. There’s thoughts that I have that would be characterized as female, but I have a dick,” he laughs.

“The nuance of who we are is hard to think about, and we want to fit into the norms. Fly your freak flag.”

“There’s a song called ‘The Straight World,’” Brown begins, highlighting one track in particular. “I dated a girl, and at some point, she started explaining to me about how her stepfather and her father molested her in different ways. As a man to this women, I felt very sad and frustrated at the situation. But, realizing that I’ve done some of those same things [with consent] that those men have done and how linked I am to them—it’s a dark thought, and it’s fucked up. ‘The daughters we father so that we’re not sleeping alone.’ That’s heavy.

No one’s going to listen and say, ‘That’s a cool, fun listen!’ [laughs].

It’s my life, and it’s honest.”

The idea of nuance and grey area comes out in Dangers’ music as well. Brown elaborates, “Our band has a really hard time figuring out who we want to play with or what label to go with. I feel like the bastards of loud music most of the time. The idea that’s implicit is that the attitude is the most important aspect of our band. You’re either in for ‘Fuck it. Let’s be as crazy as we can be’ or you want Corn Flakes every day. That’s not who we tend to be.”

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY REID HAITHCOCK

NEW NOISE 49

O

ver the last eight years since Joyce Manor started out, they’ve had their fair share of time in the spotlight. From their brazen, hitthe-ground-running style of music to their stance on stagediving to signing with Epitaph Records and continuing to reinvent themselves with every album, they’ve certainly carved out their own space in punk.

On Oct. 7, they release Cody, their fourth full-length album—and second for Epitaph—and it shows the band have grown a hell of a lot as musicians.

While their first two records—2011’s self-titled and 2012’s Of All Things I Will Soon Grow Tired—were full of brash, blink and you’ll miss it, lightning-quick emotional vignettes delivered with aggression, their junior and senior albums—2014’s Never Hungover Again and, now, Cody—are a large departure. It was after Of All Things I Will Soon Grow Tired that the band signed to Epitaph, which singer and guitarist Barry Johnson says

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has been a breeze. “[Label head] Brett [Gurewitz] helped so much with the making of this album,” he says, “from giving extensive notes on demos to actually sitting down and helping me write songs.” He adds that they feel very lucky to get to work with the label.

The production on Cody feels a lot slicker than that of past releases, which likely has to do with producer Rob Schnapf, who has made records for the likes of Beck, Elliott Smith, and Saves The Day. Johnson reflects that “working with Rob was great. Our goal was to make a pretty sounding album, and he definitely smoothed a lot of stuff, making Cody a much more enjoyable album to listen to.”

The band’s last record had a very dream-pop and shoegaze vibe, but this record is much less ethereal and has much longer songs. This effort found them in the studio far longer than ever before—around two whole months—and you can hear it on Cody. For the first time,

Joyce Manor break the four-minute mark on a song. “I prefer having more time in the studio,” Johnson explains. “Having the time to go song by song and let them become what they needed to become is crucial to making a good album.”

He goes on to say that taking their time in the studio definitely got rid of more challenges than it created.

“This is the first record that came out sounding more or less the way it did in my head,” Johnson points out. With songs like “Fake I.D.” and “Stairs”—which Johnson wrote when he was 19—Joyce Manor put forth a real coming of age feel, while “Reversing Machine” has some of that vocal grit that Johnson is wellknown for. He echoes, “It’s kind of strange how well [‘Stairs’] fits with this batch of songs even though it was written 10 years earlier.” He lets on that there’s never much of a thematic goal in mind when it comes to songwriting, and the majority simply follow a melody, with setting lyrics to them as an afterthought. “Most of the process oc-

curs in my subconscious, so I’m not really sure what the songs are about until much later,” he continues.

For the most part, this is a softer, sweeter, melodic post-punk record.

Another thing that separates Cody from the rest of the band’s catalog is that Johnson started doing meditation prior to writing it. He acknowledges that this has “sharpened my intuition and helped me focus when trying to get the songs across the finish line, both in the writing and recording process.”

Joyce Manor hit the road in early October to support Cody alongside The Hotelier and Crying. The tour will wrap up on Oct. 29 in Oklahoma City. Johnson concludes that he has “no idea where Joyce Manor will go after this. I can’t even imagine making another record.” Without reading too much into that, if you haven’t seen one of their shows yet, this might be the best time to do so.

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY JACKI VITETTA

NEW NOISE 51

52 NEW NOISE

F

or as long as he’s been writing music, Jeff Rosenstock has done everything in his power to make punk more inclusive. The Long Island legend and frontman of the now defunct Bomb The Music Industry! has become known for his do-it-yourself ethics.

From playing all-ages venues, inviting fans to shred alongside him onstage, and offering the band’s entire discography for free on his donation-based online record label, Quote Unquote Records, Rosenstock has never conceded to the music industry’s formula.

After the lengths Rosenstock has gone to make his music accessible for his fans, it’s not surprising that his new album, WORRY., begins with a crowd of 100 people singing gang vocals on a pleading punk screed. Out now via SideOneDummy Records, Rosenstock’s third fulllength takes a step back from the familiar. While the weary rocker’s songs often focus on the internal workings of his mind, he takes a step outside himself on this go around and confronts the external forces that make him fearful every day. The 17-track proclamation touches on matters of gentrification, police brutality, and the commercialization of art. The result is a highly sociopolitical concept album of sorts.

“I’ve always been afraid to write about external forces, because I don’t want to sound preachy,” Rosenstock admits, “but these things are important to me, and I wanted to challenge myself to write about them.”

Rosenstock braves this uncharted territory, not shying away from issues that

deserve to be shared. The album’s title, WORRY., is anything but modest; it is a declaration and a demand and an admission that we, as a community, need to effect change. While Rosenstock sings mostly about these out of reach forces, he doesn’t entirely abandon the level of self-reflection he so often illustrates. At the end of the day, this record thoroughly reflects Rosenstock’s whole consciousness even more than his past material. For the first time, he has revealed so much that it makes him hesitant and uneasy.

“For me, there are two cruxes of the record, one being that the world around us keeps getting more fucked up and we are watching it happen,” Rosenstock shares. “It’s also about my own nervousness and how that ties into the relationships I have and the feeling of worry for the people who I love. I remember thinking, ‘Is it possible to have a loving relationship, or any kind of relationship, with a human being in a world that pulls you away from that?’”

Writing has become a completely cathartic experience for Rosenstock, allowing him the space to temporarily unburden himself of his anxiety and depression. However, with WORRY., the purifying process becomes a bit muddled, because no matter how loud Rosenstock sings, he is still living in a society that needs to strive to be less cruel and more compassionate. “If nobody cared about anything that I did, I would have still written this record. I compartmentalize my anxiety and depression, and music helps me get through it all,” Rosenstock says. “The weird thing about this record though is that it doesn’t make

anything better. These issues aren’t going to be resolved until there are immense systemic changes. [WORRY.] doesn’t provide the same comfort like [2015’s] We Cool? does, but at the end of the day, it was nice to write a record that felt different.”

At the heart of Rosenstock’s undertaking is a message that seems so simple, yet so distant. But, while there is still an overwhelming feeling that people will remain complacent and stagnant, WORRY. makes it seem like we are inching toward something softer, something sweeter.

Longtime friend and fan, comedian Chris Gethard, wrote an open letter to those about to listen to WORRY., in which he articulates exactly what this album achieves: “It’s music that makes me feel like maybe, just maybe, if I do things the right way, I can help make the world a better place, while coexisting with the knowledge that I don’t fucking matter and there’s no reason not to give up, except maybe I shouldn’t, because what if deep down people are actually beautiful, giving, and kind?”

Ultimately, this LP touches on the enormity of society’s glaring problems and raises concerns about the convoluted journey ahead. In all of this mess, it’s understandable to feel confused and cynical, but what is clear is this: WORRY. screams the word we’ve needed to hear to help us wade through the muck.

It’s the guiding light we’ve all been looking for and the start to a solution we’ve desperately been in search of for so long. .....

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY JACKI VITETTA

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When Planes Mistaken For Stars originally called it a day in 2007, very few people thought they would ever get back together. Each member of the band went on to do other musical projects or took on adult responsibilities such as starting a family. For the most part, it was over.

But this sleeping dog didn’t stay dormant for long, because three years after their breakup, vocalist and guitarist Gared O’Donnell, guitarist Chuck French, bassist Neil Keener, and drummer Mike Ricketts were back to playing shows on a semi-regular basis.

“Even though we technically broke up, we never actually got tired of making music together,” O’Donnell says. Eventually, this led to Deathwish Inc. reissuing the band’s 2006 swan song,

Mercy, in 2015. There were even rumors that they were working on new material.

Well, the rumors were true, because on Oct. 21, Deathwish will release Prey, the first Planes Mistaken For Stars album in 10 years.

Despite the decade-long gap between albums, according to O’Donnell, the band felt very little trepidation going into the studio after their lengthy break. “I suppose we had our little qualms,” he admits, “but

we were forced into a situation where it was either do it or don’t do it. We did it. We were just being honest.”

Prey is an excellent reintroduction to the band. It goes further down the musical path established by Mercy—through both its music and lyrics—and burns with the same dark energy of their previous releases. It’s the sound of the band returning to form. “As a writer, I’m not as afraid to emulate my heroes,” O’Donnell says. “Let’s give it a vibe.

I can say, ‘Let’s make this song sound like the Wipers,’ or ‘Let’s make another song sound like The Cure,’ but no matter what we do, it will always sound like us.”

In addition, O’Donnell had some very specific subjects he wanted to address in the lyrics. “The new album is about my more recent history,” he explains, “the last five to 10 years of my life.

I suffer from severe anxiety, and the new album is about not letting it destroy, whether through drinking or just isolating yourself completely. Sure, it’s got a darker slant, but there is also a feeling of ‘we got through it.’ In the end, we lived through it and got to see the colors on the other side.”

Much had been made of O’Donnell’s writing process for the album, as he took to the road in order to finish it up. Some might look at this as a romantic undertaking, but before you start hugging your copy of “On the

Road,” O’Donnell is quick to deflect any misconceptions about Prey’s genesis. “It was not at all romantic,” he asserts. “You think it would be a Jack Kerouac type of thing, but it turned more into a shitty Bukowski type of situation.”

Regardless, he didn’t finish the writing process until after returning home from his trek. Now, with a new album coming out, the focus will be on touring. The band plan to tour, just not as much as they used to.

“As long as we’re not killing ourselves, we’ll do it,” O’Donnell says. “We’re lifelong musicians, not career musicians, if you catch my drift. If it’s honest, we’ll do it. We want to be psyched about getting in the van.

We’re going to be very strategic and make it count. We don’t want to feel like we have to do it, because the grind broke us up the first time.”

Planes Mistaken For Stars have returned with a killer new album in Prey and a more focused way of dealing with the ups and downs of being in a band. It’s great to have them back; they keep it real and punk rock needs more bands like them.

“When we first started, I didn’t want to be the next big thing,” O’Donnell says.

“Today, bands have sleeve tattoos and managers before they even have a song.

It’s not something I want to be a part of. It’s a fast food style culture; that’s not conducive to making great music.” .....

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H

aving been raised in the rainy city of Olympia, Washington, the sunny climate of Los Angeles has always appealed to Sex Stains co-vocalist Allison Wolfe. The band—which also features co-vocalist Mecca Vazie Andrews, who is also a dancer; guitarist Sharif Dumani, who has worked with Cody ChestnuTT and Alice Bag; bassist Pachy Garcia of Prettiest Eyes; and drummer David Orlando, formerly of Warpaint—released their selftitled debut in early September on Don Giovanni Records. The new group have a background as vibrant as the city they call home, and it heavily influences the chaotic yet melodic punk sound that is underscored with elements of post-punk and no wave throughout the jampacked 23-minute record.

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Wolfe—formerly of Bratmobile and Cold Cold Hearts—is a familiar voice at the front, but the two-headed vocal dynamic balances her direct lyricism with co-vocalist Andrews’ nuanced approach. “Mecca is really good at using her voice more like an instrument and influencing emotion into everything,” Wolfe says. “We both have really different musical ideas. We can fill in all the gaps and holes,” which gives Sex Stains’ songs quick directional changes that manage to escape the descent into schizophrenia. “I’ve always felt like I had to fill every inch of space with words, and I’m trying not to do that as much,” Wolfe adds.

Riot Grrrl period. In Sex Stains, politics are ever-present, but with a more playful tone that’s part chaos, part madness, and, of course, part fun. “Done Popped” is a synth-punk, no wave head-bopper, while the twisting guitar riffs in “Land of La LA” work in tandem with the microphone handoffs. The literally-every-other-word delivery between the dual vocalists in “Period. Period.” explores the potential of utilizing multiple singers, and “Who Song Love Song” kindles Bratmobile memories.

“All bands are the sum of their parts,” Wolfe says, and Sex Stains are layered and complex, like the city that paired the musicians together. “The Los As the cofounder of Girl Germs Angeles punk scene is really zine in 1991, Wolfe’s words interesting. It’s more ethnically have defined her work since the diverse, and that brings a really

cool scene,” she reflects. That broad influence shows over the 12 songs.

Sex Stains’ five members have multiple obligations, pulling them in different directions that, in part, inspire the band’s textured sound. Wolfe will complete a master’s degree in journalism at USC this winter, and Dumani will begin grad school at that time. Andrews is not only a dancer, but also a choreographer, an educator, and the artistic director of The MOVEMENT Movement. The members’ other bands and careers also compete with Sex Stains for time. They’d like to be more active, but as the band look forward, they know only time will tell when opportunity will present itself. In the meantime, they’ll be promoting Sex Stains. .....

PHOTOGRAPHY BY CAMERON FLAISCH

O

n his way home from a Mormon missionary project in 2012, Nathan Hardy decided to start writing songs instead of practicing faith. After leaving the church upon his return home, the vocalist and guitarist and his fellow bandmate, drummer Timothy “Tito” Pittard, started jamming in a local storage unit, because punk rock is born out of that shit. A year or so later, after the release of their first full-length, Stovall, and an Audiotree session, Microwave were happening.

To this day, Hardy says much of his inspiration for songs comes from his upbringing. “I was really into music in high school too, but I went to church six days a week and was super Mormon,” he says. “While I was a missionary, I realized that objectively approaching [Mormonism] wasn’t true. I wasn’t really [into it] anymore. I don’t believe in God. It for sure has been a lot of the subject [matter] for the band. Our split last year [with Head North],

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a lot of the stuff on that was about [Mormonism].”

Fast forward to now, and Microwave: are signed to SideOneDummy Records, have played Riot Fest and Wrecking Ball ATL, and have toured with bands like The Wonder Years, Motion City Soundtrack, and Hey Mercedes. Having rushed their first record, Hardy says the band had more time to prepare and record this time around. Their sophomore album, Much Love—which was released Sept. 30—is close to perfect: mature and inviting. Hardy’s voice is smooth and evokes emotion with every note. Their singles, “Busy” and “Lighterless,” have proven to be more polished, darker, and heavier in all the right places.

While the band have been called many blanket emo terms, they’re more experimental, with “pedal worship” and crooning vocals coupled with jagged riffs.

“We wanted to have more diversity to our songs,” Hardy says. “We

wanted to do more of our thing; we didn’t want to be pigeonholed as being [ just] a pop punk band.

We played noisy, weird songs and pedal worshipped. It felt more true to us as people.” The first single off the record, “Lighterless,” is about Hardy “using drugs and alcohol and weed” with his old roommate, Princess, who would give him free weed and booze since he didn’t have money off-tour. The track is upbeat and gloomy at the same time, with grunge-y guitars and electric vocals. In a perfect explanation of who Microwave really are, Hardy jokingly adds, “I guess, because we’re dark and twisted—I guess it’s just how we do.”

Taking influences from his background—Queens Of The Stone Age and “a bunch of different things”— Hardy says no two songs on Much Love are the same, and being able to experiment with mixing played a huge part in the direction the tracks would take. “They’re all written differently,” he says. “Overall, to me,

there isn’t anything that is inherently important or meaningful in life. I just left being super religious a few years ago, and I started to doubt all of the other things I was told when I was a kid.”

Waiting for the record to drop was hard on the band, especially since they’re always “waiting for tour” and working odd jobs to hold them over. Now, after a recent set at Riot Fest and with their new record finally in the mix, they have an upcoming tour to look forward to. Microwave are definitely ready to get back out there, but until then, it’s just schmoozin’ and boozin’. “We work and drink margaritas by the pool, that’s about it,” Hardy jokes about their downtime. “It’ll be fun to get back on the road again. You get home from touring, and you can’t build up a life or get a job you like or succeed at something. On tour, I actually have something to do. It’s just living the dream, you know?”

.....

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F

or Gothenburg legends, Dark Tranquillity, Atoma—due out via Century Media on Nov. 4—wasn’t just going to be any record. After coming off of their longest touring cycle ever for 2013’s Construct, the band began constructing their 11th record at an atomic, elemental level. Vocalist Mikael Stanne explains, “It took some time to figure that out, actually.

Where do you go? What do you try this time? The process was really interesting. We removed all the unnecessary stuff, focused on what we felt were our strongest elements—our intensity, melody—and we wanted all these songs to have this sense of urgency, to get the core of the song. We wanted to make sure all the different elements of the song had maximum impact.

That became the challenge and something I thought about when I was writing lyrics. It was our inspiration.”

Atoma had been in the works for almost a year. “It’s been really intense and crazy. I felt like I haven’t slept in months,” Stanne laughs. “It’s hard to reach that unreachable goal of the best album ever, because that’s what you always want to do. Of course, it doesn’t get any easier with time. You would think after all this time, we’d

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have perfected the art of making an album, but it definitely just keeps getting harder to keep coming up with something new that is original and has something to say.”

“You really need to tap into some of your darkest feelings and almost end up losing your mind, because your sense of self-confidence disappears,” he continues. “Actually getting this done and having all the songs come together where all the pieces actually made sense was one of the most rewarding things we’ve ever done. This was so difficult to make that, once we realized we pulled it off, it felt incredibly awesome.”

Did Stanne ever consider taking the easy way out by rehashing old material to speed up the process? “It would be so good to be a punk rock band and do the same song 200 times,” he says.

“As frustrating as it is, that’s part of the great thing about it. It’s what you want, the challenge. It was crazy: we recorded in the height of summer, and we’re in the studio with no windows.

We kept thinking of everyone enjoying themselves outside,” he laughs.

Dark Tranquillity clearly succeeded

in their desire to get down to what defines the band. Atoma feels like it has triple distilled all of the elements that have made the group legendary over the years: the majestic melodic interplay between the guitars and keyboard, the death metal fury, and the morose, gothic atmosphere. It’s also Mikael Stanne’s most complete vocal performance, his voice binding together the band’s brash and beautiful elements. The band’s chemistry has never been stronger.

Atoma reflects on what drives humans at a deeper level. Stanne explains, “Sweden is a tiny, insignificant country in the middle of nowhere. What I’ve seen is a lot of ordinary, everyday people have all of a sudden turned into really fearful, territorial people, thinking in ways that I never thought possible. We’ve never had to worry about someone else coming here and destroying our way of life. Suddenly, [it’s different now] because of the rhetoric in the media and the way people are worried about the state of the world. If you read about these horrible things that happen every single day, of course, that affects you. But, instead of striving forward and being an open person with empathy and sympathy

for those who are less fortunate in other countries, we turn to fear, anger, and hate towards those who are ‘coming over and destroying the values we have over here.’ This crazy attitude towards anything that is different is something I never thought I’d see.”

This frustration sparked an idea.

“That became a starting point for trying to figure out why we are the way we are, and how come we resort to these animal instincts once we feel we’re being threatened,” Stanne continues. “I’ve been angry, sad, and upset with seeing these new political movements in Sweden that are horrible. […]

The only thing I can do is write all my frustration down and go into the studio and scream my ass off.”

On a lighter note, Stanne also discovered a more delicious kind of chemistry: collaborating with All In Brewing to make an official Dark Tranquillity beer. “I think it’s going to be the ‘Atoma’ beer,” Stanne says of the imperial stout. “Laws are crazy here, but we’re looking into finding ways to be able to ship the beer out. We’re trying to figure that out, hopefully by the end of the year.”

.....

J

on Simmons is sick and tired of yelling, and he doesn’t care what people think. “I didn’t want to yell on this album. I’m just getting tired of yelling all the time,” the lead vocalist of Balance And Composure says. “I just want to sing. I just don’t have much to yell about anymore. I’m grown up, and I’m kind of sick of yelling every night onstage. I don’t know. […] For this album, I was in a place where I want to sing. This new album is about the love.”

The new record Simmons is referring to is Light We Made, the band’s third studio album, which is out Oct. 7 on Vagrant Records.

The mellower, more ambient album is a sonic departure from the thrashiness of past Balance And Composure records. “It’s not what we usually sound like; we’re trying to change it up a little bit, […] trying to stay fresh,” he says. “We just want to make music we like.” He pauses, then adds, “I don’t want to lose fans, but if people aren’t willing to accept change, you just have to roll with it and do what makes you happy. We just get tired of the same old shit. I wouldn’t be happy if we were making the same music as we were five years ago. I would lose my mind, and luckily, I’m in a band with people who are the same. Every time we get together, we push boundaries and take risks. That’s really cool.”

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Does he think that Light We Made is a risk? “Yeah, definitely. It’s different from our other albums, but I’m confident,” he says with a laugh. “I think we’ll get new fans with this album, but I think old fans might be surprised and maybe disappointed.”

Simmons says that the band were in a good place during the recording of the album. “We were all pretty happy,” he reflects. “At the time we recorded, everyone was in love with their girlfriends, and we were just in a better place mentally and emotionally. So yeah, there is a more optimistic feel to the album.

There is some darkness, there always will be, but with positive overtones. The album title is about seeing the light in a different way, as opposed to hiding in the darkness, which we’re used to.”

“For me, I fell in love,” he adds.

“Last year, I met a girl and my whole view on life changed for the better because of her. After all the ups and downs, life has gotten a lot better, you know? This is definitely our most vulnerable album and that makes me a little nervous. I think that there’s a lot of honesty on this album that people will appreciate.”

The 26-year-old says that recording the new album was very therapeutic for the band. “We got in a really bad van accident a few years

back, and we were just really down on our luck, questioning if we wanted to continue,” he explains.

“I could just feel it with the other guys, a dark cloud around us. We were definitely in a jaded, scared, and confused place, but writing and making this album definitely turned things around. If we didn’t write a really great album, it wouldn’t have help, but I think we made a really great album.”

With Light We Made, Balance And Composure have evolved and pushed their sound to the point that it is very different from 2011’s Separation. Simmons says that artistic evolution is paramount. “I don’t know if it’ll be that obvious when people hear the album, but we used a lot of our hip hop and R&B influences,” he says. “That’s what we’ve listened to most of the time.”

“I think it’s the most important thing when it comes to any kind of art,” he continues. “It’s so important to grow and change and keep things interesting—we did that on the new album. The new album is definitely a step forward, and we tried a lot of new stuff that we never would have tried a couple of years back. It came from growing and listening to different types of music and just wanting to do something new. In our world, a lot of the music sounds the same, and [we] just wanted to test the waters of what we could do and different sounds we could create.”

.....

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STRIKE ANYWHERE TIM BARRY

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T

he formation of Canadian punk group Chixdiggit! is one of music legend. At the dawn of the ‘90s, three friends in a Calgary high school started selling t-shirts to their classmates with the now wellknown moniker screen printed across the front in a decidedly heavy metal font. At the time, the band existed only as a dream, but as the popularity of the shirts spread, the trio made the conscious decision to actually start playing music together. To the envy of their local peers, the band signed to Sub Pop Records in 1996, only to shortly thereafter have their albums unceremoniously hefted into a dumpster when the relationship soured. Family and career commitments threatened to derail the band numerous times, but vocalist and guitarist KJ Jansen forged on with a revolving lineup of backing musicians.

As Chixdiggit! celebrate their 25th anniversary with the release of their fifth full-length—2012, out Sept. 16 through Fat Wreck Chords—their sole original member has undeniably proven that the band are a legitimate venture. The official kick off for the 25th anniversary was a show in the band’s hometown. The band played a full set for fans that in-

64 NEW NOISE

cluded songs from throughout their career. Three former bass players and four drummers hopped onstage to back up Jansen as they solicited requests from the crowd, playing without a setlist.

The true highlight of the night was reserved for the much smaller crowd who made it to the secret show, which was advertised as a Kepi Ghoulie and Old Wives pop punk after-party. A much longer and drunker set from Chixdiggit!—emceed by Ghoulie—rewarded those who stayed up late into the night.

Throughout the entire evening, the band played nearly their entire discography, as even more former members and surprise guests—including Jansen’s wife, Kathy Camaro of The Riff Randells and Walt Hamburger—were coaxed onto the stage. Much like the origins of the group, their 25th anniversary was a celebration of Jansen’s charming humor and reckless punk abandon. Songs blended into each other, the banter was witty and clearly improvised, and there were moments when everything seemed on the verge of falling apart.

With 2012, Chixdiggit! have made an album about friendship and touring. Back

in 2012, when original guitarist and vocalist Mark O’Flaherty announced he was considering leaving the band, the group went on hiatus. “During the time off, I was coming up with songs, and a bunch of them happened to be about some of the towns that we had played the previous year,” Jansen recalls. “After about four or five of them, I noticed the recurring theme that was developing. I decided to write one for each of the other towns we played too. Make it a song dedicated to my best friend, Mark, about our last year of touring together.”

With such a sweet topic, it’s no surprise that notorious funny man Jansen decided to temper the serious theme with unorthodox packaging. The idea of a single song came about because Jansen believes that NOFX’s “The Decline” is the “greatest punk song of all time.”

2012 evolved as they came up with over half an hour of music, edited it back to fit a single side of vinyl, and were touted by Fat Wreck as having written “the longest punk song ever recorded”—despite being ultimately outdone by former labelmates, Bracket, whose “Warren’s Song Pt. 28” from their 2016 release, The Last Page, clocks in at over 70 minutes and was released on Aug. 5,

beating out Chixdiggit! by just over one month.

On top of his work with Chixdiggit!, Jansen has also been playing solo acoustic dates on an increasingly frequent basis.

“I had to get used to the freedom you get when it’s just you up there,” he says. “At one of my first shows, I asked the audience what they thought I should play, and a woman answered back, ‘Play whatever the fuck you want to play.’ I remember that being kind of inspirational in its obviousness.” While no official date has been set, there is a KJ Jansen solo album in the works, although the less than prolific recording artist is hesitant to offer too much insight into the specifics of the release just yet.

Twenty-five years as a band is a noteworthy accomplishment, especially in the punk scene. It is unlikely that any of the members of Chixdiggit! envisioned a lengthy career as musicians when they were hawking shirts in high school, but Jansen and O’Flaherty are still onstage and in the studio making music together today. That friendship forms the core of 2012. As Jansen explains, “I’m telling my buddy that I love him.”

.....

S

tick To Your Guns vocalist Jesse Barnett claims that if you know his band, you’ll probably know what you’re getting into when the needle hits the groove on their new EP, Better Ashes Than Dust, out since Sept. 23 via Pure Noise Records. Most often, it’s going to be something political, social, or environmental delivered with brutality.

Better Ashes Than Dust is the Orange County hardcore quintet’s follow-up to their acclaimed 2015 album, Disobedient. The title of the five-song EP was derived from “The Call of the Wild” author, Jack London. “He had a thing called the Jack London ‘Credo,’ and the first line of it is, ‘I would rather be ashes than dust,’” Barnett explains. “From the first time I read it, I fell in love with that phrase. It might not seem like a huge difference to people [between ashes and dust], but it’s like, ‘Look, if you’re gonna be fucked anyway, at least try to remain the biggest part of yourself that you possibly can be.”

“He said the purpose of life is to live, not to simply exist,” the singer affirms. “I completely agree with that as well. I think that there are forces that are going on right now, things that are happening politically and socially—especially in our country—that I feel are backing people into a wall. And this is what every generation says. My parents had the same kind of ‘the world’s going to end’ moments as well, with certain presidential candidates and things like that. But, I think it’s forcing a lot of people to think and take a look at themselves and a look at their political and social climate.

I think that’s a good thing to kind of burn it all down so we can start over again. I think that the title of the

66 NEW NOISE

record and these songs are coming around at an important and relevant time for what’s happening in not just our country, but the world.”

Producer John Feldmann—who has worked with The Used and Story Of The Year, among others—produced Disobedient for Stick To Your Guns and helped to show a different side of the band on their fifth studio release. “We went in with John, and we were ultimately—overall, we were happy with the outcome of what Disobedient was, but I don’t think that going with John was necessarily the right move for us as a band. I think that he, personally, made me a more confident vocalist and musician. Absolutely. He had a huge impact on me and the members of the band.”

For Better Ashes Than Dust, Barnett instead hired a friend, Canadian producer Derek Hoffman. The two have collaborated on several projects over the years. “He brought a different aspect that I think we needed,” Barnett says. “Everyone had a good time. I think that this EP is to kind of compensate for some of the things that I think we felt we left out of Disobedient.”

Barnett stands behind Better Ashes Than Dust, stating that while Disobedient wasn’t necessarily a step backwards for Stick To Your Guns, their latest offering is decidedly a move forward, bringing their old style to the present. “Just because it’s an EP doesn’t mean the songs are, ‘Oh, we just put these songs out, because they don’t really matter,’” he asserts. “I feel a lot of people have that kind of reaction with EPs. ‘Oh, it’s just an EP. It’s not their best work.’ Which, to me, it’s some of the best songs we’ve put out in a very long time.”

.....

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B

y now, the name Ex-Cult should have a familiar ring for anyone with ears tuned to the punk rock underground.

Five years, three records, and a handful of singles and EPs into their career, the Memphis band’s weird, dark take on punk and hardcore has made them one of the genre’s best in the land. That goes double for their live show: a brutal, urgent, raw display that you want to rub in the faces of jaded cynics who insist on pronouncing the death of rock ‘n’ roll. Their newest full-length, Negative Growth, dropped on Sept. 23 and is the band’s first release for In The Red Recordings.

Ex-Cult’s spit-and-vinegar attitude is dialed in, but to their credit, they have never been interested in being just another hardcore band. While their excellent self-titled debut might have aptly captured the experience of an Ex-Cult live show on record, subsequent releases have found the band pushing their sound outward into more experimental territory. Last year’s Cigarette Machine, for one, is indebted as much to the mechanical droning of bands like Can and Neu! as it is to those with a hardcore pedigree.

That’s not a deficiency, frontman Chris Shaw assures, but rather a strength that keeps the band from spinning their creative wheels. “There are a lot of people

who play our type of music who don’t really listen to anything else,” Shaw says, “but there are a couple of dudes in ExCult who don’t even listen to that much punk and hardcore. What they bring to the table helps us to not write the same punk song over and over.”

“When you get the reputation that we have as a live band, it’s kind of hard to take that into the studio,” he continues. “There are so many elements of playing live that you just can’t capture. The goal was to make something that sounded like our most cohesive recording yet.” Consider said mission accomplished. If Shaw and his bandmates have one foot planted in hardcore and another in art rock, then Negative Growth is the product of a band working to satisfy both sides of their musical self. Ex-Cult’s latest is the band’s most honest and deliberate attempt at a studio record, complete with odd effects and flourishes that give their grinding guitar assault an invigorating psychedelic edge. The record also features some impromptu cameo appearances, including Mikal Cronin, who recorded saxophone for album closer, “New Face On.” Credit for drawing the band further out of their sonic shell goes to Ty Segall,

PHOTOGRAPHY BY KARLO X. RAMOS

68 NEW NOISE

who recorded with Shaw last summer as members of GØGGS. Segall—who also produced Ex-Cult’s 2012 self-titled Goner Records debut full-length—huddled up with the band for a week in his L.A. studio to lay down Negative Growth.

With Segall’s encouragement, the band opted for some interesting recording techniques, including plugging guitars directly into the soundboard. “We did a few takes with amps, and it just didn’t work,” Shaw says. “We liked the sound of going directly into the board so much better that we just did the whole thing that way. But that was [Segall’s] idea. If it was someone else, we probably would have needed more convincing.”

Negative Growth satisfies Ex Cult’s growing experimental jones, and yet it’s

also as loud and forceful as anything the band have done previously. Studio trickery aside, the record’s nine tracks rip with fuzzy abandon, allowing for what Shaw calls “the most aggressive record we’ve made.” He might be right. Evidence of the band’s hardcore muscle and musical menace is strewn throughout the record, which might be their most successful marriage of loud and weird, tough and adventurous. It’s an evolution that Shaw says grew out of Stick the Knife In, a three-song single featuring select Negative Growth cuts that the band recorded for In The Red earlier this year. “I think we carried that into Negative Growth,” he says. “It’s that combination of aggressive, jarring guitar sounds, songwriting, and song structure.”

.....

in New York after the book was published in 2012 and became good friends. There was such a commonality between us—our taste in photography, art, design, and especially music. One evening, we started discussing the music of Big Star and how much it meant to both of us, and he suggested collaborating on a monograph of the band.”

There are probably dozens of bands that the two share a common bond over, but for some reason, Big Star just sang the loudest to them. “Why does some music embed itself in our lives, touch our souls, and connect us all?” Ranieri muses. “It’s always been rather mysterious to me. I grew up in suburban Philadelphia during the 1970s and still have my childhood 45 of the ‘The Letter’

by The Box Tops—that was my first introduction to Alex Chilton.” She continues, “Fabrice, over a decade younger than me, grew up in rural Burgundy in France. It’s certainly a testament to the fact that music has no geographical boundaries.”

Sadly, by the time the duo got to work on the book, most of the members of Big Star’s 1970s lineup had passed on. Drummer Jody Stephens, however, is still alive and was very open to the idea of the book, helping to support their efforts along

B

ig Star may have only put out three proper studio albums with their best-known lineup, but the band’s influence is still tremendous. Perennial favorites of musicians and critics for decades, the band are overly deserving and underserved when it comes to commercial success. So, it’s not surprising that a Paris-based graphic designer and New York-based photographer would pool their collective talents and resources to pull together a beautifully executed book of essays and photos that continues to push the legacy of the band.

70 NEW NOISE

On Oct. 14, First Third Books release a limited 1,000-unit run of the book, “Big Star – Isolated in the Light.” It boasts 200 images from photographers who chronicled the band from their beginnings in Memphis up through the solo projects of vocalists and guitarists Alex Chilton and Chris Bell. The book is credited to photographer Donna Ranieri and graphic designer Fabrice Couillerot.

“Fabrice started his publishing company, First Third Books, in 2011,” Ranieri explains. “His first book, which included many of my photographs, was on an English band from the ‘80s called Felt. We finally met

the way. Ranieri initially met Stephens in the early ‘90s on her first trip to Memphis, the band’s hometown.

“At the time, I worked for a record producer in New York and thought it might be a good idea to check out Ardent Studios in case we ever felt like booking studio time there,” she recalls.

“I had made an appointment to meet him and remember ringing him from the payphone in the backyard at Graceland.

Most of the old Memphis signs that are shown in the end pages of the book were photographed by me during this trip. I had also casually met Alex Chilton in New York on several occasions with David Godlis, whose photos of Alex are also in the book.”

After gathering hundreds of photos of the band, Fabrice and Ranieri went about editing them down to give the book a natural flow. Their main objective was to highlight the photographers and present their personal stories through interviews. The additional essays came from family and friends of the band, like Tav Falco, Chris Stamey, Pat Rainer, Ken Stringfellow, and Jon Auer, among others. “We both feel so close to all the images in the book,” Ranieri says, before adding, “This is our little valentine to the band and all the Big Star fans out there.” .....

label specializing in vinyl reissues, which often hit shelves on Record Store Day. The aim of Brookvale Records, which was founded in 2010, is to give new life to hard-to-find albums and albums never before released on vinyl. Aside from reissuing and remastering records, the label has a design team working to create intricate artwork and bundles to fit each band’s artistic vision. To Phillip McGonigle, the Creative Director of Brookvale Records, packaging is just as important as sound.

Despite the changes Sadowski “We are in the unique position saw taking place, he remained of being a record label born a record collector. Looney out of an independent record INTERVIEW WITH LOONEY TUNES SALES ASSOCIATE JOHN SADOWSKI Tunes quickly became one of store,” McGonigle shares. “It’s AND BROOKVALE RECORDS CREATIVE DIRECTOR PHIL MCGONIGLE the only independent places really nice to have a retail space

BY SAMANTHA SPOTO to purchase music on Long Is- to sell your records. It’s a very land. Although he started out small business, but it’s exciting pened in 1971 by to whatever gets thrown their as a regular customer, Sadows- and satisfying to put out some ki eventually began working of the titles that we do.”

Karl Groeger Sr., way. at the store. Now, from behind Looney Tunes has remained a fam- Looney Tunes regularly draws the counter, he watches cus- Over the span of four decades, ily owned and operated mu- masses of people to their doors. tomers young and old changing Looney Tunes has managed sic store for the last 45 years. Every year, they participate the landscape of listening yet to provide consistent service Groeger’s two sons, Karl Jr. in Record Store Day and, ev- again. “Record collectors want to their loyal customers. Once and Jamie, now make the ery year, people begin lining a physical product. When you people discover their shop, it’s business what it is today. Lo- up the night before. The store download music, there’s no in- nearly impossible for them cated in West Babylon, N.Y., has a reputation for stocking stant gratification. In a record to stay away. “Someone from Looney Tunes has a large se- every imaginable release for store, you walk in, you have Long Island was looking to lection of CDs, LPs, and DVDs the occasion, and if someone your hands on an album, and downscale his record collecspanning all genres. Looney doesn’t find what they came for, then you go home and listen to tion,” McGonigle says. “He sold Tunes doesn’t only sell mu- Looney Tunes orders it right it. It’s immediate,” Sadowski us his entire collection—13,000 sic; throughout the years, they to the store. Everyone involved says. “That concept has always records. We bought them all. have become known for their makes loving and listening to been there and it’s been coming He came back two weeks later in-store performances and au- music easy, and that starts with back. Looney Tunes has always and bought some of them back.” tograph signings, featuring no- the fact that those who own and stayed ahead of the curve. They There are few things quite as table acts including Brand New, work at Looney Tunes believe acted on the resurgence of vi- sad as selling your respectable Bayside, Kevin Devine, Slayer, in the power and importance of nyl. They didn’t wait. It’s a nice and sizable record collection, but if there were ever a place Saves The Day, Fall Out Boy, a physical record. They do their thing to be a part of.” to willfully pass it on to, a Frank Turner, Thrice, Bomb best to keep that physicality a The Music Industry!, and The viable option despite the popu- Looney Tunes does their part to place that would ensure those Gaslight Anthem. larity of digital downloads and get physical music back into the albums found their way into hands of listeners. Not only do some other sad sap’s cramped online streaming services. they stock LPs, they press and living room, Looney Tunes is Perhaps their most memorable in-store performance John Sadowski, a sales associ- distribute them too. The shop that place. ..... happened in 2001, but it didn’t ate at Looney Tunes who has houses Brookvale Records, an exactly take place inside the worked in the music business independently owned record shop. In July of that year, thousands of people flooded Looney Tunes’ parking lot and stopped traffic on Brookvale Avenue to see Staind. Fans craned their necks to watch the band play from the roof of the building.

Since then, in-store performances have remained in the store, but Staind’s set serves as an example of the tremendous crowds Looney Tunes attracts and how they inventively adapt

LOONEY TUNES RECORDS STORE & BROOKVALE RECORDS

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since the ‘70s, has watched the industry adapt over time. He has been witness to the negative effects technology has had on businesses, having personally lost his job at the major label recording company, PolyGram.

“With more people downloading and streaming music, there became less and less of a need for brick-and-mortar stores, which inevitably meant there was less need for sales and marketing people, so I was let go,” Sadowski says.

a posthumous release,” Toller recounts. “Then, someone convinced him to release it now to support me, but he said he wouldn’t watch it. For some living subjects, documentaries are a real vanity project.

They hire the director. They have final say and final cut. That wasn’t the case here. Fields really respected the artistry and the creative process, and he trusted me.”

Fields’ intelligence cannot be stressed enough. He entered Penn State at 15 and dropped out of Harvard Law School at 19. “Danny Says” starts at his bar mitzvah, with a present day Fields narrating the footage. Also among the narrators are Iggy Pop, Alice Cooper, and numerous other players of that time, many of whom are no longer living.

Their words are interspersed with delightful animated interludes that go a long way in painting a picture to accompany the scratchy but spine-tingling historical conversations captured on cassette by Fields.

The amount of archival footage, original images, and audiotapes collected in “Danny Says” is astounding. Unlike the present day, where on-the-spot documentation of actions is de rigueur, in Fields’ time, it was not. This, of course, makes the immense amount of memorabilia in various formats all the more valuable. As is witnessed during the many interviews with Fields at his home, he is obviously living a packrat existence in New York City, his countless shelves bursting with artifacts, which are currently being archived at Yale University.

T

INTERVIEW WITH WRITER/DIRECTOR BRENDAN TOLLER

BY LILY MOAYERI

he layperson may not know the titular character in “Danny Says,” but they will definitely know all of his associations. Danny Fields—the subject of the documentary by filmmaker Brendan Toller—is a legendary character in the late ‘60s and ‘70s New York music and arts scene. Fields is credited with being the Ramones’ manager, the man who introduced Iggy Pop to David Bowie, and the individual who got the MC5 their recording contract, who did the same for Nico, and who was instrumental in signing Loudon Wainwright III. As the editor of Datebook magazine, Fields was the journalist who started a biblical avalanche with John Lennon’s quote

“This is part of the reason why it took me seven years to make this

film,” laughs Toller, who conducted hours of interviews with Fields every Sunday. “It was at least three years of scanning and digitizing filing cabinet after filing cabinet of personal files on people: clippings, mementos, everything. It’s great that these institutions are preserving the processes of thought and archives to get an understanding and a new perspective of Fields and other cultural luminaries.”

There is an intimacy to Fields’ accounts, like you are sitting around his living room listening to personal anecdotes, which all his immense stories are. He is reverential about the artists of whom he speaks, but it’s not music that is Fields’ passion, at least not in the conventional way it is for your garden-variety music lover. “It’s about cultural evolution and subversion,” Toller explains.

“Fields puts music down a lot and probably hates the music business and people talking and listening and debating about music. But, he is really into the performative aspect of music, and he does say it is the only thing that can make him cry. He’s still finding new artists.

He goes to the gym every night and dances to EDM, educating me on a whole new world that I don’t know I’m interested in, but it’s coming from him, so it’s fascinating.

“I left him with a DVD of ‘Danny Says,’” Toller concludes. “Later, I got a text saying, ‘That was great, thanks.’ I asked him if he watched it, and he said, ‘Just once, needed to make sure it didn’t suck and I didn’t want to jump out the window. The film does not suck.’ In his own way, he’s given me the nod of approval.”

.....

about the Beatles being “more popular than Jesus,” inadvertently resulting in the group’s cessation of touring. The punk rock tome, “Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk,” is even dedicated to him, as “forever the coolest guy in the room.”

Toller, who met the living legend while making his previous documentary, “I Need That Record,” is the victor in a long line of people who have approached Fields about chronicling his life on film. Toller says, “The thing about Fields is, he has incredible intelligence; he is able to put together disparate elements and has a way of orienting himself and creating context.”

“Originally, Fields wanted it to be

NEW NOISE 75

"ABANDONED"

“I worked on a System Of A Down video, a Morbid Angel video,” artist Chet Zar says. “I think I worked on a Prince video once. It was a long time ago, and it’s all a blur now!”

I

about comic book and film ideas for the Black Magick character, but I think it was Christopher who really got me thinking about the world as a whole.”

f you’ve ever seen “Darkman," “The Ring,” either “Hellboy” film, Tim Burton’s “Planet of the Apes,” or just about any major music video by Tool, then you have witnessed Zar’s wonderfully dark special effects makeup work. A prodigy in his own artistic field, Zar launched himself into the world of onscreen effects makeup as a young teen, but eventually moved away from the camera and into his own eerie world of painting and sculpting monsters. While much of the California-based artist’s work looks like something out of the nightmares of children or the fantastical dreams of Guillermo Del Toro, it upholds a unique aesthetic that only a master of the dark arts like Zar could portray with both beauty and personality.

Zar’s career in oil painting ignited with the success of his most recognizable painting, 2005’s “Black Magick.” This beloved gas-masked figure not only became one of his trademark images, but has been a central point for many of his solo shows and exhibitions over the last decade. Zar has continued to expand his artistic world by holding various solo exhibitions in art hubs like Santa Monica’s Copro Gallery and Manhattan’s Last Rites Gallery, and even having a documentary, “Chet Zar: I Like to Paint Monsters,” trace his career. With so much success backing him, he can finally focus on what may be the most important undertaking of his life: the upcoming multimedia project, “Dy5topia: A Field Guide to the Dark Universe of Chet Zar.” “I think it all started when I was talking to my friend, artist Christopher Ulrich, about the idea that my paintings seem to make up a world,” Zar explains.

“I had previously been thinking

Zar has been known to go above and beyond the basics of just presenting an art show. 2013’s infamous “Ego Death” was more of a spectacle than a show, as it recreated a funeral for the ego of Black Magick, complete with in-house mourners and an undertaker. “Dy5topia” is set to be on par. “It will be presented as a field guide,” Zar says of his work in progress. “I consider this book to be the cornerstone from which all kinds of future projects will spring. This will basically be the rule book about how this dimension operates, what the different characters are all about, what their purpose is in this world, etc.”

"BLACK MAGICK"

Apart the comprehensive field guide to his world, Zar will also embark on a multitude of new oil paintings and sculptures to revisit and round out the characters who inhabit “Dy5topia.” “I have always loved faces,” he explains. “I think that’s where most of the character lies, and it’s certainly where the emotion is. I am more after capturing feeling and emotion than anything else, and I feel like ‘head and shoulders’ portraits are a way I can accomplish that. I also like the formal aspect to it. I feel like it elevates the monsters to a point where they are given respect.”

Now that the project is underway, Zar is eager to finally actualize the world he has spent his entire career thus far creating.

“I may create a relief map of the territory itself,” he says. “Ultimately, as the project grows into other media—film, animation, etc.—I think I will be able to incorporate my entire artistic skillset. […] I can see this being the beginning of my life’s work.”

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NEW NOISE 77

NOI!SE: DULL THE PAIN PIRATES PRESS / RANDALE RECORDS / LONGSHOT MUSIC

Oi’s current favorite sons have released a reminder they are not gone yet. Two songs rip on the Dull the Pain 7”. This Seattle quartet has impressed fans with their fast, tight, gritty punk for years. Never afraid to throw in catchy and emotional lines, they hit the gut and heart. Out on black, gold, white, or olive green vinyl.

EPs

STADIUM WAY: STADIUM WAY PIRATES PRESS / RANDALE RECORDS

Matt Henson—bassist and co-vocalist of Noi!se—also recorded an acoustic side project with Noi!se guitarist Kenny Birkes. On this self-titled Stadium Way 7”, we get four tracks of moving music, with Interrupters’ Kevin Bivona helping out on organ. Available on black, white, or silver vinyl.

BISHOPS GREEN: BACK TO OUR ROOTS, VOL. 1 & VOL. 2 RANDALE RECORDS / LONGSHOT MUSIC / REBELLION RECORDS

Another band sweeping the worldwide punk scene are Bishops Green. They have been touring relentlessly and expanding their geographic imprint all over Europe this summer. Established as part of Vancouver’s rich history in bands like Subway Thugs and Lancasters, the members deliver two EPs. Each contain a new song from an upcoming album and a cover. Volume 1 comes in black, green, and blue; Volume 2 in orange, black, and red.

SICK OF IT ALL: WHEN THE SMOKE CLEARS CENTURY MEDIA

Sick Of It All balance personal rage with the injustices and frustrations of our society and its politics. Representing Queens, N.Y., with their metallic meets Oi! brand of NYHC, the band breathe authenticity. Century Media, who have released their last few albums, give us a new five-track EP, When the Smoke Clears. Sick Of It All are forged by 30 years of strict integrity, incendiary passion, and a sincere attitude for the music, scene, and fans. When the Smoke Clears sees the Alleyway vets compiling “rare and iconic shots from their photo archives that will comprise a new, limited-edition, 60-page coffee table book. Wrapped in fake leather, the book will include personal liner notes from such people as Davey Havok (AFI), Dennis Lyxzén (Refused), Chuck Ragan (Hot Water Music), Arthur Smilios (Gorilla Biscuits), and Matt Kelly (Dropkick Murphys).”

CHEAP GIRLS: GOD’S EX-WIFE: ASIAN MAN RECORDS INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST/BASSIST IAN GRAHAM BY TIM ANDERL Michigan-based Cheap Girls released a collection of B sides and rarities via Asian Man Records on Sept. 16.

The record, God’s Ex-Wife, offers a look at some favorites that were left off of the band’s proper albums and cuts that showcase the songwriting prowess of the great Midwestern indie rock trio. “There wasn’t really any pressure of any kind to make all of this happen,” Cheap Girls vocalist and bassist Ian Graham admits. “So, simply, we wanted it to be the songs we’ve always loved that people might not have access to.”

Don’t expect God’s Ex-Wife to be a chronology, but rather a collection that continues to capture the spirit of the band. “It would’ve been more difficult for us to just let it slide out in chronological order,” Graham says. “That doesn’t really seem all that fun. Honestly, I think it would’ve been distracting. Like the aim of sequencing previous records: start with the song that sounds best first, then see what level of energy is necessary next. We don’t always get it right the first time, but it always reaches a point that makes sense to all of us.”

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SPLITS

SPECTRAL VOICE / PHRENELITH: SPLIT 7” EP IRON BONEHEAD / DARK DESCENT

Spectral Voice from Denver and Phrenelith of Denmark fuse an evil bond, conspiring with Iron Bonehead and Dark Descent Records to unleash this malicious split 7”. Each side is cursed with an exclusive track from these bands currently disturbing the underground death metal scene.

Neither band have released a full-length, but here, we learn why both bands are being honored. Includes gothic etching by artist Emil Tibell.

WARZONE: DON’T FORGET THE STRUGGLE, DON’T FORGET THE STREETS REVELATION RECORDS

REISSUES

This album is boiling with energy in its lyrics and its boisterous guitars and rampant drums. DFTS, DFTS embraces unity and rising from the wreckage of misguided youth, rife with the reality of the streets from which vocalist Raybeez and Lower East Side Crew cultivated their stories. A definitive document of the NYC scene of the ‘80s, this is a must own, and now, everyone gets one of the greatest NYHC manifestos ever. From the iconic introduction skit to the rally cry for scene unity among outcasts engrained in each song, every second of this album is one of emotion and perseverance.

Available in multiple colors on 12” vinyl: 1086 on blue, 2108 on red. The packaging is revamped by artist, John Omen. Now including unseen photos and liner notes by drummer, Luke Abbey, who continued on with Gorilla Biscuits.

BLONDE REDHEAD: MASCULIN FÉMININ BOX SET NUMERO GROUP

Blonde Redhead were known for combing ‘60s Italian pop, avant-garde art vibes, Godard and Warhol. Noisy and beautiful, these records remind us of the first steps that shaped this iconic band. This box set celebrates the enigmatic Blonde Redhead’s out-of-print early recordings with a four-LP or two-CD set featuring 37 tracks. Masculin Féminin joins their first two albums—1995’s self-titled and La Mia Via Violenta—for Steve Shelley’s Smells Like Records, and includes early singles, demos, and radio performances. Accompanying the four orange and yellow 12”s—limited to 1000—are previously unpublished photographs and two lengthy essays on the band.

OFF WITH THEIR HEADS: WON’T BE MISSED ANXIOUS AND ANGRY RECORDS

Ryan Young and John Polydoros of Off With Their Heads have stepped outside their comfort zone to give fans 10 tracks of selected OWTH favorites recorded acoustically. Young admits, “For years, one of my friends told me that our songs would work well acoustic. I always wrote it off, because acoustic guitars make me uncomfortable.” Young and Polydoros moved with discomfort in tow and solidified energetic, honest songs. “I wound up really liking how it turned out,” he adds. The record will be released on Young’s own label. “Anxious And Angry is its own beast that constantly evolves naturally,” he says. “It started as an online t-shirt shop. Then, it turned into that along with a podcast getting my friends to talk about mental health. Then, all of that, plus an online record store.”

JON SNODGRASS: THE CARPET THIEF: HOMETOWN CARAVAN INTERVIEW BY JOHN B. MOORE When Brandon Carlisle—the drummer and cofounder of Teenage Bottlerocket—passed away suddenly last year, Jon Snodgrass left the hospital and immediately turned his grief into a song. Thinking about all the times the two of them holed up in Carlisle’s basement working on music, Snodgrass channeled his confusion surrounding the tragedy into “1-2-3-4, Won’t Go Down to the Basement No More.” He then lucked into some recording time with Jason Livermore at the Blasting Room and decided to release the song as a 7”.

The last time Snodgrass saw his buddy alive—just days before he passed—they were both at The Surfside 7 for the venue’s pre-opening party. Snodgrass recalls looking up at the unfinished stage area and saying, “‘I think we need to put a piece of outdoor carpet up there like the old place.’” He continues, “So, after the funeral, I kind of stole the green outdoor carpet that was under his casket. It’s now on the stage at the bar.” Thus, Snodgrass’ new 7” is aptly christened Carpet Thief.

NEW NOISE 79

FOREVER GREY: AUTUMN CALLING : PRIME RUIN

SONIC POISON: HARSH DEMONSTRATION : CALIGARI RECORDS Fast, grimy, grim, and dark, Finland’s Sonic Poison blow through the infinite spectrum with a grindcore that’s positioned for the dark streets and endless moons. Harsh Demonstration terrorizes its way through seven spinetwisters: pulverizing, hardcore, lean and mean. A perfect blend of attitude, feedback, and thrash, this cassette is the ideal excursion for timeless rage.

A tinge of black metal fantasy makes this tape a darkening classic. The beatdown never ends.

With brooding darkwave that plucks at your heart in a “Joy Division meets John Carpenter in some sinister techno club outpost on the planet Zorth” sort of way, Michigan’s Forever Grey grab you with their mystical minimalism and lonely passion. Autumn Calling mixes experimental overtones, ‘80s bass, crafty electronic architecture, and gloomy anthems in a nifty contemporary way.

The beats leave you pumping, the sadness—surprisingly—is optimistic, and the overall extraction is one of success.

Forever Grey forge a cool and swaying path. This is one sweet cassette.

ROAD WARRIOR: IGNITION : HEAVY CHAINS

Epic power metal from the land down under, Australia’s Road Warrior call to the eternal gods of the NWOBHM dimensional apex to forge a quickening and powerful stroke. Ignition is a two-song blaster, but it plays like a full EP with its eternal head-banging ferocity, classic operatic strut, and technical innuendo. This is a righteous cassette: silver and white in design, steel and blue at heart, and completely uplifting. Pop this thing in while cruising through the main strip, on your way to the big party, or when raging the dinner rush hard. Timeless music can be copied, but it can’t be faked. Road Warrior are the truth.

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VICIOUS RUMORS: VICIOUS RUMORS : ATLANTIC CERTIFIED CLASSIC

Vicious Rumor’s third album— the self-titled monstrosity with the blue-cloud, night-sky cover—is about as raging a cassette as you’ll ever imagine.

Guitarist and founder Geoff Thorpe shows the galaxy the meaning of intergalactic shredding, wavering solos, and riffs that percolate, ebb, and dazzle. The late Carl Albert is a mesmerizing power metal vision, raising vocal tones and melodies in syncopation with the band’s deftly satisfying hues. Classics like “On the Edge” and “Electric Twilight” are legendary thrash anthems, the perfect solution for interstate ecstasy. A lifer that ages like a wizard in the moon, Vicious Rumors is one for the ages.

DELICIOUS ROCK NOISE AVAILABLE NOVEMBER 11TH

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