Local Band Spotlights

by The Yer Scene Team

BELGRADE, SERBIA

by Filip

Repetitor - Gde ces

The post-noise punk trio from Belgrade just released their latest album last year. Imagine the Serbian version of Shellac, Sonic Youth or Blonde Redhead. Because that's what it sounds like. They are one of the few who know how to rock it and keep it tight, discordant, noisy and catchy at the same time. From the spirits of Joy Division (Suzeni Snovi) to rebellious riot grrl chants (Gde ces) to meditating passages of Swans (Crvena). This is the album that you mustn't miss, even if you are not familiar with the Serbian alternative scene.

https://moonleerecords.bandcamp.com/album/gde-e

Eaglehaslanded - s/t

One of Serbia's few emo-violence acts to ever come out in 2012 and are still active to this day. I remember they have released their second album s/t 7" last year. It starts off with an uneasy 8-bit intro which quickly takes us into the passage of anger, sadness, rage and destruction. Punk forces with a metallic edge of angst wastes no time in getting under your skin.

https://eaglehaslanded.bandcamp.com/album/s-t-7

TACOMA, WASHINGTON

by Hugh Schmidt

Marrowstone

Marrowstone are an emo/post-hardcore band who are really fucking sad. Think Touche Amore, think Title Fight before they started making indie pop. The lyrics hit close to home, and I think, convey a universal message of hope after tragedy, light after darkness. I'm serious when I say that I think anyone can relate to them, which makes their music that much more powerful to the listener. The clean and screamed vocals are passionate, and the guitars provide perfect amounts of tension and release. This band in extremely cathartic while also being super catchy. Tracks like "Dear Wolf" and "10.22" are absolutely heart wrenching, and every cracked scream feels like a punch in the throat. This is music to scream at the sky to, so if you're like me and you feel like doing that most of the time, check this band out.

https://marrowstonewa.bandcamp.com/

https://marrowstonewa.bandcamp.com/

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS

by Hugh Schmidt

Spirittown

So, here's the deal with this band. They're not really a band. There's no stable line up, and honestly, the identities of the original members aren't entirely known. They wear masks constructed of duct tape and paper mache, they're obscured by fog at their live shows, and their music has no identifiable human voices. Their art itself, is more than just music. It's the embodiment of the surreal. As a result of their obscurity, few recordings exist outside of iphone videos. What does exist of official recordings, is a representation of what is, as far as I know, the earliest iteration of Spirittown. Spirittown began in Concord, MA, in early 2013 as a somewhat acoustic act, featuring two members, possibly of the Robichaud family. They have three recorded songs. "Why North" consists of sporadic bucket hitting, sparse acoustic guitar picking, and ethereal moaning/wailing. "Advice" is a bizarre, bluesy number, reminiscent of Captain Beefheart, that quite literally consists of advice. Such one liners include "never trust a man in a hooded sweatshirt if he's got a gun in his pants" and "never buy something that uses 9-volt batteries, those things are expensive". "Wave Lengths in Cyan" is a bizarre, noisy psychedelic tune with trippy noisy guitar and what sounds like melodica. This was the first iteration of this project, which lived and died that same year. It was revived in the summer of 2015 with a show at ArtPark, which was Spirittown in it's full form, I won't identify the members wearing masks, because honestly I'm not sure I could, but I can say that Fred Bex and (if I'm remembering correctly) Harrison Selle (both of Skank Vendor) played drums and bass, respectively, at this show. The front man leered at and spun around in the audience, screaming and yelling as two members played their pedal boards more than their guitars. This line up also featured an electric violinist in the mix, with the full band putting forth sheets of noise as fog filled the room. It was harsh noise rock, with steady, slow and heavy drums over feedbacking electric guitar and violin. This was the final show of this lineup, but the project was briefly revived yet again in the fall of 2016 by myself, Chloe Koval, and Will Robichaud (continuing the family tradition).

The only song we performed was a rendition of "Why North", with myself on vocals, Chloe Koval on bucket, and Will Robichaud on guitar. We performed twice, once at an open mic, and once at the end of the Unicef Benefit Concert. Will and Chloe revived the project yet again once I left for school in the fall of 2017, and changed the sound to have more of an ambient, show gaze feel. People sit down and close their eyes during their set, which makes for a truly transcendent experience. People went up to them after their last set and told them that their music took them on a journey, and they're so correct. Spirittown takes you on a journey. Spirittown is, in itself, a journey. Honestly, it wouldn't surprise me if Spirittown lasts until the end of time. They're truly an important band to our small scene for their willingness to experiment and weird out all the time. They're a band that doesn't care if idiots leave during their set because they know what they're doing is important. Spirittown is in all of us.

Spirittown is forever.

Provided by Hugh Schmidt

Provided by Hugh Schmidt

SAINT CATHERINES, ONTARIO

by Kenneth Fury

Output

Output are an absolute Ontarian gem. Hailing from St. Catherines, the group managed to tastefully blend their influences with much success, their sound is so unique and very much their own. I can proudly say these are wonderful people, having hung out with them after they toured and played in my home city. After they dropped a covers EP and I loved it, and decided all needed to hear it. I was fortunate enough to ask them some questions about it. Have a look below.

While everyone has fundamental influences that they'll always love, do you have more specific ones when writing for Output?

"I don't think it's ever been a conscious thought for any of us when we get together and write. I'd say we have a pretty good idea of what our aesthetic is as a whole, but it's never been "hey, let's write a song that sounds like this band, or this other one." The process has always been quite natural to us, and our individual influences collectively shine through in the end regardless."

Provided by Output

To continue off the last question, is it fair to assume all the artists whose songs you covered on your Halloween EP are influential?

Totally. We tossed around the idea of doing something cool for Halloween, and these are bands that we really give a shit about. Personally speaking, for example, Hot Snakes have had a huge influence on my guitar playing. John Reis is a downpicking warlord, no better way to put it.

When you cover Motorhead (one of the best covers I've ever heard!) do you worry about how that may be taken or perceived? Do you think it's becoming chic in some ways to cover heavier artists rather than reject them as some more indie bands in some scenes do? (not implying this is what you're doing, that cover was too legit to ever be questioned.)

Honestly, not really. Adam brought that song to the table. He's the biggest Motorhead fan in the band, and it was probably one of the strongest covers on the mixtape in my opinion. As for the whole "chic" thing, to each his own I guess. We're a heavy-ish rock n' roll band, so covering Motorhead makes sense to us. If people from other scenes want to reject that idea, they're free to do so, but it doesn't phase us one bit.

Provided by Output

You use really crisp, tight and honestly, heavy production. Is this a somewhat intentional choice? If so, why? How do you feel like how your music is recorded and produced adds to your ideas/messages/overall aesthetics?

We recorded the Best Enemy 7" with Simon Larochette, at his London studio called The Sugar Shack. We tracked drums and bass live off the floor at the same time, and then over dubbed guitar and vocals afterwards. We didn't copy & paste sections, use click tracks, or layer dozens of guitars tracks. The process was very organic with very few takes required, and the tonal qualities that Simon was able to capture with his exoertise left us incredibly satisfied in the end. We're a high-decible, live rock band, and our intention from the very start was capturing that essence.

What do you think has been your greatest accomplishment as a band and as individual musicians?

I can't really speak on their behalf about individual accomplishments, but as an independent band, I would have to say the amount of shows we've managed to rack up in the short time we've been active. Since July 2016, we've played over 60 shows across 5 provinces, all of which were booked by Jesse, the father figure in the band, & one of the hardest working dudes I know. We've put quite an emphasis on doing things yourself as much as possible, it requires patience and persistence, but it's attainable.

https://outputniagara.bandcamp.com/