Isaiah

First post in awhile, college sure is keeping me busy. This evening I bring to you another great band from Belgium; these guys are named Isaiah and have been playing music together since early 2007. I first heard this guys about a year ago when I started listening to another great band from the exact same area(The Black Heart Rebellion-see earlier posts)and was blown away. They've recently gone through some changes vocalist wise but they're still playing with the same great melodromatic punk diy sound we all know and love(unless you're a goddamm commi!). Not to long after seeing Suis La Lune(US tour now! GO SEE THEM!)I thought about these guys(very similar but with a slightly rougher tone to them)and decided to check up on them. Sure enough that had recently been working on a new 12" which was scheduled to come out after their '09 tour. Luckily enough they had released to the internets for free so I went ahead and scooped it up. It's their first really large release and it's quite something if I do say so myself. Along with a s/t and a few splits and tour ep's, this release-''Ils consomment,tuent et prient mais ne pensent pas"-is simply sublime. Definitely for fans of Suis La Lune, Amalthea, and The Saddest Landscape. Here I've included their website a video from their tour and their current releases.

Isaiah-Des enfants. J'aurais dû le tuer deux fois(Live)


Isaiah-Ils consomment,tuent et prient mais ne pensent pas (2009)


Isaiah-Self Titled Demo (2007)


Isaiah-6 song tour cd-r (2008)


Isaiah-Website

TIMBER

Timber is a great punk band right out of my home state Maryland. They personally hail from Gaithersburg but, play all and around the Baltimore area. It's definitely hard to compare these guys(since they carry a lot of diversity in their sound)but if I was to have to, I'd say they remind me of a young L'antietam. This sound is more found in their new 7" that came out last year(which is attainable here:TIIIMMMBEERRRR)making it kinda newish but not really. They have two releases as of late; one demo(which is my favorite)and the 7" mentioned before released on something crucial records. I really think these guys will be putting out some great stuff in the future and if you're in the baltimore area definitely keep watch of them. Their myspace link is below along with their demo and a few selections from the 7".

Timber-Demo (2007)


Timber 7" (2008)


MYSPACE-Timber

The Black Heart Rebellion

Enter the Belgian hardcore scene. These guys have notably been described as a blend of the intense vocal power of Amanda Woodward and dark melodies of bands such as Mogwai, Isis, etc. Surfacing in 2004 they laid claim to hardcore when they made a, very rough, split with another Belgium band; Autumn Delay. Since then they have released three records both on vinyl and cd. One of these was a Japanese only release which is still obtainable through their MYSPACE(if your cool with paying for shipping from Japan to here hah). Next was the explosive Monologue(2008)release which, has been released on so many labels that if you can't get it its just sad(some examples:Smoke and Dust Records, Vlas Vegas Records). This album is an absolute trip in the full sense; like many other bands in their genre they use their music to create images and stories start to form and take shape. These sensations are also reflected in how they play music; visual effects and sounds. It is imagery at a beautiful dark peak. Check out monologue, I highly recommend it.

Here you can check out "Erase, Redraw Our Maps" live from the 4AD opening for Sun0))):

Split w/ Autumn Delay (2005)


Monologue (2008)

Hollow Jan

Often called Hollow January this five piece band hails from Seoul, South Korea. I JUST discovered these guys and I have to say, obtaining their music has been one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. They have often been compared to other asian melodramatic hardcore bands such as early Envy and Heaven In Her Arms. When I first heard them I was astounded at the similarity between them and Envy(even more astounded that Korea had a hardcore scene) I immediately picked up their newest full length called "Rough Draft in Progress" which has got to be one of the most phenomenal albums to ever come out of asia; it can be purchased here I've Come For Your Children Records. So far they've had a total of 4 albums two of which are currently unavailable in the US. One of their ep's that is not available to the US is called "Hyacinthus Orietalis of Purple" but if you go to their Myspace you can get a little taste for it. Bellow I've included a live video of the title track of the ep; watch it to see what I mean by being similar to Envy! Their Rough Draft cd is also below for dl, though I do highly recommend you grab one for yourself if you like it.

Hyacinthus Orietalis of Purple (Live)



Rough Draft In Progress (2007)

To The North

To The North is a pretty great jazzy math rockish band from Brisbane, Australia. They really remind me of a band from Surrey named Meet Me In St Louis, who had the same mathy sound but retaining the punk feeling to their music; much like To The North. Even though they haven't been around all that long (2/07) they have had several releases which include, a cd/ep-still available from Yellow Ghost Records, and a new 7" split with Ohana; which I currently do not have. They're also going to be on the upcoming "Viva La Danza" compilation along with a number of wonderful punk/screamo bands (age sixteen, deers!, men as trees, Louis Cypehere, etc.) which should be kept track off on Zommerkamp Records. To The North also recently released a downloadable live set from a DIY fest in Australia-which I will include in this post-that includes a much different side of the band in which half the time you feel like your listening to a hardcore punk band that had sex with a jazz instrument. The cut rules and is about 23 minutes in length. They also have their own blogspot in which you can keep up to date on them and get lots of free SWAGG! I really dig their unique sound so check em out and lemme know what you think!



Landscapes CD/EP (2008)



To The North Live @ DIY Fest (2008)

TO THE NORTH BLOG

DEERS!

It's been quite some time but I'm back. This next band, DEERS!, is a hardcore screamo band straight out of Sacramento, California. These guys are super fresh man, the recordings I have of them are straight from their first demo which was created very recently. They've been active since early 2008 and are still going strong. Right now they're going on a winter tour in Cali but it's possibly they'll be releasing something more with Zomerkamp Records. These guys are chaos with a hint of melodic freshness that makes them one of my favorite punk/screamo bands right now. This 2008 demo they released in April is incredibly hard to come by and is absolutely excellent. This six song demo spanning about 14 minutes will have you swinging arms and screaming when you hear the effects and the vocals that these guys can belt out. Bands like Straight No Chaser and Malaysia's Kias Fansuri are incredibly similar and if you've ever listened to them, you'll like DEERS!.



DEERS DEMO 2008

These Arms Are Snakes & Russian Circles Split [Leak]

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and just assume you all know TAAS and Russian Circles by now. If not then here's the low down real fast. Russian Circles, three piece instrumental band from Chicago. They've been around since about 2004 and they have made quite a name for themselves in those few years. They've had 5 releases (including this one) and are always playing shows so look for them! These Arms Are Snakes are more experimental/post-rock/indie kinda stuff from Seattle. They have very unique vocals as well as very unique songs. These two decided to do a split while touring Europe together. I personally was quite taken aback from this seeing as how both these bands just released a new album not to long ago and the split has all new material. Still, it's a pretty good album and I've been waiting quite some time and copies are very limited, so have at it.


TAAS/RC Tour Split (2008)


RUSSIAN CIRCLES
THESE ARMS ARE SNAKES