The Usual

The Usual is a band that hails from Hagerstown, MD. They're part of the large emo scene emerging from the depths of the Hagerstown area along with bands like мища, Vikings!, Perfect Future, and Anaria. These guys are all pretty young -juniors in high school- and have been playing music together since early 2007. They've had a number of releases but have not released anything that really shows their growth musically until recently. "We Missed A Season" is a 6 song ep/cd that they recorded recently in their friends basement. They're limited to 50 copies at 2 dollars a piece and can be obtained directly from the band at their myspace: The Usual. The album goes for a very fast upbeat punk sound that is sometimes even chaotic; with tracks that rarely last over two minutes. The track Mckoy is one that shows the bands diversity in sound with slow soft almost ambient picking that eventually leads up to their normal punk sound. Then there's Virginia Is Not A Fucking Commonwealth -which starts the album- which sort of gauges you for the rest of it and is a fantastic track. I think I'm pretty impressed with how the vocals turned out on this and how they were done. These guys deserve your support so give their album a listen from here and buy one from them!

The Usual-We Missed A Season (2009)

Heaven in Her Arms (Discography)

I have been pretty dormant for the last couple of weeks; finishing up classes and getting over sicknesses all at the same time-terrible combination!! Anyway this post has been loooooong overdue and since I recently obtained their new EP I figured now was as good a time as ever.
Heaven in Her Arms have got to be one of my favorite bands to date. I first heard them a couple of years ago thanks to Denovali Records and just fell in love with their raw asian screamo. These guys formed in 2005 and have been releasing new music just about every year since then. They've had a total of five releases and have worked with Ape Must Not Kill Ape and their own independent label, Liberation of Butterfly. Though these guys have gone through some interesting changes (as you will note if you listen to the albums) they have kept true to that Envy kind of feel. For example, in their most notable album; Erosion of the Black Speckle, they have a lot of Japanese monologues-which I can't understand-that build into a HUGE explosion of emotion and force. However, they do have plenty of tracks where it's just really nice instrumental breaks that draw you even deeper into their music.
Sometime around February they released their new EP in Japan, Duplex-Coated Obstruction which is a four songs that show just how far this bands come. It took me quite some time to get it but it was well worth the wait so I feel it's necessary to share with you guys.

Check out this sweet video from their Euro Tour in '07 with Daitro; they're playing Intersection Arrangement/Iron Wine and A Canary from their full length Erosion:


Heaven In Her Arms-Duplex-Coated Obstruction (2009)


Heaven in Her Arms-Erosion of the Black Speckle (2007)


Heaven In Her Arms-Ep (2006)


Heaven in Her Arms-Demo (2005)


Heaven in Her Arms Myspace
Heaven in Her Arms Last.fm

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