Zer0

Rock For Light is a fantastic album as well. I still prefer their debut though, i just love that raw passionate punk sound. I think the original versions on Bad Brains have a little bit more passion and meaning compared to the re-recorded versions on Rock For Light, although i think the version of 'Right Brigade' on Rock For Light is a bit better than the original.

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Zer0

Skywave
Skywave were a band which consisted of Paul Baker on guitar and vocals, Oliver Ackermann on bass and John Fedowitz on drums. They formed in the mid-90s and released a handful of albums and EPs towards the end of the decade. It wasn't until 2004 however when they released their masterpiece, and final album, Synthstatic. On Synthstatic Skywave perfected their sound, channeling the spirit of The Jesus and Mary Chain and The Telescopes to create a harsh and abrasive, yet deeply melodic noise-pop album. Shortly afterwards Skywave broke up, Paul Baker and John Fedowitz stayed together and formed Ceremony while Oliver Ackermann swapped his 4-string for a 6-string, recruited Dion Lunadon on bass and Jay Space on drums to form A Place To Bury Strangers.


Ceremony
Ceremony were pretty much a continuation of Skywave without Oliver Ackermann, with Paul Baker and John Fedowitz sharing instrumental duties among themselves and occasionally utilising a drum-machine. They pretty much continued on the same path of melodic pop songs wrapped in walls of guitar distortion and feedback albeit with a slightly more melodic sound than Skywave. They have so far released two full-length albums to date; Disappear (2007) and Rocket Fire (2010) as well as a 7-track EP Ceremony (2005) .


A Place To Bury Strangers
A Place To Bury Strangers have achieved far more success and critical acclaim over the past few years compared to Ceremony. Like Ceremony they continued Skywave's signature sound of harsh noise, yet pushing it to even more extremes and combining it with more psychedelic and post-punk influences to create a loud, abrasive and sometimes dark and atmospheric sound. They released their self-titled debut A Place To Bury Strangers in 2007 establishing a cult following of their own. In 2009 they released the follow-up album Exploding Head, which featured a slightly cleaner and better-produced sound yet still had all the abrasive intensity of their debut. Fingers crossed for a third album this year.

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someonecompletelyrandom

Another excellent post. A Place to Burry Strangers - Exploding Head was one of the first albums I ever got. I think I'll go listen to it now, haha.

Zer0

Cheers. Yeah i discovered APTBS thanks to this place. I remember when i first listened to their debut album, i felt like my brain was being fried! It's a full-on sonic assault on the senses.

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Zer0

Superfuzz Bigmuff plus Early singles is a compilation consisting of their seminal Superfuzz Bigmuff E.P., one of the most important and seminal releases to come out of Seattle in the late 80's, as well as the singles they released from their inception in 1988 to 1990's split single with Sonic Youth.

The first half of this album contains their early singles. The album kicks off with a bang with their first and possibly most well-known single 'Touch Me I'm Sick', with frontman Mark Arm's snotty-nosed drawl spitting out lyrics such as "I feel bad, and I've felt worse. I'm a creep, yeah, I'm a jerk" over primal, sludgey, garage-riffs. The rawness and energy of this song is remarkable and really captured the care-free, rowdy nature of the band in their early years. Following this is the aformentioned song's b-side 'Sweet Young Thing Ain't Sweet No More', this song retains the same sound and production as 'Touch Me I'm Sick' but in contast has a slower, darker and moodier nature to it. It also showcases the incredible drumming talents of a certain Dan Peters, who is surely one of the most gifted drummers to come out of Seattle. The band increase the pace with the next two tracks 'Hate The Police' and 'Burn It Clean', with the former being a cover of The Dicks' rowdy anti-authority manifesto ("You can't find justice it'll find you") and paints a portrait of gun-obsessed America, and the latter featuring Mark Arm snarling over guitars so dirty they sound unhygenic. 'You Got It (Keep It Outta My Face)' is a single lifted from their debut self-titled album and stikes a very nice balance between noise and melody and makes for a great shout-along anthem. Ending the first half of this album is a cover of Sonic Youth's 'Halloween', which the band recorded for their 1990 split 45 with New York's finest (Sonic Youth covered 'Touch Me I'm Sick on the other side). While the original Sonic Youth version was quiet and remained relatively static throughout, Mudhoney brought a sleazier and slightly jazzier element to the song, which builds up to a breath-taking climax with Dan Peters showing off his prowness behind the drumkit along with some wild guitar noise from Steve Turner. Incredible stuff.

The second half of this album consists of their 1988 Superfuzz Bigmuff E.P. Starting off with 'No One Has', where drummer Dan Peters and bassist Matt Lukin form a steady, solid and driving rhythm backbone for Mark Arm and Steve Turner to display their chaotic, yet controlled guitar antics. The next track 'If I Think' shows a more bluesier and dynamic side to Mudhoney, with quiet blues-influcened verses alternating with the louder choruses to great dynamic effect. This song seems to show the band as more confident songwriters and musicians and allowing for other influences to shine through. Following this is, which in my opinion is one of the band's finest moments, the alternative rock classic 'In 'n' Out Of Grace'. This song opens with the same sample which was later used on Primal Scream's well-known song 'Loaded', and paves the way for a solid, fist-pumping Generation-X anthem. The energetic see-saw riffs and steady rhythm section form the perfect backing for Arm to cry out "Jesus take me to a higher place. Sliding in 'n' out of grace", not to mention the mind-bending middle-section where Dan Peters shows off his drumming skills with the help of some nice phasing effects. Quite simply a pivotal moment in 80's alternative music. The more restrained 'Need' showcases Arm's songwriting abilities and allows their Stooges influence to shine through nicely while 'Chain That Door' is a short, punky and intense yet controlled number which is guaranteed to get people jumping. The final track on the album 'Mudride' starts off slow, moody and threatening with Mark Arm's cries of "I got a mouth full of dirt, A hand full of charms, Got a rusty old spade, Don't care who I harm" making for a more downbeat affair. After some nice wah-wah guitar work the song ups the tempo to give us a more intense climax, a nice ending to the album.

Superfuzz Bigmuff plus Early Singles gives the listener an incredible taste of what was bubbling in the Seattle underground at the end of the 80's before alternative rock exploded into the mainstream at the start of the following decade. It shows both the band and alternative rock in all it's raw, primal energy before the corporate cats came knocking. An essential album for anyone who craves some fuzzy goodness.

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Zer0

I first came across Flying Saucer Attack on a shoegaze compilation made by Jackhammer i think a couple of years ago. Included on this compilation was a track called 'For Silence' which was unlike anything i had ever heard before. I soon decided to investigate this band for myself and i was greatly rewarded. Further is the second album released by this Bristol-based band, which features a very minimalistic duo on this album consisting of just David Pearce and Rachael Brooke and featuring no rhythm section. They utilise just guitars, found-sounds, a selection of effects (and possibly a large quantity of drugs) to paint a dense, textured and fascinating sonic landscape. The album cover is a perfect match for the music and pretty much sums up the sound on this album – eerie, abstract, atmospheric and completely out-there.

The album opens with the atmospheric droning of 'Rainstorm Blues' which features two layers of droning guitar noise overlapping each other. Towards the latter half of this instrumental track some very strange noises, resembling either heavy rain falling on some hard object or some kind of ruffling noise, appear and add a very eerie and uncomfortable feel to the track. The first vocals appear on second track 'In The Light Of Time' which continues the layered guitar droning but with some added acoustic guitar to create a more comfortable, relaxed and ambient affair. 'Come and Close My Eyes' opens with the same abstract noises which appear in the latter half of 'Rainstorm Blues' creating a similar atmosphere. The acoustic guitar plays a more prominent role in this song with added layers of electric guitar noise providing some dynamic during the choruses. There is a more conventional song structure here on this track as it follows a simple verse-chorus-verse-chorus approach which grabs the listener's attention somewhat. The droning guitar noise here builds with more and more intensity towards the ending of the song to provide a breath-taking climax. The very obvious sound of rainfall opens the fourth 'For Silence', with some delay-treated acoustic guitar and vocals creating a very psychedelic atmosphere. The song is divided into two sections separated by a brief moment of silence, with the first section of the track featuring vocals and is reletivly short. The second section once again features some acoustic guitar but with layers of effects-laden walls of guitar noise building and building with more volume and intensity to an incredible conclusion of about two and a half minutes of breath-taking guitar noise. It really is a suburb and well done piece of music.

'Still Point' combines some gentle acoustic guitar and Rachael Brooke's soft vocals with some screeching guitar droning to great effect. This is also the shortest track on the album and features a more traditional song-structure. 'Here I Am' has a slightly more downbeat mood to it, with Pearce's delay-ridden vocals appearing undeciprable just underneath the layers of abstract guitar noise. This track is a good example of how he uses his voice as another musical instrument. Like My Bloody Valentine, Flying Saucer Attack show the listener how underneath layers of droning noise you can have melody right at the core of a song. At twelve minutes and nine seconds 'To The Shore' is by far the longest track on the album. It opens with some random clanging sounds that create a very tense and uneasy atmosphere, before fading and giving way to some very hypnotic and droning guitar noise. This instrumental track sounds purely improvised with additional layers of guitar noise overlapping, building and building, and adding to the intensity of the track. This wall of noise creates a trance-inducing effect on the listener and as you listen to it you seem to lose track of time, it's like time seems to stand still. Some gentle acoustic guitar appears roughly around the halfway mark adding a more relaxed feel to the music. Towards the latter part of the track there appears to be some form of repitition appearing out from the layers guitar droning, the guitar noise soon disappears at the end of the track giving way for a nice ambient conclusion. The final track 'She Is The Daylight' features some nice melodic acoustic guitar with Pearce's delay-treated vocals at their most melodic. Gentle guitar drones are almost used like strings sections to add additional atmosphere to the song. The perfect way to conclude this incredible album.

As regards lyrics, well the lyrics on this album are just as relevent as the lyrics on My Bloody Valentine's Loveless. David and Rachael could be singing about washing detergent for all we know, and even during parts where we can make out the lyrics they don't seem to make much sense. But the lyrics are not the focal point on this album, the vocals are mearly another layer to add to the incredibly atmospheric wall of sound that this album features. This album is an excellent example of the use of the human voice as another musical instrument and what moods, feelings and textures can be achieved with it. A great way to enjoy this album is to sit in a pitch-black room like a ****ing wierdo and just lose yourself in the music, feeling every tone and texture. It's an album is well worth investigating if you want to reach further into your mind and escape this world for it's duration.

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Zer0

Here's a selection of songs that have lit up my world in 2011 so far.



One of the standout tracks from my favourite album of 2011 so far. Just a cracking tune full of killer hooks and passion.



The opening track from their self-titled debut. It perfectly channels the spirit of late 80's/early 90's alternative rock to create a belter of a tune.



Good old Polly Jean is back with us with her best album in a decade and this song is probably the highlight of the Let England Shake.



I still feel a little bit underwhelmed by their new album Fluorescence but this song is by far the best on the album and one of the best songs I've heard from them. Just love that huge chorus.



The opening track from their debut full length Colour Trip sets the tone for the album perfectly. Channeling the spirit of My Bloody Valentine and The Jesus and Mary Chain and injecting some modern production and great vocal hooks to create a modern shoegaze classic.



A nice dark, haunting and atmospheric tune taken from their full-length debut Violet Cries.



With some killer dual guitar riffs, guitar noise and boy-girl vocal exchanges this Norwegian band have their sights set on the indie/alternative big league. Their debut album Decay Decoy has a nice Sonic Youth-esque feel to it.



The second single to be lifted from their forthcoming album Blood Pressures makes me even more excited for the new album. The song is also available as a free legal download here

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Zer0

I came across this little piece that I'd written in an old journal I used to keep in my bedside drawer. It's titled '5:15AM' and I wrote it on the 16/6/2008 according to the date. I think I wanted to capture that bleary moment where night becomes morning and the fun is long over. It's set at a house that a few of my friends used to rent during that summer and I used to go drinking there quite a lot. I have some good memories about that place.

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starrynight

The song by Yuk definitely takes off nicely in the chorus.

Another good melody is probably the Silhouette song by Ceremony, I like the choice of video style too. The other song might sound a bit more dirge like though. Shoegaze at it's best, whether more noise or serene in style, can have good melody.

Sneer

Good write ups on The Cure, Bad Brains and FSA albums man, three bonified gems right there. Some great bands mentioned in the Shoegaze pieces too. Keep it up.

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