Tuesday, 25 February 2025

*** PODCAST #176 Chris Gregory (Belted Sweater, Gayt, etc.) ***


    When Christopher Patrick Gregory emailed me about releasing the self-titled BELTED SWEATER album I was skeptical. Then I heard the songs and I was beyond sold. The quirky, dancey, groovy, screamy, queer-positive glam skramz was something new I hadn't heard and didn't know I needed so desperately. I can't recommend that album enough (linked here). It was a no brainer to bring him on the podcast...and now here we are! A few things discussed: Playing in Belted Sweater/Littlest Viking/Gayt/Wizzrobe, changing screamo life patterns, skate punk revisitations, being a drum whore, playing Star Wars the card game incorrectly, denied getting into Canada, Belted Sweater writing process, an angry gay protest album, covered in fecal matter, fuck Trump, "glam skramz" is hard to say, thoughts on Billy Corgan, a warrior queer person fighting against the forces that be, etc. Bands played in this podcast: Heaven Through Violence, Lo-Fi-Fnk, Neggy Gemmy, Sleeping People, Spare Change, and Venus Twins. Listen to podcast #176 which is available to stream and/or download for free via this link.




BELTED SWEATER
Bandcamp


LITTLEST VIKING
Bandcamp


1 Nurturing the Nerd In Us
SLEEPING PEOPLE "Blue Fly Green Fly" (Christopher)
VENUS TWINS "Stitching" (Dave)

Incubation
SPARE CHANGE "Change" (Christopher)
HEAVEN THROUGH VIOLENCE "A World For Us to Love You In" (Dave)

If I Could Sing Like Bjork, I Would
LO-FI-FNK "City" (Christopher)
NEGGY GEMMY "California" (Dave)


~Dave

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Saturday, 22 February 2025

ATHOUSANDANGELSANDSEVEN

BandATHOUSANDANGELSANDSEVEN
For fans ofMalevich, Crestfallen, Cult Leader, Rotting In Dirt, Gaza, Casket Dealer, and Closet Witch.
GenresPunk / Hardcore / Metal / Metalcore / Metallic Hardcore / Mathcore / Screamo / Skramz / Grindcore / Doom / Sludge
Related artistsEndless, Nameless, Birdhouse View, maintainer., Fainting Dreams, .sugar., Fatalist, Bodybox, Homesick, Shield Maiden, Graveview, and Noctambulist
CountryDenver, Colorado U.S.A.
Years Active2023-present
Label(s): Zegema Beach Records


     In late 2024 I got a message from Elle. I knew her from Endless, Nameless and was stoked to hear the new project was more raw and screamy - but nothing could have prepared me for the four songs I was about to disintegrated by. And just as I suspected when I agreed to release their debut, self-titled EP, ATHOUSANDANGELSANDSEVEN is making some fucking waves and have immediately carved out a niche for themselves in...uhhhhhh, less than a month. Okay so this is gonna be a pretty long review for just a four-track EP...but I'd argue this isn't long enough. Commence paragraphs.

     "77 Years of Immeasurable Pain" lurches rabidly toward the jugular in a violent and chaotic assault only to lead quickly into a behemoth of a breakdown just 20 seconds in. The song then blows around like wild tornado, destroying houses and generally fucking shit up. This jam includes one breath of clarity and beauty via the eerie clean singing that sprinkles itself over the latter half of the song. I also must mention the absolute mastery that is the attack of the bees section at 1:39 which transitions beautifully into another prodigious beating complete with snarling, venomous vocals.

     Things are a bit more scary and less chaotic when "I can't understand how you never thought it would get to this point" gets started, with an almost doomy/sludgy build ala Malevich before the shrieking vocals careen the train off the tracks. Things get hella interesting around 1:10 with a very uncomfortable and discordant riff that leads to a crushing mid-section. The song flies off course again afterward and goes full head-fuckery mode with echoing vocals and instrumental nuances that are as unsettling as they are awesome.

     My personal favourite track was released almost a month before the full EP on Zegema Beach's Zampler #24 and those two things are definitely connected. "We Suffer (the Same Fate)" goes SO FUCKING HARD. It opens with an audio clip discussing the fragile nature of our hearts and love before absolutely eviscerating the listener with a section that sounds like a 20-ton pendulum swinging back and forth uncontrollably...and it's decked-out in razor-sharp blades. The death pendulum finally lands at 1:20, completely severing the part of the brain that stops one from entering the pit and throws you in frothing at the mouth. The simple palm mutes, rolling drums, and cacophonic screams of "just one more shove!" combine to make a truly deadly...dare I say...chorus? as the song quickly circles back around to shove you back into the pit right after you nearly collapsed from exhaustion. Then my friends, then comes the ultimate riff. This ridiculousness starts revving up at 2:10 with some quick back-and-forths between the guitars before everything collides at 2:19, detonating in a cataclysmic explosion that ruins me to this day. Fucking hell, what a track.

     Closer and obviously the fourth straight banger is "Clipped Wings", which while having the shortest runtime is also the jam that harnessed the absolute badass music video created by members of the band. The video is very "Sober"-esque (by Tool) with nightmarish and crude animation that could be put in any horror flick, while the song mirrors those gloomy and oppressive themes using an onslaught of maniacal shrieking, incredibly precise drumming, booming bass, and dark guitar wizardry. I love the ending of the song which is just an automated robot reciting the letters in the band's name over and over again.

     So yeah, that's probably my EP of the year, and top 3 at the very least. 7"s coming in the summer, and a podcast with the entire band coming the first week of March. New material? You betcha. Oh and they're playing ZBR Fest 2025 muhahahahaha. The year of ATHOUSANDANGELSANDSEVEN!!!

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DISCOGRAPHY

2025 - athousandangelsandseven cassette/7"EP (stream/donate/download here)

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(2025) ATHOUSANDANGELSANDSEVEN - "Clipped Wings" (from 'athousandangelsandseven') official music video

(2025) ATHOUSANDANGELSANDSEVEN - "We Suffer (the Same Fate)" (from 'athousandangelsandseven')

(2025) ATHOUSANDANGELSANDSEVEN - "77 Years of Immeasurable Pain" (from 'athousandangelsandseven')

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ATHOUSANDANGELSANDSEVEN additional links

Video review of "Clipped Wings" from HMHD (start at 1:30:47)

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Monday, 17 February 2025

*** BELTED SWEATER song premiere ***

"More Rack Toms (than people in the audience)"
exclusive song premiere
For fans ofDepeche ModeNew Order and Joy Division (if those bands screamed)

orders open upon the February 21st release via the band, Softseed Music, and Self Versed Records


     Christopher is the single creative mind behind the BELTED SWEATER project. Residing in Los Angeles, he plays in a buncha bands but this is his baby. On paper...it's weird. Synth-driven post-punk with poppy elements and screaming...or as I have taken to condensing it down to - glam skramz. When I was sent this album asking if I wanted to release it and although I was hesitant to delving, once I did I fell headfirst and loved every fucking minute of it. I said yes so freakin' fast once I got about halfway through the album, as I was (and still am) smitten. You can jam "Cherry Grove" on the BELTED SWEATER bandcamp, and I'm premiering "More Rack Toms (than people in the audience)" below. As you'll hear, the newer material opts (rightfully so) for the inclusion of extra instrumentation and the additional guitar layers really give the songs a lusher and fuller sound. Goddamn this song kinda reminds me of watching Top Gun...holy shit! The full release sees the light of day on Friday, February 21st.


(2025) BELTED SWEATER "More Rack Toms (than people in the audience)" (from 'Belted Sweater')



Sunday, 9 February 2025

*** PODCAST #175 Ely Morgan (Die Princess Die, Scuba Cop) ***


    DIE PRINCESS DIE's debut self-titled album was an absolute palate cleanser and ridiculously influential album for me. It's truly insane that 20 years after I first got that 12" I was able to both release the band's discography on cassette and do this podcast with bassist Ely Morgan. Yet another massive bucket list tick. A few things discussed: oops I bought the wrong record, Iron Maiden and Weird Al, getting licensed for Bikini Kill and Elliot Smith docs, sending to labels 2000 vs. 2025, tiny hands, number 1 drummer draft choice, face-sliced by a cymbal, buckets of stress, early Ebullition talk, passion as addiction, Andre at Operation X-Ray, 20 years of obsession, old men and cds, how did this band not get big?, etc. Bands played in this podcast: ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, Angel Hair, Drive Your Plow Over The Bones Of The Dead, and The Mark Inside. Listen to podcast #175 which is available to stream and/or download for free via this link.








1 They Knew What Was Up Before Anyone Knew What Was Up
ANGEL HAIR "Blood Believe" (Ely)

The Shows Were Bonkers
DRIVEYOURPLOWOVERTHEBONESOFTHEDEAD "glimmer fate" (Dave)

Scuba Talk
...AND YOU WILL KNOW US BY THE TRAIL OF DEAD "Mark David Chapman" (Ely)
THE MARK INSIDE "Buzzing (demo version)" (Dave)


~Dave

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ADDITIONAL LINKS

Thursday, 6 February 2025

MONDRARY

BandMONDRARY
For fans ofMouthing, Nuvolascura, Blind Girls, Febuary, Welcome The Plague Year, Clay Birds, and Shoganai.
GenresPunk / Hardcore / Post-Hardcore / Metallic Hardcore / Emo / Screamo / Skramz / Emo-violence
Related artists?.
CountryBaltimore, Maryland U.S.A.
Years Active2024-present
Label(s): Self Released

     I only heard MONDRARY at the tail-end of 2024 despite their debut six-track EP '...and the trees fell quiet' coming out in April. Don't worry I certainly made it for my lateness by jamming the shit out of it during November and December. Their chaotic/screamy and sometimes post-hardcore/singy combo is a welcome curveball from the typical screamo tropes. Sure they've still got annihilating screams, frantic freakouts, and angular instrumentals, but the constant question of "is this crazy bit going to lead into a quiet bit?" tends to leave me near the edge of my literal and figurative seat.

     Tracks one to three are combine for just five-and-a-half minutes of material but holy smokes is a lot compacted down into that little time cube. Opener "Pins" is 59 seconds of eerie, gorgeous instrumentals that lead into "Needles" which dices up the opener in no time, relying on jarring rhythms and lotsa screaming until that first emo/post-rock break at the 40-second mark, with the back-half of the song dipping back into anger and violence. Title track "...and the trees fell quiet" is another banger with two sneaky soft bits wrapped around the first inclusion of dual vocals. Things really get nuts on the backend of this release, as track four's "Bleed Me Dry, Sapphire!" puts the vocals at the forefront with a catchy, sassy, and wicked intro while the final moments of the song have the screaming coming apart at the seems in the most volatile fashion imaginable. "Paraffin" is another song that goes for jugular and is vintage screamo using dark and ominous tones...fuckin' love it. Closer "Animus" is arguably the most put-together song on the album, with many shifts and excellent transitions that create a seamless piece of work, with my favourite section being introductory build once the vocals chime in and the throat-shredding conclusion.

     This was definitely a slept on release but they'll likely make more waves as I've heard some of the band's new material and it is fantastic. Expect that summer/fall 2025!

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DISCOGRAPHY

2024 - ...and the trees fell quiet digital EP (stream/donate/download here)

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(2024) MONDRARY - "Bleed Me Dry, Sapphire" (from '...and the trees fell quiet')

(2024) MONDRARY - "Paraffin" (from '...and the trees fell quiet')

(2024) MONDRARY - "Animus" (from '...and the trees fell quiet')

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