out Of The Box On Sunday XXXII

Belgian math-rock with some post-hardcore, Terraformer (facebook) is a heavy-hitting complexely-structured instrumental band. Start/stop, tapping, dissonant and tremolo riffing with occasional hardcore breakdowns and punk rock or power chords desperately being tamed by erratic drumming, while the bass guitar loosely jams, both often in polyrythms.
Last fm tags as math rock, post-rock, instrumental,experimental, post-metal

We’ll Die Smiling – Avant Garde

We’ll Die Smiling (myspace) plays chaotic punk music with angsty screaming vocals like it hasn’t been done in ages. The spastic start/stop dissonant guitar-patterns are wielded to the point of perfection, quickly changing to mellow clean parts or violent chugs, and back again, while the vocals constantly harshly soar above the end product. This reminds a lot of what smaller bands did within the confinements of term ‘mathcore’ around the time we bridged from the 20th to the 21st century. Somewhat like Shoemaker Levy 9, Path Of No Return or As The Sun Sets, to give a few examples that won’t mean anything to most people. But there, I said it anyway.

out Of The Box On Sunday XXV

Partners in Crime by Thy Mighty Contract

Thy Might Contract (facebook) brings something way off the chart. freaky and dreamy noise-rock with mostly shouting/talking yet clean (ex- I Would Set Myself On Fire For You) vocals. the overall product is full of layers of weird effects on every instrument and voice, resulting in a very alienating sound. like a hipster on a bad acid trip. all of it sounds like the product of very spazzy, erratic and random people getting together and just creating music very naturally, without the restrainment of labelling, or basing what they do on what is considererd the right way to do it. this is for the adept musiclover.

Last fm tags as  indie, post-hardcore, female vocale,psychedelic, experimental

Circle Takes The Square - Decompositions Vol I. Chapter 1. Rites of Initiation

Circle Takes The Square (blog) are back as well. You may have noticed.

Last fm tags as screamo, hardcore, experimental, real screamo,emo 

click the image above to buy stuff directly from them!

Fallacies - Bastille/Empty Canvas

Bastille by Fallacies

This band proved to appear very promising, with their EP that I recently wrote about. With this 2-song release, they display the same approach to entirely different form of hardcore music. These 2 songs sound like the kind of tunes you would expect from an interlude on a good hardcore record. The title track to Converge’s Jane Doe.  Mors Semper Certa Est on Gold Kids’ Ode To Youth. The intro and outro on Give Up The Ghost’s  We’re Down ‘Till We’re Underground. This is the  downtempo(almost ambient) sounding vulgar display of musicianship hardcore bands like to parade with, in their prime. Only an entire –all be it small- record of nothing but that kind of hardcore music. Closer to post-rock/post-hardcore than the actual punk rock music they are founded on.
Last fm tags as melodic hardcore, hardcore, progressive, experimental, metalcore

click the image above to buy stuff directly from the band!

Out Of The Box On Sunday XIX

I am not up to speed with whatever’s happening in any division in indie music. Despite listening to a great deal of it, and mostly pretty recent stuff, I would still refer to In The Aeroplane Over The Sea, Reconstruction Site, Daydream Nation, The Sunset Tree and Source Tags & Codes as my favorite records. So I have no clue what attention these guys are getting, but I also can’t imagine it being as much as they deserve. I don’t care if they’re headlining Werchter or Roskilde, WU LYF (site) is to be absorbed with awe. The twinkly melodies, raspy vocals and dreamy feel tot hem make them one of the freshest sounds in the 2500 songs on my online streamable playlist, of office-appropriate music, that plays when I’m working at my office cubicle.
Last fm tags as  lo-fi, indie, experimental, psychedelic, heavy pop

click the image above to buy stuff directly from them!

Out Of The Box On Sunday XVII

THE PLOT TO BLOW UP THE EIFFEL TOWER "Exile On Vain Street"

Three One G spearhead The Plot To Blow Up The Eiffel Tower (myspace) were not only the greatest and bestest bandname ever, it was also a group that represents the golden age of what was then labeled as ‘ Post-Hardcore’. The band could very well blend in with the sound of bands like Ian Svenonius’ Nation Of Ulysses, the band Antioch Arrow and later even Q And Not U or some other 31G or even the experimental Dischord bands. Out of all chaotic/complex and spastic bands in their branch of extreme music, they gradually developed into a sound that was surprisingly approachable, moving gradually from seizure-inflicting screaming music to a blend of John Zorn-esque jazz and funk-incorporating hardcore/post-hardcore music.

This, sadly, is another band that broke up shortly before a significant album-release, which never saw the light of day because of that band’s sudden inactivity.

Last fm tags as experimental, post-hardcore, hardcore, punk,indie 

support the record label via the link in the image above

Out Of The Box XIII

Letter To Raoul Peck by Black Eyes

What the actual fuck? Black Eyes (myspace) were a band on Dischord Records, that build their music out of little more than a funky bass, two drums and two manic voices, each doing their own thing with occasional horns or synths in a frantic way that would make Arab On Radar jealous. on the surface the separate sounds seem to clash with one another. underneath that surface you may recognize the brilliance in their minimalistic dancey noise music, and feel like their approach is more an epiphany, than what you may get from an awkard first impression. 

Last fm tags as experimental, noise rock, noise, indie, post-punk

outside The Box Week: Atom And His Package - Hair: Debatable (3of4)

LMFAO. This is still easily the most random music I enjoy THIS much.  Just one dude (who is now a teacher in chemistry and physics), with a guitar and sequencer. While the machine automates sketchy beats, bleeps and MIDI-drums, Atom plays awkwardly upbeat punk rock guitar tunes and blurts out random and geeky lyrics. About his mother’s disappreciation for his and his friends’ black metal lifestyle, a mousache stuck to a TV-screen, how his definition of anarchy is littering, a fictional person who consists of nothing but a head with arms attached etc etc, with song titles like “I am down right amazed at what I can destroy with just a hammer”. You get the picture. The vocals often remind one of The Simpson’s Dr Frink and the overall music of an over-the-top Blink 182 mock-song. these songs are crappy/fantastic live recordings from his last show ever. Atom was also a playable character in EMOGAME.
Last Fm tags as punk, indie, experimental, electronic, rock

buy his stuff from No Idea Records, here

Out of the box on sunday XII

 listen to All You Need Is Blood by Test Icicles

 Test Icicles were a wildly energetic screamy/dancey punkish indie band. quite a lot of ingrediënts, but quite the conistent end product. just 3 hipsters with a mic, passing along guitars, while an iPod busts out their drumlines with occasional additional bleeps and other electronic noise. this often reminds of The Blood Brothers writing songs as catchy as Death From Above or Franz Ferdinand. members went on to form Rat Att Agg (aka Wrists), Kasms and most notibally Lightspeed Champion.
Last fm tags as indie, experimental, alternative, indie rock, punk

click here, to order their stuff directly from Domino Records

Neige Morte - Neige Morte

listen to Need Some Air by Neige Morte from their self-titled album and let it speak for itself.

BWOOOOAAAAAHHHHH))))

Last fm tags this as  noise, black metal, experimental, ambient,french

click the image above to buy this release from the Aurora Borealis record label!

Agent Of Abhorence / Extortion split

 listen to Outside by Extortion, as a preview to this split

If you know both bands, finding out they put out a split together would give you the impression how good this record actually is. Both Extortion (myspace) and Agents Of Abhorrence (myspace) are ultra fast Aussie hardcore punk bands. The first being of the more harcore variant, like the faster parts in some Ceremony songs, and the latter more of the so-fast-you-can-hardly-make-it-out slightly more  metallic style. The variation between their styles compliments eachother, resulting in best of everything-in-between-grind-and-hardcore elements with some soothing fresh ingredients in both.

Last fm tags as powerviolence, hardcore, fastcore, power violence, australian, grindcore, australian, chaotic grindcore,hardcore, experimental

buy this record, or other Extortion releases by clicking the image above

Spark Is A Diamond - Keep Your Eyes Off The Price

 listen to Urgent by Spark Is A Diamond

Spark Is A Diamond (Myspace) was what Death From Above 1979 would sound like, if their vocalist sounded more like the screams from the chick (pardon my language) in Rollo Tomassi or even Oathbreaker. Funky, groovy and highly all in all danceable instrumentation with the most gritty screaming vocals. This band featured members from Morning For The Masses and Fall River’s signature raspy shouting. This is their first release of the two records they ever made.a n intro and 4 songs, of which most made their return on the next full album and were the best on that release, so… there you have it.

another defunct band that can only be found on Interpunk, here

Out Of The box on sunday VI

Chain Of Missing Links by The Books

Does anyone remember the song ‘Frontier Psychiatrist’ by The Avalanches? A song entirely driven by sampling spoken extracts from various movies and tv-shows,  merged into one sequence of strange and inconsistant quotes with a minimal undertone of electronic music (a drum, a bass and some other seemingly random sounds). This is the foundation to The Books’s (page) entire sound. I always felt like there was more tot that song I mentioned, and these guys bring it quite masterfully.

Last fm tags as experimental, electronic, indie, electronica,indietronica 

buy this album from their record label, here

Out of the box on sunday V

 listen to I Don't Hate Fags, God Does by All Leather

Everything Justin Pearson touches turns to gold. Just sayin. together with members from Some Girls and Maniqui Lazer, he delivers us  All Leather (Myspace), and they bring the most discordant electronic punk music since Holy Molar. Leave it to these guys to make it something you could awkwardly dance to.  When you throw in JP’s signature yelp, to these swampy distorted beats and synthesized guitar-driven electro, these guys’ sound might just open some doors for you. perhaps to the Dim Mak Records electro sound.

Btw, this is no music for the politically correct uptights, because of their intentionally provocative and over the top sarcastic lyrics concerning various touchy subjects.
Last fm tags as experimental, punk, hardcore, digital hardcore, threeoneg

buy their stuff directly from their record label, here

This Gift Is A Curse - This Gift Is A Curse

 listen to The Big Sleep by This Gift Is A Curse

BWWWOOOO))))AAAAAHHHHHH
Last fm tags as sludge, post-metal, swedish, artcore,experimental

click the image above to order this record from their record label

outside the box on sunday II

listen to kill a petty bourgeoisie's lovers & liars

To Kill a Petty Bourgeoisie (Myspace) was the supporting band, when I saw Boduf Songs live. I was there to see them, because their electronic noise with angelic vocals  was recommended to me, by someone who prophesized it was right up my alley and that person was right. since then, I can not imagine anyone feeling any different about this. the overal sound is fragile like a soap bubble, kind of like gloomy pop vocals barely looming over the sound of melodic pulsing tv static. this is as eerie as well as beautiful as electronic music gets.
Last fm tags as:  experimental, shoegaze, noise, electronic,post-rock 

buy this album directly from their record label, by clicking here

outside the box on sunday

every sunday you can find something entirely different, here. cause whoever you are, you should not confine yourself to the music coming out of a single musicscene, no matter how assorted it is on itself. others are as well. get into it!

 listen to Fall of Cherry Blossom in Long Shadows of Light by Boduf Songs

Boduf Songs makes some of the most haunting music my ears have ever experienced. I got to know this band live and it immediately piqued my interrest in them/him (it's more a one-man project), not declining an ounce ever since. this record brings dark and atmospheric folk music, usually consisting out of acoustic instruments and low whispering vocals, with occasional electronic noise (litterally noise) or other instrumentation to add to the aforementioned atmosphere.

Last Fm tags as: folk, singer-songwriter, experimental, slowcore, acoustic

buy his stuff directly from his record label, here, and support them!

Light Bearer - Lapsus

 listen to Lapsus by Light Bearer

After the few promo songs by this band, I present to you Light Bearer (bandpage) their first record, released simultaneously with an EP or one sided (the other side with a silk screen picture) 12" named Beyond The Infinite, The Assembly Of God. which will most likely end up here as well. lately, this band has been outspoken about not wanting to be associated with the vocalist's past music project all too much. which is understandable. The elements and influences on this record come from such a broad spectrum of all down-tempo and/or atmospheric music, it is exhilarating to hear this band succeed to keep it in a single consistent mass. this is not the extent of a single influence xeroxed and hyped, nor is it a copy/paste clash of many incompatible spin-offs. this sound holds its own as the groundwork to something entirely unseen. while I can not agree to every single input to this sound, I embrace it in its entirety and long for as many people as possible to at least do just that.

Last fm tags as: post-metal, experimental, post-rock, hardcore, sludge

click the image above to support this band's record label by purchasing this band's merch or records. 

pretty please, with sugar on top.

Light Bearer - Beyond The Infinite, Primum Movens, Lucifer's Monody

 listen to Primum Movens by Light Bearer

Light Bearer (Myspace), is a band from the UK with members from Fall Of Efrafa and Dungeons and is my first down-tempo music post.

awaiting this band's first release, I present to you a compilation of 3 of its songs.

like Fall Of Efrafa, this band is loosely based around a concept. this time around Lucifer, and his fall from heaven (I can't help but think of Deathspell Omega). I think it's safe to say you can compare Light Bearer to FoE's latest release, only with a lot more soundscapes and atmosphere, classical instruments and twinkly post-rock structures that build up to Alex CF's signature roar, accompanied by more profound guitar arrangements than his former band's post hardcore and epic crust style. this is like a logical sequel to that band, who I found to grow into a beter band with every step they took toward it's last album. 

Light Bearer's first release will be a 6-song double LP and may be even more to my likings than these people's previous musical projects, judging from what I've only heard so far.

Last fm tags as post-metal, experimental, post-rock, hardcore, sludge

get merch or pre-orders of future Light Bearer records, by clicking the image above.