Bros. and sisses, I can’t believe I haven’t updated since May! Time flew by. I moved, and made a ‘zine, and so on and so forth (btw, working on a new ‘zine right now, called Future Spa – feel free to “follow” Future Spa on twitter).

Slightly new direction! I decided to put a little less effort into each post. Before I used to worry about things like, “what records will people likely not have yet in their mp3 stash?” But my cache of amazing lesser-knowns is dwindling. And now I’m just going to be transferring records that I don’t have in my mp3 collection, and then sharing the zips with you all. Some of them may be common things that you’ve downloaded elsewhere. That’s a risk I’m willing to take.

In this grab bag is the Uranus double seven inch, their split twelve inch with His Hero Is Gone, the Floodgate seven inch, the Floodgate double seven inch, and the Mara’akate seven inch.

This double seven inch is super great! It’s from 1994 or so. The second song is on the Heartattack #10 comp. That song stands out as a little more melodic than the others (maybe that’s not the right word). Uranus (aka Union of Uranus) present a pummeling onslaught of total shred. I took a screenshot of the wav file for an average song.

https://blueskiesabove.us/noise/05%20Revolve.mp3</audio>

The split with His Hero Is Gone is their demo. It’s from 1993/1994. The liner notes says that one of the songs is a cover of a Negative Approach song. But I can’t figure out which one that could be. Possibly the second part of the first track. The drummer is my fave. Snare driven, super fast. Their songs are particularly intense on this.

The HHIG side is, I believe, their demo, too. It’s from 1997. And it was also released on the Fool’s Gold 7″. Minus the intro…. right? I haven’t listened to that 7″ in a while. Funny that it’s their early stuff, considering it sounds more like the material from Monuments to Thieves than 15 Counts of Arson.

Uranus

All three Floodgate seven inches. Their first seven inch is my favorite material of theirs. It’s pretty even-tempoed, but it gets fast, sort of like a mix between Still Life and Moss Icon (no?). The singer’s voice cracks a lot. And the recordings are raw. I love this band.

https://blueskiesabove.us/noise/02%20Conscription.mp3</audio>

**Floodgate **

If you like the last post, you’ll probably like this. I didn’t break the sides up into tracks, since all the songs bleed together. Pretty screamy and chaotic, with synthy interludes. From 1999.

Mara’akate

And friends! Three split seven inches. Plus one compilation seven inch.

I’m sure that all of the songs in this post can be downloaded elsewhere… but, first off, fact: I tend to transfer the music that I want to listen to, and this is what I want right now on my portable music device. So there. Second off, I’m not sure if I need a whole Usurp Synapse discography CD at the moment – because (third off) I like having the context for the songs, and I like having whatever bands were on the other sides of the splits; and also, Usurp Synapse is very crazy and brain-melting. Fourth off? This is everything I own by this band.

So, here are the splits (both sides!) with Jeromes Dream (on Clean Plate/Level Plane), the split with Hassan I Sabbah (on Electric Human Project), the split with Index for Potential Suicide (on Witching Hour), and the Antipodes compilation (on Level Plane) (which features, Jeromes Dream, Hassan I Sabbah, Neil Perry, Usurp Synapse, and The Assistant).

All these came out in 2000. All, to be honest, rule. Things I like about Usurp Synapse: they blend Rorschach’s Protestant-era vocals (vicious) with crazy time signatures, blast beats, all along a solid general backdrop of chaos and noisiness. I can’t deny that I’m drawn to hardcore that is almost blindingly chaotic. Of course, that’s a simplification of this music. And once you listen to it over and over it loses its sense of chaos, and becomes, frankly, predictable. But don’t let that detract from your enjoyment of these records; they’ll always be unusual and crazy. Also, transferring these records has reminded me that I really like Jeromes Dream… unfortunately this is all I have by them.

https://blueskiesabove.us/noise/01%20Untitled%201.mp3</audio>

Oops, I just realized that I misspelled the track name, Maybe You Should Kill Yourself. I don’t want to re-upload this right now, because my ‘net is acting slow. So please fix it yourself. this should be fixed.

Download: Usurp Synapse and Friends!

This was going be another “Comps!” post. But then after transferring the other comp (the Placebo comp) I discovered that I already had it on my computer, because I’d downloaded it elsewhere. I was going to be like, check it out two comps with reversal of man! But, as it is, here’s one comp with Reversal of Man. All bands in total:

• Noisome Faugh
• Reversal of Man
• Synguya
• Racetraitor
• Dropdead
• President’s Choice
• Passafist

Noisome Faugh sounds a lot like Enewetak. I’d classify this compilation as thrash/power violence. ROM is rocking my socks lately. The song on this, Theory of La Masastra (totally misspelled on the discography download), is also found on the “discography” download (CD?) that’s out there… it’s not really a discography, since it doesn’t include This is Medicine and Revolution Summer. You know, as we all know they got their name from the Frail song Love, but until I really gave that discog a few good listens, I wasn’t seeing too much resemblance between the two music-wise. And now that I have seen it, I think it rules, because both Frail and Reversal of Man are righteous bands.

Racetraitor – this is the first song I’ve heard by them. I’ve read interviews with them, but just hadn’t came across any songs. Their song on this is way different than I was expecting. I was obviously jumping to the easy assumption that they had some kind of hardline-ish superchugga deal going on. But instead they are muddy and gross (in a good way!) and pounding, and sound sort of like freaking Usurp Synapse! Who knew?

Download (insert included – nice booklet)

One thing I liked to do a lot when I was in high school was surf all the time. I would try to do it mornings before school. Then at lunchtime I’d check the surf to get an idea of how I should spend my afternoon. And then after my after-lunch classes (wood shop and art) were over I would most likely haul my shapely ass on down to the beach. Okay, let’s just cut to the chase here: when my ears weren’t tuned to the types of sick and brutal mechanized assaults you’ll find elsewhere on this blog, they were tuned to pretty much the opposite – pink floyd and reggae/dub. All the pink floyd albums were totally accessible, so I was on ’em. But aside from Bob M. I didn’t really know where to start when it came to successfully listening to reggae/dub. One of my surfer/math class friends, Nate, lived just south of Cito in Summerland, and he had dreadlocks and sweated reggae. I heard he made good mixtape, so I calmly requested one from him.

Here’s the tape he made me. I’ve had it since 1995. And it had to be digitized. I want it on my earphones, and I want my friends to have it, too. This didn’t really open up a new world to me or anything – I pretty much just stuck to only listening to this tape. Over and over, and on many surf jaunts and whatnot. I brought it to Hawaii, on a trip with my family, and we listened to it as we drove through the coastal road on Kauai, and we all agreed that it was a perfect soundtrack to the trip. I brought it to Costa Rica, with MJM and his dad, and it laid the jams for the entire trip (I remember his dad at one point saying, “Jesus, is this like the ultimate stoner mix or something?”).

About the recordings: the tape was starting to die, so the first few seconds of the first song are cut off (I had to cut the tape and then tape it). The first two songs are also mono for some reason. The last song was cut off. But it’s famous, so I just got it from the original recording. I don’t know the names of many of the songs/artists. Sometimes I made up the song titles (based off lyrics), and sometimes I didn’t bother because there weren’t any lyrics. The mix has a nice range of upbeatish reggae stuff, and muddy, warbling vinyl dub recordings.

Give it a listen! 26 songs.

Download Nate Cuellar’s High School Reggae Mixtape

Note: his last name might have only one “l” – I don’t remember!** **

Another compilation. All four bands are from Boulder, Colorado. This came out in 1994, on Black Plastic Records.

Bands:

1. Cavity
2. Dead Silence
3. Angel Hair
4. Bunny Genghis

Cavity does a cover of an oldie. Angel Hair is one of my favorite bands. I was surprised to discover that their song on this, Second Cousin, was a different recording than what’s on the 7″ on Gravity (and the discography). Bonus. Listen, why don’t you:

https://blueskiesabove.us/noise/03%20Second%20Cousin.mp3</audio>

I just picked this up. And I think it’s a good comp. There are some guitar solos, though.

Related: Does anyone have the “Powerless 2: No More Flowers, No More Ribbons” compilation that Black Plastic Records also put out? It looks killer!

Rocky Mountain Arsenal!

I was flipping through the one lowly row of seven inches in my favorite record store last week when I took a peek below the shelves to scope the “overflow box.” Lo, I was freaked in my stomach to discover that where previously only one box had been, 10 (ten!) boxes were now sandwiched down there. (I’m sure all those other boxes were always there – I just didn’t notice them.) I didn’t have time that day to go through them them, so I vowed to come back next week. Being the man of my vow that I am, I did just that. I made it through six boxes (four more for next weekend!). I came out with 14 seven inches, many of which I’m super excited about (Shotmaker 7″ on Kung Fu/Manticore; Assfactor 4 7″ on Repercussion*; Sleeping Body 7″ on Vermiform; Han Shan 7″, etc.)… plus I was psyched that my total cost was $20. Crazy how these records don’t go up more in value. Anyway!

I got a bunch of 7″ compilations. Here are two of them (more will follow). I chose these two because they have a common link: Framework. But I hadn’t heard Framework before yesterday. According to my sources three of the members formed Earth Crisis around this time (1992). However, Framework reminds me a bit of None Left Standing (from the XXX comp… maybe I just think this because they both have a line that says, “I scream,” when they aren’t actually screaming), except more poundy and chuggy.

First up is the Realization compilation. Put out by Subjugation Records in 1993 (United Kingdom). On the comp are: Struggle, Feeding the Fire, Darkroom, Shortsight, and Framework.  All these bands can be summed up as (straight edge) hardcore. Also – and this doesn’t matter or anything – but I’m guessing that most, if not all, of the members of these bands are of high school age. This is a compilation for animal rights. And each band includes some writings on the matter.

Except Struggle. They chose “War 1″ as their song for the comp (later put on their 12”, and titled “War #1”). It’s  about the Gulf War. It’s a different recording than what’s on the lp. And correct me I’m wrong, but I don’t think this recording is on the discography CD. I remember when Kent was putting together the discography, and I told him that I could have sworn there’s a compilation out there with a different recording of a song that’s on the lp, and he told me I was full of bull. So I went through all the old heartattacks until I found a review for the Realization comp. Then I looked through his record collection, found it, and we played it and rocked out. But still, after all that I don’t think it ever made it to the discog. (There’s also an alternate recording of The Untitled (first song on side B of the lp) on the Lacking Mindset comp, which includes a voice over during the drumming part. That’s actually what I had been thinking of when I unearthed the Realization comp….) At any rate, now I finally have this record. When I found this I let out an audible “hwaugh!” and the cruster standing above me flipping through classic rock albums (what a poser!) looked at me like I was a dork.

https://blueskiesabove.us/noise/01%20War%201.mp3</audio>

What’s especially cool about this comp is how international it is. Feeding the Fire (blazing fast, sorta like Seein’ Red) is from Holland; Shortsight is from Belgium (female-vocaled, sort of street punk thrash stuff, a la Suckerpunch, Reality Control)… huh, I guess the other three are from the US. Well, that’s pretty international. And it’s a great comp, too!

I can’t find a full Yuletide Records release list. They put out records by Frail and Spirit Assembly and stuff (um, obviousy… I dunno why I typed that), and are one of those labels that I won’t pass up no matter what. This comp has Policy of Three, Ashes, Framework, and Point of View. Like the comp above, it’s another (straight edge) hardcore record from 1993. The Ashes song is good (fem-voxed). Check out Framework:

I’m pumped on my finds! I hope you enjoy them.

‘load everything at once: Realization Solitude

*you’ve all heard this record, right? no need to transfer it??

I was looking up Wellington on last.fm and saw that the name was attributed both to a band from Arizona from the ’90s, and also a Hungarian classic rock band from the ’90s. This post is about the one from Arizona. They didn’t have many plays, though I’m sure most of this has been shared elsewhere. But, in case you don’t have it, here you go. In the download is the Thank You Jesus lp, the Waterloo 7″, the split 7″ with Fall Silent, and the song from the Amnesia compilation. I know that they also put out a split with Noothgrush. I don’t have that – if anyone does and wants to share it, please do so and I’ll edit this post to include the download. What else did they put out? I don’t know.

Last post I mentioned sludgefuzzed guitars. I think I mostly said that about Lewistown because Wellington’s guitar is kind of similar in tone. But Wellington does sludge like a band of demented sloths trudging through the black forest (though not quite as sludgy as others, such as Wormwood). I think the sign of a good sludgecore band is that halfway through the song you still can’t tell if it should be sped up to 45rpm. When listening to their song on the Fall Silent split, even after the vocals came in I still couldn’t tell if I was listening to it at the right speed. But as slow and steady and as mired in a swamp as Wellington are, they do spring together and chug toward driving fast parts. And when they do, it’s most satisfying.

https://blueskiesabove.us/noise/Preposterous%20Idiocy.mp3</audio>

That song, plus two others, are from the Waterloo seven inch. That’s my favorite stuff of theirs. It’s their earlier material – and the song on the Amnesia compilation is also an early one. Back then (1995) the vocals were a little more gruff. Later on (1996) they became a little bit more forced and varied in growliness and… more like Unruh (which, according to last.fm, band members later went in to (check my archives to find the Enewetak/Unruh split)).

One song from the Waterloo seven inch, “Please,” is also on the Thank You, Jesus lp. One’s with the earlier vocal style, the other’s with the latter. The lp is pretty excellent. And the opening sound is great – I wish I’d thought of it.

I included the Fall Silent song in the download. Right now I’m in a room with people that I don’t feel comfortable subjecting to this music, so I can’t refresh my memory of them. They are sort of chuggy and hardcore-ish, but the recording is rough and raw. Kick ass drummer. I’m pretty sure I saw them once.

All of these were put out on Fetus Records. The Amnesia compilation was put out on Ebullition (I only transferred the one song from that comp).

Wellington

I think I got this Lewistown seven inch because I reviewed it. I dug it because of the nice and vaguely-melodic slugfuzzed guitars, and the snappy snare (tag line on the record: “Spreading the violence of ‘mid-tempo emo core’ since 1996”). I once played a show with them at a pizza place in Phoenix… in front of about six people, not including band members. I seemed to be the only one there who was totally psyched to see them.

It was put out on Bug Recordings. Both the label and band were from Richmond, Virginia. I reckon this is from 1996, but it could be 1997.

Their split with Target for Aggression is out there for download. It also contains “Breathe/Burn” (same recording… and the split also features Target for Aggression covering that song). And a bunch of other good songs that are worth tracking down.

Live it: Lewistown

You may remember that earlier I posted the Meadowlark/Slave One split 12″. The Meadowlark stuff on that split is pretty good, but so far I’ve had some trouble getting into it. This seven inch that’s downloadable below, on the other hand, right away makes me go Oh yeah, man, this is the stuff. I’ve had this for forever on a mix tape a friend made for me. But then I found it on butt white vinyl last week while shopping for records. Right after I found it I found out that the quote at the beginning is from the movie Dune. I say this line pretty much every time there’s a storm a’brewing. And now I know that it’s not only from the Meadowlark 7″, but also from a movie that I’ve seen.

They are frantic and all over the place, which may seem sort of messy, but dang they do it well. Sort of remind me of Harriet the Spy, but can also be chunky and driving and fast, like His Hero is Gone (that may seem like a basic and off comparison, but there are some intense thrashy elements… so spit). I know I don’t comment much on lyrics and content, but I include the contents, so I leave it up for you guys to explore. Basically, these guys from Texas are honest (“fuck rights, I want my freedom”) and personal (“this is the sound of growing old too fast. this is the face of facing the future alone…”) and more. Nice insert also includes drawings and writing and a dedication.

This came out on Highwater Records in 1998.

Meadowlark

Here are two seven inches by Ex-Ignota. They were from the greater Santa Barbara area, and back when I was a high school student in Santa Barbara during the mid-90s, I caught a bunch of their shows. I honestly don’t remember much from the shows, except that I enjoyed them very much, and often left them looking forward to the next time I would see the band play.

On their website, they note:

The group quickly became recognized for strange and extreme live performances consisting of the members dancing and crashing into one another amidst sounds ranging from pounding chords, to gentle guitars, to Italian zombie movie soundtracks. The band seemed to like nothing better than to challenge each institution they encountered, and audiences were turned on.

When they first got started, they were called IG-88. You may have heard the IG-88 song on the Heartattack #10 compilation. That’s Ex-Ignota!

One seven inch on this post is the Lazarus is Back… record put out by Ebullition in 1995. Ebullition:

The band consisted of kids that were going to the local university; many of whom were art students. Ex-ignota played hardcore that was definitely influenced by a lot of arty musical concepts; abrasive and melodic, with singing and yelling, and lots of variety. They strove to do things just a bit differently.

My record was the version with the oversized cover. And over the years it got tore up. So I had to get rid of the cover. But here is what it once looked like. After the break-up of the cover, my vinyl did NOT stay in top condition. So the two tracks from this contain snaps and pops. But I believe the record is not out of print, so buy it yourself if you want a fresh version.

Musically, these guys remind me a bit of St. James Infirmary mixt with Incurable Complaint and then mixt with whatever else. But that’s just me, and it doesn’t mean anything anyway. So here’s a preview track to help you decide for yourself.

https://blueskiesabove.us/noise/Amy's%20Day.mp3</audio>

(that’s an entire side of a record.)

Laid-back singer/songerwriter Jack Johnson, when he was at UCSB, made a short documentary about Ex-Ignota. Here it is:

The other record on this post is the 7″ put out on Redwood, also from 1995. That’s what the above song is from. The two songs on this record were also on the split CD with Uranium 9-Volt.

In addition to these records, they also put out a demo (under the name IG-88, and if anyone has this, please send it to me!!), as well as a full length CD. I haven’t heard the CD, but I am very eager to do so. Until then I consider myself a failed fan. I should just order it from somewhere! (but if you have it to share, please do so.) And they put out a split with Barcode. That split was posted on one of the music blogs on my music blogroll… I don’t remember which one! It’s been months.

Other notes: in one of the photos posted on their last.fm page, you can see Dylan from Stratego in the crowd. The band members set up lots of shows in Isla Vista. I really like the sweet melodic guitar on “Truce.” If I could play guitar, I’d probably just play stuff like that all day.

Great band! I hope you enjoy it.

Ex-Ignota

also! If I can make some requests – can anyone hook me up with these:

— bob tilton – crescent (my cd is all scratched, and I like this album) Thanks Geno!;

— (as mentioned above) the ex-ignota cd;

— the Sunshine compilation. I have this, but I lent it to a friend enemy and never got it back. I still have the booklet, now I just need the music again.

–False Object Sensor compilation. I have this on vinyl, and it rules. x-mist put out the vinyl and vermiform put out the CD. So if someone has the cd version, I’d like to have the files. If not, I will just transfer it my damn self. Thanks Ricardo!

— lastly, an unknown band that I’m searching for (lost the mix tape). I know they made at least three songs, and the lyrics of one were, “Now that it’s gone, I can’t get it back. Now that it’s gone, I need it back.” they sung/screamed, and sounded like plunger, nuzzle, benchmark, indian summer, etc. and they had to have been from before 1997. I can’t believe it’s taking me so long to figure this out. help please… It was Pawn. Thanks Geno!