7 Panucci’s Pizza/Robins - “Black Metal” (2013/Sorry Girls Records) http://sorrygirlsrecords.bandcamp.com/album/black-metal http://robins.bandcamp.com http://panuccispizza.bandcamp.com Panucci’s Pizza and Robins are two bands from Pennsylvania that teamed up to release this cool split at the end of 2013. Both of these bands have enough similarities that the split makes sense, but enough distinguishing features that you’ll definitely know then the other side of the split comes on. Review of Robins side: The first song on the Robins side of the split, “Parking Lots”, opens up with driving guitar and drums before giving way to yelled vocals. This sets the tone for the entirety of the song in regards to energy, upbeat instrumentals and furious vocals. This song doesn’t slow down whatsoever. The only issue with the instruments comes from the fact that while they definitely do their job, they do grow stale by the end of the song. Not to suggest that the band incorporate 3 minute guitar solos into their tracks, but I think a bit more variety would have spiced up the track a bit more. Lyrics are pretty solid and there are definitely some recognizably catchy lines such as “did I fail to make you happy? head laying on my shoulder. fail to make you happy? pull my body closer.” Overall a solid opener to the split. The second track “Bobby Dukes is Back” opens pretty differently than the previous song with some melodic singing. There is definitely some yelling on this track, but considerably less, which makes sense because the instrumentation on this track seems more mature and rises and falls rather than continuously rises. There is a nice transition part where the song slows down a bit, a shift that was missing from “Parking Lots” and this transition builds up to the ending of the track where there are gang vocals simultaneously singing “whoa oo oo” and “when I said I loved you, I meant it. I meant it.”Overall I think this song has a better sense of development, leading up to the end of the song which I can definitely see people at a show going nuts during. 7.5/10 Review of Panucci’s Pizza Side: The Panucci’s Pizza side of the split opens with “Take your Giraffes, Leave and Be Happy” which instantly draws the listener in with some gang vocals. When the vocals kick in, the first thing I notice is the singer’s voice which strikes a perfect balance in terms of rawness and passionate singing. The drumming on this track is excellent in every way that it needs to be and the recoding really allows it to stand out. The guitar definitely has a couple “twinkly” moments, but for the most part layers the song with fuzzy distortion which works great. Lyrics at a quick glance can seem stereotypically emo, but they really don’t come across like that at all. The whole track is super jammy and makes it hard to sit still while listening. It also ends with a Breaking Bad sample so that’s another plus. The second song on this side, “Taylor’s First 8 String”, is an acoustic track that feels a bit out of place. There is a lengthy intro with some cool instrumental work and then vocals kick in with two singers(which put together sound really fucking awesome). This song seems a bit out of place on this split and some of the lyrics appear to be a bit contrived. Cool song, but perhaps on another release it would make more sense. 7.9/10 Both of these bands are really cool so you should make sure to like Robins and Panucci’s Pizza on Facebook so you can stay up to date with their happenings. Pick up a tape from Sorry Girl Records here. -Billy As always: Please support this band by not only downloading their album for free, but donating a few dollars to help with the everyday financial pains of being in a local band.

10 P.S. 118 Interview P.S. 118 is an indie/emo band from Hamilton, NJ that plays an interesting brand of twinkly emo. Josh Rubinstein sat down with the band and had a few questions for them. Check out what they had to say! For the record, and the previously unacquainted, who is P.S. 118? How did you get together? Green- I play guitar and bass, and I sing, badly, on all fronts. Blue- As do I, but I’m better than him, and prettier. Like it’s not even close.

Green- It’s like he’s a solid 10 and I’m a 2.

Nick- I hit stuff.

Green- Nick is a 12.

Blue- 13 tops.

Green- 10+2= P.S. 118



You guys put out an EP around this time last year, how was that roller coaster of emotion for you guys?

Green- It took way longer than it had to because we went to a big time studio and suddenly came to the realization “Oh shit we’re poor."

Blue- Yeah, we recorded it in November 2012 at Headroom in Philly with Joe Reinhart and got mad delays like the hurricane and shit.

Green- But the real story is I went to that "last” Algernon Cadwallader show and saw Joe. I had talked to him a few times prior at other shows, and mid conversation I was like, “Yeah man P.S. 118 needs a place to record our new album and I just have no idea where to do it”, basically saying “please record my band." So he gives me his phone number and I’m cool about it but in my head it’s like, "Jesus Christ this is really happening!” Recording at the same place as bands like Snowing, Algernon Cadwallader (obviously), and Hop Along was really something else. So long story short, there was a lot of time put into it and i think it shows with what came out of it.

Blue- Ended up being released all said and done in April 2013, through Too Far Gone Records. I met Billy in a sketchy ass Facebook group before he even put anything out so for it to all come together so well with Too Far Gone and us both growing into the scene together was pretty cool.

Green- Too Far Gone really took off too it’s a little insane.

Blue- And now Billy is like Mr. Bigshot.

Green- Mad props to Phil Howard.

Josh- So we can all agree that we hate this Billy Fellow?

Nick- Pretty Much.

Blue- Off with his head, yada yada.



Speaking of Billy Philhower, just what is sweet wheat?

Green- Excuse me?

Blue- I have no fucking idea, I asked Billy and he just said, “what isn’t sweet wheat” .. does that help?



Do you guys have any rad plans for 2014?

Nick- More songs.

Green- Rumor around the basement is they’re “pretty alright” and others have called them “not bad.”

Nick- Which means my dad approves so far.

Blue- Our EP “Staying Better” is actually being re-released in the UK on I Regret Nothing Records which is super cool. That should be happening in early April, around its 1 year anniversary. I can see I’m the only one here with the facts.

Green- Realistically back when “Staying Better” was released, we got approached by a guy who runs I Regret Nothing Records in the UK who wanted to do a european release of Staying Better but just mishap after mishap happened, he had a huge flood in his basement that wiped out all his stock. But now everything is back on track and if it does well I Regret Nothing is gonna try to team up with a US label (TFG? who knows.) to do a vinyl release around this time next year.

Blue- We are also working on our follow up to Staying Better, a four song EP that we’re recording with Tom from Our Sunday Affairs in his swanky basement, so that should be pretty rad.

Green- But on that release, (the UK version of Staying Better), there’s a new version of “Now I’ll Never Meet Bob Saget”, which is leagues better than when we recorded it as part of a split with Oliver Revilo we did in a weekend, (Don’t Hit Me, I’ll Hit Me), now on bandcamp for 900 dollars because no one needs that in their lives.



Do you guys have any other artists that have influenced your music personally? Green- Well this is actually a cool question and I want Blue to answer first. Blue- We’re pretty much 100% influenced by the life and works of the late, great, Macho Man Randy Savage. Green- We’re writing a concept album based on the life and death of Macho Man Randy Savage. Nick- I was actually taught by Ray Mysterio. Blue- Let’s get serious for a moment please…

Green- Hang on Blue is saying something of value. Blue- I’d say Algernon is of course a huge influence to any emo band. Recording with Joe of course solidified that. The new Our Sunday Affairs album “Cave” was really inspiring to me. And really just the scene as a whole, being able to really be immersed into the sort of epicenter of the emo world that is Philly, literally every show you see something that opens your mind a little and you’re just like wow what if I tried this or that. Nick- Chris Hainey from Maps and Atlases is a big one for me, even though I’m nowhere near as good. Especially lately I’ve been trying to do more creative rythmic stuf with the drums, and I’m hoping to invest in a jam block soon. Green- I wish i could just say “a lot” and leave at that, but I would be wrong. For me it comes from a lot of places. Nick and I were in a band in high school and I wrote one of the first songs that would later be used in this band during that time. But since then I’ve written a lot of things that are compleeetely different from that. I guess if i had to make a list: The Promise Ring, Glocca Morra, obviously like Algernon, even a lil bit of bands like Taking Back Sunday honestly. More recently tho 90’s alternative bands like Superchunk, Plumtree and shit. Blue- Oh and totally Blink 182 cause even tho Green hates them for some fucked up reason. They are probablly the singular reason I started playing music. So P.S. 118 wouldn’t be here without Mark Hoppus, and for that we thank you.



Do you consider yourselves saints for being the head of the movement to revive emo? Do you all work for NPR?

Green- Yes, yes, and also yes. Blue- Yes and duh.

Green- I mean how could bands like Sunny Day Real Estate exist without us like honestly.



How do you feel about forever being known as an homage to Hey Arnold? Blue- Honored.

Green- That’s actually a funny story, how we came up with the name. So you remember the thing that was going around online where you search stuff on wikipedia and that was your band name/album? Well Nick rolled “Wolverine World Wide” and at first we were going by that for literally one show and then everyone said “No it’s gotta be something else” and we threw some stuff around. Blue and I were walking around on a crisp spring evening and it was right around when P.S. Eliot broke up and he said “heh heh P.S. 118” and probably made some sort of fart noise and then we both kinda said “hey that doesn’t sound too bad” and well now here we are. We love Hey Arnold so i guess it’s not too bad.

Nick- I was actually against it at first, but it grew on me.

Green- Everyone always says “LIKE HEY ARNOLD” so if anything it’s a cool thing to connect with people on. One time we did a show and some lady came up to us talking about how that’s her favorite psalm in the bible.

Blue- She gave us 8 bux so something’s workin.

Nick- It’s also great when people don’t get it at first and then go “OOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH”.



Any final words?

Blue- Book us at your houses, ps118sux@gmail.com, look out for all this new shit coming out, and don’t forget to flavor your soul patch, before it’s too late.

Green- Limited time offer.

Nick- With every download Staying Better we will mail you a free soul patch powder party pack. Flavors include thunder berry, jerky, sour, and flamez. (Offer not available in all areas, promotion is subject to change without warning. This is all a scam.)

Blue- with a z

Green- On a serious note Staying Better hit 200 downloads not too long ago and that’s really cool. Make sure to come out to shows not just for us but for every other local band, they need your support.

Check out P.S. 118’s music on bandcamp here and like them on facebook so you can keep up to date with them and their upcoming album.

1 Flowers Taped To Pens/Nevasca/American Memories/Daycare Split Flowers Taped To Pens/Nevasca/American Memories/Daycare Split(2014/Ozona Records) http://ozona.bandcamp.com/album/4-way-split

There’s a lot of bands on this here split. What’s up with this reoccuring theme of splits? Weird, right? Oh well who cares, music is music. We got some emo bands from California, and then one from Russia. This one’s gon be a doozy.



Review:



First up we have Flowers Taped to Pens, who I have mixed feelings about. Their songs are a little bit gargled and tough to make out exactly what’s happening. And a lot of things in their songs seem a little contrived. The horn in the beginning of the first song, the screechy screaming, and the lyrics that don’t really sound like they’re about anything. I feel like they’re taking a lot of things from different eras of emo, but they’re not really sure what to do with them. They were a couple parts that sounded pretty cool, but they were few and far between. They definitely have potential, so I’d like to see what they can do on their next release.



Nevasca is a more upbeat emo thing from Russia believe it or not, and they are the stars of this split. Both of their songs on this split represent two completely opposite sides of this genres. Their first song, “Leaving (This Northern Town)”, is super fast and melodic with simple catchy riffs a la Hightide Hotel or Castevet with a very calm and somber vocalist behind it. Their second song, “(My) Memory (Always) Fails Me”, lyrically and musically has a lot of The World is… worship behind it, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Nevasca has an uncanny ability to craft these beautiful soundscapes with seamless transitions and melodies you can easily get lost in. If you’re ever in Russia, and like an emo band that rides the line of ambient and happy, this is where it’s at.



American Memories comes back with a super tough track that reminds me a lot of things. I hear We Were Skeletons, Wow Owls!, and even a hint of At The Drive-In. The harsh vocals coupled with guitar that doesn’t exactly match is a really cool dynamic. The instrumentals are a lot more varied and honest than most screamo you’ll hear, and that’s definitely worth hearing. You don’t come by bands this raw and emotional very often.



Daycare is screamo very much in that Cameron Boucher vein of emo/screamo. Think Merchant Ships, William Bonney, that kinda thing. Very frantic, very trapped-sounding, but still melodic and easy to sing along to. I could see “I Don’t Wanna Come Home” being shouted out at the top of a hundred teenagers’ lungs in a basement somewhere. And that’s definitely not an insult. This band needs to put more stuff out because it captures some of the best parts of the current state of affairs.



I’d give this release a solid 7/10. There’s a lot of things I like about it and they outweigh the things I don’t. Further down the road, these bands could do amazing things, and I’m going to be on the lookout.



Of course you can download this split for free, but don’t be a jerk! Buy the tape right here: http://ozonarecords.storenvy.com/products/4260053-flowers-taped-to-pens-nevasca-american-memories-daycare-4-way-split



-Green



As always: Please support this band by not only downloading their album for free, but donating a few dollars to help with the everyday financial pains of being in a local band.

9 Killing Thing - Closed Casket 7" “Killing Thing” are a very technical Hardcore/Screamo band from Pittsburgh, PA. They are in the vein of Converge or Envy. I probably won’t be giving out a rating this high in a very long time, so this is important! Review of Closed Casket 7 Inch: Right away you can tell that this band is… simply put: something else! The opening track, which shares a title with the release itself, begins with on elegant guitar caked in emotion and chorus. The harshly screamed vocals come in giving it a “skramz” atmosphere and are solely accompanied by the guitar. No instruments are played besides the previously mentioned guitar until 1:30. Emphasis on bone-chilling lines really help this band tug on your heart-strings. A perfect example lies within the first song: “I drug my feet along the train tracks // praying to feel the steel vibrate.” The last line being repeated and screamed in the background. In particular, on the topic of instilling emotion, the delivery of the line “A broken watch that can’t be wound” (also from the song Closed Casket) eats away at my insides in the most amazing and profound way possible. I want to shout the line from my rooftop, not even kidding. Something that immediately caught my attention with this song in terms of instrumentation was the transition into a slow, heavily distorted, rage-filled wall-of-sound at 2:14. If you are a fan of Converge then you should immediately resonate with this part, as it resembles a heavy drone that I can only compare to the album “You Fail Me”. As my favorite line in the song, and the ending approaches: Killing Thing grows more technical and begin to display more raw talent than they let off. They turn 4/4 into something to be reckon with by displaying counter-point guitar parts that start and stop on a dime, and seemingly off-time snare hits that are more tight than you even know! Ox King continues to show a lot of Converge influence within it’s first half. 50 seconds into this song you will hear a riff that sounds like a blend of Converge and traditional Heavy Metal done in the modern day. It is reprised later and I honestly consider this my favorite riff in the song. It almost sounds like a riff that Machine Head would play but with vocals I actually enjoy. [Sorry if there are any Machine Head fans reading, but that vocalist really gets on my nerves.] Guitar stops have their gaps filled by incredibly artful feedback that almost ring out like harmonic notes. The drummer of this band is incredibly tight and well-versed. The tightness of the drumming is fully released once you get to Ox King. In this kind of music you should expect nothing but sloppy euro-blasts, punk beats and chug-a-lug bass drum patterns with no signs of real fills. Do not expect this with Killing Things. Be sure to thank this drummer in the back of your mind for constantly trying to “Math it up” and give us a layered, more textured playing style. If you are prone to a type of music that is riddled with Converge inspiration, has powerful lyrics, is technical but not over-the-top, and/or gets you jumping around and head-banging in the comfort of your own home when no one is around, then you will be prone to this! Overall I give this a 9/10 because this is honestly one of the most pure and creative Hardcore/Screamo albums I have heard in a while. The recording quality is on par with mainstream releases. Honestly, I just can’t find much wrong with this band what-so-ever. The technicality (or “Mathiness”) is there throughout the whole album, but is never overdone. Despite it being all screamed and, as the urban youth might say, “brutal”, this album will tug, tear and shatter your heart through the angry emotional journey that is Closed Casket For Fans Of: Converge Drop Dead Botch Trap Them Envy As always: Please support this band by not only downloading their album for free, but donating a few dollars to help with the everyday financial pains of being in a local band. Purchase the vinyl here: http://softspeakrecords.storenvy.com/collections/155787-all-products/products/2966649-killing-thing-7

9 Coma Regalia/Greyscale Split



Split - Coma Regalia/Greyscale (2014/Friendly Otter Records)



http://friendlyotter.bandcamp.com/album/fo-20-split



A refreshing breath of fresh air in an internet full of twinkles and “gang vocals”, Coma Regalia and Greyscale are two Midwest bands that pack a serious screamo-tinged punch.



Review of this split:

I remember back in my sophomore or junior year first getting into emo and screamo stuff, with bands like Portraits of Past and Raein. Listening to this EP front to back was like a warp back to that time. You don’t hear a lot of bands anymore that are that in touch with their roots. Coma Regalia got it right. Frantic, loud, fast, and under two minutes. Most of this split is them, and i’m really glad about it. Not even hating on Greyscale. They just have that classic screamo “all hope is lost” feel. Every song has this raw emotion behind it that only bands like The Saddest Landscape have been able to master. And it’s perfectly executed in tracks like “Fuck Your Guns” and “The Skywalk is Gone”.



Greyscale takes the end of the split with two heartstring-pulling angst-ridden tracks that drip with Touche Amore and Funeral Diner influence. They stay varied with fast and slow parts with breakdowns that hit you right in the soul. I wish the guitarist would lay off the chorus pedal, tho. With some clean natural sounding guitar this would have been virtually flawless. Still Josh Brolin is a solid haunting song that will stay with you for the upcoming colder months. I’m glad one of the first releases i’ve heard this year is an out-of-the-woodwork screamo soundscape.



I give this album a 9/10. The only thing it was missing was a little bit more tlc in the mix and mastering. It should sound really dope on tape, though. I hope these guys blow up because any screamo fanatic is jump for joy for both of these bands. Get through winter with this super sad split that’ll make you wanna stay in bed all day long!



For fans of: Raein, Portraits of Past, Tristan Tzara, Yaphet Kotto.



You can preorder the 7" from Friendly Otter here, which you better or i’ll punch you:

http://friendlyotter.storenvy.com/collections/102664-all-products/products/5192798-fo-20-coma-regalia-greyscale-split



-Green







16 American Memories - Home Home - American Memories (2013/Lost State Records) http://southendprojects.bandcamp.com/album/home



American Memories are a more straight-forward emo band from Atascadero, California. They are a two-piece in the vein of Cavalcades or Merchant Ships, and deliver a strong, youthful-sounding type of music within a lo-fi release.



Review of “Home”:

If you are anal about your music being crystalline, over-produced, and without any sort of human flaw, “Home” may not resonate very well with you. However, emo isn’t about pristine recording quality, and frankly, not a lot of bands have the money to do so. The recording quality does not bug me, if anything it makes the whole album feel a bit more human and youthful. Vocals are mostly screamed in a similar manner to “The World At a Glance”. The screaming is very well done and is accompanied by cleans at rare points. The drum delivery is not perfect, but has moments of incredible tightness, especially during the ending of LP closer, Lung Capacity. The song begins with a cacophonous drone section riddled with artful and tasteful fills, and screamed vocal accents. The song dynamic changes often, giving a great impact to the heavily distorted chords throughout. The ending also demonstrates the band’s talent via a section of tight and together stops. The drummer fills in the gaps with gnarly fills but always is tight with coming back in with the full band. The album’s introduction, Our Past, My Life, begins with a youthful explosion of energy. The vocals trail off of each other at times but it adds a sense of humanity to the music. One could argue that this aspect of the band adds to the emotional feel. The guitar presents itself as a wall of sound and has an almost “skramz” style to it in the way that it’s played and recorded. This element adds to the intensity and energy that this band delivers so well. The guitar is a wall of sound for the most part, but there are displays of feel and melody in moments like the bridges of Stick ‘n Poke, beginning of Mid August, sparse moments in Lung Capacity, and in Life Goes On, as the the guitar was recorded with a very airy clean tone. This song is my personal favorite as it displays a ton of emotion and clean playing for the first half, then takes you completely by surprise as the full band enters in unexpectedly, but tightly nonetheless.



Overall I give this album a 7/10 mostly because it’s not very original for the emo scene, which isn’t always a terrible thing (especially in 2014). Also the album has rare moments where the band loses it’s togetherness. The album is definitely worth a download and will get you fucking PUMPED. Emotional, energetic, and a downright jam!



For Fans of: Cavalcades

Castevet (aka CSTVT)

Touche Amore

The World At a Glance -Tom Tapes Available from Lost State Records here As always: Please support this band by not only downloading their album for free, but donating a few dollars to help with the everyday financial pains of being in a local band.

0 Anonymous asked: Tom vs. Billy dueling with throwing knives in swimsuits, who wins? Billy. I always win. Tom would just stand there

0 first review going up tomorrow by the infamous tom, what else needs to be said