Gothtober - Pleasure Leftists : "the Eps"

 

The bands earlier eps have all been released as one album. They are from 2011 and 2013, the sound quality even of these remastered version is a little muddy until we get to the third song 'Suits". You can tell she is fine tuning her voice and sometimes out right trying to find it. The ycome close to they are on "Suits" . She is kinda moaning her way through the songs a sharp contrast to the emlodies of their last album. If you like more of their punk side then this will appeal to you more .'Animal Heart" has more drive than focus, but once again these are the early days. I am weighing it against my expectations so therei sa little disconnect. 

More frantic punk erupts on "Future Fights". Once we get to "Passage on a Ghost Ship" I am having to just power through .I mena of all the post punk revival bands these guys are one of my favorite, so it is clear they have grown a great deal in the past decade to get where they are now. "For a Family' works off a familar tension, but her vocals are listless and seem like more of an after thought than the focal part of their songs she has become. On bigger speakers you can hear more of the remastering . I think it might be mid way into these songs where it farst forwards two fears to the second ep, as the production is beter and you can make out more of the songs.You can also hear improvements in her voice and choice of phrashing. 

The bass surfaces more on " Elephant Men". They lock into the kind of tension we find working for them today here.. This is the best song yet amid these other wise rough ideas they were polishing.This second ep sounds less likea demo and more like an actual album. There is more of a punky punch to it. "Hunger Split" remins me of early 80s REM, in the way the guitar jangles. The guitar playing shows great improvement there is a more Cure like tone to "Not Over".  It ends with the tense drone of "Outside" which is more sound than song, but better than anything from te first demo. Tthanks to the second demo which is quite good I will give this an 8. Worth a listen if you are a fan of the band. 

Mix Tape Mania : "Con Drop Edition"

Con drop was held at bay by throwing myself into writing, now I feel it beginning to creep in. The most obvious thing of course to in order to keep it at bay is make a mix. The bulk of these are from albums that came out this year that I am digging which fall into the more quirky darkness of the depressive style of indie rock I like. Hope you enjoy and maybe find a new band or three.  


Crooked Ghost - "Sinew in Red "





  The Pleasure Leftists-_ "the Conversation" 






  Xiu Xiu - " Chocolate Makes You Happy"





Low Dose _ "For Sure"



  Gold "Why Aren't You Laughing"



  Brutus - "Techno"




  Bon Iver - "Hey Mom"








The Faint - "Young & Realistic"




  Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats _ "Exodus"





  The Foreign Resort - "Outnumbered"

Pleasure Leftists : "the Gate"

This band began to make a name for themselves with their first album "the Woods of Heaven" . They are taking  a step forward on this album. What I like about it is that it might take elements from the time period of post-punk, namely the guitar sounds and drumming, but they are not setting out to be post-punk. It feels very organic and natural. She has a great deal of rock n roll soul to her voice, maybe even more than the quirkier approach of Siouxsie. They do have some of the post-punk tension on "Try the Door". Her vocals balance this out. They give a depth of feeling their more sardonically indifferent peers do not possess. Her alto has some grit to it as well as dynamics and power. So everything I look for in a singer. The guitars are not drenched in effects. I imagine this is just what they sound like live but louder.   

On "the Return" it is clear Hayley also has a good grasp of hooks. Ok, it looks like I am stuck on her voice and will continue extolling it's virtues throughout this review. If you are a regular reader, then you know I tell it like it is and can be blunt about the faults of albums that are not up to my standards. But album's like this are why I do this. I scour through hundreds of albums sitting in my in-box for a gem like this to make it all worth it. The only thing I do notice six songs in is these songs are at a similar upbeat tempo. the darkness in some of these song is more prominent than others. It is more moody than at the Cure or Christian Death level where it becomes heavy it is so dark. Sometimes it is right below the surface and you have to listen harder for it. "Dancing In the Dark" is more up beat like Gang of Four. The surf rock guitar is the bearer of shadows on this song.

The drumming on the title track is more punk than post. The guitars linger behind it . The vocal wander a little. They cut through much better on the last song. The guitar is a little brighter, but her vocals make up for that . It is marginally slower than the other songs. It's this song where I here some similarities to Gwen Stefani in her voice. I'll give this album a 9, it's one of the better post-punk releases and finds this band stepping out ahead of the pack.