Life Abuse: "Systemization"

 

This metallic punk band delivers an aggressive thrashing. They know what they are doing thanks to the fact that this band comprises underground luminaries such as Self Defense Family, Male Patterns, Libyans, Devoid of Faith, and Limp Wrist.  I like the late 80s and early 90s hard-core feel, that finds dark angular metal riffs giving it more mood and depth. The brooding of "Life Cycle' offers a more emotive sonic shadow lurking under the rage the instruments want to expel this also offers a little more dynamic range to help set them apart from the 1,2,3, go !... style of punk. 

"Systemization" has a more thrash metal feel that collides, with a more  Minor Threat vibe. On a song like "Give Rise" when they give into their defiant anger, it is less original than some of the more metal-flavored moments. It's still pretty legit, but more along what you expect from the stereotypical hard-core. The mean bass tone that opens "Poisoned Chalice' rocks pretty hard, and this gives the song a little room to breathe. While the vocals are at a consistent bark, the guitar carries most of this album's melodic responsibilities. This hard-core style does not normally prioritize melody, but I am big on setting the same expectations for every genre of music since at the end of the day it's about writing songs.  

It's impressive that "Threnody" was recorded in this day and age, as it almost sounds like death rock, or at the very least Die Kruezen.  "Reconciliation" has more of a crust edge to it. The bass helps create an almost Killing Joke-like tension before things get street-wise and reckless. The more deliberate moments are the album's strongest. When they charge at you on "Chosen Path" they sound more like everyone else and lose the unique identity that gives this album its charm. I will give this album a 9, it's one of the more solid takes on bringing old-school hard core into the present day.

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Drug Church : "Cheer"

This band features members of Self Defense Family which got me in the door, it's the 90s flavored post-hardcore that keeps me listening. The vocals are gruff yet melodic. Somewhat in the vein of Hot water Music. The opening track is more in your face punk flavors without relying on speed. They have a more powerful drive that shows the latent shades of hardcore to give it the added muscle. Even then they layer guitar melodies over it. "Weed Pin" has more melodic nuances. "Unlicensed Hall Monitor" starts off charging out you with a great deal of angry energy before mellowing out by the end.  "Conflict Minded" runs off the same over driven power that continues to put the band in your face. This also finds them in a more straight forward punk direction until the bass grooving break down happens. Even then it's not totally out of the range of what punk does. The female vocals showing up is however unexpected.

"Tilary" if you are not paying attention seems like an extension of the break down that was in the previous song. The vocals are more spoken in the verse. There is a much more melodic vibe to this song.This one is really well written and is an ode to their displeasure in regard to law enforcement. "Unlicensed Guidance Counselor"  expands and contracts off the palm muted tension of the verses. Lyrically interesting and th right balance of melody I can hear this one growing on me. "Avoidarama" is yet another clever balance of wit and melody against the grain of meat and potatoes post-hardcore. Marginally less engaging than the previous song. The chug that moves it is much more basic.

"String References" is a blend of both more melody and more aggression. There is a catchy skip in it's step that reminds me a little of the Get Up Kids, though a more burly take on what made them endearing. I can also hear traces of Fugazi in this. "Dollar Story" is more straight up punk influenced. Though the layered strum of guitars helps to break things up. There is a dense sonic quality to the more syncopated push of "Foam Pit" that offsets what would otherwise be left of center punk rock.I'll give this album a 9 as it reminds of the days before emo became a bad word and punk seemed to be entering an exciting new time, that would get watered down by Myspace.

Self Defense Family : "Have You Considered Punk Music"

 I like these guys a lot and know despite the title I should not expect them to actually consider playing punk music , though it would be interesting if they did. There is a Bright Eyes sense of sentimentality to the brand of introspective indie rock they are jangling though here. "Certainty of Paradise" is a few bpms more upbeat , but clangs in a way that is not as sure of itself as the first song. There is a little more pronounced King Missile vibe to "No Analog or Precedent". The trumpet in this song is a nice touch and there is more of a dynamic tension that builds on this song as well. I had to go back and give "Watcher at the Well" a second listen for it to sink in. It has an odd narrative, set against the atmosphere.

"Nobody Who Matters Cares" is yet another song where the guitar is interesting , but the vocals sound like they are being sung by someone distracted by the fact they forgot to take their meds. There is a slight country twang to it. The title track finds the vocals even at a more subdued murmur that borders on a breathy whisper. There is a gray slo-core feeling to the lingering drag of the guitar. The song hovers where it starts so not much in the way of dynamics. "Have You Considered Anything Else" works off a slow drone like some kind of narcotic folk music, the vocals do build a little from the more hushed place they start from. There us a more post- rock feel underlying "Raw Contempt" . The drums do a better job of keeping things moving, so the moody hesitation of the vocals has less of the song's weight upon them and this formula works much better for them. There is less function and form to "Slavish Devotion to Form" that follows this. The vocals feel more like spoken word. Things get darker for "the Right Kind of Adult". The drums feel more like Joy Division, though the synths and pianos that comprise most of the song focus more on ambiance. While the band thinks that this is their best album yet, well of course they are going to say that, I think it's much less focused and not as vocally interesting as "Colicky", so I will round it down to an 8. Still better than a great deal of bands. I don't normally listen to a ton of indie rock, so it's a nice break and when I do listen to indie rock I want to hear melancholy stuff like this, but I am sure if you are a regular reader it's no surprise as I have covered this band before.

the Top 10 Indie Rock Albums of 2016

Indie rock has become a blanket genre for hip college kids. It often hold more pre-tense and less balls than it's mainstream cousins. Here we have a mix of some albums that rock and others that are more introspective. While none of these artists are mainstream, there are some veterans in the mix who are far from the flavor of the week at the local coffee shop. They are ranked according to the albums that earned the most repeat listens.



10- Leonard Cohen-"You Want it Darker"


When you hear his new album “You Want it Darker” his influence on some like Nick Cave is obvious. He is storyteller first and foremost. His gravelly baritone is weathered, but recites the lyrics with conviction that makes up for what age does to one’s voice. At the end of the day he remains a masterful song writer with a vast amount of power over his words.


http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/10/leonard-cohen-you-want-it-darker_21.html

  9-Decorum- "Vail"


 This trio out of Brooklyn casts an ample shade of gloom over their sound on their new album "Vail". This is not another run of the mill post-punk revivalist band, they do not plug in a single six string and instead hit you with a hypnotic swirl of two basses. Vocally they weave their melodies in between a dizzy entanglement of bass lines  that warble in echoing waves. Male and female vocals dance around one another sometimes harmonizing at other times creating counter points. The male vocals are a dead pan baritone that sometimes reaches more of a croon. The female vocals are an indifferent indie rock alto.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/04/decorum-vail.html

8-Muscle & Marrow- "Love"



This Portland based duo caught my attention when I saw them open for Author and Punisher. Then when I went back to listen to their album that had been sitting around on my hard drive I was not as impressed.  The album's heart beat comes to life with an electronic pulse. Kira Clark's emotive vocals are layered in a dizzy spiral of melodies.The heavier mood is more restrained at times but still just as potent , and often even more so with the improvements in the vocal delivery on this album. The lighter shades which contrast starkly with the darkness are going to take some getting used to.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/05/muscle-marrow-love.html


7-Dead Forest Index- "All That Drifts"

This duo keeps things dark and simple. The vocals are generally androgynous, giving these guys a much different sound than if they were just another band of Ian Curtis impersonators. The music drifts by you with the slow melancholy pulse similar to Chelsea Wolfe's earlier work hovers like a rain cloud over it.Both bleak and graceful, it often defies genres, sure indie rock is the broadest genre, there are more folk and western influences hinted at than writing these guys off as being post-punk. Slow-core bands like Low certainly would be a reference along with the likes of Sun Kil Moon to some extent in the lethargy that lingers it the heart beat of these songs.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/04/a-dead-forest-index-all-that-drifts.html

6-Slothrust- "Everyone Else"



They fuse apathy into the punk  attitude that reminds me of  when  Sonic Youth was once punk. The first real song is "Like a Child Hiding Behind Your Tombstone". This weaves it's wave into some pretty impressive jazz chops. The vocals of Leah Wellbaum are sometimes plaintive and some times emotive. "Horseshoe Crab" which is the first song I heard from these kids is pretty powerful and touches on emo in it's honesty.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/12/slothrust-everyone-else.html

5-the Coathangers-"Nosebleed Weekend"


California vibes have smoothed out the more abrasive garage rock band that I once saw playing out in the parking lots of Little Five Points. Vocally they have really improved and the jangle of their guitars is not more in tune. Some of their rough around the edges punk riot grrrl comes across in "Dumb Baby". The play a squeaky toy on solo the pop tinged drive of "Squeeki Tiki".I enjoyed it a lot more than anticipated going into this. California is treating them much better than Atlanta did, even though they were the critics darlings there. I think they are in an environment where there creative juices are allowed to flow with greater ease out west. If you are a fan of indie rock with a garage rock vibe then this album is a must for you.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-coathangers-nosebleed-weekend.html

4- Self Defense Family- "Colicky"

This ever evolving collective of musicians has been around for ten years. Their newest release finds the more slow core- pacing of what I have previously heard from these guys gone  in favor of a more sonic creeping. The drumming is not heavy or heard hitting, but is very deliberate in more of a Joy Division like fashion. The vocals are lighter and more introspective than the brooding tension the rest of the song stirs. The guitar sounds are once again top notch. The production is just right reminding me of some of the more classic post-hardcore albums of the 90s.


http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/09/self-defense-family-colicky.html

3-Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - "Skeleton Tree"



Darker electronic throb haunts the opening of Nick Cave's new album. This is a much different album than what he has touched upon with the Bad Seeds before. The minimalist arrangement of 'Rings of Saturn" bears a stark vulnerability. Very deceptive as the album is more organic than it sounds on first listen. Theremin and strings create the swells you would otherwise suspect to be Pro-tools plug-in's if this album had been made by any one else. Vocally there is more of narration, leaving me waiting for the moments when he sings. Nick Cave has been a story tellers in the past taking you back to varied colorful pages in the seedy corners of Americana. The darkness painted over these songs is done is shades of gray.Cave more focused on the narrative than letting me hear him sing on some songs, but still stands up with the 15 albums that came before this one. A must for fans.


http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/09/nick-cave-bad-seeds-skeleton-tree.html




2-Marisa Nadler-"Strangers"



She sang on the final Xasthur album and has continued to pave a dark and sometimes country path for her self with her second release on Sacred Bones. It is evident from the opening strains of "Divers of the Dust" that her sense of identity is firmly intact the country croon is equal parts haunting torch singer. "Katie,I Know" is equally ethereal though more firmly rooted in the more Western side of Country. It's evident many of these songs take a few listens before they stick to you, but it's a solid album of intangible songs and feelings.


http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/05/marisa-nadler-strangers.html

1- Emma Ruth Rundle-"Marked For Death"

 In some ways there is not much difference between Emma Ruth Rundle's  second solo album and the last Marriages album, which is a good thing. If you were expecting just her and an acoustic guitar then think again. Perhaps the punches are not as rock and the songs are less jarring in their dynamic shifts, there is a very stormy mood that brews in the first songs.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/09/emma-ruth-rundle-marked-for-death.html

Self Defense Family : " Colicky"

This ever evolving collective of musicians has been around for ten years. Their newest release finds the more slow core- pacing of what I have previously heard from these guys gone  in favor of a more sonic creeping. The drumming is not heavy or heard hitting, but is very deliberate in more of a Joy Division like fashion. The vocals are lighter and more introspective than the brooding tension the rest of the song stirs. The guitar sounds are once again top notch. The production is just right reminding me of some of the more classic post-hardcore albums of the 90s. The vocals are more emotive in a Neutral Milk Hotel manner on "All True At the Same Time". I don't think this song has the same urgency of the first.

The bass line to "it Isn't very clear, is it?" slinks in to show you what Fugazi might have sounded like without a straight edge past. The guitar is wonderfully layered over this drone of bass. The vocals settle into the background behind it all. Normally I would complain that this never evolves into an actual song, but it goes to show that you can break the rules and my expectations if you do something well enough. The vocals constrict into an angrier grimace on the hilariously titled " Brittany Murphy in 8mm". This comes closer to hard core, without having to kick into the traditional jams associated with the genre.  At 7 minutes this also serves as the album's longest song. The bass player once again carries the weight of the song on their four strings. The guitars split the difference between melody and noise, proving you can have the best of  both worlds. The drums get serious here in a way that reminds me of the build on Jane's Addiction's "3 Days" .  Rather than giving the you pay off of formulaically rocking your face off they instead go for a fade out that might leave you with blue balls. I will give this one a 9, because even though the album sounds great and these guys are evolving their own sound, it begs to ask the question at this point...is it perfect? I think the quirks that keep it from being perfection in my book have already been mentioned above. I think this is really fucking good and if you are a fan of post-punk more than likely better than any other new band you might here today with the exception of say the new Merchandise, whose song writing was just tweaked above and beyond, where these kids hold tight to experimentation and being less painted into a corner. They keep getting better so I am going to keep checking Self Defense Family out. This album comes out tomorrow the 9th.