BAMBARA – All The Ugly Things from blaze bateh on Vimeo. With the release of DREAMVIOLENCE, the Brooklyn-based trio Bambara, comprised of twin brothers Reid and Blaze Bateh and William Brookshire quickly became a JOVM mainstay […]
Category: thrash punk
If you’ve been frequenting this site over the past three or four years, you’d probably be familiar with JOVM mainstay act Bambara. Comprised of twin brothers Reid and Blaze Bateh and their childhood friend, William Brookshire, the band formed back in 2008 when all three members were living in Athens, GA. After relocating to Brooklyn and recording their debut effort DREAMVIOLENCE, the trio exploded into the national scene for a punishing sound that compared favorably to the likes of A Place to Bury Strangers, Weekend, and others. Since the release of DREAMVIOLENCE the Brooklyn-based trio’s sound has increasingly incorporated elements of punk rock and thrash punk — and as a result, their sound has generally become much more abrasive and forceful as you’d hear on “All The Ugly Things,” the first single off the band’s long-awaited and recently released sophomore effort Swarm.
According to the band, the material’s — and in turn, the album’s first single — abrasive quality was largely inspired by the trio’s immediate surroundings; in fact, Reid Bateh’s lyrics describe a New York that’s stark, grimy, mercilessly bleak and full of unhinged, unstable characters desperately trying to survive with whatever dignity, decency and shred of sanity they have remaining. Interestingly though, the album’s latest single “An Ill Son” manages to possess the same bleak sound of the album’s previous single; however, the band sound as though they were drawing equally from thrash punk, surfer rock, garage rock and post-punk as angular, slashing guitar chords are played through gentle amounts of reverb and are paired with propulsive drumming and Reid Bateh’s unhinged crooning. Sonically, the song reminds me quite a bit of The Amazing Snakeheads‘ incredible Amphetamine Ballads, as “An Ill Son” focuses on the grim and seedy underworld that most people are largely ignorant about — and with a tense, bristling anxiousness.
Earlier this month, I wrote about the long-lost collaboration between godheadSilo‘s Mike Kunka and The Melvins — the creatively titled outfit, Mike and The Melvins. As the story goes, when godheadSilo went on what eventually turned out to be a permanent hiatus in 1998, Kunka busied himself by tagging along on a tour with The Melvins. And at some point the members of The Melvins — King Buzzo (guitar, bass, vocals), Dale Crover (drums, vocals) and Kevin Rutmanis (bass, vocals)– along with Kunka decided to record an album together. The thrilled folks at Sub Pop Records agreed to fund and release the indie All-Star act’s effort, and the newly minted quartet went into the studio in 1999 with the album slated for release back in 2000. Unfortunately, after some self-described “junior-high level bullshit,” some record label disputes, an illness or two, surgeries and stolen gear, and fortunately some children, the then-unfinished album would up languishing and collecting dust on someone’s shelf — that is until last year, Kunka, King Buzzo, Crover and Rutmanis surprisingly reconvened, finished the album now titled Three Men and a Baby and sent it to Sub Pop Records, who then promptly scheduled its release for April 1, 2016.
Now you might recall that “Chicken n Dump,” the first single off Three Men and a Baby was a punishingly loud, mosh-pit worthy song consisting of layers of sludgy power chords, crunchy bass, thundering drumming, howled vocals and shout along-worthy hooks. And what made it particularly interesting to me was the fact that it managed to sound as though it were released 20 years ago while being remarkably contemporary as the song sonically speaking compares favorably to the likes of Nirvana, Soundgarden — and even METZ. Three Men and a Baby‘s second and latest single “Limited Teeth” has the quartet pairing layers of sludgy power chords, insistent and forceful drumming, a sneering yet anthemic hook and howled vocals to create a song that sounds as though it draws from Reign in Blood-era Slayer and death metal, as the song is abrasive and punishingly loud; in fact, it may be even more punishing than the album’s first single — while being equally mosh pit worthy.
If you’ve been frequenting this site over the past 3 or 4 years, you may be somewhat familiar with yet another JOVM mainstay act — Bambara. Comprised of twin brothers Reid and Blaze Bateh and their childhood friend, William Brookshire, the band formed back in 2008 when all three members were living in Athens, GA. After relocating to Brooklyn and recording their debut effort DREAMVIOLENCE, the trio exploded into the national scene for a punishing sound that compared favorably to the likes of A Place to Bury Strangers, Weekend, and others.
Since the release of DREAMVIOLENCE the band’s sound has increasingly incorporated elements of punk rock and thrash punk — and as a result, their sound has become much more abrasive, forceful and propulsive as you’ll hear on “All The Ugly Things,” the first single off the band’s long-awaited sophomore effort, Swarm. Unsurprisingly, the material’s — and in turn, the single’s — abrasive quality was inspired by the trio’s surroundings: Reid Bateh’s lyrics describe a New York that’s stark, grimy, bleak, merciless and full of unhinged, unstable characters desperately trying to survive with whatever dignity, decent and sanity they have left. And at times it sounds and feels like an urgent and desperate howl of pain into a cold, indifferent void.
The trio have a few upcoming shows — including their album release show at Palisades with The Men, Pill and Hubble. Check out the tour dates below.
Tour Dates
2/25/16 Brooklyn, NY: Palisades: Album Release Show with The Men, Pill and Hubble
3/12/16: Atlanta, GA: 529: with Guerrilla Toss and Muuy Biien
3/15/16 – 3/19/16: Austin, TX: SXSW
New Video: The Psychedelic Visuals for Plague Vendor’s “Jezebel”
Comprised of Brandon Blaine (vocals), Luke Perine (drums), Michael Perez (bass) and Jay Rogers (guitar), Whittier, CA-based punk rock quartet Plague Vendor formed in 2009 and quickly emerged from a practice space to playing raucous, […]
Currently comprised of Brigid Dawson (vocals and tambourine), Petey Damnit (a.k.a. Petey Damnit!) Mike Shoun (drums) and led by the band’s founder member and creative mastermind, John Dwyer (vocals and guitar), San Francisco-based quarter Thee Oh Sees have developed a reputation both regionally and nationally for being incredibly prolific, as they’ve released over a dozen albums since their official formation back in 2004 — and for being relentlessly experimental, as each album they’ve released has been decidedly different, while remaining true to their garage rock/psych rock origins. And naturally, as result of their prolificacy, their reputation for sweaty, raucous, and punishing live set and their ability to craft mind-melting power chord-based rock, the Bay Area-based outfit has become a JOVM mainstay and blogosphere darlings.
2015 has been a big year for Dwyer and associates as they released the critically acclaimed Mutilator Defeated At Last, arguably one of the heaviest and hardest hitting efforts the band has released in recent memory. And they’ll close out the year playing a number of live shows — including a two night benefit concert for L.A. Kitchen, a Los Angeles-based charity, whose mission is to provide healthy meals to the area’s homeless and help unemployed and unskilled men and women for jobs and more. But they also will close out the year with the announcement of the release of the “Fortress”/”Man In A Suitcase” 7 inch, slated for a February 12 release through Dwyer’s renowned Castle Face Records.
The material for the new 7 inch is culled from the Mutilator Defeated sessions and acts as an addendum of sorts to the album, as well as a teaser for a full-length slated for release sometime in 2016. A Side single “Fortress” is probably the most prog rock-leaning song Dwyer and associates have released in some time, as the song consists of propulsive and forceful, motorik-like groove, a throbbing bass line, breakneck, mind-melting guitar chords and falsetto vocals — all of which give the song an anxious, buzzing and nightmarish feel that evokes the sensation of restless tossing and turning.
Tour Dates
Wednesday 12/16 Los Angeles, CA (L.A. Kitchen benefit) – Buy Tickets
Thursday 12/17 Los Angeles, CA (L.A. Kitchen benefit) – Buy Tickets
Thursday 12/31 Palm Springs CA, The Commune at Ace Hotel
Friday 1/8 Brisbane, Crow Bar
Saturday 1/9 Gold Coast, Shark Bar
Sunday 1/10 Byron Bay, The Northern
Wednesday 1/13 Newcastle, The Small Ballroom
Friday 1/15 Sydney, Newtown Social Club
Saturday 1/16 Wollongong, Wollongong Uni Bar
Tuesday 1/19 Geelong, Barwon Club
Wednesday 1/20 Melbourne, Howler
Saturday 1/23 Fremantle, Mojo’s Bar
Friday 2/12 Solana Beach, Belly Up Tavern
Wednesday 3/23 – Sunday 3/27 – Boise ID, Treefort Music Festival
With the release of their first two albums, the Seaside, CA-based quartet Burnt Palms, comprised of Riley (guitar and vocals), Clara Nieto (drums and vocals), Brian Dela Cruz (bass) and Joshua Vasquez, have been compared favorably to the likes of Dum Dum Girls, All Girl Summer Fun Band and Heavenly as their sound paired garage rock guitar chords with Riley’s ethereal vocals. However, with the forthcoming release of the band’s third full-length effort, Back on My Way, the Seaside, CA-based quartet has gone through a decided change of sonic direction with the band pairing indie pop melodies with thrash punk-like rhythms as you’ll hear on “Fold,” the brash and and snotty new single off the band the album.
Listening to the song reminds me of catching punk bands at the old Acme Underground, the Continental, Coney Island High, Brownies and countless other small, dank rooms across the city — but interestingly enough, the song possesses a bittersweetness that gives the song a snarling bite.
New Video: Metz’s Furious Video for “Spit You Out”
Now, if you’ve been frequenting JOVM over the past couple of years, you may be familiar with Toronto-based trio Metz. With the release of their 2012 self-titled debut through Sub Pop Records, the trio received both national […]
Featuring members of Bad Sports, Wiccans, Radioactivity and The Wax Museums among others, the Austin, TX-based quartet VIDEO have quickly developed a reputation for a sound that posses elements of punk rock, hard rock and melodic dissonance; in fact, if you’ve been frequenting JOVM over the past few months, VIDEO may be familiar, as the members of the band consider themselves the pioneers of a new subgenre, which they’ve dubbed “Hate Wave.”
The band’s latest full-length effort, The Entertainers is slated for an October 30 release through Jack White‘s Third Man Records and as I’ve mentioned you might remember that I’ve written about the album’s first single “New Immortals,” a scorching, trash punk song with a sneering, in-your-face because we don’t give a fuck about anything vibe. The band initially released “New Immortals” as a 7 inch with the latest single, a live recording of “Nothing Lasts Forever.” Clocking in at a little under 90 seconds, the song is a furious, nasty and noisy bit of trash punk that kicks ass, takes names and sounds a though it would incite a furious mosh pit — or a riot.
New Video: Gigantic Paper Monsters Stalk and Run Amok in Video for Screaming Females “Empty Head”
With the release of their sixth full-length album Rose Mountain earlier this year, the New Brunswick, NJ-based trio Screaming Females have dominated the blogosphere both nationally and internationally. And considering the fact that the band’s […]