Tag: Melvins

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Featuring members of JEFF The Brotherhood and  Diarrhea Planet, Breast Massage is a Nashville, TN-based All-Star side project that specializes in a bruising, sludgy, power chord-based rock that has had the act headlining Third Man Records‘ Devil’s Night and playing with the likes of A Place to Bury Strangers, Colleen Green and others. “Bathing The Dog,” the first single off their soon-to-be released Cruisin’ For Filth, part of Infinity Cat Records‘ limited release cassette series, is a slow-burning, dirge-like power chord heavy song with thundering, heavy metal-liked drumming that sounds indebted to the Melvins and 90s alt rock.

 

 

 
Single Review by William Ruben Helms

DANGERS is a Los Angeles, CA-based hardcore punk trio, comprised of Alfred Brown IV (vocals), Justin Smith (guitar), Anthony Rivera (drums), Chris Conde (bass) and since their formation in 2005, the trio have developed a reputation for doing things in true DIY fashion — including playing basements, garages, living rooms, squats, banquet halls, high school auditoriums and countless other unusual set ups across the US, UK, Australia, Japan and Southeast Asia. Adding to that reputation, the trio released their first two, critically applauded full-length efforts through their own label, Vitriol Records; however, the band’s forthcoming third full-length effort, The Bend in the Break finds the band releasing the album through Topshelf Records, and with the album’s first single “Kiss With Spit,” finds the band expanding upon their sound while retaining the elements that first caught the blogosphere’s attention. Interestingly, “Kiss With Spit,” had the trio pairing layers of scuzzy and acidic guitar chords, thundering drumming, a persistent bass line and howled vocals in a way that sounds reminiscent of Melvins, Metz and Nirvana — in particular, think of “Dive,” “Radio Friendly Unit Shifter” and “Breed,” complete with a tense, mosh pit worthy fury.

The album’s second and latest single, album title track “The Bend In The Break” continues along the vein of its predecessor — tense, angular power chord-based dirged in which  thundering drumming, furiously howled vocals are paired with a shouted and anthemic hook in a song that structurally consists of loud and even louder sections. Interestingly, the song reminds me a bit of Sugar Army‘s 2009 release, The Parallels Amongst Ourselves but with an equally mosh pit worthy fury.

If you’re out on the West Coast throughout late October, check out the tour dates below. In the meantime, we’ll be awaiting some East Coast dates for the band.

 

TOUR DATES
* = w/ with Super Unison

OCT 20 – San Francisco, CA @ Thee Parkside
OCT 21 – Oakland, CA @ 1234 Go! Records *
OCT 22 – Los Angeles, CA @ TBD
OCT 23 – Los Angeles, CA @ All-Star Lanes *
NOV 10 – Portland, OR @ Blackwater
NOV 11 – Tacoma, WA @ Real Art
NOV 12 – Seattle, WA @ The Black Lodge (w/ The Exquisites)
NOV 13 – Bremerton, WA @ The Tiki House (matinee show)

 

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: JEFF The Brotherhood Performing “Roachin”

Over the summer, I had written quite a bit about Nashville, TN-based sibling duo JEFF The Brotherhood and the first three singles off their latest effort, Zone, an experimental rock album that is the third and final part of a spiritual trilogy of albums that includes 2009’s Heavy Days and 2011’s critically applauded We Are The Champions. The most recent single I wrote about “Roachin” featured Bully‘s Alicia Bognano on vocals in a scorching, power-chord heavy dirge that sounds deeply indebted to 90s alt rock — in particular, the Melvins — as the song structurally consists of alternating quiet and loud sections, and an anthemic hook that you can picture kids moshing out to in a sweaty club. And much like “Punishment” and “Idiot” the single will cement the sibling duo’s reputation for crafting trippy, weed and beer inspired anthems full of enormous power chords and rousing anthemic hooks.
Just as the Nashville, TN-based sibling duo are about to embark on an East Coast tour, which will include a September 27 stop at the Market Hotel, they released live footage of themselves performing “Roachin” — without Bognano — and it should give everyone a sense of their incredible live show.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Alfred Brown IV (vocals), Justin Smith (guitar), Anthony Rivera (drums), Chris Conde (bass), DANGERS is a Los Angeles, CA-based hardcore punk band, who have developed a reputation for doing things completely in a DIY fashion since their formation in 2005. In fact, since their formation, the quartet have played basements, garages, living rooms, squats, banquet halls, high school auditoriums, Adriatic beach resorts, abandoned Soviet furniture factories and public park gazebos across the US, UK, Australia, Japan and Southeast Asian — and releasing their first two critically applauded full-length efforts through their own label, Vitriol Records; however, the band’s forthcoming third full-length effort, The Bend in the Break finds the band releasing the album through Topshelf Records. And the material on the album finds the band attempting to expand and grow their sound in a way that shows growth while not breaking it.

Interestingly, the album’s blistering and snarling new single “Kiss With Spit” has the band pairing layers of scuzzy and acidic guitar chords, thundering drumming, a persistent bass line and howled vocals in a way that sounds reminiscent of Melvins, Metz and Nirvana — in particular, think of “Dive,” “Radio Friendly Unit Shifter” and “Breed,” complete with a tense, mosh pit worthy fury.

If you’re out on the West Coast throughout late October, check out the tour dates below. In the meantime, we’ll be awaiting some East Coast dates for the band.

 

TOUR DATES
* = w/ with Super Unison

OCT 20 – San Francisco, CA @ Thee Parkside
OCT 21 – Oakland, CA @ 1234 Go! Records *
OCT 23 – Los Angeles, CA @ All-Star Lanes *