Thursday 30 January 2014

The Pine


The Pine were a four-piece punk/emo band that existed from 1999-2005 from Bakersfield, California. They sound a lot like bands such as The Hated, Evergreen, as well as bands such as Hüsker Dü and Dinosaur Jr. So if you're into those bands, you'll definitely want to check The Pine out. There's an interview with them from 2001 that you can check out here. It's got a lot of information on the band and how they started, so it's definitely worth the read. Here's all the music I have from them. Pretty much all of it was taken from Chug Life before their Mediafire account got shut down, so thanks to them for uploading it initially. Enjoy.


1. Cubicle
2. Ten Years Old
3. Slug
4. You're The Only One I Hate
5. Wearing Thin
6. Face Drawings
7. My Two Feet
8. Windmills
9. Shovelglove
10. Charred
11. Running On Empty
12. Forced Gratitude
13. Hangnail
14. Numb

1. Homeless Life
2. Eyes Of A Father
3. Jigsaw
4. Sore Eyelids

1. Monocles
2. A Sad Old Man
3. Boarded Room
4. Sinking
5. Follow You Home
6. Young Bird
7. Loner
8. Beggin For Food
9. Letters
10. In The Breeze

1. The Pine - Rainclouds
2. The Pine - Down Below
3. The Saddest Landscape - Weighing Out The Desirables


1. No Tomorrow
2. Doing The Best He Can
3. Days Slipping By
4. Growing Calm Together
5. Child Gone
6. It Tears Me Apart
7. I Am Mending
8. Where Are You?
9. Sunchild
10. Handfull Of Coal

1. The Pine - Junkyard
2. La Quiete - Greyskull
3. La Quiete - Musica Per Un Giardino Segreto #3

1. Don't Need Regret
2. Friend
3. No You
4. Strings
5. Holding Onto Life
6. XBoytreeX
7. Bridge
8. Living Off A Lie
9. Crumbled
10. Dead Boat

1. Cubicle
2. Sore Eyelids, Slug, Monocles, A Sad Old Man
3. You're The Only One I Hate
4. Shovelglove
5. Windmills
6. Jigsaw
7. Dancing Song (Three Shades Of Dirty Cover)

1. Tired
2. Paper Bag
3. In Bloom
4. Heaven's Eyes
5. Fading Away
6. A Little Hope
7. Don't Love Me

Saetia


Saetia was a screamo band from New York City, New York, that existed from 1997-2000. They are heralded as being one of the most seminal and definitive bands in screamo, and for good reason. The band's dual guitar sounds, dynamics from distorted octave chaos to quiet melodies, and vocals that shrieked and pierced, but also spoke and shook to overdramatic poetry are just a few attributes of the genre that Saetia were a major part in founding and perfecting. These guys are easily one of the most essential and well-known bands in this genre, so I'm sure many people are already familiar with them. Their members went on to form two other amazing and noteworthy bands, Off Minor and Hot Cross, both of which you should check out immediately if you haven't yet. During their tenure, the band released a handful of 7"'s as well as one LP. All of this, plus some live songs are included on A Retrospective, which is below. Enjoy one of the best bands ever.

1. Notres Langues Nous Trompent
2. The Sweetness And The Light
3. An Open Letter
4. Woodwell
5. Corporeal
6. Ariadne's Thread
7. From The Firmament
8. Postlapsaria
9. Endymion
10. Roquentin
11. The Poet You Never Were
12. Some Natures Catch No Plagues
13. The Burden Of Reflecting
14. Closed Hands
15. Venus And Bacchus
16. One Dying Wish
17. Becoming The Truth
18. The Poet You Never Were (Live)
19. Ariadne's Thread (Live)
20. Notres Langues Nous Trompent (Live)
21. The Sweetness And The Light (Live)
22. Postlapasaria (Live)

Tuesday 7 January 2014

Drive Like Jehu


Drive Like Jehu were a four-piece post-hardcore band from San Diego, California from 1990-1995. During this time, the band only recorded a rather limited amount of material. Despite this, they have proven to be indisputably influential in the genres of post-hardcore, alternative rock, and emo.  They established and refined many essential techniques and stylings that would continue to be staples in every band to follow's arsenal, even until now. Passionate, intense vocals, mixed with dynamic and progressive song structures, along with dueling guitars, muted strings, and octave chords are what Drive Like Jehu established, along with a few other bands around this time (Fugazi, Nation Of Ulysses, Quicksand). This also segued into the Gravity Records/San Diego scene, though Drive Like Jehu were never directly a part of, certainly paved the way for the bands that would immediately follow.

The band featured many noteworthy members from other projects. Prior to forming Drive Like Jehu, Rick Froberg and John Reis were a part of a band called Pitchfork. Reis was also in the very noteworthy band Rocket From The Crypt during and after Drive Like Jehu. Froberg and Reis formed another band in 1999 called Hot Snakes, which have also established and garnered a reputation in their own regard. Reis was also active in Sultans, Back Off Cupids, and currently The Night Marchers. Froberg currenly plays in Obits. Drummer Mark Trombino became a producer, who worked with many great bands, such as blink-182, Jimmy Eat World, Knapsack, Mineral, as well as many others.

A note on Yank Crime: this was their debut and only major label release, put out by Interscope (though later released on Reis' record label Swami Records). In 2003, it was re-released to include 2 songs from a 7" they did in 1992 ("Hand Over Fist" and "Bullet Train To Vegas"), as well as an early version of "Sinews", which appeared on a compilation also from 1992 titled Head Start To Purgatory. This re-released version is the one below. Enjoy, these guys are probably one of my favourite bands of all time.

1. O Pencil Sharp
2. Turn It Off
3. Spikes To You
4. If It Kills You

1. Caress
2. Spikes To You
3. Step On Chameleon
4. O Pencil Sharp
5. Atom Jack
6. If It Kills You
7. Turn It Off
8. Future Home Of Stucco Monstrosity
9. Good Luck In Jail

1. Here Come The Rome Plows
2. Do You Compute
3. Golden Brown
4. Luau
5. Super Unison
6. New Intro
7. New Math
8. Human Interest
9. Sinews
10. Hand Over Fist
11. Bullet Train To Vegas
12. Sinews

Texas Is The Reason


Texas Is The Reason were a a four-piece emo/indie rock band from New York that were around from 1994-1997. Like their contemporaries Mineral, Christie Front Drive, Sunny Day Real Estate, etc., Texas Is The Reason helped pioneer and define a sound that one would not only affect their generation, but whose influence can be heard to this very day. Thus, they have reunited since on two different occasions, one being in 2006 for two shows, and another being from 2012-2013 for a few more shows, plus the recording of two songs they wrote but never released before they broke up. These guys are an essential band, so check this stuff out immediately. If you're starting out, their recent compilation Do You Know Who You Are?: The Complete Collection contains all their material, except for the live songs on the Samiam split, so get on that. Enjoy.

1. If It's Here When We Get Back It's Ours
2. Dressing Cold
3. Antique

1. Texas Is The Reason - Something To Forget
2. Samuel - The Leaving Kind

1. The Promise Ring - E. Texas Ave
2. Texas Is The Reason - Blue Boy

1. Johnny On The Spot
2. The Magic Bullet Theory
3. Nickel Wound
4. There's No Way I Can Talk Myself Out Of This One Tonight (The Drinking Song)
5. Something To Forget
6. Do You Know Who You Are?
7. Back And To The Left
8. The Day's Refrain
9. A Jack With One Eye

1. Samiam - Stepson
2. Samiam - Sky Flying By
3. Samiam - Full On
4. Samiam - Clean
5. Samiam - Speed
6. Samiam - Time By The Dime
7. Samiam - Home Sweet Home
8. Texas Is The Reason - Nickel Wound
9. Texas Is The Reason - The Magic Bullet Theory
10. Texas Is The Reason - Johnny On The Spot
11. Texas Is The Reason - Dressing Cold
12. Texas Is The Reason - A Jack With One Eye
13. Texas Is The Reason - Antique

1. Johnny On The Spot
2. The Magic Bullet Theory
3. Nickel Wound
4. There's No Way I Can Talk Myself Out Of This One Tonight (The Drinking Song)
5. Something To Forget
6. Do You Know Who You Are?
7. Back And To The Left
8. The Day's Refrain
9. A Jack With One Eye
10. Every Little Girl's Dream
11. When Rock 'N' Roll Was Just A Baby
12. Blue Boy
13. Something To Forget
14. If It's Here When We Get Back It's Ours
15. Dressing Cold
16. Antique