Thursday, 23 December 2021

Farside

Farside were a four-piece punk/post-hardcore/emo band from Orange County, California that were around from 1989 to 2000. They released three full-lengths, two EP's, two demos (compiled as Scrap) and appeared on a handful of compilations. Trying to describe this band's sound is incredibly difficult, as they really don't fit into one category. The main takeaway is that they could write killer songs delivered with a ton of heart and energy, even with an ever-evolving sound. Sonically, they do owe some dues to bands like Hüsker Dü, who pioneered the catchy hooks, big, melodic chords, and an undeniable punk rock fervor. Toss that in blender with melodic hardcore influence from Descendents and Bad Religion, the early emo sound of Dag Nasty and Embrace, plus the off-kilter angularity of Quicksand and jangly full-chord sound of Big Star, and you're getting close what Farside did best. That's not to say they're just a slapped-together palate of sound, but a carefully studied band who bring in a slew of influence to make something bigger than the sum of its parts. It's rare to find a band where any album could be considered a classic (I'm partial to The Monroe Doctrine for its standout tracks, but Rigged as the most consistent). This band is incredibly underrated while having surprisingly wide appeal across a litany of genres and fanbases, so I do encourage anyone to check them out. Most of their releases (and all their full-lengths) were put out by Revelation Records. As a sidenote, as it inevitably comes up with this band, Zach de La Rocha was their guitarist for their second demo (Scrap tracks 6-10), though that doesn't outweigh the band's incredible legacy. Enjoy.

1. Hero
2. Third Person Paranoia
3. Keep My Soul Awake
4. Boiling Over

1. Worlds
2. Search For Ourselves
3. Rochambeau
4. Free Your Mind
5. Smarter Than Ever
6. Safe Or Sorry
7. Constant Reminder
8. Lost In Space
9. Nowhere Fast
10. Furute Days

1. Duck And Cover
2. Search For Ourselves
3. Keep My Soul Awake
4. Take A Look
5. Payback
6. Future Days
7. Third Person Paranoia
8. Farside
9. Safe Or Sorry
10. Nowhere Fast
11. Sleepwalking
12, Smarter Than Ever
13. Hero (Acoustic)

Note: Compilation of first two demos

1. Square One
2. Page
3. Nice
4. Buck
5. Audience
6. Gesture
7. Kill Me
8. Wait For Monday
9. Silver Anniversary
10. Someday Too Soon

1. 12/24/91
2. Lollapalooza
3. Turnip
4. Knox
5. Hardly Getting Over It (Hüsker Dü cover)
6. I'll Wait Today

1. Sense Field - Untitled
2. Farside - Save It For The Children

1. Better Than Crying
2. I'm Not Shy, I Just Don't Like You
3. I Hope You're Unhappy
4. Seven-Day Constant
5. Statues Of Snow
6. My Man Harvey Milk
7. Moral Straightjacket
8. The Lonesome Ballad Of El Bobo The Cranky
9. Liz Hurley
10. The Fashionable Rebellion
11. Teach Me How To Die
12. Save It For The Children
13. Bled
14. This Pill Is Hard To Swallow
15. Too Much, Too Late
16. The Slowdance
17. Blue Highway

End Of A Year (Embrace cover)
Metal Man
Moral Straightjacket
Return of The Fly (Misfits cover)
Square One (Live)
Dark
Pretty Vacant (Sex Pistols cover)

3 comments:

  1. Thanks for posting. Monroe Doctrine is one of my favourite records of all time! Farside are massively underrated. they were a big influence for big bands that came after them, for example gaslight anthem.

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  2. still love this band

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  3. thanks for the downloads

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