Have a Nice Life

Have a Nice Life are a two-piece experimental rock band from Middletown, Connecticut that began in 2000. The band consists of Dan Barrett and Tim Macuga. Since their formation, they have been sparsely active, but have garnered a cult following thanks to their incredibly unique style of music and magnum opus, 2008's Deathconsciousness. The band blends elements of post-punk, shoegaze, post-rock, industrial, drone, doom, and ambient music to create one of the darkest, depressing and most existential records of all time. In its near hour and a half run-time it explores a litany of expansive sounds, themes and emotions, making the final project a work of absolute genius. I consider it to be one of the most personally affecting works of art ever made, and (as cliché as it sounds) sitting alone listening to Deathconsciousness in a dark room is an experience (as pretentious as that sounds). By the culmination of the album in the final minutes of "Earthshaker", it's hard not to be truly moved, like standing on a mountain of solitude watching your life flash before your eyes. It's an album that stands on its own without any clear contemporaries, which is fitting considering the isolating nature of the music. The production and recording quality is another major contributor to the feel of this album, with it being recorded for less than $1000, giving it a lo-fi sound that still feels full, warm, and organic. It's truly cut from its own cloth, and there hasn't been a record before or since that can truly compare to it. Even the bands often cited as being its influencers (Swans, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Joy Division, My Bloody Valentine) don't really capture the same sounds that Have a Nice Life do on this album, and those are the titans of their respective genres. To cut this short and avoid further ranting, just listen to this album.

Their debut album was the sole occupant of a desolate island until 2014, when Have a Nice Life released their follow-up album, The Unnatural World. It follows a similar aesthetic to their debut, but with a significantly shorter run-time. It still reaches incredible heights, and puts the listener in a mood torn between life-affirming and death-approaching. Additionally, they have also released one EP (Time Of Land) and two compilations that contains b-sides and demos from throughout their career that were not included on their two studio albums. The two musicians comprising Have a Nice Life are also active in many other projects, most notably (and also recommended) Dan Barrett's Giles Corey, who released an incredible LP in between the two Have a Nice Life albums. Enjoy.

Deathconsciousness (2008)

Disc 1: The Plow That Broke the Plains

1. A Quick One Before the Eternal Worm Devours Connecticut

2. Bloodhail

3. The Big Gloom

4. Hunter

5. Telefony

6. Who Would Leave Their Son Out In The Sun?

7. There Is No Food

Disc 2: The Future

1. Waiting For Black Metal Records To Come In The Mail

2. Holy Fucking Shit: 40,000

3. The Future

4. Deep, Deep

5. I Don't Love

6. Earthmover

Voids (2010)

1. The Big Gloom

2. Waiting For Black Metal Records To Come In The Mail

3. The Future

4. Earthmover

5. Who Would Leave Their Son Out In The Sun?

6. Human Error

7. Trespassers W

8. Defenestration Song

9. I'm Doctor House

10. Sisyphus

11. Destinos

Time of Land (2010)

1. Wizard Of The Black Hundreds

2. Woe Unto Us

3. The Parhelic Circle

4. The Icon And The Axe

The Unnatural World (2014)

1. Guggenheim Wax Museum

2. Defenestration Song

3. Burial Society

4. Music Will Untune The Sky

5. Cropsey

6. Unholy Life

7. Dan And Tim, Reunited By Fate

8. Emptiness Will Eat The Witch

Voids II (2014)

1. Knife Throwing Contest

2. Basic

3. Death By Death

4. Swords To Plowshares

5. Telefony

6. Earthmover

7. Saving Throw vs. Paralysis

8. Quote

9. Deep, Deep

10. I Left And My House Burned Down

11. All Teeth (Afterlives cover)

12. Hunter

13. Feral Optimists

14. Stars And Air

Note: I'm not sure if this is an official release, but it contains a lot of the band's earliest material in one place, so here it is anyway

Sea Of Worry (2019)

1. Sea Of Worry

2. Dracula Bells

3. Science Beat

4. Trespassers W

5. Everything We Forget

6. Lords of Tresserhorn

7. Destinos

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Big Black

Big Black were a three-piece post-hardcore/noise rock band from Evanston, Illinois (though closely related to Chicago) that were around from 1981 to 1987. To say they were influential is an understatement, since they were a monumental band in the worlds of punk, post-hardcore, noise rock, post-punk, alternative rock, and even industrial. The band was spearheaded by guitarist/vocalist Steve Albini, who has been a major figure in underground rock for a long time. He's obviously known for Big Black, as well as his current band Shellac. In addition, he's got an extensive list of production credits, most notably The Pixies' Surfer Rosa, Nirvana's In Utero, the first few Jesus Lizard albums, and has worked with a ton of other incredible artists ranging from Joanna Newsom to Neurosis. To bring the focus back to Big Black; their other guitarist was Santiago Durango, who was an early member of Naked Raygun, but left to focus on Big Black. Their original bassist was Naked Raygun vocalist Jeff Pezzati, who only played on the band's second EP Bulldozer before leaving to focus on his other band. After he left, Big Black's line-up was finalized with bassist Dave Riley, who stayed with the band until their end in 1987. Of course, there is one more constant member who can't go unmentioned, and that is "Roland". This is the short-form used to credit a Roland TR-606 drum machine on their releases. Big Black were known for their strong DIY ethic (booking their own tours, recording their own albums, etc.), essentially doing everything they could to avoid working with outside contracts. In addition, they also had a close relationship with the legendary Touch and Go Records, who put out most of their material when the label was just starting out.

Big Black began by Albini when he wrote and recorded their first EP, Lungs, entirely on his own. He was joined soon after by Durango and Pezzati for the Bulldozer EP in 1983. After Dave Riley took over for Pezzati, the EP Racer-X was released in 1984. Following years of heavy touring and a handful of releases, Big Black released what truly makes this band legendary. 1986's Atomizer is their first full-length, and an absolute classic. The band came through with an incredible set of songs that demonstrate the ferocity that they have come to craft (particularly their magnum opus, "Kerosene"). Their guitars sound more like clanking metal, thanks to the metal-tipped picks they used. Their beats are menacingly mechanical, which are matched by distorted, oddly grooving bass lines. Lyrically, their songs touch on the finer things in life, which include (but not limited to): pryomania, child sex rings, domestic abuse, torture murder, rape, sadism, and alcoholism. They certainly weren't afraid to delve into darker themes. The band decided to call it quits the year later, wanting to quit while they were ahead (and they were well ahead). Before they ended, they decided to record one more album. This became Songs About Fucking, which is (debatably) better than Atomizer. It's another slew of perfect, distraught tracks, that seethe between their clenched teeth. In addition to obvious essentials like "Bad Penny" and "Colombian Necktie", they also included a Kraftwerk cover and tacked on a Cheap Trick cover at the end, which is an odd discrepancy. Regardless, with their two full-lengths behind them, Big Black broke up and cemented their legacy as an inscrutably influential band. They did briefly reunite in 2006 to play a small set at a Touch & Go anniversary show, however that is their only activity since their break-up. Their full discography is below, except for two compilations, which I don't have but all the material on them is included below on separate releases. Enjoy.

Lungs (1982)

1. Steelworker

2. Live In A Hole

3. Dead Billy

4. I Can Be Killed

5. Crack

6. RIP

Bulldozer (1983)

1. Cables

2. Pigeon Kill

3. I'm A Mess

4. Texas

5. Seth

6. Jump The Climb

Racer-X (1984)

1. Racer-X

2. Shotgun

3. The Ugly American

4. Deep Six

5. Sleep!

6. The Big Payback (James Brown cover) 

Il Duce (1985)

1. Il Duce

2. Big Money

Atomizer (1986)

1. Jordan, Minnesota

2. Passing Complexion

3. Big Money

4. Kerosene

5. Bad Houses

6. Fists Of Love

7. Stinking Drunk

8. Bazooka Joe

9. Strange Things

10. Cables (Live)

Sound Of Impact (1987)

1. Ready Men

2. Big Money

3. Pigeon Kill

4. Passing Complexion

5. Crack Up

6. RIP
7. Jordan, Minnesota

8. Steelworker (Short Fragment)

9. Cables

10. Pigeon Kill

11. Kerosene

12. Bad Penny

13. Deep Six

14. RIP

15. Rema Rema

Note: Live album

Heartbeat (1987)

1. Heartbeat (Wire cover)

2. Things To Do Today

3. I Can't Believe

Headache (1987)

1. My Disco

2. Grinder

3. Ready Men

4. Pete, King Of All Detectives

Songs About Fucking (1987)

1. The Power Of Independent Trucking

2. The Model (Kraftwerk cover)

3. Bad Penny

4. L Dopa

5. Precious Thing

6. Colombian Necktie

7. Kitty Empire

8. Ergot

9. Kasimir S. Pulaski Day

10. Fish Fry

11. Pavement Saw

12. Tiny, King Of The Jews

13. Bombastic Intro

14. He's A Whore (Cheap Trick cover) (Bonus Track)

Pigpile (1992)

1. Fists Of Love

2. L Dopa

3. Passing Complexion

4. Dead Billy

5. Cables

6. Bad Penny

7. Pavement Saw

8. Kerosene

9. Steelworker

10. Pigeon Kill

11. Fish Fry

12. Jordan, Minnesota

Note: Live album

Code Orange

Code Orange Kids (now known as just Code Orange) play a unique brand of sludgy hardcore, though you could use numerous labels to attempt to describe their sound. In terms of band comparisons, maybe Converge, Blacklisted, Cursed, and Punch, or something. Regardless. Hailing from Pittsburgh, Pennyslvania, these guys have been taking the hardcore scene by storm. They're fresh out of high school, recently signed to Deathwish, and are currently touring with Defeater and Touché Amoré, to put things into perspective. All hype aside, you still have a fucking amazing band, regardless of any of that. They blew me away from the get-go. I saw this video last summer, and have been hooked ever since. They are easily one of the best bands around now (IMO), and easily one of the greatest live bands I've ever seen. Scratch all that other shit out on your bucket list, seeing them is priority. If they're in or around your area, I highly suggest you GO. And you know, buy shit as well. 

Below is their discography to date, from their first demo to their recently released split with another great band called Full of Hell. I think I read somewhere that they have an even earlier demo, but I still haven't been able to track it down, or confirm that it is even in the vein of this sound. Found it, and it's definitely them, just with a heavier punk influence. Apparently they genre-hopped for a while. They'll also be released a full-length later this year. AOTY? Possibly. Yes. Here's their discography as of now:

Tour Demo 2009 (2009)

1. Head High, Skull Thick

2. Starving Sisters

3. Defeated

4. I Am The Law

Demo 2010 (2010)

1. Coasts
2. Thrones
3. Skinless//Boneless
4. Violence
5. Low
6. Roots

Embrace Me//Erase Me CS (2011)

1. I (Foundations Stand Still)

2. II (Embrace Me)

3. III (Erase Me)

CYCLES (2011)

1. CYCLES (The Days Get Longer)

2. Walls (We Lose Each Other)

3. Salvage//Fold

4. Give (The Rats, They Want You)

     5. Take (The Soil Is Calling)

Full Of Hell//Code Orange Kids (2012)

1. Full Of Hell - Fox Womb

2. Full Of Hell - Damp Reeds In A River, Dry

3. IV (My Mind Is A Prison)

4. V (My Body Is A Well)

Covers Vol 2 (2012)

1. Web In Front (Archers Of Loaf cover)

Note: Covers comp put out by Casa de Diversion, remainder of comp can be found here

Love is Love // Return to Dust (2012)

1. Flowermouth (The Leech)

2. Around My Neck // On My Head

3. Sleep (I've Been Slipping)

4. Liars // Trudge

5. Colors (Into Nothing)

6. Nothing (The Rat)

7. Roots Are Certain // Sky Is Empty

8. Choices (Love is Love)

9. Calm //Breathe

10. Bloom (Return to Dust)

Tigers Jaw/The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die/Code Orange Kids/Self Defense Family (2013)

1. Tigers Jaw - Fake Death

2. The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die - Beverly Wyatt

3. Code Orange Kids - VI (Worms Fear God // God Fears Youth)

4. Self Defense Family - Holy  Trend

I Am King (2014)

1. I Am King

2. Slowburn

3. Dreams In Inertia

4. Unclean Spirit

5. Alone in a Room

6. My World

7. Starve

8. Your Body Is Ready...

9. Thinners Of The Herd

10. Bind You

11. Mercy

Forever (2017)

1. Forever

2. Kill The Creator

3. Real

4. Bleeding In The Blur

5. The Mud

6. The New Reality

7. Spy

8. Ugly

9. No One Is Untouchable

10. Hurt Goes On

11. dream2

Only One Way (2018)

1. Only One Way

The Hurt Will Go On (2018)

1. 3 Knives

2. The Hunt (feat. Corey Taylor)

3. The Hurt Will Go On (Shade Remix)

Underneath (2020)

1. (deeperthanbefore)

2. Swallowing The Rabbit Whole

3. In Fear

4. You And You Alone

5. Who I Am

6. Cold.Metal.Place

7. Sulfur Surrounding

8. The Easy Way

9. Erasure Scan

10. Last Ones Left

11. Autumn And Carbine

12. Back Inside The Glass

13. A Sliver

14. Underneath

Under The Skin (2020)

1. bleeding in the blur (live)

2. who i am (live)

3. autumn + carbine (live)

4. (bugs)

5. ugly (live)

6. only one (live)

7. (quarantine)

8. down in a hole (live)

9. (peace)

10. dreams 1 + 2 (live)

11. (dr3am)

12. sulfur surrounding (live)

13. under the skin (live)

14. hurt3 (live)

The Above (2023)

1. Never Far Apart

2. Theatre Of Cruelty

3. Take Shape

4. The Mask of Sanity Slips

5. Mirror

6. A Drone Opting Out Of The Hive

7. I Fly

8. Splinter The Soul

9. The Game

10. Grooming My Replacement

11. Snapshot

12. Circle Through

13. But A Dream...

14. The Above

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