EP Roundup
I feel a little bit like I've been dropping the ball lately. So much stuff comes into my various inboxes. Stuff goes by on Twitter and Facebook. Shows happen. Life happens. I'm lazy. I can't really get to it all, and I feel lousy about it.
Through it all, though, my one point of pride has been that I've been able to keep up with my weekly listings without interruption since they began last year. Vacations. Business trips. Procrastination. I've managed to get them out there every week.
Week after week, I see several bands that keep popping up in the listings; and I say to myself, "I've got to check them out." They work hard. Constantly book shows. Play out week after week. I've featured a few of those bands here along the way: ROMP, The Blithedale Romance, Maeby Funk, The Great Depression, and more. Today, I thought I'd do a mini roundup of a few more of those bands. This way you'll know what you're looking at when you go through the listings... ...crap... ...tomorrow, and I can cross a few things off of my backlog.
Debt League, Debt League, 2014
This Woodbridge Township trio released their self-titled, four-song EP at the end of last year. Recorded at Red Bank's Retromedia Sound Studios, Debt League features the frenetic guitar-playing of Brian Chesney paired with the staccato, bouncing rhythm section of Zachary Nocciolo and Joshua Spielman.
The songs fit somewhere in that space between rock and pop-punk covering subjects like what relationships can do to your brain ("Toxoplasmic Schizophrenia") and sitting around wondering what you're gonna do with your life ("Beer and Coffee). I got kind of an 80s Clash-type punk feel during a few moments, though the arrangements and musicianship are a little more complex than that.
You'll see Debt League twice in tomorrow's listings as they play New Brunswick's Banana Stand on Thursday and The Pigeon Pad on Friday.
You can purchase or stream the EP over at Debt League's Bandcamp page.
Weird And Wonderful Words, The Right People Will Get This, 2015
Weird And Wonderful Words is the solo acoustic project of New Brunswick's Andy Marc. Andy released The Right People Will Get This on St. Patrick's Day. Unfortunately, the (hopefully) last snowstorm of winter 2014/15 blew out his record release show last week. But you can catch Weird And Wonderful Words this Friday at that Pigeon Pad show with Debt League.
Marc's debut EP is a mostly acoustic version of post-rock emo, and the record does a nice job of creating that big instrumental sound with some relatively sparse instrumentation. The recorded versions of the songs feature piano, percussion, electric guitar and strings along with acoustic guitar. Standout track "Disconsolate" features plenty of soul-baring lines like "give me your love and security" and "I would die for you if it would save your life" and closes with some shout-alongable vocals. "Canoodle" gives the outline, especially in its chorus, of what WWWs would sound like as a multi-guitared emo act. I've seen Andy play totally solo before, though, and the emotions in his lyrics come through just as strongly when he's alone as they do when he has a little help like he does here.
The Right People Will Get This is available as a Name Your Price download at Weird And Wonderful Words' Bandcamp page with cassettes due via Girls Cartel Records in the near future.
American Lions, Peru, 2014
So I'm lying in bed last night reading about how some scientist just transplanted wooly mammoth DNA into the cell of a living elephant. The article went on to wonder about the ethics of spending resources to bring back extinct species while so many extant species teeter on the brink. Should we even be trying to bring back animals like mammoths, mastodons, and American lions? "Wait, there was an American lion? Cool!"
That reminded me of New Brunswick's American Lions who I'd seen play with Casual, ROMP, and California X a while back. At that show, the band went kind of bananas in the small space, kicking out cables and rolling around on the floor at Paradise Lost. You can hear that energy on 2014's Peru. It's pop punk. All of the songs feature plenty of power chords and shouted vocals, but "Drifter" and "Rose" each feature some brief and ethereal breaks. Closer "Novril" is a good example of how American Lions keep the adrenaline pumping without losing focus on crafting a tight pop song.
They'll be in next week's listings as they've got a show at New Brunswick's In The West on April 3rd.
You can purchase or stream Peru at American Lions' Bandcamp page.
Books., Orchard Drive, 2014
Vernon, NJ's Books. are the acoustic alter ego of Brian Paris, frontman of punk act Bomb Paris. Books. released Orchard Drive last spring. The collection really does showcase Paris's skill on acoustic guitar. Each song is over five minutes long and provides some space in which to get lost.
"Maypoles" and "Black, White, Red All Over" pair guitar with some softer, Elliott Smith-style vocals; while "Capo 7th Fret" goes for something a little more forceful as Paris sings over some almost proggy acoustic guitar. Epic closer "Fly Past The Sun" adds a lot more electric instrumentation, Paris repeating, "You're on your own" as things steadily build.
Brian Paris is a busy guy. His other band, Hidden Cabins, will be in tomorrow's listings for their show on Friday at Krogh's Brewpub in Sparta.
Orchard Drive is out on Oak Apple Records and available from their Bandcamp page.
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