Unpleasant Peasants - Pre-Apocalyptic EP

For too long of a time, in my mind, “heavy” music meant low-tuned guitars, crashing breakdowns, and walls of distortion. Drop-A chugs, blast beats, and vicious screams felt not just like hallmarks of heavy music, but requirements. Never on earth would a 22-year-old me have called a mandolin “aggressive” or thought an acoustic guitar could thump notes that hit me like they were pouring out of a Marshall stack. Yet in exploring folk-punk in recent years, I’ve learned a thing or two about how powerful this sound can be, and after listening to Unpleasant Peasant’s Pre-Apocalyptic EP, I am reminded at just how much weight can come from performance and songwriting.

The instrumentation of Pre-Apocalyptic EP is relatively sparse, built only on mandolin, bass, and a washboard. Yet Unpleasant Peasants use their musical weapons to amazing effect, creating a vibrant and vicious sound at speeds I would balk to attempt. The band rakes at their instruments as if trying to scrub blood from their surfaces, rocking progressions that are fast, bombastic, and insanely danceable. Above it all, their collective gang vocals ring powerful and true, a chaotic chorus of disgruntled voices working together as one and building into unstoppable frenzies of energy.

Unpleasant Peasants are just as virulent and hard-hitting with their lyrics. Much of the writing on their Pre-Apocalyptic EP delivers scathing yet eloquent critiques of today’s society. “It’s Just Business” tackles the repetitive, oft-fruitless struggles of trying to survive in the consumer culture that dominates every aspect of life. “Civilization” sharpens this criticism to a point that Unpleasant Peasants use to prod the sleeping awake: “The world is not in your TV / The world is not in your phone / The world’s not inside your head / It’s outside of your home.” Yet perhaps the best and most searing commentary comes from the opening track “The Farmer,” whose protagonist is hell-bent on destroying anything and everything—be it plant, animal, or human—that stands in the way of his profits. Unpleasant Peasants pair intelligent writing with aggressive performances so that each word hits the listener like a K.O. punch.

Unpleasant Peasants are another testament to the true power of folk-punk, proving with their music that substance in songwriting and power in performance can make for some of the heaviest music around. Every song on this EP is rife with powerful screams and heady riffs; that breakdown and coda of “Pre-Apocalyptic” get me just as riled and ready to move as any hardcore band could. This band’s Pre-Apocalyptic EP certainly carries the weight of the world’s end, yet if this record is any indicator, the future will be looking quite bright for these Peasants.

My Top Track: It’s Just Business

You can find more from Unpleasant Peasants, including news and upcoming shows, on Facebook. Then head over to their Bandcamp page to grab your own copy of their Pre-Apocalyptic EP.

Down with Rent - Entitled Millennial Scum

For the disaffected and marginalized sections of our community, the meeting place is not the town hall, but the dive bars and DIY spaces where hardcore and punk shows are happening so regularly. Punk music gives us a collective outlet for our frustrations, as well as a forum for confronting and changing the asinine aspects of our society. In CT, no band is making better use of this platform than Down With Rent, and with their new full-length Entitled Millennial Scum, they’re breaking out the artillery.

Down With Rent is renowned in the local scene for their explosive live shows, and Entitled Millennial Scum perfectly presses that energy and experience to record. The performances are volatile, almost too powerful for the speakers playing them. The drums thunder out beats so fast, I’m out of breath just listening. The guitar rages along aggressive chord progressions, resonant palm mutes, and searing feedback. The bass guitar’s tone alone feels like a kick in the stomach, riding atop thumping lines and growling low notes that boom within my chest cavity. The vocals thrash with throaty screams and fierce shouts, each absolutely vicious word hitting as hard as the guitar or drums.

The sound of Entitled Millennial Scum is pure and unadultered vitriol, but the lyrics are what give it a focused target. Down With Rent is fearless in calling out the hypocrisies that abound in our society. Lines like “Make no mistake / they won’t hesitate / to take everything / and leave you on the pavement to die” call out the indiscriminate greed and selfishness of the powers that be, a heady reminder that anyone playing the game will happily step on you to win it. In a similar vein, “Entitled to Everything” both pokes fun at generational disconnect with the line “Don’t ask me if you owe us a living / We want this planet and everything in it” before pointing out that action is what earns respect, not age. Entitled Millennial Scum is relentless in both energy and substance, a record seething with honest, no-holds-barred critique of the many cracks in the façade of our country.

One of my favorite aspects of Entitled Millennial Scum is how cohesively it flows. Each song rolls right into the next with nary a second wasted, swells of feedback tying the tunes together and driving the momentum of the record forward. Samples of news reports and police confrontations stitched into a couple tracks help reinforce the political tone of the album throughout. Entitled Millennial Scum is truly a record without a single boring moment—front-to-back, it plays with an integrity and energy that keeps my head and heart locked in.

No matter where you stand, Down With Rent’s new record packs serious punch. Every single song is loaded with kickass riffs, heady screams, and the unbridled energy that is this band’s trademark. Entitled Millennial Scum is a feverish punk powerhouse, the sound of a riot breaking out in the streets punctuated by brutal breakdowns and breakneck drumbeats, giving a furious voice to the fears and unrest so many of us live under every day. So put this record on repeat, and crank it up and up until it makes you deaf—you’re entitled to it.

My Top Track: “Can’t Swim”

You can find more from Down With Rent, including upcoming shows and news, on their Facebook page and on Instagram. Then head over to their Bandcamp and grab your own copy of Entitled Millennial Scum.

Reconstitute - S/T

Since its inception, punk rock has had a political backbone. It has been a virulent voice against injustice, calling out the hatred and bigotry that the rest of our society tries to keep out of sight. In today’s world of regular school shootings, blatant institutional racism, and public displays of intolerance and hatred, this voice is as important as ever, and I’m glad to say, as loud as ever. Just take the self-titled EP by Reconstitute, a collection of heavy-hitting tunes from a band that refuse to stand silently by and watch the world burn.

The instrumentation on Reconstitute is riotous and utterly unforgiving in its energy. The overdriven guitars roar, low chords rumbling next to screeching highs. The drummer pounds his kit into oblivion, each cymbal crash hitting like a brick crashing through a pristine window. The bass guitar is an earthquake, blasting fuzzy lows and searing melodic lines into the ears. Above the chaos are the vicious shouted vocals, each scream a rallying cry that concentrates every element into a sonic punch of punk.

The thrashing strings and thumping drums on Reconstitute could almost generate their own electricity with how much vigor lies behind them, yet it is the lyrics that shape this energy into a tool of change. Reconstitute wields their words against those unjust and insane systems erected to oppress, spearheaded by the madman sitting in the Oval Office. Both “Dear America” and “Treaty” aim themselves directly at Trump’s inherent hypocrisy with lines like “This man doesn’t have your interests in mind / Just his bottom line,” while “Repeal and Replace” virulently addresses the destructive policies he is spearheading such as the infinitely-rising prices of healthcare. Reconstitute pulls no punches with their self-titled debut, instead sharpening their lyrics in poignant razors to hack at the injustices facing the American people.

Though it barely breaks six minutes, Reconstitute is an absolutely relentless, fearless release. From the opening feedback of “Dear America” to the hammering coda hits of “Digging for Coal,” each second of this record is rife with punk passion and hardcore intensity. Reconstitute takes the corruption of our country to task with their self-titled release, a blatant statement that bigotry and injustice will never be tolerated no matter where or when they rear their ugly mugs.

My Top Track: "Dear America"

Reconstitute is a project of the prolific and talented N.E. Hertzberg; follow him on Facebook for updates including news and upcoming shows. Then head over to Spotify to listen to Reconstitute or even grab a limited-run tape (courtesy of Crass Lips Records) from their Bandcamp page.

Dead Characters - Ashen

In a world dominated by vocal-centric music, it must be difficult to be an instrumental artist. Vocals create an easy and immediate touchstone for audiences, a doorway of human presence that they can step through. It is infinitely harder to connect with the general population via instrumentation, to touch their minds and hearts in the same way and with the same depth. A daunting task, but not an impossible one, as Colorado’s Dead Characters prove with their debut EP Ashen.

The sound of Ashen is much like the album cover: dark, crashing, and in constant motion. The drums pile hit upon hit upon hit, practically beating the toms to a pulp with powerful fills and warlike grooves. The bass guitar drones like an oncoming thunderstorm, thumping against the bass drum beats with a tone so growling and gritty it shakes my speakers. Above it all rides the guitar, deftly switching between tremolo-picked solos and chugging chords. The band lets the riffs and running basslines lead their sound—all the emotion is embedded in the instruments, and the melodies portray the meanings without the encumbrance of vocals or lyrics.

While their performances are superb, the real strength of Dead Characters’ music lies in their composition. The band employs vicious up-and-down dynamics in their songs, digging quiet and spacious valleys between mountains of distortion and ringing cymbals. Tracks like “With and Without” and “Landing” slip between big booming riffs and gentle melodic moments, letting the song steer from beauty to brutality. Similarly, vastly different guitar tones are employed against each other to create tension, placing washes of echo and reverb against grinding fuzz in “Palo Duro,” or even simultaneously imposing a twangy clean onto massive distortion in “There Were Flashes.” Each of the five songs on Ashen uses dynamics in volume and in tone to create vivid worlds for us to explore. 

It’s no small feat to connect with listeners through music; to do so without the tried-and-true tool of singing is an even larger feat, yet Dead Characters seem to be masters at it. Each of the songs on Ashen tells its own story in the language of thrashing strings and crashing drums, throwing the encumbrance of vocals to the side and letting their riffs do the talking. And believe me, those riffs have something to say, so you better listen up.

My Top Track: “Harriet”

You can find more from Dead Characters, including upcoming shows and news, on Facebook. Then head over to their Bandcamp page and pick up your own copy of Ashen.

Intercourse - Everything is Pornography When You've Got an Imagination

Connecticut is a state oozing with heavy bands, yet few can truly bring the noise like Intercourse. Their approach to music is fearless and furious; seeing them live is like standing in the way of a careening freight train. They make music for the outsiders, broken loners and writhing weirdos, drawing on the darkness of the corners ignored by the masses. Intercourse embraces this darkness, and with their latest release Everything is Pornography When You’ve Got an Imagination, they lob it back at the general population like a hand grenade. 

Compositionally, Everything is Pornography is like a Jackson Pollock painting, simultaneously a technical masterpiece and a beautiful mess. The guitars thrash through quick, abrasive chord progressions and heady palm mutes, punctuated by vicious feedback and screaming dissonant notes. The bass rages through distortion and bizarre effects. Hectic blast beats and shattering cymbals drive the band into brutal breakdowns that punch like fists at the ear drums. Above this maelstrom ride the vocals of a rambling madman, screamed at fever pitch and full volume. 

The beauty of Intercourse’s music is that is simultaneously intentional and improvised—four talented and passionate musicians who have no qualms about fucking shit up. Everything is Pornography is loaded with tempo and time signature changes: “Piles” repeatedly cycles through 4/4/, 6/4, and 7/4 so rapidly that it’s almost impossible to predict, while “Beyond Human” presses thrashing fast sections against a vehement, soulless breakdown that slows with each repetition. But against these clear and deliberate technical decisions, Intercourse smashes waves of feedback and noise throughout, creating an audio hellscape of distortion and dissonance.

These players might be pros at their instruments, but noise is their specialty; chaos is in their blood, and this is nowhere more apparent than in the vocals. Each vocal piece feels almost separate from the instrumentation, like a drunken stranger stumbled into the recording studio and began screaming about being abducted by aliens. Head-spinning yells and vitriolic rants roil like a hurricane above the stormy seas of the instruments, forcing a framework of human suffering and absurdity over the layers of feedback. If the earsplitting guitars are there to disorient you, it’s the roaring vocals that kick you in the gut and steal your wallet. 

This intrinsic uproar is just as apparent in the lyrics, which spin tales of absolute pandemonium. “Cuckold the Family Ghost” describes a botched suicide resulting in a hellish haunting, while “Cum Kind of Monster” blurs the line between macho hero worship and masturbatory addiction. The undertone to almost every song is one of bizarre and irreverent humor, yet it is not all-consuming: lines like “Look me in the eyes, vote against my life. They want to build a wall? There's already a fucking wall” from “The Kids are Alt-Right” wield this bombastic anger against relevant social issues such as racism and toxic masculinity. 

Intercourse’s noisy brand of hardcore on Everything is Pornography When You’ve Got an Imagination hits like a stampede of blackout-drunk elephants. If they throw parties in hell, this is the record they put on the jukebox. Its noisy riffs, thundering beats, and spine-chilling shouts create a raucous mix that is both frightening and frighteningly good. Intercourse redefines the word “heavy” with Everything is Pornography, and I can’t wait to see where they take it next. 

My Top Track: “Beyond Human” 

You can find more from Intercourse, including news and show updates, on Facebook. Then head over to their Bandcamp page and grab your own copy of Everything is Pornography When You’ve Got an Imagination.

Bridgeroom / Will Grayson - Split #2 EP

One of the best aspects of my local music scene is how supportive and collaborative it can be. I regularly see artists working together to stay afloat in this oft-unforgiving pursuit of making music. Whether by cross-promoting shows or guest-spotting on recordings, CT’s musicians constantly reaffirm that none of us are in this alone, even in the most trying of times. One shining example of this community spirit is the latest split between Bridgeroom and Will Grayson, two acts bolstering each other’s songs and sadness on one release.

Bridgeroom’s songwriting on this split captures the feeling of disconnection that depression and anxiety can create, how when even in a crowded room and surrounded by friends, we can feel so alone.  “Break You Down” juxtaposes quick fuzzy guitar melodies and a fun full band arrangement against some of the loneliest vocals I’ve ever heard, while “You Won’t” rings like a howl in the middle of the night. Still, all is not lost—the uplifting melodies of “A Taunt Well Done,” while not quite resolving the sadness, at least let us come to terms with the feeling, creating a catharsis for the first side of the record.

Will Grayson’s tunes similarly places vibrant instrumentation against morose musing. “Every Week Has Its Day” plays with danceable drum rhythms and a bright synth, while “Failed States” features a wandering vocal melody over three guitars that flit between the speakers. The final track “Once A Week Won’t Kill You” blooms like a flower, spacing out powerful vocals with an ever-expanding instrumental bridge.

Like his instrumentation, Bridgeroom’s vocals are pained by old memories, somehow simultaneously longing for the past while wishing it had never come to pass. Every word is laden with enough weight and emotion to almost leave bruises. Lines like “It’s all already been said / But I’ll continue going / over it again” in “You Won’t” or “I dug up these old letters / from a box on my shelf / I’ll never throw them out / ‘cause I tell myself they help” suggest a pain almost too comforting in its familiarity. There is no veil between the emotion and intention in Bridgeroom’s lyrics—every line is a fresh wound displayed for all to see.

Where Bridgeroom relies on frank reality in imagery, Will Grayson shapes vivid metaphors to communicate emotion. “Every Week Has Its Day” plays with sequences of time in both its title and in the lines “We’re warring all spring / summer falls dead in the heat / we take off winter to sleep / and then the seasons repeat.” Similarly, “Failed States” applies a political framework to a romantic relationship, where communication suddenly becomes a negotiation. Will Grayson employs frameworks of imagery to enclose the emotion of the song, giving each piece a context outside of itself from which it can draw meaning.

Both Bridgeroom and Will Grayson bring their best to their sides of this split, but even more interesting is how their sides work together to create a comprehensive listening experience. Both artists sequence their songs in a mirrored manner; Track 1 flaunts upbeat tempos and powerful instrumentation, while Track 2 drops down into a gentle sway of sadness. Both artists focus their final pieces on dynamics—“A Taunt Well Done” wavers between quiet strumming and full-band swells, while “Once A Week Won’t Kill You” slowly builds an epic odyssey of instruments across its 7-minute existence. This similar structuring helps to create a cohesive adventure of the split, providing two unique perspectives on the same progression of sound.

The songs collected by both Bridgeroom and Will Grayson on this EP fit together like puzzle pieces. Each artist brings a distinct sound and style to the table, yet their collaborative approaches reflect the growing communal spirit of CT’s music scene. Splits like this are just one of the many ways musicians can come together and support each other in their artistic endeavors, and remind me just how high we can reach we can be when we give one another a boost.

My Top Tracks: “A Taunt Well Done” and “Failed States”

You can find more from these artists, including live shows and updates, by following Bridgeroom on Facebook and Will Grayson on Instagram. Then head over to these acts’ Bandcamp pages and pick up your own copy of their second split (as well as the first one!).

Bridgeroom Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Bridgeroom-1966562993619055/

Bridgeroom Bandcamp: https://bridgeroom.bandcamp.com/

Will Grayson Bandcamp: https://willgrayson.bandcamp.com/

Will Grayson Instagram: @willgraysonmusician

Shameless Self Promotion: New full-length "Drops of Dew & Mourning" releases tomorrow!

Well friends, after 2+ years of sequester, self-doubt, and a vicious cycle of creation-destruction-reassembly, I am proud to say that tomorrow, March 30, I will be releasing my first-ever full-length album, Drops of Dew & Mourning. And if I'm being honest, I'm both terrified and excited. 

The road of creating this record, of getting it out of me and into the world, was both long and arduous. The road of believing that the music I've been making is worth hearing has been far longer, and I'm not yet at the end of that path--I'm not sure I ever will be. 

But between all the cracks I can see in this album, I believe that other wills find both beauty and honesty. It's not perfect, but it is mine. And now I am giving it to the world, to you, in hopes that you find some aspect that speaks to you the way that writing this record did for me.

So come have some of this music with me. I will be performing some of these songs for the first time tomorrow night at Watertown's premier dessert bar, CBBG, along with an esteemed list of incredibly talented artists. There will even be physical CDs you can take home for a couple bucks, as well as piles of free hugs. 

Thanks again for being part of this journey with me. I hope to see you tomorrow night!

Love,

Woody

Release show FB event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1607343876017821/ 

Drops of Dew & Mourning on Bandcamp, out 3/30/18: https://thejudasobscure.bandcamp.com/album/drops-of-dew-mourning