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 

Frankly Lost - We Can Do It Tour-Gether

For many artists (or at least the ones that mean it), art is a visceral expression of being, a translation of amorphous feeling into tangible experience. Art lets others into the artist’s world, peeling back the curtain to attempt to reveal the truth of their lives—a task much easier said than done. Yet still, so many musicians today are fearlessly stripping away their armor to share their experiences and connect with others through song. And for me, no artist puts so much of his soul on the line in this endeavor as Frankly Lost on his full-length We Can Do It Tour-Gether. 

Without question, this record sounds as ruthlessly raw as freshly scraped knee, as if Frank is five feet in front of me, strumming his guitar in my living room. His vocals are simultaneously soft and  strong, each note laden with honesty as he drives out his demons via insanely catchy choruses. There is a fantastic range of emotion and energy built into the tunes, from the slow sway of “Mr. Exposed Entrepreneur” to the folk-punk thumper “Sun Exists, Guns Out,” so that not a single second feels rehashed or contrived. 

The album's instrumentation is driven largely by Frank's unadorned acoustic guitar, chords ringing loud and proud from twangy strings that are often strummed at marathon speeds. Yet he is not wholly alone in this endeavor: "Liar" features a pounding bass drum and quick-footed basslines, "Death Metal Band" interposes ringing bells and gang vocals into the mix, and “Door into Summer” lapses into a ska feel with its delicious trumpet melodies. This mix of genres and instruments only serves to enhance Frank’s already-powerful songs, giving We Can Do It Tour-Gether a varied palate that can appeal to even the most rigid of music fans. 

For me, the most inspiring aspect of We Can Do It Tour-Gether is its lyrical honesty. Frank is a storyteller, a modern-day bard spinning his storied world into vivid song. But there are no clumsy metaphors to trip the mind or obscure the truth; he tells it exactly like it is, putting his pain plainly out before us. Lines like “I know that I'm dejected, aimless, / Hungry, self-obsessed and useless” from “Dehydrated” give us harsh glimpses into his struggles with depression and self-defeat. But Frank doesn't wallow in the despair of his music: even one listen to this record makes it obvious that these songs serve to purge that sadness from his heart by sharing it with the world. Frankly Lost's lyrics are so viciously real, veritable snapshots of the world he lives in, which I can't help but relate to with each and every spin of this album.

Frankly Lost’s collection of tunes on We Can Do It Tour-Gether is one of the most truthful pieces of music I’ve ever listened to. Every song is painfully sincere, a little slice of his soul woven between his guitar strings. Frank’s music draws me into his world—one of hardship, but also one of beauty—and lets me know that it’s okay to hurt, because there is always beauty beyond the pain. Even in its title, We Can Do It Tour-Gether asserts no one has to go it alone in this strange and oft-tiresome life, a  message that I hope to keep with me as long as I own this record. 

My Top Track: “Mr. Exposed Entrepreneur”

You can find more from Frankly Lost, including upcoming shows and news, on Facebook. Then head over to his Bandcamp page and get your own copy of We Can Do It Tour-Gether. 

stop.drop.rewind - Element & Aftermath

In a lot of ways, punk rock and math rock are the antitheses of each other; the visceral speed and energy of punk make precision playing near impossible, while math rock’s focus on intellect and instrumentation can all but negate the chaotic emotional content necessary in punk. Although they may seem incompatible at first glance, plenty of artists are paving a road between the two genres, keeping the energy high as they roll through jazzy chords and complicated time signatures. With Element & Aftermath, stop.drop.rewind walk this line between prog and punk with confidence, creating a harmonious balance between their captivating melodies and methodical performances.

The music on Element & Aftermath is something of an anomaly—shaped by four musicians who clearly understand their instruments, and yet know that a kickin’ hook is worth as much as a nasty time-signature-hopping breakdown. The guitars work overtime as they run up and down the neck, splashing their color chords between speedy melodic riffs. The bass dominates the low end with punchy tones and vicious lines of notes, while the drums spread syncopated fills that only serve to complement the string section. Above this landscape of sound, the vocals mix extremely catchy choruses with finely-tuned harmonies (an oft-overlooked avenue) that blast their compositions into the atmosphere.

Stop.drop.rewind presents an excellent blend of tones and emotions on Element & Aftermath, creating a record that is diverse as their approach to writing it. Tunes like “I Was a Portrait” and “Main & Lincoln” wield pop-punk choruses that demand singing along, while the opener “The Entire Orchestra” or the jazzfest “Eraser” choose as their weapons precise musicianship and sharp amelodic chord changes. Yet through it all, there is not a single song on Element & Aftermath that feels inaccessible; each uses the perfect ratio of technical precision and delicious hooks to attract every kind of listener and keep them entangled in stop.drop.rewind’s sonic web.

The lyrics of Element & Aftermath are as intricate as the composition. Each song is laden with images that carry as much literary weight as they do emotional depth. Lines like “Over the trees, the changing leaves, late summer breeze / Will carry me until it sets me down” in “Yellow Roses” use focused imagery to create a vivid scene for the listener, chaining each piece of the picture together to form a cohesive portrait. In addition, stop.drop.rewind avoid relying on clichés or dead-horse phrases, instead opting to put their own spin on those concepts; for instance, “The Dissonance” takes an old adage and brings it into mythic proportions with the lines “Carry every failure on your shoulders / Chips turn to bricks turn into boulders.” It’s exceedingly rare that a record is a fun to read as it is to listen to, but with Element & Aftermath, stop.drop.rewind keep their pens working as hard as their instruments.

So whether intense riffs and time signature changes are your cup of tea, or if you prefer thrashing chords and hyped vocal melodies, stop.drop.rewind has your back. Each of the ten tracks on Element & Aftermath keeps the energy maxed out while spinning mathy syncopations and chord changes. There’s as much for the head as there is for the heart on this record, and I’d bet that a single listen through will leave you as hooked as I am. 

My Top Track: "The Dissonance"

You can find more from stop.drop.rewind, including show updates and news, on Facebook. Then head over to their Bandcamp page to grab your own copy of Element & Aftermath.

Shameless Self Promotion: New Single "Tallest Trees, Highest Branches" Drops Today!

"Tallest Trees, Highest Branches"

Hey friends! Brace yourself for some more shameless grandstanding....

In a few weeks, I will be dropping my very first full-length effort, Drops of Dew & Mourning. It's a record I've been working on for years at this point, and I'm excited to get it out in the world finally. So excited that I thought I'd share a song with you now. 

"Tallest Trees, Highest Branches" is probably the best example of what Drops sounds like--bombastic, scattered, DIY, and (hopefully) honest. It features a full arrangement, including programmed drums, vocal harmonies, and two 4-string bass parts. It's also fast becoming one of my favorite songs to play live. 

You can stream "Tallest Trees, Highest Branches" right off the Bandcamp page, and/or download it for free if you so choose. Don't be afraid to leave a review either--I'd love to hear what you think!

Drops of Dew & Mourning "drops" on Saturday March 30th on Bandcamp. Come join me and some great local acts at CBBG in Watertown that night to celebrate the record release and to grab your own physical copy, featuring artwork by the incredibly talented Deanna Burke. 

Thanks for giving this a shot. 

• Drops of Dew & Mourning Record Release Show: https://www.facebook.com/events/1607343876017821/

• "Tallest Trees, Highest Branches" on Bandcamp:https://thejudasobscure.bandcamp.com/album/tallest-trees-highest-branches-single 

• Deanna Burke's Website: http://www.deannaburkeart.com/