Month: June 2019

Record #613: Moving Mountains – Pneuma (2007)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald

The marriage of post rock and post hardcore shouldn’t have come as a surprise to anyone. After all, the roots of each are closely intertwined: post rock godfathers Slint came out of the punk and hardcore scene of early 90s Kentucky. Unwed Sailor was founded out of the husk of Tooth & Nail post hardcore outfit Roadside Monument.

But still, when the horns and glockenspiels of “Aphelion” give way to screamed vocals and pounding chords, it’s a bit of a surprise. And as this record continues to weave between the purest forms of each genre, it doesn’t get any less unexpected.

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Record #612: Helms Alee – Sleepwalking Sailors (2014)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald

If a mad scientist were to somehow map out my tastes and set about designing my ideal album to lure me into some sort of trap, on paper that siren’s call would sound a bit like “nautically themed sludge metal/shoegaze/post rock/indie rock hybrid.”

But playing through speakers, that idea is even more alluring—not unlike the diver toward the light of the giant angler fish on the cover, I cannot resist this record. I hadn’t even finished my initial listen before purchasing a copy.

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Record #610: Melvins – Houdini (1993)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald

Across music history, there are scattered acts that never got the mainstream attention that they deserved, but they influenced legions of bands.

Bands like The Velvet Underground, of which it was once said, “[they] didn’t sell many records, but everyone who bought one went out and started a band.”

Among slow, lurching metallurgists, few bands are is influential as the Melvins.

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Record #609: Mouth of the Architect – Dawning (2013)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald

After the crushing gorgeousness of Quietly, Mouth of the Architect got busy. Despite lineup changes, the band toured Europe, recorded EPs, and headlined a few festivals.

Then the group returned to the Midwest to record their fourth full-length, Dawning. But in comparison to Quietly’s thick, relentless avalanche of atmospheric noise, this record spends much more time flexing their melodic chops.

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Record #608: Mouth of the Architect – Quietly (2008)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald

They say that you should never judge a book by its cover. That goes double for records.

Because if you were to look at the pastoral winter scene, gentle cursive text, and whimsical animal illustrations on the inside gatefold, you might think this would sound like a gorgeous, twee-folk Bon Iver clone.

And while this record certainly is gorgeous, it’s beauty comes through Mouth of the Architect’s particular brand of crushing sludge metal heaviness.

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Record #606: Mott the Hoople – Mott (1973)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald

In 1964, when tasked with defining hardcore pornography, Justice Potter Stewart stated, “I know it when I see it.”

In many ways, glam rock faces the same taxonomic difficulty. I’m not sure I could ever dissect and identify the specific elements that make something glam rock. I have tried and failed many times to explain to someone what makes Electric Warrior by T. Rex such a perfect record. I just know that when glam hits, few things are sweeter.

And Mott by Mott the Hoople is sweet.

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