Fast and Loud – 2D-Music

There are some exciting releases coming up in 2019 so here’s a little speed and fuzz for your week of listening.

#1. The Spielbergs.

First on the docket is the 3 piece from Oslo, the new sound out of Norway. The indie fuzz pop group just recently celebrated their first full album release in February, and they don’t seem to be slowing down.

FTY-UJfR_400x400 — Tell you what, it wasn’t easy to find a picture related to Spielbergs that wasn’t of Steven.

The Speilbergs manage a sound that harkens to me memories of early Japandriods, Against Me!, or even some Gaslight Anthem records. Very anthemic and well constructed songs that belong in stadiums or small sweaty clubs. There is a joyous amount of noise layered on top of a standalone confidence that Indie bands seem to propagate these days. As the Spielbergs tour through cities I cant even hope to pronounce properly I hope they get some of the popularity they deserve and maybe make it to Canada one day.

It’s been a hot minute since any nordic bands had any airtime on the Canadian charts, not since the Hives or even the Hellacopters. Having some Scandinavian flair would be a welcome addition.

Personal highlights:

“Five on It“, & “We’re All Going to Die”

#2. Dear Seattle.

Next up are some boys from Aus. Keeping the home fires burning with some very reminiscent mid 2000s pop punk. The band started gathering some buzz in mid 2017 with their first self titled release and soon became members of the Domestic La La record label. Now taking their next big step into the Aus music scene Dear Seattle are looking to make a bigger name for themselves.

If you miss some of the hay-days of Emo-punk and want to add an Australian twinge to it then Dear Seattle has something special for you. Give them a shot, maybe you’ll find yourself busting out your old Fallout Boy graphic T-shirt without even realising it.

Personal highlights:

“Daytime TV” & “Try”

#3. Fontaines D.C. “Too Real”

Last up is the surrealist working class offerings from Irish band Fontaines D.C. Im still not overly sure what a Fonatine is but their music and pedestrian verse make me slightly uncomfortable to listen to and overly hopeful for the future of Irish music. Like Joy division and early Fall records the Fontaines D.C. maintain a heavy beat and groove while sinking lower into thematically dark lyrics.

a3774076881_10 — In the bands own words “Dogrel is a crude, traditionally Irish working-class form of verse, historically looked down upon by literary critics.”

There’s a lot of murmurs going around about their upcoming release “Dogrel” out in early April. Generally speaking albums that garner this much attention have glitz, glamour, and a good deal of industry flavoured audio production. So far the Fontaines D.C. deride all these things for a raw and emotive approach to making music. These boys are probably making Mark E. Smith very proud.

Give them a shot if you feel like thinking and analyzing when you listen to something rather than just have more background noise to satiate your senses. It took me more than a few tries to get completely on board with what the Fontaines D.C. are doing. But, it will for sure be interesting to see the mark they make in April.

Personal highlight:

“Too Real”

There’s some exciting things out and about, keep your eyes peeled and your ears to the ground.

Thanks for stopping by
J.

It has been a while since I last wrote something here, but this year I wanted to make a more concentrated attempt at putting stuff online.

In the effort of more regular posts I wanted to try and generalize some music into different categories for what I’ve been enjoying recently. Fast and loud being the first. These will be shorter grabs and great if you want to find some new stuff to dig your teeth into.

#1. The Idles.

First up are the bad boys from Bristol. The 5 man outfit followed up their first release “Brutalism” with a cracker of an album in 2018 entitled “Joy as an Act of Resistance”. And my my, it’s been a long time since there’s been this level of talented diesel fuel in music form. With 12 tracks this album clocks a blistering pace of just over 40 minutes.

Many of the staples for great punk rock are in here, instruments at full throttle and lyrics of rebellion and uprising. But in a comforting twist the tone behind this album is one of community building and friendship. A shame that this has become an act of resistance, but good that the Idles have the stones to go on about it. And as an added bonus the drums are fantastic.

Personal highlights from the album:
“Danny Nedelko“, “Samaritans” & “Gram Rock”

#2. Fiddlehead.

Next on the chopping block an operation out of Boston. Putting out their debut effort “Springtime and Blind” in April of 2018. I quickly became enamoured with the feel of the album, in particular the drum work of Shawn Costa and the power of singer Patt Flynn’s voice.

This album is a powerhouse of emotion and a fantastic listen. If you have the time I highly recommend watching their live set at the Programme Skate Shop. But if you don’t have time;

Personal highlights from the album:

“Spousal Loss” & “Lay Low”

#3. Press Club.

The Kids from down-under round out the roster for this review. After cranking out around 40 songs together the group took to voting which songs would make the cut on their debut record. Personally I am more than curious to see what the remaining 30 odd sound like.

This self produced conglomeration of songs is raw, vivid, and is almost a live show encapsulated right in front of you. Joining the cadre of talented punk/alternative/grunge erupting out of Australia in the last few years, Press Club bring some welcome presence to the scene. Hopefully they take a break from their frenetic live tour to grace us with a new studio effort in 2019.

Personal highlights from the album:

“Crash“, “Golden State” and “Suburbia”

As the world of music continues to expand keep your eyes peeled and your ears to the ground for more from me.

Thanks for stopping by
J.

Category: Fast and Loud

Fast and Loud #2