Friday, November 25, 2016

Puritan / Reversal of Man split LP

Released in 1996 on Arizona's outstanding King Of the Monsters (run by Michael Gentz), this was an early split from two bands who played that frantic, spastic shit we all love; Pennsylvania's Puritan (who hailed from the Poconos), and Tampa's Reversal of Man. Really good stuff here, and if you're into the records that Witching Hour Records started doing just after this split was issued, you'd (probably) be doing yourself a favor to peep this. If you are familiar with the aforementioned cult-ish label, there's a 94 to 98 percent chance you know both of these bands already, and know at least one of them well. Recommended for fans of Inhumanity, Makara, and/or Volume 11.
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Reversal of Man was a bit more prolific than Puritan, but both bands showcase a similar hectic style on this joint effort. Mostly fast, rippin' emo hardcore that comes recommended by this dude, especially the Puritan shit. There are lots of song explanations and personal writings included in the liner notes to keep you busy for a minute, and the bands have been awarded, by me, some extra big ups for referencing "The Dukes Of Hazzard" and aliens.

The Puritan songs (side A) were recorded ???, and the Reversal of Man songs (side B) were
recorded ???. This album was King Of The Monsters #5.









                                     









Tracklist:
---Puritan---
1) Never Meanin' No Harm
2) This Is Medicine
3) They Say 81
4) To Fall In Love...
5) From Inside A Carousel (Whispering)

---Reversal---
6) Pilot Gumby
7) Theory of Lamastra
8) Slingshot
9) Plaster of Paris
10) No Longer
11) Roswell

- please speak to me -

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

V/A - 403 Comp cd

This post is about the pretty highly regarded 403 Comp, aka Florida Fucking Hardcore, which was put out in 1998 by Schematics Records, a label which was owned and operated by Steve Heritage of Assück (and far less notably Jud Jud) fame. Tons o' bands you should be familiar with (Twelve Hour Turn, Hot Water Music, Discount, Reversal Of Man), and a few you very well may not be (Nineteenhundredandtwelve, Scrotum Grinder).

It's a compilation, there are tons of bands that hailed from Florida on here, some songs are better than others I guess, and this has been COMPLETELY OUT OF PRINT FOR YEARS, Y'ALL. Not included here are pics of the LP jacket and zine which accompanies this cd, mostly because Sean didn't feel like looking for it when he let me borrow this. You do, however, get one of the disc itself and the band list Sean wrote up years ago, which I'm sure made listening to this much easier.

Have a stellar day.



Tracklist:
1) Reversal Of Man - "These Hills Have Eyes"
2) Tomorrow - "Rightasrain"
3) Assück - "Alabaster"
4) Strikeforce Diablo - "Spirit of '59"
5) Hot Water Music - "Where We Belong"
6) CombatWoundedVeteran - "Put Your Weight On It"
7) Cavity - "The Oblivionist"
8) Omega Man - "Life After Death"
9) Nineteenhundredandtwelve - "Six Feet Deep"
10) Early Grace - "Twothousandandtwenty"
11) Discount - "History Is History"
12) Dragbody - "Inhuman Likeness"
13) Twelve Hour Turn - "Little One"
14) Cease - "Insurmountable"
15) Hankshaw - "Maple"
16) Bird Of Ill Omen - "Sharpshooter"
17) I Hate Myself - "Caught In A Flood With The Captain Of The Cheerleading Squad"
18) Scrotum Grinder - "Hot Air, Not Fire"
19) Jud Jud - "Wah Wah Song"

- right here -

Harriet The Spy - "Anthology Of Selected Recordings" cd

Harriet The Spy played a very interesting and diverse style of moody, somewhat melancholic punk which corresponded to a pretty great combination of melody and dissonance. They were a little bit noisy, a little bit spastic, and had a very windy, angular vibe which might be a tough listen for someone who has never heard them before. But hey, this blog is all about exposing people to shit they may have missed out on the first time around, so don't let the above weirdo description throw you off. 

The band hailed from Kent, Ohio, but an early HTS release gives us a Lyndhurst address for these dudes, which is a Cleveland suburb some 30 miles north of Kent. They were active between the years of 1993 and 1998, the year this disc came out. They began life with a more abrasive sound that what they finished with, and the songs presented here give the listener a first hand account of the progression of the band, including the noted improved musicianship of its members over the course of the band's growth. That sounds like something that I probably don't need to mention as this a compilation that spans the life of the band, but it's something that is a bit more noticeable with Harriet The Spy than with similar types of releases from other bands. They were rather prolific, releasing lots of stuff and appearing on numerous comps, including the Amnesia LP released by Ebullition twenty years ago.

There probably isn't much room here for any middle ground to stand on; although this might be a challenging listen for some people, I can pretty confidently say that those who can dig it will absolutely love it. It is definitely an interesting take on 90's emo hardcore.


















Tracklist:
There are 34 songs on here, equating to over 70 minutes of music.
Sorry, but I don't feel like typing out all of the titles. :(

- i admit i ate the ornamental shrubbery, kiss kiss -