Rejoice, rejoice

which ones do you like the best?

Everyone likes to talk about Saetia, Orchid, Pg.99, and the other screamo bands of the late 90's and turn of the century, but some of the still active ones are left from the equation.

So what are your favorite screamo albums of the last 5 years? (or really just any that came out past the mid-2000s) what are the most important, going forward?

yes I'm talking about that kind of screamo

So recently I've been noticing that just about everything on my ipod is either metal, hardcore, post-rock, ambient, or something related, and now I'm looking for something a little more poppy, though still interesting sounding or with a strong emotional impact. Maybe something along the lines of The Postal Service, but I'd also like a decent variety.

Thanks

right now whenever I namedrop bands, they just look at me like I'm a nerd

with the exception of Genghis Tron, I really haven't seen many bands cohesively meld these styles of music. Yes, there are band like Irepress and Animals as Leaders that have used glitchy beats as accents, and Born of Osiris have as transitions, but I'm looking for bands that use them in a more integral manner.

So what are your favorite bands to fuse these musical styles?

For those of you who do your own recordings:

I know it will vary based on your particular needs at the time, but in general, what is your setup like, in terms of mics, preamps, software, whatever.

Got any helpful tips or secrets you're willing to share?

Now, I grew up thinking that National Public Radio was all about "boring grown-up music" (being my assessment of the jazz and classical that I'd always hear on it at the time), but Now here I am, reaching adulthood myself, only to find that NPR's website is offering the first online stream of Trap Them's new album 'Darker Handcraft' in it's entirety. Now for those of you unfamiliar with them, Trap Them is not a jazz or classical band in the least. They play gritty, grindy, crusty hardcore with a preoccupation with the old Entombed "buzzsaw" guitar tone. I remember the first time I saw them, seeing vocalist Ryan McKenney running around, bleeding from the face, stage diving, and screaming the last refrain of their song "Mission Convincers" from the crowd's shoulders, where I was helping to hold him up. I remembering him telling the audience that he wanted to see as many middle fingers as possible during that song. This is not my parents' NPR.

Now this is not the first time I've seen an underground metal or hardcore album being espoused like this from the station. Underground doom metal band Salome (whose only real claim to "fame" is sharing a vocalist with Agoraphobic Nosebleed), and the esteemed Agalloch both had their latest albums debuted on NPR's website. I'm sure many other great metal and hardcore albums have gone this same route, that I wasn't aware of.

So this begs the question... how long has NPR been badass? Is this awesome exposure to a new audience for these bands, or a gross misappropriation of DIY and underground culture? Any other thoughts you have on this subject?

Here is a track from Trap Them's new album:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPTBhhqgR-w

or you can go check out the full album and NPR's take at their website:

http://www.npr.org/2011/03/07/134088291/first-list...

as far as I can tell, this is a relatively new thing (or rather, it has suddenly become much more popular), where the band tours and plays either their latest, or their "classic" album in it's entirety, sometimes following it up with a more varied set of their other work. I thought this was awesome at first. A chance to see a band play their entire album in order live? that's awesome, right?

but these days, I just let out a soft groan when I see it. Honestly I'd rather just see a varied set with some of the bands classics, and some of their less "classic" songs from throughout their career.

Anyone else have thoughts on this?

is it a new thing for so many bands to do this or was I just out of the loop before?

my vote goes to Sargent House, with a roster including:

Rx Bandits

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXgPVefAbVU

Russian Circles

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1j7JsIsqdzI

Fang Island

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-q263FLjr_A

Native

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqlCr6_dlUc

Tera Melos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wR4JDrftESk

Adebisi Shank

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxJRnegO1cI

Hella

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBCyhV9PkpY

Zach Hill

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sDx0m7fmNo

Red Sparowes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8jq7EBnwX0

This Town Needs Guns

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lS56_MfEnrg

Their website also lists Boris as being on their roster, but I haven't found any information about current or future releases by them through the label.

I find it interesting that a label I didn't know existed only a year ago is now home to an uncanny number of some of the fastest rising and most interesting names in modern rock music.

So, what is your pick for strongest current lineup?

what about all-time lineup?

BQ: thoughts on the bands listed above?

What I have here is a short list of some of my favorite hardcore bands from my home-state of California. This is not meant to be an exhaustive list, nor should it be taken as an accurate depiction of the scene as a whole.

Killing the Dream:

Killing the Dream is a melodic hardcore band from Sacramento who are known for their breed of emotive, intense hardcore music. Sporting album artwork from Converge's Jacob Bannon, and being signed to Bannon's label, Deathwish inc., I think that despite differences in style, there is a lot of crossover appeal between the bands.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBVioijdplU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rymvn8w0bqE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zq8a7KRB2M

Loma Prieta:

Featuring members of Punch, this San Francisco trio continues the tradition of chaotic, scream-laden music, but this time with a more melodic approach, and more mellow instrumental breaks, conjuring Orchid, or the original 90's emo bands.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeRXSkGIQoQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fnMF2KfcZw

Nails

Fast, heavy, intense. A recent arrival on the Southern California scene, Nails are very quickly gathering a very strong following based on their no messing-around, hard hitting sound with a tone that screams "grindcore" and an old-school vibe. A year after the release of their 14-minute debut "full-length" album, 'Unsilent Death', and they are already signed to Southern Lord Records, one of the leading labels for doom and sludge, who have recently expanded more into hardcore "Entombed-alikes" with signings of bands like Black Breath or Trap Them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPnO7K2guqQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXWKh0gnPLw

Touché Amoré

Another newer band on the Socal scene, Touché Amoré have one full-length album, and a handful of 7" releases: splits with Make Do and Mend and La Dispute, a self-titled EP, and a live studio recording that never saw it's intended airplay. Having toured with the likes of Converge and Envy, and recently signing with Deathwish, they are quickly making a name for themselves, and their breed of angsty old-school hardcore with a decidedly modern twist.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lX0rMJC9nIw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJVGAlo9WM8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5keuwHntyY

... Sega Bass Fishing?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTtrgOvthdc

how many of them were released while you were already a fan of the band? Did you think they were that great at the time of release, or did it take a while to set in?

(by "perfect", I mean, as close to perfect as you think an album can come. This isn't about the semantics of the word "perfect". Substitute "5-star", "10/10", "classic" or whatever else if you so please)

basically, any concert that is held inside a person's house: Basement, Garage, Living Room, Bomb shelter?, whatever.

Have you been to any? Have you played any? Who is the biggest band you've seen play a house show? Have you ever put one on yourself? If not, would you? What do you like about them? what do you dislike about them? Any cool stories? Anything else to say on the topic, that I haven't brought up?

Have at it.

I found this CD in the bargain bin at Amoeba about a year ago (Berkeley branch, if any are curious), and I was taken aback by the beauty of the recordings. Now that I am recording my own music, how can I achieve a similar sound?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cP3i-d-xNql

Can I just slam the input gain on my $3 radio shack microphone into the roof, or will I have to record it through my answering machine?

I've asked similar questions before, and tried last.fm "concrete pop" radio, but still haven't found quite what I am looking for.

I guess I'm just looking for something that is somewhat poppy, with heavy influence of found sounds, tape manipulations, and noise/soundscapes. I'm sure there's something like this out here, I just haven't found it yet, so let's see what you've got.

Loma Prieta:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fnMF2KfcZw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6jj5FnbnUc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeRXSkGIQoQ

The Saddest Landscape:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94EBkbt48Uc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bE7yK1-QbW4

which do you prefer, and why?

Both albums are regarded by many as "classics" of the hardcore/screamo (note that this is a very different style from the modern definition of "screamo", so don't expect open chord breakdowns or auto-tuned clean vocals) scene of around the turn of the century, but neither band is one that I see brought up here a whole lot, so I thought I'd do a little comparison of the two. Obviously, each album is more than just the two tracks I linked here, but I hope this gets the feeling of the albums across.

Pg.99 - 'Document #8' (2001):

"In Love with an Apparition":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mahS6DCwy_U

"We Left as Skeletons":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lF9JQNk7k9k

'Chaos is Me' (1999):

"Aesthetic Dialectic":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GHPwnUGj0Q

"Epilogue of a Car Crash":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpS_1Mx78S8

What do you like/dislike? which do you prefer?

So, for the most part, I can be found listening to metal, hardcore, post-rock, or ambient, but lately I've been really addicted to the song "Nantes" by Beirut:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCkT4K-hppE

So, please recommend me some cool stuff that I wouldn't normally listen to. I'm not necessarily looking for something exactly like the song I linked, that was just kind of showing a general direction. Anything that's not what's already in my listening rotation is fine.

The band is Genghis Tron, and I would have expected to hear mention of them a bit more than I do, because they do offer a fairly unique mix of influences in the metal world. Though some would call them "cybergrind", they really do a lot more than just grindcore with electronics. Their latest album has all kinds of softer, more atmospheric material, and even their heavier stuff isn't that "grindy"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zSoyu1FO2Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohdS8yUWIFI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLhQKy5BISA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtTKpRArrS8

So, what do you think of them?

BQ: What non-industrial metal bands make the best use of electronics in their music?

For example, if asked to list some of my favorite bands, I probably wouldn't think to name Arms and Sleepers, but I actually listen to them more than many of the bands that I probably would name as my favorites.

So, are there any bands that you personally underrate in this fashion? what about albums or songs?

BQ: Thoughts on Arms and Sleepers?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWL-teO4WQ8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MClK9sRq3e4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkJj4wIiKg4