Caffeine At Night

Vague

2011-09-23T11:20:00.008+07:00

We're lacking presence on the internet at the moment. This is as existential as we get : Vague's last fm page

The idea of promoting your own band always seem weird to me. Is it? or Is it not? But since no one knows who Vague is, nor do people read this blog, I find it perfectly justifiable to do a little write-up about Vague, the band I'm in.

Vague started sometime in August 2010, when Adit who is also the bass player for Obsesif Kompulsif (and tons of hardcore bands in the past) joined us. Before that, It was just I and Jan, who also sing for the hardcore band Raincoat, jamming around by ourselves and having fun. When Adit joined us, i started to write songs. I only had been playing guitar properly for about 6 months by then, and i had never written a song in my life. I found the process of songwriting to be challenging and somewhat frustrating. It would take me hours to write a simple riff. Don't even get me started on writing lyrics, which i found to be equally hard.

Combination of my inability to write songs quickly, our limited skill at music instrument (none of us are proper musicians, except maybe Adit) and a lot of other things caused the band to go at a really slow pace. We had our first gig in February 2011 when i was organizing Bekasi show for punk outfits Circuits (Melbourne) and Daighila (Kuala Lumpur). The show went well, but our performance was a mess. My guitar was way too quiet, lyrics were forgotten, my left leg was shaking uncontrollably, and i somehow managed to pull out the cord while playing not once, but three times. It was really bad.

Fast forward a few months, Vague has just put out our demo. It's far from perfect, and there are lot of things that i wish i knew back when we were recording, but what done is done. I'm sure the next recording will be a lot better. We've been a band for about a year now, but we've only played three shows. We're definitely lacking in this department and i hope that will change soon.

Vague started because of our mutual love for music, especially for bands within the punk/rock umbrella. We love Revolution Summer bands, 80's hardcore punk, as well as more traditional rock bands such as Dinosaur Jr. Those are our main influences although we never limit ourselves to certain styles.

I'm happy that the feelings i had when I started writing for Vague is still there. And i hope they will stay for a long time.

Vague Demo :
1. 23
2. The Road
3. Endless Summer

Download Here

Holiday

2011-08-20T22:46:00.023+07:00

Ever since i came back from Brisbane to Jakarta in 2009, i had not had a proper vacation. There were times when i would drive with friends to neighbor towns to see bands, but that's about it. I had been working a dead-end accounting job at the same place for about twenty months. Playing music was the only thing that got me through the days. I was dying from the daily routines.

Thankfully, I and a friend managed to score cheap Air Asia tickets back in late 2010 for August 2011 flight to Kuala Lumpur. The plan was to spend time in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore within just 6 days. I had been really excited about the trip and i felt that holiday was exactly something that i need to shake things up a bit.

I won't go into details about all the things that i did, places i went to, and things i bought during the trip because they're all really predictable and not that all interesting. They're all are normal tourist-y stuff. I, however will share my thoughts and feelings regarding the trip now that i've had some time to think about them.

Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur was an interesting one. It was going to be my first time in Malaysia. And as an Indonesian coming to Malaysia, i had had preconceptions of what Malaysia was going to be like. For those of you non South East Asianers out there, Malaysia and Indonesia share a lot of similar qualities. Both countries speak Malay as the main language, albeit with differences in vocabularies and tone. Most of the people look alike, the cultures are similar, etc etc.

However, it needs to be said that there have been quite a few confrontations between Indonesia and Malaysia in the past. There have been territorial issues, immigrant issues, and so on. I think tensions are bound to happen between two neighbor countries, especially ones with such similar social and cultural environment. There has been a resentment towards Malaysia and its people from Indonesians side. To be honest, the lack of neutrality that Indonesia's media has shown in their reports didn't really help either. I think it all just come down to lack of communication between the two countries. And some Indonesians really need to cool it down with their over the top patriotic attitudes.

The first thing that i noticed about Kuala Lumpur was their city infrastructure. It was head and shoulders above Jakarta's infrastructure. The public transportation was actually reliable and it was quite easy to get to places using Light Rail Transit (LRT). There was one instance where i was taking the LRT and i forgot to grab the LRT card back out of the machine and thus leaving me with no choice but to explain my situation to one of the officers at the station. He actually let me go shortly after. I thought "If this was Indonesia, i would've had to bribe the officer for sure".

Aside from spending time in the City, Pasar Seni, China Town and obligatory visit to Rice Cooker and Batu Caves, we mostly spent our time hanging out with the locals. After all, what better way is there to learn about other culture other than to spend some time with people who grew up with it? I also need to point out that we came during the fasting month, which was rather unfortunate because there weren't much anything going on.

I did go to a show there, however. It was at this quite fancy bar in a mall complex. The first band was a bunch of normal-dressed Chinese dudes playing black metal with mandarin lyrics. I shit you not. It was as entertaining as you thought it would. Second band was trying too hard to be Godspeed You Black Emperor. They were okay. The last band of the night went by the name Nao, and it was one of the best live performances i had seen in a while. They were a three-piece playing instrumental music. They were quite technical, and yet never gotten to the point of being too self-indulgent, and they were actually fun!

Singapore
I had been to Singapore before the trip. But it was a family vacation and i was like 17 or something. I didn't remember much really. But i remembered Singapore being really developed and sophisticated and all that. Well, they were still pretty much the same. Singapore is without a doubt the best South East Asian country, objectively speaking.

There was nothing much to be said about Singapore that hasn't been said before really. It's pretty much the perfect country to visit if you're looking for either of these things : food and shopping. I did those alright. Music wise, there wasn't much to report. Apparently things had been pretty slow in Singapore with venues like Black Hole being shut down and bands breaking up.

Upon hanging out with a few local friends, someone mentioned an interesting point on how he thought Singapore was too "safe" compared to less developed countries like Indonesia or Malaysia and how easy it was for things to become too sterile and predictable. It's always good to hear opinions from the other side of the fence. It's funny how the grass is always greener on the other side too.

Overall, it was a good trip. Kuala Lumpur was more exciting, alive, and unpredictable but Singapore gave us a chance to catch our breath and relax a bit.

Kudos to friends in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. Maybe Indonesia will catch up one day.

A little update...

2011-08-12T21:15:00.003+07:00

I'm very well aware that i haven't posted anything in almost three months now. Aside from the usual of me being lazy bum, to tell you the truth i haven't been to many music shows in the past two months or so. I've also found myself listening to less new music, and that I'd rather put something i'm already familiar with. I still play and write music a lot, probably more than i ever have, but i don't find myself getting excited to explore my musical horizon like i used to be. I guess I'm getting old or something (I'm turning 25 at the end of the year)

I feel that changes are needed in order for me to keep being motivated to write. So, I've decided that from now on i will write about anything that i feel is good enough to be written, without limiting it to just music. Don't worry, i won't turn this into a freakin' diary or anything like that. I am just branching out a bit. Until the next post then!

Jirapah

2011-05-24T19:54:00.013+07:00

Jirapah myspace
Jirapah facebook
Jirapah website/blog

Lack of inspiration can be quite a problem for an artist, including musicians. Inspiration often comes in the most subtle way and sometimes they come from the most unexpected places or sources. But most of the times a hint of it is enough to push an artist to craft their art. Good musicians always look for new inspirations and conversely letting themselves to be influenced by people, things and places around them. I believe that musicians (or any artist for that matter) are products of their environments. It's fascinating how sometimes we can have a better understanding of a piece of art by understanding the kind of environment the artist was/is in.

Jirapah (a play on Indonesian word "Jerapah" which translates to giraffe) is a musical project started by Ken Jenie, an Indonesian who grew up and spend most of his life in Brooklyn, New York. Ken started playing guitar in his high school days and he had been in various bands before he started Jirapah. I know nothing of these previous projects except that a few of them were hardcore punk bands.

Jirapah didn't come about until Ken was 27 when he started recording his own songs. Jirapah is essentially a one man band with all songs, instruments and vocals written and performed by Ken himself on records. During live performances, Ken would be accompanied by Mar Galo on bass, drum and occasionally another guitar. There are quite a few videos of Jirapah playing as a three piece in New York on youtube.

Unfortunately, visa problems forced Ken to leave The States and come back to Jakarta, roughly three years after Jirapah started. Things didn't stop there however as Ken would start performing Jirapah songs by himself. Jirapah also continued on putting out digital releases and landed a single on Yogjakarta's excellent and diverse label, Yes No Wave.

I saw Jirapah for the first time at Whiteboard Journal's event, Cliff Notes at Potatohead. It was just Ken, his guitar and a bunch of pedals. It was a rather intimate set (about as intimate as it gets at a place like Potatohead anyway) and it certainly won me over. I've been a fan ever since.

I would describe Jirapah's music in a nutshell as "bedroom ambient pop music". It's obvious that there are a lot of different influences involved in Jirapah's music, although the pop songwriting is always there. Thank You, Max EP has a post-punk vibe to it at times, especially on song like "Telephone" with its moody and darker feel. Jirapah also shows its more adventurous side sonically with "First Wave", a six minute ambient piece. Ken would later incorporate these ambient passages into songs like "27". Jirapah's later releases sees the band moving into a few different directions. "Clouds" is a moody bluesy track, "Foxes" has a very Velvet Underground-esque fuzzy guitar solos and "Saturdays" is about as dream pop as Jirapah ever gotten. The core elements of Jirapah's music are still there, however : the lo-fi minimalist approach, the heavy usage of reverb, and the multi-layered guitars.

So what's news with Jirapah in 2011? I'm guessing more digital releases and shows. Jirapah just recently got picked by Nylon magazine as one of the "top 10 most promising local acts", giving them an opportunity to share a big stage with Hurts, a synth-pop band from the UK. Honestly, i couldn't care less about some lifestyle fashion magazine's opinions on music, but it's nice that Jirapah is getting more recognition and exposure. They've earned it. Expect bigger things from Jirapah.

Here are all Jirapah releases. Click to download. Knock yourself out.

Thank You, Max Ep (December 2009)
Digital 7" Vol.01 (April 2010)
Digital 7" Vol.02 (May 2010)
Single on Tsefula/Tsefuelha Records / Yes No Wave (October 2010)
Digital 7" Vol.03 (February 2011)
Digital 7" Vol.04 (April 2011)

Jimmy Eat World @ Balai Kartini, Jakarta (03/04/2011)

2011-04-20T05:54:00.014+07:00

My first introduction to Jimmy Eat World was that massive top-40 hit, "The Middle" which apparently reached #5 on the Billboard Top 100 at some point. The video of the song was being played at least 5 times a day on MTV when i was 15-16 that it's hard to miss it. It's the one where people having pool party in their underwear, just in case your memory failed you.

Looking back at it, It's funny to think that Jimmy Eat World who wrote countless numbers of singles, have won awards from the music industry and have toured with every single "big" rock act out there (Foo Fighters, Green Day, etc etc, you get the picture) is the same band who put out splits with Christie Front Drive, Jejune and Mineral and probably did countless basement shows back in the day.

Jimmy Eat World started by putting out a slew of demos and EPs dated back to 1993 and 1994. Their sound is still very much straight forward punk-rock at this point, albeit leaning towards more the melodic side of the spectrum. The production is rough and the music isn't anywhere as interesting as their later stuff, but the catchiness and the melodies are there. Soon after, they got picked up by Capitol Records where they put out their first major label offering Static Prevails in 1996.

Static Prevails is considered to be the start of good things for Jimmy Eat World. Along with all advantages that comes with being on major label, the band's songwriting has improved ten folds at this point. The band's style of mid tempo punk-rock with huge anthemic choruses and soft-loud dynamics is starting to take shape here. The album also exposes the band's ability to write softer, poppier songs such as "Claire" and "Caveman" which undoubtfuly influenced by bands like Mineral, Sunny Day Real Estate, etc.

Their follow up album, Clarity is what i would consider to be Jimmy Eat World's magnum opus, the "holy grail" of their discography. The band went for a "cleaner" route on this album, resulting in a more polished alternative-rock sound with hooks bigger than the entire state of Texas. Clarity also marks the start of Jim Adkins as the band's main singer with Tom providing backing vocals instead of the other way around like it had been previous to the album. And to be honest, Jim does have stronger vocals than Tom's. Jim's voice has more range and therefore works better with the direction the band has taken, musically.

Lyrically, Clarity is also worth mentioning. The simplicity and yet brutally-honest look on (presumably) male adolescence problems without being too angsty or whiny is their main recipe, and oh they used it so well. It's hard not to revisit those adolescence struggles and feelings that Clarity manage to evoke intensely every time it's on . It's almost as if every feeling is distorted and being put into words, turning Clarity into an emotional roller coaster ride for those who like to hold on to their youth memories.

Clarity also sees the band usage of various instruments to compliment their song arrangements, such as synths, drum machines, violins, cellos and a few others. The last track on the album "Goodbye Sky Harbor" clocks at 16 minutes and sees them on their more adventurous side. The song twist and turns itself into a repetitive drum machined, guitars and vocals layered passages and it's certainly quite a treat to see them play this song live (see videos below).

Next up, is what i believe their most selling album up-to-date, titled Bleed American in which sees them signed with Dreamworks. The singles from this album such as "The Middle", "A Praise Chorus" and "Sweetness" enjoyed a quite significant amount of airplay on MTV and radio stations. These songs are among fans' favorite due their sing-along-able qualities. Although they are good songs, i feel like the lyrics on Bleed American for the most part aren't up to par with their previous efforts. The album is also somewhat overproduced and the singles were definitely overplayed. It's a step on the wrong direction for me, personally.

Thankfully, Futures released in 2004, revitalized my faith in the band. It's somewhat a combination of Clarity songwriting and Bleed American style of heavier songs and production. The music and lyrics are also more mature and "darker" which i find to be really endearing. As far as their more commercial output goes, Futures is better than Bleed American as an album. It has more variety, it's less cheesy and the lyrics are definitely a huge step up in quality. "Kill" and "23" are some of the best songs they've written.

It pains me to say, however that Futures is actually the last Jimmy Eat World record worth listening to, in my opinion. I gave Chase This Light and Invented a fair chance, but they just didn't do it for me. You can tell it's still the same band, but the songs are just dull and sounds uninspired. At this point, they're just another top 40 pop-rock band to me.

Following up a highly successful sold out Clarity tour, in which the band play Clarity in its entirety, they finally decided to hit up Indonesia as part of their SEA conquest. Well, i went and i can definitely say it was worth spending money just for witnessing "Goodbye Sky Harbour" alone. It was one of the best shows i've been to (and i've been to tons of shows). The performance was flawless, the sound was crystal clear, everything was on point. The only complaint i have would be the number of new songs they played and that there weren't enough Clarity material and not a single song off of Static Prevails. Oh well. They did, however play almost every single of their more popular songs and it was great night overall.

Yup, i took videos.

Iron Lung live @ Rossi Musik, Jakarta, Indonesia (10/03/2011)

2011-04-10T21:06:00.016+07:00

So, last month South East Asia were graced by Iron Lung first-ever tour to this region. Drummer Jensen Ward however, mentioned that apparently it wasn't his first time. He had played Thailand a few years ago with his previous band, Artimus Pyle. Massive props for the guys and girls at 7x0x7 for bringing them over and organizing the tour. South East Asia DIY music scenes are infinitely growing, and having international bands touring definitely help keeping the scenes alive and fresh.

Iron Lung is a two-piece act, hailing from Seattle. They play a unique take on powerviolence/grindcore influenced hardcore punk, with start-stop rhythm and soaring feedback. I don't listen to much of these stuff, but Iron Lung manages to keep things interesting. The songs are short and fast and in your face like most stuff in the genre, but they are somehow able to incorporate memorable riffs or drum fills in almost every song. Having only a drummer and a guitar also gives them the freedom to play with unusual song structures and tempos. Other band who is kinda similar in the approach is Agents Of Abhorrence whom they did split and tour with.

Iron Lung first show in Indonesia was to be held at Rossi Musik, Jakarta. It was an exciting night, with Jakarta pulling all the big guns across the spectrum of hardcore/punk/metal (see flyer above). The biggest surprise for me was Wicked Suffer from Jogjakarta whom i had never seen before. They were good, fast, and most importantly, tight. I have no shame in admitting that they put on the second best performance on Jakarta show after Iron Lung.

It was late at night, and the room was packed. People were trying to get a good spot for Iron Lung. I was on the stage, standing about a feet away behind the drum kit. Let me just say that i wished i had brought my earplugs with me that night. The first snare hit Jensen did during their set-up almost made my ears bleed. It was so so so loud. It was just a taste of whats about to come.

Iron Lung played a relatively short-set. It went for about 15-20 minutes. But goddamn it was intense. During song breaks, Jon would let his guitar squealing feedbacks like crazy. There wasn't any moment to catch a breath. Every song hits harder, and the crowd seemed to enjoy it. There were quite a few moshing and stage-diving actions happening during the set which really says it all.

Pictures were taken by Saiful Haq. All credit goes to him.

Here's Iron Lung full set, divided into 5 parts. I missed the very last song they played, which happened after the crowd practically beg them to play more after they finished their set. I was already chillin' outside the room by then. Oh well, enjoy the videos!

Asobi Seksu live @ Smesco Center, Jakarta (26-11-2010)

2011-01-24T06:19:00.033+07:00

Yes I realise this post is about two months late, making it the worst piece of "journalism" ever. I don't care.

I remember hearing Asobi Seksu for the first time back in 2007 or 2008. I was instantly hooked by their pop sensibilities. I still think of them as a pop band. They have shoegaze/dream pop qualities in their music for sure, but instead of trying to replicate the early 90's British sounds like so many newer shoegaze bands do, they simply put those elements to compliment their music perfectly. It's hard not to be reminded of Kevin Shields' guitar work by songs like Sooner or Pink Cloud Tracing Paper. At the same time, i find it hard to compare their sound as a whole to other band(s). They definitely have their own thing going on.

One of Asobi's unique qualities is the singer Yuki's high-pitched vocals, mixed with tons of reverb to give them that lush effect. Some of their lyrics are written in English and some in Japanese. The English songs are sung with a hint of Japanese accent, giving them a certain charm on its own. Guitarist James Hanna also steps up to vocal duties on a few songs, and he does them fairly well. Ultimately, it's Yuki's vocals that makes Asobi Seksu stand out.

The show was held on Friday night, so i rushed straight from the office after work to the venue in fear of getting caught by the deadly Friday traffic. It turns out i got there way too early, like by a few hours. The door should've been opened by 8 o'clock, but the show didn't start until like 9.30. Bollocks.

The show was held in Smesco Centre, a massive convention hall with an equally massive stage up front. The entire floor was covered in carpet and the ceiling was at least 20-30 feet up high. It's certainly more than an adequate venue for a music show. Unfortunately, this is also why the show "fails" that night. The venue was simply way too big for a middle-sized band like Asobi Seksu. They were less than 300 people in the room. It wasn't even one-quarter filled. If only the promoter would've been more careful in choosing a more proper venue (read : smaller), they they could've cut down the overpriced ticket, which i'm sure would've lead to more people coming out.

Sajama Cut was the only local opening band that night. I used to listen to them a few years ago so i'm somewhat familiar with their music. I think they are better-suited to smaller gigs with more intimate crowd. It seemed that they've re-arranged their old songs to give it a more arena-rock feel in order to make them work in bigger stage. I personally don't think it works, and their performance leaves a lot to be desired. Sajama Cut shouldn't have been the opening band for the show.

After much anticipation, Asobi Seksu finally hit the stage and opened their set with Strawberries. I have to say they sounded way noisier and fuller than they are on records, which is always a good thing. The vocals were on point, and all the instruments cut through the mix quite nicely. They seemed to have done their homework for this tour by filling most of their set with songs off of "Citrus", arguably their best album to date and not coincidentally, fans favorite. They also played a few songs off of their self-titled, their latest offering "Hush" and even two new songs which will be on their new album, out in 2011. Their cover of The Jesus and Mary Chain Never Understand was the final icing on the cake, putting their performance that night as one of my favorites of 2010.

Of course i have videos

The Raveonettes live @ New Majestic, Bandung (12-11-2010)

2010-11-29T19:45:00.015+07:00

Pictures were taken by Michael Killian. All credit goes to him.

The Raveonettes myspace
The Raveonettes website

I'll be totally honest here. I hadn't heard a single Raveonettes song until like two months ago. I had heard their names being thrown around on the internet a couple of times, i just never bothered to check them out. Then i heard they were coming over to Indonesia. The ticket was like 15 AUD which is about as good of a deal as you can get over here. So i headed over to their myspace and listened to a few songs on there. My first impression was "well they sounded like if Jesus and Mary Chain and The Velvets had a baby". Despite liking those bands, i wasn't really impressed at first.

I decided to give them a fair shot and downloaded a few albums. I can tell you that they changed their sound with each album, although you can probably still tell it's the same band. They definitely nail The Jesus And Mary Chain guitar tone down to a T when they wanted to. Check out their first release, Whip It On for example of this (more Psychodandy than Darklands). It's also their most straight forward, noisy, rocking album. The difference between them and JAMC is that if JAMC seem to be leaning toward the simplicity of what would later become post-punk, The Raveonettes seem to be influenced more by 50's/60's garage pop/rock. Strangely enough, they sounded way more modern and "today" compared to JAMC due to their uses of synths.

Their releases post-Whip It On see them improving on songwriting department and putting the "noisy" parts more strategically. The songs are more varied and less one dimensional. They also seemed to be getting poppier and more accessible with each album (not a bad thing in my book). Their last output, In And Out Of Control even sounds like a lost Blondie album at times. One thing that doesn't change within the equation of their music is the juxtaposition of the male/female pop style of harmonized vocals and the "dark" nature of the lyrical content being sung. Much like The Velvet Underground, much of their lyrics seem to revolve around relationships gone sour, lust, rape, violence, and everything in between.

Let's get back to the show review. After driving down for about 2 hours, me and friends got to the venue. We missed one of the opening bands, Denial. I've seem them before and they definitely got the JAMC thing too, making them a definite good pick for the show. I don't know how to describe Cuts, the second opening band of that night. They were simply awful. Two female singers and the rest of the band dressed as if they were going for A Clockwork Orange audition. None of them seemed to be older than twenty. And they play some kind of boring modern rock-dance hybrid or whatever it was.

Finally it was The Raveonettes time to hit the stage. To put it simply, they killed it. The guitar tone was amazing, especially Sune's. The surfy clean tone is to die for. I never wanted a Jazzmaster more than that night. The crowd vibe was really good too. There were plenty of singalong sessions and the band seemed to really enjoy themselves that night. I think they were a bit overwhelmed by crowd reaction given it was their first time in Indonesia.

The Raveonettes also mix it up a bit on stage that night. A few songs started with Sune and Sharin and their guitars with the rest of the band joining in. Sharin and the drummer also swap duties on second guitar and drums for a bit. Their setlist was pretty good that night, it was a good mix of old and newer songs. It was one of the funnest shows i've been too this year and i definitely like them more after that night.

Here's a couple of videos i took off of their set that night. Enjoy!

Quiet Steps - Think Aloud

2010-10-28T06:04:00.014+07:00

Quiet Steps myspace
Quiet Steps facebook

During my 3 years and a half stay in Brisbane, I have managed to witness Quiet Steps live performances at least 15-20 times. I’ve seen them played a house show, a warehouse, a “proper” music venue, you name it. I’ve seen them at their good and bad days. I guess I would like to say that I have gotten quite attached to their music and their live shows, but I’ll try not to be too biased here.

Quiet Steps released their first ep in 2007. It was fairly well-received, I think. I do not know how many copies they sold, but their shows around 2007-2008 always had at least quite a few people showing interest towards the band. I recall their set at No Culture Festival II and La Quiete show as being quite memorable. The way things were might have had something to do with similar style bands like James Dean and Drowned Out being around at the time.

Fast forward a few years, Quiet Steps finally released their first ever full length, entitled Think Aloud. Some of the songs on this album have been in their setlist for quite sometime now. Songs like “Assimilate” and “One Breath” were introduced as early as 2007/2008. They had a handful of songs ready by early 2009. I even remember paying a visit on one of their mixing sessions.

You’re probably wondering what took them so long to release the album. Well, I don’t know all the details behind the delay. I do know that they were trying to figure out how to release the album, if any label who would be interested to put it out, looking at their options, etc etc, that sort of thing. Maybe it had taken them longer that it should, then again maybe not. It’s their decision after all.

On to the good stuff now, Quiet Steps decided to go the DIY route and self-released their new full-length. They also urge people to download the album on the internet for free, which have been put up by the band. I believe the band is running a limited batch of hand-made packaged CD-R of Think Aloud, so get in touch with the band quickly if you’re keen for a copy!

How is Think Aloud compared to their debut EP? You can tell it’s still the same band. However, it’s easy to tell that the band has progressed a lot from their debut. The songwriting is still as good as ever while new ideas are being introduced. Clean vocals are present in the middle part of “Measure Reaction” (one of the very highlights of the album for me); “Exclusion” has an amazing danceable instrumental bit at the end, and “Surrounded” is a fast punk number running at 24 seconds. I also feel obliged to tell you that there is a lot of killer riffs on this album. The bass in particular stands out with its jazzy and yet aggressive style of playing.

I don’t know much about production, but it’s noticeably better than their ep. It’s not as clean and produced. It sounds fuller and denser. The vocals sounded as if the mic was put on one side of the room and the band at the other.

Think Aloud is an excellent first full-length by Quiet Steps. I like the direction they took with the album and the amount of creativity they put into it. At this point, they don’t really sound like anyone. I feel like comparison to Sinaloa isn’t doing them justice anymore. Let’s just hope we don’t have to wait another three years for another album.

Quiet Steps - Think Aloud

Ghaust

2010-10-13T20:35:00.012+07:00

Ghaust myspace
Ghaust facebook
Ghaust blogspot

Starting out as a hardcore punk band with metallic influences or as some people like to call “crossover”, Neurosis slowly but surely ditched their initial style for a more experiment sound. Taking cues from bands that doesn’t fit into the standard of “metal” such as Godflesh and Swans, their later sound is heavy, repetitive and yet sparse. There is more focus on the atmosphere being created. Synths, tribal drumming, chants, acoustic guitar passages were all being utilized to achieve a big, thunderous, epic sonic assault.

A band called Isis similarly followed their steps a few years later. Guitarist/songwriter Aaron Turner is also the founder of Hydra Head Records which has produced countless of new generation of bands playing their own twists of extreme music rooted in hardcore punk and metal.

It was only a matter of time before the world took notice. Thanks to the presence of the internet, bands started popping out from different parts of the world. The term “post-metal” and “post-rock” was on people’s lips on internet messageboards and music forums. And before you know it, bands like Russian Circles, Mogwai and Explosions In The Sky got invited to play music festivals all around the world.

I saw Ghaust for the first time in December 2008 and to be honest, it didn’t make much of an impression on me (the fact that their songs are longer than 5 minutes didn’t really help, I have an attention span of a 10-year old). However, with subsequent listens I became more and more absorbed by the music. One day it just clicked with me and I said to myself “this is good!”.

It would be easy to dismiss Ghaust as simply trying to ride the “post-metal” wave since there are only a very few bands playing this sort of music in Indonesia. But if you listen to their music closely, then you’d find that they actually put their own spin and ideas and it’s actually pretty damn excellent.

Consisted of only a guitar and a drum, Ghaust choose to keep things straight-forward, riffs to riffs, one section to another. They don’t rely on huge built-up, subtle chord progressions like Isis did. What makes their music interesting is the fact that they can go from a melodic mid-tempo section, to a fast hardcore-punk inspired bit, to a quiet ambient/post-rock passage in a blink of an eye. The closest I can compare them to would probably be Pelican's early stuff. They share similar guitar tone, although Pelican's is more bass-y and Ghaust’s has more clarity and crisp. They both have that doom but melodic riffs thing going for them. Neither of them have vocals, either.

For a relatively new band (starting in mid 2005, I believe), Ghaust have made a name for themselves. They’ve released a self-titled cd and few splits with Pazahora from Singapore and Aseethe from USA, and Black Waves from Germany. They’ve also just returned from what I heard, a relatively successful Malaysian and Singapore tour along with another local, Kelelawar Malam.

I believe that Ghaust has a potential to improve themselves with each release. Looking at their level of productivity and ambition, a tour to a western country doesn’t seem that far out of reach if they can manage not to break up too soon.

Here are a couple videos from their set at Tribute to Joneh show at Rossi a few weeks ago. It’s a shame that their set was so short. I will say that it’s not the best Ghaust performance I’ve seen. The drummer looks a bit tired and unenthusiastic although the latter is probably just how he looks :D

Enjoy the videos, fellas.

Ghaust - Return Fire

Ghaust - Sleep And Release

Venue/Gig Review : FX Music

2010-09-23T08:39:00.009+07:00

One of the biggest problems with independent music scene in Jakarta is the lack of venues. It’s even more problematic for hardcore/punk scene who doesn’t attract as many show-goers as say, the metal scene due its low-profile, DIY nature. Delight in Kemang was one of very few venues where hardcore shows consistently being held on. I personally think it was just an alright venue, but it’s better than having no shows at all. Unfortunately the owner decided not to extend their contract and thus, since mid-year of 2010 Delight is gone.

The last few punk/hardcore shows I’ve been to had been held at FX Music studio. FX Music is a hip music store who sells music instruments, band merch, as well as providing studios for practice or recording purposes. They also have a bar with a small stage directly across from it for bands to play. It gives them a really café-esque vibe. To make it even more bizarre, FX Music is located in FX Senayan, a mall in one of Jakarta’s busiest central-business-district area.

Despite all the unpunk qualities FX Music possess (hahaha), the reality is that they provide a really nice, well-equipped studio that’s big enough for a hardcore/punk show at a very reasonable rate. I too, would rather go to a warehouse show that smells like piss and beer with no lights on, but hey, at this point we’ll take what we can get! Plus, the venue is very accessible from every part of Jakarta (easy public transportation access, etc) which is a huge plus.

I went to the show with the intention of capturing live action of the bands, one song per band. However, I did miss Sense Of Pride set due to hanging outside the studio for a bit. I also didn’t get any recording of Moz Is The Reason, Degenerate and Hellowar despite staying throughout their sets. I was keen on getting some Hellowar footage, but they decided to play in the dark instead. No bueno.

I’m not doing a review of band-to-band performance. I’ll let the videos speak for themselves. I've also put myspace links for every band on the bill just in case you’re interested enough to check them out. I will mention that most of the bands playing are in the hardcore variety with the exception of Grave Dancers (thrash/crossover), Hellowar (metal/crust), Ninja Hattori (power violence/fast shit) and Moz Is The Reason (guess what they play :p). Grave Dancers got the best reception that night, and their set was the most fun.

Overall, the show went really well!

Clicky :

Final Attack myspace
Braveheart myspace
Grave Dancers myspace
Hellowar myspace
Raincoat myspace
Still Resist myspace
Sense Of Pride myspace
Moz Is The Reason myspace

I couldn't find myspace for Degenerate and Ninja Hatori. Maybe they don't have one?

On to the videos :

Final Attack

Grave Dancers

Ninja Hatori

Still Resist

Raincoat

Braveheart

Enjoy!

Don't You Know, That We Love Reunion Shows?

2010-04-26T21:21:00.032+07:00

or do we? Reunion shows are definitely a hit or miss for me. It doesn't matter whether it's an artist/band decided to play only a few shows, do a few tours here and there, or even permanently get back together and write new music. The phenomenon of reunion shows is definitely an interesting one. Most bands that have done reunions in the past attracted bigger size of crowd compared to when they were still around.

There are so many great bands that have done reunion shows in the past few years alone. Bands that I didn’t think I’d get a chance to see. I’ll be the first to admit that a little part of me died every time I heard some bands I like doing reunion shows. Why? two reasons. First, because unfortunately as a south east asianer I will just have to settle for youtube videos instead of experiencing the real thing.

The second reason is that in my opinion most reunions suck. Sure, there are always exceptions. But most of the time it’s just a bunch of old dudes and gals trying to relive their “glory days” or make a quick bucks. I believe that most good bands (yes I realize how subjective this is) that have come out in the past were products of their environment. Their music, their messages, and their attitudes are reaction to what was happening at the time and therefore making them most relevant to those time periods. I mean, didn’t you feel awkward for the Sex Pistols when they decided to show up on tv in 2008? or when a straight edge band sing about things they don't mean anymore? Come the fuck on.

Let’s get to the very few cases where I think reunions are justifiable. On top off my head , the showcase of Burning Fight, a book dedicated to 90’s hardcore scene is one of them. It’s only fitting that bands who were involved in the 90's scene such as Unbroken, Undertow, Swing Kids, and many more made appearances at those shows. Those shows were a huge success from what i've heard.

Now, i've been to a few reunion shows myself. so i'm not just talking out of my ass. The problem i have with those shows is that they didn’t really leave an impression on me. I went to those shows expecting to see something great, but I really didn’t get anything out of them (The Saints, Jesus and The Mary Chain, don’t even get me started on Flipper). However, i feel the need to exclude Dinosaur Jr from this category. Dinosaur Jr kicked so much ass when I saw them. It was one of the loudest shows I’ve ever been to. It's almost as if they never broke up in the first place

All jealousy and suspicions aside, there are a few reunion shows from the last few years that I wouldn’t mind seeing. Rorschach, From Ashes Rise, Sunny Day Real Estate, Amebix, The Get Up Kids, etc etc. Did you hear about those Cap’n’Jazz shows? Insanity!!!

Youth Korps

2010-04-15T06:49:00.008+07:00

Youth Korps were a blazingly fast 80’s hardcore punk outfit from Conneticut. This ep was recorded in 1982 but wasn't officially released on vinyl until 1991.

Their delivery is pretty monotone and straight forward, much in the veins of S.O.A. They also do the start-stop start-stop riffing thing (this was before Siege did it!) that later would be used by a lot of power violence bands. Most of their songs clock under a minute, except for last song, a four minute track that eerily sounds like it was taken straight from Black Flag’s ‘Damaged’.

This ep is fantastic, and definitely one of many many hidden gems that the 80's has produced. Fans of Koro,S.O.A, Negative Approach and Deep Wound should be into this.

Enjoy!

Youth Korps - '82 7" EP

Descendents - All (1987)

2010-04-12T23:17:00.014+07:00

Descendents official site

Descendents myspace

I managed to get a copy of I Don’t Want To Gwo Up a few years ago. After a few listens, I was disappointed. I thought it didn’t have the pop brilliance that Milo Goes To College does. NeedIess to say, I refused to listen to Descendents post-Milo Goes To College material thinking they would suck.

Right before I left Australia for good, my buddy Rob gave me a copy of Descendents All which I didn’t listen to until about 2 weeks ago. And let’s just say I will be the first one to admit that Descendents made at least two good albums in the 80’s, All being one of them.

The first noticeable difference between All and their previous releases is the obvious hard rock/early metal influence. Songs like “Schizophrenia” and “Uranus” even shows a leaning towards prog-rock with its atypical song structure, tricky rhythms, and impressive musical chops. Fear not, elements of good ol’ Descendents still present on this album. With songs like “Clean Sheets” and “ALL-o-gistics”, you know these guys haven’t lost their sense of humor. “Coolidge” and “Pep Talk” in my opinion ranks up there among their best and is about as catchy as any songs off Milo Goes To College.

All shows a musical adventure of the band and experimentation to some degree. Some would even say it was a rather natural progression of the band, having a new guitarist and bassist on the board. Well whatever it was, I personally think it was a successful one. If you thought that pop-punk and hard rock/metal don’t mix, listen to this.

Fun fact : this was Descendents last album with Milo before he left to study biochemistry.

Botch

2010-03-21T12:37:00.025+07:00

Botch myspace

Hardcore got really weird in the 90’s. A lot of bands shamelessly incorporate more and more metal sound in their music. I’m not talking about thrash/crossover bands like DRI or Corrosion Of Conformity, but bands that do the whole drop-tuned chugging riffs thing. A few bands definitely pulled off this style well and even managed to make interesting music, but for the most part I think this style was played out and boring. Looking back at it, so many bands sounded like a nu-metal band.

Botch was part of the 90’s scene, for the most part. They spent their lifespan as a band mostly during the 90’s before calling it quits in 2002. We Are The Romans was the band last full-length and probably their most accomplished work (although I love Anthology of Dead End Ep as well).

Botch plays a unique brand of metallic hardcore, focusing a lot on rhythms and dynamics. Although every single member of the band was definitely talented, it’d be hard not to notice guitarist Dave Knudson and his riffs first. Dave plays a lot of off-kilter pull-off hammer-on start-stop riffs with unusual time signature not unlike their contemporary, The Dillinger Escape Plan. If DEP’s riffs are brutal and chaotic, then Botch’s are groovy and tasteful. Botch sound was relatively new at the time. They’re not afraid to mix up their song structures or to write an 8+ minutes song. To me, they bridged the 90’s hardcore sound and the early 00’s era when metallic hardcore blew up.

Obviously this band is not for everyone. Some people might find that Botch music strays away too much from what hardcore usually perceived as. But then again, by this notion about 70% of the 90’s bands did too.

Slug Guts – Down On The Meat LP

2010-02-08T16:08:00.015+07:00

Slug Guts myspace

Hailing from Brisbane, Slug Guts have managed to achieve a relatively considerable success considering the time they’ve been around as a band. In just less than a year, they have managed to play with Flipper, Grey Daturas, Lightning Bolt and got onto the Flip Out festival in Sydney and Melbourne, playing alongside bands like Deaf Wish, Eddy Current Supression Ring, etc. They also joined Melbourne-based label Stained Circles whom they released this LP on.

Before I get to their music, I just want to touch on a few other things. People who have seen/know Slug Guts are probably aware that they have a “look”. Now, I don’t know why they dress like that. Maybe they’re trying to create an image of some sort. Or maybe they just like dressing like that. Who cares, really? If their music doesn’t suck then that’s all that matters (it doesn’t).

Slug Guts play swampy, clunky Australian post-punk with bluesy guitar lines. The drum and the bass are the main drive of the rhythm section with the two guitars swirling around, turning and twisting the songs in and out. Singer James sounds like a toad being choked to death while forced to sing. The vocals are definitely an acquired taste. It’s somewhat a similar delivery to another australian band, Bird Blobs.

The production of the record is clear enough, although it’s a bit thin and emtpy. It lacks the punch and power that usually comes through their live performance. Or maybe it’s intended to sound that way. I don’t know. Apparently the recording was done in 8 hours or something like that.

Slug Guts live @ Flip Out Festival, The Corner Hotel (2009-09-05) (credit goes to Fan Made Recordings)

Who is To Blame?

2010-01-05T18:41:00.018+07:00

Pisschrist myspace

This entry was inspired by Pisschrist show in Jakarta on the 3rd. It's technically not in Jakarta, since myself and a bunch of friends end up driving for about an hour away from the city to the venue. The venue itself was a huge open grass field with a stage setup in the middle. It looks like something you'd see in a music festival like big day out or something, only shittier (it's a punk show after all!). And instead of being surrounded by underage chicks, it was a sea of crusties and punks in black shirts, tight pants and mohawks.

There were about 15 bands on the bill, including Pisschrist and a power-pop/indie band from German called Blockshot who couldn't be more out of place that night. I'll get to that later. By the time we got there, we had already missed the first 5 bands or so. But we stayed through the rest of the bands. I'm not knocking on the local scene or anything, but about almost every single local band that night played some sort of variation of d-beat or crust. A little diversity would've been good. Anyway, Pisschrist took the stage and absolutely killed it that night. Yeap, the singer was running around the stage and jumping like a maniac. The intensity was never lost. It was a great performance. For those who aren't familiar, Pisschrist is a punk/hardcore band from Melbourne, Australia who play d-beat. Think of Discharge meets Totalitar or something.

Now, onto the main point of this entry. This is nothing but a mere observation of mine and not intended to be interpreted as something else. There were hundreds of punks at the Pisschrist show, and a lot of them were kids. I'm talking about 15-16 year old kids sporting mohawks in exploited shirts with tattoos and piercings. They looked about the same as any punks you'd see in other parts of the world. Now, i used to go to quite a few punk shows when i was living in Brisbane, and most of the people that i met in the scene were some of the nicest, most open-minded people i know. I also have met a few like-minded people here in Jakarta and that is one of the reasons why i came to love punk music. I like Discharge. I like Fugazi.

Blockshot was the last band to take the stage, and unfortunately didn't get even half the reaction that Pisschrist had gotten. They are a power-pop/indie band sort of like Sleater Kinney with a bit of synth-pop goin on . And obviously they weren't 'punk' enough for the crowd. They were constantly being made fun of ever since they stepped their feet on the stage and people were being really disrespectful. I was really upset over this, and it kinda ruined the night for me. But i wasn't in a position where i could do anything about it, hence why this blog was created. Why were people being disrespectful? i have no idea and i don't feel like analyzing it. Obviously, people are different. Maybe different cultures, social and economic situations, and gazillion other factors comes into play here. Who knows. All i know is i hate closed-minded fucks, regardless of their races or nationalities. I don't discriminate.

All in all, it was quite an experience. Massive thanks to Jan for letting us riding his car and Ipul for the amazing picture above. Last but not least, Bagoes and Al for the company.

Here's some goodies :

Pisschrist - Distort Melbourne Demo (2004)

Happy new year everyone!

2010-01-02T07:59:00.003+07:00

I'm still alive. I just have been tasting the life of a man working a full-time office job. I will be posting more often from now, hopefully at least once a week. It'll be mostly just album reviews, since i don't feel strong enough connection with the local scene just yet to write about bands or shows. I don't know why i made this post, no one reads the blog anyway. Good day.

ps. Full Metal Alchemist rules, fuck you.

Why Brisbane Rules : To The North & Quiet Steps

2009-10-08T13:44:00.014+07:00

To The North myspace

Quiet Steps myspace

To The North and Quiet Steps are independent bands from Brisbane, Australia. Why 2 bands on one post? Well, they share a lot in common, hell they even share a bassist. They've been around since 2006(?) or maybe even earlier, don't quote me on this. During my stay in Brisbane for roughly about 3.5 years, To The North and Quiet Steps were the bands i get to see the most. They played shows pretty frequently and have played with probably almost every single other Brisbane bands as well as other national and international acts. I've seen them play with punk bands, hardcore bands, metal bands, indie bands, singer-songwriter, solo artists and anything in between as well as playing at different venues, clubs, houses and studios.

To The North plays jazzy-indie music (terrible description, but i've got nothing better) with a lot of tempo changes, clean and yet complicated guitar lines and semi-shouted vocals. If you're a fan of any Kinsella's bands, Hot Cross, Minus The Bear, This Town Need Guns or anything along those lines then you will probably enjoy them.

Quiet Steps plays a dynamic, at times sparse mid-tempo indie-punk (i know, i know) with screamed vocals. Their early stuff is more stripped down and focused while the newer songs that they've been playing seem to show more "progressive" ideas and directions. If you like Sinaloa, Suis La Lune, Tiny Hawks then this band is for you.

I won't say much more about their music because it won't do them any justice. One thing that equally as important as their music, in my opinion is their attitudes towards their music, arts, listeners, venues and the community. These things matter. These are the reasons why independent music is wonderful and for some people, more than just music. I learned about these things from Brisbane music scene, and mostly these two bands. To me they are not just friends, but also a source of inspirations.

Quiet Steps ep are still in print, so i won't post them. If you would like a copy, go contact the band on myspace since the Yellow Ghost online store page is all fucked up. Their new LP should be out really soon.

Here are some To The North goodies :

Landscapes EP
"Harms Way" (their side of split with Ohana)
Live Audio Set @ DIY Fest Ahimsa Hall (1-2-2008)
House Show video

Their new LP ...to Work and Not Feed is already out, fresh from the oven. If you like what you hear, please buy it.

Texas is The Reason/The Promise Ring split

2009-09-25T16:29:00.011+07:00

Texas is The Reason myspace
Texas is The Reason website

The Promise Ring page on Jade Tree

Texas is The Reason (taken from a line of the Misfits song "Bullet") and The Promise Ring, both hailing from the states did a split in 1996, with each band supplying one song. The split, in my opinion contains some of the best materials both bands have written. When I first listened to the record, i noticed that TITR and The Promise Ring songs shared a lot similar qualities, sonically and musically which is funny since if it wasn't for the split i wouldn't have made any sort of connection between them.

Texas is The Reason were founded by the guitarist of a hardcore band, Shelter and drummer of another hardcore band from the mid 90's, 108. They existed from 1994 to 1997. The Promise Ring started off as a side project of guitarist/vocalist of Cap'n'Jazz in 1995 before turning into a serious band. They ended the band in 2002. Both bands did a few reunion shows in 00's ever since without any intention of reforming.

Texas is The Reason plays a brand of really catchy, personal mid-tempo punk rock and at the time it was fairly something new and fresh especially coming from a band on a hardcore label, Revelation. They got slapped with the tag "emo" and "post-hardcore" a lot (also goes for The Promise Ring and most of indie bands from the mid-west at the time) which i find to be about as useful and informative as twitter. I don't consider those mid-west bands as "emo" anyway. When i think of emo in the 90's, i think of Ebullition, Gravity and later, Level-Plane. It just makes more sense since emo is essentially hardcore punk and a lot of midwest bands seemed to embrace a more poppier, radio-friendly side of punk (this is not a bad thing, i assure you).

I personally find all Texas is The Reason materials to be gold, not that they have a huge discography to go through or anything. They released a 7" ep, a full-length and a few splits. As for The Promise Ring, well i haven't listened to them as much but from what i've heard it's okay. They're just a bit too poppy/upbeat for my taste and the vocals get a bit too much for me (same problem i have with Mineral). Their song on the split with Texas is The Reason "E. Texas Avenue" is a bit different than most of their stuff. It's hard-hitting and not as poppy which i like.

Texas is The Reason/The Promise Ring split

Here's another treat :

Texas is The Reason live at Coney Island High (NYC) - 03/24/96

Converge post #2

2009-09-24T23:02:00.008+07:00

Converge myspace

Okay, so it's obvious that i'm rather fond of this band. I always think of Converge as one of the more relevant hardcore bands out there. I mean there are a lot of other hardcore acts out there, but how many would you say have their own sound? How many of them can make you go "hmmm what bands could i compare them to? i'm not sure". Don't get me wrong, i'm all for bands paying tribute to old bands that have paved the way, but wouldn't you rather have a band that took influences from those bands to create something new, something original, exciting, unpredictable and relevant? Hell, most bands who cited Black Flag or Bad Brains as their influence don't sound remotely like them anyway.

Converge has been actively involved with the scene from the early 90's and hasn't slowed down since. Chucking out a handful of full-lengths and splits, they continued to reinvent themselves in terms of musical direction while still having a recognizable, distinctive sound. Their early albums such as Petitioning... and When Forever...display a lot of thrashy, chungky riffs while Jane Doe and You Fail Me has more of a "mathy", chaotic sound and atmospheric production, thanks to Kurt Ballou's Godcity Studio.

Axe To Fall, their new album is due to drop on October 20, 2009. So far, 2 new songs has been released. The first song is called "Dark Horse" and it honestly has left me feeling indifferent. The main riffs sounded like something Mastodon would've written and that to me, is not a good thing. Obviously its just one song and the rest of the album might not sound like that. Converge are currently touring across the states with Mastodon and Dethklok and i'm not sure what to make of it. I'm just not a big fan of those bands i suppose.

The second song, "Axe To Fall" however kicks so much ass that i felt like someone just ripped my soul out upon first time listening to it. The drumming is the highlight with it's d-beat influence driving the song at breakneck speed. Ballou's twiddly hammered-on riffs also really makes up the song, giving it a really chaotic crazy foot-stomping feel. So far, one good song and one okay song. I can't wait to hear the rest of the album.

You can listen to "Dark Horse" on their myspace. You can download the track "Axe To Fall" HERE.

Black Flag

2009-09-10T13:16:00.012+07:00

I'm sure most of you know who Black Flag is. But for the purpose of being informative, here's a little background of the band. Black Flag was formed in 1976 in California. They were considered to be one of the first hardcore punk bands ever (yeah yeah The Middle Class was formed in 1976 as well, save the argument for next time). Greg Ginn, the founder, main song-writer and the guitarist of Black Flag set up his own independent label, SST Records in 1978 in purpose of releasing Black Flag's material. Since then SST has also released albums by other bands such as Husker Du, Minutemen, Meat Puppets, etc. Black Flag was one of the first punk bands who tour throughout the states and basically play anywhere they can. A lot of other bands later follow their path and play places that Black Flag had been to.

Black Flag to me, until this day remains as one of the best punk/hardcore bands ever. I've discovered a lot of great bands in recent years (Die Kreuzen, Articles Of Faith, Siege, Zero Boys, Rorschach are among my favorites).But the fact is Black Flag did it first and better. The thing that boggles my mind is how the band went through so many member changes and yet kept producing quality materials. I can safely say that i actually enjoy all Black Flag releases (yes, even Family Man, Loose nut and The Process of Weeding Out).

This post is about Black Flag bootlegged LP 1982 demos and more. This demo features a short-lived lineup of Rollins, Ginn, Dukowski, Dez Cadena on second guitar and Chuck Biscuits of D.O.A fame. It was recorded secretly back when Black Flag was having a legal dispute with MCA /Unicorn and wasn't allowed to release any record with their name on it. The band released a compilation record Everything Went Black shortly after, crediting the individual musicians and thus not having the words Black Flag anywhere on it. Unicorn found out and take Black Flag to the court resulting in Ginn and Dukowski as co-owners of SST spending five days in jail.

The first 10 tracks are songs that would end up on My War, Slip It In and Loose Nut except for "What Can You Believe" and "Yes, I Know" which did not appear in any official Black Flag releases until this day. The last 4 tracks are live songs taped at Radio Tokyo studio in Los Angeles. One of the tracks is a 8-minutes interview from the same session with the band whom at the time were Ginn, Rollins, Kira and Bill. Let me just say that regardless whether you're a fan of the band or not, this is the best Black Flag recording out there. The band is at it's prime here with Rollins really intense vocals performance and Ginn riffs destroying everything sonically (listen to the intro to "My War" on this, crazy shit).

Ps. Kira was/is gorgeous.

Black Flag 1982 Demos and more

Caitlyn Bailey

2009-08-28T22:16:00.020+07:00

Caitlyn Bailey myspace

It's interesting to see what the internet has done to independent music all over the world. The internet has made everything easier (networking, promoting, acquiring music,etc) and perhaps even too easy as some people like to put it. And although i somewhat agree with the sentiment, to a certain degree, the fact is i was and am part of the internet generation. Without the internet, there's no way that a 17-year old Indonesian boy who didn't have a cool older brother who listen to The Misfits would have gone to the local record store and buy London Calling cd or found out who Converge was.

The internet has made the world smaller. Anyone can listen to music coming out from every corner of the world as they please . Over the years, i have found myself exposed to heaps and heaps of great bands from different parts of the world. It thrills me that South East Asian countries such as Malaysia , Singapore and Philippines all have a thriving regional DIY scene and actually produce interesting music. I met Francis (singer of Caitlyn Bailey) on some music forum/messageboard years ago. And funnily enough, i came across Caitlyn Bailey's myspace one day and recognized him.

Caitlyn Bailey is a 5-piece from Davao City, Philippines. Without any intention of restricting what sound the band is trying to achieve, it would be fair to say that they fall under hardcore music umbrella. Although not entirely original, Caitlyn Bailey took parts of different sub-genres of punk/hardcore and even metal to create something of their own. The music is akin to late-90's fast heavy screamo such as Neil Perry, Orchid, Pg 99 and even Union of Uranus or Shikari with heavy dose of driving riffs of late 90's/early 00's metalcore act such as Every Time I Die. The vocals are pretty similar to Pg 99 and maybe Converge. What sets them apart is their approach on the whole thing. No riffs are too metal, no breakdowns are too predictable or solos are too wanky for them. And this allows them to experiment with their sound and creates a lot of memorable moments on their ep, Fuego! (means Fire in Spanish). The song-writing is strong and all the songs flow quite well. Some of the lyrics are poetic and the others are more straight forward but they are pretty introspective in nature. It also needs to be mentioned that the recording for the ep is really good. Everything is crystal clear without being overproduced.

Enjoy

Fuego! (2008)

No one cares but.....

2009-08-28T19:25:00.007+07:00

Sorry for the lack of updates. I've been occupied with moving and stuff. I'm just a slack really. I left Brisbane and its wonderful music scenes =( a few days ago and came back home. I will start posting more entries soon and probably do few posts on australian bands and why they rule.

G'day

Show Review : Daniel Striped Tiger, Circuits, To The North, No Anchor (The Step Inn 7/5/2009)

2009-05-18T16:23:00.019+07:00

Nothing gets me excited more than a show with a good line-up. Daniel Striped Tiger were playing 2 shows in Brisbane and i couldn't be more happier with the supporting bands since i considered them to be some of the best bands Brisbane has to offer at the moment (No Anchor and To The North on the 8th of May and Tear Gas and Quiet Steps on the 9th) . I got to the venue at about 9 o'clock, and to my surprise (and relief since the fliers says the door opens at 8) there were only a few people in there and no band has played yet.

Fifteen minutes after stepping my foot into the Step Inn, No Anchor was set to open the show. No Anchor is a 2 piece band - drums and bass/occasional shouts/vocals. I believe the drummer used to play in Look!Pond, another awesome band. To describe No Anchor sound would be quite a task. Just imagine a fuzzed out rock with Sabbath/Melvins riffs meets Boris stretched out into an affair of droning mess. Their set that night consisted of all songs from their new album Steam if I'm not mistaken, my memory is a bit fuzzy (pun intended). I managed to get my hand on a copy that night. The packaging is quite unique and cool, just like they did with their debut Fire Flood And Acid Mud. A lot of thoughts seemed to be put into the artwork to reflect the band's aesthetic and sound which is something i really admire.

No Anchor website
No Anchor myspace

To The North were up next. The venue was a bit more filled by the time they're about to play. For those who aren't familiar with the band, think of Kinsella's bands (especially Owls and Ghosts and Vodka) meets Hot Cross with some jazz tendencies and you're somewhat close. In my opinion, these guys mashed their influences pretty well and turned it into something refreshing and relatively new. With only an EP and a 7" split with Ohana in their back catalog under the span of 3 years, they have managed to sustained a small group but loyal following. Their set consisted of mostly new songs that they have been playing for a while now except for "We Are Not Ashamed "which can be found on Face First Compilation (www.myspace.com/facefirstcomps). Their new LP should be out in a few months.

To The North myspace
To The North blog

Up next is Circuits, from Melbourne who happened to be Daniel Striped Tiger national support for this tour. I had heard a few tracks on their myspace prior to the show and they didn't sound too bad. It turned out 3/4 of the band are also in Majorca with the chick who runs Yellow Ghost Records on vocals and ex-bassist of Quebec. Straight off the bat, they launched into song after song with very manic and enjoyable performance. The music itself has that thrashy screamo vibe to it with a lot of melodies and octaves. I could definitely hear parts that reminds me of His Hero Is Gone and more current bands like Ampere. Some parts are really cool, and some are just downright sloppy. It'd be interesting to see where they would go from here, after all they're still a young band.

Circuits myspace

Daniel Striped Tiger were the last band to play and it's no secret that i like their music a lot (see a few post below). They launched into their set with "Dawn Flared Into" off the Desert Bird EP and their set that night pretty much consisted of a few songs from each releases plus a new track, Was It? which will be on their upcoming split with Teenage Cool Kids from Texas. Singing along to "Untying Knot" is still the highlight of the night for me as it's probably my favorite Daniel Striped Tiger song. At the end of their set, the crowd asked them to play more songs. And they did!

Overall, it was a really good show although the turnout is somewhat disappointing. There were maybe about 40-50 people tops. It might have been because the show was on Thursday night. Whatever. They've missed out on a great show!

Daniel Striped Tiger myspace

Tear Gas

2009-05-13T15:31:00.012+07:00

I've been listening to a lot of Japanese hardcore lately. And i gotta say, as a fellow Asian i have to give them massive props for making such ferocious music...................and Godzillas. One can't help but notice that Japanese hardcore has a fairly distinctive sound. It's usually fast, raw, thrashy and features (if any) guitar leads/solos not unlike a lot of 70's/80's rock/metal bands. They seemed to take a lot of influences from heavy/thrash metal, UK d-beat and glam/death rock (G.I.S.M?). Another thing i couldn't help but notice is the impressive chops that these guys have when it comes to their ability with music instruments. While it is normal for most American hardcore bands to change their sound or move onto something else after getting better at their instruments (see : Black Flag, Fugazi, Die Kreuzen, etc), Japanese tend to stick to hardcore while at the same time implementing a lot of advanced techniques and skills they can bring into the band, resulting in a more complex, modern, epic sound (Paintbox, Etae).

Why all the Japcore talk? well, this post is about a band called Tear Gas who very much play this style of hardcore with maybe a bit of Poison Idea thrown into the mix for good measure. The vocals delivery are gruffy, pretty similar to Bastards/Septic Deaths. Hailing from Brisbane, Australia these guys have been around for maybe about a year or two? I'm not too sure, but from the countless times i have seen them, they've managed to get good reactions and thus made a name for themselves in the local scene. They also have opened for bigger bands such as Extortion and Trash Talk (USA).

Tear Gas put out a demo tape sometime last year and all 200 of them have sold out. I believe there's also a 10" bootleg floating around somewhere? Don't quote me on that one. One of the members have put up their demo up for grab on a few local message boards, so I'm simply just passing it along. Unfortunately it's pretty hard to get more info on these guys since they are too punx for myspace kekeke. Anyway, enjoy the demo.

Tear Gas Demo (2008)

We Followed Tigers

2009-05-03T15:02:00.016+07:00

We Followed Tigers myspace

I don't know much about these guys but their music ruled okay? I found out about them through some message board on the internet 3-4 years ago. They're a 3-piece from California and they, unfortunately were only around for a short period of time because they had to go separate ways for school and shit. They managed to put out 2 Eps, And Then We Were Killed (2003) and So Much For Summer (2004). I'm not sure if there were ever hard copies version of these releases. The band decided to put up their entire music on the internet for free.

And Then We Were Killed showcases We Followed Tigers ability playing a brand of instrumental modern rock that incorporates post-rock elements and mathy/modern-post hardcore stuff. Imagine a mix of early Thursday with Tera Melos, Explosions In The Sky melodies and a superb songwriting. It's no doubt that they are clearly a bunch of talented folks. They somehow managed to use a lot of qualities and dynamics that post rock bands tend to have and use it in a more straight forward rock approach with a good amount of technicalities and changes to keep things interesting. So Much For Summer is way more straight forward than ATWWK and the first two songs on it are probably the heaviest songs they have ever done. In my opinion, it's not nearly as good as ATWWK.

FYI, members of the band are currently involved in these 2 projects :
www.myspace.com/atmnl
www.myspace.com/wkndlfe

Below are links to both Eps and the only 2 videos of them existed on the internet showing they're practising songs in a garage.

P.S. The bass solo in "Ronnie Beck, Former Child Star" still gives me goosebumps every time i listen to it.

And Then We Were Killed
So Much For Summer

WFT Jam

We Followed Tigers - Ronnie Beck

Daniel Striped Tiger

2009-04-19T17:36:00.029+07:00

Daniel Striped Tiger myspace

Originality is something, if not the most important thing that i value in music (asides from being good, obviously). I have utmost respect for artists/bands that manage to take their influences, putting their own spin to it and keep pushing a genre forward. Punk music isn't generally known for it's originality. Punk was never about technicality or how well you can play your instruments. But strangely enough a lot of talented musicians was born out of playing this type of music. Bands like Minutemen, Husker Du, Fugazi, Rorschach, Indian Summer and Off Minor have proven time and time again that punk music doesn't always have to be one-dimensional and that it's possible to bring something new to the table.

Daniel Striped Tiger are one of those current bands that i believe are doing something exciting and different. The Desert Bird was an ep that they put out in 2004 and was my introduction to the band. One word that i use to describe the band would be "ambitious". The ep contains 4 tracks of angular and noisy post-hardcore with a lot of tricky rhythm sections and discordant melodies more than you can shake a stick at. The two guitars in the band proved to be effective as they keep cutting through the rhythm section with clever little leads and twangs. They somewhat reminds me of Wolves and Stop It! but with more grit.

Condition, released in 2005 is the band first LP and probably their most ambitious work to date. The LP showcases DST adventurous and progressive nature throughout the album. The sudden break in "Slalom" followed by a trumpet/sax solo (!), the post-rocky middle section of "Your Birthday (cake)", and DST use of dynamics in epic instrumental "The Untuned Piano In The Assembly Hall" are just few examples of how far this band has come from their previous efforts. And the best thing about it is all these changes are done effortlessly and doesn't sound forced. Capital Cities, their second LP follows similar sound with less emphasis on experimentation and better flow songs and songwriting.

Luckily for me Daniel Striped Tiger are touring Australia in May! I am so keen for those Brisbane shows. Since most of their releases are still available, i only put up Daniel Striped Tiger split with Sinaloa which i believe to be out of print. "Untying Knots" is probably one of the best songs they have ever done.

Download here

Converge

2009-04-05T17:07:00.014+07:00

Converge website
Converge myspace

I remember when i first bought Jane Doe on cd in 2003. It was my first exposure to Converge's music and i remember hating it upon first listens. I hated it as much as i didn't "get" it. The chaotic music, the dog barking vocals, the odd time signatures were too much for me. However, just like most of my favorite albums, it grew on me. Big time. It ended up changing my view on what extreme music could possibly offer. Jane Doe still remains as one of my favorite albums until today.

Converge once described themselves as "hardcore kids with leftover Slayer riffs". And that gives you fairly an idea of what they sound like. Converge started in 1990, and their sound were greatly influenced by what was going on around that time. Nineties hardcore is known as an era when a lot of bands incorporates elements of metal into their sound. Besides being influenced by metal bands such as Slayer, Anthrax, Entombed and a lot of crossover bands (D.R.I, Suicidal Tendencies), Converge also taken cues from noisier bands such as Today Is The Day, Starkweather and who i believe to be their biggest influence, Rorschach.

Fast forward a few years, they have since released another two excellent studio records, You Fail Me (2004) and No Heroes (2006). They also put out Unloved and Weeded Out in 2003, which i believe is a compilation of demos and live tracks. It's about time they come out with a new album, which is pretty much the main point of this post because they just posted 2 videos of them playing a new song.

The first video is of them playing the new song in a studio. Its just intrumentals but my god it's good. The pull-off's riffs, the d-beat drumming, the crushing slow part at the end. What's not to like? The second video features a short interview with Nate (bass) and bits of them playing a recent show in Philly. It has parts of them playing "Plagues," "No Heroes" and of course the new song with vocals. I also put up my video of them playing "Concubine" in Brisbane 2 years ago just because.

CONVERGE New album out soon on Epitaph/Deathwish

Extortion

2009-03-14T22:29:00.015+07:00

Extortion myspace

I came to Brisbane 3 years ago. Since then i have been going to local shows and enjoy finding new bands to listen to. I discovered that Australia has so much to offer when it comes to music. There a lot of good bands here. A lot. Sometimes you just have to dig beneath the surface to find the really good ones. Upon my journey, i managed to discover bands like Insurgents, Tear Gas, Hard Luck, Deaf Wish, Snake Run and heaps more. And last but not least, Extortion. I have had the pleasure of seeing them last year. And it was one of the funnest shows i've ever been to.

Extortion is a hardcore band from Perth. Extortion play a blazing fast hardcore, with start-stop riffing and occasionally slower groovy parts. I can hear the influences of 80's Boston bands like Negative FX, SSD, DYS as well as many fast/power violence bands such as Infest and Crossed Out. Perth is also responsible for Heist, another awesome band who plays this style of music.

This is Extortion's self-titled. This is their first release and it's also my favorite release from them. I believe it's out of print. It it isn't, someone let me know and i will gladly take the link down. Download this and have your mind blown.

Download here

Joe Lally

2009-03-09T19:12:00.025+07:00

Joe Lally Dischord page
Joe Lally myspace
Joe Lally website

I'm not gonna lie. I wouldn't have bothered checking out Joe Lally's solo stuff if i didn't find out he was touring Australia. Being a Fugazi fan myself,I knew i would kick myself in the head if i missed the gig. I had missed The Evens when they came out here 2 or 3 years ago and i'm still bummed over that.

So i downloaded (gulp) his latest solo effort, Nothing is Underrated not knowing what to expect. I'm not really good at describing something but if i were to describe his music it would be a minimal, sparse, bass-driven alternative rock. Upon first listen, i was disappointed. The songs were nice, calm and well...safe for the most part. But they seem incomplete and goes nowhere. They didn't have the explosiveness that Fugazi has nor the unique quality that a lot of Dischord bands have.

After a couple of listens, the album started to become more interesting since i'm picking up things that i wasn't before. Guitars in "Scavenger Garden" is simply 3 minutes of ear-blistering walls of noise and feedback. "Pieces of String" is a quiet piece only utilizing Lally's simple bass as the backbone and organs at the end. It became clear to me that Nothing is Underrated is a really personal album. The lyrics are very much social-aware and poetic at the same time. Lally's sparse arrangements and somewhat monotone vocals delivery achieves what his songs intended to do. Nothing is Underrated is not an amazing or groundbreaking in any way but Lally's attempt at individuality and honesty is simply admirable and enjoyable.

Here's a video of Joe Lally performing Scavenger Garden at the Step Inn, Brisbane that i recorded and uploaded myself.

Apparently on this Australian tour, Lally is accompanied by 2/4th (A drummer and a guitarist) of a Sydney band called Gallucci who i ashamedly had never heard of before this tour. They were great musicians when i saw them playing with Lally in Brisbane so i will definitely check them out soon.

Also, at one point during his last song, Lally put his bass down and proceed to sit on the floor right in front of me (I sat about 4-5 feet away from the band) while the rest of the band kept playing. Cool.

Hey!

2009-03-09T15:23:00.001+07:00

Just like everyone else i'm doing this blog as a mean to post my thoughts, opinions, rants, comments, reviews, and everything in between about things that interest me. Music. Shows. Records. Whatever. Hopefully i'll get a kick out of doing this. I just have nothing better to do with my time. Internet rules everything.