Okay, so it is 2012… all our collective dooms impending, it’s time for a fresh start, a clean break. I have no reason to slack and my resolution is to do a better job of keeping this blog updated with new reviews and hopefully some surprises. So here we are, it is 12:30 AM and I am just starting this review but I have nothing to do so I do not need the sleep.
This new split 7” features Innards from Fort Worth/Denton, Texas and The Reptilian from Kalamazoo, Michigan(that’s not a joke, the town really is called Kalamazoo). It is being co-released by Black with Sap, The Ghost Is Clear, and Carucage Records. The color scheme and simple, angular record cover is a good indication of what the listener has to look forward to. Though provoking post-hardcore in varying shades, with rough edges, imprecise but endearing and challenging. Give it a listen! It’s a keeper.
If you have not heard of Innards before, like myself, then their half of this split is a very good introduction to a promising young screamo band. Innards are a bit different from the usual screamo fodder of late. “No Money, More Problems” is a short, fast, and sweet track and really quickly reminded me of Ampere and Beau Navire. “Goro” shakes out to about four times the length of the other song but does not take long to branch off into a new and strange realm. There is some fun plucking experimentation, drawn out and deep passages, and plenty of disjointed chaos. Innards never really settle into one neat groove on this split which mixes things up pretty nicely. The multiple voices are cacophonous over alternating clean and high-gain guitar work, very solid drumming but for me the biggest standout is a thick and warm bass presence that is so rare among screamo bands.
Innards
The second half of this split is contributed by The Reptilian, a band I am somewhat more familiar with. They contributed the marvelously dreamy yet anxious “Eddie Lane” to a four-way split on Count Your Lucky Stars Records! with Annabel, Empire! Empire! (I Was a Lonely Estate), and the recently revived Joie De Vivre as well as another hefty split 7” with Jowls(Ex-Victor! Fix the Sun) care of The Ghost Is Clear(I just now got that pun). “Gold Blooded” delivers what The Reptilian are coming to be known for, math-rock influenced punk rock but it’s pair “Old Blooded” really takes things into overdrive. Surf-y waves of reverb lace the driving post-hardcore tune as guitarist Russ Wagner makes octave sized leaps and picks out nice and intricate licks all over the neck. The vocals are are delivered in a hoarse shout that reminded me of Henry Rollins earliest vocal work. The Reptilian could be compared to Native but with a lot less noodling(to their benefit) while also sounding kind of a like a more contemplative 1994!
The Reptilian
Both bands have a lot to offer the music world and I eagerly look forward to more music.
Buy it here!
