in the case of darkness
p.s.: i've got another blog as well.
#128: KASSIOPEIA - “s/t”
in the mid- and late-90ies there were lots of “emo-violence”-bands in germany. they didn’t really have a homogeneous sound. but the kind of singing, the poetic lyrics and the emo-attitude was quite the same. this really made a difference to other scenes in other countries that were more violent or had more machismo. not that something like that wasn’t happening as well, but it was slightly different. KASSIOPEIA was one of those bands.
this 7”, that was recorded in 1995, is like a fanzine. between the cardboard-cover there are several pages full of personal texts, lyrics, political messages and some kind of poems. the whole thing is really well done.
the four songs have this kind of fragile-emo-feeling, but turn out really loud at the end. the screamed lyrics and all the guitar-/drum-work is some kind of german emo-violence - if you want to label or call it like that.
#127: JR EWING - “integritas.consonantia.claritas.”
for me JR EWING was a “live-band”. their shows - i’ve seen them at least three times (#1 “emo is evil”-festival at kafe kult in munich, #2 tüwi in vienna, #3 together with PRETTY GIRLS MAKE GRAVES at the chelsea in vienna) - were awesome. every single one. but i never listened to their records that much. and i don’t know why, actually. this 7” is very, very good! it reminds me a lot of DEADGUY, KISS IT GOODBYE and the late REFUSED. still some of my favourite hardcore-bands of all time.
there are four songs on “integritas.consonantia.claritas”. the lyrics-sheet even says: “integritas.consonantia.claritas - ad pulcritudinem tria requiuntur” (“three things are needed for beauty: wholeness, harmony and radiance” - actually it should be requiruntur. thanks to google for that, i never learned latin in school). it seems that JR EWING never took themselves too seriously. one of the best qualities of a band.
with the references given, you know how JR EWING sound like anyway. a very chaotic and tense sound with a strong voice. the lyrics to “hate me tender” are based on the song “love me tender” by ELVIS PRESLEY. but they are very hard to understand.
my lyric-sheet is hand-numbered, by the way. it says “2nd press 234/500”.
#126: JIMMY EAT WORLD/JEJUNE - “split”
lots of people loved, really loved JEJUNE in the 90ies. i remember people crying in the audience during their show at the ekh here in vienna supporting KILL HOLIDAY. i like their songs too, but i never was that much into them.
the main reason i bought this (i guess at sacro egoismo here in vienna) were the two JIMMY EAT WORLD songs. “what sould i say to you now” is a pretty fast and hard song and “speed read” seems to be just a fragment of a very slow song. both are not the best JIMMY EAT WORLD songs, but it’s a great record anyway.
the two songs by JEJUNE (“early stars”, “that’s why she hates me”) have this special touch that really gets people just by hearing them for the first time. it’s just 90ies emo at it’s best - not too whiny and with a little indie-rock touch.
#125: JIMMY EAT WORLD/JEBEDIAH - “split”
this release wasnt’ cheap exactly and i still remember the discussions about the price. i don’t remember it anymore, but not cheap in punk-/hardcore-terms. i mean - there are three 7”s in one gatefold-cover. JIMMY EAT WORLD and JEBEDIAH or big wheel recreation did a very good job on the packaging. and there is red vinyl too. so those things legitimate a higher price somehow. and the 6 songs on the records are awesome too. so it’s a great release and i’m really happy that i got it. i think this was around 2000 or something like that.
JIMMY EAT WORLD contributed “the most beautiful things”, “no sensitivity” and “cautioners” - three songs that sound a lot like they sounded during the “clarity”-era, which for me, definitely was their best time. man, i loved this album. and somehow i still do, i guess, although i haven’t listened to it in a while. those three songs just got me on the wrong foot, i guess. now i’m getting melancholic.
JEBEDIAH from australia play some kind of an emo-indie-rock. their songwriting is okay, i guess. especially at live shows “animal”, “the less trusted pain remover” and “harpoon” could work out quite okay. but to be true: i’ve never heard of JEBEDIAH before this release and never heard anything after it.
#124: THE JAM - “when you’re young”
no cover for this one. and of course i can’t remember, where i bought it. but i guess it was very cheap. “when you’re young” on side a is a single-only release and “smithers-jones” on side b appears on the 1979-album “setting sons” as well - but in another version. all in all two quite solid, but more rock-driven THE JAM-songs. some more infos on wikipedia.
#123: THE JAM - “just who is the 5 o’clock hero”
“just who is the 5 o’clock hero” is another great THE JAM-song that originally was released on the album “the gift”. the 7” was released in 1982 and on the b-side there’s a song called “the great depression”, which is okay as well. not more to say actually, because i don’t know where i bought this record. but it belonged to a carol j. once. at least her name is written on the sleeve and on the record. more about the single itself on wikipedia.
#122: THE JAM - “absolute beginners”
THE JAM definitely are one of my favourite bands from the 70ies and 80ies. so i bought some cheap second hand 7”s quite regularly. i think i got this one in spain or in the u.k.
wikipedia reveals that “absolute beginners” is a non-album track that was released on october, 24th 1981. it sounds a lot like THE STYLE COUNCIL already, who formed shortly after that period. “tales from the riverbank” on the b-side has no horns and sounds like a typical THE JAM-ballad.
not their best single, but still good!
#121: INTRO TO AIRLIFT - “s/t”
if you love CHISEL or TED LEO you will like INTRO TO AIRLIFT as well. secretly canadian tells us that the three-piece outfit from bloomington, indiana was largely considered a mod band. and somehow that’s right. they sound a lot like an indie-band with mod-influences.
the five songs on this 7” were released in 1996 on red dawg records and really sound a lot like CHISEL. i feel the strong urge to listen to CHISEL right after finishing this review.
later on they released another 7” and a split cd with june panic on secretly canadian. in 2000 an anthology came out. i think i’ll try to get this somewhere.
the price tag on the plastic-sleeve (40,-) makes me believe that i bought this at sacro egoismo. maybe melanie or daniel recommended the record to me.
#120: INTOLERANCE - “aspectos humanos de la vida animal”
most of the 90ies-hardcore-bands from spain and italy sounded a little different to the stuff from the rest of europe. i’ve never figured out why. it really seems that they weren’t influenced from any trends from anywhere else. most of the bands had this political punk-/crust-touch and actually played not that kind of hardcore, i really liked. but i bought their 7”s anyway, as it seems.
INTOLERANCE from xixon, spain are a perfect example for that. 6 songs with lots of spanish lyrics (english translations are in the booklet) that sound all the same. only song #1 (“belleza canibal”) is a little different and not that bad. the rest isn’t really my thing.
#119: THE (INTERNATIONAL) NOISE CONSPIRACY - “plays abolish work”
when i’m listening to the really early stuff of THE (INTERNATIONAL) NOISE CONSPIRACY i have to think of THE MAKE-UP a lot. especially the two songs (“the first conspiracy”, “abolish work”) on the a-side have that kind of a touch. “a new language” on the b-side is already going into the 60ies-punk/garagerock direction. but again a great record.
the three songs were recorded in december 1999 and the record was released in 2000, i guess.
