Episode #36
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1. The Akashic Record
The Akashic Record are a four-piece progressive rock band from Henderson, Nevada. Their music is made up of some experimental rock mixed with some sweet reggae grooves, hard-rock and pop. They do a good job of writing their songs each with a distinct sound. Their album, Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron, sounds like a compilation of different bands rather than an album from one artist. Check out more of their tunes on Bandcamp. They have streaming right now along with their new album, the single, An Empty Case, and the Ornithology EP. On the first night of Neon Reverb at one of the many venues hosting a show, The Akashic Record opened up. It was an excellent, very energetic set. I think the crowd really dug their sound, I know I did. Their song on this episode is titled, The Rise and Fall of the Mongol King, off of, Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron.
2. Lands on Fire
Lands on Fire are a rock band from San Diego, California. This four-piece has one self-titled album, released through Fallen-Angel-Records. They have some tunes out right now for a possible new length set to be released in the near future. They currently have six new songs out right now, a few of them being some pretty rough mixes. The new songs still carry that same rock-folk approach, but with a bit of some punk influence. Check out another new song on Episode 21 or on their website here (Addictions and Ugly Lie). Their song on this episode is titled, Strange Land.
3. Night Gaunts
Nights Gaunts are a punk/ska/hip-hop band from New Zealand. Their songs are really upbeat ska in a new wave kind of way. It's very energetic, even on record, so I'm sure watching one of their shows would be fun as hell. They have two releases out right now, Full Body Tourettes Pt. I and Full Body Tourettes Pt. II, both available on Bandcamp. But they also have links on their facebook for some free downloads. Or you can check out some of their other tunes on Episodes 16 and 29. The song on this episode is titled, Vicious Viles, off of, Full Body Tourettes Pt. II.
4. Jardín De La Croix
Jardin de la Croix are a four-piece instrumental rock band from Madrid, Spain. They have two albums out right now, Pomeroy (2008) and Ocean Cosmonauts (2011), which are streaming on their Bandcamp. Both albums are full of progressive jams that expand out to the experimental sounds of math rock. Their most current release, Ocean Cosmonauts, fuses the sounds of metalcore, hard-rock and even some Spanish guitar. It has a nice, sort of fluid motion of clean and distorted guitars on top of some really tight syncopated beats from track to track. The songs are borderline epic with eight tracks total and just under 60 minutes. Some of my favorites tunes are Island of Atlas, Blacksnout Seasnail, and Math of Vortex. Their song on this episode is titled, Math of Vortex, off of, Ocean Cosmonauts.
5. No Contest
No Contest are a four-piece hardcore band from Grimsby, a town in the Northeast part of England. They released a four-song EP earlier this year titled, Static Motion. It's four tracks of some fast punk and hardcore. No Contest have been really active throughout the year, touring and playing lots of shows. They have a bunch of shows lined up for the beginning of the new year and will also be recording their debut full-length as well at the end of January. The band will be playing their last show of 2011 on December 17. Playing at the show will also be Fair Do's, Scrimshaw, Space Jaguar and The Departed. Their song on this episode is titled, Deathcard, off of, Static Motion. Check out another one of their tunes on Episode 23.
6. The Beautiful Ones
The Beautiful Ones are a four-piece hardcore band from Mesa, Arizona. Their sound consists of some old school hardcore, a very in-your-face and fierce style complete with gang-vocals and heavy beats. They participated in this years Within These Walls festival in Arizona along with other bands such as H20, Stretch Armstrong, Gaza, Dangers, and many others. They will be recording their EP to be titled, Birth of Desire, after a short mini tour in December. The EP will be released through 6131 Records in April 2012. They also will be doing a tour in the beginning of the new year with some yet-to-be named bands. A song (Hear Me) they did for the Toxicbreed compilation, Casa de Diversion, is streaming on their Bandcamp along with their four-song demo. Their song on this episode is titled, Truth Hurts, off of their demo. Check out another one of their tunes on Episode 18.
7. WeCameFromWolves
WeCameFromWolves are a four-piece rock band from Perth, Scotland. They currently have two songs (Tidals and For all our Sins, We're Golden) available @nameyourprice on Bandcamp. Their tunes are very melodic with lots of harmony in the instrumentals and vocals. The songs are consistently mid-tempo with some hard-rock hooks and catchy lyrics. They are currently writing and recording new material and keeping busy with playing tons of shows. Hopefully they will have a new release out soon. They also have a show on December 22 in their hometown alongside Vukovi and Lights Out Dresden. Their song on this episode is titled, Tidals.