Freshkills are a Brooklyn based band who much like my earlier Band Of The Day this week, are hard to get a handle on. Definite post-punk influences like Drive Like Jehu and The Jesus Lizard are matched with a vocalist that Nick Cave or Ian Curtis would be proud of. The music is driving and the vocals are certainly distinct. Freshkills have hit on a familiar, yet unique combination with their sound. “I Know I Know” is off the band’s second full-length, which remains untitled and unreleased. The album was recorded with Alex Newport (At The Drive-In, The Locust, Two Gallants). Thoughts?

I Know I Know

[audio http://www.ezarchive.com/original/soundaslanguage/0102IKnowIKnow.mp3]

www.myspace.com/freshkills

Brass hail from Philadelphia, PA and play a curious brand of indie rock. Curious meaning they leave me scratching my head over who to compare them to. Perhaps they are unique enough to just stand on their own. “Tall Ships” is taken from the band’s debut, Set & Drift. Check it out and let me know who comes to mind.

Tall Ships

[audio http://www.brasslungs.com/audio/Brass%20-%20Tall%20Ships.mp3]

www.myspace.com/brasslungs

Lemuria just released their first official full-length, Get Better, via the great Asian Man Records. You can check out the interview I did last year with Alex from Lemuria here. As with everything around SAL lately…review upcoming (when I actually find the time to write again).

Yesterday’s Lunch

[audio http://www.ezarchive.com/original/soundaslanguage/02YesterdaysLunch.mp3]

www.myspace.com/lemuria

Yay, I finally got the Know Think demo in the mail yesterday! The band hails from New Brunswick, NJ and plays jazzy, intricate emo. Know Think are instantly reminiscent of the great Look Mexico as well as Aloha and American Football. If you can dig on the aforementioned bands than you should get in on this. Highly recommended. Review upcoming.

Aeroplanes

[audio http://www.ezarchive.com/original/soundaslanguage/01Aeroplanes.mp3]

www.myspace.com/knowthink

Carcrashlander is the project started by Cory Gray formerly of the great Desert City Soundtrack. Fans of somber, dark piano pop should take note. The record has just been released by Parks And Records (a percentage of all sales goes towards arbor related projects). Review upcoming.

Carbon Waltz

[audio http://www.parksandrecords.com/mp3/carcrashlander%20carbon%20waltz.mp3]

www.myspace.com/carcrashlander

Pyramids – Clockwork

[audio http://www.deconstructingpyramids.com/songs/Clockwork.mp3]

Drag The River – The Death of The Life of The Party

[audio http://suburbanhomerecords.com/mediafiles/DragtheRiver/audio/DragtheRiver_DeathoftheLifeoftheParty.mp3]

- New album, You Can’t Live This Way, came out last week on Suburban Home Records. Sadly, this appears to be the last Drag album.

The Loved Ones – Sarah’s Game

[audio http://fatwreck.com/audio_track/the_audio_file/214/The_Loved_Ones_Sarahs_Game.mp3]

- New album, Build And Burn, out in February on Fat Wreck Chords. Stoked on seeing these guys soon as they will roll through Columbia with the great Gaslight Anthem.

hrswhip – All Ball

[audio http://www.ezarchive.com/original/soundaslanguage/hrswhip02allball.mp3]

- Vindictiveness is the debut album from ex-Van Johnson/Black Actors member, Dave Secretary. Instrumental badassedness! Half of Vindictiveness can be downloaded for free here and the other half is available for purchase on Itunes. Review upcoming.

www.myspace.com/hrswhip

The Out_Circuit – Come Out Shooting

[audio http://www.lujorecords.com/media/Come%20Out%20Shooting.mp3]

Sinaloa – Seek Harbor

[audio http://www.equivalents.org/eqwp/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/04-seek-harbor-1.mp3]

- New album, Oceans Of Islands, out in the Spring on Level Plane.

www.myspace.com/sinaloa

How ever did I miss out on Soccer Team’s debut album, 2006’s ‘Volunteered Civility’ & Professionalism? First off, I like to think I keep track of everything the legendary Dischord Records puts out. Second, it is the new project from Ryan Nelson who was in some other great DC bands like Beauty Pill and The Most Secret Method. With the help of Dischord employee Melissa Quinley, Soccer Team create a diverse collection of songs. Much like the other duo on Dischord, The Evens, Soccer Team’s minimalistic sound brings a moving punch. Soccer Team are a lighter affair overall though. The 14 songs on ‘Volunteered Civility’ & Professionalism carry such a wide array of sounds. Soccer Team definitely carry on the Dischord tradition of unsurpassed quality.

Soccer Team – Traffic Patterns (mp3)