Posts Tagged ‘Beartrap’


01.06.2010

In The Mailbox: The Holy Mess

posted by Will

in In The Mailbox
No Comments

So, as you can see things have slowed a bit here on SAL. My duties at the real job and at Beartrap are keeping me pretty busy. So, I thought I would start highlighting some of the releases that roll into my mailbox be they SAL promos or some of my Beartrap projects. Just got a couple boxes of the new 7″ from Philly’s The Holy Mess today and I figured this was a good one to start with. Really stoked to work this! These guys are for fans of The Lawrence Arms, Dillinger Four and Banner Pilot. I covered the band earlier this year here. The 7″ comes out next week on Evil Weevil. Up the punx!

Update: These just went up for sale at the Evil Weevil store. Only 300 pressed. Go get it!

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20.04.2010

Best New Music: Post Harbor

posted by Rich

in Best New Music, Music Reviews
1 Comment

If I had to chose one word to summarize Post Harbor’s sophomore album it would be: cinematic. They Can’t Hurt You If You Don’t Believe In Them is a record that slowly and deliberately unfolds, each track blending together seamlessly. This is not to say that They Can’t Hurt You If You Don’t Believe In Them is repetitive, but rather that the songs complement each other perfectly. Post Harbor waste no time in grabbing the listener’s attention with “Ponaturi”, a track that showcases the heavier side of Post Harbor with driving guitars and propulsive percussion. “Cities of the Interior” is the song that most exemplifies the “cinematic” tag for me. It starts off with an electronic lull and slowly builds upon itself adding drums, shimmering guitar lines and electronic flourishes until fully letting lose in the last two and a half minutes. The calm and calculated build up in the first portion of the song only make this cathartic release even more powerful, especially with the beautiful string parts that I am a sucker for when it comes to post-rock. Post Harbor use vocals sparingly throughout the course of the album and the first time I heard Anthony Calucci on “Cities of the Interior”, I instantly heard strong similarities to Sunny Day Real Estate’s Jeremy Enigk (as I am sure everyone else did upon hearing this track). Calucci’s highly expressive vocals really fit the songs perfectly and help elevate the tracks to another level. I didn’t really care for the vocal effects placed on Calucci’s voice on “Shirakashi” , where I feel his natural voice would have been a perfect fit, but that’s just me.

“The End of Something Great Is Coming” shows the softer side of Post Harbor. Opening with what sounds like natural sounds of a rain storm, Post Harbor layer beautiful acoustic guitar lines over a recorded piece to show that they can go from crafting elaborate, driving songs to a more reserved sound at the flip of a switch. That is one of the qualities that made me fall in love with They Can’t Hurt You If You Don’t Believe In Them almost instantly, the band’s ability to find the perfect balance between jaw dropping power (“Ponaturi”, “Cities of the Interior”) and serene beauty (“The End Of Something Great Is Coming”, “For Example This Is A Corpse”). Although the album is a bit lengthy, 10 tracks at around 50 minutes, it is one that post-rock fans will find themselves coming back to time and time again. Definitely one of my favorite albums of 2010 so far.

Label: Burning Building

You can see the video for “Shirakashi” here.

Post Harbor “Caves, Hollow Trees And Other Dwellings”

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19.04.2010

Everyone Everywhere MP3 Blog Tour Begins Today

posted by Will

in Music News
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If you remember the Albums of The Decade Blog Tour that we did last year this is a similar kind of idea. We think it’s a pretty cool way to spread the word about this amazing record! I decided to sit SAL out on this one and spread the wealth. Thanks to all the blogs involved and Josh at Deckfight especially who had the original Blog tour idea!

EVERYONE EVERYWHERE MP3 BLOG TOUR!
——————————————————————————–

* 10 Independent Music Blogs give away new Self-Titled Full-Length from Everyone Everywhere
* Follow the Tour beginning today (@ The Ripple Effect) through May 4th release date to download all 10 songs from the record
* Pre-Order 12″ from Tiny Engines / available now through iTunes

——————————————————————————–

Beginning today, April 19th, and spanning through May 4th, Tiny Engines and 10 Independent Music Blogs will be giving away every song from the upcoming Self-Titled 12″ LP from Philadelphia’s Everyone Everywhere.

Aptly dubbed the “Everyone Everywhere MP3 Blog Tour,” the concept is simple: ten amazing blogs giving away ten amazing songs over the course of the next two weeks.

The Ripple Effect will be kicking off today’s festivities with a free download of the album opener, “Tiny Planet” followed by “Raw Bar OBX 2002″ at Can You See The Sunset? tomorrow. Other participating blogs include Built On A Weak Spot, Dryvetyme Onlyne, Battle Of The Midwestern Housewives, Deckfight, The Album Project, Familiarize Yourself, Reviewsic and Clicky Clicky, each of which will be giving away a different song from the record on consecutive days – save for the weekends – until its official release date, May 4th.

For a detailed schedule of tracks and participants, see below.

Of course, nothing this good last forever. At the end of the tour all mp3s will be removed, and like a nerd on prom night, the collective hearts of any late comers to the dance will be broken. It’s not all bad news though as our friends at Punknews.org will then begin streaming the record in its entirety on May 4th. That’s kind of like going to the prom and managing to steal a dance with the pretty girl (right before she gets plowed by her meatball boyfriend beneath the bleachers).

For those who simply can’t wait to download this terrific record (or simply would like to support the band and label) it’s currently available from iTunes and other digital retailers. And obviously you can still Pre-Order the 12″ LP version in all its vinyl awesomeness from Tiny Engines.

So what are you waiting for? Start the tour!

Side A
——————————————————————————–

01. Tiny Planet @ The Ripple Effect – Monday (04/19)
02. Raw Bar OBX 2002 @ Can You See The Sunset? – Tuesday (04/20)
03. From The Beginning To The Tail @ Built On A Weak Spot – Wednesday (04/21)
04. Tiny Town @ Dryvetyme Onlyne – Thursday (04/22)
05. Tiny Boat @ Battle Of The Midwestern Housewives – Friday (04/23)

Side B
——————————————————————————–

06. Music Work Paper Work @ Deckfight – Monday (04/26)
07. Blown Up Grown Up @ The Album Project – Tuesday (04/27)
08. Fld Ovr @ Familiarize Yourself – Wednesday (04/28)
09. I Feel Fine by Everyone Everywhere @ Reviewsic – Thursday (04/29)
10. Obama House, Fukui Prefecture @ Clicky Clicky Music – Friday (04/30)

About the Record
——————————————————————————–

Everyone Everywhere’s eponymous debut builds on the rock-solid foundation laid down on last year’s dynamic 7-inch, A Lot Of Weird People Standing Around, and further pushes the band’s sonic palette in exciting new directions at every turn. Sure, those lovely Promise Ring vibes remain – not to mention hints of Braid’s twisting-yet-tuneful angularity, the crackling anti-anthems of indie heroes Superchunk and Piebald’s off-kilter sense of melody – but the Philly four piece has honed its songwriting chops, dialed in its amps and seriously upped the ante with this emotionally taut ten-song affair.

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15.04.2010

Tiny Engines To Release Castevet LP

posted by Will

in Music News
No Comments

So, in two years Tiny Engines released two seven inches. So far in 2010 we will be releasing two LPs! Are we crazy? Probably. But, when it’s for bands like Everyone Everywhere and Castevet how can we complain? So, anybody want to loan us some money? Or I guess you could just pre-order some records and we’ll call it even!

TINY ENGINES To Release CASTEVET LP
——————————————————-

* Pre-order The Echo & The Light 12″ (out 06/29/10)
* Album re-recorded + two brand new tracks
* Stream three new songs now

——————————————————-

Tiny Engines is pleased to announce that it will release The Echo & The Light, the newest eight-song LP from Chicago’s Castevet.

The album, which will be released on 12″ vinyl and digital formats on June 29, 2010, is now up for pre-order from the label.

Originally available as an ultra-limited six-song CDEP / tape for Castevet’s 09 Winter tour with Grown Ups, the six tracks – plus two brand new offerings – have been re-recorded and will be pressed by Tiny Engines on 180 gram black (200) and white (300) vinyl. Stiffslack Records will also be releasing a CD version of The Echo & The Light exclusive to Japan. To secure a copy of this awesome record, go here.

The band is currently streaming three songs from the LP on its Myspace page, including the never-heard-before “Six Parts Summer” and re-recorded versions of “Narrow Hallways” and “Midwest Values.”

Picking up where the Castevet’s acclaimed full-length, Summer Fences, left off, The Echo & The Light doesn’t miss a beat, honing in on the band’s most positive attributes. Leaning less on the sweeping atmospherics and lush soundscapes of its debut, the Chicago quartet kicks up the distortion and fuzz pedals that lace kinetic, intertwining guitars while placing a greater emphasis on gritty vocals and concise songs that wind tightly around propulsive, math-tinged instrumental passages. If Summer Fences was the result of a Castevet experimenting with an abundance of great ideas, The Echo & The Light is the band only using the very best of those.

- Every song immediately becomes the perfect soundtrack to whatever is going on in your life. – ReadJunk
- Haunting and melodic but at the same time rip-roaring, energetic, and heartfelt. – Fistfight At The Arthouse
- Geez, Castevet, why you gotta be so awesome all the time? Another kick-ass collection of post-hardcore charmers. – Picasso Blue
- Four insanely talented musicians channeling every last drop of musicianship and songwriting skill into crafting emotional behemoths. – When We Were Younger & Better

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27.03.2010

SAL On Snooze

posted by Will

in Site Shite
No Comments

Holy crap my work with Beartrap has picked up of late which is awesome but it leaves me little time to do anything related to SAL. And considering I have a real job on top of everything, well, it’s just impossible sometimes. So, yeah, the site will probably be super slow in the foreseeable future. Until then check out all the amazing bands below that I’m working with or will be working with soon. Some have been covered here but some have not.

Oh, and if you haven’t already pre-ordered the new Everyone Everywhere record on Tiny Engines you really should. I promise you, it is the perfect spring record. And, we’ll be announcing Tiny Engines #4 here soon. You shall be stoked!

Animal Names
Banquets
Campaign
Joie De Vivre
Museum Mouth
Rooftops
The Saddest Landscape
Stegosaur
We Were Skeletons

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01.03.2010

Band Spotlight: Rooftops

posted by Will

in Band Spotlight, Best New Music
No Comments

Who? Rooftops

Where are they from? Bellingham, WA

What do they sound like? Mathy instrumental goodness. I covered the band’s split with Noumenon a while back but I would have never guessed the band’s debut full-length, A Forest Of Polarity, would be this good. Rooftops are predominantly instrumental but the songs that add vocals are just downright heavenly. It’s like some amped up version of This Is Animal Music-era Look Mexico almost. But the band keeps the vocals to a minimum and in reality they just aren’t needed when the songs are consistently this good. At the end of the day you can’t ask for more than this if you are a fan of atmospheric math rock. CD out on Clickpop and Vinyl soon to be out on Topshelf. And yes, I am working this for Beartrap. Life is good.

Rooftops “Raft Easily”

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24.02.2010

Heads Up! Tiny Engines To Release Everyone Everywhere LP

posted by Will

in Heads Up
No Comments

If you didn’t know Tiny Engines is a label I started with two other guys in 2008. This will be our third release overall. 2010 will be much busier for us than our first two years. We’ve got 2 or 3 more releases coming this year!

TINY ENGINES To Release EVERYONE EVERYWHERE LP
——————————————————-

* Pre-order Self-Titled 12″ (out 05/04/10)
* Band now streaming two brand new songs
* Download 2009 debut 7″ for FREE @ If You Make It

——————————————————-

Tiny Engines is pleased to announce that it will release the Self-Titled debut full-length from Philadelphia’s Everyone Everywhere.

The album, which will be released in vinyl and digital formats on May 04, 2010, is now up for pre-order from the label. Tiny Engines will press 500 12-inches on maroon and off-white colorways (350 / 150). To secure a copy of this amazing record, go here.

The band is currently streaming two brand new songs, “Tiny Boat” and “Blown Up Grown Up,” on its Myspace page.

Everyone Everywhere’s eponymous debut builds on the rock-solid foundation laid down on last year’s dynamic 7″, A Lot Of Weird People Standing Around, and further pushes the band’s sonic palette in exciting new directions at every turn. Sure, those lovely Promise Ring vibes remain – not to mention hints of Braid’s twisting-yet-tuneful angularity, the crackling anti-anthems of indie heroes Superchunk and Piebald’s off-kilter sense of melody – but the Philly four piece has honed its songwriting chops, dialed in its amps and seriously upped the ante with this emotionally taut ten-song affair.

On a related note, Everyone Everywhere and Evil Weevil Records, the label responsible for the 7″ version of A Lot Of Weird People Standing Around, have teamed up with the awesome folks at If You Make It to give away a digital copy of the 4-song effort. To download this sweet little release, completely free from financial obligation, go here.

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10.02.2010

Best New Music: Communipaw

posted by Will

in Best New Music
1 Comment

Communipaw is another band I am working with for Beartrap PR. The band’s self-released Self-Titled album will be the first album featured in SAL’s brand new albums section where you will be able to download the album for free. Communipaw features the ridiculously talented Brian Bond and plays an intriguing brand of smooth indie rock with brit-pop and alt-country influences. This album made my best of 2009 list but was re-released by the band last month.

Communipaw “Take Over”

Communipaw “2:23″

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03.02.2010

Best New Music: Pianos Become The Teeth

posted by Will

in Best New Music
5 Comments

I forgot to mention that Pianos Become The Teeth‘s amazing album, Old Pride, was officially released last week on Topshelf. I’m working this album for Beartrap PR and it has been getting amazing press so far and for good reason. It’s already got a definite place on my 2010 year end list and deserves a spot on Best New Music for sure. If you have ever been a fan of music that gets labeled as “screamo”, past or present, you need to hear these guys. Pianos acknowledge the past but forge their own path and give the genre a much needed facelift.

Pianos Become The Teeth “Filial”

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19.01.2010

Post Harbor “Shirakashi” Video

posted by Will

in Music Video
1 Comment

“Shirakashi” comes from Post Harbor‘s upcoming album They Can’t Hurt You If You Don’t Believe In Them out February 23rd on Burning Building Recordings. I’m working the album for Beartrap PR and I think it’s amazing. I was a big fan of the band’s first album, Praenumbra.

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31.12.2009

Chuck (from Beartrap PR): 2009 Top Ten

posted by Will

in Year End Lists
6 Comments

Chuck Daley of Beartrap PR and Tiny Engines…two fine entities that I can vouch for and you should definitely check out!? Chuck once referred to me as his partner when introducing me. I did not like that.

* Friends Of Friends – Deep Search
Probably my favorite of 2009. Kind of sounds like something from the gruff / melodic No Idea stable of bands, but with lots of other subtle influences thrown in the mix as well. At times its choruses remind me of Avail’s sky-high punk anthems and other times there’s almost a 90s Chapel Hill / Archers of Loaf indie rock vibe. There are terrific lyrics and hooks galore, but it still shreds pretty hard and falls just left of being “catchy,” although it’s not a stretch to call these ten tracks unforgettable. Definitely check this one out.

Download it for free here!

* The G – Hold My Gold
Dirty, fuzzed-out indie rock with ragged punk heart, a knack for melody and a penchant for noisy experimentation.

* Juvenescent Beat! – One Day We’re Gonna Fall Through This Roof
Every year there are a bunch of bands who try to bring back that “true” mid-90s emo sound. This is definitely the best of all of them. This record is passionate, raging and jubilant all at the same time. A great record for anyone who remembers what the “E” word really means.

* P.O.S – Never Better
Hands down the best hip hop record I’ve heard in the past five years. Not that I listen to a lot of hip hop, but this just comes across as so fresh and unique. P.O.S. has a great, earnest delivery and Never Better is overflowing with intelligent, thought-provoking lyrics and really captivating beats. I dunno … maybe I like it because he comes from a punk background and throws out Fugazi references.

* Double Dagger – More
One vocalist, one drummer and one bassist? C’mon …. how arty and pretentious are you? Not very, actually. More is a really fun, upbeat, rhythm-heavy record that will blast a groove about a mile deep through your living room.

* Tigers Jaw – Spirit Desire 7″
I helped release this, so I’ll admit that I’m slightly biased. Still, Tigers Jaw is just one of those bands that seem to write music that appeals to fans of all types of musical genres. The title track is their darkest, most mature offering yet, but maybe their catchiest as well.

* Broadway Calls – Good Views, Bad News
I wasn’t sure if I liked this more than the band’s Self-Titled debut, but in the end I thought that Good Views, Bad News was the stronger overall record. This is pop punk done right – with a little bit of anger and edge and a truckload of unforgettable hooks. Seriously, I dare you to find one single part of this album that isn’t ridiculously catchy.

* What Price, Wonderland? – It Is True, It Is Shakey
The second best emo record of the year … although I’m a little hesitant to even call it that. Emo is certainly the base level here, but it tends to veer all over the place in a sloppy, herky-jerky and reckless way that totally works.

* Teenage Cool Kids – Foreign Lands
Seems like I’m diggin’ a lot of music this year that one could classify as a “throwback” to yesteryear. Summery, fuzzy, punk-tinged indie rock drenched in nostalgia, good vibes and plenty of sweet “whoo hoos.”

* Shook Ones – The Unquotable A.M.H
Okay, so this sounds exactly like Kid Dynamite, but who cares? Kid Dynamite was awesome.

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25.11.2009

Where The Land Meets The Sea: Listen For The Gulls

posted by Will

in Music Reviews
No Comments

wheretheland

Where The Land Meets The Sea‘s official debut EP, Listen For The Gulls, pulls together five tracks of dynamic new wave indie rock. I covered the band’s demo a while back and all three songs are here plus two others. Based on the demo Where The Land Meets The Sea could have gone one of two ways. The band could have brightened everything up and gone in a more poppy direction or they could choose to darken the atmospheres down. The band, made up of ex-members of Lock And Key and Smoke Or Fire as well as current members of The Cold Beat, chose the latter approach and for the most part it works really well. There is still that punk rock attitude that shines through here and leads to the Pretty Girls Make Graves comparisons maintaining their accuracy. But, as much as I dig the prominent female vocals I wish the interplay between the male/female vocals was more prevalent throughout. That’s only a minor complaint though. Listen For The Gulls is a nice evolution from the band’s demo. Here’s hoping Where The Land Meets The Sea sticks around to sharpen their craft even more.

Label: Self-Released

Where The Land Meets The Sea – Title Bout

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