Planet Namek - S/T (2017)

I have a general ignorance of states throughout the midwest and south. But I feel confident in making the blanket statement that they're probably like every state I have lived in: the bigger the city, the more diverse the culture and liberal the people. Outside of cities, you have to look and think like everyone else lest you be a terrorist, a fag, or a .....cuck?

Oklahoma, aside from being a place where garbage lawmakers are trying to shit on the rights of women, seems like it has alright cities, musically speaking. Oklahoma cities have birthed experimental pop bands like The Flaming Lips (from Oklahoma City) and The Starlight Mints (from Norman), the state's cities seem no stranger to more unconventional strains of music. I mean, Hanson was also from Tulsa, but we won't count that against them. 

Planet Namek, a Dragon Ball Z reference, are a Tulsa band also of the unconventional bracket, but of the deathcore, grindcore, whatever the hell variety of music this is. Not normally of fan of these genres, but this band is incredibly tight, heavy, and weird. And I love weird music. Although I can't find evidence of one on their Facebook page, they have a keyboard player, which is just fucking bonkers for bands of the screaming and growling variety (two singers here: one screams, the other growls). And was that autotune peaking around the corner? Planet Namek - you so crazy. Seriously a head scratcher, but all the songs on this, their first full length, are entertaining and never dull. Angry, disorienting, and awe-striking - much like how I feel every morning now that everything good is going to shit. But, with song titles such as "ARMPITTSBURG"  and "LUIGI BOARD", Planet Named remind us to not take things too seriously. 

Pay whatever you want to download over at their bandcamp page, 9 songs. 

Sample song:

Bandcamp link:

Planet Namek - S/T

Good Throb - Fuck Off (2014)

One of the most annoying things a person can do is belabor the definition of "punk", or really throw the word around in any nonmusical context. "That hummus is fuckin punk rock" or "You've been punked you stupid idiot" or "it's so punk rock outside today" whatever people say these days. Just stop it. It's music... played by people who don't care about being virtuosic with their instruments and they're indignantly ok with that. Probably the least punk rock thing a person can do is talk about what "punk" is and isn't. Just like what I'm doing now. Fuck.

Whatever "punk" is, Good Throb is great at it. Fuck off is their lone full length, available for free on their bandcamp, and it's full of simple, unpretentious attitude. They've almost got more of a posy-punk thing here, with their use of dissonant melody, prominent bass lines, and mid-up tempo beats. This isn't mosh music, but the kind of dancing that teenagers smoking cigarettes in moldy UK basements know how to do. Vocalist KY Ellie has got as great, sneering voice perfect for this kind of music... raspy, spitting viciousness.

Great lo-fi recording. Great song titles such as "Mummy I'm Ugly" and "You're Shit".  Fuck Off  is the most inviting listen I've heard in months.

11 songs.

Sample song: 



Bandcamp page:

Good Throb - Fuck Off

Immortal Bird - Akrasia (2013)

Black metal melodics with grindcore blast beats -- these are sounds that resonate with me at the moment. And I have always been a bird nerd, so this band is really hitting home for me. What are those Kingfishers doing eating human meat? Crazy rascals.

I haven't listened to much heavy metal in the past 20 years or so, so I'm in the weeds here as far as what other bands Immortal Bird sound like. Their drummer/vocalist Rae Amitay is just a fantastic musician, as is the whole band. Music like this is best enjoyed live... but until I scour the Portland scene for the best hardcore/punk/metal bands... I will have to fantasize being at one of this Chicago bands shows.

I've been converted... maybe these 4 songs will convert you as well. Check out "Spitting Teeth", a particularly excellent track.

Follow the link to their bandcamp page:

Immortal Bird - Akrasia

Last Words - S/T (2013)

There's something truly wonderful about female-fronted music hardcore. Or is this powerviolence? I have no idea... I hope to learn more about the sub-genres of hardcore. But something we might all agree on is that many rock music scenes tend to be fairly homogenized in the gender and race department. And let's face it... there's no shortage of machismo in the world. Can't help it if my ears perk to the sound of Marina's amazing scream... a voice that takes this Raleigh, North Carolina's band to a whole new level of ferociousness... which would be entirely lost with a male vocalist ... I think. Her voice is that of a large hawk or like tires screeching to a halt. The band is also incredibly tight, packing a wallop in a short amount of time(most of the songs being under 2 minutes).

Last Words, I've read, take their influence from the Boston hardcore scene. I'm not sure what that means... something to explore in future posts.

10 songs, name your price. Available on vinyl! For the utilitarian music listener, a great record for the workplace (granted you have the luxury of listening to music while working) or even exercising.

Last Words - S/T

Zageron - Sofkutė brome (2013)

Zageron is a d-beat death metal band I stumbled across while digging through Lithuanian music for another blog I write for, Spacerockmountain. In the few years I've been writing for that blog (which is also primarily a "best of bandcamp" blog for garage, psych, and experimental music), one thing I noticed right away is how many metal and hardcore bands there are, pretty much all over the world.

"If the world of music was a habitat, metal/hardcore bands are like an invasive species" was what I found myself thinking. Search any location-based bandcamp tag and you'll find, from London to Mexico City, and from Tokyo to Sao Paulo, there are an incredibly large number of bands playing it slow and dark or fast and vicious.

Normally I would have breezed by Zageron on a search for something more for the Spacerockmountain audience, but I was immediately grabbed by their sound. For the past couple years now, walking around Portland with my mp3s shuffling, between the beautifully orchestral rnb of Laura Mvula or tracks from the newest Blonde Redhead, I would get these small doses of brutal rhythm and evil growling from Sofkutė brome, a "name your price" release from this mysterious band from Vilnius, Lithaunia.

I was hooked, and have since begun an inspired exploration into bandcamp bands releasing anything hardcore, grindcore, d-beat, crust punk, black metal, and death metal. I don't even fully understand what the parameters are for these genres, but this is all part of point of this blog.. which no one will ever read. Oh well.



Follow the link to their bandcamp page. 10 songs for download!

Zageron - Sofkutė brome