EMBASSY

My fave of all the Embassy sweets. Three solid knockers from a band whose sound was scraped off Guy's side of Fugazi and translated through postwar-style recordings. Their LP was fun and all their splits were moving but I suppose this s/t 7" was the keenest and least-hammy of the catalogue.

Only frustration is a big, dumb POP at the end of the first song, which is probably their prize tune. Bleck. But it's not that bad, actually.

You could go here and download a pop-free version (along with other songs, including their LP), but I swear, if you want a brighter, bigger sound, you're better off taking what I've got. Less mud; more clean explosion and slicker (in a good way) overall. Promise.

I'm also pleased to announce I've recently recovered my old Embassy patch, which I spent half an hour sewing onto a hooded sweatshirt I'll likely never wear in public. Plus, I think the icy weather is over in my part of the globe. I'll likely come back soon and edit out this stupid drivel with more worthwhile typing.

TITLE: s/t
LABEL: Auricle
YEAR: 1994
TRACKS:
Whispers Of No Small Intent / The Many Faces Of / Rachael Pomea

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PLACEBO COMPILATION

I've upset at least six Reversal of Man fans since the comments of my last post. I said they were OK, but that's about all. Well dry the tears and take a muscle relaxer, here's an early cut from them Floridians; a deep cut for those of you lacking their discography. I lack it. Because I think they're just OK.

Alright, calm down, I added that last sentence just to jab your guts up.

Prevail starts this one off with, by a mile, their best song, musically. The content is based on a band member's experience selling beer to a minor, getting busted forthwith, being sentenced to drug counseling sessions, and getting freaked the heck out by the testimonies of the bedrugged users he, a straight edge fella, sat among.

Order of Importance contributes a slow, blubby, throaty, screamy shake that, eh, I'm just not into. Just not my style of hardcore. The song is, unsurprisingly, about fighting the syrup of conformity. Enjoy.

Side B packs the all-stars. Your favorite, Reversal of Man, does "Assembly," a song with pretty much the same message as the Order Of Importance track. This one, however, zeroes-in more on teachers, parents, clergy and their influence over conformity, which the band fears.

Inkwell is the last at bat with a number about rape, which I'll not joke about. I think it's specifically about instances where the victim ends up catching some blame or preconscious partnership in the act.

More, better Inkwell to come...

TITLE: Placebo Compilation
LABEL: Concurrent
YEAR: 199_
TRACKS:
Prevail - Nine / Order Of Importance - (Untitled) / Reversal Of Man - Assembly / Inkwell - Wash

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T TAURI

Ahh, T Tauri's 1996 7". Downright treble-y, like a secretary's fingernails down the driest chalkboard in the most echoey warehouse in the world. Alright, that's an extreme exaggeration, this recording's actually pretty fun. For friends of Harriet the Spy's production values, here's a new pal to play with. The guitar sound twins it, too.

Hadn't listened to this one in a long, long time. Years. It either held up or improved with age, because I've listened to it several times since I digitized it earlier this evening.

Far as effect, T Tauri always brings to mind Festival of Dead Deer, Crimson Curse, the VSS (with whom T Tauri split a 7") and, damnit, there's another band with a similar style of warbled singing. It's probably Uwharria. Their vocalist packs twenty words into a single syllable.

Anyway...

TITLE: s/t
LABEL: Blackbeand and Placenta
YEAR: 1996
TRACKS:
Bring On The New Dionysus / The Mote's Battle / Brevity

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HAL AL SHEDAD / INKWELL

Smoke rolls off my turntable every time I play through the Hal Al side of this split. They were a remarkable band with enough craft and talent to uphold a split 7" with Wilson Phillips, or, heck, even Yanni.

Not to compare Inkwell to either, because the first song on their side is, I think, their best. Fast stuff. Spastic good (as opposed to bad). It's a song about the status quo being as garbage-laden and doomful as it's ever been, and we're all about to shit-can the concept of a soul. But not in a Christian way. Nu-uh.

Back to Hal Al. Saw 'em one time, just once, and hot damn was it on fire. I have a special place in my heart for trios, because it seems like each player plays with a little extra to make up for the missing leg, that, turns out, they never needed. So Hal Al hobbled along with strange, off-time-y paces and swept past "the competition" and, seriously, finished the '90s in the top ten. What a good, able group.

TITLE: The Musical Stylings Of...
LABEL: Lunchbox
YEAR: 1995
TRACKS:
The Hal Al Shedad - Supercolliding-Superconductor / The Hal Al Shedad - Atrophic Revolutions / Inkwell - Messenger / Inkwell - Savior

Here's all the music discussed in this post.