Anything On Your Mind?
Feels a little weird to be going backwards in time, honestly. It was kind of fun thinking through the little vignettes of my life tracing things forward, but it feels awkward going backwards. Well, en avant! Uh, wait.
2009 saw me working at a startup that was struggling to find the right product, although we had some very cool technology. I really enjoyed the people I was working with, the product was really interesting, and I was really hoping we’d figure it out. We never quite did - we found some customers, enough for us to get bought, but not enough for that purchase to actually turn into anything. I did have some equity when I left the company, but by the time the acquirer hit funding round H, I needed to put more money in in order to keep it. No thanks! The other big event in 2009 was the arrival of kid #2 at the end of the year. And so, I was still largely in Kid Fog this year, so as with 2010, I don’t have any particular memories of this year, musically speaking. I expect to be surprised by the chart!
And when I pull up the chart, sure enough, I’m surprised. Surprised that I only have two of these in the collection (Mastodon and Bomb The Music Industry!). I should pick up that Ulcerate album, I really like them, but I wasn’t aware of them in 2009. And that Blut Aus Nord record as well, probably. I have the two surrounding it in the library. Yeah, I guess having a toddler and a baby on the way makes you a real hermit, and not just from a musical perspective.
What Were You Listening To in 2009, Josh?
I’m going to level with you - there’s a chance I’m going to have to write up that Mastodon record here.
A lot of the 2009 records that I’ve listened to a lot feel pretty predictable, or ones I’ve talked about a fair bit. Andrew Bird’s release that year, Noble Beast, is lovely but I just talked about it a month ago. The Flaming Lips, the Decemeberists, Wilco, and Built to Spill, all pillars of my record collection, all released records in 2009 but I would feel goofy spending time writing them up. Mastodon rules, but I have to assume you all know about Mastodon. But, there are some records probably worth highlighting, even if this seemed like the year that has the fewest things I was eager to tackle.
Dimensional Bleedthrough, Krallice
We’ve gotten this far in this yearly retrospective thing we’re doing without mentioning Krallice, despite them probably being the most consistent and maybe best band operating during this time frame (2009-2025). The argument about “greatest metal band” probably turns on influence alongside great records, and that argument is likely always going to center on the architects of the sound, your Sabbaths and Maidens and suchlike. Krallice has not sparked entire genres, and while other bands have for sure taken inspiration from them, I don’t think you can really replicate their sound, inasmuch as their deal is “be incredibly good”.
But set aside influence. Krallice is, what, 15 albums in? And those records range from good to incredible, weighted more towards the latter. There are certainly metal bands that have released that much music. At a quick check, I see 17 albums for both Megadeth and Iron Maiden, 19 for Judas Priest and Black Sabbath, and those are off the top of my head. I’m not going to do a serious examination right now, but I’m confident that there are more great albums in Krallice’s discography than there are for any of those other bands. The prolific output, dedication to quality, and relentless creativity are amazing, and it gets even more impressive when you realize that they’ve had the same lineup the whole time. They’re also very much not done. But even if they release nothing else, Krallice might have the best catalog of any metal band out there.
Anyway, this is their second LP, it’s a fierce and incredibly technical black metal record, and it’s a wonder. It is not their best record, but it would be the best record of most other bands. Speaking from direct, recent experience, try and time the end of this record to a plane landing, it’s intense.
Gambling on the Richter Scale, Kowloon Walled City
Noise rock, baby! Kowloon Walled City play in the style that always hits for me, the Birthday Party/Jesus Lizard/Amphetamine Reptile kind of stuff that imprinted onto me so strongly in the early 90s. They’ve been very good across four albums so far, with this being their first record. While it’s not my favorite record from them (that’s Container Ships), I truthfully wasn’t finding a ton of stuff I wanted to write about in 2009. That makes it sound like this a consolation prize, when it really isn’t. I think it’s worth highlighting bands that are doing their thing and doing it well, but might be flying under the radar, and they definitely fit.
Travels With Myself and Another, Future of the Left
Well, Mclusky hasn’t actually come up on this blog as much as I would guess, and that doesn’t really reflect what I think about them. Which is to say, more noise rock of the same vein as above. Future of the Left has come up quite a bit more, which I suppose makes sense given that there is quite a bit more of their material. Despite that, I think Mclusky is still higher profile than Future of the Left generally speaking. At least, that’s the impression I get. Anyway, two-thirds of Mclusky (Andrew Falkous and Jack Egglestone) started this band and this is their second album. While Curses felt like a logical progression from Mclusky, this one feels like it’s a more playful thing heading in their own direction. And, of course, I have to mention that Falkous is such a fun singer that it’s always worth following his work, no matter what he’s doing. He even is sounding almost like Jello Biafra here in places, such as on “The Hope that House Built”.
Let’s Talk New Releases
Records come out every week, and there’s no way to stay on top of them. This isn’t a comprehensive look at everything, just a few things that have caught my ears out of recent releases. Any impressions here are very early!
Magazine, YHWH Nailgun
YHWH Nailgun’s first record, 45 Pounds, made some noise last year as an interesting, out-of-leftfield rock record. Among other things, Sam Pickard’s drums (and use of rototoms) stood out, and the record got lots of good reviews and even some placements on year-end lists. Now, the band has put out their followup record, and at a little over 11 minutes, it’s now getting attention for a different reason. And, sure, putting out a short record is a bit of an unusual move, but the extent to which reviewers are focusing on the length of the release is silly to me. It’s an experimental rock band, who gives a shit?
Anyway, we here at Five Songs are very much not afraid of short releases. Indeed, we’ve been busily highlighting hardcore EPs, so let’s just engage with the record as it is. What it sounds like to me is the drums and keyboard work from early Cop Shoot Cop, Al Johnson’s vocals from US Maple, and groaning guitar that sounds a bit like some of Alexander Hacke’s more orchestral sounding work. In other words, hell yeah. Do I wish some of the songs were allowed to unfold a bit more, breathe a bit? Maybe, yeah. Do I miss the rototoms? A little. But it’s ten fun ideas, it chugs through what it’s doing, it’s a fun record. Don’t let the haters drive you away.
For some reason, there’s no way to embed the player for it, so you can check out the record here.
Heirloom, Nathan Evans Fox
My attitude towards country music, for years and years, was largely shaped by what country was like on the radio in the 80s. There was lots of it on the air in Spokane, and even more as you moved away from the city into the surrounding area. I remember my dad, driving in western Montana, trying to find something to listen to and finally giving up in disgust, declaring that there was nothing but “pickin’ and grinnin’” on the air. His attitude was largely mine, and while it’s always folly to judge a genre by its most commercial elements, I just ignored country as an artistically devoid wasteland of odes to trucks and beer and the problems of trucks and beer. However, once I entered college in 1991, “alt-country” was taking hold after Uncle Tupelo’s 1990 release No Depression. I started listening to folks like Uncle Tupelo, American Music Club, and others and discovered that the instruments and aesthetics of country worked on me just fine. It opened a door, and although I didn’t jump through, I at least started to be open to records that would be tagged country. From there, I slowly became familiar with some of the great artists of the past and enjoyed my time being a dilettante with the genre.
However, the popular strain of country continued to degrade. The stereotype I laid out above, of country music being just about trucks and beer, was enthusiastically embraced by radio and the songs devolved into just twangy rock about the same four subjects. (America, trucks, beer, women.) Is that unfair? I don’t care! I slowly drifted away from paying any attention to country, as there didn’t seem a lot of energy left in alt-country, the mainstream seemed hopeless, and I didn’t really have any way to discover artists who were doing interesting things. I remained theoretically open to interesting country and mostly had no way to find it. The desire to listen to acoustic songs was largely filled with various other types of folk music.
Which takes us here - this came from a Bandcamp roundup of country, and man, it’s a lovely record. I have at least one way to discover country records now! I don’t think people appreciate Bandcamp enough. Anyway, it’s undeniably country. Fox sings with a twang, there’s plenty of banjo involved, the aesthetics of the record are unambiguously country. And not mixed with anything else as some kind of hybrid. Nope, just country. Within those firm genre rails, Fox sings with humanity, tells stories, and is a thoroughly charming presence. My favorite song here, “Landlords, Bill Lee, Etc.” contains so many genuinely funny low-level curses that it’s hard not to smile. Wishing someone a “hard time” instead of just mundanely wishing for them to die (as, you know, my beloved hardcore bands mostly would) is delightful. “Little bit of hillbilly karma / downhome dharma” is such a good line.
I listen to a lot of genre music, it’s just how it goes. I guess that’s kind of true for everybody. We listen to pop, country, rap, metal (or a thousand subgenres), emo, all the many types of electronic music, funk, soul, whatever. The guardrails of a genre place an artist or album into a recognizable space, and gives a way to think and evaluate and place them alongside their fellow artists. Thinking of a record as this band plus that band plus a little bit of this other band contextualizes the music and makes it easier to absorb. It also makes it possible to describe the music to others in recognizable ways. The trap is if you only follow one genre, or insist that the guardrails for a genre are inviolable, then your tastes will just narrow and narrow. It’s good to break out of your box every now and again. Do a little exploring.
Første Aksjon, Sabotør
I don’t listen to a ton of traditional heavy metal, stuff that takes its cues from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, mostly because when I have a taste for this kind of thing, I’ll just listen to the NWOBHM bands directly. I don’t really get tired of them because I don’t listen to them a ton. That said, sometimes I’ll read a writeup of an album and decide, all right, sure, let’s give it a try. And so, I ended up with this Sabotør, which is trad to its core. Barking vocals, anthemic choruses, big solos, all that stuff. It’s all in Norwegian? I guess? But I’m told it’s anti-fascist, so that’s fun. And sure, this is an entertaining record. If you lean towards those trad sounds, give this a spin.
Five Random Songs
Yes, it’s the “classic” five random songs format. It’s been told before on this blog many times, but basically, on an old forum, people would post the last five songs their shuffle pulled up. I liked it, so I made it into a blog. And now, here we are.
“All Spies”, Flying Lotus
From the 2019 album Flamagra, this is a tune that doesn’t make a lot of sense outside the context of the larger record. It’s tough to take a single track like this from a 27-song album and have it really work out properly.
“Bosses Hang, Pt. III”, Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Their 2017 album, “Luciferian Towers” contains two songs presented and tracked as three parts. So this is just the last third of “Bosses Hang”, and as a consequence, like the last song, it also doesn’t make a ton of sense on its own. The emotional crescendo here is robbed of its impact without the previous two parts. The record rules, though.
(NB: I could only find a live version of this on YouTube.)
“Telepath Transport Wing”, Sleepwalker
Sleepwalker is one of the more consistently interesting bands that is, I suppose, within the broad orbit of metal but really draws in lots of other influences. Avant garde, I guess, or experimental metal, or something like that. Expect something heavy, expect plenty of twists and turns, expect to be confused, but also expect to be entertained if you come in curious.
“Punck”, The Suicide Machines
I leave these things in here to demonstrate that I’m playing it straight on the randomization.
“Sit Right Down”, Mirror Men
I have almost written up this Mirror Men record as a new release a few times, and maybe I’ll do that next time around. It’s a fun album, a spare garage rock thing that uses a lot of repetition to drive the songs.
(NB: I could not find this in YouTube. You can listen to the song here. This playlist is a mess today!)
Some Better Places To Learn About Music
Check these folks out, you’ll learn more for sure. In no particular order: To The Teeth, Wolf’s Week/Plague Rages, The Devil’s Mouth, Burning Ambulance, Lamniformes Cuneiform, Hex Records, See/Saw, Starkweather.