Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band

Chokebore, “Coat”

Chokebore was one of the later Amphetamine Reptile bands, putting out three records before that label kind of stopped putting out much stuff. Turns out they actually put out three records after leaving AmRep. I had no idea - I didn’t pursue them beyond the label loyalty, I wonder if they’re good.

Wormrot, “The Darkest Burden”

The unrelenting aggression of grindcore is bracing, a shot of adrenaline that isn’t always what I’m looking for, but when I want it, there’s no substitute. Wormrot’s 2022 record, Hiss, is a great example of it and is in fact one of the records I reach for when I want to scour my brain real good-like.

They Might Be Giants, “Ana Ng (Live)”

I adore this song, but damn, I have a lot of TMBG live material. But, I suppose I have 49 distinct releases from TMBG in the library (and two CDs upstairs that need to be ripped), so I just have a lot of stuff from them in general.

Inter Arma, “Bumgardner”

The opener to their magnificent Sulphur English, this song sounds like it’s gasping for breath. It’s struggling to stay above the water, gulping air, before a wave comes in to send it down to the bottom for good.

L’altra, “Slow as Cake”

Is cake slow? I don’t think of cake as a particularly slow food. I suppose it takes a while to pre-heat the oven, bake the thing, let it cool, and then decorate it. So…maybe they are slow. But they’re not what I think of when I think of slow food. Beyond the obvious molasses, I think of, say, smoking things as slow.

The band Cake isn’t really slow either.

Back from the holiday weekend, let’s see what kicks off the work week for me!

Minor Threat, “It Follows”

Our first Ian MacKaye track! I don’t think it’s any big secret that Fugazi is my favorite band (says the guy who has a daughter with the middle name “MacKaye”), but Minor Threat is obviously great as well. Originators of the entire straight edge scene (“don’t drink, don’t smoke, don’t fuck”), and hardcore punk pioneers, Minor Threat inspired so many earnest young people to start bands and make a racket. For that alone, they should be commended. They only put out one album and an assortment of singles, and they’re all collected on Complete Discography, which is an essential release if you’re into punk at all. I kind of want to stop here and just listen to this whole album. But I won’t, because I’m a pro.

I’m going to have to make myself an index of these bands in order to keep linking back to previous entries, but I suspect I’ll be happy to have done that in the end.

Look out! Behind you! It’s a playlist!

Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band, “Laventille Road March”

The Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band is a side-project/alter ego of The Mighty Mocambos, a funk group from Germany. For this album, the band has added steel drums to the arrangements as a lead instrument, giving the whole enterprise a pretty unique feel, while still very much being instrumental funk. It’s a fun project, and works better than it probably has any right to. This album is about half covers and half originals, and is recommended for anybody wanting more funk in their lives.