Aim Of Conrad - "The Intoxicating Sounds of Malcontent"

Aim Of Conrad was a sassy-pants band from Bucks County, Pennsylvania (the lower half) that played a pretty loud and straight forward brand of cheeky rock n' roll that eventually wound up trying pretty hard to resemble later-era Rye Coalition, which isn't really a bad thing. My old band played a couple of shows with these dudes circa 2000, the year this two song cd-r came out. They were all pretty nice guys, especially the guitarists Jack and Grant. Before this band existed, one of these dudes played in the Yardley skate punk band The Yokels, if that means anything to you. I doubt it does, so I'll continue.

I'm not sure if "The Intoxicating Sounds of Malcontent" (geez!) was meant to be a demo or a self released ep, but it's pretty decent stuff. I actually completely forgot that I owned this and haven't listened to it in 14 years or some bullshit, but about ten seconds after playing it I remembered the songs. Five Stars For Failure once played a show with these dudes and The Hex (who I really wanted to hate, but were super fun AND from Chicago) in Alexander T's basement in Reading, Pennsylvania during August of 2000. Maybe I'll throw the Aim Of Conrad footage I recorded in this post somewhere, maybe I fucking won't...I don't really know yet. However, before any of the aforementioned bands played their sets that afternoon, my band mate Justin almost had his back broken during a wrestling match by all around world-class superstar and probably best dude ever Rich Lee (RIP, homie). Justin also wrestled the infamous* Xiron edgeX (you remember AOL instant messenger, don't you?) the same afternoon, which you can watch for yourself below. All of the video footage was filmed by me, terribly. Alexander T eventually put out a few Aim Of Conrad records on his label Watson and the Shark.

Wrestling matches and making fun of The Hex during their set aside, if you enjoy your punk played with tons of sass, spunk and energy, this cd-r might just be for you. I will say that Matt the vocalist really liked to mess up / play with his hair a bunch during their live shows, which always sort of bothered me. This was recorded at MilkBoy by Tommy Joyner in Philadelphia. The first song also appeared on the Kickstart Audio compilation cd Pennsylvania, USA Volume 1, which I still own a few copies of and plan on uploading here one day real soon...probably.

The Reverend Vs Xiron edgeX

Rich Lee almost kills The Rev

Aim Of Conrad full set in Reading, Penna - August 2000

* to us, that is.

Tracklist:
1) Fault Line Fracture
2) Sometimes Is Never Enough

- right here - 

The Red Scare - "Capillary Lockdown"

This record contains eight tracks of spirited, gripping and somewhat melodic emotive hardcore, brought to you by four kids from Knoxville, Tennessee. In my estimation, this is one of the best emo records that came out in 1999. The Red Scare was pretty highly regarded fifteen years ago, but I feel they've fallen through the cracks of time a bit, which is why I've uploaded this for the folks who may have missed out on it when it was originally released. The recording that has been captured here is powerful yet at the same time crude, sharp and natural. This band has a style that occupies the middle ground between something straightforward and basic, such as Three Penny Opera, and a band that's a bit busier or technical, like Pennsylvania's Fields Lay Fallow.

This lp was the first of two by this band, and was the better effort in my opinion. It is a shining example of the quality *screamo* or whatever that was coming out at the tail end of the 20th century. Lots of the bands that were playing this type of stuff during this era hailed from either the Northeast or Midwestern parts of the United States, and it was good to see a band of this high caliber coming from the deep south. My favorite Red Scare record, by far. Other than these two full lengths, These dudes (and lady) released one 7", as well as a few splits with the likes of Orchid and Pankration.

These songs were recorded at Inner Ear Studios in suburban D.C. by Don Zientara, who has recorded tons of influential bands throughout the years, including Fugazi, John Frusciante, Burning Airlines, Frodus, 7 Seconds, Dag Nasty, Jawbox, Blue Tip, Against Me!, The Dismemberment Plan, Q And Not U, etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc.

Energetic, involving and from-the-heart hardcore. The vinyl was put forth via Hand Held Heart, and was later released on five inch disc form by Troubleman Unlimited.

Hand Held Heart #7.
The end.

Tracklist:
1) Automate Insection
2) Device For Annihilation
3) Jetset
4) 12 Years Past
5) Post Meridan
6) Crushing Blows
7) Inertia / Distance To Empty

- darkness comes crashing down -

V/A - Redwood Records "A Collection" sampler cd

Redwood Records was a California indie record label which was active for close to a decade. The label put out records for numerous bands, including Kill Sadie, Sharks Keep Moving, Grendel and Inside, among others. There is (was) a ton of diversity to be found throughout the label's catalog of releases, and you can familiarize yourself with some of those artists with this ten song sampler disc. I don't remember how I came to own this cd, but my best guess would be that it came along as a free bonus with some distro order I placed many moons ago.

Anyone who was buying hardcore punk records during the 1990's can back me up here; almost every established label issued a free "sampler" disc at some point, and Redwood was no different. They put out everything from emo hardcore records (a re-pressing of a Julia 7", One Hundred Words for Snow), acoustic singer / songwriter type stuff (that Jay Buchanon ep) and loud rock records (Metroschifter, Inside, etc).

Saying that Redwood released at least one record you'd be into is a pretty safe bet to make.
No catalog info for this release, sorry.

Tracklist:
1- Ex-Ignota "Amy's Day"
2- Impel "Derail"
3- The Killingtons "Thursday"
4- Metroschifter "Impossible Outcomes"
5- Inside "Jill Came Tumbling After"
6- Rocky Votolato & Seth Warren "Everything We Live"
7- Sharks Keep Moving "Jet's Jets"
8- Treadwell "Pour It Into Our Bodies"
9- Nemirah "Orange Crush"
10- Mara'Akate "That's A Long River"

- here you go -

Forstella Ford - "Acebus Vs. Archer" 7"

I saw Wisconsin's Forstella Ford once, back in late 1999 or early 2000 at the Southampton Youth Center in -you guessed it- Southampton, Pennsylvania. I think they were touring with Jejune when I saw them but time has caught up to my memory quite a bit nowadays, so feel free to not quote me on that shit. However, I do remember that they were really fucking good. After their excellent set (during which they mentioned at least seventeen times that they needed a place to stay that evening) was over, I promptly coughed up some hard-earned money and bought this two song 7" from them. I also neglected to offer these four gentlemen a floor to crash on, but that's not my point. The point of this blog entry is to introduce you to the technical prowess of a band that was, uh, very talented WITHOUT having to sit through an entire full length's worth of songs. I guess you're welcome.

This austerely packaged slab of wax was released in 1999 by 404 Records, a label based in central Illinois, also known as the state where Raquel Welch, Abraham Lincoln, Richard Pryor and Jimmy fuckin' Connors were all born. Oh shit, have you ever heard of the 1998 film Star Trek: Insurrection? My ladyfriend is watching it right now and it is completely distracting me from this writing attempt, in a bad way. Man, okay...so,all of the original members of Forstella Ford used to play together in a band previous to this one named Only Airplanes Count.

I'd recommend this band to folks who enjoy Furnace, Knives And Greenwater, Capsule, Gospel, Yage, etc. The songs have a frantic pace and are well arranged, with solid songwriting. They are over quickly, and this short record indeed provides for a rewarding listen. These two songs were documented in March 1999 at Studio One with Chris Djuricic.

404 Records #03.

Tracklist:
1) Asterix Legionaires
2) Hindsight Is 20/20

- here -