Alison Ranger - self titled cd

If you aren't familiar with the excellent Alison Ranger, I should refer you to their Last fm page for all of the JUICY DEETS, as what's written there is better than anything I could provide for you, my dear reader;

"Alison Ranger formed in August, 1999 in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Despite claiming West Chester as a home town, Alison Ranger's members lived in such disparate states as Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. For the next five years, after many shows, two tours, some line-up switches, and a few collections of recorded material, the band broke up in August, 2004."


On this self-titled, self-released debut, Alison Ranger deliver up some inspired, busy, and emotive hardcore punk with tight drumming, vocals that alternated between high pitched screaming and the "yelled" variety, and (most notably) keyboards by someone who sure as shit knew how to play them. True, the keys aren't going to be for everyone, but if you're open minded enough to dig on some pretty original and energetic hc and, say, Bruce fuckin' Hornsby...well then I've got some shit you should hear.

My first and only encounter with these dudes occurred in January of 2001, when bass player Sandro Braidotti booked a show for one of my old bands at the completely awesome Wild Child Cafe in Wilmington, Delaware*. Not only was Sandro an all around nice guy, but his band rocked my balls off when we played with them that night. For me, that was one of the more memorable shows I ever played with that band, and I definitely consider myself lucky to have crossed paths with Alison Ranger. We had some serious van trouble on the way down to Wilmington and arrived stressed the fuck out (because that show was the first of three in a weekend road trip). However, once we got there, the friendliness of the folks in this band really helped me to settle down and quickly brought me back into a good mood.

These six jams were recorded at the prolific Clay Creek Studios with Nick Rotundo on August 8th and 9th, 2000. Peep it, 'cause it is indeed quite good. Alison Ranger to this day remain the only hardcore band from West Chester, Pennsylvania I've ever heard.

* A quick search through a box in my basement didn't turn up the flyer I still have for this show, but it's definitely down there somewhere.

Tracklist:
1) Wing Commander
2) Soap Factory
3) Who Has The Six-Top?
4) Pralines And Dick
5) Painter's Crossing In The Time Of Lope de Vega
6) Double-Blind

- choose where your shadow is cast -

V/A - "How To Be A Hero" compilation cd

"How To Be A Hero" was the introductory release from Prizefight Records, an obscure label located on the outskirts of Saint Louis, Missouri which existed briefly during the tail end of the 90's and was operated by a really nice guy named Neil Simpson. This compilation was a benefit for Habitat For Humanity, and featured a pretty diversified lineup of bands, something that I've always appreciated with comps where this is the case. Styles included on "How To Be A Hero" range from melancholic instrumental pieces (Indiana's Ativin, who released a bunch of stuff on Secretly Canadian), midwestern-ish post-rock-tinged stuff (Nova Scotia), screamo (Delaware heroes Joshua Fit For Battle and Missouri locals Johnny Angel), interestingly weirdo indie rock (Paper Castles), really good indie rock (Cursive), indie rock featuring some off-key vocals in the chorus (Civic), yet another band named after a character from an outstanding, classic NES video game^ (Piston Honda) and more.

There are sixteen songs on here, so more than likely if you've got at least a passing interest in underground shit and have a somewhat decent taste in music, there has to be something here you'd be interested in hearing*. The manila envelope packaging is simple yet effective, and in case you can't read the text on the cover, it says "and then you thought you had no friends". My copy included an insert advertising two releases by a couple of bands that appear on this comp, Park and Civic. My apologies for the less-than-stellar liner notes picture in today's post, but it's the best I was able to do because I stink.

At the end of the day, this is an enjoyable disc which, when released during the summer of '99, was connected to a good cause. Prizefight Records #1.

* It is probably worth the download for The Firebird Suite's song alone, y'all.
^ I play in such a band.

Tracklist:
1) The Firebird Suite - "The Pleasant Return Of Kerrazo"
2) 21 Union Square - "It Couldn't Be Me"
3) Park - "The Pandorian Adventures Of Dan Rosenthal"
4) Quell - "Aftermath"
5) Cursive - "After The Movies"
6) Johnny Angel - "Sweet Shop Savvy"
7) Civic - "Pincushion Flower"
8) Nova Scotia - "Achilles Heel"
9) 47 Ronin - "Something To Be Desired"
10) Baxter - "These Times"
11) Piston Honda - "For All The Bryn-Mawr Girls"
12) Paper Castles - "Miss The Sunset Rising"
13) Joshua Fit For Battle - "Song Three"
14) Penfold - "Chaper Two"
15) Joel Madigan - "Driven Drove Drought"
16) Ativin - "My Eyes Of Yours"

- right here -

Puritan / Reversal of Man split LP

Released in 1996 on Arizona's outstanding King Of the Monsters (run by Michael Gentz), this was an early split from two bands who played that frantic, spastic shit we all love; Pennsylvania's Puritan (who hailed from the Poconos), and Tampa's Reversal of Man. Really good stuff here, and if you're into the records that Witching Hour Records started doing just after this split was issued, you'd (probably) be doing yourself a favor to peep this. If you are familiar with the aforementioned cult-ish label, there's a 94 to 98 percent chance you know both of these bands already, and know at least one of them well. Recommended for fans of Inhumanity, Makara, and/or Volume 11.
,
Reversal of Man was a bit more prolific than Puritan, but both bands showcase a similar hectic style on this joint effort. Mostly fast, rippin' emo hardcore that comes recommended by this dude, especially the Puritan shit. There are lots of song explanations and personal writings included in the liner notes to keep you busy for a minute, and the bands have been awarded, by me, some extra big ups for referencing "The Dukes Of Hazzard" and aliens.

The Puritan songs (side A) were recorded ???, and the Reversal of Man songs (side B) were
recorded ???. This album was King Of The Monsters #5.

                                     

Tracklist:
---Puritan---
1) Never Meanin' No Harm
2) This Is Medicine
3) They Say 81
4) To Fall In Love...
5) From Inside A Carousel (Whispering)

---Reversal---
6) Pilot Gumby
7) Theory of Lamastra
8) Slingshot
9) Plaster of Paris
10) No Longer
11) Roswell

- please speak to me -

V/A - 403 Comp cd

This post is about the pretty highly regarded 403 Comp, aka Florida Fucking Hardcore, which was put out in 1998 by Schematics Records, a label which was owned and operated by Steve Heritage of Assück (and far less notably Jud Jud) fame. Tons o' bands you should be familiar with (Twelve Hour Turn, Hot Water Music, Discount, Reversal Of Man), and a few you very well may not be (Nineteenhundredandtwelve, Scrotum Grinder).

It's a compilation, there are tons of bands that hailed from Florida on here, some songs are better than others I guess, and this has been COMPLETELY OUT OF PRINT FOR YEARS, Y'ALL. Not included here are pics of the LP jacket and zine which accompanies this cd, mostly because Sean didn't feel like looking for it when he let me borrow this. You do, however, get one of the disc itself and the band list Sean wrote up years ago, which I'm sure made listening to this much easier.

Have a stellar day.

Tracklist:
1) Reversal Of Man - "These Hills Have Eyes"
2) Tomorrow - "Rightasrain"
3) Assück - "Alabaster"
4) Strikeforce Diablo - "Spirit of '59"
5) Hot Water Music - "Where We Belong"
6) CombatWoundedVeteran - "Put Your Weight On It"
7) Cavity - "The Oblivionist"
8) Omega Man - "Life After Death"
9) Nineteenhundredandtwelve - "Six Feet Deep"
10) Early Grace - "Twothousandandtwenty"
11) Discount - "History Is History"
12) Dragbody - "Inhuman Likeness"
13) Twelve Hour Turn - "Little One"
14) Cease - "Insurmountable"
15) Hankshaw - "Maple"
16) Bird Of Ill Omen - "Sharpshooter"
17) I Hate Myself - "Caught In A Flood With The Captain Of The Cheerleading Squad"
18) Scrotum Grinder - "Hot Air, Not Fire"
19) Jud Jud - "Wah Wah Song"

- right here -

Harriet The Spy - "Anthology Of Selected Recordings" cd

Harriet The Spy played a very interesting and diverse style of moody, somewhat melancholic punk which corresponded to a pretty great combination of melody and dissonance. They were a little bit noisy, a little bit spastic, and had a very windy, angular vibe which might be a tough listen for someone who has never heard them before. But hey, this blog is all about exposing people to shit they may have missed out on the first time around, so don't let the above weirdo description throw you off. 

The band hailed from Kent, Ohio, but an early HTS release gives us a Lyndhurst address for these dudes, which is a Cleveland suburb some 30 miles north of Kent. They were active between the years of 1993 and 1998, the year this disc came out. They began life with a more abrasive sound that what they finished with, and the songs presented here give the listener a first hand account of the progression of the band, including the noted improved musicianship of its members over the course of the band's growth. That sounds like something that I probably don't need to mention as this a compilation that spans the life of the band, but it's something that is a bit more noticeable with Harriet The Spy than with similar types of releases from other bands. They were rather prolific, releasing lots of stuff and appearing on numerous comps, including the Amnesia LP released by Ebullition twenty years ago.

There probably isn't much room here for any middle ground to stand on; although this might be a challenging listen for some people, I can pretty confidently say that those who can dig it will absolutely love it. It is definitely an interesting take on 90's emo hardcore.

Tracklist:
There are 34 songs on here, equating to over 70 minutes of music.
Sorry, but I don't feel like typing out all of the titles. :(

- i admit i ate the ornamental shrubbery, kiss kiss -