TYBS#3 (NOV 2006)
I’m a big rock and roll fan. Huge. I specifically have a soft spot for horror-inclined noise and metal that’s as anarchic as a street riot (yeah, I may know a bit about curbside brawls) or exquisite, atmospheric gothic as sweet as a kiss from a girl with kohl-rimmed eyes.
That said here’s some local, relatively new, releases with both the melody and the mayhem to get you stomping through the night.
* * *
TYPECAST
The Infatuation is Always There
FMAP Records
Sincerity in the newest crop of emo can a hard thing to find with all the prevalent posturing in the genre. Every other kid thinks that stringing three chords together and yawping about a failed relationship qualifies as sonic angst. Where are the At the Drive-Ins? Where are the metal heads who loved The Deftones?
No need to look any further than Typecast. Somebody must be spiking the drinking water in Laguna with a potent mix of post-hardcore and new punk. See, these guys from Sta. Rosa are as authentic as they come.
In Al Pacino’s Looking for Richard a black man on the street, all too eager and perhaps slightly mad, says in one of the interviews: “If we mean what we say and say what we mean the world would stop being in constant war.”
Typecast (whose name was taken from a Snapcase song) have taken this credo to heart and made songs with bona fide suffering and emotional exorcism at their core. While I discovered these guys on their fans’ YouTube postings (their performances are truly incendiary) it’s marvelous that their power is undiminished on record.
The Infatuation is Always There is a raging angel with a metal heart and that existential moment when a boy, lost in the woods realizes that no one is coming, that he will not be found.
I love the thrash swagger and punk force of “Another Minute Until Ten.” I love the dirt and noise braying like mating beasts in “The Infatuation is Always There.” And I love the snarling belligerence of “Wait” and the fuzz saturation of “Out Comes the Brave.” Fans of metal will have a head banging field day with this curiously un-emo, emo release. Lovely and dangerous, yes.
BLACK SHIRT SAYS: Frankly, I prefer this one over their glossier second release. While we could go on and on about the anthemic riffs, the big chords and the pummeling drums the best thing for you to do right now is put this paper down and buy the album post-haste.
* * *
TYPECAST
Every Moss and Cobweb
FMAP Records
“One time [during recording],” says singer and rhythm guitarist Steve Bilbao, “I stepped inside the guitar room and all the effects were on but nothing was being played. The daisy chain and the amp were all emitting this groaning noise that was so loud it hurt my chest.”
This album has slicker sound production because the band recorded in Malaysia and had it subsequently mastered by none other than Sven Heise, the German svengali who also did the mastering for Nirvana. I kid you not.
There’s a poignant piano intro in “You Don’t Need Eyes to See,” setting the tone for the pathos and demonstrative circus of emotions that follows. One of the hot tracks here includes the hook heavy chugger “Bright Eyes” whose minimalist lead riffs must be commended. This one is more emo than metal, though. Even the filigrees smack of it.
While “Not About You” and “Don’t take Me from Me” also shine in the axe-slinging regard with their lightning fast attack, the best track here is the “Boston Drama.” As a lovelorn narrative writ in distortion it stands up to the best and as an emo-punk’s manifesto the song craft shows how far Typecast have traveled as musicians.
The staccato verses convey both yearning and futility even as Badiola sings “Will you come back in a heartbeat? / Don’t be surprised how good we can be.” I wince at such a bleeding, heart-on-sleeve confession. Would we were all as brave in discourse and intimacy. Typecast drummer Melvin Macatiag also comes out in splendid form on this record. He vacillates from soft curves to sheer bedlam and makes it seem so easy.
BLACK SHIRT SAYS: Slicker and louder. I would have preferred some of that raw dirt left over but this will definitely appeal to a wider audience. Oh, and watch out for that extra, surprise track at the end of the CD.
* * *
NAMES ARE FOR TOMBSTONES
Swan Song
(Independent)
Names are for Tombstones is Nono Acosta, one-man multi-instrumentalist and digital recording whiz that plays a mix of industrial, gothic rock, classical and 80s dark wave. A guitar and a laptop is all he needs to perform live. Needless to say, his garage recording projects are chokfull of succulent sonic layers.
While NAFT’s previous EP Phantoms took us street level to a vision of industrial darkness, seedy and full of its own monstrosity, this new Swan Song EP (released in mid-November) has a vaster scope. The instrumental “Dreams of Grandeur” opens the door to a world where outer gloom mirrors inner nightmare. And boy is that psychological landscape immense.
Some classical works describe how the geography of hell is mutable. If it is then this surge of emotion can no doubt compel it to shift. The two swan songs, “Farewell” and “I’m Going Now” are paeans to lost or failed love, the former melancholy and grieving, the latter done in rapturous industrial with vocals saturated in echo.
What NAFT does best is depict our own psychoses with such candor and delicacy that we see it in its own beauty – no matter how big our flaws they are sigils of identity. His songs can evoke very visual responses as well.
Just listen to “Mayday: Watari’s Last Battle”, arguably the best track here. Its majestic swirls are fused with traditional industrial grooves for a grinding bliss that smacks of the cyberpunk spirit. Though it’s another instrumental, there’s an impression that coded somewhere amid the knocks of machines and the melodies is a whispered promise, a prophesy of the future.
Both TYPECAST albums are available at all major record bars while NAFT’s Swan Song EP can be downloaded at http://nameless.ph/ or you can contact Nono Acosta at 0917-9056433
I’m a big rock and roll fan. Huge. I specifically have a soft spot for horror-inclined noise and metal that’s as anarchic as a street riot (yeah, I may know a bit about curbside brawls) or exquisite, atmospheric gothic as sweet as a kiss from a girl with kohl-rimmed eyes.
That said here’s some local, relatively new, releases with both the melody and the mayhem to get you stomping through the night.
* * *
TYPECAST
The Infatuation is Always There
FMAP Records
Sincerity in the newest crop of emo can a hard thing to find with all the prevalent posturing in the genre. Every other kid thinks that stringing three chords together and yawping about a failed relationship qualifies as sonic angst. Where are the At the Drive-Ins? Where are the metal heads who loved The Deftones?
No need to look any further than Typecast. Somebody must be spiking the drinking water in Laguna with a potent mix of post-hardcore and new punk. See, these guys from Sta. Rosa are as authentic as they come.
In Al Pacino’s Looking for Richard a black man on the street, all too eager and perhaps slightly mad, says in one of the interviews: “If we mean what we say and say what we mean the world would stop being in constant war.”
Typecast (whose name was taken from a Snapcase song) have taken this credo to heart and made songs with bona fide suffering and emotional exorcism at their core. While I discovered these guys on their fans’ YouTube postings (their performances are truly incendiary) it’s marvelous that their power is undiminished on record.
The Infatuation is Always There is a raging angel with a metal heart and that existential moment when a boy, lost in the woods realizes that no one is coming, that he will not be found.
I love the thrash swagger and punk force of “Another Minute Until Ten.” I love the dirt and noise braying like mating beasts in “The Infatuation is Always There.” And I love the snarling belligerence of “Wait” and the fuzz saturation of “Out Comes the Brave.” Fans of metal will have a head banging field day with this curiously un-emo, emo release. Lovely and dangerous, yes.
BLACK SHIRT SAYS: Frankly, I prefer this one over their glossier second release. While we could go on and on about the anthemic riffs, the big chords and the pummeling drums the best thing for you to do right now is put this paper down and buy the album post-haste.
* * *
TYPECAST
Every Moss and Cobweb
FMAP Records
“One time [during recording],” says singer and rhythm guitarist Steve Bilbao, “I stepped inside the guitar room and all the effects were on but nothing was being played. The daisy chain and the amp were all emitting this groaning noise that was so loud it hurt my chest.”
This album has slicker sound production because the band recorded in Malaysia and had it subsequently mastered by none other than Sven Heise, the German svengali who also did the mastering for Nirvana. I kid you not.
There’s a poignant piano intro in “You Don’t Need Eyes to See,” setting the tone for the pathos and demonstrative circus of emotions that follows. One of the hot tracks here includes the hook heavy chugger “Bright Eyes” whose minimalist lead riffs must be commended. This one is more emo than metal, though. Even the filigrees smack of it.
While “Not About You” and “Don’t take Me from Me” also shine in the axe-slinging regard with their lightning fast attack, the best track here is the “Boston Drama.” As a lovelorn narrative writ in distortion it stands up to the best and as an emo-punk’s manifesto the song craft shows how far Typecast have traveled as musicians.
The staccato verses convey both yearning and futility even as Badiola sings “Will you come back in a heartbeat? / Don’t be surprised how good we can be.” I wince at such a bleeding, heart-on-sleeve confession. Would we were all as brave in discourse and intimacy. Typecast drummer Melvin Macatiag also comes out in splendid form on this record. He vacillates from soft curves to sheer bedlam and makes it seem so easy.
BLACK SHIRT SAYS: Slicker and louder. I would have preferred some of that raw dirt left over but this will definitely appeal to a wider audience. Oh, and watch out for that extra, surprise track at the end of the CD.
* * *
NAMES ARE FOR TOMBSTONES
Swan Song
(Independent)
Names are for Tombstones is Nono Acosta, one-man multi-instrumentalist and digital recording whiz that plays a mix of industrial, gothic rock, classical and 80s dark wave. A guitar and a laptop is all he needs to perform live. Needless to say, his garage recording projects are chokfull of succulent sonic layers.
While NAFT’s previous EP Phantoms took us street level to a vision of industrial darkness, seedy and full of its own monstrosity, this new Swan Song EP (released in mid-November) has a vaster scope. The instrumental “Dreams of Grandeur” opens the door to a world where outer gloom mirrors inner nightmare. And boy is that psychological landscape immense.
Some classical works describe how the geography of hell is mutable. If it is then this surge of emotion can no doubt compel it to shift. The two swan songs, “Farewell” and “I’m Going Now” are paeans to lost or failed love, the former melancholy and grieving, the latter done in rapturous industrial with vocals saturated in echo.
What NAFT does best is depict our own psychoses with such candor and delicacy that we see it in its own beauty – no matter how big our flaws they are sigils of identity. His songs can evoke very visual responses as well.
Just listen to “Mayday: Watari’s Last Battle”, arguably the best track here. Its majestic swirls are fused with traditional industrial grooves for a grinding bliss that smacks of the cyberpunk spirit. Though it’s another instrumental, there’s an impression that coded somewhere amid the knocks of machines and the melodies is a whispered promise, a prophesy of the future.
Both TYPECAST albums are available at all major record bars while NAFT’s Swan Song EP can be downloaded at http://nameless.ph/ or you can contact Nono Acosta at 0917-9056433
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