HELLBENDER

Since I mentioned Hellbender in the Milemarker post yesterday I wanted to post their 3 full length albums for anyone interested. Hellbender featured Al Burian who would later go on to perform in Milemarker and Challenger. Hellbender was a completely different beast then the projects Al would later go on to do. Hellbender was more straight ahead rock with hints of pop punk and indie rock. Both "Con Limon" and "Footprint of the American Chicken" are highly recommended. If anyone has any of Hellbender 7"s and compilation tracks in mp3 please get in touch!


HELLBENDER - "Con Limon"
http://www.mediafire.com/?azz31ebjb1z


HELLBENDER - "Footprint of the American Chicken"
http://www.mediafire.com/?cdtljdy0dyl


HELLBENDER - "s/t"
http://www.mediafire.com/?33cjfwe21kk

MILEMARKER

Milemarker was formed in the late 90's featuring former members of influential bands like Hellbender and Sleepytime Trio. They incorporated modern technology into every aspect of their music and presentation. "Future Isms" was one of the early underground records to incorporate multimedia content on the CD release. Their live shows often used video projectors and other visual elements. Their sound was eclectic with the band shifting and experimenting with their sound with each record. Below are some of their earlier and hard to find records. There are a bunch of more recent records available for purchase through Eyeball and Jade Tree records.


MILEMARKER - "Changing Caring Humans" (1999)
http://www.mediafire.com/?3qjkmx329k9


MILEMARKER - "Frigid Forms Sell" (2000)
http://www.mediafire.com/?2dtw1v3xw0j


MILEMARKER - "Future Isms" (1998)
http://www.mediafire.com/?bnvabb2jyo5


MILEMARKER - "Non Plus Ultra" (1999)
http://www.mediafire.com/?eajit0bzj2d

NATIONAL SKYLINE

National Skyline is another band I've turned countless friends on to. Their music is a combination of dark synth pop and Radiohead elements. Their cover art with lonely and isolated photographs of modern transportation structures fits the experience perfectly. Whenever I listen to their records I think of flying the red eye late at night alone. I can't recommend these records enough.


NATIONAL SKYLINE - "This=Everything"
http://www.mediafire.com/?bwjhc9qt1hz


NATIONAL SKYLINE - "s/t ep"
http://www.mediafire.com/?1cnqvyx53zw


NATIONAL SKYLINE - " Exit Now"
http://www.mediafire.com/?2c1xmenfnch

BOYS LIFE

Boys Life was a Kansas City band in the heart of the mid-ninties "emo" (yeah, we all hate that word) scene. Musically they fall somewhere between Christie Front Drive, Mineral, Fugazi, and The Promise Ring. The lead singer Brandon went on to form the amazing alt-country act Canyon who I posted about in an earlier blog. He is currently working on solo material.


BOYS LIFE - "s/t" (1995)
http://www.mediafire.com/?4imynbjrydj


BOYS LIFE - "Departures And Landfalls" (1996)
http://www.mediafire.com/?6gq9mg7ceyr

THE SICK LIPSTICK

The Sick Lipstick were a band that formed in 2001 out of the ashes of Black Cat #13. During their short life they released records on labels such as Tiger Style, Sound Virus, & 5RC. Their sound fits perfect with other bands on those labels. Think Huggy Bear or Bikini Kill with more of a synth edge.
"The Sick Lipstick are no longer teenage robots. We are twenty-something robots, who still like noisy rock’n’roll guitars, sick synthesizers and dance beats." - The Sick Lipstick


THE SICK LIPSTICK - "Sting Sting Sting"
http://www.mediafire.com/?0njbe2nxljb


THE SICK LIPSTICK - "s/t ep"
http://www.mediafire.com/?f1jfxhyvmef

ANTARCTICA

I first saw Antarctica play in the late nineties at a Halloween show in Philadelphia. The band members were dressed as the crew from Star-Trek. It was not a far stretch since the first thing to come into mind to describe their music is spacey. Their first album "23:03" is a dark and desolate adventure. I can't recommend this record enough. Their second and last record "81:03" saw the band incorporating more 80s synth pop elements to their sound.


ANTARCTICA - "23:03"
http://www.mediafire.com/?focu1lux1ye


ANTARCTICA - "81:03"
http://www.sendspace.com/file/7k3xzy

BUY THESE ALBUMS HERE

CANYON

Canyon's second album "Empty Rooms" is a record I've turned numerous friends on to. They reside in the style of such bands as Wilco, My Morning Jacket, and Bright Eyes. Canyon should be larger than all of those bands combined. Listen to tracks 7 & 8 on 'Empty Rooms' and you'll see what I mean. This album gives me goosebumps whenever I listen to it. Think driving down a lonely mid-west highway at dusk while you listen and you'll start to get the picture.


CANYON - "Empty Rooms" (2003)
http://www.mediafire.com/?21ztvdsybuu

DAUGHTERS

I thought I would post the early Daughters records to go along with the As The Sun Sets post. Enjoy!


DAUGHTERS - 7" (2002)
http://www.mediafire.com/?c4xzkim08m5


DAUGHTERS - "Canada Songs" (2003)
http://www.mediafire.com/?2jwbsy4tcld

AS THE SUN SETS

As The Sun Sets was the early incarnation of the band Daughters. You can hear a large similarity between both bands. I discovered them on a whim at a record store awhile ago. I thought the cover art for their album "7744" was cool so I bought it. When I popped it in my CD player I was blown away by the intense volatile energy of every song. It was relentless and unforgiving. I was hooked.
The photo above is Daughters and was taken by Scott Smallin.


AS THE SUN SETS - "7744" (2002)
http://www.mediafire.com/?bnzwe4cm0yb


AS THE SUN SETS - "8949" (2003)
http://www.mediafire.com/?eu4jcm0wyn0


AS THE SUN SETS - "Each Individual Voice is Dead in the Silence" (1999)
http://www.mediafire.com/?7dmittrkum2

COMBAT WOUNDED VETERAN

Short. Fast. Brutal.


COMBAT WOUNDED VETERAN - "I Know A Girl Who Develops Crime Scene Photos"
http://www.mediafire.com/?5lj1uzdgynf


COMBAT WOUNDED VETERAN - "This Is Not An All Erect, All-Red Neon Body"
http://www.mediafire.com/?5zbb2ddp3dj


COMBAT WOUNDED VETERAN - "Click Down For The Torso"
http://www.mediafire.com/?f1yobj3lwkn

BUY THESE RECORDS HERE

ETHEL MESERVE

Ethel Meserve got their name from an eldery woman who worked on Penn State College campus where members of the band went to school. They disbanded in 1998 after touring with contemporaries Braid and The Get Up Kids. Although Ethel Meserve never got as much recognition as those contemporaries their music had as much passion if not more. They are truly a looked over gem from that era. When I listen to Ethel Meserve I'm taken back to snow covered winters in Pennsylvania; to desolate streets at night; to rainy days in fall. Where will you let them take you?


ETHEL MESERVE - "The Milton Abandonment"
http://www.mediafire.com/?5sndvlmxddv


ETHEL MESERVE - "Spelling The Names"
http://www.mediafire.com/?endzmx0xyyj

live EARTH

The king of drone, Dylan Carlson, is on tour right now so I thought it would be an appropriate time to post some Earth live recordings.


EARTH - "Live Hex In a Large City On the North American Continent"
http://www.sendspace.com/file/dvqjrj


EARTH/KK Null - "Split LP"
http://www.mediafire.com/?fzbydmmzmtt

SATISFACT

Satisfact's "The Unwanted Sounds Of" is one of the best kept secret LPs of indie rock. Members included Dave Schneider (of Lync and Love as Laughter) and Matt Steinke (Mocket, Octant) among other important figures in the Northwest indie scene. I was introduced to this record a few years ago (long after the band had broken up) and was completely floored by it's genius.


SATISFACT - "The Unwanted Sounds Of"
http://www.mediafire.com/?cw0vmvaomwy

LOS CRUDOS

Los Crudos was a political hardcore band from Chicago. Their music was loud, fast, agressive with great messages (social, political, etc), and although their lyrics are in Spanish, they are considered one of the best hardcore bands in the U.S.. After Los Crudos came to an end, the singer Martin Sorrondeguy formed a new band, Limp Wrist, which he performs with today. I will be posting Limp Wrist tracks soon.


LOS CRUDOS - "Discography"
http://www.mediafire.com/?9ymzueqj0e9