Short But Sweet, Polite And Respectful #35

What a fabulous lineup on this collaborative release. Tokyo’s ilill and 5000 team up with rûth and istilah from Singapore. Since it’s impossible to dwell on every single track on the split, I’m going to keep things short. Asian screamo rules the game with its fresh and exciting bands. All those amazing projects, which are featured on the split CD were formed quite recently and cover the whole sound palette from violent and chaotic to melodic and groovy - what could your emo heart desire more? The liaison between those four bands is home of nine incredible songs, each and everyone of them is fun listening to, sending you to a state of joy and ecstasy.

Thanks to Miss the Stars I discovered this premium post-hardcore inspired, emo / screamo band from Sweden. I was totally blown away after I had checked their song, the prince, which was streamed on Alex’ blog. The sound of the song is super melodic and features some really great background vocals, which are perfectly combined with the screamed ones. The EP contains just one further track, which sucks a lot because both songs leave you wanting for more. As the band just returned back home from their tour through Poland, we absolutely recommend you to give them a listen. You won’t regret it.

„Blood ties, ties our floods together. But I am, alone out at sea Abandoned by my shattered family. Crashing like waves, all over me.“

There’s a new wave of amazing emoviolence bands from the UK coming in. Cady is one of those. Their latest musical output is called ‚Isle Of Flowers‘ and contains four heavy tracks, full of darkness and dense atmosphere. Every single note seems to sound just right, as those soundscapes excels thanks to its furious vocals and wild blast beating drums. The Extended Play, which is strongly recommendable for fans of Cassus, Scared of Everything and Dawn Ray’d, is co-released by Boslevan Records, Cave Of Roses and Wolf Town DIY. It’s screamo as good as it gets combined with a slight hint of metal.

„Throat so lacerated, this damn chest croaks. Heaving patterns like lungs are bleached soaked. Move into the endless, simmering light. ‚I'm never coming back’ - ‚I am Dock Ellis. And I will miss you’."

Solanas are from the UK and were founded back in 2013. The screamo collective from Newcastle consists of Ollie, Eliott and Stef who also is part of Scared Of Everything and replaced the band’s original bassist, Tim, in 2014. Already released in late April, What’s Left To Leave Behind is already their sixths release and features five tracks in total. The music on it can be described as a sweet blend of emo, screamo and post-hardcore, which is wrapped in a sonic garb full of dreamy guitar riffs. Solans definitely set themselves off from the common screamo sound, which is not the worst thing you can say about a band. Thumbs up! Also check out the band’s LP, 'The Distance Within Our Bodies', which was released on vinyl recently.

„I’ll keep my tired eyes closed and hope to dream of love but I’m sleeping less each night and my heart can barely beat, my words have failed, my tongue and my hands have failed my nerves…"

Short But Sweet, Polite And Respectful #34

Premiered by one of our favorite blogs, Open Mind Saturated Brain, this collaboration unites I Hate Sex, Black Knight Satellite and Algae Bloom. Kicked off by the first-mentioned, who come up with some sweet new tones in the form of spoken vocals, transporting the well-written lyrics, the split contains four songs in total. The two following tracks are contributed by Black Knight Satellite from Vancouver. Their noisy and chaotic sound leads over to the fourth and final song, thrown in by Algae Bloom. The screamo duo from the UK adds some twinkling melodies to the sound palette of the split, which will be available via Damn Fine Tapes (EU) and Never Better Records (CAN). Can’t wait to get my hands on it.

“Everything went black. I opened my eyes again to sirens, I found myself and the inside of my car soaked in my own blood and I smiled.”

It took a while for me to get into the new Extended Play of the band from Portsmouth. Three short songs with a playtime of a bit more than five minutes in total. Reads like the basic parameters of a classic screamo record. But far from that. What you can hear on the EP is a blend of different hardcore sub-genres. While the band’s screamo roots shine through the opening track, Dishwashing Melodies, the other two songs are closer located to post-hardcore. Unfortunately, their sound loses a little darkness, which once was featured on their sensational debut. The 2016 version of Scared Of Everything is still recommendable, even if you have to give those three songs a few more runs to win you over.

Right after their appearance in our last episode of Short But Sweet, The Hope And The Failure from Sweden put out their first new song since the release of their first Extended Play, published back in 2005. The song is part of a split with the Canadian screamo outfit, Heavy Weather, which will be available via Lifeisafunnything and Blind Eye Records. The sevenths song of the discography of the screamo veterans from Stockholm is mournful and contains a wide range of vocals. No matter if spoken and almost whiny or screamed and full of heaviness, Ina’s chant is pure gold, letting the listener emphasize. Arranged slowly, Heavy Weather’s track is ace too. Driven by the post-rock sound, the song contains spoken vocals as well, embodying the ideal match.

„Flickering lights binding my thoughts. I wish that my hands would stop shaking like buildings collapsing. Now. Right now.“

The performance of UxMxAxC at the open stage at this year’s Fluff Festival was one of the best shows during the whole weekend. For those of you who couldn’t be at the fest or just missed their set, I would recommend to check out the Spanish emo/powerviolence collective from Salamanca. Their new EP would be a great start to get a good feel for their powerful and energetic sound. It contains four bold tracks in the vein of their demo from early 2015. With out any doubts, the sextet belongs to the best bands of this genre, Spain currently has to offer. Kiss, Kiss.

„Devoramos nuestros padres engullimos nuestras madres, quiero ver arder la suma de todo.“

Fluff16 Interview Series Pt. III

Here’s the very last chapter of this year’s Fluff interview series involving great bands and projects such as Jungbluth, damn fine tapes, Velozee, Lost_Boys, Riot Tea Club, Anne M. Christiansen, murderofcrows and Disque Polaire (check soundcloud.com/disquepolaire). Thanks a lot to everyone who participated. It was a pleasure. Hope to see you next year.

Fluff16 Interview Series Pt. II

Today, we are going to continue our Fluff Fest interview special. The second run features another eight fantastic projects like The Smudjas, Old Soul, (We Built The World And) Miss The Stars, Anne M. Christiansen, Riot Tea Club, Tadzio Records or No Omega / Det är därför vi bygger städer. Click on the link below and read what they wrote into the notebook.