Fugue "No One Else"

Fugue's "No One Else" has been a long time in the making. I went on what will probably be the only tour this band ever does for this record, and that was 17 months before the album would be released. I can recall them playing this show to three people in Rexburg, Idaho; to less people in Spokane, Washington; acoustically to a frustrated group of people in San Luis Obispo; and I remember the last show of the tour, where Garret's pedals broke at Vinyl Solution and the band just kind of ended their set angrily. I remember they didn't want to go out for dinner afterwards. That was the last time I saw them play. 

After I left, they had to finish writing the record. Then they had to record it. There were debates over how the vocals should sound. When I listen to the record now, there are parts where I think Garret should be screaming, because that's how he sang it that summer, but he's not screaming anymore and vice versa. After that, the record had to be mixed, and then it needed to be mastered. 

For a long time afterwards the band waited, and waited, and waited - hoping someone would pick it up - hoping someone would want to release it on vinyl. 

Avocado's putting it out on tape in a small pressing of 100 copies. Their release show is this Friday. If everyone at the show bought a copy, that could be it for the album. A record. An artifact. A piece of history. Nothing more. 

I can't write a proper review for this because it means too much to me. 

Jake's getting married in May, and the future of the band is questionable. 

I wish I could go to the show. I wish I could see them play this record front to back because it's an amazing record. I hope you all think the same.

You can buy it HERE

Civic Duty 2015 Demo

Civic Duty is a new hardcore band by way of Washington DC and Orange County. I imagine this will remain a pretty part-time band because of the distance between members, but I know they're playing America's Hardcore Festival in Boston coming up, and they'll be recording a 7" after that. This three song demo is punishing though. It's not very long, but each song has so many different parts to it that it feels like a full e.p. The first song "Burn Out" is the stand out track though just because of the way the drums move you. This song makes me wanna skateboard and come to terms with the idea of smashing my face into the pavement, losing some teeth, and bleeding everywhere. It's good music that makes you want to move. This is the first release on Suburban Fight Records, and was released alongside the second issue of the Suburban Fight Zine. It's sold out, but if it gets repressed I imagine it'll show up HERE. 

Layman "Blue Mind"

Layman just put out their new six-song e.p. on Paradise Records. It comes packaged in a nice looking 7-pannel cassette-tape. I remember reading this review in Razorcake of thier first tape that asked something to the extent like, has this tape been lost in the mail since 1992? I thought it was really funny, and super on point. But, these songs are much better recorded and produced. Although they're still clearly influenced by 1990's altnerative rock, it seems that they're beginning to find their own sound a little bit. Like the album art, the music sounds like a stoned summer afternoon hanging out with your friends by the pool. It sounds like being old enough to have responsibilities, but at an age where it's still to easy enough to dismiss them. The first two songs "Trampoline" and "Carmolita" are super poppy, but then they take it down a notch with "Shamrock." I think overall the pacing of this little e.p. was really well done. It's easy to get lost in these songs. There's nothing super technical going on, but they have their sound and their tone down perfectly. I'm really impressed by the growth of this band, and look forward to the long-player. 

Fugue "By & By" Music Video

My friend Lucas Chemotti made a music video for my friends Fugue. They have a new record coming out in December on Avocado Records. Really looking forward to the physical release. 

Calvin Jalandoni "Early Morning" music Video

Calvin's first official music video is out for his song "Early Morning." I think it turned out really really great. After getting to see him play this song every night for three weeks last summer, it's really cool to see this in a completely new way. I'm really proud of my dude!

Response - Demo 2014

All I know about this band is that Madison is in it. I didn't find out though until he sent me an email talking about the tour they went on over the summer. Four songs of Youth of Today influenced hardcore. The demo's less than 5 1/2 minutes long. It flys by. Honestly, most hardcore is usually lost on me unless the vocals stand out. In this case the vocals do, and they're catchy. The first song "In My Way" is the best on the demo, but that little breakdown in "Dropout" is great. "I want to keep my mind clear and free / THERE' NO CHOICE," is a super catchy straight edge track - it's great. Response is fierce. They're punk. They're good. And they don't do drugs. I really dropped the ball though with this release. It came out on tape on Fineprint and Video Disease

Fury - Live on KXLU 2015

Fury's second 7" is a live one from a set they played on March 20th on KXLU 88.9 FM Los Angeles. The 7" has five songs; two of which were on their demo that came out last year on Moshers Delight, and the other three songs are from their Kingdom Come 7", which came out on BBB Records. So technically nothing's new here, but the recordings themselves. Through these recordings though you get that raw live energy that they bring to every show. This is a glimpse of a young band with a ton of confidence and promise of things to come. Anyone who supports college radio is fine by me. Give this a spin. They're selling fast.

You can pick it up from BBB Records HERE.

or from Video Disease Records HERE.

Forced Order - Vanished Crusade

Forced Order's Vanished Crusade is their full length debut on Revelation Records. Unlike their 7", which gave the band room to breathe with half of the songs being instrumental tracks, their full length is unrelenting, punishing metallic-hardcore. The songs are short, powerful bursts of energy. The tempos change when they need to keeping the album fresh, and the solos slay. The vocals are brutal, and the drums hit hard. The songs blaze through like a full frontal assault, and it's not until "Ischys" (track 9 of 14), that they give the listener time to think. From there, Forced Order pummels through three more tracks before letting off a little by ending with two instrumental songs, which wraps up the record really well. This is highly recommended for anyone looking for something heavier to get them through the fall. 

You can pick up copies of the lp HERE.

Fakers - Personality Voices 7"

Fakers is the new band made up of Andy and Joey Siara from The Henry Clay People, and the first song off of their new 7", "$600", picks up where they seemed to have left off. They're back to singing about making ends meet with a $600 place to rest their heads, where they can pay their rent, but they can't afford any more accidents. Honestly, this could easily have been a hcp song. With the amount of line-up changes that band had, I'm not sure why they didn't just keep the same band name. But then the B-side "Gold Room," kicks in - a song about day drinking at your local bar where tequila's cheaper than water, and I'm like yeah, this is a different band. It reminds me of built to spill's guitar-heavy mid-tempo indie-rock. I think there's a couple more songs on a download card, but I haven't heard them yet. I'm sure they're great live. You can pick up the 7" HERE. 

The Lovely Bad Things - Space Waste / Always Lazy 7"

The Lovely Bad Things release their first new material since their debut lp The Late Great Whatever, which came out about two and a half years ago at this point. Lauren's vocals immediately kick off the A side "Space Waste" where she sings in the chorus "waste my time / waste my life." It's an undeniable pop radio hit. I think their time on the road with Best Coast has influenced them, and it shows because Space Waste is The Lovely Bad Things at their most accessible. This is the kind of song that ends up in commercials selling smart phones or new cars or fucking soda pop - i don't know. But you get the idea. The B side "Always Lazy" is the darker more experimental punk version of The Lovely Bad Things that's been brooding since before they were even a band. But this too shows them at their catchiest and most accessible, and that's not a bad things at all. "Don't You Even Care?," sings Cameron on the B-side. Well I sure do, and you should too. This is self released with a limited pressing of 300 on toxic green vinyl. Pick it up from the band HERE. 

A Sound Salvation: Rock N' Roll as a Religion (Book Review)

Ian Fowles, who has played in both Death By Stereo and The Aquabats, published his master's thesis through Sonic Mystic Publishing. It came out in 2010, but I picked up a copy of this at Programme Skate and Sound in Fullerton about two years ago, and got around to reading it while here in Colombia. Through A Sound Salvation: Rock N' Roll As A Religion, Ian argues that Rock N' Roll fulfills all the basic tenets of organized religion. He explains that as defined in the Encyclopedia of Religion (edited by Mircea Eliade), Rock N' Roll observes the eight sections of religion which include: Traditionalism, Myth & Symbol, Concepts of Salvation, Scared Places & Objects, Sacred Actions, Sacred Writings, The Sacred Community, and The Sacred Experience. Ian's thesis is well supported, well researched, and enjoyable. This is recommended for all rock nerds alike. Plus It's super informative. Who knew that Priscilla Presley was converted to Scientology by John Travolta? You can pick up a copy at amazon HERE. 

Canyons: No Man Is An Island E.P.

This is Canyons' second five-song cassette e.p. No Man Is An Island is a document of the band at a specific time with a specific line-up which unfortunately no longer exists. After this was recorded both Maegen and Garrett would end up leaving the band. However, this is finally seeing the light of day on #diy4lyfe records. And the band has continued on with a new line-up. These five songs are really gorgeous representations of what the band is capable of. Nick's drumming is amazing. Maegen's voice is beautiful. Jeremy's guitar tones are spacey. The songs are long-winded. But they vary. They have highs points and low points. The spacing and the sequencing is well done. I hope someday this band gets their act together enough to put out a full length, and tour on it because when they're good they're really good. It would be sad if this was the last thing they ever put out. 

Forced Order: Retribution 7"

Forced Order put out a demo tape, then the Eternal War 7"on Mass Movement Records, before releasing Retribution, a new four-song 7"on Revelation Records. They did all this in less than a year. It's crazy how fast this band made moves, but it's no surprise how quickly they took off. This is dark, heavy, metallic hardcore. Two of the songs on this thing are instrumental! The drums are pounding, the guitars are wailing, and the vocals are haunting. I think in some ways the two songs that are instrumental are more powerful than the songs with lyrics. "Gnosis," my favorite song on the 7" shows the depth this band has, and says more without lyrics than most hardcore bands do in their entire discographies. With plans to release their full length on Rev in 2015, this is a must own. Buy HERE.

Calvin Jalandoni: Self Titled Full Length

In 2011 Calvin Jalandoni started playing shows by himself. He recorded a demo and released it on bandcamp. He played shows sparingly lecturing people on mitosis, atoms, and biology. His ideas were usually lost on the crowd. His shows were always a little disjointed, a little awkward, and a little inspiring. Three years later he recorded and released his first full length album on hand-made cd's with instructions on how to meditate while listening to it. With a shifted and more directed focus, this feels like the first real representation of what he is shooting for. When he handed me a copy, he told me to listen to this by myself, in the dark, with headphones on. Listen to the whole thing all the way through. Don't give up, he said. It's an album. It's a piece of art. It's an experience. There are only four real songs on this which range from 5:00 - 10:00 minutes while the other seven songs, each at the 35 second mark, represent different chakras with instructions on how to meditate to them and the way to reach full enlightenment. The first standout moment on the album is where Calvin screams "If I die before I wake / I pray the lord my soul to take." I remember listening to this for the first time in Garrett La Bonte's living room, and literally sitting up and saying,"holy shit. Calvin did it. He wrote an album." Yet, I think Calvin is best when he is quieter like on the beginning of Early Morning. But it's his undeniable ability to shred on the guitar that usually stuns people during live shows. He ends the last song Final Flowering, by telling people "don't go on behaving like a machine / that's how people keep functioning / destroy the structures of politicians and greed" before repeating "love yourself." I think at it's very core, these are punk ideas. Ideas we've all heard before, but I promise that this is the most interesting way they've ever been presented. This is unique. No one else is doing what Calvin is doing. He has no contemporaries. But at the end of the day he gets it. "Love is the final flowering. You can not perfect it." That's it. That's all there is to it. 

Email Calvin for a copy of the cd. You want the physical release. Trust me. It ties the whole thing together in a way that listening to it on the internet can't. calvinjmusic(at)gmail(dot)com. 

Enough Said: Heritage Day 7"

I spend a lot of time joking about how I hate Eric Aliberti, but the truth is I don't. And as much as I want to hate his band, this 7" surprised the shit out of me.  Enough Said's been around for years at this point, and their past demos never really did anything for me, but the lyrics on this record are super on point. The title track Heritage Day exclaims 

They march the streets mapped by their elders 

They wear the uniforms adorned by their mothers

They carry the torch lit by their fathers 

They foster the beliefs instilled in them by others 

Before exploding into the chorus

I don't - want it

I won't- accept it
I don’t- need it
I won’t- believe it 

This record hits hard, and it's over before you know it starts. These Five songs in seven and a half minutes will punch you in the face and knock you out before you realize why you're on the floor with a lump on your skull. It's fucking scary good. I don't even like hardcore, and I like this. This is my favorite batch of songs that Madison has ever played on with the exception of Creatures' Vesuvius. It's good. It's really good. And you can buy it HERE. They're probably the only band that'll ever rep Placentia, and that's okay with me. 400 on back. 100 on white. Do it. 

Split released on Thick Skin Records and Fight 'Em All Records. 

Pelican Vision: Isolation E.P.

Pelican Vision, the main songwriting project of Jacob Brown, put out a four song cassette tape back in the summer, and they are something that could only come out of a bedroom. Calling on influences like Pedro the Lion and Rocky Votolato, this is Jake's' strongest release to date. I'm really impressed with this tape because Jake plays both drums and guitar on this recording while using his brother Jordan for bass. "Needing," the strongest track of the four, sounds like the beach, summer boredom, shitty minimum wage jobs and road trips. These songs are about being stuck, but seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. Here's to getting out of the suburbs. You can grab a copy of the cassette here from Avocado Records. 

Fury: Kingdom Come 7"

After shelling out a six-song demo tape on Mosher's Delight that had the whole world dancing to Big Al's Beat these kids took their songs to the road opening up for Soul Search for over a month before releasing their first 7" on BBB Records. The A-side of Kingdom Come runs out with guns blazing: fast-as-fuck, angry hardcore that's also a little vibey, and more pissed off than anything on the demo. I really like the contrast with the B-side, which has two longer songs more influenced by NYHC. I think the B-side shows a lot more depth and could potentially preview where this band is headed in the future. The artwork is killer too. Super powerful image. The best thing to come out of Yorba Linda in 2014. Do yourself a favor. Pick it up. It's already more than half way through it's first pressing. 

Sub Pop USA book review

Sub Pop USA: The Subterranean Pop Music Anthology, 1980-1988 is a 400 page book compiling all of the early sub pop zines as well as all of bruce pavitt's sub pop columns that he wrote for rocket magazine between April '83 and July '88. The zines were super cool, and it was rad to see how he did the layout for the cassette releases, but i really liked reading the columns more. He gets meaner in the columns, more confident and more critical of the bands he's reviewing. It makes it way more entertaining. And if you take the time to check out some of the bands you hadn't heard before, you can learn a whole bunch. After listening to some of them, I was super impressed with Pylon from Georgia, as well as all the half japanese stuff I listened to. I also ended up getting lost in a Jandek wikipedia article for way too long and tried downloading that documentary Jandeck on Corwood, but didn't have any luck. But this is super re-readable, and has so much information packed into it that you can't help but learn something new. Bazillion Points published this collection after putting out the Touch & Go fanzine. I hope they can put out the No Idea fanzines next!

Throat Culture Reviews Roman Candles and The Stowaways

Roman Candles - 'Yorba Linda' b/w 'Crystal Cathedral'

Wow! I am so thrilled for this to be a real thing. This is absolutely stunning. A great bonus to the LP for nerds like me. I have been wanting this! Next LP is already in the works it sounds like from the insert to this 7", what? Crazy pumped! Rock'n, pop punk, with a political agenda. Love this! Two songs to get you back to what matters, music! And people! Very neat liner notes too, as always with Roman Candles releases. And we get to see Nixon-Mouse again. Full-band versions may be better than the acoustic Roman Candles, who knows? I love both! The LP and this are so different yet the same. Take notice. (ALSO NOTE: The cover of the record has the End Poverty In California ( or E.P.I.C.) little logo, with a fruit fly I think it is. Yay Upton Sinclair! Yes to Christopher!)

Roman Candles - 'Riley versus Jason in The battle of gracious living' 

Wasn't even gonna mention this LP, but this shit is SO GOOD! And on the slight chance you haven't heard about it yet I would feel bad. Protest-feeling riot done on an acoustic guitar in a bedroom. Blows my little mind. Every song hits like a bag of bricks, could quote them all, but only the full songs do the lyrics justice. Comes with a mini-zine of the history of the band, change of lineups, and past shows. Lyrics! and photos! Get a feel for Yorba Linda, get this . . 

Plan-it-X / PO Box 2312 / Bloomington, IN 47402 / USA
(812) - 214 - 5520
romancandlesmusic@gmail.com
fuckthestowaways.blogspot.com

The Stowaways - #15 / 8 1/2" x 11" / 18 pgs / b&w / $2! / trade?

Amazing show reviews, seriously, this guy goes to like every show, ever, and gives upfront, honest reviews, love it! Has a bit on this dumb ass kid wearing blackface and going as Trayvon Martin fro Halloween, to make things even more fucked, he has an Arizona ice tea and Skittles in tote. Where is the world at? An insighntful Elliot Babin interview, he's in DAD PUNCHERS, TOUCHE AMORE, and DNF. Very cool. Record / tape reviews to end things out, and a Pocketknife ad on the back, order their record, it rulez. Favorite part may be him talking about how the guy in RVIVR smells like shit. ". . . his sewer stench was probably more memorable than their set, which is bummer because they played great." Ha. Seek n' read. Send him your zines / records / tapes for review. Also: glad last issue wasn't the actual last issue. 

5082 Wendover Road / Yorba Linda, CA 92886 / usa

Slingshot Reviews The Stowaways Issue #16

Slingshot reviewed issue #16 of The Stowaways.

The Stowaways Summer 2014 Yorba Linda
5082 Wendover Rd. Yorba Linda CA 92886

A chronicle of the punk scene with emphasis on people activated by the DIY side of it. It has up till now been covering the dispersed LA area. In this issue the editor has relocated to the Humboldt area of Northern California - and surprise surprise, there is a healthy and vibrant scene to be found there. The amount of shows each issue records is impressive. A bit more elaboration on the bands' sound and message could further the cause here. Also what makes this kind of journalism alive is vivid descriptions of the characters that populate the shows - which Stowaways could use more of. The zine is starting to look sharper since its early issues with large photos to spark the imagination. Also to keep you seated is interviews and reviews all of it done with care. 

Growing Up is Dumb

My friend Lucas made this documentary about growing up is dumb festival from last summer. I meant to post this months ago, but life has been busy.