For those of you confused by the title of today’s post, I’m going to be talking about sweet new music I tracked down this weekend. Conversely, I will not be talking about railroad ties that have been super heated by the sun. I know, I know…I’ve been promising to talk about smoldering metal since before ‘Nam, but you’re just going to have to be patient a little while longer. That discussion will happen, but at some point in the unforeseen future.
Now, on to the music!!
It was a Thanksgiving of EPs, as I stumbled across some jewels at the Earshot in Greenville, SC. Gaze in wonder at the magnificence of music that is now mine, thanks to their adequate selection and decent used section:
Thrice - Red Sky EP
I’ve professed my love of Thrice here before and I’ll continue to do so as long as the sun shall shine. This tasty EP features two b-sides from the Vheissu recordings, “Flags of Dawn” and “Weight of Glory,” as well as four live, mostly acoustic, tracks. This was worth the purchase if only for the b-sides (which are as solid and strong as anything on Vheissu), but live tracks sound great in their own right. I’ve been looking for this bad boy for a while and it is mine! My Precious!!!
Stavesacre/Denison Marrs - split/e.p.
Stavesacre is another band that I respect to the utmost. Their passion, music, lyrics…everything about them is incredibly inspiring to me. And as a result, I must purchase everything they’ve put out. This is a limited edition EP put out a few years ago, between Speakeasy and the phonetically spelled (stavz’a'ker). It features three tracks that made it onto that latter album, but with different mixing and production. I’m curious to give them a closer listen, because (stavz’a'ker) is the one Stavesacre album that I can’t sit through very often. The sound mix is pretty bad and just doesn’t sound much like the Stavesacre I know and love. So I’m excited about hearing these in an untampered format. Oh and some other band named Dension Marrs is on here too. Their drummer is now the current drummer for Copeland. From the first listen or so, I like their sound. Sorta spacey rock. I think I have a full album of theirs floating around the house somewhere…
Ghoti Hook - EP
This little puppy is just jam-packed with hard rockin’ goodness. Those of you into the old-skool Christian pop-punk scene (mxpx, Slick Shoes, Hangnail, etc) might remember Ghoti Hook from back in the day. This is the last studio record they made and it is killer. Some sweet rock riffs had infiltrated their music by this point, making this a beautiful marriage of punk sensibilities and rock hooks. heh…Ghoti Hook…rock hooks…heh. Yeah, I’m lame.
Red Orchestra Radio - The Electric Sleep EP
Last but not least, I came home to find this gem waiting for me in the mailbox. Red Orchestra Radio is a new band from Winston-Salem and I am always excited to come across solid music from NC-based bands. These guys do not disappoint. I initially heard about them because James Tuttle (of Codeseven fame) is a new member. I believe this is their first official release and it is fantastic. The music is somewhat reminiscent of Far-Less, along with bits of Alien Ant Farm (vocally) and Codeseven. A lot of layering (listen to this with your headphones on), complex instrumentation, and good ole fashioned rocking out, I’ll definitely be watching these guys.
And there you have it! Revel in my musically-induced awesomeness. And to those of my readers who are disappointed at the general lack of bizarre humor in my recent posts of late, to you I say, “Ni!”
