The latest from the always intriguing Trip Machine Laboratories is "Swordswallower", the debut EP from Brooklyn, NY's Tournament, which breaks off five tracks of extremely diverse hardcore/punk meets indie/noise rock in 16 minutes, and makes for another fucking stellar release that really took me by surprise. You immediately notice the raw, natural warmth of the recording, which has a great sense of ruggedness to it that really works perfectly with the overall aesthetic of the material (not to mention excellently accentuating the killer vocal work)—actually adding pieces to the puzzle when you look at the big picture. The majority of the songs are short but sweet two-and-a-half-minute bursts of energy, be they driven by rocked out hardcore/punk power chords and distant, furious yelling; sludgy, 70's styled dual guitar runs (believe it); high-speed, borderline chaotic riffing; or even some truly gutwrenching uses of melody and atmosphere that really come at you out of nowhere from time to time. Take, for example, the completely unexpected Interpol meets Planes Mistaken for Stars vibe of the much longer and darker "Traveler", which falls smack in the center of the EP. So... there's a lot going on here, and it's all fucking superb. The disc is housed in a nice, simple screenprinted chipboard digipack with a big matte insert (that also looks screenprinted) for all of the lyrics, so that rounds things out nicely and seals the deal. I'd gush some more, but... just check out the damn track and see for yourselves:
This one hasn't made the rounds at all the distros yet, so... if the link below's not good enough for you, keep checking around or contact the band/label at the links above for direct ordering information. It's a cheap EP (especially since I'd guess the packaging was on the costly side), so... show some support if you like what you hear. This is great shit...
Comments
good band.
have you heard the new The Ocean album? it seems like something you’d be really into and i’m kind of curious as to your thoughts
2.12.2008 | By adam
This rules, that seventies vibe meets eighties hardcore, COOL
2.14.2008 | By tim
dude! seriously! rocktastic! love these guys and kevin reilly gets props for his work behind the console at last stop… http://www.myspace.com/laststoprr
2.14.2008 | By bink
If any one is interested…“Swordswallower” is now available from VERY DISTRO. Click the link: http://www.verydistro.com/moreinfo.aspx?id=23950
2.14.2008 | By TRIP MACHINE
I hear what you’re saying about the melodic passages: totally unexpected and totally incredible.
2.16.2008 | By manisthebastard
I heard some nice Swedish-type death-n-roll and some unexpected time signatures in there…so to connect that with indie vibes would be interesting indeed. Cool artwork, too!
2.18.2008 | By Invisible Oranges
Said to say…REV HQ is kinda passing on this release…because they might be too “local” even though they’ll have tours under their belt in 2008. Whatevs.
2.19.2008 | By TRIP MACHINE
That should be “Sad to say”
2.19.2008 | By TRIP MACHINE
how’s about hooking it up with http://www.stonerrock.com ? or does that offend your patchouli sensitive nose?
2.21.2008 | By kdr
kev hippy
STONERROCK.COM ignored Omnivore, therefore I ignore them.
2.21.2008 | By TRIP MACHINE
not the worst idea to try though
2.22.2008 | By MM.IIWII.MM
Yeah it is “the worst idea to try”
Only 500 of these were pressed. Split between the band and myself, I’m only sending out a small amount of promos to places I know will review it. STONER ROCK didn’t review the last promo I sent them which was way more in their STONER genre/realm, this is not. I’ll pass.
2.25.2008 | By TRIP MACHINE
this is also now available at http://www.revhq.com
3.11.2008 | By TRIP MACHINE
yeah screw that
3.31.2008 | By MM.IIWII.MM