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What’s up Sorry Staters?
I must say, I’m feeling pretty damn excited as I’m sitting down to write for the newsletter this week. Amongst all the bad news I feel like I’m bombarded with on a day-to-day basis, some good news couldn’t hurt. Just this morning, Public Acid’s string of shows that we’ll be playing in Finland in June got announced. All 3 shows are with the mighty Kriegshög. Incredible. And it turns out that Kohti Tuhoa is playing all 3 dates with us as well. Last year, when Scarecrow played with Kohti Tuhoa in Helsinki they absolutely destroyed. Starting to get that buzz of eagerness and anticipation. Also, the reality that all this crazy traveling I’ll be doing is on the horizon has started to sink in. I had better be ready.
Here on the home front in Raleigh though, I want to reiterate about a couple gigs coming up in April. Just a little over a week away, Paprika from NOLA, along with Homemade Speed from VA and Scarecrow, are playing the Pour House on April 2nd. Then a few weeks later, Jail from Detroit are playing with Paranoid Maniac and Scarecrow (once again) at Neptunes on April 24th. If you’re local to the Raleigh area, don’t miss those!
For my staff pick, I realize that Daniel already made this X2000 LP record of the week in the previous newsletter. But now that I’ve had proper time to digest this new LP entitled Gótico Tropical – Firstly, I don’t know why the hell I waited around to give it a listen; secondly, it absolutely RIPS. Hopefully I won’t be just repeating what Daniel already had to say about this record, and instead, only give you further reason to check it out.
At first glance, one might expect X2000 to come from a Spanish-speaking country. But it turns out the band based out of Gothernburg, Sweden and the singer is a transplant from Colombia. On X2000’s bandcamp, there’s a brief statement about the record that reads: “Between the sultry tropics and the rural darkness of Colombia, there live beings that not even Dracula himself dares to pay a visit.” Quite an ominous synopsis to set the scene for the atmosphere this record conjures. I don’t know, man. X2000 just creates a type of hardcore that I love, where it’s so dark and left of center, that there really is this sense of horror and dread. The band’s delivery has this unhinged feeling of fear and psychosis. The singer makes his entrance on several songs with bouts of maniacal laughter. The vocal performances will often begin with animalistic grunts and powerful screams, but then shift to a feeling more like cries of desperation. It’s intense, dude.
For me, the star of the show is the guitar player. I assume the guitar is drenched in chorus. Either that, or the guitar player recorded several layers of riffs that are severely out of tune with one another. The discomfort and eeriness of the guitar tone makes the band feel even more alien and otherworldly. Lots of ringing open strings, and notes within the chords that are like harmony with brief moments of beauty, but often weaved in along with what sounds as if the guitar is creating dissonant ugliness on purpose. The guitar and bass will often diverge and play notes completely different from one another. Along with that, the deceptively simple pulse of the “1-2-1-2” on the drums will often have unexpected, and rather odd time changes. This unsteadiness and chaos of the music come across less like the band is throwing ideas at the wall, and rather like they have the structures intelligently, yet connivingly under control. Which gives the listener an unsettling sensation like you can’t get a grasp on what’s happening. You’re wrapped around their finger, as if the tendrils of your muscles are hanging like a marionette from Freddy’s claw before leaping to your death… Nightmare On Elm Street 3, anyone?
Perhaps that’s a rather abstract way to describe this record. Personally, I think it’s really cool and feels fresh. I gather the impression that there’s a layer of conception deeper than what lies on the surface with this band. I would love to see this band play—I have a hunch they might be really great live. Check out X2000 if your nap underneath the rock has gone on for too long!
Anyway, that’s all I’ve got. As always, thanks for reading.
‘Til next week,
-Jeff