The Meltdown 2.72

Hip-Hop vs Hardcore! Round 4!

Dwell Joins Blood and Ink Records

                                                DWELL JOINS BLOOD & INK RECORDS

                                      FFO: TURMOIL, BURIED ALIVE, REIGN SUPREME

DWELL officially formed in 2014 in Kernersville, NC, featuring its current lineup of Jacob (vocals), Isaac (Drums), Ian (Guitar), Ryan (Bass) and Jeremy (Guitar). But their history is much deeper… Ian and Isaac are twin brothers and they are longtime friends with Jeremy, Jacob and Ryan; playing together in a handful of local hardcore bands.

 

DWELL quickly grabbed the attention of Blood & Ink Records with their intense, chaotic live show and unique take on '90s style metallic hardcore. Their debut, self-titled EP, mastered by Jamie King (Between the Buried and Me) and with guest vocals by Joe Musten (Advent, Beloved), is made up of five heavy-hitting songs that you won't want to pass up. DWELL are sure to make waves in the coming year.

 

DWELL will release their debut selt-titled EP on March 10th via

Blood & Ink Records. Pre-orders are now available from the label's website.  Limited edition tapes of the EP will be available along with CD/Digital and shirt combos.

Stream "Voyage", the first song from the Dwell EP. Dwell will be released onMarch 10th via Blood & Ink Records.

Sollunar - The Observatory EP

There are moments when you hit play on a new record and within seconds you know you're listening to something special. That's how I felt my first time listening to Sollunar's debut ep, The Observatory. Maybe it's my unending love for good post rock. Maybe it's the excitement of seeing the growth of a friend culminate into a musical masterpiece. Maybe it's just because the ep is that damn good!

Sollunar is the solo project of Florida musician/engineer Josiah Bibb. And The Observatory is the type of record that reminds me of why I feel so in love with post rock in the place.

The discordant ambient guitar layers providing the bed for the main riff on Aperture/Overture before dying out to a piano bed which strikes out on it's lonesome for only a second before the song builds and decrescendos, offering a brief glimpse at what's to come. It's a tease for something more, which you want. Sure, it could've built into the next song, exploding in a triumphal cacophony of sound. But Bibb lets the intro die and gives the songs space to breathe. The dynamics play a key role in establishing a give and take between instrumentation and creating an environment for the listener to dissect and re-listen and engage the songs.

The quietness of Years makes you grab the volume knob and turn up the speakers, trying to catch the subtleties of the song. You can tell there's an intentional crafting of the songs, because if you expect the song to build to go one one, Bibb will add a little addendum to the track, taking it off the rails of convention, only to reemerge farther down the line, already caught up in the next wave of sound and expansion. At times the guitar seems out of tune and not quite in step with the rest of the song, but it shifts and swerves and finds it's way back into harmony.

Hoarfrost quickly finds it's groove and builds, never to a point where the song explodes, but it leaves you wanting it to go over the edge. And it takes you to the edge before quickly dethrottling. The title track is a beautiful ambient piece that serves more as a bridge between the first half of the ep and the second. The bluesy guitar riff  giving way for Permafractions to jump right in. No frills or silly introductions, just smack you in the face guitar goodness. The waltzing movement of the riff create a tension in the beauty and destruction happening at the same time.

Soliloquy closes the ep with this knowing that there's beauty in the simplicity of life. Abigail Bibb's simple vocal melody create a texture that stands so well on it's own, that you wish there had been more of it.

And then the record ends. I found myself going back and listening to The Observatory over and over again. It's the first great record of 2015. 5 out of 5 Stars

RIYL: Caspian, Gifts From Enola, Giants, The Mylene Sheath

You can download The Observatory EP at http://sollunar.bandcamp.com/releases

The Meltdown 2.71

The Meltdown - The Meltdown 2.71


Jeff Cloud, owner and founder of Velvet Blue Music joins the show.

The Meltdown 2.70

Music news from Lexi Elisha, Pacific Gold, Doug Burr, Strengthen What Remains, and more. 

Derek Minor - Empire

Music is subjective. It's what makes talking about music so much fun. What one person thinks is the greatest record ever, someone else will think is complete garbage. And that extends to people who listen to music in the same genre, as well as to those with different tastes in music. The conversations about what is great and what isn't could go on forever and no matter how much two people, at some point they will disagree.

Which brings us to Empire. I've read some cliff notes reviews that were all hype about Derek Minor's new record. "2015's first gem" and "great" were terms used to describe Empire. But I just don't see that...

To be fair to Derek Minor, I didn't like Lecrae at first either. It took a couple of records. But with the hype surrounding Empire, I thought for sure I'd love it! Reach Records had been on a roll. But much like Minor's previous release, Minorville, I'm a little ho-hum on Empire.

On Minorville, I loved Gimme. It had a great hook and felt fresh. But there wasn't a whole lot else on that record that I connected with. On Empire, I love the title track! It's a real standout. And thankfully, it's not the only track that I dig on Empire. But Empire is definitely my favorite track. It's the Gimme of Empire.

The beat on Kingdom Come is fresh. It has a great vibe that reminds me of Busta Rhymes and Nas. Slow Down took a couple of listens, and I still don't care for the hook, but the verses hit hard and even though it feels like a trap song, there's something about the rhyming style that I find myself enjoying. Stranger is the song Minor wrote in response to Ferguson and NY and touches on racism in the church. It's the kind of impassioned lyrics that I wish I was hearing more of from Derek Minor. There's pain and anger behind the words and delivery and it makes the song compelling in a way that I don't hear throughout Empire. Minor's delivery on Save Me is straight vicious and violent and I love it! But the song as a whole just doesn't grab me. It's like I wish the beat or hook was different. The laid back vibe of Oceans is nice and I like the guitar flourishes.

I like the Empire reaches out and has collaborations you might not expect. Guest appearances from Anthony Evans, Colton Dixon, Move Aside add to the usual Reach characters like Lecrae and Tedashii.

It's not that Empire is a bad record. It's just not my taste in hip-hop. I like it more than Minorville, so the needles moving in the right direction. It just goes to show you, you never know what you might or might not like. No matter what anybody else says.

3.5 out of 5 Stars

The Lonely Revolts - Broken Bones, Burning Hearts

It doesn't seem to matter how old I get, I am drawn to gritty punk that makes you want to dance and mosh. There's that part of me that always returns to junior high and high school. Watching skate and snowboard videos, listening to Screaming Giant Records. Nothing else mattered but punk rock and skateboarding!

Broken Bones, Burning Hearts is an album full of songs that are raw and passionate. Instantly I wanted to get up and move around. You can just imagine the fun you would have seeing The Lonely Revolts live. It's get up and move around punk. Its't the type of album that drew me to the genre in the first place. Intense, with a message, but remembering that punk rock is also fun!

There's something about the vocals on Extra Extra, the album's opener, that reminds me of Lemmy from Motorhead. Scum of the Earth is a social/political/theological take down song that makes for good punk rock. The system must be challenged! White Flags isn't a ska song, but it has that skanking beat that makes you want to dance. Open Graves, Chariots of Fire, Dead For You, Check Your Pulse, are all circle pit and mosh pit songs. Songs that get you up and moving.

There are a handful of sing-a-long moments, but Broke Bones, Burning Hearts is more about getting people up and moving more than having them sing-a-long. The production feels like the band recorded everything in one take, playing together in the same room. It's old school!

The Lonely Revolts have released a punk rock gem. It might not come with a lot of accolades or acknowledgement, but this is punk for the true punk rock fan!

4 out of 5 Stars