WINTER 2006
experimentation

GUEST COMMENTATOR
BAND INTERVIEWS
ART SHOWCASES
COLUMNS
EXPERIMENTATION


© 2004, 2006 Redefine Media Inc.
PO Box 95219
Seattle, WA 98145-2219

REVIEWS

We don’t always have space to feature all of the artists who send us music, so this section was created to save some press kits from going into the trash. Enjoy!



FIELDING
Fielding
The Militia Group
- Some of the songs sound like they would fit better on the “Gilmore Girls” soundtrack, which isn’t a negative if you think about it.
- Fielding is on The Militia Group, so people may write them off as a Rufio knock-off without hearing the band first. + There are numerous catchy tunes, such as “Big Surprise,” “The Giant,” and “Indigo,” which will leave you humming for days on end.
+ It’s the first Militia Group release in a while that doesn’t suck.
+ This is the best date soundtrack of 2005.

RYAN PANGILINAN.




THE FIRE STILL BURNS
Keeping Hope Alive
Blackout! Records
- Sorry fellas. I like it, but my brain is telling me that I’ve been there and heard that.
- Six quick songs isn’t really a great place to start a fair opinion.
- Lyrical ambiguity leaves me confused as to whether they are talking about dating turmoil or their disappointment that the local scenesters are posers.
+ Six songs clocking in at a whopping sixteen minutes is nice if you like post-hardcore chants, slowed-down breakdowns, feedback outros, pick scrapes, and the bottled up energy of Strike Anywhere and Boysetsfire.

TYSON CANTRELL.




SAVIOURS
Warship EP
Level Plane Records
- Nothing extra-ordinary here by any stretch of the imagination. Then again, there’s nothing bad, either.
- On just three songs, it’s hard to make any real judgments about a band, but I will say this: they didn’t sell me on buying the full-length. I’d let someone burn it for me.
+ On the metal meter, Saviours registers in-between stoner and death, which is kind of a cool combination.
+ With song titles like “Circle of Servants Bones” and “Christ Hunt,” how can you go wrong? It’s hard to fuck that up.

JOHN GILLANDERS.




FOURTH OF JULY
If Dinosaurs Could See Us Now EP
N/A
- An American band re-records The Bends for the millionth time.
- Their singer really does sound like Thom Yorke (a 15-year-old version).
- The ambitious songs are smack in the middle, so if you weren’t impressed by the first two tracks and decided to hit the eject button, then you missed out on the good songs. + “Assume Normal” and “Your Love is Now” are very strong tracks and I hope the band’s current material is a bit more rocking like this. Even Radiohead stopped writing songs like “Karma Police” after a while.

RYAN PANGILINAN.




POTTY MOUTH SOCIETY
Self-Titled
Beer Metal Records
- PMS couldn’t resist from unleashing some humor-punk cuts that are almost preternaturally awful. Sing along now “6….6….6…. we play for Satan.” Yeah, wow. There’s a stupid song about a lesbian that’s completely unlistenable.
- Potty Mouth Society has got to be like the most retarded name for a punk band ever. Aren’t you supposed to sound dangerous? Uh-oh, don’t fuck with those dudes man, they’ve got potty mouths; they might swear at you a little.
+ PMS plays punk rock that’s slightly faster and more charismatic than your average beer punk outfit. There are some standout tracks here like “Drugs and Guns” and “Yuppie Cowboy” that are fast and catchy enough to get stuck in your head just before you pass out from a Pabst-induced coma.
+ Some of the vocals here are sardonic and leftist enough to strike me as amusing.

JOHN GILLANDERS.