So Brick, Eh?’s Festivus Musical Grievances in 2024

 By So Brick, Eh?:

 

What the fuck NOFX? Are you retiring or something? Is this your last tour? You should probably let us know. But in all seriousness, my relationship with NOFX has warbled this year. My first attempt to see them got rained out, which isn’t their fault, but a bummer, nonetheless. But by their good nature they welcomed the rained-out crowd back to day two of the last Punk in Drublic showing in Denver, Colorado. And, to make up for it, they’d be playing TWO sets. A matinee and an end show. What luck! Timing made it difficult for me to see matinee, so I only caught the end show, and, to my dismay, they had spent the time between the matinee and end show drinking quite heavily. Suffice to say, not their best performance, but, hey, that’s punk rock baby! Because I think they’re retiring? I can’t remember if I heard that or not.

What the fuck is Midwest emo? There are some emo songs that are clearly about the Midwest. “Lansing, MI” by Public Transit and “Ohio Is for Lovers” by Hawthorne Heights come to mind. But there is not a distinctive or unifying sound that is genre defining and I am tired of people insisting that Midwest emo is somehow different from emo more generally. Perhaps it’s like the “British Invasion” and it’s about where the music originates. But then there’s my buddy’s band Collinsworth from goddamn West Virginia, which is decidedly not the Midwest, yet they self-label themselves as such. Is this a marketing move? Is this yet another authenticity digression? Jesus Save Me from The Glamorization of The Midwest. Who would willingly be proud of the same place JD Vance calls home?

What the fuck is going on in country music? Look, I get it. I really do. Music has long been a process of sampling, remixing, homa,ge and allusion. But some of these new country songs are just out of pocket. See Cole Swindell’s “She Had Me at Heads Carolina,” Jake Owen’s “I Was Jack (You Were Diane),” or, the most egregious, Dustin Lynch (ft. Jelly Roll)’s “Chevrolet,” if you aren’t aware of the light-to-moderate plagiarism that’s going on. Are they using Chat-GPT for lyrics?

And, what in the fuck kind of stage name is Jelly Roll?

Hinckleyhadavision’s Favorite Music in 2024

By Hinckleyhadavision

It seems like my year has allowed little time or access to new music. The music apps are the only way I listen to music, and they have commercials that I absolutely can’t stand, so I didn’t listen much—even during my long commute. Mostly, I drove in silence—stumbling through the cycles of my own thoughts.  

Then, I remembered coming across Justin Townes Earl’s “Harlem River Blues” this spring. I found it glorious in its darkness—the profound hope in the end of suffering. Justin, found it, sadly—for us all.

Gory Zaver’s Favorite Music in 2024

By Gory Zaver

Shredable stuff I listened to a lot in 2024 (not in any particular order):

1) Ghoul, Noxious Concoctions.

2) Negative Prayer, Self//Wound.

3) Morbid Stench, The Rotting Ways of Doom.

4) Necrot, Lifeless Birth.

5) Gatecreeper, Dark Superstition.

6) Coffins, Sinister Oath.

7) Thou, Umbilical.

8) Warcollapse, Deliberate Indoctrination.

9) Poison Ruin, Confrere.

10) Gel, Persona.

11) Habak, Insania (2024 reissue).

12) Generation Decline, Stygian.

13) Speed Plans, DUI (ep).

14) Nightfeeder, Cut All of Your Face Off.

15) Nightfeeder, Nightfeeder (ep).

16) Nightfeeder, Disgustor (ep).

17) Poison Idea, We Must Burn (2024 reissue).

18) Goetia, Tomb Essence.

Enforcer, Nostalgia (2023)

 

By SoDak

Null calls me up telling me he is obsessed with a band called Enforcer. He really liked the cover, so he bought their record Nostalgia. He remarks that they have a traditional heavy metal sound, with flourishes of Iron Maiden and others. All weekend, he is listening to it, subjecting his partner to the record. Two days later, a package arrives at my house, containing the Enforcer CD. Dutifully, I listen to the record several times and write to Null. 

Dear Null, 

I received the Enforcer CD. Thank you for sending it to me. It is a nice surprise. I remember the cover, perhaps from a review on Banger TV. I think it was the suggested pallet cleanser for one of the monthly recommendations. As you noted, the songs rock. The band is quite fascinating as they blend so many aspects of 1980s metal. The traditional aspects are present, especially given the guitar work. Enforcer also has a lot of hard rock and hair metal aspects, but from the more energetic and edgy aspects of these genres. To me, this is most apparent in the high pitch of the singer’s voice on certain songs, such as “Heartbreaker.” To me this is not a negative, as there are plenty of bands in this camp that I liked, especially those that are not forced into commercial, mainstream production. On the ballad “Nostalgia,” there is an interesting mix of metal from the 1980s, but there are moments within the song when the singer’s voice has a Freddie Mercury waver. It is subtle and takes place for just a few seconds, which is very interesting. I like the sweeping, epic singing on many songs. This record reminds me of all the cassettes that I had as a kid, especially those by bands that never got popular but were more interesting as a result. The Enforcer songs are raw, rocking, and quite fun, as there is an edge to them. I have listened to the record three times today, and I keep finding gems within the songs. The guitar leads are excellent, especially on “No Tomorrow.” The chorus on “At the End of Rainbow” is very catchy. This may sound odd—I hear a lot of early to mid-period Scorpions on some of these songs, but Enforcer is not as polished. Plus, there are so many other influences that are mixed into their songs. This record takes me back to being a geeky elementary and junior high kid, who was obsessed with hard rock and metal. I did not have too many friends at the time who also liked this type of music. I would go to the record store to flip through the import bin, hoping to find something intriguing or something that I saw in the back pages of Hit Parader. I would have definitely bought this record based on its cover. Thank you for sharing this music with me. It is great fun. 

Yours,

SoDak

So Brick, Eh?’s Favorite Music in 2024

By So Brick, Eh?

 

I suppose my first comment on my musical interests in 2024 is more a confession than anything else. I did indeed have a “brat summer.” Charli XCX’s Brat album is popular for good reason. Her previous work was too hyper and unlistenable, but songs like “360” are just damn catchy and much smoother on the eardrums. The early Euro-rave influence is still there, but the sound has matured. Whatever work is happening in production for Charli is clearly paying off. While snowboarders routinely rip 1440s and other dizzying spins, far surpassing Tony Hawk’s now tired 900, I’m quite content with one revolution at a time.

Like many bands of the 1990s and 2000s, both The Postal Service and Death Cab for Cutie (aka the Ben Gibbard show) had a joint anniversary tour this year. I caught them while back in Pittsburgh for a stint and even though I haven’t listened to much Postal Service in the intervening years, I was pleasantly surprised to remember so many of their tunes. Seeing Ben Gibbard perform was also a highlight, as he’s damn good—dances like a weirdo though.

Spotify informed me that I was among the top two percent of Misfits listeners globally this year, so there’s that.

I forced some of today’s youth to listen to Minor Threat. The ensuing discussion had us wondering, can one be straightedge without the edge? Can a Mormon be straightedge? Are they just straight without the edge? What’s more important, the not drinking or the “look?” Must both be present? And in what quantities? I’m a bit of a purist so, to quote Chuck Palahniuk, “sticking feathers up your butt does not make you a chicken” is my final verdict on the matter.

As a self-professed fan of the “you call that music?” genre, the tunes I dare you to listen to are: “The Genre Police” by AronChupa and Little Sis Nora, “Hentai” by S3RL, and “Miku” by Anamanaguchi and Hatsune Miku.

Ian’s Favorite Music in 2024

By Ian

1. Mefitis, The Skorian//The Greyleer (2024).

I think this is incredible as far as progressive black/death metal goes. There’s shades of real musical ability interspersed with the usual headbanging sorts of riffs. Plus, I dig it when an album or band really leans into the whole “concept album” bit. I imagine they probably wrote about their dungeons-and-dragons campaign or something, which to me is incredibly, awesomely self-indulgent, and I crave more. 

2. Duster, In Dreams (2024).

Duster returns to form with less scuzz and feedback, with slower, more thoughtful, songs making up the bulk of this record. Though it came out near the end of the year, it fits perfectly with the usual grey and brown that accompanies November and December. Those who know me know I love music that hits speeds around or above 200bpm, but Duster and other slowcore bands all have a special place in my heart. 

3. Hologram, No Longer Human (2021).

I have no fucking clue how I missed this band. Signed to Iron Lung records, this band is everything I crave from punk music. None of that self-indulgent “down with the system” stuff is here. Taking their title from the Osamu Dazai book of the same name, this album is pure “meanness” distilled into uncompromising, battering riffs that reek of inner turmoil, thrashing introspection, and a rage against society at large. It’s an album that, upon repeated listens, might give the listener a permanent stank face. It’s that good. 

4. Pyrrhon, Exhaust (2024).

Great dissonant death metal from Pyrrhon once again. I felt like it was a little more calculated and less spazzy than their previous output, but I love it all the same. The vocalist’s angsty, cough like yowls truly fit with the angular, jagged guitar work and breakneck drumming; it tells of a world headed for ruination with no looking back. 

5. Torture, 4: Enduring Freedom (2023).

The bassist from my band Chasmlurk turned me onto these guys while we were driving down to Vegas to play a show there. This is, by far, the most ignorant, caveman-esque shit I’ve ever heard. I hate breakdowns in metal or punk songs with a truly uncompromising fervor, but somehow Torture manages to sound like a brutal death metal breakdown for an entire song that stretches up to five minutes, and then they did that for 13 songs and called it an album. It is so blissfully, beautifully stupid. Slam riffs, pig squeals, zero guitar solos and the like. And it’s unabashedly Iraq War themed, with a fitting ignorant sound that reflects the sheer stupidity of our politicians who got our country into that mess. It’s brilliant. 

6. Adversarial, Solitude with the Eternal (2024).

Another dissonant blackened death metal record. I really like these guys in that they take dissonance to such an extreme that it somehow becomes melody again. And it’s fucking fast. 

7. Mamaleek, Vida Blue (2024).

Mamaleek is a strange band. They started off as “black metal,” but as their music has changed with each release it now resembles a weird amalgam of jazz, chamber music, rock, and a sprinkling of metal that I’ve not heard anywhere else. Apparently, this record is about a famous baseball player—in what way this is significant, I have no idea. This is one of those records where I didn’t do much digging about its themes or lyrics and just kinda let the album take me wherever. It’s a journey, for sure, and I recommend any fan of experimental music to give this a try.