The Paper Chase - God Bless Your Black Heart

The Paper Chase is probably the greatest indie band I almost never heard of. I have only ever met one other person who had even heard of them and they didn't own any of their records. So I consider myself pretty grateful I stumbled across them.

I imagine, at least theoretically, that they sound like the soundtrack to David Lynch making a horror film. Off-kilter, mathy, weird, sparse (yet full of sound and instrumentation) indie rock. The lyrical content all deals with some surreal horror but somehow trivializes and pokes fun at it at the same time. I feel like most good art, it's hard to describe and is best if experienced.

In summation: imagine a really dark, weird version of Minus the Bear. That's not quite right, but a close enough approximation.

They're supposed to heave a new record out this year about natural disasters. Since I don't suck at the Animal Collective teet and Cursed broke up, I'm sure it will be the best record of 2009.

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Pretty Little Flower - Complete Grindcore Annihilation

Gulf Coast Grindcore. I'm sure this has members of Insect Warfare, et. al. This is A LOT thrashier and sounds almost entirely like it could have come out in 1992, except maybe it's too well-informed. You know what I mean?

Anyway, not my favorite grind but still pretty fucking legit.

Again, this CD is comp and split tracks.

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Endeavor - Don't Die With Your Eyes Closed

In a very special edition of YRFKT, I post Endeavor's Don't Die With Your Eyes Closed, hosted on my own web server because mediafire doesn't allow anything over 100mb and for some reason this file is larger. So, it will be a little slower possibly and it's a big file but I doubt you have it - so download it.

Endeavor is probably the best thing to ever come out of New Jersey. Not kidding. This is their comp tracks, etc.

Again, I guess, I show my love for 90s "noisecore," which everyone will agree is insipid but is useful for differentiating from 90s hardcore, right? Members went on to form Burnt by the Sun and maybe some other stuff. Anyway, if you don't know who Endeavor is you should do yourself the favor and get educated and if you already do, listen to them and remember that Trustkill used to put out albums before Myspace and Photoshop ruined them.

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Neil Perry - Lineage Situation

I imagine this has been posted in roughly one million other places, but oh fucking well.

Neil Perry is awesome. Like myriad other screamo bands, ex members blah blah.

Whatever.

I don't listen to this often enough and every time I put it on, I think about how much I enjoy it. If you don't already have this, you have to hear it. Really. Like, you might skip over this, but if you don't have it you need to download it. I am being serious. Do it.

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Landmine Marathon - Demo & EP

Probably my favorite local AZ band, Landmine Marathon used to be a lot more like Pig Destroyer than Bolt Thrower. But alas, things change.

Technical punk-oriented grind with searing math-rock-like leads. I guess. I don't know, but you haven't heard these recordings before and they're some of my favorite grind songs of all time. Here you get their demo that they put out before they "signed" to Level Plane and an EP from their earlier days before I started fanatically attending their shows.

Members of Financial Panther, Unruh, Suicide Nation...and some of those other bands that were together when I was in elementary school listening to Rage Against the Machine and Primus.

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Backstabbers, Inc. - Kamikaze Missions

When this came out in 2004, a lot of people said it was the record of the year. I felt like I was unsure then, but I am pretty sure now that this blows away everything else from that year away.

Back then, I order the LP from the band's site and got shipped their CD instead, and when I let them know of the error, I got a copy of the then-sold-out limited-to-100 record shipped out the next day. Legit dudes.

If you don't have this, I'd classify it has grind being played by hardcore kids. And by hardcore kids, I mean ones more aligned with Hydra Head than Revelation.

On more than one occasion, I've thought of getting the Machete Hand tattoo and I'm sure I'll end up with it.

I'm sick and not making a lot of sense stringing this shit together, so here it is in all of its glory.

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The Angelic Process - Weighing Souls With Sand

So, I have been on a massive Swans kick - and this is just...perfect for that kind of mood.

I stole this from the fine folks at Debutante Debris - this has to be the "heaviest" post-metal or whateveryouwanttocallit record I've ever heard. The production on this is just...exciting. Clean vocals, even, and just...wow. I am floored.

This record is long as fuck and works loud or as background music. This one goes down as an instant favorite.

Enough gushing:
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