Superchunk / Coliseum - Split 7'' (Merge / Temporary Residence, 2011)

Superchunk / Coliseum
Split 7''
Merge / Temporary Residence
2011

Rating: 8 packs of chesterfields out of 10

Two bands I love covering another band I love?  Yeah, this one was pretty much guaranteed to be a home run.  Released as a part of the Record Store Day shenanigans of 2011.  Superchunk does a very Superchunk-y version of "Horror Business" on side A, something I've also heard them do a live a time or two.  Side B is Coliseum performing "Bullet" in their typical metal way, brutal and melodic at the same time.  Both bands do a great job of really making the material their own.

Pinback - Information Retrieved (Temporary Residence, 2012)

Pinback
Information Retrieved
Temporary Residence
2012

Rating: 6 Miami nightclubs out of 10

I have absolutely nothing of note to say about this Pinback album.  It pretty much sounds like every other Pinback album, a statement that can be seen as a good or a bad thing depending on your opinion of Pinback. You could do worse.

Mono - For My Parents (Temporary Residence, 2012)

Mono
For My Parents
Temporary Residence
2012

Rating: 7.5 shock troops out of 10

As with most instrumental post-rock bands of this nature, I'm kind of at a loss as to what to say about this new Mono record "For My Parents," especially to those already familiar with their work.  When you play the sort of bombastic music these Japanese rockers have been churning out on multiple albums for the past decade or longer, it's kinda hard to differentiate from one set of the music to the next.  It's all immaculately played, beautiful stuff.  My heart will always rate the first record of theirs I listened to a lot - "One Step More and You Die" - as their finest work, but there is no reason someone couldn't feel the same way about this newest release.  I would guess the only real difference is the orchestral strings backing most of the songs, and the level of quiet-loud-quiet bombast that was their early hallmark seems to have been taken down a notch.  I think that means the music is prettier and less aggressive, or something along those lines.  If Explosions in the Sky are the soundtrack to slow-motion Texas football, Mono feels like the score to a Kurosawa samurai picture (and if that seems racist, I mean it be more geography-ist).

Steve Moore / Majeure - Brainstorm (Temporary Residence, 2012)

Steve Moore / Majeure

Brainstorm
Temporary Residence

2012

Rating: 7 bikini bumps out of 10

So Steve Moore and Majeure make up the group Zombi, but on this release they decided to do some solo work...and then release it together.  It doesn't make any sense to me, but that's what the Temporary Residence website says.  Seems like if you wanted to go solo you'd also want separate releases, but I ain't the one in charge.  

I also didn't know jack shit about any of this music going in, but I randomly came across the album opener "Enhanced Humanoid" by Moore and was immediately smitten.  It sounds like a Giorgio Moroder soundtrack to a sci-fi horror movie (zombies in outer space maybe?), and is definitely one of my favorite songs of the year.  The first four songs on the album are all Moore, and the Moroder description is pretty fitting for the whole thing.  There might be a better description, but like I said, this isn't typically my genre.  The final song is a twenty minute opus from Majeure, building slowly from seven minutes of atmospheric soundscapes into a mellower version of that same Moroder sound as described earlier.  

The whole damn record is surprisingly fantastic.  I should probably check out Zombi now.  

Pinback - Information Retrieved Pt. A (Temporary Residence, 2011)

Pinback
Information Retrieved Pt. A
Temporary Residence
2011

Rating: 6 broken hard drives out of 10

I like the music Pinback makes, but I'd be hard pressed to tell most of it apart. It's a strange thing, how sometimes it's fine for a band to just keep doing the same thing over and over, and it's annoying with others. For whatever reason, Pinback is borderline irritating in this regard. I think I just expect more from them, for reasons that are lost on me. They're a band that works great on a mix but struggle to hold your attention for a whole album. With all that said, these songs are still decent enough though, especially the first track “Sherman”. Sounds a lot like Pinback.  Also, this was a Record Store Day release for 2011, for those keeping score at home.

Explosions in the Sky - Take Care, Take Care, Take Care (Temporary Residence, 2011)

Explosions in the Sky
Take Care, Take Care, Take Care
Temporary Residence
2011

Rating: 7 get well cards out of 10

Explosions in the Sky have a good thing going on, and they've clearly decided not to fuck with it. My desire to dock them points for drawing water from the same well time and time again is stunted by the fact that it's some really cold, tasty water.

This is what you expect it to be - beautiful, effects heavy guitars over a driving rhythm section, the tracks meandering in and out of focus, up and down in tempo and volume, and sounding quite beautiful. Like a film score really, maybe a work by Terrence Mallick, certainly something you'd want to see on opening weekend. It sounds more or less like every other EitS album, and yet I never grow tired of their formula. Probably because it's so well crafted and pleasant to the ears - these Texas lads may non-vocally wear their heart on their sleeves, but we're all better for it.

You like Explosions in the Sky? You won't be disappointed here. But I suspect you already knew that.

Howard Hello - Howard Hello EP (Temporary Residence, 2005)

Howard Hello
Howard Hello EP
Temporary Residence
2005

Rating: 7 gary goodbyes out of 10

Kenseth Thibideau must be a full-time musician – as a member of Thingy, Tarentel and Rumah Sakit, he found the time to start yet another band with Marty Anderson of Dilute and Okay under the moniker Howard Hello. While both of these guys’ past forays have been fairly “math-rock” oriented, they opted for a different approach with this output – think of the mellower side of M83 with both male and (guest?) female vocals and plenty of atmospheric moments. This whole EP is a very laid-back affair, perfect for an afternoon sitting on your porch reading the paper or as a come down after a heavy skate. Especially impressive is the opening track “More of the Same” - If this song is considered “the same”, I certainly want more of it.

Mono - Walking Cloud and Deep Red Sky, Flag Fluttered and the Sun Shined (Temporary Residence, 2004)

Mono
Walking Cloud and Deep Red Sky, Flag Fluttered and the Sun Shined
Temporary Residence
2004

Rating: 7.5 paper candles out of 10 
 
The third full-length by rising Japanese noise masters Mono, finds them heading in a bit of an orchestral direction, but without giving up the bombast that makes their songs so memorable.  The band combines the song structure and dynamics of early Mogwai or Explosions in the Sky, with the sheer volume and waves of sound like My Bloody Valentine were known for.  The end result is overwhelmingly powerful, especially when listened to through headphones at a high volume; and it’s especially noteworthy if you see the band play live (they’ve come over here to the States twice over the past couple of years). Last time I saw them, the music hit so powerfully at one point that I thought it might have made my heart skip a beat.  Their recorded material will never quite match up, but with Steve Albini behind the helm producing, this record may be as close as we ever get.

Explosions in the Sky - Earth is not a Cold Dead Place (Temporary Residence, 2003)

Explosions in the Sky
Earth is not a Cold Dead Place
Temporary Residence
2003

Rating: 8 breakfast tacos out of 10

I am not a religious man, but there is something so moving about the music of Austin-based Explosions in the Sky that it makes me want to start a whole new faith that revolves around their glorious instrumentation. And where their amazing last album “Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Live Forever” may have seemed to be obsessed with death and dying, their new album “Earth is not a Cold Dead Place” shows that maybe there’s hope after all, even if it’s the smallest glint. That’s all fine and well, but the real question on the table is “is this any good?” the overwhelming answer is yes – where it’s predecessor was an exercise in the dramatic difference between quiet and loud in this genre of instrumental post-rock (as the kids like to call it), this album is a much more soothing affair, but not without it’s moments. Instead of running up and punching you in the face with the music like the last album did, this go around they ease you into it, like taking the stairs into the pool, but before you know it you’re in the deep end, so to speak. In my opinion, they make up one-fourth of the most important bands out there performing this type of music – Mono from Japan, Mogwai from Scotland, and Godspeed You! Black Emperor from Canada being the other three. This may be my favorite type of music being produced right now, and it would be difficult to say that Explosions in the Sky aren’t leading the whole pack.