Pig Destroyer - Phantom Limb (2007)

Hailing from the wacktacular but considerably musically prolific state of Virginia, Pig Destroyer is a grindcore band, or so I'm told. (I'd also not hesitate to call them metal as they keep playing these DeathFest shows in various parts of the country, but that may be a little too simplistic.) They did a split CD with one of my favourite bands, Isis, which is how I found them and decided to investigate further, despite the fact that I can't seem to find more than one track off that release. Anyway, they've got a good sound, so give it a shot.



Download.

Russian Circles - Enter (2006)

If you're into drone, this band is a gem, as you may know. Building aggression with grinding but thoughtful guitar and bass reminiscent of a coming thunderstorm, it's a really ideal record. Also, this band definitely did not disappoint me when I saw them live last winter.



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Russian Red - I Love Your Glasses (2008)

I don't know much about this woman other than that she's based out of Spain and has made a really interesting record that puts her polished, almost Cat Power-y voice and guitaring on display in a way that makes this entire piece really enjoyable.



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Urban Verbs - Early Damage (1981)

Urban Verbs was a DC-based (!!!)post-punk-y, new wave band that only put out one record as far as I know. (If there are more, I've tried to find them to no avail.) They played a show last summer, but I was unable to drive up for the occasion = sad.



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My two favourite Saves The Day albums.

Awww, Saves The Day saved my day all the time when I was thirteen, oh man. I will always love these two CD's, not only because of their nostalgic appeal, but also because they're what I suppose is technically "emo" at their best, or at least, they're the only band in that genre that I've ever really enjoyed. I don't know that they're in the pop punk genre, which is kind of a shame because that carries much less stigma than 'emo'. OH WELL. ENJOY.


Through Being Cool (1999)


Stay What You Are (2001)

Celebration - Celebration (2005)

Oh man, this is really excellent. I'm not even really sure how to tag this in a way that isn't douchily vague and probably inaccurate. Their last.fm page tells me that this band is "cabaret punk", but don't take that to mean it's mediocre, (unpleasantly) grating, Amanda Palmer-esque music for mall goths refusing the label. It's a little like They Shoot Horses Don't They in the sense that the vocals are a frantic and vary drastically in pitch, and the music is explosively exuberant in a freak-ass, circus kind of way. As of late, this is one of the few records that I've instantly liked in its entirety, and I'm now actively seeking their second one.



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少年ナイフ - Brand New Knife (1997)

Shonen Knife is a Japanese girl group whose music is reminiscent of 60's pop, very light, sunny and catchy. (They might also kind of qualify as twee pop, to explain that tag.) I've recently made their acquaintance, so I thought it would be nice to make their music available to others (as with everything else posted here). They're just so damn cute; I can hardly even stand it.


Brand New Knife (1997)

A Sunny Day In Glasgow - Scribble Mural Comic Journal (2008)

This really lovely album is shoegaze (and/or dream pop) at its finest, and the fun part is that this band is two twins and their brother (or so I'm at least fairly sure).



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Pure Moods, Volume 1 (1997)

This is kind of ridiculous, yes, but it's also being posted for the sake of fun, ridiculous nostalgia. The tenth track used to generate in me this vision of a town getting together to run leaping and bounding across this massive, bright green and well-lit field.. to eventually dive into this mass of mysteriously misplaced cake. I can't really explain it, but keep it in mind while listening.



Download.

Swans - Cop / Young God (1993)

Really brutal, heavy music made by a few individuals that I understand to have been pretty influential to later industrial music. This record is slightly difficult, definitely not for everyone.


Part 1 (Tracks 1-7)
Part 2 (Tracks 8-14)