Genghis Tron @ Club Europa 06.16.07

by Peter Aleksa / photo courtesy of Jason Bergman

Saturday I had the privilege of seeing three-piece electro-grind ambientcore group Genghis Tron at Club Europa in Greenpoint.

Carbomb opened, and while they had what seemed a pretty dedicated cadre of fans present, their set came off, to me at least, as pretty unimpressive. There were a few moments of ambience and some tight drumbeats that caught my attention for a few seconds at a time, but mostly it was straight-up thrash metal. My compadre, Erik, fell asleep against the wall (or had a seizure from their light show, I forget which it was).

Genghis Tron hit the stage next. I had never seen the group live before and was interested to see how they pulled off such complex numbers live with only three members. I have to say they pull it off really fucking well, with a tight live sound and great stage presence, all backed by their impeccable drummer Fruity Loops Studio. On the set list were all our (my) favorites from the first two albums, including "The Folding Road", "Asleep On the Forest Floor", "Arms", and "Laser Bitch", as well as three new songs off the upcoming album. The new joints (hot joints? bitching jams?) were extremely satisfying and despite Mookie's rather formulaic explanation of the song structure ("i'm gonna scream a little, there'll be a guitar riff, some ambience, we'll both play keys for a little, then we're gonna bring it all home") they alleviated any fears I may have had that the band might settle into their sound and become dull. They closed with a song off the upcoming album, which I always view as a risky move. However, for a song largely unknown by the audience the energy remained high. It turned out to be the perfect closer and possibly my favorite performance of the evening.

All in all it was definitely worth the $10 cover and I left slightly in awe of the trio's presence and seriously fucking pumped for their next album.

Since the Tron played second, I bounced out early and so can't really tell you anything about Total Fucking Destruction or Pig Destroyer's sets but it probably sounded alot like this: "CHUGG-CHUGG-GRAWR-MOTHRFUCKING-GRAAAAWWWR-METTTAAALLLLL". So, whatever.

It’s A Pizza Party!

by Pete Aleksa

“We couldn't decide if we should stay in Chicago and keep eating pizza for the rest of our lives. But after two days of rigorous theory, we realized we had to write divine music about the pizza. We decided to drive home immediately and write and record a 5-song EP called ‘Pizza’ before Sounds of the Underground and Warped Tour started. God was there,” came the website explanation from HORSE the Band as to why they made an early exit from their recent tour slot opening for Gatsby’s American Dream and Portugal. the Man. HORSE fans, accustomed to the irreverent posts found on the band’s website, may have been surprised to discover that this posting actually spoke the truth. After leaving the tour, the band did, in fact, write and record an EP extolling the divine properties of this delicious modern-American dietary staple (no confirmation on whether or not God was there). Entitled Pizza, the CD-EP was released on September 5, 2006 with a limited edition vinyl EP, encased in a pizza box, to follow in the near future.
Musically, the Pizza EP is an oddly catchy amalgamation of hardcore, punk, synth pop, grind, and lo-fi electronica. The rhythm section remains rock solid throughout, while the keyboard serves up countless helpings of cheesy brilliance (oh god, the puns) and the guitar work, while not showy, is nonetheless impressive, providing an excellent counterbalance to the keys. Of note is the last thirty seconds of the second track, Crippled by Pizza (Pizzarrhea in the Pizzeria), featuring an odd timed riff played by a compressed guitar that is the most spectacularly strange section of music on the album. And, as played out as the comparison between HORSE’s music and various video game music is these days, I must mention one of the high points of the album are the eerie melodies found in the track Werepizza, reminiscent of the background music one would find in the NES-classic, Castlevania, or the B-horror scroller, Zombies Ate My Neighbors.
True to the bizarre nature of the album, the Pizza EP ends with a tongue in cheek cover of the beloved Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme song. While the comic rendition of the pizza-loving Turtles theme is a cleverly funny addition, and one that fits with the theme of the album, it ultimately does not bear repeated listens. After the initial run through I found myself skipping the track on subsequent trips through the album.
I’m not quite sure of what to make of the ongoing pizza leitmotiv. My enjoyment of this joke seemed to move in cycles, from the initial chuckle at such a ridiculous premise, to a growing annoyance with the joke, to a point where the joke had run on for such an unbelievably long time that I couldn’t help but laugh yet again. With the lyrics on the previous HORSE album, The Mechanical Hand, Nathan Winneke’s sometimes absurd lyrics were underlain with a certain innocence and vulnerability, at points displaying genuine emotional content and reflection on the dissociative state of modern society. On this new offering, however, it’s hard to make such a connection. Winneke makes use of some clever word play that is charming in its blatant simplicity, screaming on Werepizza, “Be aware/ or be a were/ werepizza.” If anything though, the real artistic statement of the lyrics lies in the decision to write about such a dispensable consumer commodity as pizza. Perhaps, in line with the band’s stated preference for “making incomprehensible statements beyond critique, like lots of artsy screamo bands,” a concept album about pizza is meant to function as an updated version of 1960s pop and camp art, with ironically passionate odes to pizza meant to mock the abundance of super-serious bands in the hardcore/screamo scene. Or maybe, they just really like pizza.
The most promising aspect of the Pizza EP is that the band demonstrates its growing ability to create well-developed songs out of a collection of seemingly discordant pieces. However, while there are moments of ambient brilliance, a handful of crushing breakdowns, and some genuinely evocative vocal moments, overall the EP functions much like its doughy namesake: as a quick and sometimes delicious diversion, but one that ultimately leaves the listener craving a proper meal. Still, it is ultimately well worth a listen, and I especially recommend it for HORSE fans in search of a snack to hold them over until HORSE’s next full length release, due out in 2007.

Circle Takes the Square: As the Roots Undo

by Pete Aleksa

Circle Takes the Square is an experimental emo/post-hardcore three-piece from Savannah, Georgia that consists of Drew Speziale on guitar and vocals, Kathy Coppola on bass and vocals, and Jay Wynne on drums and samples. With their chaotic drumming, spastic start/stop guitars, stoned out melodic passages, and male/female vocals that range from dueling screams and anthemic chants to cocky, singsong harmonies and soft, quivering whispers, Circle Takes the Square create a complex sound that blends the abrasive/chaotic styles the Blood Brothers and Daughters, the ambient instrumental styles of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and the indie-rock/emo sound of Bright Eyes.
Having already put out an EP and a 7” split with Pg. 99, the band just released its first full-length on Hyperrealist/Robotic Empire, As the Roots Undo, a romantic tale of life and death and everything inbetween.
An eerily whistled melody starts off the album, introducing the main musical motif that will reappear throughout the album in various forms on a number of instruments. The intro soon breaks into the shouted opening lines of the first track, “The Same Shade as Concrete”, a frantic collage of grind, indie-rock, and techno. Guitars and drums spazz all over the place before calming down for a danceable break that grinds into a folkish interlude. From there, the band fast descends into a barrage of metal riffage before introducing a electronic bass swell that soon becomes the beat for the crescendo.
“Crowquill” and “In the Nervous Light of Sunday” are masterful displays of metalcore and grind that the band keeps interesting by spicing them up with emo sing-alongs, dancebeats, and spoken word interludes that provide a short break from the chaos. The lyrics here are some of the best on the album, particularly on “Crowquill”.
The album then enters the calm, pretty section of the album in which the band displays their atmospheric side. The melodic, sample driven “Interview at the Ruins” reintroduces the main theme of the album, first on piano and then later as a vocal round to end the song.
“Non Objective Portrait of Karma” begins with a slow, dramatic instrumental buildup, full of droning melodies and elusive tones, that develops for nearly four minutes before the tension finally breaks and explodes into a full-out screamo assault, loaded with technical guitar riffs and grind drumming.
The album keeps this intensity for the grandiose two-track finale, which comprises a third of the eight-track album. The heavy “Kill the Switch” balances its craziness with brief interludes dominated by delayed guitars, spreading everything out only to have it come crashing back together. The final heavy breakdown descends into an ambient section that reincorporates the main motif and leads into the final track, the metal epic. “A Crater to Cough In” is a huge piece, building for nearly nine minutes before the album finally comes lyrically and musically full circle; a final chorus echoes the opening lines before the record closes with the same haunting motif that opened the album.
All in all the record is an impressively ambitious project that the band pulls off with remarkable skill. A rewarding album, full of layered intricacy that assures it won’t get old after a few listens.

The Fall of Troy

by Pete Aleksa

Hailing from Mukilteo, Washington, The Fall of Troy are a three-piece progressive-hardcore band that sound like the amphetamine-addicted bastard child of a ménage à trois between The Blood Brothers, The Mars Volta and King Crimson.
The trio of Thomas Erak on lead vocals and guitar, Tim Ward on bass and vocals, and Andrew Forsman on drums, had already released an EP, Ghostship Demos, and their full-length debut, the self-titled Fall of Troy (released when the band’s members were only 17) when they signed with the Equal Vision label last year.
The band recently released its second full-length record, Doppelganger, a genre-defying mix of screamo, math-metal, post-hardcore, pop, jazz, experimental rock, and most everything else. In the face of this seemingly chaotic blend of styles the band is able to maintain a delicate balance throughout the album. The resulting record is a collection of brutal breakdowns, melodic hooks, free-jazz spaceouts, and lo-fi ambiance that manages to flow effortlessly despite the wildly complex arrangement of the material; Erak’s frantic vocals and elaborate fretwork adorning Ward and Forsman’s complex rhythms as the songs shift at ADHD speed.
Following the unspoken rule of the semi-pretentious post-hardcore scene that mandates song titles that are bizarre amalgamations of pop-culture laden wit, Doppelganger features songs with titles such as, “We Better Learn to Hotwire A Uterus,” “Macaulay McCulkin,” “Laces Out, Dan!” and “Whacko Jacko Steals the Elephant Man’s Bones,” demonstrating the band has style as well as substance.
Fresh off a recent stint on the Dudestorm Tour opening for label mates Bear vs. Shark and Fear Before the March of Flames, The Fall of Troy have made waves with their energetic live show, a delightful blend of wild onstage freakouts and improvisational jamming. The Fall of Troy are set to hit the road with the likes of The Jonbenet and The Number 12 Looks Like You in the coming months.