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Why I Decree it to Be So:
For quite a while I had a hard time getting past opening track “Paralyzer”. It’s a serious slow-burner, building ever-so-smolderingly into a noisy crashing climax, aided along the way by some absolutely wicked guitar sliding. “She came outta nowhere,” singer Jordan Blilie declares, blindsided, as steamrolling noise batters the air around him. But really, the racket has just begun. “Falling Spikes” shows off spiky vocals and taut, guitar and high-speed drummery. Past Lives is one of the only bands I know of with a self-titled song, the third on Tapestry of Webs. Like the band, the song “Past Lives” is full of sonic complexities, a mix of darkness and light both musically and lyrically. It’s a little ominous, and I sure do like it. The more I listen to Tapestry of Webs, the more I love it. It’s more nuanced than run of the mill punk, a little more aggro than straight up rock and roll, and definitely not just standard indie fare. While it defies genre-fication, it can’t hide the fact that it’s a darned fine record. Not only do I love it for being nice and loud, there’s a lot more to it than that. It’s an album that goes full-tilt the whole way through. This is a band to keep an eye on, that’s for damn sure. If you’re in the mood for a good old sonic kick in the teeth, might I suggest Past Lives? (SEE MORE)
Having seen them live not long ago, I was already a fan of Past Lives. But they’re more than just a few pretty faces making some enticing noise on the stage. They also happen to have released a rather fine little record earlier this year, Tapestry of Webs. It’s loud, it’s feisty, it’s full of swagger, and damned if I don’t love it from here to next Thursday.
For quite a while I had a hard time getting past opening track “Paralyzer”. It’s a serious slow-burner, building ever-so-smolderingly into a noisy crashing climax, aided along the way by some absolutely wicked guitar sliding. “She came outta nowhere,” singer Jordan Blilie declares, blindsided, as steamrolling noise batters the air around him. But really, the racket has just begun. “Falling Spikes” shows off spiky vocals and taut, guitar and high-speed drummery. Past Lives is one of the only bands I know of with a self-titled song, the third on Tapestry of Webs. Like the band, the song “Past Lives” is full of sonic complexities, a mix of darkness and light both musically and lyrically. It’s a little ominous, and I sure do like it.
“Don’t Let The Ashes Fill Your Eyes” is a favorite, bold and brazen song churning slowly yet fiercely along. “The sky will split/and the seas will rise/but not for a long long time,” Blilie sings, drolly and nonplussed, as the guitar and bass continue their brashness. “K Hole” is an aural assault from the word go, with fiery shouting and equally scorching guitar play. The shouting gets so heated that at times it’s indecipherable, but who doesn’t love a good howl every now and then? And that oh-so sinister break in the middle of the song is a nice touch, very haunting indeed. On and on it goes, louder here, subtlely raging there, never the same but always fantastic.
The more I listen to Tapestry of Webs, the more I love it. It’s more nuanced than run of the mill punk, a little more aggro than straight up rock and roll, and definitely not just standard indie fare. While it defies genre-fication, it can’t hide the fact that it’s a darned fine record. Not only do I love it for being nice and loud, there’s a lot more to it than that. It’s an album that goes full-tilt the whole way through. This is a band to keep an eye on, that’s for damn sure. If you’re in the mood for a good old sonic kick in the teeth, might I suggest Past Lives?
mp3: Vanishing Twin (Past Lives from Tapestry of Webs)
We've all been to this kinda show. It happens every so often, perhaps a couple times a year, where I go to a show and am totally stunned by the sparseness of the crowd. When I rolled up to DC9 on Easter Sunday, friends, I was gobsmacked (hi, British friends!) by the teensy tiny little crowd assembled for the show. Sure, it was Easter Sunday, but I was totally psyched for this show which means other people should have been, too. Come on now, DC. Get your shit together. Y'all missed one hell of a rock show, I'll tell you that much.MINI RECAP: Snack Truck = Mind-Liquifying! Past Lives = Head-Crushing! Overall score: A. Having lived in Richmond for a little while, I was already rather familiar with Snack Truck. I saw them once, at the now-defunct Artist's Underground, and that was enough to make me love them long time. I'll vouch for them as one of Richmond's best bands any day of the week. They're one of the only bands I know of to successfully and kick-assedly utilize the stick skills of not one but two drummers, and watching the two of them have a go as they beat the holy hell out of their respective drum kits is pretty hypnotic. So too is the wailing guitar and furious bass that round out the Snack Truck sound, a sound that is so overwhelming and raging that I couldn't hear myself think about thinking, let alone hear myself think. I'm pretty sure they've gotten louder, too, in the months since I last saw them. Five minutes in my ears were already hurting, but I wanted more. I'm a glutton for such heavenly punishment, this swirling, pulsating mass of sonic energy, brilliant in its deafening, kaleidoscopic noise. They're a band that definitely keeps to Richmond's whole "give me loud bastard rock or give me death" thing. I sing the gospel of Snack Truck, friends, so make sure you check 'em out. But happily, the awesome didn't stop there. I've been listening the hell out of the new Past Lives record, Tapestry of Webs. I never really got into any of the band member's prior bands (Blood Brothers, Chromatics, Shoplifting, etc.), but damned if I'm not pretty smitten with them now. The song "Paralyzer" in particular gets me all in a tizzy, with the slow burn and fuzzy guitars and shouty vocals. Gorgeous. And addictive. Right off the bat the band sounded totally Ziplock tight, wonderfully angular and slightly dissonant and crushingly loud. At times Past Lives reminded me of one of my favorite, sadly now-dead DC bands Black Eyes: A perfect mix of shouting and rhythm and fierce, fierce riffs. Mark Gajadhar, the drummer for Past Lives, gets major shout outs for his ferocity and thrashing behind the kit. Seriously folks, he's good. But then again, they're all good. Even singer Jordan Blilie, being one of the recently vocally afflicted (I'm gonna blame the pollen count), belted out the songs with vim and vigor. This band absolutely killed it. And yes, my beloved "Paralyzer" sounded as bitchin' as I had hoped. This show was a doozy, and I'm so glad I took a break from the Easter candy to be there. Friends, go see these bands whenever you can. See them now, ask questions later. mp3: Paralyzer (Past Lives from Tapestry of Webs)
Why I Decree it to Be So:
