Sorting The Noize

     Rchrd Prkr is a 4-Piece Emo band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Its members consist of Alex Ligget (Guitar), Forrest Salamida (Drums), Miles Campbell (Vocals and Synthesizer), and Ricky Petticord (Bass). Ricky is also a member in 2 other bands; Yrs, Lithe Lungs. They are all also currently attending college.

     I found out about them back in July through some tweets and facebook posts done by a member of The World Is… on the band’s pages. After hearing their most recent release, It’s Getting Worse, it seemed to me that the praise was justified. What I heard was something that reminded me subtly of Fleet Foxes, with their great harmonies and atmosphere building (the comparison is even more appt on their self-titled acoustic EP).

     Lyrically it felt real and honest, as well as feeling meaningfully delivered on all fronts (seriously, you don’t get harmonies this good in Emo that often). Instrumentally, they are a fresh face in a scene that seems to be starting to adopt more post-rock elements as time goes on. Incorporating synthesizers and even what sounded like a Melodica, creating a very warm soundscape. They sound oddly folk-y, in a way that adds to their sound in a unique and refreshing way.

     Rchrd Prkr is a band that I cannot recommend highly enough. They’ve got a great sound going for them that seems sincere and practiced. You won’t find many bands that do what they do as well as they do it. They are currently taking a break from playing shows in order to work on new music. As soon as they get back out on the road, I encourage everyone that reads this to go out and see them if they get the chance. I have a feeling that these guys have a good chance for a great future in this scene.

You can check out Rchrd Prkr…

- On Bandcamp HERE

- On Twitter HERE

- On Tumblr HERE

- On Facebook HERE

 Marietta is an Emo band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  With that, their previous release, Summer Death, had a somewhat unique sound with vocals and lyrics that always struck me as just different from their contemporaries. It was a wonderful listen with some really warm sounds and an overall pleasant atmosphere. I was really happy when I found out that they were making a new album.

 The intro track, “Pony Up!” opens this record with a bang. A very hook-y instrumental opening that will get you at least bobbing your head, if not going all out and headbanging in enjoyment. This sets the mood for the album well, creating a pace for the first half of the record. You can also hear a departure from the sound of their previous album. It feels more upbeat and peppy musically. It also sounds cleaner overall. You can tell that it wasn’t just recorded in some dude’s basement like parts of Summer Death (not that that’s a detriment to that album). That being said, it doesn’t sound TOO polished. It doesn’t sound sterile and boring. There’s still enough rawness to the sound that it remains interesting throughout.

 The instrumentation is driving on all cylinders on this one as well. Their impressive riffage is something I loved about their last release and it is ever present here. The tones from the guitars are also very pleasing to the ear. Basslines are driving and keep the pulse going. And the drumming is just top notch, there are times where it outshines some of the other instrumentation. Vocal delivery is up there too, the harmonies are well done and the group vocals that they’re somewhat known for are here in addition to everything else.

 Lyrically, this album is well-crafted. What’s been written sounds odd at first glance, but upon further analysis you can find some extremely insightful allusions and metaphors. There are a lot of relatable lines all over this record. One of my personal favorites being on the song “Are You Afraid Of God? No, But I’m Afraid Of You” (Am I imaginary or is my voice not loud enough?). Some of the best writing in the genre is coming from these guys.

 On a quick note, I’ve admired their use of samples in their previous releases and I do even more so on this one. The School Of Rock clip at the beginning of “Hawaii 5-0 Noseblunt” puts a smile on my face every time I hear it. Jake Ewald from Modern Baseball’s reading of some odd Harry Potter fanfiction (???) at the end of the track “Beater” does this as well.

 The only faults I can find in this release are in the production. While a lot of interesting things are happening (an example being the mixing of the of some of the vocals on the track “5 Minute Raw Vegan (Are You Fucking Around?)”), there are some things that just didn’t make a lot of sense to me. It all seems somewhat inconsistent in my mind. The drum tracks stick out to me as a prime example of this. On the track “United Away” the bass levels from the bass drum and toms seems very high; to the point that it overpowers the other tracks around it, and gives an illusion of the volume of these other tracks decreasing each time you hear the kick or toms. This issue doesn’t appear anywhere else on the album. In fact, the drums are mostly mixed farther back in the tracks for the whole of the album. The mastering on some of these tracks is the same way. The whole album (besides the two acoustic tracks) is very loud, and lacking in some dynamic range. But when I think about it, these faults aren’t completely an impairment to the album. It helps to gives a sense of a bunch of friends getting together to just record some stuff they wrote. It’s prevalent with other elements on the album, primarily the uses of group vocals throughout.*

Pet Symmetry is a Chicago-based Emo/Power-Pop supergroup power trio (already sounds cool, right?) consisting of Evan Weiss from Into It. Over It. and Their / They’re / There, Erik Czaja of Dowsing andKittyhawk, and Marcus Nuccio also of Dowsing and Mountains For Clouds as well. I discovered their music late 2013 after already being introduced to Evan’s other two current projects (literally had NO idea aboutThe Progress at that point) and I’m glad I did. Right off the bat with their first EP, I knew I was in for something special. They were short songs, but they were fun and upbeat and just what I needed at the time. They were memorable, catchy tunes that I loved just singing along to. My mom even enjoyed them. But under that was a level of lyricism from Evan that shined through the mix with his honesty and the way he delivered his vocals. All of these elements are here in this new release. If anything, they’ve been improved upon.

I feel like one of the biggest complaints about this album is going to be that it’s short. And it is. It barely breaks 24 minutes. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. For one, the songs never outstay their welcome. They know when to end and it doesn’t feel like their short length sacrifices substance in any way. Frankly, the length is something that should be expected given that until this release they’ve never had a song that breaks the 3 minute mark. It could deter from one’s enjoyment only if they let it. But in my case, I expected something shorter than most other albums. So it didn’t really take away from what I felt about it at all.

From the outset I related to this album’s lyrics. As I type this I’m procrastinating, I could be doing legitimate school work. I have shitty grades and I’m writing this review instead of getting those up. A majority of the first track’s lyrics are devoted to a continuing cycle of procrastination and putting the motivation and self-esteem of others before your own. Again, something I can relate to. This whole album is full of bits and pieces that I think almost everyone can say they relate to on some level. Evan’s writing is very incisive and clear on this release. It has a transparent honesty to it that I can really appreciate. It’s descriptive and paints pictures in ways that not a lot of other people in this scene can accomplish. His lyrics feel deeper and more meaningful than a majority of his contemporaries. While this has been a constant throughout his career, it’s a marvel to me that he can do this just as poignantly with as short of songs as these.

Another thing that I noticed upon first listening to Pet Symmetry’s earlier releases is their instrumentation. It’s as exceptional here as it was on their previous outings. Weiss’ bass lines are just wonderful. Pulsating, flowing, and intricate in a way that isn’t needlessly complex.  Czaja’s guitar parts compliment this. Varying in complexity from very big sounding chords to simple Rock ‘n’ Roll riffs.  They’re never overriding for attention or killing the mix. And his tone is absolutely fantastic. Nuccio’s drum work is absolutely awesome as well. Sounding absolutely huge while not taking over the tracks. Bombastic is a word that could describe the sound of every instrument on this album.

For me, I  really only have one real complaint. The production is spotty at times; there’s a song where the vocals get mixed in a way that sounds kinda muddy and slurred (this may have to do with vocal delivery as well, but the mixing made it even harder to understand). For most of the album it’s spot on, but there are just a few instances where it just didn’t work to me and my ears. lt’s got a few flaws, but not many.

  It’s been a while since Doris was released. And it’s been 5 years since EARL was released. Since then, the California-based rapper, Earl Sweatshirt, has matured in many ways. Tyler, The Creator’s influence is still apparent in some places, but it’s become minimal. Earl’s taken on his own style and he’s come out stronger from it. He talks about dealing with sudden fame in the song “Mantra” and also goes into the effect of his absences. He talks about his relationship with his mother and it’s during this track, “Faucet”, when you realize that his lyrics have become much more personal and he articulates his emotions in ways that he and the other members of Odd Future have never really done before. The album’s leading single, “Grief”, has a very low-fi beat and an atmosphere that’s obviously meant to make the listener feel uneasy. Earl talks about his grandmother again in this track and talks about battling addiction. He also goes off about the people that he feels have been riding his coattails and how he feels he himself sets the standards for his competitors.

  Those are the main themes of the album. It’s a much darker, grittier, and honest album than we’ve ever seen from Earl or any other member of Odd Future thus far. The production is something else though, it accompanies the lyrics and builds an atmosphere that surrounds them well. But they kind of fall flat sometimes because they end up just feeling somewhat boring. He tries to alleviate this by adding pseudo-interludes at the end of some of the tracks. But it’s just hard to keep engaged with the instrumentation here. I found myself becoming disinterested at some points in a couple of the songs.

  The album is also short. The album is just barely longer than his first EP, running only a few seconds under 30 minutes. Shortly after release, he claimed it was as short as it was because you’re supposed to just listen to it again. It ends abruptly and almost feels like he’s just run out of things to say. I was left thinking to myself, “Is that it?” It was an anti-climactic ending and left me feeling somewhat underwhelmed.