#aathens

5/7/26.

How did I miss Aathens when it came out in 2017? Their Bandcamp page states that Aathens' "spindly guitars and lockstep rhythms" put them "in the company of Fugazi, Television and Minutemen, as well as Blank Editions labelmates Housewives and Thurston Moore."

And my first listen through made me think of Mission of Burma and Protomartyr (two of my all-time favorites). So, high praise all around.

Really enjoying this “lost album” posted on Soundcloud recently by Ed Shellard for his (ex? current?) band Black Fungus. Most tracks are clearly demos, but all have a sense of abandon and a bit of a dark streak relative to his work elsewhere. A ton to flesh out and refine.

I vaguely remember a Black Fungus tape on Mïlk Records in 2015, but I know Shellard more as a founding member of underground UK royalty like Witching Waves, Vertical Slump, Gloss Rejection, and from his current gig in Soft Cases (fka Aathens) (and Black Fungus?? Still?)

This "lost album” is worth some investment on Shellard’s part, and maybe there’s hope yet.

5/29/26.

Look back in the archives of this blog and you'll find quite a few mentions of the Fire Talk label. In more recent years, I haven't been posting as much even though the label continues to release quality music and remain a fiercely independent label.

I've heard of Cola, and have bought an Ought album and posted band leader Tim Darcy's solo album back in 2016. And I'm sure if I go back and listen to the band's previous releases on Fire Talk, I'll kick myself and wonder why I wasn't listening earlier, but why do that? Here I am right now, listening to the wonderful, somewhat self-titled "Cost of Living Adjustment" and literally loving each and every song.

When I listen to a band I'm thinking about posting, I usually jot down comps. I remember writing Protomartyr first, then Nap Eyes, but I really want to highlight the INXS comparison. There some Michael Hutchence in the vocals, and I likes it. And the recently posted Aathens fits nicely alongside Cola.

Nothing Stops In November: The Month’s Music Videos

November was a hectic month for a lot of reasons, politically and personally. Barely any posts ran over the past 30 days but, as always, the new releases were accounted for as they were unveiled. As December presses towards 2017, there will be a slew of new posts covering the best material to be released in November as well as the releases that appear throughout the month. Before those run,…

We were very taken with the juddering, post-punk leanings of Aathens’ track I Wanna Be A Totem that we recently shared. Now we have another – the equally good, and equally confrontational, Idiot Thing. Both come from their debut TVEP. Have a listen. [soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/277945093"…

MM Shorts 874: Aathens

London’s spiky post-punk four-piece Aathens have announced their debut EP TVEP and shared I Wanna Be A Totem, which calls to mind Fugazi, Television and contemporaries such as Ought and Girl Band. Stream it here. [soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/277945025" params="visual=true&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%"…