#fkis

http://fastestkidinschool.com/

Have you seen the Fastest Kid in School in school relaunch yet? We've returned with four new staff writers, Featured Artists (including an exclusive stream from the upcoming Deadron/Tundras split), our take on the ‪#‎emorevival‬ situation, and Chelsea Carlson's beautiful photography from The National show in Grand Rapids, MI last month!

I Surrender Records - Our Voices

I Surrender Records/November 25th, 2013

7.5/10

  by Travi$ Mook 

I Surrender Records recent collection of solo offerings from some of the scene's most decorated road warriors brings together Adam Lazzara, Anthony Raneri, Chris Conley, and Vinnie Caruana for what is a fairly memorable short play.  The maturation of my musical tastes in the late 1990s / early 2000s could not have been achieved without these artists' albums.  Having the opportunity to see both Bayside and Taking Back Sunday during their pre-Victory days, I must admit the existence of several biases.  One, Taking Back Sunday ceased to exist to me after Tell All Your Friends, Bayside after they stopped touring in Erie, Pennsylvania, and Saves the Day after Stay What You Are.  In actuality, The Movielife and I Am the Avalanche are two bands that have stuck with me for the past decade.  That being said, here's the breakdown.

Lazzara's track, "Because It Works," was a tough pill to swallow at first.  It brings back painful memories of waiting for the last several Taking Back Sunday offerings to drop, only to have them fall flat.  However, one must separate the artist from the vessel.  This track quickly becomes the bell of the ball.  Laced with harmonica, it is a pop, folk, and indie track, both driving and wordy.  Hooks prevail throughout, and it sounds just as good on a Macbook as it does coming through ear buds. 

Anthony Ranari's track is a change of pace from the opening number.  "String Me Along" is a Bayside track.  It would be a perfect fit in the discography and I wouldn't be surprised if isn't a hidden b-side that Victory rejected for not sounding enough like any of the artists they list on the stickers on all thirty seven dismissible records they released in the past 2 months (if you like Motion City Soundtrack, U2, and early Megadeath, you'll love Close Your Eyes).  What is sure to be a fan favorite line from the track, and it's so Bayside, is "Use me if you want my baby, I won't leave though I should...I'll never ask questions no matter what you put me through 'cause I've always been lonely, at least now I'm lonely with you."  That's not even your classic high school pop punk, heartbreak line; it basically describes the loveless life of someone living the "American Dream," going home lonely every night, whether there's dinner on the table or not.  Though different in structure, it's the perfect compliment to "Because It Works."

After hearing Saves the Day's last four albums, I shouldn't be surprised by what I heard from Chris Conley on "Diamonds and White Gold."  I should have immediately let those biases I spoke of shine through from the beginning.  I should have gone with my gut.  However, as always, I'm a sucker for nostalgia.  I'll try to be brief in my disappoint but succinct: this track does nothing for me.  The only reason I don't skip it is that it's the shortest track on the compilation, clocking in at 2:25.  Three repetitive chords worked for Conley in '99; it doesn't work anymore.

Thankfully, Vinnie Caruana closes out the collection with a track that is as fitting on an acoustic guitar as it would be with a full band on an IATA offering.  I would love to hear "Sick Down to My Heart" on an upcoming LP.  The lyrics are as biting as anything off of "I Am the Avalanche" or "Avalanche United."  The chorus simply consists of "I'll gladly go to my grave with a shit eating grin on my face, they'll see me at my end with your shit eating heart in my hand, you're awful."  What Caruana fan can't accept those classic lines from one of our generation's most brazen pop punkers?  Haven't we all wanted to tell that special someone "you're going to die alone?"  Be shallow enough to say it knowing it's backed by the full confidence of this track. 

By: Steve Gergley

Of all the chaos and change that the emergence of digital downloading/mp3 technology has caused in the music industry over the past fifteen years, there has been one beautifully unforeseen side-effect for fans: Control. For all the years that music was delivered on physical products, fans were unable to alter the content of the albums they purchased, forcing them to listen to records featuring track listings that had been tampered with by record labels and double albums that contained just as much filler as compelling music.

  In 2013, the majority of personal music exists as mp3 files on a computer, opening up an entire universe of possibilities for die-hard fans to alter their music in creative ways. From collecting a handful of non-album singles and unreleased b-sides to create a “new” album from a beloved but defunct artist, to selecting the best eleven or twelve songs from a bloated double album to create a secret masterwork, this fun, exciting practice is something we here at Fastest Kid In School call Albuming.

  In early 2011, years of rumors surrounding the release of new music from the Daryl Palumbo fronted post-hardcore band Glassjaw, finally became reality in the form of two EPs: Our Color Green and Coloring Book. The band released both EPs within a few short months of each other, giving fans eleven new studio recordings. The first EP, Our Color Green is a collection of singles that did not appear on either of the band’s two full length albums but had been played live for a number of years. The second EP, Coloring Book, was the band’s first new material since the release of their second album, 2002’s Worship And Tribute. The band announced that Coloring Book would not be commercially released, but instead given out for free to fans at each show of their 2011 winter tour. The EP became available online shortly after the tour began, and granted almost any fan the ability to hear new music from the band.

  When these two EPs are combined, the listener is left with a “new,” forty nine minute Glassjaw album that stands as the best work of the band’s career:

  Glassjaw – Coloring Book – 2011

  1. All Good Junkies Go To Heaven – 4:16 ---(From Our Color Green EP)

2. Jesus Glue – 5:09 -----------------------------(From Our Color Green EP)

3. Natural Born Farmer – 3:08 -----------------(From Our Color Green EP)

4. Stars – 4:01 -------------------------------------(From Our Color Green EP)

5. You Think You’re (John Fucking Lennon) – 5:18---(From Our Color Green EP)

6. Black Nurse – 3:54 -------------------------------(From Coloring Book EP)

7. Gold – 4:46 ----------------------------------------(From Coloring Book EP)

8. Vanilla Poltergeist Snake – 3:24 ---------------(From Coloring Book EP)

9. Miracles In Inches – 3:44 ------------------------(From Coloring Book EP)

10. Stations Of The New Cross – 6:58 -----------(From Coloring Book EP)

11. Daytona White – 5:22 --------------------------(From Coloring Book EP)

  In the case of this album, I chose to simply arrange the songs of the two EPs back to back, which makes the change in sound production and artistic content less jarring than if the songs were mixed up. I chose to put the Coloring Book EP songs after the Our Color Green songs, following the common strategy for an artist to front-load its albums with harder rocking, more straightforward tracks and revealing its more expansive compositions for the second half of the album. The sharp, metal influenced first half flows nicely into the loose, jam session feel of the second half, with the album closing on the hushed, whispered brilliance of “Daytona White.”

  Choosing a title that captures the essence of the new collection of songs is a highly satisfying way to connect on a deeper level with the music; and by doing this, we as fans have re-shaped a collection of songs into a new artistic entity. I chose to take the unaltered title of the second EP as the title of the collection because the boldly creative, experimental nature of the songs seems to fit the idea of an artist filling the different pages of a coloring book with wild creations. If available, alternate album art can also enhance the new collection, as it does here, with the nebulous swath of watercolors adorned by the band logo acting as a unique album cover for the unique “new” album.

  Lastly, keep an ear open for dramatic shifts in sound production and other factors that detract from the cohesion of the collection. Large shifts in musical identity between songs that are released years apart, different singers or vastly different vocals from the same singer are a few common examples. Also, if the source release that many of the songs originate from has a title like “2010 European Tour Tape,” use the title of one of the songs to name the collection.