#fotocrime

Every Record I Own - Day 418: Fotocrime Principle of Pain

I’ve known Ryan Patterson for a long time. He booked shows for my bands in Louisville in the late ‘90s, toured with These Arms Are Snakes when he played in Black Cross, toured with Russian Circles during his time with Coliseum, and worked on countless design jobs for records and shirts for my bands. He’s one of those solid, unwavering people---a dude who walks the walk and remains fully committed to both creating art and helping facilitate other peoples’ visions while maintaining an unflagging integrity and a specific but ever-evolving aesthetic. I can’t speak highly enough of the guy. 

His latest project, Fotocrime, is a logical step from the final Coliseum album, Anxiety’s Kiss. But whereas Coliseum always kept one foot in the hardcore punk world, Patterson ditched the last vestiges of the d-beat riffage and Dischord-inflected energy for Fotocrime while retaining the chorus pedals, shimmering guitar leads, and dark wave keyboards that peppered Anxiety’s Kiss. The result is like a gruffer version of Sisters of Mercy or a fuller Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, though I have to admit that my knowledge of gothic rock is limited to the point where these comparisons might be a bit off. I only ever had a passing interest in the cold dancefloor vibes of stuff like New Order or Love & Rockets, so for me a large part of the allure for Fotocrime is hearing Patterson pull from this alien world and repurpose it into something that still feels in line with his pointed, topical punk approach. 

On the Grid: 1. Edge of Sanity -Elegy - Chapter II 2. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - Hearts of Oak Live in SF 2018 3. Mystic-Force - A Step Beyond 4. Fotocrime - Security 5. Pallas - Live at Ritzy's Aberdeen 1985 6. Seven Crowns - A Murder of Crowns 7. Suitor - Saw You Out with the Weeds 8. Alf Hale - City on a Hill 9. Crimson Glory - Chasing the Hydra