TUESDAY JUL 04, 2017
529 Presents:
A Benefit For The IRC:
Fishmonger
Shepherds (LP Release Show!)
Trashcan 3 | Casual Tiger
Fishmonger
There’s a mature idealism that guides Fishmonger’snew EP, Fiesta Anti-Fascista. And despite the goofy title, the six-track release is anything but a party. The hardcore quartet is comprised of current and former members of Places to Hide, Under a Sky So Blue, Jebediah Springfield, and Linda, but this is a completely different beast than any of the members’ previous bands. Like the beefed-up hardcore of Refused, Fiesta Anti-Fascistaplays with an unbound ferocity and torches everything it touches before the 10-minute mark. The band might occasionally retread the political touchstones of ’80s hardcore, but the new EP is miles ahead of any simplistic Dead Kennedys revivalism. Instead, Fiesta Anti-Fascista is chained to the bleak social and economic realities of 2016. Vocalist Gavin Caffrey’s local activism and anti-development work is a touchstone for the band, but their targets often lie well beyond the perimeter. Harsh, explicit, and terrifyingly accurate, the record is devoid of swagger or posturing in favor of revolution, but don’t expect simple solutions a la “Kill the Rich” as much as a complete indictment of American society. Much of the newfound intensity is borne from the band’s investment in better recording equipment than they used on their 2015 debut EP, Unkooth. Rob Sarabia mixed and mastered the album with a critical eye for detail and definition amidst the noise, but the band was thoroughly involved in production. In an era when political hardcore is increasingly sparse and stringent, The PHISH (as the band affectionately refer to themselves) flip the formula, encasing each of Caffrey’s acerbic lines in glass-shattering cacophony. The Places to Hide drummer turned frontman’s leftist lyricisms are often as inscrutable as they are impassioned, but the overall message rings clear: liberalism is dead and Fishmonger are tolling the bell for its long-awaited demise. -Immersive Atlanta
There’s a mature idealism that guides Fishmonger’snew EP, Fiesta Anti-Fascista. And despite the goofy title, the six-track release is anything but a party. The hardcore quartet is comprised of current and former members of Places to Hide, Under a Sky So Blue, Jebediah Springfield, and Linda, but this is a completely different beast than any of the members’ previous bands. Like the beefed-up hardcore of Refused, Fiesta Anti-Fascistaplays with an unbound ferocity and torches everything it touches before the 10-minute mark. The band might occasionally retread the political touchstones of ’80s hardcore, but the new EP is miles ahead of any simplistic Dead Kennedys revivalism. Instead, Fiesta Anti-Fascista is chained to the bleak social and economic realities of 2016. Vocalist Gavin Caffrey’s local activism and anti-development work is a touchstone for the band, but their targets often lie well beyond the perimeter. Harsh, explicit, and terrifyingly accurate, the record is devoid of swagger or posturing in favor of revolution, but don’t expect simple solutions a la “Kill the Rich” as much as a complete indictment of American society. Much of the newfound intensity is borne from the band’s investment in better recording equipment than they used on their 2015 debut EP, Unkooth. Rob Sarabia mixed and mastered the album with a critical eye for detail and definition amidst the noise, but the band was thoroughly involved in production. In an era when political hardcore is increasingly sparse and stringent, The PHISH (as the band affectionately refer to themselves) flip the formula, encasing each of Caffrey’s acerbic lines in glass-shattering cacophony. The Places to Hide drummer turned frontman’s leftist lyricisms are often as inscrutable as they are impassioned, but the overall message rings clear: liberalism is dead and Fishmonger are tolling the bell for its long-awaited demise. -Immersive Atlanta
Shepherds (LP Release Show!)
The healing hand and surgeon’s scalpel are intertwined on Shepherds’ new album Insignificant Whip. The art-rock masterpiece encases the band’s vulnerable wisdom in flighty melodies that burn with intimacy and fragility as singer/lyricists Jonathan Merenivitch and Adrian Benedykt Świtoń address everything from toxic masculinity and Catholic guilt to Youtube comments and Tupac Shakur. Since their 2011 EP Holy Stain, the band have received accolades for their taut analyses of social ills and the resulting strain on body and mind, but even the skeletal no-wave that defined their early sound was bound with, in the broadest sense of the word, soul. The band’s ability to confront their deepest insecurities and doubts is more than simple catharsis, it serves to illuminate deeper questions of existence and identity, and frame them in context of systemic oppression, discrimination, and isolation.
The minimalism which guided Shepherds’ earlier work has evolved into lush, expansive compositions thanks to founding bassist Peter Cauthorn, who helped flesh out the LP’s identity as a core contributor to the album’s instrumental textures. Vocalist and drummer Świtoń also took on a central role in the recording process, contributing his voice and songwriting talents to the the album’s pensive hue, while new additions Ryan York (drums), May Tabol (guitar, keyboards), and Vinny Restivo (bass) round out the live band. Moments on Insignificant Whip recall everything from Felt to Josef K, but Shepherds have a keen ability to write post-punk which is modern and prescient rather than a simple homage to a particular era of underground music. The martial rhythms still echo with the proletariat fever of their 2015 LP Exit Youth, but now the lyrics are delivered over thrilling saxophone melodies and deliberative chords, making them all the more haunting, thanks to production from Drew Vandenburg (Toro Y Moi, Mothers, Of Montreal).
Throughout Insignificant Whip, the introspective nature of Shepherds is amplified by a holistic understanding of what it means to be human. The anxieties of adulthood, the teenage desires deferred, and the crushing weight of evil in the world are forged into vulnerable psalms. It’s precisely in these tear-stained moments that the album surpasses the encroaching anxiety as Shepherds invite the listener into a community which tempers the surrounding darkness and pushes back against oppression with resolute empathy.
The healing hand and surgeon’s scalpel are intertwined on Shepherds’ new album Insignificant Whip. The art-rock masterpiece encases the band’s vulnerable wisdom in flighty melodies that burn with intimacy and fragility as singer/lyricists Jonathan Merenivitch and Adrian Benedykt Świtoń address everything from toxic masculinity and Catholic guilt to Youtube comments and Tupac Shakur. Since their 2011 EP Holy Stain, the band have received accolades for their taut analyses of social ills and the resulting strain on body and mind, but even the skeletal no-wave that defined their early sound was bound with, in the broadest sense of the word, soul. The band’s ability to confront their deepest insecurities and doubts is more than simple catharsis, it serves to illuminate deeper questions of existence and identity, and frame them in context of systemic oppression, discrimination, and isolation.
The minimalism which guided Shepherds’ earlier work has evolved into lush, expansive compositions thanks to founding bassist Peter Cauthorn, who helped flesh out the LP’s identity as a core contributor to the album’s instrumental textures. Vocalist and drummer Świtoń also took on a central role in the recording process, contributing his voice and songwriting talents to the the album’s pensive hue, while new additions Ryan York (drums), May Tabol (guitar, keyboards), and Vinny Restivo (bass) round out the live band. Moments on Insignificant Whip recall everything from Felt to Josef K, but Shepherds have a keen ability to write post-punk which is modern and prescient rather than a simple homage to a particular era of underground music. The martial rhythms still echo with the proletariat fever of their 2015 LP Exit Youth, but now the lyrics are delivered over thrilling saxophone melodies and deliberative chords, making them all the more haunting, thanks to production from Drew Vandenburg (Toro Y Moi, Mothers, Of Montreal).
Throughout Insignificant Whip, the introspective nature of Shepherds is amplified by a holistic understanding of what it means to be human. The anxieties of adulthood, the teenage desires deferred, and the crushing weight of evil in the world are forged into vulnerable psalms. It’s precisely in these tear-stained moments that the album surpasses the encroaching anxiety as Shepherds invite the listener into a community which tempers the surrounding darkness and pushes back against oppression with resolute empathy.
Trashcan 3
trashcan is an experimental five-piece from Atlanta, Georgia. With not much of paper trail on the band’s history, it doesn’t seem like the group has been together too long or at least since March of this year at least. The band has been doing a few shows with Connecticut lo-fi studs Furnsss in recent months, with a few more coming up later this summer. At the moment, “ello” is the only recorded output from the band. The raw sludgy track recalls early Sonic Youth with the added brashness and volatility. The band states on their Bandcamp they “got shit faced and made this“, all in one take. It’s unhinged improvisation is met with sneering harmonics, concise hooks, and propulsive rhythms, all making it feel quite visceral.
trashcan is an experimental five-piece from Atlanta, Georgia. With not much of paper trail on the band’s history, it doesn’t seem like the group has been together too long or at least since March of this year at least. The band has been doing a few shows with Connecticut lo-fi studs Furnsss in recent months, with a few more coming up later this summer. At the moment, “ello” is the only recorded output from the band. The raw sludgy track recalls early Sonic Youth with the added brashness and volatility. The band states on their Bandcamp they “got shit faced and made this“, all in one take. It’s unhinged improvisation is met with sneering harmonics, concise hooks, and propulsive rhythms, all making it feel quite visceral.