Band Spotlight: Blockhead

(Photo courtesy of tomlowell.wordpress.com)

Blockhead was a great pop-punk/punk band from Manchester, NH that I unfortunately don't know too much about. Thankfully, Notches is (sonically) a pretty close spiritual successor to this band (even though they don't share members), but I digress. I never got a chance to see Blockhead perform, although I recall seeing many flyers for shows at the Dover Brickhouse and Slaughterhouse 5 along with Georgian back in the golden days of Myspace. This is actually the exact flyer I was thinking of, pretty cool that I found it again. As you can see, homies played with a lot of bands I've already warmly mentioned about on this site, like Cowboys are Indians and Pathos.

(Photo courtesy of tomlowell.wordpress.com)

Anyway, the 2008 Demo is pretty unremarkable, just sounds like young bucks playing pop-punk. I should mention that when I say "pop-punk" I mean bands like The Ergs, not Man Overboard or whatever else it is that qualifies as pop-punk now. The split with Georgian shows a dramatic jump in quality for Blockhead, both in terms of song-writing and audio fidelity. That, and I'll Leave This Behind, which is undoubtedly their finest and most realized work (although, re-listening now, the kick drum is driving me crazy), are both excellent testaments to catchy and melodic punk that was paved by Osker, Dear Landlord, etc. There's probably a dozen closer comparisons that I could make (vocals are far less gruff than Dear Landlord) but unfortunately I'm out of my element here. They released their music through John Wilkes Booth Records, a NH-based label that was (is?) operated by one of the dudes from Billy Raygun. Seriously, all those dudes formed the tightest circle of legit pop-punk bands. And like true punx, Blockhead's tunes are free, so grab 'em.

DISCOGRAPHY

I'll Leave This Behind | Stream/Download

Split CD/Zine with Georgian | Stream/Download

2008 Demo | Stream/Download

OTHER LINKS

Facebook (Inactive)

Bandcamp

Band Spotlight: Mural

(Photo courtesy of the band's Facebook)

A few years ago, a large number of bands, friends, strangers, and curious passerby gathered in a cramped yet homely barn in Derry, NH for Hopscotchoria. A myriad of emo, post-hardcore, folk, post-rock, and other bands played. It rocked. A year later, Hopscotchoria II happened, which was possibly even better than the first (I hope that I never forget the set that Pathos played), but the festival then fell by the wayside when the main organizer, Bill, moved to Chicago. Fortunately for the people who attended one of these two events, they were introduced to a number of hidden gems in the music scene; Mural is one such gem.

I think the closest comparison I could make would be to one of their contemporaries, New Hampshire beloved Deer Leap, although Mural tends to be more reserved with their music. It's what most people would describe as "indie rock," with some light post-rock elements thrown in (comparable to Moving Mountains?). The bright guitars are lead by multiple vocalists who often support each other with balanced harmonies, all supported by a simple but driving rhythm section. Unfortunately, I think that the Summer Demo is their only recorded release; fortunately, it's a remarkably polished demo and leaves me hopeful for more.

Below is a video of them playing at UNH. One excited Youtube user commented, "Best band to come out of NH in a very, VERY long time." While I don't necessarily agree with this, I think Mural is very aware of what they want to do and they're good at doing it. Although the quality of this video isn't great, I think you can still understand the scope of this band's live performance -- their sound translated very well live.

I haven't thought about Mural in years, but a visit to their Facebook page reveals that they are, in fact, active as of earlier this year; hopefully we'll see some new music or performances from them in the coming months.

DISCOGRAPHY

Summer Demo | Stream | Download

OTHER LINKS

Facebook (Active)

Bandcamp

Band Spotlight: She Died Real Pretty

(Photo courtesy of Last.fm user "ImBettingImNotX")

She Died Real Pretty (2005-2006) was a short-lived band from Derry, NH that played fast-paced and ferocious screamo, that, although it was oftentimes fairly sloppy, was not unlike well-known heavy-hitters such as Orchid or Isodora Crane.

A few years back, I was speaking with one of the members and they shed some light on the rumored 7" split that was supposed to happen with I Wrote Haikus About Cannibalism in Your Yearbook. Apparently, both bands had tracks recorded and were ready to move forward with the split but the label that was going to put it out decided to axe She Died Real Pretty because their lyrics, which centered around the events of 9/11, were too conservative and disagreed with the label's views. Whether this story is true or not, I'm not sure, and there could very well be more to it than this -- either way, it's a shame that the split never happened because that would have surely solidified this band's place in screamo history, for whatever that's worth.

Although I'm not sure about the other members, I know one of the guitarists of She Died Real Pretty went on to play in a phenomenal band called Alessa. Though I never got a chance to see She Died Real Pretty, I was fortunately able to see his follow-up band multiple times. Alessa, who will soon have their own spotlight post, played an incredibly dark and heavy form of hardcore/screamo, pierced by agonizing dual vocals and dissonant chords. Although unrelated to She Died Real Pretty, the band family tree extends further, as Alessa's bassist also played in Pathos and Maintain Radio Silence. Pathos played a similarly dark style of music although they were largely instrumental, save for a few performances where they experimented with a vocalist. Maintain Radio Silence was more reserved, playing post-metal reminiscent of a less technical Russian Circles. One of the first shows I ever went to was with мища and Pathos in a dilapidated yet crowded barn; it was blistering loud and absolutely jarring, causing a lasting impression on me and instilling a renewed fascination with the genre.

Below I have She Died Real Pretty's 5-song EP, Carpe Diem is Dead, up for download. However, I don't have any of their other material (I believe there are at least 10 other songs), so if anyone has more information about that or any links, I'd appreciate the help. This first video is of "Industry Sets In," a song that is not on Carpe Diem is Dead, however, the second song video, "Requested Anesthesia," is on the EP.

"Requested Anesthesia" is the final song from the band's 5-song EP, Carpe Diem is Dead.

DISCOGRAPHY

Carpe Diem is Dead | Download

OTHER LINKS

Alessa | Bandcamp

Maintain Radio Silence | Bandcamp

Pathos | Myspace (Inactive)