Free Suburban Home Fest Comp!

So, here marks another year that I sit in NYC when I could be shouting my lungs out in Gainesville to all of the good bands that currently exist. The Fest is a magical thing, and goddammit, come hell or high water, I'm going there and seeing fucking Tiltwheel next year.

That bile somewhat purged, Virgil Dickerson and the good folk of Suburban Home will be in attendance this year, as will a good part of their spectacular roster. Virgil has been really putting in work. In addition to tirelessly blogging, hawking vinyl and going out on the road with his bands, he's managed to build a roster with some of the best up-and-coming bands out there.  Come on, he's dropped amazing records like the amazing Ninja Gun (oo-wee-ooo) and Two Cow Garage records, as well as the new Useless ID and Lagrecia discs. And for once, I'm not being stubborn about calling them records. If you look at the graphic, it says Vinyl Collective. VC has released a gang of new and old stuff on the old licorice pizza. If you still follow the format, you owe yourself to check it out.

So if I can make a vague attempt at making any of this cohesive; about the free shit and The Fest, Virgil's got a free sampler to commemorate the Suburban Home bands' presence in Gainesville. You can buy it on vinyl (ooh, a third strand woven!) here or download it for free here. It's got stuff from Joey Cape, Two Cow, Austin Lucas and a gang of others. And it's fucking free. Not a bad deal from a great label and great people. Snag the sampler and buy some full-lengths afterward. I'm not sure how long the download is going to be up, so you should probably step lively. Virgil may be at The Fest taking all comers in the competitive PBR shotgunning, but he's going to come to his senses sometime.

R

Liquid Limbs - Orquid

What is the deal with all these two-piece bands? Is it really that hard to find other people to play with? Ordinarily, I'd say that we might be able to chalk it up to finances: less people in the van, smaller vehicles; blah, blah, blah; but invariably the bands feel the need to be twice as loud, which I would think would offset any savings, albeit garnering them proportionately more drink tickets.

Whatever their motivation, Liquid Limbs break from convention and opt to have vocals, and even melodic ones sometimes, on top of their pummeling sonic onslaught. Rumor has that it works live, although I bet like everyone else they are often at the mercy of the soundman. Singer/guitarist Kevin Nowak seems like he might be a new-school Billy Corgan (a musical, not personality compliment) in the way he matches sludgy post-Sabbath riff rock to hooky melodies. He's got a lot of balls in the air, playing all the chordal stuff on standard and baritone guitars well as holding down the mike slot, but he makes it sound pretty easy on Orquid. There is ample time in each of the eleven songs for him to merely rock the shit out of you, as Liquid Limbs do lay down a formidable groove when they want to. It helps that drummer Chase Permann pounds the living bejesus out of his kit. I give you Make Peace To War, as an example. It matches the technical precision of Pelican with the vocal gymnastics of Totimoshi or maybe even a little Judas Priest. I like the way the vocals sound more than the actual words, but Orquid has really piqued my interest. They've played a bunch of The Fest shows and toured with Torche and Baroness, but I could see them just as easily with Kayo Dot or Dillinger Escape Plan. Hell, if someone decides to care, it wouldn't surprise me if we saw Liquid Limbs playing with bands like Coheed and Cambria in the near future. Liquid Limbs have the chops and the heaviness to hold their own in either arena.

If you like your music Sabbath heavy but with some King's X vocal layering, Liquid Limbs may very well be your thing. They will be at The Fest this year and are no doubt playing a gang of dates behind Orquid. You can buy the record here from the good folk of Sound Study Recordings. For whatever reason, it's only available on vinyl and digitally, although I bet you'll get the convntional CDR with the vinyl. SSR is run by some ex-As Friends Rust/Salem dudes and Orquid is their first release. It's a good choice. They are playing in town in November at Charleston and Lit Lounge. I'll harass as it gets closer, but if I have my druthers, we'll see these guys with Batillus sometime soon. Check out the LL site here.

R

Bridge And Tunnel - East/West

I love No Idea Records. They sign solid bands and seem to be straight up good people, plus The Fest is regularly becoming the Fall punk rock mixer for the in-crowd. I wish I was going this year. Speaking totally out of my ass, Bridge and Tunnel mark the first No Idea signing North of the Mason-Dixon line. They are from Long Island, co-ed, and feature an ex-Latterman dude, although it seems a pretty egaltarian franchise. Musically, there's a mid 90s Midwestern vibe, with clean guitars and slow builds to roaring crescendos. Think Crank-era Cursive (without the shouting), or maybe Vitreous Humor, with maybe some Braid for good measure. If you shy away from such things, be forewarned that there are some populist, or at least humanist, politics here. Whether it be the Fugazi meets The Alarm message of Wartime Souvenirs or the somewhat heavy-handed Down For My People Like Joe Carroll, Bridge And Tunnel seem to have their hearts and minds in the right place. Even if you eschew such overtly political fare, when Bridge And Tunnel get all off-time and do the dual vocal thing, you will throw all caution to the wind and be shouting along just like everyone else.

They also seem to have females (and perhaps males) in the band who are bike people. This makes it hard for a band not to be awesome, although I have seen it done. It would appear that Rachel is a wrench and Tia has her own messenger bag company called Vaya Bags. Check out the appropriate links for their side gigs and pick up a copy of East/West here. They are also on tour currently , so look out for them. They play a homecoming date November 8th at ABC. Go see them.