Tenement - Napalm Dream

How great are fucking Tenement?

Answer: really fucking great.

I can't believe it's been almost two years since they played Lost and Found, but a quick check of the JS-NYC archives confirms that date is correct. Listening to Napalm Dream, it's obvious that they made the best of the time, as this fucker rocks from note one to note last.

It hadn't sunk into my addled brain that Tenement are a duo currently and while I continue to be bummed that they have not made it out East in a bit, I will give them huge props for not trying to do some sort of White Stripes horseshit. Napalm Dream displays a gift for a hook that is pretty obviously influenced by Americas Finest Rock Band: The Figgs. As Tenement hail from Wisconsin, this should not be a surprise. I also hear a fair amount of Ben Deilly-era Lemonheads and other late 80s Boston ilk in their sound, which basically means my neighbors get to hear a whole lot of Tenement. But come on: hearing Tenement in a tenement is pretty fucking meta. It would appear that Napalm Dream is the initial salvo in what will be a bumper crop of new material. Here's hoping it comes with some touring, as the 13 songs here beg to be heard live. Keep track of all things Tenement via their social networking interface here. Get Tenement Dream here and see if you don't have Stupid World, Skyscraper or Running Into Mirrors in your head forever.

Consider yourself warned.

R

Live: Tenement @ The Acheron 1.4.12

It's damn shame that it's been the better part of three years since we have had Tenement in our fair city. Their last Brooklyn show was one of the better shows I've seen in recent  years, but the time-honored lineup changes have hampered touring. Last year's Napalm Dream was one of the best indie rock records of 2011 and fate has smiled upon us to get them a touring drummer and make it out Brooklyn way. While I was excited as hell at the prospect of seeing Wisconsin's finest, I was somewhat less chuffed at the idea of riding out to nowhere Bushwick in temperatures that finally turned 'seasonal'.

I managed to blunder my way out to The Acheron in fairly short order and was pleased to find it was pretty legit in a Death By Audio sort of way. The room where the bands played is narrow and not especially long, kind of like the Khyber in Philly, begging the question how fucking Youth Of Today played there last Fall. Even with Coke Bust and Tenement on the bill, it made for a room that seemed full with maybe fifty people in it. Opening with a squall of feedback that got the kids shoving, Tenement romped through a half-hour of Dinosaur meets Figgs rock that satisfied pop and drunk punks alike. Mail me if you want a recording of the set.

All in all, the drummer for hire kid could have been more into it, and to that end I'd love to see what kind of damage Mikey Erg could in the Murph slot. I am not sure what the future holds in touring for Team Tenement, but you would be well-served in seeing them if you are able. In the absence of that, if you have not yet heeded the JS-NYC clarion call and purchased Napalm Dream, I suggest you do so with the quickness. Keep track of all things Tenement here.

R

Live: Tenement with Swearin', Vacation & Space Trash at Brooklyn Fireproof 9.12.12

Tenement are an amazing band that I can honestly see getting embraced by the mainstream and going all Nirvana Green Day on us in the very near future. Tour dates are sort of feast or famine for a number of reasons, but NYC has seen its fair share of the Wisconsin indie rockers in last the last couple months. This show was pretty well booked, heavy with the some of best like-minded bands you'll see touring today, and very probably the best $6 you'll spend on an indie rock show this year.

That said, the proceedings did bring to light some of my favorite pet peeves about the DIY shows. First would be the 8pm start time. Or lack thereof. Now I can see things starting a half hour or so past then, but an hour and a half is a little silly, especially when the show is in the middle of goddamn nowhere. Kids could also take a fucking shower. If you are on tour, I can see giving a pass, but when the locals smell worse than the not olfactorally delightful road dogs, something needs to be rectified. Beyond that, Brooklyn Fireproof is a nice venue, and while the concrete room didn't bode well for acoustical delight, it was actually a pretty fun space to see a show. While I'm bitching, the addition of Space Trash was not especially welcome either, although they were decent enough for what was allegedly their first show.

Vacation batted second. The Ohio gents have stepped to the top of the list of bands I always internally bitch about being on bills and then wonder why when they rock my old ass. The drummer as lead singer thing is really the only thing I could take a cheap shot at, save for the fact that he's a great singer and drummer. I'll definitely have to come with a better attitude next time.

As things were getting late, I was pleased to see that Tenement were jumping the order (normally, a pet peeve). The Wisconsin trio has never been known for their epic sets, but this show was probably the longest, and by far best, show I've seen them play. Like Swearin', Tenement have just enough great songs to make opening slots a tornado of great tunes. They romped through a half-hour and came back for a couple more before I bailed on Swearin' and hopped in the saddle. I'm sure they were great. Swearin' are playing Cameo Gallery next week for some other bands record release show. Tenement are out for the next couple weeks, so see them when/if you can.

R

Live: Tenement with Thee Make Out Party @ Lost & Found 8.7.9

There is quite a buzz revolving around the men of Tenement. Many people were bummed when they didn't make it to Insubordination Fest, but as luck would have it a serendipitious split 7"with sort of locals The Used Kids prompted a joint tour and a show at Lost & Found. Friday night and free are a good combo for this broke asshole, so off I went.

I rolled in for the last half of Thee Make Out Club set. I think that it's just about time that the royal Thee was relegated purely to Billy Childish projects. TMOC was pretty decent: poppy, but with some more aggro undertones. Their promo says 1915 Fruitgum meets The Dictators, but let's not run with it. I'd say a little harder MTX, but they seemed to be well liked. Check 'em out here and decide for yourself.

While I was killing time and indulging in casual lechery, I couldn't help but notice a little guy with a ballcap that had Siege sharpied on it, along with a thrash mullet and some sort of hardcore t-shirt. I had just read Mike Gitter's nostalgia-fest as/re: Siege on Double Cross, which really only reinforced the dual truisms that I am old and that kid was at best an infant during what passed for the Siege heydey. Of course, as Tenement started to set up, it quickly became obvious that said thrashling was the bass player. Once set up, the trio set it off with a new take on the Dinosaur Jr./Husker Du raggedly melodic sound. Good, good stuff. It would appear that their formal releases are confined purely to the vinyl idiom, but you can check out some digital approximations here. My pick is Earwig, but pick your own favorite and see Tenement if they make it through your town.

R

Tenement - The Blind Wink

Regular readers are no doubt aware that JS-NYC likes themselves some Tenement. The Figgs meets Dinosaur Jr.-indebted rock stylings of last year's Napalm Dream found itself in heavy rotation and the prospect of a demos collection prompted much rejoicing at the HQ. It's a wise move, as the lack of a regular touring drummer makes Tenement a recording project a lot of the time. The Blind Wink gets you a dozen tracks for your indie rock dollar. Collector nerds should be aware that there is an exclusive track on the cassette version (?) that you can get here from your friends at Dead Broke Records. Those that have embraced a 21st Century technological sensibility should be aware that it comes with a download code. Of the twelve tracks, Dreaming Out Loud is reprised in alternate form, but the others are heretofore unreleased, to the best of my knowledge. I'd say Lost Love Star Lust is probably the best of the lot, but tuneful indie-pop fans will not be disappointed with any of the tracks on The Blind Wink.


R

Jaded Scenester NYC: Top 11 Records of 2011

Ok All:

The TBs are back in full effect, courtesy of Time Machine, so without further ado, let's start the recappery for 2011.

Day One: 


Top 11 Records Of 2011

1.  Banner Pilot – Heart Beats Pacific

Longtime readers know that Banner Pilot gets much love at JS-NYC HQ, but even I was a little surprised that they took the top honors for 2011.  I think the CMJ live shows sealed the deal for me, The Fat Wreck deal getting the gents to the East Coast more than in years previously. The gents tore up the Reload store and followed up with a pretty aces set in Brooklyn later that night. Heart Beats Pacific has the same relentless amount of hooks, changing things up on the vocals but still with the bass mixed up front. Eleven songs, and not a bad track on the record. I'm pretty sure the gents are already in pre-production for the next one, plus they are letting the punters pick the set list for the spring tour, so get on over to the Banner Pilot web presence and ruin the spring for me. Get Heart Beats Pacific here.

2.  Centro-Matic – Candidate Waltz

Said it the first time and am now saying it again: Why Centro-matic aren't gargantuanally huge boggles what little faculties I still maintain. Centro-matic are everything that I don't see why people like about My Morning Jacket and The National (who, truth be told, seem like fine people, exclusive of their profoundly unremarkable records). I dare not contemplate what a four hour MMJ set would be like, but every time I see Centro-matic live I wish it would never end. The last show at Mercury was no exception, unsurprising as Candidate Waltz is the finest record to date from a band that continually releases amazing records. Bookmark their web presence here.

3.  Tenement – Napalm Dream

The fact that 2011 brought a new Tenement record was a personal high point. They were top fucking notch a couple years ago in Greenpoint and I've been salivating at the prospect at seeing them again ever since. There are only two solid members in the line-up, which hampers the whole touring thing. It's a shame, as Napalm Dream has some of the best indie rock tracks you'll hear this year. Shades of 90s Boston and America's Finest Rock BandTM The Figgs abound, with the breakdown of Stupid World ranking as perhaps my favorite recorded moment of this year. Keep track of Wisconsin's finest and all things Napalm Dream here.

4.   Restorations – s/t

Restorations are definitely my favorite new discovery of 2011, although sadly my favorite track is from their first EP. Lack of Linear Notes aside, and despite a curious tendency toward black metal in their artwork choices, this fearsome Philly fivesome get high marks from JS-NYC. Now lets see a lot more NYC shows please.

5.  Glossary – Long Live All Of Us

My review is coming up at PopMatters soon, but much like Centro-matic, you cannot go wrong with any release with the Glossary name on it. I generally loathe bands with singers who both live and rock together (see the utterly execrable Mates Of State), but Joey and Kelly make it more than worth your while with Long Live All Of Us.

6.   Bridge & Tunnel – Rebuilding Year

The time Bridge & Tunnel lay fallow has fostered a bumper crop of great music. Rebuilding Year features great J. Robbins-y vocals from Jeff and top-fucking-notch guitar work from Rachel. Along with Iron Chic, there is rarely a safer bet in a local show.

7.  Frank Turner – England Keep My Bones

A close second behind Restorations in the new discovery queue, Frank Turner grabbed my attention on Kimmel and England Keep My Bones quickly racked up neighbor maddening levels of rotation at JS-NYC HQ. I Am Disappeared ranks just as high in singles of the year. FT is going to be a very big deal, very soon.

8.  Samiam - Trips

I think Samiam may have actually deposed the mighty Jawbreaker as my all-time favorite East Bay band. They have made pretty regular appearances out East Coast way this year and been pretty damn great every time. Trips has a gang of great songs and hopefully will usher in a new era of Samiam dominance.

9.  Gateway District – Perfect’s Gonna Fail

Without disparaging Maren and Carrie's significant contributions to Gateway, the idea that Nate could write two amazing records worth of music (see #1) deserves notice. I really need to get to Minneapolis.

10.  Direct Hit! – Domesplitter

Got this one cold in the mail, maybe through the good folk of Southern Lovin' and the terrible cover art kept me off listening for a bit, but once I did I was more that stoked at what I heard. Obvious D4 and Screeching Weasel earmarks, but with enough personality to not get lost in the shuffle. 

11.  Money Making Jam Boys – The Prestige
2011 has been a terrible year for hip-hop, but this Philly all-star team fucking kills it on their debut mix tape. P.O.R.N, Truck North, Dice Raw and STS rhyme hard but MC juggernaut Black Thought is the hero here, asserting himself as one of the pre-eminent mic stylists of our generation and saving this year from being over-saturarted with Odd Future fomented Asbergers Rap.

The Arrivals - Razorcake Sister Series

Ah, The Arrivals. How I love thee! How I miss the delicious time we spent at Insubordination Fest just a couple of months ago. You talked up Tenement, who didn't make it to Baltimore, but ripped more than their fair share of ass for a bunch of youngsters at Lost & Found a couple weeks later, and said nice things about maybe coming out in East in the Fall. Here's hoping, as their entry into The Razorcake sister series is one hell of a tease. Their split is with the Grabass Charlestons, but the sisterdom manifests itself in seperate slabs of 7" delight. We'll get to the Grabass soon enough, but in the meantime it's going to be hard for me to stop talking about the four selections the good folk of Razorcake have afforded us. Let's sally forth, shall we?

Things open with My Generation. which only assets the fact that there is a strong argument to made for The Arrivals being this generation's domestic incarnation of The Who. While one of the four songs on the record is a cover, this isn't it, as much as I would like to hear Paddy rip off a bass solo or three. It does sound a lot like early Who and that ain't bad. At all.

Things segue nicely into I Wouldn't Dare, a tune that neatly nicks the riff from Boris The Spider and grafts it on to an early Replacements vibe. Over way too soon at 2:40.

Bachelor number three is Drill Baby Drill. The longest song at 3 minutes, and perhaps my least favorite, but in the same way that beef tacos are my least favorite, or handjobs my least favorite form of release. Not a bad thing, even in lowest common denominator form.

The closer is the cover. As the series is shared with Grabass Charlestons, it is a cover of said same's Ask Mark Twain. While it rips, and has a pretty bad ass bridge, I'm going to throw my love behind the first two tracks, but again don't sell the stellar taco/handjob metaphor short.

Pick up The Arrivals half of the series here from the good folk of Razorcake. Consider subscribing as well, as they are perhaps the only bastion of independent music still worth reading. West Coast readers would do well to take in the D4/Arrivals/Grabass show with the mighty fucking Tiltwheel in a couple weeks. Yowza!

xo

R

Live: Swearin' at Mercury Lounge 9.10.12

photo stolen with apologies and not from Mercury

Looks like Swearin' are blowing up, as the interwebs tell me they have transcended the blogosphere and good old word of mouth and are currently getting space in the New York Times about their new release. Kudos to them, even if they have upped and moved to Philly on us. Oddly enough, that move has precipitated an inordinate number of local shows of late. This gig was the opening slot of an early show and at Mercury, a perfect storm of awesome for this old man that had me gladly paying full price to leave after the first band.

Between the first EP and their new full-length, Swearin' have the perfect set for an opener and made the most of it, blazing through a half hour or so of the best of those releases. The better than usual PA gave a little more shine to Kyle's songs this time around, but everything about this set was pretty great. The touring is definitely paying off, at least when it comes to the foursome getting tight as all hell. Swearin' is obviously a band firing on all cylinders. See them with Tenement later this month in Brooklyn, at Cameo the week after, and look for them out with Japandroids in November.

R

Jaded Scenester Top 10 EPs of 2009

Ok kids. You loved the comp (still free, just e-mail) and were over the moon about the first Top 10 list where we dropped science on the best full-length records of 2009. Let's ride the wave of nostalgia a little more, shall we? Today we're going to give the little guys some shine and select the Top 10 EPs from 2009. Note that while some of these releases were two song 7" releases, JS-NYC is going to shout out the Top 10 individual songs (i.e. singles) later on this week.

Peep it:

Jaded Scenester NYC Top 10 Eps of 2009

1. RVIVR - Life Moves EP

2. Jon Snodgrass/Cory Branan split EP

3. Tenement - Icepick 7"

4. Copyrights/Dopamines - Songs About Fucking Up split EP

5. The Jealous Sound - Got Friends EP

6. Capital - Blind Faith EP

7. Paint It Black - Amnesia EP

8. Superchunk - Leaves In The Gutter EP

9. Minus The Bear - Into The Mirror

10. Celeste - Misanthrope(s) EP