Threadbare “Feeling Older Faster” CD

This one's long overdue, as in my opinion Threadbare was one of the best and most underappreciated bands of the 90's, and I can remember wondering why the hell they weren't more "popular" even back when I was 17 or 18 and first discovering them. I never did know all that much about the band other than the fact that they were from Minnesota, and of course their music was an absolutely scathing brand of unique metallic hardcore that blended post-hardcore rhythms and caustic dissonance with slight melodic undercurrents and some of the most furiously emotional and powerful songwriting of the time period. They released a 7" on Watermark and two CD EP's on Doghouse (which are two of the finest releases in that label's history to this day) before going their separate ways, and that's about it. Their guitarist, Carl "My Riffs Will Shit All Over Your Riffs and Make You Look Like a Complete Hack" Skildum, who also formed a band called Picturesque sometime after the demise of Threadbare, would later become one of my favorite songwriters due to his continued work with Krakatoa, and is currently in Seconds Before (as is ex-Threadbare/Picturesque drummer Mike Paradise, as of recently); while former Threadbare vocalist Brian Lovro is of course more known these days for The Blinding Light. Other members also later joined up with The Judas Factor, Snapcase, and Attractive.

While everything the band released was solid, 1995's "Feeling Older Faster" CD EP remains my personal favorite, and is probably one of the 10 greatest releases of that decade for me. I've listened to this thing a million times over the years, and its 25 minutes of complete perfection cover a wide range of dynamics and emotional responses that all basically make me want to fucking destroy the planet. Seriously, if this shit doesn't make you want to rip someone's face off, I don't know what does. It's extremely hard to narrow it down to just two songs to provide as examples of how brilliant this band was. So hard, in fact, that I'm tossing in a track ("Twenty One...") from 1997's less ferocious "Escapist" EP, as this is an utterly amazing song that stands as some of the band's finest material.

Threadbare "Midas"
Threadbare "Penicillin"
Threadbare "Twenty One..."

So now, realizing what you've been missing out on for over a decade now, go buy both of these CD's immediately and take yourself to school...

Amazon.com
Half.com

...and try not to kill anyone in the process, eh? I'm not even kidding when I say that "Feeling Older Faster" might be one of the most homicidal rage-inducing recordings ever. And we're talking about an artistic band, too. Like the almighty Starkweather. This ain't no cookie cutter mosh part hoedown, my friends. This is the real deal.

If you don't like this stuff, you suck. The end.