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Wolverine Brass and Coliseum/Young Widows…

Wolverine Brass - Wicked WitchThe water in Louisville, KY must be polluted with awesome, because there have been so many fuckin' great bands from that place that it just doesn't make sense. "Wicked Witch", the debut full-length from Wolverine Brass, is another fine example of said locale's might from the stellar Auxiliary Records. Apparently this band features former members of Elliott, Lords, and The National Acrobat, among numerous others, but I'm digging this significantly more than most anything any of those bands did. This is really hitting the spot because I've been a little tired of the heavy/aggressive shit lately, and this is more laidback and sort of dark—not unfamiliar per se, but definitely different, and something you don't get to hear so much these days. I'm having a really hard time pinpointing their general sound, so I'll do something I almost never do and quote the label as a reference point since they state that the band is "following the lineage of hometown forefathers like Slint, Bastro, and Rodan while channeling the spirit of the early 90's influence via Unwound, Sonic Youth and Nirvana". I wouldn't rely too heavily on that statement, but it does give you an idea. It's definitely more Slint and Rodan than Sonic Youth and Nirvana, but it's not lifting too directly from any of those acts, so... I don't know. I love the songwriting, I love the vibe and the atmosphere, I love the natural warmth of the recording, and I really love the vocals. I don't know what it is, there's just something about their placement in the mix and the character of the dude's voice that totally works for me. I wouldn't have expected it, but this record's become a quick fuckin' favorite of mine. I'm way the hell into it... so just listen for yourself:

Wolverine Brass "Percolator"
Wolverine Brass "Leviathan"

I do not like people who never buy records, so if you dig the tunes, put your money where your mouth is and make the grab:

Auxiliary Records






Coliseum/Young Widows - splitHell yeah, this is a great looking and raging just-shy-of-11-minutes split CD between a couple more of Louisville's finest: Coliseum and Young Widows. This one was pressed up in a limited edition for the two bands' summer tour, also by Auxiliary Records, and it's a surefire keeper. Coliseum kicks things off with two tracks of their burly hardcore/punk complete with all the energy and warm, raw attack you'd expect. I've liked everything I've heard from these cats to date, but I have to say that these two cuts are even better—cramming in more variety, more chaotic dissonance, more subtle melody, and more ferocious (if not damn near catchy) energy. Awesome, awesome stuff. I'm all over this shit. The rhythm section in this band fucking crushes, and their songwriting is definitely progressing nicely. Totally badass. Young Widows follow with two slightly longer tracks of their own twisted, mangled discordance and pummeling rhythms. This band formed from the ashes of Breather Resist—who I was never that big on—but this shit is pretty fuckin' cool. There's a definite Amphetamine Reptile sort of thing happening in terms of the noisiness of the riffing and the spaciousness of the recording, and the bulk of the heaviness rests solely on the shoulders of one of the most prominent and devastating bass tones I've heard all year. Fuckin' right, man. If you play bass or drums and are into this kind of thing then this split will blow your mind repeatedly. No joke. I'm sold. Oh, and the disc is housed in a sweet chipboard sleeve that folds together—screenprinted in black with some red foil stamping to accent the always killer Auxiliary design work. Yep.

Coliseum "White Religion"
Young Widows "Baritone #3"

Sadly I believe the CD pressing is (unsurprisingly) out of print now, but there is an equally slick 7" pressing from the Relapse folks, so you can grab that in absence of the digital format:

Auxiliary Records
Relapse Records

Comments

  1. Wolverine Brass definitely has a total early ‘90s indie rock vibe. i’d say it’s more Rodan than anything. i wasn’t blown away by it, but i’m liking it far more than I expected to considering how much i DIDN’T like some of the “ex-members of” bands, haha.

    that Young Widows track is fucking EXCELLENT.

    11.23.2006 | By mark p.

  2. Just listening the first sample of wolverine brass and for some reason it reminds me a lot of sunny day real estate’s diary and album 2. Which for me, is definetly a GOOD thing. It’s something about the sound, atmosphere and how that guitar lingers… and with that guitar I can also hear some connections to Nirvana, sure. This sounds great, I hope the other sample is as good… I think I’ll try to get this album home.

    12.16.2006 | By O

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