Life At These Speeds - Discography

Life At These Speeds were a short lived punk/emo/indie (oh really they didn't make it?) band from Oregon. I saw them play at an anarchist bookstore two years ago so I picked up their self-titled album and ultimately their 2006 LP, To Your Health. Both are great, fun albums but the self-titled is slightly better, though the best songs of the two are both on To Your Health, in the poppy "Blocking Out the Stars" and "Not So Long Ago." Then general sound is a mix of punk and the classical emo style. The result is sort of like midwest indie but without the sentimentality and heart-on-sleeve values. Also they have a slightly rougher if more fun attitude.

Life at These Speeds (2004) - Download - Review


To Your Health (2006) - Download - Review

Burton Wagner - 21

November 25th has come and gone again, which means another album from Burton Wagner, the DIY post-rock artist who releases an album every year on his birthday, November 25. While his previous releases, In the Realms of the Unreal and A Sentinel's Eyes, have been concept-based, his new album 21, is much more song based. Each song is named after and composed for a day that occured over the past year. As a result there is a pretty wide variety of sounds and emotions that change from song to song. The album sounds like a mix of the post-rock of his previous releases but with more pop, alternative, and shoegaze thrown in. This album doesn't push any envelopes after a titanic release lke ASE but each song is beautiful and memorable. Review to come shortly.

21 (2007) - Download - Review

Grails - Redlight

Grails is a chameleon of an indie band. Their most recent two releases have been psychedelic and jam-based while their 2004 LP, Redlight is oddly taut post-rock with modal inflections. Just based on personal tastes I gravitate towards the tight, composed pieces rather than the expansive jams, but their discography is interesting nonetheless. Redlight has a few goofy tracks but some killer ones too. Overall this album is beautiful. I've been sort of vague about its merits so definitely check out the review for a more detailed look at what these guys sound like.

Redlight (2004) - Download - Review

Karate - Unsolved

Karate is a midwest indie band in the spirit of Mineral and Boys Life, except some of the chord progressions and guitar inflections are jazz influenced. I've only listened once but I'm really liking it. Thanks to Astronation for this recent update.


Unsolved (2000) - Download

Little Brother - Get Back

Little Brother played the homecoming show at my school (Williams) this past weekend. I went in not expecting much as previous homecoming shows have sucked pretty hard (think The Virginia Coalition), but I was pleasantly surprised. I'm a big fan of De la Soul and I hear a pretty significant De la influence here. They just released a new album back in September, Get Back, which is awesome upon first listen. I think I'll write up a review some time in December so I'll update the "review" link then.

Get Back (2007) - Download

Envy - Abyssal

This is the new EP from Japan's Envy. For the unitiated, imagine if it was still cool to like Explosions in the Sky and there were some Hydra Head Records influences. This particular release is short but sweet and follows in the footsteps of their last LP, Insomniac Doze, which used a lot more soft textures and major keys than their previous releases did.

Abyssal (2007) - Download

Maudlin of the Well - Discography

Maudlin of the Well was Toby Driver's first project that existed while he was studying at Hampshire College. They released three massive LPs that got more melodic as they progressed.

My Fruit Psychobells...A Seed Combustible (1999) - Download - Review


Bath (2001) - Download - Review


Leaving Your Body Map (2001) - Download - Review