SXSW will be awesome this year. But two bands that will never be present there again and who bring back such fond memories to me about seeing truly great live music are These Arms Are Snakes above and Daughters below. I miss those fuckers so much.
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#daughters #please make up and play live #these arms are snakes #sxsw
Boo!
Bubbling up from witch house’s crustiest cauldron come Crypts, a new project from ex-These Arms Are Snakes front-yelper Steve Snere. It’s easy to compare it to contemporary chapel-haunters like Salem or darkwave revisionists like Cold Cave thanks to the booming 808s, syrupy Houston slow rides and googaze synths. But Snere’s hardcore-fueled screeching of bloody murder makes this thing closer to “Stigmata”-era Ministry if it were shaking bloody paws with the creepier corners of 4AD. This is ultimately a punk record if Ian MacKaye was seeing purple instead of red. Don’t believe us? Hear the blistering opening track, “Completely Fucked” below, a two-minute tantrum of sultry “Moments in Love” synths meet a pile-up of gabber snares and rubbed-raw screams. by Christopher R. Weingarten
DON’T MISS CRYPTS ON TOUR with Chelsea Wolfe then with Omar Rodriguez Lopez
CHELSEA WOLFE & CRYPTS
09/08 – Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore
09/09 – Seattle, WA @ Barboza CD Release Show also w/ Stickers
09/12 – San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop
09/14 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo also w/ Gothic Tropic
OMAR RODRIGUEZ LOPEZ GROUP & CRYPTS
Oct 20, 2012 - Portland, OR @ Star Theater
Oct 23, 2012 - Sacramento, CA @ Harlow’s
Oct 24, 2012 - Oakland, CA @ The New Parish
Oct 25, 2012 - Los Angeles, CA @ Troubadour - SOLD OUT
Oct 26, 2012 - Santa Ana, CA @ The Observatory
Oct 27, 2012 - Santa Barbara, CA @ Velvet Jones
Oct 28, 2012 - San Diego, CA @ The Casbah
Advance warning on a seriously dark new band and album from ex-These Arms Are Snakes vocalist Steve Snere. Crypts, completed by programmer Bryce Brown and visual artist Nick Bartoletti, release their self-titled debut on September 4 via Sargent House with the video for ‘Fancy’ available to check out below.
Recorded in Seattle with producer Erik Blood (the man behind Shabazz Palaces’ 2011 album Black Up), Crypts mixes weighty bass drones, chopped hip-hop and oppressive electronica which is as visceral as the early punk from which Snere takes his cues. Keep up over on the official website.
CRYPTS LIVE
July 20 - Seattle, WA @ The Capital Hill Block Party
Sept 8 - Vancouver, BC @ The Biltmore Cabaret w/ Chelsea Wolfe
Sept 9 - Seattle, WA @ Barboza w/ Chelsea Wolfe
Sept 12 -San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop w/ Chelsea Wolfe
Sept 14 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo w/ Chelsea Wolfe & Gothic Tropic
I’m not going to lie. When I first heard that Steve Snere, the vocalist of two of my favorite bands of all time, had formed a new electronic band, I groaned. In Kill Sadie and These Arms Are Snakes, Snere played a role in creating some terrific post-hardcore albums, so I expected the worse.
However, his new project Crypts (with Nick Bartoletti and Bryce Brown) absolutely shreds. A harrowing jaunt into Snere’s dark world, the self-titled Crypts comes out today on Sargent House. I caught up with the Seattle-based Snere via email for the following interview.
Geek: Crypts is a bit of a departure from These Arms are Snakes and Kill Sadie in terms of sound. Can you talk about what led you toward electronics?
Steve Snere: I have been playing in loud rock bands since I was 15. At the end of Snakes I knew I needed a change. In fact I think all the guys needed a change, which was a lot to do with us putting the brakes on the group. I either wanted to do something a bit more garage-y and loose or I wanted to do something more in the vein of Suicide. I guess it went more Suicide. It has been very liberating to work in the electronic realm because it gives me a lot more hands-on musical input then the guitar-based groups I have been in. I play drums but I have never been too good at melodic instruments such as the guitar I have tried. I have always had a large influence on all my bands with ideas, mood and structure and whatnot, but now I get to have the same input but directly affect the song with noise, samples and synths.
Brian Cook is a name that should need little introduction, but for those that need it he is the bass man with acclaimed noise-mongers Russian Circles and is formerly the bass player with Botch and These Arms Are Snakes. Alongside this already impressive musical CV, Brian has also contributed to recordings by Mouth Of The Architect and Mamiffer.
Many will be well aware of Russian Circles - A true tour de force of musical power. The wall of sound that comes from 3 men on a stage is rarely rivaled by what Russian Circles are capable of. Dark, brooding, ambient, but crushing and at times, truly devastating.
Check out Russian Circles live:
Back in 2009, Seattle’s post-hardcore outfit These Arms Are Snakes put the kibosh on their seven-year run. In the aftermath, vocalist Steve Snere was looking for a different musical enterprise. “I needed a change of pace… to take myself out of the guitar-based rock world, he explains. Joining forces with programmer Bryce Brown and visual artist Nick Bartoletti, the trio formed Crypts, setting out to “experiment to find a sound we wanted to hear.” The dark electronic sound the three mad scientist concocted will be revealed to the world with the September 4th release of their self-titled debut via Sargent House.
As an early taste of what these boys from the Emerald City have in store, take a listen to “Territories”. Pulsating synths ripple over an eerie haze, while pounding subsonic bass keeps the rhythm for choppy, syncopated snare snaps and skittering claps. It’s a foreboding yet enticing mix, like the mist beckoning a horror film’s hapless heroine into the forest. The clearing in the forest here is the chorus, a barrage of gloom-pop color with Snere’s voice howling out as the synths swell and burst. Check it out below.For the band’s full effect, catch them on tour, where Bartoletti’s role gets fully realized as he creates a live video and light show to sync with the band’s music. As previously reported, they’re heading out on the road with Chelsea Wolfe in September. See those dates underneath the Crypts tracklist ahead. - by Ben Kaye
Crypts Tracklist:
01. Completely Fucked
02. Daft
03. Territories
04. Breathe
05. Fancy - see video
06. Smut
07. Bloods
08. Sleazy
Crypts 2012 Tour Dates:
09/08 – Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore *
09/09 – Seattle, WA @ Barboza *
09/12 – San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop *
09/14 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo *
* = w/ Chelsea Wolfe
Native have added a ton of shows before heading to Texas. Joining them on most of the March dates will be Caspian and Chiaroscuro. They will be playing a few shows at this years SXSW including the Official Sargent House show on March 19th at Emo’s Annex, then to Dallas to play BroFest and ending the month at Mission Creek Fest in Iowa.
NATIVE MARCH 2011
Feb 18 -Indianapolis, IN @ The Hoosier Dome
Feb 19- Ann Arbor, MI @ The Metal Frat
Feb 25- DeCatur, IL @ Milliken University &
Feb 26- Grand Rapids, MI @ The DAAC &
Feb 27- Bloomington, IN @ The Bishop &
Mar 02- Covington, KY @ The Mad Hatter
Mar 03 -Pittsburgh, PA @ Smiling Moose
Mar 04- Baltimore, MD @ Golden West Cafe #*
Mar 05- Vienna, VA @ Jammin Java #*
Mar 06- Richmond, VA @ Strange Matter #*
Mar 07- Charlottesville, VA @ Trinity #*
Mar 09- Charlotte, NC @ Snug Harbor #*
Mar 10- Nashville, TN @ The End #*
Mar 11- Athens, GA @ Caledonia Lounge #*
Mar 12- Orlando, FL @ Wills Pub #*
Mar 13- Gainesville, FL @ Atlantic #*
Mar 14- New Orleans, LA @ Howlin’ Wolf #* + more bands
Mar 15- Baton Rouge, LA @ The Spanish Moon #*
Mar 17- Austin, TX @ SXSW - Plush (day)
Mar 19- Austin, TX @ SXSW- Red 7 - (day)
Mar 19- Austin, TX @ SXSW Emo’s Annex (official) AA
Mar 20- Dallas, TX @ BROFEST at Club Dada
Mar 30- Iowa City, IA @ MISSION CREEK FEST
#*=w/Caspian and Chiaroscuro
& = w/ Xerxes
!! = w/ Cast Spells, Adebisi Shank, Gypsyblood, Therapies Son, Fang Island,Zechs Marquise, Le Butcherettes & Omar Rodriguez Lopez Group
Follow Native
SEE ALL NATIVE DATES
The SXSW season can often find people in our profession inundated with different sights and sounds as the festival approaches. A level of ear and visual fatigue has been known to drive more than one writer I know batty whenever any festival of this size and caliber approaches. In the sea of remixed sub bass, lyrical overload, and ‘electro-hop’ progressions that can be a part of the daily routine for any reviewer, it was awesome to catch an respite from said cacophony during my time spent listening and researching Philly based indie group, Good Old War.
Good Old War, who’s name drives from combining the last names of the three members; Keith Goodwin, Tim Arnold, and Dan Schwartz, sounds something akin to a time warp back to the Americana folk sensibilities of the the late 60’s and early 70’s. Their third album, ‘Come Back As Rain.’ is as breezy and melodic as they come, almost reveling in the simplicity of their harmonic vocals and country like melodies. The songwriting and production, as clichéd as this sounds, can be to your ears what a breath of fresh air feels like.
The lead single, Can’t Go Home, rides their vocal harmonies over a rolling acoustic guitar that plants you firmly in their emotive longing for the ’simple truths of being home.’ Amazing Eyes, while keeping to their formula of dancing simple melodic vocal rhythms across acoustic guitar, elicits an entirely different emotive set proving the sophistication of their songwriting and the power in their simplicity.
The album released today is available for purchase or preview on their site or on iTunes. Check the video premiere above and be sure to catch them during SXSW during the following dates and places:
Pitstop Day Party
Rusty’s
405 E. 7th St.
March 16th @ 12am
Official SXSW Showcase
(with Ingrid Michaelson)
The Central Presbyterian Church
200 E. 8th St.