A few months ago, two bands who happen to be friends of mine began working with A389 Records for upcoming releases, and found themselves on a free downloadable compilation with, from what I gather, are a bunch of bands A389 is either planning on working with or bands that they are currently listening to around the office. One of these friends in particular is far more into and involved with hardcore music and some of the non-musical elements that accompany it, and via a 2:00 AM instant messenger debate, started to think that my general lack of interest in hardcore (that is mostly a result of finding other genres of extreme music more fulfilling) was me taking a "been there, done that, my old days were the best" attitude regarding the current hardcore music and its bands. I am most certainly an asshole, and very picky about bands I will and will not listen to, but not the sort of asshole who acts like bands hardcore bands I saw/liked who came and went mean more than any current band does those still slugging it out in the pit. To prove to him that I wasn't being an old dude who "can't hang with the crap the new kids are putting out", I reviewed the comp for him track by track on my other blog. I did my best to review each track entirely based on what I heard, and even when it was something that wasn't my particular cup of tea, worked to keep that bias out of describing what I heard. Here is the original post with my reviews:
http://99milesofbadroad.blogspot.com/2011/03/a389-mixtape-song-by-song-review.html
I wasn't overly impressed by the comp in its entirety, but one of the featured bands completely blew me away. This band is called Anne, and on a compilation loaded heavily with aggressive punk, hardcore, and metal, their 90s throwback, heavy yet shoegazer indie rock was in stark contrast to their excessively brutal compilation-mates, and would stand out just as much on a compilation that wasn't stacked up with heavy hitters like Integrity, Ringworm, Rot In Hell, and Pulling Teeth.
Upon discovering this gem buried in the middle of this A389 comp, I pressed my friends in bands involved with the label for any info regarding Anne in terms of tours/releases/history. For the most part, my friends didn't know a whole lot about this mystery mellow band other than they were fucking awesome. Luckily, I'm a bit of a nerd and happen to have a lot of time on my hands, so it didn't take long for me to find their website (www.annepdx.com), downloaded Mixtape 1, and play the living shit out of it around my house. I forwarded their demo and their info to several friends with musical tastes ranging from heavy and aggressive all the way to 90s alternative/indie obsessed. As far as I know, there hasn't been a single person I've played for who hasn't instantly become a fan of the band.
Mixtape 1 is four songs that are melodic yet melancholy, synth heavy, and have an overall dreamy, foggy feel to them. Even their more upbeat songs like "Stripping" and "Perfect Teeth" exude dark, sorrowful undertones not unlike The Stone Roses, Hum, or My Bloody Valentine. Each song on Mixtape 1 takes on a life of its own, while still giving the four song release that feeling of each song flowing seemlessly into the next.
Due to my haphazard internet stumble, I read that Anne was to embark upon a short West Coast tour that began on Thursday, 6/9/11 in Santa Cruz and wrapped up on 6/12/11 in Oakland. I made a point to catch both the Santa Cruz and Oakland shows, and was totally blown away by the how well the band translated their unique heavy shoegaze sound as a live experience not unlike what you hear when you listen to Anne on record. One of the many pitfalls of playing effects/electronic heavy rock is being unable to recreate that music you make in the studio outside of the studio, and Anne is making this look easy at the "demo" stage of their career, which leads me to believe it will only get easier for them to branch out in the studio while staying true to their sound as their recording budgets grow. The west coast tour also featured Bay Area locals Whirl, who I am guilty of not checking out yet, so I can't comment on how Anne stacked up compared to them, but I can say with total confidence that Anne completely smoked Santa Cruz jokesters Wolf Feet who opened the 105 Pioneer St show, and elevated the psychedelic mood set by The Chaw, a Concord band who played before them at Mama Buzz in Oakland.
In addition to some sweet merch (including an awesome mock black metal design t-shirt), I grabbed Anne's Demo 2010. They were hoping to have a 7 inch version of the Mixtape 1 material with them, but alas, vinyl pressing and timeliness don't often go hand in hand, so the 7 inch is to expected from the band in the near future. Demo 2010 has five songs that are a touch more raw than the Mixtape 1 material, but still very much stay true to that melancholy, dreamy sound this fledgling band is developing. The guitars and synths sound much less blended on Demo 2010, which offers musically inclined assholes like myself to get a clearer understanding of their chops and how/what they are playing/effects they are utilizing. Demo 2010 is a touch easier on the ears for those not as rooted in the extreme side of music, but is still a far cry from being lumped in with so many uninspiring and contrived bands many would consider their peers.
Their website has links to their homemade videos on YouTube as well as links to download Mixtape 1. The band just completed a West Coast tour, which means unfortunately that they probably won't be back on the road until fall, but they are by far one of the best bands I've heard and seen in 2011, and are highly recommended if you like your music dynamic and heart-wrenching, and somewhat nodding to past greats like My Bloody Valentine, The Cure, or The Stone Roses.
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