Short But Sweet, Polite And Respectful #41

Even if 2017 already has begun it is four releases from last year, which can be found in the latest episode of our review series. Besides the fantastic debut of the Swedish newcomers Kid, Feral, the EPs of Nanette from Toronto and KŸHL from Dresden, we also discussed one of our absolute favorites of 2016 - the split between Lora and the ultimate screamo band.

Unfortunately this is the very first article, which copes without any editing as Carl went on a short-time hiatus due to the work on his master thesis and the stressful preparations for his moving to Taiwan. Hope I didn’t fuck it up.

Already released a few months ago it’s past time to discuss the split between Lora and the ultimate screamo band. Hailing from Montréal, the one man project with the humble name contributes six songs, which are bundled up to one long track. Well, this characteristic might be quite exceptional but who cares as long as the content is so brilliant. All alone, Guillaume Archambault slowly morphs into one of the most exciting emoviolence acts the international scene currently has to offer as his creation brings out the magic as well as the iconic and chaotic sound of late 90s resp. early 00s screamo bands. The anterior songs of Lora seem to perfectly fit in the sonic image of Guillaume’s recordings, ensuring that this top-notch collaboration is one of our favorites of 2016.

"Tu n'as jamais été là parce que tu es bien trop rancunier. Élevé comme un vrai homme. Une ville en constante construction. Je n'ai rien appris de toi. Je n'ai rien appris de toi. Je n'ai plus besoin de mon nom. Je me sens soudain moins con.“

In Pectore by Nanette, is another short but sweet release, which comes in as an hybrid of emotional hardcore and emo mixed up with mathy guitar riffs. The versatile threepiece from Toronto makes use of bowed instruments, performed by guest string player, Simon Lukasewich, in the course of the wonderful opening track called If Ifs and Ands Were Pots and Pans and also knows how to surprise during the rest of the dreamy Extended Play. The five and a half minutes seem to fly by as David, Van and Kai deliver a four song collection, fascinating with its combination of ambient sounds and angry screamo parts.

"And you just stood there, cold and calculating like a thermometer in February air. I've been shivering since 2011. I've been numbing the pain humming the same refrain. One last coup de grace. One less frost to thaw on the frigid barren campus. It was just like old times.“

Co-released by a bunch of great labels such as Dingleberry, Pure Heart Records or Adorno Records, Drittweltstrauma could be consulted as the perfect and most current example for the generic sound of German screamo. Inspired by overseas hardcore back in the mid and late 90s, bands like Yage, Jet Black or 30TageNacht lead the way, as they developed their very own and unique style out of those influences. With their recordings for their latest Extended Play, political screamo outfit KŸHL from Dresden stick to those blueprints as closely as possible and it’s songs like Zivilisierte Arroganz and Ungeteiltes Leid, which capture the zeitgeist in the most exciting way possible. The six tracks of the EP were pressed on green transparent 12’’ vinyl and come along with a self-made poster, limited on 300 pieces.

"Singen, tanzen, lieben, weitersehen.“

Based in Skövde Kid, Feral is Vile, Ossian and Jesper and almost out of nowhere they delivered their first musical output in the form of a two song demo. With Vile screaming “Got up early morning for a walk in suburbia... and every lawn that lied pristine in hazy sunlight.“ on Like it or not, we’re the only game in town the newcomers from Sweden straightforwardly outlining their dissonant spastic sound. Succeeding this 42 seconds banger, it’s Blue eyes white dragon (I'll close my eyes and imagine), which also knows how to impress as the band constantly operates with changes in tempo, walking the thin line between chaos and well-structured melodies. Kid, Feral is definitely a band to watch out for in 2017 and with a bit of luck their demo will receive a physical release as well.

"When it's over. When it ends. When it fades out. I'll be dead!“