tin kitchen

sometimes i potter around on the internet, desperate to find a new band that sounds kind of like the bands i listened to about 8 or 9 years ago. i don't really have much luck. fortunately, one or two blogs do post about new music that i actually am interested in, particularly sound as language. that is where i found out about tin kitchen. tin kitchen were a very short lived band from brooklyn or something. they recorded this 3 songs cdep with kyle fischer from rainer maria, and i guess that's appropriate, as the band kind of fit in with R|M and bands from back then. "f sharp" opens things up with some nice, rolling emo / indie. it's all endearingly lofi, guitars push things along, lindsay's vocals are a little off-key but then that's part of the charm with bands like this. the title track is the answer to the question "what would mineral have sounded like if they had female vocals?". linday lingers over words for ages, like simpson at his most miserable. superb. the guitars are like early promise ring, simple but pushing things along. things speed up and get messy after two minutes, with squealing mineral-esque feedback. final song "archibald alexander" is the pick for me - very repetitive musically and lyrically (a song about rain and clouds and leaves), with evergreen style bass and soaring moments of wonderfulness as the song builds up. so, so good.

i guess overall the band is somewhere between very early promise ring, lazarus plot and mineral. if that doesn't make you want to check them out straight away, then i'm sorry. too bad this is all they recorded, but folks from the band have other things going on, including the singers new band lindsay minton and little lungs

go here for tin kitchen: http://www.myspace.com/tinkitchen

stella

there are many and various bands that folk in ribbon fix played in before ribbon fix. the general fact that links these bands is that they were any good. mark allen rodgers played in driftwood and shroomunion. brian gathy played in savalas and amber inn (and later the shivering). mike roberts, i have no idea about him. and andi camp played in underside and stella. the underside 7" is worth tracking down and maybe it's one i will get around to writing about on here in 2010, along with the black jack action 7" (post julia). anyways. this 5 track cdep is quite similar to the band that ribbon fix became, lots of melodic twinklings, and of course andi's vocals. it's a fair bit rawer and less polished than the 'Fix, but well worth a listen nonetheless, the progression is interesting in itself, the fact that the music is good quality too is a fine bonus. opening song "p.s.e". is killer and perhaps the pick of the bunch, diving around wonderfully. no, wait, "fire" is maybe the best song, with a mid 90s hardcore emo feel to the guitars, which is not surprising, as these songs are from 1995. the songs definitely lean towards the shoegazemo sound for the most part, a style that wasn't tackled very often sadly. swirling guitars and airy vocals, always a fine combo for me. if you are into crash & brittany or ribbon fix, then i am pretty sure you will love this ep. "ledge" is the only track that kind of deviates from the template, a bit of a more "rock" track, again with riffs that fit with stuff like indian summer, but a lot cleaner. it's my least favourite of the 5 songs on here. they drift on out with "moods" though, which is a fine finale, all towering guitar parts and soaring vocals, ready to crush you into the ground with the beauty of it all.

you can download this here: http://www.sendspace.com/file/pmkz8f

but really you should buy it, because it's actually still available from grafton. your best bet to get in touch with grafton is to message andi via her current band's myspace site. everything on grafton is still in press, so cough up the readies and help shift some space in andi's residence. you'll improve the quality of your cd collection and help out a great label into the bargain.

the brightest comet

this band is actually active right now, but who gives a shit. one of the great, overlooked bands of the mid to late 90s emo / indie boom was ribbon fix. they produced several records, all of them well worth tracking down. once they split up, vocalists andi camp and mark allen rodgers went off in different, and enjoyable directions (rodgers is currently in whiskeycore country boys, the devil's own). andi camp though can now be found in the brightest comet, which sounds like ribbon fix reborn, which will surely warm the hearts of many old bastards who yearn for the good old days. there are three songs on the myspace site, and they are all utterly, heartbreakingly beautiful. check them out.

pennikurvers

if you're the kind of dork who can't get enough of non-produced, obscure female fronted emo from 1995, then you are going to love this one. pennikurvers play 3 songs, very much in the spirit of bands such as crash & brittany. the 7" is on dieselhead records too (home of the much under-rated cambria, who none of the mp3mos ever name drop). curiously enough, this band features bobby from honeywell, which is not going to be your first thought upon hearing it. anyway, there are three songs on this. two of them are shorter and fill side a, they are daredevil and halo. it's all gently swaying guitars and soft vocals, clearly recorded on a boombox in someones garage after an evergreen show. well, not quite. recorded on 8 track using half inch tape in april and may 1995. things occasionally up the volume, but not too often. flip the single for autumn in february (emo), and one long song that fills 7 inches on 33rpm. it kicks in with nice repetitious guitars, and distant distorted vocals that are barely audible. around two minutes, emily's vocals join in. the repeating guitars and the vocals get louder and louder, building up to the end, when it just squeals out into feedback and guitar tones. emo. i miss this kind of shit - no production, simple structures and melody... always effective but no bands are interested in sounding like this any more, partly because bands are too obsessed with having good production, and partly because about 4 people would buy their record, the kids into this sound only want the authentic real deal from back when they were 5 years old.

basically if you like the idea of a female fronted evergreen then you ought to try and find this 7". but good luck, you'll damn well need it. it's taken me years.

for now, you can download the 3 songs right here: http://www.mediafire.com/?epyldltwbbd