The Serious Kind

www.myspace.com/colossal

Before The Fall

[audio http://www.magicmarkerrecords.com/mp3/plasticmastery_before_the_fall.mp3]

Hello Friends of The Jazz June, we’d like to take a minute of your time to re-announce the Jazz June’s latest and what is said to be their final release. “The Scars To Prove It” is a CD/ DVD combo featuring unreleased, rare, and live recordings. The DVD is a 12 song set recorded at the North Star this past January as a benefit show for their long time and dedicated friend Adam Gerhart who has developed a severe form of brain cancer. This release serves as their tribute to Adam w/ proceeds going to a cancer fund. So we ask in the Holiday Spirit that you the fans support a band that has given it all - to you the fans.. And more importantly you will be helping a friend through music, in their time of need. Thank you all for the support on behalf of The Jazz June and Adam.

The Jazz June were always a bit underrated during their time and remain so even still today. The band’s first two albums fit in perfectly with their peers. Comparisons to bands like Braid, The Get Up Kids and The Promise Ring are all appropriate. However, The Jazz June broke from that mold with 2000’s The Medicine which pushed the boundaries of the emo sound the band had previously shown. The band’s last album, 2002’s Better Off Without Air, was a fascinating detour for the band. It truly reinvented their sound allowing it to fall somewhere closer to the art rock of Les Savy Fav. Over the course of four albums, The Jazz June proved they were a band never content to stand still.

Wood And Wires was a short-lived, yet tremendous post-rock band from Madison, Wisconsin. The band released only one six-song album that is now sadly out of print. This is some high-end instrumental post-rock in the vein of genre greats like Explosions In The Sky and Mono. Fans of this genre should definitely seek this out. But, if you can’t find it, you can just download it below. Thanks to the band!

Download Individual Songs:

1. Telescopium (mp3)

2. Canes Venatici (mp3)

3. Archernar (mp3)

4. Gienah Cygni (mp3)

5. Vega (mp3)

6. Alya (mp3)

Download Entire Album:

Wood And Wires - Self-Titled (rar/zip file)

www.myspace.com/woodandwires

According to co-founder Jon Snodgrass, “Drag The River for now and perhaps forever is over.” That is certainly sad news for all us Drag The River fans. Drag The River was an amazing alternative-country band from Denver, CO. They’ve just recently been getting some much deserved fanfare due to their back catalog being reissued through Suburban Home. I reviewed their 2006 album, It’s Crazy here. The album clocked in at #8 on my Top 40 of 2006. Fans of Lucero, Drive-By Truckers and Uncle Tupelo need this band. Seriously.

Listen:

Leavin In The Morning (mp3) from It’s Crazy

Me And Joe Went Down To California (mp3) from It’s Crazy

Embrace The Sound (mp3) from Closed

Medicine (mp3) from Closed

Crocodile (mp3) from Chicken Demos

She Used To Smile (mp3) from Chicken Demos

Bug Country (mp3) from Hobo’s Demos

Disbelieve (mp3) from Hobo’s Demos

http://www.myspace.com/dragtheriver

The Casket Lottery were an amazing emo rock band based out of Lawrence, KS. While the band’s earlier work owed an obvious debt to bands like Sunny Day Real Estate, The Casket Lottery always continued to expand their sound with each release. The Casket Lottery remain one of my favorite bands still today. While the band has have never officially broken up, they are on “extended hiatus.” Singer/guitarist Nathan Ellis now plays in a promising new band called Jackie Carol and drummer Nathan Richardson plays for the equally great The Appleseed Cast.

Listen:

On The Air from Smoke and Mirrors (mp3)

Carmichaels and Carpikes from Possiblies and Maybes (mp3)

Code Red from Survival Is For Cowards (mp3)

Blessed/Cursed from Blessed/Cursed (mp3)

Keep Searching from Moving Mountains (mp3)

www.myspace.com/thecasketlottery

Ricky Fitts were an emotional indie/hardcore band from Wichita, Kansas. The band existed from 2002-2006. The band put out two seven-inches and a full-length record before their untimely break up in 2006. The band’s amazing 2005 record, Wizard Lisp, should not be missed. It is top-notch stuff in this genre…powerful and incredibly moving. You can get the CD or LP ridiculously cheap right now from Init Records or Exotic Fever.

Listen:

Ricky Fitts - No House, No Kids (mp3)

www.myspace.com/rickyfitts

Clann Zu’ was an amazing Austrailian collective that I recently rediscovered. Not sure why I haven’t given this band more listens through the years because I’ve always liked their work. Yet, it was not until I gave their albums some recent listens that I came to the conclusion that Clann Zu’ were incredible and grossly underrated. The band released two albums, 2002’s Rua’ and 2004’s Black Coats And Bandages. The albums have their slight differences. Black Coats And Bandages is more of a subdued affair while Rua’ has some downright raging moments. The band’s sound is certainly hard to pigeonhole. At times Clann Zu’ echoes the post-rock majesty of bands like Sigur Ros, Mogwai and Godspeed You! Black Emperor. However, they add their own diverse elements of spoken word, folk, and electronics to create something refreshingly unique. The band also had a definite Celtic influence due to lead vocalist Declan de Barra’s Irish/English heritige. Clann Zu’ unfortunately disbanded last year. I suggest you seek out everything these guys have done. It will be well worth your time.

Listen:

Words For Snow from Rua’ (mp3)

5000 More from Rua’ (mp3)

There Will Be No Morning Copy from Black Coats And Bandages (mp3)

From Bethlehem to Jenin from Black Coats And Bandages (mp3)

Frodus were an amazing spazzy/hardcore band from the Washington, D.C. area. The band released a staggering amount of material but are probably best known for the last two full-length albums. 1998’s Conglomerate International saw the band absolutely perfecting their signature spazzy sound. Their full-blown hardcore cover of Devo’s “Explosions” on the album is stunning. All of this led up to the band’s incredible masterpiece. 2001 saw the release of Frodus’ swan song And We Washed Our Weapons In The Sea. It was an jaw-dropping record that not even the most diehard Frodus fans could have ever expected. Leaving much of their signature sound behind, the band had matured into a post-hardcore behemoth. And We Washed Our Weapons In The Sea saw the band successfully experimenting with expanding and stretching their sound in numerous ways. While the album was certainly more accessible in many respects, it was just as powerful as Frodus’ earlier material and much more accomplished. And We Washed Our Weapons In The Sea was my favorite record in 2001 and one that left me incredibly sad that I had to bid farewell to the band. Band members have gone on to form Decahedron, Frantic Mantis and The Out Circuit.

Listen: Frodus - The Earth Isn’t Humming (mp3)

No Knife rank as one of my favorite bands of all time. The fact that this band never got more popular still baffles me to this very day. No Knife released countless seven inches, a few EPs and four full length records. The band played a wonderful combination of emo/indie rock with definite post-punk qualities. If you can imagine Jimmy Eat World and Sunny Day Real Estate getting crossed with Wire and Gang Of Four then you might be able to see how expansive No Knife’s sound really was. While most bands that specialize in more angular sounds lose much of the catchiness of pop music, No Knife never did. No matter how intricate a No Knife song was capable of getting, they always had the ability to rope you back in with an amazing hook. It’s hard to recommend one record so i’ll suggest three…1997’s Hit Man Dreams, 1999’s Fire In The City Of Automatons and their final album, 2002’s Riot For Romance.

Listen: No Knife downloads