Pilcrow - Fever Dreams

First post back on the site and I'm more than happy with the fact that the first band up here since the return is Toronto's own Pilcrow.

Fever Dreams is their sophomore EP following up 2016's "Never Better" and comes across as a far more mature release. Opening track "Doves" opens with a bombardment of guitar wizardry and doesn't relent for the duration of the three minute run time. There's a section that comes in around the two minute mark where you find yourself  questioning whether or not you yourself could ever be a musician and top what they're pulling off. Second track "Lungs" opens with some heavy chords patterns before lunging into a frenzy of cymbal crashes and Dillinger-esque off-time riffs all while maintaining the skronky heavy riffs that opened the song tying it together into a controlled chaos of sorts. Shapeshifter seems to continue the trend of guitar madness and keeps up with the hefty vocals that remind me of recent Loma Prieta which I absolutely love. "Crash The Bus" and closing track "Hackenfraud" continue on the trend of skronky guitar riffs and maybe it's just me but you can almost hear some of influence from the later Black Flag material where its almost jazzy and progressive for lack of better terms. It's worth noting the section in "Hackenfraud" at the two minute mark where everything stops and the bass takes control briefly before it decends into riff city and the chaos once again ensues.

Overall I would highly recommend this EP to anyone who's into bands like Loma Prieta, Circle Takes The Square, and Tera Melos and while it's hard to pick a stand out track on this EP I think my favorite is Shapeshifter although that'll probably change as everytime I listen to this I find new things to love about it.
I've been lucky enough that my band has crossed paths with them a few times now and am very much looking forward to what the future brings for Pilcrow. Make sure to buy the EP off bandcamp or catch them at a show and pick up a physical copy. No Funeral Records is doing a pre-order for the cassette release which is linked below.

Fever Dreams On Bandcamp
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Cassette Pre-order VIA No Funeral Records

Blossom - Weight Of The World EP

When I first heard this EP, the first thought that came to mind was that these guys sounded like a way heavier version of Dead And Divine which I'll stand by, but upon listening to Weight of The World a few more times I found that there was so much more to this EP. Everything from the guitar riffs to the vocal melodies are top notch. Without a doubt Kingston's Blossom are doing something right and hopefully people start to take notice.

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Black Love - Self Titled

Recently found these guys through Sophie's Floorboard. Definately have a Hot Water Music vibe going on here, albeit way darker and heavier. This is their most recent release from 2014, check it out.

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Big Evil

Big Evil is a 2 piece chaotic hardcore band from Toronto, I found these guys by accident one day and was very glad I did.  For fans of Norma Jean, Retox or Botch their debut release "Empty" is short (2:13 total runtime), noisy and (as stated above) chaotic as all hell.  They are recording/recorded their next batch of tunes and I'm really interested to see what they'll do next.

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Lungless

Hailing from Pickering, Ontario, Lungless play a brand of hardcore all their own. With their newest 5 track EP "Exhale" they continue to expand upon the sound they began to develop with last years "Inhale" EP, albeit in a far darker fashion. Songs like "Proxy" and "Ark" are pretty heavy and hardhitting tracks that come out fast and don't relent.

Overall, "Exhale" manages to pull you in and keep you interested enough to hit the replay button over and over again, and if you can, I suggest you check out one of the dates their playing (dates below) because their live show is just as great as the stuff they've recorded.

Exhale comes out March 11th

Stream "Exhale" Via Heavy Press
Exhale On Bandcamp
Lungless on Facebook

March 12th Ajax, ON @ Top Shelf (EP Release Show)
March 13th London, ON
March 14th Windsor, ON @ The Beer Exchange
March 15th Hamilton, ON @ The Doors Pub
March 17th Quebec City, QC @ La Source De La Martiniere
March 19th Montreal, QC @ Hemisphere Guache

Cruel Bloom - Ketamine EP

I won't write much about this band (because I play in it) but we're a weird experimental punk/noise band and this is shameless self promotion. So check it out if you want (or don't, that's equally as cool). I can't really give you something to compare it to since I'm still not sure what to categorize it as, but whatever I digress.

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Die Hexe - Self Titled EP

Hailing from Toronto, Die Hexe play a brand of hardcore all their own. When I first heard of these guys I wasn't entirely sure what to make of it. There were some atmospheric parts that brought Deafheaven to mind, some post hardcore sections that reminded me of bands like Hot Snakes or Drive Like Jehu, and there was a whole lotta hardcore that reminded me of, well the entire Deathwish Inc. roster, but the thing is, when you listen to songs like "Jaws" or my personal favorite "Long Live The New Flesh" you don't actually hear any of that, what you hear is a band doing something all their own, and killing it. Die Hexe are truly a band to watch out for, they're definatly putting in the time and working at becoming a great band and I really hope these guys keep at it and go somewhere with their music because in the short time I've become aware of them, they're remained on heavy rotation. So put down the bong, stop reading this bullshit review, and go listen for yourself.

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