Artists: Bloody Knives & Me You Us Them.
Album: 7 inch split release.
Release Date: November 2010.
Labels: Killredrocketrecords/Triple Down Records.
Album: 7 inch split release.
Release Date: November 2010.
Labels: Killredrocketrecords/Triple Down Records.
This 7 inch release from Bloody Knives and Me You Us Them features two songs - one from each band (as is standard for 7 inch splits). One side features Bloody Knives' track "I Was Talking To Your Ghost" and the other is Me You Us Them's track "Research". In speaking with Preston Maddox (Bloody Knives) about the release, he stated: "I think that Me You Us Them used a heavier track to sound more like us and we used a lighter track to sound more like them, its funny the way it turned out," which is precisely the reason why I find split 7 inches like these so special and collectible. Artists are compelled to go outside of their usual sound, to do something a little different, encouraged and influenced by whom they are sharing their split with; you don't get such fare on standard LPs, and it makes for some interesting music. Not only that, but on this particular split, you also get high quality packaging, hand screen printed covers on high quality paper with 45 gram vinyl. All the audio and song lengths are done at audiophile standards, making this 7 inch all the more awesome. As an aside, When The Sun Hits also recently interviewed Bloody Knives, and you can read that here. The split is slated as a co-release between both band's respective record labels this November.
First up is Me You Us Them's track, "Research". MYUT is a three piece band consisting of Ryan Reesey on guitar/vocals, Ian Ljungquist on bass/vocals, and Zach Eichenhorn on drums, and their sound, in general, is somewhere between post-punk, punk, noise and shoegaze. "Research" finds the band going with a bit heavier sound than usual, with a smashing punk-tinged guitar riff opening up the song, which then evolves into a straight up hardcore jam of awesome proportions. The vocals are delivered in that classic, angst-ridden punk way, yelling to the point of near screaming, and it works incredibly well with the energy of the song. Additional riffs and noise blasts add to the mayhem, keeping the song from being a simple punk track and taking it to another level. With unexpected changes in tempo that end up building back up into a riot of sound, I have to say that this track is 3:32 of mind blowing noise and well-crafted sounds. Having recently read this description of MYUT's sound: "an anthemic wall-of-sound blitzkrieg that gets deep down and scratches an itch you didn’t even know was there," (courtesy of their Last FM page), I really couldn't agree more with that. Top shelf track.
Bloody Knives' track, "I Was Talking to Your Ghost", finds the band in a more shoegazey place than usual, although the band's core sound - somewhere between psychedelia, punk, metal, shoegaze, and electronica, is still very much intact. And even if this track is more on the shoegaze side than usual, it still retains that amazing energy that Bloody Knives seem to have running through all their tracks. If you've read my previous review of the band's full length, Burn It All Down, (you can read it here) you know these guys bring a dark-tinged energy to their art, with electronic programming perfectly suited for soundtracking an awesome horror film or an eerie video game. This track starts off with a maelstrom of hard drumming and a blast of noise, then settles into a fast-paced romp into the darker side of shoegaze, with those languid, blissed-out vocals that Bloody Knives do so well balancing it all out. With lyrics like: "I was talking to her ghost/she stared into my heart/she never let me go..." all delivered over this sort of punk-like noise and rapid fire tempo, this is shoegaze music on speed. Or punk music on a handful of Xanax. However you want to view it, it's an amazing track. These juxtapositions are impressive, but more than that, they WORK. Bloody Knives have never disappointed me, I adore everything they've released thus far, and this split is no exception.
As a whole, this 7 inch split is completely solid, and a very intense and remarkable effort on the part of both bands. Highly recommended. Come November, I suggest you get yourself a piece of this stellar release.
Review by Amber.
First up is Me You Us Them's track, "Research". MYUT is a three piece band consisting of Ryan Reesey on guitar/vocals, Ian Ljungquist on bass/vocals, and Zach Eichenhorn on drums, and their sound, in general, is somewhere between post-punk, punk, noise and shoegaze. "Research" finds the band going with a bit heavier sound than usual, with a smashing punk-tinged guitar riff opening up the song, which then evolves into a straight up hardcore jam of awesome proportions. The vocals are delivered in that classic, angst-ridden punk way, yelling to the point of near screaming, and it works incredibly well with the energy of the song. Additional riffs and noise blasts add to the mayhem, keeping the song from being a simple punk track and taking it to another level. With unexpected changes in tempo that end up building back up into a riot of sound, I have to say that this track is 3:32 of mind blowing noise and well-crafted sounds. Having recently read this description of MYUT's sound: "an anthemic wall-of-sound blitzkrieg that gets deep down and scratches an itch you didn’t even know was there," (courtesy of their Last FM page), I really couldn't agree more with that. Top shelf track.
Bloody Knives' track, "I Was Talking to Your Ghost", finds the band in a more shoegazey place than usual, although the band's core sound - somewhere between psychedelia, punk, metal, shoegaze, and electronica, is still very much intact. And even if this track is more on the shoegaze side than usual, it still retains that amazing energy that Bloody Knives seem to have running through all their tracks. If you've read my previous review of the band's full length, Burn It All Down, (you can read it here) you know these guys bring a dark-tinged energy to their art, with electronic programming perfectly suited for soundtracking an awesome horror film or an eerie video game. This track starts off with a maelstrom of hard drumming and a blast of noise, then settles into a fast-paced romp into the darker side of shoegaze, with those languid, blissed-out vocals that Bloody Knives do so well balancing it all out. With lyrics like: "I was talking to her ghost/she stared into my heart/she never let me go..." all delivered over this sort of punk-like noise and rapid fire tempo, this is shoegaze music on speed. Or punk music on a handful of Xanax. However you want to view it, it's an amazing track. These juxtapositions are impressive, but more than that, they WORK. Bloody Knives have never disappointed me, I adore everything they've released thus far, and this split is no exception.As a whole, this 7 inch split is completely solid, and a very intense and remarkable effort on the part of both bands. Highly recommended. Come November, I suggest you get yourself a piece of this stellar release.
Review by Amber.
Check out these two tracks by the bands! Not from this split, since it's not yet released, but just some good stuff from their back catalogs.
Me You Us Them:
Bloody Knives:
