Review: The Postman Syndrome - Terraforming

artist: the postman syndrome album: terraforming label: now or never records released: 9/24/02 by: eduardo moutinho Our site, blood.sweat.tears, is about two months away from celebrating its one-year anniversary. Time sure does fly by. When we started this site, it was pretty simple, a couple of reviews here and there, a lackluster seafoam green interface, and a good five hits per day if we were lucky. While we haven’t reached Lambgoat or Buddyhead-like numbers, we’re getting more and more popular as each day passes. With this newfound popularity, a few perks have come our way as well. Receiving new CDs from upstart (and even established) labels is one of them. And in some cases, we’re blessed with an amazing work, like Terraforming. The Postman Syndrome is a new kid on the block from the thriving hardcore mecca known as New Jersey. This band approaches the game with their own unique formula, looking to incorporate their excellent musicianship and creativity to form their own unique beast of a sound. You’ll get a little bit of everything from this band. Similar to bands like Candiria, they incorporate all kinds of jazzy riffs and beats to fuse with hardcore. Plus, they take this a step further, by adding snippets of well-done acoustic guitar, flute, and horn interludes to their music. This is definitely a visionary band worth taking some time to explore. The band’s freshman outing, Terraforming, is the kind of album that you listen through from the beginning to the end. Taking a cue from The Blood Brothers, the album tells a story, through its lyrics and its music. The Postman Syndrome meticulously crafted this work, and they want your emotions to be struck on all levels as you listen to it. The lyrics themselves are wondrous, as they manage to relay the story on an intimate and eloquent level, while straying away from the norm of free verse. These words rhyme, yet they don’t rhyme like the words of a Good Charlotte song. They actually sound properly placed; there is not a sign of triteness to be found. The album itself is described by the band as “a story in eight parts.” Each part has a header name, such as “Amputees Make Bad Swimmers” or “Schizorabbit and the Face Parade.” Within each part, there are chapters. The actual tracks on the CD make up these chapters. It’s interesting, and a much needed breath of fresh air. I’m not going to go into heavy detail over each song, since I think the album itself is worth listening to from start to finish, yet I will give you a taste of what to expect. Like I mentioned above, each song is a roller-coaster ride of different sounds, tempos, instruments, etc. One song might have a heavy, Coalesce-sounding, introduction, with piercing vocals that suddenly leads into a mellow, atmospheric, verse with subtle singing vocals. As strange as it sounds, the parts fit together well and flow smoothly. You’re never left going “What the…” as you’re listening. Believe me, you will constantly be surprised. As I was listening to Terraforming, I couldn’t keep from being mesmerized by the beauty of the record. There were so many segments that grasped me, and didn’t let go. I found myself closing my eyes and moving my head gently in rhythm to the music on frequent occasions. These kinds of experiences make me love music the way I do. This whole piece managed to act as an escape for me. While I watch MTV, or browse through my 12-year-old sister’s CD collection, I get disillusioned by where music is heading. But when I have the opportunity to listen to a CD like this, I get back some hope and realize that there is still great music out there coming from relatively new bands, such as The Postman Syndrome. favorite song: Interpretive Decorating – Chapter X rating: 93%/100% listen to the postman syndrome

Review: Isis - Oceanic

artist: isis album: oceanic label: ipecac recordings released: 9/17/02 by: dan phelps This is the follow up to the highly acclaimed Celestial, and this is their best record to date. 9 tracks of incredibly expansive metal and hardcore. Each song has its parts that are crushing and heavy, and each song has its parts that are much more ambient and mellow. The songs are constructed very well, each 7 minute track flows, and combined with the artwork and layout, and noise it is all incredibly thematic. The recording is excellent, and each instrument is distinct, while still being loud. Giving her guest vocals to this record is Ayl Noir of the band 27. All of it is just excellent. Music that deserves to be heard and appreciated. Isis rocks. favorite song: n/a rating: n/a

Review: Sin Desires Marie - Self-Titled

artist: sin desires marie album: self-titled label: released: by: ryan nee This record is incredibly honest. That’s probably not something you usually hear a reviewer say, but I assure you that it’s the biggest compliment I could ever give to a collection of songs. I feel like I really understood the three female members of the local band Sin Desires Marie after listening. The record starts out with the most dreary song on the album, which discusses what I assume is a personal experience of one of the members of the band being raped. The lyrics are cold and to the point without getting too overbearing on the listener: "Hush now / don’t move, don’t speak now / hush / hush now." They go on to say, "This is the sound of breaking / breaking in." The song is angry, but accepting of past events, and is an overall excellent introduction to the honesty of Sin Desires Marie. The album progresses onward from the first song into more comfortable intellectual ground, and progresses in the music aspect also. The music is something along the lines of a slowed down version of Q and not U, but has its own edge and exclusively female vocals. The music is beautifully written – It is calm and soothing in the sense that it has very little distorted guitar and is almost entirely single notes, as if they took bass lines and converted them into guitar parts. Despite it’s calm attitude, this is very direct and to the point. The third song on the record probably has the best instrumentation with what sounds like a slightly jazz/dance/funk influenced sound that really works out well and culminates in the end with a multi-layered vocal climax completed by consistency of the clanging bell of the ride cymbal. My absolute favorite moment of this record is probably what some people would view as the weakest area of the album, but I think it’s pretty incredible. In the seventh song something really amazing happens, where the two singers are singing over each other and you hear one of their voices start to shake and get out of key when she says, "This is the last time I wanted to talk to you anymore." As a singer, I find that it’s pretty tense to hear someone’s voice start to shake in a recording. Immediately, out of nowhere, the same singer comes in and booms out with unbelievable confidence, "I am done! / I am done / I am done." This is probably one of my favorite moments of a record that I’ve ever heard. It is human. It’s honest. It’s sincere. It’s beautiful. This album is definitely one of the best local records I’ve ever heard, and something that people will not regret having as a part of their collection. rating: 92%/100%