In that time, the group has become known for its hybrid of hardcore, metal, and rock’n’roll, a heavy combination carrying the torch of luminaries such as the Jesus Lizard, Unsane, and the Melvins. After three albums, beginning with Harshing Your Mellow (Dopamine/Seventh Rule) in 2001, Akimbo signed to Biafra’s Alternative Tentacles and released Forging Steel and Laying Stone in January 2006 before immediately heading back into the studio. Armed with then-new guitarist Aaron Walters and recording engineer/Lords’ front man Chris Owens, Akimbo came out victorious with not one, but two, stellar full-lengths.

Damm calls the double recording session “an awesome moment for us,” but that’s putting it mildly. When Navigating the Bronze (Alternative Tentacles) was released in August 2007, it was arguably the group’s best and heaviest album to date. The second record (Akimbo’s sixth altogether), Jersey Shores, wouldn’t arrive until over a year later, via Neurot Records.

Jersey Shores is a concept record based of a real-life horror story. “The concept,” explains the band via its website, “is that ‘nature will fuck you up.’ The theme is ‘sharks, in particular, will totally fuck you up.’” The album is rooted in the events surrounding a series of unprovoked shark attacks that occurred along the New Jersey coastline in the summer of 1916. The shark (or sharks — no one knows for sure) claimed the lives of four people and severely maimed a fifth. In their time, the attacks caused unparalleled mass hysteria. Later on, they provided the inspiration for Jaws.

Akimbo bassist/singer Jon Weisnewski’s taste for mythological references and storytelling had long been apparent in the band’s catalog, evidenced by songs like Elephantine’s “Bitten from the Thigh of Zeus” and Navigating’s “Wizard van Wizard.” It is unsurprising that he had been toying with the idea of a concept album for a long time.

“When we were writing the music, I was naturally playing with thematic elements. It seemed like some good material to base a concept record around. I’ve always been like a little kid. You know how kids get into dinosaurs and shit? I was reading a book called Twelve Days of Terror by Richard Fernicola (the full title is Twelve Days of Terror: A Definitive Investigation of the 1916 New Jersey Shark Attacks), and it kind of blew me away.”

Starting out with a few scenes and ideas, he recalls, “Once I really started writing Jersey Shores, I had it all in my head, and it was just a matter of figuring out the kinks.” Weisnewski centered the lyrics on what he considered to be the most profound moment in the story. During the third and final shark attack, a child named Lester Stillwell was attacked and killed, along with his would-be rescuer. Another boy was bitten upstream just minutes later. When word got out, all hell broke loose.

Music based on shark attacks must be inherently dramatic, but much of the tension found on Jersey Shores derives from the intense reaction of the public, heightened by a media circus in the wake of the attacks. Weisnewski points out, “You have to keep in mind that there was nothing about marine biology. Nobody knew about ocean creatures. You know that scene in Jaws when they go out searching for the shark? The same thing happened there. They were dynamiting the water. I found these crazy photos of carcasses upon carcasses of sharks. It was also during World War I, and people wondered if the sharks were some sort of secret weapon from the Germans.”

In six tracks, clocking in at forty-eight minutes, Akimbo paints descriptive images despite Weisnewski’s occasionally indecipherable (but awesome) screams. It is easy to follow the story as guitar and bass riffs ebb and flow like ocean tides, and scenes seamlessly run from one to the next. “Matawan,” named for the small, working town where Stillwell was killed, sets the story in motion. All is calm, but a sense of uneasiness becomes more and more pervasive. Stories of the first two victims circulate (“Bruder Vansant”). Tension has already mounted by the time the town suffers its own casualties and people begin to take matters into their own hands.

The plodding bass line on “Rogue” is reminiscent of a heartbeat ringing in the ears of someone who is scared out of his or her mind. Twelve-minute instrumental closer “Jersey Shores” revisits earlier themes and sees a return to daily life, but following the attacks’ bloody aftermath, the sound of rolling waves hardly feels tranquil.

The story of the New Jersey shark attacks may be nearly one hundred years old, but the sensationalistic media coverage and resultant public outcry surrounding such a tragic event sounds eerily familiar. Damm says that the album isn’t a comment on anything happening in the current world, but he admits, “There are definitely parallels, like with color coding for terrorism levels. But we don’t really mix politics with the band. It’s not something that has interested us.”

Even more impressive than successfully conquering a hardcore concept album is the fact that Akimbo somehow managed to not play it for anyone outside its circle in the last year. If you’ve ever killed a man in cold blood and need to get the guilt off your chest, tell these guys; they obviously know how to keep a secret. The band will finally debut Jersey Shores live in its entirety this September, and its members can’t wait. Weisnewski says that he is particularly proud of the album. “For me personally, it’s a really exciting record,” he says. “I have a lot of attachment to it. Every time I play it at practice, it’s an experience. I’m excited.”

Squarepusher: Just a Souvenir (Warp)

Under the alias Squarepusher, beastly bassist/programmer Tom Jenkinson has traversed dozens of genres, with racing melodies that cover jazzy IDM, classical guitar, funk, and drum & bass. Just a Souvenir follows the resurgent Squarepusher trend to make his releases as diverse as possible from song to song, tearing through the above genres with melody and discord.

The album starts with some of its weakest material, but after four or five songs, it masterfully plays with genre convergence. Just a Souvenir is a must-own album for fans and newbies alike.

Zakarya: The True Story Concerning Martin Behaim (Tzadik)

French four-piece Zakarya continues its unique musical mixture – klezmer-core – that filters Jewish accordion melodies through an off-kilter math-rock base. This, the group's fourth album for Tzadik, is an imaginary film score about the life of Martin Behaim, a famous 15^th-century Portuguese geographer.

O'death: Broken Hymns, Limbs, and Skin (Kemado)

Americana / alt-country five-piece O'death bubbled to the surface of indie exposure in 2007 after the re-release of Head Home, its second album, on Ernest Jenning Record Co.

Now, in an effort to capture its raucous live, O'death has released Broken Hymns, Limbs, and Skin, which covers vast expanses of musical ground-from the droning Pentecostal chants of "Grey Sun" to the plodding, anthemic chorus of "Mountain Shifts" and the syncopated breakdown on "Vacant Moan" that will have you head banging to what you thought was bluegrass.

Akimbo: Jersey Shores (Neurot)

Seattle three-piece hardcore outfit Akimbo returns with Jersey Shores, a concept record based of a real-life horror story. The album's theme is one of unprovoked shark attacks that occurred along the New Jersey coastline in the summer of 1916, and the brutal, epic music burned on the disc matches the mood.

Akimbo: "Great White Bull"
Akimbo: \"Great White Bull\"

Huntsville: Eco, Arches & Eras [2CD] (Rune Grammofon)

An experimental trio from Norway, Huntsville uses tabla, pedal steel guitar, banjo, and traditional rock instruments to prepare moody, melodic music that knows no stylistic boundaries. Using sound textures that are combined in unconventional ways, this double-disc release is half studio recording and half live album, the latter including expert guests in the form of guitarist Nels Cline and drummer Glenn Kotche from Wilco.

John Zorn: Filmworks XXI: Belle de Nature / The New Rijksmuseum (Tzadik)

Consummate compositional experimentalist John Zorn is keeping busy, releasing his third Filmworks soundtrack of the year. This release contains a pair of contrasting scores – one for French sadomasochist erotica and one for a documentary on the overhaul of the Rijksmuseum, a national museum in Amsterdam. Zorn's label, Tzadik, promotes this release as one that ranges "from baroque minimalism to a sensual fusion of harp, guitar, and bass."

Shining (Norway)

Thursday, October 23

Pillars and Tongues, Remindring @ The Hideout

Somber vocal harmonies emanate from aptly named Pillars and Tongues, an experimental trio whose creations exhibit mystical influences. As Remindring, multi-talented bassist Josh Abrams (Town & Country, Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth Ensemble) lays out looped soundscapes with Emmett Kelly and Frank Rosaly.

Fucked Up @ Reggie's Rock Club

Punk-rock misdirection artists Fucked Up hit Chicago two weeks after the release of The Chemistry of Common Life, the group's follow-up full-length to Hidden World. This time around, Fucked Up's material moves through more variety of atmosphere than your standard punk/hardcore, with peaceful, otherworldly intros and layers and layers of guitar. There's less stop-start fury than Hidden World-more sheets of sound-so it will be interesting to see how this vigorous live act performs.

Coliseum starts North American and Japanese tour dates

Louisville hardcore staples Coliseum begin five weeks of performances today, hitting many cities in the USA as well as a few in Canada and Japan. The group doesn't hit Chicago until Nov. 15, but there's a good chance that it will be your city in the near future.

Friday, October 24

Ears & Eyes Festival @ The Hideout

With three outstanding weekend shows at The Hideout, independent jazz/avant-garde label Ears & Eyes Records celebrates its third annual Ears & Eyes Festival. The performances feature groups on the Ears & Eyes roster as well as other local standouts and friends of the label, and one such outside artist, Brooklyn's Parts & Labor, headlines this first night with a catchy mix of indie rock and electronics.

The six-artist, six-hour show also includes bass-and-drums rock duo Black Ladies and free-rock guitarist Tobin Summerfield, but the biggest highlight might be the collaboration between Sunfish Ensemble guitarist David Daniell and Tortoise cofounder/bassist Doug McCombs.

Voodoo Experience begins @ New Orleans' City Park

With a massive three-day lineup that can only really be explored at thetenthritual.com, New Orleans' Voodoo Experience celebrates its 10^th anniversary. If you're in the Big Easy on Friday, the fest's first day, be sure to catch DeVotchKa, Reverend Horton Heat, The Gutter Twins, Man Man, Extra Action Marching Band, and Andre Williams.

Shining (and other picks) at CMJ Music Marathon & Film Festival

There are hundreds of bands playing at the dozens of CMJ venues on Friday, the festival's second-to-last day, but we had to single out Norway's Shining at Cake Shop (and again at Knitting Factor on Saturday). The post-prog jazz-rock experimentalists return to New York, one of three cities on their first US tour earlier this year, and it might be a while before they return. If you're in NYC, do yourself a favor and check them out (and pick up Grindstone on Rune Grammofon).

The night's other highlights include sBACH, An Albatross, Akimbo, Phosphorescent, Sole and the Skyrider Band, and Broken Social Scene.

Keep reading…

Medeski, Martin & Wood

Seemingly incapable of going six months without a release, jazz/jam trio Medeski, Martin & Wood now presents the first release in its Radiolarians series. The album begins the group's experiment of meeting for brief writing sessions, testing out that new material (and only the new material) on the road, recording the material, and then repeating the process.

Medeski, Martin & Wood: \"Free Go Lily\"

Koushik: Out My Window (Stones Throw)

Ontario's Koushik Ghosh weaves choirs of strings in and out of down-tempo, old-school hip-hop beats to create a sound that's made more unique with his dreamlike singing. Mix in elements of 1960s psychedelic pop and you have a celestial mix on Out My Window, his sophomore full-length album.

Koushik: \"Lying in the Sun\" (sample)

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Look Daggers: Suffer in Style (Up Above)

Keyboardist Ikey Owens of The Mars Volta and vocalist 2Mex of The Visionaries prepare a rock/hip-hop union for their new group, Look Daggers, and the result is a catchy, original, organic album. The disc's crazy list of guests includes members of Mastodon, Breakestra, Long Beach Dub All-Stars, Thelonious Monster, and Reel Big Fish.

Look Daggers: \"Beautiful Freak\" (sample)

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Bill Frisell: Rambler (ECM) [reissue]

Jazz guitarist Bill Frisell has traversed dozens of styles in his career, and he has worked with artists as diametrically different as drummer Paul Motian and doom-drone group Earth. This reissue of his second ECM album may not be as all encompassing as his work with John Zorn's Naked City, but it's well across the atmospheric jazz map.

Grinding guitars and growling vocals create a mixture of impending doom, which is fitting considering the album's name was derived from the legacy of numerous shark attacks that occurred about ninety-two years ago in the Garden State.

Jersey Shores will appear via Neurot Recordings and will make its debut at the band's record release party/10th anniversary show, featuring Harvestmen and Helms Alee. A track from the upcoming record is available below.

Complete tour dates:

July 26 : Capitol Hill Block Party – Seattle, Washington
August 16: Total Fest VII – Badlander Missoula, Montana
September 5: Music Fest NW w/ Witchdraft @ Ash St. Saloon – Portland, Oregon
September 13: LIVE on KEXP 90.3 FM – Sonic Recucer – Seattle, Washington
September 27: Record Release / Ten Year Anniversary Show @ King Cobra – Seattle, Washington
October 8: Hi Dive – Denver, Colorado
October 9: Record Bar – Kansas City, Missouri
October 11: Emo's – Austin, Texas
October 13: The Gravel Pit – Mountain Home, Arkansas
October 14: Bottletree – Birmingham, Alabama
October 22: Wesleyan – Middleton, Connecticut
October 23: Middle East – Boston, Massachusetts
October 24: Knitting Factory – CMJ Panache Showcase – New York City, New York
October 25: Todd P/Panache Warehouse Party – Brooklyn, New York
October 29: Empty Bottle – Chicago, Illinois
October 30: The Borg Ward – Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Great White Bull: stream