Trap Them

Trap Them: "The Facts"

To appreciate Trap Them's new album, Darker Handcraft, it helps to start with the Filth Rations EP from 2010.  Trap Them has consistently charged its hardcore side into a collision with metal that refuses to get dragged down in grime.

The four songs on Filth Rations give as sure a sign as ever that the band's craft and tightness can always match its sheer impatience. The third track, "Dead Fathers Wading In The Bodygrounds," keeps up a gimpy, stumbling trudge as the drums gradually thud harder, and vocalist Ryan McKenney bellows himself up to a pitch that invokes scalding tears and unforgivable injuries. There's a sense that Trap Them is in a desperate frenzy to repeatedly overload their songs, lest a single McKenney roar or screech of feedback from the guitar go unused. Even the cramped handwriting of the lyrics in the EP's liner notes looks more like a dozen rows of snaggled teeth than a sequence of words.

In retrospect, it's as if the band that made Filth Rations was gearing up to achieve a height of directness and focus. Darker Handcraft is a plenty accurate introduction to Trap Them; it once again captures a sonic force that's both furiously commanding and remains bitterly hurt no matter how feverishly it tries to expiate its demons. This time, though, that force resolutely says, "Look, one fucking thing at a time."

"Damage Prose" sets the album on the straightaway to which it mostly sticks. Trap Them has always been capable of playing like a double-time Unsane, but on this track and the following, "Slumcult And Gather," Chris Maggio's precision-sputter drums force McKenney and guitarist Brian Izzi to stay ahead. Not once do they let Maggio's machinations catch up and grind them into chum, instead pacing themselves precisely and creating a tense clarity.

As much as it sounds like a platitude, "pacing themselves" is something that Trap Them does consistently well here. The songs keep their stinging brevity, while also getting in enough time to grow out their structures confidently and conclusively. "Every Walk A Quarantine" finds several ways to prolong its verses and pre-choruses — lots of dynamics that belie the band's grimy exteriors, and one of Izzi's unnerving mid-range skitters — before slamming into its choruses with a cry of what sounds like "We all stay sick! We all stay fuckin' sick!"

Producer (and Converge guitarist) Kurt Ballou's recording of Sleepwell Deconstructor in 2007 captured the band speeding through pools of almost Pig Destroyer-grade slime and bleakness, especially on "Day Five: Garlic Breakfast" and "Day 6: Deconstructioneer Extraordinare." Ballou shows an equally nurturing ear for the punchy riff that front-loads "Evictionaries." If you go back and listen to Sleepwell or another previous Trap Them record, it hardly sounds sloppy or confused. And the Trap Them of Darker Handcraft is not drastically different at heart. The impact is. The band — actually, it's not shorting anyone to say the band and Ballou together — has hardened and sharpened its vision.

Darker Handcraft still has plenty of those lovably Trap Them moments where the band seems to be slowly marching up a mountain of disease — especially the instrumental sixth track, "Sordid Earnings." Track seven, "The Facts," was a good choice as the album's "single" (or whatever the label's chosen free promo MP3 counts as), because that's where Trap Them sounds most like a disciplined unit of hard-rock chargers.

The balance shifts to still deeper unease, shorter songs, and blur-blast drums with "Saintpeelers" and the following three tracks. (Let us pause here to appreciate that song title, simultaneously bad-ass and warped enough to earn a grim chuckle, like those on one great standard for ridiculous hard-rock song titles, Karp's self-titled LP.) This direction leads to yet another adrenal leap on "Sovereign Through The Pines," a minute and a half of hardcore frenzy that digs itself into a nice mucky low-end trench for the finish.

Then, for the last two tracks, Trap Them once again seems to feel it's made enough points with one approach, and decisively moves on before it can get anywhere near old. "Drag The Wounds Eternal" crawls into slightly higher and brighter hooks, paralleling (though not sounding that much like) the melody that Kylesa started to embrace in 2010 on Spiral Shadow. The closer, "Scars Align," hints at the grimy sludge of the above-mentioned "Dead Fathers Waiting In The Bodygrounds." Rather than plunging more and more helplessly into grief as "Dead Fathers" did, "Scars Align" stays right on top of the rage that it's building up.  One of the pre-chorus figures is a great deal like that of Iron Maiden's "Powerslave," which is a nice little omen when you think about it. Not only is Trap Them still exemplary of the devastation that punk and metal can wreak together, it's now letting its songwriting instinct shine proudly through the fallout.

Jerseyband: "The Glad Hand" (Beast Wedding, self-released, 6/11/09)

On stage, a costumed septet prepares to unleash a serious sonic force that belies its members’ festooned bodies. An all-male horned frontline of three saxophonists and a trumpeter is adorned in women’s clothing, a red cape, and a spiky foam wig, belting out furious riffs that weave back and forth atop a syncopated, polymetered math-metal foundation.

The trumpeter unleashes a harrowing scream, and the music darts to a quick brass motif reminiscent of The Green Hornet before the all-male rhythm section — a bassist in a dress, a guitarist in a lab coat, and a drummer in a tank top — pounds out down-tuned accompaniment as the saxophones create one giant, unwieldy power chord. After a rapid-fire call and response and a prolonged groove, the horns switch to a somber harmony, which transitions to one final math-rock breakdown.

On any given night, in any given song, this might be Jerseyband, the self-bestowed musical merchants of “lungcore.” Remarkably tight for men in costumes, this New York City outfit is unconcerned with musical demarcations, fusing its unconventional lineup into a browbeating dynamism. In another context, the group’s softer, fluttering, neo-classical moments might conjure thoughts of a jazz ensemble or pit orchestra. But with brutal metal influences such as Meshuggah and Pig Destroyer, Jerseyband won’t soon be mistaken for Benny Goodman.

“I think that it’s hard to say what the direction is with this band,” baritone saxophonist Alex Hamlin says. “I think that it still lies firmly in solid rhythm and groove, and unexpected changes within that construct. What fascinates me most about Meshuggah is how it maintains an element of solid groove backbeat, but then there are subtle layers of rhythm going on. There may be a couple phrases going on at the same time, rhythmically, which is really just fascinating.”
 

"When people leave the show, I want them to say, 'The music was nonstop intensity, and the whole time their nipples were on fire, and during the third song, they built a machine that launched hot dogs into the audience.'"

This focus on recurrent and concurrent rhythms is as evident as ever on Beast Wedding, the group’s new album and first studio recording since 2005 that, at press time, was being shopped to a handful of labels. Much of the new material dates back to Jerseyband’s previous release, the excellently mixed 2007 live album Lung Punch Fantasy, but it has benefited from another few years of incubation and performance.

Entirely new songs, such as Beast Wedding opener “The Glad Hand,” churn with unrelenting force as bass-drum triplets, pitch harmonics, and layered horn vibratos accent massive head-banging breakdowns. “The Queen’s Laser” has a distinct black-metal element, and the disc’s penultimate track, “Private Parts,” is a subdued affair that includes one of Beast Wedding’s few moments of clean guitar.

Throughout the album, the band’s main structure — horned frontline versus metal rhythm section — becomes ever more blended, and any instrument can lead any song at any time. The horns are still the crux of the band, but the songwriting has taken a more egalitarian approach.

“Horns and rhythm section is a convenient way to abbreviate the structure of the band,” tenor saxophonist Ed RosenBerg says, “and that is certainly where our music began when we first formed. But now I think that the compositions have orchestrationally advanced in such a way that practically every song has its own unique sub-grouping of the seven voices. In fact, most songs are constantly changing in that regard. Like, for these two bars, I am doubling the guitar line, but then the trumpet takes over doing that while I shift to a line with the bass and bari sax. It’s always shifting and moving like that.”

Vocals also play a more prominent role on Beast Wedding, as trumpeter Brent Madsen bellows a sporadic mixture of black-metal screams and growls and Hamlin includes a bit of his “smoker’s voice.” Lung Punch Fantasy featured its share of screams, grunts, and spoken-word vocals, but Madsen’s voice is more focal than ever, capable of dominating a passage with raw power.

“People often associate [screaming] with anger, but I look at more as just a sound, a very intense and penetrating thing that a voice can do,” Rosenberg says.

Formed 10 years ago, Jerseyband has roots in the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester in New York. Hamlin, RosenBerg, and guitarist Ryan Ferreira each partook in the same improvisation workshop, where the three viewed recitals as “real performances,” performing brief, convulsive pieces — often in costumes — as a group called Bambe.

“The concept was to see how many songs we could come up with that were a minute or less in length,” Hamlin says. “That was sort of the antithesis of improv class — improvise over a form.” Laughing, he continues, “We kind of took it in a different direction. We wrote in sections like ‘improvise here,’ but it was sort of a blitz exercise in jingle writing. But the result was really fun; we came up with these spastic, schizophrenic jingles. In our eyes, it was a success.”

As a result of the class, Jerseyband was created around the concept of “music nuggets” and sections of improv, but shifting circumstances and personnel altered the trajectory of the group’s “anything goes” arrangements. Now the band’s material is almost entirely composed, with each song’s writer responsible for every instrument, including drums.

“Because of the circumstances, we’ve been required to compose more and more,” Hamlin says. “It turned into, ‘Well, we really like composing.’ This isn’t quite jazz; it’s more like some weird jazz-rock bastard project. This basically turned into a laboratory for us horn guys.”

But the band’s audio isn’t its only scripted element. In an effort to thank its audience and establish a visual boundary between listeners and performers, Jerseyband puts together those goofy, garish outfits for its onstage wardrobe. This notion has worked its way into the first photo session for Beast Wedding, featuring the band split into three grooms, three brides, and a monk. Only time will tell whether these newest band uniforms appear on stage, but crowds can be sure that they’ll see something unorthodox at a Jerseyband show.

“Unless everyone at the show has their eyes closed,” RosenBerg says, “their feelings about the show will be based on two primary sources of input: what is sounds like and what it looks like. We just want it to look a little bit like it sounds — invite the audience to go a little crazy with us. Costumes and abstract dance are frequent means to that end. When people leave the show, I want them to say, ‘The music was nonstop intensity, and the whole time their nipples were on fire, and during the third song, they built a machine that launched hot dogs into the audience.”

Hamlin adds, “[Wearing costumes] says that we took the time to think about what we were going to wear for you. In addition to this ridiculous music, you get some ridiculous garb. Awesome.”

The Secret: Solve Et Coagula (Southern Lord, 9/28/10)

The Secret: "Double Slaughter"

The Secret: "Double Slaughter"

When Goodfellow Records folded this year, Italian grindcore/black-metal quartet The Secret found itself momentarily without a label following a pair of raging, nihilism-fueled full-length albums.  Those releases suggested (if not insisted) that the group had something new to bring to European metal’s increasingly crowded table.

In the wake of the former label’s dissolution (and the band’s countless lineup changes since), The Secret attempts to regain its footing on Solve Et Coagula, its first outing for Southern Lord and an album almost workmanlike in its sound, structure, and unwavering metal attack.

Nothing on Solve Et Coagula even hints at lessening that punch.  There are no stops and no clean guitars, and the only tempo changes move from sludgy, noise-soaked slow grooves (like opener “Cross Builder”) to relentless thrash assaults (like “Death Alive”).

Because of this single-mindedness, standouts like “Pursuit Of Discomfort” are usually followed by more expected, by-the-books numbers such as “Weatherman.”  The album's scant 35 minutes, however, might imply that it wasn't designed as an adventure but rather a challenge, the band almost daring the listener to turn away.

Though The Secret's influences stem from a multitude of bands, the group just as clearly owes a debt to a few specific others, from the Pig Destroyer-esque downbeat grind of “Antitalian” to the time-honored death template laid out by Death on “Bell Of Urgency,” to the vague snare-happy nod to early Mastodon on “Eve Of The Last Day.” But this constant shuffling lets Solve Et Coagula walk the line between a compelling listen and an outright unsettling musical experience: drums a-pounding, bass almost wiped entirely from the mix, guitars firing in unison, and vocals screamed into pure all-in-the-red-all-the-time distortion without pause and without hesitation.

But whatever the mode, the band shows time and again that it knows how to write a great riff, even if not always how best to employ it. By the time the over-the-top circular grind of “1968” yields to a droning guitar beneath Charles Bukowski reading his cataclysmic “Dinosauria, We,” the album has left its finest moments to stand not as a statement but yet another hint at things to come (or, if not a hint, then perhaps a well-sharpened threat). The band may have lost a label and a member or two, but the abrasiveness that defined it from the outset still burns as brightly as ever, lighting the way as The Secret follows itself further into darkness.

Supermachiner, the haunting, mostly instrumental side project from Converge members Jacob Bannon and Kurt Ballou, will soon have its complete 30-track, two-disc collection, Rust, available through Deathwish Inc. Listen to a few tracks here.

Big Business has announced the release of its new album, Mind the Drift, for April on Hydra Head. Listen to a new track, "Gold and Final," on the group's MySpace page.

Japanese post-rockers Mono have a new album, Hymn to the Immortal Wind, being released on March 24 on Temporary Residence. The album boasts guest contributions from a 28-member orchestra.

Seven Signs, the Southern culture documentary by J.D. Wilkes of Th' Legendary Shack Shakers, is now available on DVD.

Following the release of Old Money via Stones Throw on January 26, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez takes his group to Europe in March. Click here for a list of dates.

A new alt-metal super-group called Shrinebuilder is recording a debut album for Neurot Recordings, due this summer. The group consists of Wino (The Hidden Hand), Scott Kelly (Neurosis), Al Cisneros (Om, Sleep), and Dale Crover (Melvins) and will be in the studio with Toshi Kasai (Big Business).

Orange Tulip Conspiracy, the exceptional multi-genre new group led by Estradasphere guitarist Jason Schimmel, will play a full US tour in May. If you're involved in setting up shows, you can help Schimmel fill in dates — head here for details.

Grandaddy singer/songwriter Jason Lytle has a solo debut album, Yours Truly, being release on Anti- on May 19.

Finger-tapping indie-rock specialist Kaki King is playing a "solo guitar and no other bullshit tour" in California from January 21-31. Head here for the dates.

Post-rock/jam keyboardist Marco Benevento plays a weekly residency in February at Yoshi's in Oakland in the middle of a handful of other West Coast dates. During the stint, Benevento will be joined by special guests that include Scott Amendola, Billy Martin, Reed Mathis, Jeff Parker, and Skerik.

California math-rock trio Tera Melos has a new EP of cover songs available to download for free. Band member Nick Reinhart also has new band with drumming wiz Zach Hill, called Bygones, that has a debut album set for release in March on Sargent House.

Starting today, the new Cattle Decapitation album, The Harvest Floor, is streaming in its entirety on buzzgrinder.com. The stream will run through January 19.

Thrash/punk four-piece Trash Talk has announced a handful of shows that span Japan, California, and Georgia (the state). The shows include performances with Fucked Up, Pig Destroyer, Converge, Torche, Mastodon, and Neurosis.

Hardcore tough guys Hatebreed have posted a cover of Sepultura's "Refuse/Resist" on their MySpace page. The cover is included in the soundtrack to Punisher: War Zone.

Moon & Moon: VII Acts of an Iron King (La Société Expéditionnaire)

Conceived and brought to fruition by William Lemon III, the debut of Moon & Moon is an epic avant-rock story that tells seven perspectives of one king's war with himself. The album's music, storyline, and varied textures create an enveloping atmosphere, over which seven-year-old Olivia Galarza narrates the story.

It's a stunning, adventurous work that includes guest spots by pianist Lou Rogai (Lewis & Clarke), bassist Jay Hudak (An Albatross), and vocalist Stephonik Youth.

Follow this link for streaming audio of the entire album.

The Bronx: (III) (White Drugs)

Two years after their major-label debut, LA rockers The Bronx are back with another (semi-) eponymous album that combines modern punk with throwback rock 'n' roll.

This effort, (III), comes via the group's self-serving record label, White Drugs, and presents another dose of furious rock tunes. Supposedly, a mariachi album called El Bronx is also on the way.

The Bronx: "History's Stranglers" (The Bronx II)
The Bronx: \"History\'s Stranglers\"

Revolutionary Ensemble: s/t (Enja)

Originally active in the early and mid-1970s, the Revolutionary Ensemble was a three-piece improvisatory group that relied heavily on free jazz and experimentation. The group reformed earlier this decade and released The Psyche in 2004; now, after the 2007 passing of violinist Leroy Jenkins, the group has a final offering.

Pig Destroyer: Natasha (Relapse)

First released as a surround-sound bonus disc to 2004 album Terrifyer, Pig Destroyer's 35-minute doom soundscape Natasha gets a separate digipack release from Relapse. With a sad story told by vocalist JR Hayes, Natasha stands in contrast to the group's faster grind material.

Pig Destroyer: "Thought Crime Spree" (Phantom Limb)
Pig Destroyer: \"Thought Crime Spree\"

With a demolishing dose of horn-heavy chug metal, Jerseyband stands as the logical result of loose forerunners such as John Zorn's Naked City, Mr. Bungle, and Estradasphere. The seven-piece band's progressive fusion touches on jazz, groove, big-band flair, and math rock, making a sonic concoction as wild as its live shows.

Unfortunately, groups that are inventive and unwilling to compromise their musical ambitions often find themselves without much publicity, and ALARM caught up with saxophonist Alex Hamlin to discuss this plight of imaginative independent musicians.

We also caught news of Jerseyband's new full-length album, hopefully due in spring of 2009. Here is an exclusive unreleased track — "The Glad Hand" — for your listening pleasure.

Jerseyband: "The Glad Hand"
Jerseyband: \"The Glad Hand\"

What drives your musical amalgamation?

Our concept is driven by the individual composers of the group. Ed RosenBerg, Brent Madsen, Matt Blanchard, Ted Poor, and myself are the contributing composers. Overall, the pervading tone throughout the bulk of our repertoire is that of subtle humor or not-so-subtle humor.

Granted, there is a bit of blood-curdling screaming involved, but if you examine the words — i.e. "Chewah wah may amo, Chee wah wah key largo" — you find that there is an element of playfulness involved with that as well.

Within this group of composers, there is a unspoken consensus on the importance of rhythm and rhythmic patterns, that the horns be the leading voice of the ensemble, and that there are two teams on stage: the horns and the rhythm section. What has been discussed is the influence of bands like Meshuggah, Pig Destroyer, etc., and how we should allow our composition to harken to that stream of music.

Do you find that having such a unique sound makes it harder to find someone to release your albums?

Indeed, we have not found a record label or organization that is interested in supporting our endeavors to create recordings. Instead we have to release the material (soon to be six records in all) at our shows and online through www.jerseyband.com and cdbaby.com.

Back in 2000, I just made up a record label name, Rangletorian Records, and we released our CDs under that record label name because I thought it would increase our chances in getting booked at rock clubs to play shows. It didn't. What it really took was me bugging the bookers 5 million times until they would give us a show.