Family Cat - Don’t Let This Be You

There’s only so many times you can compare every single new band to Latterman before the comparison gets stale and tired. It seems like the simplest solution to such a problem would be to just not make the comparison...there in lies the problem; most punk bands these days sound pretty much exactly like Latterman. But, for the sake of this review, I will not compare this band to Latterman. I’m doing my part, bands, now do yours. Without any further ado, here’s Idle and the Bear’s review of Family Cat’s new Death to False Hope Records release ‘Don’t Let This Be You’:

Honestly, I’m just pulling your leg with the whole Latterman comparison thing. This band Family Cat does bear some minor, passing resemblances to the great Latterman, but overall they don’t stick to the formula quite likes other bands do (*cough* Spraynard *cough*). Family Cat has more of a Shinobu edge to them, really. The vocals tend to be on the softer side most of the time, with occasional excursions into the raspy yelling voice that us punk kids love to hear.

Actually, I’m a little bit surprised that this album wasn’t released on Count Your Lucky Stars. That’d be a pretty good fit, considering the heavy emo influence in the song structure and guitar leads. The songs on this EP are all interesting and definitely have a tendency to vary a bit musically and intellectually. It’s pretty refreshing, actually. I feel like some pop punk these days treats the listeners like dipshits. It’s probably just assumed that everyone listening to pop punk is at least eight Pabst Blue Ribbons in and trying to set some sort of beer belly record. HEY DUDES, THAT’S NOT ALWAYS THE CASE. Some of us like interesting music that just happens to be incredibly catchy and seductive fun. Family Cat have our backs when it comes to this, so don’t be worried, guys.

Since ‘Don’t Let This Be You’ is a DTFH release, you can stream or download the album entirely for free over at the DTFH website. God, I just love free music. I think everyone does. Except maybe the grinch. That asshole probably is one of those contrarians who sticks up for the record labels and millionaire recording artists. What a douche. Thankfully, Family Cat hate the grinch and prefer to have their music up for free, so that awesome people like yourself and I can enjoy their songs at our own leisure. Also, I’ll have you know that if you’re expecting to not enjoy these songs, then be prepared for a difficult, uphill battle because these songs are pretty fucking sweet. Like I said earlier, it’s basically like a healthy mix between Shinobu, Latterman-core bands, and mid-90s emo. What can possibly go wrong with a formula like that? Do yourself a favor and check Family Cat out!

-Idle

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Wings and Wounds EP

Wings and Wounds, a new hip hop group made up of Sarx and Graves 33, released their first EP together on the first of this year. Long story short, they are badass. The lyrics are clever, the beats are catchy as hell, etc. etc. etc... From Seattle.

Now, I know what you're thinking. "Wait, Idle and the Bear only like punk music! This is crazy!" Well, faithful readers, you are wrong. you're wrong. This album is badass.

It has a fairly long intro track, and then it starts into "Two Wanderers." I can't tell what the audio sample of the woman talking is from, but maybe one of you can tell me. The flow is extremely impressive with these guys.

"Bellowing Scum" is badass. Mostly because the guests on this track are ridiculous.

Hands down "Wizardry" is the best track. It's so goddamn impressive. I listened to this track about 100 times before I moved on to the next one. These guys are super, SUPER talented.

If there's anything better than all the overproduced corporate bullshit rap on all the top charts, it's the guys that can actually make some real beats and spit rhymes like it's no one's business. I could listen to this shit all day.

To put this in the most uncomfortable way I know how, these beats are dope.

Bandcamp.

Fated Empire.

Graves 33 Facebook

Graves 33 website.

Sarx Facebook

Our facebook.

-Bear

Radiator Hospital- Nothin' In My Eyes

Radiator Hospital is truly an interesting group from Grand Rapids, MI. They're more of a collective centered around Sam Cook-Parrott, which in my experience, has never gone wrong. It's kind of pop-ish indie experimental bubblegum punk lofi...stuff. I don't really know what genre it is. It's good. This is kind of old, but recent enough. So you'll live.

The first time through this album, I was just a little ಠ_ಠ about it. But then I made the amazing choice to keep listening and realized that I really like it!

It's definitely very diverse and every song feels a little different. The best song, hands down, is "Jose Chung's "From Outer Space". First off, it was funny because of the title and reddit. And then the song was awesome. I love the melody and the lyrics so much. It's a cute ukulele song that I really want to cover. Awesome.

There's a J Church cover of "Nostalgic for Nothing" which gets mad respect from me. I fucking love J Church. (Who doesn't?)

Oh, and there's another cover. They covered "My Place" by the Adverts, and it's a really really great cover. I think it sounds badass. It's interesting and great.

Sam's got a really crazy sounding voice that I love.

It's an awesome combination of guitar, ukulele, vocal harmonies, and frankly, anything else that he could fit on it. For a basement recording, I'm fairly impressed. I'm not typically a big lofi person, but this is super catchy stuff.

I think you should all listen to this guy!

DOWNLOAD IT

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-Bear

“The Folkamines - Expect the Wurst"

There are two defining moments in a man’s life. The first is when he meets the woman or man or whatever he’ll marry (or do whatever with). The second is discovering that Billy Wallace and the Virginia Blues (from Northern KY, like myself) have released the most amazing album to ever grace the internet.

IT’S A FOLK ALBUM CONSISTING ENTIRELY OF DOPAMINES COVERS, WITH MINOR LYRIC CHANGES TO POKE FUN AT THE GROUP AND THEIR OBSESSION WITH BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND SHIT.

So...yeah. You can probably guess my opinion on this album already...

The Dopamines are probably one of the best pop punk to exist in the history of this planet. Folk music is probably also one of the best things to exist in this history of this planet. So, it makes complete sense that the combination of the two leaves us with something really quite amazing. “The Folkamines” do an excellent job of folking the fuck out of nine of my favorite Dopamines tracks. Don’t let the album title mislead you, because absolutely zero of these songs are from The Dopamines most recent full length ‘Expect the Worst’. The songs are all from the self-titled full length and the EP ’Soaps and Lampshades’. It’s awesome.

Dopamines songs happen to song pretty good when slowed down a lot and performed acoustically (including some harmonica) and sung by Billy Wallace and some lady whose name I don’t know. I’m going to just go ahead and assume her name is Virginia Blues...that’d make me happy. Her name might be Alex, but I don’t know. The facebook page says that the band members change quite often. One of the listed occasional members is actually ex-Dopamines drummer Matt Hemmingway. Weird. THIS ALBUM IS AWESOME.

You should just go check it out immediately. The production quality is pretty damn high and the replay value is exponentially higher. Do it.

-Idle

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Les Doux- Dialects

Les Doux is a bluesy screamo band from Hattiesburg, MS. This is their second EP, a follow up to a self-titled. It's a concept album about a son leaving home, and it's really really interesting. Released on the 21st of December.

First off, that album art makes me happy. Whoever did the text is very talented.

Anyway, the album is really really interesting. It really is an exact mix of blues and screamo- and it's mixed well. I'm not crazy about all aspects of the EP, but I am crazy about their musicianship.

"Interrogative" has a beautiful intro that made me smile. The guitar is chilling, and the lyrics are very interesting.

On another note, their drummer continues to impress me throughout the album. They're all great musicians, but the drums really stood out to me.

"Declarative," as you would guess, is more angry and direct than "Interrogative." For once, the songs actually have to do with the song titles. That's rare in today's modern world. I'm proud.

It starts to fade more out of the blues and more into the screamo style as the EP progresses.

"Exclamatory" is well, exclamatory. Angry and harsh sounding. "Imperative" is an order. Clearly. (I'm like your middle school english teacher all over again!)

Overall, the guys do a great job with the concept and the style. Very impressed.

There's room to improve, as always. I wasn't crazy about some of the stylistic choices, but overall, I'm fairly impressed. Can't wait to see where they go with their music.

Download it.

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-Bear 

Waxahatchee- American Weekend

Waxahatchee is Katie Crutchfield. Many of you know Katie from PS Eliot! She's from Brooklyn NY and she is awesome. This album was released on January 10th. RIYL Eisley, Laura Stevenson, Summer Salt, PS Eliot, Very Okay

Katie has one of the sweetest voices I've ever heard. Not sweet like "sweet skateboard, bro." Sweet like adorable and soothing. It's great. The music is very chill and laid back. Mellow. Etc. Etc. Etc.

"Catfish" sets the mood for the entire record- it's almost a ballad, but it's not. Cute slow song.

"Grass Stain" is a little more upbeat, with the perfect amount of reverb and addictiveness. Approval.

"Rose 1956" is probably my favorite song on the album. It's a really cute song and the melody is badass. I listen to it when I get ready in the morning. One of those kinds of songs.

"American Weekend" has a sad feel to it. I love how Katie's voice sounds in it.

"Michel" has absolutely amazing lyrics. Super sad, but amazing. I actually just listened to it about 40 times in a row. I'd advise you do the same.

"Be Good" is the perfect song, seriously. Her lyrics are amazing, and the guitar is unbelievably catchy. 

The entire album has almost a roots-y sound to it. It's very easy going and calming. It's the kind of CD you want to keep in your car for bad days.

The rest of the songs are badass too, but I figure that's probably enough of a feel for you.

Waxahatchee facebook./Our facebook.

Don Giovanni Records.

-Bear

Young///Savage - New Flesh

There are quite a few unwritten rules around the Idle and the Bear office, and a few of them don’t really mind being written, such as:

1. Don’t let squirrels build indoor forts.
2. Velcro beats shoelaces.
3. Everything on Death to False Hope Records’s website is the shit.
4. Numbered lists are fun and make the review look lengthier and more fun.

This band Young///Savage (I’m probably not going to write the entire band name out any more times than that) have all four of those rules going for them. Well, actually I can only say the third thing is officially true. I don’t want to harm my journalistic integrity regarding the others. They’re just rumors. For now.

If you’ve ever been sitting around at my house in Kentucky, you may’ve felt this weird, unnamed urging. An urging to listen to a perfect blent of Count Your Lucky Stars-esque emo mixed with the catchiness and hopefully beardiness of orgcore. Orgcore, for those just tuning in, is a fake genre consisting of bands like Hot Water Music, The Lawrence Arms, Spraynard, Dillinger Four, Against Me! and all that. I’d say Young Savage are more on the emo side of this, and therefore I like it even more.

On ‘New Flesh’, Young Savage really pull out all the stops. Take nothing musically or emotionally for granted here. The tone can change rapidly and so can the music. These are catchy songs with a bit of an edge to them. There’s weird guitar bits thrown in at times, and clever/awesome drum fills. The song “90 Proof Stallion” actually sounds like the record was filtered through a giant bucket of booze, and the unsettling guitar leads midway through fit into the atmosphere beautifully. 

My favorite song would have to be “The Rawest Nerves”. I love the drum beat coupled with the simple, yet cool guitar bits. It reminds me of that band Dads from New Jersey. And then when the Fall Out Boy-esque bass line comes in, the song starts to feel a bit like a song by the band "fun." after taking a turn down the wrong alley on the wrong side of town. The vocals are so nicely distorted by vivid emotion that it makes me shake in my proverbial boots.

You really should check out this band. The music is excellent, and I’d bet like 50 bucks at least that they’re excellent people too. If it turns out they’re not, I’ll give you 50 dollars and let you write “dipshit” on my forehead. If they’re as awesome as I postulate them to be, then I get to walk around without “dipshit” written on my forehead for once.

-Idle

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