A Day At The Record Store (IV)

I haven't been to the record store in ages, it seems. So last week I decided it was time again to spend some money on some records and this is what I got in return.

No Use For A Name "The Feel Good Record Of The Year" LP (+CD)
I wasn't keeping track of these guys at all over the past few years. True, I was a huge fan back in the days and "Don't Miss The Train" is still one of my all time favourites ever. I also remember a brilliant live show at the "Underground" in Cologne where the whole audience just went berzerk for the entire set. But that was years ago and today I somehow lost my interest in most of the melodic punkrock bands mainly because the all sound the same, don't they? I know that argument is lame, but to me it's like that. There are no surprises anymore.
While saying that I know that that's true for this record as well but maybe because of sentimental feelings I still like it. It really is a feel good record.Nothing really changed over the years for Mr. Sly and his comrades, they still sound like 10 years ago. And in a way that's very reassuring and good. The record comes with a CD of all the album tracks. I guess that's one way of selling CDs to the kids.

Fine Before You Came "It All Started In Malibù" LP
Man, we love those guys. A Modest Proposal played two shows with Fine Before You Came from Milano, Italy a few years ago and we instantly fell in love with the band. While they are great musicians and composers who play a sound somewhere around the area of Braid and alike, they are also wonderful human beings, fun to talk to and hang around with. This is, I believe, their 2nd full length which came out on Strange Fruit Records, a label from southern Germany, not to be confused with other labels of the same name. So we were labelmates with them for a short time. They raised their level of excellence once more with this one. Jacopo's voice is just fascinating and really a thrill to listen to with the wonderful music pumping in the background. A great record and it's really a shame that this one was in the 2nd hand segment of the store.

Oiro "Vergangenheitsschlauch" LP
And once again the guys from Düsseldorf strike back with their way of playing northern German punkrock in the vein of all those "Jensen-bands" like Dackelblut, Blumen Am Arsch Der Hölle or Oma Hans. On their 2nd album nothing changed and I think it's better this way. They know what they are best at and they deliver. That's the way it should be. Although I initially bought this just because I know the people in the band this will become I record I like a lot, I am pretty sure that will happen.

Inferno "Pioneering Works" 3xLP
This was due for a long time now. Inferno used to be one of the first, if not the first hardcore band in the German scene. Their record "Tod & Wahnsinn" started it all here. That one is truly a classic piece of brutal early 80s hardcore music. I think I first got in touch with their music when I bought some compilation records of Mülleimer Records (who were then called AM Music). I then bought a CD which featured the aforementioned "Tod & Wahnsinn" together with their 2nd record "Hibakusha". And although I always like their first one better, the whole compilation was just great. "Ram It Up" was covered by S.O.D., they had tracks on the "Cleanse The Bacteria" compilation on Pusmort and so on. So they are truly legends in the German hardcore scene, although I would doubt if any of the young kids today know any of their songs.
This is a compilation of almost all the stuff they recorded. It features their three albums, compilation tracks, the "Son Of God" EP and the split 12" w/ The Execute. Three records labeled Oldschool, Nextschool and Highschool which I think is a nice joke. This is a piece of history.

Mount Logan "s/t" LP
I saw this band a year ago at some small festival show in Cologne where they played with some chaoscore bands and they completely stood out because of their very lo-fi and modest approach. Mount Logan are a three-piece without a bassplayer if I remember it correctly and yet they were able to produce a great sort of pressure and noise with their instruments. There were only a few vocals every now and then, very spartanic and the music was very dynamic ranging from loud to very quiet and back to really loud again.
This record really captures their live performance. Dark, gloomy, loud, quiet music which leaves a feeling of despair. You feel like you are the last person on earth. The design of the cover sleeve only emphasizes this. Almost completely in black with now band name or anything else on the front side. The record itself looks more like a test pressing with black labels and writings on it. Great lo-fi-doom-core (oh boy, how I hate makin' up those categories, haha).

Envy "Abyssal" 12" EP
Envy really seem to have found their style of music. After the brilliant masterpiece of their last record this just continues where "Insomniac Doze" left off. Only four tracks here, but the first one is a hymn which could have easily been put on the previous record. 10 minutes, maybe even longer, it just drags itself on and on and I personally wouldn't have a problem if there was no end at all to this one. It's got the usual breakdowns in the middle and then the outbursts come again, a classic Envy track, if you like.
What I especially like about the present Envy is that they still keep their rough edge while trying to add a few experiments every now and then. They could have easily slowed down their pace and reduced the heavyness of their music just like some other bands did. They could just turn into the next Mogwai, but that would be too disappointing if they just copy another band. I just like them they way they are. I liked them the way they were as well when they were still playing that upbeat chaotic brand of hardcore, but this suits them a lot better. I hope there's more to come in the future.

The Ice "s/t" 7"
No FX "Singles Club #9" 7"
Me First And The Gimme Gimmes "Jerry" 7"
...more on those three later on...