#2: V/A: The 26th

Council Records has always been one of my favorite labels, but this is one of the defining releases for me. You can find this anywhere from their site to Interpunk, to Ebullition for less than $4. Think Mof this as an "Ode to Michigan" compilation. .Nema, Bev.Clone, Constatines Sankathi, Mainspring and Wallside come together with an individual track together to last 10 minutes. I'll try my best to sum this up in order of tracks. .Nema starts this thing off with some down-tempo, heavy, crust track. There is virtually no production to this track, just the way I like it. Vocals are split into this deep Assück shout and this more mid 90's hardcore emo flailing shout. Bev.Clone are next up, bringing a fun and fast "hardcore emo" track. Some weird parts in it, almost inaudible. It breaks down so nicely towards the middle, just to be picked right back up. Get everything you can by this band. They rule too hard to write about. Constatine Sankathi plays the trumpet. Don't get the wrong idea, it is played so bad and messy in a way it is totally gnarly. I have dubbed them "the worst trumpeting of all time, but the best trumpetmo of all time." Their discography is easy to get a hold of and is worth every penny. Mainspring's track on this reminds me of the original Dawn Of The Dead. The intro reminds me of the music played in the mall. It would be awesome to kill zombies to this, but they'd just end up killing themselves finding their 7". Mainspring plays melodically and heavy, but just as flaily and shouty as all the mid 90's emo was. Next up is Wallside. Wallside is one of my favorite bands in the genre and in general. They play this blend of fast and groovy hardcore. The vocals don't sound so unique, but I can't think of any comparisons to this band. Everything they've put out has been solid, so whatever you do. Look for it. Their CD can be found on Interpunk along with this 7", so spend the $2000 they're asking for it. It is so hard to define the sound of these bands, it is a blend of heavy hardcore and emo that is repeatedly referred to as "hardcore emo". It's that short stint of mid 90's midwest bands that only had a few 7" then died faster than a Fox Sitcom.

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