Skip to main content

The Blood Brothers :: Young Machetes


I've always had a soft spot for hard core. I think it goes back to when I was in grade school. As hormones started raging, Bon Jovi and Whitesnake just weren't cutting the angst anymore. Pantera was an obvious choice. But again, my tastes evolved and Pantera was just too simple. When I found Nirvana I'd thought I'd found, well, nirvana. And into high school it was Ministry, Helmet, and the heavier side of grunge. I remember nights sfter theatre rehearsal Justin, Josh, and I would sneak cigarettes in the parking lot while trying to determine who was better at headbanging. To this day, I believe those evenings did more brain damage than all the college keggers put together.

Today, the musical genres of "hard" number into the ridiculous: heavy metal, death metal, puff metal, grindcore, thrashcore, mathcore, growlcore, screamo, punk rock, noice rock, Scandinavian costume rock. I'm not making this up (well, I made one of them up, but it's not the one you think). The Blood Brothers fit somewhere between grindcore and punk.

And before you say, "dude, they broke up like ages ago," let me point you to the title of this blog. Does it say "Pitchfork"? Exactly. It says "Duck and Cover Music." We get more readers in a month than Pitchfork gets in a minute . . . but barely. Anyway, we like our readers more than Pitchfork likes theirs. And we know each and every one of you by name.

So go on out there, um, Barnaby. And download yourself some Blood Brothers. Oh, and pick up a sixer of PBR, too. The office fridge is running low. Or it would be running low if we had an office fridge. . . or an office, for that matter.

Band :: The Blood Brothers

Album :: Young Machetes

Song :: Set Fire to the Face on Fire



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Celebrate Halloween with Peter Squires's New Video, "Witch"

I don't usually do festive or holiday posts. In fact, the closest I get is writing some kind of seasonal bent against a track, and only then when I've had too much coffee and can't find any relation to a song other than what the weather is doing. I just think holiday-themed posts / articles are lazy. But Halloween is different. Why? Because Halloween, to paraphrase Wesley Willis, whips a horse's ass. So when Ryan from The Musebox put me on to Peter Squires a few days ago, I knew it was going into the annals of Duck & Cover (that's right, I said "annals" on the Internets). From the Press Release: Peter’s direct and honest vocal delivery is reminiscent of contemporaries such as Kimya Dawson and Luke Temple. The album is all heart, laid bare for our aural pleasure. Woe Is Me was recorded in Peter Squires’ Brooklyn bedroom and is available on his website for fans to download at no charge. The first video from the album is “Witch” and it was just rele...

The Pogues + The Dubliners = St. Patrick's Rovers

In celebration of St. Patrick's day, and because I spent a good deal of time living on Ireland's west coast (if you can call Limerick a coast), here's an old video of The Pogues and The Dubliners singing "Irish Rover." I love the fact that Shane MacGowan is puffing away at a rollie on stage--and I'm pretty sure it's not water in that styrofoam cup. This video reminds me of a musician I palled around with during my stint in stab city. A mesmerizing performer, Damo would often celebrate the fact he scored a gig before the gig itself. When it was time for him to go on, he would be completely trollied; too drunk for his own performance (which, if you knew Damo, you would concede is no small feat). Damn, I miss those guys.

May Day Is Lei Day

For the past 31 years in Honolulu, the Brothers Cazimero have hosted an annual May Day variety show at the Waikiki Shell Ampitheatre (because May Day is Lei Day!). When living there, I had the privilege of attending twice, the last time being the 30th anniversary, and just after the sad passing of the legendary Don Ho. Both times were, at the risk of allowing my cynical mask slip, magical. The May Day show is great fun, and follows the format of an old time variety show -- there is an aura of glamour interspersed with a decidedly camp sensibility, with hula stars of past and present gracing the stage. Spirits are high, and the banter among the performers is priceless; at times it feels as though you've wandered into a family reunion, and are a long lost cousin -- instantly at home and enveloped in the warmth. It's a time to celebrate the spirit and culture that truly do make the islands such a special place. There's a song that plays before the Sunset On The Beach movies...