Don't Look a Gift Record in the Mouth

A few months yet another birthday came around and a very good friend of mine was kind enough to gift me two records when we saw each other a couple of weeks after the actual occasion.

The first one is by a band from France called Placid. The band released a demo two years ago and follows this up with this 7" called Aller James Retour, released earlier this year.  I learned French at school, but that was a long time ago, so I'm not always sure what they sing about. As far as the music is concerned, it took me a while to get used to it. Or maybe I just have to be in the right mood for this kind of music. It's very punky, which I usually like, but there's this effect on the vocals that doesn't always grab me. At least on record. I imagine this to be very fun to see live. I have the vague memory that I might have seen them live before or that I was at a show where Placid played as well and maybe didn't actually go in to see them. Be that as it may, today I'm in the mood for this sort of music, so it gets a thumbs up from me. 

1st Press on black on STTW Records /250

The second record is the vinyl debut by a band called Pluto the Racer. I've seen them a bunch of times live and was lucky enough to share the stage with them as well. Always a good time. The music is at the pop  end of the punk spectrum, but it's done really well. I'm always amazed by drummers who not only play the drums but also sing - and the singer in Pluto the Racer does both things so well. Maybe jealous is also an appropriate word, haha. They're a pretty young band too, so I'm very curious about their future. 

1st Press on Burgundy on KROD Records /500

Until I Wake Again

One of the more anticipated records for me was the I Recover LP. I fell in love with the band when I saw them play at a DIY space not too far from where I live. The two 7"s they have released so far were really good, not only musically and lyrically, but also visually they were top notch. It certainly helps when one band member runs a printing company. 

Things had been rather quiet for the band for a number of years, so hearing about them releasing new material was very exciting to me. Chris, singer for my band Fragment and CEO of Influences Zine/Label, got to listen to the record early to review it for his zine and was talking constantly about how good it was. I wasn't as privileged as him, but wouldn't have listened to the record in advance anyway, because I'm and old-fashioned idiot and prefer listening to records I'm really looking forward to on vinyl for the first time, even if that means I have to wait a little bit longer. And I Recover didn't disappoint. The songs are melodic and catchy. Daniel's voice sounds great and I really love the guitar work. It's a perfect DC Revolution Summer hardcore worship record. And not only does the record sound fantastic, it is also really pleasing to the eye (at least mine). Plus the haptic of sleeve and lyric sheet is really awesome. The only thing I could criticize is that there are only seven songs on Until I Wake Again. Then again, this leaves me hungry for more. 

When I got the record I didn't listen to anything else the whole weekend. I just flipped the record over and over and over again. And it's been on constant rotation since then. This is definitely in the top 3 for this year.