Alarms & Controls/Secret Smoker - Split 7"

Labels: Protagonist Music/Zegema Beach Records

Formats: Vinyl/Digital

Release Date: 10 Mar 2015

Tracklist:

1. Alarms & Controls - Mama's Sweet Ride

2. Alarms & Controls - Flood Plane

3. Secret Smoker - Every Moment All At Once

4. Secret Smoker - Sun Eaters

I've had this review in my back pocket for a little while and planned to post its up sooner, but here we are. The next few in this little series should come at you a bit faster. That series of course is my Zegema Beach Records (ZBR) roster review series, which I've been trying (and failing) to publish once a week. This is the first of a few 7" reviews, hence why I'm more optimistic about my own intentions to write more. Anyway, this split was released in early 2015 via both Protagonist Music and ZBR, and features two US post-punk/emo/post-hardcore bands called Alarms & Controls and Secret Smoker. I think 300 copies were pressed on clear orange vinyl.

It’s another sticky evening tonight and my energy is waning, let’s hope this restores some of it. I have to say that Alarms & Controls are totally not what I was expecting. Their jazz/funk/rock n roll approach here is definitely refreshing and there’s some math-rock flourishes going on during ‘Mama’s Sweet Ride’, which opens this split. It proves that you shouldn’t pigeonhole labels or expect certain sounds. Their second song ‘Flood Plane’ features clean singing once again and has a strange Lynyrd Skynyrd feel to it. The instrumentation is really clean and clear, while the vocal melodies are where their post-punk influence starts to show. It’s both upbeat and downbeat at the same time. Still good though!

On the flip side, Secret Smoker take on a sound that’s very much more old-school emo/screamo on their first song ‘Every Moment All At Once’. It has a rawness that you’d expect from a band of their ilk and as such, the vocals sit deeper within the mix, while the instrumentation looms over the top. The guitars are melodic and the drums are really prominent. I’m gonna be predictable here and say that this was what I was expecting from this split. Their second song ‘Sun Eaters’ is more on the atmospheric and introspective side, with the lengthy instrumental intro leading another heart-on-your-sleeve number. Plenty of emotion and a solid 90s feel. 

This is very much a split of two sides (unsurprisingly!) yet both bands compliment each other super well, instead of merely doing the same thing. Going back and discovering releases like this is the reason I’m still pressing on and committing time to this series. This split is great and illustrates exactly why the 7” vinyl format is such a great day to discover new bands or to reach more varied audiences. 

You can stream and download the split digitally from ZBR here:-

It's also available from Protagonist Music digitally here - https://protagonistmusic.bandcamp.com/album/split-7-4

I've been unable to find any live social media accounts for either band.

Copies of this split are still available in physical form from the labels below:-

Deathwish Inc (Protagonist Store) - https://deathwishinc.com/collections/protagonist

ZBR CAN/INTL - http://www.zegemabeachrecords.com/zegema-beach-releases/secret-smoker-alarms-controls-split-7

Protagonist Music - https://www.facebook.com/ProtagonistMusic

Zegema Beach Records - https://www.facebook.com/zegemabeachrecords

Sore Eyelids - For Now

Labels: Protagonist Music/Tell Wilhelm Records/Through Love Records/Zegema Beach Records

Formats: Vinyl/Digital

Release Date: 14 Dec 2014

Tracklist:

1. Remain

2. Leaving

3. Awake

4. Waste

5. For Now

6. En Plats I Ditt Hjarta

ZBR's love affair with Swedish bands has already been covered by Dave's 'Out Past The Rings' Youtube series, so there isn't much more for me to say on the subject except it was a match made in heaven. This  second full-length from Sore Eyelids and it saw the light of day on a physical medium in December of 2004. Sore Eyelids, by their own admission, played a mix of shoegaze/indie/emo and still to this day mean so much to fans of screamo/emo in general. 

One thing that did confuse me when preparing for this review was that the song lengths on their bandcamp page differ to those on the pages of the labels that helped release the records. Did the songs get mixed up on release or just on the respective bandcamp pages? If someone could help explain this, that would be great! For the sake of this piece, I'm going to review directly from the Sore Eyelids bandcamp page.

I’m not entirely sure if the song order and lengths are correct, but I’m rolling with it as it’s the band’s page and they should be accurate right? Whether they are or not, it really doesn’t matter though as Sore Eyelids make you forgot about any insignificant details with their gloriously melodic emo/indie on album opener ‘Remain’. The recording affords the vocals plenty of space, even when they’re encased by the instrumentation. The percussion and guitar work is really soothing yet it also contains glimpses of heaviness. Given that the band features members of Suis La Lune amongst it’s ranks, that’s not entirely surprising. 

Following that expansive opener, ‘Leaving’ feels brief but the band’s use of instrumentation and subtle vocals mean that it’s still an emotional ride that need not end, although it does rather abruptly, leading to the off-kilter intro of ‘Apart’. That style carries on throughout the song, taking it in a more art-punk sort of direction (I guess!). It’s strange to hear a band on the ZBR roster that has clean vocals, even following their association with fellow Swedes I Love Your Lifestyle, but it’s welcome indeed.

Ambience is also a big part of the Sore Eyelids sound, although it doesn’t get used often. ‘Waste’ is a lot more accessible than you might expect, drawing comparisons to one big US indie band (The Killers?) in the vocal department. There’s also a nod to Cave In thanks to the loverly guitar riffs during the song’s louder moments. Again, they are only comparisons and they don’t mean much in the grand scheme of things, especially when the music is this good on it’s own.

It’s taken until the title-track ‘For Now’ to make me realise that this is the kind of emo that I’ve been missing. I felt these kind of goosebumps when listening to Russia’s Ensslin, and even though they’re subtly different musically, Sore Eyelids definitely tugs at the same feels. Closer ‘En Plats I Ditt Hjarta’ brings For Now to a serene end with a laidback display of articulate and thoughtful song-writing and performance. 

This album was released nearly six years ago now but time is immemorial (I feel like I’ve said that before!). I really need to invest in this album and more from the Sore Eyelids back catalogue. If you haven’t heard this band or for some reason they’ve bypassed you, this is a great starting point. Even the blackest of souls will be touched by it.

You can stream For Now and download it (name-your-price) via the Sore Eyelids bandcamp page below:-

Sore Eyelids - https://www.facebook.com/soreeyelids/

Physical copies are sold out from all labels.

Protagonist Music - https://www.facebook.com/ProtagonistMusic/

Tell Wilhelm Records - https://www.facebook.com/tellwilhelmrecords/

Through Love Records - https://www.facebook.com/ThroughLoveRec/

Zegema Beach Records - https://www.facebook.com/zegemabeachrecords/