It List: Wednesday

Bastard Noise/Hatred Surge/Lychgate/Mindhunter (Rubber Gloves): I would think that Bastard Noise would need no intro, but considering that nobody else has said anything about this rather significant show, I'll do what I can. Bastard Noise is the very effective offshoot of Man Is The Bastard, a widely loved group that truly redefined the limits of hardcore as an art form in the 90's, especially by tampering with the genre's formula and arsenal of equipment. The group combined stark bass-lines with homemade noise tools capable of emitting sounds that were completely unique and avoided the tired guitar distortion cliches that were already wearing thin in hardcore by the early 90's. This is all the more obvious when you hear their music today and realize that it has not aged a second; it still sounds completely devastating without even a hint of the silliness prevalent at the time.

Bastard Noise, which has shared all of the same members, has pushed in arguably even more radical directions over the years, with a healthy amount of the music's explosiveness eventually disintegrating into formless static and chaos, largely devoid of rhythm and instead atmospherically manipulating its surroundings through a sustained and engulfing fog of sound.

But just when one suspects they understand the group's intentions, they always seem to return to their many abilities of rhythm and force, combining prog beats and intense vocals to snap the noise back into skeletal shape in an intimidatingly convincing manner. Make no mistake, Bastard Noise (as well as Man Is The Bastard and Geronimo) have one of the all-time immediately identifiable sounds in any genre of music. Countless are the times when it comes up on some mix cd or random Ipod track, and somebody excitedly exclaims one of the monikers on the multi-pronged list of groups that have spawned from this crowd. Pretty nerdy, I know. The dense and tough bass and drum parts mixed with the otherworldly squeals of their handmade equipment has become just as iconic in some circles as the characteristic shred of your average "favorite all-time guitarist." Except this never sucks. The fact that Austin's Hatred Surge is opening, as well as a couple of terrific locals would warrant even more type, but I want some people to actually read this before midnight. Highly recommended.

Shearing Pinx/Nu Sensae/Cuckoo Byrds/Orange Coax (Majestic Dwelling Of Doom): I saw the Shearing Pinx perform on the UTD campus of all places, and they reminded me a lot of another similar act that played tasteful noise rock from Canada: The Creeping Nobodies. I remember them being pretty good and I'm not making light of both groups being from Canada; I just honestly don't hear many bands like these two from the States anymore. Perhaps I'm not looking hard enough.

Nu Sensae are great fun and they combine a bratty "Juicy" Julia Cafritz/Free Kitten vocal sound with high-energy, bass-led rock rhythms. There is a distinct lack of guitar with most of the best bands playing tonight and that's no coincidence. I used to have this friend that mainly listened to house music who would openly fantasize about how she wished that some magic being (a DJ, duh) would swoop in and erase all of the bad guitar parts out of old disco tracks and even the good guitar parts out of dance-y post punk tracks like The Raincoats or The Delta Five. Really used to piss me off. Know what's weird? I kind of understand now. Maybe I'm finally old. Oh, Cuckoo Byrds is the wonderful duo that runs Time Bandits in Denton and I'm expecting good things since they played such wonderful records at our own show in September of last year. One more thing: Orange Coax has ten inch records being shipped from the Czech Republic to my fucking house as we speak.

Invincible Czars/Timeline Post/Old Snack (Hailey's): Hey, what does everyone think of the band name "Old Snack?" It seems to be pretty polarizing when it's brought up. I almost accidentally logged into Myspace today and posted a bulletin. Is that weird? Did you know there are bands on there? No, seriously. Like, a lot.