Sometimes you read one of these playlists by a band and, while their choices may be good, you wonder how in the world people with such varied tastes could make such one-dimensional music. This is clearly not true for Bloodiest (ex and current members of Russian Circles, Yakuza and Corrections House), who are so expansive and unorthodox it only makes sense they would be spinning music this eclectic.
On their newest self-titled record, the Midwest six-piece, led by howling evangelist Bruce Lamont, operates in a sphere that somehow seems to sync with everything below but never quite falls into any of their trappings. Listen to it all below, and then find out how it can all amalgamate into one band.
Electric Hawk – “Sex Embargo”
Tony Lazzara: We are fortunate to have these guys as hometown heroes in Chicago. Rest assured they are crushing it live. This song embodies the musical muscularity, precision and the “oh, i think i just fractured a rib in the pit” aggression that most bands strive to achieve but never come close to. It’s in your face and raw.
Pinkish Black – “New Dawn Fades”
Bruce Lamont: Pinkish Black totally rules and their new record Bottom of the Morning kills it from top to bottom but this bonus Joy Division cover is other worldly.
90 Day Men – “Last Night a DJ Saved My Life”
Colin Dekuiper: This is always a frame of reference when I play with Bloodiest. This is Cayce Key’s old band and you can can count half of Bloodiest in this video. 90 Day Men and all of these guys have impacted what I listen to and how I play.
VHÖL – “Paino”
Bruce Lamont: Always into something out of the ordinary. VHÖL’s “Paino” does this with a more thrash metal beat. Overall it’s well done.
Chelsea Wolfe – “Pale on Pale”
Nandini Khaund: I particularly like this Chelsea Wolfe song. Her vocals have this PJ Harvey vibe combined with a dissonant and heavy beauty. The instrumentals are loose and casual in their funeral dirge – it’s really not that technical (and the keyboard in the beginning is quite random) but you find yourself slowly entranced in a profoundly dark yet weirdly erotic way.
Rich Vreeland – “Heels”
Cayce Key: “Heels” by Rich Vreeland off the It Follows soundtrack. Everything on here is worth a listen and I recommend it. It’s increasingly tense, sharp and menacingly atmospheric. Shit is scary.
Melvins – “Skweetis”
Colin Dekuiper: Eric and Tony brought in all the riffs to start the writing process for the Bloodiest record. There were moments where we’d just be looping a riff and in my head it sounded like an abrasive AmRep records type of thing. After checking in on those AmRep bands (Cows and Tar in particular), I think the Melvins might be closer to where I felt like those riffs were heading.
Aleander Scriabin – Mysterium reworked by Alexander Nemtin in Prefatory Action (Ashkenazy)
Nandini Khaund: Music to bring you to the beyond. Alexander Scriabin started composing his masterpiece “Mysterium” in 1903. It was to be a crazy, synesthetic work performed in a cathedral in the foothills of the Himalayas, with mist, lights, incense, ritual, and dance – a week long event that would be followed by the apocalypse. He died before finishing it, but he had an intro sketched out. Alexander Nemtin spent 28 years reforming it into this piece “Prefatory Action.“ Yes, I give you a 3 hour video, but really this was just the prelude to the apocalypse.
Shellac – “Il Porno Star”
Cayce Key: I put this record (At Action Park) away for about 6 or 7 years and when I brought it back out in early 2014 it was still an undeniable influence on me. Bob and Todd’s rhythm section cannot be denied on this record, tight but it still sounds like you’re standing in the room that they’re recording in while being punished/rewarded by it.
Vince Staples – “Norf Norf”
Tony Lazzara: FUCKTHEPOLICE
