conundrum circle issue 3

8/12/2019 Conundrum Circle Issue 3

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Conundrum Circle

Issue 3

EX FRIENDS

photo by Ron Akins


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EX FRIENDS are a punk rock band from Pennsylvania. Fun

times! Check em out and catch em live!

Questions by Eric Huber, interview via email.

Hi! Can you please introduce yourselves to the readers? Whatdo you play?Joel: vocalsJayme: lead guitar, vocals, laundryJP: drums, vocals, sandwichesLeta: rhythm guitar, vocals, pants policeAudrey: bass, vocals, jokes


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get into is, most punk, or at least most modern punk, has bass

lines that simply thump out the root of the power chord that is

being played on guitar. Why do you do morethan this? Is it tomake the sound of the songs cooler, or is it because you

have itchy fretting fingers, or neither?Audrey: Thanks! I have a short attention span, so I have to play a

lot of notes to have fun.

On a similar note, you guys have two guitarists, sometimes

three. Does each guitarist have a separate role, or is it not that

clear cut?

JP: Yes we all have separate rolls with regard to guitars. Jaymedoes mostly what I would describe as lead guitar... Leta plays

mostly rhythm guitar and has reworked some of Joel's old parts

from before her joining. They both contribute vocals as well, both

lead and back ups at different times. Honestly though they both are

great guitar players which has made working on new material a

blast. As of now we have no plans to give the Ovation back to

Joel, but who knows what making another record will bring... I

mean, he does write our songs first on an acoustic so technically heplays them before any of us right? Audrey can also play guitar

pretty well, she taught me how to play power chords at our friends

house in Greenville, South Carolina. I have the least amount of

guitar chops, lets call it "none".


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Leta: The past tour has been a fun experiment with guitars and

seeing what works. It's a new line up for the band, as of now we're

just cutting back to two. Jayme is our lead noodler supplying atruly unique sound to Ex Friends. He creates really interesting

textures in each song while I take the classic punk approach and

hold down the roots of the tune with a spoonful of piss, brat, and

blues.

My favorite PA band is the Sickoids. I have weird taste. Do you

know about them?

JP: Yes, those Sickoids are super sick.Leta: Yeah they rock, the band collectively moved to Cali together.

I'm glad they are still associated with PA.

You guys have a Wikipedia page. Does this mean you dont

have day jobs?Audrey: We have awesome day jobs. teacher, tattoo artist,

graphic designer, music therapist, carpenter


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JP: Looks like our page is flagged for review. Lets not get carried

away.

What can we expect from the new full-length? Any other

future plans?Joel: The first LP was mostly stuff about cities in general, and

Philadelphia specifically. The songs for the new record are shaping

up to be more about suburbs and small towns. There's more

emphasis on story and more on character. There are fictional

people in the songs and things happen to them. Musically I thinkwe're doubling down on what we did on the first record. We try to

keep it concise. We want you to sing along, etc.


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REVIEWS

BIG EYES: DEMO 2010 7

Razorcake called this EP a themed work, with the theme being fear of

loneliness (in so many words). No doubt, Big Eyes could pull this off, but is that

what they were going for? Does it matter? Nothis is pretty subtle art; in laymansterms, it is open to interpretation. Prefer to Be Alone is the first song, prettyaggressive-sounding for them, but thats a good thing, since Kates guitar riff andvocal hook are pretty nasty. The song title is not misleadingthis song is a ventagainst the extrovert mentality, or at least thats how I took it. That is how therecord is open for interpretation. Track 2, Since You Left, is so fucking catchy thatI dont know if it is safe for human consumption. On BEs later split with MeanJeans, MJ covers this song, and they play it at almost twice the tempo. I think that is

to compensate for their (anyones) inability to reproduce the complex simplicities ofKates songwriting. Picking favorites is distasteful (unless you pick Big Eyes), so Iwill say both bands shred with this song. Side B makes me want to stop writing and

just listen. Butwriting (typing) about this record makes me appreciate it more, ifthats even possible. You Aint the Only One has the classic BE drumbeatthebouncy one, for those of you already initiatedbut the song is sadder than it isbouncy, when you account for the lyrics and melody and harmony and everything

besides my arbitrary category, bounciness. All Alone closes the EP in a way thatis not cheesy, but not quite as memorable melodically as their later stuff, if thatswhat they are going for. Not a bad place to start on a band I am now hooked on.

There is a reason this was released on vinyl.

(GRAVE MISTAKE RECORDS, review by Eric Huber)

RED DONS: NOTES ON THE UNDERGROUND 7

Side A on this EP is one four-minute-fifty-second opus, called Cold Hearted.The riff at the beginning is cool, but it is cooler how it changes key to go into the

verse. The first few times I listened, I thought this was much slower than other RD

songs, but it is busier on every instrument. It gets infectious, and by the time it is

over, you just want more, even if you are questioning the bands need to sing did

you ever wonder why? so many times in a row. But still, you want more. Thesound is on point, and the details really dont matter in this band. There are details,but the sum of the parts is so awesome that I just didnt feel the need to look anycloser. Well since you want more, there is another side. Its been a while since welast talked yeah is the first line of Losing Track, song one of two on side B. Itsounded cheesy to me at first, but when the bass kicks in after, you put it together

and get a catchy-ass song. Maybe it is still cheesy, but I dont know, its just a single;I say let the band experiment with sounds. However, I dont think this single is as


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good as the Pariah single (except for the fact that the A-side on that was kept onthe next LP) or the Forced Turning Point. Fuck rankings though, this band isworth collecting em all. And I dont think Dead Ender, side B of Notess closer, ischeesy at all. Peace.


BORN WRONG: HOLDING CELL 7

Dont give me that true patriot love shit, like I give a fuck. Thats myfavorite line from this record. Hardcore lives. BW give us a textured, well-produced

(but not overly so) hardcore EP. I know its sometimes hard to tell these kinds ofbands apart, but I think Born Wrong has an ideal mix of uniqueness and aggression

(which tends to be less unique in music, since, at least as I see aggression, it is a

relatively easy emotion to reproduce. I mean, you dont even have to be really angry

to make an angry song). BW are trying to make their anger sound plausible though,and I think it works. For one thing, there is text in the center of the wax on side one

that says your life is a prison. For another, these songs are well-crafted anddeliberate enough that I would wonder why a band who is this talented would want

to fake a musical emotion. This legitimate anger is not just in the vocals or lyrics

though; the riffs pound ass! This EP never lets up, for better or for worse. If it is too

short for you, stop whining and play it again. It will not sound worse with repeated

listens. Also, you can call me a sick twisted fuck, but I am really into the cover art!

(SCHIZOPHRENIC RECORDS, review by Eric Huber)

HARD STRIPES: s/t 7

Hey guys, this hardcore band is from Richmond, Virginia. After the

mysterious intro, side one starts with a mid-tempo juggernaut called Duress. Icant tell when the second song, Pollution, starts, so I will consider side A as awhole. I really like the fast beat part between the mid-tempo juggernaut parts. Imintrigued, and would like to see this band live. There is a breakdown part at the end

of side one that I hesitate to call a breakdown because it is too cool to be one. Inother words, I dont think Evergreen Terrace fans would like Hard Stripes, but ifthey heard HS, they would probably stop liking ET. At least I did. But no, those two

bands have nothing in common. Side two starts with a mid-tempo riff, with arepetitive albeit impressive fill to go into the mid-tempo juggernaut verse of side

two. I like this record more every time I hear it, and I think writing about music, or

at least this kind of music, makes me like it more. In other words, send me shit to

review! [email protected]. But I really like this record apart from the writing

effect. I like the tempo changes, and the fast parts are monstrous. If you dont likemusic that is monstrous, stay away. HSs musicians are clearly talented, but theydont try to play show-off shit. Thats my kind of ethic right there.
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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(VINYL CONFLICT, review by Eric Huber)

BIG EYES: BACK FROM THE MOON B/W I DONT CARE ABOUT FRIDAY NIGHT 7

I am incredibly biased toward the A side. Nothing against the B side, I just

love Back from the Moon. If it is pop-punk, I challenge anyone to come up with abetter pop-punk song from the last few years. It kinda has to be pop cuz of the two

verses, three choruses, and bridge structure of the song, but this is punk as fuck cuz

Kate and co. are the bossest, and thats all it takes to be p. as f. This single might notbe that valuable to people on a budget at this point, since both of these songs are on

the Almost Famous LP, but I argue that since the two tracks on here are the lasttwo songs of the LP, they are kind of hard to reach otherwise. Ok thats bullshit, Ireally just love this song so much I would buy it in any form. The B side is more fun

and traditional punk, and even the lyrical theme is Ramones-y: not wanting to go out

and see people who remind you how lonely you are. Like a lot of BE songs, and thisis something I dig on, I dont care has semi-sad lyrics but a happy sound. I firstheard about this kind of contrast regarding the Smiths, but who the fuck are they?

Both songs on here kick ass, and if you can disregard/get over the fact that they are

both on the full length, you want this. I cant imagine not liking it, for real.


MORNING GLORY: POETS WERE MY HEROES 12

Here is the story of how ridiculous I am. Winchester people, remember theOff With Their Heads show? MG opened for them at Sweet Carolines (up the punx!!!NOT). Anyway, I am so dumb that I left after Walk the Plank, the first band, and they

werent even bad! Im still trying to figure out why I leftprobably some bullshitreason. Worse yet, I missed Morning Glory. This LP is really good. I mean, it is

probably too long (two 33rpm 12s), but I think Fat Mike has found a sick band toput on the underground punk monopolizers (Fat Wreck Chords) roster. He knewdude from Leftover Crack, who is also in this band, so that is probably how it

happened. I like this a lot better than Leftover Crack, who seem to flaunt their

politics, whereas MG seems to make their politics into a personality. This is like a

punk opera though, replete with orchestral parts (a carry-over from LOC), and it

maintains it punkness, for the most part, despite being like an opera. This is highpraise to be coming from someone who thinks of Fat Wreck Chords like I think of

dinosaurs of the past, and who hasnt liked any of their bands (outside of NOFX)since I was 17 or so. The last song on the first side is sick, and these guys can really

write a tune. Oh, and this record is less crusty than LOC. March of the Asylum isweird. They take that marching chant thing and rock it out so hardthe contrastand irony are just overwhelming. I have mixed feelings about this record, and

reviewing full-lengths is hard as fuck! It is good though, and if you like LOC, even a


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little, you will probably like this. If you are like me, and judge a records value byhow few ska songs it contains, this is clearly victor over the crack rock steady beat.

A sonic accomplishment? Yes. A record I like to listen to a lot? Not as much, but I

certainly appreciate the effort.

(FAT WRECK CHORDS, review by Eric Huber)

VARIOUS ARTISTS: SHORT, FAST, AND LOUD ISSUE #24 10

I am including this review because a few distros on the web still have this for

sale. I got this used at DCs punk record mecca, Smash! It was $8.99 but it did notcome with the zine that is supposed to come with it. I dont really feel ripped offthough. I want the zine, and will trade a few old issues of Maximum Rocknroll or

Razorcakefor it if anyone has it, but the music on here is disgusting enough to

satisfy me. Lots of grindcore on here, but it all has enough of that punk edge to

distinguish it from death metal, AKA Satans poop. The first track, from Voetsek, iskiller in a raw and unrefined way. Also, a Coke Bust song that I did not have

otherwise. Sick! There are too many bands on here to name them all, but I think the

most established one is Brutal Truth. Ill concede that they are more metal thanpunk, but I will not concede that they suck. Speaking of records that dont let up,this one never quits. You might have to stop it before it ends if you are trying to

relax, whatever that means. I mean, cut me some slack, how are you supposed to

review something like this? It is meant to be unpleasant, I imagine. Do I dislike it?

You are mistaken. Pleasant music sucks. Go watch the super bowl halftime show or

some shit. Sorry I cant come up with a value judgment, but I do not feel that I am ina position to judge noise this unadulterated. If you dont have the capacity for this

type of music, I dont know what to tell you. Just keep your comfort to yourself andaway from the youth.

(SIX WEEKS RECORDS, review by Eric Huber)

NIGHT BIRDS: FRESH KILLS VOL.1 CD

This is not a new NB release; it came out before Born to Die in Suburbia, therecord that got all the ink from punks everywhere. I reviewed Born to Die lastissue, but this record may be just as good, if not more interesting. I am really into

albums that compile demos and singles from bands who want to package it all inone. This is that. I never really noticed how good the Birds were, since all the songs

flowed into one record on Born and Other Side of Darkness. Not that this recordhas poor track orderit doesntbut it is more that when you hear songs that wererecorded in separate sessions, the songs start to sound different from each other.

Thing is, NB probably want to sound like one long song, cuz that is how LPs are

generally made. This one is a nice exception. NB have an untouchable sound,scare quotes to indicate that they really have more than one sound. The lyrics stand


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out in this album to me more than in the others. Interestingly, the songs are mostly

about horror movies! Sweet. I dont even watch horror movies, or movies at allreally, but NB lyrics are witty. There is really no filler song on here, and this record

is a winner. If you have even the slightest interest in punk, you cannot go wrong

starting here. They bring the old school back, with a new twist. Thanks! Oh, and

needless to say, if you got Born to Die because of how famous it was, but you likedit, you want this one too. Takes off some of the bandwagon/poser guilt you may be

feeling at being a latecomer to the sensation that is the Night Birds.

(GRAVE MISTAKE RECORDS, review by Eric Huber

KING KAHN AND THE SHRINES: IDLE NO MORE 12

I used to think my favorite song by them was Took My Lady to Dinner.Then I decided it was probably too misogynistic and makes too much fun of

overweight people (he is totally joking, and I could be taking it wrong), so I decided Ineeded a new favorite. I picked Land of the Freak. That song is funky as fuck andreally catchy. But it is not really a song as much as the un-p.c. one I mentioned

earlier. I like Guttermouth, and King Kahn is nowhere near as offensive as g-mouth.

So I took my claims back, and decided I would never print anything in a zine that

betrayed anything resembling bigotry on behalf of Mr. Kahn. I like their music a lot,

and I doubt that they are bigots. I can totally imagine a bunch of fat and ugly (hiswords) ladies getting down to some King Kahn. Please correct me if I am wrong. My

pointregardlessis that this music is too fun to diss. I dont even care if it is punk(Im pretty sure its not). It is, to me, RnB mixed with Garage Rock. However, I didnot mean to imply that I like the other albumSupreme Genius of King Kahn and

the Shrines, foo; that is the album the two songs I was debating thepersonalfavoritism of are onbetter than the one being reviewed here. Why implyit when I can state it directly? I like the other one better. This album still is good

though. More mature, if you will. I just dont look formaturity when I listen toKing Kahn. Ill give it a chance now. Update: I am currently listening to the last songon side A. It is so slow. Good and interesting as fuck though, and I think it is meant

to showcase KKs voice. I think it is meant to bein a 6/8 time signature. Again,correct me if Im wrong, but in this case I probably wont give a shit. Would you? Imean were talking about the time signature of a fuckin rock song. Has that everbeen done? Besides in prog songs. GeezusI flipped it over and the first song onside B has the same time signature and has a female singer resembling some like

Motown RnB shit, like legit rnb, not 167thWave, or whatever were on. I cantreally get into it yet. The song after that is like some rockabilly jizz, but its probablypretty good on its own. What I am slowly getting at is that I like the other album,Supreme Genius of King Kahn and the Shrines, better, but if you like IanSvenonius-type shit like post-punknrnb type shit you might be cool with pickingthis up in a store if you see it. I got it at Sweat Records in Miami, FLA. That place is

really cool, and it has so much indie rock that you might need to step outside and

puke, but the punk selection is sick, and they have coffee and vegan snacks and


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pamphlets and stuff, which adds to a stores legitimacy in my book. Shitstormplayed there a few times/maybe just once, Im not sure how many times, but I meanShitstorm is a big deal sorta, I mean they are on the mighty Scott Hulls comp ThisComp Kills Fascists Vol. 1. They are from Miami, so a little less cool, but still cool.King Kahn is fun!

(MERGE RECORDS, review by Eric Huber)

EndnotesWhat those of us in the Winchester community need to be discussing inour daily lives is how we are going to get to Damaged City Fest 2014. That shit is

gonna be off the hook!!! Check out the lineup online, there is a facebook group. We

got Infest, Govt Issue, Shitstorm, Coke Bust, and, my personal favorite: many more.It is at April 11 and 12 in DC. Sound cool? I think its sold out, haha.

Also, I booked a show earlier this year. Never done it before. I wish someone elsewould do it-the music was good. I think more people snuck in than paid. The best

part was when some guy who must have been in a real hurry asked someone to helpcarry his amp down icy stairs and I volunteered and fell and bled out my head. That

really happened. Im alright, but come on.


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conundrum circle issue 3

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