Exploding In Sound presents... WAX UNWOUND

WAX UNWOUND is the brand new snarling monster of a compilation from Exploding In Sound. While little introduction is necessary for volume eight of our promotional compilation series, I honestly couldn't be happier with the end results. This is the collection we've all been waiting for, the one that will tear the paint from the walls with pure brilliant fury. Ladies and gentlemen it is a thrill for me to announce WAX UNWOUND and it's unbelievably amazing line-up including Zach Hill, Pulled Apart By Horses, Black Mountain, The Twilight Singers, Young Widows, Monotonix, Ty Segall, Sky Larkin, Pile, Grandfather, Shapes, and many many more of the absolute best bands out there [full tracklist below]. Waste no more time, DOWNLOAD NOW. Please play this compilation at a high volume for maximum results.

DOWNLOAD THE ENTIRE COMPILATION FOR FREE via FileDropper.com or Exploding In Sound's official BandCamp page. As always, the compilation is a 100% FREE digital download, containing artwork from the amazing TinyLittleHammers.com, band descriptions, links for further enjoyment, and more. I want to reach out and thank everyone who has helped put this collection together, especially the bands, their labels, and management. Without the help, interest, and cooperation of these incredible artists none of this would be possible, because after all this is about their music and artistic vision. I’d also like to thank the loyal Exploding In Sound fans for your continued support and belief! The compilation series has been a lot of fun and a major success, reaching massive amounts of downloads, and we can only hope you will continue to embrace our ever expanding catalog. It's a real challenge topping each release, but I think we're up to the task. Don’t forget to support the artists and great music will continue to be made.

Sharing of the download link is HIGHLY recommended and encouraged to anyone and everyone you think might be interested. As this is a FREE compilation, the goal is to gain the maximum audience achievable, and word of mouth is always appreciated. PLEASE DOWNLOAD, SHARE, POST, and SPREAD the word to everyone you know. Great music is being made, and it’s up to us, the fans, to deliver it to as many willing listeners as possible. ENJOY!


Special thanks go out to all of the bands, Tiny Little Hammers for his amazing artwork, Cathy and Marc at Sargent House, Alissa Gallivan at Sub Pop, Kev at Big Scary Monsters, Sam Rosenberg, Charlotte at Brontone, James at We Are Brilliantly Different, Grant at Jagjaguwar, Kabeer Malhotra, Goner Records, Jeremy at Temporary Residence, Volcom Records, Ondryland Records, BCore Disc, Ty Griffin, Craig Cirinelli, Larry Suglio, Grass Is Green, my family, friends, and everyone who is supporting the cause.

Sincerely,
Dan Goldin / ExplodingInSound.com

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TRACKLISTING AND ARTIST INFORMATION:

1. Zach Hill – Total Recall (from the album Face Tat)

The busiest drummer in the business took time this year to release his second solo album, the triumphantly noisy Face Tat on Sargent House Records. Hill brought along many of his high profile friends including Tera Melos’ Nick Reinhart, No Age, Hella’s Carson McWhirter, and many others, but the focus remains the same, the animalistic drumming of Hill consumes all. Walking the fine line of experimental noise and accessibility, Face Tat is a brilliant record that further unfolds with each listen.

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2. Pulled Apart By Horses – Get Off My Ghost Train (from the album Pulled Apart By Horses)

Pulled Apart By Horses brand of post punk art metal is as raw and corrosive as it is intelligent and infectious. The Leeds, England quartet released their self titled debut album earlier this year and have been touring nonstop in support of the explosive record and its barrage of crushing singles. Agitated rhythms and spastic guitar playing that are as dazzling as they are chaotic allow PABH to be considered one of the UKs best live acts and will be making their US debut next March at SXSW 2011. Hope to see you there.

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3. Pile – Don’t Touch Anything (from the album Magic Isn’t Real)

Combining the greatest elements of grunge and mid 90’s post-punk, Pile has created one of the most engaging albums of the year with their sophomore effort, Magic Isn’t Real. The Boston based quartet blast through melodies with captivating hooks, deep groves, and jagged riffs to create memorable rock equal parts brain and brawn. The blend of angular guitar outbursts and fried stoner blues riffs share in warm dissonant fuzz throughout their classic-in-the-making album. You have been warned, Pile is the band to watch for the future.

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4. Grandfather – Tremors (from the album Why I’d Try)

First catching my attention after being praised by renowned producer Steve Albini in GQ Magazine of all places, Grandfather’s music is dark and sparse, propelled by a nervous apocalyptic aura that I can’t seem to stop listening to. The band have been quoted to say they wanted “a massive sound with minimal arrangements” and one listen to their debut Why I’d Try and it becomes rather apparent they succeeded. Drawing comparisons to The Jesus Lizard, Shellac, and Shudder To Think, Grandfather have quickly risen among New York’s artistic post-punk elite.

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5. Black Mountain – Old Fangs (from the album Wilderness Heart)

There are few bands that can successfully mix as many genres as Black Mountain manage to juggle, and even less that can do it so damn well. In The Future was a modern day prog classic, and the Canadian quintet managed to raise the bar with 2010’s Wilderness Heart. The album finds the band constricting to a relatively more organic sound, embracing their folk, blues, and garage rocks roots with an ever present dose of psychedelic wonderment. The song writing is tighter and more concise, Stephen McBean and Amber Webber’s harmonies are stunning, and Black Mountain prove they can accomplish just as much with simplicity as they once did with epic grandeur.

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6. Alain Johannes – Endless Eyes (from the album Spark)

Spark, the debut from Alain Johannes may be his first solo outing, but Mr. Johannes has been lurking just beneath the shadows since the early 90’s. Together with his late wife Natasha Shneider, the duo first appeared as Eleven, releasing a slew of highly praised records. The creative pair later joined Queens of the Stone Age before Shneider’s untimely passing. While touring as the unspoken fourth member of Them Crooked Vultures, Johannes began writing Spark as a memorial to his beloved wife, one of the most beautiful and sincere records I’ve had the pleasure to hear. If tragedy can have an upside, Johannes has found it on Spark.

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7. She Keeps Bees – Gimmie (from the album Nests)

If less is more, then She Keeps Bees certainly has the right idea. The Brooklyn duo featuring guitar, vocals, and drums play a hypnotic minimalistic blues that is as sexy as it is grimy. Singer/guitarist Jessica Larabee’s voice is haunting and beautiful, reminiscent to early Cat Power or Fiona Apple while she plays raw blues guitar lines with a clean overdriven grunge influenced tone. The duo put on a passionate and soulful live performance, earning my endless adoration after their jaw dropping set at this Fall’s CMJ Music Marathon.

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8. Ty Segall – Caesar (from the album Melted)

Lo-fi psychedelic garage rock inspired by the 60s has found a welcome return in 2010 and none are doing it better than Ty Segall. After perfecting his mastery of fuzzy reverb pop tunes with several bands, Ty Segall went solo and has released two tremendously enjoyable albums, 09’s “Lemons” and this year’s “Melted”. The jangly psychedelic vibes and sing-a-long vocals offer plenty of hooks as Segall pushes his sonic palette with noisy outbursts of feedback, distortion, and a multitude of glorious effect pedal manipulation.

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9. Monotonix – Give Me More (from the upcoming album Not Yet)

Israeli garage punk trio Monotonix have been making quite a name for themselves over the past several years, mainly thanks to their legendary and generally outrageous live performances. The band have grown accustom to forgoing the stage all together instead opting to perform from the audience, typically in their underwear, and things have been known to get chaotic… in a fun way. Their music is equally enjoyable and oft hectic, an unapologetic eruption of dirty garage rock with muscular riffs that would make The Stooges proud. This is rock music at its most primal, and for that Monotonix, we say thank you. Their brand new album Not Yet, due out in January is one of our most anticipated releases of 2011.

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10. Young Widows – Feelers (from the album Old Wounds)

The low end rumble of Young Widows rhythm section locks in with a stranglehold and it never lets go. The brute power of their gloomy post-punk is blistering as it chips away layer by layer building heavy discordant tension without much release. The guitars are thick and rusty, surging with feedback as the melodies collide head first with hypnotic rhythms and shouted gang style vocals. “Feelers” was primarily recorded live at The Middle East in Cambridge, MA, capturing the anthemic aggression of the band in their natural habitat with minimal overdubs. The band is aiming to release their highly anticipated third album in 2011 on Temporary Residence Records.

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11. Shapes – The Escapologist (from the album The Pasture, The Oil)

Birmingham, UK trio Shapes blast listeners with a loud and ferocious technicality and youthful energy, consistently morphing time signatures like a destructive tornado. The band have released two stunning EPs filled with post-punk and post-hardcore grooves, specializing in dizzying math rock that spirals out of control while constantly moving in different sharp and angular progressions. Shapes are currently recording their full length debut album in Sweden with Eskil Lövström, the man behind Refused’s classic The Shape of Punk to Come.

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12. Young Adults – Impression (from the album Black Hole)

Boston, MA power trio Young Adults have created an album swelling with gorgeous noise and melody, finding the perfect middle ground between indie rock and shoegaze. The pulsating low end heavy rhythm section charges like a locomotive as the guitar work bounces around under an enveloping sheet of fuzz. Duel vocals add for addictive chant along melodies that will stick with you for days on end. Their debut album Black Hole demands to be listened to from start to finish, varying tempos and aggression as the record tears through the fuzz.

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13. Tweak Bird – Lights In Lines (from the album Tweak Bird)

The Los Angeles by way of Illinois guitar/drums duo Tweak Bird was formed by brothers Caleb and Ashton, creating a bizarre mix of tripped out prog, psychedelic, and stoner rock. The band’s 2008 debut was a fantastic record, garnering them much praise as well as a supporting slot on Tool’s summer tour in ’09. The band has returned this year with a full length record full of concise and punchy experimentation that is always guaranteed to groove from end to end. As the band say on their opening track, “don’t look now, the future’s coming.”

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14. &U&I – Chancer’s Paradise (from the EP Kill The Man That Shot That Man)

UK post-hardcore standouts Blakfish came to an abrupt end as they were quickly building a massive following of devout fans. Three fourths of the band have re-emerged as &U&I, picking up where Blakfish left off, pounding out scathing math rock with massive finger tapped riffs and spastic but focused rhythms. Perhaps a bit heavier than their former incarnation, the trio scream and shout over winding time signatures and a dazzling balance between intelligence and fury. Their debut EP Kill The Man That Shot That Man is a rollicking good time, leaving us very excited for what is to come.

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15. Nassy – Paul Michael Alexander (from the album Nassy)

Boston trio Nassy combine their love for early 90s grunge and alternative rock with crystal clear math rock tendencies. The entire trio handles vocals, often together, with sickly sweet harmonies that serve as perfect counterpoint to their tangled musicianship and twisted tempo shifts. The syrupy vocals are supremely catchy, generally hilarious, and repetitive making them instantly memorable. Nassy’s sound is unique but familiar, sounding at times like a flawless combination of Polvo, Sebadoh, Foo Fighters, and Nirvana.

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16. Sky Larkin – Kaleide (from the album Kaleide)

Hailing from Leeds, UK Sky Larkin is a three piece with one foot in pop and the other in dynamic math rock. Led by the gorgeous Katie Harkin her vocals are stunning and anthemic, packed with lyrical wit and an undeniable charm. This is pop music as its very best. The band sprawls out into corrosive riffs and complex rhythms that jangle just beneath the vocals, creating something truly special for fans of all genres. After seeing the band perform one of my favorite sets during CMJ, I bought their latest album Kaleide, and I haven’t stopped listening since.

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17. The Twilight Singers – Blackbird & The Fox (from the upcoming album Dynamite Steps)

The Twilight Singers have been Greg Dulli’s primary musical home since The Afghan Whigs called it a day, and their collective output has been nothing short of spectacular. Always dark and haunting, Dulli’s legendary croon is warm and weary, looking for salvation among the sin. The music is gorgeous as a clear and starry night, often extremely personal and emotionally intense. The band is gearing up to release their fifth album Dynamite Steps in February through Sub Pop Records.

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18. Capsula – Sun Shaking (from the album Rising Mountains)

Somewhere between The Stooges and Sonic Youth rests Spain’s Capsula, a three piece that may just be the embodiment of rock n’ roll come to life. Their brand of raw and dirty garage rock may not be revolutionary, but it certainly doesn’t seem as though they care… Capsula are here to kick some ass and that’s what they’re doing. Roaring guitars bleed with psychedelic noise, while the rhythm lays deeply entrancing grooves. Capsula put on one of the best live shows I’ve ever seen, utilizing anything within reach to help create a ruckus. Be sure to catch them at SXSW in 2011.

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19. Shark? – Tiny Violin (from the album School Night)

Brooklyn, NY quartet Shark? specialize in lo-fi alternative/garage rock with a healthy dose of early 90s influences ranging from Pavement to Guided By Voices. The band have self released several albums worth of material available on their Bandcamp page, and aren’t showing any signs of slowing down as they have signed to newly formed Oops Baby Records. Playing a skuzzy version of pop music, crafting memorable songs then throwing on a thick coat of decorative noise and feedback, Shark? are one of our picks to breakout in 2011.

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20. Dupec – MMIX (from the EP Two Singles)

For the past three years, Dupec have been making outstandingly emotive math rock from their homebase of Edinburgh, Scotland. The trio’s sound is expansive and stadium ready, reminiscent of a rougher and more exuberant version of We Were Promised Jetpacks. Syncopated rhythms and crushing cymbals, pound over intricate guitars and subsonic bass, setting the tone for James Yuill’s brilliant vocals. His Scottish accent comes shining through gloriously as he hollers and croons.

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21. Ladder Devils – Common Dogs (from the album Forget English)

Tight locking rhythms are par for the course on Ladder Devils’ terrific debut Forget English. The Philadelphia, PA quartet, featuring former members of The Minor Times, have only been making noise for a short time, but have already partnered up with Brutal Panda Records for a split release with Kowloon Walled City and Fight Amp. The guys create a monstrous wall of sound, generally propelled by their rhythm section that comes on something like having your kidneys battered. This is heavy, unapologetic, and sonically relentless, and we couldn’t imagine them any other way.

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22. Two Inch Astronaut – Spume (from the album Slip Disco)

The lo-fi acoustic and reverb heavy Two Inch Astronaut hail from the Maryland / DC area, spearheaded by Sam Rosenberg of Dogs Without Borders. His musical output is impressive, varying greatly in style while remaining consistently awesome. Two Inch Astronaut float through beautiful fog and intricate compositions on their debut album Slip Disco, an infectious record of serene melodies that strike like the calm after the storm. Lo-fi yet highly orchestrated, Slip Disco is the perfect album for all your sleepless nights.

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