Five & Five on Friday, 7/28/2023

Recommends regarding the past, present, and future of the New York music scene

Happy Friday! Congratulations on making it to the end of the week. As you head into your weekend, here are five recommendations and then five micro reviews of albums from my high school CD collection. Maybe you’ll find something new to read, listen to, or do this weekend. See you next week!

1. Last week I released a new song from my solo project Lamniformes. Since that doesn’t happen too often, I feel no remorse for giving the tune another push. The song is called “Prayer of the Open Plain”. I wrote it a few years ago and recorded it with help from a bunch of talented friends of mine. I’m really proud of the end result, I mean, where else are you going to hear members of Sannhet and Fust in the same rhythm section? You can listen to the song on my Bandcamp, and you can watch its accompanying music video on YouTube.

2. 8-bit Music Theory, a YouTube channel that applies music theory to video game soundtracks just wrapped up a mini-series covering how VGM composers use diatonic modes with a video about the Ionian mode. The whole series is worth a watch, but I particularly enjoyed the way this final video tried to differentiate between the Ionian mode and the major scale, despite those two being technically identical. Nerdy stuff, to be certain, but entertaining!

3. I loved this interview with the late critic and musician Greg Tate about the changes in the New York music scene over the last 40 years and the Black Rock Coalition. Tate’s accumulated wisdom and sharp perspective are sorely missed.

4. My own experience of the New York music scene owes a great deal to the hard work of Alex Levine of The So So Glos and Shea Stadium. That band and that venue have been such a positive influence on me and my friends, serving both as an inspiration and incubation for young talent across the Brooklyn scene. I was devastated to learn that Alex has been diagnosed with cancer, but heartened to see so many people donating to his GoFundMe. Please consider making a donation if you’re able.

5. One last note on the New York scene, this time with an eye toward the future. Hannah and Ceci of the band Sister launched a new zine called GUNK, cataloging upcoming shows in New York. In addition to their physical zine, they’re compiling their features and playlists on a Substack called Gunkyard. Always exciting to see a new injection of energy and enthusiasm into the scene, subscribe if you’re interested!

Now, onto the five micro reviews. Long time Lamniformes Instagram followers will recognize these from my stories back in late 2020, however they’ve been re-edited and spruced up with links so that you can actually hear the music instead of just taking my word for it.

Diamond Eyes by Deftones (2010) - Nü Metal

My favorite Deftones record. I was starting to lose interest in them after Saturday Night Wrist but this one pulled me all the way back in. I love how concise it is, and how even in that shorter frame of time they pack in all of their trademarks: heavy, aggressive rhythms, shoegaze atmosphere, pop hooks, and some gnarly time changes just for fun. Cool owl too!

All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone by Explosions in the Sky (2007) - Post Rock

I was so excited for this one and I remember losing it at the first big drop on the opening track. After that it became a reliable rainy day record for the second half of high school. Now it feels like this was the beginning of the end for the 00s post rock wave. After this the momentum sapped out of the scene. It seemed clear that the genre had hit a dead end. [Editor’s note: post rock will likely be officially back in a year or two.] Still a record record though!

As Regret Becomes Guilt by Arsis (2007) - Death Metal

I bought this after making small talk with their singer at Thrash N’ Burn 09 at Irving Plaza. I’m not sure why I didn’t buy a studio album like a normal person. As far as demo collections go I suppose its not bad, but lol please just go listen to their first full length instead if you want to hear these songs at their best.

Deliverance by Opeth (2002) - Progressive Metal

I remembering buying this while hanging out with a friend and telling him that even if he didn’t like death metal he’d like this. After a few songs he proved me wrong, but since I already loved death metal and Opeth I was hooked. Deliverance is my favorite Opeth record, in large part due to Martin Lopez going nuts on the drums. I must have spent hours working out the breakdown at the end of the title track in college.

Damnation by Opeth (2003) - Progressive Rock

Now THIS is the Opeth album for non-metalheads. Years before they turned into a full time prog rock act Damnation focused on the mellow side of their sound and cut out the metal entirely. I prefer this version of soft Opeth to the sound they’ve adopted over the last decade. It’s a very laid back, melancholic album, good for a cloudy morning.