“I’m just going to pop my shirt off…”

Ryan is working on some blackwithsap shirts as we speak. Ryan’s an unintroduced member of our team. He’s awesome. Here’s the design and a picture of Ryan making some pizza.

Balance and Composure

Balance and composure is a post-hardcore/punk band from Doylestown (PA?). They remind me of a more No Idea-influenced I Am the Avalanche. These guys have a unique sense of melody that is unmatched by most bands within this genre. They have an upcoming split CD with Tigers Jaw coming out in May on No Sleep Records. Definitely keep an eye out for this band, they’re on the up and up. Included here are their two EPs they have out thus far. The first was self-released in 2008, titled, I Just Want to Be Pure. The second is the No Sleep released 2009 EP called Only Boundaries.

Download.

I’m not sure if this is available to buy from anywhere still.

Download.

Myspace.

Buy.

Trophy Scars/The Saddest Landscape Split 7″

Trophy Scars play a blend of post-hardcore that is very complex and eclectic, influenced by everything from early emo to hip hop to Tom Waits. Their contributed song ”August, 1980″ builds off of the more bluesy and orchestrated sound present in Bad Luck, and is, in my opinion, one of the better songs the band has ever written. I am a huge Trophy Scars fan, so that’s really saying something. With the song “So Lightly Thrown”, The Saddest Landscape proves that they are still a force to be reckoned in the early emo/screamo realm. Andy Maddox’s vocals alone (especially near the end of the song) were enough to hook me for good, but the instruments also match his intensity perfectly. Dylan and I both own copies of this record, and we love it. Buy it from our friends at Bear Records and spread the love!

Review.

Buy.

Download.

Adorno – Said and Unsaid 7″

New 7″ from this incredible Portuguese band. This is out on Pure Pain Sugar and Adagio 830. Definitely different from other European screamo bands. There are still some screamo elements, but vocals are mostly clean, unlike their earliest work. If you were a fan of their song “Time Line” then you’ll really enjoy this. Download it and see what you think. I can’t nail down who to compare them to right now though. If you come up with anything, leave it in the comments section. Later, I’ll post their other stuff because it’s also awesome.

Download.

Myspace.

Buy. or Buy.

мища

Pronounced like Mischa Barton, who I think was on the show the OC? Maybe? This is a hardcore/screamo band from Maryland. These guys will be playing in Idaho Falls sometime in late July, maybe the 26th. They’re traveling with our friend Colby, who runs Unity Through Harmony records and distro. We’re stoked to get to hang out with these dudes. Included here is their ep that they put out last spring, a collection of some various songs, some basement demos, a couple of tracks from an upcoming split with ze ultra boys and broken chords can sing a little and a live set recorded at Krasner’s basement on July 11, 2009. Be sure to stay tuned for their upcoming releases including a 10″ split with Deers!, Calculator,  and Pansori on Colby’s Unity Through Harmony, a split CD with Gumilinski on Chunky the Rat Records, a 2009 discography CD on Chunky the Rat Records, and a song on a compilation tape called “The World Is Vast: An International Compilation” on Tape Street Walker Collective with bands such as Cloud Mouth, Kidcrash, Pianos Become the Teeth, and Suis la Lune . Czech it out.

A Collection of Internet Songs.

Lady Sang the Blues [EP].

Basement Demos.

Not For Ears (Split Tracks).

Live from Krasner’s Basement.

Myspace.

Buy.

Merchant Ships – Shipsography

Sunday blues. I got ’em.

This band hails from Indiana and calls to mind some obvious (and awesome) influences. Especially Make Me and Boy Problems. Clean guitars, multiple vocal tracks, you know the formula. Regardless of whether or not it has been done before, these guys know how to do it right and do exactly that. This is a collection of their demos and a compilation track or two, I believe. Download this and then promptly pick up a copy and a t-shirt from their merch store linked below. Also, Cameron and I are hoping to work with these guys on a future release. They are currently working on recording a full-length record this spring.

Myspace.

Order a copy and t-shirt.

Download.

Calculator – These Roots Grow Deep

This is a collection of all of Calculator’s recorded material in 12″ format, from Olhar de Vidro Records. Artwork was done by Juan from Comadre. Expect some awesome screamo influenced by other CA screamo bands. Also, pick up their split with Moldar from our distro.

Download.

Preorder.

Myspace.

Oh, p.sssssssss.

TRADES! If any distros/labels are interested in trades for anything listed in our distro section or interested in the Cremation 186 tape or upcoming releases, e-mail me at dlaug10 [at] my.whitworth.edu. We’ll make it happen.

Distro List!!!

Oh, what’s up everyone? Cameron was kind enough to transfer our distro to this blog, check it out here. Also, notice that it is now in the format of a shopping cart. You can add multiple items to your cart and then check out once you’ve finished shopping. Sweet. In other news, we’re going to get pre-order links up for the I Create and 1994! tapes as soon as we e-mail some other blogs to promote the releases and generate some hyyyyyppppeeee. Still working on the I Create artwork, check back this afternoon for the preliminary version. Anyway, here’s some cat hats. Enjoy your saturday.

-Dylan

An idea I stole from Abe Vigoda