Archives for posts with tag: Taken By Surprise Records

Mixed and Mastered here, Red Dons new Auslander 7″ reviewed by I Buy Way too Many Records.

“Dirtnap (2012)
The fine folks over at Dirtnap sure do have some good taste in music. It seems like whenever I find a band that I really like, they’re now putting out a record on Dirtnap too. Good work. Red Dons are a band I’ve been listening to since their last album, Fake Meets Failure and I’ve been mightily impressed.

This 7″ is another example of the bands downstroke heavy Wipers/Hot Snakes style of punk rock and roll. I would say that this 7″ might be a bit poppier than some of the bands prior work, but in this case, that’s great news. This 7″ may be the best thing the band has released to date and considering the strength of their back catalog, that’s no small feat. Hopefully the band will be getting a new full length together soon as this 7″ has really made me excited to see where the band goes next.”

Original Post Here

 

 

Red Dons Auslander 7″ mixed and mastered here, Razorcake Review.

 

“RED DONS:
Ausländer: 7”
I’m of the opinion that Red Dons are the best band walking the planet today. I fuggin’ love this band! They have this way of making music that causes everything else around you to melt away and all that is left is the music. You are completely in that moment. It’s a great feeling. The songs soar, race, and have undeniable soul. Catchy without being corny. Insightful without being overwrought. Just fucking great music. The title track is godhead! I’ve listened to it over and over so many times, and have yet to tire of it. Is that even possible? It’s such a great song. A nice, quick tempo and the vocals float over, pulling you into the song, and the chorus burns into your mind. I like how the guitar comes in at the end and builds and closes out with a noisy swirl. The kind of song that makes you want to start a band and take over the world. On the B side is “Mauvaise Foi,” which slows down a little bit with a jerky and bouncy rhythm here and there. When the melody comes in, nothing else matters. I really like the line, “Anointed one, where did I go wrong,” as it leads into the verse. This single is a classic. –Matt Average (Dirtnap, dirtnaprecs.com)”

Original Post Here

 

 

Red Dons Auslander 7″ mixed and mastered here, Razorcake Review.

 

“RED DONS:
Ausländer: 7”
I’m of the opinion that Red Dons are the best band walking the planet today. I fuggin’ love this band! They have this way of making music that causes everything else around you to melt away and all that is left is the music. You are completely in that moment. It’s a great feeling. The songs soar, race, and have undeniable soul. Catchy without being corny. Insightful without being overwrought. Just fucking great music. The title track is godhead! I’ve listened to it over and over so many times, and have yet to tire of it. Is that even possible? It’s such a great song. A nice, quick tempo and the vocals float over, pulling you into the song, and the chorus burns into your mind. I like how the guitar comes in at the end and builds and closes out with a noisy swirl. The kind of song that makes you want to start a band and take over the world. On the B side is “Mauvaise Foi,” which slows down a little bit with a jerky and bouncy rhythm here and there. When the melody comes in, nothing else matters. I really like the line, “Anointed one, where did I go wrong,” as it leads into the verse. This single is a classic. –Matt Average (Dirtnap, dirtnaprecs.com)”

Original Post Here

 

Red Dons new 7″, mixed and mastered here, reviewed in Maximum Rock n Roll!

 

Red Dons new 7″, mixed and mastered here, reviewed in Maximum Rock n Roll!

 

New Red Dons and Estranged split Interview in Maximum Rock n Roll!

It’s the end of the world and we feel fine!

The new (and potentially last???) issue of your favorite punk rock magazine has hit the streets! The December issue,MRR #355, comes busting at the seams with the best punk from around the world — 100% by the punks for the punks!

This month we talk to our Doomsday cover artist Avi Spivakand we have a split interview with Portland-based punks, the RED DONS and the ESTRANGED. We catch up with Sweden’s crust megaliths AGRIMONIA, and Russia’s hardcore punxANTIMELODIX tell us their story and and explain love of Finland.NAPOLNARIZ talk about what it’s like growing up punk in Puerto Rico and LA ARMADA examine their experience of coming to the US from the Dominican Republic. Peru’s anarchia punks DHK tell us about their scene in Lima, while BREATHING LIGHT from Chicago discuss race, culture and what it’s like to be a punk of color within the punk scene and beyond. The VICTIMS take us on a trip in the second part of their European tour diary, and our scene report from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada sheds some light onto this active part of the Great White North. This, plus all the columnists you love to hate (and hate to love!) and the most extensive record reviews in punk!”

Order your copy here

 

Red Dons new 7″, mixed and mastered here, reviewed at Get Bent!

“By Zac Camagna

Red Dons recently dropped some fresh material for their first from Dirtnap Records. Auslanderfeatures two brand new songs, both of which were written in 2010-11 between cities like Chicago, Brazil, London, Portland and Hamburg. To continue the nomadic behavior, the tracks were then recorded in a Cold War era bomb shelter in Sweden during 2011 by Lars Ekman, leaving Dirtnap to take care of the rest.

“Auslander” starts with a bang, quickly setting the tone of this 7” with a rollicking introduction. The weight of the track is clear as soon as it busts open, revealing a piercing guitar hook that quickly swallows the song with a sense of dire urgency. The track continues with its perpetual fury, led by shredded rhythm guitars that are as heavy as they are direct. It’s a monumental sound and that crushing lead guitar hook is responsible for most of the damage, coming off with sharp melodic tendencies through the daunting post-punk meltdown.

B-side “Mauvaise Foi” doesn’t fall far from the vein of the first, sustaining the destructive pace with another scorching beatdown. With that being said, these two songs combine for almost nine minutes of blood-boiling post-punk outrage, almost like the world itself is crumbling right before your ears. Give the fiery “Auslander” a spin right below, and snag the 7” directly from Green Noise Records—you won’t be sorry.”

Original Post Here

 

Red Dons new 7″, mixed and mastered here, reviewed at Get Bent!

“By Zac Camagna

Red Dons recently dropped some fresh material for their first from Dirtnap Records. Auslanderfeatures two brand new songs, both of which were written in 2010-11 between cities like Chicago, Brazil, London, Portland and Hamburg. To continue the nomadic behavior, the tracks were then recorded in a Cold War era bomb shelter in Sweden during 2011 by Lars Ekman, leaving Dirtnap to take care of the rest.

“Auslander” starts with a bang, quickly setting the tone of this 7” with a rollicking introduction. The weight of the track is clear as soon as it busts open, revealing a piercing guitar hook that quickly swallows the song with a sense of dire urgency. The track continues with its perpetual fury, led by shredded rhythm guitars that are as heavy as they are direct. It’s a monumental sound and that crushing lead guitar hook is responsible for most of the damage, coming off with sharp melodic tendencies through the daunting post-punk meltdown.

B-side “Mauvaise Foi” doesn’t fall far from the vein of the first, sustaining the destructive pace with another scorching beatdown. With that being said, these two songs combine for almost nine minutes of blood-boiling post-punk outrage, almost like the world itself is crumbling right before your ears. Give the fiery “Auslander” a spin right below, and snag the 7” directly from Green Noise Records—you won’t be sorry.”

Original Post Here

 

 

Daylight Robbery first review from RAZORCAKE:

“In 2010, David and Christine Wolf had to replace the equipment that was stolen when their Chicago house was broken into. They wound up building a home studio, where their band Daylight Robbery recorded their gritty second album, Ecstatic Vision, on a Tascam 38 tape recorder. The album’s lyrics come from people balancing adult responsibilities with playing in a DIY band; rebuilding while sorting out memories and trying not to dwell in the past; asking questions like, “What’s the point?” and “Where do we go from here?” While the lyrics are taking stock, the music pushes forward, vibrant, faster, urgent, with David and Christine both sounding more confident and engaged on the mic. Like their first album, Through the Confusion, Ecstatic Vision has ten songs, but it’s five minutes shorter, wrappin g up after twenty-eight minutes with the choppy, jolting “Grassroots,” one of the few new songs that hasn’t jettisoned the band’s new wave influence for spacious, propulsive Australian garage like Radio Birdman or Eddy Current Suppression Ring. It’s not that Daylight Robbery sound like a different band, it’s that they’ve avoided the “same thing, not as exciting” sophomore trap by putting out a record that is rawer and punker, the live-to-tape closeness (and muffled drums) making it easy to mistake for the lost demos of some awesome L.A. by way of Australia band, circa 1979. A retooled dynamic compensates for the downgrade in fidelity. In this claustrophobic recording, the guitar parts have a stronger delineation between riffs and leads, and the band creates the signature space between David’s dark, desert/surf leads and the counting-trees-flying-by-on-the-highway momentum of Christine’s bass and Jeff’s drums by minimizing overdubs. If Confusion was the sound of running down the midd le of a dark street, trying to gauge the closeness of your pursuer’s footsteps over the pounding of your heart, Vision is peeking out of a gangway, panting, knife pulled, hoping that the person chasing you runs past. Keep fighting, Daylight Robbery. –CT Terry”

“How often do you find a band these days where you can’t stop, and don’t want to stop, playing their record? For me, this isn’t a regular occurrence, but when you want to tap your fingers in time to the songs, and are singing along to the words after the second time of listening, you know you’re on to a good thing.

Role Models are based in London, and they live up to  being influenced by The Replacements (circa ‘Pleased To Meet Me’ in my opinion), with some of The Kinks thrown in the mix. This is infectious, poppy rock ‘n’ roll at its best.

The opening track ‘Little Let Down’ has all the right ingredients for a catchy radio hit – melodic guitars, gritty vocals and catchy choruses (something which features throughout the record – but this song especially).

‘New Reason’ has a more punky edge to it – dirty guitar in parts, gritty vocals, and a loud driving drum beat, which makes this track stand out for me overall.

‘Enough For Giving Up’ ends the record on a high, with a bouncy verse, making you automatically tap your foot along to the song in appreciation.

Some of the Role Models songs can be sampled on their Facebook page, but the best way to listen is loud on your record player, with the headphones on! I reckon they’re a band to watch out for.”

Original Post Here