REVIEW: Lemix J. Buckley's "Forgive Yourself" EP

    So I know I keep reviewing really twinkly emo/post rock stuff, and I promise I'll get to some heavier stuff soon, but local dudes keep hitting me with these incredible releases and I'd be really fucking shitty for not showing them to you! Not too long ago I showed you guys the single "Hauntings" by Lemix J. Buckley, and now I get to show you "Forgive Yourself" and finish what's been started :)

Cred: Marlene Lacasse

   It's a short lil' fella, with only 4 tracks, but it friggin' hits you. You go from the poppy, yet noodly, yet somber single to open with. Vocals chime in repeatedly "Does anybody have a gun? Won't you clean up when I'm done?". Heavy shit. Definitely a darker themed set of songs, despite the glassy twinkly finish. It's beautiful, though. Josh(Gill) and Gage(Welch) compliment eachother well with the sings and the strings. Then we check into "Bluff" which sort of sticks to the theme of "Hauntings", but seems to get even darker, as it seems to be telling a story from a convicted killer's vantage point- "Smiling in my concrete room//Remembering how I dismembered you ". Gorgeous guitar work and brilliant pacing by the drummer, Mr. Alex Bazzi, who's love for Zach Hill shows in this one. Kudos to Bradley(Lockheart) for holding it down on bass with such an animal on the skins. ;)

   Next we hit a spacier sounding "The Advocate", which really is a change of pace with a waltzy-er pace to go with the echo-ing guitars. It slowly builds in to a much more driving sound and pounds away till the end. Most excellent. But they saved the best for last. "Complex Up" really just shows off everything you'd love about these guys. Kicks off with a really bright, dance-y riff and verse that leads to this glorious chorus bit that just makes you wanna touch yerself. The VERY BEST PART, however is the incredible, building climax of and ending. Josh starts screaming in-between croons, and it all just ends in the right place, with Josh Screaming "I'm fucking sorry". Juicy, twinkly, emotive songs from an incredible Metro Det. area band. Check it below:

SEE? I fucking love these songs. Go download this shit. Listen to it repetitively and check these guys out live, they post shows on facebook!

In the meantime, I need to figure out why my poop is neon green!

See ya next week <3

-XOXO TOPH

 

PS- MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH YOU!

Lake Effect

photo by Blair Spear

So it's been a couple weeks, but things have been crazy since the last time I had a piece together for you guys. I hope y'all got to check out Berserker Fest, I heard it was a killer time. Meanwhile, when I was at Pizza Show at the stick- I saw some ridiculous live music that could have easily rivaled the lineups in ferndale, and I got to see punk bands at the Magic Stick(RIP) one last time before the "EDM scene"(blech) got it's chance to puke all over it. One band in particular caught my eye: Lake Effect.

These dudes hail from Port Huron, MI, and they fucking killed it live. Super raw, emotionally charged melodic hardcore homegrown in our own little angsty mitten. I love it. I bought a shirt and got to meet the dudes, as they were stationed right next to the vile merch at the show. Honestly the nicest, down to earth guys ever. Their most recent EP is titled "History" and you can snag it from bandcamp. They are presently writing a new batch of tracks to be released as well(as per their facebook page), so keep your eyes peeled- I'll probably be pulling a write-up on that bitch ASAP once it's done!  MI kids- these dudes play out a bit, so make sure you catch them. They fucking bring it live! Make sure you say hi to them, and tell them Toph sent ya ;)

Here's a little snippet of their EP in youtube format-

Fucking dope, right?!? I think that jam might be my favorite on the whole set, so it's no surprise they've used it as the teaser. I just love how heavy and pretty the music gets behind the super raw split vocals. And it's sooooo tight, man- tight like your mom. I think you're adopted. There's no way a baby came outta there!

Once again- Get that shit from bandcamp(name your own price, beyotchhhhh!).  

I'm out.  Take it sleazy.

 Love you guys!

XOXO - TOPH