Knife The Symphony / Swear Jar split LP CD Digital

Desperately trying to catch up with posts around here, but true to my life up to this point, 44 years later, it's been a struggle. It has something to do with the fact that at work, the tech guys blocked Mustard Relics with the firewall. The site is now considered a "social network." Well I guess they are paying me to work, but damn, when you're in the grind and you deal with the shit I do, you gotta have an outlet. Anyway...got this split (virtually...gonna have to hit them up and see if they've got a promo with my name on it) way back in May (see what I mean about being behind...highly unprofessional) from Jerry over at Phratry Records outta Cincinnati, Ohio. The Northern Midwest has a long history of memorable music, and Phratry has done their part making sure that legacy continues. They have singlehandedly educated me on the thriving scene in the surrounding area. This time around, "39th release in just under nine years" for Phratry, we have the Knife the Symphony / Swear Jar split. Swear Jar are no strangers to the Relics as I got them served on a silver platter in April of 2011, back when I first started doing reviews of newer stuff on the blog...here. They do not disappoint this time around either, in fact they are even tighter and more polished this time round. Upon listening to this thing, my first impression of both these bands is that this is a group of some serious musicians, these aren't little boys dabbling in their instruments for the first time and as bands, practice has paid off, they play together like they've been doing it for 20 years. I don't know how many takes in the studio it took to come up with these tracks, but these are THE ONES. This album plays through really quick, lickety split, one of those time flies when your having fun type of things, you know? There are slower and faster parts, but it feels like there are a hell of a lot of notes being played in a relatively short amount of time. Knife the Symphony comes up first with 3 tunes, and like I said , none of these musicians are slouches, but damn this drummer really beats the shit out of his set. In their press release it says that the band "owes a considerable debt to the music released by SST, Touch & Go, and Dischord Records", which I can't confirm or deny as I'm not familiar with anything but the oldest stuff from those labels, and even though they may have been influenced, they don't remind me of Black Flag, Die Kruzen or Minor Threat...KtS, are brand new cutting edge stuff. Speaking of brand new, cutting edge, Swear Jar hit the nail on the head too. They serve up 5 tunes and where the drums stood out for KtS, the bass fucking explodes for Swear Jar. I have been known to be ignorant (on many occasion), but I don't know if it's the mix or not, but I can hear the thud of that bass guitar even on my shitty stock computer speakers. This is not three individuals though, separated by walls, these guys are all in the same room when it comes to playing great fucking music as a band. I found myself looking forward to every change up in each tune. The singer reminds me of someone, but my burnt out brain won't let me come up with a name. Maybe if you could mush every Am Rep bands' singer into a blob and form on singer, he would be it. On that note, the press release states, "RECOMMENDED IF YOU LIKE: Amphetamine Reptile's noisiest and most abrasive work, NoMeansNo, Shellac, Minutemen and Crucifucks." I am completely down with that. Anyway, you can give the whole a listen (and buy if you like) at the release's Bandcamp or go directly to Phratry Records. Take your time and check out the other releases too. Knife the Symphony's hit, the bass player crushes on this tune... http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=171130250/size=small/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/t=2/transparent=true/ Swear Jar's hit...boo ya bass... http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=171130250/size=small/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/t=7/transparent=true/

Knife The Symphony [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xf0ZsxLfKxg?list=UU5GqcC65bMbSq3AZmG_CTdw]

Swear Jar [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7mEJPzmt-A?list=UU5GqcC65bMbSq3AZmG_CTdw]