I think the two cities to pay attention to right now are Las Cruces, New Mexico and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Splits like this just reinforce my appreciation of the Milwaukee scene. There’s such a diversity in sound that, instead of being splintered into separate, distinct communities, still manages to share the same basements at shows, which I’ve always liked because you go to see a hardcore band and come away with a new favorite crust band, or go to see a pop punk band, and find yourself nodding along to some thrash band. Neither of these bands is something I would usually seek out, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like getting a taste every now and again of what I’m missing out on. QFF: Two songs: one comes in under a minute, the other at almost four minutes. There’s a whole lot of screaming and it alternates between brutal and heavy. TKOJMTK: Normally if told that you had this type of music (hell if I know, noise? A slower screamo? Again, not what I usually listen to) with a violin and a saxamaphone, I’d probably be one of the first to be turned off. I’m a fan of trying to incorporate nontraditional instruments; I just think it usually comes off as “Hey! Look at us! We’ve got a tuba! Aren’t we the clever ones?” Here, it feels like they’ve actually used them as instruments instead of attention grabbers, and it works.
–megan (Dry Rot/ Repulsion)