Wednesday, January 25, 2012

WFH Wednesday: A Minor Forest - Flemish Altruism (Constituent Parts 1993-1996) (1996)

It seems when it comes to music complicated for complicated's sake is pretty boring, which I think stems from my theory that great technical musicians aren't always the best songwriters. A lot of what Joe Satriani or Steve Vai write just bores me. Same could be said for the slough of math rock bands that cropped up in the 90's. There were a few gems, Drive Like Jehu, Slint, and Don Caballero to name a few. One of my all time favorites in that category though was A Minor Forest. (I think math rock is an odd term. To me it just means indie rock with better drummers and more complex time signatures.)

A Minor Forest was a three piece from San Francisco who kicked the ass of their many math rock contemporaries. When it seemed others were drifting into the shoe-gaze-space-snooze territory, AMF injected a bit of punk and hardcore into the complex rhythms and tonal passages. They still have the quieter introspective moments, but there is enough punch to keep you on notice.

I couldn't find a clip of my favorite track on this album, Dainty Jack and His Amazing Technicolor Cloth Jacket (which actually contains a blast beat), but the one below is still a good example of the dynamics they could create as well as some great riffs.

It isn't the full song, but you get the idea. Sadly they broke up a couple of years later. I missed my one chance to see them play, but I heard from my friend they were even better live. They set up so that the drummer would face the band, which instantly makes them more creative than most boring rock bands who set up the same boring way.

Next week I will begin my 6 month battle with JGD. I'll outline my plan for total domination, because the only thing that tastes sweeter than victory is a free hot fudge sundae.


Tracklist
1.  ...But the Pants Stay On
2.  Bill's Mom Likes to Fuck
3.  Ed Is 50
4.  So Jesus Was at the Last Supper
5.  Jacking Off George Lucas
6.  Speed for Gavin
7.  Perform the Critical Straw Transfer
8.  Dainty Jack and His Amazing Technicolor Cloth Jacket
9.  Beef Rigger
10. The Lonliest Enuretic

Don't you hate pants?
Posted by at 10:17 AM
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7 comments:

  1. I don't like the keyboards.

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  2. Man, these guys ruled... I'm kind of a math rock nerd anyway but it always seemed like AMF were head and shoulders above the rest of the "math rock" bands as far as actually "getting heavy" at some points during their songs.

    Andee is such a fucking wicked drummer, I've been unsucessfully trying to con him into jamming with me for like ten years now...

    I guess he's gonna be in Sutekh Hexen now? That'll be so fucking awesome.

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    Replies

    1. That drummer is indeed a monster. I'll be listening to a lot of Sutekh Hexen if he's the drummer. That would be pretty awesome.

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  3. Saw these guys at Gilman Street in the 90's...the only thing I remember was the drummer set up right at the front of the stage/turned sideways,I thought that was cool and weird at the time. Funny I remember that and not the music or the other bands that played. JGD, muchos gracias on the Portland info.

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  5. Man, the Fireside was a real shithole. Look at those ceiling tiles.

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