Desperate Measures - Never Enough Time

I’ve always wished my brother and I switched so I’d be the 80’s kid and he’d be the 90’s. I wish I could have been the teenager in the 90’s so I could be a part of that whole ear of music. Going to see bands that would one day be legends, buying records for a couple of dollars instead of a couple of hundreds of dollars. That’s where I wanted to be. But instead I was teen in the 00’s, which at first sounds crappy, until I remember how awesome early 00’s hardcore was. The decline of labels like Victory, Equal Vision didn’t matter as much when I had labels like Bridge 9 and Youngblood. So many bands come out of the late 90’s/early 00’s that now I look back, I’m happy to have got a chance to discover.

 

One of those bands is Desperate Measures. Pretty short lived, Desperate Measures were a solid band through and through, and they always had solid lyrics with solid music. I knew they had a full length out but the EP was so much cheaper, I had to get it. It may not have been love at first listen, but it grew on me. Shortly after I found enough money to actually get Ever Enough Time and once I did, I knew I found a gem.

 

Like a lot of great albums, Ever Enough Time started off with a banger, and ended with a banger. Not one second was a letdown. Short, Fast, Sweet and full with heartfelt lyrics, the album had a lot of pressed into ten short songs. Not sure if this is still in press, I’m positive you could find this somewhere at a local record store on obviously on the internet, but I figured I’d put this up so you could fall in love and then, track down every version of the vinyl you could get your hands. Sucks I never got to see them live, but videos give a good idea on how awesome they were.

http://www.mediafire.com/?hr6wkt691m9631a

 

Better Times

From my first idea of wanting to do a blog, I knew a wanted to showcase newer bands as well as rediscover old ones. One of the first bands I wanted to do was Better Times, but seeing as I am forgetful at times, I completely forgot. But no need to fear, Better Times is here. Buffalo Straight Edge in effect, Better Times brings Positive Youth Crew to the forefront.

The demo caught my eye with the artwork so I knew what I was in store for, but never did I think how good it was going to be. Almost a year later and I can still play it on constant repeat. As soon as I listened to the demo, I knew I had to jump on the Better Times train. One thing that will always bring me into a band is how well they can record with such DIY ethics. I always imagine bands just put tape recorders in the middle of a room and play, and not saying that doesn’t sound good, in fact that sound adds to some bands but it’s just a when a band can put out stuff, and a demo at that, that sounds so well produced, well it leaves me with a fairly hard boner. And Better Times have made that boner super hard with the demo.

When I was looking for a Facebook link to send my friend, I found out they had released something else. Makes me feel very dumb when I can listen to a band for months on end and never figure to add a Facebook or blog or whatever they use to keep people up dated. But right away I downloaded the Better Measures Tape. At first, I thought it was more of a digression, but after a few listens I seen how dumb that sounded. The tape stands on it’s own but when you  put both the Demo and Tape side by side, you get a feeling that Better Times could have a long lasting life as a band in the Hardcore scene, and that’s a future I can really look forward too.

https://www.facebook.com/betterxtimes
http://www.mediafire.com/?prwrbqmu950cq9c

Test Of Time

 

When I really started to get into Hardcore it started with more old school bands (Insted, Sick Of It All, Dag Nasty, Etc.) but then I stated coming across more newer bands (American Nightmare, Where Eagles Dare, Hope Con.) as I looked up labels, bands and what not. But while discovering what Hardcore had to offer, I found myself right in the middle of the 90’s. From the super heavy, almost devilish bands, to the super de duper emotional; the 90’s had it all. But that 90’s Youth Crew sound always got to me (I blame Ten Yard Fight) and since I was a really young lad, all the way till today, that’s my go to spot for Hardcore. So it’s always good to hear bands who sound brings that 90’s feeling back, and I found that with Test Of Time. Bringing the spirit of ’95, Test Of Time make me feel like I’m a stupid kid again.

My first introduction to Test Of Time happen while talking to one of the member’s (who also plays in Collision: http://earsstillringing.blogspot.com/2012/06/collision-collision-demo-summer-sampler.html) and he gave me a heads up on the band. Fast forward two months, and this demo still plays constantly on my iPod.

From start to finish, Inclusion plays SO well. The whole album brings so much in so little time. From the “Intro/Test Of Time” making this build up, and “Change the Rules” blasts you into the rest of the album. Honestly, “Open Door” sounds like the first time I listened to Better Than A Thousand and “Square One” takes a huge left turn and is very unexpected, very melodic but very welcomed. And as I was looking for a link to a Facebook or something, I seen that a cover of the Germ’s “What We Do Is Secret” was added, so it’s like this band just loves to give awesome surprises. Inclusion feels more like an awesome set then some recordings.

 

Oh and did I forget to mention that Todd Pollock fronts this band? Told you they just give and give.

http://testoftime.bandcamp.com/