Tuesday 8 July 2014

THE USUAL

BandTHE USUAL
GenresPunk / Noise Rock / Hardcore / Emo-Violence / Screamo
Related artistsEyelet, Neck First, Pessimist Hangs Optimist and Tigerscout.
CountryBaltimore, Maryland USA
Years Active2010-2013
Song: "Losing It"
Album: "My Life Is The Pause"
Year: 2012
Label(s): Self Released / Paper Ghost Cassettes
This post's artist is from the June 2014 Mix. This is track #6.
You can download the July Mix#7 right here or get the new August Mix#8 here.
For fans ofFoxmoulderOff Minor, Montcalm, Neil PerryWe Were SkeletonsYouth Novel, Ruptures, Via Fondo, Beau Navire, Loma Prieta, The Fiction, Adaje, Greyscale, Altar Of Complaints, Matsuri, In Tongues, Eyes Of Verotika, D'Amore, Caught In The Fall, Litany For The Whale, Sutek Conspiracy, You And I, With Horses In Her Eyes, Van Johnson, Dispensing Of False Halos, Caust, Trotsky, Gillian Carter, Greyskull, Swan Of Tuonela, Storm The Bastille, Itto and Yusuke aka PROPER Screamo.

I came across THE USUAL randomly on a blog, most likely The Elementary Revolt, about 2 years ago. Their discography probably won't blow you away, but songs like "Rubble", "Losing It" and "Breaking Thick Bones" are exceptional. Imagine if Off Minor dropped some of the math and traded it for distorted chaos led by booming bass, not unlike Ruptures. The softer side of the band is frequented in tracks like "Losing It" which begins stylistically very similar to new Yusuke twinkly riffing with Off Minor vocals (to a fucking T) and follows a Beau Navire/Youth Novel thread after the dreamy intro. Their final album in general is a wonderfully emotional rollercoaster that was recorded raw and the passion and honesty of the record really shines through. There's a live video from around the time the album came out which you can check out below...or here.

They've released a fair amount of material, but I only really dug their final output, 'My Life Is The Pause' which really is an incredible album. However, upon writing this review I listened to the 'Doorway Full of Ghosts Holding Their Hands' 2-song EP again and it's fucking amazing as well. It definitely has more of a Swan Of Tuonela and In Tongues feel, which I'm losing my mind over right now. Grab all their stuff from their bandcamp page and decide for yourself.

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DISCOGRAPHY

2010 - Migrations split EP (stream/download here)
2010 - Winter Tour 2010 EP (stream/download here)

2011 - Light Letters LP (stream/download here)
2011 - Throwbacks EP (stream/download here)
2011 - Doorway Full of Ghosts Holding Their Hands EP (stream/download here)

2012 - My Life Is The Pause cassetteLP (stream/donate/download/buy here)

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(2012) THE USUAL - "Losing It" (from 'My Life Is The Pause')

(2012) THE USUAL - "Rubble" (from 'My Life Is The Pause')

(2011) THE USUAL - "Breaking Thick Bones" (from 'Doorways Full of Ghosts Holding Faces in Their Hands')

(2013) THE USUAL - Full Set live in Baltimore

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THE USUAL additional links


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