Raining Bricks/Black Sheep SquadronI had already checked out Syracuse's Black SS, who feature ex-members of AWOL, prior to getting this 7", and loved everything I had heard from them. So just for their side of things, I was already pumped for this release. Raining Bricks, who hail from the windy city of Chicago, were introduced to me for the first time with this release. I found out two things from the bio sheet I received from the label. A) They feature ex-members of Plan of Attack, who I was a big fan of and B) They sound nothing like Plan of Attack. Starting things off on the A-side of things are Black SS who play a fast and furious brand of hardcore that relies on the punk side of things. There is no use of metal riffing whatsoever, this is just straight up, no fucking around, bare bones hardcore in its rawest form. The vocalist SLIGHTLY reminds me of Choke from Slapshot, while on the music side of things you get a sound comparable to old school NYHC. They bring 3 new gems to the table with a cover of The Ramones, "Teenage Lobotomy," which they do a good job of adding their own rugged flair to. The first song, "Who Needs You," is a big fuck you to fake scenesters who hide behind a monitor. Up next is the track "Terror of the Northeast," which is an anthem of pride for their bleak, grey surroundings of Syracuse. Got to show love for the hometown. Their third and final track, "STR8 FUCKED," sees the front man comparing himself vs. the weak. "I don't believe their lies, you do." On the B-side of things, Raining Bricks closes this effort off strongly. As I had mentioned, none of the POA influences come through in their sound, instead they draw influences from bands like Black Flag, The Clash, and extremely slight hints of an AC/DC for a good dose of hardcore and rock. They take all of those elements and meld it into a gritty, windy city rocked out brand of hardcore. The three songs they used for the split, while rocked out, are still short and to the point and sure as hell aren't lacking any urgency. The first track "Brain On Vacation," which is also my favorite track of theirs, bites at whoever continually cries over a broken heart. The moral of the story is, get over it because life moves on, no sense in crying over spilled milk. The second track is about mallcore kids who come and go and is appropriately titled "Mallocaust." Rounding out their side of things is a track called, "Taken for a Ride." I'm assuming this is a cover track because it has no lyrics in the layout but I have absolutely no idea who it was originally written by. The layout is looking good, with a red and black layout. On the front, there's a black widow, back, there's a drawing of a wrestler about to launch a brick. I would assume the back cover was designed for Raining Bricks, who are big fans of wrestling. Inside the foldout, you get all the lyrics and all that jazz. The only thing I would've liked to see would've been something to let you know what the Raining Bricks cover was. But other than that, this is quality from top to bottom.
Rating: 3.8/5
Songs Worthy of Replay: Who Needs You (BSS) Brains on Vacation (RB)
Thesis: East meets Midwest. This is a great sounding and looking record that features an upcoming band from the east with a up and coming band from the midwest. For the mere price of $4, this is certainly one you'll want to add to your collection. Be on the lookout for another split by BSS with How We Are on Specimen 32.