RED HOUSE PAINTERS- DOWN COLORFUL HILL; PYGMYLUSH- LIVE CD-R; WITCH HUNT- BLOOD RED STATES

Red House Painters- Down Colorful Hill

I'm a big fan of depressing music, and Mark Kozelek may be the most talented of the bunch that write these things (and I am not overlooking Elliott Smith). This is not the best thing Kozelek's ever put out; that honor goes to either Rollercoaster or Songs for a Blue Guitar. Sun Kil Moon, his current band, has also released some stuff that rivals this. Still, there are some real winners here, including the awesome "Lord Kill the Pain" and the title track. First RHP album I heard was Rollercoaster, and I think that one's easier to get into right away, but this is really good stuff.

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Pygmy Lush- Live CD-R

I don't know how these dudes want me to write their name. Pygmy Lush? Pygmylush? Pg.99 had the same problem. No matter. Five or six guys (who happen to make up the best band in existence right now) going into a studio and laying down some quiet jams, including the then-unreleased "Proud King of the Doomed." Everything here could pass for a Pygmylush studio album, but the real treats are two covers: first, a "cover" of Pg.99's "Lonesome Waltz of Leonard Cohen" which totally rules, then an even better cover of the Ramones' "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" which totally sounds like a Pygmylush song. Any collection without Pygmylush is incomplete.

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Witch Hunt- Blood Red States

Witch Hunt play serious punk rock and you should know 'em if you haven't heard them already. Not a whole lot else to say, except that the artwork rules hard.

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LE PRÉ OÙ JE SUIS MORT- S/T; THE HOLY MOUNTAIN- BLOODSTAINS ACROSS YOUR FACE IN DECLINE; BONUS BABY

Le Pre Ou Je Suis Mort- S/T

You know, I really like this. This is impressive, technical, ambitious, emotional, and well-written. Every part fits pretty well pretty much everywhere, and most of the time everything is transcendent. It isn't a perfect album, but this is a new band showing more talent at this early stage than many perfectly acceptable bands ever did. The music itself is expansive, post-rock-influenced screamo sung in French. They sometimes have spoken-word parts that aren't the greatest, but what makes up for that and REALLY fucking impresses me is how they can do the whole post-rock/screamo thing without totally ripping off City of Caterpillar or Envy, though I do hear some serious Amanda Woodward here. (Makes sense.) I am really looking forward to hearing the next thing these dudes do or, even better, seeing them if they ever come to the States.

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The Holy Mountain- Bloodstains Across Your Face in Decline

Sounds like Combatwoundedveteran playing Tragedy-type stuff. Contents: some former members of Combatwoundedveteran playing Tragedy-type stuff. I like the vocals more than Tragedy's, so I'm really into this. This band may have broken up or something, I've checked around and it's really unclear. Seriously a shame if they did.

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BONUS
This has nothing to do with music, and may very well undermine the reputation for excellent recommendations, utmost seriousness, and contributions to music journalism that we here at Girth Crisis have acquired over the past few months. Well, fuck that. The contents are half of a phone conversation and a phone message left by a coke-addled girl apparently attending the school I go to. Starting at around 3:30, things get fun. Small download and seriously entertaining, though I don't know how funny it'll be if you don't know the full story. Please give it a listen.

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