navio forge - as we quietly burn a hole into

from the opening hi-hat rolls you can tell this album is going to be different. Navio Forge's "As We Quietly Burn a Hole Into" is probably emo's best kept secret. an incredibly personal and heavy record, few hardcore bands could say they replicate the kind of noisy fury that Navio Forge was prevalent in. contribute this to Aaron Arroyo's pounding bass lines, or Mike Kirsch's insistent background vocals and signature guitar playing. Navio Forge was important to me because they gave me the first record from the "early emo" scene that i truly fell in love with. every song on this record is an emo classic, but "Haloed Eyes" is the obvious highlight and we will discuss that later. another important fact about this is record is as i said before it has Mike Kirsch on it. as those in the hardcore scene know any project involving Kirsch whether it be the brutal aggression of John Henry West that is most similar to Navio or the spaced out, sample heavy Please Inform the Captain This is a Hijack! is going to be worth your time. well, in all honest Navio Forge is probably the best project associated with Kirsch even if it doesn't seem to be of his own creation.

"As We Quietly Burn a Hole Into" can essentially have its purpose explained by just the listening of its final track, "Haloed Eyes". an emotionally dynamic hardcore epic that completely personifies the entire genre as well as shows off an incredible vocal performances for Navio's vocalist, Sean Lynwood. the closing minute with Lynwood's unparalleled pleas of "cripple me" and "never move" are some of the most tense in the history of hardcore. in other words "Haloed Eyes" is the finest hardcore song, i've ever heard and while the rest of the record certainly doesn't achieve that same glory, it still surpasses most hardcore release released in the 14 years since "As We Quietly Burn a Hole Into" was first released.

navio forge's as we quietly born a hole into

Navio Forge can be considered a foot note in my own progression of emo, but that doesn't lessen its impact in times of emotional turmoil. this is a record for people that are not content. music like Navio Forge's was a key factor in helping to shape who i am today and for that i'll always consider it one of the finest emo releases ever.

navio forge - as we quietly born a hole into (1993)

richard youngs - sapphie

i felt as if a relaunch or such was in order. this blog is meant to be a place for me to share music that has been truly effective in my own personal development. so, from now on there will probably be a far more expansive description in relation to each album that is posted on here. this isn't a blog dedicated to hype or new release, but rather records that are bluntly emotional and transcend simple genre descriptions. i was thinking about leading this new phase of with one of Nation of Ulysses' records (the inspiration behind this blog.) but instead have settle with one of my more recent favorites, Richard Youngs' "Sapphie".

richard youngs.

so, why exactly does Richard Youngs get the honor of starting of this new trend of realism? well for starters, his music is bluntly obvious. drawing from a steady background of folk and "classical" guitar, his instrumental sections are almost always highly dense and minimal arrangements usually relying on the sounds of acoustic guitar. over top this Youngs can go many ways from heavily effect ridden vocals (his latest, 2007's "Autumn Response".) to totally demented guitar playing (see his collaboration with Tirath Singh Nirmala.). Although Youngs covers a variety of ground through all of his various releases, "Sapphie" is perhaps his most basic and bleak. simple acoustic guitar lines, Youngs unmistakable voice, and nothing else. "Sapphie" features compositions inspired by the loss of one of Youngs' pets among other things and the amount of emotional presence he is able to put into the performances can only be heard.

"sapphie" cover.

"Sapphie" was recommended to me by rateyourmusic.com user, ormi. i'm not sure if there was ever a specific moment it clicked, but this record has seen my obsession of yet another peculiar songwriter come yet again. perhaps the intense personal nature of the recording struck me the hardest. as Youngs himself described it, "Sapphie's" recording was "recorded round my friend John's flat and it was the first time I'd ever done more than one take." the process was apparently intimate as Youngs said the early takes of the record were marked by their background ambient noises of neighbors leaving and appliances at work. Youngs also made an important note about the recording in the fact that "there's no overdubbing and no remixing. everything went straight to DAT. what you hear is the best of what went on." and of course that is what draws me to constantly play this record, its intense personal nature. for sure, a late night listen.

richard youngs - sapphie (1998)

Six Organs of Admittance - Shelter from the Ash

Six Organs of Admittance - Shelter from the Ash

http://www.mediafire.com/?9o3nmmtajzo

"Six Organs of Admittance may sometimes confound and surprise but disappointment is not a word I associate with Chasny. Thankfully after several runs through Shelter from the Ash my prediction has been proven to be true. This is a captivating album, full of passion and power. Here's to another ten albums."