Interview with Bardus

I recently took a walk with Bardus through downtown Columbus before the final show of their 2015 tour.  Along the way we talked touring, deep dish pizza, and their upcoming album.  Here is what they had to say:

Overall, how was the tour? The tour was very good. We played in a few new cities to us, saw some old friends, made some new friends, played with bands we liked, so we were definitely pleased with the whole tour.

Of the ten stops, which day was the worst? We had a day off and ended up driving over 12 hours from Savannah GA to the middle of Indiana to get closer to Chicago. It was a rough stretch, but we were all mentally prepared and got it done.

When on tour, what are sleeping arrangements?  Did you have to sleep in the van at all?
It was a mixture of hotels and houses.  When we were able to find a couch to crash on, that was great, but we stayed in a couple of hotels along the way.  Didn't do any sleeping in the van on this tour.

What's the weirdest or worst show you've ever played? They're all weird.

Best act you saw on tour, not mentioning any of the guys playing tonight with you. Buildings from Minneapolis killed it as usual. Them Teeth in Grand Rapids were awesome as well. It's really hard to say which one is the best, I feel like every band we played with were very good and all had different sounds and styles. It's nice when shows are diverse and not just the same thing for 3-4 straight bands.

Chicago deep-dish, how was it?  Is it overrated?
It was good.  It is almost a novelty for people from their though, only tourists get it because it is so thick.  It was literally a brick of cheese and meat.  We got a meat lovers and could really only eat about a slice each.  It's not overrated though.

You recently recorded at Converses' Rubbertracks after winning some contest for free recording time.  How was that and how does that compare to how your used to recording?

Rubber Tracks was real good. We recorded with Will Putney and were able to hammer out 2 songs we'd been playing live entitled "Monolith" and "Sky King". It was similar to the way we normally like to record which is live as we feel it gives our songs more life and helps us hit our groove zone that we aim for at shows and at practice.

Those tracks are going to be on the upcoming album 'Stella Porta', when is it coming out?  Any physical formats been chosen yet? We are recording it in early September with Steve Poponi who just did the latest Fight Amp record, at his studio in South Jersey.

No release date or formats have been chosen yet.
We are an unsigned band so everything we do is paid for by us in Bardus.
When we released "Solus" we had to make a decision, get physical copies, IE records, cd's, which cost a bit, or transportation, so I got a van and we released it on our own digitally and thanks to the support of many, have been able to go on tour a few times and continue to play live as much as we can. We'd love it if someone liked it enough to release it physically, but until then, we'll do what's best for Bardus and accessible for people to listen to it. 

What does 'Stella Porta' mean? It translates to  star gate.

Will you guys give me a heads up once Stella Porta is all done? Absolutely. We'll be playing it in its entirety at Kung Fu Necktie in Philly on September 24th with Columbus' own Bridesmaid and philly's own, Hells. 

Stream a copy of Bardus' debut Here, and be on the lookout for their upcoming later this year.

Worm Crown- Trauma (2015)

I had never heard Worm Crown before until stumbling on it on Bandcamp.  Real glad I did.

Worm Crown is a three piece band from Australia that take their cues from punk music.  Honestly if the guitarist played traditional punk music and the vocalist said Oi a few times, they probably wouldn't have stood out to me.  But fortunately it sounds like the vocalist and guitarist spent less time listening to The Clash and more time listening to Fugazi.  While the end result is a little slower in BPM, the vocals come in clean and the guitars come in dirty.

If you only have time to listen to one song off the album, but want to know what this album is all about, I would suggest "Limbless".  I don't think it is the highlight of the album (I'll let you decide that for yourself), but I do think it sums up the band's sound the best and encompasses the various styles you will hear on the rest of the tracks.

Stream and buy it Here.  Also, feel free to use the comment section to let me/ them know if you wish they released it on any other formats than CD (I know I wished for cassette or LP). 

So Stressed- The Unlawful Trade of Greco-Roman Art (2015)

I decided to revisit So Stressed's 2012 Attracted to Open Mouths prior to writing this, and was surprised at how fresh of a sound it has.  Right from the start the album does a fantastic job of stretching everything out just slightly too long; not so long that it is boring, but just enough that every bit is unsettling.  My biggest complaint with Attracted to Open Mouths was how this tension of sound left after the first couple tracks.

With The Unlawful Trade of Greco-Roman Art, So Stressed bring a much more straight-forward noise rock sound to the table.  While I was hoping their follow up would move towards the more harsh and experimental, it does not.  Despite immediate disappointment, So Stressed's album does manage to refine their sound into a polished, cohesive mess that is worth any noise rock fans time.  Unlawful Trade showcases better instrumentation, vocals, production; everything feels refined to a fully-realized sound. 

If you grew up listening to metal but have a taste for noise rock, this is a great album for you to pick up.  Regardless, noise rock fans looking for a solid 2015 album should take a moment to check out their Bandcamp.  Also, it is for sale on cassette, LP, and CD (I think), so support it if you like it.

Super Luxury- Ten Solid Years of Applause (2015)

This album was the first noise rock album of 2015 I gave a serious listen to and I suggest you take the time to check it out too.  Leeds based Super Luxury are a noise rock band featuring two of the guys in Cattle.  As Chris from the band told me, the band is more influenced by Fugazi than his other band (no surprise given that one song is titled "Ian Mackaye made so much money out of Fugazi that he lives in a solid gold house and drives a solid gold car and he sits on his driveway but he can't go anywhere because the wheels are made of solid gold"), proving this still is a genre that enjoys tongue-in-cheek song titles.

This album has a little bit for everybody on it.  Fans of bands like Dope Body will enjoy the more upbeat rock tracks like "Constant Delicious" and "Salem Tears", while the track "Drunk on Power" probably sounds most like Fugazi to me.

While this band may not have that funky bass I felt buried in Cattle's EP, they have traded that out for a tight, high quality release that makes 2015 all the more promising.

Stream a few tracks Here, where you can purchase the album as well.