Today is the turn of Kyle Shields from Shambles In A Husk. You can listen to their music here: https://soundcloud.com/shambles-in-a-husk
Christ on a bike this was hard to write. Ive tried to put it in an order that’s chronologically relevant to my life.
There are so many artists that I had to leave out, I think I’d still struggle if it was 50 records. Anyway, hope you enjoy checking some of them out, as I have thoroughly enjoyed reading others in the past. – Kyle
1. Todd Rundgren – Can We Still Be Friends?
My dad listened to a shitload of Todd Rundgren when i was a kid, still does to this day. While I can say for sure that his proggier outings definitely had a lasting effect on me, this was one of my favourite songs when I was a wee guy. It also featured on the dumb and dumber soundtrack, making the movie even more awesome.
2. Radiohead – Nude
Aged thirteen, I was at my cousins house when I saw the OK Computer artwork on his bedroom wall. When i asked what it was he gave me the album to borrow, which I never gave back. Radiohead can do no wrong in my eyes, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed everything they’ve ever put out. The absolute height of their musical maturity came in the form of in rainbows, which i can say with absolute confidence is my favourite album of all time. This version of nude live from the basement is flawless.
3. Glassjaw – Ry-Rys song.
This band introduced me to post hardcore music, essentially taking hardcore rhythms and infusing them with a ton of melody and technical ability. I caught this band playing at the garage when I was fifteen and the energy and emotion that went into the performance blew my mind and had a real influence on how I like to perform. This was the first Glassjaw song I heard.
4. Faraquet – Cut Self Not
Faraquet were the first ‘math rock’ band I heard, they were one of the earliest and most influential artists of the genre. When I heard that guitar tone man, who else has that tone and style of playing? Especially at that time and on the Dischord record label. Devin O’Campo is just a truly original guitar player, the dynamics he gets out of that halfway distorted guitar tone are amazing. This album laid the groundwork for a lot of bands.
5. Bjork – Unravel
This woman’s voice, seriously. I have never encountered such purity, innocence, ferocity, sincerity all in one voice. It affects me in a way I can’t explain, piercing through an emotional barrier I never knew existed, leaving me utterly mesmerised. I saw her perform live in Manchester a few years back and cried like a baby. This song is just beautiful.
6. Pavement – Grounded
For the style of music I play and enjoy, one of the fundamentals is precision. Pavement are one of the bands that made me realise that for certain styles, you’re better off playing sloppy. Out of time, out of tune, cool as fuck. They led me on to discover a load of really cool bands that i otherwise wouldn’t have appreciated, like Built To Spill and Mission Of Burma.
7. Hella – Been A Long Time Cousin
There are a lot of math rock bands, many of them are incredibly talented and their songs are painstakingly intricate, but none more so than Hella. When you first hear them, you could mistake it for improv, you could think there’s no way they play the same thing twice. You’d be wrong. The ‘Hold Your Horse Is’ record is my favourite math rock album. You can listen to it a thousand times over and still hear something new every time. I chose a live video, because when you see them live you realise just how accurate the songs are from the record. Skip to 5.30 for ‘Been A Long Time Cousin’.
8. Big L – Ebonics.
I like a lot of hip hop, so it seemed only right that I bung a wee hip hop number in here. So much to choose from, but this song stands out as being an incredibly clever way of explaining all the slang terms used in hip hop. Goes to show that Big L wasn’t as recognised as his talents should have allowed. Probably because he died way too young.
9. Giraffes? Giraffes!- Koscinski’s Requiem For A Golden Chariot
Another two piece math rock band, I know, but they couldn’t go without a mention. Not surprising that they’ve had support slots for Hella, but they are an entirely different beast. This band use a loop pedal to its maximum capability, creating epic soundscapes and multi-layered riffs. They do a brilliant blend of math rock and post rock elements. I’ll never forget the day this album came out, I sat with a set of cans on and blasted it from start to finish four times over.
10. Converge – Trophy scars
My most recent musical discovery, converge. This song is so cool. The strained vocals fit the lyrics perfectly, there’s elements of everything musically that I like in here. “I want to live without the guilt we give, I want to die without this pain” – brilliantly brutal. They’re just one of these bands that have a very distinct ‘sound’, and once again the key to me being able to enjoy something is if it can withstand repeat listens. The more I listen to this band, the more their intricacies start to creep out of the layers and layers of distortion.
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