Check Engine

very rarely do I write about a band that was previously mentioned in a blog post the day before. But i don't know. I hate making reference to bands that not alot of people know about and not having anything for them to hear. plus, I really like Check Engine and i wouldn't mind some other people possibly diggin' on them. I heard about the band through their bassist Paul Joyce. He was the bassist of the band Lynx. And as I think I've probably mentioned in past blogs, I've pretty much followed everything he has done musically post, and pre, Lynx. He is easily one of my favorite bass players. Though I first heard of the band because of Paul Joyce, I later found out that it also consisted of two of the ex members of Sweep The Leg Johnny. Awesome? Yes. In fact, when I would try to tell my friends about Check Engine, I would usually describe them as if the members of Sweep The Leg Johnny were more into Chicago indie rock and not post hardcore. I mean, Check Engine isn't unaggressive by any means. But there is a obvious difference. If anything, Check Engine is easier for the lay person to get into then Sweep The Leg Johnny. And there really isn't comparison to Lynx, except for some of the guitar interplay. Really, Check Engine are a math rock band in the vein of Chicago math rock. Not that wacky shit coming out of Cali nowadays. Though sometimes, the guitar lines are likable to Rumah Sakit, which is funny because as the informed know, Rumah Sakit did splits, played shows, and even shared a member with Sweep The Leg Johnny. Enough of my blabbering.

Some songs on here remind me of the 80's. Yep. I'm a weirdo.

Download their album here

Buy it if you like it

Cougars - Pillow Talk

Ska. Its a four letter word to most of the kids that i know in the underground scene. This is usually not based off of where the style of music originally came from. It seems like with alot of genres, there is the real version of the genre, and some later bullshit being mislabelled. Emo is a good example. Ska is another. The original ska out of Jamaica represents very little of what would later be considered "ska" in bands like Save Ferris, Real Big Fish and all the other crap that was around at the same time, or went on to be influenced by said bands. (I actually enjoy some of the 70's and 80's British ska, so i wont attack that) Now, knowing this, I've purposely distanced myself from anything called ska or anything similar to this style of music. But every once in awhile something will sneak in unexpectedly and surprise. The first time I heard Cougars, I had no clue they contained ex members of a ska bands. Though it could be suspected due to them having a horn section, that was the end of any sort of comparison. I had heard of them because their drummer played in one of my favorite bands, the ex-Lynx/ex-Sweep The Leg Johnny powerhouse Check Engine. Being that Check Engine had a sax player, i wasn't really surprised by the horn section in Cougars. Call that limited, call it what you will. Now the musical styling of Cougars is completely different from Check Engine, and it has no resemblance to ska whatever. The band is a Chicago band. I know its unintelligent to say, but i think just listening to them, you can tell. It doesn't hurt that this album was recorded by Steve Albini. The band plays a style of rock that works quite well with Albini's style of recording. Big drums, powerful bass, angular guitars, and gruffy pissed off vocals. The band always stays on the cusp of straight forward hard hitting rock and Chicago math rock through out this whole album. I really love the horn section's role within this band. Its not too often that you find a horn section playing in a band that isn't a ska band. And I personally think its so cool to hear a horn section in what is a essentially a Chicago math rock band. It works and is refreshing. Here's a dumb, but also funny statement.

Cougars: The Albini Chicago Transit Authority.

Fight me.

Download The Album Here

Buy it if you like it