Introduction
Five Songs Special, 10/31/2021
Five Songs

Five Songs Special, 10/31/2021

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Happy Halloween! Time for a spooky special!

Inter Arma, "Scarecrow"

Inter Arma released a covers album, Garbers Days Revisited, in 2020. This sort of thing is pretty traditional in metal, thanks to Metallica's Garage Days Revisited. Inter Arma does nice work with their covers, as befits such a good band. This is a Ministry song here, so it's supposed to sound like this.

Jake One, "Scared"

Seattle producer Jake One worked with a whole bunch of guest MCs on his album White Van Music, but thanks to being the product of a single producer's vision, it still feels pretty coherent. There's a lot of excellent stuff on this album, although its long running time kind of wears on you eventually.

Andrew Bird, "Don't Be Scared"

Weather Systems is a transitional record for Bird. He broke with his backing band, Bowl of Fire, he moved out of Chicago, and his songwriting evolved further towards explorations of what he could do with his violin. He's still refining this new approach on this record, and I like the album on either side better, but it's still a lovely record, much quieter and more contemplative than the Bowl of Fire records.

New Bomb Turks, "Jukebox Lean"

After a couple albums on Crypt Records, the New Bomb Turks hit the punk rock bigtime, with Scared Straight coming out on Epitaph Records. But I have to say, the improved recording quality isn't really doing them any favors. The rawer the band was, the better, and I don't love any of the Epitaph records.

Christian Fitness, "Feel Good Hit of the Second Trimester"

Christian Fitness is Andrew Falkous, but he insists it's not a solo act. It's just a band with only one member. While I like Future of the Left more, this stuff is still pretty good. This comes from I Am Scared Of Everything That Isn't Me, which is not the best Christian Fitness album name (that would be Slap Bass Hunks), but was the first Christian Fitness record.

Joshua Buergel
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