Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Scout/Freemasonry Split (Lunchbox, 1995)


This was released in 1995 on Lunchbox Records.

The following is from the Lunchbox website:

"Car Vs. Driver played with Scout more than any other band during its existence, probably because our bass player was the older brother of their drummer. They were a band that definitely needed repeat listenings and shows to fully appreciate, as their music and presentation were so dense and layered it would be difficult for the casual observer to comprehend. One thing that was nice about their recordings is that they would always provide explanations for each of their songs, which cut through a lot of the abstractness and ambiguity and gave the songs a clear, deeper meaning. So few bands actually do this, so it is nice when a band lays it out like this, and this is a band that definitely benefited from this approach. Their songs had many noisy parts where the lyrics were spoken and buried in the sound, their song titles were cryptic, their drummer did most of the singing, and their songs were usually these huge orchestrated opuses that could sometimes sound like 5 or 6 songs put together. It was an overwhelming experience to see them play, but when we would tour with them, I would get into a groove and really start getting into their music. "

"Freemasonry in my opinion was the best band that ever existed in Atlanta. I will just put it on the table right there. They took the power of a John Reis band (e.g. Rocket from the Crypt, Drive Like Jehu), and combined it with the melodic elements of post-punk bands like Jawbox to make such an amazing mix of power and melody. This was a combination you got sometimes in bands like Naked Raygun, for example, but in this case sounded completely different. Sarge, the singer/guitarist had a great voice that was powerful, melodic and completely original. The dude was also one of the funniest guys I have ever met. I remember going to see them play a show in Andy Stivers’ basement, and he told me that "anything was okay in moderation" ­ yeah thanks for the tip Sarge. Bruce, the second guitarist, had a guitar sound that was unbelievable ­ especially when matched with Sarge’s guitar. Kip’s drumming might not be the most versatile out there, but it was solid and 100% Freemasonry, and was perfect for the music they played."

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3 comments:

Anonymous,  June 18, 2009 at 6:30 AM  

the freemasonry side is great

johnny October 16, 2009 at 10:57 AM  

this was scout's worst recorded material IMO.....this was freemasonry's best material........like a mix of swiz/torches to rome/floodgate.......fucking great