Rapid Cities- Machinery Saints (Love/Hate Rec)
Oh, there are plenty of reasons I'm not the biggest fan of New Jersey; can't pump your own gas, can't make left turns (or is it right turns?), and the upstate area has never been kind to me in general on my many visits there over the years. However, all the amazing music coming out of jersey over the years has just about made up for this- i.e. Lifetime, Rorschach, Sticks and Stones and more recently Transit.
Add Rapid Cities onto that list of great bands from the Garden State. These New Brunswick kids debut LP is a fantastic collection of post-hardcore rockers, drawing inspiration from the early 90's DC scene and adding some nice mathy dynamics to their strong melodies. Articulate and intelligent, Rapid Cities inject powerful musicanship over dissonant guitar work and driving rhythms. Music like this was much more common a decade ago, but they guys manage to give a very modern day feel onto a genre rarely played anymore.
Machinery Saints will occasionally remind you of you all your post-hardcore faves like Fugazi or Refused but are just as likely to make you miss your Braid and Joan of Arc records as well. Ultimately, Rapid Cities are paving a path all their own and this is an excellent starting point.
These guys are very soon going to be breaking out of playing basement shows and headlining clubs- just you wait!
