Sermons
An Augury
self-released [2011]
I'm a sucker for nostalgia yet currently somewhat self-aware of my issues with it, however, I've accepted nostalgia as a yearning for the true pure love I've felt in the past and not a cheap exaggerated source of emotionally-driven memories. With that said, I can tell you that Sermons tap into a part of my brain that flashes me to a time in the 90's where San Deigo screamo was one of the most important things to me. Although influences for this style were also scattered across the states at that time, something evil and real was coming out of Southern California that no one else could touch. Well, maybe until now.
Bands like Swing Kids, Mohinder, and later The Locust and Camera Obscura (no not the Scottish indie-pop late bloomers) set a tone that awoke a monster in the decade to follow. A horrible onslaught of make up wearing tightpantsers stole the formula, ruined the formula (isn't this how it always goes), and made me and many others not look back. Now that the public has mostly been made aware of the sold out sounds of the 00's and its lip ring rockers, recovery and revitalization can finally commence.
Sermons not only touch on that memorable sound of the abrasive 90's, but they add a new relevant flavor using desirable elements both past and present. They commendably pass right over the past fifteen years and land in present time with something we all hoped we 'd someday hear. Imagine a frantic Jeffrey Lee Pierce on vocals with a supporting group who sound influenced by early Ink and Dagger and even more recently influenced by the works by Nick Cave and Grinderman. The record is hardcore, but it's not necessarily a hardcore record. It's oddly melodic, but maybe that's just the hellishly eerie keys or the Peter Hook influenced bass playing. Regardless, these Jersey/Philly men are truly onto something.
Listen to POSEIDEON'S TEARS by Sermons
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