When I first found out about Initial Records I was pleasently surprised to find a label that paid no attention to what was popular or trendy within the scene and just released solid rock records. You won't find any screamo, or Swedish sounding bands here. Just honest straight forward rock'n'roll released by people that care more about the music then anything else. If you were a big fan of Weezer's debut album, you'll probably find one or two new bands on the Initial roster!

Roster:

Criteria
Roy
Ultimate Fakebook
Hellicopter Hellicopter
The Jazz June
Black Cross
Harkonen
The Reputation
Blood Red
The White Octave

Interviews:

Roy Interview

Black Cross Interview

Ultimate Fakebook Interview

Reviews:

Roy-Tacomatose
(Initial, 2003)

It’s always best to go into a new band with no idea what to expect. Prior to receiving this cd I hadn’t even heard the name Roy. Trust me, this might be the first time you’re hearing the name Roy too, but it definitely won’t be the last. Fans of honest and straight forward rock music with lots of pop sensibilities will definitely fall in love with this EP. When I say pop, don’t assume that I mean pop/punk, because this is about as far from pop/punk as you can get. It’s quite the opposite in every way actually. From the layout to the production, it’s just a straight up rock record with a flair for catchy unique songwriting ideas.

Comparisons are a bit of a tough one. You’re probably expecting me to compare it to the bands every rock bands get compared to, but I can’t. These guys are definitely more of a Seattle influenced bands or stuff from Sub Pop in the early 90’s. It somewhat reminds me of bands like Dinosaur JR, or Sebadoh, yet at the same time it has just as much in common with some of the most straight up rock you’ve ever heard.

The production of the record is fairly dry sounding, but it’s tight and has enough grit to back the almost working class nature of the band. These guys are fairly stripped down, so don’t expect 10,000 layers of vocals or guitars. Just a couple of guitars, and a vocal track or two. Fans of big budget production will definitely be disappointed and I think that’s what the band would want. These guys are all about the songs. If it sounds good on a 4 track then so be it. It’s the songs that matter the most, not the amount of layers.

So you heard that this band has members of Botch in it? Well, you might as well forget about that, ’cause these guys don’t have a single thing in common with Botch. Aside from the fact that both bands are original at least. If you like rock music with honesty and integrity, Roy is one of the best around right now.

Criteria-En Garde
(Initial, 2003)

Simple yet effective would be a great way to describe the music of Criteria. The music reminds me of someone, yet at the same time I’m having a hard time placing what band is it exactly. It has a bit of the Pinkerton era Weezer experimentation., I guess with possibly a bit less pop to the sound, and more just straight ahead rock. There definitely is a lot of pop in the writing though. This is catchy stuff, but thankfully it doesn’t follow any set formulas. You have the straight forward riffs, but there are also some great noisier riffs that make good use of having layered guitars playing different things. It’s a well written album full of catchy and powerful songs.

Vocally this actually somewhat reminds me of Beck. The singers voice is like a combination of Rivers Cuomo and Beck. I think I hear a lot of Beck due to the many different effects that are used on the vocals. A lot of it is subtle but it sure adds a lot to the different songs. With a generic vocal performance this would still be a rocking album, but thankfully the vocals and music are both interesting. I wish I knew what was going on lyrically, but no lyrics were included. There actually isn’t even a booklet. It’s a digipack cd, with next to no information to be found inside.

The more I listen to this actually the more it starts to somewhat remind me of newer Cave In material. It’s definitely more stripped down, but some of the songs totally remind me of something Cave In would do these days. The song Talk in a Crowded Room I think reminds me the most of it. So I guess to give you a good idea, Criteria sounds like a cross between Weezer’s Pinkerton album, and straight rock, with a bit of Cave In experimentation thrown in for good measure. It’s a surprisingly addictive and interesting album.

I’m not really all that crazy about the layout on this one. It’s almost like they made it dull looking on purpose, and if that is what they were going for, they succeeded. The pictures are pretty much all greys and are very drab looking, but like I said that might have been what they were going for.

En Garde is 10 songs of powerful rock music that definitely deserves to be heard.

Black on Black-A Tribute to Black Flag
(Initial, 2003)

I've always been a huge fan of Black Flag. I remember the first time I heard them, I didn't know what to make out of the chaotic noise at first. The screeching guitar leads, pounding drums and shouted vocals were completely new to these ears. Black Flag was definitely one of the most original hardcore bands ever, and still to this day no one really has come close to matching the raw intensity of early Black Flag recordings.

Initial Records has pretty much selected the cream of the hardcore crop to take part in this tribute. American Nothing, now known as Give Up the Ghost, kick things off with a high energy take of Depression. It's faster then the original, and the perfect song to kick things into high gear right from the start. Anodyne follows with an extremely heavy cover of Life is Pain. This never has really been one of my favorite Black Flag songs, but the heavy vocals and downtuned guitars definitely make me like the song more then I ever have before. Probably my least favorite Black Flag song of all time is Drinking and Driving, and while Burnt By the Sun does a great job of covering it, I still can't stand the song. Next up Coalesce does a pretty energy lacking version of Jealous Again. Coalesce never has really been about all out energy, but still this is a Black Flag cover, it needs a bit more angst and energy. Probably the best cover on here is Converge's utterly insane version of Annihilate This Week. It bears very little resemblance to the original, aside from the heavy as fuck chorus. It's typical Converge, lots of feedback, swirling noise and chaotic distortion. Out of every band, they are one of the few that truly make the song their own. Surprisingly enough, probably the worst cover on here comes courtesy of The Dillinger Escape Plan. They seem to play the song well enough, but the super distorted production really doesn't fit the bands style. It's too bad that the band didn't throw the song upside down and make it their own. I definitely expected more from a band as crazy as Dillinger. Next to the Converge cover The Hope Conspiracy come in close second with a heavy as fuck version of Nervous Breakdown. This is probably my favorite Black Flag song of all time and they definitely do it justice. I like how they didn't change it, but you can still tell it's The Hope Conspiracy playing the cover. It's a shame that these guys aren't all over the place. I guess it's somewhat questionable how much of an influence Black Flag had on the Plane Mistaken for Stars sound, but they crank out a dual cover. Police Story runs right into Wasted and these two tracks are pretty damn vicious, which is somewhat shocking because PMFS aren't exactly the most extreme band around these days. Playing Enemy finishes things off with a cover of Six Pack, which also happens to be another one of my favorite BF songs. They definitely add a lot of discordance to the track, and like most of the bands on here have added something to the song. It's a great closing track to a pretty damned good tribute album.


Contact:

Initial Records
PO Box 17131
Louisville, Kentucky 40217 USA

Email: Ryan Patterson

Link: Initial Records