Awesomer

Blood on the Wall | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 6, 2005)
• Original Release Date: 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: The Social Registry
• ASIN: B000AMPZ80
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #28,877 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Blood On The Wall is the sound of a couch being tossed from the second story to thunderous applause. The feeling that one gets when you have finished off the last of the tequila and it’s on to the beer. That tinge of sadness late into the evening right before the dawn is about to break and the regrets and hopes of your life merge with first chirps of the birds starting their day. This three piece consisting of Courtney and Brad Shanks, yes they are really brother and sister, with Miggy Littleton hitting the skins are attuned to the mysteries of music. And how it can catalyze ones mood from from a stupor to where you can’t stop your feet and your hair is flaying in rhythm to the beat. Rock with heart that takes no prisoners. BOTW will sweep you away on a sonic cyclone and you won’t be missing Kansas after you are swept along with them.

Blood On The Wall’s second record is, as the name might suggest, Awesomer. Recorded under the watchful eye of producer Nicholas Vernhes Fiery Furnaces, Black Dice, Silver Jews) the three have settled more into their own skin as they run from their heaviest song to date "Stoner Jam", out of the pop anthem "Mary Susan" and into the quick shredding of "Hey Hey" to end in your arms with "Going To Heaven." all the while they stick to the hooks and the playful dynamic that has made them the rock enchanters of the NYC music scene.

Based out of NYC Blood On The Wall has been hard at work for about four years now. The sibling song writing brain trust of Brad & Courtney are rounded out by Miggy who was in Ida, White Magic, The Shit and who has played with numerous other artists on tour and in the studio. A chance meeting on a corner in Williamsburg that evolved with their shared love for old vinyl and then bore fruit as a single, which found no shortage of lovers. In 2004 they released their self titled debut to much acclaim and went on the road with Enon, Black Dice & Fiery Furnaces in the states, played some legendary shows in Brooklyn, toured Norway, and left a pile of cans, bottles, kick-ass memories all along the way. Once Awesomer hits expect that trail to grow prodigiously.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Album, November 20, 2005

By 

D. C. Ober "Audiophile" (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Awesomer (Audio CD)

Blood on the Wall is a trio that plays like The Pixies, Sonic Youth, The Minutemen, and a touch of My Bloody Valentine. Basically, they're all of your favorite alternative bands from the eighties and early nineties all mixed up into one complete, but surprisingly unique, package. Awsomer, which is their second album (get it?), tears through fourteen songs in little over a half-hour. There's not an ounce of fat on this set. It's kind of like that guy that shows up to your party with a purpose. He makes a b-line straight to the refrigerator, downs your best beer, takes a few shots, trashes some furniture, and is gone. You'll never see him again.

I'm a sucker for bands with two singers, and maybe that's why I've fallen so hard for this album. Courtney Shanks has a rhaspy voice in the vein of Kim Gordon that'll make you think of black lights and musty smelling smoke. Ben Shanks, on the other hand, has a perfect mania in his voice, and makes the songs sound as if they could disintegrate into cacophony any second. I imagine some wild eyed berserker with veins popping out of his face.

There's at least one song under a minute, and at least five others that are under two. It's enough to give you wiplash. These terse little snippets are addictive, and like your favorite crack dealer you'll be coming back again and again. I think the real secret to writing a short album is make it so addictive you can't help but listen to it twice in a row, and Blood on the Wall have accomplished just that.

There are also a few "pretty" songs. "I'd Like to Take You Out Tonight" is the longest song at three minutes and thirty-seven seconds. It recalls Jesus and Mary Chain, and is a perfect little eye in the storm. The closer naturally slows things down as well, and even features a -gasp- piano.

Blood on the Wall are smart enough not to beat you until you're numb, and even some of the harder songs have a more deliberate marching tempo. My current favorite song of the album is "Mary Susan." It features a perfect sing-along chorus backed by a great turning bass line. I've already decided this will be the perfect drinking song for when I become an alcoholic.

I'd write some more, but I've already held you up too long when you should really be buying this album.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Too good not to review!, January 16, 2006

By 

Tsur (Madison, WI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Awesomer (Audio CD)

I saw that this album only had one review on Amazon and just had to rectify the situation. This is one of the better albums of the year. The kind of music that you scream to in your car while pounding on your steering wheel. The chick is like Kim Gordan done right. The guys has an obvious crush on Frank Black and might, just might be able to out scream him. If not on this album, then perhaps on the next. If you like innovative punk that dabbles in pop, you must own this album. The Shanks (brother sister duo) might just be the most musically relevant sibling since the Carpenters. But, just to be clear, they rock a lot harder.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Music for hipsters to overhype, then forget about., February 28, 2006

By 

JD Bellow "joebuckenstein" (NYC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Awesomer (Audio CD)

Let's face it; if you're a New York band that's got a woman bassist with a husky voice, singing over deafening guitars, you're going to sound like Sonic Youth, and be compared to them. It's unavoidable. Sadly, what Skeet Ulrich is to Johnny Depp, Blood On The Wall are to Sonic Youth.
Too bad. They get off to a good start with "Stoner Jam," which has a "grey fall day in the East Village" vibe. The problem is, nothing else really distinguishes itself.
The majority of songs are just short, fast and loud. You can get away with that if you're The Ramones, and pack loads of hooks and melodies on top of all the #$@$-kicking guitars and drums. But there's nothing here to pull you in. It's just "hi, bye" and that's it.
"Awesomer" is around the same length as a bad TV sitcom. And about as much fun.