| Band Members | 
Ken Mode ' Mennonite ' Triple 7 inch
iOlé! ' Lost it all on Sleipnir in the third ' 7 inch
Hide Your Daughters 'The Teen Girl's Guide to Social Success' CD NOEL015
Death Militia 'Noise Agony Mayhem' 7inch NOEL014
Big Trouble in Little China 'Diamond Cutter' NOEL013
Stoner chord progressions and guttural vocals fill my head - this is some heavy shit. For me though, without weed, Diamond Cutter doesn't really take off until "Run Man Run", the third song in. Here, the lead guitar climbs all over the rhythm like a six-year old on a Jungle Gym, and I found myself swinging hair that I don't have. I'll never be in the front row at a Big Trouble in Little China show with my Bic lighter in the air, but that's probably because I gave up the herb. Oddly, I felt as if I had been smoking pot after listening to this. Damn, I think I lost my clean time… [http://www.thenervemagazine.com]
KEN mode 'Reprisal' DOUBLE GATEFOLD SLEEVE VINYL! NOEL012
Winnipeg noise-mongers KEN Mode eschew the Canadian indie metal trend of breaking up after an awesome debut and then returning with a sophomore effort: Reprisal, an album of sonic fury, hostility and abrasion worthy of its title after a three-year absence spent doing, well, whatever there is to do in Winnipeg (lamenting the loss of the Jets?). With their debut, Mongrel, KEN (Kill Everyone Now) Mode unleashed a frightful volley of metallic vehemence into the heart of the aggressive music underground. But, impressively, with Reprisal, they have bettered it in nearly every way, taking everything that made that record special, impressive and bludgeoning — it’s non-alienating complexity, unrelenting abrasion and antagonism, intellectual heaviness and relenting grind — trimmed the fat and distilled the elements. Reprisal is a harsh album, scraping and slashing from its very outset with opener “The Hammer Party,” which, while just as damaging as anything KEN Mode have ever done, is inexplicably slightly catchier, an aspect present throughout Reprisal. While obviously still drawing musical influence from acts such as Keelhaul, the Melvins, the Jesus Lizard, Unsane, the Am-Rep roster, older Today is the Day and a plethora of other noise merchants, KEN Mode have bettered their debut and staked a claim as the new noise others will invariably be influenced by. [http://www.exclaim.ca/musicreviews/aggressivetendencies.aspx?csid1=83]
Kilbourne & New World on Fire split 7inch NOEL011
Kilbourne 'Fashion Police Brutality' CD EP NOEL010
Fashion Police Brutality is Kilbourne’s follow-up EP to their full-length masterpiece Measure of Health, and there’s no question that this Calgary act have returned with more layers of aggression and complexities this time around. With Dan Bronson having been added into the equation, Kilbourne’s sound has become even more angular, elaborate and involved since bringing in another guitar player. The result is that same spasmodic whirl that erupted in a thousand jagged fragments, but now with more razor-sharp edges that slice through each frenetic moment, turning the whole thing into a sadistic little package that glistens and heaves under a thousand beads of sweat. Each song here is an impossibly intense explosion, a marriage of the roughest and yet most intricate details. The momentum here is furious and full of Kilbourne’s usual attitude and intelligence, which both ooze through every scream and crash on Fashion. The songwriting is impressive as ever, with breakneck drums, hammering bass lines, vocals that could kill, and that dangerous pair of guitars.
[http://www.exclaim.ca/musicreviews/generalreview.aspx?csid1=82&csid2=851&fid1=21009]
Big Trouble in Little China 7inch NOEL009
Absent Sound - 'Its All True' CD NOEL008
Hypnotic Frippertronic guitarpeggios. Gregorian chants. Submarine-sonar beeps. Murky aquatic sonics. A busted jack-in-the-box. Songs that move and change as gracefully and imperceptibly as clouds in the sky. And all of it wrapped in packaging that folds in on itself as elegantly as the music. If this is familiar, we suspect you have already had your little mind blown by the sonic shapeshifters of The Absent Sound. If not, seek out this sophomore set with all post-rock post-haste. Then don the headphones, douse the lights, and let them bathe you in radiation while they pen tone poems to God on the inside of your brain pan. It's All True is music to open your third eye. [http://www.calgarysun.com/cgi-bin/publish.cgi?p=120890&x=articles&s=music]
Kilbourne 'Measure of Health' CD NOEL007
These girls aren’t out to be the next pretty-in-punk pop tarts. Full-on aggression and left-leaning politics fuel the forces behind this Calgary band’s debut. Anti-scenester, anti-rock star, anti-corporate, this quartet formed to create something they call “introspection-damaged indie-violence.” The result is a sound that erupts in a startling explosion, inspired by the motley crew of the Cure, AFI, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath and Pretty Girls Make Graves — to name a few — and these all culminate to create a highly aggressive blend of punk, hardcore and metal. Kilbourne’s politics gravitate towards environmentalism, human rights, and anti-capitalism, and though they are careful not to take themselves too seriously, these issues are prominent in their lyrics. If anything, it seems that Kilbourne aren’t looking to be known for much beyond a rock band — not another all-girl band, not a band that fit into a subscribed mindset — just a band that makes some really good, really loud music that conveys some intelligence. If they keep making music this good, there’s no reason why they should be seen as anything but. [http://www.exclaim.ca/musicreviews/generalreview.aspx?csid1=73&csid2=850&fid1=18919]
The VaGiants 'Waiting for the night to come' 12" LP NOEL006
If lust at first sight has a soundtrack, this is it. If there’s one record to take a chance on this year, this is it. Sadly, this Winnipeg band are now defunct, but that doesn’t mean their music still isn’t so fucking good you’ll be sweating over these new tracks. This is straight up sleaze rock full of riotous, raunchy riffs and back alley wails that at times starts sounding a lot like the Pandoras after they got over that ’60s mod phase and moved onto the likes of the Stooges and the Sonics. Vocalist Joanne Rodriguez has a quality that goes beyond whiskey-and-cigarettes — it’s more like a week-long bender that ends face down on the bathroom floor, while guitarist Craig Bjerring pierces each song with wild sounds that remain a focal point throughout the album. Mastered in New York City by Don Grossinger (MC5, Sonic Youth, Bad Brains), Waiting for the Night to Come is full of crushing rock’n’roll symphonies. The energy doesn’t let up and each track has just as much ass-shaking allure as the last. [http://www.exclaim.ca/musicreviews/generalreview.aspx?csid1=73&csid2=850&fid1=18956]
Hide Your Daughters 'Twisted & distorted gender relations 101' NOEL005
These Canadian nuts contain members of KEN Mode and Electro Quarterstaff and play some pretty twisted and aggressive material that sounds similar to some of the older Amphetamine Reptile releases, with a little more tangible rock, a dash of Black Flag, and in my opinion stronger songwriting abilities that take a few listens to sink in...I also really like the drumming because there are a lot of shifts in the dynamics, from hard hitting beats to lighter and flashier fills and patterns that really work with the song structures. The guitars tend to constantly layer different parts over one another to varying levels of either noisier textures or more involved runs (and since the guitars are hard panned you can really hear the way the riffs work together). I totally love the fucked up melodies midway through "Visitation Rights", as well as the more retrained introduction to "Deserving". And just check out the thick power chords of the more stripped down and going for the throat "Dryer" or the unexpectedly metallic riffing that kicks off "Sexy Beast"...Lyrically the tracks stick to the ideas suggested by the album title, and I tend to find the approach fairly strong in its use of wit and whatnot: "If I can save myself from falling for you I promise I'll do the best I can do. I've been accused of sexy beastery. Not out of sarcasm, but irony. I'll stay home." I literally had no clue what to expect from this band, so I was almost expecting something more obviously technical or fucked up, but this is really good. It's definitely got a lot of focus on rhythm and structure, and I could see this band improving leagues beyond this as they get tighter and grow as musicians. Nice work. [http://www.aversionline.com/reviews/592/]
Fubuki Daiko - 'A Demonstration' Cassette NOEL004
Out Of Stock
...Grabbing the audience's attention immediately was Fubuki Daiko, the Winnipeg-based Japanese drum troupe. Their highly physical performance featured blood-curdling yells, jumps, twirls and drumbeats of a volume that nearly shattered the stained glass in the historic edifice. Exciting? You bet. If your heart didn't beat a little faster, you'd better make an appointment with your cardiologist...[http://www.manitobachamberorchestra.org/reviews0506.html]
KITTENS & Shallow ND 'Rhinoceros Love' Split 12"LP NOEL003
Fallenshort 'Thoughts on oppression' 7inch NOEL002
Meatrack/Stagmummer Split 10" NOEL001
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