SOUNDTRACK: WE ARRIVE ALIVE-My Friend the Bombmaker (2012).
O
f the three EPs, on the bands bandcamp site, this is my favorite. There was no band member listing on the first EP, but on this one, the band is a five piece: Andy, Neil, Ben, Michael & Adam.
This EP has four songs. It opens with “My Friend the Bombmaker” in which the drums and bass have a bit more prominence but as soon as the guitars kick in it is clearly We Arrive Alive. They seem to have made this sound their own. I enjoy the way they mix things up on this song–some staccato parts which then jumps into a slow part with a bass line that makes the song seem more positive than it might. A bright guitar line echoes that sentiment.
This EP features the two shortest songs recorded by the band. Each is around three and a half minutes. “A Lethal Black Ooze” opens with some keyboard sounds and swirling guitars. The actual riff feels far more ominous than the previous song. This one ends in an odd way—sort of abruptly. “Zombies” opens with a great guitar riff. I love the way the bass thuds along in this one too. Then the song kicks into high gear and simply propels itself along. It comes and goes so quickly that when it does end at just over 3 and a half minutes you’re sure there will be more (and you want more).
The final song is slow and the bent guitar notes and rumbling at the end are ominous indeed. “Dachau” may be a little too intense as a title, but the song is still effective and does evoke a sense of horror.
I really enjoyed this EP.
[READ: March 21, 2015] Fatherland
More than the story, the thing that struck me most about this graphic novel was the art. Bunjevac has a beautiful realistic style that is uncanny in its use of lines and shading. This book is simply gorgeous to look at (the cover indicates the kind of art inside). I was constantly drawn in by the crosshatching, marveling that it was never “perfect” despite how perfect it looked. It was these little “flaws” that made it look all the better.
The book opens in Toronto in 2012. The narrator (shown on the first page drawing) is startled that her mother has come by unannounced, but she uses the opportunity to bring up something that has been bothering her for many years. Her mother has selective memory about her past (the narrator’s childhood). Her mom can easily remember celebrities and other minutiae but her own life she doesn’t seem to recall.
And then we flash back to Welland, Ontario in 1975. The narrator is the youngest of three children. Her mother, after years of being unhappily married, begins taking precautions against the night–pushing a wardrobe in front of the window. She once tried to flee from her husband (who was abusive), but he promised things would be different. And they were, briefly. (more…)
I Just Read About That... 