It’s just one of those days where you feel like people are talking shit about you so you look up serial killer tags on Tumblr and listen to music that’s way out of your comfort zone because that’s just what feels right. Happy Friday everyone! The band that wouldn’t normally be on my musical menu that happens to be serving me up what I need is Harvey Pekar and their album Upward, Not Northward. Their drastic take on hardcore with punk undertones would usually be too much for me, but I’m mad dang nabbit, so they’re fitting in just fine today.
Albums like Upward, Not Northward are most times a game for me; see how many words you can understand through the constant yelling. Not today, today the album felt like welcomed hammer, each song pushing the negative thoughts in my head further down. Songs that are puzzling like “Are We Not Mammals?” and question the idea of manhood in “God Damn All Gentlemen.” I didn’t want to run the risk of a curse, so I will say nothing here nor there about “Dear Tutankhamun,” Wait, it’s only if you go near his tomb? Either way, I’m not touching that one. While I know I enjoyed this record because of my mental state of “ehhh,” I realize that in a better mood I might not feel this album anymore. So I tried to put on a happy face and listen once more. During my last run through only “The Fifth Beast” managed to stick. The slowed down pace was something I wouldn’t mind at a later date.
At the end before Harvey Pekar starts “Blasé Babes,” they steal a line from Me You and Everyone We Know, “I want to be swept off my feet, you know?” Who doesn’t want that in life, with music, in general? Well when I started Upward, Not Northward, I wasn’t prepared to be swept anywhere and I wasn’t. All this record did was help aid a pissed off girl on a Friday afternoon, but that’s got to count for something. If you’re upset, or just happen to like bands like Flying Free and Landscapes, then check out Upward, Not Northward, out now on Escapist Records.
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