Here's Five: A Wilhelm Scream

Massachusetts punks A Wilhelm Scream are currently hurtling towards New Zealand to play a one-off show at Auckland dive bar Whammy on Thursday night. The group have been been promising a follow-up to 2013's full length album Party Crasher for some time, so fingers crossed their going to bring some of their new tunes to the mid-week show. However, for their Here's Five bassist Brian Robinson ventures to the other end of the musical spectrum as he explains below...

I had the idea of five songs that I put on while doing the drive on a bus from Tokyo to Kobe on our current tour. Although the band and myself are huge punk rock fans, I know that all of us (and I assume many musicians) in punk/hardcore enjoy several other genres of music. Watching the Japanese countryside pass by, I’ve decided to list five songs that are just incredible to sit back and relax to – but at the same time are incredibly badass songs.

1. Massive Attack – 'Angel'

I’d never been devout Massive Attack fan – I think the first time ever heard this song was watching the movie Snatch – in which Mickey’s mother is burning in her caravan (shit, that was a spoiler – but if you haven’t seen that movie yet, it’s 15 years old and I feel no remorse for you). Spoilers aside, the song is six minutes of crescendos and layered bass tones that I could play over and over again without realizing the song had ended.

2. Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton – 'Our Hell'
This is Emily Haines’ from Metric’s solo effort. It’s more piano-driven slower pop-rock. A lot of the record is reminiscent of slower Death Cab songs. The lyrics are flawless – Knives Don’t Have Your Back is a great record for those in need of a break from their RKL or Cursed records (both amazing bands).

3. Dave Brubeck – 'Unsquare Dance'

Dave Brubeck is regarded as one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time – the master of odd time jazz (in my opinion). I… cannot play piano to save my own life, but listening to his ideas for chord choices and rhythmic experimentation is truly inspiring. 'Unsquare Dance' is a quick, cool-as-fuck bluesy journey through 7/4 time. Even if you despise jazz music, pick up his greatest hits record and tell me that it isn’t outstanding.



 
4. David Bazan – 'Won’t Let Go'
Ah, the (formerly) Christian king of the “Sad Bastard Music” genre. I’m so glad that “Emo” music turned into an awful trainwreck of commercialised pitch-corrected bullshit to push people like Bazan into a genre of slow-tempo, well written pop/rock and sometimes even folk-ish music. 'Won’t Let Go' strikes at the heart-strings of anyone who has to fly around doing something they love while having something just as important back home. Grab some tissues, in regards to your respective ‘issues’ and enjoy.

5. Moneen – 'The Last Song I Will Ever Want To Sing'

I’m sure any person that’s ever been a part of a scene, either going to shows or performing at shows has a band that, in their mind, should be one of the most successful bands in the history of modern rock music… Moneen is that for me. I grew up a few towns down the highway from them in Southern Ontario and grew up going to their shows and eventually supporting them at shows and on tour. With 'The Last Song…' you get a great taste of their love for incredible melodic guitar hooks that stick in your head, dualing vocals, up-and-down dynamics and sheer love for pedal-boards. Again, another song that captivates you to the point that you haven’t realized you’ve just listened to a nine minute song.

If all of this is too relaxing for any of you… this video is on my most-watched list on Youtube.

Thanks for playing along, kids. I’ll see you in NZ!

 
Bri.


You can catch A Wilhelm Scream this Thursday 2nd June at Whammy Bar in Auckland, head over here to buy tickets.