March on Electric Children

Last updated
March on Electric Children
Blood Brothers - March On Electric Children.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedFebruary 25, 2002
Genre Post-hardcore
Length24:38
Label Three One G
Epitaph (reissue)
Producer Matt Bayles
The Blood Brothers chronology
This Adultery Is Ripe
(2000)
March on Electric Children
(2002)
...Burn, Piano Island, Burn
(2003)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Stylus Magazine A− [2]

March on Electric Children is the second studio album by the American post-hardcore band The Blood Brothers, released in February 2002. Produced by Matt Bayles, the album (which is described in the liner notes as a "short story set to music") was recorded in one week [3] on a $3000 budget [4] and has been described by singer Jordan Blilie as "crazier" and "more complex" than the band's previous effort, This Adultery Is Ripe . [5]

Contents

Concept album

The album has been described by numerous critics as a concept album, with its characters portrayed more as villains and victims than as heroes. The effort was an attempt by the band to create a storyline with repeating characters that has a bleak outlook on life, emphasizing the consequences of the characters' selfish choices. A common motif utilized throughout the album is the ocean and sea creatures, which was a result of vocalist Johnny Whitney taking an oceanography class during the album's production. [6] The album marks additions to the band's songwriting tools. For example, "Kiss of the Octopus" samples "The Perfect Drug" by Nine Inch Nails, [7] and the piano acts as the sole instrument played on "American Vultures". [8] It is also the conclusion to the storyline and wraps up the themes featured in the previous songs. Says singer Jordan Blilie:

Basically what we had in mind was that we wanted to focus on what happens when a person lives a life devoid of any real meaning. These are people that lead a very empty superficial existence where motives are completely selfish and empty, and what happens as a result of that choice.

Jordan Blilie in an interview with webzine bettawreckonize.com [3]

Characters

Track listing

All tracks are written by The Blood Brothers.

No.TitleLength
1."Birth Skin/Death Leather"1:43
2."Meet Me at the Water Front After the Social"2:46
3."March on Electric Children!"3:03
4."New York Slave"2:44
5."Kiss of the Octopus"2:39
6."Siamese Gun"3:21
7."Mr. Electric Ocean"2:16
8."Junkyard J. vs. the Skin Army Girlz/High Fives, LA Hives"2:57
9."American Vultures"3:27

Personnel

The Blood Brothers
Production and design

Release history

RegionDateLabelFormatCatalogAdditional Notes
United States2002 Three One G CD Three One G 21
LP Pressed on black vinyl and clear with black splatters, the latter an edition of 500. A picture disc edition was also issued in quantities of 2500 copies.
2009 Epitaph Records CD87056-2

Related Research Articles

Coheed and Cambria American rock band

Coheed and Cambria is an American progressive rock band from Nyack, New York, formed in 1995. The band consists of Claudio Sanchez, Travis Stever, Josh Eppard, and Zach Cooper. The group's music incorporates aspects of progressive rock, pop, heavy metal, and post-hardcore.

Drive Like Jehu American post-hardcore band

Drive Like Jehu was an American post-hardcore band from San Diego active from 1990 to 1995. It was formed by rhythm guitarist and vocalist Rick Froberg and lead guitarist John Reis, ex-members of Pitchfork, along with bassist Mike Kennedy and drummer Mark Trombino, both from Night Soil Man, after their two bands disbanded in 1990. Drive Like Jehu's music was characterized by passionate singing, unusual song structure, indirect melodic themes, intricate guitar playing, and calculated use of tension, resulting in a distinctive sound amongst other post-hardcore acts and helped to catalyze the evolution of hardcore punk into emo.

The Blood Brothers (band) American post-hardcore band

The Blood Brothers was an American post-hardcore band which formed in 1997. The group was based in Seattle's Eastside suburbs and released five full-length albums before their 2007 breakup, as well as numerous side projects on behalf of the members. They reunited for a series of shows surrounding and including FYF Fest in 2014.

<i>Crimes</i> (album) 2004 studio album by The Blood Brothers

Crimes is the fourth studio album by the American band The Blood Brothers, released on October 12, 2004 on V2 Records. It was their first major label album. Produced by John Goodmanson, the album was recorded in two months in the band's hometown of Seattle.

<i>...Burn, Piano Island, Burn</i> 2003 studio album by The Blood Brothers

...Burn, Piano Island, Burn is the third full-length studio album by the American post-hardcore band The Blood Brothers, released in March 2003. Produced by Ross Robinson, the album was recorded over two months with a roughly $25,000 budget. The album drew widespread critical acclaim, reflected by an average score 82 on Metacritic.

Botch (band) American mathcore band

Botch was an American mathcore band formed in 1993 in Tacoma, Washington. The band, featuring Brian Cook, Dave Knudson, Tim Latona and Dave Verellen, spent four years as a garage band and released several demos and EPs before signing to Hydra Head Records. Through the label, Botch released two studio albums: American Nervoso (1998) and We Are the Romans (1999). The group toured extensively and internationally in support of their albums with liked-minded bands such as The Blood Brothers, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Ink & Dagger and Jesuit. Botch struggled to write a third studio album, and in 2002 the group broke up due to tensions among the band members and creative differences. Hydra Head posthumously released an EP of songs the group had been working on before they split titled An Anthology of Dead Ends and a live album documenting their final show titled 061502 in 2006.

Antioch Arrow was an American punk rock band from San Diego, California, that formed in 1992. Most of their discography was released through the San Diego independent label Gravity Records. The label was responsible raising San Diego's profile in the underground music scene of the mid-1990s. The band, breaking up in 1994 and releasing one final studio album posthumously in 1995, are now considered to be one of the most influential bands of the early 1990s that shaped emo and post-hardcore music of the late 1990s and early 2000s.

<i>We Are the Romans</i> 1999 studio album by Botch

We Are the Romans is the second and final studio album by American metalcore band Botch. It was originally released in November 1999 through Hydra Head Records. Since its release, it has been seen as an influential album on metalcore and hardcore music.

Sharks Keep Moving were a short-lived Seattle rock band that formed in 1998. The band's original lineup consisted of Jake Snider (guitar/vocals), Nathan Turpen (guitar), Jeff DeGolier (bass), and Dan Dean (drums). Their music was a melodic, often soft, brand of rock with odd time signatures and an almost freeform jazz influence.

<i>This Adultery Is Ripe</i> 2000 studio album by The Blood Brothers

This Adultery Is Ripe is the debut studio album by the American post-hardcore band The Blood Brothers, released in August 2000. Produced by Matt Bayles, this album was recorded over a weekend on a limited budget, and has been described as "stripped-down" and catchy by singer Jordan Blilie The artwork to This Adultery Is Ripe is almost entirely composed of pictures taken from the 1967 film The Graduate, which is described as a "cinematic masterpiece" in the liner notes.

Head Wound City is an American hardcore punk supergroup consisting of Jordan Blilie and Cody Votolato both of The Blood Brothers, Nick Zinner of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Justin Pearson and Gabe Serbian, both of The Locust.

<i>Young Machetes</i> 2006 studio album by The Blood Brothers

Young Machetes is the fifth and final studio album by the American post-hardcore band The Blood Brothers, which was released October 10, 2006. Lyrically, the album "remains firmly rooted in the surreal consciousness, rage and oblique politics the Blood Brothers have always embraced. It also reveals a new, once-bitten wisdom." Heather Phares of Allmusic said of the album:

Hannah Blilie American musician

Hannah Blilie is the drummer of the American R&B band Chanti Darling and formerly Gossip and Shoplifting. She has also performed with Sarah Dougher, Chromatics, Stiletto, Mr Yuk, The Lumpies, Vade, The Vogue, and Soiled Doves. Her twin brother, Jordan Blilie, was one of the two lead vocalists of now-defunct The Blood Brothers. A photo of Blilie is featured on the cover artwork for the Gossip's fourth studio album Music for Men.

Soiled Doves was an American post-hardcore band from Seattle active in 2000 and 2001, releasing one album called Soiled Life two years after disbanding. The band formed as dance-punk band The Vogues in the late 1990s, changing their name to Soiled Doves after the departure of keyboardist Casey Wescott, having released one album and a single. The band consisted of Johnny Whitney, Adam Miller, Devin Welch and Hannah Blilie. Members of the band later formed part of various other bands, including The Blood Brothers, Chromatics, Gossip (Blilie), and Neon Blonde (Whitney).

Johnny Whitney Musical artist

Johnny Whitney is a singer, author and multi-instrumentalist from Seattle.

Jordan Blilie is the American vocalist for the bands Past Lives and Head Wound City, best known as the co-lead vocalist and co-lyricist for The Blood Brothers, from 1997 until their breakup in 2007.

Cody Votolato Musical artist

Cody Votolato is a musician from Redmond, Washington, best known for being the guitarist in the post-hardcore band The Blood Brothers. He grew up in the eastside suburbs of Seattle. Cody attended Redmond High School with his bandmates in the late 1990s when the band originally formed, graduating Spring of 2000. His accomplished thrashy and discordant style, exhibited in early Blood Brothers albums and in Head Wound City, has evolved into a more melodic and experimental sound in recent years. Votolato's older brother Rocky Votolato is a folk musician and solo artist who played in the band Waxwing with his brother, as well as with Rudy Gajadhar, the older brother of The Blood Brothers' drummer Mark Gajadhar. Votolato also contributed artwork to The Blood Brothers' album ...Burn, Piano Island, Burn. On 4 September 2012, it was announced that Cody has joined Cold Cave as touring guitarist.

Past Lives is an American rock band from Seattle, Washington. The band formed out of the breakup of The Blood Brothers in late 2007.

La Dispute (band) American post-hardcore band

La Dispute is an American post-hardcore band from Grand Rapids, Michigan, formed in 2004. The current lineup is vocalist Jordan Dreyer, drummer Brad Vander Lugt, guitarist Chad Morgan-Sterenberg, guitarist Corey Stroffolino and bass guitarist Adam Vass.

<i>Empty Days & Sleepless Nights</i> 2011 studio album by Defeater

Empty Days & Sleepless Nights is the second studio album by the American melodic hardcore band Defeater. The album was released on March 8, 2011, through Bridge Nine Records. It was recorded at guitarist Jay Maas' Getaway Recording Studios in Wakefield, Massachusetts.

References

  1. "Archived copy". www.stylusmagazine.com. Archived from the original on 20 January 2008. Retrieved 14 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. 1 2 n/a. "Leader of the Pack (Interview with the Blood Brothers)". bettawreckonize.com. BettaWreckonize. Archived from the original on 2007-10-27. Retrieved 2018-08-21.
  3. Robertshaw, Steven (2005-10-13). "The Blood Brothers: The Death of Hardcore". altpress.com. Alt Press. Archived from the original on 2008-04-16. Retrieved 2018-08-21.
  4. Lindsay, Cam (2003-09-01). "Interview: The Blood Brothers (Jordan Billie)". stylusmagazine.com. Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on 2008-01-17. Retrieved 2018-08-21.
  5. Ozzi, Dan (2015-04-07). "Rank Your Records: The Blood Brothers' Jordan Blilie Rates the Band's Five Eccentric Albums". noisey.vice.com. Vice. Retrieved 2018-08-21.
  6. Ott, Chris (March 24, 2003). "The Blood Brothers: Burn Piano Island, Burn!". Pitchfork . Archived from the original on March 19, 2009. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
  7. Diver, Mike (2006-03-15). "ReDIScover: The Blood Brothers". drownedinsound.com/. Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 2018-08-22. Retrieved 2018-08-21.