| The View from This Tower | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Studio album by | |
| Released | 2000 |
| Recorded | February 2000 |
| Genre | Post-hardcore, [1] math rock |
| Length | 36:57 |
| Label | Dischord |
The View from This Tower is the only full-length album by the American post-hardcore band Faraquet. [2] [3] It was released on Dischord Records in 2000 (Dischord #122). The album was the band's fourth, and last, recorded work.
The album was produced in part by J. Robbins. [4]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Pitchfork Media | 8.0/10.0 [5] |
| Portland Mercury |  [6] |
The Washington Post wrote that "the band has no interest in comfortable or communal moments ... Its stand-offishness, however, is frequently bracing." [7] Exclaim! called the album "a mesmerising blend of jagged, jazz-tinged, indie math rock." [4]
Minor Threat were an American hardcore punk band, formed in 1980 in Washington, D.C. by vocalist Ian MacKaye and drummer Jeff Nelson. MacKaye and Nelson had played in several other bands together, and recruited bassist Brian Baker and guitarist Lyle Preslar to form Minor Threat. They added a fifth member, Steve Hansgen, in 1982, playing bass, while Baker switched to second guitar.
Ian Thomas Garner MacKaye is an American singer, musician, songwriter, and record producer. Active since 1979, he is best known as the co-founder and owner of Dischord Records, a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label and the frontman of hardcore punk band Minor Threat and post-hardcore band Fugazi. MacKaye was also the frontman for the short-lived bands The Teen Idles, Embrace, and Pailhead, a collaboration with the band Ministry. MacKaye is a member of The Evens, a two-piece indie rock group he formed with his wife Amy Farina in 2001 and in 2018 formed the band Coriky with Farina and his Fugazi band mate Joe Lally.
Out of Step is the sole studio album by American hardcore punk band Minor Threat. It was released on 45 RPM vinyl in April 1983 through Dischord Records. Although Out of Step has only been released on CD in limited quantities, it has been repressed on vinyl as recently as 2010, and all tracks from the album are available on Minor Threat's 1989 compilation album Complete Discography.
Rites of Spring was an American post-hardcore band from Washington, D.C., in the mid-1980s, known for their energetic live performances. Along with Embrace, and Beefeater, they were one of the mainstay acts of the 1985 Revolution Summer movement which took place within the Washington, D.C. hardcore punk scene. Musically, Rites of Spring increased the frenetic violence and visceral passion of hardcore while simultaneously experimenting with its compositional rules. Lyrically, they also shifted hardcore into intensely personal realms and, in doing so, are often considered the first emo band but Rites of Spring itself rejected any association between themselves and emo genres.
Embrace were a short-lived hardcore punk band from Washington, D.C., which lasted from the summer of 1985 to the spring of 1986. Along with Rites of Spring, and Beefeater, it was one of the mainstay acts of the 1985 Revolution Summer movement, and was one of the first bands to be dubbed in the press as emotional hardcore, though the members had rejected the term since its creation. The band included lead vocalist Ian MacKaye of the defunct hardcore punk act Minor Threat and three former members of his brother Alec's band, the Faith: guitarist Michael Hampton, drummer Ivor Hanson, and bassist Chris Bald. Hampton and Hanson had also previously played together in S.O.A. The band played their first show on July 28, 1985 at Food for Thought, a former restaurant and music venue located on Washington, D.C.'s Dupont Circle; their ninth and final show was held at the 9:30 Club in March 1986. The only recording released by the quartet was their posthumous 1987 self-titled album, Embrace, being influenced by the Faith EP Subject to Change.
Dag Nasty is an American punk rock band from Washington D.C., formed in 1985 by guitarist Brian Baker of Minor Threat, drummer Colin Sears and bassist Roger Marbury, both of Bloody Mannequin Orchestra, and vocalist Shawn Brown. Their style of less aggressive, melodic hardcore was influential to post-hardcore; their sound was partly influenced by The Faith and their 1983 EP Subject to Change. Brian Baker said in “Filmage”, the documentary about Descendents, that he started Dag Nasty as a direct inspiration from them.
Shudder to Think was an American post-hardcore group. Formed in 1986, they released three albums on the Washington, D.C.-based label Dischord Records. They were also an alternative rock band, although they drew upon a wide range of stylistic influences, including pop music.
Embrace is the debut record and the only release by the American post-hardcore band Embrace.
Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has been applied to a broad constellation of groups. Post-hardcore began in the 1980s with bands like Hüsker Dü and Minutemen. The genre expanded in the 1980s and 1990s with releases by bands from cities that had established hardcore scenes, such as Fugazi from Washington, D.C. as well as groups such as Big Black and Jawbox that stuck closer to post-hardcore's noise rock roots. In the 2000s, post-hardcore achieved mainstream success with the popularity of bands like My Chemical Romance, Dance Gavin Dance, AFI, Underoath, Hawthorne Heights, The Used, At the Drive-In, Saosin, and Senses Fail. In the 2010s, bands like Sleeping with Sirens and Pierce the Veil, both of which being labeled as post-hardcore, achieved mainstream success. Meanwhile, bands like Title Fight and La Dispute experienced underground popularity.
Skewbald/Grand Union, also known as 2 Songs, is the eponymous archival EP featuring the only studio recordings by American hardcore punk band Skewbald/Grand Union.
Q and Not U was a post-hardcore band from Washington, D.C., signed to Dischord Records. Members John Davis, Harris Klahr, Christopher Richards, and Matt Borlik formed the band in 1998. After Borlik's departure following the release of their first album, the band went on to record two more critically acclaimed LPs as a three-piece, exploring aspects of dance-punk and other disparate musical styles. Q and Not U disbanded in September 2005 after completing their touring commitments and a short farewell stand at Washington, D.C. venue the Black Cat.
Beefeater was an American post-hardcore band from late 1984 until late 1986. Along with Embrace and Rites of Spring, they were one of the mainstay acts of the 1985 Revolution Summer movement which took place within the Washington, D.C. hardcore punk scene. They were pioneers of the post-hardcore genre in the mid-1980s with bands like Embrace, Rites of Spring and Gray Matter, among others.
The Evens are a Washington, D.C. indie-rock duo, formed in the fall of 2001, comprising partners Ian MacKaye and Amy Farina. After Ian MacKaye's band Fugazi entered a hiatus, The Evens began practicing extensively, and eventually played a few shows and recorded a self-titled album, released in March 2005 on MacKaye's label, Dischord Records. The Evens are known for their unusual choices in venues for performances and the stylistic change from what many have dubbed the "D.C." or "Dischord" sound. The Washington Post has described the sound as "what happens when post-hardcore becomes post-post-hardcore."
Faraquet is an American post-hardcore band from Washington D.C., United States, sometimes placed in the math rock genre. The trio formed in 1997 and disbanded in 2001 after releasing its debut full-length on Dischord Records. Faraquet were influenced by D.C.-based peers like Fugazi, Jawbox, and Nation of Ulysses as well as progressive rock bands like King Crimson. The band has recently reissued all of the material released prior to their full length and briefly reformed to play shows in support of this project in Brazil and their native Washington, D.C.
Egg Hunt was a one-off band/project of long time friends and musicians Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, former singer and drummer of the hardcore punk band Minor Threat, respectively. During a 1986 trip to England's Southern Studios to discuss European distribution of Dischord releases with owner John Loder, the three decided to make a record together, and the project was dubbed "Egg Hunt" for festive reasons. John took a seat in the producer's chair, while Ian and Jeff handled all the instruments.
Flex Your Head is a sampler album featuring early hardcore punk bands from the Washington, D.C. area. It was originally released in January 1982 on Dischord Records, with a pressing of 4,000 copies on vinyl record that sold out within one week; an additional 3,000 copies were released shortly after. In 1982, a third pressing of 2,000 copies was released under license in the United Kingdom by Alternative Tentacles. Each of the first three pressings featured a different front cover.
The Faith/Void Split LP is a split album by Washington D.C. hardcore groups Void and the Faith, released on Dischord Records in 1982. Void was one of the earliest examples of hardcore/metal crossover with their chaotic musical approach cited as particularly influential. Kurt Cobain listed the album in his top fifty albums of all time.
Grippe is the first album by the post-hardcore band, Jawbox. It was released in May 1991 on Dischord Records.
The single play record "Me and You", also known as Egg Hunt, and 2 Songs, is the first and only stand-alone release by the American experimental post-hardcore duo Egg Hunt.
The EFFECTS are a Washington, D.C. based math rock band consisting of Devin Ocampo, Matthew Dowling, and David Rich. They have released four digital EPs and a full-length album, Eyes to the Light, on Dischord Records.
