Quarterly Review: Hum, Hymn, Atramentus, Zyclops, Kairon; IRSE!, Slow Draw, Might, Brimstone Coven, All Are to Return, Los Acidos

Posted in Reviews on October 7th, 2020 by JJ Koczan

THE-OBELISK-FALL-2020-QUARTERLY-REVIEW

Day three of the Quarterly Review. Always a landmark. Today we hit the halfway point, but don’t pass it yet since I’ve decided to add the sixth day next Monday. So we’ll get to 30 of the total 60 records, and then be past half through tomorrow. Math was never my strong suit. Come to think of it, I wasn’t much for school all around. Work sucked too.

Anyway, if you haven’t found anything to dig yet — and I hope you have; I think the stuff included has been pretty good so far — you can either go back and look again or keep going. Maybe today’s your day. If not, there’s always tomorrow.

Quarterly Review #21-30:

Hum, Inlet

HUM INLET

One has to wonder if, if Hum had it to do over again, they might hold back their first album in 23 years, Inlet, for release sometime when the world isn’t being ravaged by a global pandemic. As it stands, the largesse and melodic wash of the Illinois outfit’s all-growed-up heavy post-rock offers 55 minutes of comfort amid the tumult of the days, and while I won’t profess to having been a fan in the ’90s — their last studio LP was 1997’s Downward is Heavenward, and they sound like they definitely spent some time listening to Pelican since then — the overarching consumption Inlet sets forth in relatively extended tracks like “Desert Rambler” and “The Summoning” and the manner in which the album sets its own backdrop in a floating drone of effects make it an escapist joy. They hold back until closer “Shapeshifter” to go full post-rock, and while there are times at which it can seem unipolar, to listen to the crunching “Step Into You” and “Cloud City” side-by-side unveils more of the scope underlying from the outset of “Waves” onward.

Hum on Thee Facebooks

Polyvinyl Records webstore

 

Hymn, Breach Us

Hymn Breach Us

Oslo’s Hymn answer the outright crush and scathe of their 2017 debut, Perish (review here), with a more developed and lethal attack on their four-song/38-minute follow-up, Breach Us. Though they’re the kind of band who make people who’ve never heard Black Cobra wonder how two people can be so heavy — and the record has plenty of that; “Exit Through Fire”‘s sludgeshuggah chugging walks by and waves — it’s the sense of atmosphere that guitarist/bassist/vocalist Ole Rokseth and drummer Markus Støle bring to the proceedings that make them so engrossing. The opening title-track is also the shortest at 6:25, but as Breach Us moves across “Exit Through Fire,” “Crimson” and especially 14-minute closer “Can I Carry You,” it brings forth the sort of ominous dystopian assault that so many tried and failed to harness in the wake of NeurosisThrough Silver in Blood. Hymn do that and make it theirs in the process.

Hymn on Thee Facebooks

Fysisk Format on Bandcamp

 

Atramentus, Stygian

Atramentus stygian

Carried across with excruciating grace, Atramentus‘ three-part/44-minute debut album, Stygian, probably belongs in a post-Bell Witch category of extreme, crawling death-doom, but from the script of their logo to the dramatic piano accompanying the lurching riffs, gurgles and choral wails of “Stygian I: From Tumultuous Heavens… (Descended Forth the Ceaseless Darkness)” through the five-minute interlude that is “Stygian II: In Ageless Slumber (As I Dream in the Doleful Embrace of the Howling Black Winds)” and into the 23-minute lurchfest that is “Stygian III: Perennial Voyage (Across the Perpetual Planes of Crying Frost and Steel-Eroding Blizzards)” their ultra-morose procession seems to dig further back for primary inspiration, to acts like Skepticism and even earliest Anathema (at least for that logo), and as guttural and tortured as it is as it devolves toward blackened char in its closer, Stygian‘s stretches of melody provide a contrast that gives some semblance of hope amid all the surrounding despair.

Atramentus on Thee Facebooks

20 Buck Spin webstore

 

Zyclops, Inheritance of Ash

zyclops inheritance of ash

As it clocks in 27 minutes, the inevitable question about Zyclops‘ debut release, Inheritance of Ash, is whether it’s an EP or an LP. For what it’s worth, my bid is for the latter, and to back my case up I’ll cite the flow between each of its four component tracks. The Austin, Texas, post-metallic four-piece save their most virulent chug and deepest tonal weight for the final two cuts, “Wind” and “Ash,” but the stage is well set in “Ghost” and “Rope” as well, and even when one song falls into silence, the next picks up in complementary fashion. Shades of Isis in “Rope,” Swarm of the Lotus in the more intense moments of “Ash,” and an overarching progressive vibe that feels suited to the Pelagic Records oeuvre, one might think of Zyclops as cerebral despite their protestations otherwise, but at the very least, the push and pull at the end of “Wind” and the stretch-out that comes after the churning first half of “Rope” don’t happen by mistake, and a band making these kinds of turns on their first outing isn’t to be ignored. Also, they’re very, very heavy.

Zyclops on Thee Facebooks

Zyclops on Bandcamp

 

Kairon; IRSE!, Polysomn

Kairon IRSE Polysomn

It’s all peace and quiet until “Psionic Static” suddenly starts to speed up, and then like the rush into transwarp, Kairon; IRSE!‘s Polysomn finds its bliss by hooking up a cortical node to your left temple and turning your frontal lobe into so much floundering goo, effectively kitchen-sink kraut-ing you into oblivion while gleefully hopping from genre to cosmic genre like they’re being chased by the ghost of space rock past. They’re the ghost of space rock future. While never static, Polysomn does offer some serenity amid all its head-spinning and lobe-melting, be it the hee-hee-now-it’s-trip-hop wash of “An Bat None” or the cinematic vastness that arises in “Altaïr Descends.” Too intelligent to be random noise or just a freakout, the album is nonetheless experimental, and remains committed to that all the way through the shorter “White Flies” and “Polysomn” at the end of the record. You can take it on if you have your EV suit handy, but if you don’t check the intermix ratio, your face is going to blow up. Fair warning. LLAP.

Kairon; IRSE! on Thee Facebooks

Svart Records webstore

 

Slow Draw, Quiet Joy

slow draw quiet joy

The second 2020 offering from Hurst, Texas’ Slow Draw — the one-man outfit of Mark “Derwooka” Kitchens, also of Stone Machine Electric — the four-song Quiet Joy is obviously consciously named. “Tightropes in Tandem” and closer “Sometimes Experiments Fail” offer a sweet, minimal jazziness, building on the hypnotic backwards psych drone of opener “Unexpected Suspect.” In the two-minute penultimate title-track, Kitchens is barely there, and it is as much an emphasis on the quiet space as that in which the music — a late arriving guitar stands out — might otherwise be taking place. At 18 minutes, it is intended to be a breath taken before reimmersing oneself in the unrelenting chaos that surrounds and swirls, and while it’s short, each piece also has something of its own to offer — even when it’s actively nothing — and Slow Draw brims with purpose across this short release. Sometimes experiments fail, sure. Sometimes they work.

Slow Draw on Thee Facebooks

Slow Draw on Bandcamp

 

Might, Might

might might

It took all of a week for the married duo of Ana Muhi (vocals, bass) and Sven Missullis (guitars, vocals, drums) to announce Might as their new project following the dissolution of the long-ish-running and far-punkier Deamon’s Child. Might‘s self-titled debut arrives with the significant backing of Exile on Mainstream and earns its place on the label with an atmospheric approach to noise rock that, while it inevitably shares some elements with the preceding band, forays outward into the weight of “Possession” and the acoustic-into-crush “Warlight” and the crush-into-ambience “Flight of Fancy” and the ambience-into-ambience “Mrs. Poise” and so on. From the beginning in “Intoduce Yourself” and the rushing “Pollution of Mind,” it’s clear the recorded-in-quarantine 35-minute/nine-song outing is going to go where it wants to, Muhi and Missullis sharing vocals and urging the listener deeper into doesn’t-quite-sound-like-anything-else post-fuzz heavy rock and sludge. A fun game: try to predict where it’s going, and be wrong.

Might on Thee Facebooks

Exile on Mainstream website

 

Brimstone Coven, The Woes of a Mortal Earth

brimstone coven the woes of a mortal earth

Following a stint on Metal Blade and self-releasing 2018’s What Was and What Shall Be, West Virginia’s Brimstone Coven issue their second album as a three-piece through Ripple Music, calling to mind a more classic-minded Apostle of Solitude on the finale “Song of Whippoorwill” and finding a balance all the while between keeping their progressions moving forward and establishing a melancholy atmosphere. Some elements feel drawn from the Maryland school of doom — opener the melody and hook of “The Inferno” remind of defunct purveyors Beelzefuzz — but what comes through clearest in these songs is that guitarist/vocalist Corey Roth, bassist/vocalist Andrew D’Cagna and drummer Dave Trik have found their way forward after paring down from a four-piece following 2016’s Black Magic (review here) and the initial steps the last album took. They sound ready for whatever the growth of their craft might bring and execute songs like “When the World is Gone” and the more swinging “Secrets of the Earth” with the utmost class.

Brimstone Coven on Thee Facebooks

Ripple Music website

 

All Are to Return, All Are to Return

all are to return all are to return

Take the brutal industrial doom of Author and Punisher and smash it together — presumably in some kind of stainless-steel semi-automated contraption — with the skin-peeling atmosphere and grueling tension of Khanate and you may begin to understand where All Are to Return are coming from on their debut self-titled EP. How they make a song like four-minute centerpiece “Bare Life” feel so consuming is beyond me, but I think being so utterly demolishing helps. It’s not just about the plodding electronic beat, either. There’s some of that in opener “Untrusted” and certainly “The Lie of Fellow Men” has a lumber to go with its bass rumble and NIN-sounding-hopeful guitar, but it’s the overwhelming sense of everything being tainted and cruel that comes through in the space the only-19-minutes-long release creates. Even as closer “Bellum Omnium” chips away at the last remaining vestiges of color, it casts a coherent vision of not only aesthetic purpose for the duo, but of the terrible, all-gone-wrong future in which we seem at times to live.

All Are to Return on Bandcamp

Tartarus Records website

 

Los Acidos, Los Acidos

Los Acidos Los Acidos

I saved this one for last today as a favor to myself. Originally released in 2016, Los Acidos‘ self-titled debut receives a well-deserved second look on vinyl courtesy of Necio Records, and with it comes 40 minutes of full immersion in glorious Argentinian psicodelia, spacious and ’60s-style on “Al Otro Lado” and full of freaky swing on “Blusas” ahead of the almost-shoegaze-until-it-explodes-in-sunshine float of “Perfume Fantasma.” “Paseo” and the penultimate “Espejos” careen with greater intensity, but from the folksy feel that arrives to coincide with the cymbal-crashing roll of “Excentricidad” in its second half to the final boogie payoff in “Empatía de Cristal,” the 10-song outing is a joy waiting to be experienced. You’re experienced, right? Have you ever been? Either way, the important thing is that the voyage that, indeed, begins with “Viaje” is worth your time in melody, in craft, in its arrangements, in presence and in the soul that comes through from front to back. The four-piece had a single out in late 2019, but anytime they want to get to work on a follow-up LP, I’ll be waiting.

Los Acidos on Thee Facebooks

Necio Records on Bandcamp

 

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Might Sign to Exile on Mainstream for Self-Titled Debut

Posted in Whathaveyou on June 1st, 2020 by JJ Koczan

might

How’s your lockdown been? Productive? Might‘s has. The German two-piece who got together in January after the dissolution of the punkier Deamon’s Child managed to record a self-titled debut and they’ll release it on July 17 through no less than Exile on Mainstream Records. Plenty of people have been writing, but this is the first made-in-quarantine album release I’ve heard about, though one can only imagine more are coming over the next however-many months, and Might had a distinct advantage in this regard because, well, they live together. Not so much with the social distancing in that case.

Preorders and a teaser are up now for the partaking, and the mood is prevalent.

Have at it:

might might

MIGHT sign with Exile On Mainstream Records

MIGHT sign with Exile On Mainstream Records – Album up for preorder.

Preorder Link: https://shop.mainstreamrecords.de/product/eom96

The self-titled album will be released on the 17th of July as a vinyl with CD bundle and also digital on all platforms.

Empty streets, contact restrictions, breathing masks – a situation, we all would have considered completely absurd just a few months ago adds a new kind of dismalness to our daily life, which turns a sombre vision into some new normality. For a band whose inauguration falls into these times it’s a self-evidently influence on their artistic creation. Two days before the planned start of recording the world comes to a grinding halt with lockdowns implemented all over Europe. The married couple Ana Muhi (vocals, bass) and Sven Missullis (guitars, vocals, drums) moves into their own studio in March 2020 to record the self-titled debut album. The raw energy, subtleness and fragility of the written songs get pulled into a wake deeply influenced by the state of the outside world. Under circumstances and opportunities of a new level of concentration the tracks begin to form.

During the recording and now, throughout the album one can read out different questions and approaches relating to the state of the world as of today: a dichotomy between emotional safety and discomfort, between rage, despair and esperance becomes the common theme. While the world discusses topics such as ‘Flatten The Curve’, MIGHT create their own sine wave built from emotional interferences and amplification between music and personal experience, resulting in an album full of ethereal intensity. The record comes across like a soundtrack for the emotional movie we all seem to be acting in: depression, way outs, light and darkness, instrumental furor and acoustic reflection create a debate taking in arguments from several musical genres such as Black Metal, Doom and Sludge, PostRock and Shoegaze. This all happens organic and natural, taking the focus away from pure effects towards an emotional efficiency: the power of love as an answer to questions relating to death and live as fragments thrown into the lyrics.

Tracklisting:
Side A
1 Introduce Yourself
2 Pollution Of Mind
3 Vampire
4 Possession
5 Warlight

Side B
1 Weirdo Waltz
2 Flight Of Fancy
3 Mrs. Poise
4 Zero

Might is:
Ana Muhi – Vocals, Bass
Sven Missullis – Vocals, Guitar, Drums

https://www.facebook.com/might.earth
http://www.might.earth/
https://might.bandcamp.com/
http://www.mainstreamrecords.de

Might, Might teaser

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Former Deamon’s Child Members Resurface in MIGHT

Posted in Whathaveyou on January 22nd, 2020 by JJ Koczan

True to their word, two of the three now-former members of German noise rockers Deamon’s Child, who announced their breakup just last week, have now made their new project known to the public. Ana Muhi and Sven “Missu” Missullis will share vocal duties in the new band, MIGHT, who would seem to prefer their moniker in all-caps and would seem as well to be taking on a more atmospheric kind of sound than that of Deamon’s Child. Working as a duo with Missullis pulling double-duty on drums and guitar for the time being — shows will be tricky, but I suppose not impossible — and Muhi on bass, the two players are giving a quick glimpse of what MIGHT may be about in a video teaser of some apparently-already-recorded material.

And I know it’s already recorded, because it exists. Fancy that.

No doubt some of the punkier aspects of Deamon’s Child will bleed into MIGHT as well, but even from the brief look and listen they give in the clip at the bottom of this post, it’s understandable why they might see fit to embark on MIGHT as an outfit distinct from their former band together — shifting from a trio to duo of course is also part of that. I don’t know what MIGHT‘s plans are going forward, or just what kind of release the teaser might be teasing, but there’s a definite sense of aesthetic at work here and if you happen to have a space 30 seconds in your busy day, it’s a fair enough way to be introduced.

So say hello:

might

Hello, we are MIGHT

Only a few days after they quitted their old band, Deamon’s Child, Ana Muhi and Sven Missullis founded a new band, called MIGHT.

Like in Deamon’s Child, Muhi will sing and play the bass. Missullis will play guitar, but also the drums and will also sing on a few songs.

There is already a short teaser online where you can hear some first tunes.

And there is also a Facebook page where you can check out what is coming next.

Might is:
Ana Muhi – Vocals, Bass
Sven Missullis – Vocals, Guitar, Drums

https://www.facebook.com/might.earth
http://www.might.earth/
https://might.bandcamp.com/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGXk7S2uISmKLIi8PCXHHPw

Might teaser

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Deamon’s Child Announce Breakup & Hint at Future Project

Posted in Whathaveyou on January 14th, 2020 by JJ Koczan

After three albums and a live record and demo and whatnot, German progressive noise rocking three-piece Deamon’s Child have announced they’re calling it a day. Their explanation of it via thee social medias — which you can read below — doesn’t get into to specific circumstances, but I think it emphasizes one way or another that the core of what Deamon’s Child were was in the emotional bond between the members, bassist/vocalist Ana Muhi, guitarist Sven Missullis and drummer Tim Mohr, and without that, there isn’t a band, so, in essence, there isn’t a band. It’s a more open and honest way of acknowledging the depths of relationships that form between band members — anyone who tells you it isn’t like being married probably isn’t married — than saying “this isn’t fun anymore,” which is what you sometimes get. Respect to Deamon’s Child either way for hanging it up rather than pressing on because they feel obligated.

Muhi and Missullis will reportedly start a new project together sometime in the near future. Like, maybe later this week. Hey, waste no time. I’m not saying I’ve heard anything or anything like that or know the name of the new band or there’s a teaser coming soon or who said “teaser?” or anything like that, but just keep your eyes peeled.

Here’s what they had to say:

deamons child

Deamon’s Child quit

Dear friends,

It’s hard for us to find the right words for a sad message.

The three of us decided to finish this project and go new paths.

Deamon’s child dissolves.

It feels unreal and surprising on the one hand, because we’ve just been working on new songs with passion. On the other hand, it feels consistent and authentic, because we have also realized that we want to give each other the space and take each other that we need.

We have the urge to develop, but in some points different needs. In our opinion, a compromise is not the right way here, because it would destroy what we stood and stand for. The three of us distinguishes a certain uncompromising in musical terms, whose consequence we hereby bear. Life has enough necessities, but a band is not necessary. A band should be free.

Deamon’s child came and raged with a loud bang, was allowed to grow with us and become what it is. The time has come to let go.

We will keep this band and the time we were able to experience together with you as unique in memory.

Let’s stay authentic and wild in deamon’s world. Let’s make them a better place.
Let’s stay loud and human.
Let’s be louder than hatred and stupidity of human enemies.
Let’s express together – everyone in their own way, but clearly.
Let’s stop the destruction of our livelihoods and humane values.

Deamon’s child will live on in us and naively believe in the power of the adult man. It believes to be able to take over the direction for a good life.

You hear from us.

It’s brewing, it’s trapping.

Deamon’s child will be in a better world, but we still have a lot to do here.
First we lick the wounds and then we licked blood what wants to let out.

It’s wild raw, it’s unleashed, it’s in progress.

We thank you for having accompanied us on our way.

In Respect.
In Love.
Goodbye.

Deamon’s child

Deamon’s Child were:
Ana Muhi – Bass & Gesang
Sven Missullis – Gitarre
Tim Mohr – Schlagzeug

https://www.facebook.com/deamonshome/
https://deamonschild.bandcamp.com/
http://www.deamonshome.de/

Deamon’s Child, Angstparade (2018)

Deamon’s Child, Live im Lux (2017)

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Deamon’s Child Release Live im Lux as Limited CD

Posted in Whathaveyou on June 23rd, 2017 by JJ Koczan

I take it as a sign mostly of my own middle-agedness that I’m so continually impressed by things like super-quick turnarounds on DIY releases. CDRs aren’t exactly new technology, but to me it seems worth admiring the work that Hannover, Germany’s Deamon’s Child have done in putting together Live im Lux as a limited-run of compact discs after only playing the show from which it’s made earlier this month in their hometown. That kind of thing is really cool. When I was a kid you’d have to wait forever for something like that. Now it’s online faster than even the CDs can be burned. Like I said, I’m old, so I find that impressive.

Deamon’s Child released their second album, Scherben Müssen Sein (review here), last year via Zygmatron Records, which was also kind enough to send over the following release info and live dates:

deamon's child live im lux

On June 3rd, 2017 the three piece DEAMON’S CHILD played a concert in its hometown, Hannover, Germany.

They opened for the Canadian band BLOOD CEREMONY at the LUX Club.

As the band arrived at the club they were happily surprised to meet an old friend behind the mixing console. It was Willi Dammeier of the Institut für Wohlklangforschung Studio. Willi is known for his productions with bands like COLOUR HAZE, KALAMATA, ROTOR, MOTHER SUPERIOR or CHERRY OVERDRIVE f.e..

After a hearty welcome the band and Willi decided spontaneously to record the concert without any extra expenditure and just for fun.

There was no time for an extra soundcheck or a special live microphone set up and above all it was not plant to record something for a release.

But well, there is a very nice livefeeling in it. It is raw, it is authentic and develops the fun the band and the audience have had very good. So we decided to release it.
The setlist has songs from the first two albums.

The live album „Live im Lux“ is available as download and as limited to 50 CD-R Version.

Dates (germany):
27.06. Hannover, Café Glocksee
04./05.08. E-Lite Culture Festival
25.08 Walsrode, ObernAir
07.10. Berlin, Supamolly
11.10. Hildesheim, Löseke
12.10. tba
13.10. Hamburg, Astra Stube
14.10. tba
20.10. Hannover, Monster Records
21.10. Potsdam, Punk Party
02.12. Erfurt, Café Tikolor
weitere Daten in Vorbereitung

Ana Muhi – Bass & Gesang
Sven Missullis – Gitarre
Tim Mohr – Schlagzeug

https://www.facebook.com/deamonshome/
https://deamonschild.bandcamp.com/
http://www.deamonshome.de/

Deamon’s Child, Live im Lux (2017)

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Wired Mind Sign to HeviSike Records; Mindstate: Dreamscape Due this Fall

Posted in Whathaveyou on July 1st, 2015 by JJ Koczan

wired mind hevisike

German heavy psych trio Wired Mind have inked a deal to release their Mindstate: Dreamscape LP through the label this fall. The band, who thumbs-up the deal above, issued Mindstate: Dreamscape earlier this year independently and will have it out on limited colored vinyl.

Kind of an interesting pattern emerging the last year or so of bands putting out records digitally, meeting with some success in the response and subsequently being picked up by labels for a physical release. Imprints like RidingEasy and STB and so on have done similar, and I guess as a business model it’s not so different from a label picking up a band with a cool demo in the old days, just the manner of initial distribution that’s changed. If it’s sustainable over the longer term, more power to all involved.

The PR wire brought the official announcement:

wired mind mindstate dreamscape

German heavy psychedelic rock trio WIRED MIND sign to HeviSike Records.

The Hannover three-piece have inked an exclusive deal with UK stoner rock label HeviSike Records to release their debut album ‘Mindstate:Dreamscape’. Originally self-released by the band in March this year, the four-song opus has received a positive reaction from the psychedelic and stoner rock community.

Mindstate:Dreamscape will satisfy both the fan of classic rock and modern European psych. Combining clear influences from 70s legends such as Amon Düül II, Grand Funk Railroad and Black Sabbath but with a modern twist. Nods to Colour Haze, The Machine and Samsara Blues Experiment are evident.

The album follows a journey into the depths of consciousness. Through cosmic jams and the occasional flourish of heavy, the songs explore the intricate caverns of the mind. Imagine a late summer’s sunset. Picture a voyage through the stars. Envisage a collective of minds united by the groove. This is Wired Mind. Mindstate:Dreamscape is just the beginning.

HeviSike Records will be giving the album the much-needed vinyl treatment including new mastering and high quality packaging. The record will be pressed on limited edition colour vinyl and will see worldwide distribution.

Wired Mind are: Chris (drums), Maik (guitar, vox) and Patrick (bass)

Listen to the first single ‘Woman’.
Release date: Friday 25th September 2015
Worldwide distribution via Plastic Head Distribution

facebook.com/hevisike
hevisike.com
facebook.com/wiredmindrocks
soundcloud.com/hevisike
wiredmind.bandcamp.com

Wired Mind, Mindstate: Dreamscape (2015)

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WhiteBuzz Post New Video, Decide Not to Name It

Posted in Bootleg Theater, Whathaveyou on July 29th, 2010 by JJ Koczan

You know the scene in Pootie Tang where Pootie has the hit single that’s completely silent and Chris Rock is the DJ who has to introduce the song without a name? I was reminded of that as I scoured the great big truck known as the internet looking for what the title of the song WhiteBuzz‘s new video is for (duh, it’s the one that sounds like Sleep — oh wait).

That title? “Untitled.” Glad to have put in the time. Sometimes life is just silly.

WhiteBuzz‘s Book of Whyte came out in 2009 on MeteorCity (read review). Here’s that video:

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