The following was composed by Bernie T. Fan. Bernie is more than a staple of the music scene in Chicago. He is a staple gun.   "On the couch. Nowhere to go. Nothing to do. Go for a walk. Get out of stupor. Down Lincoln Avenue. Lounge Ax. Someone's brother's band. No idea. Stumble on stage. Loud. Relentless. Brutal. Glorious. Thirty minutes. Get up. Thank brother. Walk home. Different stupor."   Big'N is the noise rocker's dream. "Trophy" starts out like an angrier version of Slint (yes, angrier than Rodan). Midwestern influences run amok in this record (Shellac, Dazzling Killmen, the whole of the Louisville scene and even a dash of Tortoise added to the guitar in songs like "El Diablo III"). More embittered, dark and less ideological than the rest of their influences, lyrical content runs the gamut of depression; cursed love, the burden of life, parental preachings and of course, the inevitable deathwish. This oppressive feeling works quite well with the scorching vocals and stop/start guitar antics. The result is a magnified passionate angst in their music which is emminent even in the quieter moments. You can picture the live performance simultaneously: lunging forward like caged animals and sweating their soul all over their razor sharp guitar strings and splintered drumsticks.   ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––   If ever there was an album where you had to look at the lyric sheet to understand the vocalist, it's this one. Every word out of lead singer Akins' mouth is indecipherable. When you listen to him, you feel hoarse because you realize that if you placed a block of cheese in front of your speakers, his voice would have shredded it to pieces by the time the last notes rang out of your stereo. As for the music itself, it's a maelstrom of chaos that leaves you with a sonic bruise and a slight feeling of motion sickness. Drummer Brian Wnukowski and bassist Mike Chartrand are extremely tight, as displayed by the ongoing time signature shifts -- a perfect example being the gut-wrenching drama of "Dying Breed" with its 4/4, 6/8, and 3/4 time. As for Todd Johnson's guitar work, it plays more of an accent role. Songs like "Moonshine," "Bird of Prey," and "Lucky 57" contain feedback squalls, slight harmonics, and big ringing chords. Overall, Discipline Through Sound is a very repetitive album with an abrasive tone suited to fans of loud, no-frills rock & roll. ~ Stephen Howell, All Music Guide   ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––   I’m digging back into the fertile grounds of the Chicago 90’s noise-rock scene for today’s entry and am going to take a brief look at one of the greatest bands to come out of that whole noisy mess, Big’N. It’s long past due. Big’N might not be one of the first bands mentioned when people think mid nineties noise-rock, but they sure as hell should be. Their music could have been a blueprint for how it should sound. Although, that blueprint would surely be covered in beer stains and probably be partially torn to pieces. That’s just a mere reflection as to how Big’N sounded. They were completely raw, full of energy, and absolutely out of control.   The band was formed in the early 90’s and released a number of 7 inches before being offered to release a full-length album through Germany’s Gasoline Boost Records. With that they were able to issue their debut album Cutthroat, which in my opinion is the better of two but it’s a very tough call. Cutthroat is just a little bit noisier, which gives it the slight nod. However, their second album Discipline Through Sound stacks up pretty nicely to it. There is no noticeable drop off between the two.   Sometimes I think there are bands that are named almost perfectly in contrast to their sound. Big’N is one of those bands. Their sound was a lumbering juggernaut of filthy bass and dissonance combined with that “good ‘ol boy” attitude with a partial drinking problem. What better name could they have had other than Big’N to solidify that image?   Regardless, for anyone that missed out on these guys while they were around, do yourself a favor and check out the songs below. The band was amazing and should be a staple within noise-rock. ~ Built On A Weak Spot

Brussels-based MONT-DORÉ is a Belgian collective gathered around a manifesto, as they describe it, concerning violence and peace in the act of climbing sensibilities.    Their first EP Escalades offered a vicious blend of screamo and DIY hardcore, and saw them hit stages together with the likes of ’68, Birds In Row, Year Of No Light, Celeste, ZZZ’s, Raketkanon, This Will Destroy You and Death Engine.    Mont-Doré returned with FRACTURES, an album with a more refined sound, yet still dangling over the edges of emergency. Far from being placated, FRACTURES the sound of a band violently confronting its inner-self, cranking out a visceral sonic amalgam somewhere between screamo, post-rock and post-hardcore. 

Bruit 90's