Gone To Croatoan - They (2008)

Sorting through my box of 7" records, which incidentally I'm running out of space for, I rediscovered this obscure little gem from an equally obscure band hailing from Portland. Gone To Croatoan hopped on a two-dollar, 9+ band show that my friends and I (more so my friends than I) put on last spring (technically summer for me since I was done with school by then) in our late friend's living room. That was my highlight of my spring and probably my whole year, running over there right after I got off work and staying there through the whole night, even after someone tore a hole in the wall and shattered a sliding glass door. Although I'm tempted to put up the flyer that I made for it, that isn't what this entry is about. And also, the flyer is a ghastly sight, but we needed something.

Anyway, sorry, let's move on. Gone To Croatoan were the first band to play that show, albeit to only a handful of kids. I had my immediate doubts, seeing a two-piece band made up of only a drummer and a bassist. But what an unexpectedly impressive - and loud - performance they put on after all. Here is a video of part of their set. Although it doesn't really showcase a lot of the music, instead showcasing an alcohol and perhaps adrenaline-induced blackout, it does provide an example of how much power these guys can push out of a simple setup (Taken from their website.)

This particular 7", They, does a pretty good job of showing how this unconventional of an outfit can do a grindcore/punk hybrid record right, or at least their own way. Side A is speedy and effective punk music while side B is elongated, sludgy, distorted - just a real messy, ugly, fantastic nightmare. This is not pretty music by any means, and I say that with no ire implied (although, judging from my blog, I am a wuss and I enjoy a lot of wuss music.)

Gone To Croatoan - They