Tenement - Icepick 7" - Chalk this one up as another early scouting report, yet ultimately a blown opportunity, from your dear friends here at Beercan Records. Had we the funds or the balls to fund this on credit, I believe we would have beaten 608 Kisses Records (www.myspace.com/608kisses) to the punch on releasing this. But we had neither the funds, the credit nor the balls. The last of which is ironic as 608 Kisses appears to be run, at least in part, by a gal.
But none of this is important really. What is important is that you pick up this 7" fucking immediately upon it's release. I've read a bunch of reviews comparing Tenement to Dinosaur Jr. and that is pretty fair because both bands feature some unbelievable guitar action that, if attempted by a lesser player, would result in a waste of your time. But this is certainly not the case here and this Tenement cat (Amos, I believe) truly knows how to play a guitar and make it count. As in, that perfect balance of being able to get all technical, while using that technical prowess to stoke the emotions of YOU, the listener. In other words, Rush truly sucks, but you can't deny that they know how to play their instruments. While on the flipside, Void will work you into a frenzy, but most of their songs sound like they are literally throwing their instruments against a wall. Tenement, meanwhile can appears to be able to do it all. I, personally, would throw in a comparison to the Descendents at this juncture, only a little less structured, which isn't a bad thing whatsoever.
Both tunes here - "Icepick" and "Summer Street" - will tug at your emotions, but don't you dare call this emo. They're poppy, but don't you dare call this pop-punk. They both rock, but I'll put an Icepick in your face if you call this garage rock. By the way, the threat in that last sentence was basically lifted from a lyric in "Icepick". In any event, this stuff will make you nostaligic for your past, anxious about your present and hopeful for your future all at the same time.
Absolutely beautiful rock and roll. Although in the spirit of our bitterness about not acting on this one fast enough, I will say that I slightly prefer the original rough recordings of both of these tunes that we here at Beercan have in the vaults.
Track us down in 20 years, future Tenement fanboys. And if this 7" is any indication, there certainly will be Tenement fanboys in 20 years.
Beautiful rock and roll. (www.myspace.com/tenementwi)
Tenement - Sitcom Moms 7" - Yet another one that we should have released. Looks like the better label this time around is Rock Bottom Records (www.myspace.com/rockbottomwrex). Our thoughts on this one are essentially the same as our thoughts on the "Icepick" 7" seen above. The songs here are a little shorter and concise, but still maintain an epic vibe. Wondrous, catchy shit that you need to hear. The B-side, "City Bus" lags behind the rest of the Tenement pack o' songs, in our opinion. But that's like saying that a greyhound lags behind a cheetah in a footrace.
I cannot wait to hear what these cats come up with next. (www.myspace.com/tenementwi)
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