forgetters

forgetters: forgetters [double 7-inch]forgetters [double 7-inch] (2010)
Too Small to Fail

Reviewer Rating: 4

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Contributed by: JeloneJelone
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Published on September 24th 2010forgetters can, at times, come off as willfully difficult. The limited touring. The all-lower case name. And after a year of waiting for recorded material, they finally dropped a double seven-inch with a single song on each side, maximizing the number of times I, an entitled American, have to get up.

forgetters can, at times, come off as willfully difficult. The limited touring. The all-lower case name. And after a year of waiting for recorded material, they finally dropped a double seven-inch with a single song on each side, maximizing the number of times I, an entitled American, have to get up and flip the wax. They make me work for it. Yet when the songs are playing, it pays off.

If forgetters weren't crammed with ringers, I wouldn't mind their low-key approach. But the band consists of Blake Schwarzenbach, Kevin Mahon and Caroline Paquita. These people have done time in Jawbreaker, Jets to Brazil, Against Me! and Bitchin', respectively. If you enjoy any punk music from the last 20 years, you might be interested in their collective discography.

Let's this out of the way: forgetters kind of sounds like Schwarzenbach's other bands. They're more like Jawbreaker than Jets to Brazil--punk power trio with distorted guitar, powerful bass and one heck of a drummer. The lyrics are less scene-oriented than Jawbreaker's but not as opaque as JtB's could get. Songs are crammed with emotion and longing, but not in any visceral emo sense. "Vampire Lessons" is erotic. "Too Small to Fail" tries to find a glimmer of self-respect while dealing with lousy lovers. "Not Funny" is about an Afghani girl torn between her love for a soldier and her father. In trying to find a place between two cultures, the narrator concludes "Between the sand and moon there is no place for me."

For those who have followed Schwarzenbach's music over the years and just enjoy the way he writes, forgetters is rewarding. Folks looking for a good punk seven-inch can check this out too. The first half hits a little harder. "Vampire Lessons" is a little quasi-goth--it's about late-night sexy times--and it's all the more fun for it. "Too Small to Fail" is the physical and lyrical flipside to that, then. "Vampire Lessons" could be read as the sexual fun that greets a new relationship; "Too Small to Fail" is the fallout near the end. They're also super catchy. The second seven-inch is pretty good too. "Not Funny" furiously pounds eardrums as it sets it tale, while "The Night Accelerates" gently takes the listener out. The production is a little dry, but it suits the style.

It took nearly a year for forgetters to go from a studio to the open market, so I'm not sure if this is a teaser for an album or a placeholder for another year of gradual building. But it's been eight years since Jets to Brazil's Perfecting Loneliness, and I'll take four songs over none.

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Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not respon sible for them in any way. Seriously.

eatbicycles (November 8, 2012)

who switched the image? that there's the pic for the LP. This is one of the best EPs ever.

skalastics (March 20, 2011)

it sounds like against me! and jawbreaker had an amazing bearded baby

froggerwithmylife (October 31, 2010)

Orgcore

robthepenguin (October 27, 2010)

I like it a lot. Going back to basics. I really don't know why everyone has beef with the drumming. Blake's drummers have never been outstanding. Chris Daly from J2B was probably the best out of everyone (at least with keeping time and knowing his shit). Cometbus has terrible timing but I've always loved his style, especially in Pinhead Gunpowder. Pfahler was nothing special in the early Jawbreaker years. But enough about drumming. I really liked the EP. Like I said, going back to the old punk sound with this. I hope the record comes out this way. I was getting tired of the polished J2B sound.

goodbye_kid (October 16, 2010)

one of the best blake's works.

3Fast3Furious (September 28, 2010)

On some level, I really appreciate that they're playing hard-to-get with listeners. It's fun (kind of) and utilizes a kind of nostalgia that is sort of masked as anti-nostalgia. Or something.

But the fact of the matter is that the record itself is nothing special; I love it when bands do great things with vinyl, but the double 7" is an unusual format-- the cost-to-coolness ratio doesn't work in the favor of people who would otherwise want to buy the record. And the songs, while well-written, definitely come across as being 2 flaccid 2 furious for me to get excited about them.

xchemicalx (September 27, 2010)

It's pretty rough... There's really nothing great, or even good, about this.

sloanedaley (September 26, 2010)

I like this more than any Jets To Brazil album after the first one, fuck interpunk on screwing up my order and taking my money though.

TraumaSponge (September 26, 2010)

I'm wondering why they didn't record Not Immune. That definitely seemed like the stand out song they've written so far.

victim (September 25, 2010)

I spell my name in all lowercase to be willfully difficult

slymer (September 25, 2010)

I bought this off itunes in the spirit of the pre-internet days. I love this ep.

IanOmusic (September 25, 2010)

Good review.
To those who have commented on the effort required as a fan. Certainly that is on purpose - as is the lack of a music-playing-website, the handmade flyers, basement shows, the double 7". It's all in the spirit of the pre-internet days when vinyl was ordered from ads in zines. I think it would be better without the download card personally. Vinyl-only makes more sense as this project is late '80s in spirit, as was Unfun.
Yes, the production is raw and yes, the drumming is wtf bad. Still better than Cometbus though.
It would seem this is the buzz project before the album. These songs certainly aren't the strongest of what's been played live. Blake still has it, fear not.
I propose we all pool money and pay Peter Moffett and J Robbins to play on/record a Blake album. No need for a band or tours.

dirty30 (September 24, 2010)

the drummer ruins forgetters, he's a challenged player, he means well but he's literally like 4ft 11inches. The bassist is just alright as well. it's like if blake got a bunch of school of rock kids and taught them how to barely play. It sad because this just gets by with me. It's not great work by any means

kylewagoner (September 24, 2010)

Where's jawbreakersucks's comment?!

kneebone (September 24, 2010)

at least when cometbus was drumming for thorns of life the songs had energy. These songs are so boring, and seeing them live is not any better. I definitely believe it has to do with kevin behind the drums.

thepopeofchili-town (September 24, 2010)

Great songs, bad production. One song per side is kind of a pain in the ass as well. Also, the all lowercase name is in all-caps on the cover. What's up with that?

StraightToHell82 (September 24, 2010)

Meh.... I was definitely expecting a lot better.

monostereo (September 24, 2010)

You do get a download card with the double 7. Would have preferred a 10inch. Decent after a few listens, but I agree with most of the critiques above.

drunkwithpower (September 24, 2010)

I will never hear this because it's a double 7 inch. Way to erradicate good will your built-in fans by having your first release be expensive and complicated.

suburbanxcore (September 24, 2010)

You people are crazy. This record is total garbage, and that's coming from a huge Blake fan. Could he have picked a worse drummer? Could this have been recorded any worse? That second song is laughably bad. I was so disappointed with this release. There are a handful of decent lyrics, but as a whole this is weak. I've waited years for something new from Blake, and this did nothing but let me down.

wyld_stallyns_rule (September 24, 2010)

Fan by default.

Indecay (September 24, 2010)

This is ok.

jman83 (September 24, 2010)

ordered it 1 hour after the pre-sales started and got it last week, can't remember the actual release date but I was rockin it before it was supposed to be released. Not the best Schwarzenbach but I gotta say I love these four songs.

jimmynorville (September 24, 2010)

I like this a lot.

cash_money_hustla (September 24, 2010)

I can't find my keys.

bud_boomer (September 24, 2010)

maybe it looks different as an lp, but at that size that cover looks atrocious.

Cos (September 24, 2010)

Is Kevin a good drummer? I'm familiar with Against Me! before RAR. He can't be worse than Cometbus. Love that guy's songs, but he isn't a very good drummer.