Running, Fake Limbs Punch You In The Ear With Music (And You Like It)
By Jon Graef in Arts & Entertainment on Apr 17, 2012 7:20PM
In Fight Club, one of the more darkly comedic moments comes early in the film, when, at the provocation of Brad Pitt's Tyler Durden to hit him as a means of liberation, Edward Norton's corporate life drone character awkwardly punches Pitt in the ear. Now, let's say that, instead of responding incredulously, Pitt got really into it, to the point where he was rocking the fuck out. (Work with me here).
Such is the approximate musical effect of two Chicago bands, Running and Fake Limbs, each of whom will playing Saturday at separate (key word there, separate) Reckless Records locations as part of Record Store Day.
First, there's Running (above), a noisy, gleefully abrasive punk trio have an upcoming record titled Asshole Savant. Yesterday, Captcha Records, the Chicago underground label putting out Savant, debuted a new Running track on Facebook..
Harsh, driving, and utterly alive, Running's style of invigorating punk pulls no punches, favorably recalling pissed-off pigfuck titans of past (Jesus Lizard, Big Black, etc) without intruding derivatively on the genre's legacy. Put simply: it rocks. Listen to "I Can't Believe I'm Alive" below.
No slouches themselves when it comes to rocking out, Chicago quartet Fake Limbs (above) traffic in the more humorous, absurdist side of noisy punk, like Minneapolis's STNNNG. (How could they not be a little self-effacing, based on the press photo above, and on song titles like "Balding But Angry.")
Their record, Man Feelings, was released digitally in March, and will be released on vinyl May 8 through local imprint Boulevard Records, who recently crossed the two-year mark of existence. (Woot.) The label disseminated Fake Limbs tracks on YouTube on Monday.
To pump yourself up, stream the riff-driven, classic-and-psych-rock evoking "Your Comments Are Atrocious," a sentiment which should be dear to anyone on the Internet, below.
Fake Limbs also announced a record release show at The Hideout for May 25. To read more about the band's performances on Saturday, go here.