Alocasia Garden Top Ten – Reckless Records London

Alocasia Garden Top Ten

by Charles Taylor

This week we have a Top Ten from Reece AKA Alocasia Garden (as well as tonnes of other projects..).

Top 10 screamo records from my personal collection 

  1. City of Caterpillar- Driving Spain Up a Wall/ As The Curtains Dim (Adagio 830

City of Caterpillar are one of those bands that make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. Driving Spain Up A Wall was one of those tracks I listened to obsessively, all I had was that live clip. I’d restart the video the second it would end. That build up is absolutely unreal. I was so happy to grab the official release of this track a couple years ago. 

  1. Portraits of Past – s/t (ebullition)

This is probably the best screamo album ever written. From the lyrics, musicianship to production. It carriers the weight of the world and makes you feel like you’re in the eye of the storm. Every single track is perfect. That last section on Bang Yer Head, mate. 

  1. Combatwoundedveteran- I know a girl who develops crime scene photos (No Idea!)

This album had a pretty tight hold on me while I was at school and starting out in my first band. We’d never heard music so frantic and horrible. It was As if the band had set themselves on fire while playing. It seemed so exciting and new to me that there was music like this out there.

  1. Welcome To the Plague Year (electric human project)

Everything Kerry Pries has touched is beyond incredible. Her attitude to DIY music had such a huge impact on me and still does. If I could resurrect any band from that era just to see one show, it would definitely be them. Favourite song: Quiet Still Dead

5: Orchid (ebullition) 

Have Orchid ever written a bad song/album? No. 

6: Yaphet Kotto – The killer was in  the government blankets (ebullition)

When drummers faced the wall and the microphones barely worked. 

Favourite track: B and C

  1. I Hate Myself s/t (No Idea!)

I struggle listening to much emo, especially newer stuff. The only thing I can really think about is why am I not listening to I Hate Myself? They capture that unbearable, crushing sadness and pure euphoria all at once.

  1. Kaospilot – s/t (level plane)

Absolute Riffs. Absolute cry. Absolute mosh. Absolute sweat.

  1. Indian summer – Hidden Arithmetic (adagio830) 

I stumbled across ‘Angry Son’ on last FM when I was 15. It blew my mind and still does to this day. The blown out recordings, the lyrics, the sloppy guitar playing, the buried screams. It sounds like someone has been completely defeated.

Favourite song: Aren’t You An Angel

  1. Battle of wolf 359 – The Death Of Affect (react with protest)

A hard classic in U.K. screamo. This was a really early find. Everything traces back to this band and these people for me. You know those friends that you kinda fan girl over on the sly? The possibilities and the impact of DIY music opened up to me. Finding out at a young age that you could run a label, you could put on shows, even play them, tour anywhere you wanted, it blew my mind. This is what a band should be.

 

Check out Alcosia Garden here:

https://alocasiagarden.bandcamp.com

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