Milemarker (band)
| Milemarker | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Chapel Hill, NC |
| Genres | post-hardcore, emo, electronica |
| Years active | 1997–present |
| Labels | Eyeball, Jade Tree, Paralogy, Stickfigure |
| Members | Dave Laney, Ben Davis, Al Burian, Noah Leger, Monika Bukowska, Tim Remis, Greg Norman, John Bowman |
| Past members |
Roby Newton, Sean Husick, Tim Herzog; Pyrotechnical assistance: Roby Newton, Nandini Khaund, Patrick Zung; Light technicians: Roby Newton, Joseph DeVeaugh-Geiss, Seth Freedman |
Milemarker is a post-hardcore group originally formed in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. A longtime part of the Chapel Hill and Chicago underground music scenes, Milemarker slowly gained in popularity for their eclectic stylings and unique sound, which shifted from an experimental electronic format to heavier alternative rock in more recent years. Their 2005 US tour after the release of Ominosity featured heavy drums following winding guitars and vocals alternating from contemplative and narrative to shrieking and visceral. From 2005 to 2008, although the band did not officially break up, circumstances prevented the band from further recording and touring.[1] In 2008, the band played a show with the original line up of Al Burian, Dave Laney, and Ben Davis, and had a 12-date tour in Europe before playing at a musical festival in Lärz, Germany.[1] There has been no known tour since this one.
Milemarker often used word play and ironic lyrics in their songs. Examples include "Frigid Forms Sell You Warmth" ("there's a product line attached to every form of suicide") from 2000's Frigid Forms Sell; "A Quick Trip to the Clinic" ("died of pneumonia that I got on the walk to get my flu shot") from 2001's Anaesthetic; "From Russia With Love" ("everybody loves a good Red Scare") from 1999's Changing Caring Humans; and "Virtual Sex" ("it's not too personal to get personable with the personnel") from 2005's Ominosity. The title of the band's six-song EP Satanic Versus—including three tracks recorded by Steve Albini[2]—is itself a play on Salmon Rushdie's book "Satanic Verses". Milemarker also often employ a satirical or introspective slant toward social issues such as materialism ("Frigid Forms Sell You Warmth", "A Quick Trip to the Clinic", "Shrink To Fit"), technology ("Internet Relay Chat with the Central Intelligence Agency", "Server Error", "Ant Architect", "Virtual Sex"), and women's roles ("Food For Worms"), and have also referenced Orwellian ("New Lexicon") and apocalyptic ("Tundra", "Sun Out") themes.
Challenger, a more hard rock-oriented side project of Milemarker consisting of original members Al Burian and Dave Laney and newcomer Tim Remis, released their debut album Give People What They Want in Lethal Doses in 2004 .
Discography
| Album | Year | Label |
|---|---|---|
| Ominosity | 2005 | Eyeball/Stick Figure Records |
| Satanic Versus | 2002 | Jade Tree Records/Day After Records |
| Anaesthetic | 2001 | Jade Tree Records |
| Bomb Threat/From Russia With Love 7" | 2000 | 208 Records |
| Frigid Forms Sell | 2000 | Jade Tree Records/Lovitt Records |
| Sex Jam 7" | 1999 | Bloodlink Records |
| Changing Caring Humans | 1999 | Stickfigure Records |
| Split 7" w/ The Blood Brothers | 1999 | Boards Don't Hit Back Records |
| Future Isms | 1998 | Stickfigure |
| Non Plus Ultra | 1998 | Paralogy |
| Receiver 7" | 1998 | Clocked Out Records |
- 1 2 Reed, Bryan, Chapel Hill's Milemarker plays its first show in two years, Independent Weekly, 28 June 2008
- ↑ Ott, Chris, Review of Satanic Versus EP, Pitchfork, 7 October 2002
External links
- Milemarker at Allmusic
- Milemarker at Last.fm
- Milemarker at MusicBrainz
- Interview with Al Burian
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