This new feature is called No Place Like Home. The point of it is to interview bands about their hometowns and why they love where they’re from. When traveling it is always best to have a local to direct you to the spots worth spending your time and hard earned money.
When one of our readers travels to a place that is foreign to them they will have some solid recommendations from an awesome source, one of their favorite bands!
I know I look forward to checking out some of these places and am sure that there are many others who would be interested. Eventually the intention is to have a full blown travel guide here at B.G.M.!
Gilead Media is pretty well known for putting out music that will make you uncomfortable. Difficult music for difficult people is a saying they tend to have attached to them. The majority of their releases usually seem to stay in the black metal and doomy realms. 2017 has been another stellar year for the label. In fact, it is my favorite year thanks to the badass noise rock they are releasing. One of those awesome noise rock records happens to be You Are Not One Of Us the newest album from Minnesota trio Buildings.
Despite having a band name that naturally evokes thoughts of creating, progress and development their music is purely destruction.
What continued to come to mind over the numerous listens to You Are Not One Of Us was the arcade game Rampage. In Rampage players take on the roles of three mutated monsters – George the giant ape, Lizzie the giant lizard, and Ralph the giant wolf – who move from city to city destroying skyscrapers and vehicles, while eating or killing any people that get in their way. I like to imagine Brian, Mike, and Travis taking on the rolls of these building-eating monsters when blasting this record.
Each song on the album works as a soundtrack to a new level in Rampage. Not finished until the high-rise is taken down, civilians are eaten and helicopters, tanks, taxis, police cars, boats, and trolleys are destroyed.
You Are Not One Of Us opens with “Separate By Numbers”. It is destructive right off the bat. Perfect for jumping from skyscraper to apartment building. As they chant “Hold up the rifle, so I can aim down the barrel” repeatedly the desire to pummel something continues to grow.
With “Net Wase” the guitar tone brings comparisons to Young Widows. However it is grimier and angrier. Young Widows comes to mind a lot throughout the record but it leaves a different feeling. With Young Widows it isn’t strange if you suddenly feel the desire to consume psychedelic drugs. Buildings leaves you feeling half like Agent Cooper after becoming possessed by Bob and smashing his head in the window and half like shotgunning multiple tall boys.
You Are Not One Of Us by Buildings
Writing this blurb made me reflect on my own age quite a bit. I’m not dwelling on growing older. The 30’s has been the shit. Not only am I writing about nostalgia for an arcade game from the ’80s, one of my favorite songs of 2017 so far is “Pastor Dick”. This song really hits home because of none other than acid reflux. Belting out lyrics like “My acid reflux keeps me at home, my acid reflux keeps me at home, I can’t go anywhere” relates to me big time.
You Are Not One Of Us rules. Buildings bring a fresh take on noise rock. It is brash, gnarly and energizing. There is never a dull moment as they change sounds from song to song. Regardless what song you hear you will be fully engaged and inevitably leave behind a small lake of sweat. They are another addition to the Minnesota music scene that continues to dominate thanks to Learning Curve Records and bands like Hammerhead, False, and Obsequiae. Go buy this and destroy some cityscapes!
Rating: 5/5
Pick up a copy on either black or black/white splatter over HERE.
I would like to thank Travis Kuhlman (drummer for Buildings) for being so kind and answering the questions for this edition of No Place Like Home.
Where does Buildings call home and how long have you been there?
Minneapolis is our home. Mike and myself (Travis) grew up in suburbs and Brian is from North Carolina. He’s been here for around 14 years.
Are there any attractions you would consider touristy that you would also consider a can’t-miss for visitors?
Mmm, not really. Its a beautiful city, cool bars and places to eat. Sexworld is weird but sometimes not weird enough…
If you are hosting friends or family for a weekend, where would you bring people for grub?
There’s a lot of great brunch spots: Blackbird, Modern Times, Triple Rock. Great bar food: Grumpy’s, Matts (best juicy jucys in the world), Hexagon Bar (pizzas)
A key to any hometown is a local watering hole. Any spots that you like to go for drinks? Breweries, dive bars, distilleries…whatever floats your boat.
The CC Club has always been our home. Been going there since before I was 21. Excellent place. People like breweries and distilleries and personally I’m not into those vibes but people like to be cool and be seen so I’d suggest Tattersal for a distillery and Bauhaus Brewery, never been to either but their booze is choice!
Music is life. What music venues should people be checking the calendars for shows to catch?
Best venue in town is the 7th St. Entry it’s a part of First Avenue downtown MPLS. I really like Icehouse too, they book all kinds of music/DJ stuff. The Eagles Club can be really good too. They have 3 different rooms with stages that sometimes book 3 different shows in one night. On certain nights you can go in there and see everyone you’ve ever met and forget you were even there to see music!!
After working up a sweat at a good show are there any late night spots to grab a bite or a night cap?
Not really. Bars shut down at 2 here and shows go until 1 or 2. We usually dont get home until 2:30 or something. There’s an SA behind our house where they have a great deal on Jacks frozen pizzas. Taco Bell has always been there for us too.
The morning after can be rough. Where is your go-to for breakfast and/or coffee?
See question #3. BUT for coffee, I really like Five Watt and Vicinity Coffee. Spyhouse is really great too. Sometimes however if your friends aren’t working its hard to justify paying $4 including tip for a coffee.
To get out of town life, what are the nature based options surrounding your city? Any good hikes, camping, and other fun outdoors stuff to do?
There’s a bunch of state parks in Minnesota, all of them are worth your time. People here like to go up north, Duluth is cool, Two Harbors, Itasca State Park is still great its where the mighty Mississippi starts! There’s a lot of hiking to do in the SE area of our state as well.