XO Skeletons - Asthmagasm

XO Skeletons, well they're like....a ....uh rap/party crew, but they're completely not. No, they're much more. Actually, uhh......

what the fuck are these guys all about?

When I heard about a year ago that Wes from Give Up the Ghost (formerly American Nightmare) and Some Girls had started a new project and I was eager to hear what would be next. I was sure that it would be the next big thing in the hardcore scene whether it did it infamously or not. Instead, when I had spun the Asthmagasm 7" for the first time I was left scratching my head in wonder to what I had heard on the four song EP that clocked in around 4:00 minutes total. I heard Wes, it was definitely him, but what was the commotion going on behind him?

The record starts with "No Fuckin Muzzles" a 13 second, extremely lo-fi, garage punk track that some how found a way to incorporate a clap track and a drum machine with the lowest quality samples ever used. The next two tracks "Asthmagasm" and "Suburban Dust" follow suit of the opening track. Only that each song incorporates a little more of a dance-y backbeat that gets dangerously catchy on the lattter mentioned track. Finally, Asthmagasm leaves you with the closing track "XO Skeletons".  Which is essentially the track you would play once the cokes all gone and the liquor still flowing down your throat. Despite being the longest track, clocking in at 2:04 mintues, it's actually the simplest of all the songs. It consists of a gang vocals yelling out the track's title with breaks for noise and poetry reading. By the time you're done reading this you'll probably already be done listening to the whole EP.

So why give it much detail then?

After passing through the album a few more times I realized how much a band like this is absolutely great necessary for a time like this when even the most obscure bands have gotten way too bloated and polished beyond any really listen-ability. This no bullshit, straight to the point, fuck shit up, and do it with whatever you got laying around approach finally taps back into the diy mentality that i feared was dying out. Sadly, I'm sure this band will die into obscurity like most great ones to only, maybe by chance, get rediscovered somewhere down the road. Which, is essentially the purpose of this blog. We need more real people reading, writing, discovering, and discussing music like in the days before pitchfork dictated who would would be the next band to make it big, whether you liked it or not. Back, when you heard of of a new band and there was a really good chance you would actually enjoy their songs. Now were left with an overcrowded scene of trust-fund kids who sit in front of their laptops all day recording the next sad excuse of a "noise" project that you will be forced to sit through at every show you go to for at least a month or two.....

Back on topic....

Here's their full 7" and more info:

XO Skeletons - Asthmagasm
Myspace