Lava - "101" or "Lava EP" - Gravity Records
First off, some classic Gravity music for yr waxy, gross-ass ears:
Earthless – “Lost in the Cold Sun” MP3/download
Clikatat Ikatowi – “Identity Crisis MP3/download
Man Is The Bastard – “Puppy Mill” MP3/download
Three Mile Pilot – “On a Ship to Bangladesh” MP3/download
I don’t know why Gravity Records released are so plentiful in our nation’s used bins, but I’ll take it as a sign from god above that I’m meant to hear a lot of great post-hardcore/punk music in my lifetime.
This time up is Lava‘s (no relation to Magma that I know of) “101″ 7-inch (also known as the “Lava EP), a light-blue sleeve adorned, with absolutely no hint as to the record’s release date.
That’s OK; mystery I can deal with. What I can’t deal with is substandard rock, which is definitely not normally allowed in the Gravity offices. And so it is: Another triumph for the San Diego label, Lava — of Annapolis, Md. — be thy name.
Thoughts:
- It’s tempting to bring up half the Gravity roster in trying to describe “101,” but I’ll settle on Antioch Arrow, Heroin (whom Lava personally think in the liner notes; only band mentioned) and Clikatat Ikatowi.
- I can’t help but mention one of my all-time-favorite-labels-as-a-reviewer, Level-Plane. Naming dozens of bands from the label is futile (OK a few: Neil Perry, Gospel and Hot Cross apply well to Lava’s aims), as you can just enter L-P into a search, but the imprint’s one of the few to seize on what became the post-Gravity sound. Don’t forget that.
- Three One G is another label, also from San Diego, that factors in here. Lava are redolent of several 31G bands, including The Blood Brothers (remember them? Seattle? Hello?), Crimson Curse, Das Oath, Geronimo, Ex Models, Jaks, Head Wound City … the list goes on and on. Flailing post-post-hardcore, anyone?
- Sometimes I have to force myself to sit back and actually enjoy a record. I enjoyed the varied fruits of “101″ much, much more once I finally gave in and did that.
- Above all the vaguer comparisons, the one group that comes to mind most is Song Of Zarathustra (whose split w/ Racebannon, among other releases, is important to the Gumshoe vault).
So this is just a 7-inch; what does it matter? Why should YOU care? I present to the jury the argument that Lava are part of a greater movement that yearns for better documentation. One could narrow it down to San Diego, a few-dozen clubs or the Gravity label itself, but no matter what lens you view it through, the area and the musicians there in the ’90s were uncommonly apt to propagate change in their respective genres.
Any arguments from other California eras (Ariel Pink, Wavves, The Smell club, Fresh & Onlys, John Dwyer, I’m looking at you here)?
well, for one, Lava has Tony Joy (of Moss Icon and Born Against (bass player on last record) and UOA fame on it) AND, IIRC, one of the guys from Unwound in it (i could be wrong on that one)…but Tony Joy, during that time, could do no fucking wrong.
thanks for the comment! i had next to no luck finding anything on Lava save the obligatory stuff (they’re on Gravity, they’re good, they’re heavy) and that’s a shame because if they really did have one of the folks from Unwound that’s a HUGE deal (“Leaves Turn” … perfect) …
it’s interesting to watch these musicians as they go, watching some get on such a roll that, like you say, results in good records in several bands. it’s inspiring.
I actually saw LAVA once in Annapolis. Like 1991 I think. At this joint called Bestgate a go-go. First Tonie Joy experience. They were very intense. The singer was all over the ground. No UNWOUND members however…I miss those days…
that’s one of the big, blank spots on my concert resume: hardcore/etc. from the late ’80s/early ’90s. I was maybe a little young at the time but there WERE people (like Andrew/Peter Bottomley of Skyscraper Magazine) doing that at a super-young age. Then again, I might have burned out on the whole thing had I been obsessed with it too early on. Who knows.
I only wish there was more Lava material to explore. I just don’t see much out there beyond the 7-inch I managed to find …
thanks steve
I’m fairly sure they were from Annapolis, MD, as they included Tonie Joy and Marc Laurence of Moss Icon.
nice, thanks for the info, i’ll update the post …
Yes, the moss icon connection is right. I have a 5 song cassette they put out in 92 or 93 or so. the birth of Screamo, I think.
good lord, i wish i could say i was listening to stuff like this in 92/93. i’ll admit i was all strung out on Superunknown in those days. wish someone would have shown me the crazy underground stuff back then …