Tag: After Argument

After Argument – This Is Not Your Game – 4th January 2015

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Cat #: 165TZM

Following in the footsteps of their critically acclaimed 2013 debut LP Furs of Time [Share the Obstacles], After Argument continue further down an even more refined sonic path, combining avant-garde experimentalism and post punk sensibilities that hint at the gut-level thrust, heft and swing of Television as much as the restless, hook laden fury of early Fugazi, Slint and Mexican psych band Los Dug Dug’s. The band, comprised of legendary P.K.14 vocalist/poet Yang Haisong and Beijing musical luminary Zaza [Eyes Behind] have quickly established themselves as one of China’s foremost punk rooted explorers, filling venues of all shapes and sizes throughout the PRC with a sound, arguably unrivaled and most certainly celebrated by their peers behind the Bamboo Curtain and beyond.

This Is Not Your Game, After Argument’s debut full length for Genjing Records, finds the duo capturing the explosive rush and emotional power of their live shows, where they range from mathy arpeggious interludes through headlong, thunderous charges. Recorded and produced by Yang Haisong at Psychic Kong Studios deep in the heart of the Chinese capital, This Is Not Your Game is an immediate, visceral record. On it, After Argument use riff, repetition, incremental layerings of distortion, bursts of noise and sudden changes in pace and volume – all shot through with a strong sense of poetic melody to provide new ways of seeing and feeling guitar-based rock.

But, more importantly than all that, After Argument manage to infuse emotionally complicated music with a sense of fun. What they offer and the source of their appeal is more a full-bore sensory thrill-ride than anything else. After Argument want to take you to faraway places and show you exciting things through musical algorithms both foreign and familiar to the listener. And This Is Not Your Game is just the key you’ll need to get started on that adventure. So, buckle up, strap on some headphones and enjoy the ride – it’s a one of a kind. 

All songs written by After Argument
Recorded at Psychic Kong, Beijing
Mastered by Garrett Haines at Treelady Studio, Pittsburgh, PA, United States

After Argument are:
Zaza and Yang Haisong

Visit them at www.afterargument.com, and also at storecords.bandcamp.com

Cover photo taken by Tanara Stuermer in Tavares Bastos, Rio, Brazil
www.tanarastuermer.com

Artwork by NOHOHONO

ZaZa Zhang interview by Josh at pangbianr – 3rd January 2012

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

pbr: The first official SIO release is a Dear Eloise single 7″, which is also a co-release with Genjing Records [update: also co-released by Tenzenmen in Australia]. What is the plan for the future? Is Share In Obstacles more of a label, a distributor, or something in between?

Zaza: The upcoming schedule of Share In Obstacles is releasing the first 7″ of After Argument, the band of the co-founders and owners of this label (Yang Haisong and me). This is pretty much a label that just releases the 7″ of bands involved, like bands we’re in or bands we simply love. It takes time and energy, we will do it little by little, hope things can sort out well.

And in my opinion, Share In Obstacles is something between a label and distributor, but that’s not the most important thing. Coz for us, our main purpose is more about disseminating the music we love and we make, on our own and in our own way.

Full interview at pangbianr here