WORD AROUND THE KAMPFAR
I was minding my own business Wednesday night just jeering Carmelo Anthony and cheering Danilo Gallinari, when a friend’s friend whammied my world via donation of one single (!) blast of her super-weed. I knew the ganj was trouble cuz I immediately I began to hack, seize at my own chest, and think “Aw shit. So long, brain.” The remainder of the night was spent in a state of utter cluelessness, all half-formed sentences and puzzled looks. Confusion reigned. Like, I spent like two full minutes trying to fast-forward a regular broadcast of Breaking Bad. It was ugly.
I was pretty out of it, and though I’ve rallied this morning, I still feel pretty out of it. But not in the no-basic-comprehension-skills/can’t-work-a-TV-remote way. More in the sense that, duhhh, I didn’t even know Glassjaw had an EP out since January (thanks, commenters on Axl’s sexy response to Noiseceep’s best songs of 2011 so far thing). I also just discovered that Ghost’s Opus Eponymous is, like, bonerus colossus (thanks, publicity studs/foxes at Metal Blade) and that the Chicago jam “Feelin’ Stronger Every Day” totally jamz like W’OMG (thanks, mutinous car stereo).
Anyway, I’m not so humbled by my ignorance as to come down off my high horse. Maybe I’ll ask my high horse to dismount its high horse, but anyway as I thought of my favorite 2011 jamz so far, it occurred to me that I only overlooked the abovementioned awesome stuff cuz other awesome stuff has been occupying me — mostly the sleeper classic of 2011, Kampfar’s Mare (above). Nobody seems to be talking about this soon-to-be topper of many year-end lists, and that fills me with both elitist rage and writerly self-recrimination. So here, let’s fix this by all cranking the self-titled kick-off jam from Mare (below), which can be yours on Tuesday. Next, we’ll all talk about it and hype it up a ton, like we’ve done for the other awesome, deserving, all genre-fan-inclusive K-name band from Norway. This way, we all rock and feel super-smart! Win-win!
Kampfar’s masterful Mare is out Tuesday on Napalm Records. Get it or be ignorant.
