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PO NOW: OPEN CITY LP (mems. of PAINT IT BLACK, LIFETIME, KID DYNAMITE, CEREMONY, TED LEO/Rx, BRIDGE AND TUNNEL)


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Hello, friends. Your new hymnal is available now. Resistance music for dangerous times.

 

16387421_599218676936280_637046662555233

 

Listen & get limited vinyl here (includes immediate download):
http://www.theeopencity.com

 

Euros & Brits go here:
http://endhitsrecords.bigcartel.com/

 

Wholesale copies available through Ebullition, RevHQ and Revolver.

 

About the record:
"I know you’d like if we just sat silent / and never challenged your ideas," asserts Rachel Rubino in the opening moments of Open City, the eponymous debut by the Philadelphia four-piece, over a blast of hardcore dissonance. “So here's how we feel, here’s what we want, here’s what we need: to be heard!” Open City is a project embedded with histories — people, places, sounds, scenes. Bringing together collective decades of experience in East Coast punk and DIY communities, specifically ones known for prying open the melodic sides of punk rock, hardcore and post-punk, the project is: singer and lyricist Rachel Rubino (Bridge And Tunnel, Worriers), bassist Andy Nelson (Paint It Black, Ceremony, Dark Blue), guitarist Dan Yemin (Paint It Black, Lifetime, Kid Dynamite, Armalite), and drummer Chris Wilson (Ted Leo & the Pharmacists). 

 

“Hell Hath No Fury” is the album’s opening track, an apt point of entry to Open City’s ten tracks of dynamic post-hardcore and Rubino’s wide-ranging vocals, which fluctuate from shouts and screams, to melodic hooks and the occasional deadpan. “I've personally never felt like I fit into the binary of what a woman should be or do,” Rubino says, reflecting on the song. “I feel a strong desire to disconnect gender from talents and actions. I constantly want to find new ways of challenging myself, and through that to challenge the stale ideas others have placed on us. I refuse to do so in silence. I believe in the individual’s right to govern themselves based on what they feel is right and true to their vision of a positive reality.” 

 

A shared ideology is central to Open City. The project grew out of a mutual desire for a band that rehearsed continuously, coupled with an urgent need for something faster and more aggressive than some of its members had done before. Yemin, Nelson and Wilson spent a year carving out the band’s sonic framework, searching for a singer who spoke their common musical language, one inspired by 90s basements and commitment to DIY as an ongoing process. By the time they found Rubino, they’d already linked up with Will Yip at Studio 4 to record the instrumental tracks for the record, fueled by eagerness, frustration, and utter necessity. The result is an album that moves seamlessly, full of thoughtfulness and careful rage. 

 

Open City draws direct inspiration from a specific period in underground punk. “The most exciting shows I’ve seen in my entire life have been in basements in New Jersey, Philadelphia and New York, during 1991 through the early 00s. Specifically Sarah Kirsch’s bands,” Yemin says, speaking of the prolific punk songwriter who played in 12 bands over 20 years, including John Henry West, Torches to Rome, Bread and Circuits, and Fuel. “Those bands were really inspiring in terms of how she did things, what the records sounded like and looked like, the interface between content and design, and presentation and process. Most recently Mothercountry Motherfuckers, the posthumous record that just came out, that was my favorite record of the past few years.” In the early 90s, Kirsch’s music left Yemin in awe: for its aggression, for its melody, the energy, the things said on stage between songs. 

 

Open City weaves in and out of pointed themes: sexism, not staying silent, but also the hollowness of words in the face of inaction. The stakes are high. “I am tired / and you are right / we’ve given up the fight,” Rubino scowls on “Nerve Center”. “Trading my cards in for other efforts / find a place where I can be more effective / What a fucking joke!” It’s a song that stares you right in the eye and couldn’t be better timed. "All these words they don’t mean shit when all you do is yell at bricks," Rubino screams on a cut that rallies against inequality, “Brother I'm Getting Nowhere.” 

 

These are songs about sleepless nights, the reality of endings, about feeling stuck, honing on a purpose; about fighting, and then not fighting. “There's an inherent anger at the systems of oppression and abuse that constantly diminish and destroy the efforts of folks who are fighting for a better world,” Rubio says. “There's a deep disappointment for a lack of support and care from individuals in my life and in my community who I expected more from. There's a heavy dose of self-analysis, in a range from self care to self-loathing. Finding hope in strange places. Mourning loss along a timeline you cannot control. Trying to understand it. Admitting that I can't. It exists in that tense place where frustration is fighting apathy.” 

- Liz Pelly

 

Upcoming Shows:
Feb 03 - Suburbia - Brooklyn, NY
Feb 04 - Aurora - Providence, RI
Feb 05 - In The West - New Brunswick, NJ
Feb 16 - Everybody Hits - Philadelphia, PA
Feb 17 - Comet Ping Pong - Washington, DC
Feb 18 - Black Iris - Richmond, VA
Feb 19 - Downsquares - Baltimore, MD
Apr 29 - First Unitarian Church - Philadelphia, PA

Edited by andynelson
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4 hours ago, andynelson said:

We probably will NOT have vinyl for the shows in February (maybe tapes).  Records are at the plant now (everything is approved) but I don't want to make promises and then not come through.

 

We will definitely have free lyric sheets though!

Welp. Ordered then. 

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1 hour ago, andynelson said:

We're down to like 10 copies of the clear vinyl.  For some reason people are ordering more of the clear w/ black than the violet (probably because it's so pretty)???

It matches the artwork perfectly. I tend to go for the most limited variant but opted with the clear w/ black.

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I missed the coke bottle so now I've gotta decide between the other two....decisions, decisions.  This was an awesome surprise to stumble upon today.

 

Edit: Now I'm seeing that the Euro version is on white with a silkscreen cover.  The plot thickens.

Edited by hallowken78
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  • 2 weeks later...

More shows this weekend:

16708476_606271942897620_491876019783781

2/16 Philadelphia, PA @ Everybody Hits
https://www.facebook.com/events/636977289815085/

2/17 Washington, DC @ Comet Ping Pong
https://www.facebook.com/events/1781449685513722/

2/18 Richmond, VA @ Black Iris
https://www.facebook.com/events/209268179546830/

2/19 Baltimore, MD @ Downsquares
https://www.facebook.com/events/1833373453587171/

www.theeopencity.com

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Philly tonight, a benefit show for Electrifest...

 

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https://www.facebook.com/events/636977289815085/

 

*TONIGHT*
Thursday February 16th 8:00pm

 

PINKWASH
OPEN CITY
ORDINARY LIVES

 

At Everybody Hits
(529 W Girard Ave. In Philadelphia, PA)
All Ages / $5 -> ∞ Donation Suggested

 

This show is a benefit for Electrifest.  Taking place in Philadelphia April 8th & 9th, Electrifest is an event for LGBT folks centering POC navigating healthcare, wellness and institutional trauma through radical music and art. For more on Electrifest, please click here - https://www.facebook.com/events/273076116428498/

Edited by andynelson
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  • 2 months later...

Hi. A gig-only version of the LP exists and there's only 100 of them.  You can get them only from us at shows while they last.  Here are two such places to get them:

18119107_642218632636284_262044899443789

17155863_10154846559096005_6369973769924

https://www.facebook.com/events/1145038288898708/

Saturday April 29 @ The First Unitarian Church
THE +HIRS+ COLLECTIVE
RADIATOR HOSPITAL
OPEN CITY
PANDEMIX
SOUL GLO
SOLARIZED

17862838_10154956203571005_5215448752037

https://www.facebook.com/events/415998608765978/

Monday May 22nd @ PhilaMOCA
RVIVR
OPEN CITY
BIG NOTHING
EMPATH

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