Buildings

We should all be talking about Minneapolis three-piece punk band Buildings more. At the rock ’n’ roll town hall meeting, first on our list of talking points would be how the band somehow seems to net together grunge, punk, and hardcore into one thrashing, streamlined, compact punch in the teeth, all the while simultaneously nodding throwbacks to bands like At The Drive-In, The Mars Volta, and even the Melvins. Our second point would be how Buildings have been packing that same punch in the teeth for longer than we could have guessed. Buildings’ Braille Animal, reissued in 2008 on label Doubleplusgood, is about as strong of a debut as any—and the follow-up, Melt Cry Sleep, is arguably even better. Songs like “Rainboat,” “Red Embassy,” and “Snake Charmers” teem with the kind of guttural energy that begs to be banged out on the stage.

Updated 07/09/2012