Weekly album: '68 - In Humor and Sadness

'68 - In Humor and Sadness

2014 / Noise rock, Hardcore

1. Track One R

2. Track Two E

3. Track Three G

4. Track Four R

5. Track Five E

6. Track Six T

7. Track Seven N

8. Track Eight O

9. Track Nine T

10. Track Ten .

Orostider: Intensity is a broad term in music and comes in many different forms. Some artists trust velocity, some trust emotion and some trust precise rhythms. '68 aren't as high speed as grindcore bands, but there's a lot happening in quite short time periods. Emotion and intriguing rhythms on the other hand can be found in large quantities. When '68 was recommended to me by a friend, the description was: "It's noise rock." Noise as a genre is somehow strangely therapeutic and when mixed to other genres, the result can be amazing. 

The album consists of ten songs only named as tracks or/and letters. The influence variation varies from noise and hardcore to blues and classic rock, which sounds like sort of a bad idea, but in the end the result actually works well. The intensity of '68 comes from the gritty and unpolished sound, catchy and groovy riffs and powerful vocals. After hearing the first songs, the listener may already assume what's to come, but '68 manage to surprise with alternating elements. The ubiquitous elements of the album are the noise-ridden rockish passages and hardcore elements similar to Converge's. 

The noise element isn't really harsh noise like in Insect Warfare's 'Noise Power Grind Death', but the sound of amps failing and miscellaneous cracks and pops. The way the guitar tone breaks and results in amp screeches somehow sounds magnificent and doesn't even cause your ears to bleed. In an interview, the vocalist/guitarist Josh Scogin stated that he writes audibly stressful music. I found the statement to be true, but the sense of stress and even anger just add intensity. 

The album isn't good only because it has noise elements or because it's louder than many records. The real reason is the overall quality of the material '68 managed to deliver even though they didn't polish the recordings. The cracks and pops give the album a humane touch. The instrument work and songwriting are of high quality and the mood varies from mania to feels. 'In Humor and Sadness' is the album you could listen to while trying to rip your own head off and think of the reasons after trying.

Favourite tracks: 'Track Two', 'Track Four', 'Track six', 'Track Ten'

tp5170: I didn’t really know at all what to expect from ‘In Humor And Sadness’. Pretty much the only thing I knew about it prior listening was that it was supposedly quite a ride style/genre wise. And I can’t really argue with that now that I have listened to the whole thing. 

There is a constant variation in style throughout the album and the music can quickly go from something rather punkish to something that seems like a heavier version of Muse, or basically anything in between. The randomness is absolutely delightful and every track, with the exception of the ninth one which felt a bit out of place, is pretty well composed and has clearly earned its own place in the mix. On the other hand, although I liked almost every track at least on some level, there were definitely three tracks that just instantly made me wanting to hear them again, and in the end kind of outshined the rest. 

Also, as someone who doesn’t really hear that punkish vocal style in the music I usually go for – you can count the punkish albums I have listened during the last few years with fingers from one hand -, I have to say that I really, really liked the vocals throughout the album if nothing else. 

But overall the ride was pretty enjoyable and offered a nice change of pace for an evening, and left yearning for more of those sweet vocals. 

Favourite tracks: ‘Track Seven’, ‘Track Two’, ‘Track One’

btcarey:  ’68’s 2014 release “In Humor and Sadness” is an energy-packed emotional roller coaster that had me completely enthralled by the end of the album. Each song has its own character and mood, keeping the album fresh and me attentive the whole time. With such a diverse array of songs you would think that the album would lack an overall direction. To the contrary, the album had a very unified feeling, and this diversity provides impressive replay ability and enjoyment.

’68 doesn’t really fit into any specific genre. While some call it punk rock, I would argue there’s much more to it. Sure, most of the songs have somewhat of a punk passage, but the outside influences are far too great to be defined as such. There is a heavy blues/rock aspect to the album that's comparable to Jack White’s guitar and vocal style.

I would recommend “In Humor and Sadness” to almost anyone, whether they like blues/rock, metal, or punk. This is an excellent album.

Favorite Songs: “Track Two”, “Track Five”, “Track Eight”