Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Start - ~s/t EP & *Girls Names EP

Name: Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Start
Album: s/t EP~, Girls Names*
Year: 1999~, 2006
Style: Emo, Math Rock
Similar Bands: Math the Band, Sunny Day Real Estate, Fire Theft, Dismemberment Plan
"One-Word" Review: Plucky Complexly Calculated DIY'ers
Based Out Of: Philadelphia
Label: Papermade Records~, self-released*

~Cover, Back, CDR

*Promo Cover, Back

*Promo Liner Notes, CD

~Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Start (1999)

1. Song Competition 2:49
2. Working Title 3:38
3. I'm Holding Hands With Me 1:39
4. Action 4:08
5. Walked Out This Season 3:52
6. Real Philosophers Vs. The Lovers of Sights and Sounds 3:24

*Girls Names (2006)

1. Janet Bateman 1:52
2. Melanie Flury 2:13
3. Rachel Strayer 0:56
4. Robyn Fleshman 1:53

Album Rating (1-10):~7.0

*6.5

Members & Other Bands:

• Steve Poponi - Vox, Bass~ Guitar* (The Jazz June, Cabana Wear, The Progress, Young Statues, Fight Amp)
• Scott Rumble - Drums~
• Jeff Mott - Guitar, Vox~ (Hands of Despair, Thrawnsunblat)
• Dave Damm - Bass* 
• Dave Dunn - Drums*
• Dave Downham - Guitar* (The Secession Movement, Kill Verona, The Progress, Cabana Wear)
• Evan Weiss - Guitar* (Damiera, Into It. Over It, Map the Growth, Pet Symmetry, Stay Ahead of the Weather, The Progress, Their/They're/There, CSTVT, Moving Mountains, Koji, The Jazz June, You Blew It!, Pacemaker, Evan Myall, Castevet, Noumenon, Chris Farren, Sincere Engineer, Lana Del Rey)
• Brian Mietz - Artwork*

Unknown-ness: I had heard the name before, but never really heard them. This goes back to the early 00's when i found a CDR of their first EP at AKA records here in Philly. Always kinda associated them with Math Rock/Emo scene, but again, couldn't say for sure, aside from other bands they were mentioned in conjunction with. So not a pure unknown band, but enough that i don't know what it's going to sound like, exactly, and if i'll enjoy it. The black EP was found out in LA at Amoeba, and was a promotional CD, produced just for journals or airplay...otherwise, it could be downloaded for free, as an internet-only release.

Album Review: Blending the concentrated Math Rock/Prog elements with emo almost needs not be separated, but they are the elements that go into the first EP. Calculated guitars that go from loud to melodic to quiet and reserved, overlayed by vocals that drone and shout like a ride on Space Mountain; where you don't know if you're going for a drop or a turn. I get a lot of the mid 90's alt-emo band influence like Sunny Day & Dismemberment Plan in the guitar work and overall production (Dis Plan & Hail Social in the lead vocals). The Girls Names EP is quite short, the songs averaging less than 105 seconds each.

It goes without saying, to most folks with even a passing interest in the band, that they take their name from the infamous Konami cheat code to score extra lives in their Nintendo games. In the spirit of "free" and "extra," both of these EPs took advantage of the internet age, where all the songs were available for free, legal download from the artist's recording studio website. Most of the band's life span between these two eps, as their career started with the self titled CDR, and their end coming less than 2 years after Girl's Names. Though it all was Steve Poponi, who still works with Gradwell House recording studio in Jersey producing albums for bands with a similar mindset, like Beach Slang (at least Downham has worked on their albums).

Stand Out Track: ~Working Title 

*Robyn Fleshman

Links:

Discogs

Allmusic

Chicago Reader - reunion show 2016

Bandcamp

Facebook

Gradwell House Studio

Rate Your Music

Sputnik Music

First EP on Youtube