FFFFest Spotlight: Coalesce

coalesceAll right people, with only two weeks left until Fun Fun Fun Fest, we here at Austin Town Hall are feverishly finalizing our concert schedules.  Running down the line up of the four stages I see many bands that get me truly excited. Gorilla Biscuits! The Jesus Lizard! Danzig!(?) But if I had to choose one band that gives me reason to subject myself to two days of loud music and sleepless nights I would have to choose Kansas City’s own Coalesce.

Coalesce has released some of the most innovative records that hardcore has seen. From the blistering speed and ferocity of their debut, Give Them Rope (1997) to the groove-laden, but no less heavy, Functioning on Impatience (1998) and 0:12 Revolution in Just Listening (1999), Coalesce have firmly planted themselves as stalwarts of the hardcore scene.  After a lengthy hiatus, Coalesce has returned this year with OX, their first full length in ten years, as well as their most accomplished records to date. OX mixes the band’s intensity with their new found appreciation of the music of America.

I haven’t even touched on the band’s intense stage presence.  I have driven thirteen hours on two separate occasions to witness the spectacle that is Coalesce live.  You would be hard-pressed to witness a more energetic live band than Coalesce, so do yourself a favor and head over to the Black Stage on Sunday, November 8th at 4:50 p.m. and prepare yourself to see four guys giving their all for something that they love.

[audio: https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/03_Wild_Ox_Moan.mp3]

Download: Coalesce – Wild Ox Moan [MP3]