HOLDEN CAULFIELD VS. THE WORLD

Location: Zagreb, Serbia

Year active: 2023 - ?????

Members: ?????

Related bands: Biokill, Bojack Horseman Apologism Club, Spring Break,

FFO: Angel Garden, just friends., your arms are my cocoon, Nayru

Remember Spring Break? Well, here’s another project from the same person—though the revelation of it might surprise you.

Some time ago, I received a comment on my RYM list. Curious, I checked out who it was and what they had to say. To my surprise, it was from the person behind that dreadful MIDI mishmash known as Spring Break. He admitted he wasn’t too proud of it and instead shared links to his other projects. One of them caught my interest enough to warrant this review.

Holden Caulfield Vs. The World dropped its four-track debut EP, What Would Garfield Do If He Was in My Position, in 2023. Recorded during the summer and early fall, this project follows a similar formula to Spring Break but takes a few baby steps toward improvement. The production remains rough, the mastering nonexistent, but the songwriting has noticeably evolved. The screeching “kittencore” vocals are more confident, and while the fourth track leans into instrumental territory, it offers an interesting blend of dissonant skramz chaos and melodic twinkly emo passages.

Compared to Spring Break, this is a clear improvement—and honestly, I’d jam this one any day.

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Sećate li se Spring Break projekta? E pa, evo još jednog iz iste glave — mada će te možda iznenaditi u kom pravcu ide.

Pre izvesnog vremena dobio sam komentar na svoj RYM spisak. Iz radoznalosti sam pogledao ko je i šta piše, i ispostavilo se da je to autor onog nesrećnog MIDI haosa poznatog kao Spring Break. Sam je priznao da nije naročito ponosan na to izdanje i umesto toga podelio linkove ka drugim projektima. Jedan od njih me dovoljno zainteresovao da mu posvetim ovaj tekst.

Holden Caulfield vs. the World izbacio je svoj debitantski EP What Would Garfield Do If He Was in My Position 2023. godine. Sniman tokom leta i rane jeseni, ovaj projekat prati sličnu formulu kao Spring Break, ali uz nekoliko malih, ali bitnih koraka unapred. Produkcija je i dalje gruba, master praktično ne postoji, ali je sama pesmopisateljska osnova očigledno sazrela. Onaj škripavi „kittencore“ vokal sada zvuči samouverenije, a četvrta numera, koja naginje instrumentalu, nudi zanimljiv spoj disonantnog skramz haosa i melodičnih, „twinkly“ emo pasaža.

U poređenju sa Spring Break-om, ovo je jasna nadogradnja — i iskreno, radije bih pustio ovaj EP bilo kog dana.

WHAT WOULD GARFIELD DO IF HE WAS IN MY POSITION? (2023)

BRITNEY'S PIERCE

Location: Čakovec, Croatia

Year active: 2000

Members: Teo Petričević, Igor Bistrović, Krešo Žerjav, Karlo Horvat

Related bands: Clean, Dead Dog Summer, Downfall, Emphasis, The Farewell Reason, Latest, Nikad, Outré, Senata Fox, Subscale

FFO: Jasemine, Fingerprint, Anomie

The cleverly named Britney's Pierce is another short-lived band formed in Čakovec, Croatia, active in the year 2000. Channeling the raw intensity of early ‘90s French screamo (think Anomie, Jasemine, and Fingerprint), they played an emotional, politically charged brand of hardcore that centered around vegan straight edge ideals and animal rights advocacy. 

Despite their very brief existence, they never had an official recording to begin with. In fact, they only either recorded a demo or a session release that contains 6 untitled songs. Given that the band dropped nothing but these tunes, it's fair to say that they didn't last that long.

On Guranjeslitice's YT channel the first song was listed as two separate songs, but i don't think that way. The intro and the rest of the other half feel connected to each other, and that's more than enough for me to know what they're packing for.

Indeed, this is a forgotten screamo band - a short-lived yet passionate burst of emotion, now buried as a relic in the annals of underground screamo history.

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Duhovito nazvani Britney’s Pierce bio je još jedan kratkotrajni bend nastao u Čakovcu, Hrvatska, aktivan 2000. godine. Kanalizujući sirovu intenzivnost ranog francuskog screamo talasa s početka devedesetih (setite se Anomie, Jasemine i Fingerprint), svirali su emotivni, politički nabijen hardcore fokusiran na vegan straight edge ideale i borbu za prava životinja.

Uprkos kratkom životu, bend nikada nije objavio zvanično izdanje. Zapravo, snimili su samo demo ili sesijski materijal od šest neimenovanih pesama. Pošto im je to jedini trag, jasno je da nisu dugo opstali.

Na Guranjeslitice YT kanalu prva pesma je navedena kao dve odvojene numere, ali ja to tako ne vidim. Uvod i nastavak su povezani, i to je više nego dovoljno da se oseti šta su želeli da prenesu.

Zaista, Britney’s Pierce ostaju kao zaboravljeni screamo bend — kratkotrajan, ali strastven nalet emocija, sada zakopan kao relikvija u anale underground screamo istorije.

BRITNEY'S PIERCE

WILL TO FAIL

Location: Split, Croatia

Year active: 2002 - 2003

Members: Igor Mihovilović, Marko Pogačar, Ranko Smoljan, Karmelo Marin

Related bands: Breed, Crvi, Čuljić Mihovilović Duo, Death Disco, Dim, Dispro, Essence, Giht Shasie, Helmet, Kadet, Karmakumulator, Pale, PBK Theater, No Comment, Sivi, Stražarni Lopov I Dobri Ljudi, Talason, Wizard of Stone Mountain

FFO: Angel Hair, Mohinder, Navio Forge, Honeywell, March 15th

Another day, another band to cover. This time, we're diving into something even more obscure from our northwest neighbor. Credit to Igor Mihovilovic, a key figure in the Croatian underground punk scene, known for projects like Breed, Karmakulator, and Giht Shasie, as well as labels like Carpediem Records and Guranje S Litice. Today’s focus: a band whose brief existence and minuscule discography (just four tracks) are anything but forgettable.

Will to Fail was a short-lived post-hardcore/screamo band from Split, Croatia, active from 2002 to 2003. Despite recording only three proper songs - plus one rough demo - their music encapsulates pure, noisy, dissonant, anxious, and spastic emotional chaos. Imagine the serrated edge of post-hardcore with a hint of pigfuck (a term originally used to dismiss bands creating some of the most abrasive, guttural noise rock, only for it to become an emblem of raw sonic destruction).

The three recorded songs were captured in multiple sessions throughout their brief lifespan and later remastered in 2020. ‘Pelin Petak’ kicks things off with a menacing post-hardcore/screamo vibe for 2:17, while ‘Smrt od Basa s Britvom’ steadily builds into bursts of uncontrollable chaos over its short 1:19 runtime. Then there’s ‘Kolac Utorak’, layering a sense of urgency into the guitar riffs before detonating into raw, unhinged emotional breakdowns across nearly three minutes. Lastly, their rough demo ‘Bubamara u Drvenoj Kutijici’, despite being instrumental, offers a rare quiet moment - less menacing, more somber - stretching out for 4:19.

Will to Fail burned out after just one year, leaving behind a handful of songs that feel like unearthed artifacts of raw, unfiltered chaos. A fleeting spark, but one sharp enough to leave scars.

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Još jedan dan, još jedan bend za pokriti. Ovoga puta ulazimo u još opskurnije vode kod naših severozapadnih suseda. Zasluge idu Igoru Mihoviloviću, važnoj figuri hrvatske underground punk scene, poznatom po projektima Breed, Karmakulator i Giht Shasie, kao i po etiketama Carpediem Records i Guranje s Litice. Današnji fokus: bend čije je kratko postojanje i sićušna diskografija (svega četiri pesme) sve osim zaboravljivih.

Will to Fail bio je kratkotrajan post-hardcore/screamo bend iz Splita, aktivan od 2002. do 2003. godine. Iako su snimili samo tri prave pesme — plus jedan grubi demo — njihova muzika sažima čistu, bučnu, disonantnu, anksioznu i spazmatičnu emocionalnu erupciju. Zamislite nazubljenu ivicu post-hardcora s primesama pigfuck estetike (termin koji je prvobitno korišćen da omalovaži bendove koji su pravili najabrazivniji, najgrublji noise rock, a kasnije postao simbol sirove zvučne destrukcije).

Tri pesme su snimane u više sesija tokom kratkog trajanja benda i kasnije remasterovane 2020. godine. „Pelin Petak“ otvara materijal mračnim post-hardcore/screamo nabojem u trajanju od 2:17. „Smrt od Basa s Britvom“ gradi napetost do eksplozivnih ispada neobuzdanog haosa u svega 1:19. Zatim dolazi „Kolač Utorak“, koji unosi osećaj hitnosti u gitarske rifove, da bi se sve urušilo u sirove, razvezane emotivne lomove u skoro tri minuta. Na kraju, grubi demo „Bubamara u Drvenoj Kutijici“, iako instrumentalan, nudi redak mirniji trenutak — manje preteći, više setan — u trajanju od 4:19.

Will to Fail izgoreo je posle samo godinu dana, ostavljajući iza sebe šačicu pesama koje deluju kao iskopani artefakti sirovog, nefiltriranog haosa. Kratkotrajna iskra, ali oštra dovoljno da ostavi ožiljke.

LIVE SETS + SONGS FROM VARIOUS SESSIONS ON GURANJESLITICE'S YT CHANNEL.

WILL TO FAIL