Smart and strong indie rock with a punk rock attitude. The lyrics are what really stands out to me about this band. They are well written. Topically they sing mostly about spiritual, metaphysical, and occult matters. Musically, they are also a little different. There is no guitar. They utilize bass as the lead instrument, and drums + percussion fleshing out the groove. It gives them a very thick dark sound. Very modern and intense. The vocalists sound very emotionally tied to the subject matter. I’ve heard better vocals, but at least they seem to really have a vested interest in what they are screaming.
— Neo-Zine
Category: Reviews
Northern Liberties – Erode and Disappear (Empty Wagon)
The bass ‘n’ tribal drumming of Killing Joke, the bleak undercurrent of Joy Division, the inspired “Whoa whoa!”-ing of Naked Raygun, the uneasiness of The Stranglers: Philly’s Northern Liberties might be the double-naught’s answer to Proletariat (“Soma Holiday” is one of the essential ’80s HC albums). No guitar player within 50 miles of the Rocky statue, but the instrumentation jabs like Ivan Drago on an Everlast bag. Melodic touches from Adrian, however, absorb the repeated right hands to the face. Best round: the strapped glove of “Suction,” which (vocally) waves a “Pink Flag” at “Three Imaginary Boys” in the squared circle.
-Gunther 8544
Northern Liberties – Erode and Disappear (Bullet Proof Pope Mobile)
Interesting spacy lo-fi punk. Absolutly different from what’s out there nowadays. I have to say that it’s a fun journey. Vocals just haunting and twisted at times, and the music just goes from mellow to “turned up to 11” in nothing flat. A record to check out.
Northern Liberties – Erode and Disappear (Paniscus Revue)
Blunt lo-fi post-Therapy?/Membranes psychiatrics from unnamed people and unknown places. Putting ID and id out to pasture, with much percussion and wailing Northern Liberties carouses through a new religion of glowing graves, cosmic lights, parasites, disorientation, paranoia, magnetic fields, psychic deterioration, and other such dark psychedelic wonders, all conducted with a childlike wonder flavored with the lysergic waves of tainted host. “Concourse,” “Devil Song,” and “Dog Skies” (“Roll on nightmare roll on / Like the dog skies are ready to split”) stand out, but there’s much more here than that. Loads of cult potential in these seventeen tracks of simple yet illustrious controlled substance abuse, making one wonder what the hell the live show is like.
Northern Liberties – Erode and Disappear (Xeens and Things #16)
I guess if you had to come up with a label for this you might call it “pop punk neo-goth”. Like Justins zine, the lyrics have a “quasi gnostic” sound to them, though there’s some social commentary as well. I liked the energetic, rythmic and somber, guitar and drum lead-ins in most of the songs, and the music maintains its quality throughout. But the lyrics are a bit crowded, apparently in an effort to convey a “meningful” message. And the vocals are a little grating and slightly off key. Some of the songs, with their rapidly spoken lyrics, remind me of Nada Surf’s “Popular”. Although I prefer a more melodic and mellifluous style, I’ll grant there’s some talent in here, and the cover and the CD itself have some exceptional artwork on them.
— James N. Dawson, XEENS AND THINGS # 16
Northern Liberties – Easter Island (Finding Datura webzine)
The A-side, “Easter Island” is a slow goth rocker with vocals just soaked in reverb. The track shifts from gentle to heavy while the vocalist does a damn good Peter Murphy impression. The B-side, “Chromosomatic” is a bit more rockin’, with more of a leaning towards Joy Division than Bauhaus. The poor recording quality does not give the songs credit and I think with some better production, Northern Liberties could crank out some pretty good stuff. This single was recorded on Easter Sunday, 2003, which is pretty neat. So is the clear orange vinyl.
Northern Liberties – Erode and Disappear (HardRockInfo.com)
18 songs in over an hour? But value for your money? First I thought that this record was a split, ‘cus it looked like that on the cover. But later I found out that it wasen’t a split at all….the band was NORTHERN LIBERTIES, and “Erode + Disappear” was actually the title. Funny, huh? This band is playing some kind of heavy Punk, that we can call Indie Punk to be more exact, and sometimes even Pop Punk actually. Some good songs, some bad songs, and it goes in through one ear and out of the other. The Pop Punk songs are their best stuff, the rest of it is just too boring. Maybe they should have done a Pop Punk EP instead? I would have liked that much better anyway.
Northern Liberties – Easter Island (HardRockInfo.com)
The first song, “Easter Island”, is a pretty o.k. Pop Punk song with a touch of Indie. A little heavy though.The second song, “Chromosomatic”, is a little faster Pop Punk song that I like better than the first one. Nice with the aggressive vocals that reminds me of NIRVANA.A nice vinyl single that you’ll survive without, no more no less. But if you got too much money, you should buy it just becuse of that.
Northern Liberties – Easter Island / Erode and Disappear (Scabz-n-bones)
Northern Liberties is a Great mix of Styles. They are Part of a Great Lineup over at Worldeater Records. Bass, Drums, Percusion, & Vocals, and that is it. Definitely makes for lots of Interesting Listening. Erode has 17 Songs, all of which will kick your Stereo’s Ass. The Easter Island 7 inch is 2 New Northern Liberties Songs recorded on Easter only Limited to 500 Copies and it’s on Gold Vinyl. Gotta Love Colored Vinyl. This Record will Wreck your Turntable as Well as Your Hearing. A Definite Winner.
Northern Liberties – Easter Island / Erode and Disappear (Aural Innovations)
Northern Liberties have several releases on the World Eater label, which is a non-profit label. All the CDs are $5 and 7″ records $3 including postage! This is the second release on the label and includes 18 tracks from 1-5 minutes in length. The band play a mixture of punk inspired rock. They remind me of some of the punk bands that I saw at the Gilman St. in Berkeley, California, when I went there nearly every Friday or Saturday night back in 1988-90.
Easter Island is the bands second release on World Eater. It was recorded on Easter Day 2003, thus the title. The band consists of a three piece (guitar, bass, drums). The lyrics are quite potent and the music heavy and distorted. The recording is quite low with the drums and bass mixed high and the guitars low. This is distorted rock with a punk attitude. Melodic at times, yet screaming raw all the time. Strange and intriguing stuff.
— Scott Heller