The Orange Spotlight

Hosho McCreesh For All These Wretched, Beautiful, & Insignificant Things So Uselessly & Carelessly Destroyed... (sunnyoutside, Sept 18th, 2008)


"I simply cannot believe that we are supposed to be so callous, so pitiless."

There is a certain level rage in the lines of Hosho McCreesh's seventh collection of poems. The word rage typically has a negative connotation, but in the case of the lines found in For All These Wretched, Beautiful, & Insignificant Things..., the rage seems rational and justified. I believe I've heard it said that "justified rage is better than misguided anger". Regardless, Hosho takes a long and focused look at reality and sinks his literary teeth into the injustices that abound.


"The simple fact is that most of the all of this is pretty hard to get away from."


His approach is not of the holier than thou variety, he himself is not above reproach. He has simply presented a collection of thoughts and perceptions that are on the attack and not resting until they are heard. In a world currently filled with injustice, misdirection, deception, diversion, and deceit, it is a marvel that this collection is not a thousand pages long. For that matter McCreesh has shown considerable restraint and perhaps saved a bigger blow at a later date.

Fight Bite Emerald Eyes (Self-Released, October 28th, 3008)

If I was to ever start a band I wouldn't move to LA or Seattle or even stay here in Chicago. I would want to be in one of three places, Brooklyn, Portland, or especially Denton, TX. Denton is home to many young and inventive bands, and among them is a duo known as Fight Bite. On their debut album Emerald Eyes, Jeff Louis and Leanne Macomber have found the perfect blend of haunting melodies and other worldly snyths. It's as if Enya was trapped inside a haunted house and was being forced to sing for her release.

Formed in late 2007, Leanne had already amassed a songbook of lyrics, but was in search of someone to bring her songs to life. Who she found was mirco composer Jeff Louis. To create his thick walls of sound Louis shreds tape-after-tape on an old 8-track, and the results are beautifully reverb-drenched melodic compositions. These is a massive sound that floats and moves and slowly creeps throughout each composition, but without losing the romance and melody. With songs like Swissex Lover (released as a seven inch) and Widow's Peak, they are bound to haunt, woo, lull, and draw you into their sonic world.

The Accident/Never Let Go/Swiss Ex-Lover/Widow's Peak (mp3)/Emerald Eyes/Age Of Faith/Small Wonder/Dorthea/Strings/Spring Rain