I haven’t done one of these since April, but I’ve recently been inspired to do this again, because we got to see the band I reviewed in the afore-linked column at the brewery I paired with them!  I made that happen (probably not)!  Anyway, drink from the cup of heresy and stuff.  This week’s offerings: Auld Blue Eyes’ Drop an Anchor and Miskatonic Brewery’s Midwest Wizard.

—

The Tunes: Auld Blue Eyes – Drop an Anchor

Fellow name-brother Ian O’Callaghan, a.k.a. Auld Blue Eyes himself, is no stranger to the underground scene, despite Drop an Anchor being the Auld Blue Eyes project’s debut.  O’Callaghan has performed in the band Horse (not to be confused with HORSE the band) and currently fronts Uncultivates, featuring members of Worn Out and fellow County Cork darlings God Alone.  On Drop an Anchor, O’Callaghan eschews a lot of the black and hardcore influences his past work has been known for in favor of good old post-hardcore, screamo and post-rock influences.  It’s a far cry from what he might be known for, to be sure, and the fact that a lot of the lyrics seem to have a little tongue-in-cheek humor mixed into lamentations on aging and death (particularly, the philosophical quandary of whether it is worth it to spend a whole summer lifting weights and playing Tekken in your basement instead of going outside and touching grass).  In that respect, and in the musical sense, Drop an Anchor captures the old-school post-hardcore spirit very nicely.  It’s got the slightest tinge of emo to it, but it’s much closer to something like I Hate Myself or even Mineral, with rich, warm and moving chord progressions, catchy melodies and O’Callaghan’s plaintive howl holding down the majority of the tracks.  The post-rock elements are pretty nicely blended in, and of course you’re going to get big crescendos and huge payoffs, and it brings quite a large atmosphere to something that is essentially a home-grown passion project.  Drop an Anchor was meticulously labored over for four years, and a car accident O’Callaghan was in earlier in the year is the main reason why it’s seeing the light of day now.  That’s a sucky thing to happen, but the bright side is that it gave us a very strong release from a guy who clearly doesn’t know how to quit.  Top quote Dan quoting Larry David: it’s prettyyyyyyyyyy prettyyyyyyyyy pretty pretty good.  Except sincerely.

—

The Booze: Miskatonic Brewing Company’s Midwest Wizard

Miskatonic Brewing Company is another semi-local brewery to us, and one that I have sampled a fair amount of beer from.  Their aesthetic is unmatched, and their logo alone is what initially attracted me to them.  However, the issue I’ve always had is that their beer has been…fine, but nothing to write home (or this column) about.  Nothing revolting or egregious, just a little over promised and under delivered.  However, I’m very pleased to announce that Midwest Wizard is something that I am more than drinking, but enjoying in a way their other beers haven’t quite hit yet.  A collaboration with the Midwest Brew Review, your typical IPA recipe is spruced up (heh) with over a pound of fresh spruce tips in each barrel, accentuating not just the piney notes of the hops, but also the dry, bracing bitterness and supplementing just a kiss of some lemony acidity.  Honestly, the whole thing has big gin and tonic vibes in a beer, which is great, because I love both of those things.  It’s a great crossover drink for the end of summer (boo) and the start of fall (yay), and it’s making me much more interested in diving into what else I’ve missed from Miskatonic.

---

Well, before too long then: cheers, and be good to each other.

-Ian