It seems appropriate that Not Asking For Much, the new RAT CAGE LP, marks ten years of stellar hardcore punk from mastermind Bry Suddaby. Across multiple compilations, splits, EPs, and LPs, RAT CAGE has always retained their core influences while expanding on their sound, and while I’d have probably said the same about their 2023 […]
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Despite years of devoted digging, you never came across an original copy of this elusive KBD relic in the wild. It’s okay, bucko, you tried your best, and look—now you can snag a fresh one that sounds and looks just like the real thing, courtesy of Berlin’s No Good records. This label doesn’t put much […]
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Thrashy, fuzzy punk from Madrid that’s equal parts early ’80s-era California like the AVENGERS and rushed, spazzed-out pop à la DICKIES and BUZZCOCKS, the former reference not exclusively because the singer awesomely brings to mind Penelope Houston intuitions. The band lands in that fast, angular proto-punk sound that their fellow Spaniards and the Australians are […]
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HC punk in the image of UK82 and the punker end of US East Coast ’80s HC. This was kind of a fascinating listen—it’s hard to come up with interesting things to say about genuinely good, skillfully executed hardcore punk, but on repeat listens, I found a pretty unique lane here. There’s a subtle darkness […]
Read full "Baby Killer cassette" reviewOn this week’s MRR Radio, Cary plays songs to listen to at the end of the world.
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My first encounter with the Tape Op universe happened when I picked up a magazine that was laying around Mike Pack’s studio, Revolution Sounds, in Chattanooga, TN. This was twenty-plus years ago. Listening to LANDLORD track “More Trouble” on Beneath the Wheel, and being frustrated that they didn’t do the ending phrase twice. I was […]
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Last Night at the Lusty: Remembering San Francisco’s First Unionized Strip Club is a fascinating expose of North Beach’s most notorious haunt. Filled with shocking twists and urban legends (but are they?), Janelle Blarg’s most recent comic also highlights the risks, the racism, and the management’s reluctance to address many of the employee’s workplace concerns. […]
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While working on the Murray Bowles photo book, I found myself in an early ’80s Bay Area punk frenzy, gobbling up old photo books, zines, and newsprint rags of the day, and digging into internet rabbit holes left and right. Along the way I came across this gem, self-published in 2021, which I immediately needed […]
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Far from any major cities and never a convenient spot on a touring route, the seemingly sedate neighbouring seaside towns of Falmouth and Penryn are an unlikely setting for a growing punk scene. However, over a long period of time, a local punk community has thankfully become a regular presence here. Cover photo: Dee Loraine […]
Read full "No End in View: A Falmouth & Penryn Scene Report" Article