Radical Fun Time

Reviews

Radical Fun Time Risen From the Ashes CD

Holy crust, this is something else entirely. RADICAL FUN TIME is currently in Minnesota, but from what I gather, they have been traveling around quite a bit as a duo. I am sure they are indeed fun and radical as punks, and anarchist politics clearly pervade these fifteen songs. This is a joyfully chaotic recording with a lot of heart, but probably not enough direction. There is some basic ’90s crust punk here, some anarcho-punk, some fastcore, but overall, it sounds like a big collective soup for the punks. It might not be the best meal you’ll ever have, but it is warm, organic, and made with heart.

Grip Bite / Mindrott / Radical Fun Time / Self Abuse Four Way Split, Vol. 2 split CD

Fun little split between four bands that sound different enough to keep things interesting. I’m sure that what I’m about to say sounds like the “Country/Western” bit from Blues Brothers, but there’s something here for anyone who likes punk-adjacent music. GRIP BITE plays the classic “your favorite local band” brand of street punk, MINDROTT has a late-era PANTERA/HATEBREED vibe going on, RADICAL FUN TIME plays lo-fi crust, and SELF ABUSE rounds it out with their flavor of crossover thrash punk. Really solid disc here; I had it on while I was doing yard work and it helped me forget I’m an old man now. This is well worth a spin.

Radical Fun Time There Is Only One Race The Human Race EP

I’m not ashamed to admit that I, in fact, did more or less have a fun time on my first encounter with this environmentalist/human-rights-themed band. Through the art and message, they emit a “punx as hippies living in the woods” vibe, which is sort of corroborated by their bio on the internet. Song titles like “What is the Correct Way to Live? What is the Best Way of Life?,” “Chemtrails—Aluminum Barium Dust a Synthetic DNA in a Toxic Aerial Spray,” and “What is the Current Administration Covering Up?” all read like potentially quasi-wingnut headlines from various lefty or conspiracy theorist publications. Their sound is demented and fuzzy and cacophonous and so screamy (in a good way). Go back in time and put ’em on a bill with FLEAS AND LICE, CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE, and CHOKING VICTIM, and RADICAL FUN TIME would surely be the spectacle of the night.