Spam Caller

Reviews

Spam Caller Bad Connection LP

SPAM CALLER. The name hits you like a cold dial tone in the middle of the night. Ever wonder what BLACK FLAG (if Henry Rollins spent his nights in a call center, slowly losing his mind) would sound like if they were ever part of the Youth Attack catalog? Well, this might just be it. During the seventeen minutes of Bad Connection, SPAM CALLER goes as hard as possible, and the result also comes close to what HOAX did so well; an assault to the senses. The tension felt in the songs is put into visuals by Mark McCoy’s art, and for the ones that have been following his work, they already know what this record is going to sound like. SPAM CALLER will keep ringing, whether you pick up or not.

Spam Caller Imposter Syndrome cassette

From Novato, California comes SPAM CALLER with their second release. A slab of aggro, pissed-off hardcore, but there isn’t too much to latch onto here, either. Not bad by any means, but not super memorable to these ears. It’s worth your time if you like your hardcore angry and aggressive, but I didn’t come out of it with much.

Spam Caller Habituation cassette

“Mysterious guy hardcore” hasn’t been an approved descriptor for, what, a decade now? And I’m not going to try and turn that outgoing tide. On the other hand, the actual spam callers of this world are some of its most mysterious guys, so can we suppose their hardcore band namesake follows suit? SPAM CALLER is from Novato, CA and this, their third tape in ten months, is some blitzin’ nihilistic hardcore on that “disaffected suburbanite sicko” tip. It’s got reverb-heavy vox and freaky psych guitar (“Waste It” being the real gem in that department) for BIB and GAG kids, but also unfettered rage and powerviolence-ish compactness of, say, the REPOS. Really cool foldout sleeve art designed by Mark McCoy too, the likes of which you rarely find on a tape release.