The Last Survivors / Vaxine split EP
The zipper on the front of this record should be a hint of what you’re in for. The release notes promise a love letter to the UK82 scene “organically mixed with the sound of raw ’80s global hardcore,” and that’s exactly what it delivers. VAXINE (NYC) tears through three politically-charged two-minute blasts that land somewhere between DISCHARGE and CHAOS UK, with a whiff of MOTÖRHEAD swagger in the intro to “War Criminals.” LAST SURVIVORS (Tokyo) follow with two tracks that sound rougher, like a third-generation tape dub, but they still bring four minutes of pure basement energy. Both bands hit that sweet spot of raw, mid-range-heavy ’80s-style punk without too much of the metallic drift some of their influences leaned into. Every song could’ve been trimmed by half a minute, but it’s still a strong dose of unfiltered, boots-on-the-floor hardcore. For fans of the punkiest of punk sounds, this one’s worth tracking down. The high point for me was VAXINE’s “Thread of Hate.”
