Total Con
Who Needs the Peace Corps? EP
Highly anticipated vinyl debut from the UK’s TOTAL CON, the brainchild of Bobby Cole of the ANNIHILATED and ANTAGONIZM amongst other things. To get directly to the point, Who Needs the Peace Corps? absolutely smokes and will certainly be remembered as one of the year’s great releases. A breathlessly pure expression of hardcore aggression that is as authentic as a punk record can be in 2025, it acts as both an aggro diatribe against corporate and capitalist exploitation and a love letter to the genre’s greats, following in the footsteps of bands like KORO, BATTALION OF SAINTS, and URBAN WASTE. Highlights include the breakdown on “You Don’t Exist,” the frantic guitar work on “Death to Capitalist Hardcore,” and the million-mile-an-hour vocal delivery on “Repugnant Slime.” Each song maintains a manic level of intensity that is wrapped in perfectly lo-fi production that makes it sound about 40 years old. While there isn’t enough column space to dig much more into each of the nine tracks here, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the band’s take on the DOORS’ “Riders on the Storm,” a cover that has no right to work as well as it does. When put into the context of a hardcore punk song, the lyrics hit with a much higher intensity, giving the philosophical, romantic, and violent nature of Jim Morrison’s admittedly overplayed hit a breath of fresh air. It’s a surprising way to end and worth the price of admission alone. Very recommended and an album of the year contender, to be sure.
