Reviews

Robert Collins

Pisuar Your Life Complation cassette

Seven bursts of shit-fi raw punk without a hint of D-beat or black-clad pretension? Now yr fukkn talking, punk. Warsaw’s PISUAR released two demos last year, and the folks at Brainwasher saw fit to combine them this year—I couldn’t be happier. CUNTROACHES-level not giving a fuck meets pure, unadulterated hardcore punk noise explosion in the form of nihilistic stomps, with vocals acting as another instrument of noise and an overall presentation that makes me (or you, dear reader and future listener) feel like a voyeur in a way I can’t describe. It’s like…old punks like me don’t really get to experience punk like this, you know? It’s not for me, and I respect that. I appreciate it. I’m just going to stand over here and stay out of your way, because you kids (PISUAR specifically, punks in general) clearly don’t need my help. But am I grateful? Oh fukk yes, I am. Hands down, best release I have heard this month.

Loud Night / Taifun split EP

Transatlantic head-splitting metal punk mania. LOUD NIGHT (Virginia) is full-throttle, bombastic, fist-banging metallic D-beat. Think INEPSY tinged with demonic ’80s metal, dueling guitar leads, and pure power from start to finish. TAIFUN (Germany) presents as a slightly more stripped-down and “punk” animal on this release, but their modern Euro interpretation of Burning Spirits-style Japanese hardcore is still untouchable. The mid-tempo stomp “Destroyah” might be my summer anthem, even though I’m going to be banging all four of these tracks on repeat. Both bands execute flawlessly and they compliment each other perfectly.

Zeměžluč Z Extrému Do Extrému LP reissue

This was one of the first Eastern European punk LPs I picked up—grabbed it on a whim in a bargain bin because it  looked  cool, and I didn’t know fuck-all about Czech punk, so why not? The band started in 1986 and dropped their first full-length a few years later (also recommended). Z Extrému Do Extrému was the second full-length from ZEMĚŽLUČ, originally released in 1997; it’s still a regular spin and I’m happy to see it get modern treatment and recognition from PHR. Stripped-down, hard-driving, no frills punk rock with gruff vocals and the unmistakable cold Eastern Euro punk energy even while they crank out anthem after anthem with an ear towards early UK punk.

Bamberdöst Songs About Your “Girlfriend” CD

Formerly the solo project for BAD WHOREMAOANS’ vocalist Paul Mauled, BAMBERDÖST presents here as a fully realized melodic punk trio. Thirteen heartfelt, love-laden laments with titles like “Tell Me You’re Safe,” “Favorite Creature,” and “I’m Not Leaving Sleep Over You,” to give you a little insight into your listening mission before you even embark. They’re from New Jersey, but I hear NOVA MOB and D4 in these tracks, and I get distinct Midwest energy mingling with jangly almost-emo and hints of gloomy garage. Rare to see (hear) an outfit successfully make the move from solo acoustic act to full band, but BAMBERDÖST appears to be doing exactly that.

Camellia Sinensis Tout Prendre EP

Straight up, the four-second reggaeton beat in the breakdown of the title track might be the single best hardcore thing you’re going to hear this month. I went back and listened (repeatedly) because it simply doesn’t make sense…until it does. And when it does, you’re fukkd. It’s not just the opening cut though, Lille rippers CAMELLIA SINENSIS are masters of the breakdown, and there’s something about the way the snare cracks when they slow it down that makes those breakdowns…extra. The guitar lead in the “Chute” breakdown, literally every damn riff on the record, the S.H.I.T. vibes in the closer “Mesure”—start to finish, this record is an absolute killer, and a massive leap from their already excellent demo from a couple of years ago. Highly recommended.

Kirot Kaasu Pohjaan cassette

Think ’90s dual-vocal anarcho-crust along the lines of Scandi-neighbors OPERATION and PROTESTERA, delivered in the classic raw Finnish tradition. The strongest material on Kaasu Pohjaan is on the second half, maybe because the vocals settle in a bit, or perhaps because I haven’t spent time with aggressive Finn-core in way too long. The riffs are sheer brutality in their simplicity, and the vocals are as overwhelming as they are overpowering—it’s a harsh listen, and that’s exactly how KIROT intended it to be.

Cyco Cyco LP

This one hits fast and it hits hard. CYCO drags me back to the turn of the millennium, to that in-between era after ACME and ZORN blew the roof off of the concept of metalcore but before ZEROID (and later FALL OF EFRAFA) injected internal intensity and stadium crust rage into the mix. CYCO is all of those things as much as they are North American emotional hardcore. And these Germans…these modern Germans do the whole damn thing and still manage to sound like a raw assault and a ’90s California screamo record at the same time. Check “Learn to Use” and then crank “Pulse” and it’s like the past dragging you into the now. “Fiction to Come” is the choice cut, if only for the isolated bass intro and the D-beat > blast > emo sequencing, but literally every minute on this debut is compelling and engaging . Been a while since I have spent as much time with a new release as I have with this CYCO record, and I look forward to repeated listens.

Kouristus Mielen Ja Maailman Rappio CD

Fierce, ripping Finnish fastcore/grind. Seriously, five words, and you know you’re either going to love this or you aren’t, because KOURISTUS do the damn thing and they do it brilliantly. You aren’t looking for fastcore/grind? Look elsewhere. You’re looking for fastcore/grind or possible grinding fastcore? Well, guess what, young punks?!?! These fukks have got you covered. Harsh, throaty vocals with high-end support, blasts that will peel paint off of your face, and a massive production that sacrifices none of the band’s ferocity. One song out of fifteen kisses the two-minute mark…but if you know what you like, then you’ve probably already started listening before you read that sentence.

Abaddon Live at CBGB LP

I shouldn’t have to talk about ABADDON in the time of the internet, so I won’t condescend to you when you can use search engines…but please know that they are fucking important. This is probably the only recording of their 2003 US mini-tour you will ever hear ,and to say that it is worth your time would be a criminal understatement. Fierce and honest Polish hardcore originally active in the early ’80s, this recording captures a reformed ABADDON at CBGB blasting through tracks from 2004’s Godzina Krzywd instead of Wet Za Wet or the REJESTRACJA split (aside from opening with “Rewolucja”), and honestly, it’s a really good move. The band was on absolute fire, and the gruff vocals get a little rougher as the set progresses, just like the guitar gets a little looser and…this is what you want from a live recording. Legendary band, amazing set, grateful it was immortalized. Wild that ABADDON, ARMIA, and DEZERTER all toured the US in 2003—it was like our own Jarocin, and we just didn’t know it.

Car Bomb Parade / RBNX split LP

Hard-charging New York punk. RBNX is a little chunkier and has a slight metal tinge, while CAR BOMB PARADE is slicker and injects considerable grit into the mix (lyrically and musically). Both bands are well-polished, determined, and ready for action—aggressive and honest. Into both sides more the more times I listen.

Go! Impact LP

What if late ’80s NYHC had been heartfelt and honest and without pretension? What if ’80s NYHC had been made by nerds and emo kids (before emo kids were even a thing)? What if ’80s NYHC had had a sense of humor (BORN AGAINST notwithstanding, of course)? If those things had been so, then ’80s NYHC would have sounded like GO!, but fortunately there was GO! so the answer is yes, this is what (late) ’80s NYHC sounded like. They were but a blip, but somehow managed to crank out a half-dozen (or more?) records between ’89–’91, and their approach to hardcore might sound even more refreshing now than it did then. Mike’s vocals are almost lazy, but it feels like he’s just confidently spitting facts to a backing track of no-bullshit USHC punk…because that’s what is happening. Impact compiles the two EPs (Reactive and What We Build Together) from a reformed GO! that were released in the mid-’00s with a ripping live WFMU set from 2006, and this is the anecdote to oppressive toxic hardcore. “Your power means nothing at all.”

KŸHL Nach Strich und Faden LP

Hard to believe this came out in the 2020s, but here we are. German screamo/indie/math/emo…ultra-chaotic and erratic, alternating between discordant madness and deliberate sonic introspection. Call KŸHL post-something if you like, but I consider them an extremely challenging and fascinating listen. You’re going to hear ’90s DIY basements to be sure, but these sounds feel current, urgent, and now.

V/A Epidemie LP

Volumes have been written about Eastern Euro punk, and I feel like I’m going to keep discovering new (old) sounds as long as I’m breathing. This 1990 compilation was reissued last year, and featured one band I knew (TELEX) and seven more that I am fast becoming obsessed with—KRITIKÁ SITUACE, ZELENÍ KANIBALOVÉ, PLEXIZ, SVOBODY SLOVO, S.P.S., AKUTNÍ OTRAVA, and WANASTOWI VJECY. I’ll spare you the tedious band-by-band analysis and just say that literally every track here is a killer, and fans of Czech/Slovak punk will rejoice. A few bands on the more melodic tip and a few slightly more metallic, but everything falls in the realm of dark and stark Iron Curtain punk and I couldn’t be more thrilled.

Scumbag Scumbag 12″

Late 1980s Japanese fastcore resurrected (thankfully) by the folks at Beach Impediment. I know them from the Enjoy Your Youth… sampler, and was a little surprised to see SCUMBAG get the treatment before realizing the ROCKY & THE SWEDEN connection, but never mind the why and sit with these eight burners. Even when you hear poppy bits on cuts like “F.T.M.U.” and “Money,” they simply can’t get away from the rapid-fire approach, creating a sonic bridge between more “traditional” Japanese hardcore and the younger Tokyo scene that started popping up in the ’90s (think LIE, DXRXYX, BREAKFAST). If you’re expecting a wall of furious hardcore, then look elsewhere, but these SCUMBAG tracks recorded their brief run in 1988–89 are a fantastic time capsule, and I’m thrilled that Beach Impediment cracked it open.

Cyclo Sonic Heathentown LP

Solid Middle America bar rock from Denver. There was an early ’90s almost-grunge vibe that I couldn’t quite shake (or identify), so I dug in a little and found a connection to the FLUID which helped contextualize the guitar a bit. Aside from that connection, CYCLO SONIC lands like some middle-agers well versed in the classics, so expect to hear elements of ’60s garage burners and early ’80s punk in the mix. And when they hit (like on “I’m Not Sad” with its screaming lead), they’re great, even though the vocals pull my attention from the guitars more often than I’d like. Choice cut: “Alone In The City.”

Alement Banished Sphere 12″

ALEMENT is among the best current North American crust outfits. Howling devastation of the highest order, they’ve been honing their craft for a decade, and 2024’s Banished Sphere lands like the realization of those efforts. Think MISERY and AMEBIX as reference points for sure, but the metallic churn is special—“Surreal Wisdom” as a perfect example, while “Ritual Perdition” owes as much to Metal Blade-era SLAYER as to AMEBIX. Vocals are like a desperate warning and the riffs churn, repetitive pummeling spread out over six apocalyptic movements. This listens like a fully-realized recording (and release), less common in this era of streams and tracks and extremely welcome to these ears.

Electrika Maquina Destruye Sue​​​ñ​​​os EP

Wildly but deliberately chaotic Mexico City punk from the Japanese crasher school. Guitars are beyond distorted, they are straight-up tortured, while vocals sound more like the ones doing the torturing. The mid-paced parts of Maquina Destroy Sueños are where they shine, which makes the spastic “Falsedad” and the unhinged awkward speed of “Marcela” stand out, while the noise(s) that fill every crevice ensure that there will be no dull listening moments. ELECTRIKA is desperate and chaotic, and determined to remain noticed. It’s working. Do people still wear shoelace headbands? No? Might be time to start.

Käräjät Pimeä Nykyaika EP

First off, ten-fukkn-song EP. Not sure what year these Finns think we’re in, but I’m so damn glad they are here with me today. Atonal, ramshackle, harsh, uncompromisingly raw hardcore punk with exactly one cut that kisses the one-minute mark, this record is the living embodiment of sonic brutality. And then “Hallitus Uudistaa” opens, and I feel like I’m listening to a STOOGES outtake before I get blasted by ten seconds of primal shit-fi grind, and I remember that I am most definitely not listing to STOOGES—more like MEDELLIN, or maybe a fidelity-free FEAR OF GOD. Pimeä Nykyaika is an extremely harsh listen…more of this, please.

Wake in Fright Around Every Corner EP

I’m hearing D. Boon and Allan McNaughton in the opening guitar chords, and you better believe that I am paying full attention well before the rest of the band kicks in. And when they do kick in…WAKE IN FRIGHT hits like a shock. Super powerful protest lyrics fronting a collection of timeless working class pub-punk tracks. I gave up trying to identify the elements and the influences long before the brutally honest “Self Storage” started, and by the time that track finished, I was a fan for life. Around Every Corner is a timeless EP, filled with poignant lyrics and musicians who play off of each other with an envious comfort. I’ll spare you the time that I could spend dissecting each song and just say that the time I spent dissecting only made me like this record more. Oh, and the MINUTEMEN and NEUTRALS sounds that I heard in those opening chords are still tracking favorably, so my ears are still functioning properly.

Dead Gods / Megadosage split LP

Uhhhhh, someone wanna tell us all what rock this beast crawled out from under? My jaw hit the floor about two seconds after the needle hit the groove and DEAD GODS preached “Glory Without a Fight.” Their side of this masterpiece is total VOID-level sonic obliteration, a hardcore band playing way faster, way harder, and with far more intensity than their competency can match. Completely fukkn unhinged from start to finish—a finish that includes two FLIPPER-tinged drug dirges interrupted by a seven-minute radio “interview” that features several tracks from their demo. Featuring a pre-CANDY SNATCHERS Brian Diederich, it’s hard to imagine how (or why) this has remained under wraps for so long…and now I flip the record over for MEGADOSAGE. Appears to be a brilliantly amped-up version of the 1985 Blacksburg Paradise demo that I was today years old when I became cool enough to learn about. Once again, light-speed, manic USHC that should have been distributed to the masses and shamelessly aped a thousand times over by now. You get the sense that this is a band who could have turned to the dark (metal) side had they stayed in the game, but thankfully we’re left with this bastard fusion, ADRENALIN OD/VOID hybrid that makes my hair stand on end. What’s left of it. All hail My Weed for conjuring this into existence.

Rolltreppe Es Geht Bergab 12″

It’s possible that Es Geht Bergab sounds so completely original because it sounds so instantly familiar, and now I’m stuck wondering which it actually is (and knowing it’s both). You’re going to see terms like “post-punk” and “goth punk” thrown around a lot when people talk about this record (and this band), but that’s just folks not listening past the flanged bass and the spacial guitars—in reality, ROLLTREPPE is a damn punk band that takes advantage of those elements instead of leaning on them. From the opening track, I’m dragged back a decade. “Kranke Welt” feels like a mid-2010s RAKTA and WHITE LUNG collaboration (with the bass lick borrowed accidentally and/or blatantly from the former), while the general energy ROLLTREPPE projects is the stark, cold, dance frenzy that dominates ’80s Eastern Bloc punk with all of the energy and intensity that comparison conjures and more. Rhythm-section-driven, high-energy punk with guitars taking their own trip and vocals that command full attention. I went back and checked out their 2020 release because I’m curious (and thorough), and seeing the progression makes me really anxious to hear whatever comes next—I can talk about how many elements remind me of other bands, songs, and records, but really I just keep coming back to how I’ve never really heard a record that sounds like this. Excellent.

The Overprivileged / The Revelevens DCxPC Live Presents, Vol. 31 split LP

Pleased every time I see a new volume pop up, because the DCxPC Live series is the epitome of a labor of love. Nothing fancy, and the packaging is typically minimal—just live recordings of DIY punk bands who are often underknown and/or underappreciated. Two turn-of-the-century Baltimore/DC area bands here who reunited a couple of years back at Ottobar and played a ripper; the REVELEVENS are fast ’n wild with a cowpony tinge and ultra-upfront femme vocals. The OVERPRIVILEGED are harsher (maybe also drunker) but hopelessly catchy street punk, and their set is a wee bit looser (in a good way). Both bands deliver maximum intensity sets and were (according to the liner notes) integral to their respective scenes in their respective eras. And you see, this is why I’m pleased every time I see a new DCxPC Live volume pop up.

Fogbank [Redacted] cassette

The band self-describes as “psychosis-induced hardcore,” and sometimes it’s a good idea to listen to the artist’s mission statement, ya dig? I hear tough hardcore breakdowns, I hear deranged Midwest basement punk, I hear modern squirmy punk, I hear wildly primitive sonic abuse. Taking jerky art-punk freakouts (“Fang”), tough guy mid-tempo stomps (“Mimic Chest”), and off-the-rails ‘core (“Wound,” “Parasite”) and making the whole thing sound cohesive and urgent and demanding is no small feat. These deranged Ohio mutants condense Neanderthal hardcore into balls of distorted USHC fury. This is dirty denim with shoelace belts. This is “lost your job because you forgot you were even supposed to go to work.” This is struggling to leave the fukkn house because you just…can’t.

Renegade Leathers In a Pine Box 12″

I feel like this was supposed to be a horror punk record, but one listen to In a Pine Box and I’m just confused. Portland’s RENEGADE LEATHERS hit like a(n almost) psychobilly/melodic gutterpunk hybrid—not swinging enough for the former and far too casual for the latter. There’s a spooky vibe throughout and the vocal trade-offs are enough to keep this listener engaged, but my engagement is limited to wondering if they’re ever going to put their foot on the gas in this sonic hearse and launch us all off a cliff, or if they’re just content cruising casually in the slow lane. The opener “5625 (The Cemetery Song)” sets the bar at height of confusion, hitting like some kind of BELLRAYS buttrock experiment, and then the harmonica on the closer “Pretty River” clashes with the dark, ominous vocals and kinda kills what would otherwise be the best song on the record. There might be something here, but I’m still looking for it.

Slinky Saddest Girl / Run and Run 7″

Florida melodic punk from the ’90s reimagined brilliantly in 2024—when I first dropped the needle, I thought I was listening to a new band harnessing the sounds of a forgotten DIY past, when I was actually listening to a band reimagining themselves as adults. “Saddest Girl” is a perfect example of the (sub)genre, an energetic wistful missive that’s light-years from the love song that the listener might mistake it for. And I’m gonna stop the review there, because that A-side is so damn good, and the flip is an utterly forgettable butchering of a PSYCHEDELIC FURS track.

Bandages Bandages LP

Anthemic, melodic punk that borders on alt-rock in the modern context. Pro recording, pro performance, fronted by powerful femme vox, and it’s all really honest, really earnest, and…really good. I could also easily imagine hearing it on the radio. I’d be okay with that. Shit, I’d probably listen to the radio if it sounded like this. BANDAGES land like a band whose members consumed DILLINGER FOUR and FALL OUT BOY with equal enthusiasm, but there’s also an OFF! record on the shelf next to QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, and I bet there’s someone in the band who can speak intelligently on matters of classic USHC—shit man, I’m trying to put a finger on it, but I’m still fukkn listening so these kids are doing something right.

Holy Shit! Have a Couple More Good Songs CD / Used Punk EP

It’s hard for me to really accept that Wisconsin’s HOLY SHIT! is well into their third fucking decade of thrashing, but here we are. Eight songs of beautiful, irreverent, ripping fastcore on the Used Punk EP, with just two songs kissing the sixty-second mark (neither get close to seventy). HOLY SHIT! continues to push envelopes, with blatant ’80s hardcore references mutated and damaged at will—this recording is no different, and I feel like every time I hear a new record of theirs, I get reminded all over again that “oh yeah, of course my brains are coming out of my ears….this is a HOLY SHIT! record.” You need a reminder too? They’ve got you. Just pop in the 78-track Have a Couple More Good Songs CD and hear the stellar KBDOOP LP, Not My Tempo and Old Hat EPs, splits with YOUR PEST BAND and GROANING GROOVE, the Live on WMSE cassette, plus some comp shit. It’s a lot, to be sure…but life is a lot, my friends. And it’s worth it. Also, the cover art is straight-up genius.

Dead Silence Diving Back In 4xEP boxset

Let the ’90s nostalgia train keep rolling, young punks. Colorado’s DEAD SILENCE was everywhere when I discovered DIY punk. I never saw them, but the records (and there were a lot of them) popped up everywhere I looked, and the Freedom and Hell and How Could We Make Any More Money Than This? EPs received constant spins in my early years. Listening to this box, which contains those records along with the TIT WRENCH split and A Benefit tracks spread out over four 7”s, I’m struck by the UK influences that escaped me at the time. DEAD SILENCE really does hit like a group of North American punk kids gobbling up everything they could get their hands on and using it all to make a sound that was theirs, and that is unbelievably refreshing in 2024. Some previously unreleased recordings capturing the band in their infancy are thrown in as well, so this isn’t a straight reissue of records you (should) already have, and the booklet with images and memories makes this worth well more than the price of admission.

Svaveldioxid Mental Skyttegrav flexi 7″

Every time you think of the Scandi-beat craze that took over the world twenty years ago (after taking over the world twenty years earlier, of course), you drop the needle on a tasty-ass platter like Mental Skyttgrav and get your ass blown out. Like a rawer incarnation of Powerload-era DISFEAR, Stockholm’s SVAVELDIOXID remains true to form on this flexi (a promo for last year’s Värdselände LP), and delivers a master class in the genre. Vocals delivered like a bloke on a steady diet of glass and depression, riffs for days, and an urgent, bombastic kång assault that never once lets up. This band has been kicking around for nearly a decade, releasing splits and LPs that have mostly flown under the radar. Maybe it’s time fools started paying attention.

V/A Duma Młodych LP

Crucial comp from the annals of the Polish Mysha fanzine, active in the early ’90s. All tracks are from bands covered in the zine, with the first side dedicated to international content (INSTEAD, NO FRAUD, MANLIFTINGBANNER, EMBITTERED, THINK TWICE, and others), and the flip honing in on the Polish bands of the era (CYMEON X, INHELL, HOODED MAN, AGUIRE, NOWA DROGA, JAK DŁUGO JESZCZE?, and HOMOMILITIA—the latter the only band I was already familiar with). Eighteen bands all in, with a gorgeous zine anthology paying homage to an incredibly influential publication. No one is documenting the Polish scene (current and past) like Refuse and their Warsaw Pact subsidiary, and this comp absolutely shows the reverence they have for the era and their forebears.

Straight From the Heart Same Shit Different Decade LP

I started listening and was taken aback at how ’90s-worship has reached new heights—now bands are emulating the worst of the decade. The tinny recordings, the slipshod performances, the cringe-inducing and shamelessly earnest vocals….really? We’re doing all of that now, when we know better? I get the DIY basement meets photo-post riffing, but this is almost too much…except…except that it’s real. STRAIGHT FROM THE HEART was from Rapid City, South Dakota and existed then. So now I’m listening with entirely different ears, because the context…? It fukkn matters, punk. All of the descriptors that sound like critiques? They still apply, but if you put yourself in their place while you listen—oh fukk, does it sound right. And,  important. This is the demo and an unreleased EP and some live tracks—this is everything. The shit lands real. It’s not for everyone, but it’s for everyone who had to struggle.

White Beast Suffering Time LP

Getting old is strange. Listening to new(er) bands draw from disparate and foreign influences to create something that sounds familiar in the context of DIY punk is interesting to say the least, and WHITE BEAST is this feeling in spades…’90s grunge, dark indie songsmiths, SYSTEM OF A DOWN, and infectious modern punk anthems will all find a place to nest here, and the Richmond, VA bass/drums duo owns all of it in a way that’s impossible to criticize. When’s the last time you heard a band conjure GODHEADSILO and INTERPOL?

Artificial Joy 100% Pure Joy LP

Woooofffff, this one lands just right. How did ARTIFICIAL JOY inject ’80 Sunset Strip energy into snotty, femme-fronted modern hardcore stomps? I don’t know and it doesn’t make sense (though I did blast RATT for a solid six hours the other day), but ARTIFICIAL JOY makes me feel like that even though they sound like a ripping 2020s DIY punk act. And this, my friends, is wonderful.

Last Quokka Red Dirt cassette

Real fukkn infectious Aussie punk with serious modern indie vibes—this is a band whose vision and mission are fully realized. The band that by all rights you should hear on the damn radio and think “damn, commercial viability has finally caught up to actual quality,” even though that will never really happen. “My Girl” is the smash hit that will never be, and literally every track here is absolute in-your-face garage punk of the highest order. Snarling ferocity and hooks for days, I’m actually not sure what else you could ask for.

Divine Sentence Demo ’22 EP

Absolute perfect execution. Absolute visceral destruction. Swiss vegan metalcore has never sounded…well, maybe it’s never sounded like anything before this demo leveled its corner of the internet back in 2022, but now it sounds like fucking DIVINE SENTENCE. All of the metalcore tropes are here, but this shit is so unbelievably fierce, and everything that you expect to happen? It happens, but more. The chugs, the moshes, the vocals, the guitar squeals…I didn’t know I needed this, and now I don’t know that I can go on without it.

Grumble Demo Spring 2023 cassette

Talk about a funk time warp—Philadelphia’s GRUMBLE will drag you into another dimension. Thought stinky region rock was a thing of the ’90s? Welcome to 2023, my friends. Gruff, catchy, urgent…reared on a diet of SHOTWELL ’80s punk, and ready to lend you a helping hand when you need it. “I’d be a virgin if I only had the time” might be the best lyric of the month…or my life.

Billy Batts & the Made Men My Empire is Crumbling LP

Sixteen shamelessly catchy and pleasantly aggressive pop punk numbers from this Atlanta outfit. I would file this under the dreaded “if you’re into this kind of thing…” heading, but instead I’ll place it in the “I’m not normally into this sort of thing, but…” category. The songs are short, rarely kissing the two-minute mark, and are consistently interesting enough (think PUSRAD erratic mania, just not as fast) that you kinda forget the rote pop punk parts. Joe Queer produced the thing (and that tracks favorably here), and the result hits QUEERS and early Bay Area pop punk buttons nicely while never falling into a rut. A pleasant surprise from Mr. BATTS and his (made) men.

Empty People Empty People LP

You want to have your face melted? Start fucking with EMPTY PEOPLE. Imagine MAN IS THE BASTARD for past lives, with Frank Marchi (REDACTED, AGENTS OF SATAN, PLUTOCRACY) on bass and Eugene Robinson (WHIPPING BOY, OXBOW) on vocals, while the East Coast offers up Andrew Hernandez (ASRA, TOMBS) on drums. Noise-drenched bass/drum powerviolence mania dredged through ’90s KARP and/or NOMEANSNO…shit is unlike anything you’ve ever heard. Respect.

Red Mass Volume 4. Love & Magik cassette

Here’s the thing—Volume 4. Love & Magik is a cool, sultry garage/psych slog that sets a mood and sticks with it, the kind of release your (grand?)parents would have listened to in the woods (if they had record players in the woods), and it would have felt dangerous. But here’s the real thing…it’s not as cool as it should be. This should be a transformative journey into darkness, but instead it’s a lurching garage/post-punk jammer that’s like, you know, pretty cool. “Black Mass” is the only real burner on the tape and it’s shit-hot, but shouldn’t that one be creepy as fuck? Sometimes you should be able to admit when you want…more.

Shop Talk The Offering cassette

NYC punk that sounds like it was transported from another dimension. Anthemic and addictive, but dark and dreary, like London and pre-hardcore L.A. mingling somewhere mysterious. The psychobilly tinges and warbly vocals really solidify SHOP TALK as a band who sound like…SHOP TALK. Which is a feat in itself, but they’re also really fukkn good at it.

After the Fall Afaksaakan cassette

Oh, hello dear new/old friend. Five pieces of brutal Northern California emotive metalcore recorded in 1998, Afaksaakan is what this subgenera should be (or should have been). The songs are pure power, from the soft and quiet to the desperate devastation (typically in the same song, like “Bridge”). Redding’s AFTER THE FALL sounds like a scene and a time more than an emulation of any band or genre…and if there were ever a reissue to take you back to that scene and that time, then it’s this one.

Anarchitex Digital Dark Age LP

’80s Houston freaks whose only real-time output was sharing the backside of the first PAIN TEENS release, and who might have slipped into total obscurity had they not reformed in the late ’00s and recorded these tracks in 2011 for a CD release. Without dissecting too much, Digital Dark Age sounds like ’80s Texas punk—DICKS directness, off-kilter swing à la REALLY RED (with whom they shared a drummer)…the kind of punk that doesn’t sound like anything else. Fans of the aforementioned bands and/or CRUCIFUCKS, BIG BOYS, WIPERS, and the like will want to dig in here—a worthy vinyl reissue.

Sex Prisoner State Property EP reissue

Hard to believe this dropped ten years ago, but here we are, and To Lie A Lie is giving new life to this Arizona powerviolence slab. Ten tracks, overloaded with low end and a lumbering, awkward approach to the fast part of the equation, while the slows just hit you in the gut and then take up residence there. This record still crushes, their approach to PV is legitimately unique and totally holds up…but it would be a copout to review the record without noting that the band name has always sucked and still does.

The Cut-Ups I Hate CD

Holy shiiiiiiit, this is what I want from teenage punk! Snotty, fast, raw swinging in-yer-fukkn-face Brooklyn punk of the highest order, the CUT-UPS do everything that they’re supposed to here (including the “These Boots are Made for Walking” cover, for fuck’s sake), and I’m hoping that future releases (or endeavors) are going to be even better. I Hate is straight fire—highly recommended.

I Got Worms The Second Shot CD

Melodic punk heavy on the crunchy guitars, with vocals that give ‘em just the slightest redneck tinge, like NINE POUND HAMMER on a slowed-down ’90s Fat Wreck tip. Super pro recording, and it’s hard to deny the chops—nice and simple gets the job done here.

One Million Bulgarians Pierwsza Plyta Vol. 1 LP

The first in what is (hopefully) a series of releases celebrating the early works of underground Polish dark/post-punks ONE MILLION BULGARIANS. Brooding and cold mechanical wave sounds with a bass-heavy recording and a deliberate, plodding pace, this collects recordings from 1986, at the very beginning of the band’s run. You know SIEKIERA…right? Considerably less accessible, which is precisely what makes this release so compelling.

Chill Parents Context Collapse cassette

Absolute monster release from DC trio CHILL PARENTS—a steady, four-on-the-floor hardcore hybrid that’s heavy and relentless. I realize that as a generational subgenre, this is not unusual, but it still strikes me when I hear modern anthemic hardcore/punk mingling with early ’90s Sub Pop hooks. I prefer when the band opens up (see “Dissipate”). but it’s the contrast that sets them apart (see “Migraine”). Only 25 copies on cassette, but there’s a CD, too (and a digital version of course, because it’s 2023).

Komatiite Komatiite cassette

You know when you spend a couple of hours listening to and reviewing some interesting and unique records and you think “man, punk is so varied and it’s cool that bands keep pushing the envelope and finding new ways to create and project sound!,” and then you pop in a tape from a band from Maine and it’s like four-and-a-half minutes of raw, distorted noisy D-beat hardcore recorded in a fukkn barn with the wildest guitar solos ever and you think “nah, fuck that, I just want to have my ass blown out of my speakers repeatedly until I can’t walk straight.” That’s what just happened to me. It can happen to you, too. Listen to KOMATIITE.

Fatigue Precious Rage cassette

Killer fuzz, solid L7 vibes, an opener titled “People I Want to Punch,” and I’m standing at full attention. The whole band is digging deep into early ’90s grunge for influences (I’m gonna mention that fukkn fuzz again because it’s that damn good), but between the aggressive approach and the snarky snarling vocals, FATIGUE sounds anything but tired.

The Foilies Kick Out the Grams CD

Cocaine-fueled, high-energy, ass-kicking rock’n’roll from the land of big skies. There’s absolutely no denying the jams here—NASHVILLE PUSSY, ANNIHILATION TIME, MENSCLUB, straight fucking barroom fire from start to finish, accented with tracks like “Do Some Drugs About It,” “Crystal Beth,” “You Turn Me On (So Let’s Get Off),” “Blizzard Wizard,” and the end-of-the-night lament “2 Broke 2 Coke.” There’s not a wasted moment here, the FOILIES go hard until there’s nothing left but to scrape shards off the mirror. Absolute party slammer here, full endorsement.

Fate Ananke 2xLP

The labels that are meticulously combing the early stages of Polish DIY punk and presenting the recordings to new ears are simply invaluable. I’m talking about Warsaw Pact, Pasażer, and specifically Nikt Nic Nie Wie, who are responsible for this beautiful reissue of FATE’s 1994 recording Ananke. Classic Polish punk mingling with folk, psychedelia, and reggae…it’s incredible to hear bands coming into and developing their own sounds on the same record. Fans of ARMIA, DEUTER, and BRYGADA KRYZYS will be lured in by tracks like “Do Mięsożerców,” while the quieter experimental tracks are the glue that will make it stick. Incredible and invaluable recording, presented by Nikt Nic Nie Wie with love and respect (as it should be). Highest recommendation.

Eddie & the Hot Rods Guardians of the Legacy LP

Life on the Line is on a short list of essential records…but this is EDDIE & THE HOT RODS in 2023, folks. First-wave punk veterans who do indeed have one hell of a legacy to guard, but I give this LP a solid shrug. Good, solid, mainstream pub rock—not bad at all but far from essential.

Fortschritt ZT 300 Fortschritt ZT 300 cassette

Seven lumbering German punk stomps with clean and damaged guitars and infectious shouted vocals—closest (admittedly lazy) comparison is KICKER. But German. To hear them lose control when they speed up is to hear what punk sounds like when there are no guardrails.

American Thought Criminal Living in Reality CD

It’s been a long time since I’ve been asked to review an objectively awful release here, the kind of recording that you cannot find one nice thing to say about. Thankfully, my drought has ended with this shiny plastic turd from self-described “dissident punk” band AMERICAN THOUGHT CRIMINAL. Poorly played, poorly written, and poorly recorded melodic “punk” with slower parts that will make you wish you were listening to a fourth-rate, third wave suburban ska punk band’s practice tape. And the lyrics…hoooo boy, there’s a lot to unpack here, folks. The world where antiestablishmentarians and reactionary libertarian-fueled conspiracy whack jobs meet is a scary place, but the drivel voiced in songs like “The Enemy of Truth” and “Written on Our Face” is just a pathetic regurgitation of trite MAGA talking points (at best), the kind of nonsense that gives anarchists a bad name—ill-informed and misguided faux rage directed at invisible bogeymen and false flag pedophiles…it’s exhausting and annoying. The biggest crime here is that the music sucks so fucking bad that most listeners will never get to know how much the lyrics suck.

Dezerter Underground Out of Poland LP reissue

Not exactly sure what can be (or even needs to be) said about a record that MRR released in 1987, which served as thousands of Western punks’ first exposure to DEZERTER and the larger Soviet Bloc punk underground. As a starting point, it’s still a near-perfect introduction— the four tracks from the Ku Przyszłości EP are absolutely timeless, and the live recordings from Jarocin (the first Polish festival to showcase punk bands) truly capture the band’s live mania (“Nie Ma Zagrożenia,” anyone?). Thirty-five years after its initial release, Underground Out of Poland is still mandatory listening for new punks and gets reissued every few years (as it should), but this one from Pasażer includes a massive booklet with photos and ephemera, so even the well-versed stodgy fucks who have the original will want to pay attention.

Limbs Bin A Glass of Sour Quince cassette

Has a decade (plus) of harsh noise madness mellowed LIMBS BIN? No, young punk…not at all. Eighteen doses of chaotic, repetitive blasts shoving frenetic vocals from track to track with no time to breathe in between. A swarm of electronics fill the scant remaining spaces so the listener experiences nothing but pure mania; extreme noisecore stripped to its core elements (the “noise” and the “core”) and presented untreated, at maximum intensity. Eighteen fully-formed assaults crammed into 177 seconds…and then you can exhale.

Poker Face Poker Face LP

Early ’00s full-length from Warsaw’s POKER FACE gets the reissue treatment from Enigmatic. Melodic hardcore that hits like a street punk NOFX, or the later records by NYHC bands who had started to mellow. Catchy guitar leads and determined, gritty vocal snarls, they’re at their best when the songs are short and sweet, but there’s a legion of new fans just waiting to discover this band—and I hope that they do.

Shattered Dreams In Bremen March 1993 CD

Under-the-radar, high-energy hardcore from Bremen’s SHATTERED DREAMS, who left us with just one (killer) EP before disbanding, not long after the show captured on this disc. Metal-tinged hardcore punk with an excellent recording that reminds me more than a little of RKL’s Double Live in Berlin—this disc is a winner as an introduction or a posthumous document. Top cuts: “Feel the Change” and the more melodic “Into the Dark.”

Little Baby Tendencies Bad Things cassette

LUNACHICKS vocal energy and a heavy fuzzed-out attack set the framework for a Tennessee two-piece who assault hypocrisy and humanity with the same energy they use to assault riffs (there are a lot of riffs, for the record). The churn has ’90s alt/metal undertones, but even as a likely product of their influences, LITTLE BABY TENDENCIES truly sound like nothing I’ve come across—intense and intent garage sludge presented as metallic punk. Their ability to look in the mirror when addressing grievances is especially refreshing, and I can only assume that the live performances are even better.

V/A Skate Ratz Vol. 1 LP

Everything on this comp took me by surprise. Dose after dose of hard-driving punk rock’n’roll, ripping crossover, crunchy pop punk, metallic hardcore brutality…every song fit to shred (to). DISCO ASSAULT, FASTPLANTS, GOOD TOUCH, and TOO MANY VOICES are this reviewer’s faves, joined by cuts from the HACKS, RABID ASSAULT, BING CROSBY, SLASHERS, and SINCE WE WERE KIDS—an LP with nine DIY bands I’ve never heard of is going to perk up my ears every time, but it helps when it’s an LP full of new good bands.

Discreet This is Mine LP

Holy shit—this record is a motherfukkr!! You want abuse? The chorus to the opening track “King Heroin” reads: “Bow down, my lord / I am restored.” And then they go fast. This lands like HOAX on a diet of ANTISEEN, and I am terrified.

Shitty Wizard Shitty Wizard cassette

Self-described Philadelphia party punk. SHITTY WIZARD opens with a GG cover (piece of shit glorified rape for most of his career, so minus ten points—fight me) and careens through eight more high-energy slammers with heavy rock’n’roll vibes. Vocals have an occasional Rev Summer tinge that genuinely sets SHITTY WIZARD apart from the dirt rock set. There’s something here, for sure.

Rabid Delusion Rabid Delusion demo cassette

This shit sounds so unbelievably wild, I don’t even know where to start. Blown-out hardcore with ramshackle crust vibes that are masked by the absolutely bombastic recording. I’m not even sure if there’s a guitar (except for the solos), the bass sounds like…I don’t fukkn know man, but not a normal bass…and the vocals land somewhere between GRUMPIES and NAUSEA. Total sonic overload is exactly what DIY punk needs and that’s exactly what Ohio’s RABID DELUSION delivers. Really want to hear where this band goes next.

Ättestor / Zero Again The Ä to Z of Ignorance, Indifference and Apathy EP

Brighton’s ÄTTESTOR made me feel anxious from the start—self-described ADHD-beat punks deliver straight-for-the-throat hardcore punk with a decidedly erratic bent that will make you clench your fists unconsciously. On the flip, ZERO AGAIN from Bristol goes heavier, goes darker, and paints a bleak sonic picture over their two tracks. The chorus riff in “Damaged Goods” is a should-be classic, and the entire song seems to set the tone for the unleashing of fury that fills the final 30 seconds. Not only is there no filler on this split, there’s barely time to take a fukkn breath.

End Forest E.N.D. LP

I like a record that demands a dedicated listen, and E.N.D. does exactly that. A project featuring more than 20 artists, END FOREST creates crushing, sample-drenched soundscapes and patiently delivers meticulously crafted otherworldly hardcore. NEUROSIS and SWANS influences are evident (MORNE and THEMA ELEVEN, as well), but hear the horns on “Ulsce Dudh” and know you’re listening to something entirely different. As a project and a concept, END FOREST is commanding…but as an album? Fucking spiritual.

Boom Boom Kid Souvenir Tour Europeo 2022 7″

Date yourself by saying that you remember BOOM BOOM KID’s debut Okey Dokey like it was yesterday. Now note that this EP was released for the European tour that marked the 20th anniversary of that timeless slab of melodic punk and…sigh. But they’re still at it, and these two songs are some of the best BOOM BOOM KID material I’ve heard. Tuneful and tune-filled infectious punk fronted by Nekro’s inimitable and eponymous tenor voice. Equally perfect for long-time fans like me or soon-to-be converts like…you?

Guff / Mongrel Inner Self split EP

Three heavy hardcore hitters from Ireland’s MONGREL, with high(er), sinister vocals and a sound that feels like it’s always on the brink of coming unglued. Norway’s GUFF is actually unglued, with an interpretation of epic Euro crust that defies explanation. Maniacal vocals and a guitar that sounds like someone took away some black metal kid’s distortion pedal and gave him a wah-wah. It makes no sense, which is why it works so damn well. My first exposure to both bands, and they compliment each other perfectly—freak interpretations of classic sounds.

V/A Öresund HC Omnibus LP

The description is pretty much the same as the review: four killer hardcore punk EPs on one 12” record. Please don’t let that dissuade you, dear reader, because these are four killer hardcore punk EPs on one 12” record, and you’re going to need all of them in your earholes. ZYFILIS is bombastic and completely without nuance—harsh shouted vocals dominating the white-noise guitars. NONPLUS hits like ’90s Swedish D-beat with in-your-face femme vocals (even better than the demo tracks, in my humble opinion). JUNTA is wild, swinging D-beat, and then the second track is like moshing through molasses and I’m hopelessly stuck. And then, just when you think you survived, Sweden’s HAG rips through four hyper-speed modern hardcore stomps. The format rules, the content is mandatory.

 

Corvo Cortadas cassette

Where the fukk did this come from!?! From the opening blast, DC’s CORVO absolutely obliterates six manic, fast hardcore tracks, dropping in mind-bending riffs just when you start to get comfortable. Each track keeps you guessing, even though they never stray too far off the path—guitar solos that jump out from behind a corner, breakdowns when you least expect them, marble-mouthed Spanish-language vocals that struggle to keep up with riffs that are just….just…well, there are a lot of wild riffs. This was my first exposure to CORVO and I loved all ten minutes of it

Completed Exposition Early Tracks: 2004–2013 10″

If there was ever a release meant for 625 Thrashcore, it’s this collection of blistering cuts from Osaka’s COMPLETED EXPOSITION. A collection of their first four demos and unreleased/comp tracks, this 10” is a fucking clinic in manic fastcore/grind from a three-piece that’s been in the game for almost two decades—raw, punishing, chaotic hardcore stripped down to its purest form; twenty blasts of unadulterated speed. I consider myself lucky to have seen them in the US and Japan, and I’ve listened to the Structure Space Mankind LP more times than I can count…but listening to this record just makes me want to feel that power again. Mandatory for the uninitiated, and even more important for those who already know.

O.T.D.S. Co Ma Wisieć Nie Utonie LP

1980s Polish mutant punk revived and repackaged for a new generation. Total mutated drum machine punk, recorded and originally released on cassette in 1989 and given the (deserved) vinyl treatment from Enigmatic—think SPITS meets DEZERTER. The world of “essential” reissues can get overwhelming as everyone keeps turning over rocks from past decades, but O.T.D.S. is an absolute score. Fans of primitive punk and freak sounds (like me) are going to love this.

Critical Issues Critical Issues CD

If you like the vicious hardcore stomps that seem to dominate the DIY underworld in the 2020s, but you miss the raging crust fury of the 2000s and the unhinged fastcore of yore, then I’d like to introduce you to CRITICAL ISSUES. From the “bleaaaaaauuuurrrch” that kicks the opening track “Plague Years” into gear, you can just feel that this is some special shit. Ever wondered what would happen if GAG took a time machine and collaborated with wild ’00s fastcore à la MORTAL COMBAT and raw D-beat like PEACE OR ANNIHILATION…? I’d like to introduce you to CRITICAL ISSUES. Best surprise of the month, and I can’t wait to hear more!

Prisonner du Temps Comme un Lion en Cage LP

There’s a hard edge here, to be sure…but this is a hard world. But when frustration and anger are born from a desire for something better, it all presents as something more than fury, and you can feel that in PRISONNER DU TEMPS’ debut full-length; it hits hard and holds you close from start to finish. The record feels like the kind of thing that bands like SYNDROME 81 are trying to do—dark and brooding hardcore punk with street punk hooks that never sound dated or trite. This is to 2023 what NO HOPE FOR THE KIDS and CRIMINAL DAMAGE were to the mid-2000s: classic, timeless, and absolutely stellar.

Sklitakling Vi Har Hørt Det Før (del 2) 7″

It looks like a bleak hardcore record…but inside that white-on-black cover are two doses of gloriously addictive Norwegian garage punk. “Byfjord” feels ripped out of 1983—a mid-paced lumbering track with verses that build to an inevitable chorus and a guitar that seemingly exists to punctuate the vocal spurts. It’s a great track even though (or especially because) it leaves you hanging…and then the flip. “Staten” is a timeless track, like GENERACIÓN SUICIDA taking a time machine to 2003 København. Group vocals, infectious bass lines, and a constantly jangling guitar that seems to drag the drums onto the dancefloor. This is everything punk is meant to be.

Bloodstained Downfall Magnificant LP

Over-the-top apocalypse metalcore from Poland, hitting so hard from the opening bell that it might take a few tracks to catch your breath. Metallic ’90s hardcore taken to absolute extremes—BLOODSTAINED delivers with a ferocity that will win over even the most negative with their unhinged sonic negativity. 

Kürøishi Käärme Sisälläsi, Myrkyttää Maailmahi LP

No need to look past the cover on this one—fans of Burning Spirits, fist-pumping modern D-beat hardcore, and WORLD BURNS TO DEATH might have a new favorite with the third full-length from Finland’s KÜRØISHI. Thundering drums, searing vocals, and guitars that trade epic leads and wildly catchy riffs. The late ’00s were dominated by bands trying to sound this good, and now here comes the early ’20s and KÜRØISHI is here to smoke them all. “Givers Turn Into Takers” is the notable curveball, and should be a classic for years to come. Euro press by Fight, CD in Japan by Break The Records, and the North American platter from SPHC.

The Stools / Toeheads Watch It Die split LP

Filthy garage punk rock(’n’roll) in the finest Detroit tradition. Shit sounds nasty, like the shit is supposed to sound. The STOOLS come off like GORIES guzzling crack and distortion, then TOEHEADS add a seriously dark swagger to the equation when you flip the shit. Get fukkd up to one side, regret your life choices on the other—TOEHEADS’ “I Want to Be in Your Life (So I’ll Die)” is a devastating album-ender. Absolute killer on both sides; garage rock fans will eat it up, and pretentious punks will change their minds.

Desolat Elegance is an Attitude… To Shit On LP

Massive and fierce debut full-length from Austria’s DESOLAT. Ghosts of early-century European metallic crust emerging as a fully formed modern beast. Thick guitars ripped from ’90s noise rock drive mid-paced riffs that swing hard, until the vocals sever all connection to hope and DESOLAT really settles into their bleak reality. That reality is a world where the sounds of GNU and UNSANE and THEMA 11 and ZEROID all offer an escape from hopelessness by displaying aural wounds in the open. I haven’t heard anything like this in a long, long time…and I’ve never heard this. That’s the highest praise.

Prisão Não Pertenço EP

One of the best demos of the year, now getting the vinyl treatment from Adult Crash, and I’m grateful. Stockholm’s PRISÃO is a bit of a supergroup (members of VIDRO, AXE RASH, and FERAL BRAIN, among others), but don’t let that distract you from their power. Throaty, abrasive hardcore punk sung in Portuguese…it’s just relentless, fist-pounding hardcore punk. Like, I don’t know what the fukk else you could want.

Dream Shake Ride the Disease Vol. 34 LP

You ever wonder what it would be like if S.O.D. and LAWNMOWER DETH made a baby? I hadn’t either…until now. Folks, allow me to introduce you to Houston’s DREAM SHAKE. Wild, and wildly irreverent, blasting metalpunk—it’s the punk part of that wordy descriptor that really drives DREAM SHAKE. Twenty-two doses of not giving a fukk and blasting a blast with your friends—I’m going to need to listen to this one a lot more times so I can even begin to get on their wavelength.

C0mputer Masturbation Ritual cassette

I’m going to make up a new subgenre: Outsider Tech Death. If you can imagine kids weaned on SLIPKNOT and SYSTEM OF A DOWN who create a DIY metalcore band…that’s what we’re looking at with Florida’s C0MPUTER. It doesn’t make sense, but in the same way that JANE and SYSTRAL didn’t make sense in 1998, maybe the punks just need to grow into these sounds. Maybe the future is Outsider Tech Death. Maybe the future is C0MPUTER.

Dustpan Out of My Mind LP+CD

Blistering collection of 30-second-long fastcore/crust blasts from Chiba’s DUSTPAN. I’ve come across some doses of their brand of mania before (the band has been kicking around since the early 2000s), but Out of My Mind is next-level; FLASH GORDON-caliber fury with LIFE assault and production. Might be tough to snag this one outside of Japan, but it’s well worth the effort.

Worshiper To Binge and Purge in LA cassette

This one is heavy for all of the right and all of the wrong reasons. Active in the 2000s, Philadelphia’s WORSHIPER created a misanthropic cacophony that would make fans of UNSANE, 16, and BUZZOV•EN swoon, and offer a wake-up jab to fans of UOA, SLEEPING BODY, and other pillars of ’90s DIY discordance. Fronted by Mike Parry’s vocals that sound like rusty razor blades desperately trying to saw through stone walls, their controlled chaos translates to the recorded medium in a way that makes it clear you’re only getting a small taste of how massive and overwhelming the live experience must have been. But while the sounds are heavy, the context is devastating. After years of struggle that contributed to the dissolution of the band, To Binge and Purge in LA was given a new life by friends of Mike’s after his relapse and overdose in 2021. A six-song tribute to a friend, to a band. A six-song release dedicated to a release from pain and benefiting people still fighting through it. Without the context, WORSHIPER’s posthumous release comes highly recommended. But when you take everything in, it feels cathartic and necessary.

H.A.R.M. / Mortify split EP

If you like fast hardcore and you’ve been paying attention, then you’ve surely noticed that 625 Thrash really picked up the pace around 2020 or so with recent slammers from NECROPSY ODOR, UNDER ATTACK, VOID BRINGER, SUFFERING MIND, NOOSE SWEAT, and loads more, bringing blast maniacs out from their caves. This split combines H.A.R.M.’s burly Southern California grindcore with buzzsaw Japanese deathgrind from MORTIFY, and it’s precisely what I thought and hoped it would be. Both bands are absolute masters at their craft, and the combination will leave you hungry. Fingers crossed for more grind proliferation from 625 as the decade continues.

 

Norcos y Horchata Forever Disheveled LP

A perfect combination garage punk, gruff Oi!, and power pop, NORCOS Y HORCHATA sound bizarrely like a band that would come from Detroit (they do)—I don’t really know why I say that and I have no justification for it, but I’m gonna stick by it. What if the EPOXIES ditched the keyboard and wrote a stripped-down BAR STOOL PREACHERS record? Well, I guess I would think they were from Detroit. These songs are gonna get stuck in your head whether you like them or not. I warned you. 

Data Unknown W/P cassette

Last year’s Promo Only tape was a killer, but on W/P, Indiana’s DATA UNKNOWN steps up the weird and leans even heavier on the synths (as if that was possible). The result is a true freak stomp, barely recognizable as punk and undeniably punk as a result. Tweaked TUBEWAY ARMY sounds clashing with a triple threat of early Rough Trade, SUICIDE, and Midwestern nihilism. Total brain-melt in the best way.

The Ratchet Boys Live From 1997–2001 LP

Pretty unreal collection of recordings from a DC ska troupe I had never heard of. Because I don’t pay attention to ska. Like…at all. But if the RATCHET BOYS are any indication, then that’s my fucking loss, because if you can’t get down to “Farragut North,” then I don’t even know what can help you—plus, “I’m gonna be picking up asses after the show” might be the best mosh call in history. Full horn section and a constant swing, this shit transcends your dislike (or fear…?) of ska and turns your life into a working class party. Released on CD twenty years ago, this LP is a tribute to their vocalist who passed away in 2007. Normally reviewers will say things like “if you’re into that sort of thing…,” but this reviewer is gonna suggest that this recording will win you over even if you aren’t.

HHH A Por Ellos… Que Son Muchos Y Estan Super Cachas!! LP reissue

HHH should not need an introduction; their fastcore approach in the late ’80s put them on the map with INDIGESTI, LÄRM, HERESY…all the bands that people started aping relentlessly a decade later (for good reason). Riffs border on blur-core (“Ai Otro Lado De Las Ramblas” in particular) and they just sound so fukkn weird and unhinged all the damn time. Everyone talks about Intelectual Punks (and for good reason), but this 27-song LP might be the pinnacle of their signature breakneck thrashing hardcore. On the one hand, it seems weird to see a parade of reissues of records that are not that hard to come by and have been reissued in the last decade (this one got the treatment back in 2014), but then I drop the needle on A Por Ellos… for the first time in a long time and I’m reminded how much people need to hear this shit. So keep pumping out versions, keep reimagining ways to introduce people to the classics, keep the fire on and keep the fire hot. I just hope that these later versions are ending up in new hands (and ears) instead of a bunch old heads buying burner copies…

Street Diamonds Scenester Citizens EP

Think American hardcore that’s trying to harness the snarky political wit that made the ’80s timeless. Not saying it works (also not saying it doesn’t), but the gruff melodic vocals and in-your-face riffs take me to a place I haven’t been for a while. If M.O.T.O. made a Southern Californian hardcore record, it might sound like STREET DIAMONDS.

Rough Gutts Part 1 & Part 2 12″

The label says the band is unstoppable…the band opens the record with “Spit,” and I’m inclined to think the label might be correct. No-nonsense garage rock’n’roll with heaps of swagger and a healthy dose of space rock; the only thing missing is the damn tambourine (and I keep thinking it’s going to make an appearance before I flip the fukkr over). Brighton’s ROUGH GUTTS ride the horse hard, breathing new life into damaged, neglected punk licks, dragging them back in time in the process. The formula may be simple, but far too often when punks go this route, the listener is reminded that punk, at its foundation, is a rudimentary and inept art form. Maybe there really is a difference between punk and rock’n’roll, and maybe some people should stick with what they do well (or stick with what they do poorly), but ROUGH GUTTS have the chops to back it up and the result here is a slamming fucking success. Never did get that tambourine, but the organ in “See The Light” was a nice consolation—this one’s a burner.

Total Vacation You Suckers Don’t Even Listen to Hardcore… cassette

You read the title before you started reading the review, right? Well, read it again and ask yourself: do you? Do you even listen to hardcore? Sucker? Nothing fancy from these Whittier Boulevard motherfukkrs, just short, fast bursts of hardcore. Equal parts INFEST and RAZOR’S EDGE, not sure what more you could want. If you even listen to hardcore, that is.

Crux of Vipers Cry Tuff Glory cassette

Can we please just all recognize that Paul Lucich and Hank Chang are among the great unheralded punk songsmiths of the 2010s? The collective nucleus of bands like SABRE, ULTRA, and COLD CIRCUITS, while independently taking part in SYNTHETIC ID (Lucich) and SCYTHE, NEON BRAT, HEX CYSTS (Chang), now they are solely responsible for this gruff, melodic Oi! juggernaut called CRUX OF VIPERS. It’s a weird tape, one that doesn’t quite make sense but feels instantly welcome in your punk ears—UK82 street tuffs mingling with damaged modern melodic punks, it’s all infectious even while (or perhaps because) the vocals are demented as hell. You’re not going to hear anything else like CRUX OF VIPERS this month (or next). Unless Paul and Hank decide to reinvent themselves yet again, of course.

Remedy Feelin’ Demo 2022 cassette

Low-fidelity, rudimentary rock’n’roll. Singer’s going for some kind of Colin McFaull-meets-Angry Anderson snotty bar rock vibe while the band plods through grimy would-be jams that sound like they are, quite literally, coming from your drunk neighbor’s garage. Which is, of course, the charm of REMEDY FEELIN’, because that’s exactly what they’re going for. When they hit the multiple vocals on “Sleepless Summer,” I’m reminded of SF greats FANTASY (which will mean little to most readers, but if you know, then you definitely know)—like glam without any of the chops or any of the….well, without any of the glam. Weird, right?

[Ass][Ass][Ins] Underneath cassette

Instantly addictive, high-energy punk. SPITS-caliber paired with SOVIETTES-level hooks, all given the business with guitar leads sharing the spotlight with sharp, urgent vocals. Check “I’m Not Paying Rent” and know that you’ll be hearing from Canada’s [ASS][ASS][INS] again—great stuff!

Scary Hours Symptoms of Modern Hegemony CD

The apparent brainchild of one chap from New Jersey, SCARY HOURS are an advanced metalcore project that seems streamlined for the big stage. CAVE IN-caliber discordance and AVENGED SEVENFOLD-style emphasis on the metal end of that metalcore spectrum. It’s very (very) well-put-together, and kinda makes me wonder if these sounds exist on some other youth-driven commercial platform. Make no mistake, Symptoms of Modern Hegemony is (an) extremely good (example of the genre), though the promo version comes with a full-size “campus copy center”-style bound lyric booklet complete with descriptions of the disparate bands the artist used as an influence for specific tracks. “Sackler Street” was a “first attempt at writing something super metallic like the BLACK DAHLIA MURDER or DISEMBODIED,” while other tracks reference LEFTÖVER CRACK, PANTERA, and JETS TO BRAZIL…confused? There’s a lot to unpack here.

Maxxpower / Sidetracked split EP

Second straight batch with new SIDETRACKED cuts, so I start with the flip so I can keep myself hungry. Wise choice, it turns out—Montreal’s MAXXPOWER are a ruthless wall of speed-picking fastcore, and all I want is more fukkn fast after I hear their five tracks. Thick, meaty, and subtly metallic bursts that hover around the half-minute mark, they’re my introduction to the band and they are absolute killers. Half-a-minute is like a rock opera to SIDETRACKED though; each of the tracks on their side barely top the twenty-second mark. More nasty start/stop powerviolence manipulations from these Washington stalwarts, overall slightly dirtier-sounding than you might be used to (especially the bass), but their digitally-enhanced breaks that make them sound like fastcore robots are on full display. You might think you know, but no one sounds like SIDETRACKED—they’ve taken the formula and manipulated it beyond recognition…this is truly theirs now.

Peach Blush Disqko cassette

From a quiet and dreamy shoegazing intro to a solid, chunky, four-on-the-floor guitar-heavy slog…and that’s just the teaser track. Throw adolescent(s) vocal delivery in the mix and this Arkansas trio delivers an exceptionally mature debut with Disqko—a scant four tracks (plus the aforementioned intro) from a band who are relying on songwriting instead of blind riffing; the power is in the presentation instead of the tonnage. Sounds rooted in ’90s alt (which this undoubtedly is) are definitely not typically my “thing,” but good is good. PEACH BLUSH lingers, PEACH BLUSH focuses, and they are damn good at it.

Tyran / Wolftrap 13 split EP

Poland’s WOLFTRAP 13 offers a metallic churning version of Swedish D-beat with excessive double bass—they morph into their own on “Firewalker,” and I feel like I want to know what they would do with a full release of their own. Countrymen TYRAN waste nothing with their two tracks—clenched-fist juggernauts of gnarled metallic hardcore. Two bands I’d like to hear more from.

Happy Kadaver Self Liberation 12″

Four doses of dreary German punk that start out more than a little reminiscent of a rudimentary EA80, but far rougher around the edges. While I appreciate the intent and approach, the execution leaves a lot to be desired, and I find myself listening to HAPPY KADAVER for what they will become instead of what they are…and then they change course and I find myself listening to a mediocre, mid-tempo German bar punk band and wishing I were listening to a mediocre German dreary punk band, and then…then, I start to question my life choices.

Slaughter Boys Til the End of the Weak LP

Get ready to get hooked. San Diego’s SLAUGHTER BOYS are back with an LP packed with hit after would-be hit. Classic-sounding punk that sounds like ’80s Southern California (think DICKIES, ADOLESCENTS) crashing full speed into the BLOOD and EDDIE & THE HOT RODS, all with an overt glam/garage tinge. Definitely not what I normally go for (at all), but I’ll be fucked if these punks didn’t absolutely nail it.

No Comply / Sidetracked split EP

The SIDETRACKED side will come as no surprise to anyone familiar with their erratic start/stop, no time to breathe approach to powerviolence—seventeen tracks in three-and-a-half minutes, taken from different recordings and different sessions, so it sounds even more fucked-up and weird than they normally do. But speaking of old heads, NO COMPLY is still in the game after more than twenty years, and still they sound like they just crawled out of the grooves of a 1994 dollar bin score. Treble-heavy and bass guitar-driven, classic PV in the West Bay tradition—there’s nothing polished here, but there’s a lot that’s pure. This split needed to happen, and it didn’t disappoint.

 

V/A No Sabiamos Como Hacerlo, Pero Lo Estamos Haciendo: Zc Hardcorepunx Review 2010/2020 cassette + zine

Comps rule. Regional comps rule. Retrospective comps that capture a scene rule. This Hardcorepunx Review is all of this and more, with a zine and cassette that captures the scene in Campana (just north from Buenos Aires) through the last decade. Over 40 tracks ranging from disjointed punk (RATAS, FUCK DA KIDZ), noisy garage HC (BARDO, AUTOAGRESION, AMENAZA), ripping fastcore (MATA 7, LOS CAIDOS, THUMBARRANCHXS, SUGGESTION), mosh-heavy HC (NO CALLES NUNCA, SIN RETORNO, VENOSO), crust (DETTONACION), grind (KUSH)…you see where I’m going here, but I’m not finished. And neither are the folks at Discos Corrosivos. Lo-fi punk (GODZILAS, LXS ABATIDXS, PERIFERIA), chaotic punk (BALACERA), powerviolence (HOT BURRITO), a couple of passionate (almost emo?) tracks from LAS PARTES FALTANTES, and a dark shoegaze departure from PESTE NEGRA ORQESTRA. It’s a truly excellent collection of sounds even without the context, but to capture a time and a place so well is truly awesome. Highest recommendation.

Bacteria Trizas cassette

The ones that make you think are sometimes the best ones. The ones that make you stop and try to figure out what you’re hearing, those are the ones that grab you. Only five songs on Trizas, but Argentina’s BACTERIA delivers a couple of hardcore burners and some mid-tempo dark slogs, and I’m trying to figure out if I’m listening to a grunge band switching gears or a hardcore band exploring their options. The title track closes the tape with a gloriously dark two-riff groove (think WIPERS > GRAUZONE) and I found myself digging into their (extensive) back catalog before I listened a second time. 

Decomp Condemned to Earth LP

Full-throated Earth Crust from the realms of DISTURD, AMEBIX, and HELLSHOCK. Clenched-fist machine gun snare, constant metal crust churn, Condemned to Earth is a ruthless pummeling—starts fast and refuses to let up. Even with the sub-two-minute D-beat ripper “Paranoid Coward,” they never stray far from their influences, and I don’t want them to. Excellent.

V/A Nic Więcej Do Powiedzenia: Tribute to Homomilitia CD

The target audience outside of Europe might be small here, but if you’re like me, then you’re going to eat this shit up. HOMOMILITIA was a constant presence in the 1990s European DIY crust discussion (and the distro crates), but these treatments are not what I was expecting at all. CYMEON X opens with a pretty honest cover, but then ALLES torches the whole concept with a damaged hard techno rendition of “Fak Ju Szkoła,” and GYL 2022 EXPERIENCE drops a truly bizarre spiritual sludge “Go Woman.” There are more true-to-the-original covers (CONTORTURE, UNHALM, HOW LONG?), there are some that take HOMOMILITIA’s political crust to higher extremes (NONSANTO), some who tweak things just a bit (SHESH SHESH SHESH), and others who completely reinvent the sounds (AUTONOMA). Absolutely amazing collection, and a brilliant homage to a legendary band who are too often overlooked outside of their native Poland. Highly recommended!

Cyberplasm Mutilated Systems cassette

Oh my…many of you surely heard The Psychic Hologram full-length that Iron Lung released a few years back, but this dose of insanity is something else altogether. These Olympia freaks keep pushing harder with ferocious noise punk delivered as ’90s industrial juggernaut—I figured it was going to be good but…damn. Imagine The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste-era MINISTRY doing a set of DISFEAR and MEANWHILE covers and then closing with a LORDS OF ACID number. Don’t snooze.

Napalm Death is Dead Hou-Kai-Kei CD

Shit-fi noisecore is back, kids. Three tracks of bass/drum/noise in(s)anity that makes GODSTOMPER sound like RUSH. Three “songs” will violently remove twenty minutes from your life. Shit-fi is back, but NAPALM DEATH IS DEAD has been at this for almost two decades, with no signs of quitting and no desire to make anything but noise. Respect.

Eater Ant CD

According to the promo for Ant, the recording was lost and the band released The Album instead. Think about that…one of the greatest UK glam punk LPs ever wasn’t even the band’s first choice. They wanted to release this recording instead, because they thought it was better. It’s hard for me to agree, if only because I’ve drilled that record into my skull more times than I could possibly count, but holy shit is this a score. Burning, flawless, hi-energy ’77 punk in line with SLAUGHTER and EDDIE & THE HOT RODS, with BOWIE, VELVETS, and T. REX covers that fit in perfectly with perfect Blade classics like “Public Toys.” I’m gobsmacked that something this good remained unearthed for so long.

Lollygagger Total Party Kill LP

A righteous, sex-fueled party is crammed into the grooves of the debut LP from Chicago’s LOLLYGAGGER. Serious QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE vibes, especially on the opener, but this act is fronted by a snot-nosed punk who hates boss, hates system, hates cops, loves screaming, loves exposing hypocrisy. Total punk attitude, total stoner metal groove.

Squelch Chamber Much Drugs cassette

If this weren’t a cassette, I would have checked the RPMs after a rumbling noise intro gave way to a four-note dread missive. Instead, I reached for the volume and felt the rumble take over while I struggled to make out anything not in the lower frequencies. I thought I was prepared after that opening cut…I was wrong. This one’s weird. Noise-drenched dirges, the BODY + crunked MITB + KILLDOZER…and then they fade into the background just long enough to make you think you can relax. Don’t let them fool you.

Cur Ínugamì cassette

Short, no-bullshit, demented hardcore punk from Philadelphia. Imagine the darker ’80s Japanese heavyweights, but ultra-primitive and with throaty USHC vocals. The tape is good, but the vision mostly makes me anxious to hear what they’re going to do next.

Proud Parents Live at Union Pool cassette

Eleven tracks of jangly sing-along jams from Wisconsin’s PROUD PARENTS, recorded live in Brooklyn (at a pool party, apparently). At times it (almost) sounds like Gordon Gano dropped in on some indie band’s basement rehearsal just to make it weird, but really, this is just smooth-ass garage-lite. Be careful though, it sticks.

Eyes and Flys Manic AM cassette

This is the kind of gloriously “all over the place’” sound that comes along a little less frequently in a world where every band seems determined to emulate a specific sound (or worse, a specific band). From a foundation of jangly pop, EYES AND FLYS conjure a series of decidedly weird and undeniably unique tracks. Occasional OH SEES vibes, and I can’t help but think that this might be a Matty Luv side project in an alternate universe, and there’s an underlying REV (MERCURY) and/or FANCLUB (TEENAGE) sonic sensibility, with tunes that range from reverb-drenched bombastic sonic slammers to quiet and ever-so-slightly twisted quiet missives. Most notably, Manic AM held me tight from start to finish—I actively wanted to know what they were going to do next—and in a society filled with unnecessary stimuli, that might be the most powerful endorsement of all. “Go to bed high / Wake up in the dirt.” Excellent.

The Monsters Du Hesch Cläss, Ig Bi Träsch LP

Listen to this shit. It was records like this that steered Tim Yo away from hardcore (and emo) in the ’90s and damn near turned MRR into a fucking garage rock fanzine. You know why? Listen to this shit. This is punk, you punk! Switzerland’s the MONSTERS have been a band since I was still getting ink on my fingers once a month, and they’re still dropping steaming piles of shit-hot fire on your turntable like they don’t give a shit where they shit. Because these motherfuckers are punk. Their suits are punk. Their two-riff songs are punk. Their blown-out solos are punk. Apparently there’s a version in English, but I’m gonna be so shitfaced before the first side is over that I won’t be able to speak (in any language). Volume is the international language of punk though, so crank the mindfuck titled “Mitfahr Glägeheit” and see god, you punk. If you can’t get down with cranked-out, fuzz-storm garage mania, then what are you even doing with your life?

Team Spirit O.C. Life EP

It’s hard to describe (or review) this record without mentioning how much I know 1997-me would have loved it. 2022-me also loves it, but in more of a nostalgic way (of course). For the uninitiated—TEAM SPIRIT was a positive Norwegian straight edge band, and this is their five-song demo from 1997. Fast and infectious with a heavy USHC influence. One tune is a total clunker, but I can listen to “Outside” and the title track every fukkn day.

Dead Stoolpigeon Hit the Bastards Where It Hurts 1995–1997 3xLP

I can never figure out why this band flew (and still flies) under the radar, but this collection will surely speak to any deniers. This is the embodiment of passionate political ’90s hardcore—the band was basically MANLIFTINGBANNER without the Van Den Berg brothers, but I always felt like BORN AGAINST/UNIVERSAL ORDER OF ARMAGEDDON comparisons were more appropriate. This release contains everything and it’s packaged with the care and consideration that the band deserves. If you’re going to start somewhere with DEAD STOOLPIGEON, then I suppose you might as well start with everything.

NightFreak Speed Trials cassette

Gruff rock’n’roll stewing in a suburban storage unit packed with knuckle-dragging, burnout used-to-be-punks all half-drunk on Beast. Things are getting tense—it’s sweaty and it smells like shit, motherfuckers are running low on warm beer, and no one is brave enough to walk to the store alone because the night is about to get a lot hotter. The NIGHTFREAK is coming. They launch into “I’ll Show You Heaven” and everyone in the room questions their life choices in unison, but it’s too late. The doors are locked and the stench feels like it’s going in your ears but it’s just another guitar solo. There’s no escape. This is your life.

Fol Jazik Dete Na Xx Vek / Oglas Šifra 7″

Two doses of primitive Yugoslavian drug punk circa 1979 unearthed by the folks at Rave Up. There’s something amazing about listening to a band struggling to bash out two-chord riffs, and every moment of this single sounds like a struggle. Rudimentary at best, raw brilliance at its worst, “Dete Na XX Vek” deserves to be preserved in the outsider punk archives—file somewhere between TAMPAX and the DOGS.

McQqeen II cassette

Opening your tape with a five-minute, acid-drenched motor jam is a bold move, and yowza, does it work for Georgia’s MCQQEEN. Bands in the modern DIY scene have embraced ’90s alt for several years now (pro vs. con is a different discussion), and that’s where the brain initially goes with the opener “Mexico Will Pay,” but these kids are doing something way different—deep listening recommended. They sound like they’ve stepped out of a Blair Witch outtake, just demented and awkward dirges masquerading as infectious drug grunge. Instant mental comparisons to DASHER hold up, and the way they move from basic garage punk stomps (“Electric Lies”—1:54) to drawn-out swamp jams (“Fill My Heart”—7:36) is enviable. Controlled chaos throughout, infectious indie/alt buried under a wash of effects while a hardcore band struggles to keep quiet.

Śmierć Paranoja LP

Sweden’s ŚMIERĆ keeps getting better, and last year’s Paranoja, their second full-length, is an absolute stunner. Imagine the D-beat power of WOLFBRIGADE and TO WHAT END? driving an homage to Polish classics like DEUTER, POST REGIMENT, and ARMIA. Don’t dismiss the band as an homage to Polish HC/punk however, as their power transcends genre (and region), and their records are soaring examples of how fucking powerful punk can still be, even within its own confines. Highest endorsement.

Las Ratapunks Ishguin cassette

Peruvian trio that hits with the hooks of DEAD HERO and the power of CONDENADA. No fronting whatsoever on Ishguin—honest punk sounds so totally refreshing in a world of posing and pretense. This one has been on steady rotation for me since I came across it earlier this year, highly recommended (if you like punk).

Orthodoxxer What Real Hate Is cassette + zine

You know what’s a good idea? A label that releases a fanzine to accompany each LP/CD/K7 in its catalog. The folks at Musical Fanzine offer up ORTHODOXXER for their third sonic (and visual) offering—nine pieces of techno-tinged electro-punk that lands like ATOM AND HIS PACKAGE through a L.O.T.I.O.N. filter; dark and intense, but never takes itself too seriously, with a couple of legit hardcore bangers (I’m looking at you, “Earth’s Vilest Thing”). The companion zine is really just an expanded lyric booklet, but in a modern age dominated by mp3s and on-the-go jams, I appreciate being encouraged to sit down and spend time with the sounds.

V/A Mendeku Diskak Promo Kasetea, Vol. 2 cassette

If I hear anything as good as the opening BRUX track this month, I might fukkn faint. But it’s good that I steeled myself, because this sampler is bursting at the seams with track after track of infectious gruff Oi! from MESS (Mexico), SELF INFLICT (USA), ZIKIN (Basque Country), and the CHISEL (UK), and while every single track is excellent, “Nagusikeri Faltsue” from KOLPEKA will make you stop and check to see if you’re still alive. The folks from Mendeku Diskak have set an extremely high bar with this collection of tracks from upcoming releases (some of which are already out) – and I am definitely paying attention. 

Choke / XGrifoX split cassette

Yoooooo—where the fukk did this come from!? CHOKE fukkn explodes with three pieces of churning, anti-pig grindcore. I picture a room full of people chanting “defund the police,” and it gives me chills because in that moment, you know that room feels like change is actually possible. And that, young punk, is the fucking power. XGRIFOX fills their side of the tape with ruthless PV/grind from the GODSTOMPER school. Just one dude named “El Grande” beating the shit out of a bass and a drum kit and trading high/low vocals with himself. Sounds like it was recorded in a tin shed in the backyard—and if you know what’s up, then you know that’s precisely how it’s supposed to sound. Got my ass handed to me with this one, and I’m anxious to hear more from both bands.

Lakka / Samorast split cassette

Killer Czech/Slovak emotional hardcore split release. LAKKA starts with blistering, anxious, passionate European screamo (think DOWNFALL OF GAIA, SHIKARI). SAMORAST has a more distinctly Eastern sound—similarly emotive but thinner and slightly more abrasive. Both bands are new to me, both bands are incredible, and both bands remind me how much I miss honestly over posturing in hardcore in general. Naturally, there’s substantial overlap, but this split feels real, and that’s worth a lot in these times.

Goosebumps Walkaway Beware of Dog CD-R

Nasty and hopelessly infectious lo-fi Illinois punk. You ever wonder what would happen if MC5 rebirthed themselves as a 2010s emotive and hi-NRG indie pop band? Because that’s the shit that’s on my plate at the moment, and I don’t really know what I’m supposed to do with it. You ever listen to a sound and instantly know that it hits you in some kind of way, but not know what kind of way that is…? That’s what’s happening to your humble reviewer right now. It’s not even on the internet, so I feel like I’m on this island alone…but I like how this island sounds.

Merked / Slag split cassette

Total and complete grindcore devastation. The samples of righteous violence between MERKED songs make everything even more intense (“I swear on my fucking mother, if you touch her again you’re dead”). Dark and heavy grind-churn savagery that makes me scared to flip the tape…fortunately, I’m playing on an autoreverse deck. SLAG continues the savagery on the flip, pure San Jose grind supremacy. Of all of the records (and tapes) I’ve listened to this month, these are absolutely the most brutal sounds I have heard—fans of grind and violence are well advised to not sleep on this shit. Absolutely colossal release.

Life is Beautiful Men’s Health 12″

Don’t let the cover fool you. Actually, please do. Let the artwork open the door, and invite yourself into the world of Men’s Health. Vile, self-deprecating Midwestern powerviolence awaits. Ten disturbing doses fill the smooth grooves of this one-sided ruby red wax, so you don’t even have to flip it over to do it all over again. LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL will surprise you (the solos in “Hunk” and the title track), disgust you (the lyrics to “Dysfunction”), surprise you (“Don’t Touch Me” is a sleeper smash that will sadly never be)…but mostly they will crush you (“Sorrow Collective/Torment of Consciousness” in its entirety). And they manage to avoid genre-specific trappings in the process—you are familiar with the sound(s), but you haven’t heard this before, and that is an accomplishment.

Necromancy Necromancy 12″

Does every old recording need to be reissued? Probably not. But these six songs recorded in 1989 are perhaps the only document from Davis, California’s NECROMANCY, and I’m happy that they (finally) achieved waxed immortalization. Think UNIFORM CHOICE-style positive and/or passionate hardcore, but with a Northern California angle that I can’t quite describe…but it’s real. Late ’80 USHC has a dirty reputation, and until people start paying attention to bands like NECROMANCY, that’s not going to change. Listen to “Epilogue to War” because that’s what’s up.

Giglinger 13 cassette

A long-running Finnish outfit that has remained primarily under the radar, GIGLINGER seems content to keep plugging away at bare-bones punk rock with a distinct dark Euro vibe. Classic Finnish punk (not hardcore, punk) with touches of M.O.T.O. and EA80 makes for a compelling lo-fi listening experience. I didn’t know much of the band before this tape came across my desk, but I’m about to get hooked into a modest discography that spans more than two decades.

La Fraction De L’Autre Côté LP

The last LA FRACTION album came out in 2007. I drove the band on a North American tour that summer and I saw them play a few dozen times, so I should have known what to expect when I dropped the needle on De L’Autre Cote fifteen years later in 2022, but I was not prepared. Not at all. When Magali’s vocals opened “Tout Va Bien,” I fucking cried. It wasn’t something I could control, and I didn’t try. There is a magic here, and it’s not something I can describe, but the band sounds (appropriately) older, wiser, and more angry than they ever have before. Their fourth full-length is arguably their best—Magali sounds like she is doing battle with DeDe’s guitar while Boris’s drums push everything forward. It’s a perfect band, really…it always has been. And while I knew that before I started listening to this record, I was still, somehow, not at all prepared. Bands (particularly punk bands) are simply not supposed to get better with age, but LA FRACTION have defined themselves with this album, and I feel like I don’t want to listen to anything else. Ever.

Bad Idea Sonic Hellride CD

Polished street punk from Minneapolis. Nothing to see here unless you’re looking for solid, gruff, catchy punk rock—like RADIOACTIVITY on a steady diet of the BUSINESS. Short, snappy, and to the point…just like this review.

Nightfeeder Exploited Partisans EP

Just yesterday, I messaged my pal Grant while I was listening to DEATHRAID to let him know how underrated I thought the band was, and he replied, ”you should hear their new band NIGHTFEEDER.” Well, I’m hearing them now—a band made up of four motherfuckers who were in DEATHRAID (and CONSUME and countless other Seattle/PNW bands) and seem determined to deliver whirlwind hardcore punk rock at any cost, and Grant wasn’t wrong to suggest adding NIGHTFEEDER to my “must listen” catalog. Dirty-ass rock’n’roll influence is shameless, modern hardcore punk of the highest caliber. Moral? Always listen to your pal Grant.

S.M.I.L.E. S.M.I.L.E. Some More cassette

Second slammer from Cleveland’s Delayed Gratification to pass through my ears this month, and like the opening track pleads: “I just need more.” Three doses of ripping USHC from Akron’s S.M.I.L.E.—nothing fancy but very special indeed. A logical extension of the BIB, S.H.I.T., HOAX-style hardcore that (justifiably) dominated the mid-’10s, there’s just a touch of groove here and fukk, it just slams so damn hard. More indeed, please.

Char-Man Shake Your Hips​ /​ Shitwrecked 7″

Where did this come from—somehow this sweaty outfit has been active just a few hours south of here for almost twenty years and I hear about them now?! To be fair, this is likely more a reflection on me than CHAR-MAN, but damn, do I have some catching up to do. “Shake Your Hips” is laid-back STOOGES monotony with undeniable modern swagger, while “Shitwrecked” is a demonstration of the beauty in pure simplicity. Garage punk rock’n’roll at its finest —what an absolutely stellar two-song banger!

Sour Songz cassette

Disorienting guitar opens the tape, then the rest of the band drops like a bomb to start “Sum Body” and I’m at attention. Mid-paced, deliberately erratic hardcore, with a damage that can only come from millennial-era punks. Dark and serious, down and dirty, Ohio’s SOUR hits like a fukkn wrecking ball and while you’re turning up the volume, they’re turning up the intensity. Howling vocals, entire songs built on indescribable breakdowns—while this is in the speakers, for those nine powerful minutes, I don’t want to hear anything else in the fucking world.

The Q Factor Discography LP

Extinction Burst continues their righteous journey, giving new relevant bands a platform and unjustifiably unheralded relics the credit they deserve. If you’ve never heard of the Q FACTOR, you are forgiven—they existed in a brief (but amazing) space and if you weren’t there then…well, why would you care? The nucleus of the band went on to form FORMER MEMBERS OF ALFONSIN (only slightly more visible in the rearview mirror), but not before dropping a killer (and poignant) EP and a slew of comp tracks, all compiled here. Heartfelt, intense, honest, no-bullshit ’90s DIY hardcore punk that is totally their own (even and especially with hindsight), with brilliant nods to SXE ‘core and melodic ’80s SoCal. There are only nine songs on this discography LP, so perhaps they had said all that they needed to say…I just hope someone is listening.

D. Sablu “Live” For Tour cassette

Classic punk from the ’77 UK and ’74 Ohio schools, but naturally, it sounds exactly like neither because the real punks keep making the shit sound new and important (because it is important, of course). I can’t even imagine how hard it is to restrain yourself enough to make music like this. Every fukkn song feels like it wants to just let it fly, and I want to listen to HELLNATION when it’s over just so I can hear something fast. But that’s the point, and these New Orleans freaks nail it. Even when they go fast on “So Sorry,” the freakout is so controlled and I love it. Mutant garage punk at the absolute top of their game…and to be fair, they pretty much let it all fly on “Parody,” that one is a full release. Full swagger, full strut, full stomp, total punk.

Klazo ‘Demik Dementia LP

Hard to believe that a two-piece can create a racket like this…also hard to believe that this particular duo just keeps getting wilder. But they do. You’ll be muttering “you fucking hippies you need your ass kicked” under your breath for weeks after you hear the opener, but the rest of this 12” slammer is even better. The very embodiment of garage hardcore, because KLAZO is decidedly both. As much as I want to blast the shit out of ‘Demik Dementia, I want to live in the world that is the morning after this kind of mania is unleashed, because I feel like KLAZO is the equalizer. Filthy, monstrous fuckery of the highest order…like if M.O.T.O. wanted to kick your ass instead of wanting to drink your beer. That’s KLAZO. They’re gonna drink your beer too, though.

Tiger Helicide Fuck! We Forgot to Write Hits! CD

They might have forgotten to write hits, but if you’re here for some true freak sounds, then you’ve come to the right place. Seems like TIGER HELICIDE doesn’t give a shit what I think, because this disc is all over the fukkn place—beer-drenched shitpunk, garage pop, no-fi bedroom grind nonsense…and that’s just three tracks selected at random. There’s merit here, but it takes a bit of sifting—if you can make it through to “Death Rays & Razor Blades” (the seventeenth of eighteen tracks, and a case study in repetition), then you win, because that song rips. If you listen to the song after that one…? Then you lose.

 

Gritos de Asko Extincion cassette

Early 2010s Colombian metallic punk given the deluxe cassette treatment by Tercermundistas. Guitars way up in the mix and a driving, consistent shitpunk beat while throat-searing vocals give your ears the business over six fiery hardcore tracks, plus a LARSEN cover. A couple of these tunes surfaced on the Distort Colombia tape a few years back, but I’m quite chuffed to have the full session in my ear holes—this is the clenched-fist, no bullshit, patched-up black jacket, in-your-fuckkn-face shit.

The Plagues Shadow of a Doubt / Hector the Connector 7″

Hi-energy ’77 punk, NY-via-Southern California-style from start to finish. Vocals are a snotty monotone bark, guitars run the show here with a soulful approach to classic garage punk. “Hector the Connector” is the hit, taking those four chords that we all know and making them feel like they’re important again (note: they were never not important). No bullshit here, just two short-ass smashers…punk style.

Teen Mortgage / Tongues of Fire / Venus Twins split cassette

VENUS TWINS are a sharp and heavy bass/drums duo with a gloriously dated sound—I wish I encountered more bands that approached punk with this kind of attack, like they’re just trying to bludgeon their own songs. TEEN MORTGAGE is a dark and driving guitar/drums two-piece with a dangerous edge—“Shangri-La” is a would-be summer night anthem. Oddly, the most subdued outfit of the three has as many members as the other two combined, but TONGUES OF FIRE are their own brand of restrained, repetitive power. All three bands sound like they could have escaped from the 1990s (a compliment), all three were new to me, and all three command (demand) attention. Two tracks from each, and my ears are peeled for more.

Baraka Face Junta Test Sytemu CD

The band was new to me, but the sounds resonated instantly. Stark anarcho/post-punk from Poland with ties to STRACONY, a nasty good saxophone (a recent addition, apparently), and male/female vocals that bark and chant and spit with a constant ferocity. The songs are advanced and addictive, they just sound important, like you’re supposed to be listening and listening closely—imagine a foundation somewhere between THATCHER ON ACID and WŁOCHATY, and then bring in a crew to build on that foundation unencumbered. Ten songs here, and my biggest takeaway is that I need to track down their first two records, because this one is incredible.

Dry Socket Cessation EP

Why fuck around with both sides of the record when all of your action fits on one? DRY SOCKET only needs three songs to make their point, so if you didn’t get it the first time, just go listen to all three again. The formula is simple: pissed, hardcore, punk. “Phantom Pains” delivers chills from the moment the needle drops with the band’s stance (no immunity, no freedom from accountability, there is no unity with white supremacy) and sets the stage for a pure assault. Dani’s vocals are dead on-point and the riffs are straight for the throat—check the start/stop after the intro around twenty seconds into “Red,” because this is the shit that sets the real bands apart from the folks who are phoning it in while projecting the “correct” image. Full endorsement from this eager listener…from content to delivery to presentation, Cessation is a fukkn beast.

Shark Attack The Awful Truth EP

Absolutely killer Arkansas punk relic, unearthed and put to wax for the first time! It should be criminal for shit this fucking good to go unheard for so long, but perhaps that makes this release so much sweeter. “The Awful Truth” opens with a devastating KARP-esque heavy churn that should have SHARK ATTACK on a who’s-who of essential ’90s DIY hardcore. “Problem” follows with a nod towards the hard-hitting DIY Bay Area punk that inspired their short-lived relocation before the band dissolved. “God” is a pure power-dirge and the perfect closer—a tortured two-riff dose of disbelief. If this record had come out in real time, then we would all still be talking about SHARK ATTACK, but file under “better late than never” and consider me grateful…though I sincerely hope that there’s more than just these three songs.

Yokozuna Lower Westside Crew EP

Total ’90s noisecore from Virginia—if you think the 1997 Demo side is too hi-fidelity, then feel free to flip your shit (over) and check the Live at Grandma’s House session on the flip. Someone might suggest that there was no need for this to exist, and maybe I wouldn’t argue with that person—it sounds like shit and it’s sloppy and it’s two decades old, they wouldn’t necessarily be wrong. But, if another person countered that this is an essential piece of shit-fi brilliance and the world is a better place with $1 bins full of actual noise instead of accomplished bands with the crossed-out music symbol logo on their records…? Well, I’m gonna be on that second person’s side, because that second person is smarter than the first person. What a fucking mess.

The Entrails The Entrails LP

The opening instrumental steels the listener for a dark, psychedelic, guitar-drenched sonic journey. Instead, the ENTRAILS follow that misleading track with a steady stream of downtempo and off-kilter garage rock with drunk creep vibes. ALUMINUM KNOT EYE for a reference point (and I’m sure these folks have a few DEAD MOON records in their collective arsenal), though admittedly most of this self-titled debut lands a little flat. The upbeat numbers (few and far between) have an addictive swagger but are held back by vocals that hit like some dude trying out to be in your weird uncle’s ’60s cover band. This review condensed to one sentence: “Almost…not quite.”

Peace Decay Death is Only… 12″

The internet kinda melted when this record dropped last month. And then, because we live in the digital age of instant gratification, the internet started melting about some other cool-ass record that came out and PEACE DECAY just existed in some present past realm…and this is why the internet is great and also totally sucks, because you need to spend time with this record. Austin’s PEACE DECAY was born out of COVID, but their genes are pure Texas punk. If you take the sum of the parts (SEVERED HEAD OF STATE, PROGRAM, STORM THE TOWER, VAASKA, CRIATURAS…and on and on and on) and consider that these chaps hail from the land of WORLD BURNS TO DEATH and SPAZM 151, then brace yourself, because that’s a lot, and Death is Only… is more than all of that. Sonically, the recording embodies majestic and anthemic energy that’s only reinforced by near-constant guitar leads ripped from ’00s Burning Spirits hardcore while vocals nail Nerve Damage-era Burdette snarl without ever suggesting that they belong anywhere that’s not inside these fucking grooves. This record charges, it’s pure force from start to finish (a finish that comes way too fast)—the modern embodiment of whatever “anthemic hardcore” is supposed to be. Highest recommendation.

Tusen Ögon Imorgon EP

May I present to you, dear reader, one hopelessly infectious Scandinavian garage jammer. Imorgon captures all of the pop hooks of bands like FRANZ FERDINAND, HIVES, and INTERPOL (you know, all those bands you don’t like to admit that you like until you’re having a weak and/or manipulative moment), but this makes the shit feel real again. Even the ballad/anthem hybrid “Sparka Ner Alla Kors På Kyrkogården” and the crooning vocals on “Tusen Hål” hit just fukkn right and it all feels edgy and punk as shit. Maybe it’s not in spite of the hooks, maybe it’s because of them—EBBA GRÖN had hooks…were they punk? Hint: they were punk. There’s a future world where TUSEN ÖGON is a household name and you’re telling your square friends about how you “read about them on this punk website years ago…” to make yourself feel cool. You can live in that world, or you can just crank the shit out of this stunning slab of wax. Your choice.

Ford’s Fuzz Inferno The Book of Fuzz: Selected Verses (Part 1) CD

Two excellent EPs from 2021 on one little encoded piece of plastic for your bopping pleasure. Dutch duo FORD’S FUZZ INFERNO pretty much sounds like their moniker—walls of garage-damaged, blasted combo amp guitars topped with sweet in-your-face croons; these chaps serve up hit after should-be hit. They don’t rely on the heaviness, but they get there because they just want to crank the shit out of those guitars, you know…to fuzz ‘em up. Fans of RADIOACTIVITY and the like may find familiar hooks in here, but FORD’S FUZZ INFERNO is a stripped-down model—getting straight to business with none of the excess.

 

Mr. and the Mrs. Kill a Corporate Nazi to Free an Indigenous Slave 2×7″

I kinda dug a tape this Kansas duo released a few years ago, but I may need to go back and revisit that shit because this record is bonkers good! The guitar snarls, the vocals snarl, the drums lurch, the songs are just so gloriously simple…as if they’re saying “we’re going to do this thing—here it is—we’re doing it—you know what it is because we told you we’re doing it—and you can’t escape” on repeat. Space garage psychedelics meet four-on-the-floor rock’n’roll. It’s easy to drop comparisons and maybe that’ll get your ears tuned up, but ain’t no one sounds like this shit. Now I’m gonna dig out my copy of that Deo Volente tape and bounce these two fuckers off each other for a while.

The Punks / Skateboard Skateboard & The Punks split cassette

For background, SKATEBOARD was a band from Buffalo, NY and the PUNKS were a band from Rochester, NY. A dude named Brandon was in a band called BROWN SUGAR from Buffalo, NY. Later, that dude was in SKATEBOARD and also in the PUNKS, and that’s why this tape has a weird and confusing title. MRR reviewer Biff (who was also in BROWN SUGAR, but was not in SKATEBOARD or the PUNKS) told me this one was good. Biff told me I was gonna like it. That motherfukkr….he was right. SKATEBOARD is gruff and wildly catchy punk, like early ’00s Toronto shit through a filthy American filter with no health care. The PUNKS swing harder (like a hardcore MENSCLUB, for the lucky few who will get the reference) and land like a lost ’80s Rust Belt punk nugget. But this whole thing is a lost Rust Belt nugget, because both of these bands were gone before they even got off the ground. So all hail Capitol Idea Cassettes for making this happen…but because NY punks are weird, there’s no song titles, no band information, no label contact information, no lyrics, nothing. So good fucking luck finding a copy…but when you do? Don’t snooze.

Fatigue Barbecue Times cassette

Better late than never, here are some words about a tape that Berlin’s FATIGUE released in 2019. Total Girls in the Garage vibe, amped up real high with tough no-bullshit, in-your-face riot grrrl energy. You wanna take SMUT and TEAM DRESCH and reimagine that shit as a snotty garage bar-punk outfit? I’m here for it—three years late, but I’m here.

Isotope Soap In Need of Systematic Entropy LP

The glorious synth freaks from Stockholm are back, and ISOTOPE SOAP has outdone themselves here. SPITS, TG, SCREAMERS, DEPARTMENT S vibes all collide with a heavy emphasis on bizarre structures and a timeless sound that refuses to fit in any decade past or present. If anything, In Need of Systematic Energy is slightly more accessible than some of their previous efforts (with a title track that belongs on every mixtape you make this year), but you still never know what to expect from one track to the next. Worth noting that RAPED TEENAGERS and PUSRAD personnel are behind this genius…which is not even remotely surprising.

V/A Vol. 2 CD

The title might not say much, but Vol. 2 is a stunning 1985 collection of punk, primitive hardcore, and pure energy rock’n’roll from more than a dozen different bands from Peru. Legendary acts like EUTANASIA and PANICO share space with the stark, otherworldly delivery of EXCOMULGADOS, the inept shit-fi chaos of CONFLITO SOCIAL, and FRENTE NEGRO’s ferocious pogo. There are more favorites to be sure (ERUCTO MALDONADO and SOCIEDAD DE MIERDA, for example), but every minute of this disc is essential listening that highlights how totally varied and diverse the punk scene was in Peru. Contents: tape hiss, ultra-raw recordings, ramshackle punk, booklet with lyrics and info solo en español…what more could you ask for? My only complaint is that I’m never going to find an original copy of the tape.

Grimple Up Your Ass LP reissue

A well-deserved and long overdue reissue for an essential piece of early 1990s East Bay (by way of New Mexico) punk. You hear the term “melodic hardcore” refer to drivel that is neither, but GRIMPLE is undoubtedly both. The riffs are hopelessly addictive, but they are delivered with relentless ferocity while you find yourself singing along with vocals that sound like they are coughing up razor blades. The lyrics are honest and often dark, but the whole record is bursting with hope, determination and youthful possibility—“Behind a locked door I’m not trapped, I don’t want out / To put things in their places, I put myself here,” followed immediately by “I don’t see it so it isn’t there, the real truth is that I don’t fucking care / I close my eyes it’s an easy choice, fuk that bullshit, I want a voice!”  Songs like “Violent Fuk” and “Problem” are uncompromising and full of fire, while “Think” throws dark chords under the rest of the mix and makes you feel queasy (when you listen at the appropriate volume). “But If You Weren’t Here” is an anthem for literally any punk who grew up (mostly) alone and exemplifies how tight GRIMPLE was as a band and a unit. Drop the needle on Up Your Ass and you can just feel that it was them against the fucking world…my only complaint is that it’s weird to hear these songs with out the pops and scuffs and crackles I’ve been adding to my copy for the last 30 years. I can fix that, though.

Karne Krua Suicidio EP

Magnificent reissue of KARNE KRUA’s 1991 demo that you didn’t know you needed…until you hear it. Raw and gruff Brasilian hardcore/thrash from the Northeastern city Aracaju, KARNE KRUA plays from the RDP/LOBOTOMIA school, then injects wild, piercing solos and a vocal delivery that embodies sinister but addictive hardcore. While the recording on Suicidio is primitive, the delivery of these eight tracks is devastating, relentless, and the past thirty years has only served to make the recording sound even more intense. This is a reissue done right, with notes (em Português, claro) and photos from the original K7 release. Awesome.

Swath Of… Lament cassette

Oh hell yes—this is what I needed!! Early primitive heavy metal vibes on “His Demise,” brooding ethereal indie on “Where It Started…,” and pounding deathrock on “The Changeling” (there are three more tracks, but you see where I’m going here). The guitar has a lo-fi “plugged straight into the board because I didn’t know else to record” power that is so fucking impossible to fake, you just nail it or it sucks, and SWATH OF… nails it like few bands I’ve ever heard. Vocals are haunting throughout, they just soar and they shadow everything else in the mix. Lament is a benefit for the Black Trans Travel Project, which only further seals the deal for me—New Jersey fucking delivers.

Autarch Excession//Excision cassette

While the 2020s are still running on ignorant punk stomps, in the mountains of North Carolina there are four people who are determined to keep pushing the epic crust envelope further and further. Stunning, downtuned, apocalyptic D-beat lurches, replete with over-the-top guitar leads and dual vocals that seem all obligatory not because “they’re supposed to do that” but because it all needs to be there. You can feel it. For a band to sound so simultaneously confident and desperate is beyond refreshing, even while the tonnage from these two songs crushes you from the inside. AUTARCH has been in the game for a while, and they sound more important than ever.

Kevin Man in the Van LP

Bakersfield, California stoner grunge trio—does it make any sense at all that the opener “Prick” comes off like UNSANE through a surf filter? It doesn’t make sense, but it grabbed me and I listened with eager ears as these dudes dished out heavy tunes about getting fucked up and being alive. That surf thing I thought I heard never came back, but instead KEVIN just bashed the shit out of seven pieces of early ’90s heavy sludge.

Us // Them Demonstration cassette

Heavy, churning, sample-laden project based in Southern California. The intensity of MANKIND? and the tonnage of early KYLESA packed into a tight, focused hardcore punk attack with guest vocalists from OVER (Portland) and BLACK SHEEP WALL. This one is all power, folks, and between-song commentary only adds to the intensity.

Crispy Newspaper Судургу Тыллар LP

There’s so much to say about this record, but a few short sentences will have to suffice. Судургу Тыллар is all over the place in the best way. “Соҕотох” is a brooding, melancholic number, the title track has adrenaline-fueled RADIOACTIVITY energy with wild hardcore vocals, “Буор босхо” is a wild, psyched-out timeless punk number, “Эн олоҕуҥ” packs a powerful Aussie punk punch—there’s straight hardcore, there are drug-addled guitar freakouts, awkward stomps, uncomfortable sounds. Dirty and dangerous. It’s everything I want from a punk record and it only cements my admiration for the punks in Siberia. The DIY punk scene in the Sakha region of Siberia has been “discovered” a few times over the last several years by mainstream “press,” but the punks in the capital city of Yakutsk just keep cranking the punk that they want to make…which is probably why music, and the people who make it, are so compelling. Hats off to World Gone Mad for (finally) bringing these sounds to the West.

Apatia Demo 1991 LP

The impact APATIA had on the then-emerging Polish DIY punk/HC scene is immeasurable. The first time I was in Europe, it seemed like everyone in every town would mention this band I had never heard of. I left the country with a handful of cassette releases and worked my way through their material deliberately, because APATIA isn’t really the kind of band you just put on and rage. The context, the time, the band…it’s the combination of everything that makes them work, and that’s abundantly clear in the Refuse Records reissue of their second demo from 1991. Much like many of the more genre-pushing DIY hardcore bands in the North American 1990s, they covered a ton of sonic territory, especially on their later releases, and hearing them forge those paths on these early recordings is excellent. A complete divergence from the “known” punk bands that came a few years before them, APATIA bypass traditional anthemic punk completely, opting for tough and determined hardcore mixed with a quirky originality that would have found them right at home on US labels like Very Small (the epic “Duma i Pycha +… Ciągłe Pytania” could practically be a PLAID RETINA outtake). The songs are great, and the songs are interesting, but really it’s the “where” and the “when” that makes the document mandatory—because while few bands sounded like this then, no one sounded like this there then. And Poland listened, through at least seven albums and a slew of live tapes and demos, Poland listened and Polish punks paid attention. You should pay attention, too—history is fucking important.

Lolly Gaggers / Middle-Aged Queers split 7″

LOLLY GAGGERS harness a killer ’80s KILLING JOKE chant for the chorus of an eerie two-chord slog with poignant lyrics that hit even harder than the repetition does. MIDDLE-AGED QUEERS are more straight punk on the flip…poor choice of words. “Size Queen” is anything but “straight,” even though the music hits like FYP on poppers. More in-your-face (literally) queercore to balance the subtle introspective queercore on the flip, Bay Area represent.

 

Soy City Stranglers Midwest Rock N Roll EP

Four doses of fast and furious Midwestern hardcore punk. Tasteful touches of metal (the slow bit in “Counting the Days” into the “let’s go” that brings back the charge is especially choice) and lots of single-note guitar picking à la Filthy Phil, and then they drop serious tonnage on the hardcore breakdowns. Q: What do you get when you combine testosterone, beer, full stacks, and denim? A: SOY CITY STRANGLERS. 

Richard Hamilton My Perfect World cassette

Sickeningly sweet glam pop with heavy ’90s indie vibes. Vocals are soft and smooth with femme backing accents floating in the mist (sometimes), and the whole thing creeps under your skin something fierce. On this cassette version of last year’s CD on Quality Time Records, RICHARD HAMILTON (a.k.a. Ricky Hamilton, Ricky Hell) proves (again) that he’s not only versatile, but that he’s one of the unheralded treasures of modern DIY music. A truly magical, masterful collection of should-be hits…pure, mature, perfectly polished and presented for your enjoyment.

Siekiera Demo Summer ’84 LP

Warsaw Pact just keeps on delivering, this time with the elusive and incredible 1984 demo from Poland’s first hardcore band. Almost forty years later, and these songs still give me chills—had they released vinyl at the time (or, let’s be honest, had they been from the global West), they would be mentioned alongside CIMEX and RATOS and STALIN, because these recordings are every bit that fierce, but instead they passed from cassette to cassette for decades before creeping onto a couple of small-run reissues (that already fetch collector prices). But this is how they are supposed to sound, how they are supposed to feel…primal, fervent, aggressive, honest, intense hardcore punk. The presentation is gorgeous, packed with photos and images from the era—this is as close to “essential” as anything you’re going to read about this month.

Excrement of War The Waste, the Greed and the Bodybags LP

Right or wrong (likely both), I feel like EXCREMENT OF WAR forms a bridge between ’80s UK metallic crust (DEVIATED INSTINCT, ENT, SACRILEGE) and ’90s DIY crust (HIATUS, DISRUPT). They had direct connections to bands on both sides of that imaginary dividing line between “then” and “now” (DOOM, DEPTH CHARGE, FILTHKICK, VIOLENT ARREST, DIRT, ENT, and many more have had members in EXCREMENT OF WAR), but were more raw and a little (or a lot) looser than many of their counterparts. It’s crust punk—they made D-beat sound fukkn nasty instead of trying to juice it up. The twenty songs on this collection are from sessions spanning 1991—95 and have all been available previously, but if you haven’t heard their side of the DEFORMED CONSCIENCE split before, then…well, listen to “They Call This Progress” and then get back to me. Not all reissues are essential, but some are.

Murder Generation Strangerhood LP

The second full-length from Milwaukee’s MURDER GENERATION picks up with where 2019’s self-titled debut left off—hard-hitting, bare-bones, fist-pumping Rust Belt punk. It seems like as soon as one song ends, the steady monotony of getting beaten by a snare drum is back in your face before you can take a breath. The songs lurch between riffs in a way that is inescapably Midwestern (that’s a compliment), and this record is a notable step above the first.

Disscharrrgh D-Beat Me Over the Head With a Plank cassette

Bare-bones D-beat punk doesn’t get much more bare-bones than DISSCHARRRGH. Picture the genre at its most primitive—a more than competent mid-fi presentation of sub-60 second songs that rarely (if ever) venture beyond the “no more than two riffs of no more than three chords” formula. Vocals are gruff and often struggle to keep time while the bass takes the lead in the mix—guitars are there, but they’re buried—and it gives the whole thing a scumputer punk vibe that totally works. Super shitty digital artwork and a repurposed cassette really complete the package. Choice cut: “All Over Again.”

Fear of the Known Cabal EP+flexi 7″

Legit supergroup here, with members of ROSE ROSE, DISORDER, WAR//PLAGUE, and CHAOS UK teaming up for a bulldozer of modern anarcho rage. A gnarly industrial tinge and searing guitars form the foundation for a band fronted by a gruff, clenched-fist vocal assault—an apocalyptic reinterpretation of a familiar sound. Bonus flexi with versions of DISORDER’s “Life” and CHAOS UK’s “The End is Nigh” completes the line(age), making it clear that Cabal is far more than a sum of its parts—both versions are far more powerful than the originals, which is saying something. I hope that this is more than a one-off project.

Pi Fire Under the Roses CD

Erratic technical prog/punk/metal from Tennessee—something like LORDS OF LIGHT and PRIMUS in a blender, but on a different plane than either. On their own plane entirely, in fact. The straightahead burners will suck you in (“Tragic City” is like Police-era FUCKED UP covered by a rockabilly band), then PI FIRE will just confuse you with drawn-out weirdness like “Planet of Exultant Scum.” I respect a band bold enough to create (and release) music that requires serious concentration to even listen, and these freaks have gone far further than that. 

Es War Mord In Der Miesosuppe EP

The 4 Track Mind series from Tomatenplatten delivers once again with a stunning slab from ES WAR MORD. The purity of approach might be what sets this record apart—the drums are like getting punched in the face by a metronome and the vocals are snarled with passion, while the band delivers forceful mid-tempo punk rock that is deceptively complex. Short starts and odd riff maneuvering give way to precise leads all in the context of a ridiculously tight attack. I’m trying to imagine HOAX playing a set of EA80 covers…but with skate punk solos. Everything this label does is worth your attention, and this record is no exception.

Jonestown The Unbearable Lightness of Idiocy LP

First record I’ve heard that opened with a Trump sample (new century punks are clearly lagging), and it throws a dark shroud over the whole record before the first note—mission: accomplished. And when that first note hits, you barely have a minute to breathe until you flip sides, just jolt after jolt of maximum energy anthemic Euro D-beat. Best way to describe the overall recording is “punchy”—like it keeps punching you over and over and I swear they don’t slow down until the first side drifts away; Prague’s JONESTOWN might even be catchy if the vocals weren’t so damn threatening. This record might be a sleeper: you think you know what you’re getting into and you aren’t necessarily wrong…it’s just far better than you expected.

Vain Ambition Vain Ambition cassette

A nasty three-song debut from San Diego’s VAIN AMBITION. A foundation of (Y2K) West Coast powerviolence gives way to a sub-five-minute Gaudi-esque sonic abomination—fierce, blasting, dual-vocal hardcore. Primal shit, with bonus points for primal packaging and presentation.

All Beat Up / Rival Squad split cassette

Monster San Diego split here. ALL BEAT UP plays heavy steamroller political hardcore with vocals that sound like they are trying to break into your mind. RIVAL SQUAD is stripped-down, Spanish-language (mostly) raw punk with a punishing popgun snare drum. I feel like anything I might be missing from one side can be found on the other, and the whole thing is gone in less than ten minutes…so I can listen to it again.

Cherry Cheeks Cherry Cheeks cassette

Another pandemic solo “band” and I’m not complaining. Total NW Indiana feels with a freak show keyboard that pops in when it wants. Bass drives this one, guided by rock solid jerk punk drums and freak show riffs—it’s weird as hell and more addictive than it should be. I feel like the syrup from CHERRY CHEEKS is gonna clog your earholes, because it gets sticky as hell on tracks like “Two Bugs” (“We’re just two bugs on a strawberry / We’re just two bugs on a blackberry”) and you’ll never get these hits off of your fingers. Fans of LIQUIDS, BLURT, SPITS and the like need to dig into these sounds pronto.

Werewolf Jones Stroh Down: Live at Outer Limits Lounge 2019 cassette

Strap yourself in for a live psych/grunge/garage freakout—”I Got It All” starts things off and shit never slows down. Energy level is through the roof, guitar and bass are EQ-ed to a general buzzsaw blur, and even (especially) when they slow down to a snarl, the shit is just mean and dirty. No frills here, just nasty, greasy damaged after-punk.

Bashford Greener Grasses LP

With a recording shamelessly EQ-ed to Nevermind, BASHFORD manages to occasionally crawl out from that early ’90s shadow on Greener Grasses…but apparently direct light is too much. This is pure pre-commercial grunge with an extra dose of hate in the vocals. They nail it, to be clear, especially when they pick up the pace a bit.

Black Mercy For the Man That Has Everything EP

Pretty stunning debut release from a crew of Austin veterans. Gruff, aggressive sounds that owe a heavy debt to ’90s emotive DIY (think JOHN HENRY WEST by way of ’80s Dischord?) without giving up the quest for fast, raw intensity, fronted by a set of pipes that land like Jerry A. on a heavy diet of DEATHREAT. Short, wild bursts (eight songs on a seven-incher—that’s some real ’90s shit) mashing all of the discordance and rage into those tiny-ass little grooves.

Phantasmagoria / Sectss Nyk Lives split LP

Wildly dark apocalypse split featuring the work of Nyk Radar, who passed away last year. PHANTASMAGORIA dishes out a heavy CRAMPS-influenced assault, supremely damaged in a “who’s that band of zombies playing in the dungeon” kind of way, and Radar’s yowl will slide under your skin like a needle. SECTSS (with Radar on guitar) are a more primitive beast, with Radar’s guitar piercing through the mix with a death-surf vibe. There’s nothing pretty about this split, neither the premise nor the execution, and there’s a (black) magic quality to an artist being able to reach from the grave…and grab you by the throat.

Decade / Fatum split 12″

Russia’s FATUM should be no strangers to fans of brutal clenched-fist stench, and I dare say this is some of their fiercest material to date. Powerful dark metal crust, with full attention paid to the “metal” part of that descriptor. Canadian crusters DECADE stink up their side of the split with a destroyed collection of blown-out, metallic D-beat with a signature high-end snarl—if this is commentary on some of the questionable eras in the archives of D-beat history, then I dare say they hit the mark (and that bass tone—oooof!). Polished power from FATUM, damaged churn from DECADE—Malaysia’s Black Konflik released this on CD last year, happy to see it’s getting the treatment it deserves.

GlenXCoco You Can’t Sit With Us cassette

Grinding, low-end hardcore stomps with a killer high/low vocal attack and fierce lyrics (animal rights, rape apologists, street harassment, realities of wage-based classism). Nice metallic leads drop in just when you think you’re getting another crust assault. This one dropped in 2019, and they’ve cranked out a few more bangers since then—San Jose still reigns, y’all.

MxAxMxA Долгожданный первенец CD

This Russian band seems to spend as much time shredding your face as they do taking the piss out of…seemingly everything. Wild, technical death grind and pure noisecore experimentation coexist in the world of MXAXMXA, often in the same song. You’re going to need to take a pill before you dive into this one…hope you pick the right color.

Potemkin Sludge Vol. 2 cassette

You read the title…right? Read it again. If anyone thought Sweden’s POTEMKIN was finished with sludge after Sludge Vol. 1…well, that was a foolish thought. Filthy, downtuned, distorted, ugly, mean. This music is like a pool of quicksand filled with glass. Sometimes heavy bands hit a stoner groove, but these fuckers just obliterate everything in their path on a tape filled with songs the length of power pop anthems. Looking forward to the third installment.

Brute Spring The Perilous Transformations of Kid Spit cassette

Face-melting, hi-energy electro (punk?) blasts from BRUTE SPRING. There are elements that fall in line with late ’80s dancefloor industrial, with lots of skittish, erratic action that lives in a damaged world all its own. The mid-paced moments (“Furious Veins,” the six-plus-minute mindfukk “Spiritual Leader”) are where the band will likely find followers among fans of the damaged depths of the Play It Again Sam catalog and peripheral acts like CLOCK DVA, while the manic pummeling of “Orange Strain” and the opener “High Tension Wire Manipulator” hit like primitive industrial synth on a bathtub crank bender. This one is a total winner.

Passionless Pointless Passionless Pointless cassette

German trio that lands somewhere in the damaged BABES IN TOYLAND and/or Bleach camp. There are some pretty obvious comparisons to a couple of particular femme punk vocalists from the same era, but it’s just the vocals—the tunes here are dirty power-trio slogs. If you experienced this the first time, then it fits like a cozy sweater. If this is your first time, though…”Married Alive” will give you chills.

Static Shock Static Shock CD

From the first drop, Scotland’s STATIC SHOCK owns the speakers. Full-throated hardcore punk with a nasty vocal delivery and an approach that teeters on the edge of crossover (I’m talking guitars mostly) with a tinge of street punk while refusing to let go of their hardcore roots. You can picture the whole pub singing along to “I Still Believe In D.I.Y.” and it looks pretty great.

Divine Intervention Deus Ex Machina cassette

OK, this one is going to be a hard one to track down, but it is worth it. Krautrock meets raw black metal in a noise-drenched psychedelic punk wonderland paying homage to SUN RA, Deus Ex Machina is an absolutely brilliant collection of sound(s). This is experimentation within the confines and/or parameters of punk…which is to say that it’s fucking punk, and it doesn’t sound like anything you’ve ever heard before. Brilliant.

Grit Shatterproof LP

Superb melodic Oi! from Ireland. Smooth femme vocals assail societal ills from a left-wing perspective and bluntly address sexism and harassment in and out of the punk scene. After two excellent EPs, it’s nice to hear the band’s vision fully realized—a little polish adds to their power, and vocalist Clodagh (ex-EASPA MEASA) has truly come into her own as a frontperson. I know GRIT is an Oi! band, but sonically this falls just as close to BAYONETTES or LA FRACTION…which is high praise. Coming in just under the wire in 2021, I have a feeling this is going to get a lot of spins in 2022.

Nervous Tick and the Zipper Lips Something’s Gotta Bleed cassette

Latest installment from the one-man freak show hosted by MRR alum and Buffalo scene stalwart Biff Bifaro. Ass-shaking garage punk, but with the kind of weirdness that’s hard to pull off when you have to get a full band to sign off (I’m talking “What a Spooky Evening” specifically) and decidedly non-melodic vocals to give the whole thing teeth. Something’s Gotta Bleed is hot, loose, all over the map, and released by a killer Turkish label. I read another zine kinda slag this one off…dummies.

Utah Jazz In Retrograde cassette

Full collection of the recorded works of Buffalo’s UTAH JAZZ—truly one of the most wildly addictive bands in recent memory. I remember Biff telling me how much I was gonna like them and me only kinda believing him because he really likes some stuff that I just think is marginally “fine” (check his reviews, his enthusiasm is suspect…an affliction that I enthusiastically share), But these fuckers? It’s like ’80s UK twee on a diet of ’83 Touch and Go. Like fukkn DOLLY MIXTURE doing a set of NEGATIVE APPROACH covers…but, like really bratty. So if you like to get wild, here’s your chance. Again. Biff was right.

HExSO HExSO CD

Frantic, straightforward punk from Japan. Just two tracks here—”Absurdity” spends three minutes drilling two three-chord riffs into the ground and I’m fucking here for it. I’m also here for “I Was Born,” which is only slightly longer and uses only slightly more riffs. The vocals are the focal point—anxious and manic, fronting a dirty and energetic punk attack. The only thing I want is more tracks!

Militarie Gun All Roads Lead to the Gun II 12″

If you’ve been listening to North American punk and/or hardcore for more than a few years, then you’ve heard MILITARIE GUN. And what I mean is that even if you’ve never heard of MILITARIE GUN…you know these sounds. That might sound like a dig, but this band nails so many sounds and feels all at once, and they do so flawlessly, that….you know this band the instant you drop the needle. I hear elements of ’90s AmRep (CHOKEBORE, GUZZARD), my wife hears early AGAINST ME!, there’s “Background Kids” that hits like CEREMONY with Surfer Rosa-era guitars and…and it all works. Everything. These L.A. kids pack pure, relevant, accessible power. “When it leads to the gun, need to pull back and adjust. When it ceases being fun…run.”

Pronto Pop y Basura cassette

Not sure why we at MRR HQ are climbing aboard this bandwagon two years after its release, but Pop y Basura is a near-perfect freak punk release. And you need it. High-speed, high NRG solo synth punk from Mexico City, with direct ties to Canadian punks PURA MANIA and Venezuelan D-beat masters FRACASO…but PRONTO is something else entirely. Desperate HC/punk vocals fronting distorted drum machines and first wave keyboards, this is pure, powerful, primitive electronic destruction. Synth punk has rarely, if ever, sounded this fucking punk. And I love it. You will love it too.

Futurat Incinerat cassette

A perfect collision of modern freak punk stomps and early fuzzed-out grunge. Imagine MUDHONEY + LUMPY. Recording is blown to shit and everything feels like it’s studio-tweaked to death in the best way. Russian punk on an Australian label—up all the international punks!

No Fraud Straight Lines Crooked Morals LP

It’s hard when you’re a legendary band and you make a new record. How can a band like NO FRAUD not be resoundingly panned for making a record that’s “not as good” as their tape that came out 35 years ago? Well, a record like Straight Lines Crooked Morals is a pretty good fucking start. Fast-as-shit and wildly erratic, this is a formidable hardcore punk juggernaut with a healthy dose of irreverence. The achievement for a band with a revered legacy making a “new” record is when the listener goes “damn, this is sick” and kinda forgets that they’re listening to the band that wrote “Fuck Your Shit” in 1984. And that’s where my mind was when I was blasting “Trendy Fuck” in 2021, so well done. Twenty blasts of ferocious Florida hardcore punk.

Nukke No More Peace LP

Now we’re fukkn talking, punks! Absolute fucking D-beat rager from Portugal’s NUKKE, with gratuitous metallic leads from a guitar EQ-ed to SICKOIDS 2012 (if that reference falls flat, then please refer to the band SICKOIDS and the year 2012…then you’ll understand). As with so many of the greats, there are undeniable hooks buried in this bombast, songs like “T.S.F.L.” that will get stuck in your head for days but are still complete audio destruction. No More Peace is 100% top quality fire—easily one of the best records I’ve heard all year!

Brigada Roja 2007—2011: Discografia Incompleta cassette

A very fierce collection from Mexico’s BRIGADA ROJA. Guttural vocals, nasty guitars, and an approach that blends Y2K thrashy hardcore with classic clenched-fist Mexican punk. Nineteen doses of intense and powerfully anti-racist hardcore punk recorded between 2007—2011, given the treatment from the folks at Rebel Time because…this is real, and it needs to exist.

Fatal State Pura Rabia cassette

Maximum-speed political hardcore from Portland. Gruff backups make the high-end crack of the femme lead vocals even more powerful, highlighting a band that has taken the ’00s epic hardcore model and stripped away the bullshit to expose the intensity. Songs are short and to-the-point, just fist-in-the-air defiance in the form of metal-tinged riffs and a relentless anarcho-hardcore assault.

Яма Блатноград cassette

Holy shit, this is a fucking beast!! Russia’s Яма (pronounced “yama”—definition: “pit”) simultaneously defies categorization while cramming everything you love about nihilistic, introspective hardcore into one unbelievable band. High-tension, high-end, dark mania—like HOAX and CELEST(E) and RUDIMENTARY PENI and AMERICAN HATE just fucking played at the same time. It’s harsh and abrasive beyond description, and fans of palatable family-friendly punk will find absolutely nothing here. It hurts to listen to, but Яма has created an absolute monster. Highest recommendation.

DFC / Nunchaku Masters Nunchaku Masters vs. DFC split cassette

Yes!! In a (punk) world of bands trying so hard to be…something…it’s refreshing to hear a band (or in this case, two bands!) who are not just content to be themselves—they are fucking determined. NUNCHAKU MASTERS and DFC both hail from the Brazilian capital city of BrasÁ­lia, and they share a love for pure old school thrash metal. We’re talking puffy high-tops and patched-up battle vests and long hair and politics just as in-your-face as the riffs. Anti-Nazi, pro-skateboarding, anti-asshole, pro-party, fist-banging, speed-picking thrash metal!!! NUNCHAKU MASTERS land more on the party thrash end of the spectrum, while long-running veterans DFC are decidedly darker, with a blistering Brazilian HC vocal attack backed by a brutally tight guitar attack more along the lines of countrymen DAMN YOUTH. Both bands absolutely shred these tracks recorded in the mid-’10s—and this release was a fucking blast to listen to!

V/A Diggin’ Up the 90s, Vol. 1 LP

Here we go…the collector scum are starting to figure out that the ’90s weren’t the lost decade after all. In the spirit of the KBD and Bloodstains comps, Amok delivers a collection of unheralded ’90s DIY punk and hardcore gems. OFFICIAL HOOLIGANS, MENSTRUAL TRAMPS, BLOODY MUTANTS, STALINS ORGAN, Japan’s the HECK, France’s BETTY BONDAGE, and ten more. Grab this shit, do your homework, and start scouring the bargain bins, because these are the bonzers of the next decade!

Grand Collapse Empty Plinths LP

Heavy, intense, and instantly engaging UK hardcore. The guitars dominate this release—heavy mosh metal chugs interrupted by melodic leads that manage to land organically between Euro-crust and mid-’80s Mould. GRAND COLLAPSE is fast, sometimes even sounding like they finished writing a song and consciously decided “that’s cool…faster would be even cooler” (they were right). Empty Plinths is an injection, hard to not feel fucking amped after listening.

Suburban Resistance Suburban Resistance LP

Snotty, melodic SoCal punk all wrapped up nice and ready for the big stage. Songs about partying (and the dark side of partying) and fierce determination in the face of just trying to fucking get by, from a Vegas outfit (that’s Las Vegas, which is not in Southern California) featuring members from ’80s skate punks the FACTION and ’00s Upstate NY DIY rippers WAR SQUAD. The backing “whoa-ohhh”s aren’t really for me (there are a lot of them), and the lyrics to “Fools” (maybe about getting along in the face of getting called out…?) give me slight pause, but these fellows know exactly what they’re aiming for, and if gruff, catchy adult punk is what you’re after, then you’ve surely found it on the debut from SUBURBAN RESISTANCE.

V/A …So This Is Progress? 004 flexi EP + zine

Short and sweet—five Ohio bands with tracks recorded during Thee Time Ov Covid. TV DRUGS (meaty punk rock), HUMAN LAW (ugly, downtuned drum machine noise/sludge), STALL (vicious hc/grind), LOCKED UP (even more vicious grind), and JACK KNIFE BEAT DOWN (blinding lo-fi thrash punk). Delivered with issue #4 of …So This Is Progress? fanzine.

Dead United Fiend Nö.1 CD

This disc was assigned for review in September, but considering the content I figure it’s better that I waited until closer to Halloween. While the aesthetics don’t fully represent the content, rest assured that some poppy German horrorpunk is in your future with DEAD UNITED. Imagine a poppier AVENGED SEVENFOLD, singing about zombies and fiends and ghouls—it’s tongue-in-cheek (there’s a track called “Aaaahhhhhhh! Some Bees!”), and it’s fun and ghoul-y as shit.

Indoctrinate Failbringer cassette

Two doses of downtuned Euro crust/grind, with two bonus doses of the same unforgiving assault from 2014 included as a bonus on the physical version. High/low vocals and erratic metallic song construction all work together to create something not far removed from mid-’90s Per Koro fodder, but with a keener ear towards blistering metalcore and beatdown hardcore. It’s a lot, and Austria’s INDOCTRINATE crams it all in.

V/A Presence Not Absence: A Benefit Compilation for Trans BIPOC Housing Assistance cassette

This comp dropped last year, but the purpose is (sadly) more appropriate now than ever. Musically all over the place, much like the communities it is meant to support and lift up; driving electropop (NO NO BABY), ethereal dance (DOVE ARMITAGE), dark conscious hip hop (the UHURUVERSE—whose opening track “Obey” is an absolute stunner), noisy post-punk (VAGUESS), experimental vocals (UNO LADY), and the list goes on. Quality level is extremely high for all genres and musical modalities represented, and proceeds are going to the right place(s).

Cyst Cyst demo cassette

Primal, raw hardcore punk from Denver. The recording and presentation is every bit as chaotic as the contents, and they feed off of each other throughout these four tracks. “Sickening” opens with a full intro/fast/slow/slower/painfully slow format and then the drums fight through feedback on the intro to “Hard Kill” and I’m completely sold. This thing sounds fukkn nasty, so prepare yourself.

Neon Belly The Boys Are Alright EP

North Carolina outfit that hits like 1978 freak punk (the MAD, BAGS, SCREAMERS) without sounding like any kind of a rehash. Tracks like “D.O.I.I.” and the title track are pure fire—one hundred percent in-your-face and shameless punk couched in unabashedly catchy four-on-the-floor burners. Best surprise this month, hands down.

V/A Paid By Rock cassette

This one is all over the place, and I’m all over it. Pulsating ’80s hard industrial dance, ’90s grunge punk dirges, stripped-down art-punk, a stunning PRIMITIVES cover, outsider electro-pop, bombastic nasty garage punk…this comp just fukkn grabs you and then slams from start to finish. Highlights include the MAXINES, FREAK GENES, THREX, ADULKT LIFE, and GERM HOUSE, but it’s the whole damn thing that deserves your attention.

Dazy Maximumblastsuperloud: The First 24 Songs cassette

Absolutely ridiculous ’90s college rock hook-laden pop. BIG STAR, TEENAGE FANCLUB, maybe even a touch of the POSIES here and there; this is the backpage of Rolling Stone in 1989, where those of us trapped in MRR-free small towns would scour the College Radio Top Ten looking for something—anything—to help us break free of the commercial pop doldrums and hoping that the only record store in town could special order something that we thought sounded cool based on name alone. I would have ordered this—and I would have been stoked. DAZY is a COVID-era solo project, and this tape compiles the entirety of the output though Spring 2021…let’s just hope that there’s more, because this is the kind of nostalgia I can get behind.

Kina Parlami Ancora LP reissue

Probably the most melodic KINA release, 1992’s Parlami Ancora owes a heavy debt to late ’80s USHC while cementing KINA’s status as one of the best unheralded ’80s Italian HC/punk bands.  While I’m still going to reach for the unhinged mania of Irreale Realtà damn near every time, the fact that KINA was able to progress and develop their sound and still create songs that are in-your-face and compelling. Wildly catchy and energetic punk, like a bit of MOVING TARGETS and mid-era HÜSKERs mingling with UPRIGHT CITIZENS and EA80…but still an Italian hardcore band. Most of their catalog is still relatively easy to come by, and these reissues make it even easier. High praise.

Wrong Band Let’s Go! EP

Super slick and produced punk with heavy glam rock roots. Intentionally sultry vocals are the clear focal point, stepping back briefly for the Sunset Strip leads to take over the spotlight. I feel like I could blink and Sweden’s WRONG BAND is the next JET or DARKNESS and headlining arenas.

Born Losers of America State of Mad CD

Three doses of old school t(h)rash punk from Washington (state), clocking in under three minutes and twenty seconds. Somewhere between VILENTLY ILL and “that local band who opened for that reformed third-tier ’80s band who played down the street that one time and were way better than the band you paid to see.”

Skit of Resistance Unreleased Noisecore Live Recordings 1999 CD-R

Doesn’t the title tell you everything you need to know? Twenty-one minutes of D-beat-influenced noisecore recorded live and presented in questionable fidelity…which is exactly what you want, if you read this review past the title of the release.

Bój się Boga Forbidden Songs CD

London punks with twelve tracks of fiery hardcore punk recorded in 2016. Forceful femme vocals that remind me of Agnes from HOMOMILITIA, though the music here is way more straight up and way more punk. Dueling guitars sound ripped from the late ’80s until moments of modern HC melodies make appearances. High-energy, driving intensity—enthusiastic approval.

Little Angels Little Angels demo cassette

You’d think that a little plastic shell cannot possibly contain all of this hotness. All of this wildness. But it does. They need a guitar tuner (like…badly), but Pittsburgh’s LITTLE ANGELS absolutely annihilate six shit-hot raw hardcore tunes that are blown to fucking smithereens right out of the gate. Listen to the vocalist barking at the start of “Party.” That’s not some reviewer speak for a vocal style, the singer is fucking barking. Like a dog. And then screaming: “Where’s the party?!” This demo is just out of control across the board—everything pumped harder and pushed rawer than everything else, and it’s everything I need right now.

Weak Ties Find a Way LP

The first thing that strikes you is the vocals. Laura’s snarl is formidable to say the least, and it stands in contrast to the clean (though damaged) guitar and advanced, inward hardcore attack. They drop “Sorry, Not Today Pt. II” near the end of the first side, and that’s when you truly start to feel the depth of WEAK TIES—this isn’t regular hardcore punk, this is more. It’s not just the power and/or emotional intensity of those slower moments, it’s the blasts from “With Every Step” that fucking explode out of “I” and it’s the way that they insert that depth into even (or especially) their more straight-ahead HC numbers. Find a Way is great, it dances all over the place a bit not because the band is trying to make a point; rather it feels like that is just where the songs, and the band, felt right. The whole record feels right…and holy shit, can these fools drop a mosh part when they want to.

Czarnobyl Zdroj Chory Mózg… O Szczęściu

A very welcome vinyl press of a 1991 cassette release—the brand of Polish hardcore that CZARNOBYL ZDRÓJ delivered absolutely deserves further examination. Cold, sharp-sounding punk vaguely along the lines of TZN XENNA, with chaotic and frantic guitars throughout. Occasional funky breaks are appropriate for the era, but are treated with wild and overpowering leads while stark, shouted vocals create an (almost) militaristic vibe. CZARNOBYL ZDRÓJ released a scant few punk cassettes before moving on to a more industrial sound, all are well worth your time but near impossible to track down…which is why I’m not gonna complain about floods of reissues clogging up my shelves. Excellent release.

Six Cents Welcome to the Wonderful World of Poisonous Non-consumables, Flying Drops, Sudden Stops and Blood Coated Cops! The Original Recordings LP

1995/96 recordings from Sacramento’s SIX CENTS—snotty, era-appropriate punk that sounds like a band from Sacramento circa 1995/96 (that’s a compliment). Shades of SCHLONG/YOUR MOTHER and LIZARDS for a nicely packaged release in memory of guitarist Pete Mannino, who passed away just after the recording was complete.

Fight Your Fear Zanim Upadnę LP

Anthemic hardcore punk from Polish expats living in Ireland. Layers of guitar leads and melodies temper the stark vocal delivery and create a sonic environment akin to an anarcho-punk PROPAGANDHI. As always, Pasażer is over-the-top with the packaging, and gives an over-the-top recording the presentation it deserves

Round Eye Culture Shock Treatment LP

Shanghai’s favorite expats set the bar high with 2017’s Monster Vision, but Culture Shock Treatment is a next-level masterpiece. An astounding collection of songs and sounds (and hooks) that defies categorization while drawing liberally from classic punk—and then contorting the shit out of all of it. Slogs like “8000 Years” rely on moody sax and keys to drive the songs over one gloriously repetitive riff, while “Catatonic (I’m Not a Communist)” is a searing (and screaming) punk burner that rolls into the death march of “An Opportunity of a Lifetime,” both highlighting the band’s take on living in China as (Western) outsiders. The hooks on this record will pull in fans of SOVIETTES and/or RADIOACTIVITY, but the songs are simply advanced and so totally far-out. Who doesn’t want their BUZZCOCKS tempered with DOA and BEEFHEART? Dummies, that’s who.

Potemkin Sludge Vol. 1 cassette

Unimaginably disgusting stoner sludge from Sweden. Imagine BONGZILLA writing “short” songs, but with a subtle Jourgensen tinge to the vocals. When the guitar breaks into the fast intro for “Meds” I start to clench up, because that’s exactly what I want to happen after a three-minute pulverization. Very dirty, very raw, extremely heavy.

Schizma Ostatnia Odsłona LP

Especially in the early 1990s, Polish punk and hardcore existed on cassettes. There are countless worthy releases that came and went on tape, often fading away as the bands (or fans) moved on. SCHIZMA stuck around until well into the 2000s, but 1992’s Ostatnia Odsłona might be the best example of their brand of crossover thrash. The focus here is the guitars—properly damaged and red-lined, with primitive flange tempering the lightning fast chugs while vocals project full force from the chest. This under-the-radar Eastern European hardcore deserves far more than a casual nod from so-called “historians” from the West; SCHIZMA was making music that adhered to no rules but their own. Members came from late ’80s band KAMPANIA KARNA (who recently had their essential first tape put to vinyl) and later went on to IN SPITE OF (among many others), but this is about the SCHIZMA LP. Polish punks likely (hopefully) already know the drill, the rest of us are just catching up.

Smertegrænsens Toldere Blod, Sved & SÁ¦d LP

Hard-hitting hardcore from Denmark. A collection of sub-60-second burners interspersed among some nasty doses of riffage. I think the mid-tempo numbers (“Selvkontrol”) are what makes it feel so damn good when they go fast (“Pillage”). Fierce, throaty vocals and a massive presentation to top it off.

V/A OCCII ~ DiY Comp Ltd EP

Excellent four-song freak collection from the Netherlands. Some dreary slow synth/No Wave from LANGE NIEZEL, followed by a whirling D-beat detonation from OUST (check their 12″ from last year if you haven’t already) on the A-side. As solid as that pairing is (and to be clear, it’s great), the flip features a stellar KBD rocker from GIF, and fans of AMYL AND THE SNIFFERS rejoice upon hearing “Comfort Zone,” because your shit just got punker. Then PONYTAIL TARTIFLETTE closes the record with an eponymous monster, a noisy track that channels the Trim Tab Tapes catalog while tripling down on chaos. “I make horses look like the police,” whispers the vocalist before the band launches into a jerky assault that descends into MELT BANANA-meets-free jazz and then just…stops. Fucking gorgeous pink wax, risograph cover, and a nice educational poster inside—the 7″ comp format catches a lot of flak, but this one is damn near perfect.

Brain Itch Forced to Pay cassette

After an impressively ominous intro, I really wanted Ontario’s BRAIN ITCH to come out raging…but the tension they created with their solid, mid-paced metallic UK punk chug wound me up so fukkn tight that when the opening title track did finally, mercifully, unload….? Well, it was awesome. Five blasts on Forced To Pay, landing somewhere between hard-churning Motörpunk and that 1-2-1-2 doopa doopa that personifies most of the last decade of North American hardcore punk. This is their third tape in as many years—all short, all sweet, all killer….and not an ounce of filler.

Decider Ramshead ’79 LP

Hard to put a finger on this one, which should be a strong vote in the “pro” column for even the most casual listener. Oakland’s DECIDER wants to be a heavy ’70s rock band, but I fear they’ve listened to too many post-punk records to let themselves pull it off. Make no mistake—they would be a flawless heavy ’70s rock band, but they’re an even better post-indie band with heavy ’70s and second-wave UK art-punk under/overtones. So I’m glad they won’t let themselves not be weird, and “Unintentional Evaluation” should be the soundtrack for your summer adventure.

End You Aimless Dread cassette

Philadelphia solo project aims big and hits the mark on Aimless Dread. Discordant, heavy sludge/punk that will appeal to fans of ’90s mid-paced “metallic” hardcore acts like DEADGUY or CAVE IN…think TORCHE without the pop hooks for a more modern sonic reference. Excellent execution with an extremely heavy presentation, and the shit is really dark. Into it.

Kirottu Ääni Pimean Pelko 12″

Unfathomably epic six-song debut(?) release from Finland’s KIROTTU ÄÄNI. Emotive and chaotic hardcore with a serious primitive black metal bent; novice listeners might place them on the map somewhere between CELEST(E) and BONE AWL. But the more advanced among you (us) will hold out until “Paiseet” on the second side, where they launch into some truly unique freak shit and careful listeners will realize that they’re listening to a band that’s spreading their wings before they’re even off the ground. A brutal and powerful, and beautiful, record.

At Their Mercy Disavowed CD

Throaty, fist-clenched metallic UK hardcore. AT THEIR MERCY nods respectfully to the throne of ’80s UK thrash, but they run off with those influences and pick up some straight Big Four thrash along their way. The recording is massive (check “All That’s Left” if you doubt me) and the vocals are far beyond powerful—this is a classic and refreshing example of a band crossing between heavy hardcore and heavy metal. In other words, some old dudes (guitarist was in ’80s thrashers ATAVISTIC, and the others are no young bucks) showing the young kids what’s up, and I’m here for it…I just hope the kids are paying attention (and taking notes).

Cosas Ilegales Cosas Ilegales 10″

Hard props for the opening twenty seconds of “Accidente,” because I can’t remember when I was this anxious to hear a record kick in. And while Mexico’s COSAS ILEGALES kicked it (a little) slower than I was hoping, I stuck it out and was compensated generously…with interest that I didn’t even deserve. Just a killer collection of infectious, damaged garage hardcore. Smart, sharp, and very dark punk that sounds like it just arrived from another planet to remind us what outsider freak music was supposed to sound like. I want these songs to be faster, but that makes me feel all anxious which makes me realize that they played everything exactly right because all I want is more the minute it’s finished. Consider me a convert…but there’s only 100 of these fuckers, so you better act fast if you want to join the cult.

New Skeletal Faces Sextinction 7″

Two doses of darkness from California. AMEBIX meets CHRISTIAN DEATH, with high howling vocals and a great metallic plodding pace to “Extinction of Bodies” that stays firmly planted on the weirdo/punk side of the spectrum. It just feels dark and dangerous. Sketchy. Could listen on repeat for an hour and not get bored….just did, in fact.

The Social Lies Fuck the Scene / Kink Boy 7″

The social media-sphere kinda melted a bit when this record dropped…maybe because it’s so fucking hot. In less than three minutes of music recorded two decades ago, two Black kids from Alabama shoved a huge “fuck you” boot up the pretentious ass of (hardcore) punk by simply being themselves. The songs are simple, tough as shit, equal parts furious ’90s East Bay hardcore and LIMP WRIST—it’s not so much that they’re pissed, it’s that the SOCIAL LIES feel real. Not every “lost” recording from decades past needs to be unearthed and released…this one did.

Cell Rot Slowly Falls Apart 12″

Releasing a record this deadly in 2021 when (most) punks haven’t seen a live hardcore show in a year is…well, kinda mean. Crushingly heavy California hardcore, CELL ROT moshes as aggressively as they blast, with a dark undertone that makes you feel like you’re listening to something dirty. But you’re not. You’re listening to something joyful…it’s just the joy that comes when you realize that you will never win. Never. If you thought the Violent Spirals LP was devastating (it was), wait until you hear what it sounds like when CELL ROT Slowly Falls Apart. 

Fixed Lens Fixed Lens cassette

Already (and justifiably) fawned over, the debut from Berlin’s FIXED LENS absolutely nails their dark goth energy, and they own the vibe instead of trying to create it. Maybe it’s looking back and reimagining with punk hindsight, but this duo makes a now-timeless sound feel brand new. I was weaned on this shit, and it’s great to hear something that doesn’t feel (at all) like a rehash. Dominant synths, barked vocals, haunting guitars, hard driving dancefloor beats that urge the tempo instead of forcing it. A powerful smash, especially as a debut.

Limbs Bin Burnt White Elephant CD

After almost five minutes of ambiance and field recordings from the opening track, LIMBS BIN destroys in the way that only they (he) can. Twenty-five sub-sixty-second bursts of harsh noise and manipulated sound punctuated by samples and (audio) violence, all sewn together as one harrowing dose of sonic punishment with a couple of (merciful) interludes. Some folks know what they’re getting into with a new LIMBS BIN release…I advise the rest of you to strap in.

The Sinema / TV Generation DCxPC Live Presents, Volume 2 split EP

Second edition of this live series modeled after the ’90s VML singles. TV GENERATION offers three hefty doses of snotty adult punk; mid-paced, snarky stomps that include a song about Uncle Lou’s—the Florida venue set to receive the proceeds from the sale of this single—and a DAMNED cover. Appropriately sloppy (it’s a live series, kids!), and even the cover somehow has the same “dragging the grown-ups through the mud” pace. On the flip, the SINEMA starts their whirling metalcore track with a mosh call: “I’m alright! / Up all night! / Do you wanna fight? / Fuck the alt-right!” and I’m at least paying attention. One wild, noodle-riff-centric track that delves a bit too far into commercial alt-metal (for my taste) with the quiet sing-y bits…but redeems (slightly) with the sign-off: “Cowboys can suck my cock! / Fuck the alt-right! / I fucked up!”

V/A Fuselage cassette

Austin indie/post-punk project with a ten-song cassette featuring “guest” vocals from their friends…it’s a good concept, and the result is something that sounds more like a comp than a “release.” From the dreary indie shoegaze of “Needle” (ft. MIND SPIDERS’ guitarist) to the dark “Absolved” (I’ve lost my faith in God) and the angular post-punk of “I Chase Cars” (ft. WARP’s Tika Hall). Throw in a couple of instrumentals, and a poem set to music (“Early Morning Cigarette”) and I’m going to want to spend some time with this one. Also—I stayed in the drummer’s mom’s house like twenty years ago…punk is weird, y’all.

Hooks & Bones (Presenting) The Hook cassette

There’s a lot going on here. Brutal mosh metal beatdown hardcore drops out of the middle of a crossover thrash riff…and then the melodic singalongs in “SD 9.3″ seem to come out of nowhere. Kinda like the solos in “Postman on Fire.” And then we’re back to a Milano Mosh for “Bucks & Bullets.” And so goes most of (Presenting) The Hook—’80s NY thrash, ’00s NYHC, dogpiles and spin kicks, old school metalcore, and sooo many crew backing vocals—and it all slays. Only five tracks, but there’s more action on this tape than on most double-LPs.

Peste Negra Orquest(a) Los Rebrotes cassette

Argentinian cassette domination continues with this bizarre dose of freak wave and/or synth punk from the PESTE NEGRA ORQUEST(A). Harnessing the primitive melodic punk of early ’80s Latin America and injecting healthy doses of space sounds, they create a vibe on Los Rebrotes that makes these ears yearn for (more) punk that makes you move instead of punks rehashing second-rate darkwave. By the time I got to the middle of this tape, I couldn’t even think straight—it’s that good…and no matter how I tried, I wasn’t able to make it loud enough. Because I just wanted more.

Shitload Unplugged cassette

Consistently pushing the inanity of noisecore to new limits, New Orleans act SHITLOAD may have outdone themselves. But before you look at a list of the (acoustic) instruments used to create this cacophony and turn away, I would like to offer this advice: just give it a chance. Yeah, the kazoo in between bursts is a little much (OK— it’s a lot much), but hearing everything piled on top of everything else is the same kind of complete sensory overload that makes walls of harsh noise so…comforting. This time it’s in the context (or spirit) of raw powerviolence through shit-fi, and the chaotic monotony works. I know that Bobby Paranoize, SHITLOAD’s sole member, is having a go at us here and that this was released in an edition of ten copies…but I’m going to hold onto mine. Even though, as the artist states: “This is a bunch of ridiculous bullshit.”

Upper Hand Iron City Hardcore 1988-89 LP

Excellent capture of Pennsylvania’s UPPER HAND’s last show, where they absolutely leveled a club called Sonic Temple in 1989. Off-the-fucking-rails East Coast hardcore that is way harder than most bands dared to be at the close of the Reagan era, this recording sounds amazing and helps make up for the fact that they never had any proper releases during their short existence. A record clearly released by fans (and one that will likely gain the band some new ones—like me), including a full-size zine with band history, and tons of flyers to accompany a ripping set that ends (appropriately) with FAITH, BAD BRAINS, and AF covers. There are only a few of these kicking around, highly recommended.

Call in Dead / 2Amature DCxPC Live Presents, Volume 1 split EP

Two COVID-era live streaming performances put to wax. CALL IN DEAD starts their set with a shout out: “What is up, Facebook Live?!” and dropped into a mosh intro…then some gnarly hardcore delivered in stutters and slams. Growly death metal vocals and yo-yo hardcore shouts..and one ska intro. 2AMATURE is snottier—more punk and less hardcore. Like a raw, dirty version of a catchy punk band, but with wild (and excellent) East Bay Ray guitars. 

Silakbo Silakbo CD

While the foundation of opening track “Southpaw” is a drum machine hi-hat with a thick metal chug, it launches into a fiery D-beat and I’m thinking PAILHEAD’s “I Refuse,” and that sets the stage: SILAKBO drags you back to the 1980s, but they’re dragging sXe hardcore into the industrial techno clubs with you…and they’re feeding all the thugs and club kids a diet of anarcho-punk activism. A solo project that shines a light on injustice, a band that speaks from the heart of the Filipinx diaspora in California and the rest of the world, a killer hardcore band that offers their material with fucking purpose that surrounds the band like a shield. This first release is hopefully a harbinger—listen to the dark determination of “World of Death” and think about the sonic possibilities, especially when combined with the purity of mission and honest determination that fills every moment of this release.

TZN Xenna Róbrege ’85 LP

While the world of punk records continues to get flooded with piles of debatably necessary reissues, it’s important to keep your eyes peeled for material from labels like Warsaw Pact. Dedicated to 1980s Polish punk recordings, the last few years have seen mandatory releases from MOSKWA, RED START, SIEKIERA, the CORPSE, and others, including this screaming 1985 set from the legendary TZN XENNA. Packaged with a gorgeous poster and full-size booklet with lyrics, photos, and information, Róbrege ’85 features a band with a fire in their hearts—even the more melodic tracks like “Aids” are on the edge of collapse, and “Twoja Wojna” has never sounded more fierce. After the first day of the festival, a cassette compilation with DEZERTER, ARMIA, ABSURB, ABBADON, REJESTRACJA, and some of the tracks on this record was available the next day; thankfully Warsaw Pact was able to snag the entire set. An essential release for fans of Eastern European punk, and fans of punk in general. Listen to “Dzieci Z Brudnej Ulicy,” it’s feels like it’s going to fall out of the fucking grooves. This is the real shit.

Aghast / Tekken split 12″

Not to be confused with the two splits these bands have released previously, this one-sided 12″ captures the final recordings from two (extremely) prolific French emo/HC bands who were active throughout the ’00s. AGHAST covers the epic and melodic with anguished vocals department, while TEKKEN takes care of the more chaotic and aggressive Euro HC side of things, blasting their way through a breathless “Porque Todo Tiene Fine” to close the record. Seven tracks total, and limited to just 100 copies—because when it means enough, it’s worth putting it to wax.

Ed Warner Ruins of Nations LP

Twelve anxious doses that span a crevasse between early ’00s colossal crust and an indescribably awesome hardcore lurch. Makes me think of the NOW DENIAL…or maybe just some modern kids simultaneously harnessing anthemic core and honest intensity. Fans of fast and/or heavy and/or intense hardcore will want to pay attention here, because France’s ED WARNER ticks off literally every box.

Sick Burn / These Bastards Burn These Sick Bastards split EP

One of the most obvious and superficial bummers about the COVID era is a lack of punk shows. Hardcore records are cool—I love em—but this was music meant to be experienced in the sweaty, smelly flesh, and few local bands exemplified that more than Sacramento’s SICK BURN and San Francisco’s THESE BASTARDS. This split was in the works before shit shut down, and now I can spin the grooves and get even more amped for my future as a live-show-goer, annoyed with that one dude acting a fool in the pit (because you know that dude is gonna be there…he’s been waiting). Five sub-minute tracks from SICK BURN, more ripping irreverent hardcore injecting Japanese riffs into breakneck USHC. THESE BASTARDS drop three more doses of their bizarre prog-violence on the flip—pure West Bay brutality, intense and dark. I freaking love both of these bands.

Autoagresion Bajo Control cassette

Argentina is bringing some serious heat to the review section this month, and Buenos Aires’ AUTOAGRESION is some of the hottest—searing fastcore, but with a massive production and vocals that fucking hurt (my throat) to listen to. “Apartadxs” is a perfect equation: intro + explosion = perfection, while just one track (“Policias”) tops the one-minute mark. This is just pure and honest hardcore punk, and probably the best release I’ve heard this month.

Desborde Single 2021 cassette

Hard to describe how much territory DESORBE covers in just two tracks. Starting with a steady punk churn fronted by fierce high-end hardcore vocals, by the end of the first track it feels like you’re listening to an outtake from Panorama (the best record by the CARS)…and then the next cut launches shamelessly into a keyboard-driven hardcore freakout. After the first listen, I was confused. But the same two jammers are on the flip, and after the second listen…? I was in love.

False Truce MMXX cassette

Chris Pfeffer has had a hand in some of the best punk Texas has produced in the last two decades—STORM THE TOWER, OBEDIENCE, SEVERED HEAD OF STATE, J CHURCH, CRIATURAS, SIGNAL LOST, the list goes on (and on)—and when civilization closed up shop last year he did what any self-respecting genius would do: he made a record. By himself. Very much a sum of its (his) parts, FALSE TRUCE sounds absolutely like Chris—the guitars take the Mould model to another level, the full-charge D-beat lurch, and honest and blunt delivery of honest and blunt lyrics. Hopefully this project doesn’t fade into a COVID haze, because the world needs FALSE TRUCE.

End of Hope Cease & Destroy LP

Heavy rock’n’roll-tinged stoner jams, pulled through time from the mid-1990s “noise rock played by old punks” brand of heavy alt. The difference is that END OF HOPE still opens it up from time to time, and maybe it’s the variation that sets them apart. Massive guitar tonnage and killer riffs, Cease & Destroy hits hard and swings hard, like a thinking person’s grunge/stoner hybrid. Distinct piercing growls from former KRAUT frontman Gunner ensure that this record doesn’t sound like anything else on your shelf. Self-released on CD in 2019, slapped onto shiny green wax by Chain Reaction.

Kto Ukradł Ciastka Rozdział 1992–1993 LP

I had never heard of KTO UKRADŁ CIASTKA when I went to Poland for the first time in 2003 and WHN? played the Refuse 10th Anniversary show. KTO UKRADŁ CIASTKA had reformed for that one gig and it was clear that their influence was strong in the DIY scene…it was also completely fucking wild. A vinyl reissue of the first cassette release on Refuse Records, Rozdział 1992–1993 captures the band live in 1993 and a rehearsal from ’92. The audience recordings are pretty rough, but the record settles in after the first few tracks, and the power really comes out when they hit their stride around “Butapren.” The rehearsal, however, is amazing—seven doses of pure fire from a band bridging the gap from classic ska/reggae-infused ’80s Polish punk to the then-modern world of European DIY hardcore, with a sharp triple-vocal attack and constant urge to speed up and fall (or fly) off the rails. Political, straightedge, pro-animal rights, KTO UKRADŁ CIASTKA was blazing their own trail in early 1990s Poland, and this document was clearly put together by someone who followed in their wake. Just a couple of hundred copies, with a gorgeous printed booklet full of photo and flyers and a previously unavailable recording of the anti-fascist anthem “RAAF.” I highly recommend reading the label’s write-up on the history of the band and the release—perhaps it’s a copout to send a reader to the label, but in this case there’s an extensive and personal history with the band, and few people can put their importance in context better. An incredible release.

Poison Tribe State Sanctioned Violence cassette

Full-throated crust churn—another killer contribution from the folks at Chain Reaction. The vocals are exhausting, lyrics descending into a breathless “aaaarrrggghhhh“ instead of words, and trying to keep up with the all-go low-end attack. Five songs here—definitely looking forward to more in the future.

Motherfucker Teresa Old News is Still New News cassette

Erratic song structures and a recording that leans heavily on the high end amp the intensity of this dual-vocal Denver outfit. MOTHERFUCKER TERESA would have fit in nicely on a mid-’90s Gilman bill with BLACK FORK; jumpy lurches turn into nasty, guitar-driven political punk—and with tracks like “Me and Mitch McConnell in a Dark Alley,” I think you can pick up where they’re coming from pretty quickly.

V/A The Stowaways Presents: Listen Up! A Benefit For Democracy Now! LP

Fifteen-band collection of catchy punk/indie/alt to benefit, as the title suggests, a public radio news program. The only artist I was familiar with was the FYP dude (yo, Todd—I’m still down to look after Boris if anything nasty happens), but I got turned on to loads of new shits. JASON ANDERSON wrote a straight commercial pop hit in “Buzzin,” PASTEURIZED MILK and RX are both minimal and addictive, LAYMAN and POST LIFE are favorites as well—the record cruises along between lo-fi indie and shoegaze and would-be mainstream songwriters with ease. All put together by a schoolteacher and zinester who uses independent reporting and media in the classroom to (hopefully) help a new generation of non-shitty humans find their collective voice/s, with art from Sophia Zarders, liner notes from Donna Ramone, and an issue of The Stowaways masquerading as a lyrics booklet. Thumbs up.

Baby Bones What Do I Do / We’re Done Talking cassette

Feisty and heavy Kentucky rock. “What Do I Do” verges on nü metal but still has lotsa hooks. “We’re Done Talking” hits me like a lost QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE cut with an infectious sing-along chorus. Let’s go.

Buff / Cress Government Monster / Choose Your War split LP

Apparently CRESS is a functional project again, and they have picked up right where they left off from Monuments and the DOOM split in the late 1990s. Their brand of spaced-out anarcho-punk fills a modern void, and I feel like the songs on their side are simultaneously present and timeless…a sound that is simultaneously familiar and inspirational (or maybe one because of the other). I listened to the CRESS side three times in a row, I confess that I was prepared to be disappointed by the flip and didn’t even want to turn the record over (but I have a job to do)…BUFF blew me away. Epic UK space-crust along the lines of IOWASKA or MUCKSPREADER, blatant HAWKWIND homages driven by electronic manipulations, later SUBHUMANS drawn-out reggae/dub interludes…and they have no problem delivering chaotic crust detonations. Far from a scattershot collection of sounds, Manchester’s BUFF treats their side of the split like a journey, and the listener is invited to join. I feel like I reacquainted with an old friend and I made a new one—absolutely brilliant split release.

Rexxx Pure Pleasure II LP

Folks, meet your next favorite Midwest indie/power pop powerhouse: REXXX. Their Milwaukee roots reach even deeper than these kids might realize—when I dig into these grooves, I feel the ghosts of TEMPER TEMPER, CALL ME LIGHTNING, WOLFBITE, and drunken fried pickles at the Palomino between sets at Cactus Club. There’s just enough glam to push Pure Pleasure II dangerously close to cheese, but if the burning addictive power of “Dead to Me” doesn’t win you over….you might be beyond help. It’s all here: ’90s indie/basement sing-alongs (“Hit N Run,” “Fuccboi”), classic power pop (“Can’t Help It”), bare-bones Rust Belt punk hooks (“Modern Demon”), and I can even give the sultry ballad (“4 Miles From Home”) a pass because the rest of the second side is so damn good. The band self released this on a solid gold cassette last year, but a candy-red slab of wax spinning hits at 45rpm could be exactly what 2021 needs.

V/A Unsolved Mystery cassette

A quick peek before I pressed play and I noticed tracks from LETTUCE VULTURES and FOSSIL FUEL so….well, I’m guessing this sixteen-band comp is gonna be a wild ride. I wasn’t wrong. Non-music, outsider dub, improvisational nonsense, outsider funk, damaged Americana, lo-fi psych…if it’s weird then it fits. “Sixteen musings on the unknown,” according to the cover. Pretty much sums it up. PEPPERMINT TEABAG, NIKOLAS KUNZ, TOXIC PILGRIMS, STILL LOOKING FOR COSMO, PIMP OF PERVERSION, and so much more. No contact information though, so the mystery is even deeper for you, dear reader.

Krimtänk Ditt Fel EP

Thirteen tracks of light speed Scandi-blast crammed onto one slick-looking piece of white wax. These Swedes seem laser-focused on MOB 47-style trash, but there’s a primitive Italian hardcore vibe that keeps derailing them in the best possible way. The recording varies (slightly) throughout, which puts everything just a touch on edge, but when the bass rumbles into the intro of “Lipa På TV,” I don’t give a shit about anything except the incoming assault. The record looks incredible as well—hi-gloss white sleeve and insert plastered with illustrations that I can only describe as “refined adult crust.” I deserve ridicule for writing that, KRIMTÄNK deserves accolades for writing Ditt Fel.

Max Nordile Little Kicks cassette

Mark my words, the MAX NORDILE comprehensive box set that is gonna drop in like 2036 is going to blow people’s minds, and you will be able to tell your kids that you were there on the ground floor. No sonic experimentation seems to be off limits, and the near constant output is humbling.  Little Kicks is an improvisational adventure taking advantage of wind instruments (mainly but maybe not exclusively saxophone), sporadic percussion, and a damaged guitar with mumbled background vocal missives. No rules…the “noise not music” set needs to start focusing this direction, because if you inject this shit into some CONFUSE-obsessed motherfuckers, I think my life will melt in the best way imaginable.

Roäc 4 Song Mini LP 12″

Excellent combination of pure depressive power and the ability to unleash when necessary. MISERY and DEVIATED INSTINCT comparisons are easy, but they are also warranted here—the responsible personnel have been in the game for years, and it shows. Four doses of unassailable doom-laden crust, peaking with “The Path” that starts the second side with instantly familiar dark melodies, helping the listener realize that this trio bows to the same sonic idols that have brought more “recognized” bands something like underground “success”—somehow it hits just a little harder when you see a band churning it out in relative isolation. Even if you just casually dabble in the world of epic crust, ROÄC will straight up level you.

Afterboltxebike No Pasaran cassette

Mexican communist antifascist street punks…activate! Eight doses of mid-paced, tough-as-nails Oi! from Monterrey that implore the listener to think, to read, to learn. The music is no-frills, full of starter hooks, and it often lumbers more than it rages—allowing space for the lyrics to sink in so you can sing every chorus with them with a clenched fist. And it’s easy to get on the side of a chorus that chants “300 Nazis died…I forgive none.”

Chunx Crawl cassette

Heavy, anthemic melodic punk rock. CHUNX sound fine-tuned and ready for action; file alongside acts like PLANES MISTAKEN FOR STARS or a slightly more metallic WESTERN ADDICTION, but with gruffer vocals and a youthful (youth-filled?) approach to the genre.

More Smoke Discografia Completa cassette

Eighty-plus tracks of shit-fi noisecore from Argentina. That’s the easy review. It gets harder when you try to delve into all of the different ways MORE SMOKE dissects the subgenre…how sometimes all you can focus on is the throat-shredding vocals or the percussive madness masquerading as drums, or sometimes you’re drawn in by the samples, or sometimes it’s just pure and inept noise and sometimes the guitar drops the most incredibly damaged half-riff for like three seconds before the band just falls the fuck apart. It gets harder when you try to explain to a casual listener the difference between “shit music” and “music expressly and intentionally created for the purpose of being shit.” MORE SMOKE is the latter, and I’m fukkn floored.

Children of God Pain Clings Cruelly to Us EP

CHILDREN OF GOD build on past efforts to create one colossally epic track, presented as repetitive movements and separated by morosely quiet interludes. While the NEUROSIS comparison is perhaps more blatant here than on some of their output, especially when the final section kicks in at the five-minute mark, the foundation here is still an amalgamation of metallic hardcore and screamo…which makes the bludgeoning all the more poignant and makes simple comparisons feel especially lazy. These folks are on their own trip, and they are evolving (check the ferocity of the recent demo recording for reference). One seven-minute track slapped on one-sided wax with a Rorschach (test, not the band) screen on the flip. Worth it.

Data Unknown Promo cassette

Excellent rehash of classic synthwave—the kind that was born out of a background in industrial experimentation—and punk. But especially punk. DATA UNKNOWN leans heavily on the drums (not just the “beats,” per se, but the drums…even if they’re programmed). Electronic freak-outs with shouted choruses, think CHRISTIAN LUNCH by way of TUBEWAY ARMY…or imagine early punks turning primitive classics like HUMAN LEAGUE’s “Being Boiled” into infectious, danceable punk slogs. All of the sounds feel old, but DATA UNKNOWN is the freshest thing I’ve heard in ages.

Marjinal / Potbelly Fuck Borders split CD

POTBELLY’s ability to combine anthemic political punk with heavy thrash is somewhat disorienting, to be honest, and takes a few tracks to really settle in. Gruff melodic vocals, guitars that can belt out big rock club open chords and then drop with into single-note death metal speed riffing…and then sometimes they remind me of the Biafra/DOA collaboration (“Destroy All The Monsters” in particular)—they’ve been in the game for twenty years, suffice to say they have honed in on a sounds that is definitely theirs. Jakarta’s MARJINAL should be well-known to most as Indonesian activist street punks who have been mainstays in Jakarta’s DIY punk scene seemingly forever. The incorporation of folk elements (and instruments) into their hard-hitting and addictive punk is just a part of what sets them apart, MARJINAL is addictive and transcends comparisons. What if there were a band that got stuck in your head like DROPKICK MURPHYS, rocked as hard as FORWARD, and inspired an unparalleled level of international and inter-scene support and networking? Well, there is. Listen to “Negri Ngeri” every day.

Ammoniia Demo 1 cassette

While I freely admit that they almost lost me with the new school guitar mosh that closes the opening track, these Michiganders launch right into the devastating mid-paced slammer “Recalcitrant” and I’m back on board. AMMONIIA does an excellent job of harnessing late ’90s USHC’s discordant ferocity and injecting it into the stylish modern stomp, effectively creating something akin to the first couple of LARD records and/or mid-era SNAPCASE on mescaline. Likely these results are accidental, but I truly want to believe that someone set out to start a band that sounds like mid-era SNAPCASE on mescaline.

Eat Shit and Die Recoil Finger CD

Snotty Massachusetts punks blast their way through twenty doses of blistering hardcore. Equal parts classic New England grind/crust and West Coast sample-laden, turn of the century core…stripped-down, no holds barred, don’t-give-a-fuck fuck-you shit punk. And who can fuck with not giving a fuck?

Last Gasp / Who Decides split EP

Two choppy East Coast HC slammers from WHO DECIDES—nice an’ heavy with searing lead vox, a formidable wall of guitars, and a solid swing that really shines on “Your Fault.” LAST GASP answers with three sub-minute burners on the flip. Higher vocals and a classically “produced” hardcore recording. Definitely cleaner and more on the crew end of the spectrum…the breakdown in “Throw Concrete” lasts maybe twelve seconds, and is perhaps the perfect closer. Killer stuffs.

V/A Amenaza Mexicana cassette

Nice comp tape that grabs twelve current Mexican bands from all over the sonic DIY spectrum for consumption and consideration. A few bursts from the more polished and melodic side (RUFFLES, SYNESTHESIA, HOLLYWOOD BABILONIA) some raw hardcore (AUTOMATAS, BRIGADA ROJA, MALARI), bouncy punk (TRABAJO SUCIO, FLORES Y FUEGO), plus tracks from AFTERBOLTXEBIKE, COOPERATIVA PASCUAL, FILERO, and a killer low-end HC slammer from ROMPE EL CONTROL. Excellent quality throughout, from bands that were mostly new to me—which is why well put together comps (still) rule. Cheers to Rebel Time for making this one happen.

Esperanza 1998–2001 LP

I’ve been waiting for this collection for a while now, and still I was speechless when I held it in my hands and dropped the needle. Imagine a band with such a massive impact who never ever released a record during their existence—an existence that spans just eleven songs. That’s it. And yet I feel like ESPERANZA grabbed all of the positive elements about turn of the century DIY hardcore and just refused to let go over the course of those eleven songs—maybe that’s just all they needed, or maybe the flames that burn the brightest just burn out faster. Fierce and uncompromising politics (“21st Reason to Kill [then-California Governor] Pete Wilson” as a prime example…and possibly the single best track on the record) and an energy level that was infectious, these kids just exploded when they played. And you felt it with every pore. Musically, their sound lands somewhere between MINOR THREAT and LIMP WRIST—but more developed and amped up than the former (yeah, I said it) and a couple of years before the latter really got rolling. It’s USHC to be sure, and you’d be hard pressed to find a finer demonstration of the genre…but it’s also more than that. This collection is everything that it should be—the tracks are given the proper sonic attention and the sheer sound alone is worth the price of admission, while the accompanying 20-page booklet follows the band through flyers and stories and images. In hindsight, ESPERANZA is even better and bigger now than they were at the time. Nothing but praise.

No Dope for the Kids No Dope for the Kids cassette

First off, respect to these Alabama kids for ripping off the NO HOPE FOR THE KIDS record so effectively that my lazy ass thought I was popping in a cassette reissue and I was confused when I heard the sounds. And the sounds, you ask…? Sonically, this hits like INTRO5PECT, or maybe ATOM AND HIS PACKAGE stepping into the future and piss-taking region rock. Ideologically, it’s nice to see a band voice anti-establishment and anti-corporate ideals while acknowledging the impossibly connected world and/or society in which most of us exist. Shit is complicated, and NO DOPE FOR THE KIDS doesn’t shy away from it.

Toro Bravo Mes Tokia Karta CD

TORO BRAVO ramps things up real high and never lets up, cranking out superb, high-energy Oi! from start to finish. These six cuts are wildly catchy, but not once do I feel them fall into any of the typical “melodic punk” traps—instead, they use cold, sharp, Eastern European sounds to stamp their take on classic UK punk…and lots of hard-ass rock’n’roll. STRASSENJUNGS and ROSE TATTOO and COCKNEY REJECTS come to mind and fuck, this is so damn good.

Pillars of a Twisted City Pillars of a Twisted City cassette

Mind-fuckery in eleven movements—this Vancouver outfit eschews convention and offers a complete contribution that is best consumed as a sum of parts. Instrumental campfire interludes, low-fidelity dance goth, harsh black metal—I don’t mean to imply that there are elements of each found herein, I mean that “Suffocation Dance” is a brilliantly haunting, primitive, dark synth piece, “Of Furious Death” is 66 seconds of raw and furious blackened thrash, and “Moonlight Cerveza” is the soundtrack a dusty campfire at full moon. The real winners are the tracks that draw a little from each path, though I wonder how many more releases this formula could successfully produce. Here though, it works—the beauty of solo recording projects in the Time ov COVID perhaps, but I’ll take it.

V/A Fear Of Noise: 2020 Compilation cassette

Fear Of Noise was released for (or, instead of) the San Diego gathering of the same name, and it’s a devastating collection of current West Coast DIY hardcore. FUTURA, THERAPY, SCREAMING FIST, ETERAZ, VIOLENCIA, AGONISTA, MEMBRANE, GRITOS…there’s no sense dissecting the comp because literally every fucking track bangs and every one of these bands is on point. But of all of the things I’ve listened to in the last year, of all of the records and tapes I’ve reviewed in the last year, nothing has made me miss live hardcore more than hearing Oakland’s PROVOKE open this comp with “Basura.” Period.

CaveXrage I Believe in CaveXrage cassette

Raw and energetic, bare-bones, treble-heavy snot punk. Cut from the mold of ’10 NWI starlets and 70s working class punk…then they injected the mold with SXE hardcore. With lyrics like “We got boys and we got girls / Pittin’ hard and pittin’ fast / CAVEXRAGE feel the blast” and “If you don’t know who your friends are / You better find out who your friends are / Who’s true? Who betrays you?” (not to mention “Twisted in My Head” in its glorious entirety). You want to say this is core delivered tongue-in-cheek, but…

Max Nordile Vying for the Dime cassette

Another month, another offering from Oakland improvisationalist MAX NORDILE. A true sonic outsider, NORDILE mixes (seemingly) random multi-instrumental experimentation with field recordings and found sounds, creating movements and moments rather than “writing” anything resembling “songs” in any traditional sense. Of the eight pieces that make up Vying For The Dime, “101” and “E EE Exit” probably exemplify this Dadaist approach to music the best, but (as with many of NORDILE’s releases) they are best experienced as parts of a whole. While I often teeter on the knife edge of hyperbole, there is a genuine greatness in the simplicity, in the honesty, and the evolution is ongoing. As always, I recommend.

Self-Immolation Music Demo 2020 cassette

Can you imagine a ’90s college dream pop band ingesting a heavy diet of PHARAOH OVERLORD? You get the white line fever 3 am highway monotony treated with a time-damaged MERCURY REV tinged with later KYLESA and it’s like you’re gazing at your shoes but through a thick-ass drug-induced fog. As a(nother) new generation of kids and bands and kids in bands draw influence from the music of my young adulthood, I look forward to bands like SELF-IMMOLATION MUSIC who are using discarded markers to guide them on their own path. Absolutely recommended.

Dropdead Dropdead 1998 LP reissue

The essential second full-length remixed and remastered for a 2020 reissue. A little less blasting than the “early” stuff, this record knocked all of us on our asses when it came out. This 1998 offering was more in line with destroyed, amped-up Swedish crust…and then they dropped tracks like “Part Two” that are just ferocity embodied. It was different, it was more…and it still is. DROPDDEAD’s approach and uncompromising politics shouldn’t need to be covered in these (digital) pages, but suffice to say that their knife edge has not dulled in their 30 year existence…and I don’t expect that to change. Remastering, regurgitating, and reissuing records that are readily available might seem like an unnecessary ploy in this modern era, but fuck these songs have never sounded this heavy, this fast, or this relevant. Still essential.

 

Step to Freedom 2014–2019 Discography cassette

Churning, metallic Russian metalcrust. Like a blast from the early 2000s, STEP TO FREEDOM bulldozes their way through seventeen pieces of pure guttural filth, combining two earlier releases. 2017’s Cemetery For The Humankind is a ripping speed metal dervish with MISERY lurches throughout, while 2014’s Social Zombies opts for a more streamlined AXEGRINDER approach. To have all of this mania on one tape is nothing short of a gift.

Unit X War on Self, War on Everything cassette

UNIT X gets straight to the point and continues reinforcing that point (forcefully) for ten minutes. Then you can breathe. Gnarly SXE hardcore from London, Ontario—killer breakdowns and no tracks over 90 seconds, but the lyrics go way deeper than the traditional core fare. This is the kind of “posi” I’m after these days—realistic, honest, and not always positive: “All that I am, all that I said / The years pass by, but still I feel it’s a lifetime of regret / All that I’ve seen, all that I’ve done / I keep pushing forward, past the memories of when I was wrong.”

Caltrops Do We Have a Future? cassette

Fiery Colorado crust with near-constant vocals in line with Japanese greats and almost too many leads. Two solid D-beat bangers and one stoner/grind ripper, but the breakneck “Bastards Will Pay” steals the show here, noteworthy because it’s the track where they seem to burst out of their comfort zone and really unleash. Recording is appropriately raw, and CALTROPS fall in line with late ’90s US political crust, which is a compliment.

Fleur du Louve Sparkwood cassette

This Northwest duo creates rudimentary witchy goth with repetitive programmed drums and melodies carried by single-note guitars, while both members float in the top of the mix with airy, oft-spoken vocals. Their target is in plain sight, and the fact that they land just off the mark in some places only serves to make FLEUR DU LOUVE feel more honest, more real. I’m wondering what a sophomore effort might conjure.

Ellen Ripley Body Pact cassette

Sonically advanced, self-described “anarchist space pop” from Sweden. A synth-heavy Krautrock excursion with commanding vocals that listen like activist poetry while driving guitars meander casually though the five tracks on Body Pact. Sometimes you listen to a band and it’s clear they are telling you something, but I hear ELLEN RIPLEY and I’m compelled to listen because I feel like they are saying something…and that’s a different thing altogether. “We are made smaller / Our voices become harder / We cry more than we sing but say nothing more than anything.”

Gazorpazorp Od Vazduha i Sunca CD

Really nice dose of dark indie from Belgrade, mingling with guitar-heavy late ’80s “college alt” sounds on a foundation of early East European punk and wave. Guitars dominate, but take a casual backseat when horns or vocals (or theremin) come into focus on a release that shows a band more than capable of charming the critics while winning over the hyper-critical (punk) naysayers. Only five songs on their first physical release—advanced, mature, cold, and infectious.

Shitload / XBrackishX Da Parish X Westbank Unity split cassette

Uncompromising noisecore from two New Orleans powerhouses. XBRACKISHX is truly, and by design, all over the map—samples, interludes, shit-fi grind, Casio pop, hardline vegan black metal guitars driving a one-person drum machine assault. SHITLOAD opens up with a damaged bass blasting “Metal Health (Bang Your Head)” while a who’s-who of New Orleans notables rep The West Bank for 68 seconds before the sonic shit-machine blasts through eight doses of noisecore, brutalizing mainstream heavy metal melodies as an interlude between blasts (HALEN, MAIDEN, LICA all get the business). This is the kind of tape where you exhale after each side…and you take a deep careful breath before you hit play.

V/A Cat Cerebrations cassette

Serious statement: I don’t know if you can take it. Eleven bands delivering some of the most distorted, blown-out, freaked-out punk jams in recent memory. I’m talking “jams” as in a bag of weed and your singer is late to practice “jams.” And I’m talking blown-out like everything sounds like it’s breaking down the wall of the studio next door and you can’t even hear yourself think. Cuts from SIBERIAN ASS TORTURE, BASTARD NOIDS, RACCOON COMPLEX CONTAGION, CLANDESTINE BRONTOSAURUS, TLCWATERFALLS, CRUST KAPPA RAMPAGE….jams from NO COMADRE!, DIABLO CON CARNE, OXYGEN DESTROYER, and GEORGE CRUSTANZA that all cram themselves into one shell to morph into smoke and vibrations and volume like PHARAOH OVERLORD and KALMEX having a session. If noise punks could jam, then….well, Cat Cerebrations says they can. Now: can you take it?

Boozewa First Contact cassette

Howling grunge/punk with a healthy serving of grit. I hear similarities to early ’90s mid-paced psych basement punk…before stoner rock was a thing and when the DIY bands who played grunge were still “punk” bands. Clean, powerful vocals contrast the raw four-track production, and readers of these pages who still dig on bands like WEEDEATER and ACID KING will want to look to Coatesville, Pennsylvania for some new sludge.

Cosme D# demo cassette

Four injections of ultra-simple punk from Mexico. A serious MISFITS hair up their ass, thrift store synths polluting the damn joint, and gruff bedroom vocals half singing/half barking…my knuckles are sore and I’m down about 40 brain cells…but I’ll be damned if “G” isn’t a top song.

Robotrip Live cassette

Completely off-the-rails Midwest hardcore punk—an eight-minute live set from 2020 on one side and the studio demo (which honestly isn’t much more cohesive) from 2018 on the flip. Remember last decade when Indiana bands like OOZE and BIG ZIT took the world by storm? This is like that, but way more of a mess. Good luck finding a copy.

Crutch / Pavel Chekov split cassette

This one is a couple of years old at this point, but damn if both bands don’t still hit with maximum force. Six bursts of filthy, old school grind/PV from Dallas veterans PAVEL CHEKOV, backed with Oklahoma’s CRUTCH delivering some of their most powerful (and brutal) lightspeed hardcore punk tracks. Each band approaches the game a little differently, each arriving at a four-way intersection of hardcore, fastcore, powerviolence, and grind…then deciding to roll blindly into each other. There’s still copies of this floating around, I would recommend you not snooze.

Dry Wedding The Long Erode LP

As the modern dissection of ’80s underground goth continues, it should come as no surprise to hear sounds like the ones that fill the grooves of The Long Erode. Portland’s DRY WEDDING sifts through lesser castings to expose gold—remnants of CRIME + THE CITY SOLUTION, FIELDS OF THE NEPHILIM, and later Wayne Hussey shine through their reincarnated musings while entire experiment is treated to a diet of hallucinatory deprivation. The title track is a disorienting dirge with melting guitars and a rhythm section sinking while the vocalist (formerly of Long Beach outfit SWAMPLAND, which is an indicator to those who recognize the name) moans his way through five minutes of slow motion Western psychedelia. If desert goth psych isn’t a genre….well, maybe it is now.

Scraps Wrapped Up in This Society LP reissue

After one of the first WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? rehearsals, we were all talking about bands we liked and Max (625, SPAZZ, etc.) noticed that my background knowledge of fast, raw, European hardcore, a subgenre that was key to our stated mission, was deficient. The next time we met, he gave me some study material in the form of the first HEIBEL 12″ and this SCRAPS LP….and I studied. SCRAPS were so gloriously unhinged, you got the sense that they decided they were going to play fast before they decided if they could play fast. While they had surely honed their skills and focused their sights by 1990’s Wrapped Up in This Society, the blasts are still completely fucking off the rails while the youth crew moshes (and backing vocals) were in full effect, and it’s what makes this record sound so good. Because it’s kinda all over the place, and it mostly hits just off target, and because they go so hard in spite of it all. Or because of it all. If the anthemic end of “Win Together” were perfectly in tune (or in time) it would just be another hardcore song, but to hear SCRAPS wrap up the first side of this LP, it’s as if you’re ready to join the band before you even flip the wax. Lyrics blast inequality, imperialism, and military oppression, idealism leaping from the pages of the booklet just as it jumps out of the grooves. I have a vague memory of WHN? covering “I Was Blind” in rehearsal…though we may have just ripped it off and not told anyone.  A faithful and overdue (and gorgeous) reissue.

Splitting Heads A Short Vision demo cassette

This came out a few months ago. You need it. SPLITTING HEADS sound like they went back to 1981 and then they decided not to come back, and then recorded a demo in 1982 after they kicked everyone’s ass and now it’s 2021 and we’re listening to it just going “ddaaaaaaaaamn.” Fuck y’all, this tape is so ungodly good.

TV Drugs FFO: Everything Terrible cassette

A nice solid blast of modern American hardcore punk. Guitars have a nice solid blast of catchy ’90s basement punk (“How Far?” and “Livin’ The Dream,” in particular) and there are some good creepy vibes—but it’s kinda funny because it sounds like TV DRUGS are going for the tough chain punk vibe and the fact that they land slightly off that mark is precisely what makes them feel right.

Cult Mind Connected cassette

The new pandemic joint from San Jose screamers CULT MIND kicks off with a groove that almost makes the listener think they’ve gone and gotten too stoned…then they fukkn unload. Nine cuts of rough-edged North American hardcore punk—think a ramshackle CAUSTIC CHRIST, and that rock’n’roll guitar from the intro makes a few more (welcome) appearances. Decidedly looser than their full length from a couple of years back, and the regression suits them.

Decide It Yourself Decide It Yourself cassette

Erratic thrash with solid metal breaks and plenty of blasts. Heavy on the high end, but maybe there’s no bass (at all?) and the kick drum disappears when they grind, so it makes me feel all anxious when I listen at volume (which is, after all, the best way to listen). Vocals are throaty and clean, sitting on top of the mix and extra in-your-face. Not a pretty-sounding release in any imaginable way, which is the intent.

 

The Haskels Taking the City By Storm LP

Just to be clear, the first four songs on this record are an essential and mandatory dose of Midwestern US punk history. “Taking The City By Storm” is 134 seconds of hyper-speed power punk perfection that every punk should know inside out, and the rest of the single is…well, it’s perfect, too. So do you need an entire LP rounded out by six previously unreleased demo recordings from 1980 and three cuts from a 1981 live set? Simple answer: definitely. The demo cuts show a band settling into their own just a few short months after forming—just one would-be single after another, from the JAM-tinged mellow number “In Between Girls,” to the pub rock stomp “You Got to Be Kidding.” And the three live tracks show a band that was so undeniably huge…more nuanced than the simple burners that dominated their only vinyl release, more advanced than the KBD comps that cemented their status as an important fixture in the world of trailblazing North American punk rock. Maybe they would have become something else had the band survived—tracks from the demo session hint at a band geared to stand alongside the JAM, COSTELLO, etc.—and maybe they would have reformed and rehashed an adult version of their genius had the members survived. But the band didn’t, the members didn’t, and instead we have these songs. And, as stated earlier: they are perfect.

Oxygen Destroyer November Brain 10″

A wildly limited 10″ lathe compiling unreleased cuts and outtakes from OXYGEN DESTROYER, who started the early 2010s in Japan and finished out the decade in San Francisco. The title track is a wildly melodic (almost emotional?) opener that sets false expectations for ten noisy hardcore bursts that follow. OXYGEN DESTROYER would have fit in nicely in the 1990s Bay Area, with tracks like “Slowride” and “School Jacket” landing them somewhere between Mission District fuck-ups and West Bay Koalition sonic violence, and then there are straight raw punk crushers like “Manhunt.” As a swan song, November Brain has it all; from the nine-plus minute raw punk opus “Evolution Of Man” to a slew of sub-60 second blasts of chaos. Sure, there are only 25 physical copies, but I suspect that the intent was to make it clear that OXYGEN DESTROYER existed, and these eleven tracks make that abundantly clear. The punk world needs fewer sonic constraints and more of this.

Billy & the Bad Peach Demo 2019 cassette

The murky guitar that opens “I Don’t Feel So Good” might make you think you’re in for some regurgitated goth, but that only lasts about fifteen seconds, and these New Jersey mutants offer so much more than that. The opening cut is a squirmy punk done damaged, raw shit just disassembled and tortured to the point where they (almost) sound scary. They do return to those dark undertones (guitar leads in “It’s A Trap,” for example), but the filthy stomp of “Kool” seems to personify the band: “I found out the truth, the truth about you / The truth is you don’t know you.” Only four songs here—all simple and nasty—but fortunately there’s a second tape lurking somewhere back in 2020.

Slugs Human Warmth cassette

Slimy garage shits from Göteborg that strip so many layers that I could be listening to EASY CURE demos as easily as leather-clad THUNDERS outtakes. Mid-paced stompers heavy on single-note guitars…the beauty in simplicity cannot be overstated.

Videodrome 2020 cassette

Nasty, nihilistic Middle America hardcore punk. Howling and affected vocals, the way the kids like(d) to do it in the ’10s, and plenty of sonic tweaks in the mix and between songs to remind you that you’re listening to something genuinely damaged. The drums that drag “Meade St.” out of that feedback and into the pit are….well, that little bit seals the fukkn deal. Bare-knuckle hardcore punk. Sold.

Dropdead Demos 1991 LP

If you don’t know, DROPDEAD is one of the greatest fast hardcore bands of all time. They are also one of the fastest fast hardcore bands of all time. As the title suggests, the tracks here are culled from demos recorded in 1991—and I swear that “Protest” and “At The Cost Of An Animal” sound more unhinged here than on any of the subsequent vinyl releases, and everything here hits just as hard as it did when I first heard (most of) them on a third-generation cassette 27 years ago, but it all hits even harder today because these songs (and more importantly, these words) are still relevant, they are still urgent, and they are still fucking furious. And then if you’re still standing, the sound and the delivery on the second session are simply unparalleled…this is the band who are still on top of the mountain, and they just released some recordings to remind us all who built it.

Kohti Tuhoa Elä Totuudesta EP

The Finnish band who dropped one of my favorite records in 2019 released this record in 2020 that’s fast becoming my favorite EP of 2021. Finland’s KOHTI TUHOA has progressed with each release, and Elä Totuudesta is no different—vocals have developed a pronounced NAUSEA-meets-POST REGIMENT bark here, driving the songs themselves with force. Even the title track that opens with such a furious downstroke guitar doesn’t really start until the vocals kick in. The Scandi-beat charge is definitely present, even dominating at times, but the leads are classic punk and the vibe is determined and not dark, reflected in the lyrics and delivered by the sound. You’ll never find anyone categorizing this by saying it “sounds like…,” well, anything. A future classic slab to devour in the present—highly recommended.

Beyond Description Calm Loving Life / Live in Germany CD

There was a time when you just had to see the name BEYOND DESCRIPTION and you knew that uncompromising Japanese crust was in your near future. And you were pumped. These recordings are more than 20 years old at this point…and I’m (still) pumped. Tokyo’s BEYOND DESCRIPTION delivers brutally fast political HC/crust, and time has done nothing to make 1997’s Calm Loving Life session sound any less intense. The three cuts from the Live in Germany 5″ however….holy shit, these dudes are absolutely insane live. Just pure speed and relentless hardcore, two things I could use a bit more of in my life.

City of Industry False Flowers LP

I confess that I don’t think I spent enough time with this record to really try to capture it with words—but in my defense, I think that False Flowers will keep maturing in its own grooves for many, many listens to come, a sonic fermentation process. It’s easy for bands who are all over the place to sound…well, all over the place. Disjointed. Lacking cohesion. But CITY OF INDUSTRY flows with purpose between monstrously powerful modern hardcore to emotionally introspective to blastbeats to an acoustic piece that closes things like a damn WEAKERTHANS track before exploding into fifteen seconds of raging crust—and it feels natural. This is a record realized; there’s no “why the fuck are they doing that?” but there is plenty of “holy shit, they are doing that!” and it all works. They could have settled for just melting faces, and they would have melted faces. They could have chosen to make their listeners cry, and we would have cried. They could have written a record where all of the kids would have clenched their fists and shouted along to every word while they listened, and we would have clenched and shouted. Instead, they did all of that, and they did a lot more. So I’m just going to leave this here, to be continued.

Sad Eyed Beatniks Places of Interest cassette

Dreamy DIY ’60s pop reimagined through an ’80s post-punk/indie lens. The influences are blatant, and they bleed out of the tape, which is part of SAD EYED BEATNIKS’ charm. Places of Interest is just as much Saturday afternoon record shop in-store as it is face paint and bubbles in the park filmed with a grainy 16mm thrift store camera. Guitars are supremely damaged and off, but they stay in the background while K Linn (yeah, another one-person project) pushes things awkwardly forward with ramshackle drums and innocently-off vocals. A release that listens like a soundtrack to a short film that you desperately want to exist is a good release…I can see the shots that accompany the songs, because they’re already in my mind.

Kyle Carpenter Every Third Word cassette

Stripped-down four-track pop/folk from Austin, Texas. It’s like SHOP ASSISTANTS deconstructed, or maybe the mellow cut on a college rock record that never quite kicks in and lulls you into liking it. CARPENTER occasionally wanders too close to commercial coffee shop sounds, but those moments are (mostly) tempered by cuts like “Blatant Windows” that push the boundaries of lo-fi DIY pop…actually, that track and “Leech” are pretty much the only real burners, but there’s enough weirdness here to keep me interested (at least by keeping me guessing).

Final Dose Laid to Unrest demo cassette

Yet another one-person project, this time from the ’rona-ravaged depths of London. Knuckle-dragging hardcore punk nihilism tinted by bedroom black metal listening, FINAL DOSE creates an attack that is instantly recognizable and searing…there are only four blasts (for now), but perhaps with the new strain of the virus we can all look forward to more.

Ostseetraum Ostseetraum cassette

Gloriously minimal German synth-driven new wave. Stark, cold and mature, OSTSEETRAUM conjures sounds of homemade tapes recorded and duplicated in dark apartments to be distributed by hand in early ’80s Berlin, and they make those sounds feel relevant and unattainable. Stripped NDW bands like STRATIS clashing with Voice of America-era CABARET VOLTAIRE, sonic robotics delivered with a calculated and intentional calm. Nine cuts here, a stellar debut.

The Culprits The Culprits LP

Killer Portland punk from the early 2000s, unearthed and given the treatment in a criminally limited run of 100 pieces of splatter wax. Wildly catchy and raw hi-energy—think KRUPTED PEASANT FARMERZ and TOXIC REASONS, that kind of catchy energy, hooks that pierce skin. As a staunch advocate for documentation, I’m glad nuggets like this are given the attention they deserve—and I have a hunch that 2020 ears might give the CULPRITS more accolades than they received in that downtuned black-clad crust oasis fifteen years ago, because fast snappy punk never goes out of style.

Desastyr Danting Megazus CD

Twenty-seven tracks of one-man Casio D-beat. I keep listening, but I don’t know what to say…it’s unlistenable, and that’s the point. Noise is, in fact, not music…but at what point does nonsense become art? DESASTYR is like SOCKEYE deconstructing BEYOND DESCRIPTION. I’m gonna send this to Ear of Corn fanzine and see what Food Fortunata thinks (and if that means anything to you then you’ll likely be scrambling for a copy of this CD).

Public Acid Condemnation EP

This one’s gonna be on a lot of fukkn year-end lists, and for good reason. You think that Condemnation is shaping up real nice when the trudge of “Nuclear Child” really settles in, and you think that they just dropped a ruthlessly dark and heavy beast. And then the music stops, and that buzzsaw kicks in and they are just fucking gone…you won’t know what even happened until “Flag Fetish” fades out and your ears are ringing and you’re wondering what the fuck kind of guitar solo you just heard. Rarely has the descriptor “urgent” felt more applicable, even (especially) as these freaks gear down for determined BATHORY-tinged stomps like “Electric Plague.” It’s a record that is wholly demanding from start to finish. And the demand is punishment. If you only have 90 seconds available to listen to hardcore punk music, I recommend the title track.

The By-Products Praying Mantus LP

Thirteen bursts of snappy punk from Southern California. I’ve tossed around ways to describe the BY-PRODUCTS, but ultimately I think they sound like adult punk. That’s not a knock (far from it), it means that they seem to have harnessed a generation of influences and used them to frame their approach instead of using them as a template. The start of “Self Diagnostic” sounds like BIG BOYS, “God Phone” hits me like some solid ’90s DIY punk, “Earthquake” is a straight Orange County hardcore ripper, “Aftershock” comes off as a dose of RADIOACTIVITY-caliber sharp brilliance…I could go on, but the more I listen the more things I hear. And I don’t want to bore you. The BY-PRODUCTS are avoiding all of the trappings and don’t seem suited for any of the molds—this is a hearty endorsement.

Condemned / Ernia Strike to Kill split LP

Somewhere in this batch of reviews I think I say that a dose of catchy, uplifting punk might be just what I need…this record definitively disproved that assertion, because this record is what I fucking need. CONDEMNED blasts straight out of 2004 with hard-charging crust fury, continuing a proud and storied legacy of bands from Connecticut like REACT, TORRINGTON, and DIALLO. On the flipside, Basque Country’s ERNIA matches the intensity and drops in fearsome blasts seemingly at will. Brilliant early ’00s European squat crust sounds hyped up on relentless fastcore and grind—I find myself exhaling after every song without even realizing that I was holding my breath. Lyrics presented in Basque, English, French, and Spanish, everything about this one hit the fucking spot.

DZTN 1980 Don’t Give Up cassette

Isolation hardcore continues, this time with the fourth release (that I know of) from Portland’s DZTN 1980. Cold, howling anarcho-tinged freak sounds with song structures that can (perhaps) only be signed off on by bands with no dissenting members (or no other members at all), bands that typically exist in one person’s mind. Distinct Blinko tendencies set to a steady, driving drum (machine), Don’t Give Up seems gone in an instant, and leaves me wondering if I’ve been through something. When the act’s sole member reflects on the past year by sneering “Does it have to be this way? / Does it have to be a struggle? / We wanna believe in something / Why not each other?” on the final track, I feel like someone just pulled out the splinter, so maybe I have.

Eva Ras Kada Odlaziš cassette

This is an exceptionally harsh collection of sounds from Serbia’s EVA RAS. Emo-violence (still) gets thrown around a lot as a subgenre descriptor, but this tape is unquestionably violent in the way that early Scandi-BM was just unmusically and seemingly unnecessarily harsh. Chaotic screamo with no bass and sub-60 second bursts of complete fucking chaos—you have to look back to MOHINDER to find anything approximating this kind of desperate brutality. Apparently there are only twelve physical copies (?!?!), so best hit the link below…

Möwer Grand Punk EP

Fist-banging metalpunk from Pittsburgh—fans of INEPSY, SKITKIDS and the like need to get in line for MÖWER fucking pronto. I know they are several releases into their career but Grand Punk feels like a band realized, and they sound like a machine…and few things sound better to me right now than being half in the bag in a sweaty-ass basement listening to “Burn It Down” burning so hard it makes my ears bleed. Also, I just used the word “career” in a review.

Nulla Osta / Warfare split LP

Fist-banging, mid-paced rock’n’roll-tinged punk from Italy’s WARFARE—nice forceful gravel to the vocals, and the leads are appropriately (never overly) anthemic. On the flip, Croatia’s NULLA OSTA are gruffer, rougher, heavier, and drop killer bass runs when they pick up the pace on tracks like “Jebeš Sve Od Reda.” Listening to both bands, I feel like it’s 1997 and I’m in a Southern European squat at 3:00 AM…I’m wasted, so is everyone else, there are four more bands left to play, and I don’t have a ride back to the sleeping spot anyway. It’s that kind of “fuck it,” and that’s a good kind of “fuck it.”

Panic Bodies Lost Weekend demo cassette

If nothing else, 2020 is surely going to be the year of the solo recording projects. I mean, it’s not like I’m going to shows, so I’m also not complaining. PANIC BODIES are snappy garage punk, little hints of classic punk melody (remember how OBSERVERS dropped the hooks in but still sounded punk as shit? Yeah…like that), super bright and guitar-driven power punk. Choice cut “After Hours” starts to veer into hard and steady dark punk territory, which I fully endorse. Sounds timeless…because, well, I suppose many of us have the time these days.

Paracetamøl Behave LP

Blatantly brilliant LP from The Netherlands, I just keep listening and then I remember that I’m supposed to write about it. Which is hard, because PARACETAMØL hits a lot of nerves but are doing their thing. There’s a garage tinge, but Behave is well produced and sonically advanced, full bodied and accessible punk that you can easily see appealing to a wider “audience.” Like, draw a line between DREAMDECAY and the BLIND SHAKE…and walk that line very very carefully until you fall.

The Touch Heads Try to Get Some Sleep cassette

The physical manifestation of these three tunes is now more than a full year old, but I feel like I’m going to be carrying this creation well into the next decade. The TOUCH HEADS sound like they are playing elements of a lost (and brilliant) garage hardcore recording, picking and choosing the best bits and looping them—remixing and deconstructing the music in real time. If you can imagine listening to part of a punk band….but like, just the good part. Clean guitars, complete emphasis on repetition, take the WIPERS, BIG BOYS, and DICKS school of punk and filter it through the Dance of Death 45 and take out the bits you don’t like. Stark, blunt, confident music for an uncertain future.

Trashdog Sittin On My Head cassette

Take a deep breath, kids, this one is a true fucker. Sittin On My Head sounds like five bands sitting on my damn head at the same time. Snappy high-speed garage punk, jangly college alt, sample-laden freak sounds, and T. REX worship all mashed up like a drug cocktail for my earholes.

Aluminum Knot Eye / Shithole split EP

Hell yeah, punks! Who the fukk says old people can’t out-weird the kids? Not Wisconsin, that’s for damn sure. SHITHOLE drops complete sonic damage on their two songs; the borderline unlistenable “Last Nerve” will take you back to late ’70s no rules madness with that one piercing, relentless four-note guitar lead, then launches into a pure No Wave freakout called “Sanctuary.” I am all in! Milwaukee’s ALUMINUM KNOT EYE makes it clear on “Homicidal Lubricant” that the two decades (and then some) they have spent in the trenches (er…bars?) have done nothing to mellow their freakout psych-punk. Ruthless sonic damage masquerading as digestible noise punk—takes your ears back to when the ’80s hardcore punks made the switch to writing songs and took the effort to spell out their nihilism plain and simple…in some ways it was scarier. This 2019 split is one of the best records I’ve heard in 2020, I feel like I need a break after one listen—to that I say “Another beer, please.”

The Deadbeat Club Vital Earnings cassette

The folks at Digital Hotdogs are freaks, let’s just get that straight right away. You never know what you’re going to get, which is why I always enjoy reaching into their folds to see what kind of sweaty goods come out. And just when I brace myself for some erratic drug-addled mania, I get the DEADBEAT CLUB, who play it straight and just kill the hordes of ethereal pop hacks on Vital Earnings. The whole tape seems like it just materialized from the mist still lingering from 1989, blatant and brilliant VALENTINE, TWINS, OCEAN BLUE lifts and a positively dreamy vibe on cuts like “Lucy Should Start a Band” and “Raceless Case.” They branch out here and there, veering towards more minimal sounds comprised of the same base elements…just a few cautious steps removed. And this is why I keep looking towards this damn label—because I like to be surprised and I like to be forced out of my comfort zone, even if I’m just being pushed into the arms of comforts past. Excellent recording across the board.

French Werewolves Earsores and Eye-Aches CD-R

As normality seems determined to remain hopelessly out of reach for the forseeable future, leave it to the folks from Wheelchair Full of Old Men to remind us that the entire fucking world is stupid. “Electric Urine Experimentation,” Mommy, Am I Alive?” “Greasy Possum,” and “Flying Donkey Couch” barely scratch the surface of the brilliance hidden in this little slipcase. Complete nonsense spat out over incompetent sounds coaxed out of noncompliant instruments of dubious character. Earsores and Eye-Aches offers 35 minutes of emotionally immature brilliance, a shitstain on music itself, a beacon of hope. “Got a coyote paw in a box, just for good luck and shit / Squid and Neptune, dogs and Jupiter, gazing up at the Moon / Libraries and their newspapers, all of it is gone soon.”

Outsiders These Streets LP

On the one hand, OUTSIDERS are Orange County street punk with gruff crew backing vox and every song’s an anthem and we’re all gonna stick together and stuff except when you’re wrong and then you better look out and watch your mouth. On the other hand, it’s kinda RANCID-lite and there’s a song talking about giving “all the meat you can fucken eat” to a girl who is “out on the prowl like a dog in heat” (the author can “tell by the way she’s looking at me” that she wants it, too). Just five tattooed bros who look like they should be old enough to know better. Hard pass.

Radar Mess cassette

Four doses of classic and excellent melodic punk from NYC’s RADAR. Draw a line between SOVIETTES, BUZZCOCKS, and THIS IS MY FIST…you’ll find the seeds of these sounds sown along the way. While I think that the brutality of this year manifested in the form of brutal sounds is what I want, it’s entirely possible that RADAR is exactly what I needed tonight.

Undermine Lost Funerals LP

UNDERMINE comes fast and filthy out of the gate—garage punk with a guitar straight out of early ’80s South American raw punk recordings (I’m sure this is an accident, but damn if it didn’t get my attention)…but that was just the first track and there are thirteen more to go. Then there’s this acoustic and/or mellow grunge bit, and then “Lost Funerals” drops in with some JAWBREAKER-esque emotive ’90s sounds…still with that guitar sound…and there’s more acoustic shit, I think there’s a violin and my brain seriously hurts listening to this. I haven’t even flipped the record yet, but I will. And I do. And it’s the same, but more. I don’t even know what’s happening. I want to think that every reference is an accident, but there’s just too much. I guess it’s a retro grunge record that goes all over the place, recorded in a vacuum with no filter. For sure there are a couple of spots that are good, but damn this one is tough.

Joni Ekman Totaalinen Ekman cassette

A collection of essential cuts from the Finnish pop rock savant JONI EKMAN. Late-’70s power and swagger (and style) and an ear for the right hook that is rarely this true, Totaalinen Ekman is a perfect introduction for the uninitiated. EKMAN blasts out of another dimension, a master at heavy proto-psych noodling and a true power pop songsmith of the highest order, with the ability to squeeze Bolan/Bowie-caliber swing effortlessly in between acid burners. The discography is already as long as my arm and there doesn’t seem to be any end in sight, which is great news—the twelve cuts here are taken from LPs released in the mid-’00s. There truly aren’t enough accolades—the motherfucker is brilliant.

V/A Whole World vol. 1 cassette

Tasty little collection of five lo-fi garage freaksters from Berlin. Some nice No Wave eccentricities, some raw stomps, some drugged-out, wild-ass sweaty punk, even a coupla doses of shaky melancholic pop—NUNOFYRBEESWAX, FREAK GENES, TOP DOWN, the BUGS, and the DO NOTHINGS offer up a varied and feisty sampler of Berlin (circa 2019).

Highway Stacy Highway Stacy cassette

More pandemic projects are gonna roll in over the next months, and I welcome the experimentation. HIGHWAY STACY is the brainchild of Tyler Shults (COLLICK, OCCULT DETECTIVE CLUB) and is a seriously superb departure from previous projects. Angry, noisy, frustrated, pissed, dark…it’s as if HIGHWAY STACY trudges their way through these five pieces of No Wave no-punk as an act of morose defiance without joy or purpose, just to make a point. To close with the desecration of the GIZMOS track “Pay” is a move that closes this release appropriately: with the listener feeling dirty. Inside. Physical copies are criminally limited with handmade/decorated covers, but now I have glitter all over my hands from taking it out of the case so maybe you’re better off.

Murder Generation Murder Generation LP

Relentless 1-2-1-2 stomp driving short bursts of hardcore punk that lands between Riot City and NAKED AGGRESSION. Male and femme vocals bark back and forth while this trio plays music like a snotty teenage kid on a skateboard plowing through a sidewalk filled with stooges trudging to the office. Guitars are more advanced that the record implies (check “Descent of Dissent” in particular), which gives the band a bit of the Midwest basement gnarl that I love—eleven tracks in all, and they wrap things up so fast that they just repeat ’em on the flip side.

Street Magic Nightvision Breath demo cassette

Pure, dreary lo-fi pop injected with a(n over)dose of damaged freak trash. STREET MAGIC wants you to love them, but keep making you question your own taste. I can only imagine a live manifestation fraught with confusion, but captured on tape this Seattle outfit is like a gift from the space gods. Choice cut “Communion” is worth the price of admission on its own, especially coming after the moonless desert excursion “TOYL” that opens the second side. Sounds for a (the) next generation to enjoy today.

Bitter Branches This May Hurt a Bit 12″

Band of Philadelphia veterans (KISS IT GOODBYE, CAVALRY, the CURSE, loads more) team up for a supergroup of sorts, and drop a debut that sounds like a band made up of…well, a band of seasoned veterans. Emotional intensity reminiscent of MOSS ICON or NAVIO FORGE, delivered with a gritty, heavy guitar-driven attack that actually feels like an attack—guitars right up front and fighting through the speakers for the chance fight you, while Singer (DEADGUY, KISS IT GOODBYE) fucking writhes his way through the words. It’s an astonishingly mature initial release, even considering the members’ collective pedigree.

Guns n’ Rosa Parks No More Unity EP

More than a decade after the band’s demise, the second EP from GUNS N’ ROSA PARKS has materialized. I saw GN’RP in 2011, and they took the roof completely off the joint (“joint” in this case was a sports and/or dive bar)—just a ball of energy looking for somewhere to blow. This EP captures that—ten bursts of bare-bones and no-nonsense hardcore punk that give casual nods to their influences (to hear Police-era FUCKED UP and Break Down The Walls sneak out of back-to-back tracks is to feel yourself get stoked), but ultimately presents as nothing more than what they were: a hardcore punk band from Denver, Colorado. As something of a delayed and/or retrospective release, No More Unity fukkn nails it—top-tier hardcore packaged in a gorgeous twelve-page booklet packed with lyrics, photos, and flyers spanning the band’s existence. On the one hand, to see an underappreciated outfit get given the deluxe treatment like this just feels right. On the other hand, give me the breakdown to “No More Unity II” over most of the hardcore I’ve heard this year.

Kiviranta Antipsykootti cassette

Some magical electr(on)ic space freak punk that you can dance to. That you will dance to. Ghosts of the FAINT, MARTIN REV, and FAD GADGET crash headfirst into cold ’70s Scandipunk and if you have a heartbeat then you’re just helpless…until the beats drop and then even the dead will hit the floor. I hadn’t heard from this Finnish duo since 2018’s Dolce Vita, but suffice to say that they’ve grown into their own sonic skin in those short years, and Antipsykootti is the complete package. Highest recommendation.

Personal Style Demo 2019 cassette

Pure and simple: this Buffalo band cranks out infectious and addictive music. There are worlds where people will call it indie, post-punk, college rock…but goddamn if it doesn’t just hit exactly right regardless of genre descriptor. Vocals are kinda like the first INTERPOL record (that’s a good thing, fight me), their approach is chill and confident at all times, and the guitars just burn the whole time, even when (especially when) they are delivering hooks that will stick with you for days. And then they drop the bridge in “Brain Flu” and it’s clear that these fellows are well versed in American Hardcore Classics and I’m like “yeah, I get it…y’all are just really good.” I can leave the schmaltzier cuts like “Bubble Yum” behind, but I can’t deny that they are absolutely on point. This tape came out last year, there’s a single that they dropped a few months ago (I peeked—read the lyrics—trust me), and all I’m waiting for is a full-length platter to spin on repeat for days.

Bent Blue Between Your and You’re cassette

Fast, emotive, melodic punk with elements of crew and a heavy ’90s drive. An excellent mash of DC and SoCal hardcore with a solid ’90s > ’80s influence ratio—it’s great when they unleash in the middle of “Influence Me,” but the fleshy part of the song owes more to Revolution Summer than TEEN IDLES, if you know what I mean. And then there’s “Rungless Ladder,” which is just a top-notch, hook-laden Y2K burner…in-your-face guitars and a classically thin bass punch, while you can practically see the singer clutching his shirt in earnest while he screams. Presentations are on-point with doses like “We live a life of misinformation / They call us the lost generation”—these dudes know exactly what they are doing.

Druj Druj cassette

If you don’t already know, Oklahoma City is a hotbed for hardcore punk. Wild, inventive, no rules—when no one cares, then you have the freedom to do what you want…and then people start to care. DRUJ dropped this (their third) tape earlier this year and I had listened countless times before it entered my “review assignments” email, so why am I at a loss for words? The guitar intro over the drum roll that starts “Die In Flames” sounds as shit-hot as it did the first time I blasted it, and the vocals are somehow even more disorienting, and I still sit slack-jawed at full volume, just blasting…and seething. DRUJ needs this, and you can feel it when vocalist آزيتا unleashes howls in “Jesus Wept,” setting the tone for four pieces of sonic nihilism. I could dissect each track, but an academic examination would cheapen the experience and this band deserves better than that. Give it to them.

Scholastic Deth Bookstore Core 2000-2002 LP

Essential listening for fans of fast hardcore, but you likely already know that. SCHOLASTIC DETH were kings of the Bay Area fastcore world—we knew that immediately after that show in the 924 Gilman Stoar. This band was such a complete machine—Josh looked like he was doing battle with his guitar while Chris laid down thunder with a casual confidence that was in conflict with the cloud of dust the band was kicking up, B’s ever so slightly off drum fills that roll into the breakdowns (and his blast beats, obviously). Max’s voice injected this adolescent honesty while so many were trying to growl out their anger, and his signature jerky/ladder riffs (yeah he’s the singer—but he played drums in the band I was in with him and I recognize those fucking riffs) are pure gold. They were smart, snarky…they were fucking fast. Everything is here—all the records, all the comps, and two unreleased cuts. Sometimes everyone loves the same band, and there’s a damn good reason why. So happy that this thing is finally out, even though you probably already have your copy.

Blinding Glow U.X.O. cassette

Wildly powerful debut from San Diego’s BLINDING GLOW. They make their point in four short D-beat-tinged bursts—furious hardcore wound up supertight with piercing femme vocals, drums pounding underneath a wash of distorted cymbals, and a recording that blows everything out even before it reaches your ears. They get straight to business with the no-bullshit “Apologist,” and then before you know it….it’s over.

Humant Blod Flykten Från Verkligheten EP

Pedigrees don’t make bands, but they’ll sure as hell make you pay attention, and when Poffen (TOTALITÄR, MAKABERT FYND, DISSEKERAD, etc.) and Mattis (MAKABERT FYND, DISSEKERAD, etc.) hooked up with a trio of Americans from QUESTION, SAD BOYS, MERCENARY, POX, ZERO, CONDOMINIUM, SUBVERSIVE RITE (and others), people fucking paid attention. We all assumed it was going to be good, but HUMANT BLOD is better. Complete and total rage from start to finish—relentless, fist-banging käng. I feel like if anything, the students here might have inspired the masters, and the result is an absolutely classic piece of wax. The internet has already melted over Flykten Från Verkligheten, so I might be preaching to the choir, but holy shit, this is a great record. Choice cut, “Ingen Kontroll,” if only for the solo.

Pilau Nowhere to Hide EP

On their first release, DC’s PILAU takes notes from the massive hardcore and modern crust of the ’00s, but aim their needle more towards DESPISE YOU than DISCHARGE. PILAU churns and blasts their way through eight colossally heavy (and pissed) numbers. Grinding when they need to and completely comfortable settling into a casual light speed obliteration, though I think it’s the slow parts that truly put my stomach in knots. Folks from ASSHOLE PARADE and MAGRUDERGRIND, if you’re keeping track…you should be.

Attaktix Contra Order cassette

Absolutely massive release from Lithuania!! Everything you love about ’00s Swedish kÁ¥ng with gratuitous doses of blast brutality and an ear for churning sludge. ATTAKTIX have harnessed all of this and created a fucking monster—unabashed devastation from the Baltics, hell yeah.

No One Knows Who Did This No One Knows Who Did This cassette

A novelty recording featuring a seven-year-old vocalist is not exactly the thing that gets me fired up, but for every rule, there’s an exception. The tracks are smart, sharp, garage punk ditties, and our featured singer is full of fire and vinegar on tracks like and “B.U.T.T.T.S.” and “Shocker Docker Ocker”—and if I wasn’t already onboard, my old ass can full identify with “I Gotta Pee.” Novelty? Perhaps. But punks who like to have fun might want to dig on this one.

ÖPNV ÖPNV cassette

Primitive bass/drum/keys proto-darkwave that sounds (and is) undeniably German. Everything here is cold; even the forceful tracks like “Trabantenstadt,” with its sharp, barked vocals, sound drunk and trepidatious. Throw a Cosey-caliber damaged trumpet into “Rasthof” to top off an excellent offering that demands more listens and deeper exploration.

Primal Brain It’s All a Game cassette

Oklahoma City does it again. Furious, damaged hardcore punk made by freaks (made for freaks). Check the hiccup in the chorus of the eponymous opening track and feel yourself get swallowed by all those damn guitars. Aside from “Real Bad Dream” where PRIMAL BRAIN just fucking unleash, these kids are taking the craft out of early ’00s punk proficiency and cramming it into the 2015 maggot stomp mold…the result is fucking glorious.

All Beat Up Quarantape 2020 cassette

San Diego’s ALL BEAT UP were fine tuned and ready for tour when COVID shutdowns shit all over their planned excursion, so they did the punk thing and went to their practice space and bashed a set out to an audience of microphones. Fierce and heavy apocalypse hardcore, as powerful when they slowly pummel as they are when they unleash—only critique I can make is that I usually wish the fast parts lasted longer, but there always seems to be another one around the corner, which lessens the sting somewhat. Erratic start/stop vs. fast/slow sonic assembly nods to ’90s SF bands like BLESSING THE HOGS, or CUTTHROATS 9 with an extra dose of speed, but it’s clear when they put their foot in it that ALL BEAT UP are harnessing pure D-beat hardcore fury. We do what we can—and we can do a lot. Maximum volume and wear a fucking mask.

Dispo Rauchen Macht Heroinabhängig cassette

After a killer trash-punk opener, DISPO switches gears and drops a track that comes off like Cows and Beer-era KREUZEN bashing out modern garage punk. It’s a great combination of sub-genre influences—hardcore, darker ’80s Deutsch punk, wild garage hooks, and snotty ’70s NYC art are all represented in a release that doesn’t sound like it owes anything to anyone.

Totally Cracked Bala Boi Bíblia EP

This single sounds like a live show—not like a recording of a live show, but like an actual show taking place in your apartment. Guitar dominates the mix, a high end buzzsaw cutting through everything like…well, like a damn buzzsaw. The hardcore is fast (real fast) and never lets up over the course of ten tracks…in ten minutes. Perhaps a one-off project, TOTALLY CRACKED apparently cranked this thing out in an evening about 50 miles outside of São Paulo. The result is hot and raw, and I certainly hope they do it again someday.

Abortti 13 Abortti 13mg CD

A decade-plus back in the game after a fifteen-year stint with no releases, Finland’s ABORTTI 13 keeps delivering the goods. Cold, driving mid-paced hardcore punk with an ’80s Polish crunch on the the guitars, and a Finnish-language DISCHARGE cover to cap things off. Just one track kisses the two-minute mark…apparently there’s a certain amount of wisdom that comes with extensive experience.

Babies in the Bardo Babies in the Bardo cassette

The hype sheet references 4AD, CABARET VOLTAIRE, Factory Records, SAVAGE REPUBLIC, and you’re damn right I’m paying attention. Decade (plus) old solo recordings the bassist from EARLY DAY MINERS (it’s cool, I had never heard of them either) unearthed and packaged for eager consumption by a new generation of gloom-obsessed, dreary-faced goth revivalists. BABIES IN THE BARDO are (were?) seizing a time, and they are making it theirs in the process. Minimal synths remain chaotic while ominous bass and loops dominate thirteen cuts driven by painfully deliberate (and casually absent) primitive drums. It’s good, y’all…it’s really good—maybe we all should dust off the recordings in our closets, just in case.

Icarus Phoenix Icarus Phoenix cassette

Adult evening listening here, a brilliant and advanced collection of shoegazing indie folk. Carefully orchestrated composition and instrumentation, crooning vocals with a wispy-haired hip country twang, Icarus Phoenix is absolutely a professional and visionary release. Your punk friends will fucking hate you for liking it.

偏執症者 (Paranoid) Out Raising Hell LP

Sweden’s reigning D-takt kings are back with a monster (and a 12″ of outtakes as a companion release, because they are geniuses). The erratic fukkd up mania of 2015’s Satyagraha are all but gone, and a blackened mötorkång behemoth has risen in its place. Track after track of blistering, raw VENOM-meets-Kill ’Em All reimagined by veterans weaned on ANTI-CIMEX and ENTOMBED. I confess that the mid-tempo bangers like “光の館 (Hikari no Yakata)” are an adjustment for me, but this is a record to be listened to front-to-back (and repeatedly), and when “墓場の目 (Hakaba no Me)” comes lumbering, and then raging, in to close out the first side, I am hooked. I expected this record to be good—it’s better.

Pawns Monuments of Faith EP

Modern deathrock firmly rooted in anarcho-punk. The flangers are spot on, the SPECTRES-esque barks are on point, the lyrics are bleak, and everything is perfect. But “Broken” is a fucking anthem. Open-chord guitar stutters through “You cannot fix what can’t be broken / With open arms you’ll take me there,” into a chorus that’s nothing more than an anguished howl. Dismiss PAWNS as a(nother) goth rehash at your own peril—these are the folks doing it right.

Varoitus Helvetin Hardcore LP

Blistering Swedish mangel. AGONI/SVART SNÖ-caliber riffs and a brilliantly awkward lurching pace that is only accentuated by speed…and there’s a lot of speed. Four bangers each from 2017 and 2019 sessions—the former decidedly more raw and desperate, while the recent session has a fierce metallic delivery. There is absolutely nothing fancy about this offering, and my ears like the punishment just fine.

Much Band Literally Too Pleasurable cassette

Outsider pop from upstate New York. Doses of innocent twee, quirky proto/post-punk blurts, Nuggets-era pop, freeform experimental and some weird indie-by-way-of-yacht-rock bits (“Cut The Cake”) that I simply don’t understand. When I think of those bits as interludes between the freak stuff, MUCH BAND is a much better band. Somewhat curious that this cassette is on the Zazen imprint—a newer label who popped onto my radar for their noisecore and harsh electronic releases…it’s good to keep your fans guessing.

Norms Háború És Fű 12″

I mean, as soon as the cowbell drops, you know this is going to take some work. You know you’re going to have to put the time in to make it work. And the guitar that follows is straight off of Nine Patriotic Hymns… which is when you really need to start paying attention. On their second proper 12″, Budapest veterans NORMS push out eight tracks of thinking person’s hardcore. Sure, they are fast and extremely chaotic, but check the single-note speed picking on “Lassú Emberek.” Pay attention to the frantic vocal delivery (aside from the earlier guitar reference, the only other comparison I will lean on is that the vocals remind me of Ernesto from LIFES HALT), and the damage they inject into the chaos of tracks like “Háború És Fű” demands extensive examination. The underbelly here is manic, post-’90s USHC, but by digging for the influences of their influences while maintaining their identity as a new century hardcore band, NORMS manifest as something completely different than from either past or present. The record is great, and I like that it demands careful attention before it will let you let loose. And that cowbell…..? Oh, it comes back.

Shitload Mowerviolence cassette

Pandemic-born solo noisecore from New Orleans. Emphasis on the noise. Oppressive, distorted and violent. Someone sowed seeds of powerviolence and then got locked in their bedroom…shit got pollinated by stench and filth and noise. Choice cut: “Just Shut Up snd Wear Your Fucking Mask.”

Toadskin Toadskin cassette

There’s a hint of late-’80s Dutch East India college alt, raw outsider pre-grunge and/or post-punk, and there’s a nice gruff Picciotto tail clinging onto the end of many of the verses. You could just say that Milwaukee’s TOADSKIN is rehashing a past sound, but it rings true—perhaps in part because the sounds are from an entirely different past.

Coachwhips Devil Uptown cassette

Girlsville really digging deep with the COACHWHIPS nuggets over the last few years, and I thank them for it. Four cuts here—a synth-drenched swamp dirge outtake from 2002’s Hands on the Controls and three rough and tumble demo tracks (“Get Yer Body Next Ta Mine” and two others). Fidelity out the window, these early COACHWHIPS excursions are confident and raunchy garage punk protein; vocals demented beyond words and music stripped down to the roots all bluesy and full of not a care in the world. And loud—it needs to be loud.

Escapism Equivocation cassette

I encourage putting things like this into as many hands and ears as possible, so the Moon Decay reissue is more than welcome. Impassioned screamo from Poland—I’m pretty sure that the sound is old enough to be considered retro at this point—but ESCAPISM reaches into the chaotic world of ’90s European monsters like AKEPHAL and when I hear that shit I am like mush…I want to absorb everything. Chaotic, erratic, intense, genuine…emotional hardcore embodied. You can feel the room full of kids clutching themselves and screaming “You have to realize“ at the start of “Teenage Anarchist Observations,” and you want to be in that room. With those kids. One of those kids. Realizing.

Long Knife Night of the Hunter / Rough Liver 7″

An absolute monster from Portland’s answer to Portland’s Kings of Punk. As on previous releases, LONG KNIFE wear their influences on their sleeve—POISON IDEA, heavy metal, Japanese hardcore—and they own every fucking note. These two tracks lean heavily on burning metal leads, which rocks (of course) and makes the record feel more honest. And on the subject of honesty, the lyrics read like Bukowski nihilism, taking heady stock of the reality you’ve made while keeping a cautious eye over your shoulder as a reminder of how real things can get. Living fast is fun, dying young is glamorous, but finding your place in the next chapter is the real challenge. LONG KNIFE isn’t dwelling on it, but you can feel the struggle fighting in the grooves. Great band, and this two song slammer might be their best release.

DZTN 1980 Ode to a Dead Earth cassette

I can’t even imagine how many solo recording projects have popped up in Thee Time Of COVID—but I think it’s a lot. DTZN 1980 is the work of Dustin Herron from long-running Portland band ABOLITIONIST, and has cranked out four full releases in 2020. A self-described post-punk project, DTZN 1980 manifests as a brooding, subdued proto-anarcho/goth by way of art school—and then tracks like “Cut & Run” pop up like a gopher…before fading back into the earth. There’s a lot going on stylistically, but the presentation is minimal and the bass tends to take the lead. Overtly and unabashedly political, yet another (likely) aspect of the time (and place) of creation. I admit that I support Ode to a Dead Earth more than I actually like it, though tracks like “Bad Mentality” sounds like they come from another place in/and time, hitting a nerve that encourages me to go back and spend some dedicated time with the entire release (again).

Escare Infinity Crime cassette

Advanced lifeform creates neanderthal and/or ethereal punk sounds. BEEFHEART meets ERASE ERRATA, and there’s this comforting lilt to the (main) vocals that I can’t shake. When they get caught in a jam (the end of “Brain Island” into the start of “Infinity Crime,” for example) this outfit is like a fukkn drug. If this is the New Sound Ov Punk then I am completely on board. Short, sharp bursts of creativity—and when they drop a hook (“Long Letters”) it’s one that doesn’t let go.

Kay Odyssey Knock Out! cassette

Like an unearthed ’80s college rock reject, Texas mutant/s KAY ODYSSEY are to CONCRETE BLONDE what GIRLS AT OUR BEST are to R.E.M. Instantly familiar and totally weird—and you think the tweak is in the vocals, but there’s a thing that they do with late ’80s late night radio rock that hits just fucking right. If you’re still reading this and you can sing the chorus to LONE JUSTICE’s “Ways to Be Wicked” then KAY ODYSSEY is right up your alley. And if you don’t know that song…well, there’s an internet for a reason.

Protein The Things I Cannot Hide EP

I listened three times before I typed a single word. PROTEIN took me back to a time and place that I wanted to hang out in for a while…so much that I kinda didn’t want to leave. That place still exists, it’s still vibrant, and the hardcore there is still enthusiastic and supportive. That place is not just where Poland’s PROTEIN comes from, it’s where they live, and that comes out in every one of the six tracks on their second EP. Modern youth crew, early ’00s posicore and classic ’80s SXE all come together on this release, and when I hear Rob shout “I try…I fucking try” after you drop the needle on the second side, I believe him…and I’m all in. The short blast of “For Us” was the winner for these old ass ears, but then the record closes with “Growing Distance” that conjures the very best modern HC comparisons. A fucking excellent hardcore record, but they make a point by ending with the track that makes it clear that there is definitely more to come.

Subdued Over the Hills and Far Away LP

The hype is completely justified on this one. Classic UK anarcho stylings injected with a fury and menace fueled by the new reality. “No More” is a perfectly sinister, cranked-up punk banger; “Wander In The Park” is a dark pogo masterpiece showered in descending guitars; it seems like every song stakes its own individual claim on the wax. Dark and brilliant, you’ll turn new stones with each listen…but the root of everything here is furious intensity.

Variation Four EP

Gloriously ignorant East Coast noisecore. VARIATION bounces between start/stop fastcore blasts and a low-end North American WANKYS irreverence. “No Way Out” is doubtless the choice cut, and shows that if they wanted to shed the noisecore tag and just be a force of intensity then they would be terrifying. Sixteen bangers in total, with exactly one song on each side over 60 seconds.

Heavy Harvest Iron Lung CD

I appreciate a new band that conducts a sonic examination of a thing that I experienced, as it allows me to hear it all again but through different ears. Switzerland’s HEAVY HARVEST are instantly familiar, and when they do things like the bass break into the added drums and then back into the punishing simplicity of the chorus to “Scream,” I’m like “oooh yeah, that’s the right thing to do there!” The sound is filthy and massive, UNSANE comparisons are inevitable on tracks like “Candy” just like you can’t not think of TORCHE when the hard driving hooks of “Oven” stop by in the middle of the disc. At the same time, Iron Lung is definitely their own, and vocalist O’Neal lays a distorted urgency on top of everything. This is their second release, and I do not see this band mellowing. Quite the opposite.

Grave New World The Last Sanctuary LP

All praise to New York’s Bitter Lake Recordings for bringing this masterpiece to the masses (though it sold out immediately and is already impossible to find). This 1991 recording is the sole output of Japan’s GRAVE NEW WORLD, which featured members of CROW, ASBESTOS and LAST BOMB. Churning, noise-drenched industrial metalcrust; every song sounds like an absolute apocalypse, and Crow’s vocals come off like era-appropriate Al Jourgensen stepping into the studio with The End…-era Crow. The assault of psychedelia is easy to focus on, and the externals surely help the record stand out, but it’s the way they tweak and torture the AMEBIX crust model and contort it into something completely their own that is what makes the record special. And essential release (and reissue)…now I just have to get my hands on a copy.

Science Man Tiny Tower EP

I first heard about these/this freak(s) recently from their Covid Collaboration with NERVOUS TICK and was planning to dig in anyway, so the Assignment Gods be kind this month. It’s like I hoped, and yet more reined in than I expected. Pop sensibilities crammed into bedroom punk recordings, like fuzzed out ’60s Nuggets amped up on all of the drugs (which is an ironic comparison, when you really think about it). Kinda hardcore, kinda garage punk, the drum machine (and tracks like “Changeling”) makes me think of late ’80s industrial/punk hybrids…imagine a collision of KARP and CHROME and SPITS and NOMEANSNO. Hail Freaks, Hail!

Cool Jerks England LP

After a couple of (excellent) cassette releases, the first full-length from COOL JERKS does not disappoint. The record is rigid, and as if someone went through and starched up some wild retro dark punk revivalists and made them feel like Warsaw in 1982. Lots of clean monotonous single-note guitars, Peter Hook (pre-1981) bass lines and wet, barked vocals ripped from the throats of your favorite sharply dressed anarcho punks. The hooks are here, and in great supply—the closer “Tigers and Birds” is a would-be (will-be?) hit worthy of TOTAL CONTROL comparisons, but the band’s vibe overall is decidedly darker and it suits them brilliantly. Stellar release, and I can’t imagine that this Leeds, England outfit doesn’t have even more up their collective sleeve.

Fyrkantsandning Andas i en Påse CD EP

Taking shit-fi to astonishing new heights, Sweden’s FYRKANTSANDNING offers three utterly unlistenable adaptations of hardcore classics from RAPT, DOOM, and SHITLICKERS, and one original criticizing Salman Rushdie’s sexual behavior. I think that the Rushdie track is the only one with drums or vocals, and perhaps only the RAPT and SHITLICKERS tracks have bass, but honestly it’s pretty hard to tell and I’m sure that’s the point. You have likely never heard “Warsystem” sound as fucked up (read: indecipherable) as it does here, and that is most certainly an endorsement.

Mir Express Pass Auf Mein Schatz / Tu Menti 7″

Instantly addictive hard-driving analog synth from Berlin. The label calls it “industrial boogie” and I’m pretty much helpless here because that nails their minimal dance aggression. The synths are dirty and dark, the clanging of early CABARET VOLTAIRE reinvented as dancefloor smashers, it’s a near perfect adaption of the sound—clearly drawing from (and emulating) the past but still sounding urgent and…present. Can’t gush enough about this one, except to say that two songs is not enough, and that the ridiculously limited “4 Track Mind” singles series from Tomatenplatten (this is Vol.02) are going to be the death of me. Superb.

Offside Reidars Offside Reidars LP

Back-to-basics, hard-hitting punk rock’n’roll. Even though the music is totally different, the vocals are the clear focal point in the same way that the first SENSUURI (or BAD RELIGION?) records are vocals/melody first, and riffs second. Then the riffs sink in and these Laplanders (that’s way up north-north) take a step forward… also, all of the songs are about hockey.

Mt. Vengeance Machines LP/CD

So often in these annals you can sum up a review in one short blurt. Indeed, take a look at the first few dozen issues and you’ll see reviews of stone classics that are two sentences long. Tops. So is the point of a Maximum Rocknroll review in 2020 to simply tell you what “it” sounds like and whether or not the reviewer thinks “it” is good……? Good question—and I clearly don’t know the answer or I would already be done here. Theoretically, it would go like this: “Philadelphia’s MT. VENGEANCE plays catchy indie rock that successfully conjures ghosts of late ’80s college radio alt.” Bass player was in ELECTRIC LOVE MUFFIN, which might mean something to a clique of nerds and/or middle aged people from Philadelphia (I fall into one of those two categories). Machines doesn’t sound like it’s emulating another era, it sounds like it was plucked out of one—and that’s a sincere compliment. “Noisy guitars, good left-field jerks in tempo and timing, a tension in the vocals that accentuates melody instead of eschewing it” would be the second sentence. “Super good record from a trio who know exactly what they are were doing,” that would be my closing salvo….theoretically.

Pig Sweat Pig Sweat LP

Imagine Berkeley’s CRIMINALS with metallic leads and an aggressive snarl replacing Jesse’s terminally adolescent sneer. Energy level cranked to ten at all times, this Swiss hardcore punk outfit delivers consistent power with lines like “Will never find peace with the way this world turns / Will never shut up, not till the day it burns” sinking in… riffs sinking in deeper.

Atomic Energy Commission Post Fax Nation 12″

What am I listening to? FLIPPER reincarnated the right way? My War through a Midwestern art/punk filter? I seriously don’t know, but the caterwaul of “Waldorf Hysteria” and the erratic madness of “Garbage, Garbage USA” keep me asking why? Asking what? What if 1983 MDC tried to do a Confusion Is Sex act for a Halloween gig? Seriously punks, ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION is creating a sound for whatever this reality is. Maybe not the sound…but definitely a sound. Because this reality is definitely not right in the head.

DN0 Inflation Now! cassette

As if Max Nordile (VIOLENCE CREEPS, PREENING, in addition to his solo efforts) didn’t make enough of racket on his own, he’s joined forces with folks from YOGURT BRAIN, TRASHIES, UZI RASH and a host of others to create….well, more racket. Mania captured as improvisation—free jazz as garage punk “drumming,” a mess of guitar dischordances and a bass that mumbles more than drives. It’s the confident unsuredness, the comfort in being (and creating) the uncomfortable that makes DN0 work. Captured live in October of last year, before the shroud was removed and we were all exposed, Inflation Now! could either serve as premonition of, escape from, experience of, or soundtrack to the current madness. I mean…if this is what punks do now then I guess I’m fine with the new normal.

Starving Wolves True Fire LP

It’s a shame that STARVING WOLVES seemed to take a bit of a back seat when the singer took over the microphone for CASUALTIES a couple of years back—thankfully this full-length should help put them back behind the wheel. We’re talking top-tier anthemic metallic punk; you can’t deny the hooks, the leads scream Sweden-by-way-of-Portland, and there are a few all-out rippers like “Get Bit” to satisfy folks who get turned off by a sing-along chorus. Certainly these are sounds that are most associated with the club scene/s, and True Fire makes a clear effort to open the door for starter punks…but in doing so they’ve made a record with the kind of energy that old fuckers might be craving.

Totally Fucking Gay Swallow Sperm CD

Once again, I don’t know how how to describe TFG. Pro-fucking, pro-gay, anti-normal electro drum-machine nonsense. You can’t not mention SOCKEYE as a potential sonic influence, and you can’t not mention the number of times that dicks and ass and seminal fluids are addressed. At length. Extensive Mike Diana artwork creates a diversion from the monotony of big dick monologues, just as on 2018’s Gag On Penis disc, but you keep coming back to lines like “cock cock cock cock cock cock, suck it suck it suck it, dick dick dick dick dick dick, swallow sperm swallow sperm” on the embarrassingly addictive title track…it’s a bedroom electro freak show clashing with sixth grade dick humor. You don’t know if it’s a joke—and even if you do know it’s a joke, you don’t know who is the butt end. So look at the cartoon dicks and butts and boobs and sing along with: “The president keeps his mouth shut / That’s OK I can give him a pass / We both know that behind closed doors / He loves big dick and man ass.” The disc is packaged brilliantly with six EP-sized risograph prints and a foldout of all of the artwork, which is (along with the videos) integral to the entire presentation. If nothing else, TOTALLY FUCKING GAY is, and continues to be, a thing.

V/A Damaged by Dez EP

Six track compilation of Dez-era BLACK FLAG covers. MANIACAL DEVICE’s “Six Pack” is solid but unremarkable. JESSE BLANKENSHIP BAND turning “Jealous Again” into a country-western twanger is…well, it’s fine as a concept. “Rise Above” gets a modern metal treatment from Puerto Rico’s VIEJA ESTRIPE. “Gimme Gimme Gimme” turns into a schlock rockabilly lounge turd when MUMMULA gets their hands on it. Someone has to do “Damaged I,” and PURE HEEL basically regurgitate it as it was, which is fine because it’s a pretty regurgitatable song. BETTY MACHETE AND THE ANGRY COUGARS breath life into “American Waste,” easily the best rendition on the comp. I still kinda can’t believe this is happening though.

Mass Arrest Power LP

The Tunes: No bullshit. East Coast hardcore and D-beat punk crashing headlong into the early FUCKED UP 45s. I’m talking “Police” production tweaks on Swedish hardcore, and Oakland’s MASS ARREST do it all with style. It’s an addictive record full of hooks, and those hooks are on fucking fire. “Liberation” is clearly the cut, with the organ dropping in just as you drop the needle on the B-side and hear Boo Boo yell “I’m living for liberation / I’m living with my fist in the sky,”  but don’t dismiss the record for the single. There’s a joy in the very songs on Power that is hard to describe, and perhaps it’s the intensity and the determination that makes that joy hit so much harder—like the fucking DEXY’S MIDNIGHT RUNNERS bridge in “Black Identity Extremist” and the ’80s alt/pop melodies that permeate tracks like “New Town Drag” even through its distinctively tough hardcore chorus. The Band: You’re going to hear people talk about this time in our society for literal (as opposed to punk) generations. And of course the messages of Black Liberation on this record resonate particularly in this moment…but the determination is timeless, even if this particular record is a document of a time. Read the words, but don’t stop thinking when you put the record back on the shelf.

Permanent Collection Nothing Good Is Normal LP

Technological advances have made “solo studio projects” a thing of relative ease, taking the one-person band far, far from the traditional realm of one-person bands. Obviously there’s the purity of vision aspect, and on records like Nothing Good Is Normal I swear that you can hear it without even knowing the source—but there’s also something to be said for the process of trading ideas and approaches and influences that sets the group experience apart from a “recording project.” How does that relate to Oakland’s PERMANENT COLLECTION, started as a side-solo project of YOUNG PRISMS’ Jason Hendardy in the early ’10s and then evolved into a full band before deconstructing back into a solo project for Nothing Good Is Normal? Well, it helps and it hurts. The streamlined melodic punk by way of hard driving high energy grunge is killer, like the best early Sub Pop tracks all fuzzed out and with no boring rock bits—it’s great, like Yerself Is Steam, but on speed (that’s a MERCURY REV record from like 1990ish—it’s really good). The vocals, however, are ever-present and serve as a distraction more often than not—overly treated and laid over the entire mix like a blanket that suffocates more than it comforts. I’m being overly critical, perhaps, because the songs and the approach are familiar and everything is very well executed. Ultimately, if the ’rona-reality is that we are going to have a lot more “solo studio projects” in our music listening lives, then I could settle into this pretty nicely.

An Uneasy Peace Speaking in Tongues EP

I’ve heard whispers about this project, and was very excited to let it sink into my ears. A recording project featuring Lance Hahn (J CHURCH) and Stan Wright (SIGNAL LOST, DEATHREAT, ARCTIC FLOWERS), Dave Wuttke (DRUNKEN BOAT, LIVING UNDER LIES) and Mike Warm (DEFECT DEFECT, OBSERVERS), this was a collection of hardcore songs that Lance wrote, songs that presumably didn’t fit his vision for J CHURCH. The man was a master, a punk historian, aficionado and mostly a fan, and I can only imagine that the other players were more than happy to help him realize his vision. It’s great. It’s like Lance from J CHURCH writing hardcore songs. “Fighting Sleep” is the choicest cut, harnessing a TALK IS POISON-esque energy right from the opening breakdown, but ultimately AN UNEASY PEACE is 80s USHC steeped in anarcho-punk and 90s DIY…which is exactly what it sounds like.

Forbidden Wizards Reheated Cabbage 10″

Now we’re talking, freaks. Some snappy, jerky Dutch punk for your earholes. You’ve got East Bay Ray guitars, you’ve got FLESHIES attitude, you’ve got a fast, inventive attack that’ll drag fans of URANIUM CLUB and the like to the edge of their collective seat/s and dare them not to dance. FORBIDDEN WIZARDS don’t sound like they are trying to ape anyone or anything, they sound like they evolved on their own sonic island—an island where weirdness rules and flamboyance is celebrated…in other words: my kind of island.

Frisk Extinction 12″ EP

Sonic abominations FRISK spend most of this record relentlessly drilling wailing monotony into the grooves—closer to ’90s college nihilism than anything classified as hardcore, they manifest their manipulations on the six-plus-minute “Attachment,” a track that owes more to psychedelia than punk. It’s just that the wailing sounds so desperate that it can hardly being anything but punk. It’s a very intentional mess, with power electronics creating the foundation for some sections as much as the pummeling rhythm section does on others. While the short, disorienting bombast of “Extinction” is probably my favorite track, it’s the contrast between that and the long-form destruction that closes the side that makes everything work. It’s a taste…it’s not the meal. And I’m gonna go ahead and make the “WALLS do JESUS LIZARD” comparison that popped into my head, because after three listens it’s still there.

The Wound The Way of Death EP

Another killer from West Yorkshire’s Donor Records, born of the same cloth as the FRISK 12″ reviewed earlier in this issue. The WOUND are fucking filthy and they manage to harness the greatest BASTARDization of a “Misery” chorus I’ve ever encountered. This is hardcore punk, but condensed and broken down to its most disgusting bedrock elements. Damaged (the record and the descriptor) guitars dominate, the bass rumble is magnificent, and the subtlety is akin to getting repeated (unwarranted) jabs to the face while in restraints. You know that low crouch creepy crawl mosh that you just know is going to turn into a brawl when the asshole fucks up the flow in the pit…? This is that, but pressed on wax. Repeated listens only increase the intensity.

Pionier Seriös Berlin cassette

This document is new to me, and I couldn’t be more pleased to have it in hand. Purportedly released as a promo only in 1981, the Berlin cassette by Germany’s PIONIER SERIÖS is an amalgamation of avant-NDW, repetitive beats and damaged synthesizers providing the background for a constant stream of spoken/chanted vocals (or manic howls, and always in German), the whole thing giving way to soft industrial dirges and no wave madness over the course of half an hour. True and genuine experimentation, not at all contrived, an exploration through and of sound, thankfully unearthed and repackaged by ZZK Tapes. Killer!

Dissekerad / Earth Crust Displacement Split EP

Two tracks of whirlwind Swedish kÁ¥ng from DISSEKERAD. The pedigree here is formidable (I’ll just mention AVSKUM and TOTALITÄR, because that should be more than enough), and the goods are worthy. A classic mid-paced cruiser starts off their side, and then they open it up with “Mardömmen Startar,” a pure fist-banging rager that leaves me reaching for 2015’s Mörkret Tilltar LP for more action. Germany’s EARTH CRUST DISPLACEMENT takes a little of the nuance out of the mix, opting instead for a relentless high-speed D-beat crust assault. Noisier guitars, and they don’t even take the time to warm up your ears with an intro—they just fucking unload. I like the combination of the two bands—different but equally effective approaches to a tried-and-true genre. The split EP is a much-maligned format (and perhaps rightly so), but this one is worth its weight in wax. I expected nothing less from either band, and they both delivered.

Last Agony Systematic Murder EP

Wow. The first vinyl offering from Toronto’s LAST AGONY drops like a thundercloud, three off-the-rails crash bombs on one side and a metal crust epic on the flip. A complete wall of sound, howling guitars and oppressive vocals masked by natural distortion delivered by intensity and not an EQ knob. This is what happens when D-beat is pushed to its absolute limit, and the result is incredible. Highest recommendation for fans of that great span between EXTREME NOISE TERROR and KREIGSHÖG.

Riot Cop The Violence CD

Cold, insistent anti-cop, anti-fascist punk from Portland. RIOT COP’s catchy, almost pop songs are the main selling point here (aside from the message). Seventeen tracks filled with hooks and a constant galloping pace, these are dark anthems for a new age. Guitars have an early Posh Boy vibe, but sound like they’re played through a 20-watt Gorilla amp (that’s a compliment) and the vocals are like (early) NAKED AGGRESSION’s repetitive call to action. A timely release, if nothing else.

V/A Th’ Gunk Stunk cassette

Experimental dirges, shit-fi noise and general sonic fuckery abound on this tape. Starting with a dose of formidable monotony from BONELIST, Th’ Gunk Stunk only gets weirder. Nine tracks in total, mostly enough outside the typical fray that it takes serious processing to even decide where to file them in your brain. One track is BRAINBOMBS through a Wheelchair Full Of Old Men filter, then before you know it you’re listening to no-fi no-wave DIY synth damage. As a sonic journey, this is exactly what you want out of a compilation tape.

Cyanide Tooth Midnight Climax Operation cassette

If I were to create the Cold War-era industrial subgenre, then New York’s CYANIDE TOOTH would be the flagship act. Dark, disorienting sounds treated with newsreel voice-overs, aural assemblages that predate the world of laptop-push-a-button “noise” in both approach and execution. And ultimately, it’s the execution here that sets Midnight Climax Operation apart. The climax (wordplay intended) of the tape is the churning repetition of the absolutely filthy burner “Techno Animus,” and the entire B side is taken up by a 25-minute disorienting collection of sounds and samples that leaves you exhausted as it whirrs to a halt. I wrote years ago that CYANIDE TOOTH would become a force when their vision was fully realized, and that time has come.

Didaktische Einheit Dosis 6 cassette reissue

More seminal avant-Euro sounds unearthed by the folks at ZZK, Germany’s DIDAKTISCHE EINHEIT lands somewhere between early ABWÄRTS and a damaged no wave/Krautrock experiment. Furiously cold and abrasive sounds, deceptive in their sheer subtlety, all recorded live in Holland and originally self-released in 1982. DIDAKTISCHE EINHEIT was short lived, but their output was formidable (at least six cassettes in 1982, before their lone LP the following year), and their ability to manipulate the act of experimentation should not be ignored. Highly recommended reissue.

Inkwizycja XXX 12″

One of Poland’s longest-running DIY hardcore bands, INKWIZYCJA has been active since the late 1980s and have only gotten heavier over time. The sound is decidedly commercial—sometimes resembling SYSTEM OF A DOWN (or HELMET?) more than anything from the North American “punk” scene/s, but the approach and delivery are nonetheless rooted in early Polish punk, and that influence is evident on tracks like “Pogrom” that closes the first side. Flip it over though, and “Wilk XXX” is a crushing modern hardcore number with a swarm of guitars that demands attention. Even though there are elements that I don’t necessarily dig, I appreciate the ability to veer in and out of easily definable genres, and the last song on the record could easily make me a commercial heavy/alt-rock apologist. Let there be no doubt that XXX is good—it’s very good—you just have to decide if your mind is open wide enough to let it all in.

Massgrav / Proteststorm Alter Schwede! / Din Tid Kommer Inte split EP

Six more blasts from Swedish grind mangel legends MASSGRAV—20+ years in the game and no signs of slowing down. There’s something special about the low-end Swedish DM guitar attacking the breakdowns like a buzzsaw, and when they tease your ears with a straight D-beat for the start of “Årets Rövhål 2018” and “Gasen i Botten” before exploding into machine gun blasts…just: ugh. On the flip, two-man recording project PROTESTSTORM features LIVET SOM INSATS and KRIGSHOT/NASUM members. Should come as no surprise when I say that the five songs on their side are a brutally stripped-down dose of unhinged Scandicrust. RAPED TEENAGERS cover to wrap up their portion of the assault—all of these dudes are just really good at this shit.

Antibodies LP 2019 cassette

This tape (along with the LP 2018 cassette) are getting the very warranted vinyl treatment from Drunken Sailor soon, and I look forward to dropping a needle on these shit hot grooves when that happens. Hailing from Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, these mutants do a lot to cement my feeling that the Atlantic Provinces are producing some of the most engaging hardcore punk music in the fucking world (certainly per capita, but I digress…). Raw, high energy, blown-out hardcore punk rock in the most classic sense of the term, with just enough of the modern weirdness to make sure you know this isn’t just generic ’80s worship. It’s manic, it’s full of fire, and these jammers stick to you like glue. Certified banger.

Chat Pile This Dungeon Earth cassette

A sonic trash compactor squeezing the life out of all of their predecessors, CHAT PILE takes HELMET’s ability to riff and churn and BIG BLACK’s harsh industrial punk bent and manages to make it simultaneously inaccessible and infectious. I’m talking about a goth PAILHEAD or a black metal drum machine NIRVANA here, and it’s dragging me back to a completely different place and melting my mind. Both of the band’s 2019 cassette releases are to be put to wax by Reptilian soon, and I think the large scale format will suit them extremely well. And for the record, “chat” is a mining byproduct that has rendered parts of Northeastern Oklahoma toxic that belong to Native tribes and were destroyed by white capitalists. So a “chat pile” is a very repugnant thing…and that kinda sums up their sound.

Kalou The Sculpture Garden cassette

This is a compelling project—a collection of dreamy home recordings spanning five years and two continents—moments worthy of commercial stardom woven into ten indie/pop tracks. There’s a JESUS AND MARY CHAIN lilt to the vocals (especially on cuts like “The Thin Line”), and then a few songs (“Santa Rosa Transit Mall” particularly) descend into straight electronica. The seamless movement between twee, pop punk, and lo-fi DIY synth underscores how thin the genre lines that separate us really are…so perhaps KALOU is all of us? Or maybe I’m overreaching…probably not, but maybe. Almost every track here could be a “single” in the most traditional sense—just a cassette packed with hits.

Rinse Extended Play cassette

I love a release that’s tough to nail down. LA’s RINSE play spaced-out psych/punk, but I use both of those descriptors in the broadest sense. There’s a Doc Dart irreverence to the snarls, the off-kilter hooks drip with ’80s SoCal sensibilities, and the overall drive is sweaty and relentless, like if the BRIEFS played weird music instead of garage pop. Then they fukkn drop “Mall of America” in the middle of the damn tape, a 5+ minute slog that’s like SWELL MAPS meets ADOLESCENTS and I am at full attention. Slick and intentional punk, but supremely and superbly damaged. Good stuff.

Basic Dicks Dick Tape cassette

There’s a lot to uncover here, and all of it good. Rock-solid drums and a forceful bass maintain the necessary foundation so the other three can unleash. The guitar downstrokes are like a machine, with single-note melodies and a lead that takes up most of “Slap,” and are likely the sonic focus of the release for the casual listener. For the front of the band, I don’t know whether to concentrate on the power of the dual femme vocals or the visceral wit of the content, but they are part and parcel—fury sometimes hits the hardest when it’s demeaning and tongue in cheek, and this is where BASIC DICKS excel. The attack is smart and spot on, assailing the male narrative as it relates to (or defines) assault, objectification, and the narrative itself.

Holehog Radiation Blues cassette

Nothing less than exactly what you expect from just one quick look at the cover, Sacramento’s HOLEHOG offers up nine bursts of street punk with studs ’n’ snarls. UK (like GBH) collides with US (like DEATHREAT) with zero bullshit and riffs for days and the only thing sharper than the sonic delivery is the honest intensity in the vocals. Members of SSYNDROM, MONSTER SQUAD and others for those keeping track, but HOLEHOG are making a pedigree all their own.

Low Card De La Muerte El Paris Savage Video Violence CD

Nagoya’s LOW CARD DE LA MUERTE have been raging outside of the North American consciousness for years now, but hopefully this monstrous full-length will put an end to that and place them firmly on our radar. It’s hard to describe how much energy there is crammed into this little piece of encoded plastic, but the songs explode off of the disc and never (ever) let up. Their blazing hardcore has elements of early ’00s thrash, delivered with an ear toward their Japanese forebears and tongue firmly planted in cheek. Songs like “Massgomi Operations” leave you breathless after a sub-30 strafing and “VxAxCx” shows their mastery over weirdness, making the sheer bizarre insanity of the construction sound like it belongs. Fifteen tracks (in fourteen minutes) followed by a ten-song rehearsal recording that could easily stand as its own separate (and equally killer) release. The rehearsal takes are raw, even faster, more straightforward and pack just as much energy, which gives the entire full-length a feel like you’re listening to a band splitting a set with…themselves. I am seriously blown away. 2018’s El Paris Radio Massacre Sessions disc was great, but this is one of the best releases I have heard all year.

Man-Eaters Carbona Guerilla demo cassette

Hard to call this a mere demo since it’s already been given the pro-tape treatment by Pissed Off! in Malaysia, but here’s the latest from the TARANTÜLA/CÜLO family tree (technically the “latest” would be the Gentle Ballads… LP on Feel It, but I’m referring to the band itself). These kids have now doused themselves completely with rock’n’roll fluid, and perhaps this band is the match. Comparisons to ANNIHILATION TIME are inevitable, though our Windy City friends lean more heavily on a straight-ahead, four-on-the-floor lifestyle led by a relentlessly reverbed lead guitar. Punk disappearing in the rearview mirror, drugs and volume abound…this is primo gutter rock.

The Uncivil Society Spectral Semiotic Sound CD

Extremely fucking confusing full score one-person production that “strives to recreate Phil Spector’s wall of sound” while acknowledging in the accompanying zine that Spector himself was a complete prick. Oh…and somehow the artist (“GORILLA X”) approaches the project through the lens of MINUTEMEN’s Double Nickels On The Dime. Spoken lyrics as astral poetry makes the release sound simultaneously advanced and amateurish…but mostly confusing. It’s a psychedelic space journey version of all of the above, with extensive notes, lyrics and images to help guide you.

Crush Crusher I Wish Punk Was Dead cassette

A much delayed review for this 2019 piece of Bible Belt brilliance. Oklahoma City’s CRUSH CRUSHER sounds like a product of their environment, the result of their collective pasts. Frustrated and manic hardcore punk played with the conniving mystery that comes from needing to find alternate ways home sneaking through alleys, and the ferocity that is learned when you get caught. The songs (and delivery) are chaotic, with distant vocals as if shouted from a different room—the result is a primitive but massive sound that “bigger” bands struggle to replicate. Twelve tracks, clocking in around thirteen minutes with an indescribably weird CRASS cover as a closer. Recommended.

Disable …Slamming in the Depths of Hell EP

Damn—a solid decade of disbeat noise from Atlanta’s DISABLE? I welcome it just like I welcome these six bursts of manic distortion into my life. It would be easy to keep cranking out amped-up, mindless D-beat distortion (and I wouldn’t mind), but DISABLE pays attention to the little things: the bit of weird chaotic melody before the stop in the title track, the start/stop that opens “False Flag,” turning “Death’s Head” into slow-motion robotic repetition instead of making it the mandatory mid-tempo stomp that every D-beat record seems to have. The closer, “Whistling Death,” is interrupted by noise, but it sounds like it was actually interrupted instead of some calculated electronics-not-music exercise to prove they aren’t just a run of the mill D-beat band. All of this is to say that DISABLE are, in fact, another D-beat band, but that they’ve used their ten years (and counting) in the game to create something different (and dare I say “interesting”) within the confines of the genre. Killer slab.

Fist Fight on Ecstacy The Next Batch EP

Drug-fueled SoCal metallic punk. The majority of the songs are fast, but they are most interesting when they slow down (“Being the Elite”). Vocals are just slightly off time some of the time, which gives them a realistic feel. Like a weird doll facsimile of a thing that you thought you liked until you saw the fake version. Maybe you work with some squares who know about commercial punk, like, just enough to know the difference between radio “punk” and BLACK FLAG and stuff. Well, this is what they think you’re into when you tell them you’re a punk.

Yambag Posthumous Pounce! LP

This is this shit that my jaded-ass reviewer ears are looking for: relentless fastcore. Guitars are clean and super fukkd up sounding, drums have a HELLNATION-meets-teenage-blastbeat awkwardness (and they are kinda recorded like shit in the most endearing way), and just 25% of the tracks top the 60 second mark. Put me in a space machine and send me back to 2001, but with all of the anger I feel in a 2020 reality, and boom I’m ready for some fucking YAMBAG. Choice track: “(O)Possum,” but there are seriously no clunkers to be found here. Thank you!

Disavow Disavow LP

Total collision of preconceptions and aesthetics here, and the dust is still settling. Sweden’s DISAVOW are nothing if not impactful, which is to say that I bolted up straight as soon as the intro was over—the demand was instant and undeniable. Modern straightedge hardcore, with roots that reach for MODERN LIFE IS WAR instead of the first (or secod, or third?) waves of ’core, and with a serious fire lit under their ass, and DISAVOW sound real, which is what makes them feel special. I think the term “post-hardcore” probably applies here as well, but this is just an altogether massive slab: intense, honest, emotional, powerful music that needs to be listened to from start to finish, and repeatedly.

E.A.T.E.R. A Momentary Relapse For No Reason CD

There’s some serious latitude given here, since ERNST AND THE EDSHOLM REBELS were responsible for a couple of crucial ’80s Scandinavian slabs, but this disc is utterly forgettable. The guitar leads are interesting, and are mostly enough to hold my interest, but the majority of this is artificially overproduced slog that actually sounds like a record made by some dudes who recorded a killer EP in 1984 (fun fact: they did), and then developed a taste for commercial stoner rock as adults. I like a couple of the modern releases, most notably 2013’s Abort the System EP, but this one just doesn’t do it, and that’s before I even get to the twelve-plus minute “Dirty Waters” that closes the CD.

On the Might of Princes Where You Are and Where You Want to Be LP

Monumental in some circles, 2001’s Where You Are and Where You Want To Be has been reissued with a few alternate takes and one previously unreleased track. On the one hand, I think this music is exactly why Tim Yo drew the line at STILL LIFE years ago—an emotionally and inwardly-driven band whose songwriting lent as much to melodic/indie/pop sensibilities as anything found lurking under any “punk” umbrella. On the other hand…who’s to say how big that umbrella should be (cue endless debate in 3, 2, 1…)? Not trying to peel away the importance (or quality) of the release, however. ON THE MIGHT OF PRINCES made ’90s screamo their own, “their own” enough that it holds up and sounds fresh and relevant twenty years later. The melody dominates, and songs flow between anguish and romance and harmless metallic riggage so smoothly that the entire record could almost be one opus (to be sure, this is the case for many devotees). The bonus material falls into the “fans only” category: the alternate versions are essentially just less-produced demo takes, and the unreleased cut “Hell or High Water” is good, but pales when compared to the rest of the record. Suffice to say, that this is not a release for me, but I openly acknowledge the importance, the impact, the intensity, and the void left by the loss of frontman Jason Rosenthal in 2013.

Cock Pliers Sex Traffic Rush Hour LP

Blasting grind insanity that asks more questions than it answers. The keyboards are understated, but give this Minneapolis outfit an occasional mainstream black metal sound that is a sharp contrast to the abrasive atonal machine-gun blast attack that dominates most of the tracks. Like PG.99 and SOCKEYE combining forces to cover KVIST…a truly weird collection of instrument/alists (eight of them…? Maybe?)…or maybe a one-person bedroom project. Songs include “Meat Fukkr,” Man Bun in the Oven” and “Circle of Sodomy,” which should get you headed in the right direction. I made it to the last track, “Dick Chisel,” and I’m still trying to figure out what I’m listening to…which is absolutely a compliment.

Sam Egan and the Perineal Excoriations Junior Police Academy Fundraiser LP

The assignment gods are punishing me for being late with my reviews I suppose, because I can’t even tell what I’m listening to. Wildly addictive pop sensibilities, wildly nonsensical synth freakouts, drug-addled construction, capture and (especially) presentation—equal parts JONA LEWIE and AN ALBATROSS? Does that even make sense? Add DJ LEBOWITZ and a shitpile of meth, maybe. Of course they’re from Binghamton, New York…where else can this exist? Chickasha, Oklahoma? Yeah…a couple of tracks sound kinda like DEBRIS cast-offs, so I just went there. You do me, I do you. Also, apparently this LP is “three-sided,” so throw that on the weird pile and get fukkd up.

Body Farm / Slutbomb split EP

There’s no shit going on here but the realest fucking shit. Insanely fast, high-energy hardcore punk that starts full speed out of the gate with BODY FARM’s “Mass” and seriously does not let up—if anything they get more intense when they slow down for the middle of their their side. The kind of slab that leaves you trying to catch your breath, and I’m struggling to inhale the rest of this band’s output all at once. On the flip, SLUTBOMB are great—very ’90s DIY political HC vibe, all over the map with femme/male trade-off vocals and wild wanks that crash recklessly into raging blasts. No genres for either band—no sonic constructs, either.

Kaleidoscope After the Futures… LP

This one dropped last year and justifiably popped onto more than a few folks’ 2019 “best of” lists. New York’s KALEIDOSCOPE has taken the screws to modern hardcore, not so much reinterpreting or combining elements from various crucial points in the historical procession of fads and subgenres, but reinventing them altogether. What if Pick Your King had been born of the Crass Records scene, for example? After The Futures… is nothing if not a complete album as opposed to a collection of tracks. “Feeling Machine” closes the first side with a perfect dose of driving desperation. It’s the kind of track that is supposed to end a side—after listening to Shiva (guitar/vox) spit fire for two minutes and then drop into an “Indecision Time” caliber micro-lead, you fucking need the break that flipping the wax mandates. They are more than capable of dropping a killer hardcore record, but there are only shades of that on this full-length, enough to make sure that you know that they know, but KALEIDOSCOPE are bigger than that. Experimentation and freedom; existence within the construct while altering the expectations of same. You’re gonna hear people talk about jazz, about psychedelic free-form nonsense when they talk about this record…but make no mistake: this one is Punk. With any luck, this one is The New Punk that will spawn a new generation of imitators who also get tired of doing what they are supposed to do, just like KALEIDOSCOPE did.

Sadie & the Wives Unique? EP

This….this is where I want it to go. You’ve got the modern fury—the weird kind. The stomps that lurch into unintentional D-beats and the vocals that are so treated they sound like a Sun Studio reverb room in a horror flick. But there’s also Los Angeles 1979 nihilism and effort crammed in here—and I mean “effort” like they are determined to head full-fukkn-speed straight into that wall of nihilism that is absolutely going to destroy them. Bands like this don’t typically last for more than a couple of singles, and I suggest getting on this train before it implodes. Listening to SADIE & THE WIVES sounds like you’re in on a secret, like you’re hearing something special, something dangerous. They’ve taken hardcore and made it sound like it was alive.

Chiller Dread Creeps In EP

These kids get more fierce with each release. Fast, nasty hardcore punk from Pittsburgh, CHILLER kills it with the breakdowns, drop the leads in where they belong, front everything with ’80s Midwest HC vocal intensity, and they barely pass the 60-second mark in the process. “Whistler” is my choice cut with its disjointed riff and disorienting beat, but there are no bad choices here.

Nervous Assistant Bitter Pills LP

Imagine a collision of ’80s SoCal and ’80s Berlin, not quite one or the other enough to not stay on the bridge. The hooks are there, but so is the stark darkness that creeps through even the upbeat numbers. NERVOUS ASSISTANT keeps it fast and keeps to the shit-hot guitar-based hooks instead of leaning on tonnage or production—not to say that Bitter Pills doesn’t sound great, because it does, but the focus remains on the songs. Makes me even more bummed that I walked into Eli’s as they were wrapping the last song of their set a couple of years back…

Red Star Ranny Pacierz Towarzysza: Live 1985-1986 LP

It still blows my mind how many artifacts remain to be re-discovered from the Communist-era Soviet Bloc countries. Two live sets here from RED STAR (who I had never heard of before this release), screaming Polish hardcore punk with melodic undertones that draw equally (if accidentally) from Minneapolis and London, but the meat here is pure fury. “Bohater” is SIEKIERA-level hardcore power, and the quirky bits of other tracks owe to ÅšMIERĆ KILINCZNA. Give “This Is Poland” a proper studio recording and its anthemic simplicity would easily resonate for 35 more years, and I continue to thank Warsaw Pact Records for making these recordings available.

Slutavverkning Arbetets Sorgemusik Del III EP

Freak times call for freak music, and Stockholm’s SLUTAVVERKNING delivers exactly that. What if essential Swedish catchy punks like MASSHYSTERI were really just band geeks who loved ZAPPA? And saxophones? Because this shit is hopelessly addictive, crazy catchy, and the bizarrodust is sprinkled over every aspect of the mix. “Kollegor” encapsulates the whole approach—wild, driving ScandiPowerPunk verse right into a sax-driven art punk/hard bop chorus, with a TRAGIC MULATTO-worthy crescendo to finish. The record comes with a handful of inserts and a mini poster, personal touches that remind me of the things that used to make me excited about punk…and still do. Get wild, young punks; get real, real wild.

Vlack Wake Up / Worm 7″

Strangely infectious and undeniably powerful platter on my turntable right now. Massive guitar-driven stomps with a hardcore bent—I’m thinking early ’00s not-quite-commercial not-quite-kickboxing-bro-core, maybe even a touch of emo. “Worm” is the dark brooder, while “Wake Up” hits hard and keeps hitting. For scope of appeal, VLACK lands somewhere between MODERN LIFE IS WAR and UNSANE, and carves out their own sound  and approach in the process. Criminally small pressing of just over 111 because…the internet.

Asocial Föralltid Underground LP

Holy shit this is a beast. Sweden’s ASOCIAL left a criminally limited discography in their wake when they disbanded in the mid ’80s, but their return a few years back with Död Åt Kapitalismen was a welcome kick in the ass…this one, however, is light-speed käng. Föralltid Underground is so damn fast, and the riffs are just deadly in their simplicity and execution—this is literally a perfect record. Only two tracks top the two-minute mark, Berggren’s vocals are fueled by a fire akin to early DISFEAR, and the transition from primal ’80s ScanD-beat fury to 21st century power has only made the guitars more deadly. The drums in the title track alone are worth the price of admission—a veritable clinic on hooks and raw power joining forces…much like the entire LP. Raise your collective fist.

Июльские Дни (July Days) Китеж cassette

Present-day reinterpretations of ’80s dark wave/synth rarely sound as perfect as Июльские Дни. Synths are heavy and omnipresent but never overbearing, vocal delivery is stark and cold, demanding and earning attention, while guitar melodies ripped from Top of the Pops soar the band to new heights. Everything is held together with a rock-solid rhythm section, creating a feel that’s suited to the darkest corner of the dancefloor as to an ’80s movie montage. They are reaching confidently for a sound…and they succeed.

Ooloi From the Dust, A New World Emerged, Barren and Awaiting Our Sorrows digital LP

Experimental and/or improvisational free jazz (?) steeped in punk ethos and sonics. A vast expanse of sound, feedback and electronics shrouding erratic drums while guitar and wind trade compete for melodies. The middle of “Jonah” approaches PAINKILLER-level heaviness and ominousity before departing on another leg of their journey through sound—a journey that ends with a raucous, almost six-minute stomp titled “Funeral Rite.” That track (and the release) descends more than it ends, a surprisingly gentle landing that reminds you just how far off the ground OOLOI took you.

Ricky Hell and the Voidboys Ricky Hell & the Voidboys LP

Drug-induced garage and/or bedroom rock brilliance from Ohio’s VOIDBOYS, fronted alternately by Ricky Hell and/or Ricky Hamilton (who are most assuredly not the same people…unless they are). Why is the lead instrument in “I Luv It” a clarinet? This is just one of the (many) questions that you will have after listening to this banger—but mostly you’ll be asking “where can I get more?” Several of these tracks are from the Killed By Ricky tape that most of us will never own, an indescribable collision of dream pop and infectious two-chord punk and a laser-sharp focus on a good hook. CHROME meets ROKY ERICKSON meets the SPITS. There, I said it.

Rivers Edge The Runaround cassette

The e-blurb from the label pretty much sums it up: “Region rock is alive and well in 2019.” Chattanooga supergroup drops their third full-ength cassette in as many years—infectious rough/melodic vocals, ultra produced and perfectly dirty wall of guitars, and more hooks than any self-respecting punk would know what to do with. If you know where they come from, then you likely already know the band. And if you like where they come from (SEXY, ADD/C, THIS BIKE IS A PIPE BOMB, FUTURE VIRGINS) then it shouldn’t surprise you when I recommend this release. I know their legacy is formidable already, but their craft is becoming dangerously refined…which is bad news for exactly no one.

Veils Wellwisher’s Tongue EP

Colossal hardcore from Manila—their debut EP was an absolute killer, but last year’s follow-up will leave you on the damn floor. VEILS hold weapons in their arsenal to level listeners with speed and power, but it’s the restraint that make them stand out—like a more nuanced INTEGRITY, they offer their tonnage with an inward intensity before unloading. “Svvarm” is the perfect example, an intro followed by a drum roll that only hints at the blasts, breakouts and breakdowns that are going to fill the next three minutes. Dangie’s vocals are gruff and dripping with fury, pushed to their absolute limit like the band themselves while the guitars fill every bit of space on the record, dominating in their very presence. Intentional and honest brutality that sounds (and feels) very very fucking real—an excellent record.

Brain Toilet Painmaker cassette

This North Carolina outfit pops up sporadically, but they seem to leave a pretty nasty mark when they do. Oppressive old school grind brutality that imposes itself upon the ears. Seven cuts, and not a relaxing moment to be found. Choice cut: “Underbelly.”

Dateless Extreme Brewed Crash Cooled cassette

Hard-driving NZ rock with serious and generous (or seriously generous?) Aussie overtones. After a long drive down a dusty road, when you walk into the only bar you can find just as the sun is setting…this is the band playing. This is walking out of solitude and into a wall of beer and humanity. DATELESS are raw, primal….DATELESS sound like rock’n’roll.

Észlelés Középtempó Radikále EP

Art/noise manifested as hardcore punk. I feel like Budapest’s ÉSZLELÉS are taking modern-day squirmy punk and giving it a KILLDOZER/FUGS makeover…with horns, and with lots of drugs. A swinging good time, to be sure, and these kids are making punk sound very fukkn weird again.

Kids Born Wrong Giallo cassette

Raunchy garage punk giving a nod to slasher flicks on this five-songer released last year. I can’t place the warbly tenor in the vocals, but there’s a rockabilly reference that I couldn’t shake (or identify) throughout my listen. A different tweak on the recording and some serious songwriting chops would start to shine, but I appreciate that KIDS BORN WRONG seem content (or determined) to stick to a horror punk delivery.

Pink Grip Hedera Helix EP

As good as this whole thing is, the mid-paced sinister trudge of “Spithead” is pure gold. Vocal snarls hold the spotlight throughout, while erratic beats challenge your ability to squirm and discordant guitars only increase the tension. Only four cuts here, but there are enough feels to last a couple of full-length platters—demanding and destructive hardcore punk from Scotland. And seriously…”Spithead” is unbelievable.

Terra Soror Revenge cassette

This one is reeeaaalll good, y’all. UK femme punk trio with an inimitable but instantly familiarly awkward stomp with roots reaching for sharp anarcho/post punk and early Polish hardcore (seriously, “Shapeshifter” after the intro could be a lost track from the Fala comp). A swarm of downstroke guitars are the focus, even as vocals stab through the mix with sharp, urgent bursts. TERRA SOROR might land in the sonic void between dark DIY rehashes and early-’80s UK independence, but what they are really doing is creating their own space, and I hope they continue to fill that space with more sound, because this is absolutely fantastic.

Urin Incydent EP

The embodiment of bombast, Berlin’s URIN drops hard and never let up. Blown-out, manipulated, affected, tortured, ferocious, noisy hardcore peaking constantly. The kind of record that makes you gasp when it’s over…because you realize that you’ve been holding your breath.

2 Lazy Boys The Recline of Western Civilization LP

East Bay label Deimos nails it in their promo blurb: “Calling back to the Geek Fest era of the Oakland punk scene!” And boom!—2 LAZY BOYS go instantly from a bizarrely compelling alt/indie/art twee trio to fukkn visionaries. It’s all about context….like when you sink your teeth into tracks like “Suck a Day’s Dick” and the true-crime story “Juggalos vs. Nazis.” Unquestionably flawless songwriters, with an air for irony and lyrical irreverence that pairs nicely with hit after would-be hit. This is not the record I would expect to even like, much less gush about, but this soft pop with a country/folk tinge (and one burst of chaotic hardcore on each side) has me hooked. “The day’s a selfish lover / The sun never shines under the covers / Then you wake up feeling sad.”

Circle Pit Pushed to Revenge CD

Ripping beer-soaked Texas thrash metal. CIRCLE PIT is from Austin, and what do they sound like? They sound like a thrash metal band from fucking Texas. Real heavy on the Four of a Kind-era DRI, creeping into Thrash Zone even, these rippers go easy on the solos and only slow down for the occasional pit-activating chorus (I’m talking “Killdozer” here). Vocals reach back a couple of decades for influence, skipping modern screams and landing in the late-’80s thrash department—it suits them well. Get fucked up, go hard, wreck shit, this sounds and feels real.

Cross Control Outrage Culture EP

This thing starts so dark and ominous that I checked the RPM indicator on the label twice before CROSS CONTROL dropped in with a wall of ’core that brought me to my knees. This is straight-up, no-bullshit mosh-heavy hardcore Á  la early Bridge Nine (and, before that, New Age Records) with a commendably inward lyrical insight. The crew vocals are in full force, and even though this LA outfit is pure devastation when they take the reins off and let it out, I think it’s the fast parts justified with the unreal low end that makes CROSS CONTROL stand out. Extremely fukkn solid debut release.

Enzyme Howling Mind 12″

You know what’s up here—manic non-music hitting you like a hammer. Rapid-fire drums only seem to stop between songs, firecrackers exploding through the mix erratically while everything else is either distorted or flanged to oblivion. It’s a complete assault that will exhaust even a casual listener (try seeing it live), but the thing that sets Australia’s ENZYME apart is the fukkn tracks. The title track is an insanely catchy pogo banger, followed by “Decadent Hogs,” one of the most relentless scorchers of the last decade that’s still catchy as fuck. The bass is the regulator, holding everything in place and directing the chaos…not an easy task when the chaos you’re a part of just hoists the banner of noise punk higher and higher. CONFUSE? Sure. DISORDER? Naturally. But ENZYME has evolved.

Gipsy SS Intergalaktikus Fajtalálkozó EP

Remember what AMDI PETERSENS ARME did to stadium crust somewhere around 2000? Well, perhaps distortion-drenched noise punk D-beaters are about to take a back seat if this Hungarian band has the same impact…and if people will simply listen, then I’m sure they will. Smart, chaotic, catchy, freaky, erratic and damaged post and/or art punk injected with an absolutely unreal energy that leaps out of the grooves. Dirty (not distorted) guitars struggle to follow drums that are determined to steer clear of anything close to a “normal” beat while the bass often takes the lead—and all that madness makes it hit even harder when they all miraculously fall into the same groove (it doesn’t happen often, which just makes it more special). GIPSY SS sound like no other band, which just a small part of their appeal—they grab you and swing you around your own damn head…this is the energy that punk needs.

Heavy Breather Worser LP

Can you imagine a convergence of PINS OF LIGHT, CRIMINAL CODE and Hidden World-era FUCKED UP? Massive guitar-driven rock, gruff earnest vocals sharing space with ever-present guitar leads and I’m gonna call myself crazy here, but every so often that fool sounds like Rollins. I basically kept this one spinning off and on for a few hours, and I think my only complaint is that HEAVY BREATHER is essentially mono-tempo…but it’s a good-ass tempo. “Same Blood” is the go-to track, except that it ends just when I want it to drive that damn chorus into my brain for an hour. So I listen again.

Nowaves Good for Health Bad for Education LP

This is darkness in the right way. What I mean to say is that NOWAVES sound like they exist in a shroud and/or shrouded by smoke—sounds composed in the physical and metaphorical recesses, presentation that struggles to harness a primitive determination. NOWAVES will certainly appeal to goth revivalists with cuts like “Empty Sorrows” that focus on the synth and that ’80s dancefloor swing, but it’s all in the context of a record that mostly lands somewhere between EA80/GRAUZONE and WIPERS. Although the record is not overly layered, I notice something new every time I listen (WARREN ZEVON meets the CURE vibe on the title track, for example), which only encourages me to listen more.

Shotwell Dead Bats CD

I challenge you to find a San Francisco DIY institution more honest, more real, than SHOTWELL. Jimmy Shotwell has been a fixture and a presence for what feels like forever, and in SHOTWELL’s 25-year existence they have gone through countless iterations and incarnations while he somehow makes me feel like it’s 1996 every time I run into him. Musically, this is perhaps the strongest SHOTWELL release since the MIAMI split (which is—gulp—almost 20 years old). The ska parts are aggressive, the hooks are scraped off the streets, and the lyrical bite is as on-point as it’s ever been, weaving social, personal and political into one suffocating blanket. “Mystery Trip” is the choice cut, a painfully dark number that will be the most lighthearted number on the disc if you don’t look deeper. Rhythm section (currently Steve/GITS on drums and Fucko/STRYCHNINE, NAKED AGGRESSION on bass) is perfect, laying the foundation for a sonic journey through the sometimes filthy streets and often uncomfortable history of San Francisco.

Staflos Corporation Occupation CD

Weirdest release since the DREADEYE LP. Damaged drum machine hardcore clashing violently with computer chaos, tortured trap beats and made-in-the-closet four-track punk. There are a lot of things going on here, and then they drop a perfect no-fi freak punk banger like “Suddenly! Utterly! Crumbling!” and it puts all the other weirdness into a different context…even though I’m still not entirely sure what context—so I listen again.

Rip It Up Morbid Laws LP

Not sure how a record released in France this past summer so instantly reminds me of mid-80s Chicago punk…but it does. And not even in a way that I can quantify or really explain, it’s just something about how it hits me. It’s catchy, but the teeth bite you hard and sink in—vocals are gruff and urgent while the whole recording swings even while it rocks, like NAKED RAYGUN and LES THUGS collaborating. Good shit.

Sierpien Торжество (Triumph) cassette

Driving, mid-tempo dark punk recorded in 2015, almost like a missing link between ARMIA and the non-hardcore SIEKIERA record, but SIERPIEN are Russian and not Polish. The more you listen to this, the more their stripped down sound sinks in, and it’s nice to see that their recent material is even better.

Sonic Warhead Bleed Runner cassette

Demented raw punk stompers from Indonesia. SONIC WARHEAD embody that “everything is about to fucking die!” energy that so many bands try so desperately to conjure. The sound is honest, urgent, powerful, and the tracks are light years beyond sick. Everything sounds weird, sounds off; in other words, it all sounds perfect. This is the second offering from SONIC WARHEAD—guitarist Dovandri sadly passed away after these tracks were recorded, but there are more offerings in the future. Rest (and live on) in Power, and thanks for the riffs.

Swan Wash Swan Wash cassette

Brooding goth with an underlying ferocity that exposes punk roots—at least I hope that’s what I’m hearing. If you deconstruct, some of the tracks tweak components of outlying commercial genres and present them as Faith or Juju-derived darkness, and it totally works. If simple, stripped-down, murky dirges with Pearl Thompson guitar melodies floating in the aether are your cup of chamomile, then Indiana’s SWAN WASH have got you in their sights.

Tap Water Straight from the Tap cassette

I swear that before I looked at the internet, I thought “These freaks sound like they’re from Buffalo.” Turns out, these freaks are from Buffalo. Total tripped-out post-punk, but in the truest sense of the term, like “this is what happens after punk.” Like TRAGIC MULATTO with ska parts (and also with a trombone, like not just as an accent instrument, but like a full-time trombone), TAP WATER are the genuine article.

Adderall Big Pharma vs. Adderall EP

Seven and a half(-ish) minutes of North American squirmy millennial hardcore punk. Manic, down-picked riffs played to straight 4/4 on (pharmaceutical) speed and loads of echo on the short, filthy vokills. The riffs are tiiiiiight, and if you like your shit to land between LUMPY and NOSFERATU, then this one is your 2020 banger, kids.

Antimob Ένα Μίσος Γεννιέται / Πριν την Παράδοση 7″

Greece’s ANTIMOB just keep getting better. Last year’s LP was incredible, but I swear that these two songs released in December are even better. Absolutely epic and mesmerizing hardcore punk. Roots in dark European crust and galloping Japanese hardcore have grown into a fucking forest of riffs and chugs and guitar hooks and desperate vocals, and ANTIMOB just sound massive on this single. The A-side starts strong and ends with a clenched fist, and the B side is even better, even if (especially) because the last 30 seconds are spent just letting the instruments ring out, and it feels like you are floating. A splendid release throughout, mandatory for fans of thee black-clad heavy.

Union Jack Violence 10″

The melodic, rough (and annoyingly catchy) vocals clash with the jangly forceful UK alt/indie guitars and fit right in with the anthemic drive of the rhythm section. Too many “whoa-oh”s of course (it doesn’t take many to be too many), and the weird quirks in tracks like “Poison Me” serve to make Paris’ UNION JACK even more perplexing—also it makes them more interesting. Weird how something that presents this professional and this vanilla can ultimately sound this, well, weird. Choice cut: “Vasectomy.”

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Crystal Violet Violet Night

Hard-driving late night psych, somewhere between HAWKWIND, PHARAOH OVERLORD, and the WIPERS. High praise for this solo project from New Jersey, but CRYSTAL VIOLET focus their (his) vision before they pull back so when they (he) lets loose there is nothing lost or left behind. Even interlude passages like “Mercy Of The Mountain” and “Flux” serve as important components of the overall presentation. Repeated listens reveal even more nuances and encourage deeper digging. Recommended.

Destinazione Finale In Bilico Nel Reale LP

Blistering Italian hardcore, tight as a drum and just catchy enough. These thirteen songs are gone in a flash (the final track is the only one that touches the two minute mark), and the amount of awesome they cram into that lightning fast package is simply staggering. TOTAL FURY’s 13 Songs is a partial comparison perhaps—clean, ripping and uncompromisingly catchy hardcore punk with a subtle sprinkling of ’80s thrash. This was my first exposure to the band, and now I’m on a serious hunt for the demo that came out last year. Anyone holding?

Fail Sons demo cassette

Serious question: are they intentionally speeding up the chorus of “Americans”? Because it sounds so weird and so totally awesome that I really want it to be intentional. Anyway, FAIL SONS are catchy and urgent punk, seemingly fine-tuned for the club circuit (in a good way, it means that they are on top of their shit), with dual guitars doing the dance while layers of vocals alternate gruff and sweet harmonies all over the damn place. It’s a really straightforward formula, and it totally works. Also, it turns out the drums speed up awkwardly and for no apparent reason on a few other tracks too (most notably “BP Oil Spill Of Human Misery”), and I love how it makes everything feel kinda uncomfortable.

Fever Dream Horror Scene Fever Dream Horror Scene cassette

More brooding goth from Indiana. See also: SWAN WASH in this section, who share a guitarist with FEVER DREAM HORROR SCENE, and I’m going to guess that said guitarist has a lot to do with the direction of both bands. Similar melodies circle around the tracks, but this one starts slower, gloomier, and is decidedly less danceable. Things pick up slightly after the two opening tracks, both in tempo and energy, and male/female vocals play off of each other more than at the start, but it’s almost like they are trying to comfort you after bringing you so far down. Distorted guitars and meandering ’90s college rock (MERCURY REV, Homestead Records fodder, MY DAD IS DEAD) play a greater role in tracks like “Relinquary” and “Nascar,” so much that the band feels like they are floating (or fighting) towards an unattainable crescendo. Spend some time here, it’s worth the investment.

Execution South East Asian Tour cassette

Furious distorted hardcore kneeling at the altar of ’80s Italian hardcore, but seemingly incapable of shaking their modern raw fastcore tendencies. The result is completely unhinged in all the best ways imaginable: guitars are chaotic (I mean, the riffs are chaotic, if they even exist at all) and the drums defy description—listening to this is like listening to a good hardcore band fall apart. On purpose. And they do it within the construct of the songs themselves instead of relying on distorting everything just for the sake of chaos. Australia’s EXECUTION create the chaos. A demo from 2017 demo and a 2018 EP, both from Hardcore Victim, all crammed into a plastic shell for EXECUTION’s Asian tour by the folks at Pissed Off Records. This is a beast, please don’t snooze.

Irreal Fi Del Mon 12″

With a start that makes even the most casual listener take note and wonder if they are about to be washed away by a tsunami of ’82 Italian hardcore, IRREAL set their scene before they even make it through one riff…and then they get better. Relentless, pounding drums that dance (like, literally you will want to dance), as the band crashes into and through an array of Southern European punk influences and art-damaged DISCHARGE reinterpretations. So tormented are these guitars, it’s as if the person playing them is attacking with frustration, trying simply to make them sound like they are supposed to—and when you deliver breakneck D-beat (“Ruines”) with that kind of fury, the results are terrifying. IRREAL is the product of several stalwarts of the Barcelona scene, so it comes as no surprise that Fi Del Mon is good—and still when “Maisons” closes the show, there’s nothing I want to do except start from the beginning. Highest recommendation.

Network76 Insanity cassette

It’s like late-’80s DC crashing full speed into late-’80s California. Like BEEFEATER and BL’AST. Heavy rock’n’roll vibes, but ferocious punk energy, and an enviably nasal vocal snarrrrrrl. Only four cuts here, but they close with “Tired,” which makes me anything but tired. No contact info on the tape, but these cats are from Amsterdam and are recommended!

SA90 Overkill EP

Three doses of California punk with spoken/shouted female vocals and a distinct cowpunk vibe driven by Billy Zoom-goes-hard rock guitar damage. The vocals are demanding, the band is loose in all the right ways, and I swear SA90 sound like NAKED AGGRESSION meets More Fun In The New World (sans vocal harmonies, of course). These are sounds made for being in the bar…and being drunk…and getting wild.

AninoKo Ugat LP

I’m just going to say that ANINOKO is the most important band in the Bay Area. Their shows are events: families, kids, activists, punks…their community is represented and their community is present at their shows, and that community is open, welcoming, and supportive. Their hardcore is full intensity, and they somehow managed to cram that energy into these tiny vinyl grooves so effectively that I get chills when I hear Jesse’s bass start “Buhay At Lupa” just like I do when they play live. A band made up of Filipino immigrants, singing in Tagalog and confronting issues that directly impact their community and the Filipino diaspora. They just do it a little faster than most activists. ANINOKO doesn’t just fill up space with their hardcore, they open up space for themselves and everyone around them to grow. These people are real, this music is real, and this music is fucking important.

BKS DIY TNT EP

Hi-energy fastcore with (occasional) melodic bits masked by sheer speed (It’s a proven and effective technique, and I support its implementation). A solid Cappo yeeoowll creeps in at times, just as they’re about to unleash, and they do a nice job of dropping catchy breakdown and intro riffs into the mix to keep things interesting. Eleven tracks here, and not a shred of bullshit to be found (the CRO-MAGS cover is completely unnecessary, but it’s still not bad).

Droids Blood Be Free LP

They want it to sound like a troupe of aliens giving some hard-driving garage punks a lap dance, and that’s pretty much where they landed. This thing has a frustration that almost conjures Revolution Summer (take “Half Sacrifice” as an example), and a driving force that dominates even the less chaotic songs. And speaking of those supposedly mellower moments, “Rotary Phone” is one of the slower tracks on Be Free, and it is an absolute stunner—a simply incredible track. Keyboards are subtle, intensity is constant, and even the moments that venture into indie territory are still just odd enough to keep them outside of any predetermined box. Closest modern comparison I get is DASHER, who were also in your face and in themselves at the same time. DROIDS BLOOD are worth way more listens, and I imagine I’m going to develop other opinions long after these words are public. For now, I’ll say that this is great; drop me a line in a few weeks and I’ll tell you the rest.

Flag of Democracy FODWorld LP

Just to be clear, we are talking about a band who the DEAD MILKMEN referenced on their first damn record…which came out in 1983. We’re talking about 37 years of essentially constant activity. I reviewed the No School No Core full-length last year and it was great, so I dropped the needle on FODWorld with high hopes. I was not let down. Fast, loose hardcore punk with a little more snot and melody that reaches back to their ’80s catalog. Nothing but respect from these ears, and I look forward to the next one.

Nukkehammer A Distant Hissing In Your Ear EP

It’s been an eternity since I’ve heard from these Ohio mongrels, and they haven’t gotten any nicer. Biting critiques masked as sarcasm, all delivered with a relentless noise punk fury. Guitars tortured more than distorted, drums like a hellish thunder, and multiple vocals that spend more time in conflict than in harmony. This is the leather clad raw pÁ¸nk that dominated the blogosphere airwaves and basements ten years ago, but NUKKEHAMMER still offer their wares with isolated originality and a learned intensity. And I still love this shit.

Carlos Dunga / Eat You Alive Carlos Dunga vs. Eat You Alive split EP

Absolute ripper in the form of an Italian fastcore split. CARLOS DUNGA inserts weird chuggas, unnecessary but awesome solos (and they open with a straight classic rock guitar solo intro that had me scratching my head before the ’core started) but basically deliver face-melting fastcore of the highest order. EAT YOU ALIVE are more metallic and “pro,” they look more to MUNICIPAL WASTE than to ___, but ultimately both bands just want to rage. And so they both rage. Also, I think this came out a number of years ago…

Bad Jesus Experience Kaikki On Hyvin LP

A few weeks ago, I had to choose between a Hungarian band playing at a bar in Oakland and a Finnish band playing at a bar in San Francisco. Life is hard. I chose the Hungarians only because I was more familiar with them, and while I don’t think there was really a “wrong” choice to be made, listening to this BAD JESUS EXPERIENCE record really makes me wonder what I missed out on. Discordant intensity—stark, cold, erratic, desperate and unbelievably fukkn’ powerful. It’s like an otherworldly collision of ’00s European metalcore (ACME, AKEPHAL), chaotic ’90s California screamo (HEROIN, MOHINDER) and Scandinavian bands like BURNING KITCHEN and TO WHAT END?, and I just keep trying to figure out what in the world they are going to do next. Note to self: next time go see the Finns.

Black Egg Mind Control Losers cassette

Oh yeah, this one is the real. Space age desert drenched psychedelic garage madness. Just when you think you’re on board, you hear “I don’t know who the fuck I am / I wanna die / I think I’m losing control of my mind, I wanna die / Say / I wanna die!”, and then you strap yourself in, because the opening title track is only the start. Paranoia-drenched OBLIVIANS-type jams that just sound so damn alive that all I want is more. More mystery, more rock, more of that plodding repetition that sounds like a clear, cold sky seen through the honest filter that only reality-through-drugs can truly expose. And mystical feelings aside, the jams are gooooood punk, like really good. Like you-wish-you-wrote-it good. But you didn’t, so just listen and you take yourself to that place. It’s a glorious place, and there aren’t many of us here, but make yourself welcome.

Crush Crusher Q: Are We Not Muppets? A: We Are Maniacs! cassette

Some people like their punk high-end and frantic. If you are one of those people, then Oklahoma City’s CRUSH CRUSHER are your new favorite band. The CRUCIFUCKS cover fits right the fukk in, which might give you a nice starting point, and the primitive ’70s-style Midwest punk showered in jangling guitars dominates in the best way. This is music born in basements, this is music that is never meant to leave basements. Never mind the pink cartoons on the cover, and get to ripping.

Faultfinder Brother’s Milk LP

Looks killer—dark, brooding, mysterious…makes me think it’s gonna be pretty heavy. I like heavy. The lyrics set the tone before the needle even drops, as I peruse “Cum In Me, Bro” and “Moist Clue,” taking everything in before I succumb to the sounds, and then it starts. More pained, more frustrated, more overwhelmingly negative that I even thought. Awkward guitars like a drunk NEUROSIS outtake, layers of vocals that bluntly make me feel uncomfortable, and an uncanny ability to keep control of a pace that so desperately wants to let go, but mercy is nowhere to be found on Brother’s Milk—it’s all awkward. At its roots, this is simply a heavy rock record, but those roots have borne something so much more ominous. Crushing tonnage in word and execution, it’s an exhausting listen from start to finish.

Healthy Competition Vol. 1 cassette

Quirky überdorks retaliate, freek punks unite, true weirdos activate, challenging music bring to the fight. Imagine some Rough Trade talent scout meets D. Boon and/or Will Shatter at a TEENAGE JESUS gig in ’78 and says, “yo, check this fish-needs-a-bike single BLURT is gonna release in three years” and those California dudes just run with it. Weird, right? I don’t think Rough Trade employees said “yo” in 1978, but you get my point. Also, I’m guessing HEALTHY COMPETITION, being from Minneapolis, have seen URANIUM CLUB more than twice. Bloviating aside, this demo is really good, and sets a dangerous expectation for future success.

The Illiterates Demo cassette

Adolescent New York punk that properly uses a tried-and-true formula: simple box riffs, honesty, and energy. The cover of BAD RELIGION’s “Along the Way” helps to place which brand of punk they are going for, and while it’s easy to imagine these kids developing into a style that’s more “commercial” and less “punk,” in their current manifestation it sounds like some teenagers bashing shit out in the garage. The ILLITERATES (all fourteen and fifteen years old) are the first band on Poop Stick records, started by a nineteen-year-old to chronicle the young bands in his hometown (respect).

Inferna Demo cassette

Another killer band from Oklahoma City, makes me wonder when punks outside of the Bible and/or Grain Belts gonna start paying attention. Relentless bleak crust unhindered by fashion and trend, INFERNA make black metal guitar sound like they belong in a 1-2-1-2 hardcore stomp just as the chaotic structures sound completely at home breaking up the would-be-monotony of by-the-numbers nihilism. Check the fukkd bass that ushers in the brutal four plus minute reality of “Insurmountable Barrier,” and you are reminded what honesty sounds like—as in “this is what we are giving you, and we are giving you everything.” Raw and real, which is exactly how I like my punk.

Kina Troppo Lontano e Altre Storie LP

Matt, Ken, and Andrew put KINA into historical context last month while touching on three other LP reissues from one of Italy’s most often overlooked but arguably essential acts. This one is a reissue of a 1996 CD that was in turn a collection of the Troppo Lontano EP (1987) and splits with the ACT, HOETH CASTLE and the SPHERE recorded between ’87-’91. While the off-the-rails Italian rage is tempered slightly, and Billy Bragg and/or HÜSKER DÜ-styled acoustic numbers appear on both sides, this is still an essential blast that chronicles the birth and growth of a band who’s importance is probably more pronounced in hindsight than it ever was at the time. Perhaps it’s precisely the acoustic tracks and the temperance that make this one so good. Not every band warrants the reissue treatment, but KINA most certainly does.

Ξέρα (Ksera) / Noma Split EP

Filthy low-end grind from NOMA (the first track is titled “Mincing the Agony,” and they just go from there). Only slightly more nuance from ΝžΝ­ρα (KSERA), with three (untitled) tracks of harsh start/stop hardcore that relies heavily on whirling guitars and loose, erratic construction. Both bands hail from Greece, and both sides of this split led me down rabbit holes to hear more (the NOMA split with Canada’s RAMPANCY is especially worth seeking out).

Rat Trap Demo 2019 cassette

It’s 2019. It says so right on your own tape. You can’t open your demo with a cover of “Wild Thing.” Like, I don’t know if there’s been actual legislation passed that has codified this cultural understanding into law, but…seriously? Just don’t do that. You set the zero bar so damn high that I don’t even know if the rest of your demo can possibly get me back to where I was when I pressed play. But I listen anyway…and grudgingly, I have to admit that despite your ill-advised opener, RAT TRAP, I am now on your team. Knuckle-dragging hardcore punk at its most primitive: loose, ugly—the kind of music you want people to hate. And I’m sure that some of them do…so you win (for what it’s worth though, I think y’all fukkd up the opening riff to “Wild Thing”).

Scum Guppies Total Release cassette

Hell yeah! Maximum energy and truly fukkd garage that wastes just a few minutes of my life before fucking back off to Cleveland. Damaged and full of shit-hot rock’n’roll, just the way Rust Belt punks are rumored to deliver their goods (the rumors are true). It’s like Carl Perkins got kidnapped by the NEOS and then spawned East Bay Ray in the middle of a time warp ’60s California desert acid experiment. The shit is wild, the shit is fast, the shit is out there, can you dig it?

Shaka-STD Shaka-STD cassette

Whooooooaaaaa kiddies, slow down and take a look at this shit hot fire from America’s Heartland. Another mandatory offering from Oklahoma, as SHAKA fukkn rage their way through breakneck off-the-rails thrashcore of the purest variety. I mean, the drummer changes beats in the first track simply because they can’t keep up—the shit is that fukkn fast and theymatch the speed with riffs and power and I’m just floored. Reminds me of CANKRO, but it’s faster, and that’s saying something. Can people stop talking about New York and L.A. and shit and start looking at the true freaks? Because I’m telling you, punk, the freaks are our only salvation.

Snakes 5 Song Demo cassette

Chaotic and aggressive hardcore is king. I mean, this is obvious. But when a band settles into melody, I want to hear HÜSKER DÜ and MOVING TARGETS, and that’s exactly where SNAKES land, with tinges of FUEL (and/or Dischord) in the mix to keep me guessing before they launch into more power. They maintain the balance well, and SNAKES spend five short tracks making their point and then exiting confidently.

Musclegoose No Country for Old Buffet cassette

I wish the name weren’t so dumb, because the band is damn good. Tinges of ’90s Sacto punk (LIZARDS, SEWER TROUT), but it also reminds me of the Middle America scenes where you can actually do whatever you want because none of you are cool anyway. So who fukkn cares if you are equal parts JESUS LIZARD and KRUNCHIES? You’re from Arkansas, and no one except some middle aged twerp in California is going to take you seriously anyway. But I do, MUSCLEGOOSE…I truly do.

Miami Death 2 Miami Death II cassette

Holy shit this is a monster. Washes of deadly noise interrupted by bursts of some of the most disgusting grind and powerviolence I have heard in years. Everything is presented in the context (not the confines) of a burly hardcore band, with intros and breakdowns that make me weak at the knees, and then they blast off (or implode?) the moment you start to feel comfortable. Germany’s MIAMI DEATH 2 are a complete assault on the senses.

Needle Shattering Retinal Matter cassette

Ripping grindviolence with obligatory metallic intros. File alongside Gulf Coast Power Violence fodder, and when things get a little too chaotic and disjointed? Well, that’s pretty much the point of extremity. Choice cut: “Inter-Dimensional Game of Suffering,” if only because that guitar break is so unbelievably sick.

Особые Условия (Usobye Uslovia) Страх уйти без сожаления cassette

Brilliantly brooding Oi!/goth with equal parts BLITZ and MISSION waging a war for a place in your cold dark heart. North Americans who went googoonuts for SYNDROME 81 earlier this year take note, because as good as those French punks are, Russia’s Особые Условия (USOBYE USLOVIA) are absolutely the real fukkn deal. This release is from 2016, but somehow that makes me even more excited.

Quaker Wedding Demo cassette

Backpack clutching, back-and-forth swaying, gruff vocal singing, melodic JAWBREAKER liking throwback punk rock that harkens to a time and place that I consciously chose not to participate in. There’s nothing bad about QUAKER WEDDING, and all opening sentence tongue in cheek jabs aside they are totally better than just fine at this thing, but…I keep waiting for something to grab me, and nothing does.

Total Losers (Do You Remember) Youth Energy? cassette

Talk about an appropriate title. (Do You Remember) Youth Energy? captures adolescent innocence and unabashed fury, and somehow in their homage they manage to harness the adrenaline as well. And the adrenaline is key. Think early BAD RELIGION or DOA, delivered with honesty and precision. This Finnish act does what they do shamelessly, and I love them for it.

Witch-Hunt Darkened Anthology 1992-2002 CD

The bio included with this disc tells me that WITCH-HUNT was founded by two brothers in 1992, but had zero original members by 1997—which is kinda weird, but I digress. The anthology offers fifteen cuts of ferocious and honest death metal that spans their recorded output from a raw two-piece demo in ’93 to a keyboard-heavy black metal offering from ’02 that sounds like HECATE ENTHRONED. The best era fell in the middle: more technical, yes, but that’s just to say that they eschew the knuckle-dragging style so common (and commonly revered) in the genre, and concentrate on shredding. I’ve seen the name tossed about over the years, but this was my first taste, and it was delicious.

Without Empathy Without Empathy cassette

Oh hello, grindcore. Thanks to the Heartland for breeding the discontent that created this ten-song cassette, because the grind is so filthy, I think most coastal elites won’t be able to handle it. I can, of course (barely). Duh. Because these are my roots, and I understand, but still… damn. Armed with a colossal low end, samples, and a ton of hatred, bassless Oklahoma duo WITHOUT EMPATHY waste no time getting straight to the brutality. The chugs alone should be enough to sell any purist (and/or punish any poser), but hold onto yer pantaloons when WITHOUT EMPATHY open up, because this one is an absolute motherfukkr.

V/A DGHD-50 cassette

Why not celebrate your 50th release with a 30-track compilation? From freakout synth jams to jerky garage punk to… well, there’s lots of jerky hi-energy garage punk, but that’s fine. There are also several tracks that scream early ’90s college/alternative rock (SAWA MELON, RIOT PUNCH), but they scream it really well, and there are legit hardcore slammers like LECHE in the mix, too. Packed entirely with bands I had never heard of, including MEAT SWEATS, WASTE MAN, COUNTY BOYS, LUVWEB, UNCLE JESUS, BETTY GOOP, PROM THREAT and waaaaaay more. DGHD-50 packs a shockingly favorable ratio of excellent : interesting : forgettable for a compilation with 30 new-to-me acts. “Commodity” from LATE and KNIFE HAND’s “Big Rig” are among the killerest cuts I’ve heard this month.

Cliterati Ugly Truths//Beautiful Lies LP

I feel like after a few releases, Portland’s CLITERATI has finally made the record that they were so close to delivering with Nuked At Birth and the VIOLATION WOUND split. Searing hardcore punk tinged with ’00s coliseum D-beat and fist-banging metal, all delivered with fire and with a positive fury that does more than talk about how fukkd everything in the world is. There’s beauty in the anger, and Ami’s vocals on tracks like “Trans is Beautiful,” “Unfuck the System,” and “Latinx Taken” are perfect examples of turning anger and frustration into power. Sonically, Ugly Truths/Beautiful Lies is a straight ripper. Period. But the full package (including Sugi’s cover art) is what really puts CLITERATI over the top. Full endorsement.

ISS Alles 3rd Gut LP

Sharp North Carolina damage that sounds like it’s coming from an entirely different dimension. Doses of CHROME, early Goner, ERASE ERRATA, FLIPPER, EINSTÜRZENDE NEUBAUTEN—ISS are all over the damn map, with slow nihilistic dirges, fast and snappy garage power jammers, and a tendency for dark pop in the face of super fukkd up sax solos. In a world of by-the-books, flavor-of-the-month bands (and genres) taking the DIY world by storm, it’s refreshing to hear a record that is just going where the sound takes it—also, this record is extremely fucking punk. And punk is still cool. Choice banger: “Outta My Gourd,” if only because it stands out as a neanderthal slammer in a field of weirdness.

Holy Shit! Not My Tempo EP

Almost twenty years on, and Milwaukee’s HOLY SHIT! only seem like they are getting faster on the eight-track Not My Tempo. Midwest hardcore sensibilities come out on “Learning How to Fight,” with Eric’s double snare taps dominating the verses. DIE KREUZEN comparisons are not out of line here (not just the geographical similarities), and they still can’t seem to write a simple track if their lives depended on it. “Climbing Up Butter Wall” with the weird ass time changes, “Shut Up Matty” with the herk/jerk in the verse, the churn of “BBLLOOWW,” it all puts you on edge and refuses to let you just rock. HOLY SHIT! are about making you feel weird. Extra points for making every non-sonic aspect of all of their records seem like an adolescent attempt at “baby’s first punk seven inch,” with lyrics about stupid friends and doing stupid shit and high school-caliber cover art pretty much across the board. It’s all part of the charm…and also, Tony is so out of tune in “Narrow The Goal,” that it hurts my brain. See? Even after I talk about how great they are, HOLY SHIT! still leave me with a nice “fuck you,” and I appreciate that.

The Beekeepers Song Demos cassette

How do you describe something that’s just simply “dreamy”? I mean, can I just say that a band that plays upbeat and innocent sounding punk drenched in UK88 keyboards is “dreamy” and leave it at that? I’m talking the LA’S and/or HOUSEMARTINS meets Nuggets level swoon over here, and I am borderline in love with the BEEKEEPERS. Bonus points for covering “Frantic Romantic” (the SCIENTISTS), but these kids didn’t need any help winning my heart.

The Fog Reconsider EP

Euro straight edge on a seriously sinister bent, this seven-song slab (plus an intro) from Germany’s the FOG treats you about as nicely as a bag of bricks swinging around knee level in the pit. Thick, throaty vocals and a painfully mid-paced attack that seems steadfastly opposed to unleashing…which means that I basically spend the entire fucking record on edge. Waiting. Tense. In other words, the FOG cranks out traditional meaty hardcore without owing anything to anyone. This is what we like to call “success.”

In Dire Fucking Straits January’s Kids LP

What do you say about a record that reminds you of Sarah Kirsch and KING MISSILE and some commercial version of SHOTWELL-by-way-of-WEAKERTHANS? Yeah, I don’t know either, to be honest, but by the time I was finished trying to figure it out I realized I had listened to the whole damn first side twice….and I was kinda liking the weird sporadic tambourine. IDFS is truly endearing in their shameless honestly, and that honesty wins out even when I admit that I don’t exactly need the tracks in my life. Anthemic and sweet and tongue in cheek, but never shite or trite—let this one sink in and you’ll be rewarded.

The Throwups Male, Pale ‘n Stale LP

It’s like hard-hitting grown-up garage punk, but kinda without the hard. That just means that the THROWUPS toss the contrived “heavy” vibe that a lot of alcohol-soaked dirty-guitar-driven rock’n’roll bands rely on, and they substitute killer tracks and an earnest intensity that makes them feel more…real. On the way from MENSCLUB to FUEL, there’s a bridge between discordant powerful punk rock and filthy ass bars…the THROWUPS are playing their hearts out on that span. Plus the “Tuba Practice” track just makes believe that these are my kind of people.

Exithippies Stoned / Stoned Again 7″

Bizarro ’80s electronic dance music on the A-side (Á  la YELLO or AARON CARL). Blown out noise-not-music song-free shit-fi crasher crust on the flip. If you pay attention, then you should expect nothing less from Tokyo’s EXITHIPPIES. And if you are uninitiated…..? Well, then why not start here? At least you get both ends of the spectrum and you’ll never be surprised by another release from these maniacs again. It’s over as soon as it starts, and it’s pretty damn brilliant—boundaries of what we can music need to pushed, and these fukkrs just keep pushing.

Laxity / Torpur Split LP

Discordant and truly damaged sounds from LAXITY. Primitive, fukkd, minimal jerky shit, bordering on art/post-punk at times and leaning towards shit-fi Midwest basement hardcore at others…their side is a truly original sounding piece of madness and I find myself hesitant to flip—because what if the other side is a stinker?! Instead, TORPUR is more damaged, more fukkd, more aggressive. Not more awesome, mind you, because these two bands are carefully presented in compliment, not competition, but the intensity level ramps up notably here, and nuance is replaced with distorted stomps and terrifying demented vocals. Both bands are from Poland (and all of these tracks have appeared on tapes that I now desperately need) and successfully tweak—and, in the process, fully own—North America’s take on squirmy mysterious punk. Literally the only negative thing I can say is that this 12″ is limited to 100 copies.

Aluminum Knot Eye Neutered and Declawed / Pantherman 7″

These Milwaukee garage psych freaks are no closer to assimilating than they were when they started more than 20 years ago. It’s almost as if this slab is meant to draw a clear line between themselves and whatever you think is normal. Howling shrieking monotonous chaotic no rules roots punk owing as much to SCREAMIN’ JAY HAWKINS as to MC5, and with a pretty damn straight screaming cover of the ’70s Dutch glam proto-bonzer “Pantherman” on the flip, make no mistake that ALUMINUM KNOT EYE are going to continue doing whatever the fuck they want for as long as they want. High-energy monotony of the highest order.

Hepcat Dilemma Art Imitates Life LP

Outsider sounds. This would have fit nicely on the Alternative Tentacles catalog circa 1989. Professional and/or professorial art/poetry with meandering guitars leading “compositions” instead of songs and/or tracks. This falls somewhere between TRAGIC MULATTO, ZAPPA, and VICTIMS FAMILY.

Retortion Terror / Worm split CD

Technical modern metallic hardcore from WORM, legit mainstream shorthair metal appeal in more than a few parts. Fierce technical grind from RETORTION TERROR, inhumanly fast during the hardcore parts, and then they grind, sometimes with spoken (almost rapping) vocals. A chaotic listen from start to finish—both bands are from Japan, and the whole thing clocks in just over fifteen minutes.

Ammo Nausea Nightmare cassette

I think I can probably list the song titles for a band called AMMO and you wouldn’t need any other encouragement. “Life Crime.” “Nazi Pope Nazi Pain.” “End It All.” See? Ultra-fast, relentless hardcore punk with desperate vocals (and lyrics) and eye-popping riffs. No bullshit, no pretense, this is hardcore that makes you stand up and go “wait, what the fuck is happening?” like DIRECT CONTROL did when they dropped out of heaven nearly 20 years ago. I have a feeling there’s more AMMO coming, and if they can set a bar like the breakdown in “Known Unknown” on this demo, then I can only imagine what kind of destruction we are in for next.

Chow Line Life of Extremes cassette

Clenched-fist destruction of the highest order. Somehow these freaks manage to inject mid ’00s heaviness into modern stomp hardcore,and they make everything real fukkn fast. CHOW LINE is really really good, like a bulldozer digging up fukkn buzzsaws-level good; the kind of demo that makes you tired just listening to it. Up there with the LIFES 12″ in the “I don’t want to listen to anything else” category this month. Don’t snooze.

Compressions Death Spiral cassette

High-energy US hardcore punk with a nice greater Bay Area vibe—I’m thinking somewhere between ECONOCHRIST and BL’AST. They never unleash, but the guitars sound like they are constantly fighting to get out of a cage, and the vocalist earns the mid-era FLAG comparisons likely heaped upon him from listeners and watchers. The more I listen, the more I like it.

DPBS Stairway to Community cassette

Ultra limited-run tour tape released last year. The power of The Internet can still connect you to these space indie sounds from Montreal. Dreamy and just a little bit noisy (sometimes) prog-punk with a decided groove, like a basement punk WOODEN SHJIPS or something. It’s good, man, I swear…and I would have enjoyed seeing this band on their summer 2018 tour.

Lifes Treading Water LP

Serious contender for my favorite hardcore record of the year over here. Milwaukee duo LIFES have been plugging away with EPs and splits for several years now, and they apparently had been waiting for this one until it was perfect. It is. Sonic destruction of the highest order, with discordant slows and blasts that are nothing short of punishment. Layers of bass tracks are at constant war with dual vocals and drums that struggle to maintain one beat long enough to get you hooked…so instead you just stay anxious. The doses of early ’00s influence come from the chaotic melodies in tracks like “A Four Year Old Contemplates Death,” while the shameless speed and power (and the crushing slows as in “Bitter Cold”) of LIFES that will likely get them lumped in with bands they sound nothing like…well, that’s when they truly sound like no one else. Brutally honest and unforgiving and often uncomfortable lyrically, the voice is delivered with arguably more fury here than the music, which is presented with a fucking massive recording, and any space left in the sound is perfectly filled with sound or samples Á  la MOTHERCOUNTRY MOTHERFUCKERS. A completely excellent and very intentional release that I cannot recommend enough. The title track, “Treading Water,” is on repeat all damn day.

Pisser Breaking Chains LP

Ferocious lowest-common-denominator crossover thrash. You’ve heard the riffs before, and you’ll love them this time too. You’ll also love flares like the half-time tempos in “Nightcrawler,” particularly the one leading into the ripping solo. The recording is cavernous and treble-heavy (think the first DESTRUCTOR 12”) and the vocal yowls land somewhere between ACID and BITCH, which is a very, very tough place to land. Choice cut: “Willing Victim.”

Positive Citizen Tension cassette

I thought I was in for more indie rock when the guitar intro started, instead I got distorted melodies and in-the-red youth frustration. POSITIVE CITIZEN sounds like a dozen bands I played with in the late ’90s: punk and raw and pissed and determined, but determined to write catchy as fuck punk songs instead of determined to level the place with volume or riffs or whatever. Just doing the damn thing and doing it with heart. These bands can tip the scale either way, but this one is a winner.

Red Threads Out Of The Blue cassette

Soulful freak punk with a casual absence of pretense. Early no wave/damaged post-punk with some awkward funk thrown in, fronted by performance art freak vocals that move effortlessly between Lunch and Kekaula. I can see this in the context of 1990s indie just as easily as 1980s New York, and it sounds like it completely belongs in 2019.

Trash Everything Is Trash cassette

Yup, this is hardcore. Nasty ’80s California meets destructive ’00s Ohio from this outfit made up of kids from, well, California and Ohio. Oxnard, meet Parma (in this case it’s Baltimore, Ohio, but let’s not split hairs here). It’s manly, it’s bombastic, it’s fast, it’s slow, it makes young men want to murder each other. There’s probably blood, and the vocals are real throaty and fukkd. It’s good.

Warsh Demo cassette

Forceful hardcore punk. Shouted female vocals, some excellently weird riffs and construction, and it’s generally tough as nails. WARSH hit that typical stomp just enough to lure in the flavor-of-the-month kids, but it’s just a trick they’re gonna use to smash your face with a deadly buzzsaw guitar and insanely good tracks. It’s like NO THANKS planted “Fuck Everything” on Prince Edward Island (that’s in Canadia, the way eastern part) 35 years ago, and WARSH just waited until it had fully matured. Highest recommendation.

V/A Kinda Sorta Music 2019 CD-R

20-band compilation CD-R—a format that I simultaneously curse and adore. The disc starts with garage punk, then raw hardcore, then blackened grind/crust…so you know you’re in for a wild ride. There’s weird industrial (FUTURE SCUM), pure noise (O.S. D’VIL, OLIGARCHY OF MEGALOMANIA), shit-fi garage (the GREAT SADDNESS), psychedelic drum machine party punk (HURT HAWKS), some lost BAUHAUS shit (UFO WHISPERER) and plenty of straight hardcore and/or punk burners (the RIGHT, DEAD BABIES). Literally something here for everyone, and I missed more than a few highlights in this review. Kinda Sorta Music is all over the place in the best way, and well worth the two or three emails to kindasortamusic@mail.com that it might take to get a copy into your own hands.

Western Death Sick Century CD

The meaty chugs of mid-’80s NYHC clashes with melodic gruff vocals and wailing leads, while the heart of Sick Century is high energy catchy ’core along the lines of SNFU or BOUNCING SOULS. Worth noting that these kids hail from Medicine Hat, Alberta—a town the cops quite literally tried ran us out of on tour in ’96, but that was a different century. This century is a sick one. See what I did there?

Obedience MMXIX LP

If you paid attention to the 2016 demo, then you pretty much know this 12″ platter is going to be good. Well, it’s better than that. A ten-track juggernaut, with Dave’s vocals cranking out frustration and wisdom at a pace and ferocity that rivals ’82 MDC. There’s an amped up Oi! undertone that sneaks into the mix here and there, which only serves to make their unhinged rage a little catchier than it probably should be…and makes bangers like “Wall Me In” hopelessly addictive. For reference, this Austin band features members of TEAR IT UP, CONCRETE, SEVERED HEAD OF STATE and BREAKOUT…you know, in case you needed any convincing.

Pink Guitars Hand CD-R

At their height, this Buffalo, NY recording project reminds me of the atonal spacious presentation of ARMIA’s Legenda, while most of the time it’s some feisty bedroom four-track punk with goooood riffs (“Above It All”) and some questionable vocals (also “Above It All,” unfortunately) that sound like they are going for 82 DC on a recording that is light years from ’82 DC in almost every way. If nothing else, PINK GUITARS keep me listening so I can try to find a way to describe what I’m listening to…this is something, you see.

Proletariat Punch Crapitalism cassette

If my first thought is “hmmm, kinda has a feisty Spiderleg Records vibe,” then things are going well, right? PROLETARIAT PUNCH is primarily (I think?) a recording project, and they’ve been cranking out offerings for almost a decade. This one sticks with me more than last year’s Intifada EP; they charge full-speed through every track (there are just four), and at their tightest moments manage to exude a touch of PENI lurking under a pounding early DISCHARGE beat. It’s a relatively simple formula, but it really works here. Recommended.

Salty Dry-Rub cassette

How do you describe hipster punk delivered by actual nerds? Not ironic nerds, but people who are nerds because they have no other choice in life. Dry-Rub is synth heavy, there’s the VERUCA SALT vibe that dominates (it’s really a WIRE / BUZZCOCKS vibe, but that’s a different decade and a different story), and there’s the overwhelming feeling that you’re own perception of cool is getting completely skewed by listening to SALTY. Decidedly un-hip hipster garage/psych music that should be for the masses.

Sendo Fogo Sobreviver a Lutar CD

Ripping fastcore, the way you want it and they way it should be delivered. São Paulo’s SENDO FOGO slow it down to a punishing pace when necessary, and it just makes the controlled insanity of bangers like “Abaixo do Chão” come off even more face-melting. Blasts drop in a few times, but at its heart this is a no-bullshit fast hardcore record—carrying on the Brasilian tradition of bands like DISCARGA, MAYOMBE, MERDE, and the like. Eleven songs, twelve minutes. Killer.

The Sissies Milksop cassette

Beer and shitty bars and rock’n’roll…it all still tastes good together. We’re talking the BRIEFS and/or Surfer Rosa era-PIXIES by way of AMBOY DUKES and/or STOOGES, but with a NINE POUND HAMMER “yeeeaaaahhh“ cranked way up in the front of house monitors. All of these ingredients are delicious, and the pained/strained vocals are the gravy. I kinda don’t want to like this, but I totally do.

USA/Mexico Matamoros LP

Actual noise rock royalty on this one, with King Coffey (BUTTHOLE SURFERS) behind the kit. Throw in a couple of dudes from SHIT & SHINE, and prepare yourself for a beating. Pure and purely demented Texas noise rock, emphasis on the “noise” descriptor. There are layers of magic lurking under the crumbling cacophony of destructed and distorted sound masquerading as “songs,” laying waste to boring genre adherence just as they lay waste to theories of repetition as music. Regurgitating the ghost of KILLDOZER as a psilocybin aficionado roaming Austin alleys at 4:00 A.M. Game over, kids…the grown-ups just won.

Suck Lords True Lords Music EP

These Portland maniacs went and got really fukkn raw on their new EP. Blown-out garage hardcore mania fueled by speed and paranoia, these eight songs are onto the next fight before you even know you got your ass kicked. SUCK LORDS swing hard, and the riffs crawl under your skin, but everything just happens so damn fast. Like NEON CHRIST fast. Take NOSFERATU as a lazy modern comparison, but the shit here sounds like no other game in town. Yeah…it’s good-ass shit.

Speed Babes Tape:Pink cassette

Third dose this month of garage-esque punk from What’s For Breakfast? Records. Karoline says “it kinda sounds like that wave of commercial almost-punk that was popular fifteen years ago. Like, not the HIVES, and not quite FRANZ FERDINAND, and maybe REIGNING SOUND sometimes.” And you see, that’s why I ask Karoline’s opinion: because she fukkn nails it. Quirky jams from Chicago’s prolific SPEED BABES, every track is catchy (well, almost; see below) and the above non-descriptors should give you a pretty good idea of what they are slinging. A few breath-y slow/quiet tracks for good measure (the burners are way better though, “Start a War” is a clunker supreme).

D7Y D7Y LP

This is how you fukkn do it—bombastic and relentless D-beat punk that sounds totally original. Iceland’s D7Y tweak the formula just enough and in just the right ways: integrating the noise and the chaos into the songs themselves instead of just adding chaos for the sake of chaos like many bands are wont to do. But the main thing here is just the constant pummeling that D7Y delivers…it simply doesn’t stop, and just listening to this slab is exhausting. Absolutely top notch record in construction, presentation and delivery.

Enemy 4 Songs cassette

Maximum brutality on this four-song banger. High speed, high energy, and devastatingly heavy Los Angeles hardcore that successfully harnesses California’s catchy early-’80s punk and dumps a colossal amount of tonnage on its collective back. Check the urgent stomp of “Glüm” (my choice track) and see if you’re still standing when it’s over. The EP from a while back was good, they were great when I saw them last year, but this shit? This thing is unreal.

Faux Co. Radio Silence cassette

I mean, it’s not bad. But I feel like I’m listening to the 1971 California radio pop engine firing on all cylinders, and I don’t know why there’s this MAMAS & THE PAPAS rehash mixed in with my raging D-beat and my hardcore. Don’t get me wrong, Sweetheart of the Rodeo is an essential record (and it’s way more country than Radio Silence is), there’s just a time and a place.

Musclegoose 3 Ninjas: High Noon at Musclegoose Mountain cassette

High-energy golf-themed basement shit punk that is way too high-fidelity. This shit is supposed to be recorded with a toilet mic, and these Arkansas butt rockers spent the money on a studio for some reason. It’s weird, but it means that the legitimate chops on tracks like “Bad Boyz II: Men” shine through and the listener starts to think that MUSCLEGOOSE might actually be a real band (hint: they are). DWARVES chops with SPITS humor, and head and shoulders better than the throw away joke punk garbage persona that they present.

Frustrerad Shadow of Life cassette

Clenched-fist kÁ¥ng fire from Belgium. They adhere to The Formula quite well: Euro D-beats, verse/chorus/verse with no funny stuff (maybe an occasional bridge), treble rebel recording, shouted earnest vocals…and a VARUKERS cover. I mean, it’s all here and they do it right.

Night Talkers Code 1079! LP

High-energy party-heavy punk rock’n’roll. Screaming guitars up front at all times, and you can practically feel beer cans whizzing by your head as their brand of amped-up club punk reaches to NASHVILLE PUSSY to inspiration. NIGHT TALKERS sound instantly familiar, probably because they have existed as different entities with different monikers in different cities practically since the dawn of punk. But hard-hitting burners like “Trapped” are timeless.

Pasha & the Kindred Spirits Demo 2019 cassette

Lo-fi indie pop and/or region rock, or perhaps this is like the PROMISE RING if they got signed by Plan-It-X in 1998. Plus there are layers of whoa-ohs and lots of guitar leads, but the recording kinda makes it all just sound like a mess. I’m still listening here, and with all due respect to the artist/s, I promise that I’m trying. But the truth is that PASHA & THE KINDRED SPIRITS are a swooning turd delivered with marginally out-of-tune pretension. If you want to hear the sound of a jilted lover that just won’t go away, then this is your jam…I find myself wondering if I know anyone in this band and am gonna feel bad about this review (edit: just listened again, and it’s very honest).

Born Shit Stirrers Depressed Father’s Club CD

Short blasts of attitude from a crew of Brits living on the north coast of Japan’s southern island. (I’m talking about the big islands. Okinawa and Ishigaki are important and beautiful, but they aren’t very big.) Songs mostly clock in under the one-minute mark, and come off like KICKER and PUSRAD in a blender. Vocals are barked with a rarely rivaled irreverence, and this crew of expats relentlessly assails foreigners with a vicious wit. Top notch release from a group that manages the “tongue in cheek” vs. “fun as fuck” balance brilliantly.

Chardonnay Do You Have the Maximum Intuition cassette

As an instantly addictive collection of references, the opening salvo from CHARDONNAY offers a journey far more advanced than a mere listening experience. You want high praise? I thought about HAWKWIND, WIPERS and COMPLICATIONS in the first track alone, and when they settled down into a barrage of gravel-voiced emotion, I found myself liking them even more. Self-described “LSD-beat” from New Orleans, this release is probably more rock and less fire than I would normally request, but damn the tunes are just gold throughout. It’s good to branch out from time to time…

The English Language Paranoid Imagination cassette

Early-’90s grunge/college/indie fully reborn and reincarnated. I mean, it’s been almost 30 years, so TAD is classic rock at this point (“Stairway to Heaven” was only eight years old when Pay to Cum dropped, so there’s that for perspective). Some surfy Laurel Canyon bits break up the distant guitars on what could essentially sit alongside EUGENIUS or any number of then-retro sounding bands. So yeah…here’s some kids from 2019 trying to sound like drugged out kids from 1990 who were trying to kick 1970 butt rock in the butt. Is it good? Yup, it totally is. They do exactly what they set out to do. Choice cut: “Misery.”

Trinity Test Trinity Test LP

These are the bands that LEFTÖVER CRACK has spawned. Abrasive but catchy “fukk you” attitude, but totally melodic, and the chorus of “Nothing Left” demands a singalong, just as the right channel guitar begs to be turned down in the mix because you can’t hear anything else. I don’t say this often in these pages, but Minneapolis’ TRINITY TEST are starter punk for newcomers. If you’ve been in the game for more than a few months, then you’ve likely already moved past these sounds. Not to say that they aren’t important and/or relevant, just to say that this old man isn’t moved by them.

Fealty Peace Is Our Problem 7″

I know this shit is almost a year old now, but uuuugggghhhh FEALTY are so good. The 2017 demo was beyond crucial, and 2018’s Peace Is Our Problem only tightened their grip on dominance. Uncomfortable and in-your-face bombastic anarcho punk, heavy on the low end and desperation, this New York trio sounds like you feel after a fight you didn’t know was coming. You’re confused, full of adrenaline…and ready for more.

Buffet All-American LP

For real: if this is what the crossroads of modern “noise rock” and throwback “emo” and “hardcore” sounds like, then I am fukkn sold. I’m reminded of WHITE TRASH SUPERMAN (high praise) as much as infectious and high-energy early ’90s college radio punk or classic Midwest hardcore—think early Homestead Records delivered with the ingredients that made ADOLESCENTS’ blue album. You recognize everything here, even though you’ve never quite heard it like this…and BUFFET are having fun. And it shows. Full endorsement.

Norms Hülye Hardcore 12″

File this one in the “must listen” column, and brace yourself. It sounds weird, it sounds like pure chaos, it sounds….well, just listen. All of the ramshackle fury of early ’80s Italy tempered with ’00s fastcore, and a thick, noisy delivery. I could listen to this a thousand times and not get bored…the guitar is weird, the vocals are weird, the guitar overdubs are ever weirder—it’s just…off. Which means it’s just…right. These Budapest kids have never let me down, but I wasn’t expecting to be this floored. Highest recommendation.

Bulbulators Aut Punk Aut Nihil LP

Starting your LP with a straight lift of HÜSKER DÜ’s “I Apologize” is a really good way to get my attention. After that hook, Poland’s BULBULATORS drop a baker’s dozen of catchy Eastern European punk, with a shameless ear for the addictive and anthemic. “Żywe Trupy” is perhaps the most extreme and/or perfect example, and my mono-linguistic self is singing along in a Polish language that I do not understand as soon as the first chorus drops. Recorded in 2007, but given the vinyl treatment for the first time by Combat Rock and perennial Polish punk historians Pasażer.

Six Sundays Belly Machine CD-R

Anthemic, self-professed dad-punk. Their mix of classic ’80s US punk and catchy ’77 UK works frighteningly well, and I dare say that this one is a fair mark above their debut effort. This isn’t what I would reach for unprovoked, but fukk me if it isn’t great.

Vortis This Machine Kills Fascists CD

How do you describe a thing that is technically proficient and theoretically good…but kinda goes in one ear and out the other? I will try: VORTIS is from Chicago, and they sound like it (that’s a positive). Open garage chords and snotty midwest punk with an ear towards a distant past. It’s catchy and there are tons of hooks (check “Frog In The Pan” specifically, because that song jams). See? I did it.

R.A.T.I.O.N.S.N.O.I.S.E. / Unknown River Driver split LP

UNKNOWN RIVER DRIVER are really reaching towards that ’90s alt / college / emo chalice—it’s moody and dark and kinda awesome, even though it fades into the background pretty quickly. Ironically, the drums in slow parts of the last song just remind me of “Everybody Wants Some” from Van Halen III (solid track, btw). An amalgamation of RATIONS dubbed R.A.T.I.O.N.S.N.O.I.S.E, on the flip, delivers manipulations of studio recordings, anti-drone war missives, and general tape loop fuckery. It’s an excellent way to get me hooked, and an excellent listen.

V/A Western KY Music Through the Years 2002-2017 CD-R

Five Kentucky bands, mostly on the early garage and/or proto-grunge end of the spectrum. VASELINES, EUGENIUS, a little bit of SCREAMING TREES maybe…that brand of laid back action. Not bad, and it definitely grew on me.

ZLURAD (Злурад) Во Благо Злу CD

Complete mindfuck intellectual noise-core. Fans of NOXAGT, BOREDOMS, or MELT BANANA will want to take note, and the uninitiated will want to strap in before diving into this Russian act. Chaotic pogo/blast drums, shrill screams, nonsensical construction, and manic horns throughout. It’s a fukkn mess to say the least, and it’s really, really great.

V/A Live Your Gimmick Vol. 1 CD

Four-band comp that goes like this: 1) The DRIVIN’ BEATS play early ’80s sounding late punk vs. early college radio rock and/or legit new wave rock ’n’ roll; 2) SOURPUSS sound like if the SPITS were trying to sound tough and/or offensive—also if the SPITS were actually a bad grunge band; 3) The DOWNSTROKES are classic ’80s Midwest punk; 4) The XILES are like the SEX PISTOLS if Johnny’s exaggerated accent kept falling out of line and / or any heartfelt, determined bar punk band in any town in North America—and “American Nightmare” is the best song on this comp. That is all.

Zero Gain Modern Blues: The First Five Years CD

Killer working class French punk rock. Hints of LEATHERFACE and EA80 peek through this 24-song collection (from releases spanning the last five years, as the title suggests), while ZERO GAIN settle into their own distinct style. The more I listen to these tracks, them more the band sinks into me, and there’s something wholly refreshing about hearing a band construct important sounding songs. Listen to “Runnin’ on Empty” (not a cover), and you’re taken back a decade or more, not in the sound, but in the feel of bands like BORN DEAD ICONS, J CHURCH or LA FRACTION—they punched you in the gut and they stuck with you. They were a new band to me before this disc, but I’m totally sold.

Vlack The Way of the Cross CD

This one is hard to nail down. VLACK are big and “rock” sounding, but there’s a dark vibe that reminds me of under the radar monsters like ANGST or MY DAD IS DEAD—even while they are playing what is basically ’80s college alt-rock. I spent the entire disc trying to figure out how to categorize it, and that says a lot on its own, right?

Vidro Allt Brinner 12″

This is the last piece of wax that I will review for the last regular print issue of MRR, and it is pure fukkn fire. Biting and fierce Swedish hardcore punk with terrifying female lead vocals, and an affected flanged guitar that borders on destruction for the entire recording—especially the leads. VIDRO are just pure ferocity: urgent, desperate hardcore punk that doesn’t really sound like anything except themselves, and there is an approach to the (de)construction and presentation of their songs that is enviable. To take a formula that is known and manipulate and manage it until it becomes your own is in itself an art form, but if you also create a total motherfukkr of a record in the process, then you have my respect. So I finish my last review just wanting more, as it should be.

This Means War Heart Strings LP

They look like skinheads. They sound like (early) FALLOUT BOY meets AVAIL, and then near the end of the first side, there’s one really exceptional track that sounds like the DARKNESS or JET (it’s called “Off With Their Heads” and I’m not gonna lie: I like it). Slick, polished, professional, radio-friendly alt-rock.

Mental Fix Bricolage CD

I guess it feels like I’ve heard them countless times before, even though this Montreal band was a new discovery. Gruff and melodic punk rooted in the greats, with massive sounding guitars and carefully crafted backing vocals—it just sounds like sweat and sing alongs. Early DILLINGER FOUR, AGAINST ME!…you get the drill, and so do MENTAL FIX.

Meinhof The Dying Light LP

Terrifying D-beat anarcho-crust with a formidable low end and a clear soft spot for thick hardcore. That they aren’t scared of an open E and a prolonged chug is not what makes MEINHOF so good; it’s that they avoid all of the trappings associated with heavy hardcore by making everything sound punk. The instrumental “The Anarchist” that opens the B-side is a perfect example—massive ringing stadium crust that sounds filthy and dark, and leads right into “No Hope No Change,” a relentless fist-in-the-air motorkÁ¥ng banger. Vocals are biting and desperate, with an urgency that defies the decade plus that MEINHOF have been in the game. Colossal production gives them an even bigger bootprint, and makes this a “stand up and pay attention” release from start to finish.

Homeless Cadaver Fat Skeleton / Art. Eat It. 7″

Each track has a different vibe, and each is an instant classic. “Art. Eat It.” is a two-riff dirge, punctuated by electronics, and the title repeated as a dreary one line chorus. “Fat Skeleton” is more upbeat, just as simple, and hopelessly catchy. Ohio vibes abound (DEVO and / or Wheelchair Full of Old Men), and I’m pretty sure these kids have heard the SPITS before. Beefy guitars and extra confidence in the “don’t give a fukk” department—I think I’m gonna enjoy this Systemic Surgery series from Iron Lung Records.

Genital Juggling / Jodie Faster split LP

Don’t judge a book by its cover, lesson one: this fukkn record. The stupid cartoon claymation cover would turn most punks off before they even saw the band names, and I confess that I never would have given this slab a second thought if it were not my punk duty to do so. And holy shit did I eat my thoughts as soon as JODIE FASTER started cranking through five absolute rippers that sound like nothing at all except (apparently) JODIE FASTER. A raw drum attack that reminds me of RUDIMENTS, a penchant for don’t-give-a-fuck combined with serious chops à la SCHLONG, open chord clean guitars like JASPER THREAD, and an overall purity in their ferocity that I haven’t heard since I saw ROLEX last year. I didn’t want to turn the record over. But I did. And GENITAL JUGGLING delivered the same energy on the flip—just as much irreverence in their song construction, but with a SoCal hardcore tinge, and aggression replacing the quirk on the A-side. Listen to all of the records, punks—even the ones you think aren’t up to whatever your bullshit “standards” are—because chances are good that you are wrong. This record is definitely right.

Only the Lonely Dimming Lights EP

The band name pegs the band perfectly. Snappy punk tracks with one leg hopelessly caught in an American rock’n’roll bear trap. DESTROY ALL MONSTERS, ROY ORBISON, AVENGERS—you know, the classics—reinvented and re-envisioned and damn near reincarnated with screaming Swedish space leads and a vocal warble straight out of ’77 LA. If this was KBD, I’d be humping legs to get a piece of them bonzers. Bonus points for gluing each song title individually on the back cover.

No Blues Exploding Hearts / Miranda Rights 7″

Damaged and distorted power pop for no generation at all, and for every member of every generation ever. It’s simple, it’s raw, and the guitars are dominant and come at you from every direction. Two tracks. 100% punk gold.

Deviant Loading the Gun EP

Sharp, focused, distorted modern hardcore. Overbearing buzzsaw guitars, lightning fast with a sick snarl. Think about the SKEMÄTA school of attack, but way less nuanced. Ferocity in six movements.

Derrumbando Defensas Ruidos de Resistencia LP

Vinyl version of 2017’s Confrontar CD, retitled and repackaged for the 12″ format. Monstrous metallic hardcore with a production and presentation well suited for massive stages and furious sing alongs, breathing life and urgency into a subgenre often reserved for third-tier bro bands. Ruidos de Resistencia reminds me why I still have a soft spot for the heat chugs and for those melodic guitar leads, and they make everything feel important…because everything is. The only mistake here is the lack of a lyrics sheet, or even context for the words—because the words are important, especially the perspective of women in a hardcore band from Chile addressing institutional oppression and exploitation. “Cruelty Free” is the track to end all tracks, and the “every moment / every second” chorus will likely be stuck in my head for weeks. Quality fucking release from start to finish, full endorsement.

Bwak Dwagon Underground and Passed Around LP

Space-age sounds for punks who dig commercial rock radio but also love HAWKWIND. Ohio’s BWAK DWAGON lose me on tracks like “The Underworld” and “Demeter” (unfortunately, these two run back to back) when they stay slow and subdued, but the weirdness dominates even on ’80s alt radio/proto darkwave trax like “Evergreen.” This band would have opened for SCREAMING TREES in 1987.

Hetze Bedbugs LP

Blasting anxious hardcore from Belgium—there’s a total FLEAS AND LICE vibe, but with deadly blast beats (when appropriate!) and a ferocity from the vocalist that almost makes you squirm in your seat. Then again, if you’re still sitting after “Pile of Shit” is finished, then maybe Bedbugs ain’t for you after all. The rest of us though: we gonna rage til we are fukkn dead, and HETZE is going to rage with us. Stripped Down Blistering EuroThrashCrust is officially a new subgenre.

Forward Apathy Kills People EP

Tokyo’s kings are still…well, they are still kings. Two more tracks of fierce, positive, life-affirming Japanese hardcore. A mid-tempo A-side with a chorus just begging for crowd participation (the songs are completely different, but I’m reminded of the times I’ve seen audiences competing with the PA during the chorus in “What’s The Meaning Of Love?”) gives way to an absolute burner in “Our World Our Own,” injecting raw JapanCrust fury into the anthemic hardcore that has become FORWARD’s signature over the last two decades. Ishiya’s vocals are gravel and fire, Souichi is still a fukkn animal, while You and Akiyama still manage to feel loose as fukk while remaining rock solid. FORWARD is very, very close to the perfect hardcore punk band, and this record (along with the full-length in the last issue) show that they have no intention of letting up.

Fancy Pick Up EP

Straight fire from Texas. Guitars tweaked just so, and the toughest kind of hate flowing through the microphone, FANCY gets straight to business and kicks out four on the floor hardcore in the fukkn teeth on their debut slab—it’s just timeless hardcore punk. The moment when “Bubble” slows down is absolute magic, and then that snarl ushers in the EP’s only down moment, and if you aren’t moshing then you’re maybe dead. This one is in league with the big dogs. SPAZM 151 and POISON IDEA-caliber hardcore offered with the highest recommendation. Killer.

Eke Buba Shut Up EP

Holy shit, this record. I mean…whoa. Like early Boston hardcore but tougher and faster and my face is fukkn melting. Like this is perfect early ’80s USHC but better and from 2018 and from Croatia, and this is also quite possible the single most crucial record in MRR this month. Been a long time since this old man has been this floored, highest recommendation for fans of punk (that means all readers).

Tortraffen Ism LP

An instant must-have: track after track of addictive mid-tempo Deutschpunk from a German expat punk in Western Australia. The dark tinges of EA80, SLIME-caliber vocals spewing fierce gravel, and there’s something to be said for the brilliant simplicity of a catchy fukkn track with piles of backing vocals. Presented with a painstakingly constructed recording that’s appropriately rough around the edges…this is great.

Spazz Dwarf Jester Rising CD reissue

Debut full-length from West Bay legends, Dwarf Jester Rising clocks in under 25 minutes and their irreverent stamp on ’90s hardcore is undeniable. Sample-laden guttural blasts, discordant dirges, this is what the kids call powerviolence, and it didn’t start here, but this is when people outside of California started paying attention. Dwarf Jester Rising is important, to be sure, but it’s also really fucking good. Favorite track: “Burning Tongue.”

Roht Iðnsamfélagið Og Framtíð Þess LP

You should expect a monster, and you will receive a monster. Thunderous and monotonous and fully exposed, ROHT take punk and drag it into a dark dark place; like RUDIMENTARY PENI and PAILHEAD, they are playing the game but never playing by the rules. I suppose you can call this industrial hardcore or something like that, and they would fit as nicely (or poorly) on a bill with LARD as with DYS. I had every expectation that this record was going to be good as soon as it was announced. I didn’t think it would be this good.

Negative Vibes Broken Mind CD

Nothing fancy here, just eighteen bursts of utterly fantastic hardcore punk—and if Poland’s NEGATIVE VIBES are any indication, “fancy” is fukkn overrated. East Coast meets ACCÜSED vibe, these kids channel ’80s USHC brilliantly and their doses of unadulterated fury are a breath of fresh air.

Leftöver Crack Leftover Leftöver Crack: The E-Sides and F-Sides CD

Unpopular opinion in 4, 3, 2, 1…LEFTÖVER CRACK are great. LEFTÖVER CRACK are important. LEFTÖVER CRACK still, in 2019, deserve so much more than the mall-meets-the-gutter status that the self-righteous punks bestow upon them, because context be damned, LEFTÖVER CRACK are fukkn great. A 30-track collection of EPs, splits and outtakes sequenced brilliantly—catchy punk, infectious ska-punk, anti-cop, anti-authority, anti-racist, pro-punk melodic punk. I don’t know what else think you want from this subculture we all claim, but MINOR THREAT is a starter band too, you dig? You don’t ditch your Pay To Cum EP just ’cause the suburban punk twerp rocks a BAD BRAINS shirt, do you? Just saying. Important punk is still important, and even though the kids like ’em, LEFTÖVER CRACK are still great.