Reviews

A World Divided

Bosque Rojo Bosque Rojo cassette

BOSQUE ROJO is a band from Montreal that sings in Spanish. They released this cassette with the great label A World Divided, specialized in giving focus to bands from the Mediterranean (Southern Europe, North Africa, and Middle East). This is a band with a very classic Spanish sound: sharp political lyrics, a voice that spits fury and truths, a thunderous rhythm section, and guitar that creates quite addictive walls of noise, often with touches of dark post-punk. It’s forceful. It’s catchy. You can feel the knack for personal hits in all four songs, but I highlight “Solostalgia” and “Muertos en Vida,” sublime punches to the face of conformity. The truth is that I already want them to record a full album.

Cyanide Cyanide cassette

This short EP comes directly from Tel Aviv. I have no clue about the Israeli punk scene, so it was really fun to listen to CYANIDE and their take on street punk. This is teenage angst in its purest form, nine songs played with earnest intensity by a bunch of teens with some kinship for BLITZ or the Killed By Death bands. It’s a blast. There is a short doc about the band, their life, and surroundings while they get ready for the release of this EP. You can easily watch online, it’s called “Dreaming Tel Aviv.” You can get the EP as a beautifully designed tape released by A World Divided, a collaborative non-profit label that promotes Mediterranean punk from places like Tunisia, Greece, Italy, Spain, Cyprus, Lebanon, Morocco, Turkey, and more. You should check out their entire catalog.

Demokhratia No Religion, No States cassette

Originally released as half of a split LP with Tel Aviv’s MONDO GECKO back in 2012, this tape shifts the spotlight directly onto Algeria’s DEMOKHRATIA. With a band name that translates from Arabic to “Democrashit,” you get a pretty clear idea of what these guys are about, and political aggression can sometimes be more enjoyable when you don’t understand a single word of it. The pummeling drums and rapid-fire dual vocals give off a sense of urgency that sounds like the band has been holding these nine tracks in for too long and is finally getting them out. If you like this one, you’d probably like the HERO DISHONEST/YDINPERHE split EP that I reviewed a while back as well.

Detox Sects and Violence cassette

Timelessness is a hard mark to hit, and one that can never be forced or faked. Lebanese thrashing punks DETOX stumbled into a timeless sound just by being themselves, and the results were pretty exhilarating. This tape rips through crossover hardcore with a crispy almost-anarcho tinge, rarely pausing even to take a breath. It’s a shame, really, that this material was recorded in 2009 and the group has since disbanded. Now is a perfect time for this blend of rock’n’roll swagger and thrash—kudos and gratitude to A World Divided for unearthing this stone classic.

Estorbo Estorbo cassette

I like this cassette a lot—bass-driven, noisy, chaotic, raw punk sung in Spanish that makes me want to pogo, two-step, and otherwise act a fool. Only two songs on this ten-song cassette clock in at over two minutes, so you know ESTORBO isn’t messing about. Sonically tight, ESTORBO rages and smashes through songs with intricately crafted instrumental sections all played with just enough slop to give the feeling that it was recorded live. “En la Cruce” is one of the slower-paced songs; the chugging guitars, crashing cymbals, and stomping bass connect my primordial mind to my body and get me moving almost immediately.

Ideal Victim Diary of a Pig cassette

IDEAL VICTIM from Porto, Portugal plays dynamic, rudimental-beat hardcore with floaty, chorus-heavy guitars and an agitator vocalist. The latter—singing in English and against patriarchy—is really pissed-off, and makes the whole sound a lot more aggressive than it actually is. The co-star of the demo is the guitar that creates an all-over atmosphere while playing a lot, lending winding riffs from post-punk, holding out chords, and occasionally being surfy while remaining within the field of hardcore. The contrast between the directness of the vocals and the cleverness of guitars makes them distinguishable. The recording sounds polished while maintaining angst, but it’s a rather modern sound. This is a solid tape that clearly displays a lot of IDEAL VICTIM’s potential.

Ilusion Ilusion cassette

Hailing from Montreal, this is ILUSION’s latest cassette release on A World Divided. There really is a difficulty name-dropping bands to make a comparison here, but the closest thing it reminds me of would be of a multiple-generation dubbed copy of some ’80s international hardcore punk compilation, except it’s a single band. This is another release where despite the lo-fi recording, it’s still musically interesting with variations of its own texture. It’s not that there isn’t a continuity, it’s definitely the same band, but despite the variation between mid-paced punk, to D-beat/raw punk, to somewhat grungy punk songs, something glues it together to have its own unique style. Definite post-punk vibes without relying on the genre, if it makes any sense. For fans of IV REICH’s first 7″.

Impulso Impulso cassette

I love Italian hardcore and was stoked when I got this one to review. There is a quality in Italian hardcore that is undeniable: the ferociousness. IMPULSO comes from Trento and they are filled to the brim with rage on this cassette. They play furious hardcore punk but with a modern stompy edge that could turn any pit into a mosh-fest. They occupy a place sonically somewhere in between WARTHOG and S.H.I.T., but sung in Italian for extra drama in the good tradition of WRETCHED or CCM. Just listen to the follow-up album Costante Ossessione and you can get a clearer picture of this monster of a band.

Molisma BIA cassette

From the birthplace of democracy comes the latest in hardcore punk violence with MOLISMA. I always think that the place where a band comes from defines the level of aggression that comes through their sound, and being from a place that is in crisis for quite some time makes punk sound even stronger. BIA sounds like early POISON IDEA minus the virtuoso guitar work, with pissed-off vocals similar to DISFEAR and a steady MOB 47 beat. Complete with a disgusting cover by Nicky Rat, this cassette is surely a memorable one. A band on their fourth release that shows no signs of slowing down.

Oscuridad Eterna Macabre demo cassette

OSCURIDAD ETERNA has a fitting band name: “eternal darkness.” From Istanbul, a place not very known for darker music, they managed to exceed expectations with their debut Macabre. Recorded by two sole members during quarantine, this macabre twosome (members of UGLY SHADOWS and TATLIN EFFECT) crafted four songs filled with despair and clouded by bleakness. Simple yet effective post-punk with emphasis on goth and a production that ties everything together, a stroll through the ’80s and back to the genre’s glory days. Go get this if you are into chorus pedals and darkness.

Riot Stones Mosh With an Open Mind cassette

RIOT STONES are mentioned in a few articles as being one of the first HC bands from Morocco—emerging in 2015, they released this tape themselves, and to be quite honest I have no clue if they’re still active. What’s on display here is aggressive, stomping hardcore that, just like the title implies, makes ample use of breakdowns and mosh parts. Emerging as late as 2015 whilst still having the title of first HC band in Morocco raises more questions than answers, and the snippets of information I could dig up about their scene lamented the closure of a local youth centre in Casablanca, leading to the demise of multiple bands. Regardless, what you’ll hear won’t break any musical boundaries, or reinvent the wheel as it were, but it is a fun listen from some genuinely fucked-off kids who deserve credit for kicking open a door for (hopefully) others.

Ugly Shadows Ugly Shadows cassette

Initially released back in 2015, this is a more recent reissue of this EP by Istanbul, Turkey’s UGLY SHADOWS. This is fantastic! Very anthemic political punk with some welcome touches of gothic punk/deathrock—it’s pretty reminiscent of the early UK82 and anarcho-punk bands of the ’80s, with its own dark flavors chucked into the mix. This EP has been reissued on cassette by A World Divided Tapes and I highly recommend that you pick one up!

مراة بركان (Mara’a Borkan) demo cassette

MARA’A BORKAN (“Volcano Woman”) is from Tunisia, with female members. Fortunately, this review does not have to emphasize the political relevance of the previous sentence, since A) I am fucking dumb regarding world politics, and B) MARA’A BORKAN’s music is just as interesting as probably their background story is. The sort of low-key, rudimentary metal punk, paired with determined, loud, yet trying to be melodic singing is just as a weird mix as it was to hear G.I.S.M. for the first time. The stripped-down, raw radicalism of the music reminds me of FIRMEZA 10 and how they interpreted the core idea of D-beat; here MARA’A BORKAN, no idea what to try to reference, but it’s loud, visceral and entertaining. The vocals tend to employ melody bends, familiar from ’00s bro-core, that here, out of context, are one of the most memorable vocals I have recently heard. The band builds their sound from a few elements, still they are able to make it dense, the rawness of the minimalism resounds in each song. The glue between the instruments is the devotion that shines through the demo. MARA’A BORKAN comes from an uneasy place to play punk and to be a woman that is translated to their music. Reintroducing the power of this subculture.  

مراة بركان (Mara’a Borkan) War / Revenge cassette

Two new tracks to follow up their previous tape, proving its quality was not novelty, more so MARA’A BORKAN is capable to write tense hardcore tracks even in a more organized headspace. Since these tracks are not restless, although angry and energetic, but it’s not a hot-headed mess. They have grown to be confident and deliberate. In exchange they introduce almost kraut-rockish repetitive hooks that pair well with the bouncy riffs and the still foreign melody of the vocals. They are great at keeping beats exciting, playing with emphasis and mixing hardcore with a bit of Arabic rhythms. While it is not at all challenging to enjoy them, the band expands the horizon of hardcore. The guitar sound has been refined, the sharp distortion is gone, in its place is a coiled, spooky patchwork of awesome riffs. They were great as a demo band, presenting fundamental angst, translating their environment to radical hardcore and they are great as a matured band too, who has nothing to prove. Instead, us listeners have to demonstrate that we appreciate unique bands from strange places. Tunis is a frequented resort for Europeans, one that is many miles away from the reality that explodes from MARA’A BORKAN’s music. I trust them and enjoy their tapes better than I would appreciate to be a dumb white tourist.