Reviews

Blind Rage

Body Farm Living Hell LP

Oh, I feel fortunate to be assigned this record. The flexi by BODY FARM I reviewed last month was thoroughly impressive and a powerhouse of consolidated hardcore. Politically drenched in passionate activism, BODY FARM brings an intense, clear, and brilliant message in a positive light. Musically, BODY FARM goddamn rips. A flurry of powerblasting and anarchistic cheer punctuation. Feeling some old favorites such as EBOLA, HARD TO SWALLOW, GRIEF, CAPITALIST CASUALTIES, DR. KNOW, PLASMATICS…you have likely not heard anything like this recently. Part dooming breakdowns, part raging blasts, with brief skips of D-beat and thrash ferocity. Bass gargles like a leviathan, vocals are manic and echoing. Complimentary lower vocals are smoldering crust. “Ohioan Solidarity” is a bolstering anthemic crusher. “Death on Two Wheels” might be my favorite, starting off with a Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure quote from the biker bar. Love it! The closing title track grooves me out, just to want to spin it again. It is a fast listen, but there is a lot to pick up on. This record is fantastic if you are looking for something very fresh and very smart. A+!

Drug Victim Mongrel EP

DRUG VICTIM is a straight edge band from Plymouth in England. If I lived in Plymouth I’d probably be straight edge as well, if only as an excuse to avoid its pubs full of off-duty army meatheads. Mongrel, their second release, crams seven songs onto one side of a 7″, balancing lyrics roughly equally between the politicised (factory farming on “Bolt Cutter”; religion, or some iteration of it, on “Dynamite Money”) and the negative/introspective. You can guess from the artwork this isn’t gonna be your corny youthcrew type sXe: I reckon DRUG VICTIM would prefer to think of themselves more on a COKE BUST or VACCINE kinda tip, with thick sludgy sections breaking up the powerviolence tempos. Of the four labels co-releasing it, two are from the UK, one from the US and one from Spain, should that info aid your purchase.

Dry Socket Sorry for Your Loss LP

Powerhouse hardcore from Portland—DRY SOCKET sounds confident and aggro on their first LP Sorry for Your Loss. An album focusing on grief, internal struggle, and finding your place in the world; you can hear the frustration in vocalist Dani Allen’s voice, which really tends to be the focal point on the album. The delivery is fantastic, sounding feral and desperate in equal measure, my favorite example being “Cultivated Fore.” Sonically, DRY SOCKET opts for a more angular guitar sound rather than the blunt force usually heard in this style. It’s cool and refreshing, making for a very engaging listen. Check out “Equinox” and “Born Again.”

Government Clean-Up Plan Reality Confusion EP

On this seven-song 7” GOVERNMENT CLEAN-UP PLAN plays speedy and stormy thrashcore with earnest and straightforward vocals. These are essentially protest songs aimed at the usual targets: cops, work, the powers that be, and the conformists that condone it all. You may have never heard this, but you likely know the drill. It’s a strong modern delivery of ’80s mentality.

Peace Test Uniform Repression EP

PEACE TEST from Providence, Rhode Island’s newest EP. Stomping, misanthropic non-posicore straightedge hardcore in the vein of IMPACT UNIT, or the STRAIGHT AHEAD side of things that many older powerviolence acts like INFEST or CROSSED OUT had. For fans of the aforementioned bands or HOUNDS OF HATE/CONCEALED BLADE.

Planet on a Chain Last Word. Last Act. EP

Follow-up release to the demo/first 7” by Oakland/Austin’s P.O.A.C. At the risk of name-dropping, it is an unavoidable fact that the band consists of ’90’s and ’00s Bay Area punk veterans from TALK IS POISON, LOOK BACK AND LAUGH, and NEEDLES, as well as New Jersey thrashers TEAR IT UP. Similar to their previous outputs, it consists of the signature Bay Area-style raging, dark hardcore punk somewhere along the lines of CHRIST ON PARADE and early NEUROSIS, before they went out on the limb to sonic experimentation. Based on the fierce intensity of the recording, it’s apparent these veterans are still raging as hard as they have since the beginning. Still DIY as fuck and relevant as it’s ever been.

Small Steps Breakthroughs/Breakdowns LP

Cookie-cutter pop punk out of Kentucky. Reminiscent of DIGGER, GAMEFACE, and early ATARIS, but lacking a lot of the charm those bands had. Very lukewarm lyrics that range from the utmost corny (“I’ll learn to take long walks with you / As I forever stand beside you,” as heard in “Rome is Where the Heart Is”), to straight-up tired cliches (“I was born at night / But not born last night” from the track “Three Button Sweater”). The lyrics are probably what kills the band the most for me. The music is actually pretty decent. Catchy at points, sentimental at others. Production is great and everything is very clean and mixed well. But with songs like the ironically titled “Skip This Song,” in which the singer laments about playing a poorly attended show in a wishy-washy scene, these guys make it hard to like them. We’ve all played bad shows, man. It happens. This just comes off sounding more entitled than anything. SMALL STEPS could be a great band if they took a little more time on the writing process. I look forward to seeing what they come up with down the road.

The Path Dies Screaming EP

Latest release by Vermont’s the PATH, consisting of six tracks of raging fast hardcore. Some of the song breakdowns are remiscent of screamy ’90s political hardcore groups, or some youth crew stuff coming out of that area in the late ’80s, yet faster and without the militancy. Politically-charged lyrics reflect the current state of the world that we are facing, and the last track is a melodic acoustic antifascist anthem. Their message is clear, and Vermont probably rules.