Reviews

Brainrotter

AG-3 Covert Strike cassette

Norway’s finest modern export AG-3 takes an anti-finesse hardcore approach and pushes it into something uglier and more unhinged. They put the FRAMTID in SVART FRAMTID, like a tape dubbed three times over and given to you by your older friend who put you on to every sick record in your collection. AG-3 dials their hardcore past the point of control: guitars sound like chainsaws, drums are locked-in and ready to fire, and vocals belch primitively. The songs move fast but not in a clean D-beat clone way; they keep you off balance and curious. There’s a real sense of chaos here without drifting into full noise territory, more like hardcore that’s been chewed up and spat back out. The recording is raw as all hell, but that just adds to the extreme sonic violence. Six songs, all necessary.

Burial Plot Architectural Hostility cassette

The New Wave of British Hardcore is a few years out by now, but it continues to stamp its spirit onto a lot of the bands coming out of the British Isles these days. BURIAL PLOT sounds as if you took bands like HOUNDS OF HATE or ARMS RACE, gave them a requisite level of pogo punk per tune, and they overdelivered every time. This tape will make your brain circle-pit for hours, and the basically vomited vocals might put the fear of life in you. This vocalist could easily front an OG death metal band, but puts every bit of that skillset towards elevating the tunes here. A ten-out-of-ten effort from these guys.

Draft Dodgers Draft Dodgers demo cassette

The label’s statement doesn’t lie: “Death to capitalist hardcore.” If you were looking for some feel-good Coachella hardcore, look elsewhere. DRAFT DODGERS have no fake tough-guy bark; they’re just a band actually pissed-off at the state of the world, and they certainly nail the frenzied ’80s hardcore vibe found in bands like YDI or even HERESY. This sits firmly in the lineage of UKHC that values immediacy over everything, clocking in at five minutes like it’s daring you to complain. Blink and you’ll miss it. That’s the point. This is hardcore as a reflex, not as composition. If you need more than five minutes, you’re missing the point of hardcore. And, fuck wars, dodge the draft, let the rich fight on their own.

Forced Humility Tri-City Werewolves ’23 cassette

Finnish thrashers FORCED HUMILITY rip it up on Tri-City Werewolves ’23, citing influence from classic ’80s NYHC outfits like OUTBURST and SHEER TERROR. The results sound similar to the UK’s ANTAGONIZM, with harsh vocals, breakneck drums, metal riffing, and searing guitar leads. As a big FORESEEN fan, I’m always excited to hear these guys’ side projects, and FORCED HUMILITY doesn’t disappoint. Check out “Opportunist” and “Ultimate Concern.”

Middleman Cut Out the Middleman cassette

A solid EP from London’s MIDDLEMAN, with four tracks of post-punk heavily influenced by the likes of WIPERS, MISSION OF BURMA, and the REPLACEMENTS. Opener “Train Man” suggests a straightforward, prickly CBGB punk sound, before switching tempo around the one-minute mark to reveal a style closer to early DC emo. “Entropy” pulls the same trick; a straightforward punk track in the vein of WIRE that hits the breaks after a minute and a half to reveal a slowed-down finish that’s hard not to nod along to. Really cool stuff that must sound great live.

Nix Nix demo cassette

On the strength of NIX’s four-song debut demo, this one’s no-messing, no-frills hardcore with velocity and bellicosity. The bona fides of the lineup—Reid Allen, Andy Bottaro, Dan Bulford, and Tallulah Hoffman—does not render this a great surprise, but NIX sounds in a real attack-dog mood here, and ensures this eight minutes is only predictable by virtue of how good it is. Tuned down pretty thick and rarely exceeding mid-pace, it’s a textbook example of how to do gruff, burly HC without throwing in metal flamboyance or beatdown sections, and on “Gospel for the Modern Age,” an almost melodic hook pokes out of the maelstrom, along with the sung refrain “Turn my body into dust.” NIX feels very much like a band who are a product of the 2023 London scene—or conversely a few of them, from the Knuckledust/LBU old-timers to so-called NWOBHC acts like ARMS RACE to the fresher likes of ANTAGONIZM.

Shishu Shishu cassette

Cardiff, Wales has been the location of origin for a host of amazing bands. However, SHISHU couldn’t give two shits about that as they make noisy punk rock. Layers of distortion coat the vocals, guitars, and even the rhythm section with maximum cacophony on this nine-song tape. Even the room’s ambiance seems to fire with frenetic crackles and feedback. The closer “Scum Head” is a real auditory treat as it shifts from mid-paced punk rock into full-on harsh noise.

Total Con This Whole World is Gonna Pay cassette

Relentless hardcore punk attack from this one-man band. What if WHITE CROSS was from the Midwest, and the only tape they listened to before making a record was BGK? Well, this might be the answer. Proper fucking punk here, against the establishment in all its forms, pissed-off, and empowering. I tend to have a bias against one-man bands, but holy shit, this ripped my face clean the fuck off—UKHC is just full of every kind of awesome shit.