Reviews

Crew Cuts

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 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.

Last Gasp The Storied Weight of It All LP

Cleveland’s LAST GASP has somehow successfully managed to make a record that merges fast hardcore with breakdown parts that don’t sound out of place and a vocalist that wouldn’t sound strange singing in something poppier. Almost reminiscent of RESTRAINING ORDER with more “welcoming” vocals. I can see this growing on me more and more with every listen. Extra points for the nod to Cleveland legends DEAD BOYS with the opening ring-out of “Sonic Reducer” on their song “One Last Drink.” A fun easter egg and classy nod to their city’s punk rock history.

Plastics Plastic World EP

God, this is good. Pummeling and crunchy, with winding riffs that dart around with speed and precision, and hollering vocals that reverberate off the walls with chilly stoicism. If societal collapse has brought us anything, it’s brought us the best global hardcore scene in history. Let’s be grateful for that silver lining on a toxic cloud. This stands strong amidst the newest crop of art-tinged hardcore bands that smartly knits post-punk angularity with ’80s-indebted ferociousness to great effect.

Skrewball Wild Cats EP

With rough and snappy charisma, SKREWBALL from Plymouth, UK pumps out four solid youth crew pounders on their debut 7”. This mostly mid-paced “street punk” stomps firmly in between classic NY and UK hardcore styles, aided by an awesome sore-throated vocalist and bursting into fits of speed at the right moments. Maybe this will arouse fans of both GORILLA BISCUITS and ANTISOCIAL?

Suspect Demo EP

Five-song banger of a demo by this German outfit. Hardcore punk songs that all clock in at under two minutes. This has everything you’d want in a band like this. Fast parts? Check. Slower but not overdone breakdown parts? Check. The only downside to this is the recording itself. It’s a demo, so one should not expect a full-blown, highly produced recording, and really it’s not too bad. There’s just something off about it that I can’t quite put my finger on. That aside, this has potential to be awesome.

Thought Control P.M.R.R.T.W. EP

Damn, THOUGHT CONTROL has been eating their Wheaties since releasing their 2021 Shock to the System 7”. That record was a solid slice of old school, but on this new EP, the band has grown into an even sharper and more formidable unit. Titled P.M.R.R.T.W. (“Psychos, Murder, and Rape Rule the World”), this six-song 7” does the neat trick of making that old classic hardcore style fresh again for a few minutes. They rock back and forth between blazing fast numbers and chill mid-paced head-bobbers, sounding a little bit like Atlanta’s underrated JOINT D≠, especially on the excellent “Violence for Violence.” Good to have you back, THOUGHT CONTROL—always a pleasure. “Aunt Suzi Has An Uzi” has some real hit single potential, if you ask me.