Reviews

Fuego a las Fronteras

Desorden Público Discografía LP

Fuego a las Fronteras, a Basque-Mexican label based in Barcelona, is undertaking a much-needed exercise of reissues, focused so far in making available to the world great pioneering bands of hardcore in Mexico as XENOFOBIA or, in this case, the great DESORDEN PÚBLICO. This band was formed in the hardcore epicenter of the country during the ’80s, the San Felipe neighborhood in the outskirts of Mexico City around 1984. After recording a couple of demos and playing around the Mexico City metropolitan zone, in 1989 they recorded their first album Fúnebre, which serves as the basis for this beautiful vinyl, which also includes their two contributions to the legendary first Mexican punk compilation Rock Nacional Volumen II: Sólo Para Punks from ’87. So, what does DESORDEN PÚBLICO sound like? From the first track, one would think that we are listening to a First Wave of Black Metal band. The track that gives name to the album, “Fúnebre,” is pure darkened thrash, very much in the line of pioneers like the Colombians PARABELLUM and BLASFEMIA and of course, HELLHAMMER. The rest of the album indulges in a frenzy of chaos and pummeling attack, reminiscent of WRETCHED’s most destructive moments and D.R.I.’s crossover thrash, with lyrics about war, genocide, and poverty. For this writer, this is one of the best Mexican punk albums ever and every dedicated fan of the genre should listen to it. A true classic.

Histeria Discografía LP

HISTERIA was a short-lived band from Mexico with a couple tapes, compilation appearances, and splits. Prior to this release I had not heard of them, which is a bummer, but better late than never—they turned out to be another sick group of the early Mexican scene that had an amazing variety of great bands. This discography release contains two of their recordings from ’84 and ’86. The great thing about such retrospective releases is that the members probably did not expect that one day they would be an obscure band for collectors, and therefore I guess their tape releases did not include as much information as the 32-page-long appendix fanzine with photos, information, and lyrics included here. Nerds like me love that shit, so even if it’s rad to own tapes in falling-apart condition with inserts that once were folded by the original members, these packages that tend to be created for current discography releases are still super entertaining—if you only press the mp3s to vinyl and the most effort you make is to print the cover, then you are doing a bad job. But how does it sound? The best way possible! As if it were recorded with a single tape dictaphone thrown into a rehearsal room where the excited band plays their ferocious tracks. The sound quality distorts the guitars into a chainsaw-like level, something that you would need at least three pedals and a week full of research to turn out something so nasty nowadays. The tracks are pretty short and dense, with a moving jet-like sound as the base, the drums are as distinguishable as a heavy banging on a door, and the singer yells with desperate urgency. The guitars are the best when they make zero sense, and as they do most of the time. It’s a super angry and determined record. Great that such things are recovered, and even if it is sometimes a pointless mania to put everything on a preferred format, the fact that such a band has resurfaced is worth all questionable obsession.

V/A Invasión 88 LP reissue

Reissue of a total cult classic LP released in the ’80s, compiling 20 tracks of punk rock, hardcore punk, and Oi! from Argentina—one of the first Argentinian punk compilations. Features songs from LOS LAXANTES, ATTAQUE 77, DIVISION AUTISTA’s early approach to straightedge, FLEMA’s first line-up (with their later iconic singer Ricky Espinosa on guitar), EXEROICA, COMANDO SUICIDA, DEFENSA Y JUSTICIA, RIGIDEZ KADAVERICA, CONMOCION CEREBRAL, and LOS BARAJA. Originally released by Radio Tripoli Discos in December 1988 with recordings that were made between 1982–1988. It was one of my first exposures to punk as a teenager. Highly recommended for lovers ’80s punk rock and hardcore from Latin America, as it depicts Argentina’s most notorious bands at the time who were in some aspects first in their class, reaching the fiber of the feeling of an era when punk emerged and became a fully recognizable subculture in South America. Reissued by Fuego A Las Fronteras, a Basque/Mexican label that operates in Barcelona, it includes a DVD with a short film from the ’80s called Festipunk by Patra Exeroica along with the LP, which is a trip to a much yearned-for era for the first Argentinian punks, and also works as an archeological musical project for those unfamiliar. Lot of punks in these latitudes got a first glimpse at punk and listened to it in the first place back in the day because of this album, and it is still much appreciated today. Filled with songs expressing anger, anti-political statements, pure nihilism and violence, and revolt, and even polemic statements like those on behalf of COMANDO SUICIDA (I personally discourage listening to them because of their spreading of nationalist ideas). Suggested tracks and mentions: Legendary FLEMA’s early recordings like “Buscando Un Lugar,” EXEROICA, the first all-female alternative punk band from Argentina, DEFENSA Y JUSTICIA’s street punk against police forces in “Ratis,” the chaos-charged punk rock formula by RIGIDEZ KADAVERICA ranting against the system, classic punk anthem “Operación Ser Humano” from LOS BARAJA, and “Pasión de Multitudes” by ATTAQUE 77, combining football affinity with punk rock. There’s a lot to take in, but it’s worth it. Go ahead, dive into Argentina’s crazy, wild, and sometimes anakoquilombero ’80s punk!

Xenofobia Discografía LP

XENOFOBIA is a Mexican hardcore band, formed in 1983 in Mexico City. One of the original bands of the Mexican scene, crucial in developing a particular sound that—by taking the watershed sound of UK82, the unleashed fury of Brazilian punk, and the more chaotic path of American hardcore and mixing it with a native knack for atonality and ultra-politicized lyrical themes—managed to generate an authentic, vital, brutal and highly influential style for the Mexican bands that followed. This compilation includes the Muerte en América 7″ from 1987 and their LP Presionados from ’89. All the material was self-produced. DIY all the way. Great job of rescuing and recognizing a band that made noise with all the circumstances against them: police brutality, immoral poverty, rampant corruption, and an authoritarian regime that was beginning to lose control of its narrative. A must for all of those interested in this region of the world.