Six cuts of ripping hardcore from across the pond, GAMMA’s Subconscious is tightly wound up and bristling with early ’80s USHC goodness. This is right up my alley; not many frills, pissed-off, fast, and loud. Overall, they remind me of Nashville’s G.U.N. Great stuff, highly recommended.
UK-based cassette label Gob Nation issues the debut release from this London three-piece that seems to feature at least one Aussie (either that, or the vocalist is adopting a fake accent). KENO plays a heavy mix of plodding noise rock and gloomy hardcore, with some goth-y trappings, like echoed, multi-tracked vocals and faint haunted house synths. If there was a midpoint between TOTAL CONTROL at their most ADOLESCENTS-y and PERVERTS AGAIN at their most metronomic, you’d probably find this tape there. For the most part, it’s a solid release, and I’d recommend you give it a listen. But I also think they could have tightened things up a bit and wound up with a much better record. For instance, just imagine if they dropped the keyboard on “Still Life,” stripped out most of the vocal overdubs, and the lead singer just really dove into his performance. It probably would have ended up sounding like a different thing altogether, maybe something more like WATERY LOVE, but I absolutely would’ve been into that.
Debut release from LO AND BEHOLD, the solo project of Louis Harding. In a list of bands too long to name, Harding’s tenure as a songwriter really shines through on this heartfelt, ten-track masterpiece. I recognized his name from his bass work in BELGRADO, whose 2023 Intra Apogeum made quite a splash. That said, there’s no synth/dance vibe present on Onward Journey, instead we get a beautiful, sweeping reverie, reminiscent of the shimmering guitar and despair on something like Paul Westerberg’s “Answering Machine”—trading Midwestern sensibilities for downcast British shoe-scuffing. This will make my top ten albums of the year, easy. I just hope the cassettes are quality, because unlike many raucous, lo-fi recordings, this one wants to be listened to loud and clear. Buy the ticket, take the Journey.
I wasn’t prepared for this. The record opens with “I Didn’t Ask,” which sounds like a bastard version of “Cold Sweat”-era THIN LIZZY minus the twin guitar harmonies, and I’ll be goddamned if the vocals don’t sound like a snottier Phil Lynott. They are tuff and have the kind of swagger to them that should accompany riffs like these. It’s fast as hell and sounds like the soundtrack to a bad Saturday night! Jonah Falco (CAREER SUICIDE, FUCKED UP) oversaw all of the production, and the fidelity of the recording really serves the songs well. It’s an improvement over their 2024 LP; thick, meaty, and a lil’ dirty, with the bass driving each of the songs against a wall of programmed drums. The closing “Take It From Me” displays the band’s street punk influence, and it’s as catchy as it is menacing. The DOGS play rough-and-tumble rock’n’roll, plain and simple. If you’re a fan of shit that rocks, don’t sleep on this. I’d be surprised if this doesn’t end up on a bunch of year-end lists.
