Reviews

Incendiario

Afterboltxebike Agitaciòn Marxista EP

As far as I can tell, these guys are from just outside Monterrey, Mexico, and borrow their name from a KORTATU song, with whom they also share themes of organized labor and class struggle. They play a classic burly Mexican hardcore punk style, like MASSACRE 68 or SEDICION beefed up with a more modern compressed digital production. “A.C.A.B” is a rendition of “Dicks Hate the Police,” updated to condemn ICE and the current loser US president (who will be fucking off soon), and while I’m obviously on board for the message, it sounds pretty bad! That being said, this EP emanates strong antifascist and revolutionary vibes and is absolutely worth raising a fist in solidarity with, and includes lyrical translations from Spanish to French and English.

V/A Amenaza Mexicana Vol. 2 cassette

The International Anti-Capitalist Punk and Hardcore Union presents Amenaza Mexicana Vol. 2 (“Mexican Threat Vol. 2”): ”Noise to Survive Capitalism in the Third World.” This is a twelve-song compilation cassette showcasing Mexican underground punk. A wide array of genres make appearances on this tape. Kicking off with a couple tracks of melodic punk rock, it changes gears and brings us some goth-y deathrock and hardcore punk before spinning on its heels, taking us back full circle. The B-side gets a little less predictable, immediately kicking you in the face with back-to-back hardcore tracks before delving into driving, metallic crust punk and some sort of metal-infused shoegaze, switching back to the easier digestible hardcore punk and more melodic punk before the weirdness gets a little too weird. There is a bit of something for everyone on this compilation, the Union really doing their part to try to unite the different punk factions. All in all, a cool compilation with an even cooler message: “Ama La Musica, Odia El Fascismo” (“Love Music, Hate Fascism”). Bring on Vol. 3!