Reviews

Loony Tunes

Active Minds Religion Is Nonsense 10″

How appropriate that ACTIVE MINDS have a review in the final print issue of MRR, as a band that seem to have been flying the flag for DIY punk and hardcore almost as long as the mag has been around (or at least as long as I remember!). This is just the latest in a vast discography of fiercely political hardcore punk in a variety of guises, whether DISCHARGE worship or melodic LEATHERFACE type fare, but always with a message first and foremost. Several of the songs on this record are based loosely around the titular theme of religious hypocrisy and exploitation of children. Did I mention it comes wrapped in a printed ACTIVE MINDS patch?! It really does my heart good to know that these folk are still at it, still active.

Active Minds You Can Close Your Eyes to the Horror of Reality… EP

One of the best EPs I’ve heard in awhile. Raging and enraged UK political thrash on one side, like CRASS meets old DISORDER and DRI. Side one consists of about a half-dozen rippers and rants, while the flip is one long song that goes through many changes/styles. Comes with insert and record want list!

Active Minds Things That Cannot Be Unseen LP

Look, the world needs ACTIVE MINDS. For 40 years, they have been delivering blunt-force, uncompromising activist hardcore/punk to generation after generation of punks, and I swear they feel more relevant today than ever before. The way they present such basic topics makes them feel…well, as important as they actually are. ACTIVE MINDS challenges acceptance on tracks like “The Price of Sporting Excellence” and “We Need to Talk About Saudi Arabia,” and ACTIVE MINDS challenges convention with the five-minute-plus anthem “The Man Who Fell to Earth” and the dirty Motörpunk speed-picking of “Fear of a Secular Planet.” Their commitment to The Plan is what makes ACTIVE MINDS so important—much like DROPDEAD continues to bludgeon everyone in earshot with the unfiltered truth, this UK duo continues to spit fire and deliver uncompromising (and uncompromised) sounds rooted in early UK anarcho. Fortunately for us, those roots have taken hold, and the result is more powerful than ever.

Generic The Spark Inside EP

A rather grungy and depressed-sounding four-songer from this committed bunch, which could be due to the gruff vocals. Musically, punk and hyperthrash are their forte, and the words seem a bit more personal this time around. Slightly different that their previous releases, but good nevertheless.

V/A Splitting Headache on a Sunday Afternoon EP

Four British bands share this compilation 45. SATANIC MALFUNCTIONS and ACTIVE MINDS play hot and heavy thrash, while basic punk and folky approaches are mined by INDIAN DREAM and RADIO FREEDOM, respectively. A respectable, interesting EP made recommendable by S.M.

V/A I’ve Got an Attitude Problem EP

BCT bounces back with a hot EP featuring Italy’s WRETCHED and RAW POWER, Sweden’s MOB 47, QUOD MASSACRE from Yugoslavia, SATANIC MALFUNCTIONS from the UK, FUNERAL ORATION from Holland, and PSYCHO from the US. Get this one!