Reviews

Lower Echelon

Fun Control Test Run LP

FUN CONTROL is as strange as it gets. Imagine mixing NO TREND and BLACK FLAG with the blasting of INFEST. Doesn’t make much sense on paper, but it sounds great. Everything is redlined, but underneath all the abrasion, there’s real control. The riffs lock into these ugly little loops hammered into weird places through repetition. At moments, the tape saturation and damaged-mix aesthetic drift toward the harsh minimalism of FLIPPER, where fidelity itself becomes part of the aggression. The sense of versatility and lack of care for following the canons of punk is what makes Test Run a very enjoyable experience.

Huge Prick Psycho Chair cassette

Vancouver is absolutely filthy with excellent punk bands, so it’s no surprise to see yet another show up in my review pile. HUGE PRICK (great name) plays totally blown-out and over-the-top hardcore that sounds fried to a crisp and grimy in the best way possible. This seven-track, six-minute-long tape boasts all the abrasive fun you could ask for, including the riff from BLACK SABBATH’s “War Pigs” and a quick refrain of the chorus of “We’re a Happy Family” by the RAMONES. Check this one out; start with “R’N’R Dickhead.”

Chien Flic / V.V.M. Tourist Complex split cassette

V.V.M. starts the Tourist Complex split on a very high note with their fast and loose hardcore with super fun genre-bending moments. Kickass riffs, super tight drumming, cutting basslines…it’s all there with its modern flair and old school attitude. And when we switch over to CHIEN FLICK’s side, they don’t fail to follow up at all with their unique take on the powerviolence sound with less angry and more expressive vocals. From complete chaos to more steady and straightforward composition, the band definitely stands out. All in all, I think this split is an amazing pairing of two likeminded and equally good bands that I won’t be getting tired of anytime soon.