Heavy, intense, and instantly engaging UK hardcore. The guitars dominate this release—heavy mosh metal chugs interrupted by melodic leads that manage to land organically between Euro-crust and mid-’80s Mould. GRAND COLLAPSE is fast, sometimes even sounding like they finished writing a song and consciously decided “that’s cool…faster would be even cooler” (they were right). Empty Plinths is an injection, hard to not feel fucking amped after listening.
There is a long-standing tradition in punk stating that some good bands willingly shoot themselves in the foot by picking too odd a name as a moniker. Time will tell if GUIMAUVE belongs to that heroic category—GUIMAUVE meaning “marshmallow” in French. This Parisian hardcore unit does not, however, indulge in sweet, lush punk music. Paris is hardly known for its scarcely populated hardcore scene, so bands like GUIMAUVE are always a breath of fresh air (in a manner of speaking). On a lot of levels, the band is of its day, as their hardcore punk sound borrows a number of different influences and uses diverse paces and atmospheres to get their political lyrics (in French) across. GUIMAUVE deals in mid-paced, dark hardcore as much as they can deliver the faster, wilder moments you’d expect from the genre. As a result, this first album does not feel redundant or repetitive, and even if they use effects on both the guitar and the vocals, they do not overwhelm the listener or try to hide simplistic compositions. The songs are usually well-thought-out, and I really enjoy mid-paced numbers like “L’apogée du Spectacle” or “On Aurait Pu.” The vocals are raucous and direct, but remain intelligible in spite of the rapid delivery. Old school ’80s US hardcore bands clearly got invites, but as mentioned, GUIMAUVE sounds more like a contemporary take on the old school rather than worshipping the old school, and I can see them appealing to fans of NEGAZIONE, POISON IDEA, or BAD BREEDING alike. Give this one a chance.
Hard, tight crossover leaning more on the hardcore than the thrash side of the scale. The cover art, songs about beer, and sick riffs all spell “thrash,” but the aggressive breakdowns and brutal attitude will have you throwing elbows and picking up change in the pit. “Let It Beer” absolutely rips and particularly showcases the insane drumming with double-kicks flying, rolls and fills, and hi-hats crashing all over the place. There’s no fat or filler in any of these thirteen tracks. Impossibly fast and in-your-face like all the best crossover should be. Fans of MUNICIPAL WASTE and GOATWHORE, take note.
Infectious, hard-driving punk from Paris. The record sounds massive, and the songs are crafted by true pros. Perhaps a touch heavier than LES THUGS, but surely in a similar realm (and not just because they’re French).
The last LA FRACTION album came out in 2007. I drove the band on a North American tour that summer and I saw them play a few dozen times, so I should have known what to expect when I dropped the needle on De L’Autre Cote fifteen years later in 2022, but I was not prepared. Not at all. When Magali’s vocals opened “Tout Va Bien,” I fucking cried. It wasn’t something I could control, and I didn’t try. There is a magic here, and it’s not something I can describe, but the band sounds (appropriately) older, wiser, and more angry than they ever have before. Their fourth full-length is arguably their best—Magali sounds like she is doing battle with DeDe’s guitar while Boris’s drums push everything forward. It’s a perfect band, really…it always has been. And while I knew that before I started listening to this record, I was still, somehow, not at all prepared. Bands (particularly punk bands) are simply not supposed to get better with age, but LA FRACTION have defined themselves with this album, and I feel like I don’t want to listen to anything else. Ever.
Mid-paced metallic hardcore with melodic tweaks and crusty vocals from Rennes, France. Filled with the sounds of classic 2010s melodic hardcore with soft touches of crust. On their second work included here (the Incoming Death EP released in 2021), they cling to even more melodic sources and even slower cadences, resulting in redundant and similar songs in-between. The anthemic choruses kind of in the middle of some of the songs just haven’t worked out for me. Suggested tracks: “Our Destiny” for slightly faster tempos, and “Inside Madness” for some sludgy tunes.
