Reviews

Sleepy Dogs

Cemented Minds Colostrum 10″

There is no doubt that hardcore punk is a very malleable genre and bands can slowly venture into other sub-genres as time moves along. Loads of hardcore bands slow down on the aggression and tune into their emotions overtime. Hailing from France, CEMENTED MINDS have within their ranks hardcore punk musicians from bands like AMANDA WOODWARD, NINE ELEVEN, and AUSSITOT MORT, but on this project they went into a post-punk mode. Colostrum is their five-song debut, a collage of post-punk melancholia that still retains much of the hardcore energy and can very well please any fan of the aforementioned bands and post-punks alike.

Gummo A Fresh Breath on the Neck LP

Hailing from Lille, France, GUMMO sets the brutality at eleven with their latest LP. Featuring eighteen throat-punching tracks, this three-piece focuses their ire at cops, internet trolls, people ruining the scene, and capitalists, to name a few, and leaves no doubt about where they stand on social justice issues. The title track refers to the guillotine, and implies it might be time to bring it back. The first track, a pandemic manifesto called “Where Was Gondor,” features some interesting, almost melodic bass and drum work that makes GUMMO stand out from most of the powerviolence and grindcore bands these days. “You’ll Pay the Bill to the Styx” almost veers toward New York-style hardcore terroritory (SICK OF IT ALL, GORILLA BISCUITS) with chugging guitars and chanting, anthemic vocals.