Reviews

SRA

Chronic Anxiety / Dialer Split LP

I reviewed DIALER’s debut cassette a few months ago and loved it, so I was stoked to see this. DIALER continue to use aspects of post- punk, synth, free jazz (??), and more to create a tight feeling of what the future holds for punk. They sound so fucking pissed about the state of the world, but seem cautiously optimistic about the future. Start- stop spazzing makes space for clarinet freakouts and weirdo samples, and the singer still has FILTH vibes. I’m into it. CHRONIC ANXIETY are bass and drums playing post-punk with some grunge overtones. Their singer is kind of half singing, half ranting in an almost stream-of- consciousness way about yoga and big gulps. I’m not that into it.

Flag of Democracy FODWorld LP

Just to be clear, we are talking about a band who the DEAD MILKMEN referenced on their first damn record…which came out in 1983. We’re talking about 37 years of essentially constant activity. I reviewed the No School No Core full-length last year and it was great, so I dropped the needle on FODWorld with high hopes. I was not let down. Fast, loose hardcore punk with a little more snot and melody that reaches back to their ’80s catalog. Nothing but respect from these ears, and I look forward to the next one.

Hellco Hellco LP

Debut release of freewheeling and frequently funny punk featuring Dave from F.O.D. on vocals. There is a mix of styles on this LP, but when they rip, they rip in the best classic hardcore fashion—snotty hollered vocals, buzzing guitar, and fast beats that recall vintage CIRCLE JERKS. What sets HELLCO apart is their willingness to indulge in humor; for instance, “Just Stop Singing Like That” starts with a BLUE ÖYSTER CULT-aping riff with a melodramatic croon before launching into fast punk. It’s weird and unexpected, and they do it again at the next chorus, and then they bring it back in an echo-y goth version for “Just Stop Singing Like That Reprise.” Because the band is tight and the humor lands, it works and reminds me of bands like BIG BOYS and M.D.C. who weren’t afraid to inject some weirdness and inside jokes into their otherwise serious music. Similarly, “Swiss Cheese Brain” moves from atonal hardcore into a cowpunk bridge complete with whistling. Good record with tons of personality.

Solarized A Ghost Across Hell From Me LP

Wow!! Super sick Afro-futurist scrappy hardcore punk that reminds me of the MONORCHID or maybe CIRCUS LUPUS?! The guitar sound and those vocals take me straight back to my teenage obsession with CHRIS THOMSON bands! It’s got the wild lo-fi frenzy of the Chris Thomson/Jason Farrell FURY 45, too. Lyrics are cut-up incisive radical utopian/dystopian, like reading sci-fi poetry for insurgent minds. I love getting records like this, sorta nostalgic feeling (yes I was a teenager in the early ’90s, mail-ordering Gravity Records 45s and buying anything Dischord/Kill Rock Stars put out!), but also showing what is possible, how to refract an idea into something it wasn’t before, to make something new and old and wild and now.