Reviews

Tvmbalavalla

Atropello!! El Tiempo No Perdona EP

My first time hearing Peruvian hardcore, and it sounds good. It came to my attention that ATROPELLO!! is made up of some Peruvian veterans of the hardcore punk scene. Equal parts Scandinavian punk and Italian hardcore, these Peruvian aggressors play a raw and spastic brand of hardcore. There is always this underlying chaotic quality that seems to be the glue to what they do. Putting Peru on the punk map.

LBM Ankalli EP

You had a long day at work. You’re underpaid. The world is a chimera of misery. Capitalism has colonized every inch of your nervous system. The air in your city feels heavy, full of polluting and poisonous particles. This eight-song EP is the catharsis you need when you feel a scream of frustration coming out of you. Whether you are from the Global South like the members of LBM, or from the precarious zones of the so-called First World, whether you speak Spanish or not, this brutal D-beat exercise appeals directly to your courage and desperation as a worker being swept away by the wave of progress. These songs are ideal for catharsis and if you let it, for the revolution to come.

Mindcollapse Estado de Sitio EP

Absolutely crushing grindcore out of Madrid, Spain. There’s twelve songs on this 7” EP, most being under a minute in length. Even if my Spanish was better, the vocals are incomprehensible growls, but holy frijoles, the music doesn’t stop punching you in the face. “24H Control + Explotación Asimilada” (“Assimilated Exploitation”) sticks out for its three-minute length, but also because it plays with tempos in interesting ways, dipping down into doomy sludge and then ramping back up to crusty hardcore speeds. The aptly named “Punker than Grind” closes the EP with a fun, strange, mid-tempo stomper. Cool piece of work.

Terror Y Miseria Destruyendo y Sembrando LP

Anarcho-punk project heavily linked with crust and hardcore, from a collective of members that are from Spain and Argentina. Destruyendo y Sembrando was recorded between 2020 and 2021 in both countries mentioned, and features artwork illustrated by Max Vadalá, a graphic artist active in punk subculture mostly in Argentina and Latin America. The album compiles ten tracks about anarchy and the present state of the oppressive system of state domination, the media’s dominance over the population, immigration and anti-terrorism politics, and the everyday struggle against the capitalist status quo. Favorite tracks: “Destruyendo y Sembrando,” with a powerful poetic evocation about monotony and inertia and alienation, and “Urubu,” more aligned with a street punk tempo. Full of passion and heart, enthusiastically recommended for those who believe in and want a better world with no oppression or state violence, and are willing to stand and give the daily fight against government power.