Reviews

Vinyl Conflict

Gumming Overripe LP

Dark, technical noise rock with aggressive, pissed-off vocals, off-kilter rhythms, and repetitive, spiraling guitar figures. There’s a heavy intensity to the songs that reminds me of DEAD AND GONE, as well as a subtle later BLACK FLAG Greg Ginn edge to the guitar that finally makes good on its threat on the song “Agency.” I have to admit that on first listen, I found the vocals to be slightly grating; as the record progressed and on subsequent listens, I realized that exact grating aspect is integral to the band’s sound and crucial to the delivery.

Loud Night Mindnumbing Pleasure LP

These Richmond, VA-based ripping metalhead punks oil the tank treads for war on their aptly-named new full-length. This is the kind of blunt force D-beat that’s for getting faced with your friends—it’s not a soundtrack for changing the world. It’s a hell of a lot of fun that also hits hard. The playing is the perfect blend of technical execution and loose chaos, and the production has the heft of a battle axe—each track landing like a drunken killing blow. This band plays in a genre that will never change (and never die) and they do it with excellence.

The Slickee Boys Here to Stay / Porcelain Butter Kitten 7″ reissue

This reissue of the 1981 single by DC cult heroes the SLICKEE BOYS is a two-sided heater of early punk propulsion, power pop hooks, and new wave production quirks. Probably because of their locals-only reknown and dissimilar sound to the larger DC hardcore scene, the SLICKEE BOYS have mostly been a footnote in the city’s hulking tome of punk lore. I have to admit to not following that footnote myself, but listening now, this and their other two early singles really hit my sweet spot for that late ’70s sound of revved-up rock’n’roll with wildly catchy choruses and hyper-melodic leads. “Here to Stay” has a desperate edge to it that reminds me of the WIPERS, and “Porcelain Butter Kitten” has a more adrenalized garage stomp, but both feature serrated, slightly psychedelic siren solos that slice through their respective songs.