Reviews

Voltage

Bad Nasty Chaos is Order LP

Really high-energy, poppy spiky punk from France via Switzerland. They’ve been kicking around in different forms since 1999, some lineups with more mohawks and spikes than others. This lineup finds them more mature but no less punk than before. They did a split with the KRAYS way back, and that gives you some idea what’s in store. The best songs like “No One and Everyone” or “Later in the Night” have a nice mid-tempo street punk vibe, maybe closer to KOMINTERN SECT than the less desirable, faster NEW FOUND GLORY-ish numbers.  Keep on keepin’ on, gents.

Just Wär / Mau Maus split EP

A quick split between the Czech Republic’s JUST WÄR and England’s MAU MAUS. JUST WÄR mostly plays MOTÖRHEAD-worship punk. They’re definitely students of this style, as everything is pristinely placed, from the rock’n’roll riffs and leads to the growled vocals. MAU MAUS are a legacy act originally formed in the early ’80s. They play simple UK82 street punk that is clean and relatively catchy and includes classic gravelly singing and gang vocals. This split is good, but a bit of a head-scratcher. I don’t really understand how these two got paired together but it’s cool; it’s nice to have two different styles rather than two bands that sound identical on a split. Rock on.

The Havoc Our Rebellion Continues LP

Imagine my disbelief at seeing this come across my review pile; I saw HAVOC play at the Cornerstone music festival almost twenty years ago, and honestly I didn’t realize they were still active. On their new LP Our Rebellion Continues, they sound just as I remember them: CASUALTIES-style street punk with a side of MOTÖRHEAD-style rock’n’roll. Personally, I prefer them when they lean into the Lemmy influence, like on “Who’s to Blame” and the end of title track “Our Rebellion Continues,” where they almost approach a RIFFS vibe. It’s pretty cool shit, and I’m happy to see these dudes still doing their thing twenty years later.