Reviews - MAXIMUM ROCKNROLL

Warsh Demo cassette

Forceful hardcore punk. Shouted female vocals, some excellently weird riffs and construction, and it’s generally tough as nails. WARSH hit that typical stomp just enough to lure in the flavor-of-the-month kids, but it’s just a trick they’re gonna use to smash your face with a deadly buzzsaw guitar and insanely good tracks. It’s like NO THANKS planted “Fuck Everything” on Prince Edward Island (that’s in Canadia, the way eastern part) 35 years ago, and WARSH just waited until it had fully matured. Highest recommendation.

V/A Kinda Sorta Music 2019 CD-R

20-band compilation CD-R—a format that I simultaneously curse and adore. The disc starts with garage punk, then raw hardcore, then blackened grind/crust…so you know you’re in for a wild ride. There’s weird industrial (FUTURE SCUM), pure noise (O.S. D’VIL, OLIGARCHY OF MEGALOMANIA), shit-fi garage (the GREAT SADDNESS), psychedelic drum machine party punk (HURT HAWKS), some lost BAUHAUS shit (UFO WHISPERER) and plenty of straight hardcore and/or punk burners (the RIGHT, DEAD BABIES). Literally something here for everyone, and I missed more than a few highlights in this review. Kinda Sorta Music is all over the place in the best way, and well worth the two or three emails to kindasortamusic@mail.com that it might take to get a copy into your own hands.

Western Death Sick Century CD

The meaty chugs of mid-’80s NYHC clashes with melodic gruff vocals and wailing leads, while the heart of Sick Century is high energy catchy ’core along the lines of SNFU or BOUNCING SOULS. Worth noting that these kids hail from Medicine Hat, Alberta—a town the cops quite literally tried ran us out of on tour in ’96, but that was a different century. This century is a sick one. See what I did there?

Obedience MMXIX LP

If you paid attention to the 2016 demo, then you pretty much know this 12″ platter is going to be good. Well, it’s better than that. A ten-track juggernaut, with Dave’s vocals cranking out frustration and wisdom at a pace and ferocity that rivals ’82 MDC. There’s an amped up Oi! undertone that sneaks into the mix here and there, which only serves to make their unhinged rage a little catchier than it probably should be…and makes bangers like “Wall Me In” hopelessly addictive. For reference, this Austin band features members of TEAR IT UP, CONCRETE, SEVERED HEAD OF STATE and BREAKOUT…you know, in case you needed any convincing.

Pink Guitars Hand CD-R

At their height, this Buffalo, NY recording project reminds me of the atonal spacious presentation of ARMIA’s Legenda, while most of the time it’s some feisty bedroom four-track punk with goooood riffs (“Above It All”) and some questionable vocals (also “Above It All,” unfortunately) that sound like they are going for 82 DC on a recording that is light years from ’82 DC in almost every way. If nothing else, PINK GUITARS keep me listening so I can try to find a way to describe what I’m listening to…this is something, you see.

Proletariat Punch Crapitalism cassette

If my first thought is “hmmm, kinda has a feisty Spiderleg Records vibe,” then things are going well, right? PROLETARIAT PUNCH is primarily (I think?) a recording project, and they’ve been cranking out offerings for almost a decade. This one sticks with me more than last year’s Intifada EP; they charge full-speed through every track (there are just four), and at their tightest moments manage to exude a touch of PENI lurking under a pounding early DISCHARGE beat. It’s a relatively simple formula, but it really works here. Recommended.

Salty Dry-Rub cassette

How do you describe hipster punk delivered by actual nerds? Not ironic nerds, but people who are nerds because they have no other choice in life. Dry-Rub is synth heavy, there’s the VERUCA SALT vibe that dominates (it’s really a WIRE / BUZZCOCKS vibe, but that’s a different decade and a different story), and there’s the overwhelming feeling that you’re own perception of cool is getting completely skewed by listening to SALTY. Decidedly un-hip hipster garage/psych music that should be for the masses.

Sendo Fogo Sobreviver a Lutar CD

Ripping fastcore, the way you want it and they way it should be delivered. São Paulo’s SENDO FOGO slow it down to a punishing pace when necessary, and it just makes the controlled insanity of bangers like “Abaixo do Chão” come off even more face-melting. Blasts drop in a few times, but at its heart this is a no-bullshit fast hardcore record—carrying on the Brasilian tradition of bands like DISCARGA, MAYOMBE, MERDE, and the like. Eleven songs, twelve minutes. Killer.

The Sissies Milksop cassette

Beer and shitty bars and rock’n’roll…it all still tastes good together. We’re talking the BRIEFS and/or Surfer Rosa era-PIXIES by way of AMBOY DUKES and/or STOOGES, but with a NINE POUND HAMMER “yeeeaaaahhh“ cranked way up in the front of house monitors. All of these ingredients are delicious, and the pained/strained vocals are the gravy. I kinda don’t want to like this, but I totally do.

USA/Mexico Matamoros LP

Actual noise rock royalty on this one, with King Coffey (BUTTHOLE SURFERS) behind the kit. Throw in a couple of dudes from SHIT & SHINE, and prepare yourself for a beating. Pure and purely demented Texas noise rock, emphasis on the “noise” descriptor. There are layers of magic lurking under the crumbling cacophony of destructed and distorted sound masquerading as “songs,” laying waste to boring genre adherence just as they lay waste to theories of repetition as music. Regurgitating the ghost of KILLDOZER as a psilocybin aficionado roaming Austin alleys at 4:00 A.M. Game over, kids…the grown-ups just won.

Suck Lords True Lords Music EP

These Portland maniacs went and got really fukkn raw on their new EP. Blown-out garage hardcore mania fueled by speed and paranoia, these eight songs are onto the next fight before you even know you got your ass kicked. SUCK LORDS swing hard, and the riffs crawl under your skin, but everything just happens so damn fast. Like NEON CHRIST fast. Take NOSFERATU as a lazy modern comparison, but the shit here sounds like no other game in town. Yeah…it’s good-ass shit.

Speed Babes Tape:Pink cassette

Third dose this month of garage-esque punk from What’s For Breakfast? Records. Karoline says “it kinda sounds like that wave of commercial almost-punk that was popular fifteen years ago. Like, not the HIVES, and not quite FRANZ FERDINAND, and maybe REIGNING SOUND sometimes.” And you see, that’s why I ask Karoline’s opinion: because she fukkn nails it. Quirky jams from Chicago’s prolific SPEED BABES, every track is catchy (well, almost; see below) and the above non-descriptors should give you a pretty good idea of what they are slinging. A few breath-y slow/quiet tracks for good measure (the burners are way better though, “Start a War” is a clunker supreme).

D7Y D7Y LP

This is how you fukkn do it—bombastic and relentless D-beat punk that sounds totally original. Iceland’s D7Y tweak the formula just enough and in just the right ways: integrating the noise and the chaos into the songs themselves instead of just adding chaos for the sake of chaos like many bands are wont to do. But the main thing here is just the constant pummeling that D7Y delivers…it simply doesn’t stop, and just listening to this slab is exhausting. Absolutely top notch record in construction, presentation and delivery.

Enemy 4 Songs cassette

Maximum brutality on this four-song banger. High speed, high energy, and devastatingly heavy Los Angeles hardcore that successfully harnesses California’s catchy early-’80s punk and dumps a colossal amount of tonnage on its collective back. Check the urgent stomp of “Glüm” (my choice track) and see if you’re still standing when it’s over. The EP from a while back was good, they were great when I saw them last year, but this shit? This thing is unreal.

Faux Co. Radio Silence cassette

I mean, it’s not bad. But I feel like I’m listening to the 1971 California radio pop engine firing on all cylinders, and I don’t know why there’s this MAMAS & THE PAPAS rehash mixed in with my raging D-beat and my hardcore. Don’t get me wrong, Sweetheart of the Rodeo is an essential record (and it’s way more country than Radio Silence is), there’s just a time and a place.

Musclegoose 3 Ninjas: High Noon at Musclegoose Mountain cassette

High-energy golf-themed basement shit punk that is way too high-fidelity. This shit is supposed to be recorded with a toilet mic, and these Arkansas butt rockers spent the money on a studio for some reason. It’s weird, but it means that the legitimate chops on tracks like “Bad Boyz II: Men” shine through and the listener starts to think that MUSCLEGOOSE might actually be a real band (hint: they are). DWARVES chops with SPITS humor, and head and shoulders better than the throw away joke punk garbage persona that they present.

Frustrerad Shadow of Life cassette

Clenched-fist kÁ¥ng fire from Belgium. They adhere to The Formula quite well: Euro D-beats, verse/chorus/verse with no funny stuff (maybe an occasional bridge), treble rebel recording, shouted earnest vocals…and a VARUKERS cover. I mean, it’s all here and they do it right.

Night Talkers Code 1079! LP

High-energy party-heavy punk rock’n’roll. Screaming guitars up front at all times, and you can practically feel beer cans whizzing by your head as their brand of amped-up club punk reaches to NASHVILLE PUSSY to inspiration. NIGHT TALKERS sound instantly familiar, probably because they have existed as different entities with different monikers in different cities practically since the dawn of punk. But hard-hitting burners like “Trapped” are timeless.

Pasha & the Kindred Spirits Demo 2019 cassette

Lo-fi indie pop and/or region rock, or perhaps this is like the PROMISE RING if they got signed by Plan-It-X in 1998. Plus there are layers of whoa-ohs and lots of guitar leads, but the recording kinda makes it all just sound like a mess. I’m still listening here, and with all due respect to the artist/s, I promise that I’m trying. But the truth is that PASHA & THE KINDRED SPIRITS are a swooning turd delivered with marginally out-of-tune pretension. If you want to hear the sound of a jilted lover that just won’t go away, then this is your jam…I find myself wondering if I know anyone in this band and am gonna feel bad about this review (edit: just listened again, and it’s very honest).

Akne Straight Akting cassette

All hail UK freak punk. Supremely damaged guitars, soaring maniacal vocals, and songs that truly defy description. This band from Leeds is truly astounding in both approach and delivery. Pure. Demented. Punk.

Born Shit Stirrers Depressed Father’s Club CD

Short blasts of attitude from a crew of Brits living on the north coast of Japan’s southern island. (I’m talking about the big islands. Okinawa and Ishigaki are important and beautiful, but they aren’t very big.) Songs mostly clock in under the one-minute mark, and come off like KICKER and PUSRAD in a blender. Vocals are barked with a rarely rivaled irreverence, and this crew of expats relentlessly assails foreigners with a vicious wit. Top notch release from a group that manages the “tongue in cheek” vs. “fun as fuck” balance brilliantly.

Chardonnay Do You Have the Maximum Intuition cassette

As an instantly addictive collection of references, the opening salvo from CHARDONNAY offers a journey far more advanced than a mere listening experience. You want high praise? I thought about HAWKWIND, WIPERS and COMPLICATIONS in the first track alone, and when they settled down into a barrage of gravel-voiced emotion, I found myself liking them even more. Self-described “LSD-beat” from New Orleans, this release is probably more rock and less fire than I would normally request, but damn the tunes are just gold throughout. It’s good to branch out from time to time…

The English Language Paranoid Imagination cassette

Early-’90s grunge/college/indie fully reborn and reincarnated. I mean, it’s been almost 30 years, so TAD is classic rock at this point (“Stairway to Heaven” was only eight years old when Pay to Cum dropped, so there’s that for perspective). Some surfy Laurel Canyon bits break up the distant guitars on what could essentially sit alongside EUGENIUS or any number of then-retro sounding bands. So yeah…here’s some kids from 2019 trying to sound like drugged out kids from 1990 who were trying to kick 1970 butt rock in the butt. Is it good? Yup, it totally is. They do exactly what they set out to do. Choice cut: “Misery.”

Frites Modern 6 Met 10″ reissue

Pretty bold move to open your debut EP with a cover of the Sesame Street theme song, huh? (Though I guess it has the effect of making the rest of your songs seem that much harder in comparison.) You might recognize this Dutch trio from the Welcome to 1984 comp, sandwiched there between the STALIN and UBR. The 6 Met EP was originally released on cassette in 1983; this first-time vinyl press was done for last year’s Record Store Day. There’s a distinct UK82 feel to the driving rhythms, eminently catchy riffs and singalong refrains—think GBH or SKEPTIX—but like the best UK-influenced Euro HC bands, FRITES MODERN ramped up the intensity for some real classic tracks like “Jeugdjournaal” and “Leugenaar.” Nice crisp recording, too. Grab this if you can!

Wipers Live at the Met, December 31, 1982 LP

Previously unreleased WIPERS live soundboard recording from 1982; seventeen songs including two that aren’t on any of their other records? I don’t think I could imagine a better description for an LP. And it delivers. Though recorded on the eve of the sessions for their Over the Edge album, this set draws primarily on classic Is This Real-era cuts (“Dimension 7,” “Potential Suicide,” “Tragedy,” etc.) and obscurities like the fantastic “Something to Prove.” I celebrate the band’s entire catalog, but Live at the Met is the WIPERS at their most straightforward, catchiest, punk-rock best. Absolutely essential. “This is for all you aliens…”

Social Distortion Poshboy’s Little Monsters 12″

This six-song EP collects all the material from the 1981 session that yielded SOCIAL DISTORTION’s first record, the Mainliner single. (Interestingly, that debut was originally planned as a 12″ and made it to the test pressing stage before being downsized due to disagreements over the artwork.) You’ll find formative takes of tracks that were rerecorded for other releases (“Justice for All” renamed “It’s the Law” for 1988’s Prison Bound). In fact, all these early versions have appeared elsewhere themselves, so there’s nothing unreleased here. But it’s nonetheless cool to revisit this stuff — “Playpen” and “Moral Threat” are two of the band’s best early tracks. Worth checking out if you don’t have the Mainliner (Wreckage from the Past) LP already.

Hash Redactor Drecksound LP

A spun-out frenzy with smears of MARK E. SMITH vocals lift over a wild sorta FALL / GUN CLUB / SCIENTISTS guitar collision, and the sickest rhythm section in modern punk. This is a dense total sound, tastefully stealing from both classic Manchester and L.A. punk as needed! What else is there to do in these end times we are stuck existing within but make a sound that reflects your record collection with your friends? HASH REDACTOR features the rhythm section of NOTS and a couple EX-CULTers too, so Memphis maniacs you already know you need this right? It swaggers and goofs in a most endearing fashion: off-kilter and groovy, like trying to leave a crowded party and drunkenly walking into a swamp. One of those records where you wish the label had sent a reviewer copy!

Whisper Hiss Everything Must Go EP

You know, their band name pretty much hits the nail on the head on how I would define their sound. Soft as a whisper, with the wheeze of a hiss. Heavy on feels, WHISPER HISS offer up soft-edged darkwave post-punk, that’s dark with a heady innuendo of uncertainty. All the melodies are carried by synth and thick bass, and guitar is absent to their binary sound that is only punctuated with vocals. And I’ll be honest, I was waiting for them to really bite into it, or perhaps unravel, but they stayed steady on a slow-weaving and steady course with “Everything Must Go,” “Telepathy,” and “Undone.” The only song that seemed to veer into looser, weirder, and more screamy territory was “Wake-Up Call,” which of course is always well-received on my end. Very chill post-wave punk for these Portlanders.

Giggly Boys Another Close Call 7″

This two song 7″ barely makes it to four minutes in total. The A-side is an uptempo melodic punk number in the vein of MASSHYSTERI, with a reverbed out Mark E. Smith soundalike on vocals. The B-side is a little more garage-y, a little more rock’n’roll, a little catchier, quite a bit shorter, and probably the better of the two. This stuff sounds similar to their previous output, but a little more polished, and I mean that in a good way.

Gitane Demone Quartet Substrata Strip CD

Gitane Demone will be best known to readers of MRR from her time with CHRISTIAN DEATH, but she has had a long career as a vocalist. I was excited to check our this album after seeing that it features Paul Roessler, along with one of my favorite guitarists, Rikk Agnew, but punks hoping to hear some classic Agnew chops may be disappointed by the showtunes goth presented within. Demone’s powerful singing is the focus here: the darkly operatic cabaret songs resonate around occult-sounding themes. For this listener, the album sits way too far outside MRR territory, residing more in the Wiccan steampunk zone.

Neck You Don’t Think It’s Evil… LP

This is pretty straightforward punk’n’roll, and some might even call it pop punk. Guitar, bass, drums, vocals; mid-tempo and super catchy. It sounds like all members help out on the vocals, which creates some nice harmonies, and enhances the catchy factor. The song lyrics are mostly goofy and silly. It’s a fun record, meant to be enjoyed casually and not seriously. As soon as I put the record on, I was reminded of the old Seattle band HEAD.

Judy and the Jerks Music For Donuts EP

Watching JUDY AND THE JERKS play was one of the highlights of 2018! What a group! It’s a true and total brat attack like SIN 34 and Thrasher Skate Rock comps, but in a dream not a drab reenactment broscape. This is a sick hardcore 45: it sounds like the Hardcore California book in a cool and refreshing way, like stealing a soda on one of these end-of-the-world hot days. It’s a pleasure and it’s a punch in the face! You will like the feeling, you will imagine yourself in the crowd of Decline while listening to it… Every song is perfect, furious bratty hardcore for true punks. Can’t wait to get the LP!

The Hamiltones The Shape of Walter EP

While it’s not relevant to the music, this is one of the funniest record names I’ve heard in ages, and the accompanying picture sleeve is perfect. It’s all about the instrumentals here, as all four songs are instrumentals. While most of it is ’60s influenced surf, different songs have different feels, including upbeat and almost funky, or dark and eerie. There’s even a cover of “Without You,” a ’70s ballad made famous by HARRY NILSSON, but also recorded by BADFINGER and AIR SUPPLY. You’re in great company, guys. Solid release. Blue vinyl.

Jonny Manak and the Depressives Anybody Wanna Skate CD

I’ve seen these guys a few times, but this full-length really bumps them up a notch or two for me. Well-produced punk rock’n’roll that has an early SAINTS quality. Maybe they’ve gotten more garage over the years? There’s still a touch of pop punk here, but as a whole, this rocks pretty good.

Tiger Touch Hawthorne Boogie / Berlin City 7″

This is the second 7″ from these Portland rockers. A couple hard rock punk crunchers in the MC5 and STOOGES-influenced vein, and in more current terms, think TURBONEGRO. Cool stuff, and “Berlin City” is an instant classic!

Game No One Wins LP

London jangling punks GAME play scathing, hexing, barking hardcore in the style of MUSHROOM ATTACK, the COMES, the STALIN, CHARGE, NEGLECT, and NO STATIK, orated with Polish and English command. Vocals are punctuated with pounding harsh rhythm, while the songwriting varies from anthemic circle pit hardcore to thrashing ’80s punk metal. This LP is powerfully energetic, with surprising changes yet flowing evenly from start to finish. Encapsulating, hasty, bewitching and in complete control. Its production is perfectly clear, as well as engineered to accentuate what makes GAME on top, making it an immediately engaging listen. Bizarrely kvlt art by Nicky Rat.

Nots 3 LP

Third (duh) album from Memphis’ NOTS, now a trio (duh again). NOTS’ unique take on punk—wild psych tinges and tight post-punk rhythms, always driving in inventive directions—is one of my faves in recent memory, and 3 finds the band operating at their most economic. The songs are more exacting and, coupled with a recording / production that peels back much of the shadow and effect from prior releases, their finest batch to date (see “Rational Actor” and “Woman Alone” especially!). These slight adjustments in attack and presentation all come together to propel a more natural sound, albeit one still permeated with drum pound, synth bleating, and guitar workout. I’m also really struck by Natalie’s vocals here as well: she has never sounded better or punker on record. While I’ve been on board with their prior releases, I flat-out fuckin’ love this one. Highest recommendation.

Witchtrial Witchtrial LP

What do you get when you mix the more “extreme” NWOBHM like VENOM with modern D-beat like IMPALERS? Washington DC thrashers WITCHTRIAL is what! As you probably guessed from their name, this band is heavy fucking metal that runs an influence gamut that includes SLAYER and CANDLEMASS, among others. That being said, the D-beat vibes persist throughout, making this one a dangerous gateway for punks who dabble in metal. Be careful with this stuff, kids. It’s all fun and games until you’re forking over $80 to see JUDAS PRIEST and DOKKEN on a Tuesday night. Highly recommended!

1919 Futurecide CD

The latest full-length from Bradford post-punk legends 1919 slinks forth with catchy melodic abrasion. Harmonies as mesmerizing as the CHURCH; serpentine cradle-shaking akin to BAUHAUS; contemporary angst reminding of the ESTRANGED, MOIRA SCAR, and SEX GANG CHILDREN; the twitching ennui of MIDNIGHT OIL; and even the pop spin cycle Á la CULTURE ABUSE, with a slack standard of SUEDE. 1919 have composed at times an optimistic, albeit still-life and morose effort that’s smoother than their tribal ’80s death rock sound, exploring a goth-gazing that is absolutely worth checking out. Introduce yourself as if they were the newest sensation in this darkwave movement, as if they weren’t around 35 years ago already nailing that fresh pine coffin.

Brandy Clown Pain / Rent Quest 7″

The worst job I ever had was working for a balloon wholesale company. As a result, I don’t like clowns. A song called “Clown Pain,” whether or not about literal clowns, strikes a positive chord with me. “Thank you for my clown pain.” Of course, I can relate to “Rent Quest” as well. BRANDY’s music is dirty and throbbing and relentless. It leaves you anxiously on edge. The vocals are rough and pleading. The whole thing is perfect.

Condor Singles 2017-2018 LP

You probably know that this is a RIXE (and ex-YOUTH AVOIDERS) member’s solo project—and it’s pretty apparent on the surface—but this has more of a melodic punk sound than Oi! The dude writes amazing songs that I can imagine pretty much anyone liking, regardless of preference. I must point out that aside from his penchant for writing a hook, the reason we’re all enamored by this is the perfectly balanced production. Raw, gritty, and clear, with a dreamy kick-and-snare thud that you feel as much as you hear. “Chacun Pour Soi” is basically an amped-up FLOCK OF SEAGULLS song and is highly addictive, “Condor” shows hardcore roots, and “Vengeance” is a spot-on cover of a deep cut on the 1984 The Second compilation (I used to put this song on a lot of mix tapes, so this is quite validating to hear). I imagine this record is doing fine without my praise, but for whatever it’s worth, you all should get it. This 12″ compiles two short tapes that are likely very limited.

Not A Part Of It Defiant Indifference EP

While not expanding the boundaries of punk, this is certainly not bad. It’s fast as hell, catchy, political, and sorta rad. Snotty, gravelly vocals give this dudely pop punk a street punk edge. Not necessarily barking up my tree specifically, but it seems like it’s probably a tree close by a tree in my neighborhood. I feel like this would have been a solid release on an early ’90s Epitaph roster, and I would have totally dug it.

Trinity Test Trinity Test LP

These are the bands that LEFTÖVER CRACK has spawned. Abrasive but catchy “fukk you” attitude, but totally melodic, and the chorus of “Nothing Left” demands a singalong, just as the right channel guitar begs to be turned down in the mix because you can’t hear anything else. I don’t say this often in these pages, but Minneapolis’ TRINITY TEST are starter punk for newcomers. If you’ve been in the game for more than a few months, then you’ve likely already moved past these sounds. Not to say that they aren’t important and/or relevant, just to say that this old man isn’t moved by them.

Protruders Poison Future LP

A loose and odd duckling from Montreal. PROTRUDERS try their hand at all manner of agitated sounds: A pumpin’ take on trad’ rock’n’roll that’s instinctively punk and off in the right sorta way. Their attitudinal reference points seem to (mostly) sprout from the world of Cle’ proto-punk, with “Wrong Way Sign” (the six plus minute centerpiece) recalling so much MIRRORS or ROCKET FROM THE TOMBS magic that I’m liable to cite that alone as worth the price of admission. After repeated listens (yes, it prompts them), I dig the longer, room-to-roam moments over the more direct numbers, but even the chopped and speedy “Stabilizer” crumbles coolly. Quality beef here, folks, ’specially for the zonked hairballs out there.

Weird Numbers Minotaur Dreams EP

If you are familiar with L.A.’s power pop punk band MANIAC, then you will instantly recognize Zache Davis’s fuzzed and angular vocals. He has such a signature sound I don’t think he could (or should) ever shake it. “Dolphin Encounters,” “Minotaur Dreams,” and “Switching the Code” all are heavy on power pop downstroke, with well-crafted hooks and earworm melodies that give their melodic pop punk a fuller and more complex sound. My favorite on this EP is “Obsolete Man,” which is the sweetest of the bunch, with full weaving angular melodies and just a damn good pop song. WEIRD NUMBERS is a modern twist on retro power pop, and it’s solid. This particular arrangement of Zache Davis (MANIC, GIRLS), Colin Griffiths (GIRLS), and Ethan Jocobsen (TOURIST) is a Seattle outfit. However with Zache’s roots in L.A., I have a feeling that they’ll be cruising up and down the West Coast soon.

Fealty Peace Is Our Problem 7″

I know this shit is almost a year old now, but uuuugggghhhh FEALTY are so good. The 2017 demo was beyond crucial, and 2018’s Peace Is Our Problem only tightened their grip on dominance. Uncomfortable and in-your-face bombastic anarcho punk, heavy on the low end and desperation, this New York trio sounds like you feel after a fight you didn’t know was coming. You’re confused, full of adrenaline…and ready for more.

Horrible Pain / Sulfuric Cautery split LP

This one-sided 12″ is just oozing with mincecore contempt, and is sure to make your head pop like an infected pustule. HORRIBLE PAIN out of Winnipeg barfs out some sickening, bile-grind that hates music, and has no time for anything but full-blast filth. UNHOLY GRAVE fans take note: Dayton, Ohio’s SULFURIC CAUTERY likes music even less, and rolls right over you like a tidal wave of medical waste. There is megaton distortion, foul growls, and a machine gun snare drum tuned so high, you’ll wish you were never born. I recommend this for the most deranged grind freaks only. Everyone else should stay well away.

Reviewer Mike Battleaxe
Label Acid Reflux / Blast Addict / Feel Good Grind / Grindfather / Syrup Head
Issue MRR #434 • July 2019

Big Night In Super Dualism LP

Basic punk rock’n’roll, with the emphasis on basic and rock. Sure, this isn’t paint-by-numbers barre chord punk for teens, and it’s certainly fairly passionate and believable, but it’s kinda like a mix of 80s KISS riffs, tougher-than-most Midwest emo from the 00s, cheap beer, perfect denim vests, and an attempt at accessibility. As a side note: somebody threw down some serious coin on this thing. Full-color gatefold with 3-D inner artwork and free 3-D glasses. Extra points for mentioning Jeppson’s Malört liquor, but this is a hard listen, even for a diehard fan of Ace and his riffs.

Frontier Club Speaking in Cursive 7″

FRONTIER CLUB is an odd name for a band from Southern California, as it brings to mind that old timey SoCal record label that put out Group Sex and the Blue Album? Would you ever name your band “Slash Team” or “Dangerous House”? Anyway, this isn’t FRONTIER CLUB’s first record, so I’m sure somebody’s already picked up on that. As it stands, this slab is much more post-punk than CIRCLE JERKS, or even TSOL. Plenty o’ sharp guitars, plaintive vocals (just enough emoting to keep it interesting), and lockstep drums and bass. Good shit. The guitar on these three tracks is particularly tough and muscular, but still a little dark, a little gothic, and a little mysterious—kind of like a jock who works out two hours a day but also wears a beret and a black trenchcoat or, alternatively, Xena Warrior Princess. Similar to the WYNONA RIDERS, but with different singing and much more contemporary than that band ever was. Less dreary than it could be, more fun than it should be. Like it.

Teenage Bottlerocket Stay Rad! CD

One of my favorites. These Wyoming guys have been dishing out the quality pop punk for close to twenty years, and this is their first full length of originals since the passing of their drummer Brandon in 2015. Another full-length packed with RAMONES-influenced pop punk, with a few hard rockers and slower tunes to mix it up. Great album, great band!