Smartpils No Good No Evil 12″
Atmospheric but driving post-punk with female vocals. Reminds at times of early SIOUXSIE, with the haunting/tortured vocals and the psycho-punk music.
MAXIMUM ROCKNROLL
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Atmospheric but driving post-punk with female vocals. Reminds at times of early SIOUXSIE, with the haunting/tortured vocals and the psycho-punk music.
Fairly rockin’ pop-punk with a RAMONES feel to it. Nothing really amazing, but somehow catchy and pretty tight.
Was expecting sloppy thrash, but got powerful mid-tempo punk with driving guitar work. Strong stuff here and lyric topics very good.
Metal tinged thrash in the COC/NEGAZIONE mold. Very political lyrics dealing with power, exploitation, racism, and even the “scene.” Strong beliefs and intense music.
Mostly slow to mid-tempo grinding, crunching power punk with quite a few speed bursts. Best comparison would be a thrashed-out version of the AMEBIX.
OK grungy metal punk with varied lyrics: Most are ok, but there’s “Tim Sucks” (Not about Bobo Yohannan, I hope) and “Anarchy Bitch” which is totally moronic.
Four songs from this now-defunct D.C. outfit are slow-tempo, simplistically melodic and clear of any hard edge this band had in the past. What remains the same are the personal poetic lyrics and raw vocals. Overall, this band seems to be restraining the energy they had on their debut release.
Yahoo! This is great! Very hot, energetic, innovative, multi-influenced punk with intelligent, realistic lyrics. Definitely put this on your Christmas list.
Like the REDSKINS, these are leftwing skins, musically following in the footsteps of early punk a la CHELSEA, ANGELIC UPSTARTS, CLASH, etc. The music is fairly light though, more like current 7 SECONDS than the ’77 crew.
This rockin’ all-female foursome kicks out five songs, nearly all with a chunky guitar sound and plaintive vocals. This band really connects when their humor and personality comes through (as on “What? Scuz Me?”), but this is still an enjoyable slab.
This is a Steve Spinali kinda record, boppin’ pop-punk, back-up choruses, etc. Half the tunes rock, half are a teeny bit too light (especially in the vocal department), but not bad overall.
This band has spent altogether too much time listening to AEROSMITH. RAGING SLAB’s music shows a saturation in that most dreaded of all genres — rock —without the healthy self-parody that made the WILD, and early MENTORS and PLASMATICS so enjoyable. I’m surprised this is on…
Very high-powered thrash, not without a decent dose of BAD BRAINS-like attack. Metal licks kept to a tolerable level, while the overall fury carries the day.
These crazy Nevadans play poor white trashy punk with a grungy guitar sound and garage-y production. Basic but fun.
With music like this, they’ll be back in the pubs: highly produced, including synth and keyboards (usually unobtrusive), slow-paced tunes (only a couple rock much at all). Definitely going for the college radio market.
Aptly named, this is largely lightweight pop punk, a much-cleaner REVILLOS. The beat is there, but the insipid lyrics and too-sterile production keep this from really grabbing me. Main feature: Wolfie of the STUPIDS is the bass player.
For most of this LP, we’re floating along in a very pleasant ’78-79 type of political punk with both male and female vocals. But then, just to show us they’re not completely stuck in the past, they lash out with a terrific thrasher. Very good release, and much more gripping than on their EP. From Ireland.
A reworking of the A-side by this reformed early punk outfit, and it’s got the guts and great bass riffs of the early version. The flip, a cover of the JOHNNY RIVERS classic, is as garage-y and raw as I’d hoped. Basic punk rock.
This great new Philly band kicks out loud, raw, energized HC with noticeable roots in early melodic punk. There are several classics here that you can’t help but have stuck in your head. Hopefully more to come. Good stuff!
Surprisingly rockin’ pop-punk/thrash. Based on their last 7″, I thought the OFFBEATS were wimping out, but on this LP, they deliver a lot of wallop as well as catchy songs. No lyric sheet is always a bad sign: either the band puts little stock in their message, or the label could care less.
Again, cleaned and prettied up. The tunes are still cool, but the bite and raunch just isn’t there, that extra spark of rock’n’roll that heads a band over the line into madness. Too reserved.
Ferocious punk and thrash from this new Canadian outfit. Lyrically, it’s mostly personal, but humor shines through on “Barbadeath” and “Punker Than Thou.” Blazing stuff!
Very well done melodic HC with roots in ’77 punk and the DC sound, and they even do a T. REX cover. Tight, tuneful, and songs that can be remembered.
How can I describe this? How bout manic mind music that pegs the needle on a seismograph. How bout punk rock, metal, thrash, dirge, post-punk, schizophrenia, depression, and happiness twisted into a music shrink’s worst possible nightmare. Excruciating yet so beautiful, this is amazing. P.S. Cute cover, Victor.
Fun, energetic, driving mid-tempo punk with an ultra-raw guitar sound and personal lyrics dealing with love, straight edge, metal, etc. Good shit from MOO.
Much more diverse than earlier efforts, this band’s powerful, driving punk sound still remains, but both melody and metallic influences are apparent, resulting in a catchy sound which is sometimes drawn-out.
Frantic speedcore with the shrieking intensity of Italian HC. Although “Hot Rods To Hell” reveals intelligence, the rest is riddled with HM clichés: 2nd grade horror lyrics, self-indulgent musicianship, etc. Pass…
This double LP chronicles ten years of work by LUNCH through her infamous work with TEENAGE JESUS, BEIRUT SLUMP, and the highly influential EIGHT EYED SPY. Also, a complete side is devoted to a few of her many collaborations, making a good sample of LYDIA LUNCH and the underground No Wave scene.
These guys used to be RED LORRY YELLOW LORRY. At least they figured out how stupid that was. This new one is “late 80s gloom disco” music. You’ll hear it at all the cool clubs. Heavy on the beat, rhythm, and somber BAUHAUS-ian vocals. If you go on for this kind of thing — it’s pretty damn good. Otherwise, beware.
Pretty standard mid-tempo punk with some pretty catchy choruses. Nothing too fancy or excessive, just good ol’ basic punk rock.
Garage, punk, garage ska, and just general garage, done with a flair—the lyrics are sharp, but not dogmatic. At a few points, there’s a dash of FEEDERZ here, but that’s not really what they’re about. Good debut.
Super-aggressive thrash with ultra-throaty vocals which makes me think of NEGATIVE APPROACH. Pretty ferocious stuff for all you rug cutters.
Straightforward, potent thrash not unlike Boston’s JERRY’S KIDS. The production is clean but powerful and the lyrics tackle war and rebellion. Searing stuff here, definitely check this out.
Grungy punk and thrash with lyrics that cover apathy, vegetarianism, and lighter topics. “Satan In My Drain” stands out as a total crack-up! Comes with booklet.
Christian hard rock not unlike STRYP…oops, wrong tape! No way, these loonies play the more urgent, frantic thrash, it’s insane. 72 songs in 60 minutes. DRI, eat your heart out.
It’s rare when a HC band can sound tighter and better on their faster material than on the slower tunes, but that’s the case here. While 50% of this LP is average, the other half is definitely a cut above, showing real snappiness. Lots of promise.
With titles like “Stagedive to Hell,” guess what kind of music this is? Yep, fuckingspeedcoreandsmetalmentalityandIbitit’llsell.
This pleasant surprise has four rockin’ pop punk tunes, with topics like Reagan, rednecks, organized religion, love, hate, and “Mental Gangreen.” This is great, so buy it now, okay?
Tight but relatively indistinct hardcore. All the ingredients are there, but nothing really sticks in my mind afterwards. More tuneage!
Maybe I haven’t been reading my NME and Sounds lately, but I could swear this is the FALL incarnate or a formula for coolness. No apology for the comparison here. The only difference is that the FALL didn’t get this type of production or push on their first singles. Too bad.
The American release of the hot TVOR album. Different (but equally as bad) cover, but it’s what’s inside that counts, right?
Jolting, mind-blowing HC in the great Italian tradition which will bowl you over. Tempo changes galore, amazingly great production, and impassioned “us vs. them” lyrics. Brain-shattering music from the heart, get it!
This album is a bit lighter than the previous, though it contains the same early punk mix of pop-punk and ska punk, Reminds a lot of middle-period CLASH. Pretty slick.
Their debut U.S. album, which includes all the tracks on the Aussie 12″ as well as the “Girl in the Sweater” 45. Fans of pop-punk should snap this baby up!
This band is still a mix of styles on this second 12″. Although there’s no apparent “hit” here, each song has a different signature; gloomy, rock’n’roll, metalish ballads, etc. And each is powerful in its own right. It’s a little hard to get hooked on these buys, but they’re good.
Cowpunkish Irish music? They cover KENNY LOGGINS, sound like the VANDALS at times, and do yet another song called “Gimme Gimme Gimme.” Blarmey, podner.
I don’t know who Terry Gibson is but I think he thinks he’s Dave Edmonds.
Previously released excellent Aussie stuff, this time released for European consumption.
Dumber than the STUPIDS? No surprise, since some of the same suspects appear here, delivering like DOGGY STYLE. Melodic, frantic thrash to go. Do they have drive-ins in England?
