Problem Children Don’t Give Up cassette
Kind of a “history of…” tape consisting of material from 82-’87. Of course it’s obnoxious, snarly punk rock from these Canadian jokers.
MAXIMUM ROCKNROLL
For review and radio play consideration:
Please send vinyl (preferred), CD, or cassette releases to MRR, PO Box 3852, Oakland, CA 94609, USA. Maximum Rocknroll wants to review everything that comes out in the world of underground punk rock, hardcore, garage, post-punk, thrash, etc.—no major labels or labels exclusively distributed by major-owned distributors, no reviews of test pressings or promo CDs without final artwork. Please include contact information and let us know where your band is from!
Kind of a “history of…” tape consisting of material from 82-’87. Of course it’s obnoxious, snarly punk rock from these Canadian jokers.
Some good mid-tempo punk metal here. I hear traces of MOTORHEAD, ACCUSED, etc. Side one lacks in sound quality but side two captures their spontaneous intensity. 13 songs, 3 covers, and English lyrics.
Humorous themes abound on this one, a slab with the fast/slow. HC approach and vocals reminiscent of the CRUCIFUCKS. Basically raw and okay, but the ultra-fast version of the CURE’s “Killing an Arab” is priceless.
Hot metallic thrash with mostly gloomy lyrical themes. The vocals get a bit muffled at times, but tunes like “No Future” deserve to be heard.
The two songs by THE PAINKILLERS are like 60s punk blues meets PERE UBU and BIRTHDAY PARTY. The YETTIS “song” is like the BUTTHOLES meets PAINKILLERS. You figure it out.
Very powerful, drunken punk and thrash extremely similar to POISON IDEA. Heavy on the drive and power. Good job, dudes.
Here’s the dark and virtually unknown underlings of hip, European, noise-punk. OH’ DEV’s second one is all right. Lots of the ol’ dissonant, psycho guitar with poetic spoken style vocals and lyrics of the disquieted character. But they’re upbeat enough of the time to demand a few listens and the title track is great.
Very good, early-style LA punk with clean hooks and straightforward melody. I don’t think it’s an insult to say they’ve got a sound that’s like early TSOL. Could use a full LP of this.
Sort of a FLIPPER meets BIRTHDAY PARTY with the accent on the less pretentious noise side. Lots of grunge and painful guitar attack, some set to poetry. Pretty gripping.
I’ve always enjoyed stuff like this: tight, to-the-point thrash with basic production and snappy riffing. Although I can’t say this is remarkably original, it connects with charm, fun, and touches of songwriting quality. Very good!
NABAT, Italy’s longest running skinhead band, returns with their original and hard-hitting Oi, this time delving into reggae a bit as well. Consistent, diverse, and powerful stuff. This LP is dedicated to Nelson Mandela (among others), which sets NABAT prominently apart from the racist stupidity of most other bands. Good.
With a name like this, I expected an early THEM raunchy R’n’B sound (band name is a great THEM song), but it’s pretty lightweight 60s pop with only a lilt of “G-L-O-R-I-A” in it.
Imagine SCRATCH ACID meets THE CRAMPS meets LIME SPIDERS with a straight ahead approach but without much of the neo-’60s feel at all. Pretty damn fun, trashy and demented with two grindy guitars.
More grungy street punk from these jokers. Some catchy tunes here, and “We Rule the World” is damn rockin’. Cool Stuff.
Some fast, juvenile sounding punk here with personal lyrics. Good stuff here and they have a totally cool logo: a sleeping cat!
Both sides of his German band’s latest are excellent pop punk. Well produced, catchy tunes and lots of guitar and vocal choruses. Classic punk.
Is there such a thing as getting “BYOed”? While their latest release is pretty decent pop punk (at best they sounds like an American NEUROTICS), it’s a bit weak compared to the previous 7″. All the tunes are mid-to-slow paced, have very good lyrics, and I bet they really rock live. But at this point, they seem to be going the way of the RED ROCKERS.
Chicago’s LOST CAUSE performs HC with a melodic punk edge, always aiming to kick ass in energy and drive. Echoey vocals got in the way of my full enjoyment, but there’s undeniable potential evidenced in some of these songs. Above average.
Done in the early 70’s before he gained fame with Ohio’s PERE UBU, the A-side is a DYLAN-like acoustic ballad and the B-side is a very garage-y cover of the VELVET UNDERGROUND classic, done as if Lou and company took downers instead of speed one night.
Three cuts here: the title track being the best of the cuts, an impassioned, melodic, mid-tempo punk number with some acoustic guitar work. On the flip are two powerful, speedcore bashers with complex structures. A good 7″.
Pretty powerful stuff here, a forceful collection of hard thrash (the non-metallic variety), and slower, punk-influenced tunes. Good show, boys.
Title track is one of their haunting and beautiful ballads, while the flip features a nasty cover of BO DIDDLEY’s “Who Do You Love” and an awesome song, “Kill Surf City,” that sounds like a SUICIDE gone apeshit. Hot.
Aargh! Brutal stuff here: abrasive thrash with a chainsaw sound. Eight tunes, all gnarly. Insane shit here, dude.
Mostly basic, ripping thrash which is undeniable tight and powerful, though a bit lacking in the innovation department.
At first listen this band seems like another gothic throwback but their upbeat punch mixed with powerful rhythms and a psychedelic/blues style proves they can take off where LEATHER NUN left off. Hooray for a fine Swedish tradition.
The A-side has a definite STOOGES feel to it, a medium paced song with mysterious undertones. The flip conveys the same mood, taking the DYLAN classic and taking it as far from the TURTLES’ version as possible within a pop reference, sorta like BRYAN FERRY might have done.
I remember the first record by these guys as being real tough in the vein of the LIME SPIDERS or the NOMADS and while there are a few all-out screamers here, most of the songs on their second album are more somber, and maybe a little bit more bluesy. Not a bad thing, but if you believe a band is not as good when they get technically proficient you might want to pass on this cause they can play now.
Still more rock’n’roll fun with Australia’s irrepressible goofball punkers. Both sides pummel in the fast, snotty punk vein; while the hooks are kept way in the back, the energy and speed here almost compensate for it. “Ferdi’s Song” has some good choruses. Pretty good.
Mix that trademark Aussie rock sound with a dose of the Liverpool pop sound (TEARDROP EXPLODES), and you end up with a very accessible, textured sound which boasts a real distinctiveness. Good on melody, but doesn’t really connect with any discernible punch.
Well done pop-punk, but the vocals are mixed way up front (and are a bit annoying), and the music itself is so produced that it loses a lot of bite.
The instrumental sound is basic French punk/HC with loads of instrumental punch. The songs emphasize a hard sound over melody, although the real weakness of this album stems from the out-of-tune female vocals which alternate with the male singing. Adequate.
This solo artist plays industrial dance music (synth, rhythm machine), and the result is much more likeable than PHIL COLLINS, so I thought I might let you know.
This rocks! 13 live cuts from their 1985 tour of Europe, including great covers of “Human Fly” and “I’m Loose.” Expensive but great sound quality, a nice gatefold sleeve and additional flexi make it all worth it; get it and get crazy.
A speedcore group whose three tunes all thrash hard and have “horror” lyrics. Oooh, I’m scared.
The singing sounds like TELEVISION and so does the music, but at almost schizophrenic “extremes.” The A side is way clean sounding and the flip contains some noise guitar and could be right off Tom Verlaine and Co’s first LP.
Wow! This is neat! Powerful energetic pop punk with a drum machine. In general, I don’t like “non-human instruments” but this is darn good!
Noise with an edge, and occasionally some recognizable melodies, too. No wave meets beatnik jazz meets the modern “Chicago sound,” from whence they hail. Arty, but not too pretentious.
Wow! Incredible stuff here! Metallic thrash (but not generic speedcore) with pretty good lyrics and powerful production. Get this.
The end product of the DOGGY ROCK Project (not the Flipside DOGGY STYLE) leaves me laughing not with but at this band. A weak BEASTIE BOYS meets Top 40 radio is what comes to my mind. The only useful part of this record is the free rubber which comes inside.
Surf, 60s pop, psyche, all rear their ugly heads here. It’s OK, inoffensive stuff but nothing to do a double-take over. If you’re gonna go back to the past for inspiration at least re-emerge with some idea of what decade we so live in. These guys coulda done for BRENDA LEE’s “Sweet Nothings” what THE SAINTS did for CONNIE FRANCIS’ “Lipstick on Your Collar.”
I gotta fess up—I’m really a sucker for the FLESH EATERS sound and any related project but I was a little disappointed with the last LP by the DIVINE HORSEMEN, a little too clean sounding. On their latest record they’ve coupled four new tunes with some pretty respectable covers by DAVID ALLAN COE, the CRAMPS, ELVIS PRESLEY, and THE ROLLING STONES. This might actually be the right place to start with this group.
A pretty good but not amazing mixture of 77ish punk and thrash tunes with both serious and silly lyrics. Most effective are “Song are Rudi,” “Punx Not Allowed,” and “Remember Auschwitz.”
Sometimes surprising in its variety and energy, sometimes overdone and too long–a mixed effort. While their 7″ was funnier, this LP goes for production and power, sometimes obtaining a good cross of both, but not frequently enough for me. Lots of metal for the bangers though.
Straightforward punk and hardcore with well-thought-out, intelligent, caring lyrics dealing with ignorance, oppression, and the destruction of various subcultures. Their honesty and sincerity, as shown by their cool lyric book, makes this worthwhile.
Some things are better left alone, like certain memories…or bands reforming. All the original members here, Stiv, Cheetah, etc…but this sounds like the LORDS OF THE NEW BOYS, not the snarling, twisted, classic shit on their first LP back in 77.
After a couple wimpy singles these guys come through with a bang. Neo-psyche, yeah, but they really rock out. Only one previously released song and all-in-all a hot LP beginning to end.
Not quite as manic as they’ve been in the past but still buckets of charm here. Doc’s vocals still sound like a cheese grater although when he slows down and just sings normal they sound like a slowed-down BUZZCOCKS. Still really cool, pointed lyrics and a lot of really good playing, nice to have these boys back.
This is a 9-song demo, featuring some great sounding punk. CRIMPSHRINE have a 77 sound, somewhat along the lines of SLF. Besides their material, this tape features 2 songs each of some recent Berkeley bands like SOUP, BASIC RADIO, SWEET BABY JESUS, KWIK WAY, and DISTORTED TRUTH. Well worth picking up.
A whole new band (except for vocals) since their 7″, this one will delight speedcore and metal-influenced punk fans. Lots of production, big guitar sound, and even colored vinyl copies. Classic TVOR inner sleeve layout, but the outer cover? Stiv?
JESUS AND MARY CHAIN meets DREAM SYNDICATE. Can they be sued for this?
