Reviews

For review and radio play consideration:

Please send one copy of 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. We reserve the right to reject releases on the basis of content. Music without vocals or drums will not be considered. All music submitted for review must have been released (or reissued) within the last two years. Please include contact information and let us know where your band is from!

Electric Prawns 2 Perspex cassette

A real wild, tripped-out experience awaits you with the second release by ELECTRIC PRAWNS 2, although it doesn’t say that name anywhere on the cassette’s artwork. Driving garage punk, plodding post-punk, weirdly beautiful pop-psych, ELECTRIC PRAWNS 2 touch on all of these subgenres and more throughout the odyssey of this release. This is not going to be palatable for all of you dear MRR readers who surely have greatly reduced attention spans from all the years you’ve spent huffing inhalants or damaging your brains in some other way. With six of this tape’s nine songs pushing or surpassing four minutes in length, it’s sure to be off-putting for those preferring their punk songs short and sweet. Personally, I say buckle in, dim the lights, and enjoy the journey. The tape starts off sounding like if EDDY CURRENT SUPPRESSION RING was a full-on post-punk band. I’m sure part of that comparison is coming because ELECTRIC PRAWNS 2 are also from Australia, but it’s more than just that. As the tape continues into its more out-there realm, you end up with tracks sounding like JOHN’S CHILDREN, Mark Bolan’s pre-T. REX mod-rock band. The only thing that truly isn’t for me on the tape is the final track, which is an incredibly long acoustic guitar sing-along number likely intended to be a LOVE-inspired track rather than some hippie nonsense, but maybe take an early exit from this rollercoaster ride, skipping the final lap to avoid that one.

Glitterfast Glitterfast EP

Tokyo’s GLITTERFAST hits us with a punk rock blast of rare pedigree. With a blunt and blaring garage style in the shining spirit of the RAYDIOS and TEENGENERATE, these guys are no frills and all kills. The songs couldn’t be more straightforward (“Japanpunk,” “Faster, Louder”), nor are they in need of any excessive decoration. Hell, they could barely be bothered with sleeve art. They’re just playing that wild O.G. rock’n’roll in the vein of other modern-day torch-carriers ANGEL FACE (featuring the mighty Fink himself), helping to keep the dream alive. God bless ’em—it rules.

Humble Beginnings Overanalyzing the Manifestations of the Unconscious 12″

This, to me, has a very ’90s pop punk flavor. I mean, this is a reissue from 1998, and by the time that you read this there is a high chance that this will already be sold out, but it is aurally transportive back to ’90s pop punk. This release is a terrific footnote to plop in with BUGLITE, SLEEPASAURUS, WESTON, PLOW UNITED, and so on. If you were around in the late ’90s NJ scene and missed out on this piece of history, you now have a chance to amend those poor life choices. If you are interested in ’90s NJ pop punk and have always wondered what it sounded like in the ’90s, you now have a chance to be that person, too.

Kirkby Kiss Four Color Black LP

KIRKBY KISS’s second full-length Four Color Black serves as a journey back to the hardcore sound of the early ’90s, tapping into that potent blend of dissonance and unpredictability. From the first track, it’s clear the band is channeling the chaotic power of acts like BOTCH or DEADGUY without straying too far from hardcore roots, from BAD BRAINS to FUGAZI. What really stands out is how KIRKBY KISS manages to weave the complexity of emotions into their sound. It’s not just about power or anger, it’s about connection, vulnerability, and coming to terms with the darker aspects of life.  The album closer, “Am I Seeing This Clearly,” features none other than JJ Janiak from the godfathers of hardcore DISCHARGE, alongside some synth work by JP Parsons from FALSE FED (who Janiak also sings for).

Las Ánimas Del Cuarto Obscuro Las Ánimas Del Cuarto Obscuro 12″ reissue

LAS ÁNIMAS DEL CURATO OBSCURO formed in Mexico City in the latter half of the 1980s. Although short-lived, the band, through earlier adoption of post-punk and gothic rock, inspired a burgeoning underground of dark rockers. Originally released in 1988, the eight-song full-length Las Ánimas Del Cuarto Obscuro was self-released and distributed by the band. However, now in 2025 it is available for international purchase through the wonderful humans at La Vida Es Un Mus. This lovingly reproduced 12″ captures the gritty, cool swagger of LAS ÁNIMAS DEL CURATO OBSCURO with perfect accuracy. Guitar riffs that drift into focus and fall away, synthesizers that scream with intergalactic melancholy, and a tight, danceable rhythm section form songs that are constantly shifting jams. All this variety is crystalized into structure through lyrical themes that capture the various aspects of a relatable disaffected adolescence. In total, Las Ánimas Del Cuarto Obscuro is an astounding listen from start to finish.

Mako Vanish… Into Darkness cassette

Tennessee-based extreme music novelty project themed entirely about sharks, as could potentially be deduced by the name. My initial thought of the project is that it was probably a fun, goofy thing to do with some friends over the course of a weekend, and I highly doubted we would see another release by MAKO. Doing some digging, I have found that, against all odds, this is somehow the band’s fifth release, and they are a self-proclaimed “sharkgrind” band. Well, guess I was way off. Granted, I don’t have a ton of knowledge about modern grindcore or its subgenre of goregrind, and know absolutely nothing about its sub-subgenre of sharkgrind. Onto the music. The band’s shark obsession might sound like a fun gimmick on paper, but MAKO proves that even apex predators can flop. There are plenty of hooks, but unfortunately they’ve all gone dull, resulting in a sea of forgettable riffs. Mostly the recording just kind of sounds like unremarkable grindcore, but there are multiple times where the song will be bopping along at a decent pace, then the tempo drastically slows down when blastbeats are forced in, waiting for the beat to catch up. Peppering the little surf drumbeat into the most tongue-in-cheek song on the tape (“Shark Attack!”) was a fun little touch, tho. When all is said and done, this is a real catch-and-release kind of cassette for me.

Neglected / Positive Outlook Final Solution / No More War! split LP

The record that no Bay Area nerd even knew they needed until they heard it, because holy shit, these two demos are stunners. POSITIVE OUTLOOK featured VIOLENT COERCION/ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT guitarist Eric McIntire, and after a few member changes in 1987, they kinda morphed into NEGLECTED when the sound got a bit darker. Both bands played screaming ’80s USHC—fast ’n loose and full of energy, the kind of shit that needs to be unearthed and preserved. The LP comes with a massive booklet full of stuff that was probably just sitting in a shoebox until F.O.A.D. came calling…mandatory dose of under-appreciated Bay Area hardcore.

Oi!takus / The Spiky Tops Operation Pogo split EP

Listen, I know I’m only supposed to focus on the music here, but I need to get something off my chest, because I see this happening more and more and if this review can help change even one mind then my job is done. If you choose to do a split with another band, it completely defeats the purpose of doing it if you upload both halves to different Bandcamp accounts. It even makes less sense if you don’t link the listener to the other side within the same page. The whole idea of a split is to expose your listeners to a completely different band. If I have to actively search where to find the flipside of a record, then the experiment has failed. With that being said, OI!TAKUS plays a generic form of neckbeard street punk chock-full of anime references, and SPIKY TOPS play a generic form of power pop street punk chock-full of your typical punk tropes, and both bands sound like the type of punk act you’d see on some Nickelodeon show like iCarly. Seems like they had fun, though.

Plasma Mua Et Voi Omistaa LP

Finnish punk architects PLASMA hit the ground running. Their debut LP is frothing with swagger, doing the “classic yet fresh” thing effortlessly via ten tight cuts. Loaded with poison-tipped tupa-tupa and head-bobbing hardcore style, this hits all the right spots for a stunning first impression. Bouncy bass, bumping drums, malicious licks, and a lovely punk sneer—everybody’s on fire here.

Point of No Return The Language of Refusal LP

Veterans of Brazilian hardcore who refuse to stay quiet. After years of silence, POINT OF NO RETURN returns with a sharp political blade: themes of labor, ecology, colonial injustice, authoritarianism; the record cuts deep. The riffs are heavy, often a metallic mosh, and gang vocals ring with communal anger. It’s straightedge ethics married to global struggle. The production is punchy but raw enough to keep the edge. This isn’t nostalgia and it isn’t safe—it’s a summons.

Recall Corpse EP

There must be something in the water (or more likely in the cheap beer) in Montreal, because new punk bands seem to spring to life there everyday. I had not heard of RECALL, but am familiar with some of the other bands the members are involved in. You can tell that their sound has been carefully thought out, especially the guitar tones, and it is, overall, a well-crafted EP. However, if it sounds good, I am a little confused about what they are actually trying to achieve in terms of genre. There is a D-beat element to be sure, but the production and the vocal flow and tone don’t really fit with the style. It lacks that raw brutality one associates with the D, and while I assume American hardcore is still the prime influence, I don’t think RECALL quite got that balance between both worlds. I am not a USHC fan so I might be missing the point completely, but it doesn’t do it for me.

Scrapped Plans Buddy Buddy Belgium LP

This record is brought to you by a sort of  pop punk supergroup featuring Grath Madden (the STEINWAYS, ROBOT BACHELOR, etc.), Michelle Shirelle (the STEINWAYS, HASTY), Fraser Murderburger (the MURDERBURGERS, WRONG LIFE, the PHASE PROBLEM), Kieron Jordan (DON BLAKE), and, of course, Mikey Erg (every other band on the planet). The TL;DR story here is that this sounds like a deliciously balanced mix of the STEINWAYS and the MURDERBURGERS, but that simplification would betray the quality of  this project. Two pillars hold this up: songcraft of the highest order by people who love the melodic side of punk rock so fucking much, and the fun they probably had making this record. The songs sound like they just came together with clever hooks and catchy melodies out of an epic hangout session, which from what I’ve read is kind of what happened. Standout tracks for me are the ones that spotlight Michelle Shirelle (one full-band and one acoustic), but as a long-time enjoyer of the work of everyone in this band, this was tailor-made for me.

Seein Red This LP Kills Fascists LP

A long-overdue vinyl release of SEEIN RED tracks from 2001–2003 that were originally released on compact disc in 2004 to coincide with a Brazilian tour. To fit on vinyl, they had to shave off a few cuts, so what we have here are 35 tracks of timeless, political hardcore punk. I’ve had the privilege of seeing the band live a few times, and these tunes capture their energy and vigor well. Fast as fuck and absolutely pissed at the state of things (still sadly poignant twenty-plus years on), this is the perfect encapsulation of why punk remains relevant, both as musical genre and as a social movement. While they don’t sound much like LOS CRUDOS, I think of SEEIN RED in a similar way—true classics of the modern era. And to top it off, they’re still going strong to this day, having released a killer LP just last year. Uncompromising and unyielding, SEEIN RED offers a blueprint for lifelong dedication to DIY punk.

Shrinkwrap Killers Feed the Clones Pt. 2 LP

This is a refinement to the highest degree of this project’s original mission. Carrying on the baton of the SPITS’ catchy post-apocalyptic brain damage rock, or at least hinting at it, this project carves its own identity as self-assured and grim pop songs (to a degree) buried in aeons of cosmic sludge. There’s a theatricality to the proceedings in the best way possible, especially in more dirgelike fare like “Eminent Death,” but there is nothing cornball here. The music is excellent, the melodies and harmonies laser-focused, and the scope has a space opera sheen even while keeping me mired in the muck of the gutter. If you’ll indulge me, this feels like punk’s answer to SLOUGH FEG’s cosmic RPG concept record Traveler, but while that band is mighty if terminally uncool, this project manages to construct something no less epic but much more rad. The stabs of spooky Ed Wood synth queasily piercing the tight mutoid punk never grows old, and overall this is a wealth of ideas all in one majorly satisfying package.

Terror Management Band Austerity Gospel LP

This is the second LP from this Florida crew, featuring Mike Taylor of PALATKA fame.  Everyone here’s been in five other bands with names like MINIMUM RAGE or STAB THAT MOTHERFUCKER, so the pedigree is real. They bill themselves as “Southern Gothic noise rock,” and what that translates to is 39 minutes of feedback, lurching riffs, and rant-sung vocals that evoke the experience of someone cornering you at a party to explain why everything is collapsing. The problem for me is momentum. When I think noise rock, I default to the AmRep strain of ’90s bands that sounded relentless, punishing, always moving forward. Austerity Gospel doesn’t really deliver that drive. Too often, the music sinks into plodding tempos without the weight that might make those moments feel crushing. Instead, some of these songs drift toward post-rock soundscapes. The second song “Minorcan” especially feels more MOGWAI than UNSANE, which for me blunts the record’s impact. Not a bad album by any stretch, but it left me wanting more force, less drift. Maybe it’s about expectations? Check it out if you’re a fan of music that drifts between post-hardcore, post-rock, and noise rock without fully committing to any. “The Chisel” was probably my favorite track.

Without Skin Collecting / Inner Debts LP

Man…if this past is the future? I am fukkn here for it. France’s WITHOUT SKIN delivers uncompromising heavy hardcore with metallic leads and meandering art/core riffs. Think of a time when ASSAULT, ANODYNE, TORCHE, and CAVE IN walked the earth and just destroyed shit, you know? That’s the energy I get from WITHOUT SKIN—power without pretense. The internet suggests that they’ve progressed considerably since 2022’s four-song assault Ascents, but it’s a progression that comes with an increased focus on the greater mission that lets them exude power in a manner of their choosing, you know? This one was extremely refreshing, highly recommend.

Yuasa-Exide Go to Hell Encyclopaedia Britannica cassette

Eleven tracks of scruffy, four-track psych pop from prolific Minneapolis singer/songwriter Douglas Bussan. Prolific as in twenty-plus full-length albums of distortion-cracked melodic gems that kind of sound like GUIDED BY VOICES or DEERHUNTER caked in several feet of dirt and grime. Bussan, joined by a revolving cast of friends on these DIY home recordings, has a gruff voice like a lo-fi TOM WAITS calling from a distant payphone, which grounds each melody with world-weariness and authenticity. There is a repetitive droning quality on tracks like “More Surreal” and “The Picture You Painted” coupled with a raw earnestness that pulls you in for repeat listens.

Zeal Illusion of Peace LP

For most punks, the word “zeal” has something of a bad connotation, as it might remind one of that excruciatingly annoying colleague who would do anything to be noticed, praised, and rewarded by the boss. We’ve all had coworkers who groveled their way to the top and would have sold their mums if it meant they could garner a small pay raise. Fortunately, ZEAL does not partake in this kind of capitalistic zeal, as they are hardcore enthusiasts instead. The Illusion of Peace LP is a crucial reissue of their tape released in 2024, an absolutely brilliant recording that ticked a lot of highly cherished boxes. ZEAL is from Ottawa and delivers high-intensity, seemingly unstoppable hardcore punk that takes inspiration from the good shit: mean, gruff käng and triumphant Japanese hardcore. The band reminds me of DESTRUCT in terms of relentlessness—listening to this LP makes me feel invincible and just happy to be there (the feeling never lasts long, but you know what I mean). The power of ANTI-CIMEX or DRILLER KILLER gets the front seat with epic Burning Spirits hardcore bands like BASTARD or DEATH SIDE close by. I am not always a sucker for the trademark “gang chorus,” but they do take the intensity up a notch here. I am also hearing mid-’00s studded bands like Portland’s BLOOD SPIT NIGHT or GUIDED CRADLE from Czechia. We are drowning in bands these days and there’s a fancy American novelty hardcore band supposedly reinventing the genre every fortnight, so hyperboles have become the norm in how we talk about punk. Still, you can believe me when I claim that this is a fantastic, impactful hardcore punk album that deserves a lot of attention.

V/A Comp Punksylvania Live, Vol. 4 LP

There are two things to keep in mind when you read this review. The first is that this is a live record, but the sound is clear and the bands all deliver a high-energy performance that makes you feel like you are right there. The second thing is that I love this very, very much. When I see a DCxPC record in my in box, I get stoked, and this one seems to have set a new bar for me. This has everything from goofy songs about by a person’s husband being fucked by a werewolf (in the song “My Husband Got Fucked By a Werewolf” by the KARENS), to blazing thousand-mile-per-hour hardcore from SHIP OF FOOLS, to completely unhinged, blazing-speed ska hardcore oddballs the CHEMICAL IMBALANCE. All the bands turn in a top performance, so anything I call out is just the little bits that push this over the edge—SOJI, SUBURBAN DOWNGRADE, WORKING CLASS STIFFS. MARY SHELLEY brings in a B-52’S and EPOXIES element that completely blindsided me with greatness. This is a great live comp with consistent sound quality and amazing song choices. So, here is the ultimate question of how I feel a compilation should be judged. Did this make me want to seek out new music by any band or bands I haven’t heard or heard of until now? Yes it did, 100 percent. And sonuvabitch, now I have to go find the first three volumes, too.

Aftermath The Cutting Begins LP

Damn, that is one strikingly grim cover, one that can be seen as a warning to the listener who therefore will no longer be able claim that they didn’t suspect that there’s proper dark music ahead. AFTERMATH makes no secret of their sonic intentions and unleashes their primitive brand of metallic crust from the outset of their first full album, The Cutting Begins. I discovered the band through their first record, the Garbage Day 10”, and rather like their simple but effective gait on the well-trodden path of dark Swedish crust. AFTERMATH will sound familiar to most crusties, which is not a bad thing, and this second effort incorporates a more pronounced metallic stenchcore influence with the addition of mid-paced numbers (not far from CANCER SPREADING) to their groovy crust. The music has an early extreme metal vibe as well, and I am significantly reminded of LEGION 666 or early ANGUISH (especially in the vocals and some arrangements), although the sound is definitely embedded in the Swedish tradition. It is a solid follow-up that demonstrates the quality and the seriousness of the project (I have to admit the 10” left me wondering), and something of an improvement on the first one if you like more filthy metal in your crustcore.

Big Trouble Pink Wrinkley LP

A wild and dense LP that I’d classify as “mutant hardcore” from Athens-based BIG TROUBLE.  The vocals are definitely the standout component, going full-on feral rasp, including a moment at the end of sixth track “Church” that is so over-the-top that I audibly laughed when I heard it. Solid stuff overall; the riffs are huge and the drumming is wild, going into powerviolence territory on occasion. I recommend this one, and I also award the band points for having the funniest album title of 2025.

Clacker Clacker cassette

Mid-tempo hardcore punk from Medford, Massachusetts. CLACKER brings us six songs of intelligently crafted lyrics delivered by one of the gruffest sounding punk vocalists I have heard in a while. Reading along with the novel’s worth of lyrics, I was surprised how natural it sounds hearing the singer fit so many words into each of these songs. There’s not a single sing-along part on this tape, which kind of comes with the territory of extensive lyrics. The band breaks out of their wheelhouse a bit through the course of the cassette, revving up from mid-tempo into the faster hardcore realm, and even ripping a couple wild rock’n’roll guitar solos. Both are cool changes and help to keep your attention, but I think the band really shines when leaning into their mid-tempo comfort zone.

CP Westman Orkester Legalt / Boris är en Spindel 7″

CP WESTMAN ORKESTER pulls together garage vets from Sweden and France (members of BIG KIZZ, LADY BANANA, TUNDRA FUCKS, DESTINATION LONELY, JERRY SPIDER GANG, BART AND THE BRATS, TEENAGE HEARTS, and SKEPTICS) for their debut two-song 7″. Side A, “Legalt,” is a straight-up rock’n’roll pounder—big guitar/keys/drum stomp, with lyrics pushing for drug legalization, delivered with the kind of energy that makes the argument feel celebratory. Flip it and you get “Boris är en Spindel,” a Swedish spin on the WHO’s “Boris the Spider.” Here, Entwistle’s kiddy-creepy original gets stripped of the cartoon voices and blasted out like it was recorded in a hangar, with feedback and grunge bleeding everywhere. Pontus Westman did a cleaner version in 2024, but here the mess feels truer. It’s ragged and absolutely unpolished—I could see these guys playing on a DEAD MOON bill—and that’s exactly the charm. Looking forward to seeing what they do next.

Danse Macabre Danse Macabre LP

Mining another absolute fucking gem, General Speech brings us a remastered collection of fabled group DANSE MACABRE, the post-ZOUO brainchild of Katsunori “Cherry” Nishida. This footlong slab cobbles together the band’s earliest material, ten tracks total with alternate versions of three songs and a STEPPENWOLF cover for good (great?) measure. While this is an entirely separate beast from The Final Agony, the spirit of evil lurks here as well. Oozing charisma, DANSE MACABRE conjure moribund hard punk with a tinge of MOTÖRHEAD-esque sensibilities. The label description references Danzig’s post-MISFITS evolution. That’s an apt analogy for Cherry’s trajectory from ZOUO to DANSE MACABRE, which is certainly informed by punk but has a rocker appeal, leaning more towards proto-metal. No reason to belabor the point, this LP puts some crucial cult rock classics at your fingertips and you don’t even have to barter your soul to Lucifer for the price of admission. Hail Satan and praise General Speech!

Doc Hopper Zigs, Yaws & Zags LP reissue

Originally released in 1999 on Go Kart Records as a CD only, and to be honest, until this reissue, I didn’t even know it had come out. I’ve loved everything I’ve ever heard them do, from their Sweetums 7” through their Reservoir and Ringing Ear releases. I just assumed that the band split up in ’95 to go be in the hundreds of other bands they ended up in. This LP continues the high-energy DESCENDENTS/CHEMICAL PEOPLE style while keeping true to their East Coast charm. Also, Chris Pierce is the most consistent member of this band, and his punk lineage stretches back to the A.G.’S who had a couple Mystic Records releases, up through SINKHOLE who were on Lookout! and Dr. Strange, on through hundreds of other bands and recording up through SCHOOL DRUGS currently, perhaps. Don’t sleep on this DOC HOPPER’s Zigs, Yaws & Zags LP as I had.

Guzoo Compilado cassette

The moment I heard the drum intro on the very first track, I knew I would be obsessing over this tape for the foreseeable future. And folks, I’m not ashamed to admit it, by the end of it, I was down on my knees worshipping this Chilean band GUZOO that I’ve never heard before. Yes, it’s that good. And yes, I know I’m gushing over it. But what can I say, I adore everything about this cassette: a guitar sound that would make you piss yourself, a distorted-beyond-belief bass, drums that would easily beat a Gatling gun any given day, and absolutely, disgustingly filthy vocals…all packed in a brutally and delightfully shit-fi recording. I don’t speak the language or have any idea what the lyrics are about, but thanks to the samples in between tracks, I sense that there is some SPAZZ-style tomfoolery going on. I wouldn’t be surprised, though—the record has West Coast powerviolence written all over it (I mean, duh, it literally ends with a NO COMMENT cover). While there is no doubt that GUZOO follows that path, they seem to have masterfully tailored their own unique sound. The label says it’s a compilation of their current work, but I’m not sure if it is the entirety of their discography. If not, all I can say is “For the love of everything unholy, give me every single song they’ve ever recorded, including the bedroom demos. Please and thank you.”

Illiterates Does Not Compute LP

Another cracker from the fine folks at Sorry State, ILLITERATES’ Does Not Compute chalks up another win for the “dumbest band in hardcore” (their words, not mine). Following their excellent 2023 12”, this LP sees the band maintain the blunt force of their previous output while refining the production, giving the proceedings a real pop. Each instrument sounds huge, particularly the bass which really rumbles. ILLITERATES’ greatest strength though is their vocalist who fully leads the charge. He kind of reminds me of a particularly irate Ray Cappo, yelling about social issues as well as some very well-written introspection. “Remember When” and the title track are particularly effective in their songwriting, the former grieving over the lost passage of time and the latter lamenting the overload of modern technology frying our individual and collective brains. Does Not Compute is a great LP that crushes and has something important to say. Maybe ILLITERATES shouldn’t be so hard on themselves, there’s nothing dumb about them.

(LA’s) People Talk About Things LP

This on-and-off-and-on-again group features a conglomeration of incredible players who between them have put in time with ALICE BAG, SHUDDER TO THINK, REDD KROSS, JAWBOX, the SHAKES, and more. Having shelved these sessions back in 2012, tracking was finally completed on this full-length, and the results are top-notch. Organ groove and sax fills out the sound, backing catchy-as-hell, hook-laden rock’n’roll that sounds fresh and metropolitan even as it captures a sort of timeless swing. Tracks like “Obsessed Obsessive,” which is replete with a sing-along chorus, are impossible not to flail around to. It’s a joy to hear this record fully realized after nearly being lost, but this is no archivist’s niche passion project. This is vital music from the wellspring of Los Angeles’s long storied history, and it’s perfect.

Media Puzzle Intermission cassette

Garage punk with swagger from Lismore, Australia. These tracks are snappy, gritty, and full of hook-laden riffs that harken to youth rebellion and burnt-out nights. “The Scene” and “Bundy Vision” cut through fuzz with attitude. “How Do You Feel?” strips everything back to raw vocals and guitar, letting the emotional grit shine. This cassette feels intimate like hanging in practice spaces, like something made by friends.

The Obliques St. Petersburg / Cigarettes 7″

Delivering a drizzle of thought-provoking outsider sounds, this Durham, NC group is comprised of three uniquely inspired teenagers who appear to be based beyond their age. The sound is dreary, ponderous art-rock that seems to exist under the constant threat of collapse, very reminiscent of Montana’s singular MORDECAI. It’s strange to hear such youngins express in such a distinctly creative and mature way, like encountering an infant with a palate for dry-aged Kobe beef. How have they amassed such vibrant wistfulness in less than two decades? Maybe it’s best not to question it, but to digest this brief and intriguing record thoroughly and quietly add the OBLIQUES somewhere near the top of the list of up-and-comers to watch.

Pests Call of the Void EP

Dark, mournful four-chord crust from Toronto. PESTS have a powerful presence, tightly wound and well-formed, if not entirely realized. Call of the Void channels fury with six driving tracks propelled by thick, sinewy guitars, thunderous drums, and haunting vocals. The raw production bolsters the edifice, drawing the listener into the distorted vortex. Sadly, the style surpasses the substance. Though everything sounds great on paper, the riffs lack the imaginative execution needed to make them truly memorable. Similarly, the vocals are cool and evil, but the monosyllabic delivery washes them out and waters them down. The track “On Your Own” stands out because it breaks up the tempo common to nearly every other song. I have a feeling that PESTS would be killer live. Nothing about this EP is shitty or even bad, it’s just missing the secret sauce that could’ve made it great.

Prison Affair Demo IV EP

Out with their fourth demo, Barcelona’s egg-punk trio PRISON AFFAIR brings more guitar squabbling, drum-kit-as-drum-machine precision, picked-apart bass, and heavily distorted vocals to our crumb-laden, sticky table. The whole thing sounds like a mouth harp run through a ratty amp: elastic, frenetic, completely hairbrained. The guitar tone/effects are wild, sounding more synth than six-string with riffs that rarely quit and that stay in the sweet spot on the neck, maybe between the seventh and fourteenth fret—like a fucked-up MINUTEMEN jam. And I must say, I’m glad the penis-nosed band mascot is shadowed-out and behind bars. I’m sorry, the cartoon penis and butthole imagery from earlier releases just puts me off. I guess that’s the point? Watching their Audiotree live recording did give me a better impression of the band, as cartoon genitalia floated from my mind, to witness three grown men in full mission stance, sincere in their effort to bring us whatever this music may be. Will we get something that’s not a demo soon? Or is the joke on us? All said, they’ve won me over.

The Remote Controls Too Tough CD

I fucking love this record. Pop punk done beyond right with RAMONES riffs as a foundation, building on top of it with Midwestern melody (think NAKED RAYGUN around Jettison), and topping things off with nods to the golden era of Lookout! Records pop punk (SCREECHING WEASEL/the QUEERS’ best moments). Catchy as hell, great raspy vocals, with melodic and tempo changes to keep things interesting through the beefy runtime the fourteen tracks get up to. This is what guitar-driven melodic punk should be shooting for, killer release.

Small Portions Demonstrate cassette

Holy hell, this rips! SMALL PORTIONS is a solo project from the UK, and these are three songs of blistering, spastic, treble-heavy lo-fi punk. The guitar is so delightfully twangy and has absolutely no sustain whatsoever. My only gripe? Too small a portion. Apparently the creator, Goo Stafford, felt similarly as there’s a disclaimer that there “would have been more songs, but I fractured my clavicle, sorry.” Well, here’s hoping you heal up soon and can get back to work on the others, because I am left horrifically unsated and just gotta have seconds!

Stress Σκέψου Πριν Είναι Αργά 10″

From Athens, Greece, STRESS reimagines five of their ’80s ska/punk/dub hits to give a better clarity of sound and message. Rooted heavily in ska and punk from the ’80s and blending together perfectly, these songs will leave you wanting more. Their original LP from 1985 fetches hundreds, and even the 2013 repress seems to crack the $100 mark from time to time. But look, grab this 10” and maybe just be happy that you’ve got something. Also, who would I check with to see if the LP is in the MRR archives? Is there a phone number for Tennessee punk record archives?

Timüt Touka Touka LP

Minimal, funky post-punk from Metz, France, consisting of drums, clean guitar, and reverbed vocals that sound like they were recorded while being hollered from the next room. TIMÜT sounds like a tiny, noisy jazz combo at times (“KTM”) and a dubby, reggae-influenced jam group at others (“She Waze” and “Sick”). It’s a unique mix and excites with call-and-response vocals and never-ending syncopated rhythms. There is also a cover of NIRVANA’s “Tourette’s,” their most (only?) punk song. If you like the melodic minimalism of SACRED PAWS with a medium dose of no wave, check it out.

Tomar Control Frente al Miedo LP

I absolutely loved this hardcore band from Lima, Peru. They start off the album with strength and power, and it never diminishes throughout the entire album. I loved the balance of faster, more punk songs with slower and more sludgy riffs. I found myself doing the classic metal stank face during many of the breakdowns. You can feel their passion and energy in every single track. Overall, I could not recommend a band more.

Udder Or I’ll Kill You EP

Athens, Georgia’s UDDER originally recorded the three tracks on this archival-sourced EP in 1991, but flamed out before actually releasing them (or anything else, as far as I can tell)—Athens obviously has a rich and storied history of fostering subversive, convention-dismantling post-punk groups, from the B-52’S to PYLON to OH-OK to LIMBO DISTRICT, although that chronology gets much blurrier in the pre-grunge years of the early ’90s when UDDER was kicking out their feral, freewheeling post-no-wave noise with little to no proper documentation. With its steady but slightly asymmetrical beats and vocals that are somehow both deadpan and taunting, “Grandpa Volleyball” sits somewhere between the vacant-stare downtown drone of Bad Moon Rising-era SONIC YOUTH and the off-kilter genderfuck art-punk of GOD IS MY CO-PILOT, while the moody, slow-burn spoken word sprawl of “Or I’ll Kill You” is especially Kim Gordon-coded, and the knotted and intense rhythmic crush of “Incubus” has all of the hallmarks of a band that would have been rearranging the furniture at Rocket House in the early ’90s had they been from Louisville, basically plotting out the RODAN template a full year before RODAN managed to do so. A very cool time capsule, genuine freak shit here.

Xeroform Faceless Nameless Number cassette

Super catchy, energetic Oi! with a modern twist, as if BLITZ developed the same pop sensibilities the BUSINESS incorporated later on in their lifespan. The music itself sinks its hooks into you instantly and has a post-punk quality about it; a danceable rhythm section paired with manic dissonant chords and low-end upstrokes. The vocals here are the crown jewel of this album and really drives home that Oi! sound—deep and grunted, giving all these tracks that true working class quality. This is a very solid effort and well worth a play. It goes quickly though, ten songs that nary crack the ninety-second-long mark.

Zevk Zevk demo cassette

This might be my favorite demo tape of 2025. ZEVK out of Paris plays hardcore punk with a downtuned bent that lends a dark, contentious flavor to their sound. The four-song demo opens with “Bomboş (All Empty),” a sub-two-minute opus that shifts in delivery with blindingly fast momentum. The closing track “Dykes Trans & Queers” is a treatise on the emotional struggle related to self-identification in a society that favors heteronormative homogenization and how that struggle influences one’s opinions back towards their oppressors. All that is delivered in two minutes over thunderous rhythms and shredded guitars. If this is what ZEVK is capable of, then I’m eagerly waiting for more.

V/A Weird Scenes From Inside the Droll Mind EP

Four bands from Montreal who build off of each other to create a nice and loud EP. I felt quite enchanted with the vocals in the first track by GARDEN OF LOVE, and I loved the utter noise and chaos by G.I. JINX. I appreciate that this whole EP was live, I feel like it really added to each band’s sound. Overall, a solid release.

80 Billion Animals 80 Billion Animals cassette

80 BILLION ANIMALS play anarcho hardcore with desperately urgent vocals that range from spoken word to frenzied screams and articulate lyrics pertaining to animal liberation, police and state repression, the corporate war machine, the genocide in Gaza, and other topical issues. Instrumentally, 80 BILLION ANIMALS is an enjoyable rollercoaster with quick shifts, jacked-up riffs, and chugging bass. There are moments that remind me of BEHIND ENEMY LINES or some early R.A.M.B.O., albeit with more grime and finesse. This self-released cassette is opened and closed with poetic spoken word and is packed with edifying jams that are sure to keep you inspired during the present madness, so definitely check this out.

Agathocles / III Guerra split EP

Mallorca’s III GUERRA opens this split with some no-frills hardcore punk that has the old school attitude with a relatively modern sound. Shouty vocals drenched in delay sit on top of guitars with perfectly dialed-in distortion and gnarly bass with a strict sense of duty, while the drums punch their way through the mix. This side sounds like getting hit in the face with a concrete block that is so perfectly cut that you don’t really get mad about it. But once you get to the mincecore pioneers AGATHOCLES’s side, the sound definition degrades dramatically. It sounds as if the band recorded their side through a single AirPod’s shitty microphone, but decided to place it even closer to the hi-hat this time around. But hey, if you have any prior experience with this band, you should have seen it coming from a mile away. So, that’s kind of on you if you have any complaints. To be honest, I’m not well-versed in AGATHOCLES’ discography—I mean, who even has time for that??—but it sounds like they incorporated a tongue-in-cheek parody of Oi! punk into their sound to celebrate their bajillionth split. Yay?

Barren Soil All Paths Lead to Darkness cassette

Pounding into your cranium like a frozen axe, BARREN SOIL drops three cuts of plodding, blackened crust on this self-released cassette. The stench is ripe with this one, in the vein of WARCOLLAPSE or HELLSHOCK with fewer fast parts. The use of synth and soundscapes makes for an atmosphere of depressive frigidity. Holding an ice-laden mirror to society, this Vancouver-based three-piece demonstrates that all paths do indeed lead to darkness. This begs for a longer form to unfurl the group’s full brutality.

Class Tourists Blunt-Forced Trauma cassette

A fiery tape from CLASS TOURISTS, who play fast and catchy hardcore punk with cool vocals. I hadn’t heard CLASS TOURISTS before this review, but read that they previously used a drum machine, something I’d be interested in hearing. Anyway, on this tape things are pretty straightforward, although there’s definitely a sort of rock’n’roll vibe throughout. This really comes through in the guitar leads on “Thorn” and “Time,” two tracks that make this one worth checking out.

Derrumbe El Animal Humano LP

Solid twenty-minute-ish slab of D-beat/mid-tempo hardcore punk, with really clean production on the guitars and a bit of reverb on the vocals and drums. What stands out to me the most about this record is that it works so well as an album/release; it has an aural cohesion that tells a story from despair to outrage/hope. The first half feels a little clenched tight and it gives way to more flourishes (maybe even a little melody) and hopeful-feeling moments. The vocals took a couple listens to click for me (I have a weird relationship with reverbed vocals), but when they did, it really worked with the music. Lyrically, there is a poetry to it that you don’t usually see with this kind of punk expression,  which was quite impressive—at least in the Spanish language songs, but I guess the song in Basque is probably along the same lines. Really impressed with the use of song structure here to benefit the feel/effect of the songs, well worth a listen.

Desolacion Desolacion 12″

Now, this is a record I had been waiting for, and I am quite pleased to have been graced with the opportunity to review it, which can be read as yet another sign that I might be becoming the official in-house crust annalist here (a noble position I’d humbly take, of course). DESOLACION is from Buenos Aires, Argentina, and is made up of members of the excellent RUINAS and the lesser-known CLAUSTROPHOBIA. Expectedly, DESOLACION plays dirty stenchcore for the true believers of the genre, those who gave up on soap a long time ago and embraced a life of devotion to filthy crust, a bit monastic in essence but with more booze and better-looking jackets. The music is downtuned, dark, and offers a good balance of fast, thrashing, gruff crust and slower, brutal metal-crust. The sound of RUINAS clearly informs this first LP that must be seen as an heir of the meaningful ’00s stenchcore revival, in line with the more BOLT THROWER-influenced school. STORMCROW or FEMACOFFIN are not far away sometimes, while CANCER SPREADING and FATUM definitely got good seats to the gig as well. The production is fairly raw at times, and this unprocessed authenticity gives the album a genuine punk vibe that feels fresh—well, in a fetid fashion—and primeval. This is for the crust lifers.

Elvis II Thank You Very Much 12″

A one-man recording project that achieves a rare degree of rockin’ comprehension, ELVIS II is the brainchild of Australia’s mysterious Mitch Casino. With a procession of beefy and electrified tunes, this album presents an energetic and astute take on the “budget rock” mentality, fusing classic style with the DIY power of the modern age. Cool melodies colored by soulful licks and mired in thick digital distortion make for a combination that’s as timelessly tasty as fried peanut butter and bananas. Fans of THIN LIZZY and TOKYO ELECTRON can enthusiastically shake hands over this one. All hail the new king.

Forty Two Beeblebrox CD

I love the cover of this, as it reminds me of an AVAIL record. But that is it. Only the cover reminds me of AVAIL. I don’t want anyone picking this up and thinking it is anything like AVAIL. Musically, oh man, this is fine. I appreciate the effort, but it falls into medio-core sonically. There are six songs on here, and I think they should have tossed these out and maybe recorded their thirty through thirty-sixth songs. I just can’t get a feel of what the band is about. They are hitting all the notes, the lyrics are clear, some of the songs are driving, with gang vocals, and through all that, I’m just not convinced that they even know what they want. Regionally, I bet their shows pack the house. Maybe FORTY TWO should break up, or maybe switch instruments clockwise one band member. Listen to the link and you decide.

Harry Chinaski Ciudad de Ratas Muertas cassette

Buenos Aires hardcore skate punkers keep pushing, and HARRY CHINASKI is at the front. Ciudad de Ratas Muertas is taut, furious, and socially wired—short songs, sharp feedback, and venomous vocals. They don’t waste a second: from the title track’s creeping dread to “Algoritmo” and “Caras,” there’s a political pulse, a sense of community anger, a reflection of decay, but also hope in the raw urgency, in their uncompromised underground ethics. Sounds like the streets are screaming and someone turned the volume all the way up. Vividly active in the underground Argentinian scene, their live gigs are on fire, clinging to a sense of emergency and an outburst of hate and despair.