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!

Merwulf In the Golden Age LP

MERWULF kicks in with some THOMAS DOLBY keyboards and balances that with AmRep/SHELLAC throaty, buzzing bass. I’m caught completely off guard, in a great way. All the way from Portland, OR, they’ve pulled in elements of VICTORY AT SEA from Boston, MA. Merri’s vocals are haunting and comforting within the abundance of open space in these songs, which can sometimes be a disaster. But with Misty on bass and Larry on drums, that isn’t the case here. Somehow this record feels like an uncomfortable and intimate rock opera, or reading through a friend’s diary that fell open when they left the room. This is what they think. I shouldn’t be reading this. I can’t turn away. In the Golden Age undulates, and while not at the urgent pace of most hardcore or punk, it establishes an urgency and turbulence within the simplest of structures. It builds tension so gradually that you may not even realize that you’ve been holding your breath until suddenly, your chest hurts.

Navaja Sin Sangre cassette

Seven tracks of hardcore punk from Chicago, IL. The songs are short, the riffs are driving, and the vocals are barked in a maniacal way. All songs are sung in Spanish. Nothing here is particularly memorable or mind-blowing, but they are certainly a solid, nasty hardcore punk band that sounds like they would be very powerful live. Tapes exist in a quantity of only 30, so get on it if you’re interested in having a physical copy. There is no differentiation between the A-side and B-side on the tape itself. No labels, no printing, no marker writing. Mine came with the B-side rewound, causing my first listen of the band’s preferred track list to be experienced backwards. My favorite part of NAVAJA’s physical media package was getting to enjoy and appreciate the juvenile, castle-storming, belligerent insert artwork while the songs played.

Painist Too Many Clunkers cassette

Hell yeah. Piano-based crust with ultra distortion and hollered vocals. No guitars or bass because PAINIST (get it, like a pianist but with pain?) doesn’t need them. Not too many background details on this four-song tape, but the songs blast and have a weighty sense of depth to them. It reminds me a little of BOTANIST, the hammered-dulcimer-based black metal project, just in the sense that the unconventional instrumentation takes you aback for a minute and then proceeds to absolutely shred. Opening track “Crustaccatto” has such a good title, and it rips. I would love to see PAINIST do a tour of airport lounges or piano bars and annihilate them with this 88-keyed weapon.

Realistic Demo 2025 cassette

A fastcore/hardcore supergroup if there ever was one. Featuring members of REPLICA, CONQUEST FOR DEATH, SICK BURN, NO STATIK, SCHOLASTIC DEATH, and even the almighty JUD JUD, these people know what the fuck they’re doing. Nine songs in less than seven minutes, delivering bursts of righteous anger and furious thunder while dipping into skank beats, D-beats, and some unexpected moments that thankfully keep this interesting. If your attention span is shorter than your pinky and you love loud shit, this here is for you.

Slut Intent Slutworld 10″

On rare occasions, punk gives you what you need instead of what you thought you wanted. SLUT INTENT’s 10” is one of those occasions, and their discordant, intense hardcore is going to spend some serious time living rent-free in my brain. There are moments like “Glitch” and “Girls Night” where I feel like they could stand alongside SNAPCASE and BOTCH, but the thing about SLUT INTENT is that they don’t stand alongside anyone—they stand alone. This is advanced and complex thinking punk. “But the taste of spite in my mouth / Keeps me going long enough to remind them / That if they’re going to balance every human need on a knife’s edge / They should remember it cuts both ways.” See, it’s not just the music, it’s everything. This band demands your attention, and they are more than worth it.

Shrines Shrines demo cassette

One of my biggest pet peeves is when the term “post-punk” is used interchangeably for “goth,” but Chicago’s SHRINES effectively collapse any distinctions to be made between the two—the four tracks on this demo are shrouded and dramatic without placing style over substance, guided by a righteous, unquestionably punk-rooted rage often lacking with other black-clad creatures of the night. The switch-off vocals from Skout and Angelica are frequently delivered in desperate shouts, driving rhythms push and pull against searing, needles-and-pins guitar lines, and subtle waves of synth fill the negative space like trails of smoke from a clove cigarette. The A-side is especially fierce, with “Cathartic Life” posing stern questions (“It’s all I know / But will it suffice?”) over danceable deathrock without waiting for answers, as “Sombra Vaga” casts a brooding and ominous XMAL DEUTSCHLAND/EUROSHIMA big-hair-and-eyeliner darkwave spell for its first minute only for SHRINES to slam the accelerator for a final 30 seconds worth of echo/chorus-saturated sinister hardcore whiplash. Some wear leather, some wear lace, SHRINES chose both.

S.M.I.L.E. Shut Up and S.M.I.L.E. LP

Shut up, S.M.I.L.E. is on! Dishing out their own brand of Rubber City hardcore since 2021, Akron, Ohio’s S.M.I.L.E. own 2026 with a full-length that is just a massive brawl in sonic form. Expect hardcore punk with a nasty metallic edge, very riff-heavy and completely unhinged. One foot in the classics like CRO-MAGS and NECROS, and another in that distinctly Midwest sense of controlled chaos. Fans of PIG PEN or even INVERTEBRATES should check this one. Most tracks barely stretch beyond two minutes, while the sarcastic “Gimme a Minute” clocks in at a blistering 38 seconds. Expect the unexpected!

S.U.G.A.R. III 12″

Five years back, S.U.G.A.R.’s self-titled debut showed up with enough piss and vinegar to do some justice to the late ’70s SAINTS and TESTORS records these Berliners love. III is somehow…smoother. The debut had teeth, and this one has a leer. Eight songs in twenty-six minutes at 45 rpm, and the prevailing mode is a low-rent sleaze, the sound of a band that picked up the bad habits along with the riffs and would rather work the room than start a fight. Whether that’s a trade you want depends on what you came for. My own preference runs to the version of this band with sharper edges, but a band that has backed Toody Cole knows exactly what it’s doing, and if the greasy end of rock’n’roll is where you live, there’s plenty here. Out on crystal vinyl from Alien Snatch!

Svaveldioxid / War//Plague Absurd Depravity split EP

It’s time for armaments and anguish again, as the spike-laden energy of this ripping split sits heavy on the turntable. On Side A, Minneapolis’s WAR//PLAGUE executes a burly stenchcore assault via two charging battle anthems. Are they musicians or barbarians? These crusty war marches blur that distinction. And then on Side B, SVAVELDIOXID demonstrates their absolute käng mastery across a pair of punishing D-beaters. “Sarajevo ‘94” is a speedy evocation of a devastating historical tragedy, and “Masspsykos” zooms out to ponder just how entire populaces come to casually accept such atrocities. Just 100 of these rugged slabs of orange wax were made, so only the fastest leather-and-patch-clad arms will get to grab one.

Total Con Idolatry EP

Short songs. Big anger. Zero patience. Leeds’s TOTAL CON wastes absolutely zero time in getting the deal done—ten tracks in ten minutes, and every second is pure hardcore hostility. This is UKHC stripped down to the fucking bone, fast and politically venomous. Sounds like HERESY getting dragged through the UK82 sewer, with RIPCORD rattling around in the engine room. The targets of anger are plentiful, and Idolatry unloads on all of them with glorious contempt. Riffs, rage, and a boot straight to the teeth of the oppressors.

V/A Hipsville 2026 A.D. LP

With no thanks to PAT BOONE, this comp is a hit! Inspired by the Toronto outsider garage rock event Welcome to Hipsville and comps of the yesteryear like Pebbles and Back From the Grave, it features ten tracks of fuzzy garage punk, rockabilly, and surf, with most paying homage to relics from the past. Toronto’s KEWPIE DOLLS and THEE TERRIBLE THREES, along with the USA’s East Coast rippers DRACU-LAS and the OUT-SECT, cook up their trash-and-bash takes on classics, with the OUT-SECT’s version of the MAKERS’ “Do What I Wanna” being the cream of the crop, so good that I had to turn the needle back and listen twice. Elsewhere, you’ve got legends like the ICHI-BONS and BLOODSHOT BILL doing what they do best. One look through the liner notes and accompanying zine will prove evident that this is more than just a compilation. It’s a well-penned and planned-out love letter to Canadian garage rock. Toronto rules and has always been a favorite city of mine for punk and garage, and anyone interested in the latter would find this as a great starting point. There are more names, bands, and dates listed than I could mention, and it will take multiple views to digest it all. I love to see this level of detail and fun put into a project. Well done.

Aliento De Perro Éxitos Rotundos??? LP

A new collection from these Buenos Aires punk vets that compiles thirteen tracks across their almost two-and-a-half-decade deep catalog. These tracks are melodic and catchy, with a palpable playfulness to them that makes it feel like settling into a sugary-cereal-fueled Saturday morning cartoon marathon. Purists will always have something to say about “best of” compilations, but if they serve as gateways to finding your new favorite band, then they’re doing their job. Even as a compilation, the sequencing of the tracks feels deliberate, creating some nice dynamism throughout—“Me Kedo Conmigo” is a great change of pace the listener might not even know was needed ‘til it hits, and then the fun ramps right back up with the ensuing “Tal Vez.” A sunny collection that deserves the windows down, volume up treatment. 

Bart and the Brats Brats Being Brats EP

Bart De Vraantijik runs BART AND THE BRATS by himself out of La Rochelle, France, and he has churned out a ton of releases in the last few years, including contributions to a bunch of splits with acts such as JACKET BURNER, MITCH KRAMER, the BATTLEBEATS, and TENEMENT RATS. Brats Being Brats is four more songs of late ’70s garage/budget punk, over in eight-and-a-half minutes, which is exactly the right length for this stuff. My favorite is “Collision Course,” 90 seconds of coiled tension with a guitar line that made me think of Andy Gill (GANG OF FOUR), and no surprise that it’s also the shortest thing here. A lot of this genre runs together on me. These four tracks didn’t. On a 45 with the big hole from Big Neck. What have you got to lose?

Car vs. Driver Deja Grateful LP reissue

This record came out during the big schism of the mid-’90s when Tim Yo sharpened the focus of the MRR review policy, thus giving way to the launch of large numbers of publications (Shredding Paper, HeartattaCk, Punk Planet, etc.) channeling the areas of the musical underground that were left uncovered. However, I always thought that Deja Grateful should have had a stab at an MRR review—although it fell into the “emo/non-reviewable” category of the time, I’d always felt it had more of the DC-style hardcore/punk melody of other bands that were favored within the pages of MRR. MONSULA, SCHERZO, FUEL, and VINE all come to mind when hearing this again, and clearly CAR VS. DRIVER was impacted by those bands. It was during this splintering that folks started narrowing their focus to emo, pop punk, screamo, etc., all things we are familiar with now but that were new(-ish) at the time. However, there was a big middle ground that bands like CAR VS. DRIVER cruised through, blending decisiveness and melody as well as aggression in a way that was more than parts pushed together or striving for a breakneck pace. When I first heard the record, it may have been the first time I’d listened to kids my age have a sense of total picture in the sequencing of their songs, each one building off the previous one for a rollercoaster of an album. I’m excited for people to have the chance to grab this record without having to dish out big bucks.

Cimiterium Somnabulist EP

Pure death-soaked menace. Melbourne’s CIMITERIUM doubles down on filthy stenchcore with three crushing tracks that balance D-beat aggression with death metal heft, creating a bleak atmosphere where only the stench of decay dwells. The riffs ooze HM-2 grime without sacrificing the sound, while the cavernous vocals and pounding rhythm section keep everything steady in a relentless march to the grave. Fans of SANCTUM, STORMCROW, DEVIATED INSTINCT, and HELLSHOCK will feel right at home with this darkness.

Debt Rag It Is Clear What’s Going On LP

New LP from Olympia’s DEBT RAG featuring atonal, no-wave-inspired punk jams that comfortably ride the line between playful and pretentious. Sonically akin to ERASE ERRATA or NAPE NECK, the tracks feel improvisational at times, like on “Drumbo” and “Drumbo 2,” where it feels like listening in on the band working out promising syncopated drum loops, and buzzing art-punk at others, like “Cold Kitchenette,” a blaze of fierce snare downbeats and call- and-response hooks that sounds like a lost MELT BANANA outtake. It’s fun and weird and occasionally funky, but probably impossible to dance to. The short tracks and experimental stabs at ideas (a crawling sax solo on “Fish of the Week” with Tomata du Plenty-aping yelps, the somewhat traditionally structured synth punk on “Gary’s World”) consistently confound expectations and evoke a group of talented oddballs having fun together. What could be better?

EKGs Jealous as Fuck cassette

Covering “Jealous Again” the song wasn’t enough—Pittsburgh hardcore smashers EKGS covered the artwork of the classic EP as well. There’s five original blasts of excellent blunt-force punk here too, but just in case you weren’t convinced of how deeply inspired the band was, they close it out with a cover of “Let Your Fingers Do the Walking.” Yep, a cover of a spoken word track from Family Man. Bet you weren’t expecting that on the follow-up to last year’s blistering self-titled tape.

False Flowers Secret Futures / Beat My Guest 7″

FALSE FLOWERS from Sacramento followed up their self-titled mini-LP from last year with a fresh single and an ADAM & THE ANTS cover this year. Lyrically, “Secret Futures” questions the authenticity of contemporary life while instrumentally walking a tight line between goth, new wave, and ’77- era punk. Haunting yet catchy, “Secret Futures” is a great single on its own, but to back it up with a raucous cover of “Beat My Guest” really sets the tone for what FALSE FLOWERS is about.

Gidim Demo 2025 cassette

Chicago’s GIDIM returns with a four-song tape that drags black metal through a hardcore basement without sanding off either side. The three originals are headed for a future LP, joined here by a MERKIT cover, and the demo already feels more substantial than a placeholder release. “Quiet Planet” opens in a bleak, collapsing atmosphere before the riffs start biting; “Stolen Squalor” is tighter and meaner, while “The Boot” stretches to four minutes and lets the metallic weight really settle in. The vocals stay harsh and buried enough to keep the record ugly, but the riffs remain readable instead of dissolving into raw-production mush. There is punk economy underneath the metal vocabulary, plus an openly anti-authoritarian streak that gives the tape a clear spine. Grim, riff-heavy, handmade stuff. Worth hearing now; the LP should also be worth looking out for.

GIDIM, desde Chicago, vuelve con un cassette de cuatro temas que arrastra al black metal por un sótano hardcore sin lijar ninguno de los dos extremos. Los tres temas propios serán regrabados para un futuro LP y acá aparecen junto a un cover de MERKIT; aun así, el demo ya se siente bastante más sustancioso que un simple adelanto. “Quiet Planet” abre con un clima sombrío y derrumbado antes de que los riffs empiecen a morder; “Stolen Squalor” es más ajustado y hostil, mientras “The Boot” se estira hasta los cuatro minutos y deja asentarse todo el peso metálico. Las voces se mantienen ásperas y suficientemente enterradas para conservar la mugre, pero los riffs siguen siendo legibles y no se pierden en una papilla de producción raw. Hay economía punk debajo del vocabulario metalero y una veta abiertamente antiautoritaria que le da columna al tape. Oscuro, cargado de riffs y hecho a mano. Vale escucharlo ahora; habrá que estar atentos al LP.

Hacker Memory Cache LP

Clevery-titled LP compiling this Melbourne hardcore band’s output thus far, including their Psy Wi-Fi EP from 2024, Pick a Path 12” from 2022, and their 2019 demo. They sequenced the songs in a way that is more interesting than just keeping all the releases flowing from one to the next. The production quality varies some, but this approach actually works really well with the sound clips interspersed throughout. If you missed out on those releases, this is a great time to catch up. HACKER rips! Modern hardcore that draws from classic-era USHC and injects dystopian tech themes to great effect. Sick!

Intouchables Beat of the Street LP

Showcasing previously unreleased 1982 recordings from this Parisian unit led by legendary axeman Henri-Paul Tortosa, Beat of the Street comes with some serious pedigree. In the early ’80s, Paris had become a second home for exiled New York icon JOHNNY THUNDERS. The troubled punk legend found respite in the vibrant and welcoming French scene, where Tortosa and his band LES INTOUCHABLES were an established fixture in French clubs like the Gibus. Recognizing his shared penchant for hypnotic rudimentary rock’n’roll à la CHUCK BERRY, THUNDERS hit it off with Tortusa immediately. He became JOHNNY’s go-to guitar fill-in when touring Europe, then a core member of his UK-based backing band the BLACK CATS, and eventually the fourth axis in LA COSTRA NOSTRA, which was effectively a HEARTBREAKERS 3.0, alongside Jerry Nolan and Billy Rath. Listening through these nine sharp tracks, it’s easy to see why. The sound beautifully fuses old school rock with the artistic French punk of the era, decorated with tasteful touches of sax and propelled in equal measure by Tortosa’s tough guitars and Charlotte Catherine Peyre’s haunting vocals, except for their cover of “These Boots Are Made For Walking,” where Henri-Paul takes over mic duties as well, delivering a performance that gives THUNDERS a real run for his money. “Garden of Love” is a clear-cut example of the group’s equation, offering an electric balance of bright and burly drenched in wasted hit single potential. Tortosa also sings on the album’s fantastic title track, maintaining the rhythm amidst a wiry, decompressed mess which maybe best demonstrates his capacity for comfort within chaos; the very quality that led to him being called a “savior” in the liner notes to JOHNNY’s final studio album, Que Sera, Sera. It’s the grand finale in an undeniably impressive display.

Jet Hag Sounds From the Gutter LP

Creepy-crawly, overblown garage punk with killer triple off-kilter harmony vocals, written and delivered with maximum bad attitudes! “White Noise” stands out for its righteous and nasty vocal performance juxtaposed against a wall of fuzzed-out guitar and bass. “Put Out (Or Drive Me Home)” shows a slightly more playful but still menacing side, with lyrics like “Give me dick, dick, dick / Until I’m sick, sick, sick.” They sound like EXCUSE 17 or SLEATER-KINNEY combined with the COATHANGERS, and I’m into it. Good shit.

Lack of Interest Bitter About Life in General 5xCD boxset

A slick five-CD collection of crucial L.A. powerviolence outfit LACK OF INTEREST’s discography spanning 1993 to 2013. Across two LPs and various splits and comp features, LACK OF INTEREST showcases ultra-fast, violent playing that is evenly matched by the uniquely over-the-top barked vocals that are a hallmark of the band’s sound. In addition to the influence of early powerviolence bands like INFEST and CROSSED OUT, there’s definitely some ’80s Midwestern hardcore like NEGATIVE APPROACH (their cover of “Pressure” is included here) informing the band’s earlier style. And while some evolution can be heard over the course of the band’s output, they never lose any of their feral energy. Very cool set worth checking out; includes a booklet with lyrics and photos.

Mark Balboni AKA Hash’d Out cassette

A California-based powerviolence-style band with short songs, mostly about smoking hash, littered with as many goofball sound clips and samples as there are blastbeats. If that sounds like it’s pretty well-worn territory, it might be because it is, but don’t let that impact your thoughts about the band. If you’re an extreme music enthusiast and this style sounds like it might be up your alley, then it very likely is. From the wording within the cassette J-card, I have to assume that this is a retrospective collection of everything the band did, on a single cassette. All the songs are incredibly tight and short, flowing into one another seamlessly. Seventeen songs are over before you realize it. There is an interesting take on “Still Pist” by the PIST, but a straight-up grindcore rendition of it. That was the only song that really grabbed my attention across the tracklist individually, but it is likely because of the song’s recognizable lyrics coming through the blastbeat cacophony. There isn’t much here that is going to reinvent the wheel, but if this flavor of powerviolence is your thing, I doubt you are looking for someone to reinvent it anyway.

Pig Rides These People Are Not Your Friends cassette

This one is taking me a while to process—modern maximum-energy, fuzzed-out chaos freak punk, but there are Japanese hardcore solos and the vocals are glass shard, fire-throat destruction. But there’s something else, there’s something slightly off…holy shit, this is Matt from SOCKEYE. I have so many more questions now, but I am more convinced than ever that Matt is a genius. You’re going to hear everything here; you’re going to hear all of the punk. But you’re going to hear it through a freak filter that’s impossible to describe unless you just…unless you know. All you need to know now is that you need PIG RIDES and that you should listen to your elders.

Repeat Offender Weapon Fetish LP

Burly debut full-length from Southern California’s REPEAT OFFENDER. This album fits neatly into the Convulse catalog. The band is incredibly tight, wound-up, and primed to detonate. Crystal clear production allows all the nuisance to cut through, and there is more articulation than can be found on most hardcore records. Nothing subtle to be found here—everything is direct and in-your-face. The riffs are lean, complex yet digestible, with prominent bass runs for added spice. The deep and guttural vocals sound as though they’re delivered from the frothing mouth of a rabid beast. The songs feel hewn from familiar materials with some sequence of blazing fast punk to pogo beat or breakdown and fast again sensibility, but they’re not predictable or formulaic. My sole gripe is that the squeaky-clean recording quality cuts against the intensity a bit. How’s that for an insult? Your record sounds too good so I don’t like it as much as I could’ve! If ya dig ALIENATOR, S.H.I.T., or ARMOR, this should find its way into your rotation.

Scrapyard Scrapyard CD

New Jersey’s SCRAPYARD plays hardcore with a strange amount of swing in its bones. There’s plenty of straight ’80s punk here—the guitars keep wandering into wiry, melodic shapes in the vein of early POISON IDEA, but carrying some of that same sense that punk riffs can bend, move, and get a little weird without losing their bite. Then come these odd cadences that almost feel pulled from blues, only sped up, roughed up, and shoved through an ’80s hardcore band. Fourteen songs and enough variation in the guitar work to keep the whole thing from turning into another retro HC exercise. Raw, catchy, slightly crooked. This one has character.

SCRAPYARD, desde New Jersey, hace hardcore con una cantidad bastante rara de swing metido en los huesos. Hay mucho punk ochentoso directo, pero las guitarras se desvían constantemente hacia formas filosas y melódicas—en la vena áspera de un joven POISON IDEA, pero con algo de esa misma idea de que un riff punk puede doblarse, moverse y ponerse un poco raro sin perder la mordida. Después aparecen unas cadencias extrañas que por momentos parecen sacadas del blues, sólo que aceleradas, ensuciadas y metidas a la fuerza dentro de una banda de hardcore de los ’80s. Son catorce temas y hay suficiente variedad en las guitarras para que esto no termine siendo otro ejercicio de hardcore retro. Crudo, pegadizo y ligeramente torcido. Este tiene personalidad.

Shining Wire Between Night and Yesterday LP

Seattle’s SHINING WIRE plays dark rock that is equal parts deathrock, goth, and psychedelic. The resulting sound is something like a less metallic WITCH MOUNTAIN or really gothic JANIS JOPLIN. Needless to say, Between Night and Yesterday might not be for everyone, but if you enjoy doom-infused rock, then definitely go check out SHINING WIRE.

Short Porch Hot & Ready cassette

By-the-numbers rock’n’roll from Brooklyn, NY. Well, at least on the A-side. The songs are catchy enough, the recording is very pro, and the musicianship is solid, but this is essentially Americana rock en général. Particularly “Not Enough Lovin,” which sounds like a band whose biggest aspiration was opening for BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN in the ’80s. Flip the tape over, and things get faster and grittier, with more of a noise-rock-inspired take on garage punk. It almost feels like they discovered LOST SOUNDS and decided they wanted to be nasty for a while. Taken as a whole, the tape gives me the impression of a band dipping their toes into different flavors of rock’n’roll in the hopes that one of them might stick. The one thing that remains consistent from side to side is the singer’s heavily digitally processed vocal warble, which doesn’t sound cool or Jello-esque, it just sounds phony and distracting.

Strangelight Modern Phones 12″

Clean, lightly distorted, full-bodied guitars paired with high-octane, non-melodic vocals. Not a novel idea, but STRANGELIGHT pulls this off really well. It’s music for the mature punk, akin to bands like O PIONEERS! and PRETTY BOY FLOYD AND THE FALLEN ANGELS. What are we calling orgcore these days? Cuz that’s what this is. Very solid work here. Modern Phones goes by pretty quickly, so give it a couple spins.

Tiebreak Prodigal Sons LP

You might not have thought there was a throughline that connected KORT PROSESS and ’90s youth-crew-obsessed Euro hardcore, but you might not have heard TIEBREAK. Dark, determined, dedicated hardcore punk from Norway, first active in the late 1990s when it made sense, but then reformed in the 2020s when punk needed them. This reviewer listening to TIEBREAK in 2026 is like this reviewer listening to OUTLAST in 1999…it’s a lifeline. “I’m sorry I can’t keep up / I love you but I can’t keep up.”

3 the Hardway Hotcakes EP

I am immediately drawn in by the simplicity and haphazard, stumbling-forward Detroit proto-punk quality that these songs have. Bustin Brooklyn’s vocal delivery is a see-saw between boredom and aggression, while Sloppy Joel’s guitar, somewhat repetitive riffs nodding to haunting space-rock drive her lyrics with a much more calamitous impact. These four songs trickle Detroit with every note, and will leave you feeling empty and somehow wanting more. Maybe it’s the Michigan soul or the “heavy-handed swamp-voodoo electricity” (MRR review of LAUGHING HYENAS’ Merry Go Round, issue #56), but somewhere in this, I’m reminded of the LAUGHING HYENAS’ Merry Go Round 12”. Either way, this is a very melancholy and wonderful listen.

Animated Violence / Total Vacation split LP

Two servings of fast and loose West Coast hardcore punk on ANIMATED VIOLENCE and TOTAL VACATION’s split LP. Both bands draw from a similar well of influences; each plays snotty, ’80s-inspired USHC, but with enough variation in style between the two to merit sharing twelve inches of wax. First up is ANIMATED VIOLENCE, and it must be said: this band fuckin’ rules. Seven tracks of urgent and snarling hardcore punk with twangy, beefed-up guitar tones and a sort of playful vibe, as heard most prominently on the cloyingly catchy “Super Toys Last All Summer Long.” It may be early September, but this is a summer anthem if ever there were one. On the flipside is TOTAL VACATION, whose track list doubles ANIMATED VIOLENCE’s in length and whose style is a little more rambunctious and offbeat, with shrill vocals accompanying much more spastic drumming that is absolutely pummeling. The gang vocals they pepper throughout remind me of ADOLESCENTS, bringing a rowdier vibe to the proceedings. All said, both sides are strong, but ANIMATED VIOLENCE really steals the show. Highly recommended; for fans of G.U.N., INVERTEBRATES, Unlawful Assembly.

Bad World Maker of Rules EP

Moshers rejoice, BAD WORLD returns with vengeance, dishing out another dose of classic crossover that’s groovy as hell and as hard as a brick to the face, backed by precision drumming and furious riffage. The guitar player absolutely rips—the opening track “Maker of Rules” opens with the sickest divebomb solo, and the last track “Ninevah” features a shreddy solo that quickly combusts into a crushing mosh riff. The band is super tight, and the vocals are typical, but I appreciate the fact that I can understand the lyrics. I’m a firm believer that 7”s are best served with two songs played loud, but I can’t fault them for putting out three rippers such as these. Pick this up and mosh ‘til you puke.

The Burrow The Burrow CD

Killer PNW shit with shades of heavy alt/grunge and ’90s melodic punk. Every song feels like a dead simple earworm that will make other musicians wonder “why didn’t I think of those two chords?!”, while regular listers will be drawn in by super-fuzzed guitars and a rhythm section that lands somewhere between KARP and WIPERS fronted by gruff, melodic, and poetic vocals. Looking for modern comparisons? The BURROW hit me like the first time(s) I heard CRIMINAL DAMAGE and SMOKERS, which is high praise from this lowly reviewer. There’s a just world where this shit is absolutely huge, the songs and the delivery are that good…I just don’t think this world is ready.

Chien Flic / V.V.M. Tourist Complex split cassette

V.V.M. starts the Tourist Complex split on a very high note with their fast and loose hardcore with super fun genre-bending moments. Kickass riffs, super tight drumming, cutting basslines…it’s all there with its modern flair and old school attitude. And when we switch over to CHIEN FLICK’s side, they don’t fail to follow up at all with their unique take on the powerviolence sound with less angry and more expressive vocals. From complete chaos to more steady and straightforward composition, the band definitely stands out. All in all, I think this split is an amazing pairing of two likeminded and equally good bands that I won’t be getting tired of anytime soon.

Closetalkers State of Nature LP

For some reason, Calgary’s CLOSETALKERS completely flew under my (admittedly rusty) hardcore punk radar. I understand they released an EP on Neon Taste in 2024 and enjoyed some kind of success among hardcore nerds, making it even more surprising that I had not heard of them. The internet tells me that CLOSETALKERS sound like UK crust and Scandicore, but the internet must be drunk because I don’t hear it at all on this first LP. To me, the band sounds like yet another act influenced by US hardcore, with intricate riffs, a stomping, aggressive vibe, rawer by way of good production, and low-pitched gruff vocals. Undeniably, the band knows what they are doing, they do what they set out to do well, and it sounds and looks good. Some parts of it bring WORLD BURNS TO DEATH or TRAGEDY to mind, but to my ears, it is mostly a soundtrack to mosh hard. Not bad, but certainly not for me.

The Cowboys Captain Easy’s Downfall LP

That Bloomington, Indiana has been a bastion of adventurous punk sounds for half a century is a beautiful thing. From the land of JOHNNY COUGAR, the COWBOYS offer up their newest collection of perfectly pleasant oddities. Fans of SPARKS will be in love within three tracks, if it even takes that long. There are damn near twenty tracks here, and they are all wonderful explorations in not getting pinned down, in playing with sonics, in non-masturbatory psychedelics. In 49 states it’s just music, but this is Indiana after all.

Dissekerad Väggarna Rasar LP

Here’s an instant grip for all the mangel-oids out there. DISSEKERAD continues to crank out flawless D-beat albums, thirteen-plus years in, building on a lineage tracing back to Sweden’s most iconic and influential bands, including TOTALITÄR and AVSKUM. Start to finish, this album is a complete scorcher. I’ll try to avoid the most obvious comparisons and just say that if you have any taste at all for käng, or like ripping punk music really at all, then don’t waste time reading about something that you could blissfully destroy your eardrums to. I’m not being hyperbolic in saying that this album is at the pinnacle of punk fucking mastery. Eleven tracks, absolutely no filler. I’ll be listening to this non-stop for a long while.

Eulogy Demo ’25 EP

EULOGY is a Montreal based five-piece who released their inaugural recording in late 2025. Their six-song Demo ’25 EP is a whirlwind of D-beat-driven raw punk with the bulk of influence being drawn from DISCHARGE. EULOGY uses a brutal rhythm section to maintain a bass-heavy attack, while the lead guitar shreds psych-punk riffs just above a gravelly, full-throat vocal delivery. In other words, an absolute must-listen if you’re an aficionado of loud, fast punk.

Feral Housecats Go Feral Yourself! CD

Laid-back, rockabilly-adjacent Midwestern punk. Like a dark and loose garage rock band playing at the bar you weren’t supposed to go to because it’s dangerous there, but you went anyway and it felt like you were at a revival but the revival was a party with guitar solos.

Jimbo Easter / Timmy Vulgar split EP

When legendary Detroit weirdos and long-time buds Timmy Vulgar (the EPILEPTIX, CLONE DEFECTS, TIMMY’S ORGANISM) and Jimbo Easter (PIRANHAS, DRUID PERFUME, PARADISE HOAX) team up to make a record, you can safely expect a thorough and enthusiastic mindfucking. Timmy’s side spans from fuzzy outer space rhythm and blues to primitive and poetic synth, while Jimbo conjures unsettling funhouse haunts and eerie shamanic juxtaposition. Listen to the whole thing and you’ll be seeing trails.

L.O.T.I.O.N. Machine Hallucinations LP

Dance music for a collapsing civilization. L.O.T.I.O.N. returns to the mainframe with eleven transmissions of cyberpunk-soaked punk mixed with glimpses of gabber, industrial techno, and digital hardcore. The riffs are punishing, the rhythms are relentless, and Ben Greenberg’s production keeps the machine sounding hostile. Imagine G.I.S.M. trapped in a neon dystopia, playing songs by DOPPLEREFFEKT and SKINNY PUPPY. With appearances from Iggor Cavalera, LA PREGUNTA?, and the ever-present Lulu, the band pushes their sound into stranger territory. “Celebrate the Suffering” carries the weight of a lost Chaos A.D.-era remix, while “Spiral of Destruction” crawls through the shadows of noir post-punk, but they manage to retain their identity throughout. Alexander Heir’s artwork completes the nightmare with a cold, mechanized image from a future ruled by surveillance, AI, and militarized technology. Violent, paranoid, hypnotic, and built for the dancefloor at the end of the world.

Brad Marino Agent of Chaos CD

BRAD MARINO has been working the seam between rock’n’roll and power pop for a long time now, first with New Hampshire’s the CONNECTION and now five albums into a solo run. He covered the RAMONES’ Subterranean Jungle front to back in 2020, then put out a 2024 EP called Ramones and Stones whose title track happily admits he doesn’t much need anything else. Agent of Chaos works that same ground, but sounds closer to Pleasant Dreams than Too Tough to Die. What keeps it from being a costume is that it doesn’t feel like MARINO is impersonating anyone. He’s carrying the thing forward rather than wearing its skin. Thirteen songs in thirty-three minutes, with Gene Champagne of TEENAGE HEAD behind the kit for most of the way, and my favorite tracks are “Voodoo” and “Devil May Care,” the latter breaking up the formula with some lap steel from James Cap Nunn. I usually want records louder and faster than this, and mid-tempo is a hard sell for me, but these songs just sound exactly like what they ought to be. The CD has a bonus cover of the JESUS AND MARY CHAIN’s “Between Planets.”

Orsini Ezin Atera LP

Debut LP from Bilbao, Spain’s ORSINI, a four-piece doing heartfelt post-punk with a mix of ’90s Fat Wreck Chords sounds on the vocals—reminds me a bit of SWINGIN’ UTTERS with the backing chants. More contemporarily, it reminds me of Athens’s CHAIN CULT, who I reviewed a while back. The lead guitar phrasing is really nice, soothing almost, and consistent with the genre, it acts as the throughline for each track. While I don’t know exactly what they’re singing about, the album description shares that they were “looking back at that huge black hole we ended up in, and how, in the end, making it through actually made us stronger.” Even to ears unfamiliar with Basque, the deeply personal storytelling is evident in the feel and tenor of the songs, balancing a sense of longing with hope, or at the very least, acceptance. Not sure if that’s what they were going for, but it’s how I’m left after repeated listens to Ezin Atera. This feels like a good end-of-summer record, so tune in now.

Piss Poor Under Attack cassette

New Haven, Connecticut hardcore punk, with six songs recorded live and released on the Big Neck Records subsidiary label Primitive Screwhead. This is what a hardcore punk band should sound like. The recording sounds dingy and fucked-up, without being punishingly lo-fi. You can hear the room and the imperfections, but nothing feels so buried or blown-out that you lose the songs themselves. The tracks are fast, short, and sloppy, and the guitar is ever so slightly out of tune. This panic-inducing PISS POOR cassette sounds like it could fall apart at any moment. All the little nuances where you can’t quite tell if you’re hearing an intentional choice or a mistake are exactly what makes this sound right. Those imperfections give this recording an impact that a cleaner, more polished recording certainly wouldn’t have. There isn’t anything particularly novel happening here, and I don’t think there needs to be. This is straightforward, nasty hardcore punk that feels like it could have come from almost any point in the last few decades.

Sacred Hate Bold as Love LP

This album was recorded in 1989? How in the hell is that possible? This sounds like it was tracked just yesterday! They must have done an insane job mixing and mastering this slab because it sounds immaculate. Bold as Love kicks off with a track called “Jam,” and it’s pretty much exactly as described: random instrumental meandering around a half-baked solo. Kind of an odd way to open up the record, but we’re immediately launched into what can be best described as latter-era BLACK FLAG being mashed up with BLUE ÖYSTER CULT. Yeah, I know that’s a wild combination, but that’s what this is and it works. Spooky, dark guitar riffs paired with a manic rhythm section and a headstrong vocalist who cuts through the noise with piss and vinegar. Fantastic work here.

Sistema de Entretenimiento Arcade Punk EP

Spain has an undeniably characteristic scene of synth punk and adjacent genres, but SISTEMA DE ENTRETENIMIENTO has always been one of the most instantly recognizable of them all. With their aptly-titled new EP Arcade Punk, they keep the flame going. The classic SISTEMA sound is still there: bright drum machine beats, sharp guitar melodies, signature synth parts, and vocals swimming in reverb…but leaning a bit more towards the gloominess of darkwave, it sounds darker and catchier than ever. Fans of the band will be more than satisfied.

Smog Marines Opus LP

Formed in Los Angeles’ Silver Lake neighborhood, home to acts like the SCREAMERS and the FLESH EATERS, the band known as OPUS changed their name on New Year’s Eve 1979. Adopting a snappy new moniker to better suit their punchy sound, they forged a sonic imprint that bridged the gap between the DEAD KENNEDYS and X, incorporating Jello’s exaggerated vibrato, speedy agitation, and prominent dual vocals into their brawny and eclectic compositions. The resulting melodic racket wouldn’t have been out of place on Dangerhouse Records, but that particular “what if?” scenario wasn’t to be. As the band was beginning to burn their brightest, the label was in the process of fizzling out, positioning SMOG MARINES as torchbearers of the first-wave L.A. sound. However, by the time they recorded their full-length album at Hollywood’s Mystic Studios in 1980, hardcore was on the rise and record companies were following the emerging trends. The material was ultimately shelved, and would remain buried in the sands of time for decades. After 46 years in purgatory, archival label Obsolete Universe has dug it up and delivered it straight from the original masters. Though diverse in style, the album is instantly recognizable as a product of its specific and prolific place and time, capturing the group in the midst of evolution as they embraced the harder and faster sounds of the era with their old school roots still showing. It leads with crisper recordings of the two songs from their 1979 7” that’s known for sitting prohibitively pricey on collector want lists. They cover “These Boots Were Made for Walking” with a guitar tone that reveals how the NANCY SINATRA hit likely inspired the lead-in riff to Black Flag’s “Rise Above.” They’re sometimes referred to as deathrock, the case for which is most apparent in eerie tracks like “Butterflies” and “Bright” that feature theatrical droning vocals akin to P.I.L. efforts of this era. And “Sharpen the Shears,” a wistful power pop track presented in demo quality, caps off the album with one of the most charming moments to be had here. It’s a concrete addition to the zeitgeist overall, and will surely leave some wondering how it managed to stay in the dark for so long.

Theee Retail Simps Theeeeeee Retina Lamps 7″

The nerve of these Canucks! After their last record drew considerable ire from the venerable Sir Bobos, you’d think they’d have the decency to hang it up and leave this whole punk rock business to the professionals. But no, here’s two fresh piles of sub-par slop they’re serving up for us to choke down! I’m kidding, of course. I love this band. And while I may disagree with my chivalric colleague, I applaud his willingness to write a negative review. We can’t all like everything. I’ll also say this: 69 minutes is a lot of SIMPS. So, I really appreciate the concision of a 7” as a follow-up. And these two tracks are some of the best these dudes have laid down! “Quality at Your Feet” is almost a HOME BLITZ-ian mangled power pop number, and it features one of my favorite vocal performances from Joe—there’s a scream he gives at 1:40 into the song that makes me smile every time I hear it. “More Lies” is closer to standard SIMPS fare, borrowing heavily from VELVET UNDERGROUND, but by sticking to what they know best, they end up with one of the catchiest tracks in their catalogue. Once again, shout out to Goodbye Boozy for keeping the 7” alive. For my money, this one’s about perfect.