Reviews - MAXIMUM ROCKNROLL

See-Saw At Any Time / Just Want to Be Free 7″

Two caffeinated rock’n’roll hits from this Kyoto, Japan band that is named after a song by the JAM. Both sides have a bouncy, infectious song that rides the line between punk and pub rock, like CHUBBY AND THE GANG or a sped-up UNDERTONES. “Just Want to Be Free” has all the elements for a melodic good time: palm-muted guitars with a simple chorus, classic guitar fills, and backing vocals. I was expecting hand-claps somewhere in the mix, but I guess you can just add your own at home. Fun and catchy record that could have come out any time in the last 40 years, but still sounds fresh.

The Shifters Open Vault 2xLP

In the early stages of 2020’s pandemic lockdowns that put live gigs and recording plans on pause indefinitely, the SHIFTERS offered up Open Vault as a sprawling digital content dump/stop-gap release of alternate takes, demos, and live cuts culled from 2016 to 2019. Most of these 25 tracks were never intended for public consumption (despite now being on a double-LP, of all formats!), and while odds-and-sods collections have a tendency to be half-baked and/or exercises in self-indulgence, Open Vault functions surprisingly well as a cohesive album, never seeming like some sort of hodge-podge of inconsequential throwaways—even when the presentation is decidedly shambolic and smudged-up, like the home recordings captured via built-in laptop and cell phone mics with drums literally thudded out on a kid-sized Spongebob Squarepants kit, the SHIFTERS’ songwriting is always uncannily sharp, with a lyrical focus that’s just as pointed (the repercussions of imperialism/colonialism and the shallow realities of late-stage capitalist life are both recurring themes). The Flying Nun-descended (and comparatively more polished) jangle pop that had been increasingly centered on the band’s last few records is largely de-emphasized in this particular context, with the FALL/COUNTRY TEASERS trebly twang of their 2015 debut cassette fully at the forefront in the minimal, repetitive clamor of tracks like “Induced” and “Faux American History;” the perfectly primitive (by which I mean, “Spongebob-kitted”) spin on “Work, Life, Gym, Etc.” from their Trouble in Mind full-length Have A Cunning Plan is particularly great. SHIFTERS scraps are honestly better than a lot of like-minded bands’ A-list material, and I have a feeling that this isn’t even the half of it here.

Siekiera Demo Summer ’84 LP

Warsaw Pact just keeps on delivering, this time with the elusive and incredible 1984 demo from Poland’s first hardcore band. Almost forty years later, and these songs still give me chills—had they released vinyl at the time (or, let’s be honest, had they been from the global West), they would be mentioned alongside CIMEX and RATOS and STALIN, because these recordings are every bit that fierce, but instead they passed from cassette to cassette for decades before creeping onto a couple of small-run reissues (that already fetch collector prices). But this is how they are supposed to sound, how they are supposed to feel…primal, fervent, aggressive, honest, intense hardcore punk. The presentation is gorgeous, packed with photos and images from the era—this is as close to “essential” as anything you’re going to read about this month.

Spike in Vain Jesus Was Born in a Mobile Home cassette reissue

I remember discovering Disease is Relative as it was making its rounds across the blogs ten or so years ago, coming into its legend as a cult classic of weird ’80s hardcore on par with VOID or NO TREND. I highly doubt anyone then could fathom the bounty of unreleased music the Cleveland band had stockpiled, a twisted knot of recording sessions and side projects to come. In the last two years, along with a proper reissue of their debut, we’ve also had the release of Death Drives a Cadillac (a 1984 recording session that would’ve been their sophomore album), and now a demo recording of SPIKE IN VAIN shortly after releasing Disease is Relative, with songs from that time frame that never made it to the album. Naturally, the songs here are closer to the dissonant, mutated Midwest hardcore rage of the first record than the more experimental, twangy deathrock sound found on Death Drives a Cadillac. Scat has reissued these tunes on classic cassette, possibly as a nod to its origins, but probably because the vinyl pressing plants are stuffed beyond capacity these days with major label nonsense and Record Store Day garbage, so perhaps we’ll see a vinyl release eventually.

Tales of Terror Tales of Terror LP reissue

The main point of reissuing important albums is to draw attention to underrated bands, and TALES OF TERROR’s self-titled is certainly deserving of another look. Originally released in 1984 and reviewed in Maximum Rocknroll #16 by Tim Yohannan himself, this record is a wild ride. Boozy and raunchy, the tracks call to mind early STOOGES, obviously, but lead vocalist Pat Stratford has more Darby Crash energy than Iggy Pop. Interesting and weird, undeniably punk streaked with psychedelia, this one left me scratching my head in a good way. Tracks veer one way and then swerve into a digression that ends up just ending. Did they run out of ideas, or did they need a refill? Tracks like “Deathryder” and “Over Elvis Worship” hit hard, but other tracks like “Jim” and “Tales of Terror” show potential and land with a thud. Potential is smeared all over this album since the band’s trajectory was cut short with the murder of guitarist Lyon Wong in 1986. How big could they have gotten? How great were they live?

Thee Hearses EP II cassette

I bet you wouldn’t believe me if I told you that THEE HEARSES was a one-man electro-punk band that views the punk scene and modern life in general with a sarcastic slant. Songs about poseurs and frauds sung in a robotic monotone, with a clean drum machine drilling away and some synth noise coloring inside the lines. Well, believe it or not, this tape is actually a pretty decent listen—you’ve just heard this done before, and probably better. Still, this is what’s in the player so chill, aight? After all, “Space invader / You can fuck off” is the kind of chorus that we’ll make an exception for.

What Me Worry? Off My Meds EP

Dave DeMedici, of TOO MANY DAVES, puts out an EP to the tune of Fat Wreck Chords snarl. In that vein, nothing wildly new here—raspy vocals overlaid with harmonies, fifth-chord riffs, you know the deal. But the piece is elevated by the lyricism: struggling with substance use in the contrast of “Off My Meds” and “Back on My Meds.” It feels honest, in a self-deprecating sort of way. I don’t know, maybe the album’s description (“A coming-of-old-age tale…”) made me sympathetic. Rounding out the EP is a spin-off of the OPPRESSED’s “Ultra Violence.”

XO’s (pronounced húgs and kissès) cassette

This is what I live for. Huge, poppy rockn’roll with a snotty edge that cuts through the syrupy sweet melodies. This band gets it, dragging the late ’70s NYC sound screaming into the now in a way so few can pull off. The song structures are pretty much perfect, especially on standouts like “Scratch Me a Million,” which loop-de-loops through tempo changes, solos, and a swaggering chorus and sticks the landing. This stands next to contemporaries like NANCY in terms of timeless, full-attitude rock that you come back to again and again. I couldn’t love it more.

Zuletzt Re//Action / A Thousand Ways 7″

A 7″ with two amazing songs. I haven’t heard about them before, but now I wanna know more—this is one of those bands that catches me in the first five seconds. I can say that this is my favourite band from the reviews I wrote for this month, and I also love that they have two vocalists and I like both of them, cause you know, sometimes when a band uses two or more voices, it is not always good. At the end of the second song, I was wanting more, I wish it was a full album—my favourite track is “Re//Action.”

V/A Sheffield is Burning: Lughole Benefit Comp LP

A crucial DIY punk collective venue in Sheffield, England, the Lughole was forced to close its doors in 2018 when local officials imposed capacity restrictions that effectively made gigs there illegal. Artists and supporters of the Lughole have since banded together to relaunch and expand the venue in a new location, and this comp was released to raise funds in order to make it happen. Showcasing tracks from twelve bands associated with the original Lughole, this comp provides a nice slice of the current UK hardcore landscape. With bangers from STRAY BULLET, RAT CAGE, HOWL, and many more, including a mangled version of “Banned From the Pubs” by SKIPLICKERS, Sheffield is Burning is a solid slab for a worthy cause. Grab your copy and help UK punk continue to thrive.

Aunt Sally Aunt Sally LP+7″ reissue

Osaka’s AUNT SALLY formed after then-teenage vocalist (and later avant-garde icon) PHEW traveled to London for a SEX PISTOLS gig in 1977 and returned to Japan inspired to start her own band, but the familiar “PISTOLS as Rosetta stone” trope is not at all evident in the deconstructed art-punk of their 1979 self-titled album (and only official release), now back on vinyl for the first time in a couple of decades. The eponymous track “Aunt Sally” and “フランクに (Frank Ni)” both trace lines parallel to ROSA YEMEN as Phew cryptically chants over spindly tom-tom tumble and scribbling guitar, while “すべて売り物 (Subete Urimono)” is Rough Trade-ready with an early FALL-ish combo of repetitive, rumbling bass and rudimentary keyboard stabs; that’s about as close as AUNT SALLY gets to anything approaching trad punk (which is to say, not very). The rest of the LP is even further untethered from capital-P punk conventions—rhythm is all but discarded for the delicate, guitar/vocal-centered “日が朽ちて (Hi Ga Kuchite)” (think Odyshape-era RAINCOATS, stripped of drums and realized three years earlier a continent away), “ローレライ (Loreley)” inverts the French nursery rhyme “Frère Jacques” into a dark and unsettled freeform psychedelic sprawl, and the slinky no wave bass groove in “Essey” is cut through with some unexpectedly bright keyboards and sing-song vocals. The initial pressing of the reissue also includes a bonus 7″ with two raw, wild live recordings from AUNT SALLY’s 1978 debut gig at Kobe College (a particularly unhinged version of “Subete Urimono,” and the non-LP synth punk stomper “Panorama-tou/Cool Cold,” completely unreal!), which makes for an essential acquisition even if the original LP wasn’t currently fetching triple-digit prices—get in while you can.

Barren? Distracted to Death… Diverted From Reality LP

I was really attracted to this LP because of the art, and I was right—hardcore punk with a really obscure feeling. I really enjoyed this record til the end, and the last song “Violence for Peace” was, for me, the perfect song to close, maybe my favourite track from this album. They totally remind me of a lot of things I like in anarcho-punk bands.

Crucial Response Puppets EP

When I hit play on this one, I thought to myself, “another killer American hardcore band,” and to my surprise, they are from Indonesia. Pure hardcore following the American tradition of bands like NEGATIVE APPROACH or OUT COLD. It’s stompy, it’s fast, it’s vicious, it’s great! Previously released on cassette by Greedy Dust and Menace Records and now on vinyl on Not For the Weak, these five tracks will be hammered into your head, like it or not. These dudes really know their American hardcore well!

The Deadline The Deadline demo cassette

Hailing from Brooklyn, the DEADLINE offers up four songs that have a heavy influence of early 2000s-era hardcore in the vein of AMERICAN NIGHTMARE, COUNT ME OUT, and even a little bit of Oi! in there as well. Pretty decent stuff, especially for a demo. There’s definite potential here, although the one thing that stood out to me at first listen were the vocals. At times they seem a bit strained, in an almost “running out of steam” kind of way. But first impressions can be deceiving, and upon multiple listens, I have deduced that the vocals are raw and that only adds to the charm.

Dødsdømt 1989—2019 LP

I’m no expert on the Norwegian hardcore scene, but this band is absolutely fierce. They released a 7″ in 1994 and disintegrated almost immediately. But they had the very good idea to get back together in 2016 and since that time they have released two more 7″s, Deg Allein and Dine Siste Tanker, only available in small quantities in their home country. This is the first time these songs are available to the whole world in the form of a full LP. Excellent crust punk, dense and accurate, without solos and never veering into metal territories; it even reminds me of the ’90s Basque Country hardcore scene.

Excrement of War The Waste, the Greed and the Bodybags LP

Right or wrong (likely both), I feel like EXCREMENT OF WAR forms a bridge between ’80s UK metallic crust (DEVIATED INSTINCT, ENT, SACRILEGE) and ’90s DIY crust (HIATUS, DISRUPT). They had direct connections to bands on both sides of that imaginary dividing line between “then” and “now” (DOOM, DEPTH CHARGE, FILTHKICK, VIOLENT ARREST, DIRT, ENT, and many more have had members in EXCREMENT OF WAR), but were more raw and a little (or a lot) looser than many of their counterparts. It’s crust punk—they made D-beat sound fukkn nasty instead of trying to juice it up. The twenty songs on this collection are from sessions spanning 1991—95 and have all been available previously, but if you haven’t heard their side of the DEFORMED CONSCIENCE split before, then…well, listen to “They Call This Progress” and then get back to me. Not all reissues are essential, but some are.

Faze Content EP

FAZE brings us some sonic chronic from Canada in the vein of S.H.I.T. With echoed vocals over psychedelic hardcore droning, the music conjures images of a megaphone-carrying carnival barker in a tattered trench coat riding high on a sleepy-eyed elephant that keeps changing colors as it marches obliviously forward. Turn on, tune in, tap out.

Ghoulies Songs From Flat Earth EP

As the debut EP from this Australian four-piece (featuring members of ABORTED TORTOISE and KITCHEN PEOPLE), Songs From Flat Earth serves up frantic synth punk rock’n’roll without a single track clocking in at over two minutes. Carnival-ride synths and hyper mutant vocals combine for a queasy experience—but not a sloppy one, as these songs are remarkably tight and fully realized. Devotees of GEE TEE and the CONEHEADS (and insert your favorite devolved egg-punk band here) will find plenty to enjoy in this.

Gummo A Fresh Breath on the Neck LP

Hailing from Lille, France, GUMMO sets the brutality at eleven with their latest LP. Featuring eighteen throat-punching tracks, this three-piece focuses their ire at cops, internet trolls, people ruining the scene, and capitalists, to name a few, and leaves no doubt about where they stand on social justice issues. The title track refers to the guillotine, and implies it might be time to bring it back. The first track, a pandemic manifesto called “Where Was Gondor,” features some interesting, almost melodic bass and drum work that makes GUMMO stand out from most of the powerviolence and grindcore bands these days. “You’ll Pay the Bill to the Styx” almost veers toward New York-style hardcore terroritory (SICK OF IT ALL, GORILLA BISCUITS) with chugging guitars and chanting, anthemic vocals.

Reviewer Ed Hammerbeck
Label Coups de Couteau / Don't Trust the Hype / Drinkin' Beer in Bandana / Loner Cult / Minga / No Time / Sleepy Dogs / The Hills Are Dead / United Winds
Issue MRR #465 • February 2022

Hez Guerra Interior EP

This is a real blast of mutant matter. Noisy, with pissed-off vocals full of echo and delay, dirty guitar, the bass like a constant drone, and a drum kit that invites to a crazed slam—you can almost feel at certain times that the violent inertia of the music is about to derive in absolute chaos, specifically in the subsequent disintegration of the songs, which you could argue happens in a couple of occasions. These guys from Panama deliver a short and sweet EP with an absolutely beautiful cover. After listening to legions of limited imitators, I think we finally have a band that extends the legacy of classic Mexican bands like RATAS DEL VATICANO or INSERVIBLES.

Illegal Leather Hate Crime / We Don’t Sleep 7″

At it’s core, this 7″ is as hardcore as hardcore can be, but there are lot of elements of industrial music, too. ILLEGAL LEATHER really strikes a good balance with just enough blasting out of their recordings to still kick a lot of ass. There are some moments where you can hear the Oi! punk influence shine bright. The vocals really do sound like they would fit well on a CRASS or DAMNED record. The industrial instrumentation sounds a lot like SPECIAL INTEREST or ZEIGENBOCK KOPF. Check this one out, it does not disappoint!

Kold Front Kold Front 12″

Lovely femme-led post-punk/coldwave album from Copenhagen’s KOLD FRONT. The duo presents six songs, only one of which is under four minutes (and just barely), giving plenty of meditative noise-space that turns into a snare-driven fantasy ride. The album’s ominous, reverb-chamber guitar and drum machine theme stands alone in “Interlude,” and despite the general allergic reaction to the instrumental, I think it works here. My favorite track is the closer, “Did You Wish to Die”—it’s dream pop vocals float over their signature, desperate sound, while being slow enough to contemplate the title, which comes as a statement, not a question. If you’re looking for something moody to chew on, look no further. Symphony of Destruction bags another keeper.

La Milagrosa Pánico LP

Maybe this has nothing to do with the album, but I need to write this to make you understand the moment. I was cleaning my apartment while I was listening to this record for the first time, and I started dancing to it, and at some point I wanted to fucking kick something in the room. I fucking hate cleaning my place, and LA MILAGROSA made that moment less annoying, so that means a lot to me. They are one of those bands that you know is gonna make people go crazy at a show, it’s fucking fire—Latino punks always making the best bands in the United States. This album is amazing, and not only because of the music, as the lyrics have a really strong meaning.

Murder Generation Strangerhood LP

The second full-length from Milwaukee’s MURDER GENERATION picks up with where 2019’s self-titled debut left off—hard-hitting, bare-bones, fist-pumping Rust Belt punk. It seems like as soon as one song ends, the steady monotony of getting beaten by a snare drum is back in your face before you can take a breath. The songs lurch between riffs in a way that is inescapably Midwestern (that’s a compliment), and this record is a notable step above the first.

Nuts Living in a Vulgar Vision cassette

Tight, punchy, and on-the-nose are all good descriptions of this tape. It really brings some visceral attitude. This is one that recording engineers might nerd out on. Recorded on an old Tascam four-track, this is a great example of what you can do with lo-fi recording. Using a lot of quirky drum machines and synths is what gives this record it’s sound. Overall, this is a lot of fun and a cool one to check out.

Oops Out of Pictures EP

Interesting record from this Osaka band. Half of the EP has short, proggy punk blasts, while the other half sounds like a slickly-produced indie rock band. The first track has a raging fast beat with screamed female vocals and guitar swells that bring to mind OTOBOKE BEAVER or maybe early BOREDOMS. Track two is a totally different sound, with thick, reverbed guitars and an extended bluesy solo that sounds like ICEAGE. Other than the vocals occasionally going in the red, it sounds like a pretty traditional rock song. The third track follows suit with a slick, melodic indie song with a pleasant refrain of “Just like the cinema / Just like the cinema.” “Tight Tight” brings back the spirit of the first song with a twenty-second MELT BANANA-esque screamer. I’m not sure what to think—I prefer the ragers, but all four songs are compelling enough for me to listen to their next release.

Prettyboys I’m Falling / I Wanna Make You! 7″ reissue

This is a reissue of the only single produced by Chicago’s PRETTYBOYS. Originally released in 1982 on their own Bow Tie label, it’s a slick slice of Midwestern/mid-tempo guitar pop fluff. This is by no means the great lost power pop single, which is to say it’s not essential, but it’s certainly competent and pleasant enough for fans of the genre. If you’re got a couple of Powerpearls or Teenline compilations knocking around in your collection, the hooks on offer here could capture your interest. If you prefer your pop a bit spikier (as I do), you may want to skip it. The B-side “I Wanna Make You!” is marginally more compelling than the A-side.

Radiation Risks Strawberry Quick LP

RADIATION RISKS’ punk rock is usually undistorted and accompanied by keyboards and sax, giving it a garage rock feel. However, they weave in different genres while keeping those trappings. That can risk sounding gimmicky or pastiche, but they make it work, mostly by finding the common musical denominator in all the styles. Occasionally, the genre jamming isn’t so smooth, though—the change from an otherwise straightforward garage track to blatant DISCHARGE riffs was so abrupt it made me laugh in surprise. The vocals are hoarse and scratchy, occasionally producing a LITTLE RICHARD-esque yelp, which sounds quite at home.

Shove Chopper EP

Killer EP from this Brisbane, Australia band. This is basement punk of the very highest order. Thick, nasty guitars power fast classic hardcore with commanding, confident vocals. Feedback bleeds into every rest, and there is unceasing tension created from how taut the rhythms are. Opening track “Chopper” is such a ripper. Vocalist Bella sounds like a born frontperson, ranting with such energy that a minute and a half is just not enough. “Eddie” has a four-note guitar line that creeps under the directives of “Sort it out / Check it out.” It’s catchy and fast and perfect. Have you ever been to a house show and thought, “What absolute legends?” This is it. SHOVE, please come strike lightning in my basement if/when you visit the States. Highly recommended.

Toe Ring Footage cassette

Up-and-coming cassette label Spared Flesh brings us four tracks from a new Philly-based recording project featuring MESH’s Sims Hardin and Leslie Burnette of JUICE and LOUIE LOUIE. Opening track “This is the End” should please anyone who came to this project as a fan of MESH—it’s pretty much the same sharp, garage-y post-punk that those guys peddle, only this track has Leslie on vocals. The remaining three tracks are more atmospheric and share a lot of the same DNA with contemporary post-punk bands the WORLD or NAKED ROOMMATE. But this duo’s take on that stripped-down dubby sound is a much lower-fi affair, and where those aforementioned acts get funky or dancy, TOE RING gets punky or weird. The backbone of tracks “Repeller” and “Collapsed Mine” is a looser version of the same driving beat you get on the opening track, but it’s accompanied by a bass that sounds like its strings are about to come completely unspooled. And the guitar is either completely absent—replaced with odd keyboard bleeps and blorps—or comes in sparingly as harsh echoic stabs, while the vocals just kind of float around in the ether. It’s all really cool stuff! But I think the most interesting track on the release is “Staring at the Sunn”. It sounds not unlike a stoner/doom metal track stripped down to just the bass and drums, but the production on the vocals and the synth-y atmospherics reminds me of trip hop. The overall vibe is still very post-punk—it’s just a neat way of getting there. Let’s hope we get more from these two!

VIOLENCIA El Odio Me Hizo Hacerlo EP

Growing up, powerviolence got me hooked like a bass to a fishing line, but soon I realized that half of the newer bands were playing fastcore and not “real” powerviolence. All the Slap-a-Ham bands that solidified the genre had a certain quality of exaggeration and drama to their music that is lacking in all the INFEST clones out there. VIOLENCIA from Tijuana is the perfect example of a band doing it right. The fast parts are blistering fast, the slow parts are doomy, the vocals are angry as can be, and the shifts in tempo just come at you like curveballs. The lyrics follow the tradition of irony that powerviolence has accustomed us to, with themes of social, political, and scene commentary. El powerviolence no esta muerto!

Woodstock ’99 Woodstock ’99 cassette

This is a nice little package that includes this band’s debut EP plus a bonus tune from a future release, all on one cassette with a goofy skater pic on the cover. In case you don’t already know, WOODSTOCK ’99 is folks from Richmond, VA’s CEMENT SHOES, relocated to Cleveland to tear it up Midwest-style. If you were a fan of the previous combo, you won’t be disappointed, as this rotten apple don’t steer too far from the magnolia tree. You even get a reworked CEMENT SHOES tune here. It’s pure USHC with lovely slurry/screamy Darby-meets-Cookie Monster vocals. Maybe not the most essential release, but if you’re a lover of the plastic-spooled rectangular format, you’ll most likely be picking this up pronto.

V/A The First 100 2xLP

Ah, the glorified label sampler disguised as a compilation. Oh, how I loathe these. I mean all of these songs have been previously released, so other than different variants for the collector nerd, there’s really no reason to obtain this album. Unless…you are unfamiliar with the roster of bands and looking to discover some new-to-you bands and releases. Like every compilation, this has its hits and misses for me, although the misses outweigh the hits. That may sound a bit negative, but there are two reasons for that: I prefer more of the current releases from Triple B, and the lack of diversity in style here. I realize that Triple B is a hardcore label, it’s just that more often than not, a lot of the stuff here starts getting monotonous—with 50 tracks of hardcore that’s bound to happen. That’s not to say there isn’t some killer stuff on here, because there is, it’s just a bit much to wade through to uncover. That said, this is a tremendous undertaking to try and document 100 releases, so that in and of itself deserves a bit of praise.

100% Blood Sick and Bloody Madness cassette

100% BLOOD is primitive “troglodyte banging on a drum” hardcore punk done in a NY basement by two dudes from SUBVERSIVE RITE. Sloppy but in a good way, in the great tradition of Finnish hardcore punk bands like TERVEET KÄDET or even primitive acts like the Spanish HARINA DE HUESOS HUMANOS. None of the nine songs that make up this cassette hit the one-minute mark, so you can feel the sense of urgency. The production just adds up to the intensity that Sick and Bloody Madness achieves, and the whole purpose is to sound like it was dug up from the ’80s.

Angered Wrecks Bennies, Booze and R&R 1981 LP

At the turn of the 1980s, ANGERED WRECKS were Fredericton, New Brunswick’s coolest shitkickers. Way up north on the east coast of Canada, these four friends lived in a big old house and set up their gear in the main room for impromptu jam sessions. But these no-goodniks weren’t diddling around on some hippie drum circle nonsense, they were covering the new classics of punk rock and its immediate antecedents. Bennies, Booze and R&R 1981 possesses one-mic-hanging-from-the-ceiling fidelity, but these burnouts make it work in their favor. There’s a couple decent originals which lean towards NWOBHM and would sound right at home on one of those Jobcentre Rejects comps. Among the giants given the WRECKS treatment are songs by SUBHUMANS, DEAD BOYS, ALICE COOPER, MC5, BLACK SABBATH, DEAD KENNEDYS, DIODES, and multiple STOOGES cuts. It’s kind of like being at a bar rock gig, except that this bar is punk as hell and the drink specials include lines of speed.

Baby Buddha Music for Teenage Sects LP

Early ’80s San Fran synthy side project from David Javelosa of LOS MICROWAVES, so expect pitter-patter primitive rhythm generators and queasy analog circuits groaning. The original songs on here are strong and strange, especially the unexpected boom-bap on “Then I Sleep,” which is so weird and funky I’m surprised it hasn’t been sampled by MADLIB or another heady producer. The album is padded by mutated takes on early rock’n’roll and country tunes like “Stand By Your Man,” “All Shook Up,” and “Your Cheatin’ Heart”, which take away from this being a classic must-have for me. Also, I don’t know if the change of title from Music for Teenage Sex and airbrushing out the girl from the original cover was a bit of careful revisionism by a more mature artist looking back, or the inability to secure rights for the original photo or permission from the model?

Cállate Rest in Powerviolence cassette

This cassette compiles all the material recorded by CÁLLATE, a great powerviolence band from the city of Temuco in Chile. It consists of three EPs and a demo, along with some unreleased tracks. Everything is dedicated to their guitarist Javier who passed away, and in solidarity with Gouki Tereucan and Carla. This is a band that takes classic references like SIEGE or MAN IS THE BASTARD, mixes it up with a bit of thrashcore, and creates little gems of absolute noise that temporarily liberate areas of your brain that you didn’t know needed to be liberated. And what’s more, they do it with a great sense of humor. It’s really a pity that the band can no longer continue, but they leave us a beautiful testimony that will last forever.

Crash the Superyacht St. Vitus Square Dance Apocalypse cassette

While this seems to have begun as a COVID project, CRASH THE SUPERYACHT from London, UK has remained pretty busy. After releasing four digital EPs, they now enter the world of physical releases, and it’s with a full-length cassette. Nine songs of lo-fi indie pop. Simplistic and catchy.

Disscharrrgh D-Beat Me Over the Head With a Plank cassette

Bare-bones D-beat punk doesn’t get much more bare-bones than DISSCHARRRGH. Picture the genre at its most primitive—a more than competent mid-fi presentation of sub-60 second songs that rarely (if ever) venture beyond the “no more than two riffs of no more than three chords” formula. Vocals are gruff and often struggle to keep time while the bass takes the lead in the mix—guitars are there, but they’re buried—and it gives the whole thing a scumputer punk vibe that totally works. Super shitty digital artwork and a repurposed cassette really complete the package. Choice cut: “All Over Again.”

Evinspragg Precognitive Dreams cassette

Solo new wave/post-punk project from Eric Mayer of TENEMENT. This is a solid collection of syncopated beats, woozy synths, constant zig-zag guitar lines, and spoken/sung vocals that will speak to fans of URANIUM CLUB. There are a few short tracks that sound like electronic sketches, but most of these songs are just that: fully-realized songs with quite a bit of complexity and obvious talent, some of which pass the three-minute mark. The beats and guitar constantly change rhythm, giving each song a busy, off-kilter quality that is never not interesting. For instance, “The Magnetic Kind” changes time signatures several times before ending in a mini blastbeat eruption. The lyrics are also interesting, sounding like journal musings about everything from emotional introspection to the very nature of time. “Nothing is Real” has the following killer line: “I feel lonely / All the while craving neglect / Tapping the pencil / Will only break the lead.” This was a pleasant surprise of thoughtful, angular punk and is recommended for both eggheads and rockers.

Fear of the Known Cabal EP+flexi 7″

Legit supergroup here, with members of ROSE ROSE, DISORDER, WAR//PLAGUE, and CHAOS UK teaming up for a bulldozer of modern anarcho rage. A gnarly industrial tinge and searing guitars form the foundation for a band fronted by a gruff, clenched-fist vocal assault—an apocalyptic reinterpretation of a familiar sound. Bonus flexi with versions of DISORDER’s “Life” and CHAOS UK’s “The End is Nigh” completes the line(age), making it clear that Cabal is far more than a sum of its parts—both versions are far more powerful than the originals, which is saying something. I hope that this is more than a one-off project.

Forbidden Wizards Saved by Sabrina the Teenage Vampire Slayer cassette

Spastic, kooky, TV-obsessed punk from the Netherlands. All ten songs are super short and filled with endless mathy riffs one after the next. I am sure there’s something interesting and witty going on lyrically, but I have never seen a single episode of Saved by the Bell or Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and tho many have attempted to force it on me over the years, I do not understand Buffy the Vampire Slayer at all. It’s weird tho, cause I love just about every TV show. Looking at the other FORBIDDEN WIZARDS releases, they seem to all be based on mashed-up TV concepts. I’ll be eagerly awaiting the Stargate/Babylon 5/Sex and the City thematically mashed-up cassette and promise you I will pick up on every reference dropped.

Germs Cat’s Clause 2xEP+CD box set

The narrator-via-interview of the GERMS portion of The Decline of Western Civilization, Nicole Panter comes across as both calmly accustomed to the band’s rowdy antics and resigned to the custodial nature of her role as manager, regularly tasked with facilitating and then cleaning up the ramifications of the messes that Darby and co. created while onstage. Capturing the essence of those legendary messes, this collection delivers the dirt in a neat multi-media package. Spreading thirteen tracks of live GERMS recordings across two 7″’s and a CD, Cat’s Clause brings us a snapshot of the chaotic atmosphere that seemed to follow the band during its brief but well-documented tenure. In these ’79—’80 recordings, Darby’s distinct snarls can be heard decrying spitters in the audience, freestyling over a “never-ending” version of “Shut Down,” and demanding that the band be paid while refusing to perform on the five-minute non-musical track entitled “Germs Riot” that depicts some sort of incident at a spot called The Great Gatsby. The bulk of these raw performances are from the Hong Kong Cafe and the Starwood, and it finishes up with two rehearsal songs caught on tape at L.A.’s infamous Canterbury apartment building. Packaged with an arm-band patch, sticker, button, and 32-page color booklet filled with photos, lyrics, and more, this box has plenty of fun to sink your fandom into, and the CD containing all the 7″ tracks plus four more is pretty convenient as well. Anyone with nostalgia for this band or scene, whether real or imagined, is sure to find a good time in this sprawling archival set.

Heartthrob Demo ’21 cassette

OK, so follow me here. Dan Yemin joins the ERGS! and writes a new KID DYNAMITE record. That’s pretty much what we’ve got going on here, and it doesn’t come off as hokey or contrived. Are there some songs that could have been left at practice? Sure, but what demo doesn’t have those? All in all, this is a solid effort from a band with a good idea of where they wanna go musically. There’s a DESCENDENTS cover and an ERGS! cover too, and both are pretty top-notch. Not sure what’s next from this band, but I’m up for it.

Home Front Think of the Lie 12″

Hammering out a dance beat from the cold plains of central Canada, HOME FRONT breaks frozen ground with their debut EP. Think of the Lie offers all the trappings of new wave sheen—rambling synth and bass, drum-machined angst, and vox and guitar drowning in reverb. The angst comes through with clarity on “Seagulls,” but is well balanced by softer tracks around it. The first track “Flaw in the Design” and the last track “Kill the Time” make nice social commentary bookends, grounding the fun overtones of the album.

My Dad Is Dead …And He’s Not Gonna Take It Anymore 2xLP reissue

Expanded reissue of the 1986 debut LP from Cleveland post-punk “band” MY DAD IS DEAD, in reality the solo work of Mark Edwards, who crafted a stark, brittle bedrock of guitar, bass, and drums (when not opting for the cold drone of a rhythm machine) to accompany his pitch-black lyrical ruminations on the wounds of personal trauma (the project’s name was no joke) and the psychic doldrums of living in the shadow of Cleveland’s post-industrial decay. The dour, monochromatic palette of the UK’s JOY DIVISION/CHAMELEONS bloc was a natural aesthetic touchstone for Edwards’s tales of bleak Rust Belt reality, evident in the haunting guitar jangle and dryly narrative, slightly Ian Curtis-echoing baritone vocals on tracks like “Black Cloud” and “The Quiet Man,” but executed here with an self-effacing Midwesterness that was so much more raw and direct than anything produced by those peacoated Brits—the whole of Closer could only aspire to be as quietly devastating as “Statistic” manages to be in the span of just under four minutes. The second LP includes all of the material from MY DAD IS DEAD’s 1985 demo tape, including a number of even more vulnerable and stripped-down takes on songs that later resurfaced on …And He’s Not Gonna Take It Anymore, some influence from homegrown Clevo art-punk (think PERE UBU, et al.) cropping up in “The Entrepreneur,” and a BIG BLACK-ish mechanized beat driving the particularly intense instrumental “Rut.” Chillier than a lake-effect winter; real beauty in suffering.

Nag Observer LP

NAG is very close to the tip-top of the best punk bands in—at least—the United States. Ever since their 2016 demo, I’ve been all ears for anything this combo puts out into the world. Observer is the second NAG full-length, and it keeps the streak writhingly alive. These cats are all in other great Atlanta bands, but NAG crams all the influences into such a deadly and efficient package. NAG is the assassin at the party. Sometimes they sound like A FRAMES doing ADOLESCENTS covers and I’ve got plenty of time for that, but more often than not they are stalking the fringes, biding time until they can explode like on the astral plane murder punk noir of “Sweeping Observer.” “The Drum Demands Order” and “Present Time” have a lockstep dystopian bent, Philip K. Dick guest-ghost-writing lyrics for DIE KREUZEN. Lovecraft gets a reference on a slammer of a cut, but I’m more into the dust-in-the-eyes Rowland S. Howard sweep of “The Darkest Veil.” They even pull out “Identify” from the demo, an eerie and defiant hardcore ripper that raises the same neck-hairs as SPIKE IN VAIN. “Dead Air” and “Vomit” are beach-punk-as-black-metal, something I just invented but actually NAG did. Thanks, NAG.

Numbskull Action More Action cassette

This is gritty lo-fi taken to the extreme. The thumping waves of distortion don’t let up for even a second, and as a result, the record as a whole can feel a little one-note, but on their own, these tracks tear shit up. NUMBSKULL ACTION proves that you can disregard any notion of audio fidelity and still churn out something top-notch. There are elements of garage rock, hardcore, and punk fused together all across this record, but at it’s core this is some seriously fun rock’n’roll.

Offside Reidars Fuck Off! cassette

Finnish trio of punk veterans playing hardcore punk in a vicious fashion. Fuck Off! is their second album, and it is a great mantra to have in current times. This self-released, limited edition cassette has seven hard-hitting songs of good old hardcore punk with an emphasis on vocal delivery, which brings an anthemic quality to the music. All songs are really catchy, and if you are looking for that, this is where to start.

The Path / Psychic Weight Fight Death split CD

First up is the PATH. They have a straightforward punk/hardcore sound, screamed vocals, and the parts with gang vocals add an element of chaos, but in a good, fun, energetic type of way. Lots of soundbites within their songs and lyrics touching on subjects like trans rights, fucking the government, etc., and a WARZONE cover to boot. I don’t know why but, every time the gang vocals hit, I picture a massive dogpile and it makes me smile. PSYCHIC WEIGHT is a bit slower and more on the metal end of the spectrum, although that’s not to say they’re a metal band by any stretch. I mean, I’m pretty sure I heard some slide guitar in the first song. The lyrics paint a picture of a dark and dismal view of humanity. I probably could have done without the instrumental/soundbite clip in the middle of their offering, but that’s nitpicking. All in all, this split hits all the marks and does what a good split is supposed to: give you two bands that are not at all the same, but have enough in common that it’s not weird.