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!

Bad Motivator The Album LP

If you’ve ever turned up early and caught the local openers before a SUPERSUCKERS show and walked away pleasantly surprised, that’s roughly the territory that BAD MOTIVATOR is working in, and there’s real charm to it. The five-piece out of Los Angeles shares a singer and guitarist with the early ’00s band the TAKEDOWNS, and this record doesn’t stray far from that lineage. Their sound pulls from garage rock, new wave, punk, and a bit of ’70s rock’n’roll, with keyboards worked in tastefully rather than laid on thick. This is their first proper full-length, following an earlier singles collection, and the players clearly have some miles on them, but they move through these songs with plenty of piss and vinegar. Most of the ten tracks land right around the two-minute mark, so nothing overstays its welcome. “Troubled Chances” and “Information Overload” are the standouts for me, and “I Don’t Think I Want To V2” brought the LOAD LEVELERS to mind, maybe because of the vocal twang. This isn’t a masterpiece, but it’s a solid, likable record. Next time I would nudge the guitar just a little higher in the mix.

Belmont Beach Weirdos Beach Hard With… LP

Here’s a game: look at the band name. Now look at the album title. Now look at the cover art. You have two guesses to tell me what this record sounds like. If you said Gen-X DICK DALE worship mixed with BOBBY “BORIS” PICKETT and a much more grounded MAN… OR ASTROMAN?, then you never needed a second guess at all.

City Slang CS1 demo cassette

Recording project from East Dallas, Texas. On this recording, one person handles all the instrumentation and programs the drum machine, while the other is on vocal duty. Uptempo repetitive riffs with gritty, gravelly, gruff vocals. The songs are catchy enough, everything is played well, and the recording is done very professionally. “For the Boys” feels like the latest installment of a modern band trying to write an Oi! classic. Seven songs in total, six originals and a COCKSPARRER cover which doesn’t feel particularly necessary, more like padding to make the release just a little longer. The best song, in my opinion, is the rock’n’roll-inspired “OKMF,” purely for the piano part. I think this recording project has turned into a full live band since the release of this cassette.

Cross Human Spirit 12″

A collision between the bleakness of DIE KREUZEN, the paranoia of DEEP WOUND, and the crushing intensity of HERESY. There’s a metallic edge, but the foundation is pure hardcore anxiety. Fast, dark, and completely unforgiving, Human Spirit sounds like a nervous system overloaded by a world built on lies, isolation, and collapse. Lurching between chaotic violence and cold precision, CROSS perfected a fast hardcore sound, while the vocals cut through like a transmission from someone trapped inside the machine. The artwork carries that same hostile energy: stark and stripped of anything decorative, like a warning label. No positive vibes, no fake redemption arc, only survival instinct turned into sound. Human Spirit is hardcore as a pressure valve.

Double Bubble DCxPC Live & Dead, Vol. 8: Redemption LP

I’ve been impressed with the quality of the live recordings in the DCxPC series, and this is no exception. This all-female four-piece is right up my alley. Mid-tempo and super catchy pop and punk music is kinda my thing. And no song over four minutes, though one does approach that. Five of the thirteen cuts are studio tracks, with some duplication with the live tracks. Nicely done. The last song, “Don’t Talk to Me,” is a standout for me.

Driák Klid Před Bouří CD

Dang, duder! Czechia has been putting out some wonderful and interesting sing-along punk rock lately. These eight tunes sit solidly in the mid-tempo punk vein, lending the CD to a perfectly consistent fist-in-the-air, head-bobbing energy. The gruff vocals work very well, but it’s the accordion that really elevates this entire album. From start to finish, Klid Před Bouří is a great listen. Go grab one, please.

Eclectic Blend Live at My Apartment cassette

A debut cassette release out of Rochester, NY. ECLECTIC BLEND is the side project of Jake Razor from LEAKING HEAD, with Jake sharing writing duties, playing guitar, and handling all vocals. Those who go back a little farther with that group of punks might also remember Jake as the vocalist of the criminally underrated western New York crossover band DEATH CAMP.  A first release can really set the tone for what a band hopes to accomplish. With this debut being a live cassette, complete with fake crowd sounds between tracks, one might assume this is a novelty throwaway. Well, one would be wrong. The songwriting here is undeniable, with songs like “Anything But Human” sounding like a long-lost punk classic, now unearthed for the first time. To be this intrigued by a band based solely on a live cassette debut release seems a little crazy, but I am dying to hear the studio demo that has allegedly been in the works for years. In modern punk, there is a current trend of bands glomming onto the Oi! tagline and aesthetic, even when a band’s music sounds nothing like classic bands of that genre. With vocals as gruff as Jake’s, ECLECTIC BLEND could easily lean into that, but they don’t. Jake and company simply make the kind of punk they want to make, without attaching an easy and trendy label to their band.

Faucheuse Comme Un Poignard LP

FAUCHEUSE out of Bordeaux, France plays killer street punk, and on their latest release Comme Un Poignard, they rip through ten tracks without mercy. Wild guitar leads and full-tilt rhythms create the instrumental environment for howling French vocals. Rock’n’roll, D-beat, and classic French punk sounds collide in perfectly controlled chaos, indicating the adept musicianship FAUCHEUSE draws upon. If you like high-octane punk rock that packs each track with complexities, then you’ve got to check out FAUCHEUSE.

Garbanzo Garbanzo cassette

After a handful of cassette EPs and a split tape, GARBANZO delivers their first full-length recording. Fifteen tracks of drum-machine-driven, dingy, garage-y egg-punk from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. A solo recording project that has been turning some heads for a few years now, GARBANZO has always left the listener wanting more. Now we have fourteen original tracks as well as a GEE TEE cover to digest in a single sitting. If you like warbly guitars playing repetitive, flanged-out riffs with snotty, juvenile lyrics lackadaisically droned on top, then you’re going to love this. I know I do.

Dave Masud Three Quarter Life Crisis CD

Three Quarter Life Crisis is a fine-to-good CD done entirely by DAVE MASUD. I see where DAVE is trying to go with this, but I feel like a full band, or at least calling in some pals to help develop the songwriting, might have made these songs stronger. There are ten fine songs that seem a bit uninspired. The lyrical topics fall across the board from basic life contemplation and how you fit in given that everything dies, to battling family dynamics and self-imposed cultural divisions. I have absolutely no doubt that DAVE MASUD has a lot to say and should be heard, but I do think he should grab a bunch of pals and front a band himself and maybe his songs would feel more organic.

Morde Morde 12″

Damn, this is an epic one, or rather an epic ride through time, back to the ’00s when skinny black jeans were a compulsory item to get into gigs. MORDE is a new band from Czechia formed by members of BAESTIEN, a rather well-respected neo-crusty post-hardcore act. However, where BAESTIEN relied on atmospheric parts to create their soundscapes, MORDE gets straight to the point with a heavy Scandi D-beat crust basis without giving up on the epic, and sometimes overwhelming, melodic leads. So yeah, basically metallic neo-crust. Fans of ACURSED, the DAGDA, EKKAIA, or early FALL OF EFRAFA will rejoice, and so will lovers of early WOLFBRIGADE. There is no doubt that it is a well-executed effort with a dark and heavy sound and a Swedish-styled production (were it not for the Czech language, I would have thought that they were from Scandinavia), but I can’t really get into this one, as I usually don’t open the boxes MORDE are bent on ticking on this first LP. Just too much of an ’00s vibe, I guess?

Plot Food Chain LP

PLOT is a three-piece from Philadelphia that has been at this for a while now, and their new album leans into a dark, uneasy mood which should be familiar to fans of their previous releases. Jake Rhoda’s keyboards sit right up front, and his vocals come drenched in reverb, often to the point where the words are hard to make out. On the peppier songs, the bass and drums do a lot of the work, pushing everything forward with a low, dirty churn. You can hear the music reflecting influences from industrial to post-punk to noise rock, and few tracks even edge toward dance punk, though they never fully cross over into something you’d call fun. I could see PLOT sharing a bill with USA NAILS or early POP. 1280. For me it works best on the noisier, rockier songs, and “The Convenience of Meat” is the high point, a dark, grinding standout. They also stretch out in places: “Infiltrator/Party World” is a slower, layered, six-minute drone that could be an ordeal for some, or a good track to zone out to during a study session. I found my attention wandering during a few of the less aggressive stretches, but when PLOT leans into the grit, it really connects.

Spy Two Things at Once CD

Two doses of SPY for the price of one, Two Things at Once includes both of SPY’s first and arguably strongest releases, Service Weapon and Habitual Offender. For those who don’t know, SPY formed in 2020 and they play pretty straightforward and nasty hardcore, in line with bands like GAG, GULCH, BIB, etc. I love their earlier sound; the dirty, punky, mid-tempo churn of these songs really packs a punch that their debut LP didn’t fully deliver on. I’m no hater, but this material scratches an itch the later stuff doesn’t.

The Strange Chords The Strange Demo cassette

Oh, they’re introducing some “mood” very early on here. And then it develops into a super twangy western thing, like it could be a Clint Eastwood spaghetti western soundtrack, only on acid. Don’t let the cassette format kid you, this is some serious shit. The first couple of songs almost sound like they’ll be instrumentals, but then the vocals kick in. Great job setting a kind of eerie mood. Garage and mood and punk? Yeah, bring it.

Subtle Turnhips Septentinoriel LP

First record in seven years from France’s SUBTLE TURNHIPS—they’ve actually been at it since 1992(!), with the project going fairly quiet until a string of records in the mid-’00s to early ’10s that crested the wave of what could probably best be described as Terminal Boredom-core. Much like fellow lifers TYVEK, SUBTLE TURNHIPS reconstituted their art-punk garage/art-garage punk from the most primitive and trebly Messthetics entries, a FALL/Mark E. Smith-informed approach to both repetition and agitation, and shambling DIY (UK or otherwise) pop amateurism, and it’s thankfully still just as much of a gleefully chaotic jumble now as it ever was. “Laughing (Total Control)” détournés everyone’s favorite post-millennial Aussie post-punks and completely reflects the concept of laughing at the system in the process (if the system is tuning, timing, and the incorporation of more than three chords), “Tweedle Dum” and “Easy” scratch and collapse in an especially SWELL MAPS-damaged sort of way, and “Hitch Hike” (not a KLEENEX cover, as much as I would love to hear that) punctuates its stripped-down quasi-jangle with skronky meltdown noise blasts as if the TELEVISION PERSONALITIES had been more concerned with where Jad Fair lives. Fifteen fabulously fractured freak dispatches, total top-shelf shit.

Thirsty Giants Escape the Junkyard LP

Three power chords, fast drums, palm-mutes, and snotty vocals. Honestly, it’s amateur hour here, but I would have loved this shit at twelve years old. Fuck the haters. These dudes keep ripping and keep putting out records, and that’s what it’s all about. The vocals have improved and are much more prominent in the mix than on their previous efforts. My favorite part of the record is the phlegm-producing sound at the end of the second track, “This Thing Called Junk.” It’s snotty and confrontational and the exact kind of shit you throw in your Walkman while trying to ollie that three-stair over at the local middle school.

Worst Worry Piece of My Art / Nice Gone 7″

Sparse solo downer punk from Lisa Lynn Wallace, formerly of nouvelle vague garage gang BLACK TIME (where she went by the nom de punk Janie Too Bad) and the noisy/bratty post-Slampt duo SEXAPHONE. Neither of these two songs are worlds away from the less raucous side of BLACK TIME—the Janie-sung “I’m Gonna Haunt You When I’m Gone” from 2008’s Double Negative LP is a solid point of departure; the overall vibe here is definitely more BLACK TAMBOURINE than Black Monk Time. Wallace’s sung/spoken delivery lands somewhat out of phase with the drum machine drone, tambourine rattle, and minimal slashes of post-punk guitar in “Piece of My Art,” not unlike a disoriented and even drowsier version of the twee-psych beat of early SLUMBER PARTY, as “Nice Gone” juxtaposes Wallace’s way-up-front, double-tracked, and increasingly tension-edged vocals against comparatively charged guitar strum and off-kilter cymbal crashes, bringing to mind some hypothetical band that would have played with MECCA NORMAL at a bookstore circa 1992 (not a diss).

Zanjeer Seher-e-Maqhoor سحرِ مقھور LP

Since their inception, the now-Berlin-based ZANJEER has proven themselves to be a band uniquely gifted at capturing the raw anger and frustration of the moment with both a powerful message and powerful sound. On their latest LP, they reach new heights of intensity, taking musical cues from legacy bands like RAW POWER and RATOS DE PORÃO and speaking on the ongoing genocide in Palestine, religious extremism, and exploitation happening the world over. Across its ten tracks, Seher-e-Maqhoor سحرِ مقھور (Dawn of the Oppressed) is well-produced and has a big sound, with heavy riffs and pounding drums accompanying lyrics sung in Urdu, a lingua franca that bridges the gap between Pakistan and India and their respective diaspora. A totally essential and powerful record that shows solidarity in its righteous indignation. Recommended.

168 By Myself & Damaged Again cassette

168 is a solo project out of Houston, Texas, with Ryan Preble-Gaitz handling absolutely every aspect: writing, performing, recording, mixing, and mastering. That’s an incredibly impressive undertaking, especially considering the sheer scope of this release. This cassette clocks in at roughly 90 minutes long, consisting of two very long LP-length recordings, one on each side of the tape. It’s an enormous amount of music to throw at a listener, especially when it spends so much time hopping between genres. But before I start complaining, there is a lot here worth celebrating. The coolest thing about 168 is how genuine it feels. There isn’t an ounce of posturing here. It feels like someone making exactly the kind of music they want to make, simply because they love punk, not because they’re trying to impress anyone. When 168 sticks to its strengths, it is legitimately good. The ’80s USHC-worship is convincing without feeling like a carbon copy. The guitar tone on the instrumental surf tracks is perfect, making the songs feel pretty damn timeless. Even some of the novelty street punk songs, mostly centered around aging and laughing at yourself, are entertaining, funny, and surprisingly memorable. Across this tape, I counted fourteen songs that I would call anywhere from solid to genuinely great. Sounds like a glowing review, right? Well, there are 47 songs on this cassette. Yes, I understand it’s technically two full-length albums bundled together, but that doesn’t make it feel any less exhausting. Whatever happened to leaving people wanting more? Even if you think your songs are all incredible, do you really believe each of these albums needed to run more than twice the length of The Crew by 7 SECONDS? My biggest problem isn’t even with the runtime, it’s the constant detours. Pop punk, screamo, acoustic songs, mandolin-driven folk-punk, atmospheric noise, novelty sea shanties…it’s as if the project refused to leave a single musical impulse unexplored. The frustrating part is that the great material is buried under so much of the merely okay and outright forgettable. When all is said and done, 168 is an impressive project whose output is mostly simply not for me. The high points are high enough that I’m probably going to make myself a new tape with just the songs I enjoyed and see how they flow on their own.

Altar of Eden The Grotto Screams II LP

In 2020, ALTAR OF EDEN (assembled from members of …AND YOU WILL KNOW US BY THE TRAIL OF DEAD, NOSFERATU, CREAMERS, and more) released The Grotto Screams full-length. Returning in 2026 with The Grotto Screams II, ALTAR OF EDEN has once again created a deathrock soundscape that heralds the apocalyptic descent of our world. Ten songs full of thick bass, screaming jangles of guitar work, and jazzy but primal drumming that support a lyrical delivery that is spot-on for Rozz Williams. In all, The Grotto Screams II is a creeping, dark journey that occasionally lets ALTAR OF EDEN loose to create immersive, danceable, macabre rock. Absolutely check this out if you’re into CHRISTIAN DEATH.

Billy Batts & the Made Men DCxPC Presents Live, Vol. 41 LP

Here we have Atlanta’s BILLY BATS & THE MADE MEN ripping through 21 tracks of scrappy dual-vocal punk reminiscent of GUTTERMOUTH or even the QUEERS, but not as good. The double vocals keep things interesting; without them, I’m not sure I would have gotten as far as I did. You get what you expect with songs like “Long John Silver’s Feud in Augusta,” “My Job Sucks,” and covers of BLACK FLAG, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, and…BILLY IDOL. Their drummer Nub Nub rips behind the kit and helps keep it all together, but it does nothing to minimize the juvenile nature of some of the songs. At the end of the day, it’s refreshing to see a young band touring their asses off and giving it their all. While the music isn’t my favorite flavor, you can hear that these dudes rip live and are absolutely doing their part to keep punk young. The more of these DCxPC records that I hear, the more I love them.

Cánidos Dis-cografía (2017–2025) LP

Although this Tijuana-based three-piece has apparently been going for eight years, I had never heard of CÁNIDOS prior to this review, which is a bit of a shame since the band evolved in the dense, busy, brutal D-beat crust galaxy, a place inhabited by studded punks with a questionable sense of hygiene who I feel close to. This record is a discography—or rather Dis-cografía—with twenty songs, so it might be a bit much to take in one sitting (not for me though, I am no poseur). The remastered version of “Canis Latrans” opening the LP stands as especially convincing. Stylistically, CÁNIDOS knows what they are doing and displays solid dispositions for the genre. I am reminded of bands like CONSUME, local crust mafia heroes COACCION, or indeed COP ON FIRE, who they wisely choose to cover. I like the expressive gruff vocals and the galloping D-beat crust style they go for, with that typical cymbal play that gets the fist pumping. I have no idea whether or not these perros were involved in other bands before, but I’d love to know. It’s a yes for me.

Clayface Nichts Ist In Ordnung LP

Nürnberg’s CLAYFACE cranks out thirteen tunes of politically-wired hardcore punk as their second release. These songs hit with the urgency of classic German punk while keeping one foot planted in modern crust-leaning punk. The lyrics tear into militarism, reactionary politics, social media brain-rot, and middle-class complacency without sounding like a lecture. As for the music, they keep everything moving with sharp riffs and just enough rock’n’roll swagger to appease non-hardcore listeners. Furious punk that sounds like it actually has something to say.

Dead Finks New Plastik Abyss cassette

Let’s get this out of the way. “Anodyne” is the best song of the year so far, and I don’t think it’s particularly close. That track is the reason this review is like a month late; I simply could not get past it. The student loans of amazing post-punk. There is tension, there is release, there is a catchy-as-hell chorus and urgent guitars. With that being just the second track, it was almost impossible for the rest of the album to live up to what came before it. But that said, the rest of the album is indeed great. The energy and desperation in the vocal performances are consistently brilliant, the guitars continue to feel urgent, and the battle between tension and release rolls along from track to track. A behemoth of a record that may peak early, but I think you need the last seven tracks just to come down from the heights you reach early on anyway.

Faulty Cognitions Demo 12″

Although they’re from San Antonio TX, FAULTY COGNITIONS have a ’90s(-ish) NorCal pop punk sound and a today(-ish) SoCal pop punk sound blended together—I guess into a Central Texas pop punk sound. Look, I dunno. At its core, this re-released demo tape, now on vinyl, has some memorable, humble, simple, “best pals hanging out in a basement” pop-punk-influenced songs. Undeniably catchy while both silly and heartfelt. And my golly if the final track, “Let the Kids Have the Scene,” doesn’t just hit me between the eyes. This 12” has sensation laced throughout the lyrics, quilting a perfect feeling that isn’t sorrowful or cathartic; maybe wisdom is the word I’m looking for. I could also be full of shit and it’s just a good record. You be the judge.

Gutbugs S/T cassette

Four-song debut cassette from this kooky egg-punk project out of Toulouse, France. The tracks are surprisingly long given the usual frantic, short attention span nature of the genre GUTBUGS has chosen, with each song averaging almost three-and-a-half minutes. Quirky, spastic, sound-effect-heavy songs all with driving drum machine beats, short halted barked vocals, and more warbles than a broken Speak & Spell. I make a point to only write reviews from listening to physical cassettes, which feels important to me. You get to experience the release as it was meant to be, analyzing the cover art, inspecting the lyrics when included (none here), and taking in the release as a complete package. With GUTBUGS, however, I had to review the songs through their Bandcamp page because the tape I received is completely blank on both sides. Limited to 25 copies; I have no idea how many of them actually contain the recording.

It’s a Setup Bleeding Out at Recess EP

Spokane, Washington’s IT’S A SETUP played their first show in 2024, which makes the confidence on this EP genuinely impressive. Eight chaotic hardcore songs in ten minutes, screamo vocals pitched high enough to read as almost androgynous, and a low end heavy enough that the speed never comes at the expense of the weight. They’ve got both, and they swing between the two with the kind of powerviolence tempo shifts that keep you off balance. You can hear a little IN/HUMANITY in the DNA, that same fast and furious streak, but IT’S A SETUP keeps things blunt and right in your face. It’s not the heaviest record ever made, or the fastest, or the screamiest, but it sits in a really good spot that’s fucking infectious, and the production is dialed in exactly right for these songs. The politics are just as sharp: fuck the NRA, fuck the arms trade, fuck religion in government, fuck the tough-guy posturing, fuck the elites, and fuck the borders that trick people into forgetting we’re all the same tribe. These kids have their heads screwed on straight, and it gives me some hope for the future.

Les Feüílles Mörtes Las Ruinas de Bizancio LP

Spain’s LES FEÜÍLLES MÖRTES deliver some darkwave and post-punk-infused electro-punk that gets your body moving. With its mood swings between gloomy to energetic, it’s not hard to find something you like. I personally wasn’t really moved by it, but I’m sure more devoted fans of the genre would appreciate it more than I did.

Magic of the Marketplace The Spectators are Leaving CD

This has to be the worst album cover I have seen all year. My god, what were they thinking? It truly baffled me when I started the record, and I was greeted with some throaty gravel vocals and melodic pop punk. “When the Story Ends” sounds like a more safe and polished LARS FREDERIKSEN AND THE BASTARDS B-side. You could also make comparisons to LEATHERFACE or even OFF WITH THEIR HEADS, although they don’t quite have the songwriting chops of the latter. If you’re a fan of any of those bands, you will feel right at home with this. I kind of hate it, but can’t deny there’s a fanbase out there aching for this kind of shit.

Meanwhile A Conflict of Memory EP

A Conflict of Memory is proof that D-beat doesn’t need to be reinvented. After eighteen long years, MEANWHILE rips into classic D-takt with enough power to remind you why the style refuses to die. Four tracks of DISCHARGE-worship done right: chainsaw distortion, killer D-beats, and bleak melodies that owe as much to the masters of dD-beat as they do to the band’s own decades-long legacy. The black-and-white cover is stark and symbolic, with its fractured imagery echoing the title’s meditation on memory, conflict, and historical amnesia. Uncompromising hardcore delivered by lifers who still sound like they’re playing because the world keeps giving them reasons to. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

One Reason to Rise Lost & Found CD

Calling Bogota, Colombia their home, ONE REASON TO RISE combines early the ’90s Fat Wreck sound with melody and a relentless guitar-and-drums aural assault. Lost & Found delivers personal lyrics while maintaining a sense of humor and humility. There are enough slower songs and hints of hardcore, ska, and rock riffs to make this a fully-realized, fist-in-the-air punk rock album.

Problem Green Sorry I Don’t Matter cassette

This is an interesting one. The music is sort of poppy punk and the female vocals are soft-ish and kind of pretty, but the lyrics are intense and focused on isolation and not belonging. Here and there, you get teased with the Australian accent. Sometimes mid-tempo and sometimes slowed down a bit, it’s always catchy. I like it when punk gets back to its roots of anger.

Seven Crowns Haunted Head LP

Holy cow, this rules. Stick with me here, because this doesn’t make much sense on paper, but SEVEN CROWNS somehow combine the grooviness of Dio-led BLACK SABBATH, the energy of THURDAY/Black Sails-era AFI, and the absolute musical chaos of MR. BUNGLE, melded into one big ball of timeless, melodic hardcore porridge. The musicianship is great, but the vocalist stands out among the rest due to their versatility, range, and (please pardon the cliché) pure attitude. The moment the singer kicked into gear during their first track (“Haunted Head”), I came to attention and stopped everything else I was doing and just listened. A perfect way to interrupt your day—listen to it now! Make sure you check this out on Bandcamp, as there’s a special bonus remix of their song “Side Effects” with an intro that sounds like it came straight from Pure Moods Vol. 2!

Shop Talk Shop Talk LP

After a handful of short-form releases, New York’s SHOP TALK finally delivers their first full-length, produced by James Mechan of the SLEEVEENS. The three-piece gallops through ten songs in twenty-six-and-a-half minutes, led by Jonathan Garcia’s psychobilly-inflected guitar playing and his singing that lands somewhere between Jello Biafra’s nasal sneer and Leonard Graves Phillips of the DICKIES, and I mean that as real praise. But under the snottiness, there’s a genuine power pop instinct, the kind those Denton bands have, driven at a punk rock pace. The record manages to sound old and new at once, aware of its history without being ruled by it, and it’s really fucking good. My favorite moments are where they loosen their grip, like the tail end of track eight, “Golden Afternoon,” where things come apart in the best way. Definitely worth your stinkin’ time.

Tank Division Chewin’ Ice EP

This EP Austin’s TANK DIVISION features four re-recorded demo tracks and four new songs of ugly, dour hardcore that is fairly manic and hectic. Listing bands like Rollins-era BLACK FLAG and OUT COLD and shouting out CHEETAH CHROME MOTHERFUCKERS and GORDON SOLIE MOTHERFUCKERS (in the same song) gives you an idea of where their heads are at. On paper, this sounds like something I’d really dig, but it just didn’t do much for me. I’ve given it a couple of spins, and maybe it’s the ranting vocals or the unusual song structures, but overall, this one’s a pass.

Twisted Teens Florida Water Blues LP

Folks fucking love this band. Read anything about the New Orleans duo, and you’ll find them held up next to all sorts of giants: GREG CARTWRIGHT, BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, the GUN CLUB. YellowGreenRed even asks you to imagine them as GEORGE THOROGOOD under the influence of SWELL MAPS and NEU! They’re simultaneously reviving and reinventing down-home garage rock! And I sort of get the hype. There is something undeniable in the timbre of singer Caspian Hollywell’s voice and the soul he’s able to effortlessly impart to these compositions, and Razor Ramone’s woozy pedal steel really helps tie together the dusty scene they are painting. The pair also cut quite the dashing figure on the covers of their records, each of which sticks to a simple but striking aesthetic. Dudes have nailed their branding! And when I disengage with all of this and the music on Florida Water Blues just enough—like softening my focus to let a Magic Eye poster reveal the image of hobo carrying a bindle—I can sort of buy in, maybe even think something like, “huh, neat!” The second I give it any thought, though, that illusion of depth is shattered, and the branding is kind of all that’s left. Personally, I find the whole train-hopping, Southern-fried yarn-spinner schtick corny as hell. I’ve always felt similarly about SPRINGSTEEN, so I get that comparison. But as much as I dislike his music, the Boss can write the hell out of song. With Florida Water Blues, I don’t so much have a problem with the tunes, but these lyrics—holy shit! They range from a smattering of hacky tropes (swamps, old highways, cans of beans), to PARQUET COURTS-style tedious cleverness (“Concealed Weepin’” can fuck right off!), to outright crimes against language (“I know you’re wetter than a drowning fish / So I’m coming right over just to eat your dish”). And while I can hear the comparison points mentioned above (except for NEU! and SWELL MAPS…seriously, what!?), I was also reminded of a bevy of much lamer bands: SOCIAL DISTORTION, FLAMING LIPS, BECK, or WEEN. I even caught a whiff of SUBLIME on the album opener! Which is not to say they’re trying to sound like these bands or even that it’s bad to. Look, I know I’m going against the tide on this one. But my honest opinion is that this shit is a mix of just fine and decidedly not for me…and also that some of y’all need to calm down.

Adult Learners Nothing to Do EP

Wow. This is off to a great start. Female-fronted pop music with some (a lot) of organ/keyboards and a ton of energy. Five cuts, they all rock, and not a single one of them is over two minutes long. Now you’re speaking my language. Super catchy and just fun to listen to. The vocals are both pretty and interesting. While this is poppy and pretty, make no mistake, this is not sticky sweet; it’s got some guts.

Bödel Dödsbringaren LP

When you have a visibly decaying (very) grim reaper on the cover of an album by a Swedish punk band, you can bet your one good kidney that they are going to unleash dark and heavy galloping hardcore for the masses. Well, your kidney is safe, because BÖDEL plays straightforward, beefy käng with enough shades of D-beat speed to keep things interesting for twenty minutes. It sounds how it is meant to: relentless, punishing, and energetic. Let’s not D-beat around the bush here, because BÖDEL does not endeavour to innovate and modify a formula that has been working since a bunch of scruffy kids came up with the systematization of a very specific beat in Stoke-on-Trent in 1980. Know who I mean? In the grand spectrum of the D-takt, I would place these Göteborg punks somewhere around early VICTIMS, WARVICTIMS, or GEFYR for a modern reference, with a great, heavier production highlighting the unstoppable vibe of the music. A couple of moments of the LP suggest a fondness for the more epic, moodier side of WOLFBRIGADE, which I do not disapprove of. Very classic and predictable but in a good way, and the fantastic female vocals, angry and manic on the verge of explosion, do take the band to the Premier League of käng hardcore in my opinion. A very enjoyable album that undeniably stands as one of this year’s strongest instances of this peculiar subgenre.

Calamity Calamity LP

This Hamiliton, Ontario four-piece dropped this LP earlier this year, and it’s full of power pop-ish rock’n’roll. It’s ten tracks, and most of them blend together. I could chop it up to the production and use the song “Stone Cold” for example. It’s got a riff, it’s got a chorus, and both blend into each other without any real dynamics. It never really hits, and had me ready to hit the ol’ skip button. I think with some better production or dynamics, this would come across a little more rocking. They mention a heavy Flying Nun influence, but aside from a couple of moments that I had to really look for, I don’t hear it. It’s a shame, because if that influence would have been front and center, I may have enjoyed this a lot more.

Dryacid / The Slads split EP

Alright! Here’s a killer split that pairs up two bands that know what the fuck they’re doing and don’t muck about getting to the point. Split releases almost always beg comparison, but that’s no issue with these two burgeoning titans of Oi! Both sides will surely leave deep boot prints on your ass. DRYACID may just be Japan’s answer to the TEMPLARS, blasting out two tunes that feel like instant classics. Crack a cold one and flip the wax for two more cuts of rock’n’roll-tinged street anthems from the SLADS. Tuneful, with the perfect balance of grit and gravel, these earworms will burrow deep. Pure punk; a total package front to back and side to side.

Ekibyo The Final Goodbye EP

Although “ekibyo” is the Japanese word for “pestilence,” this band lives far from Osaka—Tampa, Florida, a place with significantly more shorts than crust pants. The Final Goodbye is the band’s third (and hopelessly not final) recording, and they haven’t changed in terms of influences, nodding lovingly to the distorted, crusty hardcore sound from Japan. This is a rather lo-fi affair, and I can appreciate that they don’t try to go for the total blown-out crasher crust and are probably closer to a spontaneous and energetic blend of LEBENDEN TOTEN and UNARM, and I can’t help thinking of ANTIPRODUCT, too (possibly because of the shouted vocals). At times, I don’t totally understand what they are going for and it can get a little messy, but I certainly like the raw DIY spirit of the band (shoutout for the sloppy cut’n’paste cover that I absolutely love), and would grab the EP if I came across it.

False Front Valley Stomp EP

Seven minutes of pure floor-stomping hardcore. McAllen, Texas’s FALSE FRONT play stripped-down skinhead hardcore with one boot planted on WARZONE, NEGATIVE APPROACH, and the TEMPLARS, and another boot on newer bands like LIBERTY & JUSTICE (with whom they collaborate on track three), with additional blastbeats à la early AGNOSTIC FRONT and DEAD KENNEDYS surf riffs here and there. Each breakdown catches you off guard, as FALSE FRONT manages to make things groovier and more aggressive with each twist and turn. Lyrically, it’s all about protecting hardcore from tourists, poseurs, and fake scene politics, and these boot boys ain’t playing around, so they just might revoke your hardcore card.

Girth Control What Got You Stoked in the First Place 10″

I had no idea what to expect from a band calling themselves GIRTH CONTROL, with sleeve art of an over-served radical octopus, and songs like “Girthquake” and “Alright Mom.” To be honest, I had given up on ska punk for the last thirty or so years, until two friends added weight to what I thought was a dead sound. The first was a woman named Sally who lives in Kalamazoo MI. After she explained very plainly and unapologetically the nuances and positive psychological effects that ska punk can have on a person living in the gray, cloudy, Midwest, I was open to giving it another shot. The second was when Aaron P, one of my favorite drummers I’ve had the pleasure of playing with, told me that he’d been doubling his duties in TWO MAN ADVANTAGE and a new ska band he’d been playing with. I mean, if Aaron and Sally are giving it a shot, then who am I to pick something up and put it down in front of progress? I mean ska-gress. However, with no expectations, What Got You Stoked in the First Place has somehow landed exactly where it has to be, where there is no other place it could be. GIRTH CONTROL is exactly the right part of the fun, partying, honest good time, sip-swiggin’ ska punk band they need to be. I love the group vocals, mirroring all the best Rad Girlfriend bands, and the choruses have tunneled into mine brains to now live forever. I think it is important that the one thing that Sally, Aaron, and GIRTH CONTROL proved to me is that although ska punk songs can sound happy, silly, bouncy and so on, they can be much more than that with a reflective sadness, community, and authenticity blended in. Pick this 10” up and put it down on your turntable.

Jazz …Der Irrtum Hat Mal Wieder Gewonn! LP

I’ll hold your hand while I’m telling you this, but this JAZZ record? Well, it ain’t no jazz record. Bummer? No. Not really. It’s still an amazing record. The energy is unmatchable, and there is so much fun to be had in all of the thirteen post-post-punk bangers it offers. Expressive vocals, earworm bass lines, sharp guitars, clever drums, and creative synth parts just add up to something so unique, refreshing, and weird in a very endearing way. I absolutely adore everything about this record.

King Flamingo / The Thingz split EP

The THINGZ from Long Beach take the A-side with “Heavy Metal Back Pocket,” a lo-fi stomp run almost entirely on organ and bass, and the lyrics really capture a moment in four lines: “AC/DC concert shirt / Sit cross-legged in the dirt / You are mine eternally / Outside of society.” That’s the sound of being a kid next to your crush, and I was really touched by it. “Gastropod of Doom” follows as the theme song to a slug invasion, with vocals that reminded me of the B-52’S. KING FLAMINGO, a California duo who describe their music as “astro surf” or “goo wop,” take a more laid-back approach on the flipide: “Astro-Blast-Off/Re-Entry” lays spoken vocals and organ over twangy reverb, and “Moonbeam Beach” drops the tension for something prettier, a half-sung memory of a night on the sand. They’re going for atmosphere, where the THINGZ are going for a house party. It’s a good pairing, though I kept flipping back to the THINGZ side.

Life’s Torment / Merked Regurgitated Misinformation / Life Wants You Dead split EP

LIFE’S TORMENT is out of Las Vegas, and their dual-vocal delivery reminds me of CIRCLE TAKES THE SQUARE, but way more punk (is that possible?). MERKED out of San Jose is a three-piece that plays hardcore that drifts from what sounds like COMBAT WOUNDED VETERAN to beatdown to youth crew in a single volley. If this split had arrived in the early ’00s, there’s no doubt in my mind this would have been a top listen. Yeah, it’s a chaotic trip, and yes it’s noisy, it’s these qualities that make it fun.

Miscomings / Sea Moss Big Tube Scene split CD

Portland, Oregon duo SEA MOSS starts this split off with pure sorcery of gnarly synths and electronics layered on top of masterful drumming that conjures rhythmic seizures. Even though it’s stripped down in its instrumentation, it’s by no means a type of music you could call minimalistic. It’s very “extra” in every way that actually counts, and scratches a part of my brain that not much else can reach—that explains why I fell in love with this split in the first ten seconds. And when we switch over to the MISCOMINGS side, we are greeted with more of a conventional band setup of guitars, drums, bass and vocals…but of course, the music is anything but conventional. It’s extremely chaotic, unbelievably fun, and reminiscent of some of my all-time favorite bands PRE and LOCUST. From eerie and deranged melodic parts to noisy, grinding sections, MISCOMINGS deliver all that you could ever need from a noise rock band. I know I wouldn’t be able to do it justice if I were to dissect their sound further, so I’ll just say that it’s some of the best music I’ve heard in a while. On top of both bands giving this split their absolute best individually, the two amazing and aptly-titled collaborative tracks, “Seacomings” and “MissMoss,” perfectly summarize the whole split. Even though SEA MOSS and MISCOMINGS don’t sound that much alike, they’re spiritually the best pair possible and the chemistry between them is priceless. All in all, Big Tube Scene is undoubtedly a ten out of ten in my book, and I’m ready to die on this hill.

Muscle Romantic Living cassette

Birthing a strange breed of avant-garde hardcore, MUSCLE is an innovative trio out of Baltimore. Their simultaneously sleek and meaty racket originates solely from a drummer, bassist, and vocalist who conspire to create a strikingly cohesive sound. This physical-release-only live tape lets you hear it in all of its raw glory across thirteen songs. Due in part to the sparse instrumentation, their style is hard to pin down, and when they refer to themselves as “the ABBA of no wave,” the description seems surprisingly plausible. It’s artistic passion pinned to embryonic grooves as if guitars were obsolete.

Private Hell To Dust You Shall Return EP

Big, chugging riffs abound on PRIVATE HELL’s latest EP To Dust You Shall Return, a tasty four-track metallic hardcore/crossover EP. Bands like SEPULTURA and NAPALM DEATH are cited as influences, and while the depth of my knowledge in regard to this style is limited and a little basic, I think it’s fair to say they sound like POWER TRIP. Some blastbeats here, some great, groovy bass lines there, and loads of buzzsaw guitar work add up to a heavy eleven minutes. Recommended; check out the final track, “Charred Remains of a Dying Star.”

Rozpor Ilegálna Spravodlivosť LP

Originally a CD-R released in 2002. This is political punk/Oi!/hardcore from Bratislava, Slovakia, budding with exactly what you’d want from a band that’s been causing an aural commotion for over twenty years. I gotta admit that I have no idea what they are saying, so when I’m on a walk and singing along, I hope my echolalia is accurate enough that ROZPOR wouldn’t be embarrassed that I’m a fan, and not so inaccurate that a passerby that who speaks Slovak doesn’t think I’m singing something wildly off-base. I need to mention that within the weight of music and vocal tone, ROZPOR doesn’t miss an opportunity to randomly sneak in surprises that subtly underscore their sense of humor and humility. I was completely consumed by this LP, and I think you might be, too.