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!

(+39) 375-649-94-64 My Telephone Number Album #01 LP

The duo of Wilson and Dani bring their debut LP stateside by way of Feral Kid Records. Album #1 was released in their home country of Italy in 2024 on the heels of their Demo #1 cassette (all four songs of which appear on this debut). Their sound blends bedroom pop, on songs like“Goldfishes,” with oddball electronic/techno/hardcore breakdowns the band dubs “ROK”—perhaps most notably on the song “Spongebob ROK.” Wilson and Dani take turns signing, groaning, and delivering some fun-as-hell tunes throughout the whole album, though I think I still prefer the more typical song arrangements from the demo. That said, “Friends With Benefits” is my favorite of the new material, with a guitar that oscillates between picked-apart chords and palm-muted fifths, and more melancholic feel than the rest of the offerings. Great track. Between the mouthful and strange concept of a name (has anybody called??), and that ROK sound, this one will keep you guessing, but never leave you disappointed. Excited to see what’s next from these two.

Amass / Cress What is the Government Scared Of? split LP

The DIY spirit of Grow Your Own Records must be commended. Loyal to the ethos and principles of the original anarcho-punk wave, the label has steadily put out records from old school anarcho bands, be they old-timers or newer acts. This new split LP is somewhat in between, since AMASS is a new act made up of old-timers and CRESS has become this seemingly indestructible, lovable band since the ’90s. In any case, I always have a lot of time for the label and usually enjoy its releases. AMASS is made up of current members of ALTERNATIVE and the SYSTEM, and ex-members of much noisier bands from Northern England like EMBITTERED or BOXED IN. The band plays fairly traditional fast UK punk with dual male/female vocals. From the four songs included, I love the more aggressive, darker ones more (what a surprise, right?)—reminiscent of AUS-ROTTEN or a metal-free ANTI-SYSTEM or ANTISECT, but the clarity of the vocals gives more of a rather welcome punk rock feel, if you know what I mean (like CIVILISED SOCIETY?, maybe). The main criticism is that the production is clean, too much so for my taste anyway, and a more abrasive sound would have been more fitting for the genre. Great lyrics about consumerism and the class war. On the other side are five songs of the mighty CRESS, also hailing “from up north,” and showing for years that using a drum machine for your punk band could actually sound great and that drummers are a liability. CRESS is one-of-a-kind; the riffs are simple but very catchy and dynamic, they are one of the few bands that can have me dance (and when you know how much of a shit dancer I am, it’s not necessarily for the best). Clever, psychedelic, energetic (and yet hypnotic and dark at times) tribal anarcho-punk somewhere between CRASS and their followers SMARTPILS or CROW PEOPLE, but they have really created their own sound and they are a genuinely unique band so comparisons are really unnecessary. All in all, a good record with a relevant message. Old punks never die, indeed.

Bolt Swallower 26 Spring Tour Promo cassette

Obsessed with the production of this tape. Lo-fi and blown-out, it has that garbage noisecore element that was huge in the mid-2000s when everyone was still recording their albums straight to cassette through a single pen microphone and immediately uploading it to MySpace. I mean that as a compliment! I hope the tour went well. Tennessee Cold Cuts is an eclectic label and has been dropping some of the best releases over these last couple of years. Give this a play, and then dive into the rest of their discography.

Crying Form Cause in a Much Damaged Society cassette

Ripping hardcore punk from Athens, Georgia. Fast and no-frills, just the way it should be, CRYING FORM sounds like they’ve got some FIX and KORO in their DNA, and remind me a little of CHAIN WHIP as well as fellow Georgians CONSEC. Highly recommended, and looking forward to whatever these guys do next.

Diet Tea Other Cola Murder Pop Ringtone Emporium cassette

Every month when I get my cassettes to review, I scan the covers for something recognizable, either a band I already know or a release on one of a few labels that always puts out solid stuff. I then save those for the end of my review pile, as I often need a bit of a palate-cleanser after listening to some of the not-so-great releases coming out. XTRO has been one of those standout labels for me for a while now, always and consistently cranking out fun, synth-heavy egg-punk. Well, unfortunately they have really let me down with this one. What in the hell am I listening to? This has got to be the most confusing, nonsensical, unlistenable garbage I have ever had the displeasure of sitting through. I feel utterly betrayed. A lazier reviewer would have turned it off after the first godforsaken track, but this glutton for punishment is pushing through trying to find even a single positive thing to say about this horrible fever dream of a cassette. Twenty-six tracks. Over an hour long. Overstimulating hyperpop vomit spewing like a firehose strapped to my skull. A soundtrack seemingly written to accompany some modern, unfunny meme that I also don’t understand. Look, I get it, I’m in my forties, I’m sure this review will have me labeled as some old punk who “doesn’t get it,” but holy hell, the replay value of this is completely non-existent. I am halfway through and have begun fantasizing about self-immolation to escape the obligation of flipping the cassette. The hands of time are cruel. Oh analog gods, I implore you, feed your hunger, take a little nibble, eat this cassette mid-play and free me, free me from this auditory hellscape! I have always believed that there is beauty in simplicity when it comes to music. Well, this surely isn’t beautiful. Words cannot express how much I truly and utterly disliked listening to this cassette. Apparently this recording was released digitally in 2020, and XTRO just reissued it on cassette. Normally the label makes only 25 copies of their releases, but they did twice their normal run for this. All 50 have already sold out. Well, I’ve got a copy here if some moron who hates music wants it, otherwise it’s getting placed under one of my kitchen table legs to even out the wobble, or dubbed over. Horrid. Just horrid.

Earthfucker Why Should You Survive? cassette

I have to admit that I am not well-versed in the Oklahoma punk scene (and even this would already be an understatement). This recording is the first from this young punk band, but you wouldn’t know it listening to these seven songs, as the music is focused, well-written, with many changes of pace and vibe requiring solid musicianship, and overall, it just sounds really good. Impressive indeed. Oddly, EARTHFUCKER (admittedly a bit of a mouthful for a name) sounds a lot like a ’90s band with their raging blend of sludge, crust punk, and destructive hardcore punk. I would bet that bands like HIS HERO IS GONE, BORN AGAINST, or DAMAD get some airplay at their headquarters. The production has an organic sensibility and retains a dirty feel that perfectly matches the intensity of songs that, in spite of tackling different subgenres, remain somewhat cohesive. Had you told me that it was an unreleased recording from 1997, I would have believed you (but hey, I am pretty gullible). The tone of the tape is desperate, too—you can tell that EARTHFUCKER is to be taken seriously, and while I cannot say that I regularly listen to this sort of band, Why Should You Survive? was certainly a pleasant ride.

Fashion Bathers From the High Desert cassette

Social media is trying to turn the world into a lifeless monoculture. AI slop and LLMs are trying to do the same to the written word. But it’s not all doom and gloom, because this FASHION BATHERS cassette exists. This is genuinely one of the most refreshing things I’ve heard in forever. If TONY MOLINA moved to Australia and got lost in the eggy scene out there, I suppose the outcome might be similar to From the High Desert. But these 30-second-long earworms hail not from down under, but from the mighty north in Manitoba. Only two of the eighteen tracks here even crack the one-minute mark, with almost half of them not even hitting thirty seconds. And while on paper that sounds like something that might not pull me in, in practice it destroyed my brain. Also, as these tracks come and go so quickly, I didn’t even realize until I finished the entire tape that it was the same nine songs done two different ways to make up the full tracklist—because it felt so fresh, I almost missed the repetition completely. Hell, make it 36 tracks next time.

Gunner Reality Soldier EP

Totally violent hardcore from Perth, featuring members of the now defunct SEMTEX 87. Reality Soldier sounds absolutely brutal, each track a blown-out burst cranked all the way up. The guitars are a fuzzy wall of noise, the vocals bark along foaming at the mouth, and the drumming is particularly gnarly, recklessly pounding away with plenty of machine gun fills peppered in throughout. GUNNER has some great song titles too, paying homage to Abel Ferrera’s infamous sleaze-fest with “The Bad Lieutenant,” as well as the brilliantly lifted “Here Comes the Warm Jets,” a song that is definitely not a cover of BRIAN ENO. Excellent and mean, for fans of Youth Attack Records.

Helga Pataki Helga Pataki cassette

Another killer entry into Hey Fuck You’s catalog. Hardcore punk with a powerviolence twist; MAN IS THE BASTARD dueling vocals, sub-30-second tracks, samples that are longer than the actual songs, and tongues firmly placed in cheek. If you love Slap-a-Ham, then you’ll be quite pleased with this one. These folks are going to need to do a split album with Chicago’s STINKY PETERSON.

Indikator B II EP

INDIKATOR B out of Croatia has returned with a fresh EP that was released just before their East Coast to Midwest tour. The four-track 7″ is straightforward punk in the INDIKATOR B style of earnest presentation that cites 1980s Valley punk, but with lyrics in the band’s native language. If you dig AGENT ORANGE or early T.S.O.L., then you should absolutely give this EP a spin.

Los Fiascos Pick It Up 10″

I’m reading that this is a one-man band. If you are a fan of the more milquetoast bands on Epitaph or Fat Wreck Chords, then you will dig this. I feel like maybe with a little more input from other musicians, it would move out of the guardrails and challenge the style a bit. The songs are good and the playing is competent, lots of hooks, fine drumming, regular lyrics for the genre, but he doesn’t sound completely committed to what he’s singing about. I really appreciate the effort, and I respect anyone that is willing to put something out there. However, this is just not doing it for me. Maybe putting together a band and playing live four or forty times would extract a bit more life from these songs.

Massmedia Sista Ackordet LP reissue

I feel like I’m ill-equipped to review (or even give proper context to) such a classic recording, but the sounds are in the speakers and there’s a keyboard at my fingers, so here we go. MASSMEDIA were teenagers from Sundsvall, Sweden in the late ’70s, and they self-released a couple of stellar 45s before Siste Ackordet in 1980—hard-hitting, high-energy, hopelessly catchy punk with layers of backing vocals that seem to work only because there was no one telling them that they couldn’t put backing vocals absolutely everywhere. “Mörkret” is a dark ballad worth its weight in gold, landing somewhere between MISSION OF BURMA and early LIPS, followed by “Dirt Problem” which lays the foundation for members’ future work in early Swedish hardcore bands HUVUDVÄTT and HEADCLEANERS. Again, these were teenagers, and the songs are straight classics. Sista Askordet should be in print at all times—this is what starter punk should be.

Poison Suckers Charmer EP

Wow. If you like your garage music with dueling male/female vocals, you’ve come to the right place. If you also like it fuzzed-out as shit, this is for you. If you wouldn’t mind a hint of glam thrown in there, then this is going to be 100% right up your alley. All of that is delivered in a super-catchy and melodic fashion. There’s a whimsicalness throughout, but they are very serious about what they’re doing. These Canadians deliver with this one.

Sealer Sealer LP

Cincinnati’s SEALER seals the deal with their debut self-titled LP. I could tell that I was in trouble from the first couple seconds of the album, and I was correct to assume so: this thing hits all the sweet spots for me. From gnarly riffs to eerie textures, noise rock to post-hardcore, in-your-face to slow-burn…it covers a lot of ground in just nineteen minutes. It’s the kind of music that leaves your neck muscles sore and gives you a permanent stank face. I’ll be on the lookout for whatever comes next from SEALER. Highly recommended.

Siphon Stark Raving Mad EP

A shock to the system from this brand new Richmond hardcore unit featuring members of several other raging bands like SUFFOCATING MADNESS and FUTURE TERROR. Sound-wise, there is a lot that this band owes to D-beat with the obvious blueprint of hardcore masters DISCHARGE, but it’s transformed into something more claustrophobic and unhinged, with some hints of classic Japanese punk and Scandinavian Jawbreak(er)-ing. The songs twist and burn out fast, leaving behind this lingering sense of unease. This is well captured by the amazing cover etched by Joe B., one of the best in the game. Before you know it, it’s over, so hold on tight and enjoy every second of it. Though the release is very short, it leaves a strong impression and is impossible to ignore.

The Spackles Music for Blockheads CD

I have no doubt in my mind that the SPACKLES put on a very raucous and unpredictable show, filled with friends and lovers dancing around the room and singing along. These songs would fit very well on a Very Small Records comp, chugging gallons of Olympia beer. All of this is to say that these songs are earworm catchy in a lo-fi, quirky way, and balance on the line of annoying and wonderful. All three tracks together clock in at six-and-a-half minutes, so there isn’t even enough time to wonder if you like it or not until you have to play it again and then again and then again, and now the tunes are stuck with you and there is no going back.

T-Red Partie 1984–1985 LP

Active in Balen, Belgium from 1981–1985, Paul Dierckx, Frank Geys, Rudi Maes, and Walter Seigers made up T-RED, who may have only been known to those they toured in front of—until now. In 2024, the band recovered the recordings from their 1984 four-song promo cassette Partie, and remastered them for this release, with the subsequent eight tracks on this album coming from a 1985 demo. After 40 years on the shelf, T-RED’s version of post-punk/new wave feels bright and new and dark and moody and familiar. It feels exactly like it is: listening for the first time to a band contemporary to a scene whose catalogue of music you thought you’d exhausted. What else is out there lying in wait? This stands right up there with SAD LOVERS & GIANTS (who Dark Entries revived), or some of East Germany’s resurfaced bands from the Tapetopia project. While the first four tracks from the promo are definitely more polished, these songs don’t have the soaring production value/wall-of-sound that more major acts of the era showcased, but the pared-down, lo-fi plodding is irrevocably part of this band’s charm. For fans of all things ’80s post punk/icy new wave, I highly recommend this one for your collection.

Viletones Screaming Fist EP reissue

Known for unpredictable onstage violence and nihilistic theatrics, it’s clear that the early inception of the VILETONES aimed to give audiences an experience to remember. So, it’s fitting that their debut record is led by such an unforgettable scorcher. A faithful recreation of the original, this Artifix Records edition is its first official reissue. Released in 1977 on the band’s own Vile Records label, the Screaming Fist EP is a cherished relic of first-wave fury and a staple in serious collections. Behind the killer Mick Rock photo cover, it sounds like it looks, and the A-side is an elite punk anthem. It doesn’t even matter what the other songs are, really. With iconic simplicity, the title cuts like a knife every time. Frontman Steven Leckie was one of the original punk agitators, relentlessly promoting the band and stirring up trouble everywhere he went. The legend of his antics often overshadows the music, but “Screamin Fist” still manages to shine through brightly.

Witch Piss Hot Bog cassette

California’s WITCH PISS truly stunned me with this one. It’s beautifully deranged in the most tasteful way possible. Unhinged vocals on top of sick bass lines, serrated guitar riffs, occasional ear-candy synth parts, and full-throttle drums make for an album that I’m super impressed by and honestly, kind of jealous of. Covering one of the best CURE tracks ever might have had a slight impact on my judgement, but oh well…this thing undeniably rules, and so does its artwork.

Young and Doomed Horror at Its Very Finest cassette

Heavy alt with ultra-powerful and theatrical femme vocals that absolutely steal the show. Perhaps not of interest to readers with DISCLOSE records on their shelves, but there are punks who got in via EVANESCENCE and haven’t made their way to GITS and SPITBOY…yet. I’ll take “Predator” any fukkn day, punk—the shit hits hard.

Ancient Lights Reclamation LP

Reclamation by ANCIENT LIGHTS has been cycling the underground for a few months now, and if you haven’t imbibed yet, let this review be your ultimatum to get your ass in gear. ANCIENT LIGHTS play peace punk in the tradition of the MOB or ZOUNDS, while keeping things fresh by exploring new rhythms and sounds. Aggro social discourse is balanced with moments of melodic play, the production is dense, and the whole album has the vibe of an epic tome when consumed in full. Sporadically, there are riffs that remind me of the BUZZCOCKS, while intermittent tongue-in-cheek lyrics recall PROPAGANDHI circa How to Clean Everything. Frankly, there are far too many references cited in Reclamation to cover here, and you should just go check it out yourself.

Blood Trace Retaliation EP

Although they play old school, American-style hardcore punk, BLOOD TRACE is indeed from Athens, Greece. I confess I was previously unaware of the band, but they do quite well what they intend to do. I do enjoy the POISON IDEA vibe that some songs have here, but unfortunately I cannot say that I really dig this record. This production is fine and energetic, the songwriting does the job with stomping, mid-paced numbers answering beefy, fast ones, and the vocals are the strongest point, rough-hewn but dynamic and expressive. I am sure they can be very enjoyable live, but at the end of the day, it’s just not my style of hardcore punk. Sorry, guys.

Brat Farrar Group LP

This one was a little different than I expected. It sounds like DINOSAUR JR. or the REPLACEMENTS, but if they started five years earlier and were new wave bands. BRAT FARRAR is Sam Agostino, previously the frontperson for DIGGER AND THE PUSSY CATS, backed by a band featuring members of the BLOWERS and BROWN SPIRITS. Collectively, there is a lot of ground covered by all the musicians and there’s some cool songwriting going on, but I found the record to be mediocre at best. They are a good band, tight as hell, but none of the songs really stuck out to me aside from the first couple of tracks. The opener “Tower of Lies” has a killer driving rhythm and hook, and “More Money Meathead” is a true bonehead song, just dumb fun. I would have liked this more if it were an EP.

Cut-Rate Druggist Blistering LP

This two-piece from Oakland, CA comes out swinging like a three-piece (or even a four-or-more-piece). Rock’n’roll punk delivered with a smoldering attitude and swagger. However, under these driving tunes, the lyrics and sound have a dark and heavy quality like some of those AmRep bands from the ’90s. I’ve come to expect a level of intensity of live performances from the DCxPC label, so reviewing a studio LP had me a little cautious—the label has been great at capturing the inertia of a band’s live recordings, and I was wondering if they’d be able to meet that same standard. I can tell you that they completely nailed it, and if it weren’t for a couple studio tricks, I would have thought that this was live-to-tape and then to press. CUT-RATE DRUGGIST is a great starting-off point to build confidence for future DCxPC studio projects coming our way.

Downside Cruelhead/Something’s Off LP

A solid hardcore band thrives on urgency and attitude, and this one delivers both without overcomplicating things. DOWNSIDE plays frantic hardcore punk, raw in nature and with a very growly voice, making the whole thing sound much more aggressive. In 2019, the L.A. band showed us Something’s Off, and in 2026 they are back with a new record—Cruelhead on Side A, plus the old one on Side B. Some songs are in English, some songs are in Spanish, but all of them have the same anger directed at the world. They channel hardcore effectively into short, punchy tracks that leave a lasting impact.

Error de Paralaje Imagen Latente LP

This Granadan trio casually swung in at the tail end of 2025 and dropped off one of the year’s best records. Maybe too casually. Unlike other recent bands who you could similarly describe as jangly or power pop-y, they haven’t been buried under mountains of praise. I’m not sure if that’s due to a lack of exposure, or the fact that they can’t obviously be lumped in with the current jangle/power pop revival. In any event, they are a band you should be paying attention to. ERROR DE PARALAJE isn’t simply reheating BIG STAR or GUIDED BY VOICES; they’re taking a rich post-punk stock and clarifying it into a bright, delicate pop consommé. This 12”, the band’s second release since forming in the late 2010s, is a record dripping with a nostalgia not conveyed via obvious signifiers like a band donning period costumes, but via melodies that genuinely ache for a past that promised something other than the bleak reality we inhabit. The music walks such a fine line between sweet and melancholic, often sounding something like a stripped-back LOOK BLUE GO PURPLE mixed with BLONDE REDHEAD’s “Hated Because of Great Qualities.” Or a track like “Mi Mundo Gris” has you imagine a world where the  FEELIES were heavily inspired by ENNIO MORRICONE. It’s such a strange, beautiful record that I want more folks to love, so please check it out!

Flatwaves Tell Me Secrets LP

Oh, this is quite nice, no doubt about it. Has a modern MY BLOODY VALENTINE shoegaze-y vibe, but also incorporates a little bit of blackgaze—very atmospheric and vast, as if LITA FORD started singing with SWERVEDRIVER. This album is a master class in songwriting and production; you can really tell that a lot of care went into both facets of the recording process. Really fantastic work here, and well worth a couple dozen spins.

Guimauve Effondrement LP

There is a long-standing tradition in punk stating that some good bands willingly shoot themselves in the foot by picking too odd a name as a moniker. Time will tell if GUIMAUVE belongs to that heroic category—GUIMAUVE meaning “marshmallow” in French. This Parisian hardcore unit does not, however, indulge in sweet, lush punk music. Paris is hardly known for its scarcely populated hardcore scene, so bands like GUIMAUVE are always a breath of fresh air (in a manner of speaking). On a lot of levels, the band is of its day, as their hardcore punk sound borrows a number of different influences and uses diverse paces and atmospheres to get their political lyrics (in French) across. GUIMAUVE deals in mid-paced, dark hardcore as much as they can deliver the faster, wilder moments you’d expect from the genre. As a result, this first album does not feel redundant or repetitive, and even if they use effects on both the guitar and the vocals, they do not overwhelm the listener or try to hide simplistic compositions. The songs are usually well-thought-out, and I really enjoy mid-paced numbers like “L’apogée du Spectacle” or “On Aurait Pu.” The vocals are raucous and direct, but remain intelligible in spite of the rapid delivery. Old school ’80s US hardcore bands clearly got invites, but as mentioned, GUIMAUVE sounds more like a contemporary take on the old school rather than worshipping the old school, and I can see them appealing to fans of NEGAZIONE, POISON IDEA, or BAD BREEDING alike. Give this one a chance.

Isotope Soap The Rise of the Centaur LP

Since their inception, Stockholm’s ISOTOPE SOAP has been a gift that keeps giving. Even though there is a whole genre based around ripping off DEVO—which I myself am guilty of—ISOTOPE SOAP finds the best parts of what makes that sound great, and just takes it in another direction of their own. The Rise of the Centaur has subtle nods to a wide array of genres like darkwave, power pop, and weird punk. I believe what makes this record great is the combination of all these style cues. There are many directions you can go with hysterical vocals, super-tight drumming, pounding bass, tastefully written synth melodies and guitar riffs…yet ISOTOPE SOAP takes a road of their own between the lines. It’s a great record from start to finish and definitely one that you wouldn’t want to miss out on.

Kaukolė / Subscum split EP

KAUKOLÈ is from Lithuania and SUBSCUM is from Ukraine. Both play unflinching, old school grindcore that occasionally drifts into more metallic delivery, while still maintaining a punk bite. Warp speed riffs, blastbeats, and guttural vocals—no bullshit, no soundbites, no wasted time, just good, solid grind. KAUKOLÈ has a sound that is tight and definitely reminds me of Earache material from the late ’90s, while SUBSCUM is a bit more gritty and had me recalling BATHTUB SHITTER. Definitely a fun recording and worth checking out.

Listerine Listerine LP

Eleven tracks of skull-cracking hardcore punk from Paris with no frills, only the good stuff. LISTERINE takes the No Way Records catalogue (think GOVERNMENT WARNING) and adds a heaping scoop of Italian hardcore (think WRETCHED), ending up with something strikingly close to contemporaries GOLPE. If, like me, all of these names excite you, this will be right up your alley.

悶煮悶 Mengzhumeng Social Reintegration cassette

What a wild hog-ride of an introduction to this band! MENGZHUMENG is the solo bedroom recording project of WeiWei, based out of Chengdu, China. Originally released as a series of cassettes on YeYeYe Records, XTRO has since compiled the project’s first three demos into a single limited-run cassette. Each release—Social Reintegration Demo #1, Social Reintegration Demo #2, and Social Reintegration Demo #3—features six tracks (five originals and one cover). The covers might be the strangest part of this collection, leaning into weird novelty takes on each of them. It’s an eclectic mix including the STALIN, a modern Chinese bedroom pop outfit the COLUMBIAN COLA LTD (who incidentally have some absolutely beautifully-crafted pop songs), and 69, a late-’90s Chinese punk band. They’re handled with a tongue-in-cheek, slightly off-kilter approach that admittedly ends up feeling like a bit of a distraction from the originals, although perhaps that just highlights how strong those originals actually are. MENGZHUMENG delivers a set of irresistibly catchy tracks, a mixture of revved-up egg-punk and catchy lo-fi bedroom pop, all of which have a strong new wave undercurrent. Very cool collection released in such a limited number that getting a copy might be difficult, but thankfully it doesn’t seem like WeiWei has any shortage of songs coming our way.

Neon Belly Live at the Rusty Nail 7″

Pressed on a limited edition, single-sided lathe-cut 7”, this offering from Wilmington, NC’s NEON BELLY presents two tracks of gut-level hardcore punk with basement-level recording quality. Recorded live at the Rusty Nail, just like it says on the tin, this second release from the group brings 100% down-and-dirty ruckus, from the brooding “Down on Your Luck” to the chaotic “Last Song.” Not many of these were made, so if you have one, you’re special.

Oi!takus Two on One: Oi!takus EP and How to Date an Anime Girl cassette

A cassette compiling two EPs about anime, with songs having the sound structure of punk, Oi!, and hardcore. I have a tribute record to Sesame Street songs, so I’m down with silly stuff. However, I’m a bit outgunned here. The songs are fast punk/Oi!-core and probably right-on for what they are trying to do. Look, if you are into hardcore and punk and want possibly scathing hot takes on the world of punk and anime and how they crossover, then I’d say look no further. There are only a few of these tapes that exist, and after they are gone, you’ll have to wait until there are more.

Plastic Lung Demo 1 (Electric Therapy) CD

PLASTIC LUNG’s Electric Therapy is a four-track demo from this southern Italian three-piece that threads noisy post-punk with lyrics (in English) about surveillance capitalism, digital alienation, and self-destruction. The playing runs on tension: high-pitched, escalating guitar lines pulling against vocals that stay weirdly calm given the subject matter. The guitar solo about two minutes into “Surge of Destruction” goes completely sideways (in the best way), and the saxophone on “Deckard’s Way” isn’t just a JOHN ZORN panic squeal, it’s woven into the song like it belongs there. The recording sounds solid for a demo, the musicianship is there, and while the vocals don’t always match the intensity of everything happening around them, they don’t sink it, either. Four songs, and enough good ideas to make me curious about what comes next.

Retain Mind Street Box Fighting cassette

Four tracks of sloppy, dingy, lo-fi punk that lean somewhat toward the garage side of things. This is the second cassette release by RETAIN MIND, a three-piece project from Poland. Vocal duties are shared between the guitarist and bassist. There are times that this almost has an early MEAT PUPPETS feel to it. While there are moments where it seems like the band is about to go off the rails and completely fall apart, it’s still a pretty solid cassette, even if the songs are somewhat forgettable. The tape itself doesn’t list a title, however the band and label both universally refer to it as Street Box Fighting. That name appears on the tape only as the title of the fourth and final track.

Shelter Cat Visual Distress Signals for Recreational Boaters LP

Hyper-scruffy punk rock from PA. Melodic but not too melodic, with cowpunk-ish moments, not really tied to a particular beat and open to explore. There is some clear JAWBREAKER love here (the vocal line for one of the songs might sound very, very familiar) and it’ll remind you of early Lookout! Records catalog, but to me that’s a feature, not a bug. The mix puts the rhythm section up front which makes for some pleasantly complex moments, particularly from the hell of a bass player they have here. Vocals have a very effective sardonic detachment with a tinge of melancholy that makes all the elements come together really, really well. I’m quite impressed with this record.

Soft Circuit Night Fruit CD

Post-punk with an emphasis on punk. I loved the dual vocals and some funky slap bass with a dribbling of synth here and there. The songs were overall quite catchy, with my favorite track being “Washed Out,” which felt super ’80s and overall very full and immersive.

Straggler Without a Country EP

Powerviolence-flavored hardcore with all the bells and whistles from Oakland. Without a Country‘s runtime is only four minutes, but it feels significantly longer thanks to the sheer density of these songs. Each sub-two-minute track is crammed with bouncy riffs, vocals that oscillate from low growl to high shriek, blastbeats, and quickly shifting tempos. Not entirely in my wheelhouse, but good shit. For fans of GULCH.

Taste Testors Taste Testors LP

Bubblegum punk with a hint of pub rock. Has a classic ELVIS COSTELLO vibe, but of course brings to mind the RAMONES. Reminds me a bit of radio darlings the OUTFIELD, except more lo-fi. Poppy guitars and catchy-yet-haunting vocals. Nothing groundbreaking, but this is some solid punk rock here. Perfect for a drunken summer beach day.

Voluntary Redundancy Voluntary Redundancy cassette

Absolutely wild UK anarcho fastcore, irreverent to a glorious fault. This is the kind of punk you can only make if you know better and you don’t give a shit, and “not giving a shit” energy is exactly the kind of energy I want in my punk. Political in the most specific and no-bullshit manner imaginable, raucous, bass-heavy hardcore rumbles with barked, uncompromising missives that will make you smile knowingly and question your own damn self. To call this “refreshing” would be a criminal understatement—punk needs VOLUNTARY REDUNDANCY more than VOLUNTARY REDUNDANCY needs punk.

V/A Sniffing Glue UK Punk: 1979–1982 LP

Arriving starkly with a cut-and-paste sleeve and plain white labels, this Sniffing Glue compilation is as deliciously unofficial as it gets, opening an illicit portal to some excellent unsung first-wave action. Regardless of your punk snob pedigree, there’s a heavy chance you haven’t heard most of this stuff yet. Opening up with a dopey little sing-along and clumsily bouncing bass line, the title track performed by ANTI STATE CONTROL quickly shifts into some of the snappiest UK82 this side of the PARTISANS. The band’s spirited sound continues across two more tracks, kicking this collection off on a high note. Next up is VERTICAL STROKERS, a Bishop’s Stortford unit that once shared stages with the EPILEPTICS. These scrappy lads serve up a lighthearted and poppy number in “Saturday Girls” that’s followed by the darker “Holidays,” whose piercing urgency comes from the inclusion of a shrieking violin. From the same scene, URBAN DECAY provides two four-chord stompers, each thick with roughshod DIY charm. Their slow-burning “Sex Assault” ends the A-side in a smoky haze. EASY ACTION starts the flipside sounding like a cross between MICK FARREN & THE DEVIANTS and the DRONES. Their catchy “Burning a Hole” is easily the closest thing to a Top 40 hit that you’ll find on this record. Up next is the GROOVE, whose “I Want to Be a Pygmy” has a distinct early BUZZCOCKS vibe, while “I’m in Love” echoes Leamington Spa’s cheeky SHAPES. Finally, we have the SODS from Essex (not to be confused with the better-known, Danish SODS), who, like many acts of the era, brought a bit of pub rock influence to the party. Their organ-driven bop comes off like a lo-fi STRANGLERS mixed with the RADIATORS FROM SPACE. In the end, this unexpected round-up scrapes the edges of the punk history barrel to pull out some surprisingly satisfying B-list material. Now run along and track your copy down.

24/24 / Strage Di Stato split EP

Quick, no-bullshit hit of raw D-beat straight from the DIY gutter on this total ripper split from 24/24 and STRAGE DI STATO. Tracks are over before you catch your breath, blasting by in under a minute each with nothing but stripped-down rage. 24/24 from Brno play super fast crust, beginning the chaos with an unrelenting assault of blown-out distortion, tight riffing, and drums that keep a steady path of destruction. STRAGE DI STATO, blistering punks from Kisújszállás, answer back with the same fast-paced ugly attack, almost sounding like a grindcore band without blastbeats and full of dissonance. No reinvention here, just pure execution. Loud, short, and savage. Exactly how it should be.

Apéro Cold Drinks, Cool Snacks cassette

Contrary to what you’d imagine given the band’s name, it’s straight to the main course as soon as you push play on this debut APÉRO cassette. Thumping, revved-up drum machine beats paired with tasty synth lines that seem to perfectly emulate the NACHTHEXEN tone push this kooky German/French egg-punk band forward. To look at the song titles, you may be a little confused if it’s just going to be total nonsense time or a tribute record to the strangest amalgamation of things, but the jokes seem to stop with the song titles. This is eleven songs of non-stop, synth-heavy, head-bopping mayhem with no shortage of catchy riffs. The tape culminates with an absolutely killer cover of “Safe Neighborhood (Shit on the Ground)” by MADONNA with her early group the BREAKFAST CLUB. I have always wanted to cover that song, but never followed through on it. Congrats, APÉRO, you win this round. If you’ve been paying attention to cassette releases over the past handful of years you certainly must recognize the label XTRO for their continually consistent scrambled output. Easily one of the big names to be mentioned when discussing modern synth and egg-punk releases, and APÉRO fits in nicely with the label’s output. As always though, wildly limited release numbers—only 25 of these exist, and I’ve already got one of them. Get on it if you want one.

Betrayer Betrayer cassette

Straight-up POISON IDEA worship from, you guessed it, Portland.  I mean, really, it is uncanny how much this sounds like them, down to the Jerry A vocal stylings. I don’t hate it, the tunes themselves are good, but you wouldn’t be wrong for calling this derivative.

Bludgeoned Pigs Live at the Smilin’ Buddha, 1980 EP

BLUDGEONED PIGS were a blink-and-gone Vancouver band from the late ’70s/early ’80s who never managed to put out a proper record during their brief run. This six-track EP, rescued by Supreme Echo from a 1980 set at the legendary Smilin’ Buddha Cabaret, is probably the closest we’ll get. And look, the sound is rough. The performance is sloppy. The singer is picking fights with the audience like it’s his actual job. The audio drops out entirely more than once, possibly because someone unplugged a microphone. But the SEX PISTOLS were clearly this band’s north star, and fidelity was never the point. For anyone who was in that room, or in any room with BLUDGEONED PIGS during their short window, this is probably a priceless piece of their youth. For the rest of us, it’s a short scrappy document of a band that existed mostly in the memories of the people who were there.

Catastrophe Cries From the Gutter LP

London-based champions of anarcho hardcore CATASTROPHE have returned with a full-length, and you’re going to want to check it out. Nine blistering tracks of rage-filled dissent rip by in short order and will demand a replay. Inspiration seems to be drawn from CONCRETE SOX, DISCHARGE, and the body of crust, which gives CATASTROPHE a vast catalog of noises to use as fodder. As the album title implies, much of the lyrical content surrounds the theme of poverty and the turmoils caused by capitalism.

The Dumpies Lub Dub LP

I would put this somewhere between BLATZ and the FLESHIES, but with a finer ear for melody. Surprisingly catchy punk more on the lo-fi end of the spectrum, with a bass-forward mix that keeps the songs from sounding thin. As the record unfolded, it made me think of  CRIMPSHRINE, maybe more in feel than in sound. Punk rock/queer lyrics, focused and interesting songwriting, and shit that will make you sing along and circle-pit in your heart. Standout tracks “Work Song” and “Life in Hell” will be staying with me for a long, long time. This one’s a banger, strongly recommended.

Durs Coeurs Crise Cardiaque LP

DURS COEURS have booted down a door (and perhaps a wall) to fuse proto-metal, post-punk, and street rock. Melodic without being overtly pop-influenced, gritty and tough yet not impenetrable. The instrumentation across these eight cuts is impressively tasteful. They keep things wound tight and in the pocket when it counts, and sprinkle in the right amount of flourish when called for. As the opening track foreshadows, there’s a surfy twang splashed across the album that adds a buoyancy that lifts DURS COEURS to level beyond many of their peers. Fans of CAMERA SILENS in particular will want to take note.

Greg Wheeler and the Poly Mall Cops Slimephone Surveilance LP

With their goofy name and Rod Farva-esque drummer, GREG WHEELER AND THE POLY MALL COPS could easily have been another wacky garage knockoff. Instead, these innovative Iowans use the chicanery as a fun front for their layered and entertaining music, and this second LP demonstrates a smooth evolution to their subtly surfy sci-fi sound. It’s got a winning combination of classic candy riffs, buzzing energy, and infectious melody, but there’s also a tinge of chill early 2010s style like JACUZZI BOYS and WAVVES, which is another agreeable flavor. By the time we reach the closing “Your Quiet Charm,” the tide has turned entirely, leaving us with a sickly-sweet synth/acoustic indie ballad as a final surprise.