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!
Seven-track debut from straightedge outfit BLOQUE, whose traditional take on the style doesn’t lead to too many surprises outside of the occasional dive-bomb guitar. I expected it to be a little more thrash-y after the intro, but it’s pretty straightforward. Breakdowns and gang vocals abound, with clear influence from GORILLA BISCUITS and JUDGE. Catch them on tour with SHELTER this year.
Stripped-down and in your face Ohio peace punk from the mind of MARBLES drummer Mark Slak. ZERO BOYS vibes with tinges of CIRCLE ONE and other early West Coast acts with a modern interpretation that owes more to fellow Midwesterners CRACKS or California transplants NAKED AGGRESSION. …And Another War was released digitally early last year, but the “+” here is the rest of their discography dating back to the Roots of War EP in 2023. Twenty-three tracks in all—a soundtrack to an upfront anti-imperialist, anti-Trump, pro-liberation agenda.
Damn, that’s a fast recording. Six minutes, barely a cig break. The big “X” stuck between the two words making out the name of the band gives a relevant indication as to what this Greek band is all about: (very) fast, abrasive hardcore. We’re not far from classic powerviolence country here with those heavy moshable breaks and a couple of blastbeats. I don’t listen to this style much, to be honest, but I can always enjoy it when it is done proper, and that’s definitely the case here. The female vocals sound really angry and the production is just right, not too heavy but still hitting hard the punk way. The lyrics are in Greek—that’s a strong plus—but the tape’s title is in English for some reason. How to Be Normal is apparently DEEP X CUT’s third EP, and the band is connected to a collective based in a squat in Ioannina, so you know where they stand politically. This would undoubtedly appeal a lot to fans of the genre.
DOM SENSITIVE, a new studio project from Adelaide musician Dom Trimboli of WIREHEADS, is a late-night, psych-heavy pastiche of synth swells, boom-bap drum machine patterns, and viiibes. “Digital Random Hat” opens the tape with a loping beat, accordion-aping synth, and laconic vocals that sound like KING KRULE reciting cough syrup poetry. This leads to a surprisingly earnest bar-room piano bridge complete with synthesized trumpet backing, like a bizarre BILLY JOEL D-side. Slow-moving, but oddly propulsive, the sound follows its own odd logic and tricked me into thinking, “Yeah, music sounds like this sometimes,” when it doesn’t. “The Second Day of Spring” is an eleven-minute journey of hip hop piano production with funky synth sax solo breaks that details an autobiographical tale of seeing a man about a horse. Or something. Picture the nerve of sending MRR an eleven-minute dad-psych jam! In this economy of short attention spans?! It’s actually quite listenable, and I can picture this record spinning on turntables in hip parties that I probably wouldn’t be invited to. “Weather Maps” takes a folky guitar trip reminiscent of BECK’s early K records days, and as a whole, the carefree and laid-back feel of the album is recommended to fans of slightly off-center indie like MAC DEMARCO.
Sixty-nine minutes of boring, country-esque guitar playing. Sixty-nine minutes of the most boring, off-kilter, pseudo-Americana bullshit. Sixty-nine minutes that I can never get back. The EDUCATED FOOLS are the RETAIL SIMPS, minus one member. They recorded this entire double LP live, and boy, does it show! It’s full of mistakes, background banter, and out-of-tune vocals. If that’s your thing, you might be into this, but you’d also have to dig subpar songwriting. Nothing about these songs is memorable except for how bad they are. Tantric decapitation sounds more fun than having to listen to this record again. Totally not punk.
According to the liner notes, these guys recorded this directly with no overdubs, and if that’s true, then they absolutely fucking nailed it. This is raw in the best way possible, extremely tight and polished for a demo that was done live in a living room. The music is a fun mixture of early ’90s noise rock like JESUS LIZARD/RED SWAN/DINOSAUR JR. and sinister-sounding West Coast hardcore akin to early DEAD KENNEDYS and T.S.O.L. The energy is palpable, and you can tell these folks are having a great time. I wish more modern punk sounded this way. No corny studio frills, just pure rock’n’roll. You gotta check this one out.
Ten new tracks of melodic hardcore from Chattanooga rockers GUMM. Convulse’s writeup for GUMM’s debut mentions inspiration from Revolution Summer material; that influence can be heard here as well. Equally as frustrated as it is hopeful, the words match the music, which are both at times catchy and upbeat as well as discordant and downtrodden. A nicely produced and thoughtful record that isn’t my usual thing, but one I enjoyed nevertheless.
HYPERSPACE’s Distant Signals LP is clean and well-produced pop punk. Bands that come to mind are early GREEN DAY, EGGHEAD, SICKO, the CONNIE DUNGS, and the like. There are plenty of songs on here about having crushes, pining away caused by an unrequited crush, a song or two about the motion picture Star Wars, a song about the motion picture franchise Terminator, being judged about not being punk enough, and plenty more topics where those came from. There are clever songs about Russian space history, goth inspiration for DC Comics, Area 51 lore, and so on. Distant Signals is a fun spin that was created for anyone that enjoys anything I’ve mentioned here.
This LOST LEGION / SYMPOS split keeps things simple, with each band tossing in two tracks and sticking firmly to what they do best. SYMPOS play straight-up, working-class street punk from Waterford, Ireland, pulling hard from UK ’77 without sounding like a tribute act. Their opener, “Welcome to Ballybricken,” is the high point on the record for me, ripping through two minutes of upbeat urgency that feels scrappy, direct, and genuinely fun. Chicago’s LOST LEGION, featuring Ian Wise of FUERZA BRUTA and Foreign Legion Records, counters with their brand of Oi! that leans heavier and more reflective. For me, “Stuck in One Place” lands hardest, a surprisingly catchy and (dare I say) danceable song with lyrics that wrestle with the feeling of being locked into a violent identity. No filler, no grand statements, just four solid tracks that balance energy, hooks, and hard-earned perspective.
MARAUDER’s Flaschentäger is an absolutely mesmerizing collection of ten short and straight-to-the-point post-punk jams. Though the term post-punk is very ambiguous and rarely gives any idea to what to expect, I’m happy to say that this album turned out to be the kind that perfectly fits into my personal idea of what the term implies: an immense and somewhat liminal vibe created by the perfect alignment of tastefully minimalistic elements. With its catchy hooks, beautifully layered guitars and bass, and lovely sparkles of synth lines, Flaschentäger is one of those albums that invoke “in-between” emotions and mental states that I haven’t found the right words for yet. Sure, you can dance to it. But it’s also good for laying in bed and watching the ceiling for a while. Can’t recommend this one enough.
N.E. VAINS make music that sounds like it should be playing on the car stereo of your dad’s old Buick as you drive around with your friends, drinking beers, and being degenerate little shitheads. At the core, it reminds me of ’90s budget rock bands like NEW BOMB TURKS, but with an undeniable HEARTBREAKERS influence to the guitar riffs and a dash of snotty punk energy thrown in for good measure. The record clocks in at seventeen minutes, and even with a couple of lulls, songs like “The Grounds,” “Running Down Pylons,” and “Pinched Nerve” make it worth picking up. Put it on the stereo next time you want to drive around lighting bags of shit on fire and smashing mailboxes!
There was a time in my twenties when it seemed like all I ever wanted to listen to was Amphetamine Reptile releases, and I’m so glad I’m not the only one. Hailing from Little Rock, Arkansas, POOL is keeping the sludgy noise rock dream alive and well, with high-register, snarling vocals up in the mix and riffs pouring out that harken back to when MELVINS still lifted from heavy metal or when NIRVANA still lifted from MELVINS. This is a confident-as-hell debut that is recorded damn near-perfectly. There’s a lot of room in the mix that everything rings clear even if there’s some mud on the band’s boots. Heavy, mean, timeless. When a band starts out this good, I can’t help but wait on pins for where they go from here.
Strong debut collection of down-tuned doom metal that is more about subterranean, ultra-distorted chugging and monumental chord changes than it is about riffs. Slow-moving and powerful, the band operates in a similar spirit as KOWLOON WALLED CITY or WINDHAND and captures an intense atmosphere of hopelessness and misanthropy with lyrics rife with corporeal imagery of poisons, bloody hands, drowning, etc. The opening crunch of tracks like “Stuck” and “The Taking” hits hard, and I can imagine seeing them performed live would be like a musical punch to the chest. Crushing and bleak.
From Boston with hate—they don’t bother polishing the edges, they chisel them into shards instead. At first listen, SCÜMBARI sounds like the CIRCLE JERKS playing DISCHARGE covers, but as the songs keep rolling, they deliver versatile songwriting encompassing various styles within a hardcore punk framework. The lyrics rage on about broken lives, city blight, unsteady nights, and the broken dreams of those locked in a system that never cared. What you get is scruffy honesty, hostility wrapped in distortion, and punk that remembers it came from the streets, not a studio.
Primitive, noisy hardcore punk operating on pure chaos. SLIT tears through these tracks with reckless speed and total disregard for clarity or comfort. Feedback-soaked riffs and feral vocals dominate, capturing a band at its most raw and unhinged.
Hardcore punk primitivo y ruidoso que funciona desde el caos absoluto. SLIT atraviesa los temas a toda velocidad, sin respeto por la claridad ni la comodidad. Riffs saturados y voces salvajes dominan todo.
UPSIDE DOWN MAN does not back away from melody and tight-as-hell articulated musicianship. It’s easy to make comparisons to PROPAGANDHI with their styled and personalized lyrics, but stopping there would also do a disservice to UPSIDE DOWN MAN. These six songs work to amplify a current disconnect we are all feeling with the world happening around us while trying to draw in that helpless feeling by moving toward action through that commonality, or they are about a harsh breakup, as they are all perfectly vague enough to be about whatever you want them to be about. I’m continually brought back to the razor-sharp production where you can hear every single note and drum hit perfectly while still maintaining the momentum of a bullet train. In the ’90s and ’00s, this would have been an easy fit on Fat Wreck Chords or Epitaph with the their three metrics hitting at one hundred percent: speed, clarity, and another one too, I was going somewhere with that but I got distracted by the song and started bobbing my head. If you like those things mentioned above, then you’ll like the link linked below.
Recorded on a TEAC-1200 dual cassette deck, Miami’s WACKY STAR gives us a lo-fi taste of Florida scuzz, brought to mind on “Away From” with the chant “Don’t you know that I’m just a piece of shit.” This has the feel of a solo project, but no names are credited on the demo, which is limited to twenty copies. While the punk world may be flooded with the sweeping moods of bedroom artists, it’s hard to not enjoy this type of homemade thing. I can see ballpoint-penned composition books, a dirt-encrusted keyboard, a corner with too many guitars backed into it, a pile of cassettes, cables like vines covering the floor…this may not be life-altering, but it sure feels good. Favorite track: “The Light.”
Five years after their debut album Aspirations, 1985’s sophomore full-length At Home With You showcased a new depth for the seminal Australian group X. The record mixes commercial sensibilities (the melodious, brass-laden part of “T.V. Glue” is easily imagined as the background for a television advertisement) with unabashed punk ethos that can most readily be detected in frontman Steve Lucas’s expressive, sore-throated vocals. The album features ambitious and artful musicianship, and even an atmospheric ballad in the smoky “Don’t Cry No Tears,” while the band’s pub-rockin’ roots are still on display in tracks like “Degenerate Boy” (a re-working of one of their earlier songs) and the bouncy “She’s Gone.” While it positions its maturity up front, spending a bit of time at home with this newly-reissued LP will assure you that you’re still tuned into the same delightfully abrasive outfit that produced the classic posthumously-released 1977 X-Spurts sessions.
YELLOW WALLPAPER out of Lexington, Kentucky released the Choose Death EP in the fall of last year. The four-song EP opens with the title track which is very reminiscent of CHRISITIAN DEATH. A more post-punk influence infests the remainder of the disc, with the song “Silly Goose” drawing upon a vague WIRE-like energy. The nearly eight-minute closer “Where the Water Meets the Sky” harnesses a danceable TALKING HEADS bass line to screeching guitar drifts and croony vocals singing lines about where a good place to die may be. Overall, Choose Death is worth the listen.
Despite some etymological digging the origin of their name, ZYCLONE remains shrouded in mystery to me. A reworking of the name “Zyklon B”? An easy way to end up close to ZYGOME and ZYGOTE on one’s record shelf? An inability to spell “cyclone” properly? Who knows. If the linguistics are foggy, the power of the band is not: ZYCLONE absolutely delivers. In fact, this might be one of the strongest käng-inspired EPs of 2025, although probably more by way of Japan (to be understood as aesthetics rather than geography) rather than a direct flight to Stockholm, as the distortion is higher than with your usual Scandicore act but still below the last floor of the fuzz building (a.k.a. Osaka). I love the sound of the drums here, and the overall drumming, in fact. A band like K.O.S. (or even FRAMTID) is definitely not miles away, but ZYCLONE has more ANTI CIMEX in their beefy recipe. The six minutes of music on this EP offer exactly what you expect from a good band of this genre—my one (very) minor criticism would be the use of the binary tupa-tupa beat in the song “Visions of Impeding Death,” because I don’t think it quite fits here. As I said, very minor. The members are apparently spread out in North America, but I’m told they are also involved in bands like PSYCH WAR, ELECTRIKA, and AUTOMATED EXECUTION. This EP was released on General Speech, an always reliable label when it comes to quality raw, noisy hardcore.
There are few things in life that get my blood pumping as thoroughly as NYC raw punk, and ARSON is a pacemaker set to overdrive. On their latest release Burning Future, their six tracks of noise-drenched crasher crust harkens to ANTI-CIMEX greased up with ZYANOSE. If you missed ARSON’s 2024 release Más Noise, or if your life hasn’t felt right since PERDITION broke up, then now would be a great time to check out ARSON.
It would be easy to talk about the saxophone, but listen to BETA VOIDS hard-charge through brilliantly crafted, hardcore-tinged, multi-vocal blasts of punk, and you almost forget that there’s this weird woodwind layer lurking in the shadows on every track…so instead of talking about the saxophone, I think it’s better to just acknowledge its existence and move on. The songs, though —the songs are straight killers. Timeless, high-energy cuts that owe a debt to early California hardcore while firmly maintaining their own unique and expressive character. And “character” is really the word I’ve been looking for while I listen to Scrape It Off (again)—that’s the thing BETA VOIDS have, and it’s the quality that you don’t realize you’re missing in your punk until you hear it. Apparently they do things different in coastal Oregon.
This is very unique and different—a combination of post-punk and Oi! (which becomes even more apparent when you reach the JOY DIVISION and BLITZ covers later on in the slab). This is a collection of several singles and EPs that BRUT released between 2023 and 2024. The guitarist is playing at such high octaves that I thought they were running a mandolin through a chorus pedal at first. Maybe they are, there are no liner notes included. It gives the tracks this real dreamy quality that pairs well with the treble-heavy bass and dark, barking vocals. Extremely catchy and well-constructed tunes here. A very impressive output for a single calendar year.
No New York might have signaled the beginning of the end of New York no wave in its labelling, defining, and constraining a scene that purposely took root as a negation of such things, but meanwhile, there was an entire parallel network of Japanese bands forming in the late ’70s and early ’80s who were directly inspired by the anarchic, brink-of-collapse art-spark that had made New York’s downtown sound so thrilling. CHANCE OPERATION was one of the very best to do it, not unlike a James Chance-less CONTORTIONS if you wanted to get simplistic—ultra-trebly (and frequently slide-manipulated) chicken-scratch guitar, loping mutant funk bass lines, minimalist, jazz-schooled drumming. This five-song 12” (one of three CHANCE OPERATION records recently reissued as part of Spittle’s Made in Japan side venture) was originally released in 1981, sounding for all intents and purposes like it came straight from the floor of the Mudd Club, from “Winecolor Sick” slinking and skronking beneath sparse, perfectly disinterested vocals from bassist Higo Hiroshi and guitarist Yoshiko Komiyama, to the fractured disco-not-disco danceability of “Image Dance,” to the cyclical bass rumble tussling with pinpoint guitar in “Din.” Do I even have to say that it rules? Seek out 1982’s Spare Beauty EP and 1985’s Place Kick LP while you’re at it, it’s easier to do so now than ever before!
Originally released in 1982 as DER MODERNE MAN’s second studio album, Tapete has reissued this along with the band’s first LP, 80 Tage Auf See, as well as some previously unreleased singles, EPs, and demos (on the Jugend Forscht 2xLP). Based in Hanover, Germany, DER MODERNE MAN found themselves at the forefront of the punk and new wave scenes coming out of the area, freely mixing genres and styles. The opener “Anakonda” starts with a moody feel, featuring a slinky bass line and some spooky vocals, only to move on to dub influences on songs like “Nur Die,” featuring some classic reggae synths, guitars, and saxophones. I also hear psych rock guitars on “Nicht Warten,” followed by a danceable, poppy electronic beat on “Gurus und Geheimagenten.” All to say, this album is full of texture, surprises, and is certainly worth your time.
One man’s anger is another man’s weapon. EXPUNGE and PANIC DEFENSE share members and even jam on each others’ songs. This collective decided to immortalize their love for the void with Tools to Kill Humans. It pounds on your eardrums with serrated riffs and punk ferocity coated with an oily layer of feedback. Each track is a wrecking ball of chaos that emulates the bleakness of a dystopian age. It’s primitive, it’s aggressive, it’s messy, and it’s grinding violence. For those who’ve already given up on fixing the system.
Raw and emotional punk that embraces imperfection as a weapon. FLORES Y FUEGO balance melody and abrasion, letting cracked vocals and rough edges carry the emotional weight. The songs feel intimate but still aggressive, with a DIY urgency that comes through loud and clear. The cassette format only sharpens that immediacy.
Punk crudo y emotivo que toma la imperfección como arma. Flores y Fuego equilibran melodía y aspereza, dejando que las voces quebradas y los bordes filosos carguen el peso emocional. Las canciones son íntimas pero agresivas, con una urgencia DIY muy marcada.
With the release of their second tape, Bassano del Grappa’s FOSGENE re-emerges as a dense and direct force of nuanced D-beat power. Although you can hear the menace of Italian champions like WRETCHED and IMPACT in their twisting riffs and charging hardcore, it’s black around the edges and tempered by crusty dystopian dirges, taking the sound to places the aforementioned bands only hinted at. With intelligent tackling of heavy political and social subjects in the lyrics, there’s a stream of anarcho energy to the carefully composed tracks as well, furthering their alluring complexity. It’s strong stuff, a dark stew that leaves you ready to explore these savage expanses further.
It’s been long enough since I last thought about this band that the word “goon” has taken on a cool new meaning. Just one more thing I gotta wrestle with as I give these dudes another go! Anyway, I’ve always liked the idea of GINO AND THE GOONS—a handful of Floridians approaching middle-age (probably full-blown at this point!), who seemingly didn’t have a history playing music, saying “fuck it” and forming a budget rock band at a time when most punks wanted nothing to do with that sound. Real laudable shit! Unfortunately, that admiration did little in the way of helping me enjoy their music. I never hated it or anything, but their songs just never did it for me. So, I went into this release, their sixth(!) LP, with pretty low expectations. Now, I’m not sure if it’s because my expectations were so low, because I’ve mellowed a little in the ten-ish years since I last listened to them, or because they’ve grown as songwriters—probably some combination of all three—but I kinda dug this. The nine tracks that make up the record mix RAMONES-y dum-dum punk, glam, and druggy garage punk (think fellow Sunshine Staters JACUZZI BOYS). Am I ready to erect a GOON cave for some prolonged GOON seshes? I am not. But this record was OK enough to get the job done.
Melodic and fuzzy power pop from Sacramento. Heavy, deep riffage that brings to mind DEATH FROM ABOVE 1979 and a slew of classic rock bands; kind of like a modern, punked-up version of FOGHAT. This is a pretty bluesy-sounding album, lyrically and musically, which is shockingly refreshing. Production sounds great and the band comes off huge for being just a trio. I won’t lie, this was an unexpected hit for me. I wasn’t sure what a band called MEGAPHONIES was going to sound like, and they completely blew me out of the water. You’re gonna wanna spin this one a couple times.
Lo-fi, pop-tinged garage punk from Missoula, Montana. The A-side “People Pleaser” sounds like Toody Cole fronting the VELVET UNDERGROUND or BEAT HAPPENING; sparse instrumentation with chilling vocals and a cool organ line throughout it. The B-side “Walls” was not as interesting. The vocals annoyed me so badly that I couldn’t finish the song, and I tried twice.
Nothing warms my cold Midwestern heart more than hearing good new punk music from Illinois, and Central Illinois no less. PHANTOM PIKE is a fresh outfit based in Springfield who take UK82/Oi!, add black metal vocals and some dramatic instrumentals, and dress it all up in chainmail. They call it “Skull Rock,” and you know what? It does fucking rock. Check this one out.
Hardcore punk bong attack! SCHENECTAVOIDZ have crashed back into the world with a release that feels like the spiritual (and extremely stoned) offspring of their old band DEVOID OF FAITH, but weirder and way more THC-soaked. Void Beyond the Pines sounds like what happens when punks take the same rage they had in the ’90s, lace it with paranoia, and hotbox it until their minds start to melt away. The dual-vocal assault hits you like a fistfight in a dirty basement stairwell, the guitars grind and wobble like someone recorded them inside a smoke-clouded garage, and the drums keep everything lurching forward, even when the whole thing feels like it might wander off to stare at tree branches for a minute. It’s still punk as hell, but with a baked edge that gives the whole release a disoriented charm. A perfect soundtrack for getting high and getting pissed-off at the same time.
Call ‘em “ZZ BOTTOM”—STIFF NIGHTS are some strangely-inspired dudes from Tennessee playing punky, glam-infused, stripped-down Southern rock jams. Rather than go for speed, they let the songs linger, with both sides of the 45 allowing enough time to slam one beer down and crack another. By the time the purple/pink vinyl stops spinning, you’ve got a decent buzz going and you’re headed to the saloon for an evening of debauchery. You might even wake up the next morning “coyote” style, as the old legend goes: head throbbing, spooning with a mystery monster, and faced with the unfortunate dilemma of having to chew your own arm off to escape undetected.
A crushing statement of militant hardcore punk rooted in confrontation and discipline. UNIDAD IDEOLÓGICA delivers rigid, marching riffs and commanding vocals that sound built for the street and the barricade. Lyrically and sonically uncompromising, the record channels organized anger rather than chaos, drawing power from clarity and ideological focus. Choque Asimétrico feels like a call to resist, positioning hardcore punk as a tool of conflict rather than escape. One of the most forceful and politically charged releases of the moment.
Una declaración aplastante de hardcore punk militante, basada en la confrontación y la disciplina. UNIDAD IDEOLÓGICA presentan riffs rígidos y marciales junto a voces autoritarias, pensadas para la calle y la barricada. Sin concesiones en lo lírico ni en lo sonoro, el disco canaliza bronca organizada en lugar de caos, apoyándose en la claridad y el enfoque ideológico. Choque Asimétrico funciona como un llamado a resistir.
Fuck me, although I feel like we’re barely in autumn, it is actually past Christmastime already, and for the consumerist nightmare it always entails, Santa might have been in a punk rock phase last year, because I got assigned a genuine UK anarcho-punk classic for review: the Unlimited Genocide split LP between AOA and OI POLLOI from Scotland. Originally released in 1986 on Children of the Revolution, it has remained a largely unsung classic and has finally gotten the proper reissue treatment thanks to Sealed Records, which we all should be thankful for. Although not the biggest name in the hardest-hitting anarcho-punk school of the ’80s (being Scottish may sadly not have helped in a very London-centric scene), AOA recorded three crucial—and hard-to-find, obviously—records during their run, and this is the second one. Being a sucker for the genre, I have been a massive fan since I first heard them through a wise punk elder. AOA has often been described as furious, and the attribute is well-deserved. Fast-paced, angry, DISCHARGE-inspired political hardcore punk, just before the rise of UK crust and the metal invasion. I am heavily reminded of cult bands like ANTISECT or ANTI-SYSTEM, but I’d argue that the Scots may have given more than a passing listen to the ICONOCLAST as well. On the other side, we have the much more famous and iconic anarcho band OI POLLOI, who everyone knows at least by name and is able to sing along to “Punx Picnic.” I guess you could say that, despite a certain status and popularity, we don’t really explore the band’s long discography critically, and their side of the split documents them at a time when they still partook in anthemic, if a bit cheesy, rough anarcho Oi! (like on the split with BETRAYED), but also embracing the faster and more abrasive anarcho-punk philosophy in terms of sound (like on the TOXIK EPHEX one)—like any sane punk would have done, really. What’s great with OI POLLOI is that you can instantly recognize Deek’s very distinctive vocals, so you always know where you stand. The songs here are mostly fast, but the band also slows things down, remaining heavy and threatening. I forgot how great these songs were, very reminiscent of ICONS OF FILTH, CONFLICT, or even ANTISECT, and it’s got my favourite of theirs, “The Only Release.” A great record that tackled political issues that are sadly as relevant as ever today. Essential stuff.
CEMENTO out of Los Angeles has been compiling a library of goth-inspired post-punk epics for the past few years, and many of those tracks appear on their fresh full-length entitled Bad Dream Songs. Produced in conjunction with Iron Lung Records, CEMENTO’s sound is pushed to a monolithic depth on Bad Dream Songs, allowing the band to fully exhibit their artistry. If you were into Sacred Bones’ release of the HUNT’s The Hunt Begins in 2013, or if you’re into things like the early works of the CULT and CHRISTIAN DEATH, then you should check out Bad Dream Songs.
A crushing split LP pairing two distinct but equally bleak visions of modern hardcore. DSM-5 delivers suffocating, noise-laced hardcore punk that feels mentally claustrophobic, with repetitive riffs and desperate vocals mirroring psychological collapse. VAROITUS counters with cold Finnish D-beat, sharp and militant, channeling classic Scandinavian hardcore with a contemporary sense of urgency. A relentless record that leaves no room for comfort.
Un split LP demoledor que une dos visiones distintas pero igualmente sombrías del hardcore actual. DSM-5 presenta un hardcore punk asfixiante y cargado de ruido, con riffs repetitivos y voces desesperadas que reflejan un colapso mental constante. VAROITUS responde con D-beat finlandés frío y militante, afilado y urgente, heredero directo del hardcore escandinavo clásico. Un disco implacable, sin concesiones.
First solo project from Emmett O’Connor (ARCHIE AND THE BUNKERS, MK ULTRAS) out of Cleveland. Inside this warped mind, we find bedroom synth punk complete with drum machine, warbling lead lines, and earnest, droning vocals, like on “Pieces of My Life” where O’Connor croons “Like a shining light from up above / She came down and she gave me her love.” “Burger King From My Dreams” gets a little sillier, and brings to mind the Technics organ tone of WESLEY WILLIS, with shades of “Rock n Roll McDonalds” to boot. On “The Air Conditioning is Making Me Sick” he gets a little heavier, channeling some BABY TYLER or maybe ALIEN NOSEJOB with a mock seriousness. “Curtain Call” plays that wobbly organ again, with some doo wop in place of the drum machine, which maybe leads us to his ’50s rocker/James Dean influence displayed on the album cover? Layer all these things together, and I find myself thrown for a complete loop. Yet here I am, enjoying 9 From the Warped Mind quite a darn bit.
Six-song debut cassette from Middle Tennessee. At first I thought FIN sounded like an alt-rock-leaning indie band, but after further observation, I now believe they sound like an indie-leaning alt-rock band. Might sound like a nominal distinction, but I stand by it, with the difference-maker being production quality. This debut cassette is self-recorded by the band and has a bit of grit to it. The obvious cue to me came with the last song, “Talk Too Much,” a repetitive grunge number which truly sounded to me like it could have been a reworked NIRVANA song. Any way you cut it, FIN seems to dabble in a lot of ’90s throwback genres, so if the ’90s are your thing, snag yourself one of the 25 copies of this tape before you miss out.
Minimal and direct. Los Angeles-based GAPE opens with a blast of do-or-die hardcore energy. Eight tracks, just over ten minutes in total, and absolutely no filler. From the opening notes of “West Co.” to the closing “Seasons,” the band delivers the kind of short, sharp, unforgiving intensity that hardcore was built for: fast tempos, fast riffs, and riot-inducing shouting. The record never lets up, exactly what you want from a 7″ when you feel like you need to rip the world a new one.
Debut EP from LETI Y LOS UTENSILIOS from Madrid, Spain. Four songs of dark, brooding punk with driving bass that grounds a razorblade guitar, cymbal-crashing drums, and a female vocalist with plenty of bite. “Fuego” and “Subir Bajar” on the A-side hit pretty hard and chug right along, while the B-side’s “Haloperidol” and “Botox” fall into a bit more of a garage groove, with some guitar solos and riffing. Overall, this is a great debut, and I’ll be excited to see where they go from here.
Vancouver’s NIGHT COURT is back with a remastered reissue of their first two releases, (Nervous Birds! One and Nervous Birds! Too) on one LP. NIGHT COURT plays lo-fi garage pop that leans more toward the dirt pop spectrum than garage punk. It’s straightforward, sometimes jangly, and there’s a pop element throughout. The lyrics are audible and intelligent, full of pop culture references, wasted nights, and sarcasm, and often delivered via dual vocalists. “Surfin Iona” is a standout for me, with drummer Emilor taking the lead and sounding like a bizarro version of Kate Pierson of the B-52’S. There’s a line from the song “Yr Ride” that stuck with me after a few listens: “Death is a hard ride / Heaven’s a joyride / Until you get caught with your pants down.” If there’s a heaven, I certainly want to arrive bare-assed! For someone with zero attention span, 26 songs is a lot to digest at once. I get why these were originally separate releases, but existing fans will love having these in all one place and on vinyl for the first time. It’s a cool showcase of the band’s early output, and fans of bands like MARKED MEN or even early SHINS will find something to love.
British Columbia’s PILL MILL deliver the goods on their debut EP, a speedy hardcore punk attack bursting at the seams with the same frantic energy that the X-Claim! roster excelled at. Turbo-charged riffs, manically paced drum fills, and distorted, sneering vocals ensure every box is checked, putting this in league with Neon Taste labelmates CHAIN WHIP and SSIK (with whom the band shares members). Highly recommended.
SCREENSAVER out of Melbourne has been pumping out material for the past six years, and on their latest full-length Three Lens Approach, they invite us to a gothic synth punk dub party that has us dancing to the unexpected shifts between DEVO-ish rhythms to more melancholic “Death Disco” inspirations. Multiple synthesizers fire off as hard-hitting bass lines and fierce guitar licks create an immersive atmosphere, while Krystal Maynard’s vocals are charged and velvety. Occasionally I’m reminded of things like the EPOXIES or CRASH COURSE IN SCIENCE, but SCREENSAVER is definitely carving out a sound that is uniquely their own.
Pure knuckle-dragging Aussie hardcore, with zero mercy. Living In Fear rips with frantic drums, guitar tone straight out of a damp squat, and vocals that sound like someone screaming through a wall of cigarette smoke. Everything here is fast, mean, and gloriously ugly. SERIAL PEST doesn’t bother with anything resembling restraint, just wild, swinging chaos and fist-in-the-air rage. Feels less like a recording and more like stumbling into the wrong backyard show and getting shoved straight into the pit. If you want thrashy hardcore that bites, spits, and leaves the room smelling worse than when it started, this is it.
Solid two-song slab from this Brooklyn trio. Power pop with a little bit of a street punk edge, kind of like a beefier EXPLODING HEARTS/BUZZCOCKS concoction. Laden with earworm vocals and catchy guitar work, this pair of tracks goes by way too quickly. I want more, dammit! Really lovely work here. Add this to your winter playlist to combat your S.A.D.
Formed in Victoria, BC in 1979, SIKPHUXZ was the first effort from Murray “The Cretin” Acton, who would later go on to assemble the legendary DAYGLO ABORTIONS. Though there were no official releases from these early Canadian punks, they did record a handful of tracks that have been unearthed and remastered on this archival EP that comes with extensive liner notes and photos. The roots of Murray’s trademark irreverence are on display here in songs like the title track and “I’m So Dumb,” alongside more straightforward punk tunes like “Let’s Run Away” and “P.O.W.,” offering an interesting glimpse of history. It’s a cool little package, and the DAYGLO guys are still going strong today, with members having been arrested on drug charges as recently as fall of last year.
Right before the first time I heard ABISM’s new 7”, I’d just finished jamming a live boot of the VELVET UNDERGROUND, and I was amazed by the freedom of the faded guitar pokes and messing around, demonstrating how bravely primitive and self-conscious they were (and which I guess is the essence of rock’n’roll, to be a confident dilettante). This feeling probably stuck with me when “Barbie Terminator” kicked in with its cacophonic guitar scraping and burst of pumping beats that meticulously, or by instinct, are set to a tempo that grabs attention and moves bodies. Then by the second song, the fuzzed guitars started playing notes that are weird, not too technically difficult but remarkable when paired with confidence and taste, because fuck it—some of us do mess around with such ideas at odd hours of the day under odd circumstances and wonder whether it is okay to include them even in radikal punk songs. ABISM’s new record is a straight “fuck you” to those thoughts, because this sounds great and it fits a hardcore song. Only four rudimental hardcore tracks reflecting the universal frame of many signature scenes’ sound, with a wink to those roots that make the record sound simple and original, and which combined recall dozens of the best bands without referencing any of them. This balance is the challenge of sounding original nowadays after everybody has heard everything and still ever-wanting more of this raw power. Another highly confident “fuck you” is the riff of “Fly Away”…you have a four-song 7”, and you dedicate a significant amount of time to summon LENNY KRAVITZ in the subconscious of your listeners? That is bold. But even the realization of this bizarre thing is not able to keep me from loving this record. I love the non-stop pogo beat and tight groove that delivers all the weird and cool guitar sounds, and the best raspy voice (familiar from the amazing GARRAPATA).
ATOL ATOL ATOL’s 2023 LP Koniec Sosu Tysiąca Wysp completely threw me for a loop—taut, twin-vocal Polish art-punk with a minor DOG FACED HERMANS fixation? I might as well be Pavlov’s dog. Follow-up Dron Dron Dron is just as mind-warping, centering the band’s anxious electronic textures and snap-tight rhythms like an alternate-timeline Hardcore-era DEVO that wound up on Ron Johnson Records alongside the EX and BIG FLAME. Opener “Neon” is a perfect example of the band’s controlled chaos, locking straight into a staccato, mechanical groove with skittering guitar, a bass line bouncing everywhere like an errant rubber Superball, and doubled-up chants from vocalists Łukasz and Agata, all of which could be panic-inducing (or just irritating) in lesser hands, but it’s completely hypnotic here. Likewise, the densely knotted skronk of “Blok” might easily tip into prog-punk territory were it not for some wild, collapsing drum breakdowns, but when the frenetic call-and-response in “Płytki Sen” hits against some incessantly buzzing synth and treble-maxed guitar cutting in like the quickest of knife flicks, there’s no question that ATOL ATOL ATOL’s true objective is putting the damage back in “art-damaged,” and they’re killing it.
