Reviews

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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!

Abizmo / S.O.H. Japan Tour ’26 split CD

Turning frustration, anger and social malaise into music has always been one of hardcore’s central purposes. S.O.H. and ABIZMO join forces to achieve this purpose in a very strong way. S.O.H. , from Los Angeles, bring their claustrophobic and super tight brand of hardcore to the table, taking some cues from Japanese hardcore like GAUZE, the STALIN, and the COMES and  mixing it up with some UK82 “danceability” and groove. Their musicianship is incredible (members are also in the ranks of ARRÊT, ARTIFICIAL JOY, and REPEAT OFFENDER), and the inflections on the vocals make every moment count.  ABIZMO, from Aichi with ex-members from SYSTEM FUCKER, responds with fast, intense DOOM-styled hardcore with vocals in Japanese, English, and Portuguese, aimed towards broken systems, fascist leaders, brainwashing, buried truths, and the rich getting richer while everyone else gets pushed towards the cliff. Two bands taking the classic hardcore vocabulary and putting it straight through the fucking wall.

Backfire! The Last Confession LP

Final offering from the Netherlands’ BACKFIRE!, who have been active on and off again since 1993. Fast metallic riffs, plodding breakdowns, and gruff vocals call to mind the usual suspects of this style like MADBALL and CRO-MAGS. I wasn’t particularly moved by any of these tracks, but I trust there’s a fanbase who will appreciate a swan song from this legacy act.

Bleak Streak Peak Bleak LP

An overall fantastic album out of Stockholm, Sweden that anyone who digs Sarah, K, or Slumberland Records will surely be fond of immediately. The diversity of sounds may cause a kneejerk read of a lack of cohesion, but by the time the listener is deep into album centerpiece “Imposter,” that thought will have become a distant memory. BLEAK STREAK finds their highest highs when they let things get a little shambling and loose (“Peak Bleak,” “Loser Band Plays Rock n Roll”), and that includes their C86-ified take on SNAIL MAIL’s early single “Thinning,” which works so damn well. BEAT HAPPENING, LOS CAMPESINOS!, and HEAVENLY will all come to mind throughout these tracks, and it just makes for a wonderful listen. Not every track works, and they actually lose me a little when they ramp up the aggression (“I’m Not Jealous”) or the art (“Loser Band Plays På Tisdag På Torsdag”), but those are small prices to pay for such a great ride.

Chumhuffer / Half Dizzy DCxPC Live, Vol. 45 split LP

Whenever I have a DCxPC release come across my desk, I usually gush about the series for half the review before I jump into the meat of the album and talk about the bands. I’ll keep it brief and let you know that I believe these DCxPC live releases are one of the coolest and most important things happening in modern punk rock. If this is your first time hearing of the series, I recommend checking out the whole catalog. However, before you run off on that assignment, this split is a great place to start. HALF DIZZY kicks things off with their brand of high-octane melodic hardcore. This would have been right at home on Nitro Records in the late ’90s/early ’00s. Super tight, so much so that I sometimes forgot I was listening to a live album. CHUMHUFFER is equally well-refined, but plays a more crust/D-beat version of the classic hardcore sound. The vocalist immediately stands out with their impressive melodic range, sounding a bit like Glenn Danzig without the attitude problem. Lovely work here all around, and well worth several spins. I almost can’t believe they’re already on volume 45!

Cloven Fang Silver Bullet EP

Serious MISFITS worship via Melbourne. There’s tons of fucking reverb, rudimentary power chord riffs, and horror movie inuendoes galore. “You are my silver bullet” is repeated like 50 times, and I want more! CLOVEN FANG gives you a hook and then murders you with it. The last track jumps off the MISFITS bandwagon, but it still rips and is full of ghoulish background vocals. This one’s a no-brainer.

Dirty Knees Dirty Knees LP

Whizzes and pew-pews in “Intergalactic Ladies” kick off this LP, but DIRTY KNEES then immediately pull you back from the edge to the great expanse of going to a quarry for a swim and all the random shit that can happen on a day that’s supposed to be low-key fun with friends in the song “Summer Odyssey Fun.” These songs are weighted with lo-fi, catchy punk, with enough inside jokes and humor to pull you along for the whole ride. Laura, Maggie, and Elizabeth all take turns writing and singing, completing a well-blended and rad listen. Some of the lyrics about sitting around and the design of the songs somehow remind me of J CHURCH in their bleak honesty and contentment. The song “CDK” is a great tune that’s easy to remember and quote at parties, with the lyrics “If it has to be abbreviated / Must be evil.” Closing this record is one of the best songs that will definitely make it onto the next few mixtapes I make for folks. This DIRTY KNEES LP would be the perfect accompaniment to a 25-minute drive or ride to anywhere.

Fear of Darkness Phobia 1986–1988 LP

Hailing from the Bristol suburb Yate, FEAR OF DARKNESS was active through the mid and late ’80s. Phobia is a taste of the band’s second iteration with original vocalist Dave Mac replaced by Richard Hulands, and with the addition of Angela Huggins on backing vocals. With his deep, rich, and sometimes sullen vocal styling, Hulands ushered the band towards a darkwave/goth sound that was admittedly halfway started in The Virgin Land-era.  SISTERS OF MERCY make for an easy comparison, maybe like the slightly poppier Floodland album. And in general, that’s what I hear here—fairly on-point second wave English post-punk that trades some of the more macabre feelings of the late ’70s first-wavers for something sweeter; chaotic anguish for tenderness.The arrangements definitely reach out and grab styles from straightforward pentatonic rock solos, to quasi-prog rock rhythms (“Friends Like You”), to new wave pop flashiness, to classic, downcost post-punk vocals and reverb-drenched guitar lines. I also think it’s worth noting Angela Huggins’s contribution to the record—her vocals add a lot of depth, and makes it stand out next to their male-only contemporaries. This album has all three tracks from their 1987 Lay Me Down single, and while the other songs were also recorded from ’86 to ’88 as the title suggests, it’s not clear to me if there was another release besides Bristol Archive’s 2008 digital release of Phobia. I inherently like this type of music, so when a group comes along from the archives that I haven’t heard, I get excited. But at what point does a band go from pioneers or standouts in their genre to repeating a formula? Does the big hair and moody band photo feel a little trite? It’s not my place to judge intention, so as far as I’m concerned, the music is good, albeit not boundary-pushing.

Feral!Cat?Red! How Do You Know, When You Are Old Enough to Know Better? CD

This band blends punk, sludge, mathcore, hardcore, and kind of everything in between. The concept sounds like it shouldn’t work, but holy shit, does it work. Annie, the bassist/singer, seamlessly moves her voice from screams to gentle doom vocals to punk yelling while anchoring the songs the way only a really good bass player can. She is outstanding. Drummer Sam is the source of most of the chaos, while guitarist Ben sounds like two or three players dragging the songs between all the genres they expertly mix. The energy here reminds me of bands like COMADRE—that heart-wrenching punk sincerity, but the sound is somewhere in 13/EYEHATEGOD foundations going to play with everyone from BOTCH to KING WOMAN. I fucking love when the punk scene produces something so clearly personal and original, I can’t recommend this enough.

Genre is Death Attractive People LP

No wave squall that punctures both eardrums and listener comfort as strongly as the good old bad days of ’70s New York avant garde. Pulsing bass, sheets of atonal guitar feedback, and GLENN BRANCA-esque, high-volume drone are grounded by the march of a dispassionate drum machine. The duo of Ty and Tayler call and respond in hollers and sarcastic sing-song chants that recall the best of TEENAGE JESUS AND THE JERKS (the band has a friendly relationship with LYDIA LUNCH, which seems like a feat in itself) and MARS. If you like the “screwdriver jammed in the fretboard” sound of urban collapse, this is for you.

Infuriate Scourge of Humanity …World Funeral LP

As a faithful, staunch premium consumer of gruff Eurocrust, friends often try to exfiltrate to my collection perfectly fine, generic, and uncomplicated crust records that they want to get rid of (which is indeed baffling, but no one is perfect I guess). I am easy to please like that. On paper, INFURIATE from Minneapolis has everything that I am looking for in crustcore: growling vocalists, filthy, bleak heaviness, Scandicore pace, cavemen metal breaks, and a cool name. However, and as much as I want to like this first album, it doesn’t click perfectly here. The production is lacking in energy, and the music doesn’t quite have that galloping vibe that works well with the genre, which is a shame because the songs have the required simplicity and directness you’d expect. I am not totally convinced by the very grindcore-inspired and sometimes monotonous vocals that are low in the mix, either. A punker production might have solved these issues, because in terms of songwriting, I am reminded of great bands like MAN THE CONVEYOR or late 3-WAY CUM. An alright record that could have sounded more impactful.

Look Away Look Away demo cassette

Stripped-down Bay Area hardcore. Oakland’s LOOK AWAY comes out swinging with five pissed-off tracks that get straight to the point. Groovy yet viciously fast when it’s called for, channeling the urgency of COKE BUST and CARRY ON with a killer nod to local punk legends GRIMPLE (last song is a cover of “Think”). DIY hardcore done right, with enough stomp to rearrange your teeth. Turn it up or get out of the way!

Mantarochen Wellness Ward cassette

MANTAROCHEN is out of Leipzig, Germany, and they just released the Wellness Ward cassette, a jangling, five-song recording that explores various aspects of post-punk. A classic post-punk method blends with melancholic shoegazing to create a sound that is momentarily reminiscent of the REPLACEMENTS mixed with PAVEMENT. The opener “Hotel Hell” and the closer “Bored to Death” both bring a bit more swagger with the inclusion of some deathrock tones. In all, Wellness Ward is a gradual trip that feels like an earnest expression of emotions.

Mycelium Cloak / Righteous Propaganda split cassette

An interesting tape that features two bands with distinct yet complimentary sounds. I was fully prepared to dislike this for a few reasons. First off, I find the artwork to be quite lacking. It’s boring and offers no indication of what the bands might be like stylistically. Strikes two and three are the respective band names. MYCELIUM CLOAK doesn’t really roll off the tongue, and RIGHTEOUS PROPAGANDA is about as generic as it gets. The music supersedes all of this, thankfully. MYCELIUM CLOAK dishes out some left-of-center hardcore that skillfully incorporates elements of powerviolence, post-rock, and metal. A bit of a slow burn, but the band is tight and the tunes are well-constructed. RIGHTEOUS PROPAGANDA offers a more direct take on powerviolence, with a plethora of blastbeats and a killer fuzz-forward tone. The unexpected inclusion of a cover of “Daddy Never Understood” by DELUXX FOLK IMPLOSION won me over.

Thee Outlets / The Thingz Chaputa​!​’s Double Feature, Vol​.​ 6 split 2×7″

I knew exactly what this was going to sound like the moment I saw the album cover. The THINGZ play a BOBBY “BORIS” PICKETT version of surf punk, while THEE OUTLETS…well, they kind of play the exact same thing. The only difference is that THEE OUTLETS are a bit poppier and feature a dedicated organ throughout, while the THINGZ rely heavily on synth and sound a bit more retro. Otherwise, this is your standard Halloween punk affair. It’s an easy listen and actually quite fun. Perfect for the upcoming spooky season.

Protex Sticking With You LP

PROTEX came out of late ’70s Belfast on Good Vibrations, same as the UNDERTONES, riding a wave that was still fresh at the time, when bands like the RAMONES and the NERVES had shown that punk and power pop could live in the same song. Their 1978 single “Don’t Ring Me Up” is the one people remember, since the album they recorded for Polydor sat in a vault for 30 years. They reformed in 2010, and this is their third album of new material, with guitarist and vocalist Aidan Murtagh the only original member left. What you get here is eleven tracks (most running past the three-minute mark) of pop rock played by a group of guys who have been doing this for a long time. It’s laid-back and competently made, and there’s clearly an audience for it, just not one that needs things to always be harder, faster, louder. The high point for me is the closer, “Slug City,” the album’s most rocking track and maybe the one that sounds most like the kids that they used to be.

Raspberry Tart The World’s Largest Raspberry Tart demo cassette

I was stoked when I saw a blurb that compared them to CHOPPER (the Connecticut band that had the Real Genius quote at the beginning of that one song on their 12”), but they meant the UK band CHOPPER, which is still good but different. And to be honest, I don’t really hear it. I would place them more toward SNUFF, but on the more raw and aggressive pop punk end and almost a bit pub punk. Great gang vocals and the perfect amount of slop that makes this a chaotic and dreamy release that is budding with the energy and whirlwind vibes of seasoned veterans of the genre.

Shitcritter / Wurrm split LP

Two sides of ugly European punk, no ceremony required. SHITCRITTER brings filthy Dutch crust with D-beat drive, political disgust, and riffs built to flatten a room. WURRM answers from Duisburg with nine nervous, sub-two-minute bursts: wiry, fast, loose in the right places. Different accents, same bad mood. Play loud, flip it, repeat.

Dos caras de punk europeo mugriento, sin ceremonia. SHITCRITTER trae crust holandés sucio, empuje D-beat, asco político y riffs hechos para aplastar un cuarto. WURRM responde desde Duisburg con nueve ráfagas nerviosas de menos de dos minutos: filosas, rápidas y sueltas donde corresponde. Distintos acentos, el mismo mal humor. Fuerte, dar vuelta, repetir.

 

Spion Spion cassette

Four-song debut cassette out of Vienna, Austria, which is also the first release on a brand new label, Aus der Kälte Records. No internet presence for the label and very minimal presence for the band, which is fitting considering the artwork for the tape, which features perhaps the most minimal artwork imaginable, a fully white J-card with only the band name in small lettering at the bottom right corner. Mid-tempo, chanty punk with reverbed-out, single-note surf guitar solos. Infectiously catchy. I was excited when I saw that there were four more songs on the B-side of the tape that were not to be found anywhere online. Flipping the tape while skimming the all-German tracklist on the inside of the J-card, I could tell something was amiss. I may not speak much German, but what language puts their capital letters at the end of words? Just before the first track started, it came to me. These were the same track names, but written entirely backwards. Sure enough, the B-side of the cassette is not four additional songs. It is the same songs as the A-side, played entirely in reverse. A funny concept, but the novelty wears thin incredibly fast. I got through a song-and-a-half , then I jumped up and stopped the tape before the repetitive backwards swish of the snare drum made me hate this recording.  Played in the correct direction, SPION is incredibly catchy mid-tempo punk rock and I greatly dig it. If I woke up in that episode of Red Dwarf where everything is in reverse on planet htraE, I would not go see NOIPS play.

Subversive Rite Apocalypse Zone LP

Upon seeing a brand new album from these New York punks, the old heart started beating faster, because not only did I thoroughly enjoy their first offering, but I also thought the band was no longer. They actually are, as Apocalypse Zone is a posthumous album, ensuring that even if you love these songs, you are guaranteed to never see them live. I loved the band’s spontaneous and rather fresh sound blending early SACRILEGE, ANNIHILATED, POTENTIAL THREAT, and pogo-compatible metallic, spiky punk like BLOOD SPIT NIGHTS with ace shouted female vocals, allowing the studded brigades to listen to the band and keep pretending to not really like metal. This album is built on the same foundations, but I would argue that the metal influence (precisely) sounds more prevalent, and above all, much cleaner. While the first album remained raw and had that dirty, thrashy organic punk feel, the sound here is not as distorted, and I personally miss their original aggression although I am sure that many would favor the latter over the former. Many punk bands seem to go for that specific brand of solo-inducing metallic punk these days, and I just think I am craving dirtier, heavier, more primitive sonorities. That said, SUBVERSIVE RITE’s farewell is indeed a good one, and if the band has gone to sleep, they nevertheless were in perfect control of what they wanted to achieve in terms of songwriting and sound. Still a strong album that made many happy in 2025, but I wasn’t totally convinced. What a party-pooper.

Torre de Marfil Torre de Marfil cassette

The album art had me thinking this was going to be some weird Italian metal album, but I was pleasantly surprised as it was not at all what l expected. This is Mexican Oi!, no bones about it. And while the first track didn’t initially do much for me, the chord change around 2:52 made me turn my head and commanded my attention. Over the course of the next seven tracks, they checked all the boxes from heavy street punk to a more danceable sound akin to modern bands like L.A.’s CRIMINAL. The heavier and faster tracks like “Para Que Es La Memoria?” showcase more of their punk and hardcore influences, but they always bring it back to a classic yet modern ’80s-inspired sound. I appreciate the vocalist keeping it nasty when the tempo kicks up a few notches, too. No complaints here.

Yleiset Syyt Saitte Mitä Halusitte 12″

Helsinki powerhouse YLEISET SYYT returns with nine tracks of hardcore of the highest order, which comes as no surprise considering the band features members of FORESEEN and KOHTI TUHOA. This isn’t a run-of-the-mill punk record, and while influences can be fairly easily cherry-picked, YLEISET SYYT plays with so much style and has enough catchy riffs to really carve out their own lane. Favorite moments include the chugging urgency of “Aavekaupunki,” the total swag of the intro to “Oikeutettu Tuho,” and “Ansioton Köyhä,” a track so catchy, it was bestowed with the rare honor of being played a second time immediately after the first. A delightfully unique and occasionally surprising record; for fans of LAMA, MINOR THREAT, and BOOTLICKER.

Anti-Dogmatikss Rompan Filas!!! cassette reissue

This is hardcore before anyone figured out how to make it safe. Barcelona HC legends ANTI-DOGMATIKSS, formed in late ’83 and were right there at the birth of the city’s hardcore scene. This is their classic 1984 Rompan Filas !!! tape, remastered for the fifteenth anniversary of the Polze De La Mort label. Pure early Spanish hardcore fury—the big reference points, besides early Spanish punk, are DISCHARGE, DISORDER, BGK and the faster UK/Italian hardcore stuff, but there’s something unmistakably Barcelona about the sound. Eleven tracks, with songs like “Fuego a la Moncloa,” “Anti-USA,” and the ten-second blast “Ellos o Tú” delivering maximum confrontation. Historic, savage, completely fucking essential.

Battery Acid Battery Acid cassette

Another scorcher from the SoCal hardcore punk scene, which seems to be on a roll lately. L.A.’s BATTERY ACID mixes the speed of KORO with the brutality of NEGATIVE APPROACH, peppering their breakneck attacks with mid-tempo stomps that sound massive and nasty. The drums really stand out for their intensity, but my favorite aspect has to be the vocals, which sound thoroughly disgusted on standouts “Slums” and “Tweaked and Geeked.” BATTERY ACID is a fast favorite, and joins the ranks of other notable acids PUBLIC ACID and ACID CASUALTIES. Recommended.

Bumbo’s Pinto Jass Band Good Boy LP

Wow, this is cool as hell. Trippy punk jazz that brings to mind CAPTAIN BEERHEART or the RESIDENTS mixed with the energy of the MINUTEMEN, specifically in the vocals and the bass runs. Very neat shit, and probably one of my most favorite things I’ve gotten to review here. Tongue-in-cheek lyrics paired with utter chaos. There’s a little bit of a surfy element incorporated here as the guitars are more often than not coated in a fine film of reverb. The layering of percussion and back-up vox really make it seem like the walls are closing in on you, but in a fun way! This one’s for the true weirdos and may not be for everyone, but this type of boldness definitely deserves a couple spins from the masses.

The Circulators Pointless Game / I Can’t Swim 7″

Here we have a refreshing splash of the CIRCULATORS, for whom we have been thirsting since 2024’s stellar debut LP. Rocking and snotty, “Pointless Game” further demonstrates the ripping pop sensibilities that made the album a smash, while “I Can’t Swim” brings low-budget, good-time vibes to your local public pool. Capping it off in grand style as a bonus on the digital release, they cover “My GTO,” a classic killer that was originally written for TEENGENERATE by none other than the fabulous Andy G of the DEVIL DOGS! Shut up and take my ten bucks, already. And then shut up again.

D.F.C. Igreja Quadrangular Do Triangulo Redondo CD reissue

A reissue of a 25-year-old record that was reissued 5 years ago, this time with fewer tracks. Brazilian punx D.F.C (DISTRICT FEDERAL CHOAS) rip through over twenty tracks in less than twenty minutes! It’s as political as you can get, and there’s a really dated ’90s feel to most of the tunes. “Tambo Sou Positivo” is a perfect example—the riff is straight out of ’94, and the rap vocal delivery (entirely in Portuguese) and turntable scratches remind me of tons of bands I would hear on cassettes when I was coming up. It’s a cool listen and would be enjoyed by anyone seeking out politically heavy Latino punk that isn’t your typical thrash-and-bash hardcore.

Dorothy Not Responsible for Loss or Damage 12″

The latest from British Columbia’s one-man proto-glam band (LAURICE) who’s been releasing music since the ’70s. Danceable, sexy synth punk, like if Michael Nesmith had a leather and whippets fetish. It would land with current day fans of anything Shannon Shaw is up to, and reminded me of how punk the MO-DETTES’ video for “White Mice” is.

Face-Off Lethal Dose EP

Wakefield’s FACE-OFF comes out swinging with five blasts of compact USHC that understand exactly when to sprint and when to let a riff do the damage. Three of the four proper songs barely scrape a minute, but nothing feels underwritten: drums stay sharp and urgent, guitars cut with that dry, early ’80s attack, and the vocals bark from right on top of the mix. There is an obvious Hermosa Beach pull here, but this never reads like dress-up. “Lethal Dose” and “State Surveillance” hit fast and disappear, while “Pull the Pin (I Will Explode)” stretches past two minutes without losing the record’s nervous pressure. Recorded lean, mastered loud, zero wasted motion. A nasty little 7″ with enough personality to stand outside the revival pile. Recommended.

FACE-OFF, desde Wakefield, sale pegando con cinco descargas de USHC compacto que entienden perfectamente cuándo acelerar y cuándo dejar que un riff haga el daño. Tres de los cuatro temas propiamente dichos apenas rozan el minuto, pero nada suena incompleto: la batería se mantiene filosa y urgente, las guitarras cortan con ese ataque seco de principios de los ’80s y la voz ladra bien al frente de la mezcla. La influencia de Hermosa Beach está ahí, pero nunca suena a disfraz. “Lethal Dose” y “State Surveillance” golpean y desaparecen, mientras “Pull the Pin (I Will Explode)” pasa los dos minutos sin perder la presión nerviosa del disco. Grabación austera, master fuerte, cero movimiento desperdiciado. Un 7″ mugriento con personalidad suficiente para salir del montón revival. Recomendado.

The Grimly Pleased Do Nice Things EP

It’s fun, it’s bouncy, it’s cowpunk! It’s packing a little more fun than I usually go for, but it’s weird enough to keep my attention. The vocals kinda have a Jello Biafra/DEAD KENNEDYS vibe, albeit less menacing. Lyrically, it’s intelligent, sardonic, and downright fun, like early VANDALS without the nihilism “He found that hat / Now he thinks he’s a fucking marine.” I have a cousin like that, true story, a total dipshit! There’s an undeniable THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS influence to the music, and even a little MEAT PUPPETS, too. It’s got a weird energy with cool intertwining guitar leads. The album art is a perfect companion to the nature of these tunes, silly and sinister, which is an excellent way of describing GRIMLY PLEASED.

The Ichi-Bons Little Lil / The Witch 7″

Toronto trio ICHI-BONS play ’50s rock’n’roll the old-fashioned way, pulling from early rock, surf, and rockabilly. For this 45, they brought in Spencer Evoy, who leads London’s MFC CHICKEN, to blow the horn. The A-side is “Little Lil,” a 1959 rockabilly number originally cut by MEL DORSEY, and the flip is “The Witch,” the SONICS’ first single from 1964. Both songs come from an age before seatbelts and, uh, murderbots, when a song just needed two minutes, three chords, and some guy coming unglued over a girl. Drummer Paddy Burn bellows “The Witch” like he’s genuinely terrified of this lady. I could picture them in a battle of the bands with the 5.6.7.8’S, though I think they could learn a thing or two about cutting loose from those wild women from Tokyo. This was my first time hearing them, both sides sounded good to me, and now I want to hear what else they’ve got.

Lüger 5 Track EP

LÜGER is a raw, D-beat punk band originally formed in Zagreb, Croatia. They’ve been recording and releasing since 2020, and have a quiver of demos, EPs, and splits. Their latest release is a brutally aggressive rollick that lyrically dismembers our present sociopolitical world, all while ferocious, noise-slathered punk demands retribution. My favorite track is the closer, entitled “Fucking Leaders…”—the vocals are gnarly, the guitar flips through distortions at every opportunity, and the driving rhythm keeps the rock’n’roll adrenaline dose flowing.

Mars Live at the Village Gate LP

For a band that released exactly six songs while they were an active concern (more or less from 1975 to 1978), the sheer amount of archival MARS material that has surfaced in the 21st century is head-spinning. In the last fifteen years alone, we’ve gotten LPs of two different live sets, a 3xLP (!!!) of rehearsal tapes and alternate takes, and a three-part LP series collecting other odds and ends, so the big surprise is that a very early and primitive take on “3E,” the eventual A-side of their 1978 single, is the only track of eight on Live at the Village Gate to have been previously released in any iteration. Recorded in August 1977, the stumbling, VELVETS-on-uppers skronk on display here is more aligned with the ELECTRIC EELS or HALF JAPANESE (check the detuned guitar clang over wildly tumbling beats in “Cry” and “Look at You”) than the sharpened no wave attack of MARS’s contributions to the genre-defining No New York comp, but it’s also not difficult to connect the dots between where they were coming from and where they would be going in just under a year. The sound quality is surprisingly good, the songs stand on their own separate from any “historical curio” angle, and the lack of content overlap within the ever-expanding MARS discography really seals the deal.

Neocons Back to Zero cassette

Los Angeles-based NEOCONS have returned with a fresh batch of tracks to torment your psyche. NEOCONS is a masked duo, blending metal, punk, electronic, and samples to create a very distinctive sound. Their latest release questions our contemporary reality as filtered through the lense of recent history, or how American propaganda distorts the perception of the citizenry to allow the political machine to continue to fuck us while waging endless warfare. The nine-song Back to Zero cassette explores all that and more while our two heroes create a cacophony you can shake your ass to. So, yeah you should go listen to it now.

Off Contact Can You? LP

Before today, I only knew of NO DIRECTION from Rapid City, South Dakota, so it is exciting to hear new bands from that state! OK, OK, OK, OK. I didn’t know what to expect and I know a lot of folks would say that this harkens back to the angular and danceable post-punk hits of the late ’70s and early ’80s. However, to me, this feels like NYC in the mid-to-late ’90s with RADIO 4, the FLESH, the RAPTURE, LIARS a bit, COMPUTER COUGAR, INTERPOL, etc.—the elements are there from the pioneers of the post-punk stuff, but it is different and fresh, can you dig it? There are ten songs here; some are huge sonic landscapes and others are shorter day trips to the fuzzed-out countryside. Can You? is a loud late-night drive record, or at least a loud headphones listen when you just want to block out the world. In fact, I’m going to listen to it again right now so I can neglect some important-ish things that I should be doing.

Paradise Cleaners Peformance Revue cassette

At first listen to Portland, Oregon’s PARADISE CLEANERS, all I could think was that I wish they had used their cleaning skills to tidy up whatever dubbing set-up was used to duplicate their cassettes. Upon further inspection, it seems that the recording itself is what requires the polishing. Wildly lo-fi, mid-tempo, plodding noise rock. There are some very cool synth licks and some super heady HAWKWIND-esque bass walks throughout the recording, but they get a bit lost in the combination of the recording and tape dubbing quality. PARADISE CLEANERS really shine when their songs stay under three minutes long; the five-and-a-half-minute flanger dirge is a little too out there for me. Normally, their proclamation of being “goth FLIPPER™” would drive me out of my mind with rage. However, after noticing that the last song on the tape has almost the same riff as “Ha Ha Ha” but with added vocal noise and a less catchy performance, perhaps that assessment is more self-aware than I had given them credit for.

Reaktörí Radiation Sickness EP

Exactly the kind of record you want spinning while civilization collapses. REAKTORI is a “fallout punk” trio, representing Vancouver, and previously heard on their excellent 2024 demo. Four tracks of end-of-the-world racket equipped with the most vicious D-beats, metallic riffing, and enough radioactive feedback to make your ears bleed. The influences sit somewhere between DISCHARGE, ANTI-CIMEX, WOLFPACK and the nastier side of Japanese hardcore, but REAKTORI keeps it crusty, primitive and gloriously pissed-off. “Devastating Chaos,” “Bomb Blast Inferno,” “Radiation,” and “Fallout” are four short blasts of apocalypse-ready punk violence. No survivors!

Saints of Lorain Those Dark Roads LP

The roots of SAINTS OF LORAIN are clearly drinking from the shore waters of Lake Erie because this is clearly scuzzy Cleveland punk/hardcore that can only come from a specific Rust Belt area that can have a good time in the face of overwhelming sorrow and self-doubt. Musically, the twelve songs on Those Dark Roads aren’t anything that you haven’t heard before, although where this style can often fall into nihilistic partying and semi-violent songs, SAINTS OF LORAIN have a humanity, weight, and honesty in these little nuggets that’s more in tune with community and friendships lost too soon. Lyrically, most of the songs are clouded around very personal experiences and anchored by local landmarks that impacted their lives. For a debut LP, I think this is a great start.

Spucke Zustand cassette

Nine-song debut release out of Hamburg, Germany—this recording was also released on vinyl by No Front Teeth Records. Fittingly, given the digital collage used for the album art, the music on this cassette feels similarly slapped together. This recording essentially sounds like the audio equivalent of a collage. With four different singers and presumably just as many songwriters, it is hard to pin down exactly what SPUCKE is trying to be. This is kind of a street punk recording, but also has wailing rock’n’roll guitar solos, repetitive garage punk song structures with monotonous barking vocals, and one song that inexplicably sounds like it wants to be QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE. Take all the ideas, throw ’em in a blender, and pour them into nine separate portions to whip up one debut album. There is a reason that the tried-and-true method within punk is releasing a demo tape before jumping straight to a record. While I am a proponent of finishing all ideas, not every idea is fit for consumption. If SPUCKE is to withstand the test of time, I can almost guarantee that their next release will sound much more like a record rather than just a smattering of song ideas.

SVS SVS demo cassette

Buffalo must have some gnarly punk virus in the water supply—SCIENCE MAN, HAVANA SYNDROME, and FOOT FETISH, to name just a few of the current crop of punk freaks from western New York’s gritty hardcore haven. SVS rips through nine cuts of USHC-tinged punk that keep the riffs in-your-face, with a few hints of nuance and just the lightest shade of melody. Prime example of how songs can be catchy without a pop infusion. They don’t sound much like POISON IDEA, but the vibe ain’t so different. The longest track doesn’t cross the two-minute mark. No reason to belabor the point: this is a properly killer demo.

Teenage Depression Skank or Die + Bonus Tracks LP

Originally released as a nine-song EP in 1984, TEENAGE DEPRESSION’s sole release has received the bells-and-whistles treatment, beefed up with demos, live tracks, and rehearsal sessions on this thirty-track collection LP. Within their no-frills, old school approach, this group of Jersey hardcore jokers takes the piss out of the CLASH, Henry Rollins, MTV, Ronald Reagan, and other prime targets of their time. Fans will delight in hearing songs that didn’t make the record, including “Scalding Shit Soup” and “Bob Don’t You Send Me to the Llama Ranch,” and this archival package comes complete with lyrics and liner notes to bring you the whole sordid story.

Troika Una Vida + Demo cassette

Discography release for this Madrid-based feminist punk outfit, covering both their demo and only 7″. Being Colombian, this first plucked the string of my memories of POLIKARPA Y SUS VICIOSAS, but with less of a tendency toward melody. Being Spanish, you can hear that base of ESKORBUTO, but maybe mix in some of the later, more idiosyncratic approaches of bands like LAS MORSAS. Regardless of comparison, this is simple, straight-to-the-point street punk with a lot to say and no patience for bullshit gender norms. Generally, this isn’t really my bag and I can’t say this is an exception, but I can appreciate it as a strong release for the genre and for what they’re trying to do. The lyrics in Spanish are beautifully full of rage, and my favorite thing on this is probably the vocals.

51 Boneyard Revisited CD

Your standard garage rock/punk rock’n’roll out of Tampa. As is often the case with these types of bands, Revisited begins to evolve into more of a MISFITS-esque brand of horror punk around the midway point. The production is decent for a self-released album, but I wish the vocals were a bit louder and the guitar had a little more treble layered onto it. Otherwise, this is a charming and catchy disc. “Lost in the Neon Graveyard” is the standout track, and ironically enough, a dream of mine (being lost in a neon graveyard, that is). I don’t know how often I’ll spin this again, but if I lived in Tampa, I’d try to catch these guys live as often as possible.

Active Ingredients Discography 2xLP

In case you’re not familiar with the humor-infused hardcore of Kentucky old schoolers ACTIVE INGREDIENTS, here’s the whole enchilada, all wrapped up in a tasty gatefold package covered in vintage pics and flyers. This double LP captures everything they did, compiling the band’s two EPs, sole full-length cassette, and unreleased demos. Their first 7” from 1984 is a classic, providing a perfect introduction to their zany ripping with “Service With a Smile,” a swarming guitar attack punctuated by a CRAMPS-ian chorus, followed by “Take From the Poor, Give to the Rich,” a speedy little ditty with DEAD KENNEDYS-style sarcasm. The wise-assery continues across 1985’s Bringing Down the Big Boys EP. When you hear their mocking reappropriation of the famous MTV ad riff on “I Hate MTV,” it’s such a no-brainer that you wonder how no one else thought to do it. And then when you learn that New Jersey’s TEENAGE DEPRESSION had an almost identical song concept around the same time, you nod your head and go, “okay, yeah.” Keeping in line with the fashion of the era, the band had evolved to a heavier sound by the time they released their full-length Fly Again tape in 1987. Tracks like “Sleeping in the White House In ‘88” bring Vicious Circle-era ZERO BOYS to mind, and there’s some ill-advised rapping on there, too. The demos are a particularly interesting portion of this collection, as fans will find that the unreleased songs are just as good as anything that made it onto their records, and there are also alternate versions of old favorites. If you dig it, there’s plenty to dig through.

Bait Diáspora 12″

Diáspora is the third record of the Barcelona-based hardcore band BAIT, this time back with a 12” including seven new songs released through a collaboration between no less than eight labels. The lyrics are in French, Spanish, and English, which gives the band a welcome additional edge. Musically, there are a lot of things happening in BAIT’s music, and possibly too many ingredients to make it perfectly appetizing to my delicate tastebuds. From NYHC-style mid-paced mosh parts, fastcore moments, Scandicore riffing, and good old punk rock, maybe too much is happening in just thirteen minutes, and it sometimes sounds like the band is unsure of where to go. This said, the music is tight, energetic, angry, and certainly intense (and if you have seen them live, you know what I am talking about), and I can imagine many punters being into it. As for me, well, there are already many bands going for this sort of stomping hardcore, and I don’t think it particularly stands out.

Burn Kit Check It Out 10″

If you’ve ever wondered what some of NEGATIVE APPROACH’s songs would sound like if they were recorded with modern production value, you’re in luck, as Boston’s BURN KIT presents straightforward takes on some of Brannon and co.’s best tunes. Not much to say here; all of these covers sound fine, but nothing new is brought to the table other than scrubbing out the grit and charm of the originals with the aforementioned squeaky clean production. An OK if not slightly pointless release.

Civic Mimic Civic Mimic cassette

This is what’s up. After five years, CIVIC MIMIC graces us with three new tracks that just rip in a way that only New Jerseyans know how to make happen. If you’re looking at the album art, and “Can’t Be Cruel” is your introduction to the project, you might think you’ve stumbled upon a new eggy project through a Don Giovanni Records lens, but then a minute-and-a-half in, the coda hits and you realize this is way more a TENEMENT through Don Giovanni Records lens…okay, that already exists, but whatever. There’s some TONY MOLINA here, some MIDNIGHT RERUNS, and it’s easy to picture these guys sharing a New Brunswick basement with the ERGS! or HUNCHBACK back in the day (or even now, as those acts will still make appearances). Can’t get enough here.

Dial Watch CD

New collection of expansive experimental jams from this long-running collective, featuring members of no wave OGs UT. The atmospheric tracks drift in and out, like a minimalist blend of BODY/HEAD, the DEAD C, and SONIC YOUTH’s early ’80s guitar scrape era. There are abrasive moments, like the repetitive riff and mechanical drum beat on “Metal Fun,” and the moody industrial menace of “Slaughter,” but much of Watch is a contemplative, droning affair that begins with a mysterious blend of ERIC SATIE-style piano and guitar exploration on “I Interrupt You.” The sequencing and ominous, cavernous production are so well done that the album is best listened to as a start-to-finish experience, recalling the best underground guitar experimentation of the past several decades.

Drill America High Speed Straight Shank demo cassette

Bedroom one-man synth punk freak shit from New York, with a quasi-demented construction worker theme. Punk isn’t supposed to make sense, so inject ’80s Wax Trax into Blood Visions and just fukkn see what happens, I guess. High Speed Straight Shank happens, apparently.

Ferocious X Med Vilken Ratt EP

In 1983, the actor and comedian Andy Kaufman utilized a gag in his TV special that intentionally distorted the on-screen image, meant to lead viewers to believe their television set was broken. An unwitting listener may have a similar experience with this 7”. Japan’s FEROCIOUS X peddles five blasts of completely blown-out noise punk, showcasing their distinct mangel-influenced approach, including lyrics written and “sung” in Swedish. Fuck with your stereo all you want, there is no amount of knob-turning that will conjure any fidelity here. Noise, speed, and aggression are all that you’ll find within these grooves. But make no mistake, this EP exhibits a masterful grasp on the material. The band has been cranking this shit out for a near quarter-decade. A relentless sonic punishment layered with unforgiving chaos. Try flipping it over and you’ll get the Andy Kaufman treatment once more…it’s a one-sided record!  

Ford’s Fuzz Inferno The Book of Fuzz: Selected Verses (Part 2) CD

FORD’S FUZZ INFERNO might be coming close to having the most MRR reviews, as this will be their thirteenth. The Book of Fuzz is a best-of with a few unreleased tracks, so I’m going to start with those. Tracks one, four, nine, and eleven have a weathered, grumpy, thoughtful, and haphazard psych/mid-tempo punk rocking approach. If FORD’S FUZZ INFERNO were a local Northern Michigan band, I would go see them every single time they played. The closing track “Never Confess” sounds like it could be a NASHVILLE PUSSY demo track that didn’t quite make the cut for them, but it is perfect for FORD’S FUZZ INFERNO. Tracks two, three, seven, eight, and ten are from their Ultimate Fuzz Frequencies release, so I’m going to quote fellow reviewer Emma Miller, who said in MRR #508: “With a more droning, noise-focused guitar in “Why Are We Here and Who Are You?” to an explosive start to “Conquerors,” I feel like these guys really started to pick up the pace.” And finally, tracks five and six are from Electrofuzzification, of which Jeff Cost said in MRR #499: “Straight-up rock’n’roll that wouldn’t feel out of place in a sticky-floored New Jersey dive bar, while the earlier songs, recorded live-in-studio, feel harder-edged, probably because of how they were recorded. Props to these aging punks for keeping the fire alive.” So there you go, three people have favorable opinions of sorts about the same band. Check out FORD’S FUZZ INFERNO.