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!

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.

Graphic Violets Endless Parade LP

The first full-length for Rob Garcia’s one-man project. The album covers heavy themes, but comes off sounding optimistic in its post-Dunedin-sound delivery. Harkens to the more accessible songs of LAVENDER FLU’s catalog or the missing tracks from SIC ALPS U.S. Ez album. Rumors are he’s pulled a band together and will be playing these tunes live, which would be a show not to miss.

Lost Legion In My Skin LP

This is a killer compilation of singles, demos, and unreleased tracks from one of Chicago’s most prolific Oi!/punk bands of the last decade. Existing fans will love having all these tracks in one place while newcomers will get a taste of the auditory evolution of the band through twenty tracks, running the gamut between Oi!, post-punk, and ’77-style street punk. Standouts for me are the danceable “Stuck in One Place” (trust me, it takes a lot to get a caveman like me to move, but this song does it) and the lo-fi riff-raff of “Dressed Up Like a Warrior” which makes me want to fuck shit up. The vocals are gruff, the guitar work is killer, and the message is well-received. LOST LEGION is great at crafting genuinely catchy songs that have substance and meaning. That’s a rare feat, and this collection has me stoked to see how they evolve over the next decade. Highly recommended.

Merwulf In the Golden Age LP

MERWULF kicks in with some THOMAS DOLBY keyboards and balances that with AmRep/SHELLAC throaty, buzzing bass. I’m caught completely off guard, in a great way. All the way from Portland, OR, they’ve pulled in elements of VICTORY AT SEA from Boston, MA. Merri’s vocals are haunting and comforting within the abundance of open space in these songs, which can sometimes be a disaster. But with Misty on bass and Larry on drums, that isn’t the case here. Somehow this record feels like an uncomfortable and intimate rock opera, or reading through a friend’s diary that fell open when they left the room. This is what they think. I shouldn’t be reading this. I can’t turn away. In the Golden Age undulates, and while not at the urgent pace of most hardcore or punk, it establishes an urgency and turbulence within the simplest of structures. It builds tension so gradually that you may not even realize that you’ve been holding your breath until suddenly, your chest hurts.

Navaja Sin Sangre cassette

Seven tracks of hardcore punk from Chicago, IL. The songs are short, the riffs are driving, and the vocals are barked in a maniacal way. All songs are sung in Spanish. Nothing here is particularly memorable or mind-blowing, but they are certainly a solid, nasty hardcore punk band that sounds like they would be very powerful live. Tapes exist in a quantity of only 30, so get on it if you’re interested in having a physical copy. There is no differentiation between the A-side and B-side on the tape itself. No labels, no printing, no marker writing. Mine came with the B-side rewound, causing my first listen of the band’s preferred track list to be experienced backwards. My favorite part of NAVAJA’s physical media package was getting to enjoy and appreciate the juvenile, castle-storming, belligerent insert artwork while the songs played.

Painist Too Many Clunkers cassette

Hell yeah. Piano-based crust with ultra distortion and hollered vocals. No guitars or bass because PAINIST (get it, like a pianist but with pain?) doesn’t need them. Not too many background details on this four-song tape, but the songs blast and have a weighty sense of depth to them. It reminds me a little of BOTANIST, the hammered-dulcimer-based black metal project, just in the sense that the unconventional instrumentation takes you aback for a minute and then proceeds to absolutely shred. Opening track “Crustaccatto” has such a good title, and it rips. I would love to see PAINIST do a tour of airport lounges or piano bars and annihilate them with this 88-keyed weapon.

Realistic Demo 2025 cassette

A fastcore/hardcore supergroup if there ever was one. Featuring members of REPLICA, CONQUEST FOR DEATH, SICK BURN, NO STATIK, SCHOLASTIC DEATH, and even the almighty JUD JUD, these people know what the fuck they’re doing. Nine songs in less than seven minutes, delivering bursts of righteous anger and furious thunder while dipping into skank beats, D-beats, and some unexpected moments that thankfully keep this interesting. If your attention span is shorter than your pinky and you love loud shit, this here is for you.

Slut Intent Slutworld 10″

On rare occasions, punk gives you what you need instead of what you thought you wanted. SLUT INTENT’s 10” is one of those occasions, and their discordant, intense hardcore is going to spend some serious time living rent-free in my brain. There are moments like “Glitch” and “Girls Night” where I feel like they could stand alongside SNAPCASE and BOTCH, but the thing about SLUT INTENT is that they don’t stand alongside anyone—they stand alone. This is advanced and complex thinking punk. “But the taste of spite in my mouth / Keeps me going long enough to remind them / That if they’re going to balance every human need on a knife’s edge / They should remember it cuts both ways.” See, it’s not just the music, it’s everything. This band demands your attention, and they are more than worth it.

Shrines Shrines demo cassette

One of my biggest pet peeves is when the term “post-punk” is used interchangeably for “goth,” but Chicago’s SHRINES effectively collapse any distinctions to be made between the two—the four tracks on this demo are shrouded and dramatic without placing style over substance, guided by a righteous, unquestionably punk-rooted rage often lacking with other black-clad creatures of the night. The switch-off vocals from Skout and Angelica are frequently delivered in desperate shouts, driving rhythms push and pull against searing, needles-and-pins guitar lines, and subtle waves of synth fill the negative space like trails of smoke from a clove cigarette. The A-side is especially fierce, with “Cathartic Life” posing stern questions (“It’s all I know / But will it suffice?”) over danceable deathrock without waiting for answers, as “Sombra Vaga” casts a brooding and ominous XMAL DEUTSCHLAND/EUROSHIMA big-hair-and-eyeliner darkwave spell for its first minute only for SHRINES to slam the accelerator for a final 30 seconds worth of echo/chorus-saturated sinister hardcore whiplash. Some wear leather, some wear lace, SHRINES chose both.

S.M.I.L.E. Shut Up and S.M.I.L.E. LP

Shut up, S.M.I.L.E. is on! Dishing out their own brand of Rubber City hardcore since 2021, Akron, Ohio’s S.M.I.L.E. own 2026 with a full-length that is just a massive brawl in sonic form. Expect hardcore punk with a nasty metallic edge, very riff-heavy and completely unhinged. One foot in the classics like CRO-MAGS and NECROS, and another in that distinctly Midwest sense of controlled chaos. Fans of PIG PEN or even INVERTEBRATES should check this one. Most tracks barely stretch beyond two minutes, while the sarcastic “Gimme a Minute” clocks in at a blistering 38 seconds. Expect the unexpected!

S.U.G.A.R. III 12″

Five years back, S.U.G.A.R.’s self-titled debut showed up with enough piss and vinegar to do some justice to the late ’70s SAINTS and TESTORS records these Berliners love. III is somehow…smoother. The debut had teeth, and this one has a leer. Eight songs in twenty-six minutes at 45 rpm, and the prevailing mode is a low-rent sleaze, the sound of a band that picked up the bad habits along with the riffs and would rather work the room than start a fight. Whether that’s a trade you want depends on what you came for. My own preference runs to the version of this band with sharper edges, but a band that has backed Toody Cole knows exactly what it’s doing, and if the greasy end of rock’n’roll is where you live, there’s plenty here. Out on crystal vinyl from Alien Snatch!

Svaveldioxid / War//Plague Absurd Depravity split EP

It’s time for armaments and anguish again, as the spike-laden energy of this ripping split sits heavy on the turntable. On Side A, Minneapolis’s WAR//PLAGUE executes a burly stenchcore assault via two charging battle anthems. Are they musicians or barbarians? These crusty war marches blur that distinction. And then on Side B, SVAVELDIOXID demonstrates their absolute käng mastery across a pair of punishing D-beaters. “Sarajevo ‘94” is a speedy evocation of a devastating historical tragedy, and “Masspsykos” zooms out to ponder just how entire populaces come to casually accept such atrocities. Just 100 of these rugged slabs of orange wax were made, so only the fastest leather-and-patch-clad arms will get to grab one.

Total Con Idolatry EP

Short songs. Big anger. Zero patience. Leeds’s TOTAL CON wastes absolutely zero time in getting the deal done—ten tracks in ten minutes, and every second is pure hardcore hostility. This is UKHC stripped down to the fucking bone, fast and politically venomous. Sounds like HERESY getting dragged through the UK82 sewer, with RIPCORD rattling around in the engine room. The targets of anger are plentiful, and Idolatry unloads on all of them with glorious contempt. Riffs, rage, and a boot straight to the teeth of the oppressors.

V/A Hipsville 2026 A.D. LP

With no thanks to PAT BOONE, this comp is a hit! Inspired by the Toronto outsider garage rock event Welcome to Hipsville and comps of the yesteryear like Pebbles and Back From the Grave, it features ten tracks of fuzzy garage punk, rockabilly, and surf, with most paying homage to relics from the past. Toronto’s KEWPIE DOLLS and THEE TERRIBLE THREES, along with the USA’s East Coast rippers DRACU-LAS and the OUT-SECT, cook up their trash-and-bash takes on classics, with the OUT-SECT’s version of the MAKERS’ “Do What I Wanna” being the cream of the crop, so good that I had to turn the needle back and listen twice. Elsewhere, you’ve got legends like the ICHI-BONS and BLOODSHOT BILL doing what they do best. One look through the liner notes and accompanying zine will prove evident that this is more than just a compilation. It’s a well-penned and planned-out love letter to Canadian garage rock. Toronto rules and has always been a favorite city of mine for punk and garage, and anyone interested in the latter would find this as a great starting point. There are more names, bands, and dates listed than I could mention, and it will take multiple views to digest it all. I love to see this level of detail and fun put into a project. Well done.

Aliento De Perro Éxitos Rotundos??? LP

A new collection from these Buenos Aires punk vets that compiles thirteen tracks across their almost two-and-a-half-decade deep catalog. These tracks are melodic and catchy, with a palpable playfulness to them that makes it feel like settling into a sugary-cereal-fueled Saturday morning cartoon marathon. Purists will always have something to say about “best of” compilations, but if they serve as gateways to finding your new favorite band, then they’re doing their job. Even as a compilation, the sequencing of the tracks feels deliberate, creating some nice dynamism throughout—“Me Kedo Conmigo” is a great change of pace the listener might not even know was needed ‘til it hits, and then the fun ramps right back up with the ensuing “Tal Vez.” A sunny collection that deserves the windows down, volume up treatment. 

Bart and the Brats Brats Being Brats EP

Bart De Vraantijik runs BART AND THE BRATS by himself out of La Rochelle, France, and he has churned out a ton of releases in the last few years, including contributions to a bunch of splits with acts such as JACKET BURNER, MITCH KRAMER, the BATTLEBEATS, and TENEMENT RATS. Brats Being Brats is four more songs of late ’70s garage/budget punk, over in eight-and-a-half minutes, which is exactly the right length for this stuff. My favorite is “Collision Course,” 90 seconds of coiled tension with a guitar line that made me think of Andy Gill (GANG OF FOUR), and no surprise that it’s also the shortest thing here. A lot of this genre runs together on me. These four tracks didn’t. On a 45 with the big hole from Big Neck. What have you got to lose?

Car vs. Driver Deja Grateful LP reissue

This record came out during the big schism of the mid-’90s when Tim Yo sharpened the focus of the MRR review policy, thus giving way to the launch of large numbers of publications (Shredding Paper, HeartattaCk, Punk Planet, etc.) channeling the areas of the musical underground that were left uncovered. However, I always thought that Deja Grateful should have had a stab at an MRR review—although it fell into the “emo/non-reviewable” category of the time, I’d always felt it had more of the DC-style hardcore/punk melody of other bands that were favored within the pages of MRR. MONSULA, SCHERZO, FUEL, and VINE all come to mind when hearing this again, and clearly CAR VS. DRIVER was impacted by those bands. It was during this splintering that folks started narrowing their focus to emo, pop punk, screamo, etc., all things we are familiar with now but that were new(-ish) at the time. However, there was a big middle ground that bands like CAR VS. DRIVER cruised through, blending decisiveness and melody as well as aggression in a way that was more than parts pushed together or striving for a breakneck pace. When I first heard the record, it may have been the first time I’d listened to kids my age have a sense of total picture in the sequencing of their songs, each one building off the previous one for a rollercoaster of an album. I’m excited for people to have the chance to grab this record without having to dish out big bucks.

Cimiterium Somnabulist EP

Pure death-soaked menace. Melbourne’s CIMITERIUM doubles down on filthy stenchcore with three crushing tracks that balance D-beat aggression with death metal heft, creating a bleak atmosphere where only the stench of decay dwells. The riffs ooze HM-2 grime without sacrificing the sound, while the cavernous vocals and pounding rhythm section keep everything steady in a relentless march to the grave. Fans of SANCTUM, STORMCROW, DEVIATED INSTINCT, and HELLSHOCK will feel right at home with this darkness.

Debt Rag It Is Clear What’s Going On LP

New LP from Olympia’s DEBT RAG featuring atonal, no-wave-inspired punk jams that comfortably ride the line between playful and pretentious. Sonically akin to ERASE ERRATA or NAPE NECK, the tracks feel improvisational at times, like on “Drumbo” and “Drumbo 2,” where it feels like listening in on the band working out promising syncopated drum loops, and buzzing art-punk at others, like “Cold Kitchenette,” a blaze of fierce snare downbeats and call- and-response hooks that sounds like a lost MELT BANANA outtake. It’s fun and weird and occasionally funky, but probably impossible to dance to. The short tracks and experimental stabs at ideas (a crawling sax solo on “Fish of the Week” with Tomata du Plenty-aping yelps, the somewhat traditionally structured synth punk on “Gary’s World”) consistently confound expectations and evoke a group of talented oddballs having fun together. What could be better?

EKGs Jealous as Fuck cassette

Covering “Jealous Again” the song wasn’t enough—Pittsburgh hardcore smashers EKGS covered the artwork of the classic EP as well. There’s five original blasts of excellent blunt-force punk here too, but just in case you weren’t convinced of how deeply inspired the band was, they close it out with a cover of “Let Your Fingers Do the Walking.” Yep, a cover of a spoken word track from Family Man. Bet you weren’t expecting that on the follow-up to last year’s blistering self-titled tape.

False Flowers Secret Futures / Beat My Guest 7″

FALSE FLOWERS from Sacramento followed up their self-titled mini-LP from last year with a fresh single and an ADAM & THE ANTS cover this year. Lyrically, “Secret Futures” questions the authenticity of contemporary life while instrumentally walking a tight line between goth, new wave, and ’77- era punk. Haunting yet catchy, “Secret Futures” is a great single on its own, but to back it up with a raucous cover of “Beat My Guest” really sets the tone for what FALSE FLOWERS is about.

Gidim Demo 2025 cassette

Chicago’s GIDIM returns with a four-song tape that drags black metal through a hardcore basement without sanding off either side. The three originals are headed for a future LP, joined here by a MERKIT cover, and the demo already feels more substantial than a placeholder release. “Quiet Planet” opens in a bleak, collapsing atmosphere before the riffs start biting; “Stolen Squalor” is tighter and meaner, while “The Boot” stretches to four minutes and lets the metallic weight really settle in. The vocals stay harsh and buried enough to keep the record ugly, but the riffs remain readable instead of dissolving into raw-production mush. There is punk economy underneath the metal vocabulary, plus an openly anti-authoritarian streak that gives the tape a clear spine. Grim, riff-heavy, handmade stuff. Worth hearing now; the LP should also be worth looking out for.

GIDIM, desde Chicago, vuelve con un cassette de cuatro temas que arrastra al black metal por un sótano hardcore sin lijar ninguno de los dos extremos. Los tres temas propios serán regrabados para un futuro LP y acá aparecen junto a un cover de MERKIT; aun así, el demo ya se siente bastante más sustancioso que un simple adelanto. “Quiet Planet” abre con un clima sombrío y derrumbado antes de que los riffs empiecen a morder; “Stolen Squalor” es más ajustado y hostil, mientras “The Boot” se estira hasta los cuatro minutos y deja asentarse todo el peso metálico. Las voces se mantienen ásperas y suficientemente enterradas para conservar la mugre, pero los riffs siguen siendo legibles y no se pierden en una papilla de producción raw. Hay economía punk debajo del vocabulario metalero y una veta abiertamente antiautoritaria que le da columna al tape. Oscuro, cargado de riffs y hecho a mano. Vale escucharlo ahora; habrá que estar atentos al LP.