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!

100 Flowers Presence of Mind EP reissue

Shortly after the URINALS changed their name to 100 FLOWERS, they cemented the switch with the release of this artsy 7” in 1982. A bit more explorational than their earlier output, which brought us dum-dum classics like “I’m A Bug” and “Ack Ack Ack Ack,” the band’s evolved style on this three-song EP is more in line with the sound of early WIRE and PUBLIC IMAGE LIMITED. The dark disco of the title track leads the proceedings, an energetic post-punk number that would eventually make its way onto the group’s LP the following year. Next up, the brief and bouncy “Dyslexia” quickly reminds us that we’re still dealing with the same guys that wrote “I Am White and Middle Class.” On the flipside, “Mop Dub” is an instrumental backwards treatment of “Presence of Mind,” providing a symmetrical bookend that suits the fashion of the era. Faithfully reissued in its original format, this poignant little slab documents the iconic unit’s transition from weird to weirder.

Axe Il Cimitero è Dappertutto cassette

Italy’s Sistema Mortal has had an excellent year, starting off with the head-splitting FARCE 7” and wrapping things up with this killer debut from Milan’s AXE. Featuring two vocalists and a raw, crusty sound, AXE plays with a little more texture and melody (and I think keyboard) than your usual D-beat fare. Opening track “Patto di Sangue” kicks off with an ominously dark tone that quickly morphs into full on mängel fury that doesn’t let up for the entirety of the tape. A total scorcher and highly recommended.

Billiam The Letter W & the Numeral B EP

Melbourne’s BILLIAM is back with another EP, his fourth release this year. There’s nothing new here, and any of the four tracks could have appeared on any of the project’s previous efforts. If you’ve enjoyed any of his other records, you’ll dig this. “New Wave” and “Houston We Have Rock” are full of fuzzy three-chord punk, battered with synthesizers and left scrambling to catch up to the lo-fi hi-hats working overtime in the background. The vocals sound like they were recorded through a cell phone inside of a cave, which kind of ruins it for me, although repeating the phrase “Houston, we have rock” 16 times in 54 seconds brought a smile to my face. The B-side is more mid-tempo and features the highlight of the EP for me, the closing “Essential Feedstock Oils,” where they repeat the word “record” 27 times in 90 seconds. Heavy SPARKS vibes with a bedroom charm. It ain’t for me, but fans of 1-800-MIKEY and GEE TEE will eat it up.

C.A.M.O. Combative Anthems Motivate Outcry 12″

If you played this for me and told me it came out in 1985, I’d believe you, but C.A.M.O. out of Vienna, Austria exists in 2025, and thanks to Mendeku Diskak, their cassette Combative Anthems Motivate Outcry is now available as a vinyl disc. Anarcho-punk with a cold bent makes C.A.M.O. sound indignant and haunting, and this eight-song album is full of sonic macabre with ominous lyrics and guitar riffs that sound adjacent to funeral marches. If you dig early KILLING JOKE, 1919, or PART1, then go check out C.A.M.O. right now.

Condumb Disassociation EP

Crasher-crust noise punk from Philadelphia. It’s a well-crafted 7” where both the songwriting and the smart usage of the classic pedal arsenal are strong—there is a good balance between fast- and mid-tempos, and the screaming vocals let the songs breathe but sound forceful when they’re happening. The songs are so well-written that they would work without the screaming/swirling jet sounds of the guitar, which in could go against the noise-not-music ethos within the record, as the added effects are not masking rather traditional songs but upgrading primitive, non-existent ideas to something truly otherworldly. Here, the noise is masking knowledge and talent if you let yourself lead into mindless headbanging (which the record offers), but if you arrive via the main bands of the members, you probably will not feel cheated, either. Or if you listen beyond aesthetics and pay attention to what is actually happening. Nowadays, the look and slogans of this style seem more popular than ever, yet most bands do not come close to getting the essence of this sound. CONDUMB does; they get it and do it just right.

Dead Bug 6 or 12 New Songs cassette

NYC/Richmond, CA duo DEAD BUG’s 6 or 12 New Songs is not really an album, but more of an experiment on interpreting visual data and translating it into music. It goes like this: there is a zine called 5 New Songs which has cryptic drawings and enigmatic descriptions that symbolize abstract ideas for five different songs. Both members of the band work alone to write and record their respective sides with their interpretation of what those songs would sound like. The results are really interesting and it’s definitely a thought-provoking experiment. But I think reviewing and trying to describe how it sounds would defeat its purpose, as it requires listeners to connect the dots between the music and the visuals. I highly recommend checking it out and maybe even trying it yourself.

Embittered This Failed Endeavor cassette

Raw, pissed-off hardcore punk with a distinctly bleak tone. EMBITTERED tears through short, furious tracks driven by urgent drumming and a bitter vocal delivery. The cassette format suits the band perfectly—lo-fi but powerful, emphasizing frustration, alienation, and total rejection of false optimism. Hardcore meant to be felt, not polished.

Hardcore punk crudo y cargado de bronca, con un tono marcadamente sombrío. Embittered avanzan a través de canciones cortas y furiosas, impulsadas por una batería urgente y voces cargadas de resentimiento. El formato cassette le sienta perfecto al material: sonido áspero, directo, enfocado en la frustración y el rechazo absoluto al optimismo vacío.

Fungas Intelligence 1 LP

Sci-fi egg-punk from Australia that mixes DEVO-core vocals and herky-jerky rhythms with maximum dork power (they’re really into rocks, apparently?). Sneaky spy riffs tangle with alien synths for a familiar but fun high-energy blast. “i1” pulls back the shtick just a bit to allow classic new wave melodies to emerge and build a near-perfect multi-layered pop song. If you like this kind of stuff, you’ll like this record—it’s well-produced and carefully composed for maximum party impact.

Holly and the Nice Lions Dolores LP

I went to Green Bay UFO Museum Gift Shop and Records for the first time a few years ago when I decided to drive the northern route around Lake Michigan to Minneapolis. I walked out of there with some great records on Amphetamine Reptile and a Darth Vader bank for my cousin that would activate with every road bump and say “Impressive, most impressive, you are not a Jedi yet.” There were a lot of bumps. Still, with that slap-tickle memory, I was excited to see that they had something to do with this release. I researched (typed into an Internet browser) Certified PR Records and found that they are based in St. Petersburg, Florida, where long-ago Maximum Rocknroll shitworker, reviewer, columnist, and interviewer Lali D lives, so it can’t be that bad. I heard that St. Pete has a good glass arts scene, too. This Dolores LP starts off with a song clocking in at over four minutes, pulling from the dark side of the dirge-like, cloud-covered Midwest, but around the two-minute mark, it becomes a straight-up middle-finger rocker. This easily could have been on Sympathy for the Record Industry with its lean into the punk side of rock’n’roll. The standout on this is the HOLLY part of HOLLY AND THE NICE LIONS band, and her direct and committed vocals. Oftentimes I’ve felt that singers can tend to overdo it with screaming to try and get across their disgust or pain or anger, but in this instance, HOLLY uses good songwriting coupled with subtle vocal tones and inflection to let you know she’s had enough. I’d be remiss if I didn’t touch on Steven Spoerl’s bass-playing that complements every song, almost as though another dim and somber conversation is taking place somewhere in the same room, with Travis Pashek’s drums pulling you forward through a late-night drive north, hugging the lake shore alone with everything getting darker and darker. This record, in sum, is thoughtful, heavy, dark, empowering, sorrowful, and redeeming rock’n’roll/punk/sludge/garage. Dolores is for those times that you want to be alone to work out what’s been bugging you. HOLLY AND THE NICE LIONS have been a band for over a decade, and I’m a bit sad that I’m just hearing them now. In closing, my cousin loved his Darth Vader bank, and think he’s going to love this record, too. He’s 53.

Industry Industry LP

Berlin-based INDUSTRY has been gathering steam from the past two years and has finally unleashed their self-titled full-length. Burly punk rock with jazz compositions and an aggro vibe creates a ten-song LP that reads as monolithic but is overtly so much more. In other words, lyrics born out of exasperation are delivered over rumbling rhythms and grinding guitars that shift grooves frequently, but always seem to get your head banging. If you’ve had your fill of AXEGRINDER and are looking for something more, then look no further than INDUSTRY.

Lake Inferior Five Ahead / Avoid All Robots 7″

Wow, this is a phenomenal pair of songs here. Sinister doom-goth-surf rock, as if WEEDEATER decided they wanted to sound more like the CRAMPS and Danzig-era MISFITS. I love the unintentional (at least I assume it’s unintentional) irony of their song “Five Ahead,” which features the lyrics “Five years ahead of our time / Ten years behind.” This certainly sounds like it’s from the future and not at all dated or “behind.” The B-side (“Avoid All Robots”) is equal parts retro-futuristic and a cautionary tale for our current AI-addled society. Really great slab here. Highly recommended.

Model Martel A Thousand Couple Times LP

MODEL MARTEL has a parallel sound with many bands on Tiny Engines Records and the Lauren Records style of Midwest-centric emo-punk-pop-core. This is shitty jobs, friends you can’t depend on, broken relationships, expecting more from life, and finding comfort in late night talks, all wrapped in guitar hooks and melancholic melody. If I were 25 years younger, I would be calling this my favorite record of 2025 because of how it encapsulates life’s twenties and thirties. A solid, lyrically-focused rite of passage LP, open-eyed on broken and healing, punctuated with tight bass and drums. There are only 300 of these LPs, on all of the different colors that an LP could be, perhaps. A Thousand Couple Times, although budding with infectious hooks, has a regretful and foreboding lyrical sorrow to it that always seems to be amplified by a band’s proximity to the Great Lakes.

The Not This Record Contains Not One Hit Single… + I Do Not Care!!! CD

Off-kilter Japanese punkers NOT existed in the early 2000s, sticking around for just long enough to record the thirteen rough-hewn tracks showcased on this CD. Injecting straightforward ’77 punk in the vein of the KNOCKS with a bit of modern meddle like the BLACK AND WHITE, the band’s sound is ultimately a quirky take on ’90s garage punk style. The opening groove to “I Can’t Get Back to Me” is a straight-up REGISTRATORS swipe, and the winding instrumental “Mituwadai 101” sounds like it could be a GASOLINE jam session captured in uncharacteristically clean fidelity. Tracks one through eight are from the band’s most realized recording, titled This Record Contains Not One Hit Single, and the remaining songs are taken from their 2004 demo (I Do Not Care), bringing you the full NOT experience on one disc. A brief interview with the group’s founder Hidde included in this package alludes to a reunion gig slated for 2026, so keep an eye out if you happen to find yourself in Chiba prefecture this coming year.

Dre Perish Twist of Fate LP

New Orleans artist/producer DRE PERISH (also of the noise punk duo QUARTER RATS) is a self-styled “psych punk/no wave junkie,” and their new LP seems to push that identity in every direction at once. PERISH handles vocals, guitar, bass, synths, sax, beats, and samples, with guest players dropping in on about half the tracks. Across its eleven songs and three field recordings, the album meanders between styles like a Tuesday-night CBGB audition lineup: opening with a NINE INCH NAILS-leaning opener, then a detour into alternative/art rock, the rumble of a passing train, and then “All Night!”—the standout for me, which sounds like it could’ve come off one of the more chaotic OSEES recordings. There’s also a crunchy/synthy cover of GANG OF FOUR’s “To Hell With Poverty!” I found myself gravitating toward the tracks played with real instruments and patiently waiting for the synth-heavy ones to end, but that’s just personal taste. For most people, this will either be a challenging listen or a novelty, but if you’ve got a wide-open brain and enjoy listening to an artist follow every weird instinct, Twist of Fate might be an entertaining journey.

Precipice Down the Well 12″

PRECIPICE is a band that formed during COVID and put out a demo that I heard yet quickly lost interest in. Down the Well is a welcomed return, and is demonstrative of the Nantes group strengthening and turning the knobs. Bass-driven in an almost KILLDOZER-like way, the eight tracks are spread evenly with hate and indignation. A minute-long beatdown with “A Customary Behavior in a Particular Situation” is my mixtape track. Good bruisers.

Royal Scum Human Gallantry EP

This is a perfect example of a cover being a poor illustration of the music included on the record. In terms of semiotics, using a rather gruesome black-and-white picture of a horse being hung on a deck points to growling, nihilistic grindcore, but ROYAL SCUM from Hamburg does not belong to that school, rather playing heavy and dark crusty hardcore with some moody melodies. The band is actually more of a collective and does not have a fixed lineup, so I do not know if the members of this version of the band were around in the ’00s, but I would bet they were because ROYAL SCUM has that typical quite well-produced neocrusty sound that was so popular back then. It would be far-fetched to claim that they stand as an all-out FROM ASHES RISE-type band, but early/mid-’00s ACURSED or UNKIND come to mind, although they do not sound quite as bleak, and the vocal delivery in English—as well as the use of several angry singers—makes me think of US bands (like ANTIPRODUCT, maybe?). With ROYAL SCUM being pro-vegan, I assume the cover is meant to reflect human cruelty toward animals, and I would guess the band is not too keen on the monarchy (even if Germany, besides Franz Beckenbauer, has not had a king for a while). On the whole, Human Gallantry is a pretty solid listen if you enjoy this sort of politically-driven, heavy, angry hardcore with dark melodies, and the EP works well and does perfectly what it set out to do.

Slang Rest in Misery LP

Sapporo City legends return after a decade of silence with all the subtlety of a bomb blast. Stoke-on-Trent meets NYHC in a glorious amalgamation that still sounds fresh and innovative over thirty years on. The vitality and rage hasn’t faded in the least, and one gets the sense that SLANG has reemerged in response to the deteriorating global political climate. In the face of so much avoidable death and exploitation, the outrage laid bare across the nine tracks of Rest in Misery is palpable. Prank isn’t as active as they once were, but they always deliver the goods. No exception here, just raging Japanese hardcore with a metallic bent that will make you want to run through a wall.

Stare Kits Live in NYC 1979 LP

STARE KITS were an enigmatic, art-leaning minimalist punk quartet that operated on the periphery of New York’s late ’70s no wave scene—their first show was actually on a May 1979 bill with the similarly-disposed (and also debuting) UT, two strange and striking flowers simultaneously sprouting from the same overgrown garden plot. It turned out to be an incredibly short-lived project (six whole months and three live performances), with a legacy that has largely survived through the web of what its members would later go onto to do, namely vocalist Angela Jaeger relocating to London and joining DROWNING CRAZE and PIGBAG after STARE KITS’ split and drummer Amy Rigby forming the SHAMS in the late ’80s before a lauded singer/songwriter career. This LP marks the first proper STARE KITS release, with Side A pulled from live tracks recorded at two of the band’s three gigs at the Lower Manhattan post-punk/experimental music hub Tier 3 and rehearsal versions of six of those eight songs making up the flip. The raw, feral energy of the live takes gives them an almost universal edge here—“​If It’s Red It Can’t Be Black” is STARE KITS at their most classically no wave, as Angela’s vocals waver somewhere between spoken, sung, and incanted over a completely tumbling and halting rhythm, while the doomed guitar-and-poetry intensity of “I See Them From My Window” almost prefigures MECCA NORMAL, and standout “Strength Accumulate” strips bass-driven, UK DIY-style post-punk to an absolutely paper-thin extreme. A footnote in the grand scheme of things, to be sure, but still one worth investigating.

Twenty One Children Ice Cube EP

Scrappy, hook-driven punk rock with garage energy and a sneering attitude. TWENTY ONE CHILDREN balance raw distortion with catchy songwriting, keeping things loose but memorable. The EP moves fast, loaded with youthful frustration and sharp humor, recalling classic underground punk while still sounding fresh. A solid reminder that simple punk done right still hits hard.

Punk rock directo y pegadizo, con energía garage y actitud burlona. TWENTY ONE CHILDREN combinan distorsión cruda con canciones memorables, manteniendo todo simple pero efectivo. El EP avanza rápido, cargado de frustración juvenil y humor ácido, evocando el punk underground clásico sin sonar pasado de moda.

Wax Static Wasted Town EP

The cover is a picture of a broken skateboard with the band name in ’90s labelmaker font, and there’s a PRIMITIVE HEARTS cover included. I love it when a band lets you know exactly what to expect from their cover art. There’s a lo-f surfy element to these songs, but it’s still a little tough while still being fun. Both “Wasted Town” and “Back to You” have an early BLACK LIPS feel to them and pair well with the PRIMITIVE HEARTS cover. The vocals are much more audible and in the mix than on their demo released in early 2025, and it benefits them well. Worth checking out if you’re into lo-fi bedroom garage punk.

Yellow Ghoul Yellow Ghoul cassette

Solid five-track debut from Buffalo punks YELLOW GHOUL, featuring grimy and lo-fi(-ish) guitars accompanied by pounding drums and vocals by SCIENCE MAN’s John Toohill. YELLOW GHOUL speeds through these songs, slowing down for a breakdown or two but not much else. Overall, I have no complaints here; this sounds like something Toxic State would put out, which is as high a compliment as I can pay.

V/A Slice of Death cassette

Tennessee Cold Cuts have had one hell of a busy year, dropping some of the best albums I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing over these last 365 days. This comp will give you a great taste of what this label has to offer, with tracks ranging from egg-punk to goth rock, dance punk to brutal grindcore. This is a fantastically eclectic mix and definitely worth a couple plays. Tennessee’s punk scene is looking mighty strong heading into 2026.

Angel Face Out in the Street LP

If you’re a fan of garage punk and this isn’t already on your radar, then no, you’re not. Distributed via the gold standard Slovenly and featuring members of TEENGENERATE and the FADEAWAYS, this exemplifies what makes the genre exciting. The hooks are incredible and the production presents the whole affair within crackling gritty trappings. These players have power pop chops for decades, but they’re so tuned in here and pushed into the red that they have major teeth track to track. Background “ooh”s and “ahh”s are guiding stars of style, as well as handclaps that inflect a bubblegum tone that bumps nicely against the spikier edges of what’s going on. This group’s debut was good stuff, but this is a whole other level. The B-side standout “Press Your Luck” has STOOGES’ dripping venom with a chorus that’s downright gorgeous. The album is undeniable, so don’t try and fight it off and let it take over your turntable.

Banda Des Femer Herència Enverinada 12″

It’s the first time I get assigned a band singing in Menorcan Catalan, which is a specific type of Catalan from the Balearic Islands, and if the language is new to me, the music certainly is not, because BANDA DES FEMER play good old raw, käng-influenced hardcore punk that takes no prisoners and gets straight to the point. What sets this LP apart might be the peculiar production that keeps things deceptively simple and primitive—it doesn’t go for any deafening “wall of noise” or anything fancy, but just old school D-beat punk for the punks (a noble cause indeed). The band clearly displays self-awareness about the genre and their own technical prowess, which I find quite refreshing. I like the upfront vocals that are still intelligible, and there are some welcome mid-paced moments and even a couple of sing-alongs. There are strong hints of ’90s D-beat and some songs would have been at home on a Distortion Records compilation in 1994. The music also reminds me of DHK for its spontaneity and its radicalism, not synonymous with extremity here but of core value. Simple, fast, and loud political hardcore punk that loves DISCHARGE lovers. However, I think the record should have been longer, as seven songs in fourteen minutes is a little short for an album (although the three members do not live in the same town, so practicing has to be an issue), but these are fourteen good minutes.

[Brick] Demo 2025 cassette

Visceral and vitriolic, the UK’s [BRICK] are angry and have good reason to be. Existing in a world that rejects you at every turn is unimaginable, but that is indeed their reality. As a group of trans women (who met at a transfeminist book club, awesome), [BRICK]’s songs speak to the very real hate faced by trans people every day. Sonically, it’s a lo-fi and straightforward punk affair, occasionally going off the rails into discordant noise territory. Lyrically, it’s a brutal listen, but one that deserves to be heard.

The Covids Pay No Mind LP

The COVIDS have an UNDERTONES quality to their songs while drawing in a more modern song structure influenced by Goner Records’ roster of catchier bands, the Rev. Nørb, and bands blending the METHADONES and RAMONES. “Waste of Space” is my favorite track on the record simply because of the way they cadence the chorus of “space and time” with space and time; it will make sense when you hear it. There are ten songs rounding out this LP, making this a perfect length. I think I’m most pleased by the front and back of the sleeve because it gives you a near-perfect idea of what this band is like just by the color and composition, and the sunglasses on the back made me giggle.

The Drags Dragsploitation… Now! LP

One of three well-deserved DRAGS reissues delivered by Total Punk this year, Dragsploitation… Now! is a brief and potent ride through the band’s legendary ’60s-fueled punk swagger in its earlier stages. Originally released as a 10” by Estrus in 1995, this was their sophomore effort following the iconic I Like to Die 7”. Alongside the MAKERS, THEE HEADCOATS, and a handful of others, these guys forged the throwback garage style of the ’90s, offering an eye-opening take on punk for impressionable youth of that era (including yours truly.) Dig that crazy beat—it still feels fresh 30 years later.

Endless Joy Endless Joy LP

Iron Lung hits the mark once again, delivering another masterclass in abrasive, high-stakes hardcore. ENDLESS JOY plays with tension and dissonance like a weapon—jagged riffs, frantic delivery, and a suffocating, anxious energy that never lets up. Every song feels like it’s on the verge of imploding, yet the band maintains complete control, which is exactly what makes it so powerful. Easily one of the strongest releases of the batch.

Iron Lung no falla, y este LP es otra prueba de su puntería quirúrgica. ENDLESS JOY ejecuta un hardcore desquiciado, tenso y abrasivo, donde la disonancia funciona como motor emocional. Los temas avanzan como un enjambre eléctrico: rápidos, incómodos y llenos de esquinas filosas. Todo suena al borde del colapso pero siempre bajo control, lo que lo vuelve aún más poderoso. Uno de los discos más fuertes del mes.

The Fuzz Bombers The Fuzz Bombers cassette reissue

The FUZZ BOMBERS were a blink-and-you’ll-miss-them San Gabriel Valley band active circa 1998, built from ex-members of the JAWAS and future members of the TAKEDOWNS and BAD MOTIVATOR, among others—basically the extended universe of singer/label-runner Brian Von Wolfe. This tape pulls together two sessions from that year, and the results are classic no-budget garage punk: fast, loose, and sounding slightly better than recorded-on-a-boombox. There’s an early version of “Get Out Of,” later re-recorded by the TAKEDOWNS, but this one is faster and a shade more raw. None of this rewrites the genre playbook, but it’s a perfectly decent document of late-’90s punk ephemera. Maybe essential if you’re trying to fill out the Brian-adjacent family tree; otherwise, it’s probably not going to have a huge impact on anybody.

High Anxiety Your Dreams Are Caught in War 12″

HIGH ANXIETY from Ontario, Canada plays crust-blown anarcho-punk, and earlier this year, they released Your Dreams Are Caught in War, which is ten tracks of indignation and rage. Espousing post-crust and proto-grind elements, HIGH ANXIETY features noisy vocals, upfront, dirty bass, and guitar riffs that are primitive, rhythmic, and energetic. Lyrically, HIGH ANXIETY cuts through the bullshit with scathing criticisms of political, cultural, and religious institutions of our time. The ten songs on this disc are over in much too short of an amount of time, leading to multiple playthroughs. Your Dreams are Caught in War is a joint release of Fiadh Productions and Violet Hour Transmissions, so the sleeve and disc are of the highest quality.

The Icks Devil cassette

Second five-song cassette released by this Florida three-piece punk outfit. Similar to the first tape, this follow-up is almost painfully lo-fi. Unfortunately, this does detract a bit from the songs, making it difficult to discern exactly what’s going on. While I find the attempt to do an analog recording right onto a stereo tape deck incredibly commendable (and a hell of a lot more real than doing a crummy cell-phone-recorded demo), there is a learning curve and obvious limitations with such an approach. In terms of the songs themselves, the first three are driving, mid-tempo grunge-inspired punk songs with somewhat lazy vocal delivery, “Nice Things” being the clear standout of the bunch. From here, the tape changes lanes completely, bringing us an artistic, quirky spoken word/bass interlude, and finally an acoustic, open-mic-style bedroom pop song. All in all, I’m just left more confused than anything else after listening to this release. Oh, also, having to do research to figure out that a release is on a tape label is a bizarre move. Why wouldn’t the label releasing something just put their label name somewhere on the tape or the artwork?

Jailcell Recipes Artifact for an Empty Tank World LP

A reissue compilation encompassing the first two full-lengths and first two EPs from hardcore Wiganers JAILCELL RECIPES. The target for this collection was to clean up poor-quality old recordings to be introduced amongst a teeming new audience. Did it work? Yes, it did. The traversing collection starts with the band in their heavily YOUTH OF TODAY-influenced genesis and ends with the band’s LEATHERFACE-styled coda. Tons of material is crammed into this record sleeve, really everything there could be to know about these blokes.

Knotwork Knotwork demo cassette

The last time I heard of a Detroit crust band was when ANGUISH released their first EP in 2009, a comparatively innocent time when the very idea of Donald Trump being president still belonged to the realm of dystopian science fiction (where it should have stayed). I cannot be said to have a large expertise in this area, but I have a  sixth sense when it comes to quality crust and, weather permitting, am able to detect it from beyond the seas. KNOTWORK had been on my prestigious “bands to watch for” list, so I was genuinely excited when this demo tape finally came out. And let me tell you that I was right to be excited, and my sixth sense is as sharp as ever. If the production might be a little too raw for some—as a lover of cave music, it certainly is not for me—the songwriting skills of KNOTWORK are undeniable, and for a first proper recording, it is a crust tour de force. The band inhabits the stenchcore revival waters of the punk world and are not unlike modern classic bands like ALEMENT, the sadly missed ZYGOME or mid/late ’00s INSTINCT OF SURVIVAL, meaning they have a certain flair for good crust arrangements. Basically, they keep working on the traditional old school apocalyptic metal crust sound that, if it cannot be said to be the fanciest of punk subgenres these days, still has very loyal enthusiasts ready to save on soap in order to buy the stenchcore goods. KNOTWORK also nods to the genre’s forefathers like DEVIATED INSTINCT or AXEGRINDER on a couple of occasions, but the influences are overall structural, the band cannot be considered as too derivative even if they borrow liberally. There is a good mix of paces and vocal styles, which is all the more impressive since there is just one vocalist who can switch from demonic growls à la LAST LEGION ALIVE to more traditional DETESTATION-ish ’90s anarcho shouts. This tape is right up crust street.

Laundry Bats Hangin on a String LP

Behold the LAUNDRY BATS—an unanticipated bastion of punk purity in these troubled times. These are the Memphis all-stars of dirt-caked rock’n’roll, featuring members of the OBLIVIANS and COMPULSIVE GAMBLERS, and led by the distinctly raw vocals of Abe White (MANATEEES, TRUE SONS OF THUNDER). This configuration taps into an unbridled, freewheeling spirit that unwittingly touches edges with the likes of the RETAIL SIMPS and even Bloomington’s enigmatic COWBOYS, swinging from soulful ’70s blues rock à la Kill City (“Bizness”) to psychedelic spaghetti western (“Lawnmower Man”) in impressively graceful fashion. You’ll throw your hands in the air at the haunting and sympathetic “Church of Bad,” and nod in approval as “Nightmare” reappropriates the lead riff from the CLASH’s “What’s My Name” like it was a stolen catalytic converter welded onto a rusted Camaro. That’s not the only familiar groove you’ll find here, but any similarities to other songs living or dead are undoubtedly in tasteful homage. It’s a diversely inspired party of a record, with the only constant being that it’s 100% fire.

Lo and Behold Onward Journey cassette

Debut release from LO AND BEHOLD, the solo project of Louis Harding. In a list of bands too long to name, Harding’s tenure as a songwriter really shines through on this heartfelt, ten-track masterpiece. I recognized his name from his bass work in BELGRADO, whose 2023 Intra Apogeum made quite a splash. That said, there’s no synth/dance vibe present on Onward Journey, instead we get a beautiful, sweeping reverie, reminiscent of the shimmering guitar and despair on something like Paul Westerberg’s “Answering Machine”—trading Midwestern sensibilities for downcast British shoe-scuffing. This will make my top ten albums of the year, easy. I just hope the cassettes are quality, because unlike many raucous, lo-fi recordings, this one wants to be listened to loud and clear. Buy the ticket, take the Journey.

The Manks Last New Wave Hero!!!!!! CD

Japan’s the MANKS ran from 1994–2001 as part of the Chiba punk scene, and Last New Wave Hero!!!!!!! collects eight tracks of their extremely lo-fi garage/’77-style punk, pulled from demos and compilation appearances recorded thirty years ago. It’s raw, unvarnished, recorded-in-the-basement rock delivered with a bratty, high-energy sneer. “My Generation” might be the highlight for me, although at 2:52, it’s the longest song on the collection and probably could’ve been trimmed. It all falls into that wonderfully sloppy zone where there’s way more spirit than technical finesse, but I think the potential really shines through. Members later went on to the SPIT, the PLASTERS, and, more recently, SPIT-TN, but this CD captures the scrappy origin point and it’s better than it has any right to be.

Optic Sink Lucky Number LP

Tennessee’s OPTIC SINK delivers eight synth-driven post-punk tracks with their LP Lucky Number. While thoughtfully layered drum machine beats and bass lines akin to Peter Hook’s melodic style form a strong foundation for the album, analog and unpolished synth tracks provide a nice, gritty top layer for Natalie Hoffmann of NOTS to sing over. Though not as front and center, guitars help strengthen the melodic content significantly. All in all, it’s a nice album to sway along and wander off.

Dre Perish Criminal Ghost LP

Rootsy collection of noisy, melodic rock songs steeped in Southern gothic and reverb that might appeal to fans of the GUN CLUB or the DRIN. Criminal Ghost is not bad by any means, but it definitely follows a more traditionally structured mainstream rock music approach than punk, although some of these tracks do have a smoky post-punk skeleton inside the meticulous production. DRE has a full-throated singing voice with a bluesy warble that registers somewhere between Win Butler of the ARCADE FIRE and Jeffrey Lee Pierce and gives the songs a lived-in sonic weight. The recording was done in New Orleans, which seems apropos, given the streetwalking at dusk vibes; I can practically smell the stale beer and cigarette smoke wafting through the lyrics, accompanied with just a touch of danger.

Pocket Bike Racers Pocket Bike Racers demo cassette

Posthumous cassette release of a two-song demo from a lo-fi, nasty, rock’n’roll/rockabilly-infused one-off garage punk project from Cleveland, OH, recorded in 2020 during COVID lockdown. There’s something very charming about these tracks, and it is yet another of many examples from that timeframe of people finding a way to have some sort of creative outlet when isolated from others. Released in small quantities, Knuckles On Stun is onto their second run of 25 copies of this demo, with the second press having the art inverted as a differentiation from the first run of 25. Thankfully, my copy is from the first run or I would have had to photocopy my own cover, inverting it back to normal as that is a massive pet peeve of mine. Check out the recent article written for The Counterforce on that exact topic if you are confused as to what I mean.

Schenectavoidz Attaining New Levels of High cassette

Straight out of Schenectady, New York, this hometown homage brings us some modern “blink it and you’ll miss it” hardcore. To put it bluntly (no pun intended), most of these tracks don’t last longer than a minute-and-a-half, besides the appropriately titled “90 Seconds” which abandons the lightning-quick hardcore motif and adopts a sludgier edge. These folks channel the energy of CHARLES BRONSON, but sound a bit more like fellow East Coasters EVERY TIME I DIE and SUCIDE FILE. If you’re a fan of the modern hardcore sound of the last two decades, you’re going to want to check this out.

Shakti Shakti LP

Barcelona punk band with members of Indian heritage deliver a fucking killer debut record that captures post-colonial disillusionment so precisely that it sounds like a future rebel anthem. With Marathi-language vocals and Bollywood-influenced dancefloor rhythms, SHAKTI feels culturally rooted in India, while also existing as a seething punk band. It’s an incredible, invigorating balance—and the track “Lahan Pani,” with its spoken word intro detailing the exploitation of India by countries that repair the favor with blatant racism, is maybe the year’s best album opener. The bass riff is hooky, and the fury that follows is decimating. Locked-in bass/drums configurations that wouldn’t be out of place on a disco floor abound on this record, but it stays punk AF; not an easy feat. Songs like “Maut” and “Andolan” have a funk-anchored post-punk approach that crackles with found-sound samples, sounding like a walk past a dance club anchored by a wall of TVs displaying the same staticky news reporter. It’s a rich experience, and you owe it to yourself as a connoisseur of international punk to get this on your turntable fast.

So Close / Wipeout split EP

Samples and powerviolence go together like a horse and a carriage. WIPEOUT delivers a seriously bass-heavy axe to the face, with a thin, can-like snare cutting through the wall of fuzz with precision, and horrific vocals setting the mood. Four tracks of modern powerviolence as short as they come that could appease both the WEEKEND NACHOS enjoyer as well as the CROSSED OUT purist. Next up is SO CLOSE, and guess what? Samples? Check! Blasts, skanks, and breakdowns? Check! More polished-sounding (if there is such a thing), INFEST-like fast hardcore delivered with the obligatory Joe Denunzio snarl. And by the time you’re done reading this review, so will be the split. One for the Ham-slappers.

Starburst Revolutionary Technology cassette

Harkening back to when emo was being argued over on the WEEZER message boards (during its third wave that many decried as false) is this harsh-washed gem of a tape that buries its achingly sweet harmonies in swaths of lo-fi gunk. The result is totally compelling and well-anchored to its melodies, which are uniformly excellent. Even though they get a little Midwestern on the lick starting off the penultimate cut “Summer,” this is a novel approach to pop-sensible indie rock with a punk ethos. Perfecto.

V/A This Is It… LP

With every compilation I have ever heard in my entire life, I always look for several distinct things. The first being, did these bands give their best, or did they submit throwaway tracks? Second, do I get the feeling that I’d want to stop into this area for lunch and record shopping? Third, and most importantly, do I want to seek out music from bands I’ve never heard before? Put simply, this is the Midwest at its absolute best, styled as a variety of underground hardcore and punk to let you know that quality control and intent is paramount to the label that put this out. With seven bands, and six of them having multiple songs, this comp does its best to hack a path to uncover that raw nerve dry socket of the Great Lakes region.

The record comes hammering in with CROSSES, which is essentially DIE KREUZEN, and I don’t want to waste the space telling you what you already know about the staggering power of their ferocious songwriting. Up next, SEX CHANGE comes blasting in, and reminds me of a RORSCHACH, ANTISCHISM, and DROPDEAD both in style and highly charged personal lyrics. MDOP’s two songs are wall-of-sound hardcore, and the recording makes me think they left some blood on the floor in that room. They are a gross rainbow of chaos and corrosive juices playing completely unhinged hardcore. The lyrics “Fuck this job, kill your boss,” come on, who can’t get behind that? KIWI ARMY brings in pop punk/power pop with melody and a homage to one of the greatest Christmas movies of all time, Silent Night Deadly Night. Similarly to how DESCENDENTS deliver an amount of level-setting to an SST compilation, KIWI ARMY mirrors that with their style of melodic punk songwriting—what I mean by this is having great musicians pull in a perspective outside of aggressive id, and harnessing an everyday joy or sarcasm to round out the Side A. However, KIWI ARMY’s second tune abandons the poppier punk elements with a straightforward song called “The Boring Song,” and it will burrow its way into your brain and live there for the rest of your life, methinks.

NO SYMPATICO might be my favorite band on here, featuring members of THEE ELDER GODS and channeling NOMEANSNO and CRUCIFUCKS while allowing ample space to be themselves. The songs mirror driving a big-engined car with a middle finger out the window, slowing down for raccoons and opossums, but heavy-footed through tweed and suit and uniform and meat and fat and muscle of certain people. PIG RIDES have members of a ton of bands you’ve passed up in dollar bins or who were featured on the split 7” that you bought for the other band—here is your chance to hear what they’ve become, and it is worth it. You get two dense hardcore songs delivered in the NEGATIVE APPROACH style of Midwestern hardcore you’ve come to love. To be honest, when I heard these tracks, I pulled the needle off the record, looked them up, and ordered their cassette on December 4th, 2025 at 11:21 PM.

Closing this record out is the STATE. The STATE is Michigan’s longest-running hardcore band, with Jeff Bale having reviewed their No Illusions EP in Maximum Rocknroll #10 in 1983, to now, me, Maximum Rocknroll #511, in 2025. Here is the good and bad about that, nothing has changed. The STATE is still ferocious and machine-faultless in delivery. This makes for great songs with impact, but it also makes me a little bit sad that 42 years later, things are still the way they are. This compilation overwhelmingly succeeded in overcoming all three measurable points I have. I do have one challenge with this record, and it is kind of a big one for me—no booklet. The insert doesn’t match the power or intent of the music, and to me, it softens the full force a bit. I really love to read along with bands, and without that, I can only be partially committed. A corrective suggestion might be to have the bands send in something and plop a link to a downloadable PDF on the Bandcamp page. I dunno, I’m spitballin’ here. In the end, this is a fucking outstanding representation of current Middle West bands, and you’d be foolish to let this pass.

Axe Collector Unforced Damage EP

Human Future continues to prove why they’re one of the most exciting labels in today’s hardcore landscape. Evil-driven AXE COLLECTOR unleashes a full-force EP of ripping, steel-cut aggression: sharp riffs, collapsing-wall drums, and vocals that spit fire without a pause. Every track hits like a thrown brick—fast, raw, and absolutely determined. Fury with intention, nothing sloppy, all deadly precise. Hardcore with no filler, no posturing. A record that feels urgent, necessary, alive, like it was tracked inside a street riot. One of my favorites this month.

Human Future continúa demostrando por qué es uno de los sellos más emocionantes del circuito hardcore actual. Guiados por una fuerza maligna, AXE COLLECTOR entrega un EP que es pura metralla: riffs filosos, baterías que parecen detonar paredes y una voz que te escupe la realidad sin descanso. Cada tema cae como un ladrillazo—rápido, crudo, decidido. Hay furia, pero también claridad en la ejecución, nada suena atolondrado, todo está apuntado a matar. Hardcore sin relleno, sin poses, sin descanso. Un disco que se siente urgente y necesario, como si estuviese grabado en medio de un incendio en una manifestación. Uno de mis favoritos del mes.

Ayucaba Operación Masacre LP

Here’s a searing debut from this Barcelona powerhouse. Featuring members of killer bands like MURO and INYECCION, the bar for this slab is quite high, but goddamn, my expectations were fully exceeded. Not unlike INYECCION, there’s a prominent UK82 backbone, yet AYUCABA eschews the street punk bent for metal leanings in a BROKEN BONES kind of way. Ripping solos, chaotic, thrashy riffage à la BLACK UNIFORMS, Operación Masacre is a behemoth album. Impressive instrumentation is bolstered by straight evil vocals, launching this into a whole other galaxy. This whispered part of the opener “Sistema Siniestro” has Sakevi vibes, and there are nods to Japanese hardcore found throughout the album’s ten tracks. A potent formula executed with deftness and precision. Can’t seem to keep this one off the turntable.   

Body Minus Head An Exercise in Self-Sufficiency LP

BODY MINUS HEAD hail from Kitchener, Ontario, and play a blend of hardcore and crust punk that is emotive and gnarly. On An Exercise in Self-Sufficiency, the first full-length by the band, you’ll find vocal blasts that give goosebumps, guitar licks that make you say “hell yeah,” and a rumbly rhythm section that gets your head nodding. The majority of the songs on this ten-track album are over in less than two minutes each, so you know BODY MINUS HEAD isn’t wasting time noodling around, and most of the songs hit so hard you may experience shellshock. Tracks like “Reset to Factory Default” and “Unconditional” are full-on sonic pummelings, while the lyrics speak truths about the failures of the human condition. If you’ve ever listened to MURDERESS’s The Last Thing You Will Ever See… and said to yourself, “This could be heavier and faster,” then you should absolutely check out BODY MINUS HEAD.

Citric Dummies Split With Turnstile LP

Minneapolis cut-ups CITRIC DUMMIES return with their fourth LP, Split With Turnstile, which—consider yourself warned—is not a split with TURNSTILE at all. They put up a snotty front, but all hijinks aside, across eleven high-energy songs in twenty minutes they blast out buoyant, tongue-in-cheek punk propelled by D.V. Tinner’s hyperactive drumming. It’s fast without tipping into hardcore, landing somewhere between the BROKEDOWNS and DEAN DIRG. My buddy Tom says parts of it sound like a less crusty ANNIHILATION TIME, and he’s not wrong. Even when they’re yelling “I Don’t Like Anything,” the whole thing still bursts with this dumb, irresistible sense of fun. I fucking love this record. Immediate top ten material.

Die Benjamins In 10 Jahren / Pas de Deux 7″

Synth-spiked German post-punk casting backwards glances to the pop-leaning (but still properly asymmetrical) side of the Neue Deutsche Welle—think ÖSTRO 430, IDEAL, NEONBABIES, etc. That was enough to pique my interest after cueing this single up with zero background context, so imagine my surprise when I clocked that DIE BENJAMINS’ vocalist Annette Benjamin was the same Annette who had been the singer (and occasional saxophonist) for late ’70s/early ’80s femme-punk paragons HANS-A-PLAST! Her voice is as powerful as ever here, with all of the shouty defiance and boundless energy that made “Rank Xerox” and “Sex Sex Sex” such indelible rippers, but while these two songs are clearly informed by her musical past, they’re definitely not shackled to it. Thick, distorted bass drives the quirky/arty A-side “In 10 Jahren,” periodically dissolving into washes of echoing electronics straight out of the modern Leipzig school (not unlike a punchier/less coolly detached MARAUDEUR), with the darker and more desperate atmosphere of B-side “Pas de Deux” only heightened by Annette’s soaring, passionate pleads. Totally unexpected, in the best way.

East End Redemption Crashing Down LP

Pop punk out of Maine that combines the melodic sensibilities of your average RAMONES-core outing with a hint of early PROPAGHANDI—mainly in the vocals. In other words, this sounds like it came straight from the early years of Fat Wreck Chords. Good mixture of lighthearted lyrics paired with dystopian themes, specifically with tracks like “Lost Town” and “Lacking Motivation.” Nothing groundbreaking here, but it really scratches that itch if you’re a fan of this era of punk. I would be remiss not to mention how great the bass tone is on this here slab. Solid production all around, actually. In my research, I came across a recycling center of the same name from the same town the group calls home. I love when bands pull their monikers from shit like that. Fantastic stuff, and would recommend for a couple spins.