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!

Added Dimensions Jane From Preoccupied America LP

Richmond, Virginia consistently churns out great bands of all stripes, and ADDED DIMENSIONS are certainly no exception. Discordant garage with danceable grooves and unexpected harmonic layers. Art-tarnished if not fully damaged, the SWELL MAPS reference is fitting. They don’t sound much like GRASS WIDOW or VIVIAN GIRLS, though both of those bands spring to mind. Catchy and streamlined without being simplistic or saccharine. Out of the fertile bed of minimalism flowers a vine yielding complex fruit. Citric, sweet, with a touch of bitterness…remarkable and delectable. I dig it more with each listen.

Big Laugh Days of Disarray LP

Possible swan song from this Milwaukee hardcore band, and it’s a ripper. This 12” EP contains four tracks of complex punk, mixing big riffs, metallic palm-muted chugging, and layers of intricate sonic variations that keep each moment exciting like a blend of INSIDE OUT’s attitude with FUCKED UP’s compositional intricacy. The whole record is great, but “Vacation” stands out with its blend of aggression and textural minor-key fuzz. Check this one out, and let’s cross our fingers that it’s not the last from BIG LAUGH.

Crude Image Crude Image cassette

New London-based hardcore punk project from Lindsay Corstorphine of VIOLIN. CRUDE IMAGE cites inspiration from a few corners of the world, but the Midwest influence is most prominent. All of the instruments are quick, muscular, and tight, and the vocalist sounds like they popped a few blood vessels laying these tracks down. A real pressure cooker of a record, For fans of INMATES and the HELL.

Disolvente Guerra cassette

Some mid-tempo headnodders from Barcelona’s DISOLVENTE. Nothing too complicated here; this is very much your meat-and-patatas bravas UK82-flavoured street punk. It does chug along at a decent pace, but is nothing that’ll stay with me beyond the end of the record. I’m sure they are a laugh live, at the least.

El Sancho Roll Right Over You LP

Oh my golly! A punk band from Hawaii! EL SANCHO, I wasn’t expecting something so transportive to my teenage years. This emulates PROPAGANDHI with lyrics defining personal politics, wrapped in subtle humor. I think this record is a perfect jumping-off point for kids that are drawn to punk and underground music. EL SANCHO’s Roll Right Over You LP is budding with sing-along choruses and lyrical depth that float this record substantially above many other records in the same sound pool. Drawing sonically from the DWARVES and the HARD-ONS, this makes for a great, well-rounded LP. For me, this record should have had four or five fewer songs that could be used as a follow-up EP in a few months, but that’s just me.

Empired Strikes Back CD

What if TEXAS IS THE REASON was a radio pop-rock band from Southern California? That’s the vibe I’m getting here, for better and worse. On the positive side, elements of when pop punk goes hard into the pop realm (think the melodic work bands like BROADWAY CALLS have made their bread and butter) are deftly executed and mixed with ’90s post-hardcore. When the needle is more on the post-hardcore/punk-adjacent side as opposed to the alternative/radio rock end of the spectrum, the record works best and goes at all cylinders. A couple quasi-corny radio rock and ska-ish moments would simply make the songs better by not being there. Lyrically, these guys seem to be fairly punk in their thinking, which I appreciate, but I wish the EVERCLEAR or cod reggae  moments were cut to give the good elements more time to shine.

Fake Unamerikan EP

Debut release from the four-piece Memphis group FAKE. This definitely lies on the outer fringes of MRR coverage: a little garage-y, a little poppy, a little hokey, with clean guitars and a fairly low BPM. With all its quirks and silly asides, this reminds me of PAUL LEARY’s Born Stupid album. This certainly isn’t offensive or annoying, it’s just there, like a misfit cousin no one invited, but who just keeps showing up. Maybe this fake music is your thing. Give it a chance?

Game Show Models Sunk cassette

A quick collection of delightfully lo-fi and charmingly blown-out RAMONES-inspired buzzsaws. You can hear a lot of other sounds in these four tracks, from JAY REATARD to GEE TEE to SICK THOUGHTS, but the overall package of sounds helps this gem stand out. With three of the four tracks clocking in at less than two minutes, GAME SHOW MODELS aren’t here to ponder and pontificate. The guitars sound fantastic and make an amazing racket, while the vocals dare you to pick them out of the mess, like trying to stab an ice cube with a plastic fork, which simply adds to the replay value here.

Hyper Minds / Pizza Stains split EP

It’s a little freak show on wax, with an A-side showcasing some Rip-Off Records-style garage spiked with the shadowy psych of the SCIENTISTS courtesy of L.A.’s HYPER MINDS. The PIZZA STAINS out of San Gabriel Valley occupy the B-side with two tracks of bass-heavy and bare-bones RAMONES-y rocking, no brains required. While not directly demonic, these sounds are sufficiently twisted for ass-shake-inducing Halloween party bumpage.

La Isla Electronica No Digas Nunca EP

Following their 2024 demo, Portland, Oregon’s LA ISLA ELECTRONICA is out with their debut EP. Spanish, femme-fronted vocals over a synth-heavy darkwave type of thing—moody, poignant, haunting, with a steady-as-can-be dance beat. Like RIKI, but with a little more edge. I’m all in for this one.

The Lousekateers DCxPC Live, Volume 37 LP

Live recording of a set played by this NY pop punk band in Troy, NY early this year. I’d put their sound somewhere between TILT and the MUFFS, with a penchant for more intricate rock’n’roll guitar/bass arrangements more indicative of the latter but a propulsive ’90s pop punk edge easily ascribed to the former. The recording is clear and crisp, the band is playing pretty tight, and the singer seems pretty engaged with the crowd and her lyrics. An easy listen that underlines a quirk I’ve noticed several times where pop punk bands have a pronounced edge live they tend to hide on record. Good stuff.

Misere Misere 12″

MISERE is a new band out of Berlin who recently released their inaugural recording. Their self-titled 12″ is etched with seven tracks of gloom-laden post-punk that frequently borrows from proto-goth. Groove-riding bass lines, angular guitars, and shuffled, mid-paced drumming makes MISERE easily danceable for all the party bats out there. If you like XMAL DEUTSCHLAND, then absolutely check out MISERE.

No Peeling Can I Pet That Dog? EP

Short and sweet, hyperfocused, chaotic egg-punk. I loved how much was happening in every track; there were so many layers and things going on, I felt almost overwhelmed, but also not at all. They had a couple more melodic and lighthearted tracks as well, which caused a good balance. Overall, so much fun, I would recommend them if you need an extra shot of energy.

Petrograd A.B.C. LP reissue

Benchmark LP from some extremely prolific and melodic Luxembourger anarcho-punks. A.B.C. was released in 2000 (the only PETROGRAD release I previously knew except for the ACTIVE MINDS split), and it is a master class in infectious, intense, and accessible punk. You’re going to hear LEATHERFACE, EA80, hints of the things that made ’80s BAD RELIGION so timeless, and the roots of emo/indie through a political punk filter (most notably on the B-side). The vocals are the focal point even if they aren’t the highlight; it’s the embodiment of an “earnest” and honest delivery and it makes you want to listen to everything else with a concentrated ear. There’s a reason why thirteen labels were involved in the initial release, and a damn good reason why Sabotage reissued the record a quarter-century later…it’s a fucking masterpiece.

Psych-War Psychotic Warmonger LP

Yoooo, this record fucking smokes! Scandinavian-style crust coming straight from the city of brotherly punk. An absolute Philadelphia skull-basher! Muscular riffs accompanied by searing guitar solos and pummeling drums. The menacing vox pull everything together with gravelly precision. I hear some elements of CRUDE SS, WOLFPACK, and ACURSED, beyond the more obvious influences. Unabashedly rockin’, there’s a nice Motörcharge on tracks like “Screams at the Sky” and “Criminal Mission.” Throughout the eleven cuts, the shredding solos burn with a heat that risks melting the wax right off yer turntable. Undeniably sick artwork completes the package, placing it easily among the top releases of 2025. Never mind the brain cell battle, this is brain cell warfare!

Roach Squad Roach Squad LP

The gruff-throated singer Hugo Mudie (the SAINTE CATHERINES) joins forces with two members of the mighty LEATHERFACE, including Frank Stubbs, to craft more great melodic punk with dive bar conviction and grit. If you’re a fan of this particular thread of punk for songwriters, and I very much am, there’s a treasure trove here for you to dive into. Collectively, their sound is big and beaty, and the hooks are undeniable. Stubbs, thankfully, contributes his timeless voice to “I Wonder,” and while I applaud that this band mostly sounds like a group of musicians not trying to recreate their past glories, I can’t help but greet his presence like an old friend. But this isn’t some vanity project to relive the past. These players are here for keeps, and this is a flag planted confidently in the ground to announce a new chapter for everyone involved.

Scrotum Clamp / The Scuts I*A*N / Miss Information split EP

Fun split from across the pond, with both bands showcasing their own flavor of street punk while sounding different enough to keep things interesting. SCROTUM CLAMP plays a lighthearted, tongue-in-cheek Fat Wreck style of pop punk akin to GOOBER PATROL and FRENZAL RHOMB. The SCUTS sound as if they could have come from an early A-F Records comp sandwiched between THOUGHT RIOT and the CODE; melodic hardcore with lyrics drenched in politics. “Miss Information” is sung from the perspective of a right-wing bigot, and I’ll be honest here—if it wasn’t for the song title, I may have missed the irony. However, this is a really great split EP and is well worth a couple spins.

Sensor Ghost Irritation on Demand LP

Art-punk from DC that mixes angular post-punk rhythms with nasally vocals, like ERASE ERRATA meets THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS. Lyrics like “Back then we were the uncouth cream of the crop / Screaming on the stage / Boppin’ around like an unkept cadre of lollipops,” from “Lamentations of the Scene,” are bouncy and catchy, and notably less serious than what I usually associate with a Dischord release. The vocals ride a fine line between quirky and off-putting, but if you spend some time with the tracks, they start to make sense in their own weird little orbit. The LP was recorded with Ian MacKaye and Don Zientara at Inner Ear Studios, so you know it sounds incredible. Most striking is the feeling of genuine oddball fun SENSOR GHOST seems to be having. They are probably not a band for everyone, but the energy is contagious if you give it a chance.

Traidora Una Mujer Trans Sin País LP

A trans woman without a county. TRAIDORA’s Una Mujer Trans Sin País is an exploration of the isolation and displacement faced by trans women, particularly those without a homeland, both physically and emotionally. The album’s title speaks directly to the experience of being a trans woman who doesn’t fit within the confines of traditional gender or national boundaries. Opening with “Grito Ausente,” TRAIDORA introduces a sonic picture that is both unsettling and intimate. The themes of alienation are clear, with tracks like “Disforia Eterna” and “Ella” addressing the absence of space for trans identities in a world that insists on conformity. The music is a vicious hardcore punk assault sung in Spanish (Eva Leblanc is originally from Venezuela) that borders on faster hardcore acts like DROPDEAD. Una Mujer Trans Sin País is both a personal and political statement, a soundtrack for anyone who has ever felt displaced or unwelcome for who they are. TRAIDORA’s journey of resistance is one of both internal and external struggle, as the project challenges the borders that seek to limit. This album is a cathartic scream for belonging, a reminder that, even without a country, one should still carve out a space to exist. This is the main goal of punk: to liberate the mind and body!

Tramadol Crucifixion EP

Blistering second release from West Yorkshire’s TRAMADOL, whose muscular brand of D-beat takes cues from the best of Scandinavian and British hardcore. At any given moment on Crucifixion, you can hear echoes of ANTI-CIMEX, TOTALITÄR, MOTÖRHEAD, and of course DISCHARGE. Raw but in a refined sort of way (listen and that’ll make sense), the production here sounds great. The bass is springy, the drums pop, and there’s a particularly bright tone to the guitars that just really fuckin’ hits, especially on the title track. If any of the aforementioned bands are your cup of tea, this one’s a no-brainer.

Unarmed Unarmed cassette

For some unfathomable reason, I completely missed out on this tape released about a year ago on Phobia Records in spite of my usually infallible and reputable crust detector (just imagine a punk version of Jiminy Cricket yelling in my ears whenever it spots a trace of crust music). I have of course long been familiar with Sweden’s UNARMED, pretty much the epitome of the typical ’90s Eurocrust style—or rather perhaps an era-defining take on the genre. UNARMED does exactly what you’d expect a common crust band to do between 1994 and 1999: old school raw cavemen hardcore music inspired by DOOM, 3-WAY CUM, HIATUS, or WARCOLLAPSE, done with Swedish taste and a bear behind the microphone. They are certainly not reinventing the wheel, and a full discography with no less than 28 songs will be hard for most to take unless you are as monomaniacal as I am. I love these kinds of projects because they play a crucial role in archiving and recollecting our collective history, to save it from oblivion, for posterity. UNARMED was never the most high-profile, the most talented, or the most remarkable among the legions of D-beat and crust bands during the ’90s, but I personally really enjoy the primitive and hyperbolic gruffness of their sound. This is for the real crust die-hards.

Visual Learner Greg LP

Debut full-length from this Minneapolis quartet that at its core has the working-class realism of the ARRIVALS and AMERICAN STEEL. Lyrics that are equally dead serious and tongue-in-cheek; angsty and optimistic. There is an element of urgency and that almost slightly out-of-control feeling as they crash through the ten tracks in a short twenty-six minutes, particularly on the track “Cure-All” when bassist Morgan Purcell takes over vocals. The mastering by MARKED MEN’s Jeff Burke adds to the punch. Also telling is the young band getting an invite to play the Recess Romp this year at the Sardine. The band is relatively new but has the feel of well-worn sounds from earlier times, particularly the first few albums from fellow Minneapolitans HÜSKER DÜ and the REPLACEMENTS.

Whipping Boy Dysillusion: A Muru Muru Remix LP

The Dysillusion LP issued by Blackhouse Records is an intriguing reissue/remix of WHIPPING BOY’s 1984 seminal album Muru Muru. If you’re unfamiliar with WHIPPING BOY, that’s okay because they were a niche band in Southern California during a time when bands were ubiquitous. Muru Muru was originally recorded by the DEAD KENNEDYS’ Klaus Flouride while Dysillusion is remixed by Grammy winner Joe Chiccarelli and remastered by John Golden, each having extensive histories working with noisy post-hardcore mega-acts like the MELVINS and SONIC YOUTH, respectively. In reality, Dysillusion is a refined reworking of Muru Muru with a better instrument-to-vocal balance. WHIPPING BOY still shines through with their hauntingly dark take on hardcore/post-hardcore. Their riff-layered, abstract take on the heavy music of their day remains fresh, with Eugene Robinson’s vocals coming through with a soft but fervent croon. Dysillusion is absolutely worth checking out, especially tracks like the gothic “Myster Magi” and the bluesy closer “Junkman,” and if you’re a mega music history nerd, then you’ll probably find the original recorded banter between the band and Klaus amusing.

Ameretat Ameretat 12″

AMERETAT is formed by members of the Iranian diaspora who use their shared culture to influence their hardcore. AMERETAT uses the chaotic delivery of later anarcho-punk hitched to international hardcore, with the resulting sound reminding me of something between GEHENNA and DYSTOPIA. In fact, the second track, “Marg-e ye Doktor (Death of a Doctor),” has a very INTEGRITY-like style of delivery. Their self-titled 12″ album is an eight-song journey that blends rage with despair, surging punk with plodding metallic breakdowns, and an extensive view of the world that westerners will never know. If you haven’t given AMERETAT a spin yet, then you need to immediately.

Besta Quadrada Besta Quadrada LP

BESTA QUADRADA brings us a fresh helping of off-kilter noise out of Western New York. Moving between droning and lurching rhythms and explosive hardcore with dark undercurrents, the brief and artful songs on this debut LP spin a web of brooding potency. The dramatic vocal performance gets downright Kim Gordon-esque at times (“Spiral”), and then switches moods to capture even brattier and more sardonic tones (“Life of the Party”). Drenched in distortion, it sways and charges in unpredictable intervals, leaving the listener pleasantly dizzied in its wake.

Beta Maximo A Cuchillo cassette

BETA MAXIMO is the moniker for Javier Sánchez, a one-man operation who has been cranking out recordings for a good three years now, earning a spot in the wave of synth punk that has been showing up stateside from Europe. Where a band like CUIR takes synth pop and jams it full of anthemic punk and Oi! influences, or fellow Spaniards  ZERO AZÚCAR very successfully blend it with pop punk sensibilities, BETA MAXIMO is more fixated in the early, robotic aura of early synth-pop and the work of absolute genre godfathers DEVO. From the delivery of (and effects on) the vocals, to leaning into the kind of synthesizer sounds that make you think of early keyboards and boxy robots, the result is pretty interesting. That’s not to say you’ll miss the guitars and punk rhythm as they are well-represented, but the emphasis is what differentiates this project in a good way. That same tendency may rob the songs of some of the catchiness of other current proponents of the “punk + Casio” sound, but proves effective regardless. US tape release of a digital EP cranked out in 2024.

Carnivorous Flower Carnivorous Flower LP

When I saw the name of the band, I immediately thought of Lance Hahn and J CHURCH, and after several seconds of research confirmed that there is a link between this and that. CARNIVOROUS FLOWER started as a J CHURCH cover band and evolved into something much more. CARNIVOROUS FLOWER features members of J CHURCH and AN UNEASY PEACE, and each member has been in bands that y’all prolly have records by. It sounds like if you were to take equal parts of the more melodic and gravelly bands on No Idea Records, the gravelly and melodic bands on Salinas Records, and J CHURCH catchiness, and puree that, pour it onto a sheet pan, sprinkle a bit of self-deprecating and self-aware humor, put it into a blast chiller for an hour, pull it out, and toss in onto the floor wherein you and handful of your pals pass around a spoon, then you’d have a great time making a memory while slurping up a great record. Also, the last track on the record makes the whole thing worth your money. CARNIVOROUS FLOWER did the best thing they possibly could do in honoring Lance, which is to become a really good band.

Corrective Measure Not For You Not For Anyone LP

After a lengthy hiatus, CORRECTIVE MEASURE returns sounding particularly ticked-off on Not For You Not For Anyone. Hailing from Maine, the band’s influences include a big range of East Coast HC, from classics like AGNOSTIC FRONT to later bands like RIVAL MOB. Funny enough, the intro track “Intro” has more of a street rock style, and once “The Show” started up, I was briefly reminded of the CHISEL, at least vocally. That kind of faded as the album went on though; this is USHC through and through. Good stuff and recommended.

Dazed Pilots Here’s to Me cassette

Third release by Austrian garage punk duo. Five songs of grunge revival with simplistic riffs and mid-tempo drums. A few of the songs are more pop-oriented, while the remainder sound like full-on NIRVANA worship to me. It took me the entirety of the first listen just to be able to decipher the tiny logo of the record label associated with releasing this cassette. Eventually I figured it out, but the label not having the release on their site and the band not listing who released it on theirs proved incredibly unhelpful.

Durex Shame cassette

Montreal freak punx follow up their 2023 demo and, yeah, DUREX still fucks. Ripping hardcore punk that flirts with Scandinavian punk, but lands somewhere between KREMLIN and DETESTATION. Fierce and angry, yet perhaps not taking themselves too seriously which makes this both savage and fun. Eight direct cuts of go-for-the-eyes noisy punk. Blast this loud!

Excrement Excrement LP

Granted, an EXCREMENT shirt would be difficult to wear in most social gatherings, and if you wear one at your niece’s graduation, you might get some pretty nasty looks from your uncle. The same goes for a job interview. although it might depend on the job you’re applying for. It does send a strong message. EXCREMENT was a very obscure band from Sapporo City, active in the ’00s, and if you heard of them before the release of this discography LP, then you deserve the much-coveted 2025 Punk Nerd Award. The label did a great job describing the noise, but let’s reformulate. The band played ’80s-style Japanese hardcore with a “distort Japan” major, blending the more traditional local sound of early LSD with the Bristol-loving style of CONFUSE, GAI, and some modern heirs like DUST NOISE or GLOOM. It’s got that primitive, bellicose vibe, angry vocals, and the emphatic distorted guitar, implying that the crust pants legion would be into this (and the name will definitely not scare them), but it keeps the stomping hardcore vibe. The LP includes several recording sessions, but the mastering does a great job at equalizing everything and you don’t get that patchwork feel. I do enjoy it a lot, because EXCREMENT hypnotises the listener through relentless noise and proper aggression (it is admittedly a pretty intense listening experience). Certainly not for everyone, but whether you like being deafened by distortion or not, the archaeological work of General Speech must be commended.

Frenzy Beyond the Edge of Madness LP

Hardcore with an Oi!/D-beat edge. The singer has an Ian MacKaye quality to him, but is a little too laid back to be completely spot-on. Power chords galore here, which isn’t always a bad thing, but it’s harder for these songs to stick to my ribs when both the guitars and vocals lack anything to sink my teeth into. The band is super tight though, and the kind of act I’d love to see live. The boots-and-braces crowd will eat this up. Apologies for all of the food metaphors.

Grenat Despite the Sound of Sirens cassette

Release number five from Mascara Rocks, the DIY feminist punk label out of Paris. I imagine GRENAT is also Paris- or at least France-based, but there’s not much info on the band, and as far as I can tell, this is their debut EP. Vague semantics aside, the music is a lovely ’90s pop/grunge/garage/slacker (think BREEDERS) throwback, full of angst, like the opening track “20 Years Old.” Songs are catchy, with vocals more on the sweet than melancholic side. They chug along mid-tempo, pretty straightforward, tossing in quiet bass-and-drums sections followed by loud, whole-band energy—the sluggish, lamenting outro on “Pretty” is also a fun surprise. Need a pick-me-up? GRENAT will do the trick.

Heavy Lag Paranoid Acts of Desperation cassette

This Brooklyn crew cranks through five angsty tracks that equally have the focused intensity of DILLINGER FOUR or MARKED MEN and the pop and spark of SQUIRTGUN mixed with the spirit of MEAN JEANS. “That Girl” and “Sleep/Wake” rip with the distorted energy and fuzzed vocals of early F.Y.P that feels unrestrained in its enthusiasm. Tracks like “Hüsker Døn’t” and “I Don’t Wanna Be Around (You)” prove the band can write melodies with bite in a Greg Sage/WIPERS kind of way.

Kissland Girls Mignon EP

A novel take on fastcore from Melbourne, bringing to the table the speed and fury you would expect from a 625 release, but with an infusion of…garage punk!?! Catchy, major-chord riffs subvert the formula in the best way. Girls Mignon is an eight-minute whirlwind, clocking eleven songs of the friendliest thrash I’ve heard. Throw KISSLAND on a bill with HOLY SHIT! and put me on the guest list pleeeease. Total scorcher!

Láz Lassan Átjáró Zavar cassette

A couple years ago, I wrote a review of Hungarian punks HALOTT KÍGYÓK. Little did I know at that time that HALOTT KÍGYÓK was in the process of dissolving and LÁZ was being conceived. LÁZ pushes the limits set by their previous band while remaining within its architecture, so the resulting sound has more post-punk structure and hardcore punk swagger. Petra’s vocals are often reminiscent of LYDIA LUNCH, especially when the band enters a moment of jazzed-out, no wave drone. The band themselves cite SACCHARINE TRUST as an inspiration, and that comes through frequently as well. The eight-song Lassan Átjáró Zavar cassette is well worth a listen, and is currently one of my obsessions.

Mitraille EP IV EP

Classic garage rock meets power pop bringing to mind EXPLODING HEARTS, MARKED MEN, and NIGHT BIRDS. There’s also a hint of OPERATION IVY here, and I chalk that up to the production and energy more so than anything else—that and the fact that these songs are total earworms. I found myself singing these songs throughout the day after one listen, specifically “One More Last Goodbye” and “Fuck You I’m Going on Tour.” Their Bandcamp listing mentions MOTÖRHEAD as a huge influence, and I can hear that as well, with their timeless guitar solos that are tight and catchy. This one is over super quick but it’s one hell of a ride.

Norm Dogs Electric Light EP

Here’s a self-recorded treat of scrappy, energetic punk with a certain breezy lilt to it and incredible sense of melody. Propulsive and well-read, this no-frills Danish group is rich with ideas. The bass lines are nimble and play nice with the alternatingly chiming and dissonant guitar, the drums are pocketed, and everyone in the band contributes to vocals which are rich and witty. This is all-around well-packaged rock that sits in the comfy between spaces of harder-edged indie with some punchy power pop tendencies. Truly delightful, snappy stuff.

Primitive Impulse Piss It Away LP

Raw, rock’n’roll-fueled hardcore from OH that feels both spontaneous and deadly precise. Piss It Away is pure sonic confrontation: dirty guitar tone, shouted vocals, and manic tempo shifts that teeter on collapse. There’s something distinctly late-’80s about their approach—channeling bands like POISON IDEA or early ZEKE, but with a modern production bite. It’s loud, dangerous, and catchy as hell. The title track sums it up: burn bright, burn fast, piss it away, but make it count.

P.T.S.D. P.T.S.D. cassette

I have been a sucker for Greek crust for a long time, and beside the obvious aesthetic pleasure, overplaying ΧΑΟΤΙΚΟ ΤΕΛΟΣ or ΞΕΧΑΣΜΕΝΗ ΠΡΟΦΗΤΕΙΑ taught me to decipher some Greek words (or at least taught me to pretend I am able to, which is almost as good). I had not heard of P.T.S.D. previously, but they were involved in the Studio Spirtokouto Squat in Larissa and seem to have a strong local following, and this is a tape repress of their first EP. The band plays solid metallic crust with energy and anger, blending different shades of crust from apocalyptic stenchcore to more thrash-oriented metal punk or beefy crustcore. What I love here is that P.T.S.D. do it seamlessly—it sounds very natural, their style just flows and you do not get that patchwork impression that some bands aiming for the same result unfortunately convey. This EP will appeal to fans of metallic dis-core like HELLKRUSHER, ’10s stenchcore like FATUM, or classic Greek crusty punk like ΝΑΥΤΙΑ. I just wish the band sang in Greek because I feel the language goes so well with the genre, but besides that, it is an excellent release from Nothing to Harvest. Keep an eye on this band.

Slutavverkning Skräp EP

I always do my best to go into reviews with an open heart and an open mind. Extreme music is a wide spectrum and I believe there’s room for any and all kinds of styles, although that doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll like it. Per their Bandcamp, Sweden’s SLUTAVVERKNING  “explore the sweet spot between proletarian noise rock and unhinged acid jazz”, and while this sounds intriguing, it’s a swing and a miss for me. Initially, I was into the industrial rhythm section, but ultimately the vocals and woodwinds lost me.

Street Eaters Opaque 12″

Rock-y garage punk. I loved the distorted bass and the combination of the change-up of vocals and more exploratory guitar in “No Excuse.” I felt a lot of the tracks kind of sounded quite similar to me, and I found my focus drifting a bit. That being said, the feedback jam in the last track really brought me back.

S.Y.P.H. Pst LP reissue

Welcome reissue of this cult Dusseldorf band’s 1980 LP. This collection of unpolished, exploratory jams takes as much inspiration from the era’s punk as it does krautrock (CAN’s Holger Czukay produced and released the record on his label), early post-punk, and Neue Deutsche Welle, with a healthy sprinkling of Dada weirdness. Loose experimentation runs through all the songs, starting with the banging studio mischief of “Euroton” into the fuzzed-out, repetitive psych trip of “Einsam in Wien (Lustlos).” “Moderne Romantik” is the most traditional punk track, although its economical chord strikes and off-kilter rhythms place it more with WIRE or GANG OF FOUR than the band’s earlier records. “Lametta” opens with rhythmic cadence and unsettling childlike vocal chanting that sounds like stumbling upon a clandestine komische drum circle in the woods. Even farther out is “Regentanz,” a nearly nine-minute, mostly instrumental Farfisa, bass, and trumpet trip that will make your brain melt and your toes tap. Rounding out an unusual record is perhaps the weirdest song: “Do the Fleischwurst,” a funky syncopated punk-disco track devoted to German bologna. This is a great LP that snapshots punk in many forms and comes highly recommended.

Teenage Hearts Quality Time EP

Sounding like if TUXEDO CATS hailed from France instead of Brooklyn, this EP is four tracks of snotty tunes of the highest order. Starting off with the power punk standout “Quality Time,” the listeners are then reminded that this is indeed Nantes and not New York, as the next couple tracks up the French Oi! energy with the absolutely rattling bass line of “Always Broke,” the gruffer “Gotta Get Rid of You,” and “T’es Sans Espoir” in their native tongue. These tracks are quick and without frills, and they leave you wanting to start from the top as soon as the last guitar rings out.

V/A We Were Living In Cincinnati, Vol. 2 LP

Following the first volume of We Were Living in Cincinnati that documented the Cincy scene from 1975 to 1982, the second installment picks up that thread and carries it from 1982 to 1988, with the stylistic evolutions of the Queen City underground evidenced across both LPs effectively mirroring those happening on a global macro level at similar points in time—mid-’70s proto-punk giving way to punk in the late ’70s and then post-punk soon after, hardcore identifying itself as a distinct form in the early ’80s, the burgeoning of college rock in the mid-to-late ’80s before that term became slander, etc. My interests in this area (both time and place) definitely fall more on the end of the spectrum cluttered with the so-agitated Buckeye skronk of bands affiliated with the Hospital Records label, and opener “Jerilyn” by COINTELPRO is quite possibly the Platonic ideal of that particular sound, with its strangulated guitar scrawl, broken-down disco beats, and restless, rubbery bass underpinning increasingly desperate and wound-up vocals. From that same gnarled family tree, BPA (a.k.a. BY PRODUCTS OF AMERICA) are the sole band afforded two tracks on the comp; the DEVO-esque deconstructivist rhythms of 1983’s “Bus” and PERE UBU-inflected hiccuping art-punk of 1985’s “No Heat” are both highlights here. Across the other sixteen cuts, there’s the speedy, ramshackle hardcore of SLUGGO and SS-20, KBD-worthy punk primitivism from MUSICAL SUICIDE, SNARE & THE IDIOTS, and MEXICAN PIG TORTURE, an early DREAM SYNDICATE-ish offering from post-COINTELPRO/BPA project the WOLVERTON BROTHERS, a teenage-fronted (and pre-CAROLINER!) avant-punk noise tantrum from MANWICH, and a number of points in between (or beyond)—something for slightly warped punks of all stripes.

504 Plan DCxPC Live & Dead, Vol. 6 LP

DCxPC Live has never let me down, and this time they’ve kicked it up a notch with a half-live and half-studio record. 504 PLAN, from DC, picks up where DOUBLE O, DEADLINE, ARTIFICIAL PEACE, MISSION IMPOSSIBLE, and LÜNCH MEAT left off in the ’80s. Lyrically this is focused on issues that directly impact their lives, such as the poor DC school system, accommodations for students with disabilities, and the doomed thoughts of having to decide your life’s path before you are even close to adulthood and with limited life experience. The live side is charged and energetic with charming banter punctuating heavy topics. By the time you have read this, the band may have already graduated high school, broken up, and moved onto college or whatever, but none of that deters from the impact that these high school kids are having, or had, on their community. DCxPC has once again introduced me to a new band and has given me some hope for the under-eighteen punk kids that are just finding their voices.

Arno De Cea & the Clockwork Wizards / Semivortex split EP

Split EP offering two flavors of French instrumental punk-adjacent rock. On the A-side, ARNO DE CEA & THE CLOCKWORK WIZARDS shred through two tracks of trebly surf, with the intertwining leads, exotica-leaning chord progressions, and speed the genre is known for. The production has a live feel, which gives it a nice garage punk edge to the songs. “Apollon” ends with a noisy laser blast phaser breakdown while still retaining the classic surf feel. Check it out if you’re a hang ten type. SEMIVORTEX brings dissonant, math-influenced instrumental noise rock on the B-side, recalling the best of classic Load Records releases. There is a propulsive LIGHTNING BOLT-style build-and-release pattern on “Operratique” with as much metal chug as higher-pitched repeating patterns. Both sides are a win.

Bleak Streak Bleak Streak LP

If any country has the melodic chops to churn out something you can easily describe as “dark power pop” and not have it suck, it would have to be Sweden. This Stockholm three-piece owes a lot to the KINKS and American power pop of the late ’70s like BRAM TCHAIKOVSKY, but filtered through a darker, very Nordic sound. Think what TERRIBLE FEELINGS or BURNING KITCHEN did to punk, but done to something Paul Collins would write or GALAXIE 500 would play. The guitars bounce between jangling and distorting, the vocal delivery is decidedly exerted but somehow emotionally restrained (very Swedish, in my experience with their musical output at least). A very impressive collection of little details that wind up making power pop songs with a punkish edge that ebbs and flows depending on the feel of the song. I’m a sucker for good melodies, so songs on the poppier end of their sound (like album highlight “Dark”) are more my bag, but even when they ride the accelerator or get a little somber, they deliver something their own and worthwhile. No filler here, a proper record of vinyl-worthy tunes.

The Burrow Dance Dance Revolution / Like Real Liberty cassette

The BURROW out of Eugene, Oregon issued this two-track cassette a couple months back, with proceeds going towards aid agencies in Gaza. “Dance Dance Revolution” is a melodic, mid-paced Oi!-inspired tune that is easily a sing-along, while “Like Real Liberty” uses a grittier guitar tone and espouses a slightly heavier inspiration. Both songs kind of have that BYO Records vibe from circa Y2K, but with a contemporary emotional tint.

Cold Comfort Capital cassette

Caps off to Ben Forrester from the northwest of the UK, whose bedroom project holds the stage with the confidence of a full crew. This is lo-fi hardcore that bridges the gap between the garage and the pit, a minor tightrope act that displays Forrester’s balance and songwriting chops. Even with a DIY DAW setup, complete with programmed drums (I’m 98% sure), the throat-shredding aggression and misery is potent and bolstered by riffs that stick in your head. The vocal performance is unbridled and wild, and the overall sound is chaotic and noisy as far as production, but everything is also focused. Dialed-in to destroy. The world sucks, and this tape tells you just how much. With drum machine near-gabber madness like “Job On,” this is an album that shows a remarkable amount of stylistic flexibility. A total blast from the bedroom.