Marjinal / Potbelly Fuck Borders split CD
POTBELLY’s ability to combine anthemic political punk with heavy thrash is somewhat disorienting, to be honest, and takes a few tracks to really settle in. Gruff melodic vocals, guitars that can belt out big rock club open chords and then drop with into single-note death metal speed riffing…and then sometimes they remind me of the Biafra/DOA collaboration (“Destroy All The Monsters” in particular)—they’ve been in the game for twenty years, suffice to say they have honed in on a sounds that is definitely theirs. Jakarta’s MARJINAL should be well-known to most as Indonesian activist street punks who have been mainstays in Jakarta’s DIY punk scene seemingly forever. The incorporation of folk elements (and instruments) into their hard-hitting and addictive punk is just a part of what sets them apart, MARJINAL is addictive and transcends comparisons. What if there were a band that got stuck in your head like DROPKICK MURPHYS, rocked as hard as FORWARD, and inspired an unparalleled level of international and inter-scene support and networking? Well, there is. Listen to “Negri Ngeri” every day.