New Blood

1981 — Faster and Forward EP

Wow, surprise of the month! With its stark, black and white graphics, circle As, and stenciled text, the sleeve of this Finnish EP looks like it’s going to contain some fast anarcho hardcore punk, but as soon as I slapped it on the turntable I was blown away to hear jangling post-punk guitars. Staccato MINUTEMEN riffs underpin shouted vocals reminiscent of the EX, before slipping effortlessly into a mod/indie hook that sounds a lot like English band SCARFO. The flipside is more straightforwardly poppy, with nods to the JAM or SMALLTOWN. Overall the EP is pretty good, but the title track is the sure winner. I know one shouldn’t judge a book (or record) by its cover, but the schism between the look of this record and how is sounds is quite striking. It’s safe to say that a few people who would probably love this record will pass right by it in the stacks, which is their loss. At the same time, I’d love to be a fly on the wall when some gluehead gets this home expecting some blistering Finnish thrash…
(Passing Bells, Läntinen Pitkäkatu 19 as. 18, 20100 Turku, FINLAND)

1981 on MySpace