New Blood

I am so fucking stoked on LA VOZ right now! They come out of the same LA “Raw Ponx” scene as bands such as TUBERCULOSIS, RAYOS X, RABIA AL SISTEMA, and POLISKITZO, and play high-energy, timeless yet fresh-sounding hardcore sung in Spanish.  I had the chance to catch them while in LA over the weekend, and before they played, I was told that seeing them would be “like 2001 all over again.” Given that some of my favorite hardcore came out during this era, and that the person telling me this doesn’t hyperbolize, I was already super excited to see them, and they actually exceeded my expectations live.  Comparisons to LIFE’S HALT go beyond the superficial.

Check out their MySpace page for the usual riffraff.  Not sure how many demos they still have, but a 7″ will be out soon on Lengua Armada.  I’m listening to these songs as I write this, and they hone the best elements of those on their demo.

Also, I want to give a huge kudos to this scene.  I’d seen TUBERCULOSIS and RAYOS X up here, but seeing them in their own town and watching these kids, who probably have more reason to be punk than most, getting excited, dancing, singing along to all their friends’ bands, and making shit happen in general was rad and super inspiring.  Along with a bunch of great bands, this scene has also spawned a record store, radio show (not just an internet one either), and Fronteras Desarmadas, which is both a print and video zine with contributions from a lot of these kids.  For more info and updates, check out myspace.com/rawponxla.