Reviews

MRR #497 • October 2024

Alambrada Rios de Sangre LP

The successor of Muerte Preventiva, Rios de Sangre serves up a relentless barrage of fiery riffs, driving rhythms, and socially-charged lyrics that resonate deeply with both the pulse of Bogota and the broader struggles of the heart. From the opening track, we are thrust into a whirlwind of fast hardcore à la VOID or KORO, expertly layered with both frenetic urgency and poignant storytelling. Each track reflects a powerful blend of breakneck speed and relentless power, showcasing the band’s charisma for crafting anthems. ALAMBRADA aren’t timid when it comes to confronting political and social issues head-on, articulating the frustrations and aspirations of a generation longing for change. From the busy punk aficionados from Rat Trap, with killer projects like MURO, UNIDAD IDEOLÒGICA, and ATAQUE ZERO, the question remains: how do these guys have time to make such great bands?

Ann Beretta DCxPC Live Presents, Vol. 21: The Last Songs Live LP

This recording of ANN BERETTA’s final show at Richmond Music Hall in 2023 marks the end of a nearly 30-year run for the band. Spanning thirteen tracks, it’s a tour through their catalog of mid-tempo rock’n’roll that draws inspiration from bands like RANCID, GREEN DAY, and ONE MAN ARMY. Instead of any middle-finger-waving theatrics, these guys give the impression of being very earnest players in a long-running band that never really made it big. While the performance lacks the raw energy of the group in their prime, the sound quality is pretty good and the band’s heart is on full display. One high point is when STRIKE ANYWHERE singer Thomas Barnett joins the band for “The Real America.” This album may not be the best introduction to their music, but it’s probably a great memento for long-time fans.

Baby Tyler Band Baby Tyler Band LP

Short and sweet. I found this a good deal of fun. Very energetic production, the bass has a nice hum to it and the drums have a nice atmosphere to their sound. I was not expecting the song “Overnight Sensation” to pop up at the end. It’s worth checking this LP out just for that song alone. Joyously bizarre vocals and guitar work. BABY TYLER is a hilarious name, too. I’m interested to see more from this band.

Bad Image II cassette

Five smoldering cuts of pissed-off hardcore punk done just the way I like it, relentless and raw. Word on the street is that their singer, Jaedyn, is known to wield an eight-foot chain during live performances. Sick! With a couple tapes under their (bullet) belt, BAD IMAGE has cultivated a noisy, raw-punk-inspired style that radiates energy and rage. Having relocated from sunscorched Phoenix to dreary Seattle, one has to wonder if the change of location has led to a shift in disposition. No complaints here. From furious D-beat to fist-pumping pogo punk, they are checking all the right boxes. Can’t wait to see where they’ll go from here.

Bzdet Daleko Od Ok cassette

BZDET from Poland has been releasing churning, well-produced post-punk and coldwave for some time, and this tape is no exception. Trebly, bouncing bass lines and syncopated drums hold down the low end while repetitive guitar and synth lines tangle together like knotted up shoelaces under the echoed vocals. It’s all very cool, temperature-wise, and sounds like an artifact from early ’80s Eastern Europe in the best way. Songs like “Do Yarga” and “Boli” find a minimal groove instantly and ride it out until a fade out a few minutes later. It’s effective mood music, as long as your mood is a little gloomy.

Celebrity Sighting …They’re Just Like Us cassette

This album opens up to the listener like a field of flowers, blooming to show their colorful fuzz pedals reverberating in a musical garden. …They’re Just Like Us has the distinct indie ingredients of “screaming down the hallway” vocals, a tempo carried by cymbals, heavy bass, and raw, undercooked guitar to add the cherry on top. The tracks are distinctly political but fun, with “Are You Insured” asking the listener a crucial question should they jump into the pit of a late-night show. The song titles unsurprisingly cover serious topics like “Climate Change;” I’ve noticed this is the newest wave of political cacophony for recent pop punk releases. The album cover is very cute and in my opinion, resembles something HOLE would have released if they were still together. “Market Value” takes on a faster pace to pick up where the more contemplative beats leave off and “Hypocrite” closes the album leaving a reminiscent feeling of the early days of the FRIGHTS. Being CELEBRITY SIGHTING’s first release, they should be glad to know they’ve created a great coming-of-age soundtrack and an even better garage pop staple.

Cigarette Camp Chalk EP

The sound (and possibly the smell) of a midsummer show in a punk house living room; pop sensibilities played through a second-rate amp. The lyrics have the reflective melancholy of JAWBREAKER, but with music closer to AD/DC or JACK PALANCE BAND. CIGARETTE CAMP produces the hooks and minimalist harmonies needed to make this genre work. Fans of this end of punk should take note.

Circus One Big Joke 12″

I don’t know what it is about clowns, but I love them. I’ve got a small collection of clown paraphernalia peppered throughout my home, and have a low-key obsession with the lucha libre trio Los Payasos. So imagine my excitement when the new CIRCUS album came across my desk. I initially thought the band name and clown motif were surface-level gimmicks, but no. The theme permeates throughout the entire record. CIRCUS plays your typical hardcore akin to bands like FROSTBITE and NEW LOWS, and while the music is tight and quite good, it’s the lyrics that bring it to a whole other level for me. Featuring such classic lines as “Bozo motherfucker / Got a bone to pick / Forty clowns deep / As the tiny engine rips,” as heard in “Clown Car Pile Up,” and “You honk the honk but you will never walk my walk,” from the track “Silly Prison,” CIRCUS continues to maintain the classic balance of insidiousness and innocence that we’ve all come to known from the storied history of our favorite, face-painted buffoons. Fantastic stuff here, even for those who suffer from coulrophobia.

Cool But Rude Demo 2024 cassette

Riffy and bouncy hardcore with a metal sheen from NY two-piece COOL BUT RUDE. Citing inspiration from bands like VIAGRA BOYS, DRAIN, and TURNSTILE, something tells me these guys don’t take themselves too seriously, and frankly, it’s refreshing to hear a band that doesn’t try to mug like tough guys playing this stuff. I think it’s what keeps these songs as light and bouncy as they are. In any event, I like it, and while not something I’ll necessarily go back to over and over again, I give them credit for putting out these well-produced and catchy six tracks.

Dead Ends Second Coming LP

German label Merciless Records has recently reissued the works of seminal Philippines act DEAD ENDS, including this remastered version of the band’s second LP from 1987. Featuring thirteen tunes full of energy and attitude, this classic record incorporates a range of influences. At times it invokes Bedtime for Democracy-era DEAD KENNEDYS, there are poppy ballads that remind me of older Japanese bands like HUSKING BEE, and also sing-along tracks along the lines of OPERATION IVY. It’s an interesting little piece of history that likely would have otherwise dwindled in obscurity.

Disarm Existence Demo 1985 LP

My first thought was that this would be DISARM from Sweden, but this band was from Virginia. They played hardcore that at times approached crossover thrash in the vein of CORROSION OF CONFORMITY and sometimes early D.R.I., and even a little first album SUICIDAL TENDENCIES. There are a lot of other influences, but those stood out to me right away. I am always happy to find old bands that I haven’t heard before, so a big thanks to Beach Impediment Records for bringing this to us all. Great listen, and I immediately knew I was listening to hardcore from the ’80s.

Distrüst Under the Knife cassette

DISTRÜST from San Salvador released this ten-song cassette more than a year ago, but somehow it still sounds current. True D-beat aficionados, DISTRÜST hammers with the speed and intensity of early DISCHARGE but also sporadically mixes in things that remind me of bands like NAILBOMB, DISFEAR, or RIISTETYT. The closing track “Falling in the Process” has a pummeling instrumental opening which then proceeds to go into a song that leans very hard into the metal side of things. The production value seems improved over previous DISTRÜST sessions, which I appreciate. The minute-and-thirty-second ballistic attack of “The Future is Far From Us” is perhaps my favorite song on the album with its relatively straightforward D-beat hardcore. Under the Knife is definitely worth getting ahold of and is a solid output from DISTRÜST.

Dope Sweater ’20–’21 Singles cassette

The long-running, self-proclaimed “Indiana garage punk kings” return with an unorthodox release. Recorded during the height of COVID isolation, the three members of this band recorded their own parts alone and sent files to one another to create what we have before us. Six songs which span a lot of ground stylistically—personally, I much prefer the dingy garage/JAY REATARD-inspired tunes to the somewhat more meandering, long psychedelic jams, but on a whole, this is a cool release with some damn good songs and an interesting tale. Physical copies limited to 25.

Easers Easers cassette

Three-piece garage punk from Grand Rapids, MI. Twelve songs of driving, no-nonsense, SPITS-esque mid-tempo punk. Speed revs up a bit on a couple of the songs, but the real charm of EASERS is in the straightforward, mid-tempo songs. Nasty lo-fi recording fits the band really well. Keep it simple, keep it gross, keep me coming back for more.

En Love Promo cassette

EN LOVE surprised me when I saw them earlier this year at The Floor is Gone fest. “Capital H” harcore doesn’t typically appeal to me, but these Clevelanders inject enough elements of punk and powerviolence into their songs to set them apart. Their sound is thick and chunky with tempo changes ranging from metallic breakdowns to blastbeats, with the requisite stops in between. The vocalist sounds legitimately pissed-off, which I appreciate since I find the element of anger in most bands of this genre to be performative at best. EN LOVE gets right to the point too, with nary a song busting the two-minute mark. This would fit well into the Convulse Records catalog, so if that’s your thing, be sure to give this a listen.

Epoxi Demo 2023 cassette

Bloomington, IN hardcore punkers deliver this five-track cassette in less than ten minutes, filled with strident drums and ever-ranting vocals that never seem to stop delivering screams. You can extract and see the punk roots of this project, as it gives the feeling of something done extremely DIY with sufficient execution levels, like a homemade tape that has that special crunchiness and crust that all well-appreciated DIY projects exude. Indiana punks dripping with attitude in each beat. It’s interesting enough to wait for more.

Fear of the Known The Last Songs LP

LP debut for this DIY crust punk supergroup, featuring members of CHAOS UK, DISORDER, WAR//PLAGUE, and others, holding an interesting ethos and way of recording (which was mostly virtual, with no direct physical interaction between band members in the making), and intended as a critique of the actual state of punk today and its links with protest and critical thinking and doing. Even recorded separately, the recording and mixing efforts make the fact that they are all separated while executing it almost untraceable. Coming from this selection of band members, you are getting a high-quality album with no less than fifteen tracks that never seem to stop giving riffage, and hardcore vocals that rise on the Lemmy side of punk from time to time. The crust punk influence is strong on this one. Suggested tracks: “Democracy Hammered” and “Divide & Rot.” Interesting, give it a spin.

Former Mormon Discography 2017–2017 cassette

Complete discography cassette of a band that seems to have been wildly active for only a handful of months in the year 2017. At first glance, FORMER MORMON had me thinking there was a “too many cooks”-type situation going on. With songs ranging somewhat wildly stylistically from track to track, it was easy to assess that maybe there were multiple songwriters all bringing their own ideas to the table. Turns out that wasn’t the case at all. A few of their releases credit a single songwriter, which was somewhat surprising. FORMER MORMON seems to be the missing link between Bay Area pop punk stuff, by-the-numbers fastcore, and a little sprinkling of the MINUTEMEN tossed in for good measure—I didn’t realize these were things that had a missing link between them. Limited edition of 25 cassette copies.

G.O.O.N. God’s Only Option Now LP

As the pile of modern hardcore records heightens at speeds previously unseen, the number of them that can be considered “meaningful” entries sharply decreases. There has to be some established mathematical principle that applies to this conundrum, and, whatever it is, Denver’s G.O.O.N. triumphantly defies it with their latest release. On this follow-up to their excellent 2019 debut Natural Evil, they cook up a big, decompressed, and scathing sound with unhinged vocals. For lack of a more apt comparison, it’s along the lines of beloved 2010s miscreant BLACK PANTIES singing for a darker and beefier CEMENT SHOES. With the exception of the five-minute-plus cover of the classic proto-punk PINK FAIRIES incantation “Do It,” the songs here are brief, yet potent, each hinting at potential progressions for this up-and-coming band. I wouldn’t mind witnessing a lengthy evolution of this promising style.

G2G The Gherkin LP

A modern OZ DIY throwback to the neo-ELASTICA snappiness of those two killer PRIMETIME singles (from a literal decade ago now?!), and on the other side of the ’90s inspiration coin, the Slampt Records-adjacent girl gang sound of SKINNED TEEN, PUSSYCAT TRASH, and LUNG LEG. Like all of those bands, G2G takes an economical approach to post-punk that is clearly borne out of collaboration, friendship, and creative trust, where the whole is, by design, far more than the sum of its parts—Angelica, Georgia, and Greta’s vocals criss-cross in roundabout call-and-responses and converge as a unified front of spoken/sung chants, as barbed twin guitar lines intersect with one another over steady, stomping beats from new recruit Daniel Stewart (of UV RACE/TOTAL CONTROL, replacing the drum machine from G2G’s 2020 debut EP), a deceptively minimalist but solidly grounded sonic framework. “Animated Satisfaction,” the hands-down hit from their previous 7”, gets a reboot here, and it’s a glorious pile-on of needling guitar and three-part shouts tearing apart the rituals of modern romance (“Tell me about the laws of attraction / I’m itchy and particular with my time / Doesn’t matter, I don’t mind”). The buzzing “Up” is equally great, nailing ELASTICA’s loving WIRE worship minus any fear of potential lawsuits, and the LILIPUT-esque “Pop Song” makes it obvious that its title isn’t at all tongue-in-cheek, from the subtle “la la la” backing vocals buried in the mix between verses to the soaring harmonies over handclaps and the frenetic strum of an acoustic guitar in the choruses. Eight freewheeling tracks, short and sweet, a real winner.

Goblin Shark Rat Bone CD

Garage is in a tough position, having gone through revivals too many times to count, and frankly it is difficult for it not to sound somewhat stale when not trying to do something altogether singular. With that preamble in mind, sorry to say, this doesn’t quite refresh the genre to my ears. There’s plenty of energy and songcraft on display, plus a sort of gonzo theatrical edge, but rather than the anarchic roots of the genre, what we get here is something a little safe despite all its best efforts to seem wild and dangerous. Partly to blame is the production, with the vocals way up front and sounding like BEEFHEART sucked on a lozenge. Everything else is a little too compressed, the fuzz a little too trimmed. There are good moments to be sure, like the licks in “Human Fountain” that harken to the guitar work in underground legends like GROUNDHOGS. But even then, it feels these moments come from reference points across time and not from some wellspring of true rock’n’roll inspiration.

Heaven Stagnant Dream EP

I like the name of this band which must be taken, I suppose, as an ironic comment on not just the state of the world, but also of the US of A, and even of Texas, a place I have never visited but that I imagine to be populated by hard men looking like Steve Austin. What a sight. I had given a listen to HEAVEN’s first steps into the scary world of hardcore with their 2022 EP Starless Moonlight, already on Iron Lung, and if it was too US hardcore-oriented for my liking, it was still a solid record. Two years have passed, and they don’t really sound like the same band (the lineup apparently changed). This new EP is punishing enough, but I am sadly not totally convinced. I like when the band goes for a primitive early crust vibe à la DOOM/ENT, like on “Stagnant Dream” (I love the vocals, reminiscent of Tom Croft’s), but on the whole, the songwriting has that modern stomping tupa-tupa hardcore vibe with mosh parts that is effective and so popular these days but often leaves me unimpressed. It is not a bad record, far from it, but I was hoping for a crustier experience.

Human Trophy Primary Instinct LP

Wow, this is a wild listen! As per the prerequisites of Iron Lung Records, there is plenty of noise, but HUMAN TROPHY also brings a gothic deathrock experience that I was not prepared for. Guitars that sear and screech descend from every direction while the bass rumbles in perfect time with the drums. A creeping, ambling voice emerges methodically delivering lyrics in a gloomy monotone. The Primary Instinct album is full of mid-tempo darkness, but there are also songs like “Devotion” that are pogo-ready with a more D-beat-inspired rhythm. Personally, “The Cabin” is my favorite song on the album, with its haunting pace and spectral guitar work. If you like noise and the sounds of desolation, then I highly recommend HUMAN TROPHY’s Primary Instinct.

Irked Snakes EP

Garage punk band from Northern England. I was drawn to the illegible screaming in the opening track “Snakes,” but found myself a bit bored as the songs went on. I did enjoy the variation in their songs, with the feminist lyrics in “Backstreets,” to the more pop elements of “Move”. The rhythms in the first few opening tracks were intriguing as well. However, I found it difficult to distinguish this band from other garage punk bands, as there was nothing that really jumped out to me.

Katarsi Katarsi LP

It always blows my mind to hear a solo project that sounds more realized than the average fully-outfitted band. Case in point: KATARSI. Born out of desperation and anxiety in Bilbao, Spain, this synth punk project pulls a few threads and weaves them into a vibrant tapestry. Catchy, melodic tunes are subtly infused with a sense of anguish manifesting as a dark undercurrent coursing throughout the album. There is a harkening back to bands of decades past such as the VICIOUS and MIND SPIDERS, but with an eye to the present as well. KATARSI fits neatly into a space between HOME FRONT with a similar tinge of French Oi!, and CUIR who are a bit more direct. All eight tracks here are deftly crafted, hook-laden, and memorable. No small feat for a one-person undertaking. Excellent.

Lost Chikitos Sonido Marabunta LP

I don’t know where to start with this one. This record is weird as hell. I guess I would classify LOST CHIKITOS as an experimental metal band: lo-fi, grim black metal howling mixed with Moog squelches, blastbeats, and tremolo picking. But then, sandwiched in between the blasts, sits an odd instrumental track that sounds like someone pressed the “demo” key on a Casio keyboard. It lasts for like two minutes, and then the blasting and screaming start again. But wait, there is another break for a mellow acoustic guitar sing-along. Then more blasting. It seems like a joke, but these folks pressed it to vinyl, which makes for a pretty elaborate joke. I kind of like it just because of how fucking bonkers it is, so check it out if you like noisecore, electronic experimentation, or abruptly ending parties with your musical selections.

Marbled Eye Read the Air LP

On the distant heels of 2018’s Leisure LP, Oakland’s MARBLED EYE is out with their second LP Read the Air. Vocalist and guitarist Chris Natividad also leads the band’s stranger, moodier cousin in the solo project PUBLIC INTEREST (I reviewed Spiritual Pollution last year, and it took me a minute to remember this connection). With the departure of MARBLED EYE’s original bassist (who also had the studio space and did their production) and the pandemic isolating the band, it’s no wonder this next album took some time, but it is surely worth the wait. Inside we find ten songs of vocal-droning post-punk pleasure, complete with guitars that wander in and out of each other’s riffs without sounding crowded, and disrupter bass and drums that rest and then pummel their way back to the main rhythm. These guys just went on a crazy Midwest and East Coast fall tour, hitting thirteen cities in thirteen days. Wow. Read the Air: not to be missed.

Mechanical Canine To My Chagrin LP

Perhaps it’s because there are so many ways to interpret the genre, but emo has, beyond all expectations, shown itself to have staying power after decades of misunderstanding and permutations. Maybe it’s unfair to just hang the emo cap on a band like Philadelphia’s MECHANICAL CANINE, but as a longtime defender, I mean it as a compliment. These songs connect threads of everything from poppy mallpunk to more plaintive touchstones like the WEAKERTHANS, and yet it all comes together in its own mold. One impressive element of note is the runtime of some of these tracks, which regularly clock in around or even under a minute. It shows off the band’s ability to pack in hooks and get their point across quickly. Tracks like “Hey Buddy” get in and out but leave you feeling like you traveled somewhere, deftly hopping melodic ideas and genres in a way that feels cohesive. Overall, the band reads as bristling with creativity, which is always refreshing regardless of genre. Then they go full opus for the closer, “Watercourse,” which builds impressively to several emotional payoffs before ending with a classic twinkling, clean tone Midwest emo outro. I don’t want to paint this crew into a corner with genre signifiers though, and ultimately it’s just damn good songwriting on full display. But when the band itself jokes through the song title “Mechanical Canine Saves Emo,” it doesn’t leave everything to the imagination.

Media Puzzle Strategic Living cassette

On their third full-length album, Lismore, Australia’s MEDIA PUZZLE delivers nine tracks full of good-timing garage fuzz. The songs are short, with only one going past the two-minute mark, and feature distorted vocals with hooky-as-can-be lyrics, like on the opener “Garage Sale” with a chorus of “Buckle up down the trail / Take myself to the garage sale.” Underneath these lyrics (that don’t take themselves seriously at all) is a doddering, ghoulish synth, buzzy guitars, and a simple drum machine. The only name I can find associated with this group is Tom Peter, so I’m assuming this is a solo project? Fun, goofy, catchy—great late-summer set of tunes on offer.

Muro Nuevo Dogma LP

MURO is among the most revered hardcore punk bands on the planet. Nuevo Dogma, their highly anticipated third album, is a clear demonstration of why this is the case. Picking up where their devastating 2020 full-length Pacificar left off, Bogota’s finest crank up the heat for these ten scorching tracks. MURO adeptly melds influences from a broad swath of punk subspecies—UK82, Burning Spirits, Italian hardcore—but the sound they’ve developed is all their own. Impelled by anger and passion, these songs are imbued with a visceral fervor rarely captured in a recording studio. Infectious double-picked riffs, thunderous bass, primal drumming, vocals barked with seething anguish…and it goes well beyond the music. The art that adorns the album cover, booklet, and massive posters (yes, posters plural!) conveys a solicitude, a level of detail and commitment to DIY that has become uncommon in 2024. Nuevo Dogma has not been made available for online listening, so you’ll have to buy the record if you want to hear the songs. It’s absolutely worth the effort of procurement. This is easily one of the top releases of the year and an instant classic.

Naatlo Sutila Naatlo Sutila LP

NAATLO SUTILA is a hardcore band from Bordeaux, but rather than playing straightforward hardcore, they decided to mix their old school sound with deathrock and anarcho-punk. The outcome fucking rocks. From the opening drumbeat and bass chug of “Voices” to the thrashing speed of “Hell” and all the way to the end of the CRASS-like feeling of “Revolution,” NAATLO SUTILA presents a romp of a self-titled album. As a three-piece, it’s amazing the power this trio is able to generate and deliver. If you get a chance, definitely give this one a listen.

No Relief Destroy Your World 12″

Brighton, UK metallic hardcore band that rips on their second EP, with great, sick breakdowns and steady, fast cadences. Screaming, guttural choruses plus defined main vocals do a great job keeping the tension between sections. Strongly recommended for UKHC lovers. Favorite track: “Throne of Lies.”

Panikattack Ett Sista Farväl LP

By far this month’s most unsurprising record, but should you expect anything different from a Swedish hardcore band releasing an LP on the tireless Phobia Records, a label bent on känging up the world? Uppsala’s PANIKATTACK belongs in that category of bands that I know I am going to enjoy conservatively before even listening to them. To an extent, I don’t even have to listen to them to enjoy them. I just know. Ett Sista Farv​ä​l is the band’s last record, and it does not disappoint. With current and ex-members of ANGER BURNING, MAKABERT FYND, and DISCONTROL among others, the lineup is experienced and the band knows what they have to do and how to do it. Twenty minutes of classically executed, energetic, pummeling käng hardcore with angry vocals and an apt production keeping it raw and heavy. No messing around here as PANIKATTACK never slows down, and delivers what they are expected to. To be enjoyed in the same old school way as bands like DISSEKERAD or VERDICT, with a hint of mid-’90s DISFEAR. If you are not an unconditional käng lover, you may find the album a little long, if not upsettingly redundant, because, as objectively effective as it is given the template, it is pretty much a straight line.

Paratonnerre Paratonnerre demo cassette

Garage punk three-piece from France. While I had a bit of trouble distinguishing them from other garage punk bands, something that stood out to me was the droning guitar. I feel that if the guitar had less character and was more like a basic rhythm guitar, then there wouldn’t be anything super intriguing about them. However, there were elements I enjoyed like the lyricism (specifically in “So Broke”) and how they incorporated French into at least one of their tracks. For me, I quite enjoyed the character of the guitar, but it felt a bit “meh” overall.

Peace De Résistance Lullaby for the Debris LP

Moses Brown’s second offering as PEACE DE RÉSISTANCE is a beautiful contradiction—it is both familiar and foreign, unsettling and comforting. The sounds are immediately recognizable, calling to mind the sleazier side of ’70s New York City glam rock, but no contemporaries come to mind. The music feels nocturnal, while the lyrics are the kinds of thoughts that fill your day, working to get by for yet another month. This is all to illustrate that PEACE DE RÉSISTANCE is not easily pinned down, which is part of what makes this record so special. Brown conveys themes to the listener in such a specific and personal manner, and that skill transforms ideas that certainly are far from new territory into feelings both fresh and urgent; being alienated in your own city (“Ain’t What It Used to Be”), trying to get by in a system rigged against most of us (“40 Times the Rent,” “Pay Us More”). Lullaby for the Debris manages to take the strong foundation laid in Brown’s debut Bits and Pieces, and takes his project to new heights.

Period Bomb 24-Carat Clit cassette

Miami-based project that blends no wave, weirdo pop, and electro-punk into a sound that is hard to pin down but often exciting. Opening track “Melodaze” sounds like a CHICKS ON SPEED and SCREAMERS collab, drum machines and synths colliding with nonchalantly spoken vocals. “No Puedo Ser Nada” flips the chaos switch, evoking a feral LYDIA LUNCH locked in a closet. “Deal with God” continues this no wave streak with atonal singing and a squawking saxophone in the background. Standout track “Might Not Survive” showcases the band at their best—an otherworldly KATE BUSH-style mutant ballad played out over rolling bass and a disco beat. The unique sound and theatricality of singer Cami’s voice hearkens back to the early “anything goes” days of L.A. punk and is worth a listen. FYI, ARIEL PINK, guest on Tucker Carlson and a visitor to a particular rally involving a former president, did some production work on this and released a split tape with the band. Make of that what you will.

Enola Gay / Phantom split LP

A post-mortem collection of the Łódź, Poland-based post-punk group PHANTOM, who formed in 1979 and later renamed themselves ENOLA GAY in the mid-’80s, so the “split” status here is more that of a split mirror. To make things especially confusing, the five songs on the A-side were all recorded as ENOLA GAY in 1983, while the five B-side tracks are 1984 recordings credited to PHANTOM, so I’m assuming the name change must have been fairly temporary? PHANTOM reportedly started out by covering the likes of the STRANGLERS and GARY NEWMAN, and the influence of the latter is definitely perceptible in the unnerved, slightly androgynous delivery of vocalist Bogusia Michalonka and the syncopated new wave backing of the band’s ENOLA GAY iteration—the synth-squealing anxiety of “Grzybobranie” is basically a Replicas replica (but a really good one). It’s total android oddness on that half of the record, while the PHANTOM tracks put a touch more emphasis on the shrouded doom and gloom that was a hallmark of Eastern Bloc post-punk. The lurching rhythms and anguished undead howls of “Dusseldorf” gesture toward the death drone of early 4AD fixtures REMA-REMA, as the synth-forward “Puszka” and “Marionetka” split off in the direction of an elastic, danceable sound that’s vaguely NDW-like. Like so many bands who operated behind the Iron Curtain, ENOLA GAY and PHANTOM were never properly documented in their own time, but the labels behind this LP have really been putting in the work to preserve the histories of the Polish punk underground, and these songs were certainly worth rescuing.

Pust Pust cassette

Flying straight out the gate, PUST bursts forth with an absolute stomper of a track. “La Faute De La Boîte” is an undeniable punk banger! A self-proclaimed “probably (egg)punk” band from Montreal, which I admittedly don’t hear one bit. The reoccurring “ooh”s alone push PUST much closer to chain than egg on that musical spectrum we all acknowledge as being reality in the modern day. Admittedly, the rest of the songs don’t hold the same intensity as the opening track, but that track alone is worth flipping the tape over and over to get to hear it again and again. The opening build-up into plodding riff is sure to have the listener pogo-ing around their bedroom. I would wager that track could go head-to-head with any hype NYC hardcore punk band over the last grip of years.

Rabid Children Does the Heartbeat LP

Not quite sure how to categorize these guys, but I’d say somewhere in the noise pop/experimental rock realm. The album kicked off with some great noise and gloomy vibes, and each song that followed was unique to the one prior, with some nice tempo changes. It slowly became more pop than rock as the album progressed. The ghost-like keyboard sounds were a unifier throughout the album, which I thoroughly enjoyed. To somewhat finish off the album, the mega solo in “Other Dreams” definitely felt like I was being exported to some other world; truly rad. Overall, I tended to like the first couple of tracks the best as they were the most experimental, but I thought that this LP was a gloomy good time.

Gefyr / Rat Cage split EP

I had only heard maybe half of a song by GEFYR before this record, and I was definitely surprised by how great this record is. They are from Sweden and you sure can hear it in the music—there is a huge ’90s influence, whether we are talking about STATE OF FEAR or any of the ’90’s bands from Sweden. I was surprised and excited by how great the GEFYR side of the record is. I moved on to the RAT CAGE side and I had a pretty good idea of what to expect, and I sure wasn’t disappointed. This is some hard-hitting hardcore punk from both of these bands. On this split, RAT CAGE sounds like they are in top form. There are a lot of influences here, but to me, they just sound like RAT CAGE. Hardcore punk with a little bit of melody like all of my favorite bands. This is another one of my favorite records this year.

Red Cross 1981–1982 No Message LP

Richmond, Virginia’s RED CROSS serves up a potent dose of early ’80s hardcore punk with their album 1981–1982 No Message. Originally intended as their debut LP in 1982, the album was shelved when the band broke up before its release. It later appeared in a very limited cassette run, but this marks its first appearance on vinyl after over 40 years. The fourteen tracks, clocking in at about twenty-five minutes, are a straight-up blast of early hardcore energy, with some songs sounding like they could have been missing tracks from This is Boston, Not L.A. The singer’s voice sometimes carries a bit of a Tesco Vee snarl. The album kicks off strong and fast, but the momentum stutters a bit on Side B. It wraps up with a live track and a humorous radio spot, providing a touch of nostalgia. Members went on to form the mighty WHITE CROSS, making this release an interesting document of Richmond’s hardcore lineage.

Satans Cheerleaders What the Hell: Complete Recordings 1982​–1986 2xLP

Active in the mid-’80s, SATAN’S CHEERLEADERS were a standout, often underlooked band in the New York hardcore scene. They might have gone under the radar due to the boom in hardcore bands coming from their vicinity, but now it’s impossible to miss them due to the internet and avid record catalogers such as F.O.A.D. Records, who released their discography on vinyl, along with other Unsound releases such as INSANITY DEFENSE and FATAL VISION (both bands adjacent to SATAN’S CHEERLEADERS). Their sound is pure raw hardcore punk, driven by frantically energetic riffs and an undeniable youthful energy. Going as fast as possible and with a chip on their shoulders, they managed to add a unique flavor to their hardcore roots. Each of the 45 songs on this compilation of their demos is explosive, showcasing the band’s short trajectory and also adding in some rare recordings from the band’s beginning. Hardcore purists, get your hands on this one.

Scoleri Brothers Scoleri Brothers cassette

A hardcore three-piece from Pennsylvania, SCOLERI BROTHERS play songs that have an early ’00s metalcore vibe on their self-titled and self-released cassette. I tried to find out more about these guys, but all the internet spit out when I searched their name was info on the characters from Ghostbusters, so that was a dead end. Overall, the music here is cool, it’s well-played enough, but I’ve never been a fan of this vocal style. Over the years I’ve given bands who have a similar sound a shot and just don’t really get it. But hey, music is subjective and that’s the beauty of it. This isn’t for me, but maybe it’s for you.

Subdued Abattoir LP

SUBDUED is from London, and I feel a definite anarcho-punk vibe from the band—ZYGOTE and EXIT-STANCE, and maybe even a little bit of SACRILEGE immediately came to mind.  This entire album makes me feel like it’s dusk no matter what time the clock says it is. The lyrics are as thought-provoking as they are dark. They are filled with substance and not mindless songs about nothing important. This is a great album, and one of my favorites of the year.

Thatcher’s Snatch White Collar Man EP

THATCHER’S SNATCH popped onto my radar a couple years ago with their brilliant self-titled debut EP, so I was excited to get my grubby paws on this follow-up. Straight away, the opening cut grabbed my attention with an eerily familiar bass line. They’ve torn more than a few pages from the UK82 songbook and used them to make a cut n’ paste ransom note-cum-love letter addressed to cider-swillin’, glue-sniffin’ gutter punks the world over. Snippets of various influences poke through in each song, but it never comes off as cheap or contrived. That opening bass line I mentioned? It’s a dead ringer for the riff from “Tube Disasters” by FLUX OF PINK INDIANS. Later in the song, when the chorus kicks in, the low register backing vocals are uncannily similar to those found in the classic VICE SQUAD anthem “Last Rockers.” These recurring instances of homage are like cracked little easter eggs for spiky-haired nerds. I don’t think most bands could pull this off without it seeming totally derivative, but THATCHER’S SNATCH have their sound (safety) pinned down so well that it bolsters the experience rather than tanking it. Highly recommended.

The Brides Suburban Vermin: 1996–98 LP

Now this rocks. Chicago punk is known for its vicious guitar sound, and this collection of ’70s-influenced punk is a perfect example of that. It’s pretty lo-fi due to most of it being demos and live recordings from the ’90s, but I think it adds to the charm if anything. The vocals are pretty typical for a punk band, but I think the sheer energy the BRIDES display here is enough to warrant checking this LP out. I like the cover of CRIME’s “Baby You’re So Repulsive” a lot as well. The guitars are raunchy, the bass is groovy, the drums are hard. Listen to it.

The Judges Guns / (The People Want a) Show 7″

Hot on the heels of last year’s great Judgement Day LP, these Aussie proto-punkers (featuring folks from LIVING EYES and CEREAL KILLER) are back to sentence us to another nine minutes of riff! Here we’re getting two exceptional tracks wrapped in one excellent sleeve. Folks, this is how you make a 7”! The A-side, “Guns,” is a five-and-a-half minute dirge built on a two-and-a-half-chord riff, establishing something between a Funhouse groove and a Dopesmoker drone. The Bandcamp copy tells you the lyrics are some sort of statement on arms trafficking and imperialism or whatever—and that may be true—but they’re being delivered more like a threat issued by the seediest member of a biker gang from a ’60s exploitation flick through a Valium haze. It’s maybe the best song I’ve heard all year. The B-side, which is more of a revved-up, Raw Power-ed number, is maybe slightly less memorable by comparison, but it also rules. Do yourself a favor and seek out a copy!

The Makebelieves Someone Threw a Tiger Out the Window LP

A re-release of the MAKEBELIEVES’ 2004 album, including a bonus track appended to the end, Someone Threw a Tiger Out the Window is twenty minutes of MC5 and STOOGES-style high-energy garage rock. As they were a Midwestern garage outfit in the early 2000s, comparisons to early WHITE STRIPES material make sense, although the urgency in these songs feel more natural than anything Jack White has carefully constructed. The vocals are a little one-note, and the band seems to only know one speed—there’s a mid-tempo track sandwiched in halfway through, but beyond that, this is fast-fast-fast, with the understanding that things could collapse at any second. While there isn’t too much variety to be found track to track, the caution-to-the-wind style that these seven tracks are played with does a pretty nice job of steadily building up tension from first note to last, and that made me want to stick around and see if they make it through to the end.

The Manikins Swedish Woods LP

Sweden and garage rock is one of those combinations that always seems to work, and Swedish Woods is another gleaming example that evinces this axiom. The MANIKINS have been churning out high-energy heat since the late ’90s, and upon listening, one may be quick to think of the HIVES, fellow Swedes who formed a few years earlier. And while they would make a great double-bill to be sure, it would probably make more sense for the MANIKINS to play the afterparty—no coordinated suits, and a late night energy that you just want to keep going, sleep be damned. There’s also a little more variety to be found throughout these twelve tracks than what you usually get from their contemporaries. Swedish Woods brings in elements of power pop (“Rosita”), as well as more straightforward rock sounds (“My Last Time,”). It’s the soulful crooning and howling vocal delivery on “I Need To Tell You,” however, that cements this album as a real standout.

The Sleeveens UFOs / Bernadette 7″

The SLEEVEENS kind of blew up the garage punk interworlds when they released their debut album on Dirtnap this year. They came out of the Nashville scene, playing blistering garage punk like the OBLIVIANS with a MARKED MEN precision. They were tapped by I-94 for their Detroit covers series, where bands put an original song on one side of a 45 and a cover on the flipside. Here they turn their energy down a bit for a trippy, hypnotic garage burner called “UFOs” on the A-side. The B-side is their take of the FOUR TOPS classic “Bernadette” in a sped-up, anthemic blast.

The Stress Balls Disappointed cassette

Power-chord-driven gutter punk out of Boston. Laden with noodly guitar leads and strong, charismatic vocals, this album’s lo-fi quality really aids in its efforts. Sounds raw and organic—just a bunch of folks having fun playing punk. Reminds me of something you’d have heard from Hellcat Records in their early years. Nothing too groundbreaking, with the aforementioned vocals doing most of the heavy lifting, but this is a really fun outing, especially if you’re a fan of DIY punk.

The Tinopeners I Want You​ / I Don’t Wanna Be 7″

This one’s a bit of an oddity, as one side of the 7” seems to be an incomplete track from the band’s only four recordings ever put to tape. Regardless, it’s cool to see this type of archival work in the flow of punk history. Belfast’s the TINOPENERS were short-lived, but “I Don’t Wanna Be” shows they had a solid knack for power pop. It’s hard to really say where they could have gone since they called it quits so young, but this release is worth checking out for punk historians and bop-appreciators alike.

An Slua / Reckless Upstarts / Red Bricks / The Uncouth Intercontinental Oi! split LP

Intercontinental Oi!  is a comp featuring four different Oi! bands from four different countries putting forth three tracks each. The first and last bands here, RED BRICKS (Germany) and RECKLESS UPSTARTS (Canada), both sound proficient and solid with a skate punk sound that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater soundtrack. They both sound poppy, bouncy, and anthemic, if not slightly forgettable. The UNCOUTH (USA) have more of a ’90s street punk sound, with a sort of sing-song, gruff vocal style that’s also just OK. Finally, there’s AN SLUA (Ireland), my favorite of the bunch. They remind me a little of early CHUBBY & THE GANG and add some cool phaser effects to their guitars here and there. All that said, none of this is really for me, to be honest. It’s all very polished and reminds me of stuff you’d hear played at an early 2000s Warped Tour stop. I’m no hater, but with bands like MESS, BÉTON ARMÉ, and the CHISEL giving the modern sound of Oi! a facelift with a rougher edge, it leaves this corner of the genre sounding a little limp.

V/A No Sleep Til Palestine is Free cassette

What a weird collection of music, I loved it. Nothing is more punk than a collection of bands in the name of an issue they deeply care about, and No Sleep Til Palestine is Free is a perfect example of that. The variety of genres was refreshing, as it had experimental electronic, punk, no wave, garage rock, folk, and more. This album really has it all and keeps you on your toes, not knowing what to expect next. While in some of the tracks, you can hear that the recording quality is not the highest, but I feel that it contributes to the angry punk vibe that’s felt throughout the album. The tracks that really hit home for me were “No Sleep (Live),” as I feel they really embodied the vibe of the whole album and was great to hear it as a live version. Overall, I loved how strange and fun this collection of music was!

Visual Learner 2024 Demo cassette

Loud and fast demo with scrunched-up rhythms from a new Minneapolis foursome. A little bit slacker rock “don’t give a fuck” jaw-hanging, a little bit indie rock whiny contempt. Instrumentals are tight, with guitar leads sprouting out of every verse’s end, ride-tapping drums, and upper-end crunch from rhythm and bass guitars. For fans of Phillip Hill bands.

Woodstock ’99 ‘99 Ta Life 12”

For those growing weary of what can easily be perceived as a stagnant era of hardcore punk music, I enthusiastically point you in the direction of WOODSTOCK ‘99, who are simultaneously elevating and delighting in taking the piss out of the genre. This refreshing record starts off with a couple tracks of juicy hardcore sound that’s fairly standard in approach, and from there it becomes increasingly unhinged until we find ourselves lost in the epic schizophrenia of “99 Problems,” and ultimately left at the mercy of the glitching, soundbite-ridden, genre-hopping madness of “Za Rat King.” You’ll start off unassumingly bobbing your head and end up not quite sure what just hit ya. The band’s penchant for hilarious titles remains intact (see the album name, as well as leading contender for song name of the year “Hotter than a Half-Fucked Fox in a Forest Fire”), while their musical restlessness becomes more palpable than ever, and the album’s concise run time leaves me thirsting for the next round. Well played.

Zulu A New Tomorrow LP

L.A.-based hardcore band ZULU delivered an explosive and genre-expanding experience with their 2023 release, A New Tomorrow. Clocking in at under thirty minutes, the fifteen-track album intersperses metallic hardcore and powerviolence with unexpected yet cohesive elements like soul-jazz instrumentals, spoken word poetry, violin and piano, and clips of classic reggae and soul songs that act as musical interludes and add layers of political and cultural commentary. This isn’t just a hardcore album. It is a love letter to the exultation of Black culture, identity, resilience, and joy, balancing both anger and hope in its sound and message. The record is filled with plenty of heavy riffs and spinkick-inducing breakdowns, but it’s also deeply thoughtful and it might challenge some listeners to open their minds to some new sounds and ideas. Recommended for fans of the heavy and fast who are open to a blend of genres and a strongly underrepresented point-of-view in extreme music. A New Tomorrow stands out as a vital record in today’s expanding scene. Check out: “Fakin’ Tha Funk (You Get Did).”