Valencia D-beat duo’s debut release. Fast-paced, drum-driven hardcore punk with crusty dual vocals that guarantees to reach to your heart, exuding a cooperative international scene stance and ethos. Filled with its own groove that gives a refreshing take on this kind of sound. Favorite tracks: “Todo Roto” and “Lágrimas Negras.” Chaotically driven and utterly fun, you can see pogo in their future. Recommended.
A novelty act the likes of which I am surprised we have never seen before. Postal-themed fastcore, self-proclaimed as being “mail-fronted.” You get it? Because of the mail? A theme all punks are familiar with, I mean, everybody goes to the post office. Eight songs played with complete ferocity and desperation. The mail never stops, and neither does BRIEFBOMBE, which translates to “mail bomb” in case you didn’t put that together. The world has surely seen its share of novelty fastcore/powerviolence bands, but I am pleasantly surprised by this one. The cassette is short and sweet, leaving you wanting more. The band doing a reimagined version of “Plz Mr. Postman” had me a little nervous, but instantly won me over. This is an absolute blast, and I hear they play gigs all dressed as postal employees.
If you like synth-heavy coldwave, then let me introduce you to CONFETTI MALAISE from Marseille, France. This initial full-length finds the four-piece band with ten songs that vary in energy from dancefloor swingers to the occasional melodic, emotionally-driven ballads. Hard-hitting bass and ethereal synth and guitar work creates a party atmosphere fit for our present armageddon. There’s something here that reminds me of BLAQK AUDIO, but with an early SOUTHERN DEATH CULT bend. Give this a listen, and I guarantee you’ll be swaying with a Djarum Black in your hand.
EASTERN SYNDROME, out of Berlin, Germany, features members of KOBRA and SUBSTITUTE. Their first release, this five-song cassette, is a heavy dose of darkened anarcho-punk that explores a wide spectrum of noise. From bopping post-punk riffs to wall-of-noise wailing, there’s a little taste of everything. The closing song “War Victims” arranges familiar sounds, tones, and rhythms into a rocking delivery that is unique and addicting.
Better late than never, here are some words about a tape that Berlin’s FATIGUE released in 2019. Total Girls in the Garage vibe, amped up real high with tough no-bullshit, in-your-face riot grrrl energy. You wanna take SMUT and TEAM DRESCH and reimagine that shit as a snotty garage bar-punk outfit? I’m here for it—three years late, but I’m here.
Killer fuzz, solid L7 vibes, an opener titled “People I Want to Punch,” and I’m standing at full attention. The whole band is digging deep into early ’90s grunge for influences (I’m gonna mention that fukkn fuzz again because it’s that damn good), but between the aggressive approach and the snarky snarling vocals, FATIGUE sounds anything but tired.
Seven lumbering German punk stomps with clean and damaged guitars and infectious shouted vocals—closest (admittedly lazy) comparison is KICKER. But German. To hear them lose control when they speed up is to hear what punk sounds like when there are no guardrails.
As one might be able to guess from the title, V is the fifth release by Los Angeles-based hardcore punk outfit FUTURA. Four fast, raging tracks of metal-infused hardcore punk. I almost used the word “relentless” to describe it, but upon further listening, there are a few instances on this tape that let up a bit with a spooky or somewhat introspective interlude, so maybe a bit of relenting, but each instance only lasts a moment. Half the songs sung in English and half in Spanish, with high-pitched vocals that sound somewhat reminiscent of Christina from the mighty VANILLA POPPERS at times. Looking forward to VI.
Latest cassette release by MULTIPLEX from Bremen, Germany. Sounds like something along the lines of a three-month-long DETESTATION European tour during the ’90s, a PARAGRAF 119 set at Ungdomshuset, or Venezuela’s APATIA NO. Cover consists of a crew of lazy cops riding on their Segways drawn in MS Paint. Something like this needs to be listened to on a thrift store boombox with blown-out speakers while taking over some unoccupied building in your town—just don’t bring the dogs to the show.
I was not late to the party for this one, as I was lucky enough to see NÃO play last summer in Hamburg and gladly enjoyed their short set of energetic hardcore punk. They were the opening band, always a tricky spot since most of the audience is generally busy downing cheap cans of lager (and Germany has a lot of these) outside of the venue, and they managed to keep things interesting. They did a good job and I was curious to see what this Bremen band with members of INFERNO PERSONALE would produce in the studio. I like the production, it has a genuine ’80s feel without too many fancy effects. The band is not trying to “out-distort” anyone, and the balance between contemporary fuzzy D-beat punk and raw ’80s hardcore is adequate. It has a simplicity that I find refreshing, and listening to these six songs is basically a pleasant experience, like a Sunday morning stroll in the park in good company. The vocals are really good here, raucous and angry, but still managing to get some tunes in all the mayhem (the sonorities of the Brazilian Portuguese language certainly help, it’s like the singers of POTENTIAL THREAT and TOŽIBABE going to a hardcore festival in São Paulo in 1984). I like the fact that they are not drowned in effects, just a bit of reverb and saturation which confer that ’80s touch that I mentioned. Musically, the recipe is tried and tested, DISCHARGE-influenced old school hardcore punk, but not exactly D-beat. It’s a revisit of classic peace punk like the ICONOCLAST and DIATRIBE, UNDERAGE from Italy, and definitely INOCENTES from Brazil. A good hardcore band worth keeping a watchful eye on.
I’ve mused here before about the perceived sub-genre of “Futurecore,” and Moscow’s RATS EYES take that concept to a whole new level. Not only does this record sonically follow in the chaotic dystopian footsteps of bands like S.H.I.T., these guys go as far as calling themselves “future punks” and even present this album as if it was recorded 1000 years from now. Talk about committing to a theme. That being said, the music itself is super solid, a tight and kind of candied form of this particular breed of swirling and menacing hardcore that retains its charm for the entirety of the ten songs. It’s a fully realized album and a great spin that I think will age quite well as it creeps towards its true release date in 3022.
SIDE EFFECT plays their punk by the numbers with power chords, great little earworms, and snarled, raspy vocals. All throughout they capably add additional melodies, briefly quiet down and ramp back up again. This record is short and sweet. Its catchy and shambolic style brings to mind the OBSERVERS.
Several parts of this release sound like skate punk to me: rapid-fire bass/snare beats and a catchy guitar, but in a lower key. That last part felt weirdly sad in such a driving sound. The guitars have the satisfying crunch of a crust band, which gives everything a nice, percussive feel. When things slow down, the band is quiet and mournful with words to match. Sonically and lyrically, it’s equal parts despair and outrage.
When this tape first kicked on, I thought I was in for some catchy rock’n’roll/power pop throwback stuff, which would of course have been A-OK with me. The band’s titular song “China White,” which begins this ten-song cassette, nails that style absolutely perfectly. As the song concluded, I was finishing reading the attached letter which confusingly described the band as being a synth punk band, as does the label’s Bandcamp. As soon as the next song started up, I realized I was in for quite the ride. Completely changing gears, the band starts fluidly ripping through genre after genre without sounding forced or contrived at all, working their way from the aforementioned style through songs of fast D-beat, nasty garage punk, herky-jerky synth punk, and ultimately landing on a few killer tracks of the mid-tempo synth punk persuasion, akin to bands like the SPITS. This is outstanding. An absolutely killer cassette from St. Petersburg, Russia. Apparently the band is on a hiatus right now, as some of the members left Russia because of the war—yet another reason to hate war. The band and label have made a point to express that proceeds from this release are going to support people from Ukraine.
