Action Pact Suicide Bag EP
More medium-paced songs with double-tracked female vocals. Good production, but not real exciting.
MAXIMUM ROCKNROLL
More medium-paced songs with double-tracked female vocals. Good production, but not real exciting.
As far as ACTION PACT’s output goes, “Yet Another Dole Queue Song” combines fair pop-punk stylings with solid production to achieve a hummable, though unremarkable, end result. Their cover of the RAMONES’ classic, on the other hand, is so dreadful as to provoke laughter. Uneventful.
This is the best thing I’ve heard from this band in quite a while. They still trot along in the wake of the BANSHEES, although “Hook…” is very catchy and the fastest, most aggressive song since their debut. The other two cuts are OK pop-rock numbers. Semi-interesting.
Powerhouse drumming is the only thing going for this Oi-punk release. ACTION PACT’s style changes so little from song to song that this four-track sounds like a retread of old material, except with plodding tempos and even a sax section on the title track. Boring.
Tedious metal-punk with annoying double-tracked female vocals. To put it another way, mundane muzak for punk people. I’ll take GIRLSCHOOL any day, and that’s not saying a helluva lot.
Can’t read the lyrics sheet — it’s kind of black and red print, not synchronized. It does say “UKHC” in several places, does have a song called “Best of Both Worlds,” but after hearing it and seeing the cover, it should be called “UKHM” …and I understand why the lyrics don’t matter.
Three more metallish hardcore tunes, the title track plus “10, 5 or a Dime” and “Gotta Get Out of Here”. The latter is the hottest except for the little guitar flourishes. Guess they’re good at what they do.
A very hot three-song release. “Seeing Through My Eyes” and “The Point of Agony” are especially good, capitalizing on metal punk with maxi-power and mini-solos plus sharp lyrics.
BROKEN BONES manages the British metal-punk sound more effectively than most of their peers, but many of these compositions blend into one another, much like recent GBH material. “Big Hard Man,” “Terrorist Attack,” and the humorous “Dem Bones” qualify as solid hardcore, yet the repetitious song structures and guitar solos detract from this record’s overall charm.
Every song on BROKEN BONES’ second 7″ is a pile-driving metallic thrash cut with good vocal and instrumental hooks. In retrospect, it’s clear that Bones played a major role in DISCHARGE’s early greatness, and if he can control his tendency to do too much guitar wanking, his new band should overwhelm the current incarnation of DISCHARGE.
This scion from the DISCHARGE family tree performs highly metallic, fast-tempo hardcore with considerable abandon, and provides some moments of blistering intensity. Aside from the tasty bass guitar licks on “Problem,” however, the three songs on this EP owe a great deal more to strong production than distinctive songwriting. BROKEN BONES fail to innovate with this release.
This 12″ sounds simultaneously over-produced and under-recorded, but the good music still makes it through. There are a couple of dragged-out mid-tempo numbers, but there’s a find dirge (“Holocaust”) and a few real kickers.
Typical medium-to-slow Britpunk. RABID have a nice raunchy guitar tone, but it doesn’t compensate for the generally listless material. “Police Victim” sounds like the DAMNED’s “New Rose” at times, and “Glory of War” has some energy, but not enough. Note: label is incorrect.
The three supremely infectious pop-punk compositions on this EP are matched, unfortunately, but rather generic themes of teenage rebellion. “Steamroller” and “Numbers” ripple with fast melodies and enormously clever lyrics, and undoubtedly “Viva la Revolution” could have been a classic if only they hadn’t run the chorus into the ground. Very entertaining, but not very important.
This album features the upbeat pop-punk of the ADICTS with 15 tracks recorded in 1979. These songs possess the same aggressiveness as the material on their debut LP, though the truly outstanding material here is re-pressed from their fine debut EP Lunch with the Adicts, long out of print. There’s a fair allotment of strong material on this album, and that should be good news for ADICTS fans.
The ADICTS show the return to their hallmark pop-punk style, replete with snappy arrangements and solid hooks in three of the four songs here. Almost up to the quality of their first few records, though admittedly they have softened their sound.
The basic riff is familiar, but “Punk’s Alive” remains a pleasing enough cut, with sentiments to warm the heart of any hardcore aficionado. Even though the B-side doesn’t meet the standard, an abrasive guitar mix and orange wax make it all quite worthwhile. Recommended.
Mostly all mid-tempo punk (save two thrashers), this album contains several tracks off their 7″ers, and some new material. None of it immediately grabs me, perhaps because of the accent on production, leaving a sterile-sounding product devoid of real commitment and excitement.
Despite the silly cover, this is probably the best ENEMY release to date, mainly due to the excellent B-side. “Why Not” is a double-time blast with a distorted guitar backing that leaves the A-side spinning its wheels in the dust.
There’s a little bit of everything here. First, there’s a little punk, some acoustic “pretty” music interspersed throughout, and some moodier post-punk stuff too. Some of it reminds me of pre-punk rock groups like the STRAWBS. In any case, the punk material here is mostly mid-to-slow-tempo, rhythm-oriented, and not very fiery.
Metal/rockish punk. I played this three times (kept being distracted by the phone), and only one track, “Speak for Myself,” has made any impact. Otherwise, it’s fairly standard punk.
The second URBAN DOGS 45 is a lot like the first—boring rock ’n’ roll with a punky tinge. Knox’s guitar tone on the A-side almost saves the day, but he and Chas Harper are certainly capable of better things. Why rehash old riffs and songs?
The CIRCLE JERKS, CROWD, UXA, TSOL, BLACK FLAG, SOCIAL D, and others show off mostly ace material on this collection of previously released tracks. Uneven, but mandatory if you don’t have the original pressings of the punk acts represented.
