A ripping new English thrash release (except for one slower sing-along called “Savages”) with hot production, flailing guitars, and accelerated tempos. The vocals are in the more traditional Britpunk vein and the stuttering drumming occasionally doesn’t mesh, but it’s a bloody good record anyway. The “No!” choruses make “Eroded Freedom” a mini-classic.
This is their first LP after two strong EPs and they’re lyrically and musically just as strong as they ever were. In the tradition of the RAINCOATS, their four female vocal harmonies really stand out—you’ll either love it or hate it. They do mostly somber, melodic ballads but every once in a while they pick up the pace and sound almost psychedelic. “Nervous Breakdown” is especially good.
Both bands collaborated on this split EP which contains four tunes by a single band who shares members between them. One side has spare instrumentals, delicate female vocals, and a punk attitude, while the other contains a good APOSTLES-style tune in “The Wasteland.” Interesting.
I hear this is the first of many politically oriented “unity” HC compilations to come out of Mortarhate. (I think it’s Mortarhate; it’s hard to tell from the disc and cover.) It’s an admirable sentiment, unifying activist punks with other movements, but it’s not the sentiment alone that’s good here. The tracks shred. Excellent, it includes BROKEN BONES, POTENTIAL THREAT, INSTIGATORS, VARUKERS, LOST CHERREES, MALINHEADS, DEZERTER, and lost more, many previously unreleased.
The second volume in Fight Back’s We Don’t Want…, and like the first, the ensemble of bands is a good earful. Featuring new and released tracks by 16 UK and German bands, the music is much softer than the first, yet still potent and powerful. The line-up includes the APOSTLES, INSANE, PARTISANS, RUBELLA BALLET, VORKRIEGSJUGEND, UPRIGHT CITIZENS, WARDANCE, POSITIVE IMPACT, and more. A good sampler and a nice effort.
