Reviews

Fight For Your Mind

Flower Hell of the Next / Physical God 7″

FLOWER is old school. They walk the walk, and it feels good to have a band that values the proper anarcho-punk lifestyle and politics over Instagramability. Speaking of which, we should all be grateful no one has come up with a crust filter yet. That would just be the official end of punk. The first album of these New Yorkers, Hardly a Dream, took our microcosm by surprise and by storm. Was a band ever quite as bombarded with NAUSEA comparisons? Probably not, but then there are much worse bands to be compared to. Anticipation and expectations were quite high regarding the follow-up and, where most bands would have gone for a cleaner, rounder sound, which would be a logical step, a conventional progression, FLOWER decided to go crustier and rawer. That’s probably a poor career choice, but one that I salute solemnly. The basis of the music remains the same, rooted in dirty, old school metallic crust with Danny’s half-shouted, half-spoken vocals conveying a serious anarcho-punk vibe—I am reminded of NAUSEA obviously, and of ’90s crusty anarcho bands like RESIST AND EXIST or HOMOMILITIA at times, at least in terms of intent—giving FLOWER an original edge and emphasizing the political nature of their lyrics, which you can actually understand (you won’t need a Grizzli dictionary here). Musically, this is pretty much heaven for me, if angels wore crust pants. The late ANTISECT influence prevails here, and FLOWER manages to recreate that primitive, dark metal punk vibe with ease. The production is raw but still highlights the interplay of the instruments, and the music is not lacking in aggression. There is a cracking atmospheric introduction on “Physical God,” top chugging riffs, and some creepy bass lines that make me think that early EXTINCTION OF MANKIND, SKAVEN, and weed must have been involved in the creative process. The 7” has one long crust song on each side, rather traditionally, and comes in an impressive foldout cover (drawn by guitar hero Willow) displaying in great details a nightmarish and demented (post)modern war-obsessed dystopia, full of dark symbolism befitting a tortured and abused world. Both the music and the visuals complement one another, expand the meaning and contribute to telling a great punk story. A very strong and cohesive single.

Hope? Your Perception is Not My Reality EP

The hotly anticipated follow-up to 2021’s Dead and Gone cassette is finally here, and it fucking rips! Four tracks packed with even more crucial lyrics—Manda pushes the vocal limit beyond the brink, while the band plays an even tighter and heavier version of their D-beat-styled hardcore crust. Desperation and urgency are the strong emotional undercurrents that will pull you under immediately and get you slamming in short order. Opening with a brutal, beat-heavy treatise on gender politics, “The Patriarchy Must Be Destroyed” could be a standalone song, but there’s a lot more here. It’s followed by “Obey,” a warp-speed reminder of how fucked planet Earth really is. The B-side opens with “Take Back the Night,” a rocking tribute to punk life and a simultaneous decree of action. “Retrograde” closes out the disc with Kalvin throwing in just a pinch of psychedelic guitar that makes me want to listen all over again. If you liked the Dead and Gone cassette, then you’re going to love this 7”.

Mankind? Discography LP

In ten-plus years, this is probably my most personally-invested review; one that brings back a lot of important memories for me, as I am sure this release will be for many of you readers, too. In 1996, I moved from NY to New Haven, CT for art school. But what I learned and gained in New Haven, besides some lifelong friends, was that the city’s punk scene was extremely active in socio-political activism, from benefit shows, Food Not Bombs, and protesting the retail and polluting spaces and industrial zones in the area. Various anarchist proactive reactions were happening. Punk was actually happening, in real life (prior to this cyber age we are in now, but I digress). A club downtown called the Tune Inn was where I would begin going from NY, and of course continued to, when I lived in New Haven. Politically, the scene was heavily anarcho-voiced, with sounds ranging from street punk to grinding crust. I was very interested in all of this. Distros, pamphlets, tabling; the message and this movement. MANKIND? was winding down around this time, but I befriended Chris “Picasso” who went on to form a couple lesser-known acts like ARCHAIC PAX and ANGUISH as well. Of course, Bill Chamberlain of BEHIND ENEMY LINES, the PIST, REACT, and DEVASTATION was on guitar and concurrent vocals in MANKIND?, with Al Ouimet and Rick Abott also of the PIST, Stacey of CALLOUSED (on vocals as well), and Jeff Wilcox of BRUTALLY FAMILIAR. In sound, MANKIND? initially could be compared to DIRT, with some balance of NAUSEA (their cover of “Electrodes” is included on this), though they were more contemporaries of CONFLICT, ICONS OF FILTH or AUS-ROTTEN in tone. But today I can only say this is MANKIND?—the one and only. Chris has full lungs on every measure and every track, and Stacey’s delivery is just as relentless, firing off passionate, detailed lyrics with backing exclamations throughout. Really, the balance between Stacey and Picasso is the voice of thousands and a conversation in solidarity. As the ’90s moved on into the millennium era, the lyrical writing style of many punk bands became pithier. Vaguer. Metaphoric. I am not saying this is lazy at all, but MANKIND? was far from that on every measure. The messages were clear and highly detailed. This was not a punk band I could simply agree with. MANKIND? and the surrounding scene forced me to question my own white suburban comforts. Animal liberation, sexism, and homophobia, Ecocide and nuclear power, The fucking death sentence. The remastering here is incredible! I have two MANKIND? EPs and the Pogo Attack compilation, but this sound engineering blows everything I’ve ever heard from the band to smithereens. The strings are incredibly fuzzy and crispy, the vocals, main and backing, are a forefront of rage and skepticism. The drums have never sounded so impactful. The playlist does not skip a beat of intense DIY attitude, Freedom, awareness and equality—outro-ing with their cover of CRASS’ “Punk is Dead.” Included you get a gorgeous collection of color photos, flyers, handwritten lyrics, setlists, photos of pins from that time period, all the liner art from releases and comp appearances, a thorough explanation of “WHY” [sic] they use a question mark in their name, and current ideas of how to make a difference in your area or on a larger scale. In short, this is an amazing collection of the efforts from MANKIND? and a reminder of the roots of punk, and really the point of caring about it, wherever you stand in DIY punk. “Hopefully I’ve made an impact and I’m not just wasting my breath…Punk’s not dead if you know the cause.” MANKIND? certainly got that then, and clearly still does. Yes, you need this!

Phosphore Phosphore cassette

Nowadays, when people abroad refer to “the French scene,” it often entails Oi! bands with bowel issues modeling for Fred Perry. Fortunately, we have Bordeaux, which has been our national haven for proper dis-studded hardcore punk for almost twenty years. Over there, D-beat bands can mate and prosper freely without interference from the outside world. PHOSPHORE is one of the latest typical examples of this Bordeaux punk subspecies. With current and former members of GASMASK TERROR, NAATLO SUTILA, FOSSE COMMUNE, and many others, the new breed does not fail to deliver the expected goods, namely Swedish-inspired raw hardcore punk for faithful käng-inclined punks. This is pretty much flawless and baked to a D. If the genre is to your liking, this is tailor-made. It would be a little pointless to drop names in order to describe them, but doing pointless things is pretty much my leitmotif. The core of PHOSPHORE is obviously rooted in traditional ’80s Scandi hardcore (say ASOCIAL or SOUND OF DISASTER), but if they always stick to the classic soundtrack, they have several tricks under their sleeveless jackets, from the classic fast pummeling käng scorcher to the canonical D-beat cruise, and delightful DISCHARGE-loving, mid-paced numbers like “Marche ou Crève” or “La Proie.” On that level, they are not unlike contemporary bands like PROFOSS or EXTENDED HELL, for instance. The vocals are hoarse and direct, without dodgy effects, the lyrics are mean, the no-frills production packs a direct punch to the gut, and it is just a strong recording. Eight songs in twelve minutes, no arsing around.

Totalitär Heydays Revisited EP

TOTALITÄR is amongst the most well-known Swedish punk bands, alongside ANTI-CIMEX or WOLFPACK, and has entered the kängpunk hall of fame by now. Masters of fast and frantic hardcore, they broke the punk mold with their uncompromising warp speed, spastic guitar work, and rabid vocal delivery leaving any fastcore band to shame. Heydays Revisited is a piece of Swedish hardcore history with five tracks consisting of three re-recorded tracks (“Multinationella Mördare,” “Kannibalerna,” and “Är Detta Frihet”) and two tracks in their first mix (“De Ouppfostrade Stör” and “Framtidsplaner”). A blast from the past that still shakes the earth to this day.