Reviews

Flatspot

Buggin Brainfreeze / Gratitude flexi 7″

“Brainfreeze” is a two-minute pummeling from BUGGIN, one of the best hardcore bands from Chicago right now. Simply put, this is hardcore punk that is incredibly accessible. Very catchy, great breakdowns, great riffs. Also, it’s a love song, which is cool as fuck. The B-side is a cover of “Gratitude” from BEASTIE BOYS’ Check Your Head, handled wonderfully as the band flex their mid-tempo muscles.  Fresh off of the Darkside of the Moon 2 tour from Triple B and Flatspot Records, BUGGIN are ones to watch. Fingers crossed for a full-length soon.

Choice to Make Vicious Existence EP

Thrash-y, metal-tinged hardcore. The songs are short enough to not get stale, but it’s only six songs and I really need more here to knock me off the fence I’m riding in one direction or another. If I did have one swaying point, I suppose it would be the instrumental in the middle of the record. I am adamantly opposed to instrumentals in hardcore. It comes off as an unfinished song to me. Filler really, and for me the placement really kind of threw off my listening experience. I suppose if you must include an instrumental it’s probably better suited as a bookend.

End It One Way Track cassette

Four songs here. The first two clock in at under a minute each, the next two get progressively longer, with the last track coming in at just over two minutes. There are things I really enjoy here and they definitely outweigh the things I dislike. Generally, this style of hardcore is not really my cup of tea, but I find myself enjoying this more and more with each listen. It’s pissed, the breakdown parts (when there are some) aren’t cheeseball, and unlike a lot of stuff of this ilk, it sounds genuine. Sometimes when I hear bands like this it comes off like an act, but this shit is sincere. END IT has made a new fan here. Can’t wait to hear more, these four songs leave me clamoring for it.

Jivebomb Primitive Desires cassette

JIVEBOMB is in good company on two counts—they’re from Baltimore, where something is clearly in the water (see: TURNSTILE, END IT), and they’re on Flatspot Records, alongside countless other hardcore powerhouses (ZULU, SCOWL, and TRAPPED UNDER ICE, to name a few). On the five-song cassette Primitive Desires, JIVEBOMB delivers a whirlwind five-and-a-half minutes of expertly crafted modern hardcore. Opener “86” is a muscle-bound instrumental stomper that leads into title track “Primitive Desires,” an impressive one-minute blast that is sure to get stuck in your head. “Steel” follows suit, catchy and quick, with vocals that sound like they’re frying to a crisp. “Illusion of Choice” opens with a WARTHOG-worthy “blurgh!” and steamrolls through its 48-second runtime in a flash before closer “Ditz” wraps things up by reiterating what’s so fucking good about JIVEBOMB: they’re so tight and play with such a chaotic but clean style. For fans of any of the aforementioned bands and good music in general.

Kill Your Idols / Rule Them All split EP

I have been aware of KILL YOUR IDOLS for a long time and have a handful of their past releases—in fact, they all happen to be splits. I always enjoyed the other bands on those a bit more, but that is not the case here. The KILL YOUR IDOLS songs are just a bit more up my alley this time around. I do find it a bit ironic that their song “Simple, Short, and Fast” clocks in at over three minutes. This is my first time hearing RULE THEM ALL, and i don’t know, man. It sounds like H20 on Quaaludes. It’s not bad, but it seems like it should be faster and the vocals seem subdued. I’d definitely give them another shot though, because like I said, it’s not bad…just might be one of those “takes a minute to grow on you” deals.

Scowl How Flowers Grow LP

Southern California’s SCOWL is probably the hardcore hype band of 2022, receiving a lot of attention in the underground—they also quite bizarrely opened for LIMP BIZKIT at Madison Square Garden recently—but I’m happy to say that, every once in a while, you can indeed believe the hype. How Flowers Grow is a total fist-pumping affair, dripping with passionate anger and righteous fury. Fast hardcore with plenty of mosh appeal, the band is driven by the appropriately scowling vocal stylings of Kat Moss, who delivers a hell of a performance on this record. In the midst of the chaos, “Seeds to Sow” appears basically out of nowhere with a more alt-rock style to it, but it also doesn’t feel out of place, either. And right after, it roars back into the insanity! You’ve been hearing lots of good things about SCOWL for a reason—they’re great! Highly recommended.

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).”