Reviews

Kangaroo

Körd Värld Total Distortion EP

I love to find out about new bands that get you excited about punk again, and it’s even more exciting when you find out that it is made by hardcore legends. Total Distortion is a killer hardcore debut from the two-headed monster that is KÖRD VÄRLD, featuring Charlie Claesson (of ANTI-fucking-CIMEX) and James Domestic (of the DOMESTICS). They already play together in the “hardcore gone jazzy” hybrid PI$$ER, but this time they went all-out hardcore. Equal parts ANTI CIMEX and POISON IDEA, this debut is a great show of hardcore, and how Scandinavia was always one step ahead from the rest. Great to see veterans in the game teaching the kids a lesson in hardcore.

Loose Nukes Fast Forward to Extinction LP

This is a re-release and upgrade of the initial 2017 demo released by this Houston hardcore powerhouse. I’d usually be a champion for just recording new music and moving on if you weren’t thrilled with your original release, but there were some real good bones here. You can see why they chose to revamp the track list and drop/add some songs from the same time period. What we have ended up with is a complete album from a band that sounds like they’ve reached full maturity despite only recording their first songs together as this group. They keep it tight too, with only one song out of thirteen just barely passing the 1:45 mark. It’s also awe-inspiring to listen to the vocalist, Mike, fit every word into his allotted time. Following along with the lyric page while listening, you are given the impression it cannot be done before hearing it. Along the same line, I was highly amused when, on “White People Problems,” there was just a note that said whatever he was singing didn’t seem to match with what was written, so they just put in a line of question marks. That was much more amusing than just not even trying to write down the lyrics for the verse sections of “Earwax,” also just a line of question marks. Pick this up if you want to hear a hardcore band that came out of the womb angry and good at it.

The Domestics East Anglian Hardcore LP

The DOMESTICS put a brand stamp on their specific style of hardcore with this release, like putting the best elements of old and new school hardcore in a blender: fast, raw, and brutal. Guitar solos are often stripped to just a quick pick slide before the vocal attack returns. “Purchases” and “Falling Apart” are both killer songs with interesting structures and tidy musicianship. If you like hardcore, then I guarantee you’ll like this.