Reviews

La Vida Es Un Mus

Ä.I.D.S. The Road to Nuclear Holocaust 12″

My dad’s dog is really quite extraordinary—my dad actually thinks the said dog is Nobel Prize material, but he’s always been a little hyperbolic. The little bastard has the sharpest ear in the animal realm. Even if you softly whisper words like “cake” or “walk” to someone else’s ear, the furry tornado will rush toward you and glare miserably. I am endowed with the same power when it comes to DISCHARGE. I can effortlessly hear random people in another room discussing the band and, while I try not to bother them, a part of me wishes that I would be more like my dad’s dog and just run to them. So when I heard about Ä.I.D.S., a Swedish project blending the classic D-Takt sound with power electronics, I was very curious, and upon reading the epic romantic description provided by La Vida Es Un Mus, the well-established and prolific label releasing it, I was determined to love The Road to Nuclear Holocaust (a very common road in D-beat mythology). I don’t necessarily dislike original takes on the discore genre—I love THISCLOSE and their silly but respectful tribute to the obsession with DISCHARGE, and even the insane Truth of Arize LP (harsh noise + DOOM-styled cave-crust) gets some playing time. But this one does not do anything for me. There are classic DISCHARGE riffs and a couple of decent ideas but on the whole it just sounds like a bored punk arsing around with a synth during the COVID lockdown convinced that Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing would sound alright with more solos and played through a ’90s kid’s electronic toy. I wanted to love this but ended up disappointed.

Algara Absortos en el Tedio Eterno LP

I really half-assed one thing in my glowing review of Barcelona’s ALGARA’s previous EP. I didn’t bother to track down the actual quote I paraphrased which came from Emma Goldman—globally famous anarchist thinker and writer. The full quote was, “If I can’t dance…I don’t want to be part of your revolution.” It’s okay though, because the quote is even more apt for the band’s debut full-length, which takes anarchist theory and supercharges it for a generation that wants to shake their hips as capitalist society burns to ashes. This quartet does quite a few things really well, namely in terms of messaging and aesthetics, wherein each track feels like a bulletin from the HQ of a guerilla fighting force. More so than that, the group writes goddamn terrific songs that span a wide range of genres and tones. From impassioned drum machine coldwave stompers to agile shredders from the garage, this band is clearly well-read politically and musically. Even re-recorded material such as standout anthem “Expulsados” has only gotten harder and more ferocious. The results are AOTY-grade stuff and is the most perfect iteration of their vision to date. An actual shape of punk to come (one sincerely hopes).

Algara Enamorados Del Control Total EP

There’s something about the cold, distant, echoing vocals, the primitive, synthetic drums, and catchy guitar lines that combine to make this a striking debut. It doesn’t sound like garden variety post-punk and I’m at a loss to think of a band that sounds like this. Take a song like “Potestad Para Hablar”—these are going to sound like bonkers comparisons but hear me out —it combines the cold, antiseptic distance of FELT with the catchy new wave guitar of the B-52’S and it totally works! Speaking of idiosyncratic combinations, the cover features a mix of militant posturing, an autobiography of Catalan anarcho-syndicalist Juan GarcÁ­a Oliver, analog photography equipment, and what looks like a flamenco record. Maybe it’s this mix of the raw and cold with the colorful and alive that makes their particular sound click. Anarcho-punk you can dance to, with a drum machine that sometimes sounds like a taser. These tunes were re-recorded with a live band on a subsequent cassette and I can’t tell which I like better so dig them both.

Algara Una Cosa Más Sin Sentido Alguno Usada Para Hacer Rico Al Mismo de Siempre cassette

Barcelona’s leftist post-punks ALGARA expand their sound and personnel on this cassette. The band re-recorded their debut EP for the front half, using a full band to augment their initial cold, drum machine-based sound. The flip side consists of four cuts from their upcoming full-length. The material that hits hardest here is the first four tracks, which completely rebuilds the original songs from the ground up into something resembling the original WARSAW EP set to a vibrant garagey bop. Tight polyrhythmic drums lay the bedrock for moon-roving bass lines and piercing saturated guitar, all while leaving ample space for the protest crier vocals. This is a revolution you can dance to, which is often the only kind worth fighting. The second half of the tape splits the difference between this updated approach and the group’s original more stark and synthetic sound. The duality works, but the traditional rock instrumentation is more fun. This is overtly political, anti-establishment punk you can bounce to—but politics ain’t always fun and games! The cassette is sold out via the label (update—now back in stock), but you can buy digital and as of this writing the band has physical copies to buy directly.

Asid Pathetic Flesh LP

Pathetic Flesh is ASID’s first vinyl outing after a handful of tapes. From the UK, they play the kind of brutalizing, fest-friendly pogo that WARTHOG and S.H.I.T. do. It’s fine on record—it works better as a DISCLOSE-esque wall of noise than anything else—but I bet it rocks when you’re surrounded by 300 other people at a big gig.

Auto Hardcore 2022 demo cassette

The title of this demo tape from Singapore’s AUTO says all you need to know—this is fast, raw, uncompromising hardcore fucking punk rock. Hardcore 2022 contains seven songs in almost as many minutes. Clearly influenced by the classic American and European hardcore bands, AUTO does a stellar job at bringing that same aggression to 2022. Initially self-released in the beginning of the year, La Vida Es Un Mus has given this rager a wider release…so what are you waiting for?

Balta Rendszerszintű Agybaszás EP

Completely feral feedbacker thrash meltdown from a Budapest unit making their debut, and whose number appears to include another MRR reviewer (Viktor Vargyai) and someone from NORMS. Anyone already aware how out to lunch that band’s last two LPs sounded, prepare for BALTA to cube that on Rendszerszintű Agybaszás. If one wanted to pinpoint the location where noisepunk of the CONFUSE ilk morphs into noisecore à la SEVEN MINUTES OF NAUSEA, they could try the seven minutes and seven songs on this 7”. Fully life-affirming anti-music.

Barcelona Residuos del Ultrasonido EP

Might be my emergency exit from burning out—anyway—I consider hardcore as a form of art. Even if it defines itself as noise not music, still it is a sonic expression of emotions and thoughts. A reaction to complex processes thundering in each of us. Hardcore is best when unadjusted, each layer of the music freely and indivisually explodes from the players but when added together becoming a bit more than several syncronised performances. Historically the cacophony of hardcore was written on the account of untrained musicians, who employed enthusiasm instead of education, although we must not forget how confusing the world is even when you seem to be able to function in its array of bullshit. It is much more hostile when you are young and reckless to start a punk band, where these kids were matching their songs to their experiences. Art could help to conserve these feelings reflecting on terror of surreal reality. BARCELONA had an artsy edge from the beginning, especially with their cover art, but with Residuos del Ultrasonido the suspicion shifted to hard facts: while they are a pure primitive force of destructive and radical hardcore, they are not only attacking year end top ten lists but the borders of hardcore. It is strange how internationally appreciated they are, yet almost no one is ripping off their sound. While it is not an insoluble formula, it is a continuation of beloved pioneers of radical hardcore and it carries the signature soundmarks of BARCELONA. The bass is a loud pulp, punching the space of the music with its extension despite with its power; the drums remind us to the visceral driver in mankind to beat the shit out of bang-able objects to create rhythms that match with our inner tempo; the vocals are towering over the music, setting a direction with raspy, ferocious screams which later go as far as imitating dog barks; finally the guitars are tying many knots with the strings when not blasting head-deforming riffs. It is a short 7″, but packed with so many layers it instantly becomes a classic. There is some discussion over the cover art, which even if improvised at last minute or meticulously planned, works as a great, funny fuck you. I love how it recalls the infamous What The… cover. It also reflects on that art is not necessary some academic, always high-brow happening, but it could be dumb and funny, yet meaningful; it could be anything. Probably a lot of people would be distracted by the cover if this would be BARCELONA’s debut EP, but if this was only the beginning it would be a fair price to pay. Amazing record.

Barrera Visiones Nocturnas 12″

At the first strike of the chords, one automatically expects a four-count followed by some D-beat destruction, but quickly you are met with another reality. BARRERA from Valencia almost sounds like post-punk, but soon you understand that it is just stripped-down, slow, primitive and suffocating punk. Hypnotic like BRAINBOMBS, noisy like FLIPPER, charismatic like the STOOGES, and dramatic like QLOAQA LETAL. Visiones Nocturnas offers seven gloomy tracks that, if you understand the lyrics, will shatter your emotions. This just proves that Spanish punk bands are at the top of their game.

Belgrado Intra Apogeum LP

La Vida Es Un Mus never ceases to impress, especially when it comes to the diversity of albums they put out. The latest case in point: BELGRADO’s Intra Apogeum, a stunning eight-song long-player that is so assured in its style that you’d be fooled into thinking you’d heard it before. BELGRADO wears their influences on their sleeve, and in this case, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. It’s icy and clinical but catchy, danceable, and full of romance, not unlike Berlin-era BOWIE, NEW ORDER, and most certainly Siouxsie Sioux. Each song’s propulsive auto-drum beat bops along with bouncy synth effects, rubbery bass lines, and vocalist Patrcyja Proniewska’s ethereal voice, all coming together to create a rich and cinematic sound that makes for an unforgettable listen. A year-end top ten album, to be sure.

Brorlab Working Out in Heaven LP

High levels of egg found here…screamy, high-pitched vocals? Check. Heavily reverbed synth work that’s exquisitely executed. Totally punchy computer punk drums are on. A heavyweight competitor coming from Belgium enters the egg-punk ring with such rotundity that you’ll be amazed. Seven new songs, plus their debut demo that results in another nine tracks that are less vicious than the first seven, but still, they are tight. Frantic egg-punk with heavy, Dadaistic computer synthwave and drums. La Vida Es Un Mus did it again. Highly recommended for egg-punk lovers.

Chain Cult Shallow Grave LP

Athens’ CHAIN CULT wastes no time, opening the first track with a catchy chorus-laden guitar riff that would sound just as much at home on a new-wave record as on a dark melodic punk record. The raspy vocals sound a little like the singer from OXYMORON, which is refreshingly different. Anthemic songwriting and adventurous drumming tie the sound together. Definitely something to check out for fans of Scandinavian melodic punk and melodic dark punk.

Chain Cult We’re Not Alone / Always a Mess 7″

Athens, Greece-based CHAIN CULT gives us a take on the pandemic through their post-punk lens with lines like “We always know / We’re not alone,” and “Now I pretend to be normal / When life used to be normal.” For a threesome, the sound is full in body, and Dino’s picked-apart guitar lines are maybe the most notable aspect of “We’re Not Alone” and “Always A Mess,” running parallel with many of Jason’s sung melodies and punchy bass lines. The production lends itself to a very clean and polished sound—no crust here—but it’s dark, driving, and leaves you in that gray space between defeat and hope. Take a listen and see where you land.

Cry Out More Echoes of a Question Never Answered… Why? 12″

An anarcho-punk solo project from Montreal/Halifax with obvious nods to CRASS’s Penis Envy that remarkably manages not to sound like a retread. The reverb leaves an eerie vibe rather than simply compensating for lack of substance, the synth creeps in but doesn’t overstay its welcome, and the drum machine is teased with cowbell and noisemakers. During a pandemic that could spawn scores of dreary solo projects, this sounds so deliberate and vital, and uneasy—think The Fucking Cunts Treat Us Like Pricks by FLUX OF PINK INDIANS. These four songs go in and out of a lot of sonic directions but hold together like a true, no-bullshit statement. The horrible news overshadowing this righteously indignant EP is that its sole creator, Rosie Davis, passed away this past summer before it could come out. Memorable, original, and fitting of these grotesque times; if this were to be a first salvo, it’s impossible not to wonder where this project was going to go. Great to see La Vida Es Un Mus give this the vinyl treatment and that proceeds go to Rosie’s family. What can you say? Cop this. RIP.

Disclose Nightmare or Reality 12″

To be honest, the typically blunt and honest liner notes by Kawakami are pretty much the best review of this record available, but I’ll do my best to give a preview. Everyone knows (or should know) that DISCLOSE is that Japanese band that wrote songs in the style of DISCHARGE, but beneath the surface the story of DISCLOSE is an intriguing one, featuring constant evolution and innovation spanning dozens of releases. While early DISCLOSE was very much in the service of DISCHARGE, there were obvious influences from a range of post-DISCHARGE hardcore bands, most notably Scandinavian masters like DISCARD and SHITLICKERS. The early and mid-’90s material is often blown-out to the point of being challenging to listen to (viz. the first EP, or the tracks on the Meaningful Consolidation compilation). As time progressed, the band moved away from that more chaotic approach in favor of a more stripped-down and coherent sound, with the The Aspects of War and 4 Track EPs serving as trial runs for this, DISCLOSE’s attempt at producing their answer to Why?. The years and years of obsessive listening, study, research, practice, and attention to detail paid off in spades here, producing ten tracks (of course, guess which other record had 10) of pure DISCHARGE-fueled D-beat insanity, albeit with soloing that skews a little more towards ’CIMEX than Bones. It’s foolish to offer up apologies or explanations for Kawakami and DISCLOSE, either for the concept or the execution when it’s easy enough to say that there’s nothing one fucking amazing band taking inspiration from another fucking amazing band. True connoisseurs can argue for hours about which period of DISCLOSE was the best, but I don’t think any would handwave this record or its importance as a turning point in their body of work. As usual, La Vida Es Un Mus has given this reissue deluxe treatment, with the art fully reproduced in a heavy duty glossy jacket and inner sleeve, and a great sounding mastering job on thick vinyl.

El Aviador Dro Nuclear, Sí EP

40th anniversary reissue of this seminal Spanish synth-punk EP, available again for the first time this century. Closest relative in sound and spirit would be SOLID SPACE, though AVIADOR DRO are a bit brighter and more playful, even with nuclear concerns and a looming Godzilla attack as lyrical woes. Really into this, especially during this crisp and desperate time of year. Recommended for bleepers and dorks.

Enzyme Howling Mind 12″

You know what’s up here—manic non-music hitting you like a hammer. Rapid-fire drums only seem to stop between songs, firecrackers exploding through the mix erratically while everything else is either distorted or flanged to oblivion. It’s a complete assault that will exhaust even a casual listener (try seeing it live), but the thing that sets Australia’s ENZYME apart is the fukkn tracks. The title track is an insanely catchy pogo banger, followed by “Decadent Hogs,” one of the most relentless scorchers of the last decade that’s still catchy as fuck. The bass is the regulator, holding everything in place and directing the chaos…not an easy task when the chaos you’re a part of just hoists the banner of noise punk higher and higher. CONFUSE? Sure. DISORDER? Naturally. But ENZYME has evolved.

Enzyme Golden Dystopian Age 12″

ENZYME is back with a second full-length album. It is a massive work that is rooted in noise punk, but aims to broaden the soundscape of the genre. Some might treat noise as a one-shot gimmick, but in reality, it’s a rather versatile element found in so much music. ENZYME built songs as they are aware of this, and listened to enough different records to understand how cacophony could be used interestingly. Traditionally, they left the bass almost undistorted, loud and clear so it can drive the songs and lay down the fundamental rhythm. Above that, the guitars go wild, hissing alien sounds, future riffs for demented minds. Electronic influences appear here and there, but if you’ve dug deep enough into the EXIT HIPPIES discography, then you will not hear anything unfamiliar. Yet these unusual influences are adapted in a tasteful way—instead of showcasing bizarre ideas, you get ENZYME’s crafted individual sound, although this originality creates its own dimension which holds back the record from being an ear-threatening sonic attack. But neither is the record dirty or dumb. It dares to be different, packed with ideas that keep me entertained even after multiple spins. Truly a boundary-pushing record.

Exotica Musique Exotique #03 EP

Blown-out, fuzzed, wall-of-hardcore sound from New York with sinister riffs and punchy, scathing vocals delivered in bursts. Cool sound effects and creepy feedback add some variety, and the pace doesn’t let up. The drumming is creative and unorthodox in a way that really sets the sound apart from everyone else old or new. Lyrics in Spanish and English, with band members from Mexico, Argentina and the US. This is their third 7″ release, and has all the energy of their first record with more attention to songwriting. Another excellent hardcore EP!

Flash Flash LP

High-energy punk blasts from Basque Country. FLASH sounds like the classic American HC of ZERO BOYS and ARTICLES OF FAITH mixed with blown-out production and raspy, sore-throat vocals. There are leads on leads with string-bending solos that dial up the melodicism and live, electric feelings of these songs to very high levels. “Bihotz Gorrak” (Basque for “Deaf Hearts”) is a classic sub-two-minute anthem full of riffs, gang choruses, and fist-pumping melodies. Instant classic, and I don’t even have the lyrics. “Harri Hau” (“This Stone”) is another winner that sounds timeless and brand new at the same time. I listened to final track “Querrido Punk” (“Dear Punk”) several times in a row. It’s a perfect blend of pounding snare, fuzzed-out riffs, and passionate vocals. Great ending to a great record.

Flash Eztek Ber Besteik cassette

Basque Country’s FLASH released this three-track cassette for a West Coast USA tour, and it’s a lo-fi attack of catchy, fully driven, snotty mid-tempo punk rock songs, sonically akin to local legends such as LA PERRARA as well as ZERO BOYS. Lyrics are in Spanish as well as the Basque language. Heard this for the first time, but I already know that these are catchy, classic punk anthems—no filler, all bangers, no bullshit right here, a straight-up explosion of fist-pumping pure energy for punks to pogo and sing along to.

Foc La Fera Ferotge LP

This first album from an intriguing band direct from Barcelona, featuring frenetic drums, a noise guitar with small melodies and the intensity and unevenness of spoken Catalan vocals. This band sounds like a manifesto, an urgent and necessary call. As if CONFLICT heard noise in 2020.

Forra Mostrame Lo Peor EP

If I didn’t know this band before, just by listening to it, I wouldn’t know if it was recorded recently or in the ’80s anywhere in South America, like MARIA T.TA Y EL EMPUJON BRUTAL’s missing record. But in reality it was recorded in 2018, and more importantly, by Latina immigrant women living in London and supporting The Latin American Women’s Rights Service (LAWRS), a London-based feminist organization. A primitive punk, raw guitar, aggressive vocals and a muffled recording effect.

Fried E.M. Modern World LP

It’s cool how unpretentious this record is. The band’s got no pedals or gimmicks to hide behind and no fake street politics or ideology to promote aside from a seething distaste for society and life. The vacant mindset is represented by the bare jacket art resulting in an extremely snotty record but the music isn’t as barebones as it may seem as FRIED E.M. operate in an interesting fits-and-stops manner. Some songs are rumbling blasts while others are more janky stop-go mutations with groaning bass, Ginn-esque guitar squeals and pummeling drums. It’s like they’ve scraped the grime and desperation from BLACK FLAG’s Damaged and thrown it onto a cleaner modern interpretation of MAD SOCIETY, the CIRCLE JERKS, the OVERKILL 7″ and other random L.A. punk bands. The A-side kinda lacks but the B really takes off. If you were into SCHOOL JERKS ten years ago, you can feel young again with this.

Fuera De Sektor El Mundo Segue cassette

FUERA DE SEKTOR pulls off an impressive genre-bender with El Mundo Segue. The songs are bright and succinct, replete with catchy guitar riffs and superlative bass lines, but somehow they’ve cultivated a perceptible darkness as well. CHAIN CULT may be a good reference point, but FUERA DE SEKTOR is not nearly as dense or gloomy. Musically, I’m reminded of a bit of EASTER AND THE TOTEM, though here again FUERA DE SEKTOR eschews comparison by introducing subtle new wave influences and delivering vocals in a higher-than-expected register. Of the four songs on this tape, “En La Oscuridad” is the one that grabs me most, but they are all bangers. Barcelona has produced some extraordinarily fresh and innovative bands in recent years, and FUERA DE SEKTOR is clearly continuing that trend while adding to La Vida Es Un Mus’ ongoing hit streak. Recommended.  

Gizon Berria Lurran Arnasa EP

One-man projects can be dangerous double-edged swords. If they are meant to reflect perfectly, to mirror the uncompromising artistic vision of one person, they are not without risk. Sure, we all hate it when drummers offer supposedly “good” ideas (as if they knew what they were talking about), or when the singer raises some doubts about your cracking five-minute-long solo, but then when you’re on your own in the studio composing everything, no one is going to warn you if the musical brilliance you just came up with is actually dross. GIZON BERRIA is a one-man band from the Basque Country and, on the one hand, I’m sure the EP achieved what the songwriter aimed at creating, so that it can be said indeed to be a coherent work. On the other hand, I don’t think the elements all work well together. GIZON BERRIA strives to create an occult, dark, creepy and menacing punk sound. It sounds like SLIMY MEMBER and GISM having a date at a witch convention, which could theoretically work—and I gladly admit there are some good riffs on the EP—but it falls a little short. I understand the concept of a hypnotic, pagan, macabre punk sound, but I don’t feel it. It would work better on a longer format with more narrative storytelling moments helping the atmosphere to settle, like the genuinely eerie outro, but on the EP format, it just sounds like a regular modern dark punk band, which I suppose is not the point. This said, it cannot be said to be a bad record, and I can imagine people being curious and even interested.

Hekátē Μέρες Οργής / Days of Wrath LP

Synth-punk with a deathly pallor from Athens, a take-no-shit attitude nevertheless prevails in what appears to be HEKÁTĒ’s debut release. Ping-ponging between Greek and English for their lyrics, an organ sounds like it’s set to overheat on “Καλοκαίρι 2018,” while “Soapbox” is—in sentiment more than music—as dead-on as first-wave Riot Grrrl’s finest (“You get in my way and fuck up my day / You push me aside then ask me to smile / Ugh!”). A bumpin’ goth-punk bassline and psych-flecked keyboard swirl backs up Lydia’s reverbed-up vox on “Cul-De-Sac,” which along with “Ψυχαναγκασμός” comes off like ES trying out a WARSAW / STRANGLERS gene-splice, unlikely an occurrence as that might in reality be.”Αθήνα,” which closes the album, is billed as a collection of field recordings from Athens, and encompasses some sort of (possibly) tavern-bound balladry, smashing glass, thunder (or are those bombs?) and police sirens. Pretty skillfully assembled, actually, and doesn’t jar with an otherwise rocking set of post-punk.

Home Front Think of the Lie 12″

Hammering out a dance beat from the cold plains of central Canada, HOME FRONT breaks frozen ground with their debut EP. Think of the Lie offers all the trappings of new wave sheen—rambling synth and bass, drum-machined angst, and vox and guitar drowning in reverb. The angst comes through with clarity on “Seagulls,” but is well balanced by softer tracks around it. The first track “Flaw in the Design” and the last track “Kill the Time” make nice social commentary bookends, grounding the fun overtones of the album.

Home Front Games of Power LP

Upon the release of their 2021 EP Think of the Lie, Edmonton, Canada’s HOME FRONT brought something new to the table in an already diverse modern punk scene: a new wave sound drenched in catchy synth and nods to some of the ’80s greatest. Masterminds Graeme Mackinnon and Clint Frazier delivered songs with hooks that could go toe-to-toe with nearly any one-hit wonder of the era. It comes as no surprise, then, that with their debut LP Games of Power, HOME FRONT has pulled out all of the stops and it pays off in spades. This is a lovingly crafted album full of wall-to-wall hits that not only continues the trajectory HOME FRONT set out on with their debut, but takes it to soaring heights, incorporating nearly every benchmark of the new wave and post-punk eras. Opener “Faded State” and second track “Real Eyes” were wisely the first two tracks available before the album dropped, and give a good idea of where things are heading, but even the perfect pop sparkle of the former and the propulsive post-punk grit of the latter cannot prepare the listener for what’s ahead. Track three (“Nation”) is an Oi!-infused family affair, featuring vocals from Cal of the CHISEL as well as members of RIXE on backing vocal duties. Typically the word “anthemic” feels overused and trite, but here it fits quite nicely. Stuffed to the brim with icy synths and righteous indignation, this one will do well with a live crowd. Highlights elsewhere include “Contact,” a euphoric ode to the end of the world that shimmers like a NEW ORDER single at the end of a John Hughes film, “Crisis,” a Krautrock-y second spin down KRAFTWERK’s Autobahn, and the album’s crown jewel, title track “Games of Power.” It’s a dazzling, beat-laden groove straight out of the Haçienda during peak Madchester. Rarely does a song get an immediate second spin from me, but this one demands it. It cannot be understated: HOME FRONT’s songwriting is superb. They have a sound that is familiar and authentic without teetering into parody, only tasteful homage. Both Ian Curtis and Alan Vega receive heartfelt love letters via “End Transmission” and “Born Killer,” respectively. Both are so deftly put together that you can easily forget it isn’t JOY DIVISION or SUICIDE playing from the speaker. Therein lies the beauty of Games of Power: it lovingly celebrates a genre while pushing it forward into a modern age. HOME FRONT is no throwback, they are the future.

Institute Ragdoll Dance LP

INSTITUTE returns with their signature creepy/catchy sound, and some inevitable updates. They’ve kept their snaky guitar lines and sinister rhythms, but the production has a real distinct texture from their previous releases. It’s both restrained and full, quiet but boiling. I’m sure many of us can imagine louder, brasher versions of these songs, but the band really holds back. The guitars sound like they’re surrounding and nudging you instead of blasting towards you. The songs are a recognizable, stripped down punk’n’roll with some almost KISS-esque leads. This made me think of some other bands who fold in a touch of hard rock. All that aside, the band’s songwriting still hogs the spotlight and carries the album.

Irreal Era Electrónica 12″

If you really commit and do your homework, sticking with tradition can always feel fresh and vital. This group from Barcelona certainly perfects a sound that could have come straight from the height of ’80s hardcore, when punks and metalheads started to blur together. This pummels, crackling with lightning and feedback that never once missteps. Brutality without a care for the modern world.

Irreal Fi Del Mon 12″

With a start that makes even the most casual listener take note and wonder if they are about to be washed away by a tsunami of ’82 Italian hardcore, IRREAL set their scene before they even make it through one riff…and then they get better. Relentless, pounding drums that dance (like, literally you will want to dance), as the band crashes into and through an array of Southern European punk influences and art-damaged DISCHARGE reinterpretations. So tormented are these guitars, it’s as if the person playing them is attacking with frustration, trying simply to make them sound like they are supposed to—and when you deliver breakneck D-beat (“Ruines”) with that kind of fury, the results are terrifying. IRREAL is the product of several stalwarts of the Barcelona scene, so it comes as no surprise that Fi Del Mon is good—and still when “Maisons” closes the show, there’s nothing I want to do except start from the beginning. Highest recommendation.

Irreal 2020 EP

Barcelona has been a growing staple for European punk and IRREAL is the perfect example of the Spanish strength, featuring members of BARCELONA, UNA BESTIA INCONTROLABLE, and NUEVA FUERZA just to name a few. These calloused musicians quickly continue where DESTINO FINAL (whose members were in) left off but angrier and faster. Five tracks of defiant hardcore that owes as much to Finnish hardcore as it does to DISCHARGE, and by no means do they forget their Spanish punk classics. You get the feeling that the more bands write in their own language the angrier it feels, and this is the perfect example of the anti-establishment sentiment. Without a doubt one of the best EPs that saw the light of day during the COVID-era “new normalcy.” Muerte al sistema!

JJ and the A’s Show Me EP

The debut EP from Copenhagen/Barcelona punks JJ AND THE A’S consists of six tracks of urgent, fully driven, catchy late ’70s/early ’80s mid-tempo KBD comp-style tracks. Solid vocal harmonies with no-bullshit rock’n’roll guitar riffs. Somewhere along the lines of a gasoline-injected version of X, VICE SQUAD, Static Age-era MISFITS, ZERO BOYS, AGENT ORANGE, or D.I.—trim out all the SoCal boomer bro-punk vibes for a refined modern version of it. A fierce combustion of pure energetic output.

Kaleidoscope After the Futures… LP

This one dropped last year and justifiably popped onto more than a few folks’ 2019 “best of” lists. New York’s KALEIDOSCOPE has taken the screws to modern hardcore, not so much reinterpreting or combining elements from various crucial points in the historical procession of fads and subgenres, but reinventing them altogether. What if Pick Your King had been born of the Crass Records scene, for example? After The Futures… is nothing if not a complete album as opposed to a collection of tracks. “Feeling Machine” closes the first side with a perfect dose of driving desperation. It’s the kind of track that is supposed to end a side—after listening to Shiva (guitar/vox) spit fire for two minutes and then drop into an “Indecision Time” caliber micro-lead, you fucking need the break that flipping the wax mandates. They are more than capable of dropping a killer hardcore record, but there are only shades of that on this full-length, enough to make sure that you know that they know, but KALEIDOSCOPE are bigger than that. Experimentation and freedom; existence within the construct while altering the expectations of same. You’re gonna hear people talk about jazz, about psychedelic free-form nonsense when they talk about this record…but make no mistake: this one is Punk. With any luck, this one is The New Punk that will spawn a new generation of imitators who also get tired of doing what they are supposed to do, just like KALEIDOSCOPE did.

Khiis Bezoar LP

KHIIS is a four-piece hardcore punk band hailing from Oakland, CA; their latest release, Bezoar, is sung in Farsi and English. Good riffs, catchy yet well-crafted songwriting, and simply a brutal, raging hardcore punk record that raises your fist up in the air. Reminds me of a modern DIY punk version of mid-tempo driven UK82 bands like GBH and the EXPLOITED. It’s not necessary UK82 revival pogo/street punk (but somehow sounds much more UK82 than most street punk bands out there), and whether intended or not, there are similarities with contemporary Bay Area hardcore such as NO STATIK, TORSO, REPLICA, and others. The Earhammer recording production is clear and dynamic sounding, reminding me more of the TOTALITÄR material or ’90s Japanese hardcore production (something recorded at Our House or from the Selfish Records or Bloodsucker Records catalog) than some basement demo recording. No bullshit, great hardcore punk, not just for punks, but also hardcore fans of all. Great cover artwork done by Ji Hwan Ryu of SCUMRAID.

Kohti Tuhoa Elä Totuudesta EP

The Finnish band who dropped one of my favorite records in 2019 released this record in 2020 that’s fast becoming my favorite EP of 2021. Finland’s KOHTI TUHOA has progressed with each release, and Elä Totuudesta is no different—vocals have developed a pronounced NAUSEA-meets-POST REGIMENT bark here, driving the songs themselves with force. Even the title track that opens with such a furious downstroke guitar doesn’t really start until the vocals kick in. The Scandi-beat charge is definitely present, even dominating at times, but the leads are classic punk and the vibe is determined and not dark, reflected in the lyrics and delivered by the sound. You’ll never find anyone categorizing this by saying it “sounds like…,” well, anything. A future classic slab to devour in the present—highly recommended.

Kohti Tuhoa Ihmisen Kasvot LP

There are a few things you can do to distinguish your band from the sea of hardcore punk releases coming out these days: hooks, strong vocals or instrumentation, production, or delivery. Everything about this LP is so fucking awesome and exudes the spirit of intense classic Finnish hardcore to an uncalculabe degree. Varied pace of attack and degrees of burn make it impossible to choose standout tracks. Flailing drum fills, pick slides, short guitar licks and sweet vocal cues are distributed proficiently for maximum excitement. It’s just all deep cuts, edited tightly together to be taken in all at once. A record for all punk and hardcore fans to live and die for!

Kohti Tuhoa Väkivaltaa EP

Since their inception, KOHTI TUHOA managed to make a dent on the punk scene and they never disappoint. They are where they belong: at the top of the game as the true carriers of the Finnish punk torch. Väkivaltaa is a less chaotic and abrasive EP, a more controlled and mature experimentation with different routes to their sound. There are still pogo moments like DISORDER in songs like “Juokse Kovempaa” that point back to their earlier stuff but with a more garage feel to it, while songs like “Häpeä” invoke the early AMEBIX spirit, a step in a different direction for KOHTI TUHOA. The best quality of this EP is the dark feeling it conveys, perhaps a mirror of current times and the era it was crafted in. Towards destruction there is only violence!

Koma Internment Failure LP

Take a breath before facing the brutal decadence of modern life. Prepare yourself to receive a blast of pestilence and moral rot. You still go forward and face it head on, because it’s the only thing you can do, right? You are alive. You resist. That’s how it feels to listen to these twelve tracks from the debut album of KOMA, a band from London/Leeds. This is noisy hardcore, the kind that can generate tinnitus, very much in the vein of Swedish hardcore and the more static-filled Japanese styles. The effect is brutal, claustrophobic, and frenetic, an assault on the senses without pause. Absolutely desperate, like these times.

Kriegshög Paint It Black / White Out 7″

Latest release by Tokyo’s hardcore veterans, with almost fifteen years under their belt. As with their previous release, their sound has changed a bit from the raging Mangel thrash-esque “Magma Beat Hell” approach. Perhaps due to the lineup change, the approach has shifted from blown-out noisy hardcore to mid-paced hardcore with a cleaner guitar tone, reminesent of DISCHARGE’s non D-beat mid-tempo songs such as “Decontrol” or “State Violence State Control” more than something you will hear from the kangpunk approach like “Victims of a Bomb Raid” or “Nitad.” Still, seeing that they’re a raging hardcore band based out of Tokyo, it’s hard to say they’ve toned down a bit; the sound has matured in its unique manner. It’s not overtly noisy or intense sounding like their earlier releases, but focused more on subtle intensity that is quietly building up. Perhaps it’s their long career or maybe it’s the cultural influences that it has, seems like it’s an output of aggression that is rather unique to an environment like Tokyo. The B-side still carries on with their no-bullshit, raging hardcore punk.

Lame Dejad Que Vengan 12″

LAME is made up of members of GLAM/BARCELONA, ORDEN MUNDIAL/BARRERA, and MORREADORAS. Currently, it is an international project between Berlin/Mallorca/London. I am a huge fan of the era of Iberian hardcore the members’ former bands are from, so I was really excited to check out LAME. Six (plus an introduction) short songs of energetic, bouncy hardcore with enough clever oddity to make them unique. The guitars operate with simple and punchy riffs that tend to turn into chaotic shredding or venture away from back-and-forth power chords, while the rhythm section makes sudden changes or stops to spice the already effective songs. The vocals are in Spanish and done in a determined spoken/yelling voice that has as much anger as shouting, yet it’s more commanding and strict. The songs are mostly mid-tempo, but the clash of energy and fragmented rhythms create an eventful mix. I like this release, but compared to the members’ previous bands, it’s less head-spinning because it is different. Still has a lot of originality and is a great addition to the history of Iberian hardcore.

Lux New Day EP

I’ve always meant to pay more attention to this band so I don’t have a ton to compare this to. Surprising for me since I’m generally a big fan of Barcelona punk. Definitely my loss, for this is a sheeringly ripping slice of buzzsaw Riot City punk. Kills from start to finish. The guitar sound is a brilliant little headache and you’ll hear SUBVERSIVE RITE, VICE SQUAD’s first EP and SACRILEGE demos if you squint just right. All this while sounding like fresh music for the future revolutions and marches in the street. Death to Fascist Pigs! or something like that.

Maladia Sacred Fires 12″

When I saw MALADIA play, close on eighteen months ago, they were billed second to PERMISSION, and while those two groups diverge somewhat from a baseline sound—one more weird, the other more ferocious—together they’re top of the line in modern London hardcore. Sacred Fires is MALADIA’s first vinyl release after a 2019 demo, and they have upped the (already intense) intensity for twelve minutes and five slippery rippers. John Weston sounds extra anarcho-aggro on the mic and the VOID via post-Pope Adrian RUDIMENTARY PENI blown-out deathrock vibe gets rolled up in a comparably more psychedelic carpet on the B-side. This is feeling like a sleeper hit of 2021 DIY punk.

Miss España Niebla Mental LP

I have a soft spot for bands with female vocals, that are bass-heavy, danceable, and bouncy but at their core still aggressive punk music, that are fun but simultaneously say “fuck you” to the world, especially bands from the turn of the ’00s and ’10s. MISS ESPAÑA reminds me of that era, from WETDOG to XYX. The bass/synth/drums trio keeps a constant groove that is as danceable as no wave mutant disco, although with a gloomy atmosphere—aggressively hitting beats are all over the record like clouds above a doomed party. The whole album is really tight, with clever songwriting that makes melancholy bouncy. Another scene that comes to my mind is Swiss post-punk, with the obvious melodies of CHIN CHIN and the KICK along with the rough fun of GLUEAMS. So many references, but MISS ESPAÑA does stand out from the masses (I rarely hear such music, at least). Great record.

Mock Execution Killed by Mock Execution LP

Chicago’s MOCK EXECUTION leaves no crust boxes unticked. Part UK traditional crust like DOOM or E.N.T., part Japanese crasher crust like GLOOM or GAI. Even though many bands follow this route in terms of style, MOCK EXECUTION seems to have developed their own distinct sound, with a brutal display of ferociousness throughout the nine songs that make up Killed by Mock Execution—and you will indeed be killed by this noise bomb.

Motive Controlled Confusion EP

After a blazing demo (that this reviewer actually had the pleasure of releasing) last year, Leeds-based Harry Townend returns with more from his solo endeavor MOTIVE. It rages even harder than the demo with its five tracks of twisted D-beat mayhem, taking the best aspects from UK and Scandinavian D-beat and molding them together in a frenzied haze. This record is made all the more impressive when you learn Townend was a mere seventeen years old at the time of this record’s writing and recording. Fans of VARUKERS, ANTI-CIMEX, and the like will get a massive kick out of this barnburner.

Mystic Inane Natural Beauty EP

MYSTIC INANE give us a posthumous collection of four songs that were recorded prior to them disbanding a few years ago. If you are late to this group of New Orleans weirdos, they sound like RUDIMENTARY PENI meets SACCHARINE TRUST in a dumpster. Their essential EP’s of M/I collection is always in rotation around these parts. This EP fits in perfectly with their three previous 7″ releases of off-kilter outsider hardcore. The basement spy riffs are here, as are the deranged, always slightly off-beat vocals that make this band so recognizable and endearing. “Death of Disco Spiv” starts off slowly with a beginner’s level guitar line that is met about 30 seconds later with full-band hardcore stomp. “My Life as a Fish” reminds me of their previous trash anthem “I Believe in UFOs” with a similar vocal delivery in the chorus of “I’m a fish, and I want sleep” (at least, I think that’s what he says). “Mystic Ignorance” is as good an introduction to the band as it gets, and we even get a brief guitar solo! Generous! “Peckerwood Nero” has such a catchy repeated vocal line and bouncy bass melody that it could be a new wave hit in a freakier universe. The final track fades out and then slowly comes back in, creating a fitting parting gift from a great punk band. My expectations were exceeded, and I was bummed when it ended.

Nekra Royal Disruptor EP

Dripping with sarcasm and venom, NEKRA spit out five tracks of vicious HC, easily switching between fast-as-fuck aggression and stomping mid-paced choruses. These tempo changes and snotty vocals manage to yield some of the catchiest punk I’ve heard from London in some time, while not losing an ounce of that raw energy that made their 2017 demo such a fuckin’ rager. Recommended.

Obsessió Gracies 12″

With members from Greece and Catalonia, OBSESSIÁ”’s self-titled 12″ is a pan-European hardcore melange, over faster than it takes to steam a cauliflower. Angela from ’00s Barcelona greats FIRMEZA 10 yells forcefully over straightforward, propulsive hardcore with some surprising Swedish-style rocking guitar licks. It’s kind of like HERÄTYS locked in a sun-bleached squat where the power cuts out every few minutes. The closing track “Atac” is a standout, with some particularly aggrieved grunted vocals. If you have ten records from the past fifteen years, you’re probably covered stylistically, but this is a fine outing and a great debut.

Ohyda Koszmar 12″

OHYDA’s songwriting is more experimental than most D-beat bands. The rumbling bass, heavily reverbed vocals, guitars shrouded in distortion, pace changes and a thick drum sound switching between D-beat and plodding, KILLING TIME-like primitivism strays far from the typical DISCHARGE worship. The blown out sound rings in my head like Finnish classics but the style is undoubtedly Polish with a driving attack that’s not afraid to sway into varying directions. The album includes two covers, one by an old Polish band called ABADDON and the other by PESD but if you hadn’t read the liner notes you wouldn’t have guessed these tracks weren’t originals, as both songs complement OHYDA’s style. Overall it’s a cool album that pushes things into an interesting direction and showcases the quality and ingenuity that these Polish bands retain.

Ohyda Pan Bóg Spełni Wszystkie Pragnienia Lewaków… I Dojdzie Do Katastrofy! 12″

This is the third record from the Polish hardcore band OHYDA and it fits the soundscape of their previous releases: modern-sounding hardcore punk, with the taseful distribution of heavy/slow and stomping/fast parts, echo/delay on the vocals, some metallic guitars here and there, but way less metal than G.I.S.M. (although I hear the influence of them and DESTINO FINAL). Despite the songs not being that long, the band is able to create a space with borders much wider than only what the instruments play, at a pace that allows everyone to perform with intensity instead of with urgency, but that intensity bonds the whole record together and creates a great atmosphere that characterizes the band. Poland and Hungary (where I live) have a historically good relationship, meanwhile I guess both nations’ citizens try to convince themselves the other country is in deeper dictatorial shit and bigot paranoia. This record gives a pretty good insight of what is going on within these power factories fueled by EU money and inland hatred reasoned with religious or xenophobic bullshit, but the music rather translates that everyday experience instead of academically discussing its sociology; we are punx after all. Yet this record is not only regional: it fits into the modern era of international hardcore, since sadly the rage of OHYDA is easily translateable. 

Muro / Orden Mundial Sonido De La Negación split LP

Splits are strange records. This one goes even beyond, as it is to honor the memory of ORDEN MUNDIAL’s bass player, who passed away, but also helped out and recorded with MURO during one of their EU tours. The greatest splits are more than just two groups’ recordings. Their contrast either evokes debates between those who are obsessed with always picking sides, or are an exhibition game of an outstanding pair. Sonido De La Negación is closer to the second because even though the two bands differ sound-wise, they rather overlap and complete than contradict each other. It’s hard to write about MURO when most of my information channels propagate them as the best band in today’s hardcore. Therefore I have to work around these proclamations, because I care about their music instead of their perception. They operate with an unimpeachable energy that mixes urgency of Latin American hardcore heritage and Burning Spirits epic anthemism. The later feature holds back my devotion towards them because it offers too much for my taste, and makes me realize how they are able to repeatedly build truly great records from generic elements. Still, they keep progressing, since what was good on Ataque Hardcore Punk has become great here. The drums carry most of their music; it is a solid base for the exceptional energy of the band that is luckily translate-able to records, too. I am glad they introduce parts where guitars break away from extended, strummed-out riffs to more abstract territories. There is no They Live situation regarding MURO—what the whole world loves is actually real. ORDEN MUNDIAL was always my dark horse from the wave of Spanish hardcore marked by UNA BESTIA INCONTROLABLE and BARCELONA. I liked how they reminded me of a fucked up, glue-huffed-to-pass-out version of the most confusing parts of primitive USHC such as SSD. Just take the second song from their side, a crazy mid-tempo stomper, drowned into distortion and echo, an almost no-wave-dancy mind-melter. Lead up by a headkicker opening track, so dense it entangles into itself. The mid-tempo pace continues within another number, that reminisces both exploring, desperate on drugs and dizzy by recently acquired new musical abilities, at the doorstep of later-era hardcore, which also feels as cut out and looped to a full track version of tension-builder bridge part. Still ORDEN MUNDIAL annexes all their influences that expand their sound. Yes, it will be up there with WRETCHED / INDIGESTI, COWARD / GASMASK or—fuck it—FAITH / VOID.

Permission Organized People Suffer LP

I think more of PERMISSION than I listen to. While they are one of the most reliable current bands in case of ripping hardcore, they also project outsider energy, not mysterious or edgy but very different from their contemporaries. Their music is pure hardcore; this purity carries a lonesome determination that puts PERMISSION’s music into a frame—one that could contain their cover art, too—that separates them from whatever goes on in today’s punk. I already liked NO, their previous bands, and just as the incredibly heightened speed of their music, neither did my attraction ever stop. I dig their consistent aesthetics, it does not feel alienating due to their art-lean, although makes me think that hardcore could connect to other sources than to its own historical self-references. Thus, whenever I hear PERMISSION, they sound as the fastest band alive. Which they are not, but they let me forget about the world outside their music, and while their speed could refer to HERSEY, RIPCORD or NEOS, PERMISSION does more than rebuild their idea from known elements. They practice discipline with never slowing down for mid-tempo stomps or bridges; no, they exist on a hyper-level and whatever idea they have, it must be solved within their self-created physics. While this discipline avoids a cheap show-off of some meticulous precision, even if the songs feel thought-through they are able to disintegrate even when performed in a recording area, which is the biggest achievement when someone is this fast and mostly plays linear riffs, instead of free-form guitar juggling. Each song connects and slips into each other, therefore the whole record makes up one chaotic organization, as their record covers are different caught moments from another single alien world. If the Bruegel-crowd had a soundtrack it would be PERMISSION. Buy their whole discography!  

Polo Pepo y Sociedad Corrupta San Felipe Es Punk / Es Delito Ser Punk 7″

By some standards, Polo Pepo’s two-song 1988 7″ is little more than a historical oddity. It barely made an impression on the global punk and hardcore scenes on its release, and its crude mid-tempo songs don’t fit in particularly well with the vicious political thrash of most Mexican hardcore of its era. Yet to me, this record—not to mention this loving reissue—is a minor miracle. The A-side track, “San Felipe Es Punk” is a truly magical (and utterly raw) ode to the modest and evidently punk as fuck Mexican neighborhood that Polo Pepo called home. It’s a rudimentary song with a simple message but it’s one I’ve listened to hundreds of times (and put on almost as many mix tapes) since I first heard it. It’s hard to find a more honest tribute to underground culture or to punk rock anywhere. There might be those who listen to this and just don’t get it, but to me this record captures the essence of what I love about DIY punk.

Porvenir Oscuro Asquerosa Humanidad LP

The future is certainly dark, as foretold by the band’s name. After a demo and 7″, worldwide hardcore maniax were thirsty for some more noise from NYC-based powerhouse PORVENIR OSCURO. Featuring members of such diverse bands as POBREZA MENTAL, PAWNS, and VAXINE, Asquerosa Humanidad proves to be a raw mixture of the very best of Latin punk with hints of UK82 via CHAOS UK. Everything from the beautiful cover to the thirteen pogo-drenched tracks reeks of disdain and restlessness. The cherry on top of this crusty cake is the vocal delivery by Colombian-born singer Sara. A punk gem released at the right time; as Colombia burns, the voices of disdain rise!

Public Acid Easy Weapons LP reissue

The debut LP from North Carolina’s PUBLIC ACID is getting some well-deserved love from the dependable La Vida Es Un Mus label. Originally released in a limited run of 300 copies in 2018, this is a welcome reissue of a straight banger that showcases the band’s twisted take on brutal Japanese hardcore and the speedy, primal poisonings of Italian bands like WRETCHED. It’s a corroded carnival of feedback, buzzsaw guitars, scathing rapid-fire drum beats, and distorted echo vocals, chewing the ears from start to finish. The intense fun doesn’t let up, and when it’s done, I’m instantly compelled to play it again—the mark of a classic.

Quarantine Agony LP

This might quite possibly be the best USHC release of the year! Heck, maybe the best in the last five or ten years. The record begins with an eerie intro followed by a huge, belching “agony” that quickly erupts into the finest mash-up of USHC aggression. The weirdness of UNITED MUTATION and WHITE PIGS moshing with the anger of NEGATIVE APPROACH and NECROS. A relentless yet catchy record filled with some of the strangest electronic segments heard on a hardcore record that sometimes come close to something DEVO would do. Their 2020 demo was killer but this record just elevates the bar for every other hardcore band out there. The quality of this LP comes as no surprise because it has members of IMPALERS and CHAIN RANK and you know they rage as hard as they can. Shoutout to Chris Ulsh slaying it on the drums and showing what he’s made of. After the quarantine, QUARANTINE will have everyone in the pit screaming “will to kill“—and remember, “Life is a one long-ass quarantine.”

Quarantine Exile LP

Philly’s QUARANTINE is back and, damn, if they didn’t let up or run out of steam doing the same ultra-basic NEGATIVE APPROACH meets YDI meets MACHINE GUN one-two-one-two USHC formula. They add just enough variety with songs like “Voiceless Survival” to avoid any generic tags. My favorite is still their demo tape which emerged in actual quarantine times, but this record is fierce and short just like a hardcore record should be. “Widespread Terror” is tops. See them live. You won’t regret it.

Rat Cage Screams from the Cage LP

This band has two great 7″s, and this LP does not disappoint at all. It features none of the impurities that mar many hardcore bands these days such as weird artsy stuff, metal, grind or garage influences. It is pure straight unadulterated uncut hardcore in the Pick Your King/Is This My World? tradition. The songs are well-crafted, catchy, memorable, and delivered with fire and fury. Musically I like how it is fast and furious, yet a little wild and loose. I hear a lot of JERRY’S KIDS in the general structure, and something about this record structurally reminds me of post Y2K thrash bands like DIRECT CONTROL. But the overall vibe is more wild and chaotic, like classic Italian or Finnish hardcore, even if the pacing and structure is based on the American form. The artwork is crazed like the music, a rat with a chainsaw holds up a severed head on the front. On the flip his eerie rat eyes peer at us from inside “the cage.” Lyrically we get a lot of dead-end desperation here, written from the perspective of the outsider who always gets the short end of the stick. And a refreshingly retro anti-nuclear jam.  I’m told this is a one-person project, and if so, hats off to that person for their vision, because this is the complete package right here. When I was a teenager, me and my friends got into tagging for a while, mostly throwing up anarchistic slogans off our MDC and Crass records. One night I was tagging a bridge piling, when flashing police lights appeared behind me. I ran like hell up the embankment with the cops in pursuit. At the top the hill was an impossibly tall fence with barbed wire on top. Somehow I scampered up and over that fence, but caught my jacket on the barbed wire. I was hanging upside down, spray cans falling from my pockets looking at the cops coming up the hill after me. Then my jacket ripped and I fell to the ground. I got up and ran, from further away I could see in the distance the stymied cop looking through the fence and the other shaking his head looking at my piece on the bridge. That feeling of triumph, danger and excitement is how I feel when I spin a sick new hardcore record like this RAT CAGE.

Rat Cage Savage Visions LP

Do you feel lucky every day to wake up in this beautiful world? Then don’t buy this record. It’s not for you. This is a nuclear blast of hate against a world on fire. Sheffield’s RAT CAGE has been excellent from day one, but this is the most cohesive and apocalyptic the (mostly) solo project has been. The sound will please supercharged freaks who lick Swedish hardcore like a light socket, but the wattage is even brighter than even 2021’s split with NERVOUS SS. There’s been no mellowing with age, and why should there be? Everything is more fucked than ever, but B. Suddaby’s arterial screech and toxic riffs provide a perfect soundtrack—at times I swear this hits like Nick Blinko fronting DISCHARGE. I know, that sounds like hyperbole, but the ferocity and fearlessness to explore the strange dank corners of hardcore cannot be overstated here. A month after this detonation went live, the world had its hottest week in all of human history. Coincidence? I’ll let you listen and decide.

Nervous SS / Rat Cage Skopje vs Sheffield split LP

A battle between two hardcore bands that are a match made in hell. In the left corner is NERVOUS SS from Macedonia, a vicious TOTALITÄR-esque hardcore killing machine keeping the Scandinavian sound alive. In the right corner is RAT CAGE from the UK, same core as the above but with a more USHC influence from bands like POISON IDEA. Sometimes punk splits seem like a dumping ground for unreleased material. Not in this case—you get the sense that you are listening to a full album. So, who has won in this battle of Skopje vs Sheffield? The fucking punk scene!

Rata Negra Una Vida Vulgar LP

Finally, the highly anticipated new album of Madrid’s RATA NEGRA is here, and it’s a treat. It is a pleasure to realize that this ability for melody has become their main weapon. Each of the songs on Una Vida Vulgar (“A Vulgar Life”) have memorable choruses; you can imagine yourself singing them at the top of your lungs as soon as you hear them for the first time. We are facing direct and fresh songs, perfectly structured to generate the greatest emotional impact on the listener, the desperation and boredom of life in 2021 are reflected in the lyrics and in a hint of generational sadness that contrasts and makes more powerful the vital energy of the music: amphetamine pills for people who no longer have anything to lose, all with a sound that is already absolutely personal; dark melodic punk, desolate power pop. A new classic.

Rata Negra Bien Triste 7″

New single from Madrid-based RATA NEGRA, with a “very sad” (or Bien Triste) take on post-punk or indie-flavored darkwave (or whatever). Beautiful, melancholic vocals from singer Violeta are backed by the mid-tempo pulse of drums, shimmering guitar riffs, bass that hangs right up front in the mix to provide the melody, and a digitized synth line, creeping through the background. I must admit this is my first introduction to the band, and I am excited to look back on their three LPs, though with some quick research, RATA NEGRA has had quite the following, so I’ll assume my ignorance is in the minority. They remind me of the haunting melodies of KOLD FRONT who I reviewed a while ago, but RATA NEGRA has been at it longer, so maybe the comparison works the other way? This is another affirmation that La Vida Es Un Mus can produce little I don’t enjoy. Get your hands on this one.

Rata Negra La Hija del Sepulturero EP

A tasty little two-song platter of gothic indie pop from your new favorite Spanish trio. The first song comes over like a propulsive combination of the WIPERS and early WE’VE GOT A FUZZBOX AND WE’RE GONNA USE IT; the flip is a sing-along post-punk cover of a catchy early ’80s synth-pop hit from Madrid. The playing on both is concise and sharp—no mess no fuss. Another top-notch addition to the timeless LVEUM roster.

Reaksi Esok Hari Kepunyaan Kita EP

Three immigrant punks from Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore delivering an Asian punk blow in Melbourne, Australia. During the devastating COVID lockdown, these three seasoned fellows, from the likes of ENZYME, KROMOSOM, PISSCHRρST, and INTRUSION, locked themselves in the studio and came up with REAKSI. The result was five hard-hitting, Oi!-infused UK82 anthems that deal with the harsh realities of being an immigrant and especially being anti-authoritarian in countries that leave no room left for freedom. Singing in Bahasa only adds more fuel to the fire. For fans of both CHAOS UK and BLITZ. Tomorrow belongs to them!

Régimen de Terror Inherente del Poder EP

The first few DISCHARGE EPs seem to be the entire corpus of influences for RÉGIMEN DE TERROR. This could be dangerous—D-beat done poorly is almost always stale and limiting—but RÉGIMEN DE TERROR combines a sincere, explicitly anarchist approach and barebones production into a solid, enjoyable record. There’s nothing groundbreaking lyrically or musically here, but if you’re a sucker for OTAN or REALIDAD like I am, you’ll likely find this record charming and invigorating.

Régimen de Terror Disputas EP

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the D-beat, here comes RÉGIMEN DE TERROR’s second EP. The overcrowded genre can be said to be the victim of two major identifiable flaws—it can be overproduced and thus completely miss the point of a style based on raw primitive aggression (although it might certainly appeal to a larger audience), but it can also be drowned in far too many effects on the guitar, vocals, and just about everything, turning the subtle art of the D into a pedal board exhibition (without mentioning that it sometimes sounds like a fight between your dad’s drill and a drunk goat). Basically a Spanish side project, RÉGIMEN DE TERROR is for purists in the sense that their music is pure, absolute, bare, primal, unrefined, and unpolished, close to the D-beat Valhalla and yet without sounding like they tried too hard. The songs epitomise the delightful predictability, the miraculous imitativeness, and the delicious unoriginality inherent in the style in its pure embryonic form. This is D-beat for the true DISCHARGE lovers, and for the lovers of DISCHARGE lovers. Spain has a long and healthy tradition of well-executed genuine raw D-beat bands (like DESTRUCCION or ATENTADO), but I would rate RÉGIMEN DE TERROR higher. Why-era DISCHARGE, DISASTER, and proto D-beat bands like MG15, SUBVERSION, or VIOLENT UPRISING come to mind. Simple, tastefully obvious riffs, crude, aggressive, spontaneous vocals, a classically executed beat, a buzzing bass sound. On an existential level, this EP, released on Roachleg Records in the $tates and La Vida Es Un Mus in Europe (the latter proving they can still deliver the goods in terms of primal hardcore), is exactly as it should be. A serious contender for the much coveted award for Most Orthodox D-Beat Group.

S.H.I.T. Hidden in Eternity / Eraser III 7″

The songs ain’t new, but now they’ve been properly fastened to a 7″ you can add to your disgusting S.H.I.T. collection. Featuring two tracks from these Toronto-based purveyors of jarring hardcore that were previously released in digital format only, this record showcases the style you expect with a slightly different feel. The vocals are laid much flatter than usual, and the band’s signature twisted stomp is produced with a clean, futuristic sheen that rings as borderline industrial at times, especially on the first track. The second one, “Eraser III,” is the third part of a song that dates back to their first cassette, affirming that though they’ve been in it for a minute now, they haven’t lost the plot.

Sial Tari Pemusnah Kuasa LP

This is the forth release from Singapore’s SIAL, remaining consistent, it picks up where Binasa—their previous 7″—ended. The same consistency solidified the sound of SIAL that is both their own and now is familiar to the listeners, though portioned on short records, it never gets boring. It tastefully combines rolling dynamics, occasional D-beat pump, echoed yet frantic vocals, guitars distorted enough to footnote noise, but held back as well to actually hear the sense of riffs, which balance between easy to interpret, direct attacks and more tense parts to bounce the whole room. This is a formula in modern hardcore, but SIAL took the effort to tailor it custom. The second half of the record takes careful turns to psychedelia; some songs are even chant-like, which is refreshing since it is constructed in an interesting way. All along we discuss here raging hardcore, still SIAL seems to be highly self-concious, what might control the chaos of their music, although they never sound artificial, but their inner angst is matched with certain relics of hardcore/punk and the creatively mixed substance is poured into a frame. Beyond the sonic facts, SIAL is able to make their music more than a case study of hardcore, as the record spins, their power takes over the atmosphere, which is tense enough to grab my focus on their energy. The record has an unnatural power, therefore what is best in SIAL, is what their record summons, not what is actually recorded. Could a band ask for more?

Sial Sangkar EP

Since 2017 or so, SIAL has put out great record after great record, each one summoning more rage mixed through burning, buzzing psychedelic noise. The Singaporean band’s recent EP Sangkar brings more groove and swagger than I have noticed on their past releases. Case in point: the ripping opener “Tali” that is a can of deep bass drums, long, delayed reverb and…what is that? A tambourine? This record continues on with aural infectiousness. The track “Sia Sia” is ripping end to end with a hand-clapping break in the middle of the song. Perfect and just off the D-beaten path enough to bring a different perspective. 

Sial Zaman Edan 7″

SIAL is a great band from Singapore. Like, really, really, great. I don’t know what’s going on in the city-state, but Singaporean punks tend to be quite intense in their approach to music, something that my own intense self appreciates. The single is titled Zaman Edan, which means “mad times” in the language of Shakespeare. Both songs are cathartic in ways I couldn’t fathom if catharsis was possible before. Side A means “You Were Born To Fight” and it displays a really interesting sound, anarcho-punk with space rock elements: a really sick guitar riff, a dirty bass tone, and a synth bringing out of space and drone-y effects into the mix. Side B means “You Were Born To Die.” The song starts with a beat reminiscent of that part of the thumping bassline of “Land” where PATTI SMITH starts singing “Horses, horses, horses,” which leads to getting suckerpunched by a huge power chord ringing with a tinnitus-inducing guitar tone. There is some cowbell thrown in there just for fun and then you get this death disco beat with an ominous synth that maps a deathrock-y territory. Awesome. And then the song gets all this anarcho-punk in-your-face brashness that gets you exhilarated until it finishes with noise-induced psychedelia snippets Á  la HAWKWIND. Brilliant. Get it on vinyl.

SOAKIE Nuke the Frats 12″

Super excited about this seven song LP from half Aussie-/half NY-based SOAKIE. For a band that only started in 2018 and managed to put out their demo within a couple of weeks of their first show, their sound is incredibly established and assertive. I love that they’ve revamped some of the songs from the demo, with cleaner guitar tones and more diverse vocal stylings. The new songs are absolutely killer and continue to criticize heteronormative clichés, shitty dudes and the stinking rich. The COMES spring to mind especially on faster tracks like “Or You Or You” and with the sprawling, melodic guitar and rapidly spat vocals of “Power Tools.” “Boys on Stage” is the obvious stand-out, an anthem that I’m sure all women in punk (and beyond) can relate to. Listening to it makes me want to puke, cry, and break everything in sight all at once. In other words, buy this record.

Spirito Di Lupo Vedo La Tua Faccia Nei Giorni Di Pioggia LP

Although I know very little about the actual overall activities of the Occult Punk Gang and Sentiero Futuro Autoproduzioni, these Milan-based collectives have been busy and consistent in recent years, putting their scene on the map and making great hardcore/punk records. Italy has a legacy in hardcore, but after the legendary bands burned out and faded away, for distant foreigners like myself, it seemed that the country’s punk scene sort of lost its vitality. However, these aforementioned collectives rekindled my excitement. The SPIRITO DI LUPO LP is another great gem. It remains close to the artifacts of radical punk; they mix the different elements tastefully. The guitars resonate with post-punk-esque, chorus-pedal-infused sharp tones, while the rhythmic flow maintains a sense of urgency akin to hardcore. The male/female vocal duo delivers an anarcho/peace punk spoken-singing style, their voices loud enough to emphasize their significance, reminiscent of acts like SOGLIA DEL DOLORE or BEDBOYS, yet the riffs are more dynamic and include clever flicks other than being a wall of sound. The album’s eclectic fusion of ideas lends it a massive sound, oscillating between tradition and innovation, already imparting a timeless quality. A great, complex record that also looks great, including two fold-out posters as lyrics sheets, both in the original Italian and an English translation.

Stingray Feeding Time EP

It’s feeding time! Punishing metallic hardcore from the UK with some known characters in the New Wave of British Hardcore scene. This four-track EP leaves no unchecked boxes, as each song is a world of its own in the hardcore realm: there is ultra-metallic riffage, there is some D-beat, there are plenty of breakdowns, and the barked vocals glue everything together in this hardcore extravaganza of an EP. Plenty of memorable moments that will make a worthwhile band to see in a live setting. The artwork by Tin Savage/Nicky Rat is the cherry on top. La Vida Es Un Mus delivering the goods again.

Stingray Fortress Britain LP

Here’s another instant classic to add to the list of contenders for album of the year: STINGRAY’s Fortress Britain, a caustic, abrasive, and scorched-as-fuck album that sounds absolutely hellish, with brutal vocals and big riffs to match. Comprised of prominent members of the UK punk/hardcore scene, STINGRAY sounds seriously pissed, and presents a takedown of imperialism and British rule, illustrating the decaying landscape of modern life. Sonically, it’s a smoldering cauldron of fury influenced by the likes of EXTREME NOISE TERROR, CRUCIFIX, and NEUROOT, and from its first note, Fortress Britain rips through your speakers and grabs you by the throat. “Burning Swine,” a stomping kick in the teeth, features a metallic breakdown that is as infectious as it is heavy. Title track “Fortress Britain Crumbles” is a revved up D-beat fever dream featuring an excellent bass lead that is massive, dwarfed only by the even bigger lyrics: “Walls of London blown to bedlam / Under the boot of a million desperate.” You can hear the venom in every word, delivered expertly by the demonic narration of Tin Savage. Closer “Inner City” begins with another bass lead, echoing drums, and a build-up that’ll give you goosebumps. Fortress Britain may have influences from the past, but this shit is timeless. If modern life is hell, STINGRAY couldn’t have provided a better soundtrack.

Straw Man Army SOS LP

This is the second album by these members of the D4MT Labs family tree, and STRAW MAN ARMY’s branch has grown in considerable length and fruit since their 2020 LP. This is one of the first albums I’ve heard or reviewed recently that feels truly “post-pandemic.” Not in the sense of it being over (an obviously foolish way to think), but more so that it feels of its time, as a reflection and distillation of the feelings and varied collective traumas experienced since March 2020. The anxiety, isolation, unrest, grief, depression, and the front row center seat we’ve had for late capitalism’s corrosive and violent nature on local, national, and international levels. The songs on the record are surgically performed and spartanly recorded—there is nary a wild or unhinged moment, everything is carefully considered. The guitar, bass, drums, and vocals together sound like a tightly executed line drawing. Where the depth, dimension, and color of the album is revealed is in its details, especially the ambient moments that lead you between sides: the meditative synth washes, vibraphone sounds, and bird songs. They give a moment of breath and clarity, a palate cleanser between the grim realism of the songs. These moments and the pacing of the album creates an emotional build-up that follows anger, grief, despondency, and trying to stay empathetic and aware in a world that wants you to become callous and shut off. The songs embrace a mounting tension from the Escher staircase riffs of “Human Kind,” and the accelerating, decelerating train track rhythms of “State of the Art,” a criticism of modern progress and the myth of endless growth, sounding like a stock market bar graph as it rises and eventually falls. “Millenarian Man” is a brilliant merging of the the band and the musique concrète elements into a a truly NY state of mind, the vertigo of skyscrapers, the claustrophobia of crowds, the terror of police sirens. Then once all the confusion and anger of the world in the song becomes too much, they conclude the album with “Beware,” which begins melodic and vulnerable, but ends bitter and seething. STRAW MAN ARMY has created explicitly political music that isn’t phoned-in anti-everything anthems or simplistic catalogs of atrocities, but is a hard, analytical but deeply thoughtful and meditative look at this torrential time frame. SOS is an album that is about staring the nightmare in the mouth and realizing that we can’t just wake up from it or simply go back to sleep.

Subdued Over the Hills and Far Away LP

The hype is completely justified on this one. Classic UK anarcho stylings injected with a fury and menace fueled by the new reality. “No More” is a perfectly sinister, cranked-up punk banger; “Wander In The Park” is a dark pogo masterpiece showered in descending guitars; it seems like every song stakes its own individual claim on the wax. Dark and brilliant, you’ll turn new stones with each listen…but the root of everything here is furious intensity.

Taqbir Victory Belongs to Those Who Fight for a Right Cause EP

One might have a hard time grasping the fact that being a punk in a Third World country is the hardest challenge one could go through, especially if you are a female that is constantly being oppressed by deep-rooted sexism embedded in religion. Breaking free of those restraints and putting up the middle finger is an admirably hard thing to do, and that’s what Moroccan punk band TAQBIR did in an extraordinary fashion. They have all the elements needed to create a great punk band: a raw vicious sound and a political statement that deals with real issues. The frantic energy comes close to DISCOLOKOSST, while the Arabic lyrics are shouted in a COMES kind of way. A wrecking ball of a band that is in its essence a political statement, just the way that punk should be!

Tàrrega 91′ Fill De La Merda EP

TÀRREGA 91′ is a band from the small town of Tàrrega in Catalonia. Their speedy, skate-friendly brand of hardcore is played in honor of a 1991 riot in which 86 youths were detained. Blasting like some of the best hardcore punk bands of all-time, TÀRREGA 91′ manages to blister their way through three fast songs, only to close things out with a welcomed mid-paced pummeler that uses all the primordial power hidden in those tom drum fills. Play on repeat and you’ll be stomping in circles, pissed-off and ready to butt heads. This is that authentic anarchist hardcore that primes the synapses for anything and everything.

The Chisel Retaliation LP

It’s grim up north, and few articulate this better than the CHISEL’s seasider songsmith Cal Graham. Over a blistering 30-minute debut, ably backed by a motley crew of London punk luminaries, his stentorian vocals explore the crushing mundanity of working class life; from small-town bullies, post-Thatcherite social decay, and police brutality. However, despite sounding like he’s permanently just had his pint spilled, there’s a relentless defiance, and sense of solidarity that runs throughout Retaliation like a stick of Blackpool rock, twinned with the kind of soaring guitars and thunderous drums that would make BLITZ or the PARTISANS proud; it’s a joyous affair. An uneasy truce between the best bits of Oi!, UK82, even a dash of anarcho and hardcore too, the CHISEL’s debut occupies the same space as that moment after a last-minute winner hits the back of the net and the ecstatic embrace immediately following could quite easily become a headlock; vim and vigour, piss and vinegar. An instant classic.

The Chisel Come See Me EP

Fucking alright, yeah!  Your favorite yobbos from various UK bands unite for the best kind of good-time, feel-good classic Oi! You know…REJECTS, ABRASIVE WHEELS, 4 SKINS…ANDREW W.K.(?). Every song is the dog’s bollocks, even the cover of the original CRIMINAL DAMAGE’s “Criminal Crew.” Brilliant! It’s on Beach Impediment so, what the fuck, don’t be a wanker. I’m out of cliche British colloquialisms. Just buy it already.

The Chisel Deconstructive Surgery EP

Here we, Here we, Here we fucking go; the CHISEL boys are here to kick your head in and neck your pint while doing so. Lightning fast, convulsing with an anger that only growing up in Blackpool can give you, this blistering EP stomps from track to track with a palpable sense of malice and righteous fury. Class warfare, the sad decline of the seaside town and the great British tradition of a pint and a fight are all covered, and backed with thunderous drums, hefty bass and riotous guitars. One of the best of the year so far.

The Comes No Side 12″ reissue

It is utterly bonkers that this is the first official vinyl reissue of this all-time great Japanese hardcore punk ripper. Originally released in 1983 on Dogma Records—a City Rockers sublabel for hardcore that also released the first GISM 12″ among other Japanese classics—the COMES are breathtakingly ferocious. Their vocalist Chitose is truly one of the most savage ever recorded; she wails and screams over eleven unhinged and thrashing tracks, providing a blueprint and impossible-to-reach-bar for every one of us who has ever tried to match that intensity in her wake. Clocking in at just over sixteen minutes, this 12″ is perfectly lean and to the point. There aren’t many works of art in any genre this complete in their vision, and there aren’t many hardcore records this perfect from any era. This reissue is a loving one, featuring a heavy paste-on sleeve and a replica of the original insert. Mandatory for anyone even tangentially interested in international hardcore punk.

Tube Alloys Magnetic Point LP

L.A. (by way of Australia) post-punkers with a knack for all the Colin Newman-isms. The songs on Magnetic Point deliver an encomium to the post-punk gods of yesteryear, with production that matches the time and place. Lots to like, for sure—a little GANG OF FOUR, with a lot of WIRE. If Mark Perry sang for SWELL MAPS, this would be the sound. The music is provoking and doesn’t get stuck in the rut of parody while mixing electronic ambient breaks like “The Redactor” and “Machine Learning” throughout the record. Was a good listen.

Unidad Ideologica Unidad Ideologica LP

Straight from the eye of the political storm of turmoil that is Colombia’s unrest, UNIDAD IDEOLOGICA delivers a sharp, venomous attack to the system that is causing havoc among their people. Intense-as-fuck hardcore that sounds as fresh as it sounds like it’s the ’80s again. A raging mixture of full-on hardcore à la KURO/EXECUTE/DISARM/SHITLICKERS, conceived at Bogotá’s Rat Trap by dudes from other Colombian punk bands that you should already know about like MURO, ALAMBRADA or TRAMPA. If not, you have wasted your time! Colombian punk is killing it and some of the best modern bands are coming from there, as they never seem to disappoint!

Violin Violin LP

New heat from London—this is VIOLIN, a creative vehicle for one Lindsay Corstorphine. All instrumental and vocal contributions are carried out by Corstorphine, with the exception of the drums, handled by the outstanding talent of Jonah Falco of FUCKED UP. This self-titled debut release bludgeons the brain with righteous indignation, firing on all cylinders with unhinged, aggressive hardcore punk. Highlights include the slower-paced stomp of “Chaos at the Seance” and the cacophonous, synth-textured “Empty Mind”. This one is an all-out rager—recommended!

Yleiset Syyt Toisten Todellisuus LP

Yet another great band carrying the torch of Finnish hardcore, with members of Finnish bands like KOHTI TUHOA and FORESEEN that have been turning heads. Toisten Todellisuus is a compilation of the bands’ two 7″s, 2019’s self-titled EP and 2021’s Umpikujamekanismi. A record for Finnish hardcore fanatics, as they get the best of their country´s classics like MELAKKA or APPENDIX with a taste of USHC. The opener even has a couple of riffs that could be on the CRO-MAGS’ debut.