Feral / Judy and the Jerks Free Violence split cassette
I’m assuming everyone’s familiar with JUDY AND THE JERKS at this point. They’ve been around since 2017, making a blend of deliriously infectious hardcore that’s somehow both a straight homage to classic American scenes and distinctly contemporary. If it weren’t for them and Earth Girl (the label putting out this cassette), I doubt anyone would think of Hattiesburg, MS as being a punk town (it’s still wild to me how fertile that scene seems to be). Their side of this split is more of what you’ve come to expect from this act. That being said, the production here is much crunchier and more immediate than anything I’ve heard on their past releases. So, these five mainly sub-one-minute rippers really pack a wallop. FERAL shares 50% of its members with JUDY AND THE JERKS, who’re also maybe Atlanta-based now, so it’s not surprising that their side bears a lot in common with JUDY AND THE JERKS’ sound. But FERAL is a little less straightforward. The guitar and vocals on these four tracks are often bathed in effects that give their sound more of a psychedelic sheen. Reminds me a bit of the weird hardcore we got in the early 2010s from acts like GUTTER GODS. Both sides are great—definitely worth your time!