Reviews

For review and radio play consideration:

Please send vinyl (preferred), CD, or cassette releases to MRR, PO Box 3852, Oakland, CA 94609, USA. Maximum Rocknroll wants to review everything that comes out in the world of underground punk rock, hardcore, garage, post-punk, thrash, etc.—no major labels or labels exclusively distributed by major-owned distributors, no reviews of test pressings or promo CDs without final artwork. Please include contact information and let us know where your band is from!

Angel Face 5.1 / Driftin’ Away 7”

Debut single from Tokyo’s ANGEL FACE. The band features Fink (TEENGENERATE, FIRESTARTER, RAYDIOS) on guitar and vocals, Toyozo (FADEAWAYS) on bass, and Rayco (RULER, TRIPLE JUNK) on drums. “5.1” is a blaster from the start, featuring a straight rock’n’roll riff on repeat with clattering drums and gut chugging bass—really high energy, almost like a DEATH arrangement, with fast changes and endless drum fills that eventually break for that main riff to grumble alone. On the back side, “Driftin’ Away” has a little more space for lyrics that have a similarity to Eugene Hütz’s snotty vocal intonation. Very cool release. Reno’s Slovenly Recordings has picked up the band and already released another 7” single as well as their debut self-titled LP, if you’re hungry for more. ANGEL FACE is not to be missed!

 

Blue Collar Criminals Finding Myself Lost CD

With a name like this, you know what’s in store: macho growls, gang chrouses, and gritty power chord progressions. “Back Home” opens with a dash of glam guitar, and later there’s a brief ska intro. There’s even a soccer chant for good measure! So, just how much cliché can you take? The answer will determine how much you like BLUE COLLAR CRIMINALS and, honestly, punk in general.

Brody and the Grodies Brody and the Grodies Went to the Bar So This Half-Finished Record is All That You Ge CD

One of those bands that purposely tries to sound like shit and is proud of it, except BRODY AND THE GRODIES don’t really sound like shit. They’re just kind of boring and corny. Seven drum-machine-driven punk songs with topics ranging from beer, coffee, Bigfoot, beer, and meat. Wait, did I mention beer? The album is topped off with a five-minute sketch that sounds like it came from an old ICP demo tape. You can tell they had fun recording this, which is really the best thing I can say about this whole ordeal. You’d be better off listening to FOSSIL FUEL or one of the other hundreds of FOOD FORTUNATA-related projects out there.

Chaos OK Chaos OK demo cassette

This demo by CHAOS OK is way more than just okay, and chaotic in a way that is extremely satisfying. Opening with a vintage BBC radio sound clip and then launching full-tilt into punk that is reminiscent of a combo of SWANKYS meeting the best of UK82 hardcore is pure brilliance. The demo features five dirty, nasty hardcore punk tunes which you’ll find immediately fascinating. The first three tracks rip by at warp speed, and the fourth song “See” slows things down a smidge, but then the closing track resumes the raging auditory assault— a perfectly concise and tumultuous package.

Dynamite Blow the Bloody Doors Off! EP

In the British classic The Italian Job, Michael Caine’s Charlie Croker exclaims “You’re only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!” upon seeing the excessive damage inflicted upon a truck that was, well, only supposed to have its bloody doors blown off. It’s a great line from a great scene from a great movie, and London’s DYNAMITE has taken it as the title to their debut EP, an appropriate one for a record as explosive and as British as this. A joint release from two London-based labels (Quality Control HQ and Northern Unrest), DYNAMITE enlists a who’s-who of players from the UKHC scene as well as a guest list featuring members of the FLEX, BIG CHEESE, and HIGH VIS. Featuring five tracks of no-frills, YOUTH OF TODAY-inspired hardcore without an ounce of fat to be heard, you can tell this was put together by a band that knows and loves the genre. On the killer “Dynamite Stomp,” they even claim “In every drop of blood /I will bleed hardcore.” Alright then, highly recommended.

Except You / Trashworld DCxPC Presents Live, Vol. 26: Live at Lou’s split LP

I often struggle with live albums and, (with a few exceptions, try to mostly avoid them. Inspired by the VMLive series from the ’90s, these DCxPC albums have an interesting origin story, so I was determined to set my judgemental ass down and give this a fair listen. To start with, I listened to the entire EXCEPT YOU side on the wrong speed. At 33 ⅓ rpm, they sound like a metal-tinged grunge band. At the proper speed, they sound like a metal-tinged punk band. The vocals oscillate between singing and screaming, with an operatic quality in both modes. I don’t know if this is just a holdover from my too-slow first listen, but I couldn’t help but think of BABES IN TOYLAND, if they were, er, sped up. They wind down their side with a cover of “Nazi Punks Fuck Off,” which is always a solid move. On the flipside, TRASHWORLD tends more to the moshy side of things, with some chugging guitars and breakdowns that verge on metalcore. The insert mentions this being their second show ever, which I would not have guessed considering how tight the songs sound. The standout cut for me is “Fuck the Proud Boys,” for the title alone. The overall quality here is much better than those old VMLive records, and this is number 26 in the DCxPC series, so clearly there’s an audience for live DIY punk. Who cares about my cruddy opinion anyway!?

Fearless Veterans / Offensiva split EP

Tedious, apolitical “anti-PC” posturing aside (tell you what would actually shock me, would be this mob producing anything approaching original), this is your run-of-the-mill Euro Oi! which you have undoubtedly heard a thousand times before, and almost certainly done better. Miss it like it’s jury service.

Ford’s Fuzz Inferno Fuzz Up Your Electric Chair, Baby! (Live at Studio 195) CD

Over the past three years, this act has blasted release after release at MRR with reckless abandon—we’ve done seven(!) reviews for them in that time, with six different reviewers being caught in the spray (poor Ron got hit twice!). I figured it  was just a matter of time before I needed to pay the piper, and, well, here we are. If you’re new to all of this, allow me to summarize: a couple of Dutch punks who’ve been active in the scene since the early ’80s start a studio recording project, playing garage-leaning punk. They love fuzz and hate the bass guitar. My fellow reviewers all agree that these dudes aren’t reinventing any wheels, but they really manage to crank out quite a beefy ruckus—thanks to all the fuzz, I guess! Some folks seem to like it; others seem to think it’s solid but unremarkable. At best, I fall in the latter camp. Anyhoo, this is a live studio recording, where they’ve added a third person to play second guitar. They run through eleven tracks, most of which come from their previous seven releases, in about twenty minutes. And I dunno. This just sounds like generic old-guy punk to me. I was fine putting it on and not paying attention to it, even thinking things like “this kinda rocks” every now and then. But every so often shit would start sounding a little too much like BAD RELIGION, and that I could not ignore.

Girth Control Life’s Too Short for Girth Control LP

These guys are talented musicians and can write a good song, but they’ve got a lot going against them. First, the whole name of the band (and the record) is based on kitschy humor. This will follow you forever. Second, they’re a little cutesy. Third, they rely heavily on ska. Fourth, never put 25 songs on a single record. Fifth (and last), too many of the 25 songs are a play on the whole GIRTH CONTROL thing. I’ve always said no band should take themselves too seriously. These guys definitely got that message.

Gurs Gerran Bizi Gara LP

GURS from the Basque region of Spain recently released this full-length that builds on their 2022 EP. Gerran Bizi Gara (or “We Live in War”) is full of anthemic punk that will have you singing along even if you don’t know the language. An edge of darkness pervades these songs and perfectly captures our contemporary moment. The eight songs on this album demand multiple listens, as they’re loaded with tight, intricate melodies and speedy shifts. Something about this album reminds me of Exit English-era STRIKE ANYWHERE, but faster, heavier, and in all areas better. “Eder Ta Hutsa” is a standout song for me, as it seems to showcase the band’s collective prowess, but “Derrota” is also easily a contender for best album track. Seriously check this out!

Healers High Tide cassette

For the unfamiliar, HEALERS are an Oakland act that has been around for over a decade, a post-punk band that draws significant inspiration from WIPERS. There is a clear influence of Youth of America throughout, and that is a very good thing in my book. The EP showcases a blend of unique instrumentation and captivating harmonies, giving it a distinct flavor. While it may not be groundbreaking, it is undeniably good. Highly recommend it to post-punk enthusiasts.

Hyper Gal Pure CD

Osaka two-piece that uses drums, keyboards, and vocals to blend elements of noise, no wave, pop, and blistering punk to create something remarkable and new. “Charm バイブル” opens the album with dueling fire-alarm synths that, through repetition and mellow vocal accompaniment, turn from irritating into shimmeringly beautiful. Repetition is an important part of HYPER GAL’s musical vocabulary, and they often follow a locked-in, krautrock-style groove to its logical extension. This is used to great effect on “Domestic Utopia ランド,” a seven-minute exercise in restraint and release that volleys between an isolated hi-hat/snare pattern and short bursts of noisy spoken/rapped vocals. As an album centerpiece, it captures everything great about this band: tension is maintained despite simplistic instrumentation, and there is a careful balance between experimentation and rhythmic familiarity. As wild as the noise gets, the drums ground the sound (even if it’s with blastbeats). When the drums pound out blown-out rudiments on jagged bizarro-universe J-pop excursions like “Tropical トロピカル” and “Wedding Ring 指 輪,” the pleasant vocals (especially on the harmonized latter track) keep them accessible. They are loud and abrasive without sounding aggressive, in the same vein as BLACK PUS or the 8-bit era of HELLA. Endlessly inventive and challenging, this is a great record.

Innuendo Peace & Love 12″

Milwaukee terrorizers with a mid-tempo, straightforward hardcore formula that touches on early styles of hardcore punk resembling NECROS’ and NEGATIVE APPROACH’s first sounds. Solid bass lines and guitar racket, and the ragged, destroyed low vocals just hit all of the spots for rotten minds searching for that earlier, crunchier, angstier sound and feel never to be grasped fully by contemporary mortals. Dig in this eight-track EP filled with raw punk energy.

K-Hole Discordant cassette

The latest cassette from Buffalo’s K-HOLE consists of obtuse, hard to describe, mind-altering outsider metallic hardcore punk. Thought I was going to hear another noisy D-beat punk band based on the artwork, which they do deliver to a certain extent, but with an SST Records side as well as a RUDIMENTARY PENI aspect and DEVIATED INSTINCT demo breakdowns. Rough, confusing, mid-tempo, “blown guitar speaker but we don’t give a fuck” hardcore punk annihilation. Recommended release.

Legion of Parasites Undesirable Guests 12″ reissue

I love discovering bands that were orbiting some of the major players in the punk scene back in the day but never received much recognition—bands you see on old flyers from a CRASS gig but never really hear. LEGION OF PARASITES is one such example, and after doing some research and hearing some of their material, I’m bummed that they weren’t able to take off more than they did. LEGION OF PARASITES were a UK anarcho-punk band active in the mid-to-late ’80s who played as a support act for everyone from CONFLICT to BROKEN BONES. After a whimper of a demo, they pulled themselves together and released this, their first 12” Undesirable Guests, receiving more if not still minimal acclaim. LEGION OF PARASITES have a sound similar to many of the bands on the CRASS label, but stand out for their wild drumming, excellent SUBHUMANS-esque vocal delivery, and surprisingly catchy tunes. Each song here is strong, and as mentioned before, the drumming is out of control. Check out the D-beat on “Party Time” and the galloping bounce on “Eroded Freedom.” These are genuinely good songs and I’m left scratching my head as to why I don’t hear these guys talked about more. Oh well, at least now thanks to General Speech we can all listen to what we’ve been missing.

No Loves Jimbo’s House LP

Nashville’s NO LOVES play the melodic, gruff kind of punk that the CRUMBS and JON COUGAR CONCENTRATION CAMP brought in the late ’90s and early ’00s. Throaty vocals, crunchy guitars, and melodic choruses. With song titles like “I’m naked” and “I wanna fuck your mom” they’re borrowing from the Joe Queer and Blag Dahlia book of lyrics, which is befitting to the overall vibe.

Pester Apathetic Man cassette

Rip-roaring, no-nonsense hardcore punk from Portugal. This absolutely smokes! PESTER keeps things driving through ten songs on their debut release, but it’s not all just blistering high-speed intensity. Oh no. PESTER expertly peppers in a couple plodding, mid-tempo stompers of tracks like the titular “Apathetic Man” and my personal favorite “Discomfort.” That’s where this band really shines, slowing things down ever so slightly but keeping the aggression pumping to the max. Excited to see what comes next from PESTER.

Prey Unsafe EP

Fierce combustion of nasty, metallic hardcore punk assault coming from the UK. Without falling into scooped modern high-gain metallic sounds, the riffs sound hardcore but still don’t fall into the “noisy hardcore” trap, nor do they have any of the retro UK crust revival vibes. Raging warware of maniac dual vocals and rule-bending riffage at times (especially for hardcore punk), grabbing the right kind of attention for our minds. Hard to describe similar bands, but you would like them if you’re into early D.R.I., HERESY, SYSTEMATIC DEATH, B’LAST, etc. I needed to hear something like this these days.

Rejestracja Juz Nie Ma Nic LP reissue

Reissued live 1986 recording of Polish punk legends REJESTRACJA. Fiercely political, at a time and a place where that could get you in more than a bit of bother, it’s an interesting time capsule for a scene that often gets overlooked in the dusty annals of punk’s desire to navel-gaze and sniff its own farts. Musically, I have to say, not quite for me—some of its more “musically progressive” elements come across a bit noodly, but I think that some of the comparisons to DEAD KENNEDYS or MDC aren’t too far off the mark, either. A fun exploration through the punk history books nonetheless.

Skalp Mai Domi cassette

A new band from Milan, of the Sentiero Futuro Autoproduzioni collective and Sistema Mortal tape label scene. SKALP plays plain, simple hardcore, with plenty of dirt, distortion, and guitar screams. When it comes to such rudimental songwriting, all focus shifts to the flow of the music and how it sounds. They have that extra energy which functions as a definite presence, lifting this demo to be easily enjoyable because it is eventful. Occasionally sounding D-beat-ish, it’s fast-paced hardcore with reduced but entertaining (and recognizable) riffs which are better when they become hectic. Grunting, well-placed vocals sounding very mean and aggro, yet the anger is directed and frustrated not mindless.The last three songs are live recordings, and in quality they do not differ radically from studio recordings, creating an instant desire to want to see them live. Sung in Italian, the music is rather reminiscent of Scandinavian brutality or British primitivism, while the guitars do venture around the tape, although never too wildly. It’s dirty, attacking hardcore, with D-beat energy. Hope this is just the beginning because I want to hear more. Many people are able to quickly put together great demos or 7”s, so did SKALP. I wish for more.

Toxic Thrust I Love You / Cenotaph 7″

I love this 45. That’s a pretty fitting reaction if I do say so myself. Two fun little rock’n’roll ditties that sound as if KING KHAN started writing music for the DR. DEMENTO show. There’s a surf/psych-rock element to them as well which gives these tracks a real summer jam kind of vibe. Not much to show in the lyrics department, but sometimes all you need to do is let someone know you love them.

Vivisektio 1985 LP

Back in February, I had the privilege of reviewing VIVISEKTIO’s most recent album. It’s a great record and the band has a really fascinating backstory, which I won’t recount here but is worth checking into if you are even marginally interested in the intersection of Finnish punk and Trivial Pursuit. Listening to this material from the band’s formative period is like hopping into the most radical time machine back to 1985. The recording quality is all tattered edges, but the gold is in the grooves. Raw, raging, rowdy hardcore punk will always transcend fidelity as far as I’m concerned. Here, VIVISEKTIO sounds like a severely damaged KOHU-63 practice tape with any element of harmony extracted and fed to rabid dogs. Noisy, angry, and glorious. The record comes packaged with a full-color booklet that I presume enumerates the band’s historical significance, though I can’t say for sure since it’s mostly in Finnish (except for a reprinted MRR interview from 2015). A hidden gem of gnarly ’80s Scandinavian hardcore!

V/A Vent the Spew, Vol. 2 LP

Looks like a compilation of a number of records (EPs?) from the early ’90s put out by Midwestern label Red Hour Recordings. A lot of the cuts have that spastic, grungy sound from back then. Lots of screaming and nervousness in there. Sixteen cuts in all from CLAY, PET UFO, GUT PISTON, TH’ FLYIN’ SAUCERS, MOODY JACKSON, ECONOTHUGS, MY WHITE BREAD MOM, the HAIRY PATT BAND, and SUCK. Some really good stuff on here, and some that isn’t really memorable. What the hell is that rockabilly cut doing in there?

でぶコーネリアスEx / The Sensations SPLIT’24 split EP

Twenty songs on a split 7”!? Sick! Ten of the songs are contributed by でぶコーネリアスEX, who are certainly the more eclectic of the two bands. Genre-hopping madness with interspersed sound clips that truly defies classification. Obviously the songs are fast and short with many tempo changes, but they aren’t a powerviolence band…even though there is a song with blastbeats. There’s a ska part in one of the tunes, but no one would accuse them of being a ska band. My personal favorite track sounds an awful lot like ASSFORT, but it’s a bit of an anomaly, too. The connective tissue here comes in the form of ripping guitars, and many layers of wildly unhinged vocals. Do they close out their side with a Hawaiian vibe? Why, yes they do. The SENSATIONS are far easier to digest. Like でぶコーネリアスEX, they are hyper-energetic, but the song structures are straightforward and overflowing with poppy hooks. They’re so damn catchy! They have that frantic punk-pop sound nailed down just right. Like a perfect blend of the BANANAS and the BLUE HEARTS. According to the liner notes, this split is the culmination of over twenty years of friendship between the two groups, initiated by meeting at a show at the fabled Nishiogikubo Watts, “a live house where chaos and frenzy swirled every night.” Awesome! Not a single dull moment to be found on this sucker.

7 Inch Boots Tamped Concrete / Walkin’ Through LP

Here’s another cool artifact, this time from Germany’s 7 INCH BOOTS, a hardcore band active in the late ’80s who played a fairly intense take on the style. Included here is their Tamped Concrete EP on the A-side and their Walkin’ Through demo on the B-side, both impressive and showing a band with a unique sound and style. Rather than a speedier, in-your-face thrash, 7 INCH BOOTS opted to play at a slightly slower pace with some proto-powerviolence and metal mixed in. In addition to their heavier style, the band sang about racism and climate change as well as issues with misogyny, most notably on “Law of the Man,” a takedown of the unbalanced power dynamics between a woman and an abusive man. It’s compelling stuff and leaves you with the impression that 7 INCH BOOTS could have (and maybe should have) been bigger than they were.

Added Dimensions Time Suck / Hellbent EP

Following their self-titled cassette from 2022, ADDED DIMENSIONS puts five tracks to wax on this new EP, out on Erika Elizabeth’s Domestic Departure label. This is Sarah Everton’s project (of BLOWDRYER and TELEPATHIC), and she contributes everything from guitars and lyrics to the artwork, with drumming from Rob Garcia. Inside this lovely home-spun record, we find staccato SLEATER-KINNEY-esque guitar riffs with the shambling rhythms of the VASELINES and her very own lyrical grit about modern life, like on the second track “In the System”: “In the system I cannot leave / That’s OK, they know what’s best for me,” sung with a satirical sweetness. This won’t suck, doesn’t take up much of your time, and you might even be hellbent for more!

The Bellrays Ball of Confusion EP

Anchored by Lisa Kekaula’s singularly powerful vocals, the BELLRAYS have been belting out punk/garage/blues for the last three decades. Here they are covering the TEMPTATIONS’ ’70s hit “Ball of Confusion.” The original was written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong and echoed the political tensions at the time. The song’s repeating refrain “And the band played on” was used as the title of Randy Shilts’s book about the Reagan administration’s apathy in addressing the AIDS epidemic. Here, the lyrics are refocused on modern times addressing mass shootings, pharma corruption, and venomous political ideologies. Kekaula belts out the message with the backing band sounding Detroit STOOGES and MC5-inspired. The flipside “I Fall Down” is equally as impactful and a stand-alone single in its own right.

Cuntroaches Cuntroaches LP

Berlin’s most ballistic have somehow gone six years without releasing any new shit, and for that matter, this album is CUNTROACHES’ first after various tapes, lathes, splits, etc., but one listen to these eight songs (including two side-end locked grooves for extra noise vegetation) transported me right back to whatever year it was their first tape threw me fully clothed in the stagnant pond with its blackened noise-wave excess. Since 2018, members have also been part of URIN and KLÖSSE, and maybe both of those acts have leached into this music a little, with viciously blown-out dub-punk churn and FX-damaged hardcore. “Gravity System” does it all inside one (albeit five-and-a-half-minute) song: a gloomy, almost ambient intro, frazzled psyching-out that reminds me of that RAKTA/DEAFKIDS live collab LP, and a swerve into LEBENDEN TOTEN weird-crust. CUNTROACHES kill it live in my experience, and so will this set of music.

Desintegración Violenta La Bestia EP

This joint release between Static Shock, Unlawful Assembly, and Roachleg Records finds DESINTEGRACIÓN VIOLENTA playing their hallmark thrash-addled hardcore punk on five tracks. With riffs set to overdrive, a primal rhythm section, and snarling, blown-beyond-belief vocals, it’s hard not to love everything DESINTEGRACIÓN VIOLENTA is doing on this recording. If you like your punk extra noisy, speedy as fuck, and a touch demented, then you’ll definitely want to give this a spin.

G​​​ū​​​tara Kyō / Destroy All Gondolas split EP

Pete Slovenly has been putting out records for over twenty years now, and for whatever reason, he’s decided that it’s high time his label embraced the world’s worst format. That’s right, Slovenly’s first split 7”! Two bands giving you about two-and-a-half minutes apiece. I feel like this format is annoying even digitally, but whatever. First up, we’ve got the Venetian band  DESTROY ALL GONDOLAS with a track called “Death by Hamburger.” Now, you might be tempted, like I was, to assume that this is some bullshit, 2009-style food-themed garage pop. And I hate to have to spoil the reaction you’d have going into this thinking as much, but this is decidedly not that. This is closer to something like RESEARCH REACTOR CORP. mixed with MOTÖRHEAD. And if they’re singing about hamburgers or whatever, you can’t tell, because the vocals are heavily processed and really buried in the mix. It’s absolutely fucked and kind of rips. GŪTARA KYŌ is out of Kobe, Japan, and they’re giving us two tracks that are certainly less full-on than the A-side. Still a pretty rowdy affair. They play super blown-out garage punk, not unlike their compatriots GUITAR WOLF, with more of a noise rock edge, with things even getting a little dancy at points. Reminds me a bit of the pre-A FRAMES band BEND SINISTER. I’m into it! I’ll even admit that the two sides of this record kind of compliment each other nicely. Still, I’d rather have a 7” from each band.

En La Muerte Silencio EP

L.A.’s new blood. EN LA MURETE’s debut EP is nasty and ferocious ’80s-style USHC, similar to WASTED YOUTH, GANG GREEN, or maybe something that should’ve been on the Welcome to Venice compilation or a failed business idea Doug Moody came up with in the late ’80s. Sung both in English and Spanish. Reminds me of the reek of the sewage going through the alley before getting to the backyard gigs of Los Angeles. True punks from the streets of L.A., recommend release.

Failure Face Junction Pizza EP

I am a huge sucker for live punk albums, and this little slab here is a great example as to why. Pure, raw, rock’n’roll chaos, recorded in April of 1995. FAILURE FACE plays a hybrid type of hardcore powerviolence that reminds me a lot of bands like KUNG-FU RICK and AUTHORITY ABUSE. I absolutely adore the crowd interaction throughout the record. It starts off pretty enthusiastic and it begins to dwindle as the show progresses. Very relatable, very endearing, and very real. We’ve all been there! Comes with a neat little two-page autobiographical write-up of the band and the record itself. These recordings were initially ripped from a VHS! Incredible! They sound great. Fantastic 7” here, especially if you’re someone like me who really loves the history of obscure punk scenes of the past.

Glass The Culture of Resistance LP

Pub rockers on a bar crawl stopping at different genres along the way. The guitars hug the band but aren’t especially loud. The record has a lived-in sound, which lets you hear the musicians indulge themselves with otherwise conventional rock arrangements. GLASS spends a lot of time explicitly invoking the musical past, but their own sound, at times understated but compelling and occasionally raucous, would have been enough for me.

Hero Dishonest Flat Society LP

Helsinki’s ever-prolific HERO DISHONEST is back again. This veteran band’s pummeling hardcore punk approach remains intact, complete with politically-charged lyrics and an overarching darkness shadowing their meaty sound. This album is overflowing with angry energy, and these dudes can really rip it up when they want to. Switching between Finnish and English lyrics, the universal language of disgust and frustration comes through loud and clear, especially when the singer forgoes words in favor of straight shrieking. Truth be told, this is as solid of a hardcore record as you’re going to get these days, and if the wordier tracks lose you, simply turn to the fantastic “Brick Wall” for a speedy assault with an unmistakable message.

Ikhras Jahanam Btistana cassette

Brighton and London anti-colonial hardcore debut that features vocals in a mix of Arabic and English, versing on resistance against illegal military occupations and Western exploitation through militarism dominance over other countries. Aggressive, impatient, blunt-force, overwhelming, and filled with a political message against ignorance, as in the track “El Nahr”: “For long as people are occupied / Resistance is justified.” Recommended and vitally current.

Little Girls Valley Songs CD

Sugary, female-fronted power pop—this oozes bubblegum and has my name written all over it. Honestly, some people might even be embarrassed to admit to liking it. Not me. This is catchy, fun goodness. Because this is both a reissue and a historical look back at L.A. in the ’80s, they get a pass for including 26 songs. Comparisons to the GO-GO’S are too obvious to ignore. There are some real gems here.

Nasty Nancy Hardcore Hotel cassette

Pittsburgh, PA’s gift to hardcore punk, Kill Enemy Records, blesses us with yet another disturbing cassette chock full of nasty, unrelenting hardcore. It seems NASTY NANCY is the solo project and brainchild of Devyn Brown, who is the drummer from LIVING WORLD. The recordings are entirely done by Devyn, but apparently he has a backing band playing with him to perform these monstrosities live. This is absolute outsider music, hardcore for the damn freaks. Put this high up on my list of bands I am dying to see!

Orreaga 778 Live and Loud!! 2xLP

A live(!) double LP(!!) (from Euskaran herberts ORREAGA 778 here, which with an eye-watering twenty-track length(!!!), is presumably the gift no one actually asked for. My natural resilience to live recordings aside (THIN LIZZY obviously the exception that proves the rule), it is, in spite of itself, a lot of fun, spanning their near two decades of existence. It’s mixed surprisingly well, although perhaps I would have enjoyed it sounding more like it was recorded in a bin. Probably not one for anyone but mega-fans and completists, though.

Pi$$er Too Busy Eating Gruel LP

Wow, I didn’t know what to expect here, and this album completely blew me away. What starts off like a THROBBING GRISTLE record soon kicks into what I can only describe as ROCKET FROM THE CRYPT on steroids. PI$$ER doesn’t remain married to that sound, and they bounce between early industrial, DEVO-like new wave, and a surprising amount of soundscapes for a punk LP. The production flows together beautifully, and there is nary a second of dead air. A very well-crafted concept album that never once feels boring or hastily manufactured. Featuring members of DOOM and SORE THROAT, if you can believe it. Fantastic stuff here, and well worth tracking down!

Public Acid Deadly Struggle LP

PUBLIC ACID self-released a demo, a flexi, and even a mini-LP prior to their recent 7” which came out at Beach Impediment. Condemnation was so good—paired with their crushing live sets, it gave them momentum. Then La Vida Es Un Mus re-released their 12” four years after it initially came out, because it was so good that it needed another chance to reach attention. This proves that good music does not disappear; it might need some time for recognition, but it is worth sticking around (and self-releasing does not diminish the quality of your records). After Condemnation, they recruited a second guitar player, which triggered anticipation for a record to come out. It has arrived, and it destroys. It’s great because its energy and constant urgency elevate the record, even when they go into palm-muted death metal riffing territory. Do not worry! It’s chaotic and heavy, as a hardcore sort of meta, but it’s rather the extra feature of the record which is an ultra-tight, totally blasting riff overdose. Both the tempo and the wall-of-sound effect recalls ANTI-CIMEX but double the speed, amount, and density of those riffs, with tons of sweet distorted and screaming licks. Not in style but in the overwhelming energy of the record’s sound, they recall KRIEGSH​Ö​G’s LP or IMPALERS’ Cellar Dweller. No mercy, just a constant buzzing stream of hardcore. They are clever with stops and twists, it’s not gimmicky and maintains the intensity. The sound is huge, everything can be heard but all the layers together give a great chaos. This chaos is a mix of meticulous songwriting that mirrors the love of hardcore, the obsession with noise and sick riffs, and playing as fucking hard as you can, and when you think something is brutal, then pushing it a bit further to be even more brutal. It’s one of those records that makes me want to run down to rehearsal—while I am excited to do my own thing, I can listen to this because this is for the listeners. I wish the members of PUBLIC ACID could enjoy this just as much as I do, because I’m sure it’s entertaining to perform these songs, but it’s so much fun to hear them, too. The cover looks like this was a bootleg of a basement demo death metal or powerviolence band, but the music transforms it, because it’s such an amazing record. 

Rövsvett Den Stora Brakfesten CD

I have never been a sucker for live records. I can understand the relevance of releasing live recordings from ’80s bands since many then did not have the opportunity (or did not care) to do proper studio recordings but were excellent live, so a live LP somewhat makes up for this absence—ANTISECT is the perfect example here, without mentioning dozens of punk bands outside of the First World who often could not afford to record in a studio. Contemporary live albums are, however, something of a rarity, and the pressure is definitely on for the band because while you can work some magic in the studio thanks to modern technology, on stage you are basically naked, there’s no way out, and your mistakes will be there for all to listen to for eternity. It is like removing the filters on your selfies. RÖVSVETT has always been a band that I was familiar with but that I didn’t know well (their discography is significant), although I am aware that they have dedicated fans. This was recorded for the fortieth(!) anniversary of the band in July 2023, and this massive, impressive achievement must be saluted. How many hardcore punk bands can claim to be 40 years old; to have survived four decades? This is a GAUZE-level success. To me, RÖVSVETT was always that band that was Swedish but did not really sound like your typical ’80s käng band, although they certainly were raw and really fast in the ’80s which confers them something of a cult status. This album will absolutely delight and even move those who are already fans and know the band’s classics, and it is a decent listen if you’re just a casual RÖVSVETT listener like myself, but I would not recommend it as an introduction to the band.

Skam No Name LP

Who doesn’t love a lost punk album from the ’80s? Check this one out: SKAM was a short-lived band from DC-area Virginia whose members were high schoolers, coming up right in the thick of one of the most fabled scenes in the history of the genre. After finishing up their math homework, these kids could bike down the street and catch SCREAM, FAITH, MINOR THREAT…what a time to be a pimply-faced teen. The songs captured on No Name were recorded between 1982–1983. Despite the era, geography, and what you may be expecting, SKAM was not a hardcore band. Rather, they seemed to be far more influenced by first-wave British punk like the CLASH and SEX PISTOLS, with clear nods to stateside bands like the DEAD BOYS and the STOOGES (this release includes a cover of “Search and Destroy”). I’d venture to guess that these lads discovered punk rock from the decade prior, before encountering the brilliant manifestation happening in their own backyard. That said, they do sound a bit like BLACK MARKET BABY, which I can’t imagine is a coincidence. Overall, I’m reminded most of Chicago teen punk favs EPICYCLE. So, if you’re looking for a lost gem of DC hardcore, this isn’t that (though one of the members did go on to be in NO TREND), but it is a solid batch of melodic ’77-style punk nonetheless. The title cut is a standout, bringing to mind the ZEROS. There are seventeen tracks in total, including four songs recorded live at their high school talent show. How rad is that?

Sosial Ilegal Never Surrender cassette

Indonesia’s DIY collective SOSIAL ILEGAL’s latest release is on the melodic side of D-beat/crust, reminiscent of Japan’s RESULT, MUGA, or early ENVY. Honest lyrics about the real life struggles that the aforementioned bands even might have lacked the ability to deliver. More D-beat/crust bands probably should take note of this.

Thirsty Giants Thirst and Misery CD

Seven-song EP from this Minnesota garage punk band that was a drag to get through. The songs vary from rudimentary three-chord hardcore to crawling, lo-fi slow-mo punk, but none of it really sticks. The vocalist uses a snotty affect, delivering lyrics that court shock value but come across as juvenile. It really seems like a younger brother’s punk band. Take “Butthole Skater” for example—through thick flange amid a distorted bass solo, we get the lines, “I ain’t no surfer, I said it before / But I wanna skate the dunes of a whore / I just can’t skate for shit / I wiped out and got an abortion / I’m a butthole skater.” Yeah, okay. If you want skate rock, it has been done better. If you want shocking, it has been done better. If you are twelve years old and need an entry into punk rock, try something else.

Wireheads Potentially Venus LP

I’d somehow gotten the impression that this was a new band, but nope! Turns out this Adelaide sextet has been at it since the early 2010s, and this is their fifth LP! How about that? I guess that explains why they sound like they know their way around a song. In any event, you can file this record alongside your LPs by bands TERRY, UV RACE, PRIMO!, etc. WIREHEADS play a distinctly Australian brand of garage-y post-punk, heavily influenced by the VELVET UNDERGROUND, but also a little twee. Unlike those acts, these folks tend to go on more indie rock-ish digressions, at times getting closer to MODEST MOUSE or BUILT TO SPILL territory. But I think the thing that will stand out to most folks is the band’s technically poetic lyrics. The vocalist delivers them in a sprung rhythm full of alliteration, half-rhymes, full rhymes—basically all of the poetic devices—sounding like a mix of Gerard Manley Hopkins, Mark E. Smith, and the dude from SLEAFORD MODS. It’s genuinely impressive and, at times, like in the first handful of tracks, tremendously satisfying. But over the course of eleven tracks and forty minutes, it can also feel tediously clever. Overall, I’d say it’s worth your time—there really are some fantastic songs on here.

Zdrajca Zdrajca CD

If you think that pronouncing the name of this band properly would prove difficult, just be aware that they are from Szczecin, a town that is notorious for being both the mighty WŁOCHATY’s hometown and a nightmarish word to read aloud. ZDRAJCA (meaning “traitor”) was unknown to me, and this first album was released on the well-established and respected label Pasażer. The band is clearly influenced by ’90s hardcore and, if the recipe is classic, you can hear a lot of variations, articulations, and details that are typical of that decade, back when punks strove to expand hardcore’s songwriting. While I am not a massive fan of that type of sound (overall, ZDRACJA is clearly influenced by heavy USHC), I have to say that it is a powerful and mean hardcore album with hard-hitting, aggressive sing-along choruses, but the band still manages to offer hooks and interesting changes of pace in order to bring something more narrative, versatile, and darker to the story they are telling. In fact, I enjoyed listening to the album, as it is just the right length for the style and all the songs have been carefully thought out (the Polish language also adding some additional intensity). Not a work I would buy for myself, but definitely a band I would expect to be devastating live. And by the way, I almost forgot to mention: I can actually pronounce “Szczecin.”

Angel Face I Can’t Go Back / New Generator 7″

Tokyo punk lifers Fink (TEENGENERATE, RAYDIOS, RULER), Rayco (RULER), Toyozo (the FADEAWAYS), and a vocalist named Hercules (who appears to have spent time drumming in a handful of acts) team up to bring us this new group, which sounds like a true amalgam of their previous bands. Overall, things lean pub rock or power pop, but you can hear a little beat/garage in the mix as well as, of course, punk. It impressed the bigwigs over at Slovenly so much that they decided to simultaneously release this 7” and their debut LP. Both tracks are pretty great. “I Can’t Go Back” sounds a little like something that might have come off CHEAP TRICK’s Heaven Tonight had it been put out by a mid-’90s Rip Off Records band, and “New Generator” is more of a revved-up number that almost sounds like an Oi! band really leaning into their EDDIE AND THE HOTRODS and SLADE influences. I haven’t checked out that LP yet, but if this 7” is any indicator, it’ll be a ripper.

Better Plastic Mint Condition EP

First and foremost, I am a big fan of this album art. Throw a couple skulls on your record cover and it’s an automatic spin from me. Artsy powerviolence out of Brooklyn—shocking, I know. Super groovy, and sounds similar to FUCKED UP’s Glass Boys (Slow Version). Has a Steve Albini edge to it, and reminds me a lot of heavier JESUS LIZARD/LAUGHING HYENAS. What really sets this 7′ apart from their peers is the guitar and bass work. Pummeling at times, but also noisy and dissonant. Treble-heavy bass sounds like it’s come straight from the ’90s, giving off a classic post-hardcore vibe. Guitar is noisy as all hell and reminds me of if WOLF EYES collaborated with Greg Ginn (at least during his late ’80s era when he tried playing jazz guitar). A fun little romp and well worth a spin.

Blind Eye Waste of Time / Nothing’s For Free 7″

Do you like aggressive, femme-fronted hardcore? No, you love it? Look no further than this gem of a 7” by the Nottingham, UK group BLIND EYE. Steeped in the Nottingham scene, bandmates Andy Morgan (guitar) and Steve Charlesworth (drums) played previously in ENDLESS GRINNING SKULLS (and many other bands separately), and took their energy to this project with the help of Matt Grundy (bass, also a bandmate of Morgan’s in NADIR and DEAD IN THE WOODS) and Anmarie Spaziano (vocals). The tour-de-force of their 2019 demo has carried on through their Decomposed LP and now this single—fast, fierce, raucous, as if the whole thing could come to pieces at any moment, but somehow, they maintain. The A-side “Waste of Time” is an instant classic, with ascending guitar lines that boil over into choruses that get Spaziano screaming with the whole band working at a pretty flat-out pace. The B-side “Nothing’s for Free” starts out slow with some spoken word over dissonant guitars and shimmering cymbals, then rips into the frenzy they are known for, shouting “I’m just trying to stay alive” over a barrage of riffing, and don’t be mad they put a guitar solo in the outro, it rips! Overall, every member of this band is putting out excellent musicianship, true stewards of their craft. Am I avoiding using the obvious pun that’s to say “don’t miss out on this one”? Yes.