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!

The Scissor Girls The Scissor Girls LP

Vinyl reissue of the seven-song 1992 demo tape from Chicago’s art school No Wave revivalists the SCISSOR GIRLS, who channeled the warped dadaism of the RED CRAYOLA circa Soldier-Talk and early ’80s CAPTAIN BEEFHEART, the controlled chaos of the MARS/DNA side of No New York, and the most antagonistic and damaged strains of ’78-’82 US/UK DIY post-punk, all in an early-to-mid-’90s underground landscape where that particular combination of reference points wasn’t exactly in vogue. By the time they split up in 1996, they’d started to stretch into the sort of meltdown noise territory that would later be the calling card of ’00s-era Load Records (who actually put out a SCISSOR GIRLS 10″ as one of their earliest releases), but these recordings document the band at their most concise, with every song just a fit of raw slash and scrape that combusts before hitting the three-minute mark. You can clearly spot the breadcrumbs they laid down here for others to follow after them—the wiry, stop-start “Insanitary Sanctuary” is an almost dead-on harbinger of contemporary Chicago post-punks NEGATIVE SCANNER (especially in bassist Azita’s defiantly sneering vocals), the scrambled-yet-danceable rhythms of tracks like “Riveted” and “Omens” will be instantly recognizable to anyone even passingly familiar with ERASE ERRATA, etc. Total visionaries!

Sex With a Terrorist S.W.A.T. demo cassette

There is a rule in films that say you have to trap the viewer in the first thirty seconds of footage. I don’t think S.W.A.T. are filmmakers, but they know for sure how to apply that principle. The opening riff immerses you in a crumpled sound, a crossover between LUMPY AND THE DUMPERS, VOID, and SCHOOL JERKS. This is weird punk, receiving direct influences from the Californian hardcore punk tradition and turning it into a fresh sound. Something fast, with breakneck riffs, but with enough space to experiment and improvise. Especially on “Screenshot Hardcore,” the last song of the demo and the longest, with strong vibes of the last OILY BOYS record. This is an album that requires several listens for one to capture its true essence. A great first impression. I’m looking forward to more releases.

Swan Wash The Upstairs Museum cassette

A trio from Bloomington, IN with a controlled, focused deathrock approach. Two punk-length tracks with picked guitar lines and urgent WIRE-esque vocal approach, followed by a colder, lengthier conclusion that moves from the third to the first person. Icy soundscapes compliment the static urban decay musings, lending more to this experience than what’s just on the surface. Would fit well among the early 4AD roster rather than with reverb or distortion-drenched crust-gone-goth thing that feels pretty overdone at this point.

TI-83 Newsflash demo cassette

A Denver four-piece who take a decidedly No Wave-inspired approach for a band named after a calculator. My favorite moments are when the synth and the guitar seem to be fighting for the same space in the mix, making both sound warped and atonal, like the tape was left in the rain and shoved back into the deck. The tempos are abrupt, the bass is chunky, the songs are short. Plus, there are funny samples. It reminds me of a lot of things (COACHWHIPS? The SICK LIPSTICK?), but not enough of one single thing to make a decent direct comparison. Let’s just say if you like your synth-punk with a touch of garage, but not too angry, this is in your wheelhouse.

Undermine Lost Funerals LP

UNDERMINE comes fast and filthy out of the gate—garage punk with a guitar straight out of early ’80s South American raw punk recordings (I’m sure this is an accident, but damn if it didn’t get my attention)…but that was just the first track and there are thirteen more to go. Then there’s this acoustic and/or mellow grunge bit, and then “Lost Funerals” drops in with some JAWBREAKER-esque emotive ’90s sounds…still with that guitar sound…and there’s more acoustic shit, I think there’s a violin and my brain seriously hurts listening to this. I haven’t even flipped the record yet, but I will. And I do. And it’s the same, but more. I don’t even know what’s happening. I want to think that every reference is an accident, but there’s just too much. I guess it’s a retro grunge record that goes all over the place, recorded in a vacuum with no filter. For sure there are a couple of spots that are good, but damn this one is tough.

The Vibrators / Chris Spedding Mars Casino LP

I want to be kind about this record; I am genuinely glad that the gentlemen of first-wave English punk band the VIBRATORS are still at it, and happy enough that they have drafted lifelong comrade, erstwhile PISTOLS producer, “Motor Biker” and Womble CHRIS SPEDDING in for the session. The songs are written and performed well enough, by people who clearly know what they are doing; In his advancing years(!), KNOX is starting to sound a lot like NICK LOWE on his recent solo outings. However, I am not sure I can recommend this to MRR’s readership—there’s an almost total lack of urgency, immediacy, or energy. This album will be a useful stocking filler for punk dads who are bummed about missing Rebellion Festival because of lockdown, but after one or two plays it will likely be shelved in favor of one of the band’s essential early singles.

Werewolf Jones Premium LP

We always hear that Detroit bands incorporate the sounds of their surroundings into their music. If that is true, WEREWOLF JONES must be living next to a construction site where a piledriver is operating 24-7. The vocals react to that nuisance by spitting the lyrics at it. The music is repetitive and dirgelike. It gets you in a mood.

Adulkt Life Book of Curses LP

Debut LP from ADULKT LIFE, a new London band featuring Chris Rowley from HUGGY BEAR and several members of MALE BONDING. Book of Curses is a chilly collection of post-punk unease that charts the banal stresses and miseries of modern life, including aging, parenthood, and ennui over mid-tempo distorted bass and icy guitar lines. The vocals are the main draw here; they are sung/spoken with a certain feeling of frustration, exhaustion, and discomfort that expresses our current zeitgeist quite effectively. Sample lyric: “I’m taking hits, taking hits / I don’t know what I’m for / Unless I’m against it.” I feel that. This record will fit in nicely next to your DIÄT and BÖRN records for harbingers of nagging, everyday dread.

Backlash Punk Is Danger EP

Turns out SELFISH is not the only expert purveyor of Japanese hardcore in Finland. While seemingly less prolific and less travelled than their aforementioned mates, BACKLASH certainly deserves the attention of any well-respected fan of the sound. Expect a powerful production, accentuated by massive group vocal barks and appropriate guitar noodling. BASTARD, DEATH SIDE, JUDGEMENT…you know the shit. Pure rampage with just enough hooks to keep me coming back. I both laugh at and agree with the liner notes: “Fuck the system, Fuck You, Punk is Danger!”

Backlash Danger / (I Hope) Fight 7″

BACKLASH from Finland’s newest 7″ from SPHC. The disc consists of two tracks, with “Danger” a mid-tempo anthem in the vein of post-BASTARD or DEATHSIDE projects such as JUDGEMENT and FORWARD. Having one or two raging tracks per side instead of a release with mostly filler tracks is a really JUDGEMENT-like approach. When it comes to this style and we hear Japanese-style hardcore, most of us think of SELFISH, but BACKLASH is another long-running band doing this style for a while.

The Cavemen Euthanise Me EP

New Zealand scum punks the CAVEMEN return with four tracks of their particular brand of theatrical faster-and-louder rockn’roll. The results are solid, with nothing feeling particularly evolved from last year’s full length Night After Night. But that’s not really the point with music designed to hit hard and as to-the-point as possible. It’s a good bit of fun, though the music does sound a bit friendlier than I might expect from titles such as “Eat Your Heart & Wear Your Face.” There’s something charming about the band’s preoccupation with writing “evil” tunes, I just wish I believed them a smidge more. Less cracking wise and more cracking skulls!

The Derelicts Life of Strife LP

Wait…what?…this is that DERELICTS?! Then I put on the song “Life of Strife” and it all comes back. The DERELICTS were one of the go-to bands for hard-drinking and drug-taking punks in the late ’80s/early ’90s who were tired of the endless grunge singles coming out, especially as those bands were becoming the dull classic rock bands they used to parody. Without them, the DWARVES, the SUPERSUCKERS, and probably L7, I might not have made it through those few years. Totally hard to believe from the endless crap those bands have puked out since (except maybe L7) and, yes, this sounds dated as hell, but they sound…great! This is a spattering of new songs along with many re-recorded old ones which I don’t get the purpose of but the new songs fit right in and that guy can totally still sing like that! The revisited songs are strong and comparable but I much prefer the rougher-recorded old versions. How do I know that? Because I went back and listened to each and every one of them so you don’t have to. Cheers to these old men for surviving and being able to still pull it off, but you can pick up the great Going Out of Style comp as well as most of their old singles for pretty cheap if you care. This has a definite time and place for me and I can’t really see going back, but maybe there’s a Pabst-swilling, meth-shooting bad teen out there just waiting to discover this. Yay!

Deseos Primitivos Deseos Primitivos LP

This is the premiere full-length LP from Oakland’s DESEOS PRIMITIVOS. With all but one clocking under two minutes, these songs don’t overstay their welcome. This record will shake you out of your complacency. Full of pit-worthy bangers, in keeping with early West Coast punk and proto-hardcore styles. Some songs have an almost anthemic quality, inspiring ESKORBUTO comparisons with shared vocal choruses that you can raise a fist to. A moment or two felt like a sped up version of the CURE’s Three Imaginary Boys, but that might just be me. DESEOS PRIMITIVOS play with many different sonic angles, and it’s a joy to hear their sound captured so effectively. A few songs are carried over from previous releases, and benefit from their reimagining here. These recordings feel cleaner and louder, while retaining the raw energy that makes this band what it is. Lyrics tackle  issues like colonization, gentrification, and homelessness. This release is one of the standouts of the year. If this has somehow slipped past your radar, be sure to remedy that.

Joni Ekman Totaalinen Ekman cassette

A collection of essential cuts from the Finnish pop rock savant JONI EKMAN. Late-’70s power and swagger (and style) and an ear for the right hook that is rarely this true, Totaalinen Ekman is a perfect introduction for the uninitiated. EKMAN blasts out of another dimension, a master at heavy proto-psych noodling and a true power pop songsmith of the highest order, with the ability to squeeze Bolan/Bowie-caliber swing effortlessly in between acid burners. The discography is already as long as my arm and there doesn’t seem to be any end in sight, which is great news—the twelve cuts here are taken from LPs released in the mid-’00s. There truly aren’t enough accolades—the motherfucker is brilliant.

Fetish World Eater LP

This record was tragically and unknowingly Thee Slayer Hippie’s swan song, but World Eater sealed FETISH’s place as a logical (and dare I say spiritual) successor to POISON IDEA. Their earlier single was fantastic, with the A-side (re-recorded for this LP) putting forth a raging Feel the Darkness-faithful sound all the way down to Jerry A’s talking voice, bringing to mind “Death of an Idiot Blues” in particular. But World Eater is a mammoth LP that both connects Feel the Darkness to the present and pushes that sound forward while invoking something both timeless and eternal. If you don’t feel the urge to rage, choke up, and sing along to the soulful crooning of “Voyager,” I don’t know what to say.

The Froys Seaweed / Under a Tie Dye Sky LP

This is fuzzy garage rock moderne from Mexico City. High-octane playing and performance style is reminiscent of their more well-known contemporaries of the genre. If you are a fan of the modern garage sound, the FROYS will be a perfect addition to your collection. This LP combines the band’s two EPs from 2019 and 2018, respectfully. As a nice retro touch the LP includes a full color fold-out poster, too!

Gag Killing for Both Realities 3 ’92 LP

This is the latest release from Olympia hardcore band GAG. Vice once called GAG “America’s new hardcore heroes.” Normally that’s a surefire way to turn me off of a band, but I think Vice might actually be right about something here. This LP is the lo-fi, grimy, sweaty basement hardcore mixtape we’ve been waiting for. Let’s get something straight though, this isn’t another wannabe ’80s hardcore revival band, they’re doing something really fresh here. At their best on tracks like “No Cops,” “Meth Lab,” or “Warm Milk,” they sound like a slightly less technical but more frenetic NOMEANSNO, and there really isn’t a moment on the LP where the band is at their worst. All things considered; this is easily some of the best hardcore I’ve heard coming from the Pacific Northwest recently.

Genöme Young, Beautiful & Free LP

Debut album from GENÖME of Malmö, Sweden. Great production D-beat/kängpunk with echoed vocals. Many bands in this style tend to take a low-fidelity DIY approach to recording but GENÖME does it in the modern, non-retro-sounding style of ’90s Japanese meets Swedish-style hardcore production. Reminds me of a bit of DETESTATION or some of the crustcore bands coming out of the Minneapolis area in the ’90s. Artwork by Petter from GLORIOUS?

The Gingerbread Men Witches House CD

GINGERBREAD MEN were one of my favorite ’80s Boston bands. Witches House was recorded in 1987 and was supposed to be their debut album, but due to the usual band nonsense it was never released. They did release two 7″s back then and all four songs are included here. Catchy, poppy garage rock with a flavoring of college rock and early hardcore influences. The lyrics are fun and funny. “Happy Squirrel” from their first 7” is an immediate standout. It has a cool MISSION OF BURMA sound with humorously morbid lyrics: “My heart beats a rhythm like a twisted rhyme / When I saw her hopping on the power line / And then the flash I knew she was fried.” Yikes! Catchy and twisted! There’s a lot of that here: “Day Job, Night Band,” “That Ain’t Your Car,” “Battle Bones.” A vinyl version will be out in early 2021, but the CD version has eight bonus tracks.

Vivien Goldman Launderette / Private Armies 7″ reissue

Journalist VIVIEN GOLDMAN was one of the key voices in the late ’70s UK press to acknowledge the profound influence of Jamaican music on England’s emerging punk and post-punk scenes, and after being inspired by her female friends like the SLITS who were starting bands without having much (or any) prior musical experience, she recorded a one-off single in 1981 (thanks to studio time borrowed from fellow dub enthusiasts PUBLIC IMAGE LIMITED) that became a certified punky reggae classic, now newly reissued. On “Launderette,” GOLDMAN recounts a soured laundry room romance in a lilting voice over wandering, slow-throb dub bass (by George Oban of the reggae group ASWAD) that provides the song’s primary foundation, filled in by rattling percussion, some distant violin warble courtesy of Vicky Aspinall of the RAINCOATS, and sparse, scratchy guitar from PiL’s Keith Levene. B-side “Private Armies” follows a similar sonic trajectory but takes a much sharper lyrical turn, addressing structural racist violence in the UK amplified by a culture of toxic masculinity and exacted by skinheads, cops, and “heavy metal boys,” with VIVIEN intently chanting lines like “If you can’t get a hard-on, get a gun” over a drawn-out, simmering rhythm. Still relevant, both musically and (unfortunately) topically.

Häpeä Valistuksen Aika On Ohi EP

There is no doubt in my mind that many of you see the words “Finnish” and “hardcore” in the same sentence and automatically know you’re in for a ride. I know I do. Channeling accurately the Finnish classics such as KUOLEMA or TERVEET KÄDET and with a couple of EPs under their belt, HÄPEÄ really makes hardcore the way one would expect: an untamed, brutal and crazed assault. The six tunes on Valistuksen Aika On Ohi really stick with you and are well balanced in all that the genre has to offer. For all the Scandinavian maniacs this is definitely a band to keep an eye on.

Hyper Tensions Evil Seeds LP

Mid-tempo psych-rock from Indianapolis that comes across as a little restrained and melodic for my tastes. I dig how the vocals are drenched in choppy tremolo and delay and how at certain points we get a delightful appearance of what sounds like the electric jug from 13TH FLOOR ELEVATORS, but, ultimately, the tunes are held back by conventional blues structures and rather predictable solos. There is potential here, but their overall bar band feel dominates when things need to get weirder and more out of control.

Jenny Stupid Band 12″

We’re getting off to the right start with this one. I like power pop and I like harmonies. And I really don’t mind when my punk rock is a little pretty. This one reminds me of things like the PRIMITIVE HEARTS and IT’S GLITZ, though at a slightly calmer pace. All five tracks are winners, not least the acoustic number they finish with that features a little country twang, “Song for Sadie,” a song previously done by SUSPECT PARTS. (Your homework is to figure out the connection.) This one is worth looking for.

Kim Kim cassette

Downtempo and moody, the tape launches with a dreamscape of moaning vocals and percussive, fuzzed-out bashes of guitar. The first track builds up to a goth wall-of-sound that one could imagine issuing from the opening of an unexpectedly illuminated cemetery crypt. Also, the track is about the Roman emperor Nero’s sordid story. And that’s just the first track. The tape proceeds to defy genres, introducing metal guitar riffs, then minimalist post-punk drumming, stirring in some legit darkwave dance grooves, and then warping itself back into crushing waves of sludgy metal. The track “Wild One” channels a twisted rock’n’roll vibe aligned with the early CRAMPS. While there are plenty of familiar sounds, nothing about this sounds derivative or cliché. There is a forlorn richness throughout the tracks. The power of the vocals drives the songs forward and lends some cohesion to a collection of otherwise varied elements. I would not be surprised if these folks end up famous.

Lewsberg In This House LP

The righteous, relentless chug of third-album-era VELVET UNDERGROUND has provided a valuable blueprint for enterprising buttoned-up rockers for decades. Based in Rotterdam, LEWSBERG found themselves trekking to this well so many times that they set up living quarters and now bathe in its replenishing waters every morning. On In This House, their second full-length, LEWSBERG dives deep, and if you’re partial to the charms of the MODERN LOVERS, GALAXIE 500, and BETTIE SERVEERT, then you will find much to like here. The album is evenly split between head-down rockers and songs that are reminiscent of a quietly devastating conversation over late afternoon tea. While they hit the marks of the former, LEWSBERG falls just short of nailing the mood of the latter. “The Door” is the kind of intimate yet foreboding studio apartment psych that YO LA TENGO mastered long ago, but LEWSBERG doesn’t quite have the damage to pull it off. The song contains echoes of HUMAN SWITCHBOARD’s “Refrigerator Door,” but falls short of that classic’s dramatic, gawky outpouring of romanticism. We could use a little more of that awkward, doomed, drunk poetry in today’s rock scene. But LEWSBERG aren’t trying to set the world on fire, they’re just trying to make it to the coffee shop and get things started. “Cold of Light Day” is the hit, projecting a casually cool, streetwalking confidence that sheds the leather jackets for corduroy and peacoats. With its wire-y guitars, “Through The Garden” satisfies on this front, but I can’t help hoping for an extradimensional “I Heard Her Call My Name”-esque feedback squeal to tear through the time-space continuum; alas, no such luck here. I wanted the “Interlude” to stretch its wings a bit more. I caught a brief glimpse of SPACEMEN 3 waiting outside the practice space door and I was hoping they’d come in and jam. The album ends with such a lackluster last minute that it seems like an inverted punchline. Your mileage may vary.

The Lice Punk Is Bed cassette

There is a lot to like about this collection of dreamy, lo-fi bedroom recordings. The catchy, fuzzy coldwave riffs and endearingly retro drum machine compositions definitely have an irresistible charm. But there’s no way those features can make up for the off-key singing that throws a wrench in the gears of this otherwise sweet pop project. Don’t get me wrong, I like a lot of off-key singers—NEIL YOUNG, DANIEL JOHNSTON, DEAD MOON. This is punk, after all. But sadly, it just doesn’t work with this kind of melodic fuzz-pop. We need an anchor in this sea of electronic trashcan drumming and delay-drenched synth leads, rather than another untethered line flailing wildly in the gale.

Living Eyes Peak Hour Traffic / Almanac 7″

DIY Geelong garage rockers the LIVING EYES deliver the goods with their latest 7″ single. Both tracks were unreleased demos that suddenly saw the green light just before the band embarked on a Japanese tour, executed and recorded in record time.  First, a song about the modern day frustration that is getting stuck in traffic during peak hours. A guitar-driven upbeat rock anthem that makes being in traffic not so bad if the right tune is playing on the radio. Seems like something we all can relate to. Then, on “Almanac,” a more serious tone is set with a post-punkier edge to it. A cool companion for the morning commute indeed!

Loose Nukes Cult Leaders LP

This one is an old school thrasher out of Texas (and not to be confused with the recent Pittsburgh group of the same name) that falls somewhere between FINAL CONFLICT and Dealing With It-era D.R.I. This band’s style and lyrical themes give me the impression that they don’t give a fuck about anything that came out after 1989, but fuck the last 30 years ’cause this totally rips! It’s like, you don’t think we need another song about MK Ultra, but the subject matter is so punk that once you hear it you’re like “oh fuckin’ hell yeah!” If you love pre-crossover thrashed out hardcore and hate Reagan, you’ve got to check this one out!

Loss Prevention Shoot to Kill EP

No-frills, straight-to-the-point fast hardcore hailing from Kansas City. LOSS PREVENTION pulls a lot of inspiration from other Kansas City hardcore bands like BETA BOYS or RED KATE, among others. The best way I can describe this is as flyover state punk—in that it’s a fucking awesome anomaly that there’s good punk music coming out of Missouri, but it’s definitely nothing boundary pushing or original—and that’s coming from someone who lives in a flyover state. Definitely a mixed bag of an EP, but if you’re just looking for something to bang your head to on a Tuesday this could be your jam.

Lucy and the Rats Got Lucky LP

So you know that old saying “Don’t judge a book by its cover”? Well, I’m guilty. Looking at this record I automatically assumed some garage-y, RAMONES-y stuff. I am happy to say that I was not entirely wrong and at the same time not entirely right. Sure, there are definite garage-y elements at work here, but also this has a heavy ’60s girl group vibe going, too. Think THEE HEADCOATEES thrown in a blender with GO SAILOR and you’re headed in the right direction. Serious contender for best thing I’ve heard this year.

Moment of Fear Covid Sessions 2020 EP

MOMENT OF FEAR does not let up on the assault for a minute. Three tracks of scorching, exhaust-fuming hardcore lacking any form of dazzle camouflage. Side A offers an in-your-face blast of aggression and frustration, with the vocals from Bartek (REACTOR, RELIGIOUS WAR) reminding me so much of those on the obscure MORAL SUCKLING LP. Strained, tense and harsh. Side B formulates a more post-punk somber sound, echoing a depression further in the distance, but equally to Side A: torn through by pissed off punk rockers. MOMENT OF FEAR is craggily, rough, scraping hardcore from what feels like a cold PNW ocean, although they are from Long Beach. Covid Sessions 2020 storms in and drags you out to extinction.

Neutrals Personal Computing / In the Future 7″

There are worse forms of escape from these dire times than retreating into the warm embrace of vintage computer magazines. That’s how Oakland’s NEUTRALS return from their Kebab Disco LP, this time with a bit more in the way of vocal harmonies that strongly resemble TELEVISION PERSONALITIES. It’s nice to hear them developing their craft with a more thick and resonant guitar and tight songwriting that brings a sort of 20th-century optimism about the future: world peace, flying cars, and geodesic domes. That may not sound very punk, but I had this on repeat in full indulgence of their retro utopia.

Personality Cult New Arrows LP

This is North Carolina group PERSONALITY CULT’s second LP. It features past members of MIND SPIDERS, BASS DRUM OF DEATH, and too many others to list in this review. Serving up tunes that bring to mind the garage punk revival of the early 2000s, with an undertone of almost post-punk-like minor key explorations. Some songs move towards more of a garage pop vibe, while others have stronger punk leanings, maybe a DICKIES influence peeking through at times? The moments when they throw out curveballs, like unexpectedly dissonant guitar leads or back-up vocal parts, end up being my favorites.

Shrinkwrap Killers Feral Rats Have Become Our Only Pets LP

Based on the band name and cover, I was expecting some gross horror punk or maybe crossover thrash, and boy, was I wrong. SHRINKWRAP KILLERS is the solo project of Greg Wilkinson of BRAINOIL playing a bizarro new wave/synth-pop/garage punk mix. Imagine GARY NUMAN, the SPITS, and maybe DICK DALE camping out in a squalid punk squat with only dystopian novels to keep them busy, and you get the idea. With song titles like “Stolen Electronics to Shove Up Your Ass,” “Hive Robotics at the Human Zoo,” and the title track, the vibe is definitely jokey, but the grooves are too good to be a joke. There are some real, albeit goofy, earworms here. This record mixes some straight-ahead garage sing-alongs with a few lo-fi woozy synth dirges that wouldn’t sound out of place on a TOBACCO record. Do you have a quarantine anthem? “Shotgunning O’Doul’s and Kicking Dicks,” where the title is a good portion of the song’s lyrics, has you covered. Very weird fun if you are experiencing paranoia, boredom, or enjoy shoving stolen electronics up your ass.

Speed Plans More Hardcore LP

Fuck. Getting assigned this record to review makes me realize my misstep in not including SPEED PLANS in my yearly top ten. Forgive me. I shall sing their praises here. Describing Pittsburgh’s SPEED PLANS to someone who hasn’t seen them live is challenging.  Looking at them, one may be doubtful that this unlikely bunch of characters with the odd band name could be any good. My good friend Collin H. once remarked that the singer looks like the actor Will Arnett. Not that far off as he’s really funny and can often crack you up with wicked between-song banter. The bass player may look like someone who just rode his bike back from a PHISH concert (George is cool as hell), and, shit, the whole band is such a wonderful tossup of personalities such as which makes a lot of Pittsburgh bands so great. Once they start playing, I guarantee, you’ll be scraping your jaw off the sticky Rock Room floor by the end. These guys can play and are tight like Joe Biden’s butthole. They completely won me over one night by doing the most amazing cover of “Rambling Rose” I’ve ever witnessed. But what about the record, you say? This, I believe, is their second tape put to vinyl (they have a third, I’ve yet to hear) and like their live set, does not let up from beginning to end. Musically I’d say they’re  a semicoherent mix of classic thrash like NEOS or JERRY’S KIDS with some ANTI CIMEX 12” EP and bits of Japan’s MOBS with modern day sounds of, say, S.H.I.T. All this is overlaid with crazy guitar antics in the style of the aforementioned Wayne Kramer/Sonic Smith variety with maybe a little GRAND FUNK thrown in. Favorite moments are hard to choose but if pressed I’d say “Four Letter Word” for its killer guitar breaks and the epic “Kill Us Both” into “Green War” into “Revenge” for sheer ferocity. Hell, most of the songs run into the next and the longest is a minute-five. How can you get any better than that so why are you lagging? Pick it up chump.

Sudden Impact Freaked Out EP

Guided by the expert punk archivists at Supreme Echo, SUDDEN IMPACT upgrades a semi-legendary demo to a fully formed EP. Before leaning into something closer to “trad” skate-thrash, SUDDEN IMPACT were making pits erupt in Toronto and the proof is evident on a blazing 1984 recording. Delivering ten cuts in thirteen minutes, this remastered EP is practically the platonic ideal of a hardcore punk 7”. Things back then were truly fast and furious, so much so that who even has time to come up with song titles? (“New Song” could use a little more work but still packs a punch.) “Freaked Out” sports enough bent corners that it could fit comfortably on an early Killed By Death volume (see KRAUT). True to form, the theme song (“Sudden Impact”) completely shreds and features the always-welcome sound of breaking glass to ensure that you’re paying attention. And then they wrap things up by covering TED NUGENT, because of course. NUGENT sucks, but AMBOY DUKES rule, and as far as hardcore covers of hard rock nuggets go, it ain’t half-bad.

The Toms The 1979 Sessions LP

This album apparently collects the “chaff” from Tommy Marolda’s three-day solo recording session that led to the TOMS’ self-titled album. I must admit I was not familiar with that LP, but it seems to be considered a power pop classic among aficionados. After listening to The 1979 Sessions, I had to immediately go and listen to it, because if these are the rejects, the songs that made the album had to be something else. The fourteen tracks here are a masterclass in jangling ’60s British Invasion guitar pop with an unmistakable BEATLES influence, with forays into spacier PROCOL HARUM or CREAM territory—it’s almost impossible to believe that one person played and recorded a couple of albums’ worth of this stuff in his home studio over a weekend (to make use of studio time vacated by a SMITHEREENS cancellation), but that’s how the legend has it, and if rock’n’roll isn’t about legends, what is it for? It doesn’t even sound home-recorded—it could have been tracked at Abbey Road. Essential stuff for the power pop fan.

Tortür Never Ending Grief LP

Scaly, scaling, escapist rÁ¥punk D-beat noise from LA. Deliberate face-ripping riffs that flail through the play with no mercy. TORTÜR plays the standard D-beat formula, but the energy is many ticks above normal. Vocals are grimaced and the chords are buoyant. Drums pulverize—sticks tumbling with classic DISCLOSE openers and breaks, at a rate a notch faster than everything else, and it works—as TORTÜR ebbs and stabs in unison. The way a band like this should sound; slightly organic but still nailing it like the nightmare machine they are illustrating. Some surprising rhythmic change-ups, in the way I fell jawless skull-over-boots for WORLD BURNS TO DEATH some 20-odd years ago, in “Who Will Survive The Human Collapse?” which adds shock treatment to the overall seizure of this album. Basically, a blistering new chaotic D-beat album that excels with production fervor and speed. Might be on my top ten had I not already sent it in. Recalling TOTAL WAR, DESPAIR, ASPECTS OF WAR. Art by Robin Wilberg of SVAVELDIOXID (previously DISFEAR). TORTÜR, a three piece of LA, are a gift (GASATTACK), and I definitely recommend trying to find this raw physical slab, it goes for $666 on their Bandcamp, and was released this past September 11th, yikes.

V/A Killed by Meth #5 LP

It’s Trash! Records’ annual compilation Killed by Meth is always an eye-opener. This year’s installment (the fifth) continues to highlight some of the filthiest offshoots of rock coming out of the US Midwest, including the always-excellent ERIK NERVOUS and recent Goner signees ARCHAEAS. There are no duds here, though the standouts steal a lot of the glory. The best song of the bunch comes from Cincinnati’s BLACK PLANET. Their contribution, “Crimewave,” is a total earworm of pounding rhythms and acidic vocals that demands you pick the needle up and play it again once it’s done. The rest of the compilation keeps it eclectic with the likes of urgent synth-punks MONONEGATIVES before and closing everything out with a new nihilist anthem—”Flies on Shit” by AU SHOVEL. All in all, it’s another solid entry in the ongoing series of killer punk comps.

V/A Southend Punk Volume 1 CD

Another micro-scene gets the archeological dig treatment. Best-known to most as a place where Londoners go to the seaside, Southend and its Thames Estuary neighbors punch above their weight in rock’n’roll pedigree, as home to influential acts that pre-date this comp (such as DR. FEELGOOD and EDDIE AND THE HOTRODS), so it’s no surprise there was a burgeoning punk scene buzzing along there as early as 1976. For some reason, few of the no-hit wonders collected here made it to larger exposure. MRR readers are most likely to be aware of the SINYX or KRONSTADT UPRISING for their appearance on CRASS’ Bullshit Detector comps, but this album demonstrates that the Southend scene was home to punk bands of every stripe, from the gothic post-punk of AFTERMATH to the NEUROTICS-sounding progressive punk of the PREY. Fun fact, the VICARS here feature the vocal stylings of Alison Moyet, who went on to fame as the singer of YAZOO (sounding here more like Feargal Sharkey.) There’s honestly not a dud on this whole record. A great collection, lovingly compiled.

V/A Whole World vol. 1 cassette

Tasty little collection of five lo-fi garage freaksters from Berlin. Some nice No Wave eccentricities, some raw stomps, some drugged-out, wild-ass sweaty punk, even a coupla doses of shaky melancholic pop—NUNOFYRBEESWAX, FREAK GENES, TOP DOWN, the BUGS, and the DO NOTHINGS offer up a varied and feisty sampler of Berlin (circa 2019).

Afterboltxebike Agitaciòn Marxista EP

As far as I can tell, these guys are from just outside Monterrey, Mexico, and borrow their name from a KORTATU song, with whom they also share themes of organized labor and class struggle. They play a classic burly Mexican hardcore punk style, like MASSACRE 68 or SEDICION beefed up with a more modern compressed digital production. “A.C.A.B” is a rendition of “Dicks Hate the Police,” updated to condemn ICE and the current loser US president (who will be fucking off soon), and while I’m obviously on board for the message, it sounds pretty bad! That being said, this EP emanates strong antifascist and revolutionary vibes and is absolutely worth raising a fist in solidarity with, and includes lyrical translations from Spanish to French and English.

Blind Ride Too Fast for a Sick Dog CD

This is a hard-rocking power trio from Campobasso, Italy. There’s a nice primitive lo-fi sound to this that makes it all work and brings out the heaviness and energy that only a tight three-piece can have. They love heavy rock as well as punk and horror movies like an Italian band should. Maybe like a meaner, heavier GROOVIE GHOULIES listening to a lot of early BULLDOZER? Really was not expecting to like this but I find myself totally nodding along. “Passive Ways” and “Afraid of Losing Nothing” are my most bang-worthy moments here. Go on. Give it a chance.

Coffer Uneasy Street cassette

Nasty, lo-fi, grimy garage rock from Detroit, MI. Three songs which have a feel to them as if they were written, somewhat learned, and then immediately hastily recorded, which I admittedly dig. With a run of only 25 copies, this wildly blown-out recording would likely disappear into obscurity were it not for the label documenting it digitally. Painters Tapes, self-proclaiming to be “Detroit’s Worst Cassette Label” (though I think they’ve got some competition with Juicy Crack Cassettes) seems to have a ton of other releases, which I will be digging through shortly.

Dirty Burger Part Time Loser LP

From the home of the SHITLICKERS (Gothenburg, Sweden) comes this psychedelic poppy punk powerhouse. Well, maybe not a powerhouse, but that flowed really well. Elements of the 13TH FLOOR ELEVATORS, the HIVES, HUBBLE BUBBLE, JESUS AND MARY CHAIN, and the ADVERTS are present here.  Really cool Zap Comix-style artwork. I think it’s their love of Lemmy-led HAWKWIND that I find most interesting. It  starts subtly on the second track “Video Violence,” and becomes slowly more apparent until climaxing full bore on the 8-minute 45-second closer “Purpose” with distorto bass and bubble machine raging. The vocals get a little poppy at times but mostly it’s a pretty swell trip. They have a song named “L.S.D.,” of course, that’s pretty great as well. So tune in, drop out, keep on truckin’ or whatever you want to call it and give it a whirl.

Highway Stacy Highway Stacy cassette

More pandemic projects are gonna roll in over the next months, and I welcome the experimentation. HIGHWAY STACY is the brainchild of Tyler Shults (COLLICK, OCCULT DETECTIVE CLUB) and is a seriously superb departure from previous projects. Angry, noisy, frustrated, pissed, dark…it’s as if HIGHWAY STACY trudges their way through these five pieces of No Wave no-punk as an act of morose defiance without joy or purpose, just to make a point. To close with the desecration of the GIZMOS track “Pay” is a move that closes this release appropriately: with the listener feeling dirty. Inside. Physical copies are criminally limited with handmade/decorated covers, but now I have glitter all over my hands from taking it out of the case so maybe you’re better off.

Indentured Resistance Etiquette CD

The one thing that sticks out about this EP is the production value. It sounds like they spent a lot of time and possibly money on this recording. That isn’t a slight, either. From a production standpoint, this is very pleasing to the ears. As for the songs themselves, it’s kind of hard to pin down an accurate description because calling this “standard punk” would be a disservice to the work put in here. Lyrically, though…that’s when they lost me. There’s a song about “the quarantine cruise line” and a song called “Karen” about…yup, you guessed it…a “Karen.” I mean, who am I to judge one’s lyrical content, I just don’t know if songs like these will age well is all.

Instinto Primitivo Quemados EP

The opening riff to the first track almost threw me for a second—it comes off almost as dry-sounding as something the MEAT PUPPETS could’ve written (Up On The Sun-era), before the maniacal laughter starts, the jangle is quickly dropped, and four tracks of raging Colombian HC are quickly spat out in rapid-fire succession. This thing’s a blast, HC sounds best raw as fuck and recorded straight to tape.

The Lungs Psychic Tombs LP

Man, this is really not my thing and hard for me to get through. To give them credit, they are good musicians and their passion for their message and music comes through. Fuck. I just have no taste for jazzy, nu-metal-style post-hardcore…er…whatever. Maybe compare them to RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, FAITH NO MORE, DISTURBED? From the atrocious cover art to the doubled and tripled melodic vocals, this screams anti-me in every way. Uh…great musicianship…feeling…did I say that already? Please make it stop!