Reviews - MAXIMUM ROCKNROLL

Grave New World The Last Sanctuary LP

All praise to New York’s Bitter Lake Recordings for bringing this masterpiece to the masses (though it sold out immediately and is already impossible to find). This 1991 recording is the sole output of Japan’s GRAVE NEW WORLD, which featured members of CROW, ASBESTOS and LAST BOMB. Churning, noise-drenched industrial metalcrust; every song sounds like an absolute apocalypse, and Crow’s vocals come off like era-appropriate Al Jourgensen stepping into the studio with The End…-era Crow. The assault of psychedelia is easy to focus on, and the externals surely help the record stand out, but it’s the way they tweak and torture the AMEBIX crust model and contort it into something completely their own that is what makes the record special. And essential release (and reissue)…now I just have to get my hands on a copy.

Gumming Overripe LP

Dark, technical noise rock with aggressive, pissed-off vocals, off-kilter rhythms, and repetitive, spiraling guitar figures. There’s a heavy intensity to the songs that reminds me of DEAD AND GONE, as well as a subtle later BLACK FLAG Greg Ginn edge to the guitar that finally makes good on its threat on the song “Agency.” I have to admit that on first listen, I found the vocals to be slightly grating; as the record progressed and on subsequent listens, I realized that exact grating aspect is integral to the band’s sound and crucial to the delivery.

Half/Cross Terminal cassette

Fourteen-track full-length demo of powerviolence-inspired hardcore. Metallic leads and scramz-esque interludes help make it more than just full-on PV worship. It’s fast when it’s fast, it’s heavy and plodding when it’s slow. My main gripe is that the tapes are dubbed so quietly that even cranked on my stereo, it’s still very quiet and buried under the tape hiss. Listening on their Bandcamp is much clearer.

Home Birth Enjoy CD

These San Jose bros smoke big weed. Seriously. Think big joints, high fives, and inside jokes. It’s like ANDREW W.K. meets FRANK ZAPPA, the RESIDENTS, S.O.D., and SKATENIGS. It works for me on the moodier, noisier numbers like “Donner, Party of 4,” but most of this is past my caring. They could share a bill with M SECTION (reviewed last month) quite nicely. Cool.

Invalid Format Actual Behaviour cassette EP

Irrepressible posi hardcore from a Malaysian four-piece on what appears to be their second tape release. INVALID FORMAT seem like they’re in love with the pre-Out of Step Dischord catalogue above all, and the clean-cut likes of 7 SECONDS those releases inspired, but as well as oompah-oompah rhythms and songs titled things like “Unite Not Fight” and “Stop the Violence”, the guitar has this chiming, ultra-melodic tone which sometimes suggests an early wave Creation Records band playing at twice their normal speed. Nice token bit of wonky surf-rock action on “Dear Little Friend,” too. If you’ve been waiting for something new by MILK from Japan, INVALID FORMAT are both a good stopgap and band in their own right.

ISS Too Punk for Heavy Metal EP

It’s too silly and too brilliant at the same time. You know the story. The label guy ignored the band when they were unknown, then he wants to do a record with them. Instead of holding a grudge or talking shit about him behind his back or telling him to fuck off, ISS writes the story in song and lets him release it. They also print the lyrics on the front of the record cover in case the listener can’t make out any of the details. The best revenge is that “Too Punk for Heavy Metal” is such a catchy song, I can’t stop playing it. The epitome of what punk should be—fun, obnoxious, rockin’ and witty. “Are you really sure you deserve ISS? I’m not.” And good on the label for releasing it. Cool to see both sides have a sense of humor. The other two songs are extra-short, but still as super catchy and fun. Are they both also about Richie from Total Punk Records? Could be. I love this record (and all of ISS’s stuff).

Kalashnikov Læderhalse EP reissue

Adult Crash out of Denmark has finally reissued KALASHNIKOV’s classic 1984 EP. It’s rare to find a bona fide classic that hasn’t been reissued or booted at this point, especially one this good, and the original has been climbing in price for a while now, so I’m beyond excited to have this. Originally known as DIARRÉ (you can guess as to that word’s meaning in Danish), they had three excellent songs on the Lorteland tape compilation (“I Hate the New Romantics” is my personal favorite) before recording this EP in 1984 and an LP in 1985. The obvious hit here is the hard-charging “Schlüters Kabinet,” which also appeared on the P.E.A.C.E. compilation, but the other two tracks are great, albeit at a post-punk pace. An essential record now available for a reasonable price.

Brad Marino False Alarm EP

I really do love good power pop, which is sometimes mistaken for pop punk. And while some bands may blur that line between power pop and pop punk, this is a great example of power pop and something that wouldn’t easily get mistaken for pop punk. Not only that, it’s pure goodness. It’s melodic and mid-tempo and it’s so catchy that I’m trying to draw a COVID comparison. Too soon, I know. There’s also a HOODOO GURUS cover, for those who are interested. This is the first time I’ve heard of BRAD MARINO, but if you look on his Bandcamp page, he’s got quite a bit of stuff out there. I’m looking forward to hearing some of the others.

Max Nordile Gym Places cassette

A very strange artsy/noise project. Sounds to me like a mixture of field recordings and intentionally badly played instruments. Unlike the previous release by MAX NORDILE that I reviewed, some of the “songs” on this release have vocals on them, delivered in a lazy, kooky, CAPTAIN BEEFHEART style of spoken-word singing.

Max Nordile Let Them Fail cassette

I don’t really know what this is. Noise? Free jazz? The unintelligible sounds a novice band makes before starting their set? An art project? Someone learning to play a bunch of different instruments? Hanging out at Guitar Center? As far as I can tell, there are five “songs” on this cassette, each as confusing as the last. Repetitive squeaks and squawks played for a while before abruptly ending. Favorite track: ________, which is my way of saying that there is no track listing within the cassette or available online.

Punitive Damage We Don’t Forget EP

We Don’t Forget is PUNITIVE DAMAGE from Vancouver, BC’s latest output. Plenty of breakdowns and moshier grooves with punchy parts, and a more modern-sounding hardcore approach. Urgent political lyrics relevant to current times, PUNITIVE DAMAGE’s output is coming from a more personal place, yet it’s something many of us across the board in different scenes can relate to. In the DIY punk scene where it looks like there’s a political consensus for certain topics, oftentimes it still tends to lack critical analysis of what the slogans actually mean, which PUNITIVE DAMAGE brings to the table. They push back with honest, real-life-based output that isn’t just a reiteration of slogans without critical thought. For fans of PUNCH, LIFE’S BLOOD, NO JUSTICE, CARRY ON, and LIMP WRIST.

Rigorous Institution Survival / Despotism 7″

As I write this, Portland, OR and the entire Pacific Northwest is suffering a siege of wildfires and noxious smoke pollution. In suit, RIGOROUS INSTITUTION plays their signature brand of highland war-wandering metal punk for the scorched earth doom parade. Awkward choking vocals and bizarre echoing dark-castle-like synth moments ooze through the tracks. A dirging medieval Battery Humans-era AMEB-oid, VOIVOD-ing, STONE THE CROWZ-eque cloak of brutal esoteric toxic existential gloom crust with non-light vibes of later DARKTHRONE. I picked up their The Coming of the Terror EP last year and was very stoked to receive this for review. Way into this band, a voice in my frustrated corroded 2020 mind.

Science Man Tiny Tower EP

I first heard about these/this freak(s) recently from their Covid Collaboration with NERVOUS TICK and was planning to dig in anyway, so the Assignment Gods be kind this month. It’s like I hoped, and yet more reined in than I expected. Pop sensibilities crammed into bedroom punk recordings, like fuzzed out ’60s Nuggets amped up on all of the drugs (which is an ironic comparison, when you really think about it). Kinda hardcore, kinda garage punk, the drum machine (and tracks like “Changeling”) makes me think of late ’80s industrial/punk hybrids…imagine a collision of KARP and CHROME and SPITS and NOMEANSNO. Hail Freaks, Hail!

Shark Toys Out of Time EP

It’s been a real treat to watch SHARK TOYS evolve over the last ten years or so, from their beginnings as a decent garage-accented wobbly pop band to their current higher state of lean, trebly art-punk attack. The DESPERATE BICYCLES (whose UK DIY anthem “Advice on Arrest” gets a completely frenetic cover here) definitely serve as one of the stylistic compass points for this new EP, along with the URINALS, the FALL (pre-Brix), and WIRE circa Pink Flag, if I had to name the other three—jumpy, economical rhythms, guitar that slashes and jangles in equal measure, and vocals that are dryly conversational even while shouted, all urgently ticking along. The title track is a textbook-perfect exercise in razor-edged Rough Trade-ism (props to that killer single-string anti-solo), while the galloping twang of “Black” most obviously gives away the band’s status as residents of Los Angeles by virtue of sounding like a four-decades-late contribution to the Keats Rides a Harley comp. A band truly after my own heart.

Silent Era Rotate the Mirror LP

Oakland. City of my birth and one I often take for granted with its shinier sister across the Bay where I grew up. SILENT ERA is just so Oakland (sorry Greg) with its dreary WIPERS-ness layered under Matt’s East Bay thrash metal axe attack and a rhythm section as thick as the morning fog off the lake. The title track comes on, I close my eyes and I’m zooming past the warehouses on Mandela Parkway in the early dawn, then cranking it on as I turn down East 14th into the high numbers. Michelle really does have the perfect post-punk anarcho voice, the kind that can really sing and not just shout. This time I’m hearing a little Penelope and especially Theresa from the BRAT on songs like “The Hook” and “Future Dreams,” two of my favorites here. Seriously taking it up a notch with this release and…hell…these are some of the best people I know. Booz Ullrey may be the finest example of what a smart, strong punk person should be, and Greg! Greg is fucking legend! (And he rescued me by letting me live in his house when I was a wreck.) But it’s the music! …and while this is short and sweet, it’s truly a beautiful piece of art and rage and well worth several minutes of your precious time. Pardon me…I need a tissue now…

The Yum Yums For Those About to Pop! CD-R

I’ve been a fan of the YUM YUMS ever since they released their first 7″ Girls Like That on Screaming Apple over 25 years ago. We’ve had a good run. Their first LP Sweet as Candy is still one of my favorite pop records of all time. For the last few years, it seems they’ve put out a record every six years or so. When I’ve been a fan of a band forever and you see a new release coming out 26 years after their initial release, I get a little anxious. There’s no chance it’ll be as good as the first record. I’ve enjoyed everything they’ve put out, but in my mind there is for sure a chance that this will be complete shit. I don’t want that to happen. From Norway, it seems these guys are still delivering faster-paced, infectiously catchy pop with RAMONES-like guitar riffs. But it’s not just pop or even power pop, it’s also bubblegum, but not in a terrible way, and even glam and for sure rock’n’roll and possibly even just a tad bit of country and surf. Fourteen cuts and I’m pretty sure every one of them is about a girl. This didn’t disappoint on any level. What an impressive track record.

Affect Fucked Reality cassette

Well, you got that right, AFFECT. I first played this tape well into the evening, after a few park sodas, and said to myself “maybe I’ll listen to this again over the weekend, and it won’t sound so much like DISCLOSE.” AFFECT are a Swedish band, and if you love DISCLOSE and GLORIOUS?, this is a perfect addition to your Dis-collection. Dis is absolut raw chaos punk noize for reality fucker. And the best part: it’s done by two people, yet sounding like a catastrophic cacophony of several more. The percussion is a bit heavier than is standard, as is the galloping stomper track—my favorite—”Bleeding.” The words are lengthy and well-paced, nicely understated, throughout the tracks, and my only complaint is that I’d love to have some printed lyrics. The tan-on-black cover art is also excellent. AFFECT goes from “eh” to “hmm, well, OK!” with each subsequent listen.

Anti-Cimex En Product Från Dagens Skitsamhälle CD

This demo recording from 1982 is Anarkist Attack-era ANTI CIMEX, and it sounds great. It was originally sent out to zines and friends and hasn’t been available on CD before now. I have some of these demo recordings on the Demos 81-85 comp, but not all of them. Harsh, warbling and heavy, Nils delivers broken vocals with adolescent intensity, before Tomas took over with a gruffer, more matured sound. This features a DISCHARGE cover and a few impromptu instrumentals, and several rarer tracks such as “Eibon” that are only on demos. This is a powerful and raw ANTI-CIMEX disc, like a table saw that delivers.

The Bragging Lads Half Empty LP

This band is unabashedly ’90s-style pop-punk in the vein of the BOUNCING SOULS. There is a small venue jump and shout and drink whatever comes in a tall can for cheap vibe here. The lyrical content focuses heavily on being in bands, touring the country, friends dying, and just hanging out. There’s a fun times atmosphere throughout, but it’s often hard to tell how hard they’re taking anything seriously. Case in point is “Bravo,” a corny 30-second-ish love song that may either be a joke or may be completely, awkwardly serious. The BRAGGING LADS are certainly not a joke band, so it’s unclear. The repeating backup vocals on “Anyhow” are classic and work perfectly. Overall, the winning crowd pleaser of the album is “Castaway,” continuing the tradition of the second song on an album always rocking. This band and this album will fit nicely into your rotation of LIFETIME, PULLEY, and the like.

Crow 1988.2.28 Antiknock Live CD

This recording of CROW is crude, and captures the fury of punk that CROW was live. Some of my favorite CROW songs stand out on this anxious recording: “I’m Looking Out Over,” “Give Up All Hope,” my personal favorite “Bloody Earth,” and so on. The raw anguish and passion is captured in the racket, as CROW does not wait up for anything between songs. “The Day of Annihilation” into “Bloody Earth” into “Storms of Despair” into “Is Fiction,” right around the middle, just brings me to a moment of how relentless this show must have been to witness in person. A blast-through of a fire set that sounds like 25 people are in the band melting everyone’s face off.

Cumgirl8 Cumgirl8 LP

Not sure precisely what music I anticipated on first seeing the name CUMGIRL8—it might be one of those questions where everyone is best off not pursuing the answer—but this eccentric, ramshackle semi-synthesised post-punk wasn’t it. They’re from NYC, and a brief read-up on them only renders them more curious: singer and bass player Lida Fox and guitarist Veronika Vilim are both models, as in big baller runway Marc Jacobs type shit, with drummer/synth tweaker/producer Chase Noelle having played in BOYTOY and others. Whatever Cumgirl8 is, it’s not anyone’s typical catwalk soundtrack: its bass lines somehow simultaneously blunt and spiky, and Noelle bundling up human cowbell thwack and overheating drum machines. “Cherry Nipples” yanks down the tempo to a goth crawl without it contradicting the effervescence around it, or indeed the gawky indie-pop of “Blue Planet,” which follows. Fox’s vocals are very much in that SLITS/RAINCOATS tradition (I might have assumed she was English without the resources to confirm otherwise) and while the CUMGIRL8 trio, two of who are playing music for the first time in this band, give the impression of wanting to cram as much of their favourite music as possible into one album, they pull it off.

Deviated Instinct Nailed CD

A hammering, high-production level EP on CD with classic hardcore metal riffs, breakdowns, and sinister vocals, the latter from Mid who coincidentally provided a ton of great punk art for NAPALM DEATH and EXTREME NOISE TERROR. Double-kick-pedal-driven death crust riffs, escapist vibes, cyber-industrial landscape effects—this reissue of DEVIATED INSTINCT Nailed longs for a lazy summer day under the trees with a gang of your best squatter buds. In a world where such things are no longer recommended! “OOH!” Just going to have to thrash on my roof. Tangent aside, if you’re not that familiar with DEVIATED INSTINCT, Nailed is the perfect example of terminal filth stenchcore. It’s killer. “Slow Death Suck” is a must hear death crust track. For fans of SKAVEN, BURNING WITCH, 13… this was a pioneer release when death metal punk was making its way into the NYHC sound as well. “UGH!”

Gaffer Gaffer cassette

New-in-relative-terms punk from Perth, Australia, GAFFER played their debut show in May 2019, and snuck this seven-song demo out in March of this year. You can still grab a hard copy at the time of writing, which is nice, but suggests it’s flown under the radar a tad, which kinda sucks. There’s COLD MEAT personnel in the four-strong lineup—I think Kyle Gleadell if the wound-raw guitar tone is anything to go by—and vocals are handled by a British invader, Chris Shoulder, ex-herbert-y post-punx STRUCTURE. Accordingly, GAFFER have that air of heads-down CRISIS-type chunter to their sound, but also a bit of KBD rock-pig flourish and early-wave second-string UK fodder, the latter accentuated by consistently gloomy lyrics about life’s grinding drudgery. They’re not shy of breaking the three-minute mark (“Animal,” “Skin of Your Teeth”), yet this tape fair flies by.

Horror Vacui Living for Nothing LP

HORROR VACUI of Italy are very well-rehearsed and the vocals are beautiful and deep. It pushes hard on the retro CHAMELEONS sound, but not so much that HORROR VACUI don’t bring their own unique efforts to the ennui table. Much of the vibe brought by ROSETTA STONE mixed with the morose tones of SISTERS OF MERCY, the electrified angst of CLAN OF XYMOX, and with the bass drive of NEW MODEL ARMY. Some of the vocal intonations recall PSYCHEDELIC FURS. The combination of melodramatic deathrock and post-punk irreverence is choice. Production is vibrating and clear, then some moments are dreamy like the most depressing JOY DIVISION songs. Amazing cover art that reminds me of somber medieval Renaissance printing meets the graphic novel Persepolis. A very solid offing for the darkroom brooding punker set.

Liiek Liiek LP

The fine line between efficiency and parsimony is walked by LIIEK on their debut long-player, if that’s the best term. Eight songs, fifteen minutes—bam!—could’ve left me wanting more in a less-than-good way, but this type of sharp, skeletal post-punk makes the whole experience work. A Berlin trio who sing in English; a typical LIIEK song weds a clean guitar line to a disciplined rhythm section, with semi-spoken vocals and occasionally chunkier riff breakdowns. “Waterfall” and “Dynamite” have a paranoid funk about them, comparable to SHOPPING, darker/starker moments come closer to someone like NEGATIVE SPACE, and closing number “The Goods Were Properly Packed” rides a choppy disco-punk groove. That, or the presence of songs titled “Crisis” and “Wire” is LIIEK putting their cards face-up on the table. Either way, there seems to be a bunch of neato punk weirdness coming out of Berlin right now, and this band appears fairly embedded in it.

XV Basement Tapes cassette

More free-punk explorations from XV! Basement Tapes consists of various unreleased demos, live jams, and practice recordings from 2018 and 2019, documenting some of the conceptual process that ultimately resulted in their sold-out-in-one-day debut LP from last year. That record was willfully non-linear but still concise, and almost approaching a conventional art-punk angularity, while these tracks generally embrace a more raw, loose approach that at various times suggests anything from early HALF JAPANESE at their skronkiest to a dreamy VELVET UNDERGROUND drift to the equally spiky and shaky sounds of the early ’80s UK DIY bedroom-taper scene. Free-association vocals chanted or recited over self-destructing rhythms and scribbling, scratchy guitar; truly No Wave in the most literal sense of the term.

Apsurd Derealizacija / Svemu Će Doći Kraj LP

APSURD is back, following up their well received demo, now on vinyl dividing one side to their debut and the other to a few new tracks. This Serbian band plays masterfully crafted hardcore punk, drawing from traditional sounds but not forgetting to be in contact with the present. They create a haunted atmosphere within noise that is at once the form of frustration and escapism. While the bass and drums are building a usually mid-tempo solid base, the guitars mix raging riffs with exploring, curly ornaments. A vibrant desperation blasts from each song, coating Eastern European metaphysical melancholy on uptempo melodies. APSURD recalls bands as TOZIBABE, SOLUNSKI FRONT, DISTRESS or even SACCHARINE TRUST and POISION IDEA, though they are not completely stuck in a proxy-nostalgia—they sneak enough original ideas onto this heritage, while cherry-picking the best parts and instinctively organizing songs from them. There isn’t a significant difference between the two sides/records yet the music never exhausts. This indicates the mature sound of APSURD. They can write proper songs and turn their batch to albums. Their challenge will be to stay fresh within this established sound but I have high hope in them.

Coconut Planters Coconut Planters CD

Debut five-track self-produced/released effort from this new Italian quartet, self-confessed fans of the ’90s sounds of Fat Wreck Chords and Epitaph. Hence, unsurprisingly, there are buckets of driving melody, harmony, and rhythm in that time-honored style of NO USE FOR A NAME, FACE TO FACE, LAGWAGON, and, probably most immediately, Sweden’s MILLENCOLIN. Layered guitars and vocals abound. And they do it rather well. I have to say, I’m a fan of this genre, though it does pose a less immediate existential question on the nature of cultural imperialism, and homogeneity. If it wasn’t for the handy one-sheet, I would’ve bet my youngest child that these folks were from Orange County. On well.

Freddie Dilevi Teenager’s Heartbreak CD

Pablo Velasquez, a.k.a. FREDDIE, hails from Seville in Spain. The man has, however, both an appreciation for American ’50s rock’n’roll and late-’70s punk, and a fantastic set of pipes. The vocals are way up front, which doesn’t do them any disservice. He possesses a voice as fine as any crooner punk has produced—up there with DANZIG, the DAMNED’s Dave Vanian and John Doe of X, and indeed, wouldn’t sound out of place in a life biopic movie on ELVIS or BUDDY HOLLY. Musically, the rock’n’roll influence is there, Á la a more mature early MISFITS, later period DAMNED, or X, not to mention the HEARTBREAKERS. The tunes are pretty damn stellar too, and this CD is blessed with two (uncredited/unlisted) bonus tracks sung in his native Spanish, which might be the two best on the disc. Fucking great. Even the wife likes this one, and she gave up on X after Los Angeles.

Research Reactor Corp. The Collected Findings of the Research Reactor Corporation LP

It’s a head scratcher that this group that sets battery acid in your veins is actually from Australia and not American flyover country. This is a compilation of previously released cassette tapes with an unabashedly egg-punk composition. R.R.C. plays rock’n’roll standards with a GEZA-X-like sneer characterized by herky-jerky interplay, a synthesizer setting down a catchy hook and dog-bark vocals somewhere between UROCHROMES and HANK WOOD on top. Nth wave of skrunky, Adderall-eyed DEVO-worship.

The Slugs Don’t Touch Me, I’m Too Slimy EP

The debut EP from the SLUGS, a shambolic UK duo putting a post-millennial spin on the whole post-riot grrrl, Slampt Records-adjacent sound of the mid-’90s (think KENICKIE, GOLDEN STARLET, LUNG LEG, that sort of thing). To that end, there’s a track titled “Girly Gang” on the B-side that’s essentially a sing-song, tongue-in-cheek response to tired “girl in a band” tropes, and which functions as a pretty representative glimpse into where these SLUGS are coming from. Each of the EP’s five songs follow a fairly simple formula of scrappy and jangling three-chords-or-less guitar backed by haltingly bashed-out drums, with both members singing/shouting together and over each other about mostly practical concerns (dealing with creeps, not wanting to be touched, generally being pissed-off), but marked by a certain twee playfulness thanks to the sugar-sweet delivery—the lighter side of the modern boy-girl revolution.

Tappo Tappo = Kill! cassette

The members of TAPPO and I appreciate the same type of hardcore—fast, chaotic and wild. The reason why I love early age primitive hardcore is it reeks from the confused yet enthusiastic frustration of its creators. You cannot stamp an expiry date on rage although you could compare and lack any kind of evolution of a certain sound. The difference between TAPPO’s and, e.g., KAAOS’s fundamental sound is basically the development of recording technology. Therefore I cannot do otherwise but enjoy the raging hardcore of TAPPO that includes a singer with a mutating, screaming voice, straight ahead simple but aggressive riffs with screaming that comes across the sky solos. Cymbal clicks are building a wall of distortion, the pace is racing with anger, still there is enough space for radikal rock and roll. Only the release date of this demo remains foreign. TAPPO gives a master class of Fininsh hardcore replication, which sounds dumb because they are a hardcore band from Finland. What I am ventilating over here is the fine line between coping the same way with different frustration and breaking free from tradition. I too believe TAPPO’s influence is one of the best era of hardcore, therefore I cannot resist enjoying their demo, only when I lean on ration do I miss something. Overall this is a great demo.

Violent Change Squandered EP

With a name like VIOLENT CHANGE I had the words “no frills” preemptively written out, expecting a simple ’80s hardcore thrash attack. I was awestruck to hear “Squandered” with a drum track backing some poorly recorded, low-fi, psychedelic simple strumming. It made me imagine if contemporaries CHRONOPHAGE were more of a jam band. Subsequent tracks carried that strung out VELVET UNDERGROUND feel with harmonic vocals and Moe Tucker-like pounding. None of these laid back tunes exceed two-and-a-half minutes, which makes you want just a bit more.

V/A Cleveland Confidential LP reissue

The rest of the world has never fully reckoned with the sheer genius per square capita from Northeast Ohio, which not coincidentally produced one of the greatest punk/weirdo DIY comps of the ’80s in the form of Cleveland Confidential—the original 1982 pressing of the LP has been going for close to triple digits lately, so this new wallet-friendly reissue is a little more in line with the true Rust Belt spirit. For me, the definitive track here has always been MENTHOL WARS’ contribution, a totally sublime organ-drenched take on garage-pop by way of arty post-punk called “Even Lower Manhattan,” even though they were actually based in New York (with No Wave scenester and noted artist/video director Robert Longo on vocals and guitar!) and their primary Cleveland connection was their drummer being ex-PAGAN Brian Hudson. Other highlights, among many: the warped minute-and-a-half pop rant “Love Meant to Die” by JAZZ DESTROYERS (featuring one-time ELECTRIC EEL Dave E.), some droning and VU-damaged Clevo-sleaze from EASTER MONKEYS via “Cheap Heroin,” and the STYRENES’ appropriately collapsing rendition of the ELECTRIC EELS’ “Jaguar Ride.” I heard that the Cuyahoga River caught on fire again this summer; it’s good to know that some things never change.

100 Flowers Drawing Fire LP

When the URINALS wanted to expand their horizons beyond ramshackle, one-chord punk and simultaneously got fed up with hardcore’s increasing dominance in the LA scene, they changed their name to 100 FLOWERS and put out a handful of angular, art-minded post-punk records in the early 80s. This new reissue combines the five tracks from the band’s Drawing Fire 12″ from 1984 with 1982’s Presence of Mind EP and a couple of compilation contributions, all packaged in a beautiful Independent Project Press letterpress sleeve just as the original 12″ had been. There was definitely a certain econo approach in common with what they had done as the URINALS, but as 100 FLOWERS, the band’s songs took on a tightly-wound tension and structural complexity that was worlds away from the chaotic bash of “Ack Ack Ack Ack” and much more in step with what MISSION OF BURMA were doing around the same time (the combination of sharp, stabbing guitar and desperate vocals in “Bunkers” has Vs. written all over it), or how WIRE had similarly evolved by their second and third LPs. The thinking person’s punk music! A must-buy if the works of Happy Squid Records aren’t already fully represented in your collection.

Cool Jerks England LP

After a couple of (excellent) cassette releases, the first full-length from COOL JERKS does not disappoint. The record is rigid, and as if someone went through and starched up some wild retro dark punk revivalists and made them feel like Warsaw in 1982. Lots of clean monotonous single-note guitars, Peter Hook (pre-1981) bass lines and wet, barked vocals ripped from the throats of your favorite sharply dressed anarcho punks. The hooks are here, and in great supply—the closer “Tigers and Birds” is a would-be (will-be?) hit worthy of TOTAL CONTROL comparisons, but the band’s vibe overall is decidedly darker and it suits them brilliantly. Stellar release, and I can’t imagine that this Leeds, England outfit doesn’t have even more up their collective sleeve.

Eight Rounds Rapid Love Your Work LP

EIGHT ROUNDS RAPID is a four-piece from Essex whose guitarist Simon Johnson is the son of the great Wilko Johnson, who held the equivalent position in DR. FEELGOOD’s original/classic lineup. I would usually feel a bit bad about going straight for this sort of trivia at the beginning of a review, but Wilko had Simon and his pals support him on tour twice, so they can’t really object to anyone else leaning on the family connections. As it goes, Love Your Work—the third 8RR album—is a pub-belligerent punk blues affair whose DNA has a fair bit of FEELGOODs in more than a literal sense, and the guitar sound is possibly the best thing about it. That reads like faint praise, I know, but it’s a dead nice tone. David Alexander’s sarky-talky vocals, a heads-down approach to rhythms and occasional breaks from the norm (“Retro Band” eschews the rock for a wobbly and vaguely experimental gripe at, possibly, hipsters which seems to be going for a SLEAFORD MODS thing and doesn’t really work) make this album feel a bit like a BBC 6 Music listeners’ version of HEAVY METAL (as in the Berlin band). That also reads like faint praise, and I suppose is in this case.

Fyrkantsandning Andas i en Påse CD EP

Taking shit-fi to astonishing new heights, Sweden’s FYRKANTSANDNING offers three utterly unlistenable adaptations of hardcore classics from RAPT, DOOM, and SHITLICKERS, and one original criticizing Salman Rushdie’s sexual behavior. I think that the Rushdie track is the only one with drums or vocals, and perhaps only the RAPT and SHITLICKERS tracks have bass, but honestly it’s pretty hard to tell and I’m sure that’s the point. You have likely never heard “Warsystem” sound as fucked up (read: indecipherable) as it does here, and that is most certainly an endorsement.

Hero Dishonest Maailma Palaa Taas LP

Well-travelled Finns drop their eighth album! Stop already! Just kidding, it’s great! Who says only the youth can still make great hardcore? I say that sometimes, but I’m full of shit just like everybody else! I don’t think I’ve ever properly listened to a HERO DISHONEST record before, but that puts me in the perfect position to say this LP stands well on its own. I saw them fifteen-ish years ago and they ripped back then, so it seems they’ve stayed in good shape! This is not that classic Propaganda Records or P. Tuotonto-type Finnish hardcore, but more akin to an early ’80s USHC style shouted in breathless Finnish. Whether a mid-tempo strut or full-tilt thrash, the whole effort is overflowing with exasperation, down to the tug-of-war sleeve art. They think it’s OK to color outside the lines a bit, and I’m inclined to agree. Keeps shit fresh.

LMI Excess Subconscious LP

LMI, or LAZY MIDDLE-CLASS INTELLECTUALS (from the BAD RELIGION lyric), play spiraling spats of obtuse post-hardcore. There is a constant discord between the three members that through repetition slowly overwhelms. I really want the bass to be brought up a few levels, like molasses coating this jagged pill. Most vocals are screamed monotone with minimal guttural death metal vocals sprinkled in. This occurs mostly on “Ghost Teeth” where the low-end growl takes the mic. The drums are along for the ride and carry this unique presentation through like a cosmic tour guide. LMI is sort of SWING KIDS, HOT SNAKES, CAVE IN. The playing style is so tense, I prefer the tracks that loosen up and groove a bit, such as on “Concrete Illusions” and “Tomorrow Midnight,” because LMI still lays it on harsh. I’m not going to soothsay land this review down on any runway, because LMI didn’t do that for me. Sort of leave it hanging and awkward, but in a bewildered and good way. These LAZY MIDDLE-CLASS INTELLECTUALS might just be way above my head.

Mir Express Pass Auf Mein Schatz / Tu Menti 7″

Instantly addictive hard-driving analog synth from Berlin. The label calls it “industrial boogie” and I’m pretty much helpless here because that nails their minimal dance aggression. The synths are dirty and dark, the clanging of early CABARET VOLTAIRE reinvented as dancefloor smashers, it’s a near perfect adaption of the sound—clearly drawing from (and emulating) the past but still sounding urgent and…present. Can’t gush enough about this one, except to say that two songs is not enough, and that the ridiculously limited “4 Track Mind” singles series from Tomatenplatten (this is Vol.02) are going to be the death of me. Superb.

Offside Reidars Offside Reidars LP

Back-to-basics, hard-hitting punk rock’n’roll. Even though the music is totally different, the vocals are the clear focal point in the same way that the first SENSUURI (or BAD RELIGION?) records are vocals/melody first, and riffs second. Then the riffs sink in and these Laplanders (that’s way up north-north) take a step forward… also, all of the songs are about hockey.

Quaker Wedding In Transit LP

The Jilted Lover 7″ was the perfect teaser to this full-length presentation of mature angst. The assumption of JAWBREAKER love and comparison to the GASLIGHT ANTHEM are still deserved throughout this expansion to ten songs. The working class, music veteran vibe with members from all over who have lived all over is on full display here. The intro to the album on “Sinking Ship” is strong, loud, and desperate. It’s the aura of cheap beer soaked into rotting floorboards at the local dive that then continues throughout the whole album. The line, “I’ve become a Midwest lyric / Even though six months I moved away,” from “Aching” is a particularly throat straining and somber scream. While the vocalist has guts that he is ready to show you by throwing them up right onto the floor, the drums and guitars are very proud to stand right beside him, soaked in Scotch and equally in need of a good time after considering the weight of the world outside of the venue. This trio is a force to be reckoned with and is sure to someday make its way across the country and rattle the foundations of every saloon, local, and pub they come across.

Sweeping Promises Hunger for a Way Out LP

SWEEPING PROMISES is the latest project from Lira Mondal and Caufield Schnug, who have been behind an ever-growing list of groups responsible for some of the best music to come out of Boston over the past few years (in particular, last year’s cassette collection from their coldwave outfit DEE-PARTS demands your attention). Hunger for a Way Out was recorded using a single microphone in a vacant concrete lab just before mass isolation became our collective reality, and the band’s stark, direct approach perfectly reflects both of the physical setting in which their debut LP took shape, as well as the greater social context in which it would be later received. One of my favorite PYLON songs is an ultra-lo-fi, pre-Gyrate practice space demo called “Functionality,” and SWEEPING PROMISES have extended the raw material of that one track into an entire full-length record: shocks of bare-wire guitar, rhythms guided by infinite-loop bass lines, and the deadly-serious repetition of lyrical demands (check that “Pick your jaw up off the ground / Take your seat” line in “Out Again”). Part of what made the school of ’78-’82 so inspiring was the idea of working within and embracing limitations (whether inherent or self-imposed) to create something interesting, and those lessons have definitely been applied in the overall minimalism-in-mono aesthetic of Hunger for a Way Out, but Lira’s powerful, expressive vocals ultimately push things to a place that transcends any typical off-kilter and untrained DIY art-punk reference points—her voice is so effortlessly perfect that any of these songs could have been massive pop hits if they’d been presented in a slightly different form. Album of the fucking year, y’all.

Sweet Reaper Closer Still LP

OK, this band got me trying to remember a Swedish pop band I used to listen to, it took me like a damn hour to think of… CAESAR’S PALACE, specifically the album Cherry Kicks. Ventura, CA’s SWEET REAPER presents way more punk in both production and songwriting, but it’s got a similar vocal delivery. A more relatable touchstone could be MARKED MEN, or I even dare to stretch it to HEX DISPENSERS. Don’t get too settled with my predictable Tex-ass comparisons though, because there’s a heap of California beach punk here, as per their proximity to the Pacific Ocean. Each pop vocal hook is sharpened deadly and cast through the cheek of any dumb punk willing to nibble. The drummer does that kick-drum-on-all-four-beats thing, topped with sixteenth-note hi-hats, it’s the ultimate thing to tip a band into danceable territory. A nice surprise! Who else hates the label name “Alien Snatch”?

Utopian Demo cassette

You might find it hard to get a handle on UTOPIAN, even while their debut demo is getting its hooks into you. That’s partly because they remain mysterious, to anyone cursed with distance at least: they have a location (LA) and first names, but no clear web presence and a moniker that thumbs its nose at yer search engine’s surveillance. Moreover, these six songs pinball between goth, post-punk, hardcore, and noise rock without the result making you feel like the band ought to pick a damn side. Vocalist Sesamie introduces “Circle A” with some portentous spoken word but is swiftly revealed as a fiery yowling force, one which places songs like “Spiritual Vision,” the Spanish-language “Tierra Ajena,” and the pogo-fabulous “U.B.P.” in the orbit of COLD MEAT. Really hope UTOPIAN is built to last.

Żona Zła Dzieła Zabrane LP

Fans of REJESTRACJA, ABADDON, TRAGEDIA and the like: here’s a modern-day answer to your Polish punk classics. Punks from Dublin collect two sessions from 2016 and 2018 on a well-balanced long-player. While the punk flattens out a cityscape with a rolling pin like fucking shortbread on the sleeve art, the band pounds out basic but massive hardcore-tinged punk songs with instantly memorizable choruses. Great cyclical riffs and a distorted vocal style better recall all of our favorite vintage Polish punk better than anything I’ve heard…probably since the ’90s? But don’t worry, it’s not purely throwback, you don’t need any prior record nerdiness to enjoy. You may think two-chord punk will inevitably be tedious, but the art form will often prove you wrong. I mean, on the last track on strona A, the drummer is basically blasting for a minute and a half and it’s so punk that you don’t even notice! And there’s a boobed skeleton pushing a wheelbarrow full of skulls.

Biznaga Gran Pantalla LP

This record starts off with a warm guitar hum that’s almost ethereal. Then the vocals come in softly with some reverb while the drums build quickly in the distance. It feels like I’m being transported to a far-off land of mystery and fantasy, and that’s just the song “Ventanas Emergentes” (“Pop-Up Windows”). The next track comes in hard with their singer’s gruff, powerful shouts that carry a strong melody. I can’t get over how fantastic the guitar layering is, though I think they only have one guitar player. As a whole, their songs are post-punk inspired, fuzzy, angry, and sung completely in Spanish as they are from Madrid. My Spanish isn’t strong enough to translate it all, but from the album title (Big Screen) and song titles like “2K20″ and “Error 404,” it’s not hard to sort out that this record is about technology. From the tone of the songs and what I’ve been able to find online in interviews, Gran Pantalla covers the dystopian cyber-hellscape of today with so many people transfixed by their phones/tablets/smart TVs/etc. BIZNAGA’s music is dripping with passion and drive. I love the treatment of cymbals in their recording—just these far off splashes that still pound and shimmer over the guitar and bass. Songs are fast and so fucking energetic. Bands like this reaffirm my love for reviewing records because had MRR not assigned this one to me, I might have never been introduced to their beauty and power.

Blood Bags / Brain Bagz split LP

How do you suppose two such bodypart and fluid “bag” bands from opposite sides of the world came to know each other and share a slab of vinyl? A random internet search? A blind “Hey, I think you’d dig my other bag’ friend” sorta thing? Dunno, but lucky for us, this SLC and Auckland match came to fruition and even a US tour at some point. New Zealand’s BLOOD BAGS (they use the S bags moniker?) play a much less druggy and less noisy CHROME CRANKS and SCIENTISTS meets KYUSS swagger flavored dirge. It’s damn decent and “Quivering Violence” is pretty rageworthy. That’s all fine and nice but let’s talk about SLC’s BRAIN BAGZ (thats with a Z, folks). Totally unoriginal CRAMPS and MAD DADDYS worship but they’re young, they pound, they stomp and they love love love what they do. I have zero real clue but it’s a total delinquent-like feeling and that fuzz is just lovely and the lysergic beeps and squawks are all timed just right. “Look a Bit Sick,” “Dracula Sam,” “Haunted”…so tired right? But no! This shit kills and not a limp tune in the pack. Worthy much very of your time! (Not a typo.) Primitive.

Death Gasp Stranglehold EP

From the industrial wasteland of Pittsburgh cinders forth a rusty, warped sound of bastardly punk. Vocals are delivered like early DOOM, with a bellow-filled lung of oration. The entire production is burning filth and fills my earholes with grit and noise. Drums have a hard kick and tumble over all the crunchy delights. In some parts INTEGRITY hardcore rolls through, in others, ’90s European crust. Very much digging the surprising riff changes and driving fire of rhythm inside this EP. Side A does not wait up and excites with mid-tempo churning HC punk. Side 2 opens with a classic crust eulogy called “Poisoned Well” that quickly picks up into a D-beating wallop. Lastly, the title track, again with classic squat-style crust that erupts shortly after with galloping verse and throbbing bridges. Four great tracks in total from this three-piece that each have their own merit and personality (the songs, not the members, though they are very gelled on this recording). Come to think of it, this EP fucking rules. Hard and dark as fuck. I only wish I was reading some lyrics because I get the impression they are profound. Totally recommended while you circle-pace around your home this summer wondering WTF is going on. *Sharply inhales*