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!
Tommy and Co. let loose with yet another excellent hardcore blast. Lots of production but lots of the basics as well, adding up to an A-1 release. Got a promo EP with mine, a white vinyl job that’s fun as well. Funny-ass cover art on the LP.
This six-song 7” is the third in a series of Christmas releases from Ohio’s SS-20. The A-side features three hardcore Christmas originals by SS-20; the B-side features their “alter-egos”, THOSE JUGHEAD APACHES, playing three slow, cheesy, straightforward versions of Xmas standards. For collectors, Christmas-lovers, and fans of SS-20 only.
Side One is spastic and crazed punk and HC with an idiotic edge that takes potshots at just about everyone except themselves. Side Two is more industrial.
We will let SPOT indulge himself because he deserves it…comic rock-outs, twisted jazzy jams, guitar doodlings, country hoedowns, rock ballads, perceptive rentings, and pure electric indulgence. Those who love him, love it.
A three-song post-punk release that relies on a heavy drum beat and loud guitar. Lots of power despite the chunky rhythm; decent listening.
The former GERMS guitarist puts out an eclectic, boring, self-indulgent LP that makes early ’70s rock look good.
A limited edition 7” put out by the band and available through them directly. Side A features “She’s Not on the Menu;” the same version is on Flipside Comp #3 but titled “Heavy Menu.” This time around, the song has way better production. Side B sports the original version of “Life of a Bag Lady” with “This is the End” tagged on for good measure. Both of these songs are from an early demo. If you can get one, you most likely won’t be disappointed. Great cover art.
Countrified, psych craziness on two rousing instrumentals with the melody care of kazoo on “Gestampo” and via harmonica on “Chicken Scratch.” Sound strange? Well, it’s really rockin’. Really!
It’s from NY, it’s HC, but this isn’t the NYHC sound that has become prevalent recently. This is more garage-y (may be the production), more straightforward, with lots of different tempos.
Splatter rock, mainly aimed at cutting up women. “Hey, but it’s a joke, dude.” True enough, and everyone’s entitled to their cup o’ tea, no matter how dumb. It’s just great that all the men involved in this project are so enlightened and have such a good sense of humor that violence toward women is OK to joke about. Hey, racism is funny too, dude, for white people.
This indie contains four long-ish tunes that range more into post-punk than punk. The guitar sound is too “pretty” for me, but the vocals have an edge, as do the lyrics (very politically aware, especially in terms of Argentine politics). Most tunes here are slow-to-medium, though they do sometimes gain third gear.
Decent pop punk out of this Vermont group, though the music is pretty lightweight at points, and that, coupled with the “pretty” vocals and harmonies, makes it difficult to set teeth into. No lyric sheet, though from what I can hear there’s nothing too biting there either.
Side One is SCHIZOID’s live weirdness: wacko HC with metal influences. Side Two is POOR WHITE TRASH, who sound similar, but includes studio stuff. Neat and worth the buck.
Spontaneous jamming, two little kids telling us about peace punks, safe sex, Tim Yohannan, and more. Amusing for short periods of time.
’50s horror hostess Vampira and SATAN’S CHEERLEADERS team up for a truly bizarre single. The aging star of “Plan 9 From Outer Space” moans, groans and intones, while the band does a pretty good CRAMPS imitation. Cool and crazy.
Metally HC with a definite garagey feel to it. Lyrically they attack issues like abortion, AIDS, drug/alcohol abuse, etc. Good.
This straightedge “mystery” record comes with issue #7 of Schism zine. All the songs are negative—how’s that for positive—and insinuate violence, revenge, threat, and other forms of good living. Contains members of various NY straightedge bands.
Full-on speedmetal, but with mostly good lyrics about vivisection, war, and reality. These bozos are also fun live, but I’d only recommend this to metal fanatics.
Cool basic punk rock with words challenging the media, the military, leaders and more good garage-y fun.
Pretty tense stuff here: fierce DRI-ish thrash with herky-jerky breaks and a good amount of innovation. Lyrics cover racism, vivisection, and other evils of society. Hot stuff.
Basic punk rock and HC with a variety of lyrics, from silly to serious. Not bad, 21 tunes.
Continuing in the vein of their fine LP of last year, but these three songs are a little bit more homogenized. The sound is similar throughout, keyed by a signing, high-pitched guitar, clean production, and good tuneage.
On the B-side, MASSAPPEAL show some real talent at crazed, frenetic HC in the DISORDER vein, with the rockish edges showing. The flip is a bit repetitive, but this is by and large a solid effort.
A very good debut 7” by this AZ act, eight clean, powerful songs, mostly thrash with an accent on energy. Far from generic, they have their own sound, different from any other particular band. Lyrically, the emphasis is on caring for others and working for social change. Totally great!!
Borrowing from ealy punk influences, early ’80s UK post-punk, no wave, modern US hardcore, post-BUTTHOLES insanity and post-VICTIM’S FAMILY jazz, this combo rages. Fans of NOMEANSNO, KILLDOZER, etc, take note.
Quick, rapid-fire thrash that is powerful, though a bit noisy. The slower bits, however, reveal a bit more melody and tightness. Not bad.
Really hot raging HC on the dozen tracks here. The vocals are distorted and sound hot, but there’s no way the vocalist, “Margaret,” is a female, at least not of any species I know. Ripping!
Still demented, psychedelic, with painfully slow power rhythms and that unmistakable growling voice, this is no surprise except that they sound more like SCRATCH ACID than I remember. (Or did they just leave D. Yow off the credits for “Never Gave Me a Kiss”?) Oh well, no standouts but as good as ever and equally as irritating.
High-powered and high-production ’83-ish UK style HC. Six tunes, all with good tuneage and power galore. A bit too studied perhaps, but good listening nonetheless.
Very powerful HC with metallish influences and intelligent words covering war, capitalism, right wingers in the punk scene, and more. Also includes a booklet which explains their lyrics further. Pretty damn impressive.
Quick punk with a melodic edge. Relatively memorable stuff, but only three tunes.
A pretty peculiar band, While basing their music on ’77 punk, they employ ’70s rock guitar and eccentric arrangements that are partly amusing, partly nauseating—mostly the latter.
Early UK punk sound slightly updated with guitar overdubs. Four tunes, nothing exceptionally memorable.
Punky/country mix, with accent on the corn. Kinda dippy little stories, almost nursery-rhyme-ish, set to jaunty and sometimes driving music.
Pleasant Aussie power pop. The B-side is forgettable, but the A-side is much better than expected, owing to some rough edges left in the mix and some catchy hooks. It’s not as strong as some of their earlier stuff, but it’s a good tune anyway.
Fast and hard punk, powerful as hell. Wild, chaotic and noisy, there’s a real coherence to all six tunes, a sense of tightness in the midst of madness. Good shit.
Searing trash with tinges of that old metal stuff. Very professional (in the good sense) packaging and production, which makes for a rad tape.
A rather grungy and depressed-sounding four-songer from this committed bunch, which could be due to the gruff vocals. Musically, punk and hyperthrash are their forte, and the words seem a bit more personal this time around. Slightly different that their previous releases, but good nevertheless.
Speedmetal, slick production, female vocals, and unbearable listening. Ouch!
Some super-grunged out punk rock with a totally distorted guitar buzz and rockin’ crazy energy. Spazmo stuff.
No, they’re not hippies, they play basic garage-y punk and HC with socially-oriented lyrics. Pretty good lyric book included.
Basic thrash with mediocre production. Musically, nothing special, but the words are totally on-target, covering pacifism, peace, religion, etc. with intelligence. Great sentiment.
Fairly light pop punk, combining melodic strains of HUSKER-ish “mould” with ’79-ish punk. Should appeal to a wider audience than usual, but nothing especially gripping.
Straightforward punk and thrash with loads of energy and powerful guitarwork. Not too original, but pretty rockin’ nevertheless.
Grunge-y punk mania here, with pissed-off lyrics slagging the rest of the goony world. Great juvenile fun.
Pretty catchy melodic garage punk with a distorted guitar sound. Lyrically, I’m not sure what’s going on. OK.
Cool straightforward punk noise with lyrics about drug abuse, religion, personal issues, and more. “Family’s Only Family” stands out as a catchy tune.
Early punk sounds with fun barroom sing-along vocals. A total gas: you can almost see the beer spilling all over the place.
Two fast tunes and two slow ones, both with a lot of guitar and beat, though the latter gets old fast. The poppy pair have a R’n’B based rock structure, sorta like DR. FEELGOOD meets NOMADS on a so-so day. Plenty of potential, but lagging somewhere along the line.
You betcha! Awesomely weirdly produced noise thrash that just tears out your eardrums. Definitely insane.
