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!

Teppebombe Bare Blod EP

Self-proclaimed as “Oslo’s most rotten,” TEPPEBOMBE is one of the younger hardcore punk bands that I’ve had my eyes on ever since sharing a stage with them a while back. They tick all the boxes when it comes to playing good hardcore punk: high-energy, gritty sound, raw unapologetic style, rebellious spirit, and a distinct Scandinavian flair. Their “take no prisoners” attitude is the icing on the cake. Taking cues from more modern bands like S.H.I.T. and classics like SVART FRAMTID as well, I would compare them to a band like ASININ in the overall vibe. TEPPEBOMBE knows how to deliver a thrilling listening experience, so go see them live!

Tics Flash Language LP

This is an album brimming with post-punk, disjointed funk, and spoken word with backing harmonies, following the paths of CRISPY AMBULANCE, the FALL etc. I would not consider this LP in an adjacent standing with the majority of records typically reviewed in these parts, but provoking? Yes. Fun and oddly enticing to return to? Yes again. Kolsch bohos TICS at first came off like an aging tribute band, but at second spin, there is a lot more to unpack. Fractured songs that mix dance rhythms with shouted pleas alongside synthetic guitars and tin metronome drums tapping away. It’s all assembled in a way that gives more with each listen.

999 The Sharpest Cuts Too LP

I wasn’t sure what to expect from a compilation album of songs by 999 from the ’90s and ’00s—I stopped listening to anything new from them somewhere around their fourth album. So wow, was this a surprise. It sounds like the 999 of the first few albums. I’m going to have to go back and listen to the album that put me off from 999. While this doesn’t exactly match the quality of the first three albums, it is really good and powerful melodic punk in the style of the first wave of UK punk bands. I really robbed myself of hearing these songs the first time because I wrote them off. Sorry about that, 999. This is definitely better than I expected, and better than most classic punk bands that had output into the ’90s and ’00s.

Ashlexi For Whatever Your Heart Desires cassette

Experimental noise tape from singer/songwriter OLEXI’s ongoing project of releasing an album a month in 2024. February’s Rock N’ Roll Paint Job was a standout release of DIY garage punk, so I was expecting more of the same. Way wrong. This is a collection of blown-out bass grooves, splintered drum machine beats, blackened vocals, and documentary (mostly about weed) vocal samples. It sounds like MAYHEM meets PRURIENT’s Bermuda Drain era meets a self-destructing mainframe computer. It’s not a bad listen if you’re okay with noisy electronics puking all over each other, and there is a sonic cohesion that indicates some care was put into the arrangement and sequence of these tracks. This is enough to freak out the norms, but it could be even harsher. Turn the gain all the way to ten and daisy-chain your Death Metal distortion pedals to speaker-shredding insanity next time. Harsh heads don’t mind. Still, I appreciate the experimentation and would listen to this again over a generic pop punk release. What’s coming next month, OLEXI?

Blisterhead Bad Blood EP

Svenska street punk veterans BLISTERHEAD return with a “rawer direction,” which unfortunately does little to disguise the utter naffness of the tunes to begin with. It’s about as raw as microwaved salmon for one, sounding devastatingly like GOOD CHARLOTTE in parts, and despite the efforts to make it sound like it was recorded in a dustbin, it just ends up sounding like it needs to be chucked in one. Not for me.

Brezel und Anton Spielen Pisse 7″

Here, BREZEL UND ANTON offer two tracks and an answer to a question nobody asked: what would the music in a cheesy, ’60s Hollywood haunted house sound like if it were on an alien planet (where the aliens also speak German)? Oh, you have asked yourself that question? Well, you’re probably going to be excited about this. I, on the other hand, was asking when I would reach the exit of this martian house of wonders. Perhaps these two tracks would feel more effective if they were way shorter—get in, weird everyone out a bit with quick bursts of off-kilter spaghetti western synth, and get out—but at almost seven-and-a-half minutes, the experiment simply overstays its welcome.

Chalk Nothingness EP

Debut EP by Chicago’s CHALK consists of lo-fi, noisy hardcore that sounds like chalk—not some obscure hardcore punk band from the 1980s in rural Japan, but the physical writing material chalk. Mark McCoy artwork, with mastering by Will Killingsworth.

The Covids / Nestter Donuts Banned From the USA 7″

The story behind this 7” is that the Amsterdam-based band got, well, banned from the USA at the border due to visa issues in 2023. The two members who persisted on wrote and recorded a demo in Savannah Studios which was later re-recorded with the whole band back home. The result is some anthemic punk that’s a mix of the swagger of NEW YORK DOLLS and the aggression of U.S. BOMBS.

Cran Rejet EP

Parisian punkers CRAN return with a three-song EP that straddles surf, Oi!, and post-punk.  The band doubles down on the chant/shout/group vocal delivery on each song with a unique blended reverb guitar splashing away behind it.  “Rejet” in particular delivers this mechanical repetitiveness that has the obvious METAL URBAIN connotation fused with early KILLING JOKE, a combination mostly pushed out of context with what sounds like Carl FIsher screaming harmonies beneath it all. Hard not to listen to this over a few times, it grows on you, the esprit rings out.

The Dark Sinking Into Madness LP

This L.A. four-piece, featuring members of bands like TOZCOS, STRANGERS, SADICOS, and PERSONAL DAMAGE, excels when they’re playing at full throttle. Their sound is like a collision of deathrock and thrashy ’80s metal, with the chugga-chugga guitar and even a handful of solos. Comparisons abound to bands like G.B.H. and Japanese punk/metal acts like G-ZET. The production quality is good, and a delay effect on the vocals adds an extra layer of menace to singer Irvin Kim’s wails and snarls. Everything on this album seems deliberate. It’s effective, but for me it gets a little monotonous after a few songs. For a taste of what they do best, check out the track “Nightmare.”

Dirt Sucker At the Landfill cassette

Following up their 2022 debut 7” release on Convulse Records, DIRT SUCKER from Laramie, Wyoming returns with an eleven-song cassette. Hardcore punk on the cusp of leaning into screamo/powerviolence territory, but also managing to navigate catchy surf guitar parts. DIRT SUCKER is a three-piece with all members sharing vocal duties, each of whom slightly sounds like a different cartoon character. While a lot of the parts kind of blend together, there are certainly some cool aspects within the first nine songs. The tape really ramps up once the instrumental surf track kicks in, drastically changing the vibes for the final two songs. The surf song “Quicksand” and post-punk intro to “Till Death” are the most memorable part of this cassette and are pretty killer.

Dogs The Legendary Lovers Demos LP

Presenting the uncut splendor of the demo sessions from their 1983 Legendary Lovers LP, this revelatory release strips the polish of the Rouen-based band’s fourth full-length album to put the DOGS raw and groovy aura on display in all its natural glory. The band was a class act with a clean and powerful sound firmly rooted in ’50s and ’60s rock’n’roll cool, but played in a way that never allowed it to come across as a hokey homage. This isn’t just a demo version of the album as it was released; instead, it achieves its own identity with a slightly different track listing presented in an entirely different order. Gone is the cover of Gene Vincent’s “Bird Doggin’” that originally made the final cut, and instead we get a previously unreleased title track for the album; a haunting ballad that effectively changes the mood of the record. Standout smoky jumper “Never Come Back” is also omitted, and instead we get the lovesick “I Just Can’t Get You Off My Mind.” Whereas the official release shines with power pop pizzazz, this version offers a sweeter, more intimate feel that stays squarely within the garage, and fans of these French legends will enjoy the contrast.

Fazed Humanization Now cassette

Collecting four previously released songs from these Belgian punks, the music on this cassette reminded me of metal-inflected hardcore from the ’80s with its crunchy guitar sound. The songs are fast-paced and engaging, with dynamic intros and tempo shifts that keep things interesting—none of the tracks exceed two minutes. Vocalist Kevin Hellbuyck alternates between singing and sing-talking, reminding me a bit of Shawn Knight from CHILD BITE. The band says, “FAZED as a band favors kindness over cruelty, tolerance over intolerance, altruism over egotism, cooperation over authority, communication over frustration,” and those all seem like worthwhile causes to champion. This is good shit. Check out “Go for Broke.”

Horsemen Demo 2023 cassette

A very cool demo from Blitar’s HORSEMEN put out on Indonesian-based Darkroom Records. Four tracks of youth crew-style hardcore that at times remind me of INSTED and CHAIN OF STRENGTH. Check out “Reality;” great riffs, great breakdowns, great vocals. Apparently the hardcore scene in Blitar is thriving right now, and a cursory glance shows there’s no shortage of young and angry bands coming together to put on shows and fests—Blitar Hardfest 2024’s lineup is a great list of new bands to check out. It’s always a pleasure to discover these scenes that I would’ve missed out on otherwise (thanks, MRR).

Jalang / Unsanitary Napkin split LP

Now, this is what I call a judicious split LP, as both bands toured together in Europe during the summer. Sometimes bands sharing records seem to have nothing in common and just look like a mismatched couple sharing the same bed, but there is none of that here: JALANG and UNSANITARY NAPKIN are the perfect couple. Since I very much enjoyed JALANG’s absolutely furious LP released a few years ago, I was eager to see what they had been up to, and, well, they haven’t gone softer, musically or politically. This Melbourne (or Naarm, as the island’s Indigenous people call it) band delivers abrasive käng hardcore with a crust punk edge at times. The band clearly lies on the TOTALITÄR-inspired side of the Scandicore spectrum like INFERNÖH or RAT CAGE (the riffs rock in a catchy way), but the music also displays a sense of anger that I would compare to STATE OF FEAR, and I am also reminded of some of the crusty anarcho-punk bands from the ’90s and ’00s (I love how raspy and pissed the vocals sound). The lyrics are in English and Indonesian and deal with colonialism and feminism, among other topics. On the other side, UNSANITARY NAPKIN from Wellington (or Te Whanganui-a-Tara) await. Lesser-known than their tag-team partner, their All Billionaires Are Bastards album was incredible and an unexpected highlight of 2022 for me, seemingly out of nowhere (well, New Zealand). The band can be said to have a unique take on the otherwise tried and tested fast and angry anarcho-punk recipe. What I particularly enjoy in their music is the atmosphere of uncontrolled, anger-driven dementia. I am reminded of RUDIMENTARY PENI (or indeed, of GODORRHEA) in places, especially with the anguished vocals, the sound of the guitar, and some of the snake-like bass lines. The band would appeal to the modern hardcore crowd in terms of production and songwriting (more polished than on their previous work), but I am personally reminded of raw, fast, and angry ’90s anarcho bands like JOBBYKRUST or PINK TURDS IN SPACE, because I like to pretend I’m old school. I miss the mid-paced numbers of their previous work, but it is still very convincing and enjoyable. The band tackles the same subjects as JALANG and even covers one of their songs (the Australians doing the same on their side of the fence). Bellicose, meaningful, and positive hardcore punk here.

The Klingons 1979 EP

Another day, another short-lived late ’70s UK DIY band getting pushed back into the light. This time, it’s KLINGONS (“of Hildenborough,” as they’re now differentiating themselves), who played a total of five shows, recorded four unreleased demo songs in 1979, and completely flamed out in under a year; the half-life of even the most marginal punk obscurities is unreal. The KLINGONS’ sound was predictably ramshackle and rudimentary, straddling the increasingly shaky fault line between the three-chord first wave of ’77 and the artier, more open-ended approach of turn-of-the-decade post-punk, and clearly indebted to the likes of ALTERNATIVE TV, the PREFECTS, SWELL MAPS, etc. The A-side pairing of “Terminal” and “Cold Love” takes bare-bones DIY amateurism to the extreme, as the drums skitter along in an primitive, unfluctuating thud, the guitar hacks away at halting chords, and the vocals oscillate between monotone rants and an only slightly more lively quiver—if “Action Time Vision” or “Dresden Style” are Brutalist council estate towers as punk songs, the KLINGONS would be a singular concrete slab. On the B-side, the sparse, seasick rhythm of “Influence” takes things into a DOOR AND THE WINDOW/later DESPERATE BICYCLES-ish direction, with “Manners in Trains” going a bit more trad (relatively speaking), not unlike an ultra-shambolic, way inept WARSAW. That’s a lot of names to drop, and the KLINGONS don’t even come close to leveling up to any of them, but if you’ve been thoroughly Messthetics-pilled, here’s a fresh fix.

Knives What We See in Their Eyes LP

Dual female and male vocals with a big post-punk influence. That is not all this is, though: I hear a wide range from bouncy punk to hardcore and even some metallic guitar riffs. Make no mistake though; this isn’t metal, this is closer to post-punk than anything else. Great vibe on the dual vocals with the bass and drums hammering out a punishing, bouncy punk beat, and the guitar is working with everything else despite the fact that it is in contrast to everything else most of the time. In some ways, it reminds me of the TYRADES mixed with a very popular duo from England who play a laptop and sing. This was a really good listen and very interesting—I listened to this four times and every time I heard different things, so I will be listening to this again.

L.A. Drugz Outside Place LP reissue

Guessing that since this is the tenth anniversary edition that I missed this when it came out ten years ago. Six cuts of driving, melodic punk rock meets power pop is the kind of thing I can get behind. Mid-tempo and super catchy, this is easy to like. It’s nicely produced, which results in the vocals not getting buried down below. I’m really reminded of BAD SPORTS in the end, which is not at all a bad thing. The only real negative here is that it took me ten years to find it.

Mala Vista Fun-Time LP

It’s hard to even care about this band. It’s mind-numbingly basic, and not in a good way. It uses tired punk rock clichés until it’s dried up. I’ll give it this though, “Juana La Cubana” is pretty good. It has a nice groove and chorus going for it. Aside from that, I can’t really give this LP that many props. It was so boring the first time I listened through it that I practically forgot it even existed until I had to revisit it for this review. It’s not intolerable, it’s just quite dull and boring to my ears.

No Future Mirror LP

NO FUTURE from Perth has been a band for a while now, honing their music into a raw hardcore/crasher-influenced sound that is full of bass, noise, and rage. If you’ve never heard of NO FUTURE, no worries. The Mirror full-length is a great place to get started, with twelve tracks that are mostly previously released. Between the bass-and-drums overload and the crackling guitar, I’m not really sure which aspect is my favorite, but I will say the vocals are excellent.  “Endless Torture” is a standout track for me. This is a split release between Iron Lung and Televised Suicide, so you know this is a well-produced album with all the charm and hallmarks these two labels are known for.

Planet on a Chain Culture of Death LP

Oakland acid-to-the-veins hardcore punkers deliver twelve blunt force ragers filled with an exquisite anger and precision in the execution of their ball of sound. Fast-paced, urgent, and cathartic vibes in a racket of harsh, nails-and-glass tracks that come like punch after punch. Breakdowns are good abuse, and specifically flawless in taking speedy cadences and momentum. Solid fire record, and a project that’s probably great live.

Pyrex Bozo EP

To define this EP in two words, I would say magnificent chaos. Heavy, distorted vocals/screaming overlay the tight fastcore instruments, while maintaining a bit of a spooky vibe. Specifically, the track “Viper” seems like the type of song that would be playing during a chase scene in a horror movie. I feel like this EP would be great to play if you need motivation to do something and want music to get you excited enough to do it. Overall, I would say that much like their band name, PYREX’s music is sturdy and timeless.

Rider/Horse Matted LP

Bluesy post-punk that melds gritty, locked-in rhythms with swamp water to create a grimy gem. Slide guitars feature on most songs, sometimes as a graceful chirp like on opener “Combing the Horse,” and other times as a haunted spectral warning, like on “Fouled Walls.” Churning underneath the slide is a tight bass/drums groove and a boiling no wave guitar squall that foments a distinctive unease. Corey Plump’s (of SPRAY PAINT) spoken/sung vocals deliver fractured tributes to frustration, pairing perfectly with the band’s sound. Standout track “Bored by the Infinite” features a raw, detuned three-note guitar figure that leads into a group chant vocal. It sounds like wandering into some kind of backwoods secret initiation rite, both spooky and intriguing. Check it out if you like the DRIN or live in a gloomy cabin in the woods where the owls tell you secrets.

The Sheaves A Salve for Institution LP

Parisian label SDZ teams up with the fledgling Brooklyn label Dot Dash Sounds to bring us the second full-length from this five-piece out of Phoenix that shares at least a couple of members with the prolific noise rock outfit SOFT SHOULDER. The LP is composed of eleven two-ish-minute vignettes that can roughly be categorized as DIY post-punk or jangly lo-fi indie rock. You get stuff that sounds like early FALL playing the VELVET UNDERGROUND’s “The Gift,” SWELL MAPS locking into the loosest krautrock groove, some indistinct blend of GBV/BUILT TO SPILL/SEBADOH, or—as with my favorite track on the record (and one of my favorite tracks of the year), “In Center (X-Static)”—a shit-hot mix of, like, CRIME’s “Terminal Boredom” and the extraterrestrial buzz punk of CHROME’s “TV as Eyes.” But the whole record has this sun-bleached and sandblasted quality, like it was recorded after the band was forced to wander the Sonoran Desert for a week. The vocals, which often sound like someone doing a stuffy-nosed Mark E. Smith impression, are so odd and loosely multi-tracked at times that it makes you feel a little delirious. Real strange, but also real great!

Simp Sordid Imprecations Meant for Posterity cassette

“If TED NUGENT had a child who disowned him” has got to be the best band bio I’ve seen in a while. Hailing from the urban sprawl of Washington, this duo-turned-trio of sonic provocateurs has made a name for themselves by blending the visceral energy of old school hardcore with a modern, stompy edge. Eight songs in nine minutes, so you know it is going to be a fest of fast hardcore songs that I would put in the same bag as some of the younger Youth Attack bands. SIMP confronts issues of social injustice, systemic oppression, and the struggles of marginalized communities head-on. Whether you’re a longtime devotee of bands like VOID or seeking to experience the more pit-oriented energy of modern hardcore bands, SIMP has what you need.

Sputa Consume & Be Consumed LP

I’ll be honest, folks. I initially played through the first song at the wrong speed and liked it a lot more than I did when I bumped it up to the correct 45 RPM. Still a decent outing here, though. Hardcore punk with a little hint of thrash, grind, and slam. The singer is the real standout player here—brutal screams carry each of the songs. Seriously great vocals that alone merit a spin of this slab. Also well worth checking out if you’re into this type of crossover.

Take It In Blood Roadmap of Pain 12″

Now, there is perhaps no subgenre in the entire punk lexicon that tends to prove more hit-or-miss to this particular reviewer than that of heavy hardcore—it’s either something I really dig or strongly dislike with very little in between. I am happy to report that Paris-based TAKE IT IN BLOOD falls under the former category. Take notes, tough guys, because this is how it’s done. Being from Paris, the KICKBACK comparisons are inescapable, but there’s also plenty of NEGLECT and the like. The production, the musicianship, the tunes—they’re all spot-on. Basically, I dig it a lot, which is not something I can often say about bands like this!

The Uncouth The Uncouth LP

The UNCOUTH are a melodic punk rock band from Kansas City, Missouri that incorporates elements of street punk and rock’n’roll into their songs. The eleven tracks on this album are predominantly mid-tempo, with layered vocals that feature some harmonies, and a few “whoa oh ohhh”-type flourishes. They could be described as anthemic, but that applies more to the attempt than the outcome. I get a strong sense that I’ve heard these tunes before. The progressions and scales they riff on are worn to the point of fray. That can sometimes be a great thing—like the familiarity of your favorite faded band shirt that is comfortably threadbare. This album is more like the scratchy new shirt that has been manufactured to look old. It’s familiar in the generic sense. The anthems just never quite break through for me. I think a useful reference would be ANTI-FLAG. That’s a band that left a similar impression…a late-stage iteration of something great cut with, I dunno, baking soda? Look, you can try sniffing Elmer’s glue, but what’s the point of that?

We March The Dirty Curty Selections LP

Athens, Ohio’s WE MARCH existed for most of the 2000s, and, during that time, they were one of the most ferocious and exciting bands in America. Not that anyone really gave a fuck, including the band. They knew they were great, but they also reveled in self-sabotage. Sometimes these impulses go hand in hand. But to those who saw them tear up a room, it was hard to shake the fact that you’d seen something meteoric blazing across the sky. They played their rotten little hearts out as singer Zaxon Campus hung from the rafters and bled all over the place. If you were smart, you grabbed one of their self-released CDs, three full-lengths in all. But outside of a pair of 7”s, there wasn’t much WE MARCH wax. WE MARCH didn’t have cool punk labels swooping in to bottle up their desperate punk—pitched perfectly between rural and urban mayhem—for the wider world to get a handle on. A lot of bands go to sleep at night wishing that they could sound like a cross between the STOOGES and NEGATIVE APPROACH, but WE MARCH is the only one who woke up transformed into a take-no-prisoners groove machine (barring EASY ACTION, of course). Hell, WE MARCH even turns WEIRD AL’s DEVO-inspired “Dare to Be Stupid” into a PAGANS-style romp, completing a rare Ohio triple play. By their final album, 2007’s Creator/Destroyer, WE MARCH was still pumping out POISON IDEA-style ragers, but they were also writing songs like “Ethnic Electric,” which starts out like a SUN CITY GIRLS jam before unleashing the full force of the band, and “Soul of the Desert,” an imposing, monolithic cut like the kind DESTRUCTION UNIT would start delving into a few years later. All of these tracks and more are on The Dirty Curty Selections. So who was Dirty Curty? He was band founder (along with singer Zach Fuller) and guitarist Curtis Frey, and he passed away shortly before this long-overdue, well-deserved collection came out. RIP, motherfucker.

Yellow Rain Generation Dead LP

It was just okay. The same way that eating white bread on its own is okay. It’s fine, but it’s nothing that’ll knock your socks off by just how good it is. It feels too familiar. Nothing about their sound feels original or like they’re doing anything fresh with it. At best, they sound like Keith Morris and Fat Mike drunkenly fucked to create an even more drunk hybrid of themselves so that child would go on to front a punk band. It’s not that bad. There were some lyrics I enjoyed, like on “Can’t Touch Me,” but to name the first song off your LP “Lower Than Shit”? That kind of made me side-eye the already hideous LP cover while listening to it. Not a horrible LP, just kind of bland overall.

V/A Disco Charge 2023 CD

This is a compilation of bands from Japan from 2023. The styles are varied and quite different from song to song, and all of them rock pretty hard. My favorites are ASBESTOS, CRIKEY CREW, DEMIGLACE, COALTAR OF THE DEEPERS, ZTOM MOTOYAMA (who breaks up the load and fast music with some nice pedal steel playing, unorthodox for a pedal steel player but that makes it more interesting), and my absolute favorite on this compilation is GENBAHU ONABIES playing hard-driving punk—I’d buy this for that one song, so I will be on the hunt for more records by them.

Arsenic Milkshake Programme Atomique cassette

Debut seven-track release from Lyon, France. Upbeat, driving, simplistic, RAMONES-esque rock’n’roll. Some pretty catchy songwriting here. A little digging showed that the drummer is no slouch and has one helluva RAMONES beat. Relentless! While I very much enjoy a sweeping generalization and respect the band’s somewhat shitheaded “No God, No Mastering” stance, I can’t help but think the recording would actually benefit from a final EQ-ing and some minor adjustments in the sequencing. If only there was a standard process which might take care of such issues.

The Balboas The Pandemic Singles LP

Horror-themed surf punk from Ohio that delivers dueling reverbed VENTURES-style guitars over ten songs with some notable guests like East Bay Ray, surf icon Dave Wronski, and fucking Dez Cadena (more on him in a second). The accomplished musicianship is impressive, especially on the instrumental tracks. Inventive leads intertwine through propulsive bass and drums, and although very polished, they sound gritty, inspired, and fun. The band has a very specific time-capsule niche—maybe like 1995? We have press photos of the members dressed in Tarantino-esque black suits and shades, kitschy references to Planet of the Apes, Don Ho, and Pat Boone, and that godawful cover art that recalls mid-’90s melodic hardcore. The vocal tracks adhere to this shtick and ruin the rest of the record for me. The spoken/sung lyrics come off as smarmy and goofy coffee shop poetry. Take “Karrot Water Mind Control”: “I have a scratch in my skull that never heals / I got an itch in my head I only scratch from inside / Your solution is toxic and caustic pollution,” delivered in a kind of condescending sing-song. I cringed a little hearing it. Even worse is the cover of BIG BLACK’s “Bad Penny.” Without the dripping menace of Steve Albini’s vocal approach, it comes across as a novelty cover, which is risky when you’re messing with one of punk’s sacred texts. Now back to Dez—when I saw his name, I assumed the track would highlight his broken-glass-gargling rasp, one of the most incredible voices in hardcore history, arguably the best singer of BLACK FLAG. Nope, he doesn’t sing. I guess he’s playing guitar somewhere in the background. WTF?

Böset Sista Varningen LP

Swedish mangel from the same town as legendary D-beaters SKITSYSTEM and SHITLICKERS (something must be in the water)—BÖSET carries on the tradition of fast and loud raw punk on their new LP Sista Varningen, with twelve politically-charged heaters that will leave fans of the genre with little to be desired. Opening track “Rasera Deras Borg” is a strong start, showcasing the band’s ability to touch on every hallmark of this style, including a nice shift into rock’n’roll at the one-and-a-half-minute mark, a move I’m always a sucker for. Throughout the album BÖSET does a nice job keeping things from getting stale, like on the ripped-from-’82 “Vi är Långt Förbi Sista Varningen” and the neat spoken word breakdown on “E Ni Goa i Hövvet Eller?” Lyrically, the band is pissed about shitty jobs (“Avskaffa Arbetslinjen”) and not buying into excessive consumerism (“Krossa Konsumismen”) amongst other things, and while I don’t speak or understand the language, I can pick up what they’re putting down. Overall, a solid album that keeps Gothenburg’s impressive track record intact.

Cave Sex Cave Sex 12″

CAVE SEX is from Singapore and features members of some very well-respected bands like SIAL and PROSPEXX. This time, we are treated to some outstanding post-punk. The music can be dark yet sharp and hard-hitting. They seem to play with the urgency of a straight-up fast hardcore band, while sounding more like the first couple of KILLING JOKE albums than hardcore punk. My one and only complaint about this album is that I wish it was twice as long! Wow!

Dead and Gone The Beautician LP reissue

This remastered reissue of the Bay Area quartet’s third and final album, originally released in 2002, balances mid-tempo hardcore with noise rock, covering 28 minutes across 13 tracks. The pacing shifts from quiet moments to explosive outbursts, all delivered with a quivering intensity powered by their tight rhythm section and Shane Baker’s gravelly vocals. As a precursor to contemporary bands like ILS and drawing well-earned comparisons to JESUS LIZARD and NEUROSIS, this album fucking rips. I’m bummed that I never got a chance to see them live. Highlights: “Smile” and “Rats the Size of Rats.”

Dotrash Dotrash CD

Stripped-down, raw, blisteringly fast female-fronted punk out of Japan. Sharing as much in common with X-RAY SPEX as with Seattle’s SUX, or the late CLEVELAND BOUND DEATH SENTENCE. Little glimpses of pop melody with some backing vocals and a touch of keys balance the banging guitars and thrashing drums. Lyrics are in Japanese, but it’s that kind of perfect punk production where you probably wouldn’t be able to understand the lyrics even if they were in English. Like a femme-fronted Japanese SEXY. A definite must-listen.

Drivel A Gracious Favor From Our Creator cassette

Samples! This is enough to get a powerviolence enthusiast excited! Powerviolence and samples go together like peanut butter and jelly. They are used to set an atmosphere and “say” what can’t be said in the songs. This helps to paint a visual picture, in this case, of decadence. DRIVEL is a raw powerviolence project that follows the guidebook written by NO COMMENT, adding a bit of the MAN IS THE BASTARD weirdness, with characteristic super slow and super fast dynamics. It is not overproduced, which is something that is great for old school powerviolence enjoyers, as modern bands tend to homogenize productions so it all sounds the same.

Encierro Doomsday Still Bleeds Red LP

ENCIERRO is a blackened crust band from Melbourne who recently released their first full-length, and it’s a fantastic album if you’re into things that sound like NUX VOMICA, AGE OF COLLAPSE, and perhaps especially MURDERESS. Stenchcore epicness combined with vocalist Nettlenet unleashing their ferocity really makes for a great listening experience. The over eight-minute-long song “Doomsday” might be a bit much for the pogo crowd, but is perfect for those who enjoy the riffing. Lyrically, ENCIERRO is very hardline with their stance, which I dig, and poetic in a blackened sort of way. “Alerta” is probably my favorite song off Doomsday Still Bleeds Red, with its anti-fascist lyrics and heavy tones. I’m definitely looking forward to spending some winter afternoons with this album.

Flegma Dead Angels Abyss LP

Crossover/D-beat with squeaky-clean production. This seems to be a maiden voyage for FLEGMA, who bill themselves more in a D-beat vein while covering all the metal bases you really can on this projectile. FROM ASHES RISE meets NILE? You could name the usual lineups of both genres. At times, it even comes off a bit proggy. Not sure where to start or end with this without conjuring some real bro/AMA-type shit in my head. I’m going to leave this here.

Flower Hell of the Next / Physical God 7″

FLOWER is old school. They walk the walk, and it feels good to have a band that values the proper anarcho-punk lifestyle and politics over Instagramability. Speaking of which, we should all be grateful no one has come up with a crust filter yet. That would just be the official end of punk. The first album of these New Yorkers, Hardly a Dream, took our microcosm by surprise and by storm. Was a band ever quite as bombarded with NAUSEA comparisons? Probably not, but then there are much worse bands to be compared to. Anticipation and expectations were quite high regarding the follow-up and, where most bands would have gone for a cleaner, rounder sound, which would be a logical step, a conventional progression, FLOWER decided to go crustier and rawer. That’s probably a poor career choice, but one that I salute solemnly. The basis of the music remains the same, rooted in dirty, old school metallic crust with Danny’s half-shouted, half-spoken vocals conveying a serious anarcho-punk vibe—I am reminded of NAUSEA obviously, and of ’90s crusty anarcho bands like RESIST AND EXIST or HOMOMILITIA at times, at least in terms of intent—giving FLOWER an original edge and emphasizing the political nature of their lyrics, which you can actually understand (you won’t need a Grizzli dictionary here). Musically, this is pretty much heaven for me, if angels wore crust pants. The late ANTISECT influence prevails here, and FLOWER manages to recreate that primitive, dark metal punk vibe with ease. The production is raw but still highlights the interplay of the instruments, and the music is not lacking in aggression. There is a cracking atmospheric introduction on “Physical God,” top chugging riffs, and some creepy bass lines that make me think that early EXTINCTION OF MANKIND, SKAVEN, and weed must have been involved in the creative process. The 7” has one long crust song on each side, rather traditionally, and comes in an impressive foldout cover (drawn by guitar hero Willow) displaying in great details a nightmarish and demented (post)modern war-obsessed dystopia, full of dark symbolism befitting a tortured and abused world. Both the music and the visuals complement one another, expand the meaning and contribute to telling a great punk story. A very strong and cohesive single.

Guiding Light Guiding Light cassette

First recorded outing from this new group of Austin punk provocateurs, with five tracks whipping by in a flurry of jangly hyper-strummed guitar (bordering on early WEDDING PRESENT velocity), incessantly bobbing bass, breakneck drumming, and mile-a-minute bilingual German/English femme vocals—it’s the dream world collision of BIG FLAME and HANS-A-PLAST that I never knew that I needed! I’m especially partial to ”Lost in Voices,” which careens for a minute-and-a-half like KLEENEX if they’d existed in the age of Lumpy Records, so restless and wired that it’s almost easy to overlook how intricate and complex the songwriting truly is, as well as the dusty lo-fi tumble of “Spiegelbild,” where GUIDING LIGHT ties knots in the loose threads left hanging by the two-headed dog of 2010s Lone Star art-damage excellence (VIVIENNE STYG/BLUE DOLPHIN) with the addition of some highly Neue Deutsche Welle-inspired off-kilter melodies and warbling synth. Get on it, mess(thetics) with Texas.

Hall Last Days of Youth LP

Gothic, dark garage rock by a three-piece from Berlin. Hall sounds as if BAUHAUS and the ORWELLS had a baby; they utilize a variety of tempos, mostly midrange, in combination with haunting vocals. The instrumentals didn’t “wow” me, as they mostly seemed to be in support of the vocals rather than standing on their own, and some of the songs seemed a bit repetitive in terms of melody. However, the songs overall are all very catchy and slightly off-putting, in a great way. The standout track on this album to me is “Last Days of Youth,” as it has a stronger presence than some of the other songs and delves into a slightly heavier vibe.

Illuminati Illuminati cassette

Santiago punks ILLUMINATI breathe new life into a project started back in 2001. This self-titled EP has four songs from a combination of this January’s En Vivo Sala Master EP, their 2003 demo, and one new track, “Recursos Humanos.” Inside, we find fairly aggressive hardcore with shouted/screamed vocals and riff-heavy lead guitar, with the rhythm and bass guitars chugging to keep up with drumhead-annihilating percussion. High-energy, great blistering summer music. Two EPs of new material are set to follow.

JJ and the A’s Eyeballer EP

Really blown away by this EP. High-energy garage punk that reminds me of MARKED MEN/MIND SPIDERS and all those similar Texas bands. The addition of the synth brings it to a whole other level, sounding as if DILLINGER FOUR was smashed together with QUESTION MARK AND THE MYSTERIANS. Production is super crisp and the drums sound massive but not too overpowering. Great stuff here, I’m looking forward to what they do next.

The Kulprits The Kulprits CD

Wow, on that first cut, the vocals immediately remind me of the FASTBACKS. The first track is kind of a power pop gem and just fun to listen to. It’s not crazy original, but it’s really well done and the vocals set it apart. Only four cuts, but they’re all different enough to make the record really interesting. The second cut has male vocals. Then it gets sort of country-ish. This one is really worth checking out, and I’ve got a new label if anything like this ever comes around again: power country pop punk. It’s a thing.

Møld Dajcie Mi Żyć EP

Poland’s MØLD sounds like a golem-crushing destructive machine. Most may pigeonhole them as a powerviolence or grindcore band, but there’s a unique texture in the recording, reminiscent of Peru’s DIOS HASTIO from years back. Rather clean and technical-sounding, but definitely on the hardcore punk edge of things rather than metal.

Neutrals New Town Dream LP

NEUTRALS follow up their awesome 2022 EP Bus Stop Nights with their second full-length, New Town Dream. Picking up right where that EP left off, we’re treated to thirteen tracks filled to the brim with wonderful pop tunes in the lineage of TELEVISION PERSONALITIES, classic-era Sarah Records, and early Creation Records. All that is to say, an absolute no-brainer for the mighty Slumberland Records to have put out in the US. Throughout the record, there is plenty of variety to keep your ears tuned in and the volume set high. Tracks like “Travel Agent’s Windows” and “Substitute Teacher” detail the humdrum lives of these new town inhabitants so clearly that the mundane transcends to humor—“He was a triumph in the Scottish play / He’s only here for a day.” These details throughout the album make for a truly satisfying listen that will have you returning to check in on the new town’s population again and again.

Poison Idea Feel the Darkness 2xLP reissue

POISON IDEA from Portland, Oregon are the kings of punk, and this is what many consider to be their best album. This is an all-time classic record, and when you add in that the sound on this reissue is bigger and fuller-sounding, you can’t go wrong buying this! You can hear POISON IDEA’s influence in bands like LONG KNIFE and SPAZM 151, just to name a couple that wear their POISON IDEA influence on their sleeves. The truth is that they influenced too many bands to name. POISON IDEA is equally at home playing a fast hardcore song or adding some steamroller rock to their sound. One of the best guitar sounds I have ever heard. The bonus LP includes remixes, alternate mixes, original mixes, and 7″ tracks, and it comes in a really nice gatefold jacket. This is an amazing record by an amazing band.