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!

Apocalypse Apocalypse LP

Here we have two recording sessions on one LP, one entitled The End of Crow and the other is entitled Apocalypse. Whether the band is called CROW or called APOCALYPSE, the main focus is always going to be on the vocalist who is called CROW. There are quite often, in my mind, some definite similarities to GISM. The record starts off with some psychedelic-sounding screams and continues for what seemed to me to be six or seven minutes, then they break into some fantastic hardcore. My favorite track on the first side is called “Despair and Despair.” It sounds like the CROW that I love, Japanese hardcore punk. Side B, which is a totally different band, starts off similar to Side A, with screams and psychedelic sounds on the guitar, then some music eerily similar to DISCHARGE’s Grave New World with much better vocals—the sticker on the front calls Side B “the beginning of the grave new world.” The guitar is blazing on the next track, what a great song! They switch it up on the following track, where the music is blasting away but the vocals now sound like Grave New World vocals. Lastly, we are treated(?) to what sounds like a sexual release brought about by oneself. Crow is what Crow does. There is a lot to love about this, and a little that I questioned whether it was necessary, that’s not my decision, and Crow has it covered.

Bad Fidelity We’ve Peaked CD

This debut from Asheville trash punks doesn’t do much for me. Far be it from me to tell a group not to keep doing what they’re doing, but I found this to be a low-energy affair that suffers from redundancy. Songs are mostly based on one hook, and typically not one that is strong conceptually or melodically. The repetition of a phrase like “ramen noodles,” for example, doesn’t lead me anywhere in particular. There are bands that excel at this sort of thing, namely MOMMY LONG LEGS and SURFBORT, but that’s because they sell what they’ve got with high energy and earworm melodies. Now I can get behind a band doing its own thing, and I applaud the self-recorded, self-released model. I hope they keep at it and keep tweaking the formula. To my ear, the songwriting just isn’t there yet.

Bastard Priest Doomed to Decay / Faceless Death 7″

Can you imagine if ENTOMBED hadn’t switched gears and gone into a more death’n’roll direction after Clandestine? What if they had kept playing like they did on Left Hand Path? Well, just listen to BASTARD PRIEST from Sweden, and you will get an idea of what could have been. Swedish death metal played in a very punk kind of way, like CARNAGE and AUTOPSY (who influenced a lot of the Swedish sound), with a very rock’n’ roll (not death’n’roll) feeling to it, if you know what I mean. The punk intersection doesn’t end there, as this two-track 7” was released by D-Takt & Rapunk, known to release the best in the game. And it makes all the sense to me. A band that crosses genres in an honest way and will appease death metal maniacs and crusties alike!

Chance to Steal Learning to Be Sad CD

Politically conscious and kinetically-charged Epitaph/BAD RELIGION-styled hardcore pop punk. These folks can certainly play their instruments in a way that reminds me of early PROPAGANDHI. I feel like CHANCE TO STEAL, for some, could be gateway punk to deeper scene involvement in the same way that GREEN DAY was. Their lyrics are thoughtful and it’s easy to understand where they stand on cops and other things. Each of the ten songs are three-minutes or longer, which was immediately intimidating to me. The song length had me convinced this was going to be physically draining to sit through. Let’s be honest, three minutes is a long time for a hardcore pop punk song; however, these CHANCE TO STEAL people manage to keep the listener involved sonically as well as reading along with the lyrics, which is what a record should do.

Daniel James Gang Darkness Over This Town CD

I’m waffling on this one. First of all, I have an aversion to a band named after the lead person in the band. There’s an ego thing in there that kind of annoys me. Four tracks in total, and I thought I kind of liked the first one. Then the second cut comes at me with way too much vocal inflection. It just seems like he’s trying too hard. The third track starts to get back on track, but the damage is done. They finish with a NEW MODEL ARMY cover that’s honestly pretty damn good. Self-described glam punk; this sounds a little too stadium rock for me. I’ve heard Mr. JAMES in other projects that I appreciated more.

Dark Harvest Commandos Live in Peace EP

I’m no scientist and I can barely change a light bulb, but I suspect building a time machine would cost shitloads. That’d be a bit of a waste of time and money considering most people would probably use it to see dinosaurs and end up being eaten by a giant lizard. I suppose there are worse ways to die and it’ll be viral on TikTok, but it can hardly be said to justify the whole enterprise. If you crave to travel back to the ’90s, don’t bother with silly technologies and just grab a copy of DARK HARVEST COMMANDOS’ EP. Granted, the name is a bit of a mouthful (it refers to a militant Scottish group who pressured the British state into decontaminating an island that had been used for testing anthrax weapons), and I’ll use that as an excuse for this Glasgow hardcore unit completely flying under my usually reliable punk radar until now. The band is made up of ex-members of DISAFFECT and QUARANTINE, which gives you a fair indication about their artistic ambition. Unsurprisingly, they unleash fast, old school political anarcho-thrash with shouted female vocals reminiscent of the aforementioned DISAFFECT, but also SEDITION and the mighty PINK TURDS IN SPACE. Direct and to-the-point, nothing fancy, no wheel being reinvented, just six solid political hardcore punk songs for the masses. Thanks to Sanctus Propaganda for putting this out.

Descrente O Tribunal dos Incautos cassette

This four-track cassette of songs by DESCRENTE is presented by A World Divided, and it’s everything to me right now. DESCRENTE is from Portugal and plays a breed of raw, dark hardcore punk with additions of atmospheric elements. The culmination of these sounds creates a foreboding but defiant energy, a sort of biome of depressive rage born from oppression and alienation. Overblown vocals rage over propulsive rhythms that shift and mutate rapidly. The guitars mostly grind along but occasionally take off on harmonic flights. This cassette is nearly twenty minutes in length, with the shortest song clocking in just shy of four minutes, so buckle in and get ready for a long noisy ride. If you like things like WET SPECIMENS, PART1, or AXEGRINDER, then rest assured, you’re going to love this.

The Fadeaways Pretty Wild LP

This is like the ninth or tenth full-length—one of two they put out in 2024!—from this long-running Tokyo act that at times borders on garage rock cosplay. Looks like it was assembled to support a tour of Australia, but it’s all new music: eleven tracks of straightforward garage rock, played loud as hell. They’re not tossing out any curveballs, so this is more or less interchangeable with all their other releases. But I don’t think they’d have it any other way. Regardless, it’s fun as hell. It’s also wild how good the recording sounds—it’s got that same recorded-inside-a-nuclear-reactor vibe that you get with a TEENGENERATE or GUITAR WOLF record, but also somehow comes across crystal clear. More bands need to get in touch with this sound engineer!

Gaki / Naked Charge 1995–1998 CD

Collected output from this Japanese outfit that changed their name midway through their three-year lifespan from GAKI to NAKED CHARGE. Great stuff here, with a quintessential mid-’90s Japanese hardcore sound. Three of the tracks were featured on the Tottori City Hard Core compilation released by the MCR Company label—prolific purveyors of this exact flavor of speedy, frothing-at-the-mouth punk. Thrashy and bordering on powerviolence, NAKED CHARGE blazes up nine-ish songs with the requisite tempo changes and shouted group vocals one should expect. There are two entries for personal fave “I Don’t Care A Fuck It,” but one is a brief 37-second-long return to the tune’s eponymous refrain. We likewise get two versions of “Fake,” and it shreds both times. What else can I say? They all shred!

Käräjät Pimeä Nykyaika EP

First off, ten-fukkn-song EP. Not sure what year these Finns think we’re in, but I’m so damn glad they are here with me today. Atonal, ramshackle, harsh, uncompromisingly raw hardcore punk with exactly one cut that kisses the one-minute mark, this record is the living embodiment of sonic brutality. And then “Hallitus Uudistaa” opens, and I feel like I’m listening to a STOOGES outtake before I get blasted by ten seconds of primal shit-fi grind, and I remember that I am most definitely not listing to STOOGES—more like MEDELLIN, or maybe a fidelity-free FEAR OF GOD. Pimeä Nykyaika is an extremely harsh listen…more of this, please.

Lasso Parte LP

This is another excellent slab of heart attack hardcore from this group out of Brazil. While the music is played at a blurring pace, it’s nonetheless sharp and clear as the pain from a broken rib. This is played precisely, which is all the more impressive because the sum of its performances creates a sort of maelstrom effect of mad-eyed, howling hardcore that sits handsomely alongside contemporaries like ELECTRIC CHAIR and MURO. The vocals are front and center, which I prefer in my HC, and they are some of the most spittle-dribbling, throat-shredded vocals I’ve heard in a minute. This is bolstered by a massive rhythm section and innovative guitar work, especially on tracks like “Enquanto Descansa, Carrega a Pedra” which features haunted and dissonant, effected clean(-ish) tones in the guitar on top of the otherwise crushing assault. This is some of the most melodically-minded hardcore guitar work I’ve heard in some time, and it plays perfectly with the nimble bass. Every piece is in place, resulting in maximum impact from a band that keeps to a standard of excellence with each release.

Modern Man Rodent cassette

On their sophomore release, Los Angeles, CA’s MODERN MAN has honed their sound considerably since their first cassette release in the summer of ’23. Seven songs of incredibly pissed hardcore punk. More upbeat and driving, not as slow and plodding as I remember the first tape being. The slowest this gets is a dirge that goes on a bit too long, but has some BLACK FLAG-style noodling guitar leads/solos through it, received with no complaints here. I remember reviewing the first tape and there being a SCHOLASTIC DETH-type feel to the singer’s vocal styling. That is completely gone with this second release, sounding like he’s now singing in FILTH. Here’s hoping that vocal polyps aren’t around the corner, but seeing as how the band has apparently only played a total of four shows, I’m not too worried about that being in the singer’s future. Both the label’s and the band’s Bandcamp pages make a point of explaining that “Psycho Squat” was originally performed by RUDIMENTARY PENI, and while that is undeniably a true statement, a cover of the song was nowhere to be heard on the cassette or either of their corresponding Bandcamp pages. I was already aware of that unrelated factoid, but thanks for the reminder to turn on Death Church, I guess.

Negative Rage If You’re a Punk, I Don’t Wanna Be One & Sensitive City LP

These guys are punk as hell. Insanely badass punk/HC band that doesn’t seem to take themselves too seriously, as seen on tracks like “Ack Ack Ack” (URNIALS). In classic punk fashion, they aren’t afraid to call people out in tracks like “Local Rocker” or “Social Networking.” Besides the definite aspect of punk, they’re able to bring elements of sheer noise and chaos, as well as a variety of spoken word apathy and absolute disheveled screams. Because most songs clocked in around the one-minute mark, they pack a lot of good meat into this album; I was never bored. I couldn’t decide if this album made me wanna buy a guitar so I could smash it into pieces or to pick it up and play along. Either way is great.

Post Regiment Post Regiment LP reissue

This is a reissue of their 1991 debut album. Hardcore punk from Poland that has an excellent mix of styles, and they aren’t afraid to show their influence of their native country’s music while playing some fast hardcore with very tuneful vocals. This is an incredible album of political hardcore punk that has something for everyone. I am happy to see this available again. This is amazing and a perfect document of the early ’90s scene.

Power of Dusk If You Don’t Speak cassette

Third cassette from this hardcore punk outfit from Champaign, Illinois, and it is far and away their best release to date. I reviewed their last cassette at the end of 2023, and while I liked it, these five songs put it to shame. This stomps from start to finish. POWER OF DUSK continues their output of incredibly pissed, politically-driven hardcore punk. There is undeniably a lot to be angry about in this day and age, so we can presumably expect more releases coming from Central Illinois.

Reo La Marca Maldita LP

A plodding street punk effort here from REO. It never ever really seems to get out of first gear throughout, sadly. I found myself repeatedly waiting for it to fully boot off and for me to get into it, but instead I was left wanting. For a genre that seems to pride itself on edge and realness, there’s an awful lot of it that leans too far into studio sheen that completely sands off any of the real grit and intrigue. A shame!

Running Man Running Man CD

Absolutely fantastic garage rock/power pop from my Illinois brethren in Rock Island. Featuring former WYONNA RIDERS and current DEAD KENNEDYS singer Skip Greer, this album is chock-full of rock’n’roll diversity. Spans such flavors as dancey horror punk, twangy hardcore, and flowery indie ballads. This slab was obviously carefully crafted and produced. Everything sounds crisp and clear. Greer’s vocal range is beyond impressive, hopping between moody DANZIG-esque melodies and rustic BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN howls. Really great stuff here, and well worth a spin.

Self Defense 12 Track EP

British Columbia’s SELF DEFENSE rips it up on the frantic and fuzzy 12 Track EP. This thing sounds straight from the early ’80s down to the production, with similarities drawn to URBAN WASTE and WHITE CROSS. The vocals are stellar and really unhinged, completely holding it down alongside the thrashy guitar work. If my old ass was still trying to make a part for a skate video, I’d use something from this EP as the soundtrack. Highly recommended.

Seven Foot Spleen Reptilicus CD

Primal, slow, crushing, and filthy. North Carolina’s SEVEN FOOT SPLEEN was active from ’94 to ’98, but in this short span, they cooked the filthiest sludge around. Sludge is nothing but a slower, doomier version of hardcore (started by My War, Side B), so it ticks a lot of the same boxes, but the most important one is the resignation. For some reason, they slipped through the cracks when it comes to recognition. Like EYEHATEGOD or BUZZ*OVEN, SEVEN FOOT SPLEEN excels at making you feel the weight of the world on your shoulders. It hits hard and never lets up, like a really bad nightmare. Reptilicus is a compilation of all their stuff, originally released in 2010. Standout moments come in the form of RUDIMENTARY PENI and DOOM covers.

Sikm Now I Must Comply 12″

Coming in hot! SIKM’s vinyl debut is a heavyweight slab of smoldering punk that suffuses classic UK82 with French-styled Oi! Did the bastard progeny of BLITZ and CAMERA SILENS somehow end up in Atlanta? This EP is hitting the same nerve that RIXE damaged when Coups Et Blessures dropped. Coincidentally (or perhaps not), Now I Must Comply was recorded and produced by RIXE’s Maxime Smadja. Every aspect of this record is pure gold, from the impeccable production to the killer art and design by Jeff “Fetal Brain” Poleon, packaged up and delivered by a label that never misses, Beach Impediment. But even the finest ingredients don’t guarantee delectability. Fortuitously, SIKM proves that’s all gravy for the heaping marbled chuck they’ve plated. From the punchy opener,“Warmonger,” to the earworm sing-along “Saboteur,” we’re treated to top-tier song crafting with flawless execution. With my tolerance for mediocre Oi! at an all time low, SIKM just booted the bar up a fair few notches. Devastating. 

Staring Problem Equinox LP

Hypnotic gothic post-punk band with a touch of shoegaze. I loved the blend of soft, more harmonic guitar paired with a harsher bass line and enchanting, distant vocals. “Programmed” was one of my favorite tracks, as it managed to feel somehow more dark and gothic. I loved the subtle tempo changes that really just embraced a kind of melodic and gentle gloom. Overall, very comforting gothic/shoegaze.

Sullest Sullest LP

Providence’s SULLEST, featuring members of WEAK TEETH and GOOD LORD, among others, cranks out a tight, genre-blurring ride on this LP. Released via Armageddon—the same label that brought us the brutality of DROPDEAD, SEEIN’ RED, BASTARD NOISE, and ESCUELA GRIND—this one takes a left turn into radically different territory. The band is pitched as “stoner punk,” but it feels more like punk with a balance of stoner and post-rock elements, featuring heavy riffs, aggressive rhythms, and yelled vocals that bring to mind a more chilled-out, later-era VERSE. Thankfully, with eleven songs in under thirty minutes, there isn’t much time for the aimless noodling that makes so much post-rock a slog. I liked this album, but I liked it most when they were cranking. Strong production and energetic performances make this worth a spin—especially if you don’t mind some chonky grooves and a little atmosphere. Check out: “Contact High.”

Teenage Frames Fighting Words / Factory Man 7″

There’s a lot to be said for an actual vinyl record, especially those of the 7” variety, and I like this one. I like it a lot. Catchy and straightforward, it’s just good old punk rock. I think I’ve seen the A-side available digitally for those of you who don’t own a turntable. Not sure about the B-side. Great power chords really keep this thing just chugging along. Two songs, and both keep you engaged, focused and bouncing your head. Sure, it’s poppy, but this ain’t pop punk. I want more.

Texture Freq What May Come EP

TEXTURE FREQ is a maniacal hardcore punk band from Minneapolis that reminds me a lot of 9 SHOCKS TERROR, but with a better balance through the equalizer. What May Come is a four-song EP, and the second available from TEXTURE FREQ. The opener “Golden Pavilion” is about a minute long and shifts from hardcore blast to Ginn-influenced guitar riff before you’re even comfortable, followed by the nearly epic (almost three minutes) “I Fucked the U.N. (and Lost),” which is a spastic, nearly stream-of-conciousness hardcore assault. “So What? It’s the Future” espouses a sort of positive outlook while exploring the relationship of destruction to creation. The closer “Head Machine” is hardcore at its finest, with an in-your-face attitude and a swaggering breakdown that decays and returns to aggro hardcore. If you dig raw, fast, abrasive hardcore that pulls no punches and doesn’t need any sort of posturing, then you’d better check out TEXTURE FREQ.

Unified Action This is a War EP

UK-based hardcore that leans into powerviolence blastbeats à la INFEST. Featuring former members of EXTORTION and TIED DOWN, UNIFIED ACTION’s first EP is a heavy listen that has some great moments, like the catchy riffs of “No Heroes” and the slow dirge-y ending of “Gatekeeper.” A really cool debut for fans of D.R.I. and NEGATIVE APPROACH.

Violent Coercion Still Time LP

This is a special package of what could merely be a time capsule, but instead feels like a look forward and look back—a time capsule of the East Bay punk scene in the ’80s, while also a living document of punk rock lifers still giving a shit about being loud and standing up for what’s right. VIOLENT COERCION, whose members went on to join bands like NEUROSIS and ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT among others, reformed after 35 years to properly record their old material while smartly throwing in some new ones as well. The old and new are shuffled together, and stylistically blend well as bassist and lead vocalist Dave Edwardson’s melodic arpeggio bass lines and seasoned holler lead the charge. This sounds old school, sure, and that’s a good thing. Melodic hardcore for everyone to shout along to, mixing songs about youthful alienation and contemporary political desolation to great effect. There’s the requisite anti-Trump song “Lock Him Up,” that, while musically holding its own, does lyrically feature the tired trope of Trump fellating Putin, which I personally find disappointing even though this band is clearly on the side of LGBTQ+ rights, as evidenced in other cuts. But hey, these dudes are old; they might not get everything “right,” but they can still rip. The rest of the material more than makes up for it, with the band playing like they haven’t missed a beat since 1982. What’s a wonderful surprise, although perhaps depressing given how little societal pressures have changed, is how fresh these songs sit amongst the current zeitgeist. There is no lack of energy and just downright love for punk at large here. And you have to get a physical copy, because it comes with lovely archival photographs of the band and flyers from back in the day featuring all the heavy-hitters like CHRIST ON PARADE and 7 SECONDS at legendary venues like 924 Gilman. Plus, there is a gorgeous print of the family tree of East Bay punk that shows the road map from bands like FANG all the way to SAMIAM. A great addition to a beautiful living document that should be played very loud indeed.

Wake in Fright Around Every Corner EP

I’m hearing D. Boon and Allan McNaughton in the opening guitar chords, and you better believe that I am paying full attention well before the rest of the band kicks in. And when they do kick in…WAKE IN FRIGHT hits like a shock. Super powerful protest lyrics fronting a collection of timeless working class pub-punk tracks. I gave up trying to identify the elements and the influences long before the brutally honest “Self Storage” started, and by the time that track finished, I was a fan for life. Around Every Corner is a timeless EP, filled with poignant lyrics and musicians who play off of each other with an envious comfort. I’ll spare you the time that I could spend dissecting each song and just say that the time I spent dissecting only made me like this record more. Oh, and the MINUTEMEN and NEUTRALS sounds that I heard in those opening chords are still tracking favorably, so my ears are still functioning properly.

Завірюга Complete Discography cassette

Eggy garage punk from Ukraine that’s not afraid to rock. Recommended for fans of TEE VEE REPAIRMANN and ISMATIC GURU, this tape features lo-fi shouted/sung vocals over catchy riffs and stuttering electronic beats. I wish I had some lyrics to translate, but the music transcends the language difference and will keep your toe tapping until it’s time to rewind and play again. Tracks like “це твій час” and “волчара тупо пес” have cool start/stop rhythms, and “18000” has enough stylistic diversity in its 37 seconds to reveal the level of quality songwriting and arrangement on display. Check it out for eleven solid garage bangers in a row.

Action Park Bum Ticker LP

“Pressure Cooker” blasts right in with a definite nod to Rad Girlfriend and Dirtnap Records. I would plop this right in between the RAGING NATHANS and DOPAMINES, with a sprinkle of mid-period DAG NASTY and early DOWN BY LAW. The sequencing of this LP takes you on a white-knuckled ride, and then out of nowhere comes a perfect note-for-note cover of the BIG BOYS’ unforgettable classic “Which Way to Go”. The ten original songs are well-crafted and arranged perfectly together to make this a great listen. To me, one of the more charming aspects of this record is that it isn’t overproduced and the songs take on a collaborative and holistic impression, giving way to a cohesive-sounding record. I get the feeling their practices are a hoot and they talk a lot of shit to each other. I am excited to see what is next.

Busy Weather Look Up! LP

I get that this is never going to make it to mainstream “alternative” radio like it kind of wants to. It’s fast. Then they slow it down. Then more fast. It’s poppy and it’s punk. It’s pop punk. And it’s got some gritty female vocals. This is well-played and all that, but for me, at least, something is missing. If you ever wondered about the difference between power pop and pop punk, this record could help in that regard. 100% pop punk. In the end, I just feel like they don’t do enough to separate themselves from the pack.

Ceresit 81 Werkschau 83/84 2xLP

An archival double LP shining the spotlight on some old school Euro-punk, Werkschau 83/84 features 36 tracks from Berlin’s CERESIT 81. With one record showcasing studio recordings and a live show from ’83 on the other, these tunes are mainly fast and furious hardcore with some pronounced bass lines and unusual bits of synth peeking out from time to time. It’s packaged with a color booklet of photos and liner notes, making it a thorough document for fans.

Dead Gods / Megadosage split LP

Uhhhhh, someone wanna tell us all what rock this beast crawled out from under? My jaw hit the floor about two seconds after the needle hit the groove and DEAD GODS preached “Glory Without a Fight.” Their side of this masterpiece is total VOID-level sonic obliteration, a hardcore band playing way faster, way harder, and with far more intensity than their competency can match. Completely fukkn unhinged from start to finish—a finish that includes two FLIPPER-tinged drug dirges interrupted by a seven-minute radio “interview” that features several tracks from their demo. Featuring a pre-CANDY SNATCHERS Brian Diederich, it’s hard to imagine how (or why) this has remained under wraps for so long…and now I flip the record over for MEGADOSAGE. Appears to be a brilliantly amped-up version of the 1985 Blacksburg Paradise demo that I was today years old when I became cool enough to learn about. Once again, light-speed, manic USHC that should have been distributed to the masses and shamelessly aped a thousand times over by now. You get the sense that this is a band who could have turned to the dark (metal) side had they stayed in the game, but thankfully we’re left with this bastard fusion, ADRENALIN OD/VOID hybrid that makes my hair stand on end. What’s left of it. All hail My Weed for conjuring this into existence.

Dingus The Record That Made Them Huge LP

There is something refreshing about pop punk that isn’t afraid of the first half of the genre. Writing pop hooks is no joke, and it takes a lot of knowledge and trial and error. DINGUS has put in the work, and while that may not be everybody’s cuppa, I have to admire it. On a song like “Hell for Heaven,” which echoes BEN FOLDS FIVE not just for its piano-led arrangement but in its melody and harmonies as well, the chops are on full display. Other tracks lie closer near the Fat Wreck Chords school of dual-harmony melodic punk, replete with punchy bass and everything in its place in the mix (this is a crispy-sounding record). Lyrically, I’m less invested. There’s a sense of humor here that is sort of disarming in its quaintness, but not clever or cutting enough to elicit much of an emotional response. Lyrics in “Eczema” referencing “scratching like a meth addict,” for example, just reach for the most nearby and attention-grabbing image. It doesn’t carry a lot of weight, and the lyrical approach causes tracks like “Gringo” and album closer “Bye Bye Brady” to fall on their face. Otherwise, though, this is a band that has been popping punk for over two decades and sounds it. It’s tight, confident, and has hooks for days.

Do It Your Hell Restos Del Kaos EP

The cover features a punk zombie with S.O.B., CARCASS GRINDER, P.L.F., and DENAK patches on its decaying jacket. For any grindcore aficionado, these are some essential influences for a band to have. These dudes don’t joke around! It  sounds as brutal as a freight train going through a crowded mall. Vicious crust-infused grindcore from Madrid with members of a ton of great bands, but especially DENAK, a classic grindcore outfit that started in 1994. Extreme music for extreme people.

Enough Before My Eyes LP

This is gonna be a big one for folks who love those early albums from the DESCENDENTS or Rollins-era BLACK FLAG. The vocals are absolutely drenched in reverb, and while I know I’ve already said it, this guy sounds exactly like a Milo Aukerman/Rollins amalgamation mixed with a little bit of Mike Patton. The lyrics are politically conscious but come off a little corny sometimes, especially in their track “Army of the Vain”—a song about self-centered and phony social media influencers. We’re just beating three dead horses at this point. However, on the flipside, the song “Sunday Mass Graves” is absolutely fantastic and highlights the atrocities committed by state-sanctioned boarding schools against the Indigenous people of Canada. It actually changed my mind about this whole record. From there, this slab takes off and it’s one hell of a ride all the way through. I’ll say it again: if you’re a fan of those chunky, power-chord-riffing albums from the early years of SST, then you’ll love this one.

Fun People Angustia No, No: 2 Songs Demo Outtakes flexi 7″

Easily the most niche release I’ve encountered in an extended minute, this flexi serves up an exceptionally brief yet fascinating entry point into the otherwise dense and eclectic catalog of this long-running Argentinian band. It takes less time to listen to these two songs than it does to read their Wikipedia page by a few minutes at least. Culled from what appear to be practice tapes, Angustia No, No gives a vignette impression of frantic, rudimentary hardcore that would spawn six-plus albums from a group that would dabble in genres as varied as “reggae, pop, tango, thrash metal, and others,” per said Wikipedia article. These songs are quite cool and interesting but I didn’t have to go too far down the rabbit hole to determine that FUN PEOPLE aren’t for me. For a super-fan, this piece of floppy plastic could just be a prized possession.

Grassy Knoll Hardcore ‘24 cassette

A wild collection of GERMS-worship with a sense of humor and a knack for the macabre. Songs are fast and wreckless, with topics ranging from JFK’s murder, monsters, toxic waste, Charles Manson, zombies, dangerous cities, soldiers’ faces being eaten by rats, and so much more. When I hear this, I picture the punks from Return of the Living Dead, which naturally earns a recommendation.

Gun Leash Down, Boy! cassette

GUN LEASH’s Down, Boy! is a heavy boot to the face. Packed with slow/fast/slow parts, jagged riffs, and snarling vocals, the songs clock in at just one minute each, but so much happens in that time frame. Mosh parts drive this high-intensity EP that perfectly captures the raw power of GUN LEASH. Uncompromising punk like GAG or SPY—this band fits in well with the new wave of stompy hardcore bands.

Human Needs Concrete//Generic LP

HUMAN NEEDS are from Rome and play anarcho-punk à la ZOUNDS or the MOB, but with the addition of some contemporary darkened post-punk. For me, this is one of those albums that I want to dwell with or to put on and listen to with intent, not just press play and relinquish it to the background—a lyrical depth that causes one to pause and ponder while at the same time being a direct message. Interspersed with recordings of the natural world, Concrete//Generic also carries with it layers of cheeky sarcasm. Instrumentally, HUMAN NEEDS uses pretty classic anarcho-punk-styled riffs with relatively clean tones, which keeps things in a harmonic spectrum. The rhythm section is fantastic with speedy drum fills, primal tom hits, and a bass that keeps up at warp speed. This is an absolute must for fans of things like CHAIN CULT or DIÄT, but also if you dig anthemic anarcho-punk.

Invictus Invictus cassette

INVICTUS’ self-titled cassette has two sides, one an older recording and the other newer. While I liked them both, I preferred the second, newer one. For the first side, I loved the kind of strange melodic guitar layered on the classically distorted rhythm guitar in tracks like “O Medo Me Protege,” and I liked that all the tracks were short and straight to the point. I did find myself kind of wanting something more. Maybe the drums weren’t intense enough for me to match the rest of the vibes, though it could be a stylistic thing—it didn’t feel quite finished to me. However, as soon as the first track “A Blessing in Disguise” came on for the second side, it instantly felt much more powerful and complete already. The second side was a bit more rock-y and garage punk, ending with a bang with the track “Dissimulated.”

Klonns Heaven LP

I had read some good reviews of this LP by Tokyo’s KLONNS, and since I loved their Vvlgar EP on Black Konflik (they covered ABRAHAM CROSS and I’m an easy crowd to please) and enjoyed their Paris gig last year, I was rather looking forward to enthusiastically reviewing Heaven. And it may indeed have to do with rather high personal expectations, but this LP does not do it for me, unfortunately. It is certainly not lacking in terms of intensity and determination, and they do have moments when they hit the high-energy and triumphant traditional Japanese hardcore sound right, but they mostly sound too much like a lot of current US hardcore bands to me, with too many of those modern mosh parts and serpentine riffs. Not a bad LP in itself and by no means a bad band, but not what I am looking for in hardcore punk right now.

Leave It Behind The Time Flies EP

I originally didn’t like this EP. It pairs mid-’90s pop punk with a vocalist better suited for caveman hardcore. It was jarring during my first listen through, but now that I’ve spun this dang ol’ thing a few more times, I’ve become partial to it. A modern update to what I consider the “your favorite local band” sound. Sloppy at times, but still very catchy. The guitarist feels like they’re on another level, holding each track together with a couple of blistering solos here and there. Drums are recorded in full stereo and sound great. Fun stuff for old dudes like me who still like to spin DUTCH OVEN albums from nearly 30 years ago.

Molbo Molbo LP

I read somewhere recently that egg-punk is dead. Well, look out, because whatever zombified undead poultry has risen from that wretched grave may be headed to a MOLBO gig. Electric and eclectic, to call MOLBO quirky would be the understatement of the year. This debut footlong is completely deranged! Twelve songs of over-before-you-know-it punk with guitars that sound like synths and synths that sound like they’ve been strapped to a torture rack; these freaky Norweigans have made an album that takes the listener on a trek through the bowels of madness. The tunes are oddly catchy. Some are quite fast. Every single one is off-kilter and strange, pulling your attention in multiple directions at once. Don’t be surprised to hear screams from a battlefield or the whinnying of a horse. Birthed from the basement of the famed Blitz squat in Oslo, MOLBO has injected the essence of Expressionism into their music…which may not be a total coincidence, considering that said building was apparently Edvard Munch’s childhood home. There’s a lot to digest with this release and it won’t strike a chord with everyone, but if you’ve ever felt like PRISON AFFAIR or RESEARCH REACTOR CORP. just aren’t weird enough, then you’re in the right place.

No Way Make a Difference EP

Hailing from the Netherlands, NO WAY plays straightedge youth crew-style hardcore. The band members are all fifteen or sixteen years old, and I’ve gotta say, there’s something to be said about younger people playing this music. The intensity of their playing as well as their lyrics feels authentic, a quality frequently lacking in modern bands playing this style. I’m neither a youth nor straightedge, but I can get down with this shit. Worth checking out; for fans of JUDGE, CHAIN OF STRENGTH, and YOUTH OF TODAY.

Pollute Microplastics, Massive Profits cassette

This album is absolutely crushing! D-beat hardcore punk/crust. The production is great for a record like this, it felt like I was in an earthquake. It’s not just heavy, there are massive hooks here too. This without a doubt one of my favorite releases so far this year. I would love to see this pressed on a record. I will be waiting for this band to tour.

Puddy Knife Flowers cassette

There are eight songs on this lo-fi, four-track, sweaty ’90s, “I know a basement in Kalamazoo we can play,” charming, “bring a change of clothes” cassette. I love this. The energy oozes. ASSFACTOR 4, ACTION PATROL, and UNION YOUNG AMERICA are bands that PUDDY KNIFE songs catapult me to stylistically, and not in mimicry. Like, these fuckers are invested; what I mean is, I bet they put on a killer show even if the room only has a couple teenagers making out and a hobo dancing in front of them. Imagine if DROPDEAD and BORN AGAINST did a pop punk band with ORDINATION OF AARON kinda thing. I have no idea what they are saying, but I feel like they mean it, whatever it is. I hope it’s a good pizza dough recipe or a song about a puppy on a turtle’s back. Look, whatever they are going on about is something they also feel deeply about. Maybe by song five out of eight, you want to read along so you can pump your fist and sing “Half-cup yeast / The fluffy pup licks the shell / Add the water / This island turtle delivers me to better smells” or something—again, I have no idea what they are mad at or happy about, but I really like all of these songs. I hope when PUDDY KNIFE reads this, they will send me lyrics or pizza dough recipes or pictures of their puppies riding their turtles.

Riot 111 1981! LP

RIOT 111 formed in response to witnessing police violence in Wellington, NZ in the early ’80s. After self-releasing two 45s and starting their own punk festival, this controversial group was banned from New Zealand television but gained notoriety that stretched into the US through various zines and compilation albums. Forty years later, one of the founding members pulled their master tapes out of the attic to properly document their recordings via this LP. A collection of protest songs with tribal rhythms and politically-charged spoken word lyrics, these DIY anarcho jams may appeal to fans of the Spiderleg Records catalog and other CRASS-adjacent relics. To quote the singer, “we’re not a band, we’re a terrorist organization!”

Spanish Bombs! Almost, Not Quite: The Bedroom Demos CD

Something about this reminds me of BLUR. That said, they really sound nothing like BLUR. Maybe it’s the cadence of the vocal delivery. What it does sound like is a lot of the very average pop punk that you hear on the radio. And will someone break into the band’s practice space and steal the drummer’s hi-hat? Thanks. At least the songs are short. There is a pretty decent JAWBREAKER cover.

Student Nurse Problem Attic LP

STUDENT NURSE delivers some great care with this art-rock-gone-interstellar LP. Resurrecting after a 38-year break, this Seattle-based band dropped an album most likely recorded in an alien spaceship, though they don’t steal cows, just emit strange tunes. Problem Attic is filled with sci-fi atmospheric guitar, going on long tangents alongside eccentric upbeat drums. “Cash Machine” and “Garbage” offer great bass lines and jumpy energy. It seems the band is partial to having an ’80s undertone to the album sound, “Discover Your Feet” holds the same shrill vintage sound reminiscent of BLONDIE. While I am not partial to the reverberated oddball vocal style, there is a unique harmony to the band which works well to dance between quick bursts of punk intention to laid-back songs. Working with fun synthesized effects and cute lyrics, this LP is worth its salt, yet not something I would put on repeat.

Super Apes Kill the Humans LP

This record was a blast to listen to. It bounced genres in a playful way, with some tracks having that kind of guitar-driven ’90’s swagger from bands like GAS HUFFER or SUPERSUCKERS, and then would veer into early ’00s surf punk like very early TOGETHER PANGEA before they got polished and boring. The slightly unhinged, uncouth playful delivery, along with the added sound clips, brings to mind some of HICKEY’s tunes. Then they’ll slow it down to some PAVEMENT-ish almost-ballads on the punker side of indie rock. I love music that can deliver heart-on-sleeve anthemic choruses without worrying too much about pretense. This album isn’t streaming anywhere, and from what little is on the internet about the band, seems they’re Bay Area-based is about all I can piece together. But the album is so insightfully well-executed I would assume they’ve been doing this for some time in other bands. Hopefully they’ll be more to albums and shows to follow.