Reviews - MAXIMUM ROCKNROLL

Leatherface Minx LP reissue

Someone once said that LEATHERFACE was the best British punk band from the ’90s—I think that is an understatement. There’s no other group that sounds like them. Their style is unique and unrepeatable, a race between two ambitious guitarists that wanted to find the definite riff, the weirdest, sharpest, most outstanding guitar lick. Mush is by far their best work, but Minx is probably their second-best, a perfect example of their style: that strange and warm fog of derailed guitars, complex and perfectly executed arrangements, topped with a rugged and deep voice which feels straight out of a sailor’s tavern down on the misty docks of Sunderland. The reissue by Call of the Void is a good chance for the collectors, since it’s not easy to find original LEATHERFACE albums just lying around. A trip across one of the most nostalgic, intelligent, and passionate punk bands that probably ever was.

Left On High The Red Album CD

This recording is awful. The band could potentially be alright, but this recording does them no favors. This sounds like it was recorded in a garage on a laptop with no mixing or overdubs or what have you. The only thing that sounds like it was done halfway decently are the vocals, as they sound marginally better than the rest of what’s going on here. I’m honestly in awe that they thought it was a good idea to spend money on putting this out into the world.

Merger Second to Last EP

MERGER doles out free-jazz-sounding instrumentals before some brief post-hardcore bursts. I think this is an awkward choice for HC/punk because it pushes against both the genre’s brevity and simplicity. It’s not a side show either; the band really emphasizes the noodling that builds up to the screaming and buzzing. This combo always feels like it’s using experimentation in the service of faster, angrier parts. I think that’s not a good use of either style.

Muck Demo 2023 cassette

Post-hardcore gooners salute, as Richmond’s MUCK comes to provide the rage-compressed vocals and frenzy cadences you crave. Mid-paced tempos with clockwork rhythms that go full straight-up hardcore punk with accompanying guitars that tweak and screech from time to time. Great demo, eager to hear more.

Out of Control / Prisoners of War War Control / Out of Prison split LP

I don’t like to be mean about DIY punk bands as they are the fabric of all local scenes, the lifeblood, the passion, often what unites us. They are our culture. A place without punk bands is a dead place. It does not mean, however, that one should embrace everything uncritically. In fact, you could argue that the intentional lack of a critical perspective on any given punk work is insulting. All art deserves to and should be critiqued, in context, fairly and honestly, and, in the case of punk music, with the idea to support and encourage and create bridges. Now that I’m done with all this hippie bollocks, let’s just say that I was unable to listen to the split LP between Czech bands OUT OF CONTROL (from Hradec Kralove) and PRISONERS OF WAR (from Omolouc) in its entirety. If you are into beefy, American-styled, hardcore-tinged street punk, this would probably be your thing, but it is a style I do not relate to at all. OUT OF CONTROL may be a little more on the Oi!-core side, while PRISONERS OF WAR are more aligned with the sing-along hardcore-ish street punk philosophy (if I had to pick one, it would be them). The production is very clean and I guess the two bands are dynamic enough.

Reviewer Romain Basset
Label Abandoned Boy / Emergency / Still Born / Under Attack / Véva
Issue MRR #482 • July 2023

Priors Daffodil LP

Melodic rock’n’roll straight out of Montreal. PRIORS’ newest release is their fourth LP in five years, which is impressive in its own right. Power pop akin to MARKED MEN, FIDLAR, or MIND SPIDERS, great use of synthesizers that pairs well with the catchy guitar licks that are laden throughout each track. Although the guitars are the most prominent here, I was really drawn in by the rhythm section—lots of great bass runs and the drums sound crisp and tight as all get-out. Solid album, although it’s a pretty standard garage rock piece. Definitely worth a spin if you’re a fan of the genre.

Prospexx A Quiet World 12″

There is an underground scene in Mexico City focused on ’80s dance music (HI-NRG, synth-pop, Italo disco, rare disco). These dances are attended by the working class, elaborately dressed and totally DIY. Every weekend they challenge each other to dance-offs and have an amazing time. All this music is part of the DNA of the city—some hits can be heard every day on local radio stations, and it has become a great local tradition. It’s fun, sweaty, and democratic. PROSPEXX’s music reminds me of all this, “The Devil Has Won” would be a dancefloor classic in this scene. It’s timeless, romantic, fun, and seductive music. Think SYLVESTER or TRANS X. I would like to give a tip to PROSPEXX and invite them to visit Mexico City, they would have a brutal success down here.

Richie Ramone Live to Tell LP

First they put something in his drink, and now they’ve gone and stolen his wig. I’m talking, of course, about RICHIE RAMONE! This talented drummer/songwriter/singer is still out here rocking all these years after he began his iconic tenure with the RAMONES back in 1983. Live to Tell is his latest solo LP, containing twelve jams that showcase a fresh take on his classic punky sensibilities. With songs like the smoky and haunted “I Sit Alone (Yeah, Yeah)” and the catchy riffs of the stellar “When The Night” (love those backing vocals), to speedy blasters like “Suffocate” and “Who Stole My Wig,” and even a decent cover of the Lost Boys anthem, “Cry Little Sister,” there’s plenty to chew on here. It’s a smooth listen and a nice follow-up to 2018’s also very good Cellophane LP, proving that the guy is still at the top of his game. Fans of the Animal Boy/Too Tough To Die era should especially dig it.

Repair Repair cassette

Saskatoon’s REPAIR kick out some great The Way It Is-core on this tape, with the vocals reminding me most of that era of Raybeez in particular. The songs are relatively distinguished from each other, and while the songwriting would benefit from a little more nuance, their ability to write big, circle pit-ready riffs more than makes up for it, and there’s exactly the right amount of early youth crew signifiers without devolving into template-filling bullshit. Yes, there’s a song called “Stabbed in the Fucking Back” (which is ironically the least youth crew song on the tape), but it’s good so I’ll let the title slide. There have been way too many MINOR THREAT covers in the world, but their rendition of “Betray” is decent and actually fits here.

Salvaje Punk Salvaje Punk LP

The New York scene which is largely represented by Toxic State records is still actively producing great punk music. Many of these bands sound as if hardcore nerds are digging through their well-curated record collections and forming new bands to play music that could be linked to a certain micro-scene that existed for a fraction of a second. As dorky as it sounds, I like this approach when it feels as if they genuinely love what they are referencing, instead of half-assed borrowing of established sounds. Therefore, I was super excited when I learned about this band—their name already sounds good, and stupid just like HP.HC, who had an even dumber record title (Thrash/Hardcore/Punk). SALVAJE PUNK draws major influence from the ultra-metal/hardcore scene of Medellin, Colombia from around the beginning of the ’90s. That was a savage scene in a savage town and each band played näive, chaotic music with a shit-fi distorted sound—something that is not easy to recreate if you are an established musician, and these members can definitely play. Instead of hitting their hands with a hammer to be more loose, they creatively create chaos. Drums are as dense as proto-grindcore, and the guitars drop those crazy solos I loved so much with the ultra-metal bands. The structures are interesting too, with occasional short tempo changes, and their whole sound rumbles—when other bands would stop it, SALVAJE PUNK rolls towards building the bumps into the songs, creating a great mess. It is a wild listen, grabbing and dragging me for the entire play time. Obviously the recording is sonically much more listener-friendly, which is a bit of a bummer, because daring to sound like ATAQUE DE SONIDO or HERPES in 2023 would be great. Trying to write songs that are as crazy as the sound of the previous bands is, although more difficult, finely executed here. If you took your favorite parts from raging hardcore and chaotic death metal and blast them on full volume at the same time, then you’d get close to how this record sounds. I love it. The record includes a huge poster with a demon that looks super sick. Get this!

Shop Talk The Offering cassette

NYC punk that sounds like it was transported from another dimension. Anthemic and addictive, but dark and dreary, like London and pre-hardcore L.A. mingling somewhere mysterious. The psychobilly tinges and warbly vocals really solidify SHOP TALK as a band who sound like…SHOP TALK. Which is a feat in itself, but they’re also really fukkn good at it.

Stallone N’ Roses When the Mountains Turn Blue LP

What if it was GUNS N’ ROSES but, like, also Sylvester Stallone? If you’re thinking that doesn’t really sound like a joke, I’m right there with you. But considering this Cincinnati band’s logo—the Appetite for Destruction cover art with various Sly characters irreverently photoshopped over the GUNS N’ ROSES members’ skeleton heads—that appears to be what we’re being asked to laugh along with. Lame sense of humor aside, the more interesting question this band is asking is: what if the SPITS were more power pop? And the answer ends up being: not bad! The lo-fi, dum-dum foundation that these guys lay down is more than sturdy enough to support a good melody, and more often than not, the tunes they end up crafting turn out to be listenable. In their best moments, the band comes off like a dumbed-down version of LIQUOR STORE. At their worst, they sound like a budget MEAN JEANS. The release ended up managing to exceed my expectations, but probably only by setting them so low with this band name.

The Stools R U Saved? LP

This record took a couple rounds to get my footing, but I’m connecting the dots. The STOOLS have put out a pretty substantial amount of material since 2017—I slightly remember the split they did with TOEHEADS and really digging it. This is a great record straight through, with a style that always does it for me. R U Saved? will make a fan out of anyone who loves the SCIENTISTS, ZZ TOP, or LAUGHING HYENAS. This is pugnacious, beer-stained Detroit punk. Blues à la John Brannon. Listen to “Tunnels,” and I will bet you five bucks you will agree.

Tos Máquinas EP reissue

It looks like this is a re-release of an EP that was originally released in the late ’70s. It also sounds like that. From Spain, it’s got a pleasant poppy sound, with really jangly guitar. The vocals are focused on harmonies and are well-done. It’s mid-tempo and catchy, which is always a plus for me. Labeling music is kind of a funny thing for me, but I do wonder if this would have been considered punk in late ’70s Spain, or some sort of alternative pop. It’s pretty cool, either way. I like it.

Watermelon Watermelon LP

I love rooting for an underdog. So, despite a handful of red flags—bad record cover, self-described RAMONES-core, cringe-ass song titles like “Gimme Ritalin”—I was really determined to like this record. I mean, sure, this cover kinda sucks, but, at least the color combination is nice. And RAMONES-core unfairly gets a bad rap. The RAMONES are one of the best bands ever, why not sound like them? And, yeah, the song title thing is gonna be tough to get over, but these tracks could still be good! Unfortunately, underdogs tend to have trouble winning. WATERMELON, a three-piece out of Chicago, packs plenty of amateurish charm into the twelve tracks on this LP. The problem is that you can only coast so far on charm. This particular genre requires you to write some catchy tunes, and this act can’t quite muster that. The vocals are a big part of the problem for me. Not only are they tuneless and multi-tracked with just enough dissonance to let off a really unpleasant trill at times, they’re also really buried in the mix. I know that kinda sounds like a “this food is terrible…and it comes in such small portions” type of complaint, but it just sounds bad and wrong. I wish these folks the best of luck, as I did really like the cut of their jib, but I will not be will not be going back for another slice of this one.

After the Fall Afaksaakan cassette

Oh, hello dear new/old friend. Five pieces of brutal Northern California emotive metalcore recorded in 1998, Afaksaakan is what this subgenera should be (or should have been). The songs are pure power, from the soft and quiet to the desperate devastation (typically in the same song, like “Bridge”). Redding’s AFTER THE FALL sounds like a scene and a time more than an emulation of any band or genre…and if there were ever a reissue to take you back to that scene and that time, then it’s this one.

Bart and the Brats / Mitch Kramer Spoiled Rats split EP

Meat and potatoes, right? Bit of protein, something nice and filling on the side, and no unnecessary flash that adds nothing to the plate. That’s exactly what you get with this nasty little delight of an EP. BART AND THE BRATS lay it down with thick bass and suitable-to-the-name vocals. It’s crunchy, economic garage punk just the way I like it. Then on the flip we’ve got Connecticut-based KRAMER, whose every song fittingly uses the word “drunk” or “drinking.” These tunes sound more like a mean drunk whose edges somehow get sharper with every boilermaker and who, under no circumstances, should you recommend “taking it down a notch.” Both groups bring a blissful anarchic racket to the table, and to belabor my first metaphor into the grave, I’m hungry as hell for all of it.

Brown Whörnet Not Called “Big Old Cup With Ice in It” LP

Not Called “Big Old Cup With Ice in It” has a funky, hard rock center with a lot of trimmings. Each song is crammed with instruments, sounds and changes. BROWN WHÖRNET juggles those with a middle-school sense of humor. Luckily, the bad taste arrives without edgelord-ism, but they sound like they could be FRANK ZAPPA fans, so who knows. The first track is brash and loud, while the next two settle into a meandering jam session vibe, although they’re certainly not mellow. At one point they descend into an organ-accompanied thrash metal riff. I’m not sure what to make of this, but maybe that’s the point.

Club Déjà-Vu Alles Was Es Gibt LP

Seems like there is currently a revival of late ’90s/early ’00s melodic punk, but if your band formed in 2004, is it a revival? Germany’s CLUB DÉJÀ-VU put out their fourth LP this year, with their last album, Die Farben der Saison, having come out in 2015. I listened back to a few tracks from their nearly twenty-year endeavor, and Alles Was Es Gibt delves deeper into the emotional side of their already melancholic sound. Sing-along melodies, downtrodden guitar riffs mixed with bright and quick solos, fast drums, and a high-quality production sound. This reminds me of SQUIRTGUN, or generally anything from the Mallrats soundtrack, but sung in German. If you like this type of thing, they have 60-some songs in their repertoire.

Dachau Tuomiopäivä EP

Russia Bombs Finland is an essential compilation of Finnish hardcore, and DACHAU was one of my favorite sleeper hits from it. I was bummed that there wasn’t anything else from them accessible, even in the contemporary digitally archived world—“everything” was actually two tapes. I was glad when Finnish Hardcore, the great archival reissue label, put out their Ballaadeja tape with a ton of songs, while this 7” contains the previously mentioned comp tracks along two other ragers, which is basically their demo tape from ’82. The record itself is one-sided and includes a booklet with a lot of information and brief interviews, although in Finnish. It does look cool and fun to flip through, even if you don’t speak the language. If you are not familiar with DACHAU’s music, it’s great manic Finnish hard beat with guitars as interesting as amateurish teens could get in 1982 after being possessed by hardcore. The vocals are the best, capturing a strange mix of emotions between feeling lost and yelling cynically. Sometimes it even gets idiotically playful with group chanting. There is a mid-tempo rager that could easily be a star of a killer mixtape, as well. It’s a great record, the songs are exceptional, and Finnish Hardcore is doing a solid job as always. On the other hand, creating nostalgia-based relics is a bit weird. I wonder when 3D printers will be able to shit out records that will fill our empty shelves during a long weekend? What will it do with such labels and records? Until then, buy or die!

Diall Four Song Promo cassette

More sustenance for fans of short-run, short-length tapes, fuzzily photocopied monochrome artwork, and Old English typefaces. Two songs from this so-called “promo” tape are slated to appear on DIALL’s debut 7”, one you’ll only find here as far as I can tell, and the other one is a cover of “Psycho Mafia” by the FALL. Neither this song nor DIALL in general sound much like the FALL, although this treatment of it goes some way to drawing an equivalence between the young Mark E. Smith’s world and their own lumpen hardcore oddness. Elsewhere, slow, sinister intros rise to mid-pace so the first sacrificial lamb can get moshed into a wall, a vocalist (who, pictorial evidence tells me, has been known to don a balaclava for live performance) has his demoncy blown-out and reverb-soaked, and guitars are larded with feedback.

Diffuse Life Out of Balance EP

The latest EP from Tampa’s DIFFUSE consists of eight tracks of late ’80s NYHC/youth crew-style hardcore with politically charged lyrics about modern life issues. Straight-ahead hardcore fury with brutal breakdowns, mid-tempo parts for two-stepping, and fast parts for circle-pitting. An honest, direct expression of daily life struggles.

Ensanguined Powering Death EP

Orlando, Florida’s death thrash pack featuring violent guitars and demonic, crazed, mumbled and in-trance vocals. Great sludgy parts that end on blunt palm-mutes or open strident guitars, and sweet drums that come from the sludgiest tempos into hardcore punk in a millisecond, really digging that combo. Filled with vicious anger and almost a rabid vibe, feels extracted from another era of metal punk with touches from nowadays. Suggested track: “The Night Knocks.” The chains and shackles seem to be shaking in their dungeon chambers.

Fairytale Shooting Star LP

The moment the air raid sirens on opening track “Submerged In Water” morph into feedback, you can feel the momentum of FAIRYTALE’s debut LP Shooting Star pushing you into a hurricane of raw hardcore punk that’s easily a contender for best album of the year. FAIRYTALE brings forth an album that is so cohesive and fully realized, it boggles the mind that it’s a debut LP. In the tradition of classics from the likes of MOB 47 and ANTI CIMEX, the guitar playing is heavy and dense with squealing and swirling guitar leads that balance and compliment the unrelenting rhythm section, a full-on D-beat assault that never lets up. What sets FAIRYTALE apart is vocalist Lulu’s sharp and venomous delivery, which on more than one occasion drifts into borderline spoken-word that is perfectly evil. It’s difficult to pick out a single standout track here as each one is dynamic, layered, and frankly catchy as fuck, but if one needed a recommendation, it would be “Possible to Grow,” two minutes of wretched guitars, brutal drumming, and a chorus that will be ringing in your ears for days to come. Do yourself a favor and give this thing a listen if you haven’t already. Highly recommended, it will be appearing in many top-ten lists come year-end and rightfully so; albums this raw don’t come along very often.

Fully Evacuated Forget We Said This cassette

FULLY EVACUATED is a band from Southern California that explores the sounds of garage punk with a proclivity towards psych-rock and proto-punk. There are familiar elements that harken to bands like the VELVET UNDERGROUND, the CRAMPS, and even HICKEY. Songs start and end unexpectedly, and even jangly guitar solos are cut short, which creates a final presentation that uses the sounds from the past with little respect or regard. Kinda punk rock. “Haunted Beach” is a really sick surf track.

Grand Scheme Numbers Game EP

Hook-laden hardcore, but not in an overtly poppy way; it is as pissed as it is catchy. Seven songs that all clock in under two minutes each, with two that come in under a minute. Fast, short, angry, energetic, with enough variety stylistically to keep one’s attention and leave you going back for multiple helpings all while wanting more.

Hazed Trust cassette

The hardcore scene in Indonesia has been growing and growing the last couple of years. HAZED is no exception to the rule. Already with a demo under their belts, now it’s time for a devastating EP. They take cues from modern USHC bands that worship old-school hardcore like GLUE and make it their own. Angry and uncompromising, this six-track EP is a high-energy banger.

Kirot Helppo Ja Mukava Tapa cassette

Yet another new band from Finland, from Oulu to be accurate. KIROS, meaning “curse,” is a young dynamic band having a go at tried and tested male/female vocal anarcho crusty hardcore. I had never heard of the band at all, which makes me think that there are probably dozens of promising (or unpromising, to be fair, but it does not really matter) Finnish punk bands to be discovered. This notion of an infinite supply of snotty Suomi punk is pretty romantic, but as far as I know the bands could be like Gremlins. Just get them wet (or more realistically get them vodka) and they just multiply. Helppo Ja Mukava Tapa is an entertaining listen. I don’t always understand what KIROT is trying to do in terms of songwriting as they include a lot of different influences, from metallic blastbeats, to mid-paced crust, to fast and direct anarcho-punk. It is a bit much to my ears and sometimes it sounds all over the place, not unlike that annoying guy who switches records every five minutes at parties. Less is more—a corny saying often uttered by uninspired musicians to make up for their lazy riffs, but it is relevant here. The album reminds me of a metallic take on ’00s Scandinavian anarcho bands like OPERATION or PARAGRAF 119, and more especially of early RAKKAUS. I like how the angry dual vocals work (I am a massive sucker for those anyway), and I am looking forward to hearing a more focused recording. I’ll be watching them.

Los Pepes The Happiness Program LP

With some power pop, it’s hard to dig deep and really dial in that critical ear. But dig I must, even when part of me just wants to say that like 90% of the genre this album is “fine.” These Londoners probably have the right record collections among them, with touchstones spanning from the ’50s R&B-indebted stabbing piano of the opening track to the more contemporary nod to GENTLEMAN JESSE on “Anecdotes.” Even when the band loosens the collar a bit with crashing guitars on a cut like “Keep Me Alive,” it sounds like they’re still on the leash. It just doesn’t punch through like I want in a good, modern rock’n’roll band. But that’s not to say there’s anything glaringly bad on this full-length. It’s just…fine.

Main Breaker Main Breaker cassette

Debut release from this Buffalo three-piece following a couple of short digital-only demos. Here you’re getting ten tracks of perfectly adequate, lowish-fi punk—a beige blend of early ’80s US punk, ’90s garage punk, and, like, late ’00s Fat Wreck Chords. Maybe the most memorable thing about this release is the band’s zany-face emoji sense of humor. Track titles include “You Can’t Fart On My Head & Get Away With It” and “Lemmy + Your Mom = 42.” LOL, I guess.

Ond Cirkel Bräcklig Jord cassette

Great record from Swedish post-punk shoegazers. Very drifty set of songs, led by stabbing bass lines wrapped in soft vocals. The band brings a melancholic siren-song quality to Bracklig Jord, which, after doing a bit of research, looks like the band’s first full-length. All in all, the vocals from Sanna Lodin are the most resounding throughout the record. This is straight from the mid-’80s 4AD playbook. Worthy of many more listens.

The Particles 1980s Bubblegum LP

Sydney, Australia’s the PARTICLES started in 1977, directly inspired by the punk’s year-zero explosion, but the trio of EPs that they eventually released between 1980 and 1984 responded to the “anyone can do it” call of punk with a much more playful and colorful palette: shards of spiky post-punk rhythms, smudges of proto-twee/pre-C86 jangle pop, insistently catchy melodies modeled after the ARCHIES and the MONKEES as much as the BUZZCOCKS. 1980s Bubblegum compiles all of the PARTICLES’ recorded material (everything from those three EPs, some comp and live tracks, and a few unreleased bits and bobs), and it’s an utter joy—if it wasn’t already apparent where the latest wave of OZ DIY bands like TERRY and PRIMO! sourced most of their crib notes, it should be now. 1980’s Colour In EP featured three minimalist pop songs with an understated post-punk tension, most notably on “Zig Zag,” where Astrid Spielman’s vocals shift from delicately airy to conversationally detached (think DOLLY MIXTURE/GIRLS AT OUR BEST) over a nervous and jittery beat that’s up there with anything bearing a Postcard Records logo. The PARTICLES’ drummer departed before 1981’s Advanced Coloring EP and the band opted to continue on with a drum machine, which, coupled with some dance-demanding DELTA 5/MO-DETTES-style bass lines (that groove in “(Bits of) Wood” is pretty undeniable), further aligned their sound with the UK’s concurrent femme-centered Rough Trade faction, while the group’s final 7”, 1984’s I Luv Trumpet, circled back to sparse, pastoral pop with the addition of bright, melodic horn parts (that title wasn’t an empty promise). The stark, stilted rhythmic jab of the previously unreleased “Family Life” might just be the highlight of the whole LP, and that was an outtake! The mind boggles at the depths of possibility. Such an important and worthy history documented here.

Pig Sweat Don’t Panic LP

Swiss punkers PIG SWEAT bang out a barrage of sputtering and scrapping hardcore punk like a gut punch. Tracks are fast and furious, clocking in at around one to two minutes each, yet they are chock full of attitude with blistering riffs and changes. Some moments are mid-tempo jackhammers, others are blazing hardcore. A lot comes to mind here, from contemporaries GOLPE and EXIL to NIGHTMARE (huh, that’s the title of track three) and POISON IDEA. Guitars are in the higher register like DIE KREUZEN, while the rhythm section plays with a ton of heavy umph, think SEVERED HEAD OF STATE. The balance of punk rock groove and insane hardcore meltdown, all done, again, in just a couple minutes each, is impressive and concise. The outro track “Dictators of Austerity” is a perfect melody-churning send-off and seems like their ballad track—but it’s only two minutes! And it is just as impactful as the 45-second “No Aims” into the title track.. A fuckin’ winner from PIG SWEAT.

Rank Brave New Lows 12″

Good old “rager” there, mates. Bristol UKHC that goes full-on raging hardcore punk, coming near fastcore speed as well. Anti-conservative message in a British context and anti-politics stances with solid lyrics. Suggested track: “Feels Like the End,” for a padded cell experience.

Skeezicks Discography 1985–1987 2xLP

It’s hard to deny interest in a release that offers a glimpse into the history of punk. Courtesy of Refuse Records, we get just such a peek in the form of a double LP compiling the output of one of Germany’s first hardcore bands to embrace the USHC sound. Among the 42 tracks, you’ll find covers of FAITH and NEGATIVE APPROACH, which is a good starting point for what SKEEZICKS were going for, but it also sets a high bar for comparison. More so than either of those bands, I hear nods to CAPITOL PUNISHMENT (especially in the vocal delivery), RICH KIDS ON LSD, and CIRCLE ONE. The songs are fast with a lot of gang vocals and palm-muted guitar riffing. Though not exactly youth crew, it came as no surprise to see that SKEEZICKS were straight edge. There’s a lot of material here! A few songs appear multiple times in varying versions, including some live takes. From what I can tell, SKEEZICKS had a blast during their brief existence and helped to pave the way for German hardcore bands like SPERMBIRDS and HOSTAGES OF AYATOLLAH. Fans of obscure bandana hardcore will want to give this a spin.

The Sorels Love Your Rock N’ Roll EP

I’m a sucker for female-fronted punk rock. In this case, the band is all-female. I’m a sucker for bubblegum punk. It’s almost a fault of mine. (Some would say I should remove the “almost” from the last sentence.) So, it was a given that I’d like this record. And I do like it, but I wouldn’t say that I love it. It’s got this ballad/doo wop/’50s feel that just isn’t my thing. Here’s a fun fact: they cover the band HELLO, who I’ve never heard of.

Reviewer Kenny Kaos
Label Reta
Issue MRR #482 • July 2023

Spam Caller Imposter Syndrome cassette

From Novato, California comes SPAM CALLER with their second release. A slab of aggro, pissed-off hardcore, but there isn’t too much to latch onto here, either. Not bad by any means, but not super memorable to these ears. It’s worth your time if you like your hardcore angry and aggressive, but I didn’t come out of it with much.

Stillborn Faible et Damné cassette

Mouth of Madness has re-released the sole release by these Quebec death-grinders, originally from 2000. Recorded in their jam space, the sound quality is what you’d expect from the turn-of-the-century DIY metal cassette scene. Nevertheless, the hissy tape sound works for this raw, aggressive style. The pounding, marching drums are slightly forward of the relentless, fuzzy riffage. The two vocalists swap growls of mostly French hostility. Not sticking to the conventions of the genre, they make bold choices as on the track “Torturer,” where the bass and drums take center stage and the guitar hangs back through most of the song. Never fear, the guitar comes back toward the end with a manic, noisy vengeance.

Tatxers Hiruzpalau Amets Larri EP

TATXERS sound like a melancholy, rainy afternoon drinking beer at a pub in old downtown Iruña. Hiruzpalau Amets Larri was a breath of fresh air that hit every squat party in Spain last year. They follow in the tradition of the solid Basque Country scene, but with a brand new approach. The band is more influenced by the sense of melody and arrangements of the early records of punk pioneers ZARAMA than by the cornerstone of the genre in the region, ESKORBUTO—who were coincidentally named by ZARAMA’s singer, Roberto Moso. The guitars are playful and clean, with almost no distortion, snailing through repetitive riffs. You can see the trademark of Julen Urzaiz, engineer at Sound of Sirens studios and godfather to a handful of the new Oi! and Basque punk bands: KALEKO URDANGAK, STREETWISE, AGAINST YOU, HERDOIL. The four songs on this EP have that certain feeling of nostalgia in their own subtle ways, but without turning their backs on a powerful chorus and a fair share of rage. When I listened to Hiruzpalau Amets Larri, thoughts of green and mountainous valleys, old cobbled towns, and endless drizzle, but also riots and pub shows, came to my mind. It’s one of the most outstanding punk records I’ve heard in a long time.

Tightwire Head Full of Snakes CD

There must be something in the beer out there in the Midwest, because I swear that region is consistently churning out some of the best pop punk. This has it all. Hooks, “whoa-oh”s, songs about drinking, cool guitar licks, melodies out the wazoo, a singer that has that kinda RAMONES yet kinda vaguely Dan Vapid-esque style while not being either of those things. This one is gonna be on repeat for a while. Solid album. I dig it.

Veľká Potreba Tlak CD

Oddball five-piece from Slovakia with their second LP, Tlak. The music ranges from straightforward chuggy punk to post-punk-styled guitar lines to polka-tinged ska rhythms (plus a surprise ending). The singer wields a trombone, using a plunger as a mute, they all wear matching short-sleeved white shirts and striped ties, looking like begrudged office hacks, and they’ve collectively donned “Potreba” as a last name; has a cult formed here? I couldn’t find much in English about the band, but it seems like we have a group of middle-aged punkers giving it their all and having a bunch of fun (the live videos are really great). This release is available on CD or plunger-shaped USB drive (which also gives you their first album, V Rohu). Tlak is a pretty long album, so if you want a taste, try out the penultimate “Vypeníš,” which has a breezy, nostalgic air to it. And hold the front door! What’s that last track? “TRAPenie ľudí” is yes, a trap song, with all the auto-tuned, click-beat trap-ings. That’s a first for me in an MRR review. I’m out of answers, you be the judge.

Why Bother? A City of Unsolved Miseries LP

In these post-everything times where there seems to be less and less room for truly idiosyncratic expressions, it is very pleasing to realize that there are still people playing with the space-time equation of underground music history, not to simply recreate greatness lost under the weight of memory, but to found new lineages of sound. Iowa’s WHY BOTHER? is just such a band, with a lo-fi sound that takes certain melodic ideas from late ’80s indie music (HÜSKER DÜ) and classic Midwestern punk, mixed with melancholic poppy hooks and, in this case, lyrics about unsolved murder. The result is shattering, an album full of instant left-of-the-dial anthems, with layers of synth that create eerie atmospheres for what is essentially a kind of mutant garage rock album. I read somewhere that WHY BOTHER? doesn’t play live, but I hope they keep producing music of this quality forever.

Zbombardowana Laleczka Jarocin ’85 LP

This album is a documentation of a gig played in Jarocin, Poland in 1985 by ZBOMBARDOWANA LALECZKA. Raw anarcho-punk merges into the hardcore lane without signaling, occasional psychedelic guitar fills a small gap in time, and you’ll find yourself bouncing to the primitive but tight rhythm section. The spirit of a “live” performance carries through on the recording and gives the songs a presence of a time and a place. At times it’s possible to hear the kick drum reverberate with the walls of the club as the crowd stomps and shouts along. ZBOMBARDOWANA LALECZKA created a style of punk that jams hard, unafraid to explore repetition, without getting too noodly, which makes for great background music or a full-on listening experience.

V/A Err02 EP

Four-way split between four different hardcore bands that all sound pretty similar. Typical gruff, tough-guy riffs written solely with the pit in mind. HUNDREDS OF AU stands out from the other three with more of a classic ’90s emocore sound similar to GRADE and early THURSDAY. The rest are reminiscent of the slew of Victory Records bands that were huge in the late ’00s. I’ve always loved this type of compilation 7”, but you really gotta diversify the sound if you want to make it interesting.

V/A The Fifth Punk Rock BBQ cassette

What we have here is apparently the fifth cassette in a series of annual compilation tapes released to coincide with an all-day event in Detroit, MI. Such a cool idea. Thirteen different bands, mostly all within the dingy, garage-y rock’n’roll world. I really like this concept and the event seems like it is probably a blast. Hell, some of the tracks on here are really good! My big gripe is that I can’t possibly explain which bands on the tape I like because there is no track listing to be found for this release—neither on/in the physical tape case, or anywhere online that I was able to dig up. There is a jumbled list of band names on the front cover, but no song titles and no way of knowing if I am to read the names vertically or horizontally as to which bands play in which order. I assume these tapes were made in bulk as a giveaway at the event, but I would highly recommend splurging on an insert stating the band names and song titles, or at the very least including a back flap on the cassette’s J-card cover listing all of the pertinent information. In terms of printing costs, I’m not sure how many more tape covers can fit onto a sheet of paper when you only have a front cover and spine for the cassette, but it can’t be a big enough difference to justify this level of confusion.

Anarchitex Digital Dark Age LP

’80s Houston freaks whose only real-time output was sharing the backside of the first PAIN TEENS release, and who might have slipped into total obscurity had they not reformed in the late ’00s and recorded these tracks in 2011 for a CD release. Without dissecting too much, Digital Dark Age sounds like ’80s Texas punk—DICKS directness, off-kilter swing à la REALLY RED (with whom they shared a drummer)…the kind of punk that doesn’t sound like anything else. Fans of the aforementioned bands and/or CRUCIFUCKS, BIG BOYS, WIPERS, and the like will want to dig in here—a worthy vinyl reissue.

B.O.R.N. B.O.R.N. cassette

Three-piece band from Birmingham, UK who are specialists in the creation of a tortuous and aggressive noise. The rhythmic base maintains an almost mechanical rhythm while the guitar envelops everything with guitars that paint sonic landscapes as sharp as broken glass. The vocals are like that of a person chastened in hell. I really dig it. Check them out right now.

Caged View Demo 2022 cassette

San Francisco’s CAGED VIEW has released two volumes of online demos from 2022 together here on one single tape, totaling seven songs of melodic post-hardcore. The band lists a number of heavy bands from the late ’80s and early ’90s as influences, but to my ears, it’s mostly FUGAZI-worship with a few detours here and there, which isn’t a bad thing! “Back Light Reflection” stands out in particular, featuring a feedback-laden opening complete with creeping bass line before the full crunch of guitars and nasally yelping vocals kick in, leading to a chorus that is surprisingly catchy. “Push” is cool as well, with a fairly punky direction that sounds like DAG NASTY and other Revolution Summer bands. Not my usual thing, but I dig it.

Cel Ray Cellular Raymond cassette

Six-track cassette from this lo-fi, female-fronted fast-paced post-punk/garage band from Chicago, with a touch of Aussies AMYL AND THE SNIFFERS in the intention and style of vocals. “Clock Me Out” is the choice track, creating the right amount of progression—sick bass line and tasty clocking guitars. Give ‘em a listen.

Delicious Monsters Freedom Plastic Realistic? cassette

Debut release from this Milwaukee four-piece, whose sound defies classification…according to the album copy on their Bandcamp page. But to be as fair as I’m being reductive, these folks play punky indie rock. That’s not to say that they aren’t pulling from a wide array of influences! Over the ten tracks on this cassette, I’m definitely hearing a broad mix of stuff—the stripped-down garage punk of the GORIES, surfy new wave that’s part NERVES, part B-52’S, bluesy riffing, ’90s melodic guitar rock, post-punk, etc.—all assembled in a kind of rough-and-tumble manner that feels genuine and a little goofy but also cool. But that’s pretty much the whole deal with indie rock! In any case, it sounds like the band had a good time making this release, and those vibes were infectious. I really enjoyed my time with this. The aforementioned ’90s melodic guitar parts make up a bulk of the album and provide an extremely pleasant backdrop for the singer’s upbeat, sort of tuneless but still slightly out-of-key rapping. It’s loose and jammy—I imagine a good chunk of these songs grew out of kernels planted in some improvised sessions—and there’s nice interplay between all the instruments, but it always manages to feel amateurish and fun. I imagine these folks could absolutely turn a party out! Worth a listen.