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!

Slander Tongue Monochrome LP

I really liked this band’s debut self-titled full-length, and was excited to see what they’d cooked up in the past couple of years. I’m mostly happy to report that while the sound is just a touch slinkier and snakier, it maintains its core of driving rock‘n’roll that carries echoes of giants like the ROLLING STONES without merely staley worshiping at the altar. The recipe hasn’t been tweaked much, the guitar work relies heavily on that back-and-forth boogie sound lifted from classic rhythm and blues music for decades, and the drums keep your ass wiggling throughout. What I will say is that I’m missing some of the warmth and recklessness of the band’s debut. Everything’s dialed-in and tidy, but that’s not what everyone wants from rock‘n’roll, is it? With some extra polish, I feel more distanced from the material. It lacks the immediacy, the broken glass on the floor, the stains on the bathroom stall door at a really great dive. Maybe that’s all artifice in itself, but if I get to choose the dream world I live in, I prefer one with cheap drinks where I can smoke inside. This time around, it’s more of a signature cocktail lounge and I’d better take my cigs the hell outside or else.

Telegenic Pleasure Concentric Grave LP

Synth punk is a style that was born perfect. Distilled down to its most primordial elements, it can be taken and re-created over and over again, and you know what? It is made of such noble stuff, that the results are always highly enjoyable. In the case of TELEGENIC PLEASURE (a band composed of members of the GAGGERS, ISOLATION PARTY, MONONEGATIVES, and MISCALCULATIONS), in addition to the aforementioned genre potentialities, you can expect the great talent and experience of such prolific people to generate great songs. And there are plenty of them on this album. Think of the unbridled energy of LOST SOUNDS and the fun and snotty attitude of late ’70s bands from the San Francisco and Los Angeles scenes. Plus, they have an excellent cover of Canada’s the DEMICS that is sure to become a cult classic.

Trigger Cut Soot LP

German noise rockers TRIGGER CUT have really gone through it during the last few years. First, a devastating fire at their rehearsal space destroyed all their equipment and the early recordings for this album. Through determination and the aid of six (!) community-organized benefit compilations, they finished Soot, their third record. The band then hit another snag when starting their UK tour. Due to post-Brexit bureaucratic red-tape bullshit, they were turned away at the border, sparking international concern about the treatment of foreign touring bands, even appearing in mainstream publications like The Guardian. So, it has been a lot for a small touring band, but how is the album? It’s really good. “Water Fukkery” kicks it off with a mathy, DON CAB-style riff that explodes into trebly, sandpaper guitar and spoken/shrieked vocals like SHELLAC. “Soot Song” begins with fire alarm guitars that then run through several movements of hold-and-release tension that end in a quiet, chiming outro. “Slipstream” might be the perfect TRIGGER CUT song: it opens with a catchy figure and rolling drums, moves from textured guitar and hollered vocals down to near silence, and then takes off again into full-rocking mode. The songs are complex and emotional, and while not necessarily melodic, there is a compositional arrangement that is always interesting. A compelling and exciting record throughout, and a testament to tenacity. I’m glad they stuck it out.

V2 Johnny Rocco / Car Crash 7″

Re-recording of a seminal and classic V2 track alongside one new one, “Car Crash.” This appears to be a predecessor to a forthcoming full-length in the works. The band has reformed somewhat recently, with the only original member being the guitar player. Nonetheless, the tracks sound good and have ’77 Manchester written all over them.

White Collar Demo 2023 cassette

Debut release from Victoria, BC’s WHITE COLLAR. Nasty-sounding anti-capitalist tracks from the city of the newly dead. Aside from the UNITED MUTATION vibes and perhaps some influences borrowed from the Crass Records and Riot City catalogs, it’s also reminiscent of ’80s Montreal mutants CAPITALI$T ALIENATION. WHITE COLLAR not only sounds pissed-off, but reminds us of the ugly realities of our society.

Willful Disobedience Dedication cassette

The first thirty seconds of this cassette might lead you to think that you’re in store for some doomy stoner rock, which is most assuredly not the case. Instead, WILLFUL DISOBEDIENCE plays fast and aggravated punk rock with bouncing bass lines and shouted vocals. There does seem to be a subtle metal influence creeping in, but I think it’s just the way the drummer uses a china cymbal to accent certain parts. The song “Butthole to Butthole” inexplicably sounds like a DWARVES B-side and detracts from a release that otherwise seems to have fairly thoughtful lyrical content. All in all, this isn’t terrible, but it’s hard to commend something so average in a time when there are multitudinous bands pushing the boundaries of what punk can sound like.

Zxrx Community Siah Was Here EP

Four songs recorded by members of ZLODZIEJE ROWEROW, APRIL, and OREIRO as a tribute to their friend who passed away in the summer of 2020. Rather than write some songs of their own, they chose to play some VERBAL ASSAULT and SERENE songs and record their own lyrics. I can only guess that perhaps these were among some of their fallen friend’s favorite songs and the lyrics are in remembrance of them. The songs are sung in German so I’m just assuming here, but the last line of the last song is sung in English with the words being “We say goodbye,” so I’m pretty sure that it’s a safe bet that I’m right. All in all, it’s a cool way to honor a friend.

V/A The Happy Squid Sampler EP reissue

The URINALS started Happy Squid to release their debut 7” in 1978, but this 1980 label sampler effectively foreshadowed some of the scattered directions that the members of the band would follow as they drifted further away from ramshackle punk into the ’80s, from their soon-to-be reinvention as tense post-punks 100 FLOWERS to the moody college rock of DANNY AND THE DOORKNOBS and TROTSKY ICEPICK. The EP leads with three tracks directly from the URINALS family tree, starting with a perfect half-minute of the parent group’s primitive bashing (“U”), followed by DANNY AND THE DOORKNOBS’ “Melody,” a dark, lo-fi punk jangler like the URINALS gone Paisley Underground, and then an organ-buzzing improv noise instrumental called “Get Down, Part 4” by ARROW BOOK CLUB (actually the URINALS incognito). For the remaining three tracks, things are turned over to a handful of URINALS peers from the L.A. underground—VIDIOTS (featuring Rik L Rik on vocals) offered “Laurie’s Lament,” a speedy, Dangerhouse-style burner that’s weirded-up midway with a PERE UBU-ish synth break, PHIL BEDEL’s “Caterpillar Stomp” is squelching, instrumental post-DEVO synthwave, and NEEF rounds things out with a lengthy (the EP’s entire B-side) neo-musique concrète jam. Punk to waaaaaay beyond punk in just six degrees.

Ahna Crimson Dawn LP

I remember catching this band in 2016 in Croatia or, to be more accurate, I remember having a great time and being quite impressed by them, but actual details are largely lost—I think they played toward the end of the No Sanctuary fest, which was pretty much an obligatory summer migration for crusties in Europe. This album is the nastiest, meanest record I have heard this month. AHNA comes from Vancouver, has been going since 2008, and is the best example of a band successfully blending stenchcore and old-school death metal. They keep the best of both worlds in a seamless fashion. While the majority of bands conducting such a perilous experiment generally fail because they merely make either an angrier dis-oriented version of death metal or a more technical version of stenchcore music with too clean a production, AHNA’s sound is an actual brew which can appeal to both punks and metalheads. If it does sound like a herd of disgruntled, possessed hippos ravaging your hometown, the tastefulness and the mastery are obvious if you are a fan of crust. This is basically how a dark and desperate cocktail blending death metal and crust should be prepared. If BOLT THROWER, SACRILEGE, DISMEMBER, and AUTOPSY engaged in a brawl at the release party of a split between CRUZ and LIMB FROM LIMB, it would be pretty close to this. Crimson Dawn has a thick, dark, and macabre vibe, but still sounds like it could angrily bite you in half like your studded punk friend can tear through a vegan kebab at 2AM after downing eight pints of lager. I especially love the raging work of the two vocalists on this, and singer/drummer(!) Anju does a magnificent impersonation of Tam from SACRILEGE. The best I have heard, in fact. This album was originally released on CD and cassette in 2020, but the always reliable Phobia Records had the good idea to do a vinyl version.

Body Maintenance Beside You LP

It’s not often a post-punk band is able to find a groove and ride it to the precipice. BODY MAINTENANCE from the United Kingdom is able to find a groove quickly and jam their icy guitar work into the darker corners of rock with their danceable rhythm section. KILLING JOKE meets the SMITHS in a back alley rumble: cold, spacy, and full of hard-hitting twists.

Burning Kross Burning Kross LP

Six-track LP from these Belgian hardcore punks, filled with anger and versing on anti-fascist and anti-racist ideals. From Oostakker near Ghantes, BURNING KROSS delivers violent and fast-paced hardcore punk with crust and D-beat references and deep bass vocals ready to fight. Extra points for the album cover art featuring a KKK scumbag receiving a burning cross right in their torso.

Curious Things Naif LP

After countless rip-offs of either the TOMS or (god forbid) BIG STAR, power pop’s luster has really tarnished for me over the years. Then I throw on this record, and initially my scuzzy punk brain is saying “too shiny, sounds too good!,” but then I realize this is what I’ve been missing for years in power pop. It’s still referential music, to be sure, but it’s referencing heyday ’90s power pop bands like TEENAGE FANCLUB and especially BUFFALO TOM. So I’m suddenly sitting up straighter in my chair, realizing this is something I didn’t think I’d ever hear again! A band with chops, a singer with loads of character, harmonies, and complex arrangements that hit. It takes a fair amount of confidence to put out music this sincere, and I’m totally here for it. To me, it’s tougher to write an honest-to-god ballad like “The Night” with some wavering fragility to it that beats out a hundred leather jacket ’70s-worshiping ironic rockers. This is so far the biggest surprise of the year for me, something I didn’t even know I was looking for, and I can’t wait to spin it all over again.

The Cut-Ups I Hate CD

Holy shiiiiiiit, this is what I want from teenage punk! Snotty, fast, raw swinging in-yer-fukkn-face Brooklyn punk of the highest order, the CUT-UPS do everything that they’re supposed to here (including the “These Boots are Made for Walking” cover, for fuck’s sake), and I’m hoping that future releases (or endeavors) are going to be even better. I Hate is straight fire—highly recommended.

Disintegration Time Moves For Me 12″

When I pressed play on the opener “Carry With You,” I was hit with a drum machine and a dirty, farty synth line—like something you’d hear on a NINE INCH NAILS record—then Haley Himiko (PLEASURE LEFTISTS) came in with deep and dark vocals, crooning through the mechanical soundscape from Noah Anthony (PROFILIGATE), Christopher Brown (CLOUD NOTHINGS), and Paul Ryan (solo project under his name). A little coldwave, a little goth, a little synth punk, and a lot Cleveland. Songs are on the longer side, the shortest being three-and-a-half minutes, so you get good mileage out of these four tracks. The last song (“Make a Wish”) has a music video, if you want to see the team at work. I believe this is the first recording from the group, and I hope they keep at it. Lovers of the off-kilter and avant-garde, apply within.

Evil Engines Straight to My Soul / Teenage Kicks 7″

The A-side is a mid-tempo garage punker with dark vocals that sort of remind me of JOY DIVISION. It’s good. It’s not great, but it’s definitely good. The B-side is a very average cover of the UNDERTONES’ classic single from the late ’70s. It’s delivered at a slightly slower tempo than the original, but for me the real issue is that they don’t do anything with it. If you’re going to cover a classic song, you need to really make it yours. Do something with it. Unless your goal is to be a cover band…

Frisk / Last Affront split cassette

Split between two hardcore outfits out of the UK. There’s a little bit of a grind/powerviolence element here as well. FRISK is reminiscent of early CEREMONY, while LAST AFFRONT has more of a D-beat edge mixed with NEGATIVE APPROACH. Really love the vocal stylings from LAST AFFRONT. They’re unique and help them stand out from the mix of other bands who have done this type of hardcore countless times in the past. Otherwise, nothing really groundbreaking here. Worth a listen if you’re a moshcore junkie.

Fushojiki Atypical EP

Out of Malaysia, this four-piece delivers hardcore punk that reminded me of POISON IDEA, SLAPSHOT, and to a lesser extent, CRO-MAGS. This five-track EP comes fast, hard, precise, and political. A good example is the track “Edu-Cash-It,” which insists “What you have to seek is the education / But it’s been misused for their greed.” An excellent choice for fans of old-school hardcore with a thrashy twist.

George Crustanza Billionaire Blastoff cassette

This band with members from San Francisco and Oakland delivers vibrant, crusty hardcore punk, with pinched, aggressive vocals and high-pitched guitars that deliver rocky riffs all around. Drums are on-point with bass lines that never seem to stop. The Bay Area continues to give us fast hardcore punk bands. Favorite tracks: “GTFO” and “Hiking Stomp.” Catch them playing live, as it must be a thrill—this cassette exudes groove and aggression.

I Got Worms The Second Shot CD

Melodic punk heavy on the crunchy guitars, with vocals that give ‘em just the slightest redneck tinge, like NINE POUND HAMMER on a slowed-down ’90s Fat Wreck tip. Super pro recording, and it’s hard to deny the chops—nice and simple gets the job done here.

חרדה (Jarada) No Co-Existence With…12″

This is a cool one: punk from Tel Aviv sung entirely in Hebrew. JARADA plays tough and heavy hardcore songs about the oppressive system they live in, and boy, do they seem pissed. Each and every song here is angrier than the next, and rightfully so! These guys are living in a world of corrupt police, religious extremism, and general apathy towards it all. Sound familiar? Loud, fast, and hard is the name of the game sonically, each song pummeling forward with crunchy riffs and hoarse vocals, and even though I don’t understand the language, I can understand loud and clear what these guys are expressing in songs like “Inertia,” or the excellently titled “Tear Down the Settlements and Sentence Their Leaders.” If you like your music politically minded and desperate, check this out.

Le Pilgrim D​é​mo cassette

Genuinely weird shit coming out of Buffalo, NY! I couldn’t turn up anything about the band, so it’s unclear who all is involved with the project—their Bandcamp profile pic is just an image of what appears to be a teen plucked straight out of one of the audiences in The Decline of Western Civilization. In any case, this appears to be their debut release. It’s eight tracks (a quarter of which are sung in French) of what I would primarily describe as USHC, maybe on the skate rock end of the spectrum. But the production is pretty bizarre—the guitars are both thin and really fuzzy, while the vocals, which are pretty buried in the mix, sound like they were recorded in an abandoned mineshaft. Then, every so often a really faint keyboard kicks in, or a “Careless Whisper”-ass saxophone lick, or even a TALKING HEADS-esque vocal melody. Really bizarre stuff, all of which is wrapped in a J-card seemingly signaling you’re about to listen to some playful European post-punk. I don’t know that I loved this, but I’m certainly fascinated by everything about it.

Loins Loins 12″

First off, this EP’s cover is a still from Electrocuting an Elephant, an early 20th century film in which, you guessed it, an elephant is killed on screen. If there’s a good reason for using this image, the band doesn’t provide it. Yuck. Luckily, the edgelord antics end there. The rest of the album really splits its time between plodding hard rock riffs and brittle pop tunes with a menacing bass-and-drums undercurrent. This band could be playing something from the Doolittle outtakes and the rhythm section would still sound like it’s about to throw a floorpunch. The last track is a thrashing noise piece whose lyrics consist of the singer screaming “beans!”—the whole record is filled with this back-and-forth between sillines and severity.

Mage Commander Demo 2023 cassette

Oh Jesus. I could be totally wrong, but this reeks of a one-man bedroom project where some technically knowledgeable human decides to put down the video game controller, make self masturbatory guitar music (debatable), and put it out to the world in hopes of gathering praise or in a sadistic attempt to force one’s art (debatable) down people’s throats. Sure, you could say this about much of the great black metal music of yore, but this ain’t that, my friend. If you check online, you can even see videos of this talented soul self-stroking his stringed member over a video game rhythm section, and it’s very much a Guitar Hero version of thrash metal punk with some prog moments. Message to our readers: “If you feel the overwhelming urge to put your homemade laptop music on a viable punk format and send it in, please don’t. Thanks and goodnight. -RR.”

Miscomings Hat cassette

I think it takes a certain level of self-awareness to be able to acknowledge when you just truly do not understand something. I wholeheartedly admit that MISCOMINGS from Seattle are very much that for me. Structureless, angular, plink-plunky, riff-less guitar licks over math-rock drums that incorporate blastbeats, disco beats, and many things in between, with vocals repetitively yelped on top. Kooky, artsy no wave/noise rock that leans into that nu-metal-feeling groove pretty heavily. Maybe it’s just over my head and I’m missing something.

One Million Bulgarians Pierwsza Plyta Vol. 1 LP

The first in what is (hopefully) a series of releases celebrating the early works of underground Polish dark/post-punks ONE MILLION BULGARIANS. Brooding and cold mechanical wave sounds with a bass-heavy recording and a deliberate, plodding pace, this collects recordings from 1986, at the very beginning of the band’s run. You know SIEKIERA…right? Considerably less accessible, which is precisely what makes this release so compelling.

Pigmilk Demo 2023 cassette

Stripped-down, discordant, gnarly noise punk with screamed vocals. The tunes on this tape are not quite as disgusting as its cover art, but almost! Nothing subtle or melodic here. PIGMILK blazes through seven tracks faster than an electrical fire in a slaughterhouse, with nary ‘a one cracking the two-minute mark. Most songs are uptempo and brisk, but don’t be shocked by the occasional breakdown or off-kilter interlude. There’s something slightly left-of-center lurking beneath the surface, gurgling up in the angularity of shrill guitars and subverted harmonies. This is evident in “I Tried,” which is the most overt nod to emotional hardcore. “Know Thyself” reels that impulse in and delivers a no-frills ripper. Good stuff. Analogous with life, this demo is brutal and over before ya know it.

Psoas Psoas CD

The latest release from PSOAS of Buenos Aires consists of eight tracks with a unique approach to thrashy fastcore fury. Airy, psychedelic, cleaner garage-rock-sounding overdriven guitars, screamy vocals, a hint of psychedelia at times, but somehow doesn’t scream “math rock.” Reminiscent of the weird side of the tail-end of Y2K thrash, buried somewhere in the 625 or Sound Pollution catalogs with bands like the SPROUTS, MIND OF ASIAN, the FUTURES, or earlier period MELT BANANA, except with better breakdowns. Recommended.

Red Crap The Truth is Still Out There LP

Poland’s RED CRAP brings you traditional punkabilly with a little bit of a surfy goth-rock edge. The kind of band you might see at a hot rod show or a very large tattoo convention. Recording quality is fantastic, but that isn’t automatically conducive to an interesting album. While the talent is obviously there, The Truth is Still Out There is chock-full of old punk tropes that we’ve heard hundreds, if not thousands, of times before—very reminiscent of the early Fat Wreck bands. They would have fit in well with the Lookout! crowd in the late ’80s and early ’90s, but at this point we’ve heard this all before.

Simulation Demo 2023 cassette

New San Francisco hardcore punk band featuring members of ACRYLICS. Stylistically, this is nothing new, nothing mind-blowing, but the heavily distorted riffs are catchy enough that they feel very familiar and I have heard them running through my mind since my first listen. Staying mostly in the mid-tempo range, SIMULATION plods through these four songs, and as soon as it’s over, you’re gonna wanna flip the tape and listen again. Pretty cool first release, and I can’t wait to hear where they go from here.

Smrt Razuma Nova Era Mraka LP

SMRT RAZUMA (“death of sanity”) brings the “new age of darkness,” or so the title of this Croatian band’s debut claims. They play heavy crossover with a well-mixed balance between the thrashing riffs and a hardcore bounce of the toughest order. After two demos, this debut solidifies their thirst for chaos. If you miss POWERTRIP or want an alternative to ENFORCED, you should look here!

Split Tongue Living in Sin City EP

Malaysia-based SPLIT TONGUE leaves a good impression on this 7″. The style is Oi!-tinged hardcore punk, not dissimilar to bands like 86 MENTALITY. It’s raging, it’s driving, and it gets the blood (not to mention the fist) pumping. This is a super solid record, and I really look forward to hearing more stuff from these guys. Recommended!

Toxic Rites Toxic Rites demo cassette

TOXIC RITES have a sound based solidly in the anarcho-punk tradition with a similar delivery to CONFLICT or ACTIVE MINDS: straightforward punk rock with all the speed and aggression intact. Lyrically, TOXIC RITES uses logic-driven dialogues to progress ideas about social, economic, and environmental concerns. Check out the song “Modern Nightmare,” it rocks hard and is as honest a message as you’ll find these days.

Tulips Tangled in Transition 10″

TULIPS are from Germany, they love both Sylvia Plath’s poetry and SIOUXSIE AND THE BANSHEES, and they are able to create songs of ethereal beauty, where they spin a constant tension as if an eminent external danger was about to engulf us all. More than a band, I consider them painters of urban landscapes in the style of German expressionism, searching for ineffable beauty at the bottom of an abyss.

With Arms Still Empty Discography cassette

With maybe the best emotional/melodic hardcore band name ever, WITH ARMS STILL EMPTY puts out all twenty songs from their tenure of 1998 to 2002; the sweet spot of the genre. Think of bands like DEATH BY STEREO, THRICE, DROWNINGMAN—fast, technical guitar riffs, probably a drum kit with a million pieces, call-and-response screamo vocals that shift into sung harmonies, you know the deal. I can only digest this type of music in small doses, indulging my angsty inner teen, so listening to the whole discography in one shot was a bit of a slog. But for fans of the genre, and the band, who apparently had a good run in their heyday throughout the Midwest, this may land as an important piece of history. Again, I think they really nailed the band name, and the songs are just as good, with titles like “Even With Warrior Screams,” “Every Goddamned Butterfly,” and “Lunar Fuck, ”and while I may be laughing, you know these dudes were dead serious. Jump in with both feet or pass on by.

V/A Lifetime Problems: An International Tribute to the Dicks EP

Seven DICKS standards from all over the globe. The lineup is mainly European, by way of Melbourne and Connecticut. I could go 30/70 with the material—there seems to be a feeling left with some of the recordings that the bands (hello, GOODBYE JOHNNYS) could very well have punched a clock before the process began. The EP, however, is not devoid of meaty morsels that do kill from the heart (jesus, sorry). La Rochelle’s BART & THE BRATS’ cover of “Fake Bands” is a savage kill, and BRAT FARRAR replicates “Dead in a Motel Room” with a tone and feel that would make Gary Floyd proud.

Advoids Advoids cassette

The Los Angeles punk scene seems to be going through an atypically fertile period. New interesting bands are sprouting up all the time these days, a lot of which seemingly center around a handful of hyperactive weirdos who can’t help but compulsively start new projects. Take for instance this act, brought to you by the same folks behind DIODE and the FREAKEES. They play a cool mix of classic L.A. punk, funky hardcore, and jazzy no wave, sans saxophone. The five tracks on the release zip by in less than ten minutes, but they’re jam-packed with ideas and generally well-executed. I really dig this vocal performance, too—kind of a mix of Darby Crash, James Chance, and I’m even detecting a bit of Dave E., though every so often they throw a little more affect onto the delivery and it dips a little into Ian Svenonius territory, which I’m less into. Still, this is a solid release, and I’m stoked to hear more from them!

Amygdala Besitos Para Todos Mis Haters EP

Here is a brief little three-song EP from the San Antonio-based AMYGDALA. Some parts on here sound like a typical fast hardcore band, some parts have mental blastbeats, some parts sound like melodic stadium crust, and some parts sound like weird 2000s metalcore. It’s a lot of stuff squeezed into just under four minutes of music, but I think it’s cool. Would recommend this if you’re into any of those things I mentioned.

Baby Tyler Imposter cassette

Fourth full-length coming from Tyler Fassnacht’s solo project BABY TYLER, and it’s got all the energy, grit, and unpolished punk that’s only getting better with age. This is one of those COVID bedroom endeavors that has carried on and proved to be something special; the brazenness of ALIEN NOSEJOB and hooky songwriting skills of (fellow Tetryon-er) RICHARD HAMILTON. Speaking of the label, Tetryon is a cassette-only subsidiary of Feral Kid Records and has lots of fun up-and-coming artists, even encouraging bands to submit demos, so check them out! Back to BABY TYLER: for a taste, listen to the closer “E.E.L.” with the chorus “And it feels as though I’m caught in the undertow / Of everyone else’s life,” which rings like an anthem. This music makes me want to take out the trash. It makes me want to stomp around and feel good. Get your hands on this one.

Blessure Blessure cassette

Here’s another one to add to the growing number of emerging Oi! bands: BLESSURE from the Basque Country. BLESSURE is refreshingly female-fronted, and plays a post-punk brand of Oi! with wiry guitars, rumbling fuzzed-out bass, and leftist lyrical content (at least that’s what you’d gather from the “A-C-A-B!” chanting chorus on opener “Ils Sont Partout”). BLESSURE keeps it sparse and simple, even cold at times and bordering on deathrock; check the icy synth on “Ça Suffit.” Overall a solid effort, although I can’t help but feel like if they leaned into the deathrock/goth sensibilities more, they could stand out a bit more from the crowd. That said, I’ll be looking forward to hearing what BLESSURE puts out next.

Chill Parents Context Collapse cassette

Absolute monster release from DC trio CHILL PARENTS—a steady, four-on-the-floor hardcore hybrid that’s heavy and relentless. I realize that as a generational subgenre, this is not unusual, but it still strikes me when I hear modern anthemic hardcore/punk mingling with early ’90s Sub Pop hooks. I prefer when the band opens up (see “Dissipate”). but it’s the contrast that sets them apart (see “Migraine”). Only 25 copies on cassette, but there’s a CD, too (and a digital version of course, because it’s 2023).

Cierń The Emperor Rx LP

The Berlin punks of CIEŔN have discovered the secret to darkwave punk rock by featuring chunky, dirty bass guitar so far forward in the mix it creates an instant need to dance, while the vocals deliver real messages in whispers, shouts, and harmonies. The lead guitar occasionally drifts far into space but returns with a stabbing vengeance to highlight key lyrical moments. There are a lot of “influences” that I hear on this album and naming a few would belittle the wealth of it, so check it out and find out what you hear. I definitely recommend the song “Glass Houses.”

Da Slyme If There’s No Rubble, You Haven’t Played: Collected Recordings 1977–1989 LP

This is one for the collector nerds. DA SLYME was Newfoundland, Canada’s first punk band, and it’s one of those deals where biker hippie-ish outcasts heard the SEX PISTOLS and decided to drop any RUSH aspirations to stick safety pins in each other’s body parts. I’d compare them to the CHILD MOLESTERS or even the FUGS. They appeared on a Smash the State comp and copies of their original double album goes for mega bux, causing many nocturnal omissions for the Graham Booths of the world (love you, Graham). They did the homemade spray-painted thrifted record cover thing that San Francisco’s BLACK HUMOR did so well, and they repeated the art for a limited number of this new collection. I do appreciate the existence of such a historic artifact, but It’s honestly really hard for me to get through. There’s definitely moments, like “Violence, Anarchy, Baby, Mother, Daddy-o, Dig,” but it’s pretty dated and a lot of the jokes fall flat. It’s a nicely put-together “labor of love”-type package that’s definitely worth looking at, but it’s already sold out everywhere, of course!

Dinos Boys Holy War / Don’t Mind 7″

Atlanta punks DINOS BOYS’ 2022 single “Holy War” / “Don’t Mind” gets the vinyl treatment on Crossbar and boy, what a treat! Two straight-outta-’77 tracks that bring to mind any number of CBGBs mainstays. Both sides are super catchy, but  A-side “Holy War” is truly an earworm, with a chorus that will be rattling around inside your head for days and an outro that would make the RAMONES bop their heads in approval. Side B is a cover of obscure Japanese power poppers the RAYDIOS’ “Don’t Mind,” and while I can’t speak on the original, this version is like Stiv Bators fronting the HEARTBREAKERS (those guitars!). Highly recommended!

Faucheuse Faucheuse demo cassette

Been listening to lots of interesting and vicious D-beat and Oi! coming from France lately—something must be happening in the streets and local DIY/underground scenes in that European country, you can feel a very exciting effervescence incomparable to other places of the so-called First World. For yet another example, we have this brilliant demo cassette from FAUCHEUSE, an excellent hardcore band from Bordeaux, a city which has already become one of the world’s D-beat powerhouses. This band presents five absolutely thrillingly addictive tracks; please pay special attention to the tour de force that is “Ville Interdite.” It’s a brutal but deeply melodic D-beat sound with a pub-rock or generally dirty and fun rock’n’ roll vibe that I really dig, and that refreshes that ol’ D-beat sound that we love.

Gee Tee Vee Halloween 21 EP

You know who they are, you know it’s good, but still allow me to dive in with my big critical brain to this freaky little handful of tunes from TEE VEE REPAIRMAN and GEE TEE (more accurately, frontman Kel Mason). These tracks are lo-fi, crunchy joy bombs that sit precisely in the uniformly excellent discographies of both artists. Killer originals, cracking snares, and buzzing guitars—there’s even a trick ‘r’ treat of a cover of the BOYS’ “First Time” to put in your bag and check for hidden razor blades. It’s always good to see this loose coalition of bands keep the spirit of early ’00s garage punk alive and supercharged into the now. I won’t throw around the usual references, but this is the type of attitude that first turned my ear to this style and it’s just getting better.

Gumm Slogan Machine LP

Oh my. This is one hell of a record here, folks. Melodic hardcore coming to us straight out of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Akin to the SUCIDE FILE and very early EVERY TIME I DIE, this album just feels like it’s from the South. I mean that in the best way possible, attributing this to their heavy use of twangy, jammy guitar leads. Bouncing between groovy, catchy, dissonant, and downright violent, Slogan Machine features some of my favorite lyrics I’ve heard all year—a lamentation of a lack of community within a “community.” At least that’s how I interpreted it. Maybe I’m just jaded. Great stuff here, and very much recommended.

The Hell The Hell LP

The latest LP from Cleveland’s the HELL consists of ten tracks of pure fast and furious hardcore punk, like a sober, Darby Crash-fronted Pick Your King-era POISON IDEA, but too Midwestern to avoid DIE KREUZEN-ness. With energetic bursts of ferocity, the guitar sounds like they stole their vintage guitar enthusiast uncle’s amp and blew out the speakers because they couldn’t make it sound loud enough. No-frills, no bullshit, no metal, straight-ahead hardcore attack.

Inyeccion Vicio EP

Creeping, raw, and vicious is how I’d shortly describe INYECCION’s sound. Hailing from Chile and Argentina, these punks create a form of hardcore that is an absolute blast to listen to. Bashing drums, chaotic vocals, and grinding guitars are perfectly arranged to create a form of punk crudo that I want more of. This EP maintains a similar sound to INYECCION’s earlier demo, but with a tighter and more refined presentation. A collaborative release between Barcelonian label Discos Enfermos and Japanese label Record Shop A-Z, this EP is well worth adding to your collection as the packaging is a work of art on its own.

Komatiite Komatiite cassette

You know when you spend a couple of hours listening to and reviewing some interesting and unique records and you think “man, punk is so varied and it’s cool that bands keep pushing the envelope and finding new ways to create and project sound!,” and then you pop in a tape from a band from Maine and it’s like four-and-a-half minutes of raw, distorted noisy D-beat hardcore recorded in a fukkn barn with the wildest guitar solos ever and you think “nah, fuck that, I just want to have my ass blown out of my speakers repeatedly until I can’t walk straight.” That’s what just happened to me. It can happen to you, too. Listen to KOMATIITE.