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!

Sabot Noir Fahl LP

First of all, I am intrigued by the Kåthe Kollwitz cover art. If this image is representing your music, I’m expecting something wrought with sorrow and the cold exhaustion of struggling to live. So let’s get started! SABOT NOIR of Munich/München plays gnarly blasts of smothered grind-punk. This is ferally fast and raw, with touches of anarcho-punk and dismal crust. Reminds me of ANTISCHISM, ARMISTICE, FLEAS AND LICE, BODY FARM, SCATHA…lots of levels ranging from guttural hardcore to inspiring melodic punk. Most of the lyrics are sung in German, one song is in English, and another is in Spanish. The variety of emotional output here, flowing between outright aggressive attacks, is heartfelt and poignant. Post-hardcore indie rock parts will drastically change to anthemic crust within the same song. Several vocalists drive SABOT NOIR (“Black Clog/Hoof”) along. Seriously, having a black clog as their logo is one of my favorite details about this band. SABOT NOIR has carved out a groove in anarcho sound that is somewhat CAN psychedelic and somewhat PROTESTI destructive—see their track “Wissenschaftsleugnung” leading into “Sabotage” for this comparison.

Scream and Dance In Rhythm 12″ reissue

Originally released in 1982, In Rhythm was the lone record from this short-lived, dubbed-out post-punk group who came up in the same late ’70s/early ’80s Bristol scene as the POP GROUP and MAXIMUM JOY, but in contrast to the fiery scratch and howl of the former and the simmering funk of the latter, SCREAM AND DANCE mostly locked into beat-driven, spiraling rhythms with an aura of mystique that was closer in spirit to the RAINCOATS, if anything. The seven-minute title track builds up a laid-back, minimalist groove that’s almost all percussion (the credits reference bongos, sansa thumb piano, and a naal drum, among other things—definitely not the usual post-punk/funk sources), with doubled-up, sing-song incantations from Amanda Stewart and Ruth George-Jones heightening the trance-like effect, followed by “In Pink and Black,” where the spell of the A-side’s first half is only broken by some increasingly intense vocals that hit almost like impassioned anarcho-punk poetry over the droning instrumental rattle. Two versions of the hyper-kinetic and polyrhythmic “Giacometti” make up the B-side, where SCREAM AND DANCE really manifest that band name—the non-remixed take is up there with MAXIMUM JOY’s “Stretch,” PIGBAG’s “Papa’s Got a Brand New Pigbag,” and the collective works of 99 Records in the top heap of mutant disco dancefloor starters, total clatter and clang for reflexive body movement, and spectral, echoing chants that gradually break into uncontrolled primal shrieks. It’s truth in advertising!

Spells Loose Change, Vol. 2 LP

If you’ve never heard of Denver’s SPELLS before now, that makes two of us. They’ve apparently been at it since 2013, playing alongside a diverse roster of contemporaries that includes both the SPITS and FACE TO FACE, and this LP compiles material from various tapes and 7”’s that they’ve put out over the years. Calling it “vacation rock,” the band offers a sound that’s simultaneously timeless in a classic rock’n’roll sort of way, and also reminiscent of ’90s rock/punk bands like the B-MOVIE RATS at times. More “fun” than “fierce,” it’s bright, garage-y pop rock that consciously keeps a goofy little bit of dirt caked around the edges. Closing on a high note, their dual male/female vocals are put to logical good use on the last track, a reverent cover of X’s “We’re Desperate.” If that sounds like a good time to you, your official summer jams have arrived in the form of this eighteen-song collection.

Ternura Trinchera cassette

Six tracks of politically-charged hardcore sung in Spanish from Bilbao’s TERNURA. Sonically, it sounds like something that came out of the US East Coast area in the late ’80s or early ’90’s—mostly hard-hitting tracks with breakdowns, but also melodic at times. An honest expression of the real struggles of daily life.

Vice Squad Shot Away LP reissue

VICE SQUAD was featured on a compilation, Punk and Disorderly, that was one of my introductions to punk rock. “Last Rockers” will forever remain an important song to me. Some of their first releases remain among my favorites. They were also prolific enough that not everything resonated with me. This release, from 1984, has a power pop base, but also retains some of that eeriness from their early years (think of those “ohh…ohhhhhh” lyrics). So, it’s catchy and melodic and poppy on the one hand, but then also sort of dark. The vocals are almost sweet at times. Whether or not you’re a big VICE SQUAD fan, this one is definitely worth listening to.

WWW Live From Del Valle Estadio EP

Four songs of Argentinian egg-punk, recorded live in the studio with crowd applause added for effect. I would’ve never known this was a live recording were it not advertised as such. The sound quality is excellent, as is the performance—WWW is tighter than a hipster’s refrigerated skinny jeans. Everything is really locked-in, from the precise staccato drumming, to the clean, jangly guitar. Unlike some of their contemporaries, WWW doesn’t rely too heavily on effects, and I believe that is part of what makes their delivery so crisp and snappy. There’s just enough atmosphere around the synth to give the vocals something to counterbalance. The songs are catchy and over before you know it, warranting multiple back-to-back listens. Leaning more towards garage punk than new wave, WWW lands somewhere between PRISON AFFAIR and REAL PEOPLE. Another solid release from Sweet Time Records.

Astio Bocche Stanche 12″

Italian band ASTIO calls Trento (a city in the foothills of the Italian Alps) home, and they create haunting, riff-heavy punk that stomps and pogos. Bocche Stanche is a six-song 12” that would be a welcome addition to almost any record collection. ASTIO uses this release to give a tutorial on how to shred while also creating a groovy enough environment that the inclusion of saxophone is totally welcome! The vocal delivery has a raw but not overly abrasive quality, while the rhythm section is featured pretty forward in the mix and is the total heart of this groove machine.

Black Aubergine Black Aubergine demo cassette

BLACK AUBERGINE is a unique band. The amalgamation of influences, reminiscent of bands like HOAX, HELLHAMMER, NAUSEA, or even GODFLESH, creates an interesting auditory experience. The diversity in styles adds a dynamic quality to the demo, from the most primitive of hardcore to the darkest electronica, showcasing the band´s versatility and creativity. However, the challenge might lie in maintaining a cohesive identity amidst such genre diversity, which BLACK AUBERGINE achieves! Overall, an interesting compilation of songs that could appeal to fans of experimental and boundary-pushing music.

Blind Solution Blind Solution cassette

Hardcore out of Tacoma, with a style that I’ve come to refer to as “blink and you’ll miss It” punk. Six songs in roughly three minutes and change. I’ll be honest, folks. If your band can write a decent twelve-second song, chances are I’ll love you. Like a more modern, polished NEGATIVE APPROACH. Great stuff here.

Critical Response Critical Response LP

I can’t put my finger on it but something about this record reminds me of a type of sound that would have been prevalent in the ’90s. It’s a little bit rock’n’roll, it’s a little bit hardcore, it’s a little bit neither of these. The vocalist reminds me of Kirsten from NAKED AGGRESSION at times, and at others sounds like the vocalist of some kind of Orange County ska band. All in all, this has moments where I really like it. For the most part though, it’s just OK. It reminds me of a bar band, mostly.

Cutup Cutup cassette

Quick and solid tape from this Cleveland band that sounds like classic ’80s USHC but reveals layers of weirdness right below the surface. Vocalist Mark has a vocal approach that mixes the unhinged power-slur of John Brannon with the wavering croon of David Yow. It’s pretty great. Once the fast HC battering ram effect wears off a little, subtle details like the fat, fuzzed-out bass and melodic breakdowns weaving through the five short songs become apparent. This is fast hardcore with texture, depth, and personality. Tracks like “Last Man Laughing” and “Can’t Eat a Condo” expertly veer between punk and noise rock lanes, greeting traditionalism with sneering experimentation. Check it out—it’s definitely worth six minutes of your time.

Drill Sergeant Grim New War EP

Philly punks DRILL SERGEANT dropped their latest EP Grim New War and it rips; cool thrashy hardcore with rabid vocals reminiscent of FORESEEN and CHAIN WHIP. Each track here packs a nasty punch, but none more than “Cries for Justice,” which features an unexpected shift to powerviolence with blastbeats that are sudden enough to cause whiplash. It also features someone named “the Meat Man” on backing vocals, so you already know it’s gonna be crazy. Highly recommended.

Emissaries of Syn The Core Assumptions of Human Insecurity LP

EMISSARIES OF SYN, a band hailing from Conwy, UK. delivers a powerful message through their music, focusing on pressing themes like environmental concerns and human rights issues. Drawing musical influences from crust to grindcore, their sound is intense and hard-hitting, matching the weightiness of the lyrics, like a punker PIG DESTROYER narrating a Black Mirror episode. With a dedication to raising awareness and provoking thought, EMISSARIES OF SYN could potentially resonate strongly with listeners who appreciate both impactful music and socially conscious messages.

Froggy & The Ringes Ringe Rock Pond Scum LP

A word of warning to anyone who dares give this record by self-described “mysterious” UK act a go: be prepared for a lot. Like, I enjoy garage punk bands, and if they want to throw an organ in the mix, great. Shit-kickin’, V-flickin’, overtly Bri-ish punk that’s boarding on faux punxploitation? I can get on board. I even dig dumb, cartoony novelties—one of my favorite releases of the year is almost exclusively about pubic lice. But as I sat blinking through the initial 30 seconds of this record, slowly realizing that I was getting not just all these things at once, but the maximum amount of each, it made me doubt whether I truly liked any of them individually to begin with. This sounds like a cockney Fred Flintstone fronting some Euro-garage punk act like the RIPPERS or MOJOMATICS, doing what sounds like a set of ARMITAGE SHANKS songs that have had their lyrics re-written to cover topics like being a sexy rock’n’roll frog, what it would take to make it with a sexy frog, and other frog-related shit. If that sounds like something that would be up your alley (or on your lily pad or whatever), well, here’s ten whole songs of it!

Guillotine Guillotine demo cassette

Here is a mysterious and minimal hardcore punk face-grater. An extremely lo-fi and mid-tempo demo of excruciating, warbling, abysmal punk and spectral voices haunting from the corners. Tracks include “Death’s Head,” “Death Reversed,” “Covid-19,” and “Futureless.” Bleak as fuck, and does not stick around long to check for a pulse. I can’t help but compare their tone to GISM, with the up-drive of STALIN and the bizarre hypnotic repetition of GAI. A horrible mess happened in Brooklyn last April that sounds like Kyoto in 1982. I’ve listened to this five-minute recording (presented as one take, but I’m not sure) five times now, and I’m increasingly unsettled and intrigued by the terror of GUILLOTINE.

Hatred Surge Demo 2004 cassette

Lifting your band name from a seminal NAPALM DEATH demo is always a good indicator of what you are in for. HATRED SURGE is a now-legendary band that has navigated through several genres, from powerviolence to death metal, always leaning on the extreme, but this review serves to talk about their 2004 demo, where it all began. Despite its limited initial release, Demo 2004 has left an undeniable mark on the world of extreme music. HATRED SURGE’s approach to grinding powerviolence showcases their dedication to pushing the boundaries of sonic extremity. A visceral blend of aggression and precision, characterized by their ability to seamlessly shift from frenetic tempos to crushing breakdowns. The tracks are concise bursts of aggression, rarely extending beyond the 40-second mark, yet packing more intensity into that short span than many bands do in entire albums.

The ID 2004 Demo cassette

Just in case you missed the crazy little demo from Illinois’ the ID the first time around (you did), it’s back. This is some devilishly juvenile punk that sounds like it’s being played and recorded on Fisher Price equipment by mental hospital escapees. It’s three songs of gloriously haggard KBD action, and the increasingly rabid opener “The Kids at School” alone makes it worth a place in your tape collection, if you can find one.

Lethal Lethal’s Hardcore Hit Parade EP

Lethal’s Hardcore Hit Parade is five tracks of noisy, raw, ferocious hardcore punk coming from the underground of NYC filth. Nasty yet aggressive, blistering hardcore, in the vein of the crustier side of UKHC meets the earlier, non-groovy era of NYHC, with urgency and the nihilistic destruction of ’80s Japanese and Swedish HC mentality. Full-blown distorted guitar sounds with pummeling drum beats and explosive breakdowns, along with maniac golem crusher vocals. For fans of VILE GASH, CREEP STARE, the REPOS, etc.

Linda’s Mistake Lumberjack Love LP

I don’t know who Linda is, but my mistake was listening to this turd of an album. Take the worst of the ’90s RAMONES-wannabe bands, strip them of any wit, charisma, or musical prowess, and that will get you in the ballpark of how excruciating and awful this is. Most of the songs revolve around a singular, repeated lyric. “You’re Wearing a Bandana,” for instance, recites the song title followed by the inquiry “What’re you doing?” over and over. Longest 39 seconds of my life. Another song is called “Too Fat for a Belt.” Insert sad trombone noise here. While the attempt at humor is obvious, the lyrics are just too dumb to actually be funny. It is hard to express the unique and supreme discomfort this album elicits, but please don’t take that as an insinuation that it’s somehow worth checking out as a morbid curiosity. With the planet rapidly becoming a hellish inferno, it’s an affront to humanity’s future that precious (or otherwise) resources were expended to bring this loathsome album into existence.

Meteor Police New Type Destroyer LP

METEOR POLICE has a weird, foreboding vibe to their grungy rock. Their guitars and lyrics noodle, rock, and crawl with a simultaneous playfulness and darkness. Two songs open with genuinely haunting riffs. The guitar and bass have a unique dynamic I can’t quite describe. The bass is usually playing a bit of a post-hardcore tune while the guitar sprinkles in these off-kilter, slightly bent lines. Every now and then, we hear a familiar HC/punk chord progression. That gave me just enough to orient myself between being thrown off balance again.

Night Court Humans! LP

Following Nervous Birds! One and Nervous Birds! Too, this is NIGHT COURT’s third full-length release, and first time on vinyl. They are a Vancouver, BC outfit doing some indie-flavored garage punk, with a digital undercurrent as if you’ve got the headphones plugged in halfway. I don’t necessarily mean this is in a bad way—the slightly distorted vocals and synth/guitar phaser play well off one another. A mix of the SHINS and the PIXIES, roughed up with a lo-fi production, might get you close to the NIGHT COURT sound, for whatever the comparison is worth. Only two tracks reach the two-minute mark, so this sixteen-song LP is over pretty fast. Fun, easy, summertime listening.  Should we be on the lookout for Humans! Too?

Ortopedia Técnica Sentencia cassette

A unique fusion of sounds here from ORTOPEDIA TÉCNICA, out of the Spanish province of Castilló. The majority of these songs are a driving post-punk with stomping beats that flirt with an OI!-type feel, but softer moments like the chill “Mirame” and the wistful “Rosas, Cruces, y un Cenicero” (“Roses, Crosses, and an Ashtray”) add depth to the album. Singing in Spanish, the band has a penchant for clean, anthemic head-bobbers aided by spectacular wailing guitar leads, but my favorite track is the infectious closer “Sociedad Industrial,” with its rousing chorus and warbled hook that eventually descends into a digital madness. Everything here is very well done.

Paprika Smoked cassette

This kills. PAPRIKA has the depravity and spookiness combo down to a razor’s edge. This is blistering, crunchy heat throughout each track of the tour tape. What are they drinking? When can I see them? These four songs bring up more similar ponderings. I would get it just for the “You Tear Me Up” cover (the beat that made DISCHARGE?).

Plexi Stad Probation Baby EP

It’s interesting to see bands revisit eras of music that led to the aberrant and still notable explosion of radio rock bands in the early ’00s who decided to tap into icons like TELEVISION and the FEELIES rather than, I don’t know, whatever SOUNDGARDEN was obsessed with. It’s a mine still worth digging in, for sure, and the results are often not radio-ready in the way they once were (it even seems quaint to reference radio in the age of streaming, but here we are). PLEXI STAD, from Antwerp, taps into a compellingly angular strain of punk that echoes the aforementioned bands while still sounding vital and punchy. There is sizzle to this steak and some real grit in the production that hooks you into its world of skronky guitar and mobile bass lines. It’s not breaking ground, but rather retreading it in a way that is worth tuning in.

Repo Man Me Pop Now CD

At 52 minutes, this is a fairly long album—the fourth by REPO MAN, from Bristol—and most of its songs have a lot going on within them, but all things considered it flies by, and is decidedly further into the realms of jazz-lovin’ ’80s post-punk than organ-strokin’ prog noodle. Bojak, the band’s main vocalist, is a bug-eyed ranter on his own trip, and also contributes a healthy portion of sax and clarinet skronk; the guitarists and rhythm section can work with sinewy post-hardcore riffs or tricksier, scratchier arrangements. “Sirhan Sirhan” could be the work of one of those early ’90s Scottish bands like DOG FACED HERMANS, which is a huge plus, while at other times I got the scent of the NIGHTINGALES via the slanted energy, SWEEP THE LEG JOHNNY via the expansive rocking, and ENABLERS via the literary worldbuilding.

Salamirecorder & the Hi-Fi Phonos Goods for Conversation LP

If you’ve been wondering who buys every single variant of every single (and double) record that THEE OH SEES release, well, I found the culprits. They live in Vienna, Austria, and they seem like very nice chaps. Goods for Conversation is an enjoyable enough modern-day garage rock record, but hoooo boy, John Dwyer might have an impending case of copyright infringement on his already crowded docket. Within the opening seconds of this album, the singer lets loose with one of Dwyer’s patented cattle-call whoops (even the FX settings are perfectly dialed in). That vocal tic drapes itself all over this album like a bedbug-ridden blanket. Luckily, international law doesn’t give a hoot about such blatant shenanigans, and maybe you don’t either.

Shizan 死産 10 Minutes of Noise Shock Therapy cassette

You’ve probably heard that type who states punk will be great as a consequence of some oppressive political force obtaining power—I would kick those jerks in the face. Punk is much less relevant than maintaining a living in such shit states. SHIZAN is from Minsk, a place that is fucked up beyond many of our imaginations. If I get it right, they are not new to the game, as ex-members of MASSPOLLUTION are part of this new group. The record title tells it straightforwardly how they sound, although SHIZAN has a unique touch to their hyper-distorted noise sound, and their chaos is interesting and varied enough to differ from most of their contemporaries, mainly due to the guitar playing with fast dumb solos and clever pedal usage. The tempo switches are unique, and they rarely if ever play D-beat (if anything, they are closer to the post-sheer-noisecore, pre-Stupid Life era of CONFUSE). It’s deafeningly distorted, but playful enough to be able to pay attention to all the crazy elements they threw into the mix. I had this fantasy forever about hardcore bands from far away, unknown places among shitty circumstances creating the best, craziest music. SHIZAN proved some dreams might come true. 

Squelch Chamber Eater of Self cassette

I’ve been a big fan of Owlripper Recordings over these last couple of years, but have only been familiar with their compilations featuring sub-minute tracks from harsh noise artists the world over. Imagine my surprise when this album (released digitally via Owlripper and on tape by Bastard Premonition) kicked off with nothing but a simple, clean drumbeat. I was being baited, but at this point I had no choice but to go along with the ride. The moment that blown-out bass kicked in, I knew I was listening to an instant drone metal masterpiece. Noisy as all hell, dirty, slow, and low. Reminiscent of KILSLUG or a much more rustic version of Bullhead-era MELVINS. Worth a spin for any lover of doom or sludge.

Systemik Viølence Negative Mangel Attitude LP

Cathartic maniacal screams and great sound all around from these chaos-bringers and riot-exciters from Lisbon. Thrash mayhem of blackened punk with fast tempos and sick drum cuts that never stop and stomp on you through the whole ten-track course. This is the sixth release from these Portuguese mad people, delivering a fusion between blackened metallic punk and classic USHC cadences in an almost perfect balance. Imagine BAD BRAINS and MERCYFUL FATE entered the blender and got out ready to drink it all in a second—I mean a frenzied, crazy feeling. All tracks are rippers in their own way. Sick artwork on the cover from these sick metal punkers. Good riffage, good blastbeating, and the vocals ain’t a cut-and-paste in any way, with colors very distinguished in-between.

Turquoise Sang, Larmes & Râles LP

Brain-burning, face-melting raw punk madness. From start to finish, TURQUOISE doesn’t let up even for a moment. The semi-clean guitar attack makes the bass and drums feel more pummeling, not unlike Canadian D-beaters BOOTLICKER. The vocals are deep and burly, never relenting or modulating, so they hit like a bomb blast. Following an equally killer debut, Sang, Larmes & Râles is unbridled käng perfection. There is even a hint of motörpunk on some of the tracks, which coupled with the rock’n’roll guitar licks calls to mind another Canadian band, INEPSY. But don’t let all this talk of Canucks confuse you, TURQUOISE are Scandi-core through and through—inspiration from HERÄTYS, INFERNÖH, and TOTALITÄR couldn’t be more clear. In fact, rumor has it that TURQUOISE had originally intended to sing in Swedish, but no one in the band knew the language well enough so they stuck with French, their mother tongue. In any case, this LP is absolutely savage. A+++.

War Effort Path to Glory EP

Some pretty fuming hardcore, with more than a slight nod to Stoke’s favourite scruffbags DISCHARGE. A veritable who’s who of contemporary hardcore with alumni from LOST LEGION, CIDADÃO, and FUERZA BRUTA, which should be enough to whet your whistle. Furious and scuzzy raging against the dying of the light. Good gear.

V/A Heroes of the Night, Vol. 2: Punk, Pop & Wave From the UK Underground ’80–’84 LP

The second chapter of Reminder’s dig through the lost artifacts of femme-fronted ’80s power pop and new wave from the UK, and even more so than with the first installment, most of the twelve tracks here could only really be considered “punk” by proximity—the BLONDIE-esque girl-group beat of SHELLY STEVENS’s “Secret Love” and the WALK’s synth(etic) pop anthem “I Didn’t Catch Your Name” could have easily soundtracked a high school dance scene in some mid-’80s teen coming-of-age flick that couldn’t afford the rights to CYNDI LAUPER, and that isn’t meant as a slight, merely an acknowledgment. The driving post-punk moodiness of AQUILA’s “Fall” (think the AU PAIRS by way of the BANSHEES) is the notable outlier in this bunch and makes it worth smashing the “buy” button on its own, but the sassed-up SHIVVERS-like power pop from L’HOMME DE TERRE (“Get a Grip”), PLEASURE DOME’s sugary, keyboard-swirled twee (“Heaven’s Daughter”), and CHOIRGIRLS’ “I Should Have Kissed Him Then” (crystalline new wave, with the added eccentric twist of a Casio rhythm machine preset clashing with live drums) are all sweet-tooth treats, if you’re not adverse to such things.

Atentado Terrörista Demo Irrits CTM!! cassette

ATENTADO TERRÖRISTA (“Terrorist Attack”) are some energetic punks from Temuca, Chile. This is upbeat, pissed-off pogo with lyrics in Spanish, singing about various injustices, getting drunk, and skateboarding. For best results, play this tape in a boombox with a 40oz somewhere near it and get hyped.

Bladen McLaughlen + the Good Time Boys Good Time Noise CD

The experience of listening to this album is kinda like buying weed as a high-schooler. If you don’t know any better, a bag of schwag may not seem so bad, even if smoking it does leave you with a headache afterwards. If Good Time Noise serves as someone’s introduction to the wild and wacky genre that is punk rock, they could be forgiven for mistaking this as being decent, or even good. For me, it’s all stems and seeds. BLADEN MCLAUGHLEN + THE GOOD TIME BOYS can only be described as “boomer punk.” I have no idea if the band members are in fact boomers—nor do I care—but the songs they have committed to polycarbonate plastic substrate sound more dated than the medium on which they appear. One track begins with a George W. Bush sound clip, which is an odd choice of source material to sample in 2023, but I guess it relates to the song, which is titled “Won’t Get Fooled Again.” Pete Townsend would be rolling in his grave, were he not still alive. By and large, Good Time Noise is riddled with boring, mid-tempo drivel that is simultaneously over and under-produced, somehow. I’d have snoozed right through this one if the hoarse, grating vocals weren’t so darn loud. Most of the lyrics seem well-intentioned, but the title track is excruciatingly dumb, even for a drinking song. And then there’s the ode to Portland, Maine—a majestic place of stunning natural beauty that I now wish to avoid altogether for fear that this release is representative of its current punk scene. Yikes.

B-Side / Holehog To Have and to Hold split LP

Sacramento’s HOLEHOG and Boston’s B-SIDE (GLOBAL THREAT’s Bryan Lothian) have released a white-hot split LP, each playing their own take on UK82 street punk akin to CLIT 45, the VIRUS, and of course GLOBAL THREAT. Both bands really rip; HOLEHOG are a well-oiled machine with crystal clear production, razor-sharp riffs, and an angry and scornful message: the system blows. Check out “By the Throat,” a D-beat-driven blast of energy with a great breakdown and vocals that had to have left a sore throat. Meanwhile, B-SIDE takes a fuzzier and more raw approach, with songs about the trials of living in American society, from our relentless bombing of other nations and our inability to think in terms beyond black and white. On “Waiting To Talk,” Lothian enlists an unhinged guitar lead and demented vocals to great effect; it gives the song a paranoid and eerie vibe that fits the anti-colonialism message well. Overall, a very solid showing from both bands, but I really have to hand it to HOLEHOG here. Their sound is so dialed-in and so clean, it’s a great take on the style and I’ll be looking forward to hearing more.

Collaps Bully the Bully EP

Another co-sign from the veritable hit factory that is Mendeku Diskak—this reissue of the Berlin-based COLLAPS is perhaps not quite their bread and butter, but is an interesting prospect. Comprised of a variety of Berlin scene vets, this is an intoxicating mix of D-beat, hardcore, Oi!, and good old-fashioned P-U-N-K punk. Snotty, cerebral, abrasive, it’s good stuff, baby. Give it a go.

Consolation Repulsive Reflections EP

Third release by this geographically-spread UK hardcore band, although the second was a super limited lathe 7” with two songs which are both among the six on Repulsive Reflections. The first side of this EP mixes up crust-adjacent hammer blows (“Abstain”) and creepy crawl trudging that explodes into wild VOID-like guitar mania (“Theft II”), and to that end makes for a pretty clear bridge back to CONSOLATION’s debut tape from 2019. On B-side numbers “Free” and “Stolen,” I pick up screamo vibes—at least one member of the band has a background in the 2010s UK iteration of that scene—in the guitars and vocals, like an Ebullition Records version of, say, PERSPEX FLESH. Works a charm for me. Speaking of charm, I really like the variety of people named in the lyric sheet’s “inspired by” list, including Kano (the grime MC), Shon Faye, and Bernadette Devlin.

Dragnet The Accession LP

I sound like a broken record, but Australia is exporting some of the best releases in rock’n’roll at the moment. Gritty dance-punk similar to bands like BLOC PARTY and ADAM AND THE ANTS, but much more rustic, raw, and powerful. Drums and bass are massive and everything is just so damn catchy. Love the dueling harmonic guitars as they seemingly compete for attention with the keyboards. Somehow with all of this going on, the vocals still stand out front and center. Even within the chaos of having six members, the music never sounds cluttered or messy. Great stuff.

Empty People Empty People LP

You want to have your face melted? Start fucking with EMPTY PEOPLE. Imagine MAN IS THE BASTARD for past lives, with Frank Marchi (REDACTED, AGENTS OF SATAN, PLUTOCRACY) on bass and Eugene Robinson (WHIPPING BOY, OXBOW) on vocals, while the East Coast offers up Andrew Hernandez (ASRA, TOMBS) on drums. Noise-drenched bass/drum powerviolence mania dredged through ’90s KARP and/or NOMEANSNO…shit is unlike anything you’ve ever heard. Respect.

Frustration Nowadays / Winds of Change 7″

An exciting French post-punk band that describes themselves as “WARSAW meets WIRE meets the FALL,” and that couldn’t be more true of a statement. “Nowadays” opens up the party with an over-the-top energetic performance and a show of top-notch post-punk. The other side of the 7″ is a cover of BRUCE JOYNER AND THE PLANTATIONS’ 1983 song “Winds Of Change”. Weird, unhinged, and unapologetic.

Glittering Insects Glittering Insects LP

This album by Georgia psych-rockers GLITTERING INSECTS starts out with some jazzy guitar noise à la LIGHTNING BOLT, continues into something that sounds like early NIRVANA, and then goes full jazz with the addition of horns. This is all followed up with something that sounds like PUBLIC IMAGE LIMITED. Around the midpoint of the album, a pair of driving rock tracks emerge with a heavy DISCHARGE flavor. As if all this wasn’t enough, there are dreamlike, shoegazing psych-rock moments interspersed throughout the album. “Obscure World After Death” is an absolute killer song. In all, this album is an eclectic collection of sounds that have a surprisingly smooth flow which you’ll be hesitant to interrupt.

Grin and Bear It / Musket Hawk / Sidetracked / Ugly split LP

This is a four-way split LP of grindcore punk rock. I don’t mean mincing splatter grind, or trigger-heavy technical grind. Classic thrashing grind, the best kind. I have a few four-way splits and they seemed mostly popular coming from Japan in the ’80s and ’90s. Anyway, this compilation of sorts starts off with MUSKET HAWK (Baltimore)—think GRAVES AT SEA meets POPULATION ZERO. Grinding crust. GRIN AND BEAR IT (Cleveland) plays psychotic grind leaning into powerviolence like DISCORDANCE AXIS meets CHEPANG. SIDETRACKED (Tacoma)—holy shit, this band has extensive releases. I know I was sent their tape Dweller for review. These tracks continue with halting, wild earhole abuse like AGORAPHOBIC NOSEBLEED or CHARLES BRONSON, totally frenzied but denser and tighter than both. UGLY (Prescott) rounds out this day at the beach with echoing gloom-core similar to EYEHATEGOD, DYSTOPIA, or INITIAL STATE, but more to the rhythm of a metropolitan area collapsing. You’re getting a lot of grind/hardcore/PV bang with this well-rounded comp/split. We need more of these, again!

Lazertits Lazertits Are Cancelled 12″

A three-song LP from a four-piece, all-female band from Melbourne, in the spirit of the COATHANGERS and the earlier, rougher version of SLEATER-KINNEY circa Dig Me Out. All the tracks have a tough, self-assured riot grrrl presence, with the masturbation-themed “Self Care” closing with a metal-esque breakdown. I’m not sure how the three songs, clocking in under nine minutes, fill out 12” of vinyl, but I love any non-traditional formatting of music. It’s like a teaser sampling to check out the rest of their catalog, especially the full-length Not Punk, Per Se.

Old Old LP

It’s pretty funny for the guys from OG Toronto hardcore outfit YOUTH YOUTH YOUTH to do this “reunion”-type project and call the band OLD. A few decades after dropping their Sin EP in 1983, Rick and Brian from YYY are back to bashing out some straightforward, tightly-wound hardcore. The eighteen songs here continue the classic YYY tradition of calling out bullshit from various sources, but there’s a sense of humor present that they didn’t display back in the day, most pronounced in the name of the band and the song “Old,” in which they bemoan the timeless punk curse of physically aging when you still feel young. For completists, this will go nicely alongside the reissued Sin (and extras) LP that Blue Fog also put out recently.

Pandemix Love is Obliteration LP

For me, the all-angle, multi-vocal barrage is what keeps me listening to the latest release by PANDEMIX. With punk-as-fuck lyrics coming from every direction while the band smashes forward, it’s difficult to quit. “Pigs At the Trough” and “Scorched Earth Policy” are absolute bomb blasts of hardcore punk that’ll get you head-bobbing in swift order. A little more refined than previous releases, both in production and musicianship, Love is Obliteration still retains a healthy amount of hiss and noise.

Pilau Pressure EP

Pretty standard hardcore affair, but man, is this heavy as hell. Grindy and doomy with a little bit of black metal thrown in as well. Very nuanced, which is important when you’re writing a hardcore record in 2023. Has a little bit of a Southern groove to it, which is unique for a band from D.C. Recommended for all raucous pit-goers.

Primer Regimen Ultimo Testamento LP reissue

This is a 2023 repressing of PRIMER REGIMEN’s debut LP, originally released in 2018 on cassette by Discos MMM in the US and on vinyl by Byllepest Distro in Europe—now the great Discos Enfermos has taken care of them, probably for their European tour. Think about the things you did five years ago and wonder whether or not you would put them out now. This is basically what PRIMER REGIMEN did, and it tells you that they must be satisfied with the material. Why wouldn’t they be? It’s a well-recorded, tight, UK82-inspired record, balancing between crude melodies and straightforward hardcore rush. Nothing is complicated on this record, everything is set in order, yet there is a tension that fills the gaps and elevates this LP from the randomness of Oi!-influenced hardcore. It’s great, partly because it makes you wonder how these songs would sound live. Sadly, I missed them when they played here. but their records make up for it.