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High-octane is the name of the game. South Korean fast hardcore infused with blastbeats and occasional D-beats. Highly energetic music with a very, very pissed-off vocal delivery. Sometimes it reminds me of a slower and less spazzy RAINBOWS OF DEATH. The shifts in style and beats only bring another dimension to their love of hardcore punk. Amazing debut display of modern hardcore.
This is it. The kids from Pittsburgh always know how to deliver it. This is just my thing: the whole thing oozes aggressiveness, you almost can touch it. Drums are like a horse’s kick in the head or a blacksmith punch, riffs are a blunt and overwhelming repetition topped with some razor-like licks, and the vocals are an invitation to take things outside. I can hear 2000s hardcore punk in here, bands like WASTED TIME, DIRECT CONTROL, or CÜLO, a corrosive way of playing fast and dense punk that you don’t find so often nowadays. With this kind of band, everything’s already said or written, so the best thing to do is try not to overthink it and just let yourself go. Dance, scream, break things, and go berserk. RAT-NIP already did it.
Raw-as-fuck steamroller hardcore attack out of Los(t) Angeles. They’ve been kicking behinds for a long minute now, and this is hopefully just a teaser of more to come, judging from the snappy title. Reminds me a lot of CONCEALED BLADE as well as the usual FIX/POISON IDEA comparisons, the latter whom they do a nice job of covering. Well, it’s 2023 and this shit’s sold out already. Give me more. We’re all waiting.
Sick Italian hardcore here from SILENT DRAMA. On this ten-song tape, the band mixes Japanese and USHC influences into their stripped-down approach, and the whacked-out vocals cement it as a memorable experience. “Ignorance is Blissing” is the stand-out track for me, sounding like a cross between Fuck Heads-era GAUZE and early BAD BRAINS. Snotty as fuck.
There’s a whole lot of noise here, but the most disorienting feature is the rapidly changing drums. Every time I’m ready to settle into a nice raging rhythm, they halt, change speed, or even switch entirely mid-beat. It felt like a student driver riding the brake all down the highway. The vocals arrive via a busted speaker with traces of static. The whole thing is accompanied by a generous (or excessive) use of sound bites.
Two-riff songs that last less than two minutes each, simple but effective guitars, and a voice that kinda speaks to you from behind a megaphone at a rally. I like the canned sound and how the bass takes over in the middle of “The Corner Room.” There are no pretensions here, just old hardcore punk with influences from the classic New York and Boston styles, but with a less solemn approach.
Based between London and Leeds, England is STIFF MEDS, who go in hard and fast on their debut vinyl release. Uber-fast hardcore punk with some powerviolence-esque time-fuckery thrown in for good measure. Exciting Violence drips with rage and aggression on all fronts— the vocals roar over tight-as-a-vice instrumentation (drummer Luke is the absolute best in the game in the UK right now). If you like it as fast as possible, STIFF MEDS is not a band to sleep on.
TÀRREGA 91′ is a band from the small town of Tàrrega in Catalonia. Their speedy, skate-friendly brand of hardcore is played in honor of a 1991 riot in which 86 youths were detained. Blasting like some of the best hardcore punk bands of all-time, TÀRREGA 91′ manages to blister their way through three fast songs, only to close things out with a welcomed mid-paced pummeler that uses all the primordial power hidden in those tom drum fills. Play on repeat and you’ll be stomping in circles, pissed-off and ready to butt heads. This is that authentic anarchist hardcore that primes the synapses for anything and everything.
More wacky, drum-machine-clad, DEVO-infused garage rock from our friends at Goodbye Boozy, this time featuring Australia’s TEE VEE REPAIRMANN. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it a thousand times: the best in punk is currently being exported from the Land Down Under. The rest of the world should collectively thank Strai’yah for their services to rock’n’roll. First half of this slab retains the traditional egg-punk we’ve all come to know and love, reminiscent of SNOOPER, ALIEN NOSEJOB, and CHERRY CHEEKS. The B-side features two slower ballads with a much stronger bedroom pop vibe. Really rounds out the EP as a whole. Great piece here, highly recommended.
An interesting single from VACUM, a pioneering post-punk band from Northern Sweden who were active in the late ’70s. After some digging into the band’s discography, I found a lot to love on their earlier releases. VACUM had a cool style, sort of a quirkier WIRE, or even JOY DIVISION with an additional female vocalist. They were active for a few years and seem to have had a small but powerful impact on the punk scene at the time. Years later in 2019, they re-recorded their track “Pang – Du Är Död!” (“Bang – You Are Dead!”) to celebrate the 40-year anniversary of their label Massproduktion. While still maintaining the general vibe of their earlier work, this updated version unfortunately doesn’t work as well. The production is a little too slick and the blaring saxophones during the intro and chorus reminds of third-wave ska, while the verses jerk back to icy post-punk mode, making for a slightly confusing listen. The B-side is an updated demo from 2014 which starts off well but is a bit bland overall. It’s a shame, because VACUM is a band worth looking into—this just isn’t the right place to start. Check out their debut Rädd För Tystnaden 16 Brottstycken Ur 5 Verkligheter for the good shit.
Scratch ‘N’ Sniff is the sophomore suite of songs from the WHIFFS, whom Dig Records have billed as “Kansas City’s foremost power pop foursome.” From the oft-mimicked Hard Days Night cover art to the above statement, I was not eager to like this, writing it off as parody. After tucking into each syrupy, twelve-string Rickenbacker-layered song, the record quickly became hard to turn off. This album reminds me of a lot of happiness that will soon get stuck in your head. The record seeps with great melodies and tight songwriting that becomes something more relatable and oddly familiar than first perceived. The album’s thirteen tracks each build on each other, without any weak filler. Sounds like the BYRDS covering the REPLACEMENTS, feels like Paul Weller when he rocked a turtleneck. Start with “Wanted” and “Pretender”—there is not a moment wasted, and the tracklist continues on with modern-world glee.
This is a mixed bag of tunes, some of which hit hard while some are actively annoying. NEKRA, a London-based hardcore band with a previous release on the excellent La Vida Es Un Mus label, kicks things off with a ripper of an opener. From there, a more melodic track from the Belgian outfit LAVENDER WITCH keeps things engaging. The rest is fairly forgettable, save for a cut by TIGER SEX, whose song “Food Porn” continually repeats “She got my brownies / She likes the fudge” as its chorus over a rote riot grrrl riff. Yikes. Definitely nothing here makes this an essential comp.
A.M.D. (ANTI MILITARY DEMONSTRATION) was a hardcore punk band based in Budapest, Hungary and was active around the late ’80s. This cassette, initially released in 1989, was recorded live, and while the audio quality certainly isn’t high-definition, it is certainly comprehensible. This tape is great—much like a lot of the bands coming out around this time, the guitarist has clearly been digging a lot of metal records, but this is hardcore punk through and through. Reminds me quite a bit of BGK at times. My only complaint would be that, at 42 minutes, it does go on a bit, but don’t let that dissuade you. Recommended for fans of classic hardcore punk with a slight metal bent (only slight).
Temuco’s anti-new-world-order, post-apocalyptic punks. D-beat merged with classic hardcore punk featuring members of INYECCION, with lyrics touching subjects such as modern society’s surreptitious decay and the macabre system we are in, chemicals in the water poisoning us, submission to heavy technology, and abusive social domination. Ranting guitars, crazy open hi-hat D-beat drums, and a desperate maniac voice trying to warn you about the geopolitical experiments of globalization mixed with violence and chaos nowadays. Really dig the format of the songs as cautions or presages of a real near future, but also depicting stuff from our present. Chileans sure know their hardcore punk, and this themed DIY band is a faithful example. Four-track EP in under six minutes. Go give them a listen and join the forces of ARGH in order to be prepared to fight a more than grim prospect (or perhaps is it too late?).
Sick. The BRATS’ once-obscure ’70s single (since reissued and sold out by Hozac Records) now graces us again thanks to this fine Italian label’s money. In case you’re not an obsessive ’70s proto-glam punk nostalgia nerd, the BRATS were the vehicle of very brief original NEW YORK DOLLS guitarist Rick Rivets. My well-aged peers might know “Be a Man” from the cover done by SF punk favorites the INFECTIONS. It’s definitely the better tune here, but the flip ain’t no slouch either, and the whole thing has a slightly warped sound adding to the whole platform-soled “Quaalude” stagger sound. If you’re like me and missed the boat on ingesting the Roher disco biscuits, this is a suitable, clearer-headed substitute that won’t leave you with the joy of questioning your bedmate’s name in the morning. Good stuff, punker. Pick it up.
Excellent debut LP from this Barcelona band that deftly melds full-throated hardcore with math, metal, and even post-rock influences. The record immediately smacks you in the head with opener “Morir de Asco,” orbiting through the same universe as CONVERGE and BOTCH; serpentine guitar figures piercing through raw hardcore. “Los Creyentes” features multiple time changes that reveal the band’s musical chops while escalating an epic build-up that rivals any heavy post-rock band, tempering beauty with ultimate audio violence. It’s awe-inspiring. “Futuro Final” layers pounding, noise rock kick drums with algebraic guitar that becomes near-catchy despite its intricacy, like a flashing knot of Christmas lights. Final track “Bajo el Mismo Sol” constructs a staggering wall of sound with all elements turned up to maximum volume and intensity that is a staggering end to a great record. Intelligent, consistently experimental, and extremely heavy, this is an exciting introduction to a band worth watching.
Angry and moody melodic hardcore from Seattle, Washington’s CITY OF INDUSTRY. This is the trio’s fourth LP, and according to guitar and vocalist John Caraveo, “Spiritual West is, musically and lyrically, the most honest, raw, and poignant piece of work I’ve ever done.” The lyrics are highly personal, and Caraveo sings and shouts them with an abrupt honesty, like he’s already lost his shit. I expected more songs like “Perruquier,” with dark, meandering synth, heavy mid-tempo drums, and droning guitar, which, past the three-minute mark, feels long compared to so many sub-two-minute tracks that chug at full speed. “Spiritual West” is the most confessional moment of the album, with Caraveo’s voice alone shouting over a hollowed-out synth line that’s repeated throughout the twelve songs. If sad and tragic with a touch of crust is what you’re looking for, check out CITY OF INDUSTRY.
Synth punk is another one of those subgenres that really needs to be dialed in so as not to sound stale, and this French solo project gets it pretty much right on the mark. Despite production that leans slightly toward thin, these songs are nonetheless meaty and efficient, ripping it up in record time with no fat whatsoever. It’s a nice buzzy blast of synth-driven punk, simple as that.
Finland has always been a hub for death metal and black metal, but what about grindcore? Is Finnish grindcore any good? The answer is “fuck yeah!”. Similar to their grinding countrymen ROTTEN SOUND, DEATH TOLL 80K has been relentless at the grindcore game ever since their inception in 2005. Taking cues from the likes of ASSÜCK, PHOBIA, or TERRORIZER, they take the crown as one of the most extreme grindcore acts at the moment in the absence of INSECT WARFARE. Unrelenting grindcore with a death metal feel to it, complete with pummeling drums and moshing grooves. Nine songs in eleven minutes. What more can you ask for?
Two peppy numbers of self-described mod/punk. I get more of the punk than the mod, but feel free to disagree with me. Super catchy, I found myself bouncing my head non-stop. I’d even say more power pop than mod. Super tight, I found myself putting this back on again and again. The sing-along vocals on the second track were particularly good, I thought. I’d go out of my way to find this one.
Would I have called my band DISEASE SS? Probably not. It is, truth be told, rather generic, and I am not a massive fan of having “SS” in a moniker (it makes bands’ shirts pretty much unwearable at dinner parties). But then, the name DISEASE SS definitely gives you a clear preliminary idea of what this Malaysian punk unit from Kedah is all about: the D will be beaten, distortion will be celebrated, and fury revered. The band comes from the same scene that has recently graced us with bands in love with the Swedish and Japanese sound like 13DAS, SYNKKYYS, or PARÖTID, so that when the listener is confronted with a tornado of raw distorted D-beat from that area, surprise is not exactly of the essence. Just another day at the noise-not-music office. Does it matter? Of course not, as DISEASE SS do well what they claim to be doing. If you are in need of a raw and wild take on LIFELOCK or DISCLOSE (whom they cover), significantly infused with the “dislickers” sound of bands like the Swedish DISCONTROL or early APPÄRATUS like Malaysian punks are renowned for, then this will be your thing. It is a niche, but a comfy one.
Including their 2005 split with the HUNKIES, Teraz is the eighth full-length album by this Polish powerhouse. EYE FOR AN EYE fires off ten tracks of their signature metal-tinged punk, with scorching female vocals and hardcore breakdowns. It’s obvious that EYE FOR AN EYE has been honing their craft for many years, and Teraz finds them at the top of their game. Alternating between brutal and melodic, each song feels like the result of the kind of chemistry that is reserved for long-running bands. The lazy comparison is to POST REGIMENT, due to the vocals and being from Poland, but EYE FOR AN EYE veers far more into an aggressive, metallic territory with lots of tempo changes and even some blastbeats. The production value on this album is quite polished, which detracts from the energy, but suits the mosh parts well enough. Overall, a strong effort from a group of seasoned hardcore veterans.
Pure noise. Call your friends, lock yourself up in a basement with mold and bad acoustics, try some acid, and play out-of-tune guitars and rusty drums. Then, record everything with an old phone while a maniac screams as if the world was coming to an end. The result would be something similar to the latest FÜKKHEADS work, an indiscernible maelstrom of din topped with a voice out of a psychophony. A crust pandemonium just apt for the demented and fans of the most unhinged DOOM tracks (kind of the same thing). The A-side is a 10:32-long recording of a cave show; the B-side was taken from a squat gig at an abandoned factory. It seems more fun to play than to listen to, but as they say: “This release is an existential cry for help as the human race accelerates towards complete oblivion, wishing to return into the mycelium network from once we evolved from. It’s ugly but so is this world!”. I agree.
Well, this is an interesting one. On my initial listens to this Melbourne five-piece’s debut, I was having trouble nailing down points of comparison. I kept landing somewhere among the contemporary no wave/post-punk scenes of Oakland and Portland. The four tunes on this EP are built around sparse, bass-driven grooves, and harsh guitars play more of a percussive role. So, in that respect they’re not a million miles away from the stuff LITHICS, the WORLD, or COLLATE have made. But it would also be a stretch to say this sounds like any of those bands. It’s more like GUT HEALTH takes that same minimal post-punk foundation, cranks up the tempo, and, instead of making something funky, arty, or cool, layers in goofy synths and exuberant vocal melodies to create something that’s unabashedly new wave pop. Listen to a track like “Lethargic” to get a good sense of the uniqueness of this act—I wouldn’t say this “Kids in America”-meets-JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS chorus comes out of nowhere, but it’s definitely not what you would expect given the first 30 seconds of the song. It’s a formula that I think ultimately works due in large part to the tightness of the band and Athina Uh Oh’s commitment to this vocal performance. I’d be really interested to see how well this works live. On record, though, it’s good!
Kamloops’s HEADCHEESE is planning an LP, but in the meantime, we get this unhinged little demo. The band swings back and forth between sounding playful and pissed as they run through four speedy tracks of schizophrenic hardcore. These beefy tunes are centered around start/stop dynamics and often drop into spats of sparse, jerky instrumentation, not unlike the CONTORTIONS. If you like ‘em heavy and weird, this one’s for you. There’s a great hoe-down-style song called “Loss Prevention” on here, too.
D-Beat from the Czech Republic with an epic touch, good structures, and an afterlife voice. The guitars are too grandiloquent and solemn for my taste, almost with a bit of metal, but they have everything you look for in the genre.
Has a decade (plus) of harsh noise madness mellowed LIMBS BIN? No, young punk…not at all. Eighteen doses of chaotic, repetitive blasts shoving frenetic vocals from track to track with no time to breathe in between. A swarm of electronics fill the scant remaining spaces so the listener experiences nothing but pure mania; extreme noisecore stripped to its core elements (the “noise” and the “core”) and presented untreated, at maximum intensity. Eighteen fully-formed assaults crammed into 177 seconds…and then you can exhale.
Here are two more crackers from MESS, one of the best to do it in the current crop of Oi! bands gaining popularity. Both sides of this 7” scratch the itch, with “Traidores” and “Excuses” straddling the line of first-wave ’70s punk and classic UK82 and Oi!, influenced by the usual suspects (BUSINESS, BLITZ, 4-SKINS). Throw this on with a beer or spliff for a solid Saturday night.
If you’re looking for straightforward hardcore or punk, maybe look elsewhere, but if you’re in the mood for that creepy, kind of surreal, Outer Limits-inspired punk, then stick around. NAG from Atlanta, Georgia released Human Coward Coyote earlier this year as a fresh addition to their growing catalog. This new album pushes the punk element deeper with a bit more raw production and in-your-face drums. If you’ve ever enjoyed the work of A FRAMES, then you’ll like this. There’s even elements that remind me of the ADOLESCENTS and a bit of AGENT ORANGE. Overall, it’s a fast, fun blend of darker punk interspersed with some intergalactic noise.
Two tracks that were recorded by Japanese art-punks NON BAND in 1981, but ultimately left on the cutting room floor when they released their self-titled 10” the following year. Rhythm completely guides the songs, with hypnotic tom-centered beats tumbling behind see-sawing violin scratch, elastic-snap bass grooves, and vocalist/bassist Non’s flipped-out baby doll chatters and shrieks—a splintered no wave deconstruction of (punk) rock-descended sound, but one that’s more playful and freewheeling than skronking and confrontational, sort of like the RAINCOATS by way of DNA (if you want to be reductive). Both sides are absolutely killer, and as a bonus, the 7” comes with a beautifully laid-out 48-page booklet/magazine full of archival photos of the band taken by Yuichi Jibiki, who was responsible for backing some of the wildest Japanese post-punk of the early-to-mid-’80s through his label Telegraph Records. It’s a German import and not cheap, but absolutely worth every penny and any effort involved in obtaining a copy. Do it!
PHYSIQUE has been one my favourite US bands of the past five years, a statement that is not to be taken lightly since the belly of the beast has produced a lot of quality crust, noisy hardcore, and D-beat music in that time. Before PHYSIQUE, the word “physique,” in its English form, inexplicably evoked images of David Beckham’s underwear ad campaigns, so I am extremely grateful that it has now been replaced with visions of crust pants and Flying Vs. Olympia is not a town that one would traditionally associate with being mercilessly assailed by Japanese-style distorted atrocious hardcore madness, but this makes PHYSIQUE even better. Again is the band’s first real LP and it is relatively long for a dis-noise crasher oeuvre, no less than thirty minutes (as a comparison The Evolution of Combat was a twelve-minute affair), so clearly it is an ambitious undertaking. I have always liked how the band’s sound evolved through time, as the progression from Punk Life is Shit to Again is striking. On this new one, PHYSIQUE keeps working in the liminal space between the crasher hardcore crust school and the most brutal käng tsunamis. D-CLONE Frenching FRAMTID at a conference about the Tokyo Crusties EP and followed by a workshop about how to write your band’s name with the classic DOOM font. Basically. The sound on this album is devastating and almost scary: the drums sound insane, an impressive demonstration of the manic crasher style with its distinct rolls and transitions, the guitar’s distortion is al dente, the bass sounds like there is an earthquake next door, and the vocals have never sounded so desperate, agonizing, and almost unnaturally angry. They sound like a zombified bear singing along to SHITLICKERS on a night bus. PHYSIQUE shines on this, but it is the sheer relentlessness of the songwriting that is incredible, with only two delicious, DISCHARGE-loving, mid-paced scorchers to let the listener breathe and throw a few cool dance moves. Again is an articulated work behind its frightening ferocity, and the last song “Again (Reprise)” is a seven-minute-long galloping D-beat song that goes on again and again, precisely in the style that traditionally goes on again and again, just like war and misery go on again and again. The song never seems to stop even when it should, which is a pretty accurate metaphor for the world we live in. The tape is released on Iron Lung, but there will be a vinyl version soon enough. What a brutal experience.
Early ’00s full-length from Warsaw’s POKER FACE gets the reissue treatment from Enigmatic. Melodic hardcore that hits like a street punk NOFX, or the later records by NYHC bands who had started to mellow. Catchy guitar leads and determined, gritty vocal snarls, they’re at their best when the songs are short and sweet, but there’s a legion of new fans just waiting to discover this band—and I hope that they do.
A nicely-done EP from Switzerland’s REVANCHE, featuring four sturdy Oi! tracks sung in French. No frills here; this is as clean as a freshly shaved dome. Opening track “Poucave” and title track “A Jamais” are a saxophone or two away from being indistinguishable from the source material these guys are working from. For fans of the old school (TROTSKIDS) and the new school (MESS, CASTILLO) of the genre.
The RUBS make no-frills, verse-chorus-verse pop music. They have been at it for a while now, and have scrawled their name in the lengthy scroll of the Chicago pop punk sound that keeps on trucking. It has been a minute since I have seen this band around. I do remember hearing their single “The Walk” when it came out in 2015 and thinking that Joey Rubbish and company were on the bluesy garage end of the spectrum…seven years later with (Dust), the band comes with much more of a synth-laden, dreamy pop punk feel. It all has the right feel with enough hooks, harmonies, and palmed guitar riffing to get the bubblegum popping. I feel that a good amount of the record’s tracks would almost do better with shortened lengths—the opener “I Want You” and “Dana” come to mind. I would buy this album just to listen to “Here in My Dream,” a sleepy, quiet composition. It is acoustic and woody and does not sound like the rest of the pack.
Hailing from Berlin, SCHWACH has been putting out music for quite some time now, although it is this reviewer’s first time listening. All in all, it is by-the-numbers, melodic youth crew hardcore (although it does contain surprises within, including but not limited to the latter half of “Gedankenpalast,” which contains both a killer drum solo and even a pretty bitchin’ sax solo!), which isn’t a bad thing. Most of the lyrics are in their native German, but with the occasional burst of English lyrics like “Don’t give up!” that should give an idea of the lyrical content. Sure, it is far from groundbreaking, but it doesn’t need to be. This LP will be a two-stepper’s delight and comes very recommended for fans of the youth crew style.
Hardcore that harkens back to the youth crew revival sound that was so prevalent around the start of the new millennium. Pretty decent stuff as far as sounding like more than just a rehash of what has come before. Lyrics are more on the personal and introspective tip than just singing about straightedge, which a lot of these types are guilty of. These kids may be straightedge, but they’re not throwing it in your face, which is welcomed. Solid effort here.
This demo features two versions of two songs: one electric, the other acoustic. This felt a little gratuitous to me since the latter didn’t depart too much from the former. SPIRIT DIVE’s tunefulness is front and center, so it’s not like you’d miss it but for the acoustic versions. The electric versions are delivered via flanged guitar and the vocalist’s deep, from-the-belly belting. The rhythm section is definitely putting their hours in balancing the guitar’s treble with a full, lower-register sound.
When I threw this on, the first thing that came to mind was that the vocals were vaguely reminiscent of Fuaim Catha-era OI POLLOI. That’s about the best thing that I can say about STALINGRAD 42, because it really goes downhill from there. While there are a plethora of Oi! bands currently pushing the boundaries of the genre, STALINGRAD 42 is taking a far less innovative approach. Skins’N’Punks is replete with overproduced, under-inspired songs that are so phoned-in, they should be charged for collect calls. The guitar lines sound like they were lifted from your dad’s butt-rock cover band. Oh, and there’s a ska song. This gets a hard pass from me.
The latest reissue of STIFF RICHARDS’ debut LP from 2017, delivering melodic garage rock with hooks for days. Like a mix of the SAINTS, PAINT FUMES, and BLACK LIPS, this record is a non-stop, classic-sounding jam with punk energy. For instance, “Brainwashed” has raspy, smoke-ruined vocals and guitar-hero riffs, but then lifts the “I’m seein’ red” refrain from the canonical MINOR THREAT song, “Seeing Red.” Other standouts are the earworm “Layla,” the psych-tinged “Bustin’ Out,” and the naughty pseudo-ballad “Ride on Me.” If this type of high octane, no-frills grime rock is your jam, check it out.
New single from Moe Staiano’s SURPLUS 1980 project. Staunchly in support of Ukraine, the album cover is simply Putin’s face crossed out by Ukrainian colors, and all sales of the single go to the Vet Crew, taking care of animals displaced by the war. This is my first dabble into anything Moe Staiano-related, and apparently, I’ve got some homework to do. SURPLUS 1980 was originally started as a studio-only band, with Staiano playing many different instruments on the 2011 debut Relapse in Response, and transformed over the years into a collective of different musicians with some live shows. The music is a little unnerving and off-kilter, but in a playful way. Lots of odd percussion, single synth notes walking up obscure scales, asymmetrical guitar riffs, and fun backing vocals coming from all directions. “Kremlin Gremlin (A Dull Fiddler)” provides the political context, and has a little more typical song structure, while “Some Few Facts (And One False One) About Birds (Birds Are Real Dub Mix)” on the B-side is a full dub-groove experiment with a cyclical melody that is a little maddening, sounding like some DEVO hidden track. Show some support for Ukraine and get weird with SURPLUS 1980!
Cool! TERCER MUNDO’s debut EP was one of the first records I got assigned to review that I was really stoked on getting a review copy to take home as well. Encased in a beautiful hand-screened envelope with ultra-gore ¡Alarma!-style graphics and an insert with decapitated heads on one side and a woman’s armless and legless torso inside with the words “Mexico 2012—60,000 human beings dead. Now go party and score some cocaine” gave one an idea of what to expect. Brutal, violent, raw hardcore from an especially violent and bloody period in Mexico’s history. This turmoil spawned an awesome spark of raw musical inspiration much as ’80s and early ’90s Medellin punk and metal did under Escobar’s reign. Bands like TERCER MUNDO, MUERTE, INSERVIBLES, ABORTICIDIO, and RATAS DEL VATICANO were on fire with art and anguish, with a sound akin to an updated MASSACRE 68 or SECTA SUICIDA SIGLO 20. Eager American punks like me lapped it up. Here we get that killer EP as well as the follow-up LP all on one cassette, beautifully packaged in the pictures I’ve seen. It’s limited to 40 copies so you’ll have to fight me to get one of your own, but if you miss out, member Dave Rata is making beautiful music in NYC in POBREZA MENTAL, XERO, and more. Really cool.
Wow. This is straight-up power pop. And it’s straight-up excellent power pop. Sort of mid-tempo and driving, it’s delivered with incredible confidence. The vocals are sometimes sort of soft and almost feminine and they’re perfect for this music. It’s really incredible the way the vocals, the guitar, the bass, and the drums work together to become a single thing. This record really is fantastic.
I am so happy to be assigned this scorching LP. VERDICT’s debut was on my year-end top ten for 2022—a raging attack of Swedish hardcore with the speed of TOTALITÄR and KRIGSHOT, plus a unique nod to American hardcore crust giants DISRUPT and FINAL CONFLICT, for example. Galloping D-beat throughout with clear accentuated vocals, this one is a non-stop hardcore pummel-fest that teeters on fastcore thrash while retaining classic ‘80s mangel and the original grinding ‘90s crust sound. So many subgenres mentioned here, and only a few bands, but some years from now, Time to Resign will still sound like quintessential hardcore punk fucking rock. Oh, this band is comprised of members from NO SECURITY, 3 WAY CUM, MEANWHILE, WARCOLLAPSE, IMPERIAL LEATHER, SLUTET, EXPLOATÖR…VERDICT is just what these guys do when they don’t want to relax.
You know what you’re getting into here. This EP sounds like trash. Glorious, nasty trash. If the MEATMEN were more rock‘n’roll and put a swing into the beat, you might get something like this. It’s four tracks of blissfully blown-out and ugly garage punk presented with love and care from the always on-point Goodbye Boozy label. It’s noisy as fuck, but doesn’t grate the ear (captures the lo-fi sound without throwing production entirely in the bin). The songs are anarchic, blindingly fast, and have that tight guitar pop structure that makes a crowd go crazy. So, to reiterate, with a band like this you know what you’re getting into—and it kicks ass.
Reissue of a total cult classic LP released in the ’80s, compiling 20 tracks of punk rock, hardcore punk, and Oi! from Argentina—one of the first Argentinian punk compilations. Features songs from LOS LAXANTES, ATTAQUE 77, DIVISION AUTISTA’s early approach to straightedge, FLEMA’s first line-up (with their later iconic singer Ricky Espinosa on guitar), EXEROICA, COMANDO SUICIDA, DEFENSA Y JUSTICIA, RIGIDEZ KADAVERICA, CONMOCION CEREBRAL, and LOS BARAJA. Originally released by Radio Tripoli Discos in December 1988 with recordings that were made between 1982–1988. It was one of my first exposures to punk as a teenager. Highly recommended for lovers ’80s punk rock and hardcore from Latin America, as it depicts Argentina’s most notorious bands at the time who were in some aspects first in their class, reaching the fiber of the feeling of an era when punk emerged and became a fully recognizable subculture in South America. Reissued by Fuego A Las Fronteras, a Basque/Mexican label that operates in Barcelona, it includes a DVD with a short film from the ’80s called Festipunk by Patra Exeroica along with the LP, which is a trip to a much yearned-for era for the first Argentinian punks, and also works as an archeological musical project for those unfamiliar. Lot of punks in these latitudes got a first glimpse at punk and listened to it in the first place back in the day because of this album, and it is still much appreciated today. Filled with songs expressing anger, anti-political statements, pure nihilism and violence, and revolt, and even polemic statements like those on behalf of COMANDO SUICIDA (I personally discourage listening to them because of their spreading of nationalist ideas). Suggested tracks and mentions: Legendary FLEMA’s early recordings like “Buscando Un Lugar,” EXEROICA, the first all-female alternative punk band from Argentina, DEFENSA Y JUSTICIA’s street punk against police forces in “Ratis,” the chaos-charged punk rock formula by RIGIDEZ KADAVERICA ranting against the system, classic punk anthem “Operación Ser Humano” from LOS BARAJA, and “Pasión de Multitudes” by ATTAQUE 77, combining football affinity with punk rock. There’s a lot to take in, but it’s worth it. Go ahead, dive into Argentina’s crazy, wild, and sometimes anakoquilombero ’80s punk!
Spanish Oi! stalwarts AGGRESSIVE COMBAT return, and if you like your Euro Oi! to sound like Euro Oi!, then hold onto yer Sambas and camo shorts, because do I have the band for you! More on the hard rockin’ end of the Oi! spectrum, with a few guitar solo flourishes to dance across the factory-rhythmic drums, it’s a bit too polished for me. Some classic silly vox, with matey on vocals sounding like he’s doing his best impression of a scary monster rather than expressing working class solidarity, talking about drinking beer, inexplicably finding Andy Capp endearing, or any number of Euro skin activities.
Songs of love, madness, and death, brought to you by some of Puerto Rico’s most notorious rockers. ARDILLAS predate DAVILA 666, with whom they share members, by a solid decade. They’re far less prolific—but hey, you can’t rush genius! Whereas DAVILA 666 was born of the garage, ARDILLAS seem to have emerged from the dense haze of a smoke-filled pub. This is premium rock’n’roll with just the right amount of grit to keep the sing-along choruses from getting too syrupy. More infectious than the boogie-woogie flu! After a few spins, these songs will be kicking around in the damp corridors of your noggin for days. Unafraid to embrace their prowess, ARDILLAS dig into big rhythms and expand out past the confines of your typical greasy-haired, leather jacket punk’n’roll. These cats (or should I say squirrels!?) know how to pen some quality tunes. There are nods to the HEARTBREAKERS, and FLAMIN’ GROOVIES. What more can you ask for? Here’s to hoping we won’t have to wait another decade for their next release.
I’ve got to admit that I’m not a fan of the band name. I was expecting some sort of funny punk thing. The name aside, this record is impressive. It’s super catchy and super poppy. Some tracks have a power pop feel from the late ’70s or early ’80s, while others seem to capture the spirit of the Subway sound, a sound that I remain a fan of. It’s jangly and the vocals are very bouncy, creating a sort of carefreeness, yet remains somewhat somber. This thing is excellent from start to finish. From Austria, if that’s an important detail to you.
Debut release from Naarm/Melbourne, Australia’s BEAT PANIC continues the dialogue about colonization and Aboriginal displacement in Australia, thusly giving name to the Kulin Nation of Naarm. This shows up more in the Bandcamp notes than what I can find in their lyrics, but something to recognize all the same. To the music: I didn’t know what I was going to find after the synth-only opener “Sprawl,” which is haunting and tender all at once. What follows is wonderfully rich, goth-tinged post-punk reminiscent of DAVE VANIAN AND THE PHANTOM CHORDS, especially the commanding yet reverb-hollow vocals. Definitely worth a listen—but hey, I was sold at Aussie post-punk.
Crushing debut LP from DC’s BRAIN TOURNIQUET. Although this record is most easily categorized as powerviolence, there is so much innovation here that it tramples micro-genre labels. These are epics in bursts, blasts of fury with the intricate structure of much longer songs. Take “Mental Tomb” for example: there is the fast and extreme hardcore, which rolls into a bridge of dissonant guitar noise and rolling drums, then back to the hardcore. The song is 1:17 long. Many of the tracks have this level of careful intricacy that make repeated listens a treat. There is definite influence from classic West Coast bands like MAN IS THE BASTARD and CROSSED OUT, but I also hear CRYPTIC SLAUGHTER-style crossover (especially the amazing drums) in songs like “Deny.” “Little Children Working” and “Behind My Eyes” are feedback-laden, dangerously creepy instrumentals that keep the record’s urgent and unsettling tone intact, while “…An Expression in Pain” has a slow-crawl intro that erupts into relentless fast PV and back to the doomy slow crunch. This goes back and forth over ten minutes, and it rules. This record is fresh and exciting, bold and risky without being pretentious. It’s early in the year, but I’m bookmarking this one for my year-end top ten.
