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JOAN JETT and the RAMONES are listed as influences here, and reader, this is no lie. Prepare to be whisked away to a basement show in your senior year. It’s packed with friends, randos, and a janky PA. You’ve endured the awful nü metal band who bought the keg, but then some unassuming looking punks plug in, turn up, and play a set that blows everyone away. You pogo, drink watery beer, and break the chair sitting down too hard.
ATOMSKI RAT is a band that has been going for much longer than I originally thought (at least since 2009) and that I never really took the time to properly listen to, so this review is an ideal opportunity. The band comes from Šid, a small town close to Novi Sad, the punk capital of this Serbian region. Nekro San was originally released on tape by Odmetnik, the label run by Miloš from the cruelly underrated DAŽD and MUTABO, and a vinyl version also recently came out on Angry Voice and Terminal Records (the band’s first vinyl output). ATOMSKI RAT is a little difficult to describe. They are certainly a raw and feral dark hardcore punk band, but they are not generic. I can hear element of Dis-oriented punk like HELLKRUSHER, but they are quite versatile with songs borrowing from crossover hardcore thrash, primitive metal, and good old plain raw punk, I suppose not unlike a less pagan-sounding version of the aforementioned DAŽD (whom they cover) or even ’80s hardcore bands like TERVEET KÄDET or Brazilian hardcore thrash at times. The production is rather raw and the songs have more than enough energy to make up for it. I suppose the insane vocals are one of ATOMSKI RAT’s main assets, as they sound like a demented prophet of doom just escaped from the local asylum and is banging on your door to warn you that there is a war coming. In a good way, of course.
Furious trashcan serenades from an Indonesian garage punk force of one named Andresa Nugraha. I guess he uses a full band to play live, but it’s definitely one man’s vision here, and a wonderfully fucked one at that. Discogs says this is “strongly influenced by TEENGENERATE,” but I’m mostly hearing the blown-out Southern charms of Soul Food-era OBLIVIANS, REATARDS, and the CARBONAS. I’m taken back to a sweaty Kilowatt club show or the 17th and Capp warehouse in Frisco. Every song is a loser here (in a good way), but the title track and “I Don’t Like You” really bring it for me. Lick it up.
What can you say, the French love their cold goth post-punk and so do I. From the same label as the excellent SYNDROME 81 is BLEAKNESS with their second LP, Life at a Standstill. While the former plays it straight with the post-punk iciness, BLEAKNESS is far more dramatic, opening the album with a lone piano that gives the proceedings a dramatic flair that permeates throughout the album. The vocals especially stand out; they have a pained warble that feels authentic. While all ten tracks are solid, two stand out above the rest: halfway point “Refuse Their Reality,” a hypnotic spoken word deathrocker that has an evil BAUHAUS vibe, and “19061924,” a beautiful and surprisingly sweeping instrumental that, if pushed, could almost go into MOGWAI or even PELICAN-like territory. I’ve got to say, it really left me wanting more of that sound. I’ll be excited to hear whatever these guys come up with next.
Cool synth punk side-project from one of the members of WEREWOLF JONES. Check out the cover art—I wanted a shirt of it before I pressed play, and now I want one even more. “Flesh in Hell” begins with detuned guitars and synths like a demented orchestra warming up and then delivers eight keyboard-addled garage punk dirges with raw vocals. The whole tape is solid, but “Facehugger” and “The Garden” are clear standouts. “Facehugger” is a dark and woozy post-punk hit with a jagged guitar line that sticks in your brain. If goth sounded like this, I would commit to the darkness. “The Garden” starts off with bizarre vomit-sung vocals that end up being pretty catchy after a few repetitions, and ends with a grandiose instrumental buildup that lands somewhere between COWS and freaky labelmate SPACE DANISH. Keep an eye on CACOGENS and keep an eye on Tetryon because they have released some under-the-radar weirdo gems like this tape lately.
Music aside for a second—maybe I’m old-fashioned, but I don’t understand why each half of this split is being hosted on two separate Bandcamp pages. I’m aware that this is first and foremost a cassette release, but the majority of the folks who will be listening to this will be doing so digitally. I feel like it would make more sense having it all in one place. Regardless, it’s a pretty groovy split. Both bands sound different enough for it to be interesting. As a two-piece, DÖPEMESS does a fantastic job filling any and all gaps. Drums are incredible and never waver. Fast as all hell. Dual vocals give the tracks a real call-and-response vibe. CHOKE is much more slow and low, reminiscent of SPAZZ and CAPTAIN THREE LEG-styled powerviolence with their barking vocals. Drums sound almost impossibly fast at times. Comes complete with samples that are almost longer than the song. Good shit.
If there was ever a release meant for 625 Thrashcore, it’s this collection of blistering cuts from Osaka’s COMPLETED EXPOSITION. A collection of their first four demos and unreleased/comp tracks, this 10” is a fucking clinic in manic fastcore/grind from a three-piece that’s been in the game for almost two decades—raw, punishing, chaotic hardcore stripped down to its purest form; twenty blasts of unadulterated speed. I consider myself lucky to have seen them in the US and Japan, and I’ve listened to the Structure Space Mankind LP more times than I can count…but listening to this record just makes me want to feel that power again. Mandatory for the uninitiated, and even more important for those who already know.
Some real rocker shit from out of Jakarta here; UK82-influenced pogo mayhem to shake yer mullet to. Driving drums for the dis-rocker in your life, barked vocals, and guitars that rattle along at a rate of knots. If you like the SKEPTIX, ULTRA VIOLENT, or even GBH, you’ll find something to like here.
It is a joy getting to review this one. DEVASTATION was a crust punk hardcore band fromConnecticut who recorded this back in the late ’90s, but I don’t think a lot of folks got to hear it then. It’s a shame, as this is pure slime-drenched blackened gold. There’s a lot of history here that you can search for online, as members went on to bands like MANKIND?, BLANKS 77, DESTROY, STATE OF FEAR, BEHIND ENEMY LINES, and tons more. With the latter band in that list, you can see there’s a Pittsburgh connection with AUS ROTTEN and CAUSTIC CHRIST, which made me really happy. The music is along the lines of the faster, crustier bands they would later go on to, as well as the token DISCHARGE worship, but this stands alone quite nicely. It sold out quickly, so I hope to score a copy somewhere. There’s also material from a split with the late, great DISTRAUGHT that never saw the light of day. Hope to see that out at some point, too. Kill!
The newest release from Australian-based grindcrushers ENDLESS BORE is another winner, delivering more angry, riffy hardcore with blisteringly fast powerviolence thrown in the mix, with a few surprises also in store for you. Can’t go wrong with this slab of aggression and fun—check this one out!
Normally, I’m a huge fan of anything goth and darkwave, but this album just did nothing for me. The music is good, the production is fine, there’s just something missing. It kind of reminds me of the HUNT, but the vocals aren’t as looming. There are definitely moments of the CURE, a touch of CHRISTIAN DEATH, but nothing that screams “This is a keeper!” I’m sure there are people that’ll love this album, but I’ll personally keep looking.
A six-track 2022 cassette originally recorded in 2015 by New Orleans, Louisiana’s GASMIASMA, featuring members of EYEHATEGOD and CROWBAR. High-velocity powerviolence mixed with crust that seems to never stop, with several hardcore punk nods, great ranting vocals (desperate screaming choruses are included), and thrashy guitars with crazy whips. A ball of sound can be found in almost each song, giving us that uneasy feeling that some crave. Suggested tracks: “Skin the Corpse of Action” and “The Name is Clash, Not Crass,” in order to lose your mind in the pit.
More lean than a ‘roid-raging gym rat, GOVERNMENT ABUSE tears through four songs in less than four minutes. Don’t be fooled by the ultra-generic band name—this flexi rules! It sounds as though these Swedish freaks immersed themselves in some classic USHC; URBAN WASTE springs immediately to mind. No breakdowns, elaborate intros, or other unnecessary bullshit to be found here, just full-bore hardcore with tasty riffs and pissed-off vocals. For reasons unspecified, this release took a while to see the light of day after being recorded back in 2014. I’m glad it has finally made its way onto a physical medium. Hopefully there will be more to follow.
Crusties arise! HIATUS (Belgium’s answer to all things crust) has reissued their 1993 debut LP. The grinding buzzsaw guitars are enough to keep me coming back for more, with distortion levels creating a tone that is rarely heard. The opening of “Purulent Stench of War” would be an example of one such noise, almost more of an electric crackle than anything musical. The drum work is fast and tidy, with speedy fills galore. Like most crust, vocals range from some spoken word to all-out barks, with the occasional guttural howl let out for good measure. In all, a splendid bit of aggro anarcho tunes ready to join your collection.
Released a mere two days before the end of 2022, Quality Control HQ really closed the year with a bang with this one. After an array of great 2022 releases, particularly FORESEEN’s Untamed Force LP, INSTRUCTOR’s Terror Zone made for a very suitable cherry on top indeed, the last straw in proving what an absolute powerhouse the label is. Hailing from Brussels, Belgium, INSTRUCTOR released a couple of demos in 2019 and 2020, both which had some cool tunes but nothing outstanding. Private Execution followed, a tape which was again cool, but the recording really held the band back. I wasn’t particularly impressed with anything they had put out at that point. This all changed drastically with the release of Terror Zone, a magnum opus of ignorant, good ol’-fashioned skinhead CRO-MAGS-style breakdowns, merged with other more subtle influences taken from aspects of Oi!, KICKBACK, and Rawn Beuty-era COLD AS LIFE. Make no mistake, unlike other bands (who won’t be named) doing HxC in the New York vein by taking the chorus from “Malfunction” and the main riff from “Telltale,” nothing on this LP sounds of a style heard before. I think one thing when hearing this: “Belgian skins who like the CRO-MAGS.” What more could you want? The number of American bands worshipped at FYA who desperately want to play hardcore at such an incredible level of musicianship as present here but who won’t be able to reach the heights of INSTRUCTOR is staggering. Kings, queens, and in between, none of you will want to miss this giant.
Austria’s KETTERHUND plays weighty, mid-tempo hardcore with post-punk and Oi! infusions, led by passionate, raw-throated vocals. Following up their debut single from 2017, this four-song EP has a dark and desperate atmosphere to it, pinning angsty and tortured sentiments to a steady-rocking backbeat. The high point for me here is the ominous third track, “Nacht,” but this is all solid work.
One-man DIY project from Barcelona, Spain released by the Valencian label Flexidiscos, featuring two separate releases combined on an eighteen-track cassette. Bedroom synth punk with songs heavily influenced by political stances, and an anti-music position that erupted from a boring life mainly because of the pandemic (according to the artist statement of David Garcerán, ex/current member of ALGARA and IRREAL). It’s filled with anarcho-punk affirmations and in some ways takes on forms of guerrilla warfare, like the recorded statement of ethos and principles in the middle of this release, for example. Reverbed monotone vocals, with electric drums and garage-y strings following. If you dig synth punk and things of an eggy nature, you may find this interesting. I personally enjoyed the first half better, and the synthesized statement in the middle that invites the listener to a sense of guerrilla audio. Suggested track: “Hartos.”
Debut full-length from this trio. They claim NAKED RAYGUN as a primary influence, but manage to produce a sound more akin to NAKED RAYGUN covering RUDIMENTARY PENI’s Death Church. And judging by their photo on the back of the CD, they look aged enough to have actually been hanging out in the practice room while NAKED RAYGUN was scratching their heads over how to best assault the Nick Blinko opus.
A solid EP from London’s MIDDLEMAN, with four tracks of post-punk heavily influenced by the likes of WIPERS, MISSION OF BURMA, and the REPLACEMENTS. Opener “Train Man” suggests a straightforward, prickly CBGB punk sound, before switching tempo around the one-minute mark to reveal a style closer to early DC emo. “Entropy” pulls the same trick; a straightforward punk track in the vein of WIRE that hits the breaks after a minute and a half to reveal a slowed-down finish that’s hard not to nod along to. Really cool stuff that must sound great live.
Two cuts from the mid-’60s that will instantly transport you to San Francisco in 1964. Specifically, you’ll be dropped at Haight and Ashbury. They’re garage ragers. They have an eerie creepiness about them. They’re dark. Pretty sure these guys were all high on the marijuana at the time these were recorded. At first, I was sort of “yeah, sure…that’s cool,” but they really do transport you back in time and that’s a pretty cool thing.
Trusted purveyors of formidable crust action Phobia Records introduce us to MONGREL, a noisy and rugged hardcore unit out of western Ireland. This tape (their sophomore release) contains five tracks driven by a simple, barbaric stomp and covered with chaotic, off-center vocals. While the songs seem to relish in their primitive composition and dystopian feel, they’re also a bit polished for what I feel best suits the style. I’d probably get more of a kick out of a muddier and more mangled MONGREL.
Okay, so first things first: the NEW BUCK BILOXI is pretty similar to the old. And thank god for that. This is like the motorik equivalent of pissed, pop-structured garage punk, with everything tuned for maximum efficiency and impact. Here, BILOXI’s (a.k.a. Robert Craig) voice takes on the sort of detached android quality one might expect given the album title, which lends an almost inhuman edge to the hopelessness on display, especially in tracks like the all-too-relatable “My Hole.” What made Craig’s previous output so legendary is all still here, but reduced down into a demiglace of nihilism. Super condensed, end-of-world self-mythologizing at its pinnacle. If you don’t love it, you’re probably a loser—them’s the rules.
1980s Polish mutant punk revived and repackaged for a new generation. Total mutated drum machine punk, recorded and originally released on cassette in 1989 and given the (deserved) vinyl treatment from Enigmatic—think SPITS meets DEZERTER. The world of “essential” reissues can get overwhelming as everyone keeps turning over rocks from past decades, but O.T.D.S. is an absolute score. Fans of primitive punk and freak sounds (like me) are going to love this.
I enjoy this record more than their previous LP, which I also liked. This one has much more of a raw, dirty, and desperate sound than the last one, which I find much more to my liking personally. Sonically, it’s somewhat reminiscent of Plan-It-X stuff, if those bands used electricity and turned up the volume and distortion. I’m not sure what they did differently this time around, but keep it up!
I know this is a lot to ask of you, but I need you to ignore this album’s cover. Maybe even scroll to get it off screen. Gone? Good. One more thing. The opening track is a bit of a throwaway number—it’s a disjointed collage seemingly composed of snippets pulled from the album’s remaining tracks. Maybe it succeeds in signaling that this is going to be a difficult listen, but it overstates how unpleasant things are going to be. Skip it! OK, now you can sit back and enjoy what’s left of this Wrocław, Poland act’s second (and apparently final) album—eight tracks of experimental but very listenable artsy/jazzy post-punk. The music is very much in the vein of THIS HEAT, particularly in the meandering compositions, manic freeform drumming, and fitful interplay between the guitar and bass. But instead of fully copying that act’s sound, they’ve opted to jettison some of the dronier aspects—their monotonous vocals or Krautrock digressions—and replace them with a little no wave ferocity and some more industrial vibes (provided at times by, of all things, a clarinet—wild!). A track like “Final Warning,” once you get past a 45-second intro that sounds like it was pulled off the Liquid Sky soundtrack, even sounds a bit like early SPECIAL INTEREST. It’s a cool and interesting twist on a type of music that doesn’t seem to get made much anymore. I don’t know what the deal is with all the apparent self-sabotage—the best I can figure is that it’s some sort of ploy to chase off the faint of heart—but this release is pretty great!
With three songs and about six minutes worth of music, this demo tape is short and to-the-point, although it is a bit difficult to say with accuracy what REPRESSION is going for here. As my nan would say, “they don’t mess around, this lot.’’ The first track is my favourite, a fast-paced raw hardcore punk number that reminds me a little of Californian peace punk. The second one has more of a beefy, stomping US-style vibe, while “Eradicated’’ is a heavy, slow-paced mosh-inducing song, which would be the exact time when I heroically retreat to the back of the room during a gig. I like the raspy and aggressive female vocals (I always do), and on the whole it does sound pretty mean and most of the typical boxes of 2020s hardcore are ticked. But to be honest, it leaves me a little cold as there are (too?) many bands trying to produce that hardcore blend right now, and I don’t think REPRESSION stands out enough. Who knows, perhaps subsequent releases will prove me wrong? This was released on Total Peace from Phoenix and all the proceeds go to Operation Solidarity, which is operated by Ukrainian anarchist groups trying to help out civilians in the war zone. A great initiative, and whatever the style of punk you play, this is what truly matters.
This band first caught my attention when it was just a one-person project. John Toohill (singer) has since put together a group of like-minded curiosities to record with him on Nines Mecca. The album connects the dots between MC5 and ELECTRIC CHAIR with some metal riffing to carry the weight. Might sound more interesting than it actually is? There is not a ton of variety, as the album’s tracks list all bleed into one another. Standouts for me would be the “The Sign” and “Old Timer,” which offer a bit of refuge from monotony and display a level of vocal terror that could chum around with a young Jerry A. Would be interested to see how the new group continues to formulate.
In the late ’70s and early ’80s, Adrian Borland and Graham Bailey of gloomy UK post-punks the SOUND were simultaneously making music as the duo SECOND LAYER, leaving the SOUND’s peacoats-and-clove-cigarettes atmosphere behind to conduct some SUICIDE-schooled, end-times electro-punk exorcisms. Courts or Wars compiles SECOND LAYER’s output up to their 1981 LP/final release World of Rubber (1979’s Flesh as Property EP, 1980’s State of Emergency EP, and five orphaned tracks)—almost everything here was also included in Dark Entries’ expanded 2015 reissue of World of Rubber, so not exactly unturned stones, and the real highs come from the pair of EPs. Borland does his best menacing Alan Vega whisper over Bailey’s sparse, ice-cold synth/rhythm box strobe on “Metal Sheet,” “Courts or Wars” layers fuzzed-to-oblivion guitar and primitive drum machine drone like 39 CLOCKS without the ’60s garage obsession, and “State of Emergency” clatters through a dystopian techno-hell very similar to the one that CABARET VOLTAIRE’s “Nag Nag Nag” stalked just a year prior; “Split Screen” is the unreleased keeper, with a cracked, unrelenting mechanical disco beat and Borland’s echo-submerged vocals wavering like transmissions from a shortwave radio in some bombed-out bunker. Maniacally monochrome as all get-out.
A three-piece from NYC (I believe Brooklyn) playing a harsh racket of powerviolence mixed with chaotic D-beat. The unsettling feedback is intentional, and it works. The recording is gritty, noisy, and reduced to fragmented moments or lo-fi raw punk arrangements. “Concealed Carry” is a three-minute macabre dance through hardcore with blown-out psychedelic punk and maybe even droning blackened crust. I really like what SKOTOS is doing; it’s different and dark and sincere. For only being a three-piece, they bring a lot of ominous clatter and weirdness, while echoing some NYHC breakdowns and squat-show bleak punk.
Hailing from Halifax, Nova Scotia, SUSPEX belts out five tracks of UK82-influenced punk, including a PARTISANS cover. Despite the technically deficient drumming and a fairly annoying “always on” guitar effect, I can’t help but to be charmed by this demo. It’s clear from the jump that SUSPEX are really pouring themselves into these songs. The charismatic vocal delivery is the linchpin here, injecting both character and energy. “Dead City” is a prime example; the harrowing shouts soar above the din of the instruments, giving the entire affair a boost. It strikes me that SUSPEX sounds like they’re having a blast playing their songs. What a novel concept! This gets a (circled) A for effort from me.
Debut LP from Christchurch, NZ’s the TACKS. This five-piece identifies as a goth band, but comes across with broader influences of post-punk, darkwave, and dance-y new wave. I think it sounds like a horror lullaby, and it’s wonderful. The female vocalist leads the group with catchy, concise melodies, and the band achieves a cohesion amongst fast chord changes, rests, and tireless guitar leads. The self-titled cassette they put out in 2020 is much rougher-around-the-edges punk (and is worth a listen), but I don’t mind the polish that was put on this Rockstar release. I think fans of CRIME OF PASSING will take to this, and generally anyone who likes “1980s college radio,” as the band suggests. Tune in.
Sweaty, denim-vest hard rock from Sweden. Like MOTÖRHEAD meets the HELLACOPTERS, WARHAWK mixes classic NWOBHM and psych-influenced guitar leads with fist-pumping riffs. While this record could have come out any time in the last 40 years, it sounds fresh and raucous. “Watch Out” lays down a pummeling D-beat with relentless riffing. “Devils Dust” conjures Lemmy’s immortal energy and does him justice. Really, there’s not a dud in the mix, as long as you like this particular mode of full-speed greasy rockin’. I feel like you already know if this is for you. If you’re into conversion vans with airbrushed wizards, choppers, and raw rock‘n’roll, you’ll dig this.
Here’s a new band from Brooklyn, New York. WAX plays hardcore punk with an especially loud and aggressive approach. The vocal style has a particularly howling, tortured quality to it. While it generally isn’t anything that you haven’t heard before, if you’re a fan of that strain of pissed-off and tortured HC punk, you can’t go wrong with this one. All in all, a very promising debut release that is worth your attention.
From appearances, I thought I had another French D-beat compilation on my hands, but I stand corrected! While still French, the four bands presented here (KARNAGE, OMG, STAKANOV, and MEMORIAL VOICE) all seem to glean influence from the immortal METAL URBAIN, copping their harsh guitars, haywire drum machines, and venomous vocal attack. If you’re a Francophilic punk who has already already worn through your copies of the BIPPP or Paink comps, this will probably be worth your while.
Issued in October 2022 by Phobia Records, a label based in the Czech Republic, this split presents bands from Germany and Sweden. ALTERI from Cologne, Germany offers a synthesis of blackened crust closer to death metal, with deep and low but also high gutturals, sludgy bass lines, and guitars that sometimes resemble math rock sounds, cutting with precision. The songs are filled with tempo changes and parts achieving complexity. Suggested track: “Verlorene Staedte.” On the Sweden side, we have GRÄNSLANDET from Kristinehamn, delivering their D-beat with deep, sludgy strings and fast cadences, good riffy guitar solos, and controlled yet strong screams plus great drums. Good work with the doom feel that gives a trance-like feeling at moments. Suggested track: “Historiens Mantra.” Appropriate selection for a split, with the bands having things in common. Recommended for blackened crust and metal enthusiasts.
Brand new post-punk outfit from Los Angeles with a two-song demo. Cavernous reverb on female vocals with vibrant riffs and chugging bass and drums. The opener “Pandemonium” offers up the cheery chorus “Pandemonium / Done deal / It’s been decided now / Nothing’s real,” which feels like a good summary of the world. “Démolir,” or “demolish” in English, counters the A-side with a more hands-on approach required to move the “done deal[s]” stagnant needle. Without much info on this new group, I’m not sure where the French influence/origins come from, but all said, the aesthetic, the sound—I’m all in, looking for more! 1753 has other L.A. groups putting out small-run cassettes, worth a quick look.
As you would be right to presume, BARREN SOIL do not play ’90s revival skacore; there aren’t any ska puns in their songs nor, as far as I can tell, any pork pie hats. Thank fuck for that. This Vancouver-based unit, as the grim and sadly realistic moniker gives away (a reference to a line from NAUSEA’s “Extinction”?), does not deal in cheerfulness—BARREN SOIL is an unstoppable metal crust bulldozer. We have been quite blessed (or cursed, depending on your point of view) with quality stenchcore music in the past couple of years, and this band definitely sits on the top shelf. This tape is their first recording, but the sound is amazing; it has a heavy, thick production but still keeps that specific nasty, dirty edge. The three-piece definitely knows what they are doing, and what they aim at creating and destroying with these eight songs (in fifteen minutes, an appropriate length for the genre). BARREN SOIL sounds like a brawl between deranged bears. It is an indelicate blend of NUCLEAR DEATH TERROR, mid 2010s CANCER SPREADING, and early ANGUISH, with grizzly vocals, some rotten, groovy FROST-like mid-paced bits, and even proper old-school blast beats, which I salute. So crusty it bites. I actually counted that the singer shouts the word “crust” six times on this recording, so there is one “crust” every 180 seconds on average (as a comparison, Oi! bands usually shout “oi!” every 55 seconds). Ace. The artwork, courtesy of Mike Roberts from GENOGEIST, fills the apocalyptic crust template to a T, too. This gem is a self-released tape, but it would certainly deserve a vinyl reissue. Now grab your crust pants and play this loud.
Call it hometown pride, but Tucson has really been showing up lately on the broad landscape of excellent rock‘n’roll. This crew in particular is a fast favorite, with a strong debut EP and now this full-length that perfectly walks the tightrope of melodically pleasant and snotty punk. From track to track, CLASS manages to reference the gold standards of the late ’70s (even going so far as to brilliantly steal from “Guns of Brixton” in broad daylight on the track “Incomplete Extraction”). There’s more going on here than hero worship, though, and this band pulls out new tricks and layers of instrumentation that beef up their lush, driving sound at every turn. The songs are so strong, and the ear for detail just sends them home with a charge. I hope 2023 is another prolific year from this keen quartet, because I’m dying to hear more.
I first heard this on the iconic No Deal channel, and wasn’t interested from the first song. After a couple of listens, however, I’ve definitely changed my mind. If you like the classic fast and nasty style in the vein of the Texas I Hate, I Skate label that featured bands such as GLAASSSS, ARMY, and others, along with general noisy HC punk bands such as Q, LUMPY AND THE DUMPERS, and generally everything in the Lumpy Records discography, then this is undoubtedly a tape for you. This is just snotty, childish hardcore punk that, while it’s been done many times before, never seems to get old.
First release in three years from Brooklyn’s COMPASSION. Blisteringly fast grind tracks—blink and you’ll miss them, which is arguably the best kind of grindcore in existence. Everything is super tight and heavy. Drums are so fast and on point that I need to see it to believe it. Vocals are intense and nuanced, switching between guttural growls and banshee-like screams. Guitars cut through everything else like a knife, crisp and menacing. Very reminiscent of IRON LUNG and early WEEKEND NACHOS. Press release mentions that this band is a duo, but this recording is layered with two guitars and a bass. Would love to see how they pull this off live. Well worth a digital spin.
If you like the vicious hardcore stomps that seem to dominate the DIY underworld in the 2020s, but you miss the raging crust fury of the 2000s and the unhinged fastcore of yore, then I’d like to introduce you to CRITICAL ISSUES. From the “bleaaaaaauuuurrrch” that kicks the opening track “Plague Years” into gear, you can just feel that this is some special shit. Ever wondered what would happen if GAG took a time machine and collaborated with wild ’00s fastcore à la MORTAL COMBAT and raw D-beat like PEACE OR ANNIHILATION…? I’d like to introduce you to CRITICAL ISSUES. Best surprise of the month, and I can’t wait to hear more!
Heavy split between Padua, Italy’s DOUBLE ME and Tijuana, Mexico’s VIOLENCIA. DOUBLE ME gives us five powerviolence slammers in about two minutes. Blastbeats dominate the mix, but there is interesting guitar work and call-and-response caveman vocals à la SPAZZ. This side could have been mixed better. I like the songs, but they sound trebly and lack low-end heaviness, through no fault of the band. Meanwhile, VIOLENCIA shreds with a mix of powerviolence, hardcore, metal chugging, and doomy interludes. Their four songs are heavy and distinctively varied. “Frenesi” opens their side with ripping powerviolence, featuring super-pissed co-ed vocals like the best parts of DESPISE YOU. “Requiem Por Mi Existencia” is straightforward D-beat hardcore done extremely well, and just to round out the genre explorations, the side ends with an instrumental doom metal song. All heavy, all memorable, VIOLENCIA is a band to watch.
Hans F. Ford and Patrick Delabie have been kicking around the Dutch punk scene for decades. Ford played guitar in WASTE, whose 1982 EP History Repeats is an undeniably killer record—due in no small part to the thick fuzztone that envelops the tunes. Forty-one years later, that same velcro buzz is blasting forth from FORD’S FUZZ INFERNO. Despite playing as a two-piece, FORD’S FUZZ INFERNO has a very full, layered sound with multiple tracks of harmonizing vocals and guitars. The name may lead you to believe that you’re in for some lo-fi garage punk revival, but that is not the case. On the contrary, the production value is rather slick. Stylistically, this bears far more resemblance to BETTY FORD CLINIC, Ford and Delabie’s eclectic ’90s endeavor. In fact, for as much as it is heralded as the quintessential element of the band, the fuzz often feels at odds with both the production and the songs themselves. Though clearly crafted by a deft hand, I have to wonder if a cut like “My Reality” would be more impactful if the instrumentation was more discernible. A heretical thought if there ever were one! Death to the Fuzz Family reminds me of a less sophisticated MARTHA’S VINEYARD FERRIES. I don’t mean that as a slight; sophistication is for the birds. My problem is that I’m still trying to determine exactly who FORD’S FUZZ INFERNO is for.
I gotta admit that my knowledge of first-wave Euro-punk is pretty limited. I know big acts like METAL URBAIN, or KBD-mainstays like the KIDS, HUBBLE BUBBLE, PACK, etc. And I’ll pick up the odd compilation of, say, Dutch punk or French fake punk when they come out, but I’ve never really gone deeper than that. So, it’s no surprise that I’d never heard of this act, who formed in the suburbs of Paris back in 1977 and played together until the late ’80s. But I’d be shocked if I was alone, at least among our (non-Francophile) American readers. Discogs prices on their first few Underdog records—the release that the final versions of these demos would end up on—suggest that they were pressed in pretty big quantities, which, along with the existence of this compilation, seems to suggest that these guys were hardly obscure, at least in France. But I’m not seeing much evidence that these really made it over to the US. It’s a little strange to get your first taste of an act via a demo compilation, but I still got a sense of what the band was about and I actually preferred the rougher demo cuts to the slicker versions that ended up on their records. The ten tracks on here are a mix of ’77 punk and poppy glam, bordering on bubblegum punk—I’d peg their sound somewhere among the CLASH, NEW YORK DOLLS, and PLASTIC BERTRAND. I prefer the poppier tracks—they’re definitely more memorable. “Quan Revient L’été” is a legit hit, and I think RANCID stole their slow-jam schtick from “Peut-être à Jamais.” Also, it seems their guitarist/vocalist Tom Darnal led a pretty interesting life. After this band, he joined MANO NEGRA (an act that was pretty big in Europe), then moved to the US to become a tattoo artist but also spent a bunch of time in Cuba, which led to him forming a salsa drum and bass band. Wild! Anyway, this is worth a listen!
This label has been putting out quite a few live releases in the style and look of the old V.M.Live Presents records, and the GOONS might be the best one yet. I wasn’t super familiar with this band, but a good friend and native New Yorker informed me that they were an East Coast institution and a band that punks from all ages and scenes saw live and all liked (at least a little). Me, being an ignorant ex-Californian, was left clueless but curious. The songs are fast and beer-heavy, and you can hear them level this 2001 crowd with some Oi!/UK82 working-class-inspired hardcore, sorta like the WRETCHED ONES, 86 MENTALITY, or SUBMACHINE with a little mid-tempo POISON IDEA. The songs are catchy as hell, especially “I’m Alright,” “Hey You,” and “Every Day.” Snappy between-song banter completes the at-home live listening experience without the sticky boots and coughing up cigarette smoke. Real nice.
If the band name and tape title didn’t already set low expectations, the détourned RAMONES cover art and cassette shell decorated with pot leaves almost certainly would, but thankfully, HOT CHICKS aren’t Burger-eating party-bro goofballs, but rather some Leipzig movers and shakers from bands like LASSIE and EX-WHITE having fun with a femme-forward, synth-caked side project. Lise Sutter of MARAUDEUR, COUTEAU LATEX, etc. recorded and mixed this (and might even be in the band, it’s hard to tell who exactly those fake RAMONES are), and even without that connection, HOT CHICKS’ twitchy nuevo-wave art-garage immediately hit me as an even less self-serious twin to Sutter’s group the STACHES—blasé lead vocals with animated girl-gang backing chants, econo surf-trash guitar, squiggly sci-fi synth, metronomic drums. I’m partial to the robotically detached “Misfortune Day,” with shades of early DEVO without cracking any eggs, and the naggingly insistent “Fox,” which flips from extremely MARAUDEUR-esque punctuated, post-punky verses to tambourine-rattling sass in its choruses, but the whole thing is worth a blaze.
It’s been a while since there’s been a new IRON CHIC track and this one does not disappoint. It’s a mid-tempo melodic masterpiece and everything one would expect from these Long Island punkers. WAYS AWAY offers up a track that is a great companion to the track on the other side. Melodic, bouncy, catchy. Good split all around. My only gripe would be that it’s a split single. Personally, I would have liked to have heard one more song from each band.
A key piece of Prague’s punk history, filled with melancholy and angst, screaming for freedom and against mandatory military service and state oppression. This sixteen-track LP includes KRITICKÁ SITUACE’s second demo, originally released in 1989, and represents a great musical archeology effort to bring back a classic cult Czech band by mastering and releasing such an album. Raw punk and some primitive D-beat and crust, and even some proto-hardcore nods (which Czechs like to call “motörpunk”), delivering an example of primitive classic Eastern European sounds. Low quality on the instruments and recording gear, but that doesn’t really matter here. Time-resistant material filled with diminutive distorted guitars, ranting drums, and some good anti-war riffing with nods to militia-related cadences, but taking them as a method of resistance to establish their own war. This second demo from KRITICKÁ SITUACE offers some context regarding the almost-achieved early ’90s abolition of compulsory military service. “Still on the run from the limitations of our own fellow citizens. Still on the run from the madness of war.” Anti-militarism, pacifism, criticism of one’s own ranks. Pure raw punk energy catalyzed in vagueness, inexperience, limited skills, and greatly limited options for own equipment. Hate militarism? This might be an inspiring album for a revolt.
Melodic, catchy, and fun. There’s something familiar and warm about this album, like an old friend. I’ve enjoyed their past releases, but for whatever reason this one really strikes a chord with me. If you’re already a fan then you won’t be disappointed, and if you’re new to this UK band, you’re in for a treat if you enjoy well-crafted, toe-tappin’ indie/punk songs.
MICK’S JAGUAR so generously bestows upon us the sound of the aged and imposing hipster. This group could easily be your weird uncle’s bar band with the local guitar hero. The album’s cover art of two horses mid-mount could only be their homage to the cover of BLOODHOUND GANG’s The Bad Touch single. From the start, Salvation kicks it into neutral and ghost-rides ten tracks downhill. This is pretty bad. The album is chock full of glammy and hackneyed sleaze paired with flashy guitar solos which don’t go anywhere. If you can imagine El Duce singing for a HANOI ROCKS cover band while listening to this body of work, the humor of that image will get you through the slog.
