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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!
Here’s a cool one from MONONEGATIVES out of London (not that London, the Canadian one). “Kill Mono” sort of reminds me of John Dwyer from OSEES playing songs by SUICIDE. It has a repetitive nature often found in this style, but with some great hooks thrown in to keep you interested. Lots of style, lots of swagger, I dig it.
It took me a while to sit down with this one and write about it, yet I listened to it most of last year. It is one of the best records of 2022. NIGHTFEEDER was introduced to me in demo form by a friend and I was blown away. Then came an excellent EP, and this debut LP is the pinnacle of their sound. Song subjects cover such punk life issues as psychological torment, the existential, and being irreverently maligned by the system. What NIGHTFEEDER does best is rip with the feeling of blood, sweat, anguish, and angst. I’m not sure it’s really a formal term, but this is American crust as a style of hardcore punk that was sincerely invented by the members of this band (DEATHRAID, CONSUME, SHITLIST, STATE OF FEAR, DISRUPT…) and the regions where they started playing punk. NIGHTFEEDER plays with US thrash and hardcore influences and European/Scandi-crust dynamics, while delivering a classic hard rock’n’roll sound when they feel like it, because they fuckin’ feel like it. That is the attitude of this band and record in a nutshell. An amalgamation of MOTÖRHEAD, POISON IDEA, CRUCIFIX, INEPSY, DISFEAR, and DISCARD comes to mind. I’m even finding some RUDIMENTARY PENI chords here. Cut All of Your Face Off is a must if you’re looking for a gut-punch that is not any form of DIY trend and is like the quintessential hardcore punk and crust records from the last several decades. If you haven’t heard it in person, you’ll put the needle down on Side One and go “holy shit…”—that’s pretty much the reaction I get from others every time. And on Side Two, they turn the burners up all the way. The drumming on “Amoral Minority”…ugh. The LP is dismal, charred punk rock goodness (grief) from start to finish.
There’s a hard edge here, to be sure…but this is a hard world. But when frustration and anger are born from a desire for something better, it all presents as something more than fury, and you can feel that in PRISONNER DU TEMPS’ debut full-length; it hits hard and holds you close from start to finish. The record feels like the kind of thing that bands like SYNDROME 81 are trying to do—dark and brooding hardcore punk with street punk hooks that never sound dated or trite. This is to 2023 what NO HOPE FOR THE KIDS and CRIMINAL DAMAGE were to the mid-2000s: classic, timeless, and absolutely stellar.
This second tape from ROTTWEILER originally came out in 1997, by which point this Polish band was a well-honed unit. Bringing mischievous and menacing hardcore with a skate punk lean, these tunes are fast and sharp with tight, rapid-fire drum precision, metal-edged guitars, and the type of pronounced bass lines that were so popular in that era. And they just keep coming for 48 minutes and change, so if you’re into this, there’s lots to chew on.
This is perhaps one of the more interesting releases I’ve come by in a long time. SENTIDO COMÚN was an anarcho-punk band from Barcelona who played a brand of music that is completely unique. Imagine (if you even can) HONEY BANE growing up listening to Spanish radio, and you’ll be halfway to what SENTIDO COMÚN sounds like. They retain the typical anarcho-punk formula, but there are also glimpses of traditional Spanish music through the wall of sound. Occasionally, there is an almost flamenco quality to the music, without actually being anything like flamenco. The vocalization on this LP is also very interesting, ranging from cool singing to animalistic squawks.
If it’s got Will Killingsworth’s name on it, you can presume it’ll be a good release. Seriously, you can put your money on it. This solo project of Vince Klopfenstein, the legend behind several Philly and Pittsburgh bands such as the CRACKS and more recently LOOSE NUKES and WHITE STAINS (the latter being absolutely fucking incredible), has made a truly extraordinary demo. It’s fast raw punk in the vein of YDI, but reminds me a lot of Texas bands from the past decade, but also more current ones such as STUNTED YOUTH, SAVE OUR CHILDREN, and READY ARMED SYSTEM, with incoherent, lo-fi, snotty screaming alongside mean, stellar guitar playing. Great job Vince, I hope the band ends up playing some out-of-state shows.
It looks like a bleak hardcore record…but inside that white-on-black cover are two doses of gloriously addictive Norwegian garage punk. “Byfjord” feels ripped out of 1983—a mid-paced lumbering track with verses that build to an inevitable chorus and a guitar that seemingly exists to punctuate the vocal spurts. It’s a great track even though (or especially because) it leaves you hanging…and then the flip. “Staten” is a timeless track, like GENERACIÓN SUICIDA taking a time machine to 2003 København. Group vocals, infectious bass lines, and a constantly jangling guitar that seems to drag the drums onto the dancefloor. This is everything punk is meant to be.
I had presumed this quartet is from Montreal, given that several of their songs are sung in French, but I could be wrong. Regardless, they have that fairly speedy melodic hardcore sound/style nailed down real tight. Anthemic, with plenty of layered vocals that would make BAD RELIGION nod appreciatively, and enough metallic guitar to give STRUNG OUT a run for their money. All with a sparkling, very 21st century production.
Bad sound quality can hurt a recording, but here it is truly a member of the band. The guitars are playing straight out of the LEUSEMIA and RAMONES playbooks, and the drums are a spartan but joyful bass-and-snare stomp. Maybe there’s a tambourine? Or is that feedback? No new tricks here, but that spareness is engaging. It could also be that the songs are satisfyingly catchy and snotty. This is not as easy to pull off as one might believe. “Any fool can make something complicated, but it takes genius to keep it simple.”
Five tracks of throwback-style speed metal from Athens, Georgia. WEAPONIZED FLESH does an excellent job of keeping your attention with a mixture of classic-sounding speed/thrash metal riffs, raging heavy metal guitar solos, and power metal harmonized leads. Throw in that hard-to-define punk edge that a band like this brings to the table, and it all works pretty well.
This demo is one distressing crash after another distressing crash. The sound is damp and a little off-time, with waves of reverb and squealing vocals that bring a lot of early LUMPY AND THE DUMPERS to mind right from the start. The band is from Philly, and this appears to be the first cassette out for them. I will for sure make time for this band with what comes next. Get into it.
Another great collection of femme-fronted bands “inspired by the pioneering women of the first-wave punk era and beyond,” as Emotional Response writes. Without pigeonholing themselves to any specific subgenre, a really diverse range is on display here. To name just a few: the LINDA LINDAS start off with super catchy ’60s girl group crunch, FAKE FRUIT contributes “No Mutuals” off their popular 2021 self-titled album, SWEEPING PROMISES provide angular and driving jabs of bass and guitar, WET SPECIMEN warbles through a slow progression of dark and reverent melodies (and is my favorite track of the album), LANDE HEKT jangles amongst a cherry-sweet indie collage, PROVOKE lets you know they’re going to get heavy with a feedbacked, slow-chug guitar intro (and it’s a truly a headbanger), SQUID INK gets snotty in the garage, and OPTIC SINK rounds it out with a synth punk, spaced-out closer. If you go to stream this on Spotify, FAKE FRUIT and SWEEPING PROMISES are not on the album, even though they both exist elsewhere on the platform. I don’t know why, but neither are to be missed, so just buy the record! Dive in, and I’m sure you’ll find something new to enjoy.
2022 was certainly a memorable year for punk albums, with a number of releases I would consider to be new instant classics. Coming in at the final hour, the ANNIHILATED unleashed Submission to Annihilation, one of the year’s latest and greatest. Full-throated and raw, the ANNIHILATED play a similar strain of D-beat hardcore to BOOTLICKER, with a vocal delivery that has been correctly compared to Damaged-era Rollins. Lyrically, topics cover class warfare (“Divide and Conquer,” “Bootstraps”), widespread apathy (“Normality”), and the hell of substance abuse (“Vice Grip”), themes that are all uniquely modern and unfortunately timeless. Add to that the artwork from drummer Nicky Rat and mixing by Jonah Falco (whose seal of approval is always a sign of quality) and that it’s self-released(!), and it simply cannot be understated: the ANNIHILATED have ticked every box and delivered their own instant classic.
Crashing cymbals, blown-out vocals, shredded guitar, rumbling bass, punk crudo at its best! B.E.T.O.E. seemingly wishes sonic demolition upon all of the broken systems that mire our world. The production of this flexi yields some of the most listenable B.E.T.O.E. material for me. A slightly cleaner sound, not quite spotless, approaching a high-end studio sound but still retaining enough noise to sound like it came from the sewers of Barcelona. This is still some noisy, smash the system/smash everything rawness. This three-song disc clocks in well below six minutes, with each track offering intricate musicianship and composition in a miniscule amount of time.
Over-the-top apocalypse metalcore from Poland, hitting so hard from the opening bell that it might take a few tracks to catch your breath. Metallic ’90s hardcore taken to absolute extremes—BLOODSTAINED delivers with a ferocity that will win over even the most negative with their unhinged sonic negativity.
A couple of months ago, I began to notice a buff dude popping up in pictures with some of my favorite bands like the CHISEL and VIOLENT WAY along with the letters “CMI,” and I couldn’t help but wonder “who is this guy, and what the fuck is ‘CMI’?” Well, it didn’t take long for me to find out. “CMI” is CONSERVATIVE MILITARY IMAGE, a Chicago-based band making waves with their one-two punch of EPs, Summer Skinhead and this, their debut Skinhead. Playing a catchy mix of Oi!, hardcore, and street punk, CONSERVATIVE MILITARY IMAGE has cited inspiration from bands as diverse as WARZONE, ROSE TATTOO, and NEW YORK HOUNDS. Lead singer and lyricist Adam is the glue holding this crew together, and while I love his classic tough-guy punk sneer (almost going into Stiv Bators/DEAD BOYS territory at times), the real gold is his lyrics. Clever and direct, proud and loud, Adam is extremely economical with his writing yet leaves plenty to unpack. “Generation Kill” is a great example; a sub-two-minute stomper that tells you everything you need to know about this band’s mentality and manages to slip in an easter egg of a lyric from Boston’s the TROUBLE. It’s a tasteful homage and something CONSERVATIVE MILITARY IMAGE is so good at: respectfully mining inspiration and making something fresh of their own. I’m fortunate enough to be a Chicago native and look forward to catching these guys this year. Fuckin’ Oi! is right!
Two short synth punk jammers from this Spanish band. Veering away from the eggy DEVO-worship that is so common with synth projects, CROMOSOMA reaches back a little further for influences, sounding like a blend of LOS MICROWAVES and OG Spanish synth punks AVIADOR DRO. The two tracks here have clean keyboard lines and crisp drum machine beats with group vocals on top. “Medicina Fantástica” drips with icy new wave atmosphere, all driving bass pulse and echoes. Worth checking out.
Second album outta the Swedish band the DIRTS. From the start, this is a fuzzy and psychedelic reverb-riddled exercise in Garage 101. Songs move in and out of each other without much distinction, while carrying a looming and grinding bass guitar pounding that keeps the whole ship afloat. Nothing great, but nothing to complain about either—you have everything packaged and delivered in the most comprehensive and indulgent way. I would listen to it all again if it came my way. Could the estate of JAY REATARD please get some royalties for this?
After much consideration, I have deduced that DRUG CITY is from Bruchsal in Germany, a middle-sized town not far at all from French Alsace. They have a song poetically entitled “South West Fuck You,’’ and since Bruchdal is located in the country’s southwestern part and that Iniquity Records is based there, my ever-insightful, perceptive mind was quick to guess (unless they are actually from Tucson?). I have to admit I had never heard of neither place nor band before, and this first demo tape is a rough one indeed. I have never been one to back down before barely audible distorted raw hardcore punk and even regularly play some during family dinners, but in this case I am at a loss as to what they are actually trying to do here. There is certainly a D-beat raw punk influence—they do cover DISCLOSE—and a couple of mid-paced songs, but the production is so rough that it pretty much falls flat, the songs lose the necessary energy, and the vocals have that evil hellish demented tone that would be more fitting to a blackened crust template. This very limited edition (ten copies!) is clearly a first attempt, but it is just very hard to listen to. I do like the lyrics however, especially to “Destroy All Art,’’ with its direct, political, and quite clever words. I just wish DRUG CITY would have been a bit less literal with the topic.
Otherwise known as DISGORGE backward, here EGROGSID offers 122 tracks of gruesome mince-noise and primitive grind. I let this compilation play before I even started working on the review. There is plenty of time to catch up. These are true grind songs, however—thirty seconds to almost two minutes at times. This is very much in the style of loose, chaotic, death-beaten cacophonous droning grind. Sick guitar tones and killer splattering drumming. Being from Melbourne, I am sure they played with neighbors BLOOD DUSTER in the later part of their tenure. Bizarre (and humorous) occult samples are throughout with low vocals, high vocals, and maniacal vocals all over the place. This is the kind of thing I’d put on sitting in some living room with the worst 40 ever bottled in my lap. That is to say, it brings back fond memories. Included are NAPALM DEATH, EXTREME NOISE TERROR, UNSEEN TERROR, and EXTRA HOT SAUCE covers. This is entirely that SORE THROAT/GORE BEYOND NECROPSY/WARSORE/ACCION MUTANTE/EXCRUCIATING TERROR sound. You could put this on for an afternoon (or at 2:00 am with both your friends like I would) and just zone out and enjoy it. I’ve pretty much completed my task here and I’m on track seventeen.
Ripper of an EP here from FLOWER CITY out of Austin, Texas. These six songs recall the darker side of classic old-school SoCal like early TSOL and DI. Embellishing their menacing riffage with a drummer who plays like MINOR THREAT’s Jeff Nelson and an echoed, spectral vocalist who wails over each song like a different section of a carnival spook house, this band has an awesome, memorable sound that I’m hoping to hear more of. One of the coolest new 7”s of the last while, for sure.
While this isn’t new music, these two tracks, which were recorded in 2016, are previously unreleased. Whenever I hear songs that were recorded years ago but are just being released now, I’m a little underwhelmed. The same is true here. I generally like the GAGGERS’ stuff. It’s mid-tempo, classic late ’70s punk. It’s raw. It’s in-your-face punk. But if the songs weren’t worthy of release in 2016, what makes them worthy of release now? The lack of any new music? I remain skeptical.
This is the type of music I’ve been seeking for years: a blend of raw punk and post-punk that is dark and hardcore. Noisy flanged guitars, powerful vocal delivery, driving bass lines that keep going, and smashing drums, all combining to form a threatening and ominous sonic environment. I mentioned this release to a trusted friend in Berlin who immediately said “HÆVNER is awesome live.” Being a reliable friend, I fucking believe it. I can only imagine how this must translate to a concert setting. While being raw, it’s also very danceable with big rhythm energy. I’ll definitely be dancing along for a while.
The first twenty seconds of this EP—this Melbourne act’s second following their 2020 self-released debut—sets you up for quite a rug pull. You’re presented with a minimal drums, bass, and keys arrangement accompanied by icy cool start/stop talk-sung vocals, and just as you’re settling in for maybe a “Chaise Longue”-type number—yank!—the song shifts into a higher gear and the muscle car on the record’s cover starts to make sense; you’re actually on your way to party rock city! Some Nuggets-esque guitars kick in, the keyboard that had up until this point merely been pecked at morphs into a sci-fi frat rock organ, and the vocalist slides into a Kathleen Hanna/Beth Ditto full-throated vibrato. It’s like the mashup of “Planet Claire” and “96 Tears” you never knew you wanted until now. “Lewis Lee” and “Smile Now, Cry Later” are still bouncy organ-driven numbers, but they’re closer to post-punk or new wave—the former reminds me a lot of fellow Melbournians TERRY, and the later features guitar melodies that are approaching CURE-like. But the EP saves the best for last—”Creep Stain” manages to split the difference between the rockin’ opener and the cooler tracks that follow, and the end result just sounds like really good punk with an excellent shout-along chorus. Real cool record!
This is melody-heavy indie rock with a somber touch. There’s a lot of harmony, a little reverb, and a bunch of light guitars played over PIXIES-esque bass lines. Several songs move at a dreamy pace as those faint guitar notes linger on for seconds. At one point, they stretch into a prolonged drone. It’s a nice-looking record with a clean, professional sound.
No need to look past the cover on this one—fans of Burning Spirits, fist-pumping modern D-beat hardcore, and WORLD BURNS TO DEATH might have a new favorite with the third full-length from Finland’s KÜRØISHI. Thundering drums, searing vocals, and guitars that trade epic leads and wildly catchy riffs. The late ’00s were dominated by bands trying to sound this good, and now here comes the early ’20s and KÜRØISHI is here to smoke them all. “Givers Turn Into Takers” is the notable curveball, and should be a classic for years to come. Euro press by Fight, CD in Japan by Break The Records, and the North American platter from SPHC.
French neo-crusters LAST CLIMB play technical screamo crust punk with some grind metal influences in their riffs and percussion. There is a militant delivery at times, in the very “hardcore breakdown” sense, aggressive and straining. Vocals are traded off between agonized and grizzly. Seventeen tracks of metallic, hopeless, and bleak crustcore, much closer to the later (or current) era than an early one. Breakdowns are punk, while the caliber of the drumming could easily work into death metal. Torrential. Same goes for the inspired guitar additions—calculated alarms. There is nothing simple about the record, while it never puts on airs, either. A ballistic and sincere outing from LAST CLIMB.
From Florence, Italy, MORGANA releases some re-recorded demos, a couple singles, and a new song to form Contemporaneità. These seven songs are an icy post-punk that reminds me of the Copenhagen group KOLD FRONT that I reviewed a while back. Mid-tempo, reverb-heavy, with high-octave, melody-driven guitar riffs. While this may not break any molds, this is certainly my cup of tea, and I would recommend a listen.
Three solid pogo punk boppers from a Chilean/Californian two-piece collaboration. Canabilina’s distinctive vocals are a natural complement to Eddie Spaghetti’s bouncing, guitar-driven blasts. The NECESSARY EVIL doesn’t attempt to tinker with the formula, but you can’t repair what ain’t busted. Vida Desastre is much more about attitude, and on that front, this EP delivers in spades. Featuring super vibrant art by Mister Sister and pressed on a flexi, this release fits right into the 1753 catalog. This is definitely worth a spin, but good luck tracking down a physical copy. It’s limited to an edition of 100, and will undoubtedly be sold out by the time you read this.
Another great addition for Tetryon Tapes, this time from a member of their own local scene in Buffalo, New York. Released by Biff Bifaro’s one-man DIY operation DIY project in July, this consists of nine tracks with a sound that resembles classic ’80s US (especially West Coast) hardcore like POISON IDEA, GERMS, old BLACK FLAG, or CIRCLE JERKS, greeting us with an amazing rage and angst, visceral desperate and violent vocals that evoke puking on someone’s face, classic hardcore guitars and blasting drums, and even some surfy new wave riffs. This seems to have erupted from a long-sealed time vault or capsule, and I think that’s great—classic and yet quite refreshing. Excellent effort by the one songwriter in recording, mixing, mastering and even doing the artwork themselves! Suggested tracks: “Cyanide Solution,” “Contaminated,” and “Violent and Jacked” for nice palm-muting (“Violent and jacked / Under attack / The past is gone / And now you are looking back!”). Great cathartic cassette, give it a go!
Wow. This is very cool. It’s mid-tempo and super catchy power pop with a jangly guitar. Even if the lyrics are completely lame, I will never know because they’re in French! (They’re probably super cool.) Even while maintaining the melodic nature and the group vocals, it’s got a certain herky-jerkiness to it. They’re super tight. Head-bouncing is inevitable. You won’t be able to stop it. Four of the nine cuts clock in at under two minutes. None go over three minutes. This is heaven.
You can’t help but feel a little bad for the REVELONS—if they’d released more than just a 45 during their six-year run, maybe they would have found the same level of success and critical appreciation as their Ork Records labelmates like TELEVISION and RICHARD HELL. We’ll never really know for sure, but the unreleased material gathered on ’77–’82 offers a pretty convincing glimpse into what could have been, with the REVELONS’ trinity of revved-up rock’n’roll, sneering (proto-)punk, and tough power pop beat playing out like a pile of cut-up and reassembled flyers from heyday-era CBGB and Max’s Kansas City gigs. Both sides of that lost-gem 1979 Ork single (“The Way (You Touch My Hand)” and “97 Tears”) are included here, hiccupping and strutting in an almost VOIDOIDS-esque manner, while “My Town” has all of the nervous new wave jitters of the TALKING HEADS without the art school pretensions, the wired post-VELVETS chug of “Red Hot Woman” casts the REVELONS as a more streetwise MODERN LOVERS, and if TELEVISION had ever covered ROKY ERICKSON’s “Two Headed Dog,” it probably would have sounded a lot like “A Children’s Story” (featuring TELEVISION’s Fred Smith on bass, no coincidence). The REVELONS never got their shot at making their own Blank Generation or Marquee Moon, but this lost-and-found collection does them proper justice—pure pop for punks.
There must be something in the water down in Australia because every band that has come through there lately has been incredible. Vol. 1 from Melbourne’s SPLIT SYSTEM is of course no exception. This album is what I would expect if the ROLLING STONES decided to try their hands at proto-punk, with the end result sounding like if the NICE BOYS had a heavier ADAM ANT influence. The vocals and lead guitar co-exist beautifully, and are both catchy while avoiding stepping on each other’s toes. Rhythm section is tight and stays in the pocket, letting the guitars shine. Great clean tone from both axes. Lovely record here, and very much recommended.
This definitely has ’80s Orange County vibes all over it. In fact, the singer kinda sounds like a mix of Casey Royer from D.I. and Stevo from the VANDALS. I dig it, but I also get the feeling that if the vocals were different, my feelings towards this would be different as well.
I am very glad that I was assigned that one, not just because I am quite good at pretending I speak Finnish (it is not that hard, you just have to make up sentences with the names of Finnish punk bands while looking very stern, but note that it does not work when there are actual Finns in the room), but because I had the pleasure to see TUHOON TUOMITUT live this summer. Their name means “doomed,” and the band certainly delivered despite playing first at a festival when it was too early for people to be pissed yet and everyone was therefore still discerning. The Tampere-based TUHOON TUOMITUT plays punk-as-fuck thrashing anarcho-punk with furious dual-female vocals arranged in the classic trade-off style, with the demented, high-pitched screams and rabid hoarse screams discussing important political issues. The music is reminiscent of the ’90s and early ’00s crusty anarcho-punk wave, including bands like SOCIETY GANG RAPE, STRADOOM TERROR, JOBBYKRUST, and even WITCH HUNT or PARAGRAF 119, and I just love that unpretentious old-school feel. The songs are not formulaic, either—you have some tuneful moments and mid-tempo numbers as well as full-on hardcore thrash attacks, and I think the relentless vocals work very well with each other. I guess you could argue that the production is lacking a bit in power and is pretty basic, but it works with a style of punk that was once popular but seems to have gone a little out of fashion, so TUHOON TUOMITUT sounds almost fresh.
A collection of recordings from Toluca, Mexico, dating back to as early as 1994. According to the cool little booklet included with this cassette, UN NUEVA ENEMIGO played their first gig in ’94 with LOS CRUDOS after starting their band mere months earlier “without experience or knowledge of music.” Pretty damn cool. It’s a little rough around the edges, as one would imagine from a band who started without any experience. Lo-fi, repetitive, sloppy punk riffs with vocals passionately delivered in Spanish over the top. A cool collection by a band that apparently never played out of their hometown. My only gripe is how overwhelming the flanger effect on the guitar is on half these tracks. Sure, it was the ’90s and that effect was absolutely everywhere, but it comes off incredibly distracting to the overall song whenever it’s engaged. A minor gripe for a neat little piece of history in the form of this collection cassette.
Kind of a surprise here. This isn’t punk and would fall more under the straight ’60s psych/garage category, but it’s really good. While not groundbreaking at all, it’s a nice interpretation of the Nuggets/Pebbles compilations done in a not-at-all-modern vein. Unlike more recent revival versions of this music, from the MUMMIES era to more recent stuff like Ty Segall’s projects, this is less punk or trash and more pure ’60s, like some of the Paisley Underground bands or maybe Northwest heroes like GIRL TROUBLE and the NIGHT KINGS. Mostly it’s just pure SEEDS, and how bad could that be? More to come, I hope.
From Wyoming, ZERO FUNCTION plays dense, dark hardcore with a fuzzy finish. On this eight-song tape, the songs are effective in painting bleak and frightening pictures, like with the noisy, stretched-out intro and warped lyrics on “Pull,” and the interspersed system-failure-like wreckage on “Serve No Purpose.” I keep seeing this producer Will Killingsworth’s name on new projects, each time accompanied by a solid sound, and this continues that streak. Its aura of hopelessness scratches the same itch as an artsy horror flick.
Directly from Chicago, Illinois comes ACID MIKVAH, a group of Jewish punks who released this cassette in June 2021 (extra credit for the lyrics on their Bandcamp page). Reverbed vocals over political, garage-y, fast punk rock, with quite catchy riffs led by a heavily distorted guitar that has resemblances of early raw punk mixed with classic hardcore. With songs that speak against apartheid and religious birthrights and take a stand against nationalism and hatred, they create freedom punk to fight against Israel’s war and sieges against Palestine (“Call everyone an antisemite, the establishment got your back / But we fight back, with Palestinians, for a just world”). Interesting political punk, you may like them.
The first BOOTLICKER material I heard was their fourth EP, 2020’s How to Love Life. As soon as the opening track “It’s Beautiful” started I knew one thing for sure: this was some of the gnarliest drumming I’d heard in a minute. Crunchy, brutal, and unrelenting, like a machine gun ripping through clips of ammunition. That’s all I needed to become a believer. BOOTLICKER is putting out some of the best D-beat hardcore punk at the moment, and this collection of their first four EPs (from 2017–2020) showcases the band’s ascent from their first 6 Track EP towards the aforementioned How to Love Life. To get the full scope of the band’s output, listen to all 37(!) minutes, but as I mentioned, I highly recommend the track “It’s Beautiful” to hear the band at full power.
What more can be said about this classic? Where their fellow no wavers DNA and MARS were abstractly recreating music and rewriting the rules from the ground up, the CONTORTIONS were fusionists, starting with a bedrock of funky, airtight bass and drums, layering the slashing, sliding guitars of Pat Place and Jody Harris with James Chance’s holy terror tenor skronk and nihilistic madman yelps into infectiously freaky dance music.
I’m not a big proponent of live albums from the listener’s standpoint—most of the time, they don’t measure up to a band’s other releases. Even when they’re good, they’re often issued in order to fulfill a label deal or to make some cash for defunct bands (no judgment, punks gotta eat). I can’t say this record is better than either of the featured band’s studio recordings, but it’s not bad either. CURTAINS are right at the stylistic crossroad of pop punk and hardcore (think LEATHERFACE or LIFETIME). SWIFT KNUCKLE SOLUTION is a more cut-and-dry hardcore affair. This is a good showcase for each and a good excuse to give DIY bands some more cash.
Guttural shit-punk with clicky metal drums, pimply-faced guitar solos, and a MENTORS-caliber sense of “humor.” The songs that don’t glorify misogynist violence are just stupid.
Man. I love this. DIY to its fullest. No-bullshit, heavy noise punk from the Great White North. Not a lot of nuance to their songs, but they don’t need it. DESICCATE isn’t here to be flashy. They’re here to fucking rock. Honestly, that’s what I like to see from bands these days. Energy that transcends the medium. No over-the-top production, no more than three takes. There’s no need for any ego-stroking solos here. Just the white-knuckle grip of a barre chord, the howl of indecipherable vocals, the grounded melody of a bass run, and a steady but powerful drum beat.
Each band gives us one original and one cover on this split effort. SAVAGE BEAT covers the TUFF DARTS, while ELECTRIC FRANKENSTEIN covers the RUBINOOS. Those cover selections tell you a lot about the influences going on here, both in terms of musical style and also in terms of eras. Both bands are drawn to the late ’70s rock’n’roll version of punk. This isn’t good or bad, it just is. Both bands deliver music that is mid-tempo and catchy. In that way, they are very similar. I’d say the SAVAGE BEAT vocals remind me of the DICTATORS, while the ELECTRIC FRANKENSTEIN tracks tend to employ a little more lead guitar. Good stuff.
FUERA DE SEKTOR pulls off an impressive genre-bender with El Mundo Segue. The songs are bright and succinct, replete with catchy guitar riffs and superlative bass lines, but somehow they’ve cultivated a perceptible darkness as well. CHAIN CULT may be a good reference point, but FUERA DE SEKTOR is not nearly as dense or gloomy. Musically, I’m reminded of a bit of EASTER AND THE TOTEM, though here again FUERA DE SEKTOR eschews comparison by introducing subtle new wave influences and delivering vocals in a higher-than-expected register. Of the four songs on this tape, “En La Oscuridad” is the one that grabs me most, but they are all bangers. Barcelona has produced some extraordinarily fresh and innovative bands in recent years, and FUERA DE SEKTOR is clearly continuing that trend while adding to La Vida Es Un Mus’ ongoing hit streak. Recommended.
It’s often an impossible balancing act to teeter between sounding smart and acting tough, but it’s all the more intimidating when you can pull it off. This Washington-based four-piece is pulling up from a lot of deep wells, from straight-ahead bruising punk with an old-school flavor to more jangly ’80s New Zealand pop, and it blends well. Their previous full-length (2020’s PPM66 LP) showed this off handily, but hearing them in a live session like this really demonstrates prowess. A flexile track like “Rough Slough Triptych” does an entire floor routine before planting its feet firmly in polka beat, fist-swinging garage punk to stick the landing. This set of tunes flows breathlessly from three-minute heartfelt anthems to forty-second-long floor burners, leaving a perfect snapshot of a band that is imposing in how much they can get done in how little time—an almost endlessly re-playable release.
This out-of-print long-player, originally released on Secret Records, has finally been reissued and is sure to satisfy all of the bootstompers out there. INFA RIOT played Oi!-infused punk complete with gang vocals. It’s a similar vibe to their contemporaries the OPPRESSED or UK SUBS, with the boys of INFA RIOT using the elements of Oi! to amp up the anger of their punk rock by creating bigger choruses and heavier instrumentation. This LP certainly had a massive influence on later street punk bands, and moments of it can even be heard in contemporary Oi! bands like BATTLE RUINS.
Eternal Soundcheck and Petty Bunco once again team up to bring you some of the best racket found on the fringes of punk. This time we’re getting the fourth LP from this long-running Brisbane act. The ten tracks on the record are a mix of brash noise rock, downer punk, and slower (though still pretty noisy) acoustic numbers. The vocals are a little on the nasally side and often treated with pretty heavy effects—reminds me a lot of WHATEVER BRAINS or ISS. The slower cuts are great, particularly “Before Dawn,” and should appeal to folks who’ve been into the stuff DAN MELCHIOR has been putting out the past ten years. But I’m really into these noisier ones, which remind me of some of my favorite acts—UNSANE, the STABS, SATANIC ROCKERS/SACRED PRODUCT—without ever really sounding like any of them. Real cool record!
Rochester’s LEAKING HEAD follows up their strong 2021 demo tape with a nice slab of wax. Bashing out six snotty rippers in about nine minutes, these guys put a no-bullshit ferocity into their bouncy and brutal modern hardcore. Check some of their live footage on YouTube to get a further taste of what these heads are drippin’.
