Reviews

For review and radio play consideration:

Please send vinyl (preferred), CD, or cassette releases to MRR, PO Box 3852, Oakland, CA 94609, USA. Maximum Rocknroll wants to review everything that comes out in the world of underground punk rock, hardcore, garage, post-punk, thrash, etc.—no major labels or labels exclusively distributed by major-owned distributors, no reviews of test pressings or promo CDs without final artwork. Please include contact information and let us know where your band is from!

The Casual Dots The Casual Dots LP / Sanguine Truth LP

Of all of the fruits borne from the DC/Olympia punk alliance that flourished in the riot grrrl era, the CASUAL DOTS were definitely one of the sweetest. Christina Billotte (of AUTOCLAVE, SLANT 6, and QUIX*O*TIC), Kathi Wilcox (of BIKINI KILL and the FRUMPIES), and Steve Dore (of DEEP LUST) formed the band somewhat spontaneously to play Ladyfest DC in 2002, put out a full-length on Kill Rock Stars two years later, and then went completely silent—Sanguine Truth is the trio’s first new recording in eighteen years, and the out-of-print debut album has been brought out of early ’00s CD-only purgatory along with it. Starting off with a surfy instrumental (“Derailing”), The Casual Dots rides on Billotte and Wilcox’s intersecting twin guitar interplay, darting between points with a plotted rhythmic precision (no need for bass) over Dore’s stripped-down beats. “Evil Operations Classified” reignites SLANT 6’s wiry and needling econo-punk spark, the knotted and woozy “Flowers” recalls what Billiotte’s AUTOCLAVE bandmate Mary Timony went on to do in HELIUM, “Mama’s Gonna Bake Us a Cake” is a hip-shaking, bare-bones garage stomper in a GOSSIP-ish mold, and the inspiration from vintage soul and R&B is laid out even more directly in the choice of great early ’60s covers that bookend Side B (“I’ll Dry My Tears” by ETTA JAMES and LAVERN BAKER’s “Bumblebee”). In comparison, the new Sanguine Truth LP has a more meditative and introspective air about it, smoothing out some of the punky raucousness of the self-titled record into ten smart, subtly spiky pop songs for uncertain futures. Christina’s trademark dissonant spy theme guitar lines build an anxious tension in the extended intro of “High Speed Chase” that’s completely countered by the too-cool calm of her vocals when they finally cut in, while “Live For Yourself” could pass as a lost ’60s girl group tear-jerker with its slow dance drumming and doo wop harmonines, and the haunting “Descending” reaches YOUNG MARBLE GIANTS-worthy levels of stark, minimalist beauty. More than worth the almost two-decade wait.

Clone-Z Nuclear Junkies cassette

A beast of a tape. Nine tracks of raw D-beat, monstrously rabid and brutal, with great guitar leads and great guitar solos. Short and to-the-point. To be listened to under the effects of fury.

Decomp Condemned to Earth LP

Full-throated Earth Crust from the realms of DISTURD, AMEBIX, and HELLSHOCK. Clenched-fist machine gun snare, constant metal crust churn, Condemned to Earth is a ruthless pummeling—starts fast and refuses to let up. Even with the sub-two-minute D-beat ripper “Paranoid Coward,” they never stray far from their influences, and I don’t want them to. Excellent.

Ex-White / The Gobs split EP

Turbo Discos, a cool new label out of Germany, aims to please. You all were clamoring for more split 7”s, so that’s what they’re delivering! That’s right—with their fourth vinyl release, they’re giving you two sides, two bands, two songs apiece. But bad format aside, this thing absolutely smokes! I think it helps that these two bands are so sonically similar—like, if you didn’t know any better, you’d probably just assume all these songs were coming from the same band. Both play blistering punk with a sci-fi, dum-dum edge. It’s loose, it’s noisy, it’s great. EX-WHITE, a four-piece out of Germany, play things a little more straight, with a couple of REATARDS-esque burners, while the GOBS, an act out of Olympia, WA, crank out two murky, SPITS-ophrenic numbers. So good it left me wanting more! Like maybe a couple more songs apiece…split over two releases…with each act getting their own 7”.

The Front Wet Things LP

A collection of poppy, goofy new wave songs from this Miami, Florida band. They were around from 1980 to 1983, and released two singles and a posthumous album. Some songs from those releases are here, plus a bunch more. There is no info about when the other tracks were recorded, but they sound like studio recordings. Unfortunately, only one of the three songs from their debut First Strike EP is included. The standout track is the B-side from their second single—“Poor People,” a catchy, upbeat synth-led song with silly lyrics like “Ship them off to Arkansas or somewhere else that sucks.” The FRONT was apparently on its way to major label stardom, but broke up instead. They made the correct choice.

Grasping at Pieces We Are GAP, Not JFA CD

From the title and cover art, one could assume that this was some long-lost ’80s skate punk demo, but GRASPING AT PIECES is a nowadays Alabama band of teen punks who can’t be any older than sixteen. It’s exactly what punk should sound like when you’re that age, and it’s exactly what I remember high school punk bands sounding like when I was that age. They got turned on by whatever their gateway band was, got a guitar, learned a power chord and how to play it fast, found some friends to play drums and bass, and ran with it. Every song on here is fast, snotty and less than a minute, and the titles tell you everything: “Don’t Touch My Vans,” “Puke,” “Bible Belt.”

Iron Lung Mental Distancing flexi EP

Three-song flexi that was culled from material the band recorded before the pandemic began. Okay, it’s IRON LUNG. I knew it was going to be good, but it’s really fucking good. “The Psychology of Quarantine” (how’s that for a pre-COVID omen, Jesus) opens the EP with a noisy soundscape and then delivers the absolutely pummeling guitar/drums powerviolence we know and love. The lyrics, “Their power / Fueled by depression / Granted access first to the mind / And then to its declining vessel / During crisis there is insatiable hunger / And an endless food source” encapsulates the chaos, confusion, and downward cultural spiral of the last two years in a 45-second invective. “Everything is a Void” is another grenade blast that has a stuttering, glitched-out guitar phrase before the blasting begins. “Our brains know what sickness tastes like,” indeed. The third track, “Only Human,” is a RUDIMENTARY PENI cover, and I was excited to hear what IRON LUNG would do with the original’s rolling drum cadence. My expectations were dashed, reconfigured, and handed back to me in a stunning way—they go industrial-influenced hardcore like a mix of GODFLESH-style booming low-end noise-bass and the filthiness of PIG HEART TRANSPLANT. It’s nasty and unique in the best way a punk cover can be. Even the best powerviolence records can run together a bit because of the fast blur of songs, but IRON LUNG, as usual, makes every track an innovative, distinct, unnerving experience. Can a stopgap, album-teasing flexi be one of the best punk releases of the year? Essential listening.

Jane Doe Ensemble The Corruption of What Cheer? LP

With two singles (one vinyl, one digital) and an EP of demos behind them, this is JANE DOE ENSEMBLE’s debut LP. Their NYC roots are not to be missed on this minimal, no wave art-punk recording. Organ and synth-led, most songs are slow and reflective, with jabby guitars, floppy drums, and chorused lyrics focused on social and political commentary, like “What is Left is Also What is Right.” These songs are not catchy, you won’t get them stuck in your head, and they’re not foot-stompers, but they will make you think. On “Respect,” I hear some slanted DEVO influence, but my lack of depth in the art-punk world doesn’t give me much else to reference here, which is maybe part of the point. If you’re not already feeling weird and uncomfortable enough, then have a listen.

Last Affront 10 Track EP

Fast and ripping hardcore punk the way it should be done. LAST AFFRONT from London/Brighton, England put out this blasting EP in 2021 following a slightly disappointing demo back in 2019. On this EP, the band perfectly translates their live power and presence into a studio setting. The instrumentation is fast and furious (not unlike YDI or SSD) while still delivering some top-notch musicianship, all performed underneath a shrieking, hoarse vocal delivery. This was one of my favourite records to come out last year and it still holds up.

Merked Murk Mob cassette

Oakland’s heavy hitters MERKED play twenty tracks of sinister, grinding powerviolence with a gruesome slab of sludge, recalling HARD TO SWALLOW and UNRUH. Excellent stuff that does not tire on the ears like some forms of PV can. Punk grind attitude, somewhat sloppy at times, in a fluid way. It sounds like they are having a good time doing what they love and I like that. A three-piece that sounds like a mammoth, lots of breakdowns and some mid-tempo moments. I got through the entirety of the twenty tracks and it sort of felt like a play. There is definitely a story here and they don’t overdo it; the tape simply slams start to finish. I reviewed CHOKE from the Bay Area some months ago as well, and still have yet to see them. Lame of me, but it would be rad to check both these bands out. That would vibe nicely, I think.

The New Brutarians Hysteria LP

My love of duos is well known. Bands like the HUSSY, the COURETTES, the GOOCH PALMS, the MAXINES, and now the NEW BRUTARIANS are among my favorites. It’s probably not coincidental that all of those bands also feature one male member and one female member. If you took the energy of 1977 punk and focused it into more of a pop theme, you might get something like this Hysteria LP. The band they remind me of the most is the HEARTBREAKERS. It’s super catchy and mid-tempo and melodic, but also has a garage element to it. While it’s got its more traditional punk moments, at its core, I’d call this pop music, but it’s got an authenticity rarely found in pop. They even throw in an acoustic number. It’s fun to listen to pop music played by folks who grew up on punk, as opposed to pop music played by folks who grew up on Top 40 radio. Just a different thing entirely.

The Nightingales Hysterics 2xLP reissue

An expanded reissue of the second album by these John Peel favorites, and an unknown quantity to these ears. I feel like I’m fairly literate in British post-punk, but somehow I have not heard any of the NIGHTINGALES’ albums. I acquainted myself with their first record Pigs on Purpose before heading into Hysterics, and between both I found a distinctive sound. The drums dominate their songs, never playing a straight beat but instead creating an unsettling base of rollicking toms and accenting snips of hi-hat for the guitar and bass to sway seasick upon. The rhythmic unease is offset by what I hear as a distinctively English folk presence being experimented with on this album. A violin sidles in mystically on the second track, and on the third, the group somehow merges a funky break with banjo plucking. Lead singer Robert Lloyd has a huge sonorous voice, confident in its everyman timbre. I’d say this is jangly and melodic enough for a fan of the MONOCHROME SET, JOSEF K, or ORANGE JUICE, but with enough upside-down experimental quirk for you to listen to next to DOG FACED HERMANS, the RAINCOATS, or GLAXO BABIES.

Pet Mosquito The Plaza Records Sessions Vol. 1 CD

Lo-fi, fuzzed-out garage-y punk-y stuff. While this type of thing is cool on record, the recordings don’t usually do it justice, and these types of bands benefit from the live setting where the wild energy that always seems toned-down on records can shine. I feel like this is the same situation, and I bet they kill it live.

Punitive Damage Strike Back EP

A powerful unit with members hailing from Vancouver and Seattle, PUNITIVE DAMAGE drops three all-too-brief bombs on this bright yellow 7”. This is some heavy and tight hardcore with a classic sound and a rabid singer that is absolutely pissed. If that murderous opening track “Legacy” doesn’t get your attention, don’t even look at me. More, please.

Refedex The Top of Off LP

Australian post-punk/noise rockers with an approach somewhere between US MAPLE and the JESUS LIZARD. Thick, bobbing bass lines meet snaky, mysterious guitar lines with build-ups that build and build and build with no release. Tension abounds, harmonics chime, and floor toms pound. Restraint meets desperation with the tight rhythm section, led by erratic, exasperated vocals. Every song here is a sneaky, smoky killer, making its way into your unconscious mind. Great release that could have come out on Touch and Go back in the good old days. Recommended.

Remote Control Remote Control EP

REMOTE CONTROL is a new recording project from the ever-prolific Ishka Edmeades (SATANIC TOGAS, SET-TOP BOX, TEE VEE REPAIRMAN, and probably every other band out of Sydney). This time he’s opting to apply his sharp songwriting chops to some synth-free blistering punk tracks, and—big shocker—it’s cool! You’re getting three sub-two-minute corkers here (along with a couple of tracks of soundscape-y farting around). This is probably the closest Ishka’s come to putting out some straightforward USHC, but, of course, coming from this dude it’s not gonna be all that straightforward. It’s still a little cartoony and still sounds like something the weirdest kid you remember from high school might cook up. In other words, it’s real good shit!

Savage Pleasure A Harrowing Cry… From the Shadows cassette

Metal-infused punk or punk-infused metal? It doesn’t matter, what matters is that it rips! Equal parts AMEBIX and HELLHAMMER with some nods to VENOM or early VOIVOD, but always keeping a punk edge. From the cover to the samples, there is this occult folky feeling that just seals the deal and glues the whole thing together. Overall, this demo is a great debut from SAVAGE PLEASURE. First-wave enthusiasts, get your hands on this one.

Sewer Trout Meet the Sewer Trout LP

This rules. Full disclosure, I’m a little impartial, being friends with Hal MacLean and having shared hosting duties with him on radio shows forever. SEWER TROUT were legends from Sacto, California and included Hal and his late brother Jim MacLean. They were part of the Lookout! Records roster for a quick blur, but were always a bit more clever at songwriting and musicianship to be lumped in with some of the later “pop” punk ilk on that label. You can really hear elements of the BEACH BOYS and even the BEATLES or WOODY GUTHERIE here, along with contemporaries like CAMPER VAN BEETHOVEN, BLATZ, and the LOOKOUTS. Well ahead of their time, they cover timely political issues (“Coors For Contras”), gender dysphoria issues (“Vagina Envy”), and complex spirituality (“God’s Got Balls”). It’s a complete discography sorta, but still, most of the hits are here, along with some of Hal’s stellar artwork that’s been gracing well-deserving punk flyers and records forever. Cut short much too soon by Jim’s tragic death, their spirit lives on in the music and cheap beer. I think there’s even a tribute cover band now?! SEWER TROUT for president indeed.

Spad Spad demo cassette

New cassette release on No Solution Ltd. from Orange County’s SPAD. The first thing that came to mind listening to this band is ’80s USHC/Italian bands such as RAW POWER and INDIGESTI, except this band can play their instruments. Rather dry recording without too much distortion or effects—perhaps something about the weather may have some sort of influence on the dry sound like this. Fast, thrashy hardcore punk.

The Stonemen Faded Colors / In the Evening 7″ reissue

This is heavy, heady stuff, the way unearthed garage should be. What really stands out on these tracks from this woefully obscure Canadian quartet is what a downer they are. This is heavy not just for its fuzz or its four-on-the-floor stomp, but also for its doom-laden atmosphere. I love an unholy racket, and this satisfies that while also bringing the melody. Not as bluesy as the GROUNDHOGS and more straightforward than the MONKS, this carves its own space in history of the bummer side of stonerdom. Crucial listening.

Today is Tomorrow Second Guest CD

There’s something about this that just doesn’t sit right with me. It just doesn’t hit right. It kinda sounds like a demo recording, but at the same time it doesn’t, if that makes any sense. It just sounds kinda hollow, I guess. As for the band themselves, the sound is very reminiscent of that wave of pseudo pop punk/”emo” that was big on Warped Tour a couple decades ago. At its core, it’s kinda punk, but in a loose “dudes covering radio ‘punk’ hits at a bar” kinda way. One song stuck out to me, though: “Parking Ticket” had something that sounded familiar to it and I couldn’t place it. Then it struck me. It kinda sounded like if Matt from SQUIRTGUN sang for HOT WATER MUSIC. There is a part that repeats through the song that is literally a part from a HOT WATER MUSIC song. Honestly, I think if the sound was a bit thicker I’d be more apt to give this a bit more of a chance. Maybe next time.

Tramp Jail Bait / All I Want 7″

If you’re a fan of stripped-down, female-fronted garage punk, this could be right up your alley. If you lean towards raunchy lyrics, you might even end up touching yourself when you listen to this one. Comparisons to the DONNAS are fairly obvious, but the lyrics are more direct and the sound is definitely not quite as “produced.” For me, it’s a shtick that’s a little too focused, like you’re backing yourself into a pigeonhole.

Under Attack Mercy Killing EP

This is UNDER ATTACK’s latest EP, co-released by 625 and To Live A Lie. Despite cover artwork depicting older hardcore members, looking like it’s going to be yet another crossover thrash metal band from their area, this record is straight-up raging fast hardcore hell with bursts of negative energy, with some My War-era BLACK FLAG dirge mixed in the slow parts. If the artwork consisted of more black, Xeroxed anti-war or dark imagery of society or something, it would easily sit well next to older DROPDEAD records, or on Pessimiser Records or the Youth Attack catalog from a few years back.

Xero Xero demo cassette

“This is fucking great.” Wow, really, what is not to like here? The recording is so fast, each member is racing with the other to see who finishes the songs first, and sometimes there are unexpected twists and turns, as if instruments would hijack who leads to tracks. Multiple (and mostly the best) bands are evoked—if you were ever keen to figure out how to listen to WRETCHED, KAAOS, and HHH all at the same time, XERO just did you a favor, mixed through a contemporary channel perfectly balanced between being rudimentary and not nostalgic. They added few slower and freaky parts too, leading into fun, experimental territories, and this is just a fucking demo with seven songs around twelve minutes. It’s brutal, urgent, vicious, and either well-thought or viscerally genius. Looking forward to what will be their next step.

V/A Nic Więcej Do Powiedzenia: Tribute to Homomilitia CD

The target audience outside of Europe might be small here, but if you’re like me, then you’re going to eat this shit up. HOMOMILITIA was a constant presence in the 1990s European DIY crust discussion (and the distro crates), but these treatments are not what I was expecting at all. CYMEON X opens with a pretty honest cover, but then ALLES torches the whole concept with a damaged hard techno rendition of “Fak Ju Szkoła,” and GYL 2022 EXPERIENCE drops a truly bizarre spiritual sludge “Go Woman.” There are more true-to-the-original covers (CONTORTURE, UNHALM, HOW LONG?), there are some that take HOMOMILITIA’s political crust to higher extremes (NONSANTO), some who tweak things just a bit (SHESH SHESH SHESH), and others who completely reinvent the sounds (AUTONOMA). Absolutely amazing collection, and a brilliant homage to a legendary band who are too often overlooked outside of their native Poland. Highly recommended!

400PPM Spirtu Pront LP

This is a Maltese band released by a label exclusively putting out music from Malta. Their band name is a reference to the CO2 levels in our atmosphere. They play socially conscious, bouncy Oi!-inspired punk. They actively fight against global warming and their lyrics champion environmental causes. While it’s totally not my style of music, you can’t help but get behind them and shout along to “One of the One Percent”, or simply marvel at the uniqueness of the Maltese language. Give it a whirl. Bomba!

Artificial Peace Live at the Wilson Center: June 25, 1982 LP

Hell yeah. Here is an archival live record from one of my favourite hardcore bands, ARTIFICIAL PEACE. This 1982 set at the Wilson Center in Washington, DC was recorded and mixed by GOVERNMENT ISSUE’s Tom Lyle and, while the audio fidelity is quite far from pristine, it does the exact job it was meant to do—capture the atmosphere and experience of that particular magical night. This fourteen-song set hits you right across the face with HC fury and does not let up. All the classic ARTIFICIAL PEACE tunes get played here: “Outside Looking In,” “Suburban Wasteland,” “Against the Grain,” etc. This mighty performance is a must-listen for any fans of this criminally underrated band.

Blemish Blemish 12″

Originally a 2021 cassette on A World Divided Tapes, Not For the Weak has picked up Montreal’s BLEMISH on this vinyl release. Well-informed post-punk, the instrumentation of which reminds me of the WIPERS’ Youth of America with a faster tempo, while the lyrics are a little more playful and UK snarl-y. Not to be confused with the Birmingham group of the same name (nor the death metal band from Jersey, nor the electro-pop duo from Los Angeles), this BLEMISH participated in the 2020 Demo Fest, with all three of those songs ending up on this 12”—their only physical release. Other than that, not much to be found on the band, or if they’re even still active. Here’s to hoping. Check out “Industrial Bodies” for a good taste of what’s inside.

Brux One for You EP

Coming across like a slightly rougher, hairier-arsed SYNDROME 81, the Badalona Boot Boys of BRUX firmly take up shop in between the first and second BLITZ albums for this, their first release proper. Frontman Juanma uses his vocals less like an instrument and more like a siege weapon, and the post-punk meets Oi! (pOi!st-punk?) stylings add a sense of creeping dread to accompany the aggro. Owners of the tape can probably skip this one, but highly recommended nonetheless.

Cyberplasm Mutilated Systems cassette

Oh my…many of you surely heard The Psychic Hologram full-length that Iron Lung released a few years back, but this dose of insanity is something else altogether. These Olympia freaks keep pushing harder with ferocious noise punk delivered as ’90s industrial juggernaut—I figured it was going to be good but…damn. Imagine The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste-era MINISTRY doing a set of DISFEAR and MEANWHILE covers and then closing with a LORDS OF ACID number. Don’t snooze.

Distancia Distancia cassette

Nine short, fast songs from this Spanish duo. Recorded with a warm, cavernous sound, the drums are front and center in the mix with pounding D-beats and rolls, while the guitar is curiously cleanly strummed most of the time. Consider it the least raw D-beat possible, with surprisingly melodic vocals that channel Pete Shelley more than Kawakami. I don’t have the lyrics, but the translated tape description mentions a mix of anti-consumerist, anti-prison, anarchist slogans. The melodies here are catchy enough for sing-along choruses (especially the track “Distancia”) and have just a touch of that Fat Records melodic hardcore sound while still retaining enough DIY grit to sound authentic and vital. Cool tape.

Extreme Decay Antiviral EP

This two-track EP hits hard and fast, and then it’s over, just like good grindcore should. Expect blistering riffs and hardcore stomping in fewer than five minutes. Like other Indonesian grindcore stalwarts like AK47 and BERSIMBAH DARAH, EXTREME DECAY mixes up tempos, guitar attacks, and vocal styles to stand apart from the stereotypical wall of breakneck noise a lot of powerviolence and grindcore bands fall into.

Eyes and Flys / Nervous Tick and the Zipper Lips The Covid Collaborations: Vol. IV cassette

NERVOUS TICK AND THE ZIPPER LIPS is a solo recording project of MRR cassette reviewer extraordinaire Eric “Biff” Bafaro, and this is the fourth and final volume of his COVID Collaborations series. The deal with said series is that Mr. TICK invites another musician (generally a fellow Rust Belter) to join him in providing an original song, a cover of one of the other artist’s tracks, and vocals (and maybe lyrics) for a song written by the other artist. Here the collaborator is Buffalo musician (now out of Long Beach) EYES AND FLYS. The ZIPPER LIPS original is a jaunty garage-pop/lite-hardcore number with some sci-fi new wave touches—sounds like a Red Snerts track mashed up with Another Wasted Night-era GANG GREEN. I’m into it! The EYES AND FLYS original “Drive Slow,” not unlike the KANYE WEST track of the same name, is built atop a tight little sample of an obscure-ish classic—in this case, the INTELLIGENCE’s “Garbage in Garbage Out”—and ends up being a woozy lo-fi dirge. Also cool! I’m not familiar enough with either original these covers are based on, but the end results are fine enough. The two true collaborations are probably the most interesting tracks on the release (which isn’t to say they’re the best!). “I Need Time,” a ZIPPER LIPS track with EYES AND FLYS on vocals, is a druggy downer punk number that reminds me of LIFE STINKS. It’s maybe my favorite track on here. Then there’s “I Believe in Science Fiction.” EYES AND FLYS lays down a jangly psych track—complete with a harsh raygun organ outro!—and Lou Koller…I mean NERVOUS TICK croaks on about Captain Kirk and wanting to be blasted out into space or whatever. It’s certainly something! Anyway, both the concept and execution here are fun, and I wish more artists did stuff like this.

Government Clean-Up Plan Reality Confusion EP

On this seven-song 7” GOVERNMENT CLEAN-UP PLAN plays speedy and stormy thrashcore with earnest and straightforward vocals. These are essentially protest songs aimed at the usual targets: cops, work, the powers that be, and the conformists that condone it all. You may have never heard this, but you likely know the drill. It’s a strong modern delivery of ’80s mentality.

It Thing Syrup LP

First release from IT THING, hailing from the far reaches of Tasmania. Post-punk styling with poppier vocals, full of sass and heart. The laid-back, too-cool-for-you (please, don’t be fooled by “Uncool”) energy is not to be missed here, birthed from the malaise of modern life, exemplified in the line “Please change the channel on the tube” from my favorite track “Pet Snakes.” This is on the level of some Aussie contemporaries, like MINI SKIRT, yet stands firmly on its own feet. Syrup was released in November of 2021, and the first pressing is already sold out! Looking forward to more from these folks…

Malflora Mama I’m Bad cassette

Drone zone NOLA now wave descending upon your mind. Each song rides a pulsing wave of repetition, the guitar slicing through humid hallucinations, while the bass and drums roll over you like millstones, grinding you to a fine dust. In an alternate dimension, I’m holding the director’s cut of this as a double-LP, as I want each song to grow three times their size, transforming the album into a blackhole that will engulf you with brain-searing sonics. I want this, especially on “Emergent,” where the vocals urge us to “Imagine the possibilities / Redefine the barriers.” It’s psychedelic but wasn’t made for you to bliss out on, and it’s heavy without pummeling you into submission. It’s music made to firmly meditate on a powerful upward revolution and an outward future for Black and Brown people.

Man Dead Set Too Early to Be Late LP

The cover art is what really struck me here. At first glance, it resembles an old ROLLINS BAND cover. It would definitely pique my interest if I found this in a bin at any record store. On to the album itself: what we have here are ten relatively short, fast hardcore punk songs that are over before they become stale. Most stay under the two-minute mark, which is good, although there are two that go over that mark and while I personally prefer my hardcore songs to stay under one minute, it’s not unbearable, and is hardly noticeable when listening as the songs flow nicely. If you’re like me and constantly looking for something to pull you away from the old faithfuls, give this a spin.

Napalm Death is Dead Hou-Kai-Kei CD

Shit-fi noisecore is back, kids. Three tracks of bass/drum/noise in(s)anity that makes GODSTOMPER sound like RUSH. Three “songs” will violently remove twenty minutes from your life. Shit-fi is back, but NAPALM DEATH IS DEAD has been at this for almost two decades, with no signs of quitting and no desire to make anything but noise. Respect.

Ohyda Pan Bóg Spełni Wszystkie Pragnienia Lewaków… I Dojdzie Do Katastrofy! 12″

This is the third record from the Polish hardcore band OHYDA and it fits the soundscape of their previous releases: modern-sounding hardcore punk, with the taseful distribution of heavy/slow and stomping/fast parts, echo/delay on the vocals, some metallic guitars here and there, but way less metal than G.I.S.M. (although I hear the influence of them and DESTINO FINAL). Despite the songs not being that long, the band is able to create a space with borders much wider than only what the instruments play, at a pace that allows everyone to perform with intensity instead of with urgency, but that intensity bonds the whole record together and creates a great atmosphere that characterizes the band. Poland and Hungary (where I live) have a historically good relationship, meanwhile I guess both nations’ citizens try to convince themselves the other country is in deeper dictatorial shit and bigot paranoia. This record gives a pretty good insight of what is going on within these power factories fueled by EU money and inland hatred reasoned with religious or xenophobic bullshit, but the music rather translates that everyday experience instead of academically discussing its sociology; we are punx after all. Yet this record is not only regional: it fits into the modern era of international hardcore, since sadly the rage of OHYDA is easily translateable. 

Pembroke All the Brightest Pictures LP

PEMBROKE ties a bunch of different HC/punk genres together, which could sound dynamic or awkward depending on the listener. The writing and execution of any single riff or song is just fine, but the change between post HC riffs, breakdowns, crooning, and even reggae sounded forced to me. The production is nice and clean, like a ’90s Epitaph or Fat Wreck release.

Puffer Live and Die in the City Demo 2022 cassette

Montreal’s PUFFER lands here with a slab of lumpen punk’n’roll which offers a little more nuance and intrigue than your usual troglodyte Oi!-tinged hardcore. Vocals are reminiscent of NO TIME, and sound not too dissimilar to what I’d imagine it’d be like if a rottweiler learned to sing. Interestingly, there’s a bit of groove here with the tambourine flourishes and guitar solos, a bit like if MC5 cut their hair and had a wash. Good stuff(er) from PUFFER.

Rashōmon Nin-Gen 12″

RASHŌMON is Japanese for “dispute.” And there is no “dispute” that this record is a grade-A banger. Of course, we are dealing with Japanese-influenced hardcore right here. A well-oiled, chaotic machine of vicious melodious hardcore à la BASTARD but with the crudeness of a Dischord band (they are from Washington DC). They don’t sound like a rip-off band as much as putting their own twist on the genre, and it sounds more abstract than your average Japanese-influenced band. An excellent innovation in the genre and it will not disappoint. Or maybe they were named after the Akira Kurosawa flick?

Sado-Nation Disruptive Pattern LP reissue

For some reason SADO NATION has never gotten the same cult caché as fellow Portland first-wavers the WIPERS, the RATS, or the NEO BOYS. Hell, even avant noiseniks SMEGMA have more of a worldwide following for their demented mutant freewave than SADO NATION has received for their catchy, energetic punk rock. This is the band that kicked off the legendary 10-29-79 compilation, but people seem to talk more about the sole recordings by the even more unknown LO TEK than SADO’s ripping “Johnny Paranoid” that opens the album. But it seems the tide is changing on this, as their triple-digit Killed By Death collector wrecker records have been slowly seeing legit reissues. Disruptive Patterns is interesting, as it is an unreleased 1981 album that has now been issued twice by two different labels with two different covers in the last ten years. This version is by Puke n Vomit, and contains the original nine-song LP as well as three unreleased demo tracks from 1983, along with liner notes by members Leesa Nation (vocals), David Corboy (guitar/vocals), as well as Portland punk notables Jerry A. and Mark Sten. Musically, it’s high-powered punk of the time, fast and straightahead rockers, not dissimilar from anything in the West Coast first wave before hardcore reared its shaved head. The guitar fires off amped-up CHUCK BERRY riffage while the drums crash and tumble in full 4/4 force. Leesa and David trade off vocals from song to song, with Leesa more spit and sneer desperation and David’s voice a more melodic rock’n’roll shout. While not as much of a stone Portland punk classic as Is This Real?, Pick Your King, or In a Desperate Red, it’s still a document of the early Portland scene for any regional completists.

Scatterbrainiac Anti-Lethargic LP

From Porto, Portugal, SCATTERBRAINIAC plays heavy punk by numbers, replete with shouted gang vocals and simple song structures as outlined in the Official USHC Instruction Manual™. It sounds as if someone took a demo tape from 1984 and reproduced it cleanly through modern mixing methods.

The Soviettes LP LP reissue

A reissue of the SOVIETTES’ first LP from 2003. For those unfamiliar, the SOVIETTES were a band from Minneapolis that played what could be described as pop punk with tons of harmonies, and everybody sang. I like to think of them as something similar to the BANGLES-meets-DILLINGER FOUR. They released two albums on Adeline (this one and LP II) and one on Fat before calling it a day. I was a big fan, and was able to catch them once while they were still active and once during their reunion run, and I am beyond excited that this record was finally reissued on vinyl. The fine folks at Dead Broke and Rad Girlfriend have done a stellar job with this reissue. It looks and sounds great!!!!

Telesatan Behave! cassette

Behave!, the latest cassette release from Leipzig’s TELESATAN, consists of eight tracks of fuzzed-out, noisy garage punk, at times reminiscent of FLIPPER or even something along the lines of FYP or the Recess Records catalog. Fun, mid-paced, driven punk rock with a tinge of post-punk elements.

Trancefusion Incredible But True! LP

TRANCEFUSION was a first wave Italian punk band that would have been lost to the ages if Federico Guglielmi didn’t save that cassette of recordings the band made in 1978. They marked it “incredible but true!” Twelve of the fourteen tracks from that cassette are here, plus four live songs, of which two are the songs from the cassette that couldn’t be included because they deteriorated. The music is rough, trashy, and urgent. The singing is gruff and spit at you. They probably could have put out a 45 or two from these back then. This collection is an interesting look at Italian punk history.

Venosa Decapitado de Nacimiento cassette

There isn’t much you can get from an internet search for these guys and sometimes that is a great feeling because you can fill in the gaps yourself, like back in the day when you didn’t have any info other than what was found on the records or in zines. The only thing I could find was that VENOSA comes from Argentina. They play a furious brand of thrashy hardcore, fast and vicious, not quite thrashcore but almost there. I would dare to say that they almost sound a bit like Italian hardcore due to their chaotic nature. Decapitado de Nacimiento offers fifteen tracks that ooze aggression and discontent.

V/A Sharptone Records Presents LP

It’s confusing why this is called a compilation when it is actually the band BLUE ECHO backing a few different singers, some of whom are also in BLUE ECHO. But hey, everyone is entitled to refer to their record whatever they want. Side A is the better of the two, featuring songs from CLAY SMITH (two songs), JAMES GARCIA, MANSFIELD SHARP, and NIK SEDAN. The songs are power pop with a heavy ’80s style. SMITH has more of a bluesy country twinge to his songs. Side B has another song from SMITH and GARCIA, plus one each from BLUE ECHO and DAN GARCIA. This side sounds more hippie-ish with that rambling country rock style that immediately brings to mind the GRATEFUL DEAD, except for BLUE ECHO’s track which is appropriately an instrumental surf song. Everyone involved has been playing music for decades, but there is nothing too exciting here.