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!

Cramp Suzy Lie Down / She Doesn’t Love Me 7″ reissue

CRAMP was from Portrush, Northern Ireland. This is a reissue of their 1979 7” originally released on Rip Off. The music is straightforward pub rock, played slowly and thoughtfully. The lyrics are sung nonchalantly. On “Suzy Lie Down,” a man sings of trying to convince a woman to sleep with him, including questionably accusing her of being a slut even as he exclaims that he loves her. The B-side “She Doesn’t Love Me” is a song of unrequited love. She does even give him the time of day. Both songs are catchy, but the lyrics make my eyes roll.

Cult Objects Secrets of Pain​-​Free Living cassette

Secrets of Pain-Free Living is the first official release from Philadelphia’s incendiary post-punk/noise rock trio CULT OBJECTS. Swirling shoegaze-y guitars are combined here with Lauren Leilani Iona’s raw, ragged howl, a powerful match for her honest and emotionally vulnerable lyrics. There are moments where all the clangor reminds me of none other than SONIC YOUTH. The noise is at its harshest and most uncompromising in “Glue Trap,” with its layers of piercing guitar squall, while tracks like “Sea Foam” and “When Will a Fire Come?” sound downright poppy by comparison. “Scorpion Grass” is perhaps the most captivating moment on the record, a six-minute experimental epic anchored by a hypnotizing rhythm section. This is pretty potent stuff.

Dead Stoolpigeon Hit the Bastards Where It Hurts 1995–1997 3xLP

I can never figure out why this band flew (and still flies) under the radar, but this collection will surely speak to any deniers. This is the embodiment of passionate political ’90s hardcore—the band was basically MANLIFTINGBANNER without the Van Den Berg brothers, but I always felt like BORN AGAINST/UNIVERSAL ORDER OF ARMAGEDDON comparisons were more appropriate. This release contains everything and it’s packaged with the care and consideration that the band deserves. If you’re going to start somewhere with DEAD STOOLPIGEON, then I suppose you might as well start with everything.

Doldrey Celestial Deconstruction LP

We don’t get to review death metal albums that often here at Maximum Rocknroll, so let’s get to it! In an oversaturated world of ENTOMBED clones, it is hard to stand out without sounding exactly like the next band in line. DOLDREY manages to sound refreshing, but maintains all the tropes of this microgenre some call ENTOMBED-core or “death punk.” Ice-cold HM-2 riffage? Check. Murky vocal delivery? Check. Pummeling D-beats? Check. Groove that makes you headbang? Double check! The curious thing is that DOLDREY worships Swedish death metal, but they come from an improbable place, Singapore. You can tell that they love punk and hardcore just as much as they do GRAVE or CARNAGE. A great record to put on when you burn out your copy of Wolverine Blues.

Eel Men Live at New River Studios cassette

Short collection of excellent power pop/mod revival from this British band. If you like the JAM or even the KINKS, this tape will be up your alley. Catchy, melodic vocals with clean strummed guitars and basketball basslines, EEL MEN use the classic vocabulary of British rock music but create something fresh and immediately enjoyable. It sounds polished and DIY at the same time, carefully arranged but still drawn from punk around the edges. All four songs are jams (get it?) and I look forward to more. And if this was really recorded live, EEL MEN are a band to check out, because the performance is flawless.

Exhibition You’ll Be Next… cassette

Four tracks of riff-heavy, anthemic hardcore out of Buffalo, NY. The first track, “Give It Up,” starts with a chest-thumping march reminiscent of SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, and then it’s off to the races with breakneck rhythms and chugging guitars. “Chaos Unfolding” also stands out as an absolute ripper and includes a quasi-power metal guitar solo. I know that sounds weird, but it works.

The Faction Room 101 and Growing Pains LP

Notable not only as one of the first skate punk bands, but also as a skate punk band with an actual pro skater in their lineup. As can be surmised from the title, these are demo versions that would eventually appear on their first two releases: fast songs about skating, cops harassing them about skating, etc. They’re legends of the style and if you’re a diehard for it, you’re already picking this up. I haven’t ever successfully stood on a skateboard, so skate punk never endeared itself to me. This music usually just reminds me of shitty older dudes at shows I went to growing up, who love to use pejorative slurs and say charming shit like “If you dont wanna get hit, get out of the pit.”

Florida Men Florida Men CD

These Dutch fellers make no bones about wearing their influences on their sleeves here. Pop punk in the vein of SCREECHING WEASEL, LILLINGTONS, etc. played with full-on sincerity and it shows. A lot of times I feel like this type of stuff misses the mark, but this hits it dead on. The homage to the weasel logo on the cover is a nice touch, and made me chuckle.

Heat Wrays Heat Wrays demo cassette

I don’t know if these Leeds-based lads met at uni, but you could assume so from the sound of this tape. It’s all a bit erudite, showing off tidy proceedings of wiry guitar interplay with a healthy dollop of apathetic vocalizing that I’m sure the band is tired of hearing compared to PARQUET COURTS (that first one, though, when everyone thought they’d be the new PAVEMENT). I like the songs here overall, they’re not breaking any new ground but the melodies stick in your head and there’s enough variety to keep you engaged. I’m not entirely sold on the vocals on second cut “The Athlete,” but I stand firm that very few bands can pull off talk verses in this day and age. Leave it to LEWSBERG and URANIUM CLUB, that’s my advice. At the end of the day, this is a demo, and it sounds like it. I wish them well, and with some seasoning in the pan they could cook something with confidence down the line.

Junta Screwdriver / Policia No Me Jodas flexi 7″

Self-released punkers from NYC pummel through two songs of excellent Latino hardcore. “Screwdriver” starts off the flexi by demanding your attention with beaten-into-submission drums and death metal guitar riffs that’ll make your head spin. “Policia No Me Jodas” (“Police Don’t Fuck With Me”) follows up with a repetitive anger and is a rerecording from their 2017 demo Open Veins. Get your elbows out for this one.

Kpax! Kpax! LP

Don’t believe the cover, as the mutant-looking creatures in a melting town suggested this might be some falling-apart, naive hardcore. It is quite the opposite—KPAX! from Belgrade plays rigid Oi!; there is no song under two minutes and the pace rarely goes above mid-tempo. Big-scale melodies mix with simplified rock-ish sound, all in Serbian. The singer has a great voice, and the mixing makes it sound like one person singing in the name of at least a factory of desperate people. Guitars have a nicely adjusted sound delivering post-punk tones here and there, and the parts are way more creative than Oi! usually is. Overall, they have a great balance between modern and classic local sounds, between Oi! and post-punk, between careless and determined vocals. All these dualities make the record interesting and fun—for my preferences, it is really long, but at least you got material for your money.  

L’Appel Du Vide Abwärtsspirale EP

This is a great EP from an up-and-coming band straight out of Germany. They mix elements of melodic deathrock darkness, surf guitar riffs, and the hypnotic momentum of the most nocturnal and romantic English post-punk (Sturm und Drang-style). Four songs that feel like four anthems. You don’t need more.

Liquid Lunch Come Again! cassette

Writing this review took me far longer than the tape itself takes to play, because it put me in another existential mood about genre and style. I just really don’t know what more can be written about this kind of music. If you’ve listened to CHERRY CHEEKS, RESEARCH REACTOR CORP, the current crop of Lumpy bands, etc. etc., then you have a clue to what this LIQUID LUNCH tape sounds like: stiff rhythms (with manic militancy on the hi-hat and snare) played at ultracore tempos, protractor and T-square guitar riffs played with pinpoint accuracy alternated with thrashin’ bashers, sprinkled with synth squiggles, and topped with muffled mutoid man yelling. But what are they yelling about? There’s a song on it called “Obamacare,” in this year of our lord 2022. Is this a political song? Is it a goof? Have we reached the Final Devolution of CONEHEADS-core? Are all of these bands just pizza punk with more right angles? Am I thinking about this too much? The answers to all these questions: probably, and who cares?

Mock Execution Killed by Mock Execution LP

Chicago’s MOCK EXECUTION leaves no crust boxes unticked. Part UK traditional crust like DOOM or E.N.T., part Japanese crasher crust like GLOOM or GAI. Even though many bands follow this route in terms of style, MOCK EXECUTION seems to have developed their own distinct sound, with a brutal display of ferociousness throughout the nine songs that make up Killed by Mock Execution—and you will indeed be killed by this noise bomb.

Multiplex Segway Cops cassette

Latest cassette release by MULTIPLEX from Bremen, Germany. Sounds like something along the lines of a three-month-long DETESTATION European tour during the ’90s, a PARAGRAF 119 set at Ungdomshuset, or Venezuela’s APATIA NO. Cover consists of a crew of lazy cops riding on their Segways drawn in MS Paint. Something like this needs to be listened to on a thrift store boombox with blown-out speakers while taking over some unoccupied building in your town—just don’t bring the dogs to the show.

Night Court Nervous Birds! Too cassette

NIGHT COURT plays smart jangly, just weird enough lo-fi punk—which is still harmonic at heart—that draws both from late ’70s power pop and ’90s college radio. It’s the kind of release that would stand strong on the Recess Records or Dirtnap rosters. There’s a complex interplay between the reflective lyrics, fuzzed bass riffs, power guitar chords, and clangorous drums, that while being deftly executed, comes off like it was just an “aw shucks” accident. Extra bonus is that this is the second album in the band’s debut duology, and the first album is just as good.

NightFreak Speed Trials cassette

Gruff rock’n’roll stewing in a suburban storage unit packed with knuckle-dragging, burnout used-to-be-punks all half-drunk on Beast. Things are getting tense—it’s sweaty and it smells like shit, motherfuckers are running low on warm beer, and no one is brave enough to walk to the store alone because the night is about to get a lot hotter. The NIGHTFREAK is coming. They launch into “I’ll Show You Heaven” and everyone in the room questions their life choices in unison, but it’s too late. The doors are locked and the stench feels like it’s going in your ears but it’s just another guitar solo. There’s no escape. This is your life.

Obsolete Man Glory Be to the Bomb cassette

Four angry blokes from San Francisco, OBSOLETE MAN. On the table here is a really good mix of heavy hardcore, metalcore, and powerviolence, making very good use of uncommon song structure to create something very unpredictable and unique. These vocals drip with anger and venom, with the instrumentation following suit very nicely. These guys know how to set a damn desolate mood. Solid stuff!

Pisse Lambada EP

“Komfortzone,” the opening track on the new EP from this HoyerswerdaI band, is exactly how you should do the whole “punk band plus a synth” thing. If you absolutely must involve a synth, let it play a supporting role—maybe have it provide a bit of atmosphere, potentially elevate your solid but pretty straightforward garage-y post-punk (or whatever) to something a little different, something interesting. PISSE maybe don’t strike the exact balance I’m looking for on each of the seven tracks here, but they do so more often than not, turning this into a much more memorable affair than it would have been had there not been a synth. It’s a cool record—give it a go!

Psychic Graveyard / USA Nails split LP

I’m not sure if people understand what a force ARAB ON RADAR was when they emerged before the turn of the millennium. The first time I saw them—resplendent in their janitor uniforms—they hit “go” on the strobe light and the band jolted to life like Frankenstein’s monster. The entire crowd backtracked ten steps in two seconds flat. Maybe “scurried” is a better description. DEVO, US MAPLE, and BRAINIAC weren’t just getting thrown into the blender, they were swinging a lawnmower around, chopping up bodies Dead Alive-style. And ARAB ON RADAR continued to deliver the goods up until they split. Afterwards came CHINESE STARS, who I always found frustrating. They didn’t have the killer instinct of RADAR nor quite the methodical precision of SIX FINGER SATELLITE. DOOMSDAY STUDENT was a good-enough rehash of ARAB ON RADAR, but to those who witnessed the first go-round, it wasn’t quite as much of an illicit thrill. Featuring some of the same key players, PSYCHIC GRAVEYARD delivers on the electro-punk promise of CHINESE STARS and pilots it straight into the eye of the hurricane. “Building You a Rainbow” is a suitably mellow-harshing recounting of whatever new age bullshit has crossed your path this week. Singer Eric Paul lists the various permutations of this noxious blather with a withering tone. If “Love My Skeleton Too” is what passes for romance in PSYCHIC GRAVEYARD’s world, then sign me up for the next speed-dating night. PSYCHIC GRAVEYARD’s side of this split is a surprisingly enjoyable trawl through a battered and beautiful landscape. The UK’s USA NAILS are the perfect complement to PSYCHIC GRAVEYARD. The London-based trio has been around for almost a decade now and their noise rock pummel still hits as hard as ever. These dudes are one of the few bands that took the influence of a band like MCCLUSKY and further refined it. And when I say “refined,” I mean “beat the living shit out of,” cuz these cats don’t mess around when it comes to inflicting damage. But they got songs as well, which makes the squall that much more disorienting. “What Have We Become?” is an example of restraint even as it throbs menacingly. “God Help Us If There’s a War” pairs up understated vocals with seesaw bass and a melodic guitar line. Nothing but pure, uncut high-quality goods on this evenly matched ocean-spanning split.

 

Ristrikt We Are All Just Human LP

Hardcore punk from Edmonton, Alberta that features members of SNFU and DAYGLO ABORTIONS. The “members of” tag is a bit of a “gotcha” to sell a couple more records, although I believe that by using that, it may actually hurt more than help. RISTRIKT has more in common with modern hardcore/punk than the old school sounds of the aforementioned bands, and I think that this record is strong enough to stand on its own rather than with the crutch of a “members of” line.

Simp Social Institutions of Malevolent Purpose cassette

The debut from two-man band SIMP out of Washington, this collection of songs presents a sound of traditional angry hardcore-ing with traces of the more modern S.H.I.T.-esque style. It’s decent. This guy swears to god he’s a Functional Human, but I won’t believe it until we get a proper LP to follow this up.

Squander War Crimes cassette

Punk from Nova Scotia, reminding me structurally of AUS-ROTTEN, with the sting of A.O.A. or EXIT-STANCE and the production tone of KORROSIVE or PROTESTI. At points loose and chaotic like Finnish HC, and other times straightforward and brutal like LANGUID. This is comprised of members of NAPALM RAID and SYSTEM SHIT, etc. It is somewhat more hardcore and old school than it is crust, like CRUCIFIX mixed with several ’80s Scandinavian and UK influences. A tape that gets heavier and heavier as it goes.

Student Nurse Think for Yourself: Seattle Tour 1979-1984 CD

The complete works (and then some) of late ’70s/early ’80s Seattle art-punks STUDENT NURSE—of the 28 tracks on Think for Yourself, 18 of them(!!!) are previously unheard, and we’re not talking murky practice demos or live rehashes of studio-recorded material, either. Despite only leaving a handful of vinyl short-players behind, STUDENT NURSE still managed to hopscotch through a dizzying range of styles, from speedy, punky bruisers (the minute-long “Lies,” from their 1979 debut 7”), to eccentrically catchy new wave (the bizarro-world hit “Garbage,” from 1980’s As Seen on TV 12”), to upstroked ska-inspired rhythms (“Discover Your Feet,” off the 1981 Seattle Syndrome LP comp), to minimal weirdo pop sung in Dutch (“Recht Op Staan,” the A-side to their 1982 swan-song single). Taken as a whole, the course they charted was not entirely unlike that of SUBURBAN LAWNS, if SUBURBAN LAWNS had been transported from sunny Southern California to the shadow of the Space Needle, with their mixed-gender vocals (guitarist Helena Rogers’ alternatingly jittery/deadpan approach hits some definite Su Tissue angles), spiky riffs and Morse code beats, and a kitsch-minded willingness to not take themselves too seriously—see “Encounter,” STUDENT NURSE’s angular ode to alien abduction that’s an ideal thematic twin to the LAWNS’ “Flying Saucer Safari.” The treasure trove of unreleased archival material is what really elevates this collection to essential status; the stiff, almost GANG OF FOUR-ish funk of “Colonies,” the proto-K Records pop styling of “Letters,” and the robotic post-punk detachment of “Tough Guy in the Lab” are all especially great. True subterranean pop!

Touchhole Touchhole demo cassette

Lo-fi (and I mean low) bass, drums, and noise combo. It’s dissonant but not totally off-the-rails, i.e. there’s definitely a beat, vocals, and something resembling a melody. Imagine a hardcore record with vocals fed through an effects pedal and guitars sped up or slowed down beyond recognition. Kinda feels like TOUCHHOLE is trolling the listener, like “just how much of this can you tolerate hearing?” Your answer may dictate how much you like this.

V.D.I. Naces, Vives, Mueres cassette

Excellent catchy, bouncy hardcore punk from Argentina (I think, as I couldn’t dig up much about them on the internet). The guitar is buzzsaw as fuck like on that LOS VIOLATORES song on the Peace/War comp, but maybe that’s a cheap comparison to use fellow countrymates. I’m feeling a lot of SoCal’s RAYOS X and POLISKITZO here, as well as some classic Oi! like Barcelona’s DECIBELIOS. Really, really good. Hopefully I’ll know more about them soon and so will you.

Ataque Subliminal Ataque Subliminal demo cassette

This short four-song demo comes out of NYC from the Toxic State family of fine products. Fronted by raw-throat melodic shouts and the guitar’s radioactive riffs, dripping with just the right amount of flange, plus a bass and drum backline that relays the rhythm more with off-kilter tom rolls, big trashy crash bashes, and a tasteful use of breakdown beats rather than just relying on the standard snare and hi-hat rata-tat-tat ad infinitum. It really lends the songs a lateral swing and danceability, especially on the killer opening cut “Màquinas Deseantes.”

Born Cursed Born Cursed cassette

Beligerent hand-tattooed hardcore out of Massachussetts? Yes. A thousand times yes. This band brings a brick down with their focused take on metallic-tinged HC. There’s a clean, crisp feel to the recording, which normally I’m less onboard with, but it brings a clarity that adds heft and ferocity to this speedy grip of six tracks. There are even more than a few toes dipped into powerviolence, such as on minute-long bruiser “Anti Everything.” There isn’t much on display here other than solid, competent hardcore that will bang your head for you and open the pit on a weeknight. Good effort all around, though might not stick in your head.

Class Class cassette

RIK AND THE PIGS join forces with Jim Colby, one of the all around best musicians I know, to bring us CLASS, with a new cassette tape released on the mighty Feel It Records. Buckle up, folks, and take a little ride with me. Everyone reading MRR knows RIK at this point, and his instantly recognizable voice crooning at you almost intimidatingly on the songs he sings will immediately win over PIGS fans. I’m not entirely sure how many of his Hog Boys RIK was able to wrangle into this project, but teaming them up with Mr. Colby was a helluva move. If Jim Colby is not a household name for you, then that’s a house I’m not sure I care to enter. Jim has been involved with seemingly countless bands spanning many different genres of music, but most notably to the avid Maximum Rocknroll reader, he was the blastermind behind the absolutely killer new wave group from Tucson, AZ, NEW DOUBT, who did a slew of cassette releases, and he was the saxophone player with BROWN SUGAR both live and on the band’s LP. CLASS might first come off as a little confusing, but I urge you to listen to this cassette a few times before you make your mind up about it. A departure from the incredibly nasty lo-fi recordings that helped make RIK AND THE PIGS so special (don’t even get me started on how much I love that last LP), this cassette has impeccably clean production value, each instrument coming through as clear as day. CLASS has different vocalists featured on multiple songs on this tape and feels like there are more than one songwriters taking the reins from song to song. It comes off like a glam rock band or a modern-day version of KISS without the glitter or the gimmick. Well, I haven’t seen them perform live, so maybe there is glitter and makeup and fancy clothes….hmm. I would honestly be quite open to seeing these beautiful ghouls try something like that. Can you tell I’m a fan over here? Pardon me while I flip the tape for yet another listen.

Cutre Inconscientes cassette

It is riffs ahoy on this killer cassette from Buenos Aires, Argentina’s CUTRE—there’s so many of them and they all rip! Classic-style hardcore punk that’ll get your blood pumping (along with your fist). The vocals howl and scream in sheer defiance while the instrumentation is as tight as can be—and did I mention this is jam-packed with superior riffage? I feel like a good indicator of this tape’s bad-assery is the fact that there is an INDEGESTI cover on it. Get this blasted!

Destiny Bond 2022 Promo cassette

DESTINY BOND dials back the distortion and lets the riffs and drums drive, and drive they do! They dispense galloping D-beats and floor-punchy breakdowns with expertise. The singer’s aggrieved, sarcastic gripe is a nice change of pace from being barked at. The mostly straight-line punk riffs occasionally insert melodic notes and fills but mostly keep it simple, which is as it should be.

Exil Mercenary EP

EXIL returns with another fine smorgasbord of crisp, tight Swedish hardcore. Great artwork and no bullshit. In case you don’t have a clue, this features former members of DS-13, E.T.A., the VICIOUS, and more. It has that clean-but-heavy guitar roar and enunciated vocal style you’d expect from those previous bands, but this isn’t an ancient throwback to, like, 2001. My favorite track has to be the closer, “Can’t See Your Face,” for being dirtier and having an almost Hell Comes to Your House creepy-crawl bad vibe. It’s such a copout to write after reviewing Swedish bands, but this is definitely “skol!” worthy.

Fol Jazik Dete Na Xx Vek / Oglas Šifra 7″

Two doses of primitive Yugoslavian drug punk circa 1979 unearthed by the folks at Rave Up. There’s something amazing about listening to a band struggling to bash out two-chord riffs, and every moment of this single sounds like a struggle. Rudimentary at best, raw brilliance at its worst, “Dete Na XX Vek” deserves to be preserved in the outsider punk archives—file somewhere between TAMPAX and the DOGS.

Frente Norte Ardiendo LP

If you were to pick up this record on cover art alone you’d assume that it was some kind of metal band and, well…you’d be wrong. Like way off. There’s a lot to unpack here. The vocals are gruff, but musically, this is kinda poppy but very simple-sounding; I don’t mean that in a disparaging way. It’s kind of all over the place musically and the vocals shouldn’t work with what’s going on here, but for some reason they do, and they are the biggest reason that I like this. The lyrics are sung in Spanish, which I think adds to the charm here. If they were sung in English, I think it would lose something. I think this record will be seeing a lot of time on the turntable around here.

Gentlemen Rogues A History of Fatalism LP

Catchy, mid-tempo power pop with a definite indie pop feel. There’s even a hint of country/Americana in there. They cover MORRISSEY’S “The Last of the Famous International Playboys.” That’s gutsy, but they do pull it off. This is really well done and if you like bands like the ALL AMERICAN REJECTS, this could be up your alley. I’m guessing it isn’t punk enough for most MRR-ers. I’m totally digging it.

The Honeymoon Killers Hung Far Low LP reissue

This last HONEYMOON KILLERS album originally came out in the Year Punk Broke (1991 A.D.) The KILLERS were mainstays of NYC’s downtown scum rock scene, while leaning towards the blues-punk side of the street. Two-thirds of the HONEYMOON KILLERS were of the female persuasion, which made them stand out from the rest of the unwashed masses. Even Cristina of BOSS HOG did her time in the band, but when this album emerged at the dawn of the ’90s, the HONEYMOON KILLERS were two-thirds BLUES EXPLOSION. With Russell Simins on drums and Jon Spencer on guitar and vocals, founding members Lisa Wells and Jerry Teel raised some hell one final time. You can definitely hear how Spencer and Simins’ post-modern take on trashy rock’n’roll influenced Hung Far Low’s direction, but Teel and Wells are still firmly in the driver’s seat. Listening to this album is equivalent to a Lower East Side booze crawl that doesn’t end until the sun comes up. You might not remember much about it, but you had a damn good time while it was happening. Shortly after the HONEYMOON KILLERS packed their bags for good, the BLUES EXPLOSION exploded on a national scale and Teel joined an even better band than the one he had just laid to rest—the CHROME CRANKS.

Kids Born Wrong Book of Vile Darkness LP

Just looking at the song list for this album makes me smile. “Bury Me Someplace Bad and Ugly,” “Mermaid Blues,” “Killed On Video,” “Full of Bugs.” The titles paint a picture that is backed up with some fuzzy, retro-ish indie rock. Some lyrics are screamed while others are spoken calmly. They save the best song, “We’re All Gonna Die Down Here,” for last. The music pulses and the vocals panic. Just weird and wicked in the right ways.

Lexan Lexan cassette

This one is good. Demo from this Ohio hardcore band that pulls from UK82 and Oi! influences and delivers four pummeling songs with raw vocals and great two-guitar riffs. If I have this correct, the songs center around a creature called Lexan, reduced by the grind of daily life into a walking plastic environmental disaster. I’m picturing the Incredible Melting Man with liberty spikes. Working class anthems times sci-fi body horror makes for a great tape. Take the lyrics to “Man Made Ultra”: “Polycarbonate fused to the hate / Now I’m a carcass even Earth wouldn’t eat / I’m man-made, ultra, plastic monster.” Now imagine it shouted as a fist-pumping, kill-your-boss sing-along. It rules. If you ever thought CHUBBY AND THE GANG needed more monsters, listen to this now.

McQqeen II cassette

Opening your tape with a five-minute, acid-drenched motor jam is a bold move, and yowza, does it work for Georgia’s MCQQEEN. Bands in the modern DIY scene have embraced ’90s alt for several years now (pro vs. con is a different discussion), and that’s where the brain initially goes with the opener “Mexico Will Pay,” but these kids are doing something way different—deep listening recommended. They sound like they’ve stepped out of a Blair Witch outtake, just demented and awkward dirges masquerading as infectious drug grunge. Instant mental comparisons to DASHER hold up, and the way they move from basic garage punk stomps (“Electric Lies”—1:54) to drawn-out swamp jams (“Fill My Heart”—7:36) is enviable. Controlled chaos throughout, infectious indie/alt buried under a wash of effects while a hardcore band struggles to keep quiet.

The Missed Activation LP

Cleveland’s the MISSED have roots in garage rock that roughen the edges of their otherwise power pop styling—they are catchy and fun with a devil-may-care attitude, reminiscent of the relatively new GREEN/BLUE.  “Sink” cranks up the angst compared to the other tracks, and is my favorite of the album, while “Choke,” with its ambling bass line, makes for a close second. Get activated with this third LP from the MISSED.

No Fix Neon Dreams cassette

With this level of snottiness, you might want to hand a tissue over to Matt Menard, the sole writer/performer under this moniker. You know, snotty in that way we all like, especially putting out this genre of garage punk with major pop sensibilities. It’s a mostly successful grip of songs, not doing much to outshine greats like the MARKED MEN’s Mark Ryan, whom Menard most resembles here. The title track makes the most waves, with a big, dumb classic rock breakdown that will bend your neck compulsively. Otherwise, this is pretty darn good and not much else.

Older Siblings Unfinished Basement cassette

Debut release from this Canadian brother/sister guitar/drums duo that sounds just like the WHITE STRIPES. Just kidding, they don’t. Where that band pulled from blues and garage rock, OLDER SIBLINGS conjure tones from ’90s grunge into their simple, straightforward rock songs. Think NIRVANA’s Bleach without the feedback or angst; mid-tempo beginner riffs with earnest vocals and BEAT HAPPENING-style drums. I love that siblings made these songs in their basement together, but this collection feels undercooked. It is unsophisticated, but not in an intentional, artistically reductive way. It honestly sounds like someone’s first band and just isn’t all that interesting. On a positive note, “Mediocre Tendencies” (an appropriate title, but I’m trying not to be mean) has a call-and-response vocal interplay that sounds good, and the surfy “Wood Panelled Walls” is a fun instrumental break. Best of luck to them, but this one wasn’t for me.

Papas Rainbows & Potatoes cassette

PAPAS is a four-piece out of Boise, so I can’t tell if their name is supposed to mean “dads” or “potatoes.” Similarly, I can’t tell if the title of this cassette is supposed to be twee as hell or if they’re going for a potato-themed, late-aughts party punk vibe. The music across these three tracks kinda splits that difference, so maybe all the ambiguity is by design. The opening track “I Ain’t Gonna Do it Your Way No More” is a cover of mid-’90s Dutch garage punk band the PERVERTS. It’s a ‘60s-style scorcher, complete with 2,000-lb bee fuzz and a production that sounds like the master was left out in the sun for a week. I love it! I’m less keen on the other tracks though, which sound like some garage-pop slop plucked straight outta 2009. “I Wanna Be Your Baby” with its woozy JOHN WESLEY COLEMAN-esque Southern swagger is probably the stronger of the two. Neither suck, to be clear! It’s just a sound I feel like we’d collectively moved past and I wasn’t particularly eager to revisit. Anyway, definitely give the opener a listen, and you might as well give the other two a shot while you’re at it, particularly if you’ve got a Sailor Jerry-style hot dog tattoo.

Planet on a Chain Last Word. Last Act. EP

Follow-up release to the demo/first 7” by Oakland/Austin’s P.O.A.C. At the risk of name-dropping, it is an unavoidable fact that the band consists of ’90’s and ’00s Bay Area punk veterans from TALK IS POISON, LOOK BACK AND LAUGH, and NEEDLES, as well as New Jersey thrashers TEAR IT UP. Similar to their previous outputs, it consists of the signature Bay Area-style raging, dark hardcore punk somewhere along the lines of CHRIST ON PARADE and early NEUROSIS, before they went out on the limb to sonic experimentation. Based on the fierce intensity of the recording, it’s apparent these veterans are still raging as hard as they have since the beginning. Still DIY as fuck and relevant as it’s ever been.

Tha Retail Simps Reverberant Scratch: 9 Shots in tha Dark LP

July was a blur, so somehow I missed seeing THA RETAIL SIMPS both times they played Portland on their West Coast tour. I’ve resolved that within myself by just listening to their record almost every day in August so far. When the rollicking piano starts on “Hit & Run,” you can tell the band is not afraid to boogie and create a groove. It’s rhythmically rare these days, since so many bands I hear in the punk world either wanna be stiff, be fast, be brutal, be technical, be anything but hip-shaking. “Love Without Friction” sounds like a no wave twist contest, leading into “End Times Hip Shaker Pts. 1 & 2,” which has a grindin’ riff like a ANDRE WILLIAMS B-side before giving it a lysergic dip into a fully fuzz-drenched freakout. “Dozen a Dime” cools it down with a downer folk bongo bummer, but the rave-ups continue in the last half. “Summertime” stands out with a nasty distorto biker movie riff and a fully fucked-up but funky clavinet solo, and it’s these juxtapositions and stylistic slurries that make the record stand out. The songs are strong enough on their own, but all the disparate sonic references give the music texture and character. THA SIMPS have made a record that’s loose, noisy, goofy, danceable, and weirdly one of a kind, full of reverence for rock’n’roll but not so studious as to take any of it too seriously.

Śmierć Paranoja LP

Sweden’s ŚMIERĆ keeps getting better, and last year’s Paranoja, their second full-length, is an absolute stunner. Imagine the D-beat power of WOLFBRIGADE and TO WHAT END? driving an homage to Polish classics like DEUTER, POST REGIMENT, and ARMIA. Don’t dismiss the band as an homage to Polish HC/punk however, as their power transcends genre (and region), and their records are soaring examples of how fucking powerful punk can still be, even within its own confines. Highest endorsement.

The Spliffs You Know What They’ll Say EP reissue

Australia in the ’80s was a hotbed of garage rock and power pop, and North Queensland’s SPLIFFS occupied a minor space in that scene, opening up for such heavy-hitters as the SAINTS and HOODOO GURUS. They released their debut single in 1986 (reissued here for the first time by Sweden’s One Way Ticket Records), and by 1988, they were done. There’s nothing as immediately transcendent as “I Want You Back” on this record, but the three songs here are perfectly adequate examples of mid-tempo ’60s-as-filtered-through-the-’80s power pop. Sprightly and upbeat, with genre-typical adenoidal vocals and the kind of unpolished production that always makes this style of music more appealing to me anyway. I won’t deny this has a certain charm, but it’s not something I can see myself returning to often. 

TV Drugs FFO: Everything Terrible / Instant Tenders cassette

TV DRUGS is a Cleveland hardcore band, playing fun shit with a lot of personality and being weird while also laying down a formidable thrashing. This tape collects their two releases to date (shout-out to Robert Collins, who already reviewed one of them), and captures fifteen tracks of unhinged hardcore. I’m always a fan of the Doc Dart vocal approach of coloring outside the lines, and this rad singer does that a lot. The band seems to have gone quiet for a little while now, and it’d be cool if they resurface at some point with a proper full-length.

 

Valtatyhjiö Lukko cassette

Finnish hardcore alert! VALTATYHJIÖ hails from Joensuu in North Karelia, Finland, and brings under their arms a debut demo that is an absolute banger. The vocal delivery could have easily been on a MELLAKKA record, with the traditional Finnish hardcore snarl raiding your ears non-stop. The drumming is on point and the riffs just keep on coming and coming. A new release and band that carries the torch for the golden era of Finnish hardcore.