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STREET EATERS is a Bay Area group that provides some of the thickest, down-to-earth punk I’ve heard in recent times. This four-track EP highlights the best aspects of the group, which happen to be playing kick-ass post-punk topped with a brooding vocal performance. Everything about this record is totally cathartic and powerful. I’ve heard this group has become something of an underground hit in the Bay Area, and with releases like this it’s no wonder.
I’m not sure what genre these devilish dudes from New York City would consider themselves. Death Oi!? Street Macabre? Boasting ghoulish tunes with fuzzy and buzzy guitars, hoarse ghostly vocals, and foreboding hooks galore, these NUMBSKULLS seem to be carving out their own grisly, jagged, and possibly infected path. The music is UK82 at its core, delivered via a decaying VHS tape bootleg of a banned movie. Whatever they call it, this band and the rest of the crew at the Chaotic Uprising Productions label are up to some wild shit, and I’m into it.
This discography covers two LPs and an EP from a band who relocated from Poland to Ireland. Fast, angular guitars with darkly-focused lyrics sung in Polish. A great introduction to the band, plays like a sped-up and then stripped-down version of Pink Flag-era WIRE.
This is kind of an interesting one. Sludgy, doomy heaviness from small town Eastern PA with a love for the late ’80s Seattle sound. It’s primitive and ploddingly heavy but attempts to be on the mainstream side vocally. Maybe like the more polished MELVINS projects or STONE TEMPLE PILOTS crossed with EARTH. They even got Tad Doyle mastering. Definitely a throwback to a time I don’t necessarily want to remember, but it could be a delightful new experience for yourself?
Bachelor digs up two unreleased 1979 recordings from these Austrian oddballs. CHUZPE, arguably Austria’s first punk band, formed in 1977, initially playing pretty straightforward punk. Over time they would gradually morph into a full-on synth-pop band, but these tracks find them a bit closer to the punk end of that spectrum. “Women in Prison” is a punky new wave number where the synth is wielded like a frat rock organ, giving the song a bit of a B-52’S vibe. “Stealing Russians in Watchia” is more frenetic and post-punky with a circusy synth running throughout, sounding not unlike early WALL OF VOODOO. Probably inessential, but a cool enough record.
If DATBLYGU’s reputation precedes them, that reputation is likely being “the Welsh response to the FALL,” and/or serving as a crucial influence for a crop of bands in the ’90s that sounded a lot like the FALL (see: COUNTRY TEASERS). Following a string of early/mid-’80s cassettes in more of a skeletal, no-fi bedroom DIY style, the explicit FALL debts really started to take shape on DATBLYGU’s first vinyl offering, 1986’s Hwgr-Grawth-Og EP, and their 1988 debut LP Wyau. The parallels are easy to spot—the speed-addled specter of Mark E. Smith looms behind vocalist David R. Edwards’ caustic narrations (delivered almost exclusively in Welsh), while the instrumental backing from Patricia Morgan and T. Wyn Davies demonstrates a FALL-worthy devotion to minimalism and repetition, largely centered around little more than rudimentary drum machine, busted guitar twang, and droning keyboard. But Edwards’ lyrics also often addressed class and social issues with a very un-Mark E. leftist pointedness (can you imagine the FALL ever contributing a song to an animal rights benefit comp?), and DATBLYGU was truly a post-punk band in the literal sense of the term, drawing as much inspiration from experimental and dance and folk music (among many other things) as anything found in the FALL playbook. For my money, this is their finest hour: the electro-pulse, borderline industrial clamor of “Cristion Yn Y Kibbutz,” “Dafydd Iwan Yn Y Glaw” and “Tymer Aspirin” hitting that totally wired Rough Trade-era FALL sweet spot, the biting and hilarious take-down of the cult of MORRISSEY on “Fanzine Ynfytyn” (Ben Wallers was absolutely paying attention to that one), just legit fucked-up brilliance. Rest in power David R. Edwards, who passed away in June, less than a month after Wyau and the 1990 follow-up LP Pyst were brought back into vinyl circulation—no time like the present to seek out both records and pay your rates to the departed.
Bachelor Archives has done well to serve us up with some hot rarities in the past—this time, a personal fave Euro hardcore punk 45, long in need of a reissue. I think these four tracks made it onto a DEAD NITTELS collection released on Rave Up some years ago, but as a collector I always prefer a faithful repro to get an experience closer to what the initial release format was like. There were some great releases coming out of Austria in the early ’80s but none cut quite this deep into hardcore territory. It’s desperate, pounding, and snarling, somewhere between SVART FRAMTID and VORKRIEGSJUGEND. Yes, seriously! See Pushead’s review in issue #14 for some nice descriptive words. The remastering is noticeable when played next to the original 1983 issue, especially in the drums. It’s an overall louder and wilder mix, for better or worse. I think newcomers may like it better but I’m indifferent. The red on the sleeve isn’t as neon as the original but the cover art is clearly the most lacking aspect of the release anyway! Top-tier for fans or ’80s Euro punk and hardcore.
I’m not sure who this FRANKY is, but he seems to have a bit of an issue with time. Between the physical release and the small amount of info that can be found on the internet, I am being told that this batch of songs was written in the early ’80s, released in 1990, copyrighted 2006, and released now after being discovered after an unknown period of time. What’s more important is that I couldn’t possibly care less where the goof ends and reality begins because these songs are timeless enough that I could be convinced that there is truth to any combination of those wild claims. Mr. SHAMPOO and his backing band, who the internet tells me is called the CITY CREATURES (tho, I strongly suspect it may just be our sudsy new friend all on his lonesome), seem to be from Chemnitz, Germany. FRANKY plays a lovely mix of many different styles of punk. There’s some ’77-type stuff in there, some mid-tempo post-punk catchiness, some synth punk elements peppered in, it’s all done extremely well and nothing sounds out of place. I am greatly hoping there are more tapes to be discovered by this enigmatic individual. I’m feeling all frothy and lathered up, and these mere seven songs have set the bar incredibly high. What’s this? A secret track? An unlisted eighth song, full-MIDI version of “Ace of Spades”! FRANKY, you mad man! Wherever you are, come back to us, you’ve got a hit on your hands with this tape!
Four songs and a DEVO cover from this Australian band that sounds like a mix of FRIED EGG and GAG. The songs are mostly mid-tempo, noisy hardcore with gruff shouted vocals and the occasional stompy breakdown. Nothing revolutionary here, but very solid nonetheless. “Caged Pigs” has a 1-2 beat that could get a circle pit going in no time. And who can say no to a heavy, shouted DEVO cover? Not me. Check it out if you’re angry and want to throw your elbows around.
Second release from this Berlin-based act named like a late ’90s swing troupe. This four-song EP finds them channeling a mix of In My Head BLACK FLAG and the plodding grooves of early FLIPPER. When the primary vocalist is at his loosest, it sounds an awful lot like NIRVANA at their noisiest. The most distinct track on the record, “Suck My Watts” (seriously, these folks gotta get better at naming shit!), mixes things up with a female vocalist adding a full-throated early GOSSIP-like performance to the mix. I’m not sure that it works, but it definitely made me pay attention. And that pretty much sums up this release. Each listen left me feeling like maybe these pieces don’t really fit together. Nevertheless, I found myself compelled to go back in to make sure that was still the case. So, something interesting is going on.
Lille punks KRONSTADT return for their second LP, bringing with them a more expansive, melodic sound and ambition along with them. Like their compatriots LITOVSK and SYNDROME 81 I suppose it is ostensibly Oi!-adjacent, but there’s a not insignificant dose of post-punk sheen on this release; a lot of the rough edges have been knocked off which is where, unfortunately, I find a lot of the charm. It’s perfectly good enough, serviceable punk but just slightly too polished for yours truly.
Collecting their killer tapes from the last couple years, LASSIE pulls me back from the brink…of the well. The one I was thinking of drowning myself in cuz there’s no mo’ fun punk bands that also aren’t just plain embarrassing and (forgive me) cringe. MEAN JEANS? Are you fucking kidding me? LASSIE kinda sounds like if LOST SOUNDS were more into the B-52’S than GARY NUMAN. Super-snotty and non-cloyingly goofy, LASSIE is a rare beast indeed. There’s not a bummer track here, but “Phonecalls on My Deathbed” is a hit if I ever heard one; where’s Dick Clark or Rick Dees or CDs….yeah. Hey, this is why I don’t write silly but endearing spazz-wave songs. LASSIE does, they’re really good at it. “Tiger in My Tank” sounds like the fucking RONDELLES! I bet they turn a boring bar into a total fucking blast. “QT Enhancer” is a pogo party in a can. If you like C.C.T.V. or LUMPY or DEVO, I don’t see why you wouldn’t like this. I feel like if this band was from California, they’d be big, or at least “opening for the SPITS” big. So, not that big. But they should be. They’re great.
LOW RATS are out of Minneapolis and play punk-y garage rock with a bit of a rockabilly twang. It’s a standard variation on genres. I can think of bands from the ’80s, ’90s,’00s, etc. that have gone in this direction. At first listen it seems like I have heard this before, but after a few more listens, their sound hooks me. I particularly like the lead singer’s pleading vocal style. “Ex-Crisis” featuring an out of the blue female backing vocal is my fave on this. They slow it down a bit and lean toward their punkier side. It’s cool.
An absolutely delightful release from Helsinki, Finland. The debut release by MEAL is a six-song cassette of incredibly timeless post-punk which leans a bit into the art-punk/indie rock realm on a few of the tracks. I’m not exactly sure how it’s possible to feel overwhelmingly nostalgic about a recording the very first time you listen to it, but these songs seem to have that ability. I am not gonna sit here and say that it feels like listening to WIRE for the first time or anything like that, but maybe like a small little minute fraction of what that feeling was like.
MODERN CYNICS’ grimy econo-pop sound is damn near perfect on this eighteen-track tape. On average, the songs clock in tight and tidy—usually around a minute and a half (sometimes under 60 seconds)—showing off songwriter Matty Grace’s chops for penning overdriven tunes that are full of muscle and melody. The whole affair washes over you, and is honestly best consumed in one go rather than shuffling through cuts. What stands out here is the blend of breezy disaffected execution, mainly in Grace’s vocal delivery, with a perfect dose of urgency and punch. Some of these tracks truly rip, while others are ideal mope anthems. It’s got it all, a tape to keep in the deck for weeks at a time.
Here it is! The first of two official reissues from the legendary Canadian band. Before fastcore or powerviolence were hardcore subgenre touchstones, these three teenagers were playing blisteringly fast punk with lyrics full of social commentary and their own inside jokes. Recorded in 1982—1983, that puts this record right around the first DEEP WOUND demo and before the SIEGE demo. Way early for this kind of lightspeed HC, and it blows my mind that NEOS are not quite the punk household name that they deserve to be. Hopefully this eighteen-song 7″ and the recent discography release will change that. Enough history, how does it sound? Fast and raw with the frenzied syllable-per-beat vocal delivery I mistakenly associate with ’90s Slap-a-Ham releases. This EP sounds like it was recorded live, and the energy is palpable. It’s passionate punk, turned up to maximum speed—pure energy bursts of righteous youthful spirit. Essential listening as a historical artifact and as a total face-melting 7″.
It’s not the make-up of NOG WATT that causes one to wonder, it’s the year! How did an undeniable, inarguable hardcore classic punch so hard above its weight …..in 1985?! Strange but true, and six songs at that, a proper EP a.k.a. “the hardcore LP.” There’s so much good punk contained within the opening cut “Going On,” it would take a lifetime to diagram. Holland was home for NOG WATT, yet there’s plenty of SoCal in their shadow-y DNA, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. These aren’t just blitzkriegs of speed, although NOG WATT jumps into that zone effortlessly and with a fistful of panache. This band has plenty of great riffs and enough swing to appeal to the full cross-section of the punk pyramid. “Hunted” and “Fear” are anthems of disaffection and dread, as the singer stares down your barrel and dares you to pull the trigger. Prime mover “Big Warning, Big Mistake” would open up the pit in a nursing home. The fucking bass runs! NOG WATT is never not aiming for your neck.
Aptly named album for a rock’n’roll band hailing from the toxic wastelands of New Jersey. Trashy garage punk noise with one foot in the shadows of Jersey legends like ELECTRIC FRANKENSTEIN and CHRONIC SICK and the other in classic ’70s garage punk like DMZ and LYRES. There’s a lot of material here, but with great songs like “Piss!,” “Vomit-Pig,” and “Rock’N’Roll Til I Die,” you can imagine what you’re in for. Jump in your IROC-Z, put this baby in the tape deck, and you’re in for a quite a swell ride.
Two solid anthemic rock tracks out of this Buffalo, NY trio. Self- and socially reflective while still insightful and angry. Playing like a ’90s version of STIFF LITTLE FINGERS with some synth and current culture angst thrown in.
S:BAHN is yet another punk band coming out of Melbourne that proves that the city helms one of the most exciting scenes on the planet. In tune with contemporaries like AMYL AND THE SNIFFERS or TOTAL CONTROL, there are elements of post-punk, hardcore, and garage rock littered across this record. There are moments of melancholy and slight moodiness which I think sets this group apart. I dig the spacey moments of well-developed and repetitive rhythms. If you’re into post-punk coming from Down Under, this is one of the best.
Hard-hitting hardcore from Denmark. A collection of sub-60-second burners interspersed among some nasty doses of riffage. I think the mid-tempo numbers (“Selvkontrol”) are what makes it feel so damn good when they go fast (“Pillage”). Fierce, throaty vocals and a massive presentation to top it off.
I almost thought I was listening to a reissue when throwing on this release by Osaka’s the SMOG, and that’s not to say it sounds dated. It’s power pop with a major emphasis on power, but feels a part of the pantheon rather than an echo. In just two songs, this single has got hooks and teeth—beautiful songwriting that sounds like it’ll step on your neck if you get in the way. “Noise Noise,” the B-side here, hits like a chain but also has a disarmingly vulnerable melody—the perfect intersection between late ’70s-indebted sneering punk and heart-on-your-sleeve lyricism that will never wear out its welcome.
VERY PARANOIA is a bluesy garage rock outfit that is equal parts sharp and on-the-nose. Their fuzzy guitar riffs are sometimes overshadowed by the gnarly, aggressive vocals that spit fury up and down this record. They pull influences from all over the garage rock spectrum, from Safe as Milk-era CAPTAIN BEEFHEART to the GORIES. You get what you expect from this record. If you want headbanging, hectic drums, and blues solos, this is it.
Excellent four-song freak collection from the Netherlands. Some dreary slow synth/No Wave from LANGE NIEZEL, followed by a whirling D-beat detonation from OUST (check their 12″ from last year if you haven’t already) on the A-side. As solid as that pairing is (and to be clear, it’s great), the flip features a stellar KBD rocker from GIF, and fans of AMYL AND THE SNIFFERS rejoice upon hearing “Comfort Zone,” because your shit just got punker. Then PONYTAIL TARTIFLETTE closes the record with an eponymous monster, a noisy track that channels the Trim Tab Tapes catalog while tripling down on chaos. “I make horses look like the police,” whispers the vocalist before the band launches into a jerky assault that descends into MELT BANANA-meets-free jazz and then just…stops. Fucking gorgeous pink wax, risograph cover, and a nice educational poster inside—the 7″ comp format catches a lot of flak, but this one is damn near perfect.
A mixture of drone-y soundscapes with minimal lyrics/samples/field recordings, harsh noise freak-out stuff, and electronically-driven dark post-punk/goth songs. Very artsy and atmospheric. The little write-up by the band on their Bandcamp implies that the songs were all written for and about the pandemic, during which this album was recorded. The B-side of the tape, not available online, is the exact same recording but in reverse. A funny concept, but pretty difficult to get very far into it unless you happen to be a super-fan of this style.
After an impressively ominous intro, I really wanted Ontario’s BRAIN ITCH to come out raging…but the tension they created with their solid, mid-paced metallic UK punk chug wound me up so fukkn tight that when the opening title track did finally, mercifully, unload….? Well, it was awesome. Five blasts on Forced To Pay, landing somewhere between hard-churning Motörpunk and that 1-2-1-2 doopa doopa that personifies most of the last decade of North American hardcore punk. This is their third tape in as many years—all short, all sweet, all killer….and not an ounce of filler.
By now, Martin Sorrondeguy should require no introduction. His work with the transcendental LOS CRUDOS speaks for itself in the minds of thousands of young people across the American continent. The queer emancipatory effort from LIMP WIRST is a visceral work of self-acceptance which you can mosh to. Martin got together with members of SIN ORDEN and DROIDS BLOOD to form CANAL IRREAL, and now they present their debut, a 12″ with nine absolutely addictive tracks; one of those materials that the more you listen to it, the more details you discover and the more you enjoy it. Sonically, this is hardcore punk, but the band happily travels a twisted path of their own—it’s trashy but incredibly dark, like Greg Sage taking leads in the ADOLESCENTS. But it’s all that and more. The muscularity provided by the throbbing bass, the often dissonant guitar work with that chorus pedal, and above all Martin’s voice, intense and hostile as always, give the band a truly unique sound. The whole thing is fantastic, sung half in Spanish, half in English. That guitar riff on “Glaze” is incredibly nasty, amazing how it builds and builds and never releases the tension it creates. Get it now!
Absolutely relentless, blistering hardcore punk. Short and sweet four-song demo clocking in at just over four minutes. Completely crushing. This is unquestionably my kind of hardcore. Sounds a bit like LIFE’S BLOOD to me, and how can that possibly be bad? A lot of attention to detail went into making this tape look super cool, too; maroon print on sparkly silver paper, white cassette shells, and a really cool embossed effect having the band name raised off the cassette itself, like how a label maker would look but without the label. My only gripe was that the copy I was sent was dubbed unbelievably poorly. The A-side was unlistenable and warbly, and the B-side was depressingly quiet. Had to re-dub my copy off of the label’s Bandcamp. Hopefully it was a fluke and the rest of the mere 50 copies of this stomper sent out into the world sound better.
Hard to put a finger on this one, which should be a strong vote in the “pro” column for even the most casual listener. Oakland’s DECIDER wants to be a heavy ’70s rock band, but I fear they’ve listened to too many post-punk records to let themselves pull it off. Make no mistake—they would be a flawless heavy ’70s rock band, but they’re an even better post-indie band with heavy ’70s and second-wave UK art-punk under/overtones. So I’m glad they won’t let themselves not be weird, and “Unintentional Evaluation” should be the soundtrack for your summer adventure.
While DIRECT THREAT from Denver adheres pretty strictly to the USHC playbook in terms of songwriting, the distorted demo-quality recording puts a layer of dirt on it all that adds to their “no fucks given” aesthetic. The band’s messy stomp is driven by foreboding hooks and raw-throated vocals. The singer also has a one-man-band side project called REALITY COMPLEX, just in case this tape leaves ya thirsty for more.
Philadelphia solo project aims big and hits the mark on Aimless Dread. Discordant, heavy sludge/punk that will appeal to fans of ’90s mid-paced “metallic” hardcore acts like DEADGUY or CAVE IN…think TORCHE without the pop hooks for a more modern sonic reference. Excellent execution with an extremely heavy presentation, and the shit is really dark. Into it.
When talk of early Boston stuff comes up, it usually omits the FREEZE, which is a shame—these cats, along with the PROLETARIAT, kick the most ass on the Boston Not L.A. comp, to say nothing of “I Hate Tourists” coming out in 1978, a full three years before SSD started playing Gallery East. This is all to say that this reissue of the FREEZE’s first LP is worth a listen, though with a prescribed grain of salt: satiric, melodic, and snotty throughout, with more melody and tunefulness than other bands in their cohort. Their lyrics land like a more blunt, less political DEAD KENNEDYS.
FRIGHT EYE is a hard-rocking rock’n’roll band from Denmark. Their music veers into punk territory at times and garage-y territory at others. The music is high-energy, pedal to the metal. The vocals are bratty while also being laissez faire. One of those bands you’d be kicking back a few beers with. Plus they do a nice version of one of my all-time favorite songs, “Learn to Hate in the 80s.”
Debut EP from this unfortunately named Berlin post-punk sextet. Apparently, the six tracks that make up Low were totally improvised, with only the vocals being written and added later. It certainly gives the EP a loose, jammy vibe. But the extended grooves the band locks into also serve as a nice reminder of the role funk has always played in post-punk. In fact, this record kind of feels like a survey of post-punk. “Repetition of High” sounds like a mix of early GANG OF FOUR and Remain in Light-era TALKING HEADS, “Truce” is an atmospheric goth-rock number that sounds an awful lot like the CURE, and “I’m Exhausted” has the same type of bass-driven melody you’d find on a JOY DIVISION track. It’s all very easy to listen to (aside from the minute-plus blast of noise that makes up “Cheap”) and really makes you wonder what they’d cook up were they to actually sit down and write some songs. Definitely worth a listen, especially if you’re a fan of the post-punky garage of EDDY CURRENT SUPPRESSION RING or the garage-y post-punk of INSTITUTE.
Unfathomably epic six-song debut(?) release from Finland’s KIROTTU ÄÄNI. Emotive and chaotic hardcore with a serious primitive black metal bent; novice listeners might place them on the map somewhere between CELEST(E) and BONE AWL. But the more advanced among you (us) will hold out until “Paiseet” on the second side, where they launch into some truly unique freak shit and careful listeners will realize that they’re listening to a band that’s spreading their wings before they’re even off the ground. A brutal and powerful, and beautiful, record.
This band is made up of members of the ERGS!, the SLOW DEATH, the RAGING NATHANS, and the ARTERIES. Each of the four members contributes lead vocals to their individual track. These four songs, despite the vocal differences, flow together well. The biggest thing that calls out to me while listening to this is that even though the pedigree of this is decidedly anchored in the punk scene, this is more of an alt-rock vibe, dare I even say a “mature pop punk” record. I can’t stop listening to this. It’s that fucking good.
There was no shortage of No Wave-damaged transmissions originating from Portland, Oregon around the turn of the millennium, and MODESSA was one of the briefest bursts of static to appear on that whole frequency, a brain trust of late ’90s international art-punk featuring Helen White of the angular Slampt-backed UK outfit PETTY CRIME, Ethan Swan of Portland’s EMERGENCY (the only ’90s band brave/cool enough to cover COME ON?), and Amy Henevald, also of EMERGENCY and formerly of DC’s legendary teen free-punk antagonists MELTDOWN. The group existed for only two weeks in May of 1999 during which they wrote and recorded the four songs on this EP, plus one live snippet committed straight to Walkman (so-called “efficient” post-punks of the current century should be taking notes). It has all of the off-kilter charm of three people working primarily under the guidance of shared instincts, with no time for or interest in belaboring the creative process—vocals take the form of overlapping chants and whispered incantations, backed by a brittle assemblage of needling single-note guitar, steadily cycling bass lines, and skittish drums that calls back to the messiest of late ’70s/early ’80 UK DIY. The defiant embrace of imperfection in pursuit of art truly never goes out of style, and MODESSA had the smarts to recognize that.
The eerie riff in the beginning of this record sets the mood instantly. You’re in for a journey into the darkest corners of the mind. With members of FUCKED UP, CAREER SUICIDE, EU’S ARSE, and NINOS DU BRASIL, these seasoned musicians craft something new and exciting but rooted in the ’80s hardcore sound. There is obvious channeling of Italian hardcore like WRETCHED and NERORGASMO but through the mind of BITOUSHA and G-ZET. This unsettling album further proves that the Italian hardcore tradition is alive and well.
Okay. Here’s the thing, and I believe I made this point in another review. This is a lathe-cut 7″. Limited to 25 copies. Why? Why is this a trend? Why exude the energy of writing and recording these songs and then spend the money on pressing 25 records??? OK, now that I’ve gotten that out of the way…on to the review. Two songs here that are heavy on the JAWBREAKER influence. If I were to treat this single as a one-on-one battle to the death, I’d put my money on the title track to come out the winner. Apparently the B-side is taken from an upcoming LP. I’ll reserve my full endorsement upon hearing said LP. I do, however, believe that given what I’ve heard here, QUAKER WEDDING has a promising future ahead of them.
Vinyl version of a nine-song cassette that this Austrian group released last year, with the sort of lo-fi immediacy that can only be captured by playing together live in a room with a four-track running. There’s a definite NOTS vibe on this one, specifically NOTS as they existed in that transitional period between the stripped-down punky garage bash of their first two singles and the dark, driving electro-post-punk on their most recent LP, from the spaced-out delay on Rebecca’s shouted vocals (largely in German, with a few detours into English), to the squeals of synth on “Mischmachine,” to that wiry, post-WIPERS guitar strangling that comes through on the more urgent tracks like “Forgotten Keys” or “Glasfaser.” Despite some borderline post-punk flourishes (like the see-sawing rhythms and quick cuts of sax skronk on “Lebenslauf” and “100 Grad”), ROLLTREPPE is decidedly a punk band, with a raw, shambolic energy in step with any number of German-language, femme-centered DIY classics from a time well before now—GLUEAMS, HANS-A-PLAST, A-GEN 53 if you want to go really deep, etc. A solid debut, no doubt.
Tough and tight, SELF-INFLICT proudly waves the well-worn flag of traditional USHC. From Virginia, these boys channel OG acts like NEGATIVE APPROACH and MINOR THREAT through their muscly punk sound. The ’80s vibes are strong, even down to the colorful cassettes this demo was issued on.
SIAL is a great band from Singapore. Like, really, really, great. I don’t know what’s going on in the city-state, but Singaporean punks tend to be quite intense in their approach to music, something that my own intense self appreciates. The single is titled Zaman Edan, which means “mad times” in the language of Shakespeare. Both songs are cathartic in ways I couldn’t fathom if catharsis was possible before. Side A means “You Were Born To Fight” and it displays a really interesting sound, anarcho-punk with space rock elements: a really sick guitar riff, a dirty bass tone, and a synth bringing out of space and drone-y effects into the mix. Side B means “You Were Born To Die.” The song starts with a beat reminiscent of that part of the thumping bassline of “Land” where PATTI SMITH starts singing “Horses, horses, horses,” which leads to getting suckerpunched by a huge power chord ringing with a tinnitus-inducing guitar tone. There is some cowbell thrown in there just for fun and then you get this death disco beat with an ominous synth that maps a deathrock-y territory. Awesome. And then the song gets all this anarcho-punk in-your-face brashness that gets you exhilarated until it finishes with noise-induced psychedelia snippets Á la HAWKWIND. Brilliant. Get it on vinyl.
The folks at Goodbye Boozy deliver over and over again. This is raw punk rock that’s got that sound where everything is just a little fuzzy and abrasive. This isn’t going to sound like a compliment, but that’s how it’s meant. It’s just a little difficult to listen to. That it was recorded by ERIK NERVOUS makes sense to me. I don’t know ERIK; in fact I’ve never heard of him. But this has a nervous, almost frantic, energy about it. If this is where punk rock is headed, sign me up for another couple/few decades.
One might have a hard time grasping the fact that being a punk in a Third World country is the hardest challenge one could go through, especially if you are a female that is constantly being oppressed by deep-rooted sexism embedded in religion. Breaking free of those restraints and putting up the middle finger is an admirably hard thing to do, and that’s what Moroccan punk band TAQBIR did in an extraordinary fashion. They have all the elements needed to create a great punk band: a raw vicious sound and a political statement that deals with real issues. The frantic energy comes close to DISCOLOKOSST, while the Arabic lyrics are shouted in a COMES kind of way. A wrecking ball of a band that is in its essence a political statement, just the way that punk should be!
Latest project from Ishka Edmeades, whom you may know from his extensive résumé—he’s played in/as SET-TOP BOX, SATANIC TOGAS, GEE TEE, and RESEARCH REACTOR CORPORATION, and runs weirdo cassette punk label Warttman Inc. (co-releasers of this EP). But as great as those projects have been, Patterns might be his best release thus far. He’s taking that same NWI-worship you know from all his other projects, but this time he’s using it to construct some power/garage-pop tunes. His songwriting chops have always helped him stand out from the other eggs in the overcrowded DEVO-core basket, but hearing them applied in a slower, poppier setting really lets you appreciate all the disparate influences he’s working with. Throughout the four tracks on this EP, you can hear snatches of HUBBLE BUBBLE, SUPERCHARGER, HUNX AND HIS PUNX, the theme from the Heathcliff cartoon (…I’m only kind of joking), and of course DEVO—all tossed together into some seriously catchy numbers. Jump on it!
The UPTIGHTS are a Norwegian quartet with a mono fixation. Recorded over a sequence of years straight to cassette, you can’t accuse these garage rockers of being shiny or polished. By that description, you might expect in-the-red lo-fi puke punk, but the UPTIGHTS have a little something grander in mind. Unfortunately, the recording doesn’t help matters. Normally, I’m all about cramming as much sound as you can manage into that little box and letting the compression work its magic. But the cave setting doesn’t bring out the best in these songs; check, for instance, the over-modulated vocals of “Days.” The music is languid, almost a slowcore strum, but the mic distortion just craps all over it. Is it an aesthetic choice? Does it matter? After ambling through a few sedate instrumentals, those all-mid-range vocals come back with a vengeance and actually bring to mind an entire subgenre of badly-recorded emo from the 1990s. It’s an aesthetic pile-up and there ain’t a stretcher in sight. There’s genuine feeling here, and a couple good songs, but, ironically, the UPTIGHTS need to quit loosening the screws and get in the ring.
From the ashes of the ELITE emerges VIOLENT WAY, refreshed and renewed to give the world a kicking. Some classic meat and potatoes Oi! from these Buffalo upstarts, and if you are a real American Oi! fan you’ll love this; willing to bet a couple of quid that these fellas had FORCED REALITY and TEMPLARS written on their pencil case at school.
Of course I have heard of 100 FLOWERS, the latter-day mutation of the URINALS, but I’ve never spent time with their stuff. This single—which consists solely of a HEAVEN 17 cover and remix of same—does not make me want to go back and explore their catalogue. Try as I might to respect my elders, I just cannot muster any enthusiasm for this one, which sounds like the outro music to some ’80s teen comedy. Sorry, dudes—tried, can’t.
Throaty, fist-clenched metallic UK hardcore. AT THEIR MERCY nods respectfully to the throne of ’80s UK thrash, but they run off with those influences and pick up some straight Big Four thrash along their way. The recording is massive (check “All That’s Left” if you doubt me) and the vocals are far beyond powerful—this is a classic and refreshing example of a band crossing between heavy hardcore and heavy metal. In other words, some old dudes (guitarist was in ’80s thrashers ATAVISTIC, and the others are no young bucks) showing the young kids what’s up, and I’m here for it…I just hope the kids are paying attention (and taking notes).
NUEVA GENERACIÓN kicks off this split with two mid-tempo songs that walk the line between almost sliding into pop punk territory, but are just a bit too dark and slow to fully cross that line, “whoa-oh”s aside. BETTER OFF DEAD also contributes two songs which are faster and more upbeat than the songs on the NUEVA GENERACIÓN side, with a dueling female/male vocal combo that works together well. While both bands don’t take a similar approach to styles, the contrast works well.
