Yes, another issue of MRR is hot off the presses: #343, the December 2011 issue! This issue features McAllen, TX, punks PORKERIA discussing punk, bilingualism, and how they keep their small scene alive, and, in an interview just before her passing, POLY STYRENE talks with MRR about her involvement in Rock Against Racism. DESCARADOS discuss their approach to punk through a Latino lens and the development of their sound. Classic Swedish D-beat, raw punk pioneers E.A.T.E.R. talk about their reformation, latest tour and what has changed for them in the many years that they have been punks. The founders of Katorga Works give us their story and method behind running a DIY label, while PEACE OR ANNIHILATION gives us a glimpse of Indonesian punk and D-beat, and the fabled UNWANTED CHRISTMAS PRESENTS tells us how they came to be and how they developed their unique garage sound. Brazilian raw punks DEATH FROM ABOVE talk about touring and the scene in Brazil, pop punkers RESIST HER TRANSISTOR deliver a quick and funny interview, and all-star band SEVERANCE PACKAGE discusses their origins and their continued punk lives. All of this plus the most extensive review section in punk rock, and all the columnists you love to hate! Get it now!
BONUS SHIT FOR YOU PUNX: Here’s two audio clips from the Porkeria interview that appears in this issue. The first is a crazy story about a show they played in Mexico. The second is talking about singing in Spanish and the rise in popularity of Spanish language punk.
PORKERIA on playing in Mexico — Listen here:
PORKERIA on singing in Spanish — Listen here:
Buy issue #343 of MRR here:
You can also order by mail: send $4 in the US/$5 Canada/$7 Mexico/$10 worldwide to: MRR • PO Box 460760 • San Francisco, CA 94146 • USA …or just SUBSCRIBE!
Still available: MRR #342 • November 2011 issue…
Features a noisecore symposium with members of CONFUSE, SEIG-HEIL, and more! Also: FL’s legendary ROACH MOTEL (featuring MRR columnist George Tabb), Buffalo NY’s BROWN SUGAR, NC’s mysterious BRAIN F≠‚ BRAIN KILLER from Boston, Dutch noize punx NEKROMANTIKER, AIRES AND GRACES (Oi!), Canadia’s VAPID, Florida label IFB, and Brazil’s NO REST.
Buy issue #342 here:
ROYAL HEADACHE, another in an endless stream of fantastic new Australian groups, delivers an essentially flawless pop record in long form on their first shot. While their debut single totally impressed, they truly shine here, making the kind of record that folks from a wide array of genres will likely embrace. The performances are top notch across the board, complete with actual singing that’s so proficient and downright awesome that it sounds totally fucking jarring. The production is perfect, fuzzy in all the right places, propelled by a stabbing guitar sound that recalls the most powerful moments of classic UK DIY punk rock. The soulfulness and excellent songwriting exhibited throughout brings to mind a speedy, punk SQUEEZE, which I hate myself for saying, but fuck it, it’s there. Much like stateside heroes HOME BLITZ, ROYAL HEADACHE is capable of conjuring up a monster hook out of chaos and making a whole lot of other current pop bands sound terrible in the process. (
Let the punk police come and take me away, let them strap me into a straightjacket and gag me on the way out the door, but I will still say that this record is fukkn great. I know it’s been long out of vogue to like ska punk, and NOFX has been passé for even longer, but my facial hair has been out of vogue for longer than most taste makers have had a turntable, so fuck ‘em. I mention NOFX not just because Fat Wreck is responsible for this release, but because STAR FUCKING HIPSTERS have taken the ska/punk hybrid that frontman Sturgeon perfected with his previous bands CHOKING VICTIM and LEFTOVER CRACK and injected into it the high energy ultra catchy hardcore punk that Fat Mike has been slinging for a couple of decades. It works. Rarely do the hours poured into a record make them so evident as they do on this release, but when From the Dumpster veers off on over instrumentalized tangents it never seems trite—it just seems right. This record is nothing if not sincere, and every musical excursion is obviously a path taken by true fans that have become masters at their craft. Brilliant vocal trade-offs dominate many songs, with Nico’s vocals taking a confident lead, and the occasional (but dominant) ska parts are accented by subtly sparse and brilliant keys and horns. If you want cred, then check out this (partial) list of band members and contributors: DEGENERICS, ERGS, NEUROSIS, the COUP, GR’UPS, CONQUEST FOR DEATH, DYSTOPIA, DEADFALL, SOVIETTES…you still need more? Well, then no list would win you over anyway. This is excellent… you might not like it, that decision is purely yours. But awesomeness is a fact. (
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