I.R.A. (INFEXION RESPIRATORIA AGUDA)

Demos from 1989/90 and a live set from 1991 all crammed onto one cassette....and people say "fan club" editions are bad?!? Snagged this one from a 100¥ bin in Osaka last year, and I once again thank the discount gods for this steaming pile of seminal Colombian hardcore. You will thank them too, especially with the guitar drops out for the chorus of the 43 second, two riff masterpiece "Confusíon," and the out of tune stomp "Poco Ambiente" that follows will have you once again bowing in praise. Classic shits, raw and urgent.

ATENTADO TERRORISTA // BARQUIZIDIO

FINAL

Several weeks ago, I saw this band in Santa Rosa. They were fukkn great. Then, a few days later, I saw them in San Francisco, and they were even better. Do you like punk? Because I do.

FINAL

TUMBAS

The connection between catchy Oi! and infectious dark punk makes sense. I mean, BLITZ demonstrated thirty years ago that you could take streetpunk guitar leads and turn them into brooding dangly earring licks with nothing more than a foot switch. TUMBAS hail from Bogotá and they nail this transition on their four song demo....I'm assuming this is Paula from DEAD HERO handling the vocals because it sounds just like her (and I bought the demo from DEAD HERO...), which only solidifies the whole StreetGoth connection. This one has teeth, and the only thing that broods is the presentation - these goth punks will knock you on your ass. 

TUMBAS

DEAD HERO

Last weekend when STERILE MIND did a little mini-tour, and we ended in ridiculous fashion...a small and mysteriously fun show in Vancouver, then we drove 16 hours to Santa Rosa, California for an afternoon show in the park. We wanted to play another gig, to be sure, but my main motivation for hauling ass was to see this Colombian band in the flesh. DEAD HERO's brand of Oi! is so simple...and it's so right. Every track is an anthem, every guitar lead is perfectly flanged and on fukkn point, every chorus makes you want to put a fist in the air....and I wanted my fist in the air. The drive was long and I kinda didn't think we were gonna make it, but when Jordan replied to my inquiry and let me that while we were 20 miles out, DEAD HERO were just setting up, I leaned my foot in a little harder.....the plan was working. And the overnight was more than worth it for the 20 minutes of punk that we saw in the park. It was everything it was supposed to be - perfectly crafted tracks that could inspire the most jaded. Saw them and their tourmates FINAL two days later in SF to a mostly empty full El Rio while the cool kids chilled at the JJ DOLL gig up the block (worthwhile gig mind you, JJ DOLL killed it...but  DEAD HERO started after they were finished, and what fool doesn't walk a block to see a Colombian punk band? Most of San Francisco, apparently...), and they were, not surprisingly, even better than at the outside gig in the park. Fukkn flawless, in fact. These tracks are going to get into you, my friends...and California denizens have two more days to catch them on tour (if I wasn't playing a show tonight then I would hitch a ride to Sacramento my own damn self).

SEGUIMOS EN PIE

LEAF HOUND

The 1971 LP from LEAF HOUND is a bonzer of sorts for those who dabble in heavy/psych rock, and for good reason. "Drowned My Life In Fear" is my personal standout, LED ZEP caliber hard blues, with so much gravel in the vocals that you wish the dude was singing for proto punk or NWOBHM bands, because he would have killed it. A veritable proving ground for would be classic rock stalwarts, after Growers Of Mushroom members went on to form and/or join FOGHAT, ATOMIC ROOSTER, FREE and CACTUS. Not pretentious or over indulgent, just killer hard rock.

GROWERS OF MUSHROOM

This record only took up one side of a mix tape, and someone was nice enough to fill the other side with more jammers, which are included in the above link (because I am also nice, obviously). Aside from the 2006 EP from CIRCULUS, which is some third rate hippie throwback shit that I do not like (and has a flute), the tracks are all bangers. Spain's MAGIC takes the cake with their 10+ minute split with T.N.T. from 1983, but the more I listen to the two 45s from Scotland's E.F.BAND the more I think that they might be the champions here - "Comprende" is simply screaming. A banger from FIST (UK) and the way under the radar 12" from Colombia's CARBURE round out the attractions. Also, there's (most of) a mysterious and atrocious version of "Iron Man" that I know I've heard before but I can't quite place, so assistance would be appreciated.

SECTA SUICIDA

Self described Rata & Roll, Bogota's SECTA SUICIDA inject rudimentary jerky South American punk into the Johnny Thunders formula...and the result is nearly impossible to resist. Fiery punk with addictive choruses and screaming leads. PELIGRO SOCIAL is an obvious modern comparison (the former did cover the latter, so the perceived influence can't be too far off), though I would argue that "Vacio" damn near eclipses PELIGRO's output (yeah, it's that good). The packaging on this tape is superb, but it's what's inside that package that really sold me. 

SECTA SUICIDA

...banda que recupera lo esencial del punk; directo, agresiva, actual y rápida...

TU SILENCIO AHOGA MIS GRITOS

Ten band compilation featuring Spanish language punk from all over Latin America with a token European submission from SIN DIOS, not at all surprising considering the time (released in 2000) and the political focus (anarchism). FUN PEOPLE (Argentina), RECICLAJE, @PATIA NO, LOS RESIDUOS (Venezuela), DESARME and NIQUITOWN (Colombia), ACTITUD SUBVERSIVA (Puerto Rico), VANTROI (Mexico)...and oh yeah BANDA JACHIS is from Spain too. Earnest melodic punk, a few hardcore burners and a handful of tracks that came as complete surprises (NIQUITOWN's "El Cambio Es Ahora" is by far my favorite jam on the tape). The whole thing was released by Noeske Records to benefit El Libertario, a Venezuelan anarchist periodical.

TU SILENCIO AHOGA MIS GRITOS:

El Anarquismo En America Latina

DISTORT COLOMBIA

CONQUEST FOR DEATH played a show Tuesday night with ANS (who I seriously cannot believe I had never seen until that show) and Bay Area band RULETTA RUSA. The show was cool, but was clouded by discussions I had with Jose and Josh of RR before things got rolling....they just did a short tour in Colombia and it sounded beyond amazing. A flight to Bogota takes about as much time as a flight to New York, yet it seems a world away from here. And then after the show I found myself listening to the tapes I got from them (SECTA SUICIDA and PESADILLA DISTOPIKA will appear here shortly) and scouring the internet for more information about Colombian punk. Was I sleepy at work the next day? Yes. Did I care? No. I picked this tape up from RULETTA RUSA as well, 25 searing cuts of distorted raw punk. The sound quality varies quite a bit throughout, and admittedly some of these tracks are best served as a "this is what they sound like" as opposed to regular listening, but these are the tapes that keep me excited about punk. The feeling I had Tuesday night is probably as close as you can get in this internet age to the feeling of discovery in the earlier days of punk. A friend makes you a tape and a door opens....all you have to do is walk through it.

DISTORT COLOMBIA

NO MORIR SI!

In short, this is a killer compilation of South American punk and hardcore, nothing short of essential. A lengthier description would include meeting a member of FRACASO in Vancouver a few weeks back and having a great time hanging out and talking about punk and politics and life and then he gave me this tape he made for a friend. That bit of background isn't really all that much longer, but you should be spending your day listening to this tape, not reading my words.

NO MORIR SI!

LATINOCORE

I've toured a lot. I've played shows in places that many people might consider weird or off the beaten path, and I consider myself very lucky to have done so. But FUKK do I want to do an extensive tour in South America, and this tape comp only makes it worse. Well over an hour of raw and uncompromising sounds from Peru (SABOTAJE, AUTONOMIA, DISPAREUNIA, DISLEXIA), Ecuador (INNFELICES, LA DEMENCIA EXTREMA), Colombia (POLIKARPA Y SUS VICIOSAS, EX-KOMBRO, OPOZICIÓN - love the fukkn horns!), Chile (SIN APOYO), Uruguay (BASQUADE INCHALA), Paraguay (200 MUERTOS), Argentina (DISVASTACION, MIGRA VIOLENTA), Venuzuela (APATIA NO, KOLUMPIO BANKITO) and Mexico, Puerto Rico, Chile, Brasil, Bolivia (I am racking my brain trying to remember is PSICOSIS SOCIAL was the band we went to see in La Paz in 2002, but I swear that band played DEEP PURPLE covers and not raw metallic hardcore)....fukk man, this shit is beyond comprehensive. The emphasis is on hardcore punk, and the level of quality is outstanding. 49 songs from 31 bands, fans of international hardcore and the world of underground DIY would be remiss to pass this one up.

LATINOCORE I

LATINOCORE II

In a rare diversion from the cassette-only format, today you also get the CDr comp Latinocore II. More of the same, 48 tracks from 36 bands. Several worthy repeats and some excellent new additions: EX-KUPIDOS (Peru), JUSTICA FINAL (Chile), INSOLENTES (Mexico), SIN PATRIA (Colombia), ATAQUE FRONTAL (Peru), RAMIROS (Panama) and a shitload more. What's even more awesome, all this shit was released by a dude from Slovakia.

EXTERMINACION

Just when you started to think that the US had cornered the market on foreign raw punk, enter Colombia's EXTERMINACION. Ramshackle bass, tortured guitars, ugly and nasty delivery rooted in '80s Finncore and primitive early South American glue sniffin' madness. Exactly what you need.

DEMO II

ANTITODO // NADA

Back to South America today, with Colombia's ANTITODO and NADA from Ecuador. ANTITODO play 80s UK influenced hardcore punk full of catchy fist in the air choruses, raw delivery and killer double snare hits and I'm hooked. "Largate!!" is a great UK82 burner, and the bouncy rhythm of "Mundo Falso" is totally infectious - these songs were recorded in 2000, but could have just as easily come from 1984 (or from South Central LA circa 2010). NADA are rougher, rawer and offer up eight rudimentary hardcore punk tunes. Plodding 1-2-1-2 beats and gruff vocals buried in the tape hiss, but still songs like "Invasión Yankee" manage to shine. ¿Te usta el Punk?

ANTITODO // NADA