GASMIASMA

I guess this is a super group? Whatever man. Grinding, grim and nasty DBeat hardcore from Louisiana delivered live and furious on the radio. Check the bass at the start of "D-832 Mortar Waste" and you'll be taken back to a time when the shit was less calculated, more filthy, less predictable, more reckless....and dare I say better? At least in some ways, I suppose it was. Derivative, definitely, but these fukks give zero fukks, and I like that. 

KRVS (KADAVERS)

TORTURE GARDEN

HECATOMBS

GLUT

It's nothing fancy....but it doesn't need to be fancy. You want to listen hardcore? Ok...let's listen.

PRIMITIVE

GLUT

BITCHFACE

Between this demo and watching MYSTIC INANE positively own an art gallery two blocks from the ocean last night, I feel like New Orleans might be where it's at right now. These punks deliver snarky and disjointed (and catchy) tunes that launch into "grab your throat and pay attention you fukk" hardcore that is about six steps beyond punk as shit, and their ability to combine 2015 retro hardcore with a delivery that actually sounds like it's from the '80s...? That's a feat. And "I Hate Burlesque" is a pretty untouchable jammer.

HIGH MAINTENANCE

PRESSURES

I had owned the self titled PRESSURES 12" (which features all of the tracks on this Casting Shadows cassette) for a few months before I saw that they were scheduled to play a fest that I was already planning to attend - needless to say I was very excited. The band is such a perfect time warp, electro/synth dancefloor bliss with brilliantly robotic vocals...they do absolutely everything right. It's perhaps not hard for bands to simply recreate, but when the bands take the feeling and the energy from bygone eras and long passĂ© subgenres and breathe life into them, make them feel new again? That's something special, and that is what PRESSURES do. So yeah, I was excited. They were slated to play in the small room at Mohawk with a bunch of other not punk at all bands, which suited me fine (I would be seeing a lot of punk bands over this four day event), and their time slot didn't really even conflict with anything else I wanted to see, so boom. Robert wins. I arrived late and missed SURVIVE (which I still lament), but got to see New York band DIIV who, based on preliminary research into this not punk at all gig, seemed to have a few good tracks, and they were really bad. Like, absolutely terrible...but I've committed to spend the evening at the not punk at all show, so fukk it, right? I mean, it's not like I was going to go see MILK MUSIC, so I just stayed and drank - though I admit that I sneaked out to peep a few minutes of the POWER TRIP set (ruled, duh). And then 11:50 had arrived and it was time and I was pumped, I was going to lose my shit and dance my ass off.....and then it was 12:15....and then 12:30, you get the idea. Are you fukkn kidding me? I know there are a lot of things to plug in, but seriously?! It was taking them over an hour to set up four damn keyboards, and there seemed to be zero urgency as they just lolligagged around the stage, drinking, talking, casually plugging in patch cords while I waited. And waited. At a certain point, I started to take it as a personal affront, as if these two men were intentionally ruining my night, making me regret my decision to attend the not punk at all show instead of seeing punk things. Well, PRESSURES, maybe you won that night, because after standing in the back with my thumb up my ass waiting for you to figure out how to make sound come out of your overgrown Casios, I fucking left. I walked two blocks and I saw INSERVIBLES deliver the absolutely punkest set of the entire weekend. They were so punk, and they were so good, and even though it was still early when they were finished, I didn't even bother stopping back by Mohawk to see if you dummies had decided to entertain anyone because I didn't need you anymore. Good tape though, I listen to it often. 

CASTING SHADOWS

HEAT DUST

I don't think I've heard shoegazing '90s guitar driven alt/pop done this well. Ever. Not even in the '90s, and I listened to this shit like it was about to go out of style (it was). New Orleans' HEAT DUST are noisy, drunk, and absofuckinglutely beautiful....they pull out big guns with the guitar leads on "Sleeping Call" (the opening track, for fuck's sake), and they manage to get better from there. Lazy, breathy vocals, confident in their casual delivery, belt out indecipherable missives that had better be self deprecating laments about lovers lost and looking over your shoulder at the life that you missed because you were going the wrong direction...but if HEAT DUST makes a wrong turn on this 2011 recording, then I can't find it. 

HEAT DUST

For what it's worth, I keep seeing the internet calling this band "grunge," it's a rare example of the internet being wrong. TAD is grunge, MUDHONEY is grunge, HEAT DUST is pop.

ULTRA LITE

It's entirely possible that ULTRA LITE is contrived art punk drivel, but I'm inclined to believe that Slang Term For Hip Murder is nothing short of a brilliant piece of outsider noise. Disjointed ramblings and questionably tuned everything combine with a carpet bombing of various and sundry sounds and snappy, snotty, fukk you vocals. Tracks like "Portrait Of The Artist As A Piece Of Shit" certainly imply these New Orleans mutants are very very aware of what they are doing, and it doesn't make it any less appealing. I can't really picture a band consciously trying to manufacture a SOCKEYE vibe, but this one comes close and adds a stylish erratic swagger (I'm talking about the title track here). File under whatever you like, digest at your own risk, I can assure you it sounds even better on the way out. 

SLANG TERM FOR HIP MURDER