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 BogotĂĄ 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

CINDERBLOCK

If a bunch of raucous hardcore dudes are going to start an Oi! band, then I want it to sound like CINDERBLOCK. It's smart, it's totally in your face, the guitars on "Disco Killers" alone are enough to remind you why you are a punk. I can only assume that these Boston creamers are not amateurs, and their lyrics suggest a band intelligent far beyond their riffs. This tape kicked my ass immediately, and has continued to please me since then....you are welcome to join in my enjoyment. I encourage listening to "Voiceless" until you are (inevitably) hoarse. 

NO FUTURE

I have been have file hosting issues for the last few days, and I appreciate the emails letting me know that all is not well in the digital World Of The Escape. It appears that things are good now (I mean, The Internet tells me that someone DLed the BRAINOIL tape a quarter hour ago...so that's one more lucky punk rocker), so I encourage you to go back to the CIBORGUE and BRAINOIL tapes (because they are both great, obviously). If you are having problems with today's post, please visit the CINDERBLOCK Bandcamp and enjoy their demo that way (actually, you should go to their thing either way, because that way you can actually make contact with them and tell them how much you love the tape), but please drop me a line and let me know that you are getting files successfully (or not) so that I can continue to serve you.

With Respect - The Management

ULTRA

I had heard that these goofs were jamming a bit, and considering the goofs involved (the roster features current and former members of COLD CIRCUITS, REPLICA, SCALPED, YADOKAI, SYNTHETIC ID, NO STATIK....among many many others) I figured it could be pretty cool. But fukk. Really? Crazy catchy mod punk like SLADE getting a bum rub from NEGATIVE APPROACH or some shit (I have no idea what that means) because as soon as you think it's some goin-to-the-pub-with-me-mates rehash they do something like the chorus of "ACAG" and you're all like "oh balls, this is hardcore." And then of course the next fukkn track has a DEAD MILKMEN swagger...I mean, what am I supposed to do? How can I not get on board The ULTRA Train? I'm helpless.

ULTRA

CONTINGENT

When young punks draw liberally from the sounds of decades past, foregoing anything resembling originality in favor of trying to recreate an artifact, when young punks spend their time doing the new millennium equivalent of the kids in my high school jamming "Stairway To Heaven" ripoffs, when it seems like maybe there really is, in fact, nothing new....then I want it to fukkn sound like CONTINGENT. When the tracks are this good I don't give even half a shit if it's a rehash, and these young punks sound like they got plopped straight out of 1982. Three pogo friendly burners with perfectly gruff vocals, just enough flange on the bass, and "In The Wild" is the most gloriously ignorant track I've heard in ages. Well done, young punks, I take back everything I said about you.

CONTINGENT

TRAITRE

I know that all of you punks have scooped the RIXE single by now (and if you haven't, then you should), but there's another French Oi! band, slightly more under-the-radar, that you need to get hip to. You can thank me after you listen to this shit.

TRAITRE

TOUGHSKINS

There aren't even words for how good this is. SOCKEYE dudes incarnated as an Oi! band gone knuckledragging metal...and yeah, it's as good as you think want it to be. Of course it is. 

RUMBLE STILTS SKIN

Kindly get the fuck out of my way ma'am, so I can enjoy Oi! music like a fukkn man

I'd ask you to come too, but your brain ain't fully formed

I can fukkn tell cuz your head isn't shaved - Oi!

- "Date With Oi!"

Physical copies from Rescued From Life

BASEMENT BOYS

Maybe this is what happens when gnarly hardcore dudes start a tongue in cheek Oi! band, or maybe these are gnarly skinheads with a penchant for knuckledragging US hardcore. Regardless of the origination and/or motivation, the breakdowns here are serious shit and BASEMENT BOYS treat UK street punk with complete disrespect, just dominating the sound with girth and testosterone. One song about fighting, one song about mutual respect and an intolerance for oppression and one about their arguably unhealthy obsession with breasts...and then there's the uncredited maximum energy techno track called "The Dominator" that reinforces the impression that these dudes would be pretty fun to hang out with.

DEMO II: THE DOMINATOR

The Tower Skins cannot be denied // /The Basement Boys, they are worldwide

DIOXINA

DIOXINA's sole vinyl release, Nessuna PietĂĄ, doesn't quite stand up to many of their Italian contemporaries - their approach comes across as more metal than the unhinged hardcore that helped put Italy on the map (though I confess that a revisit in preparation for this post resulted in considerable mind moshing and fist banging). But long before that 12" was released in 1985, DIOXINA were banging out  skinhead anthems of the highest caliber, most notably on 1983's Skins E Punks = T.N.T. compilation EP, a taped version of which I listened to with wonder for a solid decade before I learned anything more about any of the bands. The two tracks from that comp (including "Franz," an infectious midtempo burner) are featured on this rehearsal recording, and the other eight tracks are just brilliant UK influenced gruff Oi! delivered with pure insistence and barely contained energy. The vocals are appropriately rough, and while this session is quite raw, any nuance lost in the recording is more than compensated for with power. "Contro Potere" is screaming, and will power you through all of the rough patches you might encounter today, and the follow up "Eroina" throws a drunken ska groove in my face and has me dancing before I even realize what's happened. Would be nice if DIOXINA had left us with more than a 20 songs from their brief run, but I'll take what I can get.

DIOXINA

Live versions of these tracks can be heard on Escape Is Terminal, originally released as a split with fellow Italian skins ROUGH in 1983. No, I do not have the ROUGH material, but I would certainly like to have it....

SAD BOYS

This is how you want to start your week. 1-2-1-2 distorted pogo punk insanity along the lines of INJECTIONS, WANKYS or LIFEFORM, but with shrill female vocals that demand comparisons to THE GRUMPIES. This is frantic pop punk with ear splitting white noise guitars...childish, amateur and awesome.

SAD BOYS

ITALIANO PUNK

This is one of the many tapes that's been sitting on a shelf for months (years) politely waiting for me to throw them up here. More of a collection of recordings than a proper mix tape Italiano Punk features live IMPACT tracks and I REFUSE IT songs from the Sfregio Permanente split cassette, but these were unsalvagable even after a ridiculous amount of time performing manual (and then digital) surgery...the things I do for you people. But what you do get was well worth the effort: a few from CRASH BOX's 1983 demo, CANI's Guai a Voi EP, an insanely good under the radar hardcore influenced Oi creamer, and a collection of songs from S.I.B., who could have almost been lumped in with parts of the UK anarcho scene (their frontwoman was a Brit, which helps the comparison). The S.I.B. tracks are taken from one show in 1981 and their final gig in Cesena in June 1982 as well as healthy chunk of their 1981 Third World War LP. Everything here is delicious, even if you don't get to eat the whole thing.

ITALIANO PUNK

OiL!

I don't remember how the conversation started. I knew Neal only casually from reviewing records at neighboring computers, and I can't imagine that our respective bands appealed to one another in the slightest, but somehow we started talking about his new band OiL! and I was intrigued. Whether Neal magically knew that this was exactly what I needed in my life or just wanted to make some new fans I may never know, but he left an OiL! tape in my box and my life hasn't been the same since. I could rant for pointless paragraphs about how many times I've listened to this tape, about how immediately catchy every fukkn one of these songs is, about how "Proud Of My Pride" and "Clockwork Violence, Leftwing Silence" would become a part of my life for the next decade (and hopefully more), about how the guitar that starts "Fuck You" made me reconsider music. But instead I'll just say that I like this OiL! recording A LOT and I have listened to it hundreds of times - whether the people around me wanted to hear it or not. Brilliantly catchy, this teeters on the line between brilliant and dodgy from start to finish, but you'll find yourself chanting "skinhead" with an non-ironic fist in the air before this shit is over. Sealing the deal, my advance copy of this work of sheer brilliance came with hand fukkn written lyrics to every damned song - now you can sing along with songs like "Red White & Boots," "Shave For Battle" and "I've Got Bills To Pay" and not feel even remotely guilty. Perfect punk, read the lyrics to "Crucified Hammerskin" if you still have any doubts. This has been officially released on vinyl and CD, but my copy is cooler than all of that shit - see the aforementioned lyric sheet if you don't believe me.

THE GLORY OF HONOUR

"Crucified skin in '93, I'm proud of my pride don't fuck with me, Oi Oi sussed by all you see // Still goin' strong in Y2K, I'll mop the floor with your face if you get in my way, me & my boots are here to stay"

SKRAPYARD

Every bit as ugly and primitive as the neanderthal cover implies, SKRAPYARD plod through five tracks of gutter Oi that will make you question your affinity for new wave music and wonder why you aren't flailing around in a circle with your elbows in the air like an asshole. Nasty, rough sounds that hate you almost as much as they appear to hate cats...this is beyond childish, but it's kinda awesome. SKRAPYARD is the sound of middle aged rednecks who just discovered NEGATIVE APPROACH for the first time, open mic night at Buster's Tavern in Elgin better look the fukk out.

SKRAPYARD 2010

THE INJECTIONS

UK noise Oi! from WANKYS personel. Irreverent and undeniably catchy...if you aren't careful then you might find yourself in the middle of a one person pogo party in your kitchen screaming along with "Oi To Nori" as you prepare lunch. Not that this happened to me, I just want you to consider yourself warned. 

POGO DISCHORD!!

SUBTERFUGE

Not to be confused with the also excellent Canadian band of the same name, West Midlands' SUBTERFUGE existed just long enough to grace us with two blistering demos filled with gruff vocals and killer UK82 meets Oi! punk fukkn rock. Both demos are included in this download, but I recommend you start with Woolshag's Last Round, if only because the version of "Cars Don't Cry" is worthy of any KBD geek's eternal devotion. Even if you are too cool for all of the other songs on this tape (or on this blog, for that matter), "Cars Don't Cry" is a legitimate unearthed classic UK punk tune. That demo, their second, came only a few months after the first, but is far advanced in both songwriting and recording - would have made a ripping and sought after EP. The Good Beer Guide demo, from earlier in 1983, features a rougher recording and more unhinged approach to the songs (the first tune, "Stand Up" is a total street punk anthem) - every bit as awesome as the later recording, but appealing to a different part of my brain. I especially like the vocals on this first demo (though I cannot shake the SOCKEYE comparison that jumped into my mind the first time I heard the vocals - it doesn't make any sense, but I can't make it go away, so I feel like I should share). I tacked a few rough quality live songs onto that demo, and an excellent set (also from 1983) is included as well. The live set is great, but I think I am most entertained by the audience who appears to not even give half a shit that there is a band playing. SUBTERFUGE were writing songs that deserve serious credit in the halls of punk history, but I think that, aside from their short reign and limited output, the vocals probably turned off most punks - catchy uptempo songs with an abrasive singer that tries to inject melody into songs that don't need them. A minor criticism, as you are about to be treated to an hour of brilliant UK punk.

SUBTERFUGE

DRAPETOMANIA

The guitars, man...it's all about the fukkn guitars. A sharp and clean staccato attack, like '80s Italian hardcore playing Oi, but they are singing in Spanish and this shit is from Los Angeles. DRAPETOMANIA is the latest installment from the Silenzio Statico label, and if there was any doubt left as to the impact these kids are making on punks around the world (and I cannot imagine that there is a shred of doubt remaining), then one listen to "Cicatris" should erase it completely. A killer South American twist on UK82 punk rock - fukkn great of course, enjoy.

DRAPETOMANIA

CHARNIER

Trading yesterday's chaos for catchy French punk. The 1984 Explosif demo from CHARNIER is full of melodic Oi hooks, and while I can easily imagine the sound being polished to a point that makes them rather uninteresting, these songs in their demo form are fukkn great. Great punk, nothing more to say except thanks again to Luc/KĂ€ngnĂ€ve for producing the track listing for me (and in turn, for you), and here's a shitty cover scan I nicked from Discogs in case you happen to come across this gem in the bin at your local charity shop:

Explosif

Also: I just returned from vacation last night and repaired the US AGAINST THEM post from last Friday. Apologies for my technological failings, but please enjoy this mix tape.

BLOODY HAMMER

Melbourne, Autralia hardcore raw punx gone Oi!...and the result is fantastic. The path that BLOODY HAMMER tread upon is well worn, but there are reasons why we do some of the things that we do - and sometimes the reason is to make killer songs. From Yeap's strangely dark vocals, as if he is trying to sing an octave lower than his voice would like to be, to Tristan's perfect leads - this is flawless fist pumping action. They will inevitably face CRIMINAL DAMAGE comparisons, not so much due to musical similarities as to band member lineage (BLOODY HAMMER members come most notably from PISSCHRIST and SCHIFOSI), and those comparisons are certainly warranted, but these Aussie's eschew obvious hooks in favor of clever songs that sneak up on you, and with a track like "Street Kids" on your demo, folks like me are completely sold.

POGO ROCK

NABAT

NABAT were a relatively prolific Italian skinhead band through about 1985, with a handful of EPs and several comp appearances under their belts.  I first heard them on the Skins E Punks=T.N.T. compilation EP along with RAPPRESAGLIA and DIOXINA (the latter has a live set on the other side of this cassette that I will post eventually) and thought they stole the comp.  This live set from 1983 is pretty ripping, save the hideously long pauses between songs (which I have edited for your listening pleasure, because I am a nice fucking guy), and there is something overly endearing about listeing to a bunch of skinheads shout Oi! this and Oi! that, and then wrap up the evening with a very polite sounding "Ciao!"

NABAT live in Cesena, Italy

LES TINTAMARES

Here's a home dub of a demo from some French street punks.  Actually, I just assume they are French from their name (which means, roughly, "The Hubbub") and the song titles which are mostly in French, but I suppose it's possible that this could be an unearthed gem from some former French colony or protectorate like Senegal or Algiers or perhaps Guyana?  Possible, but rather unlikely.  Maybe they are Belgian. LES TINTAMARES take a pretty rudimentary approach to be sure, but here at The Escape, we've never let lack of originality prevent us from having a good time.

LES TINTAMARES