DESPERDICIO - "Maqueta 2010" demo (Japan, 2010)

Japanese punks master the art of paying tribute to their favorite bands from far away lands. We've all heard bands ape the Finnish (Poikkeus, Lakaus…), Swedish (Frigorä, Ferocious X…), Italian (Tantrum, Isterismo…) and of course UK sound, singing in broken languages they don't really speak at all. And I'm in no way blaming them: many more non-anglo saxon bands are guilty of this when they sing in English, mind you. Desperdicio hail from Sendai, a city hit really badly by the 2011 tsunami, and you can tell they're trying to emulate the "ramshackle d-beat" sound of more recent Spanish bands like Destrucción, Firmeza 10, Semen… Though when I asked him, their sempai singer Tsuyoshi confirmed that he didn't speak a word of Spanish. I saw them live in Tsuyama less than two months after the March 2011 tragedy, and they had insisted on driving 15 or so hours just to play this show, even if everybody was still in shock. Only in Japan! This is a short tape, only 4 songs including a Varukers cover. They released a 7" on Overthrow Records shortly afterwards.

DESPERDICIO - Maqueta 2010 demo (Japan, 2010)

OTAN - "Jodeles" demo (2003)

Otan was one of those bands that helped put Barcelona back on the punk map in the mid '00s. Not that the scene over there was dying or anything, but this new breed of angry anarchist hardcore/punk bands caught the attention of many punks abroad. They released two 7"s and this 11-track demo, which may well be my favorite of the bunch. I bought it at a show in Barcelona in 2005, the same night that I met their singer Teodoro for the first time, struggling to communicate in broken Spanish. A truly unique character, this hombre! Otan has featured members of Destrucción, Invasión, Firmeza 10, or Absurdo among others.

OTAN - Jodeles demo (2003)

SEMEN - "Masas Obedientes Individuos Dominantes" demo (2009)

¡Joder! I was lucky to witness Semen live on their home turf of Bilbao, Euskadi (that's Basque Country for you) in 2009 right before they broke up, and they kicked ass. Sloppy, straight forward, d-beat driven hardcore punk in the true tradition of Discharge-worshipping Spanish bands — MG-15 or Destrucción being the obvious suspects here. The Destrucción comparison is especially true, as the demo ends with a cover version of their classic tune "Makineros Hijos De Puta", and the artwork featured in the awesome booklet that came with the tape is somewhat reminiscent of Teodoro's drawings.

SEMEN - Masas Obedientes Individuos Dominantes demo (2009)