Sometimes I like things in private. There are records (and tapes) that I fucking adore and listen to with (alarming) frequency that I rarely talk about in the company of anyone outside of my most trusted friend circles. I'm not ashamed, per se, it's just that I don't think that most folks would get it, and discussing the brilliance of uncool things is sometimes a thankless task....so why bother. Power pop. It's a tough one for some people, it's a deal breaker for others, but when delivered properly it can be pure perfection. The vocals, slightly out of whack on "No Remorse" and straining for that '60s gravel and drive that made EDDIE & THE HOT RODS so damn good even though you knew they were punks. You know what I mean? There's that thing that you can't really nail down but it's fukkn there, and this is why I don't talk about shit like this too often. But seriously, this four song demo is soooooo sick. "No Remorse" is clearly the creamer du jour, but feel "Let's Ride" kick in and it's almost like you are listening to the ancient groups that M.O.T.O. modeled their existence after (for real thoguh, the start of that track could almost be a rip of "All Night Vivarin Jag," which is the second best M.O.T.O. track ever...."Gonna Get Drunk Tonight" is obviously the first). My point is simply that this four song cassette by THE SMARTHEARTS is really fukkn good, and whether or not you want to admit that to your cool punk friends is entirely up to you.
13 May 2017
12 May 2017
DIFFERENCE
One of the early installments from the Building label was this sub-five minute explosion from DIFFERENCE. Filthy and raw California hc/pv with desperate vocals in league with (gasp) deliver songs structured more like forms of punishment than anything approaching music. "Again" is a magical piece of devastation, as close to perfect as you could ever expect to find. I would ask you to enjoy this tape, but enjoyment is not the point.
11 May 2017
PETE SWASON // GREH HOLGER
The cover should be enough for those of you who know. Greh Holger (HIVE MIND, PURE GROUND, CLEANSE, BLACK SAND DESERT, Chondritic Sound) and Pete Swanson (VIOLENT MAGIC ORCHESTRA, YELLOW SWANS) combine for 20 minutes of anxiety inducing analog electronic torture. And those of you who don't know.....? Time to go to school.
10 May 2017
PUBLIC SUICIDE
This 2013 demo is the most glorious collision of early '00s fastcore, ugly '90s SoCal powerviolence and boys making dogpiles all over other boys in the spirit of East Coast hardcore. PUBLIC SUICIDE hit all of the buttons, they flip every switch. And they turn all of those switches to the "ON" position. Five tracks, 4 minutes and 14 seconds - and 64 of those seconds are the instrumental intro. It's so simple, there's no reason it should be this good.....and yet it is totally this good.
09 May 2017
54 SONGS ABOUT SPORT
A relic form the collection that inspired the birth of this blog, 54 Songs About Sport is....well, it's kinda exactly what it says is. 54 mostly sub-minute UK punk/post punk missives all somehow related to sports (plus four instrumentals). Insert MINUTEMEN, healthy doses of circa '83 Rough Trade and a serious lack of pretense, and you're left holding a brilliant collection.
I wrote my source because I was curious - these were demos from the SPORTCHESTRA 101 Songs About Sport double LP that came out in the late '80s (how did I not know this existed? it's kinda brilliant, and also really good). A CHUMBAWUMBA related project, they sent this (incomplete) version to Dick because they wanted him to sing on a few tracks. Which he did. And the "MCH 88" on the spine? That mysterious punk petroglyph that has confused me for ages....? It just means that the tape was dubbed in March of 1988. Mystery: Solved.
08 May 2017
MISERÄBLE
Remember when this is what Mondays were all about? Fists in the air, DBeating like maniacs to give ourselves the mental and physical energy needed to face the horrible world we live in? Noise and mangel at maximum, waiting for the guitar to ring out so we can hear the steady tupa-tupa of the toms before the riff kicks back in? Well....those Mondays aren't gone, my friends. You're living one right now and Mexico's MISERÄBLE are flying the DBeat flag at full mast with no pretense and no shame. Let the wind brush the stench of life off of you, and let your fists fly.
07 May 2017
EXTRACTION
A few months ago there was a fast, heavy hardcore band coming through town and I was talking to my buddy Will about locals to team them up with. We quickly reached an unfortunate conclusion: our geographical region suffers from a severe lack of crust. It's too easy to take crust for granted, perhaps because poor-to-average crust bands are a dime a dozen, but there's never a bad time for a dirty downtuned DBeat churn with metallic guitars and fist in the air breakdowns...that's what we wanted. But fear not, "lack" does not mean "absence," and EXTRACTION are holding things down until proper equilibrium returns. Clenched fists, lots of hair, screaming (but short) leads, and tracks that get in make their presence known with force, then get out. Just seven tracks, Dead And Buried clocks in under eleven minutes and ends with a perfect chug in "Hidden." When Will and I were talking a few months ago, EXTRACTION exactly what we wanted...and wanted more of.
06 May 2017
GIGLIOLA CINQUETTI
When I travel and take time away from The Escape, I frequently put out a very general request for people to give me tapes. I mean....of course I'm going to do that, right? Who doesn't like free shit? Well, every now and then my plan works, but sometimes it really works, like last month in Los Osos, California. The show was sold out, but a young woman came to the merch table, asked if I was Robert (I said that I was and braced myself), then told me that her friend was outside with some tapes for me. Obviously cassettes trump fire marshall capacity regulations, so within moments the young man was inside, and I had a grip of tapes in my hand. Some grindcore from Iowa, some PV from Florida, some schmaltzy '60s pop dude....and the beautiful voice that you will hear today. Sixteen year old Gigliola Cinquetti stole hearts across Europe when she won the 1964 Eurovision contest - just listen through the Mantovani styled strings and gratuitous overproduction on this hits collection and it's easy to see why. Her voice is like silk, and with this (well loved) tape as my introduction, I quickly got lost in a rabbit hole of soft beautiful words that I could not understand. But you don't need to be a linguist to translate the depth of tracks like "Do Come Ti Amo." For the record, this post is not meant to be tongue in cheek, and I highly recommend spending some time with this greatest hits collection, a tape which fate has inevitably destined for bargain bins even before it finds its final resting place at the bottom of a plastic tub on a shelf in a thrift store somewhere in Kansas....wondering if it will ever bring anyone joy. Well....this one has.
05 May 2017
PØVLACION
Blazing Japanese raw punk seemingly obsessed with Spanish language hardcore, specifically the band coming out of Southern California over the last decade or so. Five rippers sung in Spanish (of course) driven by a bass that walks over straight ahead riffs and allows the guitar to noodle at will - it's never overkill, but it's always right. Five tracks on this 4 Songs Demonstracion, which leads me to believe that I'm missing a cover somewhere in the mix? All of 'em are bangers, though, so who cares! Commence full body pogo in 3, 2, 1.....
04 May 2017
GOD HARVEST
03 May 2017
THE EDOMITES
Weirdo electronics and live drums create something that's not at all easy to listen to, much less identify. The fine folks at Aklasan Records never disappoint, but this 2015 release made me think hard about different approaches to music and sound. Well played, EDOMITES, well played.
02 May 2017
MISLED YOUTH
You already know about this shit, right? I mean, both of the singles are straight screamers, but you might have let the demo slip by you since it came out a few years earlier. Don't fret, I'm here to help. Now, enjoy this healthy slab of harDCore.
01 May 2017
QUOD MASSACRE
This collection of demos shows that Yugoslavia's QUOD MASSACRE aren't simply noteworthy and important - they are fukkn essential. A pace that easily places them with the hardcore acts of the time, but with UK82 and Oi! hooks flying through every damn song. The theme song "Q.M." alone is worth the price of admission, but literally every track included here is a burner (including/especially the live cuts that make you wonder how screaming good these kids were in the flesh).
It should go without saying that TE visitors are encouraged to directly support current artists/labels discussed and presented here. Links (when available) can typically be found in the body of the posts. But I specifically suggest direct support with this release, because in addition to the tunes, the tape comes with a full zine of artwork/flyers/lyrics/photos...Doomtown Records did a fantastic job here.
30 April 2017
WARFEÄR
Five gut churning bursts of high intensity DBeat crust from Malaysia. If this weekend has taught me anything, it's that (hopefully) fist in the air DBeat hardcore is "cool" again....although for some people it never went out of style. Check the breakdown in "Dead End"...this one is 100% cream.
29 April 2017
HUMAN ADULT BAND // PENIS IN VAGINA
I haven't forgotten about you, but I was in sunny Southern California for a few days and the time that I had planned to spend (at the very last minute, naturally) stocking up daily posts for you to enjoy I instead spent on the phone with lawyers and bankers trying to sort out the mind numbing shitshow that is the estate of my dead father. And then I went to LA with FUTURO and it was fukkn great, but now I'm back and you can have your tapes again. Every day. The way you like it.
HUMAN ADULT BAND (still active) play weird drugged out/drawn out noise rock, their side was recorded live in 2005. Don't really know too much about PENIS IN VAGINA on the flip....I tried using the internet to search for their name. I suggest you try doing that as well, and let me know how it works out for you.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)