1. Pizza Elbow
2. The Party Planning Comittee
3. Scotland
1. Ogilvie
2. Highway To Heck
3. Caelin's House
4. Yikes (Pt. 1)
5. Pronounced Liked Nikes (Pt. 2)
6. ...and then I hotboxed my washroom
Saturday, 19 August 2023
Growing Fins
Wednesday, 19 July 2023
Articles Of Faith
Articles Of Faith were a five-piece hardcore punk band from Chicago, Illinois that were formed in 1981 by vocalist Vic Bondi and originally disbanded in 1985. They reunited in 1991 for a European tour that wrapped up in 1992, and were inactive again until 2010, when they released a new EP and played a handful of shows. Sonically, the band got their start playing fast, loose and raw hardcore influenced by Bad Brains with overtly political leanings in their lyrics. Where AoF really started to take on a sound of their own was with the addition of a second guitarist in 1983. 1983's Wait EP was a transistional record for the band, with their straight-forward hardcore viciousness still very much intact, but with a darker, noisier, take on it.
They released their debut full-length Give Thanks in 1984, with Bob Mould (of Hüsker Dü) as producer. That influence is definitely apparent on this, as they retain the same fast-paced frenzied attack they developed in their early years, but took a more dynamic, sometimes even melodic approach to it. They were crafting strong songs, with the dual-guitar interplay in the foreground on tracks like "In This Jungle" which was incredibly ahead of its time. After a fantastic debut, the band disbanded the following year, but not before recording its follow-up. In This Life was released posthumously, with Bob Mould once again helming production. The album incorporated those big, distorted and reverb-soaked guitar chords akin to Hüsker Dü, but with one hand still very much on the hardcore wheel that the aforementioned had completely mvoed away from at this point. Lyrically, they eschewed their politics to take a more personal and introspective approach, which paired better with the more melodic sound they grew into it. In some ways you could say they were a precursor to emo, though that's a whole other discussion.
Their full discography was compiled in 2002 by Alternative Tentacles in two volumes. It's worth it to go through everything they released to hear their strong start and quick evolution. I included the individual releases as well (as well as a compilation and live album they also put out posthumously) if you wanted them individually, though the collection is the definitive essential. Highly recommended and insanely underrated, enjoy!
2. What We Want Is Free
3. Streetfight
4. Poison In My Sweat
1. Everyday
2. My Father's Dream
3. Bad Attitude
4. What We Want Is Free
1. I've Got Mine
2. Wait
3. Buy This War
1. Give Thanks
2. In Your Suit
3. I Objectify
4. Acceptance
5. Everyman For Himself
6. Five O'Clock
7. Hollow Eyes
8. Chicago
9. In This Jungle
10. American Dreams
1. Remain In Memory
2. Doesn't Have To Be That Way
3. Wasn't I Right
4. Wheedle Dee
5. Around In Circles
6. Nowhere
7. Trains
8. Wait For Me
9. Never Really Understood
10. Cambridge
11. In This Life
1.I've Got Mine
2. Buried Alive
3. Sin And Redemption
4. My Father's Dream
5. Articles Of Faith
6. By My Rules
7. What We Want Is Free
8. Born To Be
9. Wait
10. Buy This War
11. Streetfight
12. Ghost In The House
13. Everyday
14. Bad Attitude
15. Dependence
16. False Security
17. Up Against The Wall
18. Poison In My Sweat
19. Belfast
Note: Compilation of material pre-Give Thanks, includes remixed version of the first two 7" EP's, compilation tracks and demos
1. I've Got Mine
2. Acceptance
3. Five O'Clock
4. Remain In Memory
5. Wait
6. Bad Attitude
7. False Security
8. Give Thanks
9. In Your Suit
10. Trains
11. What We Want Is Free
12. American Dreams
13. In This Jungle
14. In This World
1. Buried Alive
2. False Security
3. Everyday
4. My Father's Dreams
5. Bad Attitude
6. What We Want Is Free
7. Give Thanks
8. In Your Suit
9. I Objectify
10. Acceptance
11. Every Man For Himself
12. Five O'Clock
13. Chicago
14. Hollow Eyes
15. In This Jungle
16. American Dreams
17. In This Life
1. I've Got Mine
2. Wait
3. Buy This War
4. Up Against The Wall
5. Fine Line
6. Empty Rooms
7. Remain In Memory
8. It Doesn't Have To Be That Way
9. Wasn't I Right?
10. Wheedle Dee
11. Around In Circles
12. Nowhere
13. Trains
14. Wait For Me
15. Never Really Understood
16. Cambridge
17. In This Life
18. What We Want Is Free
1. Vic Bondi - Hardball
2. Vic Bondi - Fortunate Son (Creedence Clearwater Revival cover)
3. Articles Of Faith - Buy This War
4. Articles Of Faith - American Dreams
1. With A Vengeance
2. Coming Off The Rails
3. New Normal Catastrophe
4. Hammer Song
5. Brother John
Saturday, 15 July 2023
Econochrist
They dropped their dark and angular swan song Skewed on Ebullition Records in 1993, with their intensive vocal delivery, fretboard frenzied bass work, cutting guitar parts and pounding drums in chaotic tandem, and then called it quits. They marked their gravestone with the following year's retrospective discography, which includes all their released recorded material along with the handful of compilation tracks they dropped over the years. Highly recommended, especially as this band often goes unsung in their placement of genre-pushing political hardcore that emerged in the early 90's. Enjoy.
1. It Runs Deep
2. Can't I
3. Think For Yourself
4. Camouflage
5. Blind Faith
6. Fuck Your American Dream
7. Ignorance
1. Comabox
2. More To This Life
3. Misspent
4. On One Day
5. The Exception
6. Behind Vanity
7. Tunnel Vision
8. Fights That Solve Nothing
9. Bullet With No Name
10. Weak Inside
1. The Detonators - Day To Day
2. The Detonators - Crime & Punishment + Angry Young Men
3. Econochrist - Petty Ways
4. Econochrist - Uncontrollable Urge
1. Another Lie
2. Your Duty
3. Purge
4. Any Questions?
1. Epidemic
2. Behave
3. Deadlocked
4. Treadmill
5. Invertebrate
6. At A Loss
7. 18 And Free
8. New Regression
9. One Sided Story
10. Divine Right
1. Withdrawal
2. Words Alone
3. Bled Dry
4. Passed On
Disc 1
1. Withdrawal
2. Words Alone
3. Bled Dry
4. Passed On
5. Epidemic
6. Behave
7. Deadlocked
8. Treadmill
9. Invertebrate
10. At A Loss
11. 18 And Free
12. New Regression
13. One Sided Story
14. Divine Right
15. Another Lie
16. Your Duty
17. Purge
18. Any Questions?
19. Repel
20. Seek To Use
Disc 2
1. Petty Ways
2. Uncontrollable Urge
3. Comabox
4. More To This Life
5. Misspent
6. On One Day
7. The Exception
8. Behind Vanity
9. Tunnel Vision
10. Fights That Solve Nothing
11. Bullet With No Name
12. Weak Inside
13. Take
14. Tooth Itch
15. It Runs Deep
16. Can't I
17. Think For Yourself
18. Camouflage
19. Blind Faith
20. Fuck Your American Dream
21. Ignorance
Wednesday, 28 June 2023
Horsewhip
Horsewhip are a four-piece hardcore band from Saint Petersburg, Florida that started in 2017. Though the band's formation was recent, its members have been heavily active in the Florida extreme music scene for decades now. Horsewhip features alumni from incredible bands including Reversal Of Man, Combatwoundedveteran, Order Of Importance, Early Grace, and more. They fuse their road-worn expertise into dark, heavy and discordant hardcore that also pulls influence from crust punk and elements of prog metal (a la Mastadon). Both their self-titled and 2020 LP Laid to Waste are fantastic starting points, with neither one wasting anytime pulling their punches. They also put out an incredible split with Yashira back in January, with both bands contributing a single track each that collectively conjures up one of the most hellish landscapes crafted this year. Highly recommended, enjoy!
1. Aver
2. Funeral Circus
3. Dropping Out
4. Dirtbag
5. Spill
6. The Road
7. Fires
1. Stillborn
2. Feast
3. Inertia Walls
4. Ruin
5. Pray For The Dead
6. Charnel House
7. Closure
8. Remission
9. Holy Lies
10. Lowlands
11. When It Comes
Buy the 7" here:
1. Buried
1. Cutting Through
2. Dissolve
3. Buried
4. Dark Matter
5. Pain
6. Plague Machine
7. Full Of Fury
8. Circadian Rhythm
Squid Pisser
Squid Pisser are a two-piece hardcore/noise rock band from Los Angeles, California that formed in 2022. They dropped their debut LP via Three One G and Sweatband Records earlier this year. If you're familiar with the former's roster, this band is a welcome addition to its distinct catalogue. It's harsh, chaotic, and noisy hardcore delivered at breakneck tempos with unpredictable rhythms. The band's turbulent, alien sound is rounded out by a laundry list of excellent features and collabortors, including members from bands as disparate as Melt-Banana, Punch, Tera Melos, The Locust,and Starcrawler. My Tadpole Legion is a fresh take on slimy noise rock, and makes for one of the most face-melting 20 minutes you'll probably hear this year. Highly recommended, enjoy!
1. Liquified Remains
2. Violence Forever
3. Marching For Trash
4. Everlasting Bloat
5. My Tadpole Legion
6. Both
7. Vibe Monster
8. Fuck Your Preacher
9. Lord Of The Frog
Sunday, 25 June 2023
Crochet
Crochet are a five-piece screamo band from Las Vegas, Nevada that started in 2022. Earlier this year, they released their debut EP, Birth Piece. From the opening fingerpicked arpeggios and softly spoken vocals of "Centennial", its clear this build-up is to draw you into something spectacular, which is what they deliver in the opening blast-beat frenzy of "Unsex Pledge". Right out the gate, the band establishes what sets them apart, with some very trebly guitars incorporating elements of math rock in the mix, and an intense dual vocal delivery. They soften things up in the latter half of the track, with that clean, trebly arpeggio sound they hinted at on their opener.
The band plows their way through crescendos of intensity and atmospheric noodling absolutely flawless, which hits its peak at the tail end of "Friends Who Just Sit And Breathe", which closes out with a surprisingly crushing riff that that burns away leaving what can only be described as white sax noise. It left a major impression to say the less, so do yourself a favour and check this out. Enjoy.
1. Centennial
2. Unisex Pledge
3. Watcher--Heretic
4. Gibusong
5. Ancient Roman Candle
6. Friends Who Just Sit And Breathe
Army Of Ponch
Army Of Ponch are a tough band to nail down, as they exist at the crossroads of a real mix of sounds. They melded this raw, driving punk energy with the dynamic and melancholic influence of acts in the underground emo scene from the decade prior. Think a lot of octave chords and rumbling, melodic bass lines. Their vocals were often shouted, but could also switch up to incorporate some straight-forward melodic singing. I'm just rambling here, but if you're a fan of other No Idea acts such as early Planes Mistaken For Stars, Small Brown Bike, or Twelve Hour Turn, you should check this band out. Those aren't really comparisons, more just like bands that may have existed in the same sonic headspace. Enjoy.
1. Those Old Hurts
2. Wellington, Ohio
3. So, You Told Your Friend I'm Some Kind Of Jet Pilot?
4. Americas #1 Snackcake
5 Go Lemming Go
6. I Spilled Another Drink In My Mouth
7. Résumé, That Still Sounds Weird To Me
8. Mantight (Red Thunder)
9. These Old Hurts
1. Wellington, Ohio
2. Why Don't We Meet Tonight, We'll Sit On The Porch And Sing With Our Cans Raised High Arm In Arm Swinging Side To Side?
3. Foil Monkeys Or Bread Monkeys Either One
4. There's Shit On These Wings
5. Those Old Hurts
6. Go Lemming Go
7. America's #1 Snackcake
8. The Lively Lex Lopez
9. I Spilled Another Drink In My Mouth
10. Résumé, That Still Sounds Weird To Me
11. So, You Told Your Friend I'm Some Kind Of Jet Pilot?
1. Where's My Miyagi
2. Joe Versus The Tornado
3. Could I Get More Employee In The Monitors?
1. Young Livers - Drinks Are Our Amnesty
2. Young Livers - Fair Well
3. Army Of Ponch - America's #1 Snackcake
4. Army Of Ponch - Could I Get More Employee In The Monitors?
Jasemine
1. Silence
2. Heritage
3. Choix
4. Restriction
1. Elements Of Need - On 7
2. Elements Of Need - Industry Falls
3. Elements Of Need - I Bet You Look Great In Silicon
4. Jasmine - Heritage
5. Jasmine - Silence
Note: Credited as "Jasmine" on this release
Cayetana
Cayetana were a three-piece indie/pop punk band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that formed in 2011 and have been on hiatus since 2019. They put out two full-lengths, three EP's, and a split with Camp Cope in their time together. This is one of many bands that have been criminally absent for being posted on here for years, so now is as good a time as any to share them. If you're not familiar with them, they played a lyrical and energetic brand of power pop, with prominent, melodic bass lines influenced by Joy Division and New Order and raw guitar chords, leaving the emphasis on some incredible songwriting. Enjoy.
1. Hot Dad Calendar
2. Ella
1. Serious Things Are Stupid
2. Black Hills
3. Dirty Laundry
4. Animal
5. Mountain Kids
6. Madame B
7. Scott Get The Van, I'm Moving
8. Favorite Things
9. Hot Dad Calendar
10. Busy Brain
11. South Philly
1. Camp Cope - Keep Growing
2. Cayetana - Mesa
3. Cayetana - Trails
4. Camp Cope - Footscray Station
1. Am I Dead Yet?
2. Mesa
3. Too Old For This
4. Bus Ticket
5. Easy To Love
6. Side Sleepers
7. Certain For Miles
8. Phonics Failed Me
9. Grumpy's
10. Follow
11. Dust
12. World
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