Love Canal: Warheads on Foreheads 7"

Love Canal: Warheads on Foreheads 7” (11PM Records) 11PM continues two of their missions—carrying forward the tradition of the hardcore punk 7” EP and documenting the fertile north Florida hardcore scene—with this debut EP from Jacksonville, Florida’s Love Canal. Like a lot of the other bands I’ve heard from this region, Love Canal has a nihilistic sound. This makes sense, because from what I’ve seen of northern Florida, it’s a grim place where the political climate is as brutal as the relentless heat and humidity; I’m guessing the opening track, “Land of Hate,” says as much. The thing is, though, like many of the supreme nihilists of 80s punk such as Flipper and No Trend, Love Canal’s music is alive with texture and nuance. “Land of Hate” is a perfect example, featuring a bunch of tempo changes and some cool and catchy guitar work underneath the vocalist’s violent gestalt. Even when Love Canal references common hardcore tropes like the dive bombs and mosh parts in “Canadian Bacon” the weirdness of the bass tone, the slight jankiness of the dive bombs, and the punk-as-fuck sloppiness of the band’s performance means it sounds anything but generic. Love Canal also has a vocalist who really sells it, imbuing every song with a sense of genuine menace. Warheads on Foreheads is a really outstanding record, angry enough to appeal to the hardcore purists while remaining interesting and innovative enough to grab the intention of those of us who have heard hundreds, if not thousands, of competent run-throughs of the formula.