Featured Release Roundup: November 29, 2018

Booji Boys: Unknown Pleathers 7” (Sewercide) The latest 7” from this Canadian band is a 5-songer that finds them expanding upon and refining their formula. As before, there are elements of hardcore and classic-sounding punk (and maybe even power-pop), but with total shit-fi production. The first track, “I Wanna Be So Good,” is one of their more hardcore moments with a sprightly tempo and chaotic playing. The next few songs are full of the great, classic-sounding punk riffs that Booji Boys are so great at, but the record’s climax is the closing title track. That song's foundation is a great 999 / Undertones style chord progression, and it builds toward a wild double guitar solo… not two guitars harmonizing with one another Iron Maiden-style, but two guitars soloing across and over top of one another, twisting together like a rat king of noise and distortion. Every time I hear a Booji Boys record I think to myself, “man, I wish I could hear the vocals,” but then after a few listens I realize the guitars are the star of the show and the wild and noisy production is the perfect choice for them.


Q: 2nd 7” (Lumpy) Second 7” from this St. Louis band. I remember liking their first one just fine, but this newest one is a real head-turner. A lot of the elements that Q uses sound familiar if you’re listening to the best new hardcore coming out—I hear S.H.I.T. / Blazing Eye-style pogo mosh, harsh d-beat, and more traditional US hardcore—but Q have two things going for them that lesser bands don’t. First, they’re great at putting together complex, Gauze-esque arrangements with instruments dropping in and cutting out amid dramatic shifts in tempo. Second, they accentuate this dynamism with a loose and chaotic playing style. This record sounds genuinely unhinged, like it was made by the kind of people who would light a boat on fire. If that sounds like the what you want to listen to you can’t go wrong picking this one up. 


Eke Buba: S/T 7” (Lumpy) Debut vinyl from this Croatian band. We carried a few of their tape releases a while back and I think they’ve found a fitting home on the same label as Nosferatu, Closet Christ, and Q. Like those bands, Eke Buba play fast, wild, and chaotic hardcore that reminds me of Koro, Deep Wound, and the Neos. The three tracks on the a-side will leave you breathless, the sound teetering toward Siege’s heaviness, but with wilder-sounding vocals a la Void. The two songs on the b-side back off the tempo just a hair and inject garage-punk flavor into the riffing, like you’re playing a Carbonas 45 at 78rpm. It’s over in what feels like about 30 seconds, but it’s a constant thrill ride.


B.E.T.O.E.: Totalitarismo del Sigle XXI 7" (Discos Enfermos) Latest 7” from this long-running Barcelona d-beat band. B.E.T.O.E. has a straightforward d-beat sound a la Criminal Trap-era Anti-Cimex or early Doom, with simple, Discharge-influenced riffing and the noisy, fuzz-drenched (but still thick-sounding) production of Japanese bands like Disclose or Contrast Attitude. Sometimes this style of straightforward d-beat can go in one ear and out the other, but I like how B.E.T.O.E. take a simple riff and ride on it for a while… it’s a lot more authentically like Discharge than bands with complex metallic riffs and dramatic arrangements. Not that the record is monotonous. The tremolo picking in “Despierta” reminds me of early Bathory, while “No Nos Representa” switches out the d-beat for a pogo beat, pulling the band’s sound more toward Confuse-style noise punk. This one might just be for the die-hard d-beaters, but those folks will really enjoy it.


Vanilla Poppers: I Like Your Band 12” (Feel It) Latest 7” from this band that started in Cleveland, but has since moved to Melbourne, Australia (you don’t hear that every day!). I liked the band’s last 12” on Lumpy, but their sound clicks much better on these four new tracks. It’s hard to identify what works so much better here. Like before, the guitarist has a Detroit / Radio Birdman-type riffing style, and while the tempos are still hardcore fast, the production is clearer and the band plays with more swing and swagger. Instead of buzzing on cheap speed, it sounds like Vanilla Poppers are whiskey drunk, cocky, and looking for a fight. With their great, classic-sounding punk riffs and nihilistic hardcore attitude, Vanilla Poppers sound like the rare band who might go over just as well at Goner Fest as Everything Is Not OK.


Tired of Everything: demo cassette (To Live a Lie) Demo cassette from this brand new Raleigh hardcore band; in fact, they played their first show the other day. Will from To Live a Lie Records is the vocalist, and while his previous band Oxidant had the power violence sound you would expect given his label’s history, Tired of Everything is pure hardcore. The riffs are meat and potatoes a la SOA or early Heresy and the drum sound is big and punchy. The vocals carry a touch of melody, but Will delivers them in a deadpan manner that reminds me of countless 80s hardcore bands. If you’re a person (i.e. me) who enjoys listening to old Mystic Records compilations you’ll eat it right up. If you like your USHC authentically 80s style this certainly warrants a listen.


Eyesøres: S/T cassette (self-released) 8-song cassette release from this Australian band, and I believe it’s intended as a full-length album rather than a demo release. With a bass-heavy sound, a chorus effect on guitar, and a vocalist who sounds vaguely like Ian Curtis it’s easy to pigeonhole this as post-punk, but Eyesøres have their own take on the sound. Like a lot of my favorite post-punk and goth bands, Eyesøres don’t overplay the whole “brooding darkness” thing. A lot of their songs have bright and melodic chord progressions, reminding me of how the Chameleons’ or Siouxsie’s best stuff sounded like a haunted version of pop music. Eyesøres also sequence the album well, with the climactic “Golden Soil” (a six-plus minute track that has some of Eddy Current Suppression Ring’s meandering brilliance) leading into three punchier, punkier tracks to close the album with a final adrenaline rush. If you’re a fan of Total Control’s first LP or Constant Mongrel, there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy this too.


Ond Tro: Støv 12” (Travesty Music) Debut 12” from this Danish band. They had an earlier 7” that we carried and the group features a former member of Under Al Kritik, whose EP Sorry State released way back in 2009. Støv is bleak, dark, and desperate, but it’s also intricate and eclectic. The heavy reverb on the vocals, occasional tremolo picking, and dissonant harmonies all seem to come from black metal and contribute to the record’s cold and distant vibe. However, Ond Tro is identifiably a hardcore punk band and not a metal band. Their loose, fast, and darkly melodic way of writing and playing songs reminds me of Everything Falls Apart-era Hüsker Dü or early Articles of Faith, while some songs dabble with bigger melodies that recall the Observers or No Hope for the Kids. However, through all of it the dark and desperate quality persists. I imagine that Støv is too introverted and intricate to catch the hype machine’s ear, but if you like Mülltüte or Kafka Prosess you’ll really enjoy it.


Closet Christ: You’re in My World Now 7” (Lumpy) Vinyl re-release for this DC project’s 2017 cassette. I'm pretty sure the same person who plays every instrument on this record also made the recent Hologram 7” on Hysteria / La Vida Es Un Mus, so it’s funny that it comes out a couple of months after the Hologram record. I also wonder why the project’s name changed, because the two records sound very similar. Certainly if you love one of them, you’ll at least really like the other. Both sound rooted in Koro’s manic, hyper-fast hardcore, but also inject elements of noise and power electronics. Here that’s restricted to the first track’s intro, but it’s quite a way to start a record. It’s kind of like crawling your way up the first big hill of a roller coaster, and when you crest the hill everything is a chaotic blur of unexpected twists and loops. As with Koro, it’s difficult to make sense of it at first, but with repeated listens you understand how intricate and nimble the music has to be in order to sustain that energy level. Some people will prefer Hologram’s burlier sound while others will like the rawness of Closet Christ, but in my book both are 100% essential.


Crisis Actors: demo cassette (self-released) Demo cassette from this new Boston band with members of Sleeper Cell, Terminal Youth, and Poison Control, among many others. I like bands that fall in that grey area between hardcore and catchier strands of punk, and Crisis Actors are right in that pocket. Their songs are fast, the recording is raw, and they even appropriate some Crass lyrics, but they aren’t afraid of a Night Birds-esque surf-punk riff or even a bigger, Observers-esque melody. If you’re a fan of Career Suicide or Social Circkle this will be in your sweet spot. Sometimes bands like this sound too slick or professional, but this demo is very raw. The recording itself is primitive, and the singer’s forceful sing-shout occasionally devolves into a more primal and wild-sounding scream that pushes way into the red. 8 tracks, and all of them rip.


All New Arrivals

Hate Preachers: Demo cassette (Sucks Blood)
Cruelty Bomb: Demo cassette (Sucks Blood)
S.H.I.T.: What Do You Stand For? cassette (Sucks Blood)
Koenigstein Youth: S/T 12" (Kick Rock)
Shogun & the Sheets: Hold On Kid b/w Pissing Blood 7" (What’s Your Rupture?)
Spiritual Cramp: Television 12" (Deranged)
Crack Cloud: S/T 12" (Deranged)
Color TV: S/T 12" (Deranged)
Tired of Everything: Demo cassette (To Live a Lie)
EYESØRES: S/T cassette (self-released)
Vari Vice: What Reality Will They Use Over You? cassette (Good Cheer)
T.V.U.: Demo cassette (self-released)
Daydream: S/T cassette (self-released)
Erik Nervous / Neo Neos: Split 7" (Goodbye Boozy)
Datenight: My Car / You're Hard to Move 7" (Goodbye Boozy)
P.O.S.: S/T 7" (Goodbye Boozy)
Straight Arrows: 21st Century / Cyberbully 7" (Goodbye Boozy)
Morpheme: Discography 12" (Agipunk)
Disco Lemonade: Love In Many Forms cassette (Earth Girl)
Terrorizer: Caustic Attack 12" (The End)
Dumb Vision: Modern Things 12" (Big Neck)
Apsurd: Derealizacija cassette (Doom Town)
Wild Forms: S/T cassette (Doom Town)
Parnepar: Kako, Molim? cassette (Doom Town)
Jarada: S/T 12" (Doom Town)
Policy of Truth: S/T EP cassette (Slow Death)
Starvation: 5 Track Demo cassette (Slow Death)
Chain Whip: Demo cassette (Slow Death)
Candy: Demo cassette (Slow Death)
Koszmar: Discography cassette (Slow Death)
Laughing Boy: S/T EP cassette (Slow Death)
Laughing Boy: Demo cassette (Slow Death)
Policy of Truth: Demo cassette (Slow Death)
Mindforce: Excalibur 12" (Triple-B)
Instinct of Survival / Asocial Terror Fabrication: Split 12" (Doomed To Extinction)
Negative Rage: 2017-2018 Suckin' cassette (self-released)
Spray Paint & the Rebel: Charles & Roy's Purple Wang 12" (Ever / Never)
Warzone: Open Your Eyes 12" (Revelation)
Orchid: Chaos Is Me 12" (Ebullition)
Bauhaus: Bela Session 12" (Leaving)
Trans-Siberian Orchestra: Christmas Attic 12" (Atlantic)
Korn: Issues 12" (Immortal)
Runaways: Best of 12" (Mercury)
Sigh: Heir to Despair 12" (Candlelight)
Primus: Pork Soda 12" (Interscope)
Aretha Franklin: The Christmas Aretha 12" (DMI)
Warthog: 4th 7” (Toxic State)
Treepeople: Actual Re-Enactment 12" (Gray Lane)
Jeez Louise: Demonstration Recording cassette (Ketchup & Mustard Industries)
Q: 2nd 7" (Lumpy)
Closet Christ: You're in My World Now 7" (Lumpy)
Eke Buba: S/T 7" (Lumpy)
Lumpy & the Dumpers: Sex Pit 7" (Lumpy)
Booji Boys: Unknown Pleathers 7" (Sewercide)
Roland Blinn & the Fishermen: Tense b/w Peg in Hole 7" (Unknown Coast)
U-Nix: Nuke Portland 12" (Feel It)
Vanilla Poppers: I Like Your Band 7" (Feel It)
Zed Zilch: (I’m Not) One of the Boys (Feel It)
Asylum Party: Borderline 12" (Deanwell Global Music)
Modern Mannequins: Discography 1983-1985 12" (Deanwell Global Music)
B.E.T.O.E.: Totalitarismo del Sigle XXI 7" (Discos Enfermos)
Ond Tro: Støv 12" (Travesty Music)
Crisis Actors: Demo cassette (self-released)
Luna: Lunafied 12" (Elektra)
Kate Bush: Lionheart 12" (Parlophone)
Kate Bush: Never for Ever 12" (Parlophone)
Kate Bush: The Kick Inside 12" (Parlophone)
 

Restocks


Tragedy: Fury 12" (Tragedy)
Verbal Assault: Trial 12" (Atomic Action)
Blazing Eye: Ways to Die 7" (Overdose)
Blazing Eye: Demo cassette (Overdose)
Blazing Eye: S/T EP cassette (Sucks Blood)
Sore Points: S/T 12" (Deranged)
Siouxsie & the Banshees: Juju 12" (Polydor)
7 Seconds: Walk Together, Rock Together 12" (BYO)
Voivod: Dimension Hatross 12" (Noise)
Tim Armstrong: A Poet's Life 12" (Hellcat)
Terrorizer: World Downfall 12" (Earache)
Radiohead: The Bends 12" (XL Recordings)
Notorious B.I.G.: Life After Death 12" (Bad Boy)
NOFX: Punk in Drublic 12" (Epitaph)
Nirvana: Bleach 12" (Sub Pop)
Mudhoney: Superfuzz Bigmuff 12" (Sub Pop)
Neutral Milk Hotel: On Avery Island 12" (Merge)
Neutral Milk Hotel: In the Aeroplane Over the Sea 12" (Merge)
Motorhead: Ace of Spades 12" (Sanctuary)
Motorhead: Iron Fist 12" (Sanctuary)
Fleetwood Mac: Rumours 12" (Reprise)
Carcass: Necroticism: Descanting the Insalubrious 12" (Earache)
Can: Tago Mago 12" (Spoon)
Can: Future Days 12" (Spoon)
Black Sabbath: Sabotage 12" (Rhino)
Black Sabbath: S/T 12" (Rhino)
Big Black: Atomizer 12" (Touch & Go)
Sleep: Holy Mountain 12" (Earache)
2pac: All Eyez on Me 12" (Death Row)
Abused: Loud & Clear 12" (Radio Raheem)
Beta Boys: Late Nite Acts 12" (Feel It)
Haircut: Shutting Down 7" (Feel It)
Insinuations: Prompt Critical 7" (Feel It)
Pious Faults: Old Thread 12" (Feel It)
Rik & the Pigs: Blue Jean 7" (Feel It)
The Cowboys: Live at Tony's Garage 7" (Feel It)
The Landlords: Hey! It's a Teenage House Party 12" (Feel It)
Cement Shoes: A Peace Product of the USA 7" (Feel It)
Cruelster: Riot Boys 12" (Lumpy)
Warm Bodies: S/T 12" (Lumpy)
BB Eye: S/T 12" (Lumpy)

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