Featured Releases: February 10 2022

Faze: Content 7” (11PM Records) We carried Faze’s demo cassette several years ago, and now they’re back with their debut vinyl on 11PM Records. I called the Montreal band’s sound “strikingly original” back then, and it’s still the case now. 11PM’s description says it all when they mention S.H.I.T. combined with Destruction Unit’s space-rock-meets-noise-rock… that hits the nail on the head. Faze has S.H.I.T.’s ability to create tense rhythms that sound like a coiled spring, but what makes them unique is their ability to pull out of that groove and slide into something different, like the repetitive, krautrock-y rhythms that open the record. Content is a hardcore record through and through, all about energy and power, but I would love to see Faze do something (maybe a full-length) where they give the psychedelic elements of their sound a bigger piece of the stage. Until then, Content earns its keep as a unique and exciting hardcore record.

Desorden Publico: Discografia 12” (Fuego a las Fronteras) Fuego a las Fronteras brings us another high-quality reissue of vintage Mexican punk, this time a studio recordings discography from Desorden Publico. I’d never heard of Desorden Publico before this release. They never released their own vinyl before now, but they put out the Fúnebre cassette full-length (recorded in 1991, but released in 1994) and appeared on the Rock Nacional Volumen II: Sólo Para Punks compilation LP in 1987, both of which are included on this LP collection. If you have a taste for the raw and wild 80s Mexican punk sound, you’ll love Desorden Publico, as they have a similarly frantic sound to better-known bands like Xenofobia and Massacre 68. The sound on their Fúnebre tape is a little more metallic than those bands; the booklet mentions that there were death and speed metal influences creeping into the band’s music by this time, and while you can hear this on a few tracks (like “Campos de Exterminio”), Desorden Publico’s focus was ripping fast hardcore that reminds me of faster Discharge-influenced bands like Shitlickers and Varukers. As with Fuego a las Fronteras’s Xenofobia reissue, you also get a big full-color booklet telling the band’s story in English and Spanish and presenting a wealth of archival material that gives us a much-needed window into Mexico’s unique punk scene. One of my favorite parts of the booklet is where they reproduce j-cards from the bootleg Desorden Publico tapes that circulated and kept the band’s name alive through the years. 

Various: Oi! Across the World 1977-1985 cassette (No Solution) This DIY mix tape does what it says on the tin: gives you a selection of oi! music from across the world. You get one track per band, ranging from all-time classics that you probably already know if you’re interested in this tape (Cock Sparrer, Sham 69) to underrated scorchers (Menace, the Oppressed) to deep cuts whose artist names stumped me (Tolbiat’s Toads, the Baws). While the presentation and dub quality are no-frills, the track selection is excellent. This can live in your car stereo for months before you get bored with it, which is about the highest compliment one can pay a mix tape. 

Sect Mark: Promo MMXXI cassette (Iron Lung Records) We last heard from Rome, Italy’s Sect Mark back in 2018, when Iron Lung released their Worship album. While several years have elapsed, Sect Mark’s take on dark, mysterious, and creepy hardcore hasn’t changed much. They still have those bulldozer rhythms that will remind you of S.H.I.T. or Warthog, with sprightly riffs and a guitar sound that alternates between a full bellow and a biting, mid-range-y tone a la G.I.S.M. As with everything Iron Lung releases, there’s nothing cheesy, obvious, or overwrought here; just go-for-the-throat hardcore performed with a great balance of precision and fury. It sounds like we’ll be hearing a new Sect Mark album soon, but in the meantime enjoy this limited tape with three brand new originals and a Nerorgasmo cover.

Argh!: El Silencio De Los Cromagnones 7” (Planeta Destrozado Records) New York’s Planeta Destrozado brings us the debut vinyl from this band from Temuco, Chile. Argh!’s four songs—the first of which starts, appropriately, with the singer yelling the band’s name—exhibit a nimble hardcore punk style with dense arrangements. Even that first track, “Manipulación Socio / Digital” starts with a catchy SoCal punk groove, segues into manic pogo-hardcore, and then finishes with a crushing half-time part, all in well under two minutes. While all the changes in rhythm could make the songs sound disjointed (and the third track, “Más Allá De La Cúpula Del Trueno,” leans into the contrast), the singer’s raspy yet slightly tuneful voice (he reminds me a little of Jose from Peligro Social and Ruleta Rusa) holds everything together. Throw in some awesomely colorful fantasy-style cover artwork and you have a pretty sick record.