Featured Releases: June 1, 2023

Smirk: S/T 7” (Under the Gun Records) This four-song 7” is the latest dispatch from underground punk sensation Smirk, and while their latest full-length Material drifted toward 90s-style slacker indie, these four tracks have a punkier energy that’s more like their excellent 2021 EP. The pop element that makes Smirk’s music so strong is still there, though… in fact, these four tracks make me think of late 70s / early 80s UK punk and DIY, which also applied interesting textures and arrangements to traditional, hooky pop. Who knows how intentional this influence is, but the first riff in “Bored by Everything” makes me think of the Buzzcocks’ “Time’s Up,” though the chorus hook is more straightforwardly sweet than the Buzzcocks’ usual melancholy-tinged melodies. Elsewhere, “Polyrhythmic Ticks” also has another Buzzcocks nod, this time to the famous guitar lead in “Boredom,” while “Replicant” recalls the way Tubeway Army fused robotic rhythms and big melodies, and “On Crack” closes the EP by hanging on a detached sense of cool. It’s all killer no filler, but note that the physical version is an edition of only 300 copies, so scoop it quick if you need the hard copy.

Belgrado: Intra Apogeum 12” (La Vida Es Un Mus) The seven years since Belgrado’s last LP have seen some significant changes for the Barcelona group. Most importantly, their rhythm section has gotten a complete overhaul with drummer Jonathan Sirit abandoning acoustic drums in favor of electronic rhythm programming and Louis from Fatamorgana joining the band on bass (meaning now Belgrado’s lineup now includes both members of Fatamorgana). These changes are a big deal because the rhythm section has always been a key part of Belgrado’s sound, with bass and drums laying a firm foundation over which the guitars, synths, and vocals float more ethereally. That’s still the approach on Intra Apogeum, but it’s like the rhythm section sees their job in the same way but executes that job differently. It’s a best-case scenario, giving the group an infusion of freshness without undermining one of their key strengths. And Louis’s bass lines sound fantastic… I almost wonder if he’s flexing a bit, as some of the bass lines here are ridiculously complex (see “T​ę​sknota,” to cite but one example). Meanwhile, in the upper registers, Belgrado also pushes forward, with an even wider pallet of guitar and synth sounds and Patrcyja’s icy yet melodic vocals tying it all together. While their rhythms still have a powerful thump, I love that they also draw from genres like dub and psych, creating interwoven layers of sound with a variety of captivating textures. Intra Apogeum is an album that pulls you into its world, and I think it’s the best Belgrado album yet.

Es: Fantasy 7” (Upset the Rhythm Records) Fantasy is the latest 4-track EP from London’s Es, following up their Less of Everything LP from 2020 and their 2016 debut on La Vida Es Un Mus. If you haven’t heard Es before, they take the punk 4-piece format and swap out the guitar for a synth, a difference they emphasize with the approach each member takes to their instrument. The rhythm section is big and heavy, with a colossal bass sound and lithe, propulsive drumming. It makes sense that Es’s debut was on La Vida Es Un Mus because, while they aren’t a hardcore band, their volume and power means they wouldn’t be out of place on a hardcore bill. By contrast, the synths are more delicate and ethereal; while synth-punk bands like the Spits approach the instrument the way Johnny Ramone attacked his guitar, Es’s synths are more spare, ethereal, and harmonically sophisticated, tugging against the rhythm section rather than locking in with it. The vocals also take this more winding approach, the lyrics dense with abstractions that seem to come in and out of focus in a way that feels dense with possible meanings. It all adds up to a sound that’s powerful yet brimming with tension, a bit like Gang of Four at their most agitated but with their confrontational Marxist polemics replaced by something more organic and feminine. As with everything Es has released, it’s a distinctive, enriching, and satisfying listen, and beautifully packaged for those of us who wish to indulge in the physical version.

Stiff Prick: demo cassette (Everyone Records) Another smashing demo from Pittsburgh’s fertile punk scene. Lawson from Illiterates plays guitar in Stiff Prick, and the band shares an aesthetic sensibility with Illiterates and Speed Plans, with a rough-and-ready early 80s-inspired sound that isn’t afraid to dabble in the thrash-and-mosh dynamics of rougher Youth Crew hardcore like Youth of Today and Side by Side. While the music is traditional, straightforward hardcore, the lyrics are more interesting. Stiff Prick’s vocalist and lyricist Babs avoids cliche, writing about topics mental health (“Borderline”) and romantic relationships (“Abusers,” “Red Flags”) that feel more concrete than the abstractions that plague a lot of hardcore lyrics. I also love that “Red Flags” starts with the line “Girl trust your intuition,” addressing women even though they are typically a minority at hardcore gigs, frequently ignored and marginalized. Hardcore punk always hits harder when it has something to say, and that’s the case here.

Burning Kross: S/T 12” (Loner Cult Records) This one-sided 12” (with a sick-looking Keith Caves drawing screen printed on the b-side) is the debut from Belgium’s Burning Kross. When I think of Belgian hardcore, my mind goes to Dead Stop, and that wouldn’t be an off-the-wall comparison for Burning Kross, whose music also owes a big debt to early 80s US hardcore and has a tough, slightly sludgy quality I associate with oi!-leaning hardcore bands like 86 Mentality and Negative Approach. While that’s a big component of Burning Kross’s sound, they’re not just that. In particular, I like the way they hang on their breakdowns for a long time, like on the track “Greenwood,” whose breakdown section takes on a hypnotic quality as the band squeezes the riff dry. The production is crisp but gritty, and the band sounds brutal and heavy, but also light on their feet. Interestingly, the lyrics for these six tracks tie the record together under one concept, all of them relating to the 1921 bombing of Greenwood, a black neighborhood in Tulsa, Oklahoma. From what I understand, white Oklahomans tried to erase this neighborhood through a coordinated campaign of arson and bombing. The event was covered up and largely forgotten until a 2015 article in The Washington Post drew new attention to the story. It’s an unexpected lyrical focus for a hardcore punk band from Belgium, but their hearts are in the right place and I appreciate the history lesson, which adds some lyrical heft to Burning Kross’s punishing music.

Butchers Dog: Age of Inversion 7” (Violent Pest Records) We’ve been hearing a lot of great music from Cincinnati, Ohio lately, and while bands like the Drin, the Serfs, and Crime of Passing lean toward the post-punk end of the underground music spectrum, Butchers Dog proves the proverbial “something in the water” has seeped into the hardcore bands too. Like my favorite hardcore, Age of Inversion is as progressive as it is intense, fusing a range of heavy music styles into a deftly coordinated strike. The riffing leans metallic, and a track like “Fair Game” would sound like straight up old school death metal if it weren’t so raw and if the vocals weren’t so drenched in snot. Butchers Dog reminds me of Sorry State’s own Mutant Strain; their vocalist sounds a little like Marissa from Mutant Strain, and Butchers Dog is similarly adept at being nimble and heavy at the same time. And they just have a way with a riff, as they display most effectively on the closing track “Enforcer,” whose slinky mosh makes want to Kool-Aid Man my way through a solid wall. A total crusher.