Featured Releases: May 5, 2022

Violent Apathy: 11/29/81 7” (Radio Raheem Records) Radio Raheem delivers another slice of early 80s hardcore arcana with all of their usual panache. You might know Violent Apathy from the numerous Detroit-area flyers they appeared on, their contribution to the Process of Elimination compilation, or their 1984 7” EP, their sole stand-alone release. 11/29/81 captures a moment where Violent Apathy has moved beyond the very primitive sound of their Process of Elimination track, but they’re still a long way from the more self-assured and melodic 1984 EP. The members of Violent Apathy first bonded because they were all fans of the Fix, and you can hear that band’s influence all over these tracks as well as an awareness of the DC scene (“Vice Grip” sounds heavily inspired by S.O.A., for instance). However, you can also hear Violent Apathy’s penchant for melody creeping in around the edges… these more melodic tracks remind me of Artificial Peace, who also displayed a whiff of melody even before they mutated into Marginal Man. As usual, Radio Raheem’s packaging contains a wealth of archival material plus liner notes by Tony Rettman, all brought together in elegant, high-quality design and packaging. This ticks all the early 80s USHC nerd boxes.

Disclone: Harsh Raw Affront cassette (Doomed to Extinction Records) Harsh Raw Affront collects four previously released EPs by this Austrian band. If you think you know what you’re getting into with a band called Disclone, Harsh Raw Affront is precisely what you expect it to be. Disclone sounds pretty much exactly like Disclose (in particular, the earlier era of the band). You might ask, why should I pay attention to a new band that sounds exactly like Disclose? I don’t have a good answer for you, other than to say people said the same thing about Disclose when they were around. Everything on Harsh Raw Affront fucking goes… it’s fucked up and nasty, the riffs are good, the performances are powerful… what more do you want? Originality? Overrated, if you ask me.

Riot .303: S/T 12” (Supreme Echo Records) Supreme Echo Records reissues the recorded works by this punk band from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Despite being, from what I can tell, a small and isolated city on the Canadian prairie, the city was an unlikely hardcore hotbed. Any rabid consumer of punk books and documentaries will recognize the name of the Calgarian, a hotel dive bar in the city that hosted a ton of great hardcore and punk shows in the 80s. Riot .303 played there often (as the flyers in the booklet attest), but they weren’t exactly a hardcore band. Riot .303 was one of those North American bands who took a lot of influence from 70s UK punk. The Canadian Subhumans come up again and again in the liner notes, and with good reason… Riot .303 is a dead ringer for them at points, but even if you aren’t that familiar with the Canadian Subhumans, Riot .303 will be up your alley if you like bands like Toxic Reasons, the Suicide Commandos, or D.O.A. This LP contains the band’s highly collectible 4-track 1982 EP, Crowd Control (probably their best stuff), their four tracks from the Thrasher Skate Rock cassette, and a bunch of rehearsal recordings. According to the liner notes, a contributing factor to Riot .303’s breakup was some members’ disinterest in conforming to hardcore’s ever-faster tempos, but the irony is that it’s the most hardcore moments that stick with me here. Riot .303 was great at writing sing-along choruses, and tracks like “Drugs” and “Organized Religion” that have a memorable chorus hook and a fiery delivery are top-notch. The energy level is highest on the rehearsal tracks, but the fidelity isn’t the best. I get the impression that if the stars had aligned differently, Riot .303 could have produced something as powerful as Subhumans classics like “Fuck You” or “Death to the Sickoids,” but even if they don’t reach that (rather high) bar, I’m still very glad to hear these tracks, particularly when Supreme Echo’s excellent packaging gives the kind of context that deepens one’s appreciation.

Instruct: Death Instructions cassette (Ciabatta Brain Tapes) Usman covered this tape from Seattle’s Instruct in his staff pick a while back, but this is a ripper that I think is worth re-emphasizing. Without sounding like a worship band, Instruct nails the early Cimex sound with a d-beat groove that is simultaneously fast and punishing. While it’s pretty straightforward Cimex style d-beat, there are some wrinkles like the haunting lead guitars in “Isolation” and the crushing breakdown that ends “I.N.D.,” the last song on the tape. The recording sounds raw without being self-consciously so, with the early 80s vibe I love to hear. These four tracks are over so quickly that you hardly know what hit you at first, but Instruct both stands up to and benefits from repeat listens. Highly recommended if you follow labels like Desolate and Roach Leg.

No Future: Death 7” flexi (Iron Lung Records) Death is the 3rd EP by this hardcore punk band from Western Australia, following EPs on two excellent Australian labels, Hardcore Victim and Televised Suicide. On the surface, No Future sounds like a noise-punk band in the Gai / Disorder / Lebenden Toten mold, with bass at the front of the mix and guitar so distorted you can barely tell what’s going on. My favorite moment on the record is when, toward the end of the first track, “Pig Fiend,” you’re thinking to yourself, “man, that’s a pretty fucked up guitar sound,” and then they smash a pedal and it gets even even more fucked up than that. While No Future’s guitar sound and mix are in that noise-punk mold, the riffs are darker and more complex, closer to the contemporary mangel-influenced sound where everyone wants to sound like Herätys. There’s also some of that manic pogo thing going on, but everything sounds seamless and is executed with a high level of power and precision. The way No Future blends a lot of subtle influences into a sound that’s contemporary and not too on the nose also reminds me of Slant and Torso. Another worthwhile listen from Iron Lung Records.

Power Flower: Electric Drug Fuckup 7” (Under the Gun Records) This band from Budapest, Hungary delivers a perfect dose of sweet and sour flavored punk. Power Flower’s general aesthetic resembles bands like the Spits and the Mummies in that they’re a keyboard-driven garage-punk style band that isn’t afraid of a raw and fucked up-sounding recording. It’s not all style no substance, though, because Power Flower writes hooky, well-constructed songs that flow and build and move. The first time I listened to Electric Drug Fuckup I struggled to wrap my head around the completely shredded recording. On the second listen I thought to myself, “that keyboard player is pretty good… they really have a way with a melody.” Then on the third listen I realize it’s not just the keyboard player… if you strain to hear what’s going on through the wall of fuzz, you notice these are well-arranged and memorable songs. It might only be those with a predisposition for the style who give Electric Drug Fuckup the attention to get to that point, but those who put in the effort are rewarded with a joyous cacophony.