Featured Releases: May 26, 2022

Weak Pulse: EKG cassette (Open Palm Tapes) Open Palm Tapes brings us a cassette from this 80s USHC-sounding band from Chicago. Weak Pulse sounds like a band that would have thrived in the No Way Records era, their straight beats, shouted vocals, and straightforward yet memorable riffs recalling under the radar US hardcore classics like the Clitboys’ We Don’t Play the Game EP or the N.O.T.A. album. The production is perfect, neither too raw nor too slick, capturing the band’s power and not calling attention to itself, emphasizing Weak Pulse’s ample hooks. If you’ve ever showed up at a gig and realized you inadvertently dressed exactly like the Circle Jerks’ mascot, this one is for you. Highly recommended for all USHC heads.

Grimly Forming: Live on KXLU 88.9FM cassette (Lament Records) Grimly Forming has been kicking around the Los Angeles area for at least six years now, releasing a string of cassettes and one 7” we enjoyed when it came out a few years ago. Now they’re back with this 11-song live on the radio set. If the tape wasn’t titled  Live on KXLU 88.9FM, you’d have no idea this was a live recording, because the fidelity is as strong as a studio release and the songs are edited together tightly like on a studio recording. Grimly Forming’s sound reminds me of the heavier and creepier end of the 80s Japanese hardcore scene. While I’m sure they’ve heard G.I.S.M., I hear more Kuro, the Clay, and Sodom (as well as stuff like United Mutation that isn’t from Japan but has a similar tone). It doesn’t sound like Grimly Forming is trying to be fucked up or weird, but plenty of fucked up weirdness finds its way in without any special effort. Fans of more contemporary bands like Blazing Eye and S.H.I.T. who are heavy and energetic yet steeped in atmosphere will also love this.

Realm of Terror: Loss of Hope cassette (Gutteral Warfare Records) Loss of Hope is the latest cassette from this Michigan band that channels the greyed out anxiety of the crossover hardcore / metal scene that flourished in late 80s Britain. Extreme Noise Terror is the obvious reference point, which I reach for because the vocals do that alternating low / high thing I associate with E.N.T. Before the E.N.T. thing dawned on me, though, I thought to myself that Realm of Terror sounds like Disclose with death metal parts. Their sound is tinny and blown out, essentially crasher crust, but when they drop into a mid-paced part, the riffs are more complex and heavier. Perhaps this is what the band means when they say there are more stenchcore elements on Loss of Hope than on their previous release, Accelerated Extinction (which we also have in stock), but I’m hearing raw death metal more than stenchcore… I’m no expert, though, so maybe I’m wrong. You’ll also hear Realm of Terror flirt with grind, which is keeping with the aesthetic. It seems like many people have been discovering this universe of 80s UK punk/metal crossover lately, and I love how Realm of Terror fuses those influences with crasher crust and d-beat to arrive at something that feels fresh and exciting.

SØRDÏD: demo cassette (Roach Leg Records) Roach Leg Records brings us another slice of raw and manic noise from their home base of New York City. On their debut tape, SØRDÏD does a great job of giving us what we want from a nasty noise-punk record while subtly expanding on the formula. The higher frequencies are totally fried and distorted (as they should be), but the bass and drums have a rich sound, keeping your feet moving and your fist pumping through tracks like the crushing “Idle Hope” and the stumbling, Disorder-influenced “Blankhead.” While SØRDÏD might sound like by the book noise-punk at first listen, there are more interesting bits peeking in around the edges, like the brief glimpse of burning spirits-style melody that pops up toward the end of “Last String” and the catchy, thrash metal-sounding bass riff that starts off “Idle Hope.” With a sound that will please both the trad and progressive wings of the noise-punk world, SØRDÏD’s demo is another excellent release from Roach Leg.

Delivery: Personal Effects 7” (Feel It Records) Feel It Records brings us the second 7” from this new-ish band from the contemporary punk hotbed of Melbourne, Australia. According to the info I read online, Personal Effects differs from Delivery’s previous releases. Those were home recorded and leaned into that medium’s potential for idiosyncrasy and eclecticism, while these two tracks have a more polished recording that reflects the band’s well-developed live sound. Since Personal Effects is the first Delivery record I’ve heard, I can’t comment too much about that, but I love what I hear here. Delivery sounds fully developed, with a powerful, punk-informed rhythm section and memorably askew horn arrangements. There are pop songs at the core, though, and both sides of Personal Effects deliver. “Personal Effects” is ambling and mid-paced, the wheezing horn line complementing the broad vocal hook in the chorus. “The Topic” is even better to my ears, the horns even more left of center in a Cravats kind of way, a catchy song barging its way through those weird horns and the stumbling rhythm. Delivery’s way of combining left of center sounds with big hooks reminds me of UV Race, another Aussie fave. Here’s hoping Delivery keeps ‘em coming.

Fuera De Sektor: El Mundo Sigue cassette (La Vida Es Un Mus) La Vida Es Un Mus once again dips into the fertile Barcelona punk scene, bringing us the debut release from Fuera De Sektor. Falling on the more melodic end of LVEUM’s spectrum, Fuera De Sektor’s sound is steeped in the powerful and hooky 70s / 80s punk tradition. Tracks like “El Mundo Sigue” and “Viejas Trampas” have a melancholy edge that fans of Rata Negra or Chain Cult will have no problem enjoying, but I like the other two tracks even more. “Necesito Combustible” has a bouncy rhythm and bright guitar hooks that remind me of the Undertones at their very best, while “En La Oscuridad” sounds like a deep cut on an 80s goth / new wave mix tape, the guitar hook pulling it toward rock and roll while the vocals add dark atmosphere. With four tracks that are fairly different from one another, Fuera De Sektor’s sound feels wide open, but despite the stylistic variation, the songwriting is top notch.

Living World: World 7” (Iron Lung Records) Iron Lung brings us the debut vinyl from this Pittsburgh hardcore band, following up a couple of cassettes, including one on the hot Unlawful Assembly label. Pittsburgh has enough punks and punk bands that there seem to be multiple sub-scenes in the city, and I’m not sure which one Living World is most associated with. They have both the retro 80s vibes of the White Stains / Loose Nukes crowd and the youthful energy of the Speed Plans / Illiterates group, and they sound like they’d be at home on a bill with any of those bands. My first reaction to Living World was that they sound like a looser, nastier version of early Direct Control. As with Direct Control, the framework is classic US hardcore, but there’s a slight crossover edge to the riffing a la DRI, and Living World’s vocalist even sounds a bit like Brandon from Direct Control. After six brisk hardcore tracks, Living World breaks things up with the spoken intro for Ubuntu, a song they wrote for George Floyd (though it’s right back to ripping hardcore for the latter part of the track). There’s a chaotic energy about World that I like, and when you combine that with the solid songwriting, you end up with a killer hardcore punk EP.