Featured Releases: October 2, 2023

Evil Tree: Moon Maniac 12” (Neon Taste Records) Evil Tree is a metal project from Drew Owen of the punk band Sick Thoughts. As anyone who has heard the latest Sick Thoughts album knows, Drew is fucking good at music, and Evil Tree proves he’s just as good with a sleazy metal tune as he is with a middle-fingered drug punk anthem. The label’s description mentions early Midnight, and the vocals here are similar, but rather than Midnight’s Motorhead-isms, this pulls more from the darker corners of metal. Hellhammer is clearly an influence, and a track like “Moon Maniac” is a lot like Darkthrone’s punkier material, right down to the hollow-sounding production. Whereas a band from the metal scene would probably fill out these songs with a lot of boring shit and make it 40 minutes long, Moon Maniac is six songs in 13 minutes, in and out before you can even think about getting bored. If your tastes are wide enough to encompass dirty modern metal and Sick Thoughts, this is a no-brainer, and it’s so action-packed that even those coming from it just from the Drew Owen angle will almost certainly like it too.

Optic Sink: Glass Blocks 12” (Feel It Records) Glass Blocks is the second album from this synthy Memphis project featuring Natalie Hoffmann from Nots. I haven’t checked in with Natalie’s music for a few years, and while in some respects Glass Blocks’ icy, synthetic textures are a far cry from Nots’ rawer, more exuberant vibe, I hear enough continuity that it’s easy to imagine people following the entire ride. The cool analog synth tones and detached-sounding vocals on Glass Blocks bring Kraftwerk to mind, especially since the the title and chorus of the first track, “Modelesque,” makes me think of Kraftwerk’s “The Model.” Optic Sink does evoke the The Man Machine / Computer World era of Kraftwerk, though, particularly the way much of it lives in this space that’s between dance music and something a little too arty for the clubs… like music that only cool people could dance to. The songs’ arrangements contribute to that vibe too, with dynamics that shift slowly and subtly rather than quickly and dramatically. That lack of big gestures means Glass Blocks might not bowl you over on the first listen, but its subtle sense of cool means the more you listen to it, the more you’ll like it.

Colisión: S/T 7” (Crew Cuts Records) The UK’s Crew Cuts Records brings us the debut record from this Spanish band who proudly identifies as LGBT. One might think that has no bearing on the sound, but this record is primal, explosive, and dripping in gravitas that must come from having a mission statement broader than just “make a cool punk record.” I wonder, too, if focusing on the band members’ identities opens Colisión’s music to a wider sphere of influences. While they sound like the kind of raw, nasty DIY punk band that might put out a record on Iron Lung or La Vida Es Un Mus, there are moments like the huge breakdown in “La Guardia Alta” that seem to come from somewhere else. However, no one is going to accuse Colisión of being a “tough guy” band because they’re clearly about so much more than bashing heads. Same for the cool discordant, Fugazi-esque riffing in “Bla, Bla, Bla…” it’s unexpected, but works perfectly within the record’s context. For me, punk is always more powerful when it’s fueled by politics and philosophy, and Colisión’s fiery debut supports that argument.

Lethal: Lethal’s Hardcore Hit Parade 7” (11PM Records) 11PM Records continues their hot streak with the vinyl debut from New York’s Lethal. This is real meat and potatoes stuff with no unexpected wrinkles, but Lethal executes it with power and precision. The sound is big and clear without being slick, the playing is locked in, and the riffs and songs sound classic. Lethal’s songs are grounded in the 80s hardcore tradition—fast, straightforward riffs, no leads, driving drumming with the perfect amount of groove—but don’t sound like they’re trying to imitate anything, just tapping hardcore’s limitless well of inspiration. With nothing gratuitous or flashy to pull your attention, the focus remains on Lethal’s desperate but powerful sound. It sounds like true hardcore punk to me, the kind that never goes out of style.

Musta Paraati: Peilitalossa 12” (Svart Records) Svart Records brings us another top-notch reissue of an 80s Finnish gem. This time it’s the 1983 debut album from punky goth band / dark punk band Musta Paraati. If you’re looking for reference points, I’d put Musta Paraati in the same bucket as bands like Poland’s Siekiera and Spain’s Paralisis Permanente. Like those bands, it sounds like Musta Paraati takes a lot from the first couple Siouxsie and the Banshees and Killing Joke albums, but also (much as the Pistols influenced the Banshees), they get shaped by the original punk scenes in their respective parts of the world, all of which were a distinct and interesting. (As well as, of course, the folk and pop music traditions in those countries). If you like Siekiera’s Nowa Aleksandria, this scratches a similar itch, though Musta Paraati’s synths also make them sound a little like early New Order or Human League in places, too. While there’s enough of a pop element to keep the songs interesting, the songs seem subservient to the vibe in a way that also makes me think of Bauhaus. Fans of the aforementioned records should check this out, and those of us with a taste for Finnish punk and hardcore (BTW, the drummer on this album was also in Nolla Nolla Nolla!) will be particularly susceptible to its charms.

Мир: Mindecision 12” (Beach Impediment Records) Beach Impediment returns with another archival release from their home state of Virginia with this first-ever vinyl release of the 1985 cassette from Roanoke’s Мир (the Russian word for peace). This doesn’t mean much to someone who isn’t from our part of the world, but it’s wild to me that there were hardcore bands in Roanoke, which is a small city near Virginia’s beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. They definitely had a scene there, though, with a handful of local bands and national bands like Corrosion of Conformity and Battalion of Saints rolling through town. As for Мир, if they had put this recording on vinyl back in the day, I think they would be remembered just as well as strong regional hardcore bands like Mecht Mensch, Rebel Truth, and a lot of the other bands on comps like Peace? and Party or Go Home. Worse, Мир’s cassette only circulated online in low-quality rips, so even most 80s hardcore deep heads aren’t familiar with it. (Beach Impediment mastered their reissue from the original tapes, revealing a raw but clear and powerful recording that is pretty much perfect for this kind of band.) Мир’s music is killer… it’s fast hardcore punk that’s just a little progressive, particularly the catchy and inventive guitar riffs. Fans of bands like Mecht Mensch, Articles of Faith, Double O, and others who have a twinge of dark melody to their raging hardcore are going to be particularly excited about this. As we’ve come to expect from Beach Impediment, this version also features a full-color insert with lyrics, flyers, newspaper clippings, and other ephemera. Anyone who loves 80s hardcore punk will consider this a real gem.