Featured Releases: September 11, 2023

Uzu: S/T 12” (Symphony of Destruction Records) While Uzu is part of Montreal’s white-hot punk scene and has a membership that overlaps with Bosque Rojo and Ultra Razzia, they’re a very international band with members from Quebec, Algeria, and Colombia. Their lyrics are in Arabic, which gives their songs an interesting sound right off the bat, and stylistically they have some of post-punk’s brooding atmosphere, they aren’t afraid of melodies (particularly melodies with a darker bent), and they play heavy and fast like a hardcore band. Uzu reminds me of a band Feral Ward might have put out in the 2000s… they occupy a similar lane as Complications, No Hope for the Kids, and Criminal Damage: high-impact music rich in energy and hooks. The singer has a Rozz Williams-esque quaver to their voice that you might love or hate, but it’s a strong sonic calling card. Uzu’s debut record is easy to like, and its eight short and focused tracks fly by in a rush of punk energy.

Grawlixes: Very Fucking Grawlixes 7” (Brian Slash Records) Very Fucking Grawlixes is the vinyl debut from this noisy hardcore punk band from Albany, New York. The Confuse / Gai / Kyushu axis is an obvious inspiration here, showing up in the manic pogo rhythms and the way the bass carries the songs while the guitars sound like cascading sheets of white noise. It reminds me of Gai’s Damnation, but there’s also something very American about it… maybe I’m getting that from the song title “Anarchy in Wal-Mart,” but I hear it in the music too. Grawlixes isn’t one of those bands that has dialed in every aspect of their recording and performance to replicate their inspirations. Instead, they come off like a bunch of punk maniacs who got inspired by music from several decades and thousands of miles away and adapted it to their circumstances and environment. Punk’s cultural snowball continues to roll downhill some 45 years after the genre’s inception, and Grawlixes’ six-song EP provides solid enjoyment for anyone still tracking its path.

Rank: Brave New Lows 12” (Scene Report Records) Brave New Lows is the debut ripper from this fast hardcore band from Bristol, England. While Bristol’s entry in the punk encyclopedia focuses on the glue-doused 80s bands like Chaos UK and Disorder, Rank seems to take most of their inspiration from 80s American hardcore, with brisk tempos and dramatic, punchy rhythms descended from Poison Idea’s family tree. The vocals are a little more shredded and screamy, which might be why I’ve seen Hellnation’s name show up in a couple of blurbs about the band, but the music to me is pure mid-period P.I., with a tight performance, a big guitar sound, and big riffs to match. The songwriting and performances are solid and the production is powerful without being slick, making Brave New Lows an excellent hardcore punk record.

Geld: Currency // Castration 12” (Relapse Records) Currency // Castration is the third album from the prolific Australian hardcore band Geld, finding them moving from their longtime US home of Iron Lung Records (a natural fit for the band’s dark and progressive style) for Relapse Records, who has been poaching some of the most musically promising bands from the hardcore punk underground. Whenever a hardcore band moves from a smaller DIY label to a bigger one, fans often wonder how the change will affect the music. I was a big fan of Geld’s previous records on Iron Lung (we named their first LP, Perfect Texture, Record of the Week back in April 2018), but Currency // Castration, if anything, dials back the progressive elements we heard on Geld’s previous records. The sound is still left of center, with the guitars in particular often bathed in effects like flanger and delay, but there’s only one of the industrial interludes that peppered their previous records, and you won’t hear anything like the saxophone that popped up on Soft Power. Instead, most of Currency//Castration is devoted to fast hardcore of Geld’s particular warped variety. While it feels cliche to point out the mid-paced banger as a highlight, “Hanging from a Rope” might be the album’s strongest point, with its bouncy, hooky riff serving as the perfect frame on which Geld can hang their fucked sounds and vibes. Geld remains a demanding but rewarding listen, and I’d still recommend Currency // Castration to anyone interested in the area where hardcore’s rawest and most progressive strands overlap.

Eterno Ritorno: S/T cassette (Total Peace) Four-song tape from this group from Venice, Italy, released on the Arizona label Total Peace. It seems like this tape has flown under the radar so far. While the original Italian version (limited to only 30 copies!) got a review in Maximumrocknroll, I have heard little chatter otherwise… which is crazy because I think it’s excellent. While the fact that Eterno Ritorno is Italian might make you want to compare them to old Italian bands, the label’s Nog Watt reference feels more on the money to me. Like Nog Watt, Eterno Ritorno plays pure, fast hardcore punk with interesting, inventive riffs and powerful vocals that are angry and propulsive, but also have a hint of melody. The songs are short and fast, but still make room for lots of dynamics… check out the way “Tutto Dentro” goes for the throat, then pulls back for a moment with a tension-building move back to the toms only to release that tension with another lunge. It’s just great songwriting, and I think it works even better with the nasty production, which rather than foregrounding the strong dynamics and melodies, makes them a reward for more sustained attention. If you like the lo-fi atmospherics of the recent Spirito Di Lupo LP everyone has been talking about, and especially if your tastes lean toward hardcore that’s a little more stripped down and straightforward, this is bound to hit your sweet spot.

Motorbike: S/T 12” (Feel It Records) Debut release from this new punk/garage band from Cincinnati, Ohio on the ever-reliable Feel It Records. If I didn’t know better, I’d assume Motorbike was Australian, as their sound reminds me of contemporary Australian bands like Split System and Stiff Richards, bands that have a lot of the classic Aussie Saints / Radio Birdman in their sound, but streamlined and updated for the modern world of DIY punk and hardcore. Like Birdman, the songs are upbeat, but the grooves always sound slightly stoned, with the drummer playing behind in the beat in this way that exudes cool. It’s a winning formula, but when Motorbike marries that aesthetic to a big hook, it’s lethal. See “Spring Grove,” or especially the leadoff track “Motorbike,” whose intro riff might be the highlight of the whole record. Motorbike’s debut is worth a listen for anyone into high-energy, pop-inflected modern garage-punk.