Enzyme: Howling Mind 12” (La Vida Es Un Mus) After a handful of EPs here the debut 12” from this Australian band, and it’s quite the face ripper. With a sound that combines the best elements of burly and crusty hardcore and Disorder-inspired noise punk, Howling Mind can get a circle pit going while the aesthetes in the back of the room stroke their chins and nod at the psychedelic guitar playing. The closest comparison for Enzyme’s sound is Lebenden Toten, but on this record they seem even less indebted than LT to the classic Kyushu noise-punk sound. Rather than bubbly and melodic, the rhythm section is both agile and crushing, recalling Gauze with its power and precision. However, rather than the guitarist reinforcing those rhythms, they careen into the cosmos, doing their own thing without obscuring the rock-solid foundation. If you’re into bands like Pig DNA or Lebenden Toten’s more recent material I recommend checking this out.

Polo Pepo: San Felipe Es Punk 7” (La Vida Es Un Mus) Re-release of this Mexican punk obscurity. While the original came out in 1988, it sounds more like a product of the 70s. There’s no trace of hardcore here, with its Pistols-influenced snot bringing to mind the meanest and nastiest of first-wave European punk from the 70s. Johnny Thunders riffs, snarled vocals, loose playing… you get the picture. While the music will interest any KBD collector, the packaging is also lovely, particularly the 12-page booklet devoted largely to an interview with Polo Pepo himself (while the printed insert is in Spanish, there’s a link to an online English translation). A cool obscurity more than deserving of this lovingly executed reissue.

Vermis Sum: S/T 7” flexi (Fear of War) Debut flexi from this new hardcore band out of Southern California. Recorded analog and released on a (great-sounding) flexi, Vermis Sum have the warm, compressed sound I always love to hear coming out of my stereo. Even better, they sound like the 80s Japanese punk I love. I hear shades of mid-period Execute, early Gauze, and Masturbation, but it’s hard to tell whether those are actual influences or not because Vermis Sum doesn’t engage in the obvious hat-tipping you see with a lot of retro hardcore bands. While all three tracks are cool, “Perverted Prisoner” is my favorite with its memorable (and, again, very Japanese-sounding) guitar solo. Cool stuff, and limited to 250 copies so don’t expect it to hang around forever.

Mau Maus: Society’s Rejects 12” (Sealed) Sealed Records is a new label dedicated to well-executed official reissues of punk classics, and after kicking things off with Omega Tribe and Zounds they keep things top-notch for this third release, a small vinyl discography from Mau Maus. Before checking this out I was familiar with Mau Maus first EP, Society’s Rejects. According to the (informative and awesome) insert, Mau Maus took inspiration from US hardcore bands like the Dils and the Middle Class, and when you combine this with inevitable influence from their contemporary British punk scene, you get some of the hardest-hitting, most hardcore-sounding vintage UK82 punk, of a piece with standouts like Ultra Violent and the Partisans. I can’t recall hearing the Mau Maus singles after Society’s Rejects, but in this context I like them even better than the first one. While Society’s Rejects isn’t all that primitive, with each successive record the playing gets tighter and the production gets stronger. By the third and fourth EPs they also move past the more basic riffing of their earlier stuff, incorporating some UK Subs influence without dialing back the intensity. Like the Zounds singles discography Sealed released a few months back, this also functions well as a full-length album without the choppiness that can plague compilation releases.

Gai: Rock N Roll History Fuck Off 12” (Gai Best Punk Band Records) Unofficial collection bringing together a bunch of hard to find material from one of the best bands ever to do it, Japan’s Gai. Rock N Roll History Fuck Off combines the Extermination EP, the Damaging Noise cassette and a bunch of compilation tracks. In case you aren’t familiar with their history, Gai started off as one of the harshest, nasties, and noisiest hardcore bands in the history of punk (a title they shared with Confuse, who came from the same city), but they added more melodic influences (from bands like the Toy Dolls and the Adicts), changing their name to Swankys after they decided to pursue that style exclusively. On this LP, Damaging Noise and Extermination (the latter of which is the band’s best stuff IMO) lean toward the more hardcore sound, while the tracks from the Pinch and Ouch! compilation have a cleaner recording and more of the bubbly bass riffs I associate with the Swankys. The sound on this LP is top notch, so if you need some Gai vinyl on your shelf this release is a great place to start without breaking the bank.

Honkas: Das Lied für Fritz 7” (Static Age) Reissue of this 1982 German obscurity with great sound and full reproduction of the original fold-out cover. While by 1982 the US had switched over to hardcore, this five-song EP from Honkas reminds me more of tough, first-generation European punk like the Rude Kids or PF Commando, though fans of better-known bands like the Dead Boys will also see where Honkas is coming from. The mix is odd and uneven (which, for me, adds to the charm of this era and style of punk), giving this the outsider quality I associate with the best KBD punk. They even speed things up for “Kunst,” which has a proto-hardcore sound a la Teen Idles or even Upright Citizens. A deep cut for sure, but if you love ripping, obscure punk this is well worth your time.

Harnröhrer: S/T 7” (Static Age) This record looks like it could have come from Copenhagen in the early 00s, but it’s a reissue from 1982 Germany. Like the Honkas EP that Static Age has also reissued, Harnröhrer play tough and grimy punk that sounds like it’s crawled out of the gutter just to knife you. Whereas the Honkas EP is left-of-center, Harnröhrer is all power with big, clear production and a beefy sound that leaps out of your speakers. The sound is still mid-paced, tough punk, but the chord progressions are dark and there’s simple but haunting lead guitar that reminds me of gloomy 80s California punk like Agent Orange or early Social Distortion. That I’m still discovering things this good after listening to punk for 25 years is a signal that the well may just never run dry.

Disguise: Bas Fada 7” (Static Shock) Latest release from this Dublin d-beat band. If I had to guess, I’d say Framtid is Disguise’s biggest inspiration. Like Framtid, Disguise’s d-beat is fast but not too fast, finding a careful balance between the feedback and cymbal wash that tickles your ears and the pounding rhythms that make your heart beat fast. Interestingly, the drums and vocals sit back in the mix, the music draped in a shroud of fuzz and distortion. At times Bad Fada reminds me more of power electronics than hardcore in how it allows you to submerge your ears in a bath of distortion. You probably have a good idea already whether this record is for you, and you’re almost certainly correct.

Rolex: L cassette (self-released) Latest cassette release from this California band, and it’s a total ripper… the only caveat is that you have to shell out cash and reserve space in your cassette rack for only three minutes of music. The first track, “Turn Your Money Green,” is a wild ride, a fast hardcore song with an odd (but catchy!) drumbeat that makes you feel like you’re drunkenly falling down a flight of stairs. The second track, “Stripes,” backs off the gas just a little and reminds me of one of the classic Career Suicide songs. A total killer even if the cassingle format is a little annoying.

Fatamorgana: Terra Alta 12” (La Vida Es Un Mus) Debut vinyl from this Barcelona synth-pop duo composed of Louis from Good Throb / No / Shitty Limits / a million other bands and Patrycja from Barcelona. While both members come from a punk background, you won't find any of that here… this is full-on synth-pop played entirely on synths and drum machines (well, except for the vocals). When music like this is poorly executed it can sound cold, synthetic, and/or flat, but Fatamorgana have none of those problems. The sound is lush and layered, with snappy drums and deep bass. The overall vibe reminds me of a more human, organic-sounding version of early Human League with a dash of Boy Harsher’s noir-tinged futurism, while the songs themselves get buried in your head just as a good pop song should. If you dabble in both punk rock and synth-pop, I can’t recommend this enough.

The Snakes: S/T 12” (Anti-Fade) Debut vinyl from this Australian punk band. While some bands I’ve been hearing from Australia lately have been de-punking their image and sound, this isn’t true of the Snakes. They look like complete mutants on the back cover and the music is suitably aggressive and in your face while still keeping the catchiness that makes us pay attention when labels like Anti-Fade and Aarght! put out something new. They catchy keyboard lines are straight out of circa ’79 Fall, but the music is a little more rock n roll, a little more street, and less intellectual. At their most menacing the Snakes can recall the Screamers, but there’s also something undeniably Australia circa now about it. If you crave a little more grit with your contemporary Australian post-punk, I suspect this will do you nicely.

Hez: Problemas 7” (World Gone Mad) After an excellent 12” a few years ago here’s a new 7” from Panama’s Hez. As the label’s description notes, there’s a tendency to view hardcore and punk from places whose scenes we aren’t familiar with as somehow inferior, but the wealth of great hardcore from places like Central America and Southeast Asia over the past few years explodes that assumption. Hez is a great example. With strong production values (clear but nowhere near slick) and a style that feels very “on trend” for those of us who follow the world of raw yet progressive hardcore, Hez could be from Barcelona or Los Angeles or Singapore just as easily as Panama. Where Hez excels is in their ability to alternate between simple and brutal and more dissonant, progressive, and surprising. There are plenty of pit-clearing, Blazing Eye-esque pogo parts, but they’re balanced out with denser, more adventurous parts that that incorporate elements of noise and psychedelia. If that sounds like your kind of thing, you can’t go wrong with this one.

Tashme: S/T 7” (High Fashion Industries) Two releases in a row with artwork by Yecatl Peña! This time, though, it’s the debut vinyl from Toronto’s Tashme. This is the first time I’ve heard the band, and after my first listen I thought of Torso, the only other band I can think of that combines raw, Totalitär-inspired hardcore with the huge breakdowns of straight edge hardcore so effectively. Just like Torso, when Tashme plays fast they sound sprightly and light on their feet, which just makes the breakdowns so much heavier when they come crashing down. I think Tashme has also absorbed the meaty, mid-paced riffs perfected by their fellow Torontonians S.H.I.T., which fits well with the overall style and vibe. This is heavy, mean, and packed with riffs… what more can you ask of a hardcore record?

The Cool Greenhouse: Landlords 7” (Drunken Sailor) I was enamored with the Cool Greenhouse’s first single on Market Square (in fact it was our Record of the Week back in June 2018), so I was excited to hear this follow up. It does not disappoint! In case you missed that last single, here’s the skinny on the Cool Greenhouse: they base their sound around a vintage-sounding Casio keyboard, their vocals are flat and deadpan, and their lyrics are of the “slice of life” variety, describing the absurd predicaments we modern humans endure. Despite the markedly different instrumentation, they sound quite a lot like the Fall, which is something I never seem to tire of. The a-side here, “Landlord,” reminds me of the Fall’s “New Face in Hell” in that the narrative is the most memorable part of the song. I get lost in the story (and its brilliant refrain, “my hands are completely tied”), then I remember that I’m listening to a song and when I redirect my attention to the music, I remember how great it is. The b-side, “4 Chan,” is similarly vivid, but the guitar riff that provides the main hook won’t let me forget that I’m listening to music and not reading a short story. Fans of smart, literate punk music like Parquet Courts and Uranium Club should be all over this.

Freak: Ritual Death Demo 7” (Vague Absolutes) Vague Absolutes is a “vanity label” (his words, not mine!) run by Justin from Warthog Speak Records. Their only previous release is a limited 7” by a short-lived band called Index. This 7” by Freak takes a similar tack, taking a four-year-old demo from a long broken-up band who released nothing else (as far as I can tell) and pressing it in a ridiculously limited edition of 107 numbered copies. Why would Justin do such a thing? Well, because the music fucking rules, that’s why! These four songs are raw, nasty, and punk. I could be dismissive and call this anarcho-punk, but that would be a disservice to how original and exciting this music sounds. Some parts are as catchy as the UK Subhumans, others are as heavy and powerful as Conflict, while still others are as sinister and foreboding as the first two Amebix singles. And while I’m listening anarcho bands, there’s also a touch of Dirt’s catchier, almost oi! style on the final track. Despite sounding like these things Freak doesn’t sound like a throwback at all. In fact, I wonder if they’d even be comfortable with me labeling them an anarcho band. They just sound like punk rock: raw, vital, and intense. I encourage you to become one of the 107 lucky people who will own this record.

Freak Genes: III 12” (Drunken Sailor) First we had two records in a row with Yecatl Peña artwork, now we have two bands in a row with the word “freak” in their name. Am I seeing double? Anyway, back to the task at hand: writing about this new LP from Freak Genes. While this is the band’s third LP it’s the first time I’ve heard them and I’m quite impressed! The label’s description made me think this would be cold, dour synthetic pop music a la Wire’s 154 or David Bowie’s Lodger, but honestly I don’t hear either of those things very much on III. What I hear is a songwriting style that resembles what Jay Reatard was doing at the end of his career, when he injected a heaping helping of bright, New Zealand-style pop into his brooding garage-punk. “Strange Light” even sounds suspiciously like “Hammer I Miss You,” one of Jay’s most underrated tracks. Not that Freak Genes are a rip-off; I also hear bits that remind me of Devo (especially the Freedom of Choice-esque ”Breach”) and the whole SoCal drum machine punk thing (S.B.F., Race Car, etc.). The band is adept, adventurous, and great at writing catchy, fun, and memorable songs, and if you find the aforementioned references intriguing I recommend checking them out.

Vile Reality: Demo 2018 cassette (self-released) Demo cassette from this hardcore band out of San Diego, California. We get four short tracks, but there’s a surprising amount of variation here, from the mid-paced, Blitz-esque “Apologist” to meatier “Unrelieved” to the faster “Bootlicker.” The production is clear but raw, with a bass tone that rattles the floor like a Harley pulling into your front driveway. No BS, no pretense, just hardcore punk.

Devo: Turn Around: B-sides and More 1978-1984 12” (Run Out Groove) Limited-edition vinyl compilation bringing together a bunch of rare Devo tracks with luxurious packaging, including a heavy tip-on jacket, a cool embroidered patch, and a sheet of stickers. Devo is one of the greatest bands of all time, and tracks like “Social Fools,” “Turn Around” (famously covered by Nirvana on Incesticide), and “Penetration in the Centrefold” are killer. I have these songs on other releases, but I don’t revisit them often enough and it’s great to hear vintage Devo that I haven’t played to death. I’m sure everyone has their own feelings about the Devo discography, but I’m of the opinion that after the peak of Freedom of Choice the quality drops off for New Traditionalists and Oh No! It’s Devo. To me, those are good-but-not-great albums, and one might say the same thing about the b-sides from those records collected here. So, while this is cool, don’t expect it to knock your socks off like those Hardcore Devo collections. That is a badass patch though… 

Science Man: S/T 12” (Swimming Faith) Debut vinyl from this new project which is an alter ego of John Toohill, whom you might also know as the singer for Radiation Risks. While Science Man features a prominent drum machine and might sound at first listen like S.B.F., Race Car, or other drum machine punk bands from the past few years, they have their own thing going on. When some bands use a drum machine, it can sound like a poor stand-in for a live drummer, but Science Man does a good job of playing to the instrument’s strengths, namely the big sound and the ability to create fast and precise rhythms. While the vibe of the music is very different, the way Science Man uses the drum machine as effectively as a band like Big Black. As for the songs themselves, they range from quirky, Warm Bodies-esque weird hardcore (“Love Potent”) to a punky take on 90s noise rock (“Victor”) to Dead Kennedys-esque surf punk (“Before You Know You’re Dead”). The record is super high energy, sounds great, and it’s packed with memorable moments. Definitely a recommended listen, particularly if you’ve enjoyed a lot of stuff on labels like Neck Chop and Erste Theke Tontraeger.

Preening: Gang Laughter 12” (Digital Regress) Preening has put out a slew of records over the past few years and Gang Laughter is their first 12”. It continues with the format the band has honed on those previous releases: a catchy no wave / post-punk sound with locked-in bass and drums a la Gang of Four, a skronky saxophone, and two vocalists, one furious and one more deadpan. If you liked those earlier records, you’ll enjoy Gang Laughter, but what’s more exciting is how this record pushes at the edges of the band’s sound. Specifically, there’s a This Heat-style experimental streak that seems to run through the middle part of the record. The a-side’s closing track, “Red,” double tracks the sax for an eerie effect and the only vocals come from a sinister-sounding laugh track. Then the b-side opens with “GL,” an instrumental that sounds like it features both a regular piano and a toy piano. “GL” is the most This Heat-esque moment on the record, a spacious and winding composition that serves as a perfect counterpoint to the record’s more aggressive tracks. Genre-pushing bands like Preening always walk a fine line between pushing their sound forward and maintaining a consistent voice, and Gang Laughter balances those adeptly. The beautiful screen printed packaging is a nice bonus too.

Toyota: S/T 12” (Digital Regress) After a flexi and a bunch of cassettes on Discontinuous Innovation, Inc. (who also brought us releases from Wonder Bread, Erik Nervous, Acrylics, Landline, and many more) here’s the proper vinyl debut from Toyota. While I hope that the term “Devo-Core” never catches on, you could do a lot worse than that in describing Toyota’s sound. Like certain Devo tracks, Toyota's music is tightly wound, with lots of unintuitive time signatures that highlight the robotic precision of the playing. Far more than just ripping off Devo, Toyota take the sound to its logical limits. While I doubt it’s an influence, the sound reminds me of the Japanese band Polysics. It’s so quirky, inhuman, and dense with ideas that the record can overwhelm on first listen, but if you’re looking for the perfect soundtrack to downing a quintuple espresso, this is it. They slow things down a hair for a few tracks on the b-side, and these are my favorite moments on the record. When they back off the manic tempos a hair and find the groove the catchiness in these songs comes out. Toyota has demonstrated their ability to play top-notch spazz punk, but they’re already dropping hints they have more tricks up their sleeve.

Geiger Counter: Nuclear EP 7” (Ryvvolte) Latest 7” from these Minneapolis punks. These tracks come from the same session as the recent split tape with Zudas Crust I wrote about a few weeks ago and has a similar Japanese hardcore-influenced crust sound. The big chord changes on tracks like “Nuclear Solution” and the melodic guitar solos betray a Death Side influence but there’s also a punkier element to their sound that reminds me of old Pusmort Records bands like Final Conflict and Christ on Parade. This is true of the two tracks on the a-side, which remind me a lot of Final Conflict’s Ashes to Ashes LP. While a lot of bands influenced by Japanese hardcore can sound too slick, Geiger Counter keep things super raw and punk.

UFO Dicatator: Jackhammer EP cassette (self-released) Debut 10-track(!) tape from this band who, if I’m not mistaken, are from Philadelphia. The music reminds me of Career Suicide and Formaldehyde Junkies with its thin guitar sound, short songs, and the way they litter riffs with quick little rock-and-roll licks. They sound like a band whose members have listened to the Kids just as much as Poison Idea, and they do a great job of combining the best aspects of both sounds. I think I recognize Zach from Gas Rag on the mic, and his harsh yet catchy vocals keep everything firmly on the hardcore side of things. These ten tracks fly right by, and if you’re a fan of the catchier end of the No Way / Grave Mistake spectrum (Career Suicide, Social Circkle, Acid Reflux) you’ll play this over and over.

Organized Filth: demo cassette (Don’t Wanna Talk) Demo cassette from this new project featuring (or maybe even composed entirely of) Cody from Booji Boys / Negative Rage / a zillion other bands. Cody seems to have a lot of projects going at any given time (in fact we got a tape from his electronic project Proper Suggestions in at the same time as this), but the sound here is influenced by Killed by Death-style punk. The tape ends with a Mentally Ill cover and the mega raw guitar sound and snotty, (fake?) British accented-vocals would have me scrambling to the KBD/Bloodstains section of my records shelves for the perfect points of reference if I weren’t already way behind on this week’s update. While this tape feels a little tossed-off, that’s part of the beauty. It’s a loose and raw experiment, and there’s something cool about listening to the bedroom recordings of some person from Halifax, Nova Scotia influenced by a whole tradition of raw outsider recordings that has come before.