Not much news on the label front but here is a quick status update ... BRAIN F≠ "Empty Set"
LP tests have been approved and we are looking for a late November /
Early Decmber release! This of course will be a split with Sorry State
Records who is also opening a new Record Store
this weekend, so if you are ever in the Raleigh, NC area be sure to
check it out (or make a road trip because I'm sure it will be worth
it).
Some awesome news though - due to either some strange fluke, or record pressing plant employees finally discovering Adderall, the HARD STRIPES 7" on Vinyl Conflict got pressed about a MONTH earlier than we planned and is currently en route to us! We hope to have this 7" in circulation by mid November! We will have a track and some other info posted within the next week or so, so stay tuned.
Some awesome news though - due to either some strange fluke, or record pressing plant employees finally discovering Adderall, the HARD STRIPES 7" on Vinyl Conflict got pressed about a MONTH earlier than we planned and is currently en route to us! We hope to have this 7" in circulation by mid November! We will have a track and some other info posted within the next week or so, so stay tuned.
For those patiently waiting on the official versions of the 86 MENTALITY and STRIKING DISTANCE LPs to finally surface, we've been working on the art for both for the past week and hopefully we can get these releases wrapped up and out before the year is up! Let's be honest, they would make great X-mas presents, am I right? Thanks to everyone for your patience I know plenty of you have been eagerly waiting these reissues and I'm sorry it's taken us so long to deliver!
That's about it for now ... of course the COKE BUST "Confined" 12" and RED DONS "Notes on the Underground" 7" are still fresh as can be, so grab em if you haven't yet!
Now, on to the webstore update ...
GRAVE MISTAKE WEBSTORE:
http://www.gravemistakerecords
WHAT'S NEW FOR 10/24/2013:
http://www.gravemistakerecords
Let's get down to it, some incredible and somewhat overlapping new releases from both 540 Records and Beach Impediment records this month - we've got the devastating debut LP from THE IMPALERS, the IMPALERS/VAASKA split 7", the VAASKA/SKIZOPHRENIA 7", and the third 7" from OBLITERATION! If you were lucky enough to catch VAASKA and IMPALERS on tour this summer, you may have had some sneak previews on some of these releases, but if not then be glad that these are finally available to the masses; picked up some copies of the SHOCKED MINDS LP which features some dudes in bands you should have liked playing more music you probably will like (I'll leave it at that ... check the description below!); the debut "Raw Life" 12" from RIVAL MOB is back in print so I was able to grab copies of that for all of you too cheap or broke to pay the $50+ ebay price tag for a first press copy; speaking of Lockin Out I also grabbed a few copies of the "Flesh & Bone" 7" from TX's BACK TO BACK.
Grabbed some new singles from German label Erste Theke Tontraeger, including the newest NEIGHBORHOOD BRATS 7" (pressed specifically for their recent European Tour), and COLD CIRCUTS 7", and DERBY DOLLS 7"; I mentioned this release in the last update, but we also grabbed the cassette version of the new GENERACION SUICIDA LP (stocked up on the vinyl version earlier this month). I definitely recommend checking this one out (on either format) because it's great! I also picked up some sweet new releases from Hardly Art including the new LA LUZ 12" (which I have been listening to nonstop since it came out), the latest from HUNX AND HIS PUNX, and the latest JACUZZI BOYS LP as well.
There are a bunch more rad releases in this update, but I'm going to cut myself off here as to not waste ALL of your Friday with my ramblings so check the list below and see if anything grabs your attention because it should! Thanks for reading and have a Happy Halloween!!!!!!!!!!!!
Alex / GRAVE MISTAKE RECORDS
SITE: www.gravemistakerecords.com
STORE: www.gravemistakerecords.com/ca
BANDCAMP: gravemistakerecords.bandcamp.c
FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/gravemistaker
TUMBLR: gravemistakerecords.tumblr.com
TWITTER: www.twitter.com/gravemistakere
NEW WEBSTORE TITLES FOR 10.24.13:
STORE: www.gravemistakerecords.com/ca
BANDCAMP: gravemistakerecords.bandcamp.c
FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/gravemistaker
TUMBLR: gravemistakerecords.tumblr.com
TWITTER: www.twitter.com/gravemistakere
NEW WEBSTORE TITLES FOR 10.24.13:
There are a few phrases you will always see in reviews for hardcore
records; "this rips!" or "totally insane!!" or even the occasional
"fucking brutal!" But there here is something you don't hear every day:
FINESSE. And I can think of no better word to describe this record. I
could talk about the perfect drumming, the wailing solos, the expert
riffs, or I could just call like I see it: this record is flawless,
never boring, and a total banger on top of that. These boys have cut
their teeth touring in various bands and playing on countless releases
for more than a few years now and it shows. Nothing rudimentary here,
22 minutes of pro level hardcore that grab your attention from the first
note and don't let go until the last track fades out. Almost has a
later Cimex vibe without all the cheesy shit that made you afraid to
admit that you liked those records. Like I said before, FINESSE. These
guys know what the are doing and are here to make that very clear to
you. 2013 has been quite the year for hardcore LPs, but right here the
Impalers might have just cut the best of the them. Mastered by George
Horn. Beautiful die cut covers with artwork Guillem Muro. Split release with Todo
Destruido.
VAASKA / SKIZOPHRENIA - SPLIT 7" (540)
Couple'a rippin' trax from a couple'a rippin bands is what we got here. Vaaska is from Austin and seriously one of the best bands in Texas. Classic d beat flare with a whole lotta swagger to boot. Literally one of the only punk bands I can think of that will have a guitar solo in every song yet not make me roll my eyes. Skizophrenia are from Japan and show up here dripping with sweat and confidence after two solid 7s on Hardcore Survives. Just enough ADK influence here to get you jazzed up but not so much that you will get the "heard it all before" blues. Absolutely pummeling drums played at an amphetamine fueled speed. Singer sounds like he might actually be a true maniac and the guitar cuts through the mix nicely with out being overly raw and distorted, a style you may or may not be tired of. Cover art by the one and only Deathtraitors. Silver ink of black paper, if you have the Bastard 7 inch reissue you then you know how slick these look. Limited red vinyl while they last. Split release with Todo Destruido.
VAASKA / IMPALERS - SPLIT 7" (BEACH IMPEDIMENT)
Both VAASKA and IMPALERS, who are arguably two of the best hardcore punk bands out of Austin, TX these days, have teamed up to unleash one of the most blistering split 7"s I've heard in years. A limited tour edition was available back in August for the East Coast/Midwest tour that both bands embarked on, but the legitimate pressing is now finally available to the masses! Each band shows the world how it should be done over the course of only two songs each; with VAASKA executing their mastery of raw hardcore all the while straying from the plethora of bands that have beaten the style into a boring submission and IMPALERS showcasing the ability to produce their own uniquely virulent metalpunk fist pumpers that have become the band's earmark over the past few years. Each record comes in a glue pocket sleeve with art by the great Brian Miller. Look out for a West Coast tour with these bands this winter!
OBLITERATION "WAR IS OUR DESTINY" 7" (BEACH IMPEDIMENT)
Almost lost to the sands of time, but resurrected for a limited time by Beach Impediment Label, here's the final EP from Obliteration. More of the Americanized Scandi-core from their last 2 EP's: glass-in-throat vocals, driving manic drums, abusive tasteless guitar solos, and the title track is a dumbed down version of the St. Vitus classic. No over-cooked crasher crust, just balls to the wall hardcore punk. Limited one time pressing of 600 copies.
RIVAL MOB, THE "RAW LIFE" LP (LOCKIN OUT)
The Rival Mob bring a style of hardcore back to Boston, MA that has almost become a distant memory. Playing at breakneck speed, the sound is reminiscent of old DC/NY hardcore bands meshed with big riffs that will stick in your head. This extended EP has eight songs with lyrics that go hand in hand with the sound and spit like bitter bile through a buzz saw.
SHOCKED MINDS "S/T" LP (HOZAC)
Just when the world thought it was safe from the clutches of the primal punk sneer of the CARBONAS, SHOCKED MINDS have exploded up from the underground as the brand new JOSH MARTIN-fronted (also in EX-HUMANS, TESTORS) vehicle with hooks that kill as well as they drill. And with original lineup Carbonas members DAVE RAHN (also in GENTLEMAN JESSE & HIS MEN) and JEREMY THOMPSON (also in GAMES) rounding out the ranks, it's dead set to stick in your brain like a parasite, just the way you'd expect from these long-admired Atlanta punk figureheads. But don't let that get you distracted, Shocked Minds steer their cantankerous and razored residual noise into concise blasts of exactly what you want, glazed over with refreshing nuances of the Dead Boys, Testors, The Damned and Heartbreakers, and with closer listens, shards of the ‘70s Belgian punk creme de la creme like Mad Virgins, Revenge 88, and Raxola. Songs executed so painfully tight and impeccably produced by Mr. Rahn for pinpoint perfection, you might not even notice that obscure cover by The Eat hiding in there, and it's gonna hit you like a ton of bricks.
LA LUZ "IT'S ALIVE" LP (HARDLY ART)
In Spanish, La Luz means “light” and that’s the perfect thing to evoke when your songs give the illusion of veering in the opposite direction. But lift out most any lyric—which is a good excuse to give a closer listen to the delicate, four-part harmonies that are fast becoming the band’s signature—and you’ll find that the aches and pains of love and loss, of living in a world where no foothold is ever a promise—all this is delivered with a nuanced dose of perfectly timed exhilaration, like the whole thing might just be worth it in the end. It’s Alive is the debut LP from Seattle’s La Luz. Last spring, La Luz returned to that steamy trailer park to record It’s Alive – the much-anticipated follow up to Damp Face. From the first get-psyched drum roll and eerie chords of “Sure As Spring”, the dinged-up pop gem that opens the album, the rest moves like a slow drive on a dangerous road, slinking and bending as the terrain shifts. On “What Good Am I?”, the lead vocals, and the swirl of harmonies that surround it, recall the Spartan haze of Mazzy Star’s misty-eyed super hit. Smack in the middle is the title track. “It’s Alive” is a jangly rocker with a spooky refrain, oodles of ooohs, and a marauding narrative that nails down the misty logic of the rest of the album. Two instrumentals, “Sunstroke” and “Phantom Feelings”, showcase the band’s beach jam surf chops, and fall perfectly between the chilled out heartache that surrounds them.
SUCKED DRY "DOG CHILDREN" LP (MUCKRACKER / NOT NORMAL)
Here it is, the squirming, writhing, two-ton, big-mouthed monstrosity you've all been waiting for: Sucked Dry's debut LP Dog Children. Yeah, True Believers, the Age of Slime may be upon us, but Sucked Dry's psychedelic mind fuck presents a terrifying look at what still has yet to pass with fifteen tracks of noisy, uncomfortable hardcore punk that pours equal parts Die Kruezen, Mecht Mensch, Minutemen, Rudimentary Peni, and Melvins into a blender, straps the foul concoction to a rocket, and launches that fucker straight through the sun. Don't snooze.
NUDES "SISTER" 7" (INIMICAL)
On their latest vinyl release, Seattle’s NUDES finds themselves revisiting their second demo, rerecording 4 song from it. They have tightened their execution into a claustrophobic nightmare with the help of Olympia’s Capt. Tripps at High Command. Their sound this time finds them pulling from the early days of Midwestern hardcore and distilling it through the 90’s most feedback laden offerings. Nudes are one of the area’s most visceral live bands and this captures that energy as closely as possible. Artwork from Gag’s Scott Young.
SMOOTH BRAIN "ONE OF THEM" 7" (ROOT OF EVIL)
Their second EP! 6 songs of ripping, sleazey & rad garage punk rock from Cleveland, Ohio. Get the fuck on this.
VARIX "I CAN'T GET OUT" 7" (FASHIONABLE IDIOTS)
At long last the Minneapolis/NYC hybrid quartet known as Varix graces us with their sophomore recorded output and what a pleasure it is. Six hot cuts of raw bass driven hardcore punk delivered in its most unholy fury. This scorching platter comes housed in beautiful tri colored/hand screened sleeves with insert courtesy of bassist E.Styles and comrade, Ms. Sequoia and thus takes the Fashionable Idiots packaging norm right outta the gutter and straight to the stars. Labor of love punk, feel it.
COLD CIRCUITS "S/T" 7" (ERSTE THEKE TONTRAEGER)
Whatever these Bay Area guys secretly mix in their drinks, it seems to bring out an endless flow of brilliant and catchy, yet distinctive songs – in each of their bands. I'm talking about the rhythm section of Synthetic ID with the same guys of this awesome new San Francisco band! Ok, many bands try to do some kind of post punk stuff these days, but in my opinion the Bay Area knows how to do it best! After Rank//Xerox and Synthetic ID, Cold Circuits is the band to listen to right now! Robert Collins said: "UK post punk meets an angular cousin" and he's totally right. There are similarities to Synthetic ID, even though this band is less focused on the vibe and more on driving the listener. Lazy guitar lines weave in and out of logic, while bass and drums keep the whole thing forward with an inevitably urgency. It sounds excitingly familiar and so new in skills and maturity, that you just can't listen to anything similar elsewhere. What can I say?! Get it or not – this thing will explode, without any doubts!
DERBY DOLLS "S/T" 7" (ERSTE THEKE TONTRAEGER)
Get ready for a new Derby Dolls EP! When I first listened to the rough mixes I was thinking again, yes, that‘s tight! The 4 new songs come with German lyrics and a solid early NDW background, but with an amazing sound! You will love it! I don‘t know when this band had the time to write a new EP, because two of them are playing constantly with Hysterese. Derby Dolls are always the best happy thing between sweet pop and early Neue Deutsche Welle. With this new 4 Song EP they put some more snotty Midwestern Garage influences into their unique sound and they often remind me of Something Fierce, maybe it‘s the excellent bass sound or just the perfect songwriting?! The guitar lines are jangling and aggressive – but not in a testosteron way. And Helens voice is doing the rest. The debut 12“ was sold out in a few months without the Derby Dolls having played one show. You should buy one of these little vinyl jewels and grab your own copy, because this is another unique piece of fine music, combining the power and the pop when it comes to punk.
BACK TO BACK "FLESH & BONE" 7" (LOCKIN' OUT)
Vicious American hardcore bred in the sweaty and polluted city of Houston, TX. A sound that is classic without being a boring copycat. Young, loud and pissed.
LUMPY AND THE DUMPERS "SEX PIT" 7" (MUCKRACKER)
Here it is, finally...the vinyl debut for St. Louis' LUMPY & THE DUMPERS. After a couple excellent tapes, Lumpy recruited some local freaks from bands like SHAVED WOMEN to back him up as THE DUMPERS. The result has been a string of wild live shows and this here three song 7". I imagine LUMPY AND THE DUMPERS as an odd growth off some of the freakier first wave US "KBD" punk bands like THE MAD or GIZMOS. Odd, creeping tempos and pure snot vocals lurch throughout these three songs. Excellent stuff that really stands out from the pack, and highly recommended. Full color slimey handscreened sleeve to boot!
NEGATIVE PRESS "LONG HAUL" LP (INIMICAL)
The latest outgrowth in the malignant strain of aural violence birthed in the industrial Midwest, then branching out to the urban decay of no wave New York and the suburban sprawl of Southern California only to now return once again to where those influences have been distilled before, the northwest. Negative Press is the amphetamine strained and nicotine stained bastard son of noise rock’s self loathing and hardcore’s propulsion. Simultaneously repulsive in its imagery and attractive in its execution, Long Haul is a near perfect debut. Get this now. Members of: Criminal Code, White Wards, Gag, etc.
JACUZZI BOYS "S/T" LP (HARDLY ART)
With their self-titled third full-length, Jacuzzi Boys are going grand, building limestone monuments to those that boogied before them, while writing hypnotic ear worms by the light of a cigarette. Gone is the swamp-thing snarl. In its place, the indestructible cool of the casino slot-jockey with nothing to lose.
JACUZZI BOYS "GLAZIN'" LP (HARDLY ART)
Jacuzzi Boys hail from Miami and play fuzzy, metallic, power pop anthems. Glazin' is the group's second full length and first for Hardly Art. The album was recorded at Key Club Studio (Franz Ferdinand, the Kills, etc) and finds the JBs reaching a more refined and polished sound, complete with studio tricks and wizardry. The result is a sonic popsicle! Delicious and refreshing and a treat for your ears. Prepare to experience raspberry feelings all over.
PUFFY AREOLAS "1982: DISHONORABLE DISCHARGE" LP (HOZAC)
One of the most pivotal bands currently infecting the Midwest universe, PUFFY AREOLAS are a pummeling ensemble of free jazz skronk, laid mercilessly on top of a proto-punk nuclear waste dump, still throbbing with orgone energy. A Hawkwind cum-Lucifer’s Crank-era Dwarves killing machine that doesn’t stop until no one is left breathing, or god forbid, unimpressed. A sophisticated mess of noisy, nihilistic bursts of agony and intangible hate-fuck hysteria, that’s as captivating as it is alienating, pushing the boundaries of sanity, each and every performance. And yes, their second full-length is exactly what everyone has been worried about, a toxic bath of spoiled space juice dripping dangerously over the frayed circuits of their demonic WAH, sizzling with nightmarish night trips. A true Funhouse moment really kicks in on side B, a devastating document of human endurance, devolvement, and desecration, and sometimes it seems like this band is less of a musical combo and more of a flashing portal into an unknown Vietnam-like, mind-bending free punk power that summons the inner spirit of self-destruction like you wouldn't believe.
RAYON BEACH "THIS LOOKS SERIOUS" LP (HOZAC)
The swirling cloud of deranged noise emanating from the highly radioactive inner core of RAYON BEACH has once again reared its head up, bucking wildly and shattering the iridescent thunder of the heavens into shards of wonderfully damaged sound. After the inescapable fallout from their debut Memory Teeth 12-inch EP in 2010, they have rightfully emerged with their first proper full-length LP, dragging the trembling scraps of electronic punk slime through a kaleidoscopic garbage can and out into the light, where they can cook properly in the blinding Texas sun. But whereas on their first record the band was still carving out their slithering sound, melting from one mellifluous life form into another over the course of those first six treacherous tracks, here they’ve found their footing on their first LP, clenching a roughly pristine throb and riding it out into a sizzling pinnacle of modern punk precision.
YOUNG LEAVES, THE "ALIVE AND WELL" LP (BALDY LONGHAIR)
Third full length by this Holliston, MA three-piece. “Alive and Well” sits easily among SST era Post-Punk and is chock full of sludged out pop hooks. Just don’t call them pop-punk. ""The sound is a no-frills, hook-driven collection of songs written from a broken yet hopeful heart and it should fit right into your record collection along side your copies of Elvis Costello's My Aim Is True, Weston's Got Beat Up or pretty much anything Bob Mould or J. Mascis ever wrote." - Stereo Killer
RAT DAMAGE "CURSED" LP (FYBS)
This rager has been a long time coming! Over the years, Rat Damage has become a staple of the Sacramento, California underground punk scene and has released a couple very limited seven inch vinyl records. CURSED, their debut full length album, has a super beefy and slick sound that is not over produced and still delivers a raw, gut-wrenching punch. 11 lamentations filled with regret, desperation, hate, misery and impending doom of the soul. These songs document the day to day struggles that these veteran Sacto lifers experience in Californias Capitol City. Rat Damage have an original sound, which is rare these days. Most of the time, the drums are assaulted with an up-tempo/mid pace as the guitars chug along in an old-school heavy metal style tinged with "the blues" while still capturing the spirit of classic "old tyme" California 80's punk and hardcore bands. The cover artwork was created by Pat Kim, ex-member of the band Unwritten Law and features some cool, collage-style art by Jeremiah (Jed) Pfeffer on the inside. SLOW SUICIDE, the album's final track, features some agonizing backing vocals by VOETSEKs Ami Lawless. Recommended for fans of Poison Idea, Motorhead, Black Flag, DRI, Verbal Abuse, Attitude Adjustment, Venom, Circle Jerks along with creeps and scum bags from all walks of life. Tired of cookie cutter punk bands? Get this album!
RAT DAMAGE / ALARMS - SPLIT 7" (LANDLOCKED)
Sacramento, Calif. rock and roll punks Rat Damage join forces with self-proclaimed hardcore weirdos Alarms in this rippin, old-school '45
V/A - PUKE AND DESTROY III 7" (SNUFFY SMILES)
Third installment of the "Puke and Destroy" 7" series (earlier volumes of which have featured both Japanese bands and US bands like Defect Defect and Tenement)on Japan's Snuffy Smiles records. This volume features two songs each from YOUR PEST BAND, CAR 10, and DOG HOTEL.
FEAR "PARADISE STUDIOS 1978 DEMOS" LP (FANCLUB)
Demo recordings FEAR did in 1978 at the Paradise Studios long before their first album was even recorded. There are quite a few songs on here that never saw the light of day, the sound quality is great, a must-have if you love FEAR. 13 Tracks!
CRUOR - DEMO TAPE
Everytime I hear this band its like the chronicles of narnia except I end up in a dark, smelly, moist basement in finland in 1983: "5 song demo by one of Nothern California's tidiest purveyors of noisy punk. Perfectly balancing layers of fuzz, feedback, rolling drums, and aaaaaarrrrgghhhh filled singalongs with great hooks and deceptively tight arrangements. This is punk for folks who need to be taught that great noisepunk is, at it's core, the result of great songs. " Limited to 200 copies.
GENERACION SUICIDA "CON LA MUERTA A TU LADO" TAPE
"A big part of punk rock's appeal is geographic. Commercial music sounds like AnyMall, but The Gun Club sound like Hollywood, Black Flag sounds like Huntington Beach, and Francis Harold and the Holograms sound like Bisbee, Arizona. East LA seeps from every note of Gernacion Suicida's new album; this music couldn't be from anywhere else. The Plugz and the Gears may have got there first, but play Con La Muerte a Tu Lado loud and you can see Cesar Chavez Blvd, 2013. This is the kind of punk rock that values a certain kind traditional musicality, like the Sex Pistols, The Adverts, The New York Dolls, and the Damned. Not virtuosity here, just the belief that rock and roll still has power, and that a really angry lyric and a Chuck Berry chord change can change the world, or at least your next 3 minutes. Generacion Suicida are proof that the main thing you need to make a great record is FIRE, and they have enough to share." - Geoffrey Weiss. Tape limited to 100.
JAPANESE FURNACE - DEMO TAPE
"Demo tape from this new Syracuse, NY band. I'm getting a very big early NYHC off of this... I'm thinking Antidote / Urban Waste, though there are some weird chords and other touches that give it shades of the Born Against / Rorschach 90s NYHC sound as well. It's not that dissimilar to Black SS, either, though the tinny, super raw recording has a lot more in common with Urban Waste." - sorrystaterecords.com
MAXIMUMROCKNROLL #366 - NOVEMBER 2013
Hot off the presses, MRR brings you its November 2013 issue — #366! In this issue of Maximum Rocknroll cover artist Halsey Swain lets us into her world of nature-inspired obliteration, we dis-cover the “New Wave of Grave New Beat” pioneered by Scotland’s THISCLOSE, and NOLA booking collective No More Fiction tells us about booking queer-centered shows in their town and organizing their rendition of the Not Enough Fest. We catch up with Chad, the lead singer of Pacific Northwest hardcore fuckers NUDES, L.A. punkeristas DESTRUYE Y HUYE give us insight on the LA scene and talk about their upcoming tour (maybe they will come to your town?), we talk with Vertical House Records about their label, store and show space in Huntsville, Alabama, and noize punkers CHAOS DESTROY share the secret behind their twenty releases (glue? speed? or do they just naturally shred?). International anarcho post-punk band ROSA APATRIDA talks to us about their experience as a political band in the NYC punk scene, Finnish rockers RÄJÄYTTÄJÄT are back from tour and dish us the details, Canadian thrashers TARANTUJA give us an update after their European tour, and the Bay Area’s own hardcore crashers PERMANENT RUIN talk West Coast tour advice, San Jose, and the secret to a bullshit-free lifestyle. We also take a photo tour across the US and Canada with Claudia Cebrian as she hits up all the summer fests and meets all the punx! All this and much more, including guest columns, “What’s the Scoop,” “New Blood,” demo and zine reviews, plus the most extensive record reviews in printed punk today to satisfy your hunger!
RESTOCKS 10/26/13:
CRO-MAGS - AGE OF QUARREL DEMOS LP
DUM DUM GIRLS - END OF DAZE LP
DWARVES - BLOOD GUTS AND PUSSY LP
EXTREME NOISE TERROR - PEEL SESSIONS 1987 LP
PISSED JEANS - HONEYS LP
PISSED JEANS - KING OF JEANS LP
WIPERS - IS THIS REAL LP
WIPERS - YOUTH OF AMERICA LP
CULO - MY BRAIN IS HANGING UPSIDE DOWN 7"
NIRVANA - SLIVER 7"
TERRIBLE FEELINGS - BLANK HEADS 7"
VAASKA / SKIZOPHRENIA - SPLIT 7" (540)
Couple'a rippin' trax from a couple'a rippin bands is what we got here. Vaaska is from Austin and seriously one of the best bands in Texas. Classic d beat flare with a whole lotta swagger to boot. Literally one of the only punk bands I can think of that will have a guitar solo in every song yet not make me roll my eyes. Skizophrenia are from Japan and show up here dripping with sweat and confidence after two solid 7s on Hardcore Survives. Just enough ADK influence here to get you jazzed up but not so much that you will get the "heard it all before" blues. Absolutely pummeling drums played at an amphetamine fueled speed. Singer sounds like he might actually be a true maniac and the guitar cuts through the mix nicely with out being overly raw and distorted, a style you may or may not be tired of. Cover art by the one and only Deathtraitors. Silver ink of black paper, if you have the Bastard 7 inch reissue you then you know how slick these look. Limited red vinyl while they last. Split release with Todo Destruido.
VAASKA / IMPALERS - SPLIT 7" (BEACH IMPEDIMENT)
Both VAASKA and IMPALERS, who are arguably two of the best hardcore punk bands out of Austin, TX these days, have teamed up to unleash one of the most blistering split 7"s I've heard in years. A limited tour edition was available back in August for the East Coast/Midwest tour that both bands embarked on, but the legitimate pressing is now finally available to the masses! Each band shows the world how it should be done over the course of only two songs each; with VAASKA executing their mastery of raw hardcore all the while straying from the plethora of bands that have beaten the style into a boring submission and IMPALERS showcasing the ability to produce their own uniquely virulent metalpunk fist pumpers that have become the band's earmark over the past few years. Each record comes in a glue pocket sleeve with art by the great Brian Miller. Look out for a West Coast tour with these bands this winter!
OBLITERATION "WAR IS OUR DESTINY" 7" (BEACH IMPEDIMENT)
Almost lost to the sands of time, but resurrected for a limited time by Beach Impediment Label, here's the final EP from Obliteration. More of the Americanized Scandi-core from their last 2 EP's: glass-in-throat vocals, driving manic drums, abusive tasteless guitar solos, and the title track is a dumbed down version of the St. Vitus classic. No over-cooked crasher crust, just balls to the wall hardcore punk. Limited one time pressing of 600 copies.
RIVAL MOB, THE "RAW LIFE" LP (LOCKIN OUT)
The Rival Mob bring a style of hardcore back to Boston, MA that has almost become a distant memory. Playing at breakneck speed, the sound is reminiscent of old DC/NY hardcore bands meshed with big riffs that will stick in your head. This extended EP has eight songs with lyrics that go hand in hand with the sound and spit like bitter bile through a buzz saw.
SHOCKED MINDS "S/T" LP (HOZAC)
Just when the world thought it was safe from the clutches of the primal punk sneer of the CARBONAS, SHOCKED MINDS have exploded up from the underground as the brand new JOSH MARTIN-fronted (also in EX-HUMANS, TESTORS) vehicle with hooks that kill as well as they drill. And with original lineup Carbonas members DAVE RAHN (also in GENTLEMAN JESSE & HIS MEN) and JEREMY THOMPSON (also in GAMES) rounding out the ranks, it's dead set to stick in your brain like a parasite, just the way you'd expect from these long-admired Atlanta punk figureheads. But don't let that get you distracted, Shocked Minds steer their cantankerous and razored residual noise into concise blasts of exactly what you want, glazed over with refreshing nuances of the Dead Boys, Testors, The Damned and Heartbreakers, and with closer listens, shards of the ‘70s Belgian punk creme de la creme like Mad Virgins, Revenge 88, and Raxola. Songs executed so painfully tight and impeccably produced by Mr. Rahn for pinpoint perfection, you might not even notice that obscure cover by The Eat hiding in there, and it's gonna hit you like a ton of bricks.
LA LUZ "IT'S ALIVE" LP (HARDLY ART)
In Spanish, La Luz means “light” and that’s the perfect thing to evoke when your songs give the illusion of veering in the opposite direction. But lift out most any lyric—which is a good excuse to give a closer listen to the delicate, four-part harmonies that are fast becoming the band’s signature—and you’ll find that the aches and pains of love and loss, of living in a world where no foothold is ever a promise—all this is delivered with a nuanced dose of perfectly timed exhilaration, like the whole thing might just be worth it in the end. It’s Alive is the debut LP from Seattle’s La Luz. Last spring, La Luz returned to that steamy trailer park to record It’s Alive – the much-anticipated follow up to Damp Face. From the first get-psyched drum roll and eerie chords of “Sure As Spring”, the dinged-up pop gem that opens the album, the rest moves like a slow drive on a dangerous road, slinking and bending as the terrain shifts. On “What Good Am I?”, the lead vocals, and the swirl of harmonies that surround it, recall the Spartan haze of Mazzy Star’s misty-eyed super hit. Smack in the middle is the title track. “It’s Alive” is a jangly rocker with a spooky refrain, oodles of ooohs, and a marauding narrative that nails down the misty logic of the rest of the album. Two instrumentals, “Sunstroke” and “Phantom Feelings”, showcase the band’s beach jam surf chops, and fall perfectly between the chilled out heartache that surrounds them.
SUCKED DRY "DOG CHILDREN" LP (MUCKRACKER / NOT NORMAL)
Here it is, the squirming, writhing, two-ton, big-mouthed monstrosity you've all been waiting for: Sucked Dry's debut LP Dog Children. Yeah, True Believers, the Age of Slime may be upon us, but Sucked Dry's psychedelic mind fuck presents a terrifying look at what still has yet to pass with fifteen tracks of noisy, uncomfortable hardcore punk that pours equal parts Die Kruezen, Mecht Mensch, Minutemen, Rudimentary Peni, and Melvins into a blender, straps the foul concoction to a rocket, and launches that fucker straight through the sun. Don't snooze.
NUDES "SISTER" 7" (INIMICAL)
On their latest vinyl release, Seattle’s NUDES finds themselves revisiting their second demo, rerecording 4 song from it. They have tightened their execution into a claustrophobic nightmare with the help of Olympia’s Capt. Tripps at High Command. Their sound this time finds them pulling from the early days of Midwestern hardcore and distilling it through the 90’s most feedback laden offerings. Nudes are one of the area’s most visceral live bands and this captures that energy as closely as possible. Artwork from Gag’s Scott Young.
SMOOTH BRAIN "ONE OF THEM" 7" (ROOT OF EVIL)
Their second EP! 6 songs of ripping, sleazey & rad garage punk rock from Cleveland, Ohio. Get the fuck on this.
VARIX "I CAN'T GET OUT" 7" (FASHIONABLE IDIOTS)
At long last the Minneapolis/NYC hybrid quartet known as Varix graces us with their sophomore recorded output and what a pleasure it is. Six hot cuts of raw bass driven hardcore punk delivered in its most unholy fury. This scorching platter comes housed in beautiful tri colored/hand screened sleeves with insert courtesy of bassist E.Styles and comrade, Ms. Sequoia and thus takes the Fashionable Idiots packaging norm right outta the gutter and straight to the stars. Labor of love punk, feel it.
COLD CIRCUITS "S/T" 7" (ERSTE THEKE TONTRAEGER)
Whatever these Bay Area guys secretly mix in their drinks, it seems to bring out an endless flow of brilliant and catchy, yet distinctive songs – in each of their bands. I'm talking about the rhythm section of Synthetic ID with the same guys of this awesome new San Francisco band! Ok, many bands try to do some kind of post punk stuff these days, but in my opinion the Bay Area knows how to do it best! After Rank//Xerox and Synthetic ID, Cold Circuits is the band to listen to right now! Robert Collins said: "UK post punk meets an angular cousin" and he's totally right. There are similarities to Synthetic ID, even though this band is less focused on the vibe and more on driving the listener. Lazy guitar lines weave in and out of logic, while bass and drums keep the whole thing forward with an inevitably urgency. It sounds excitingly familiar and so new in skills and maturity, that you just can't listen to anything similar elsewhere. What can I say?! Get it or not – this thing will explode, without any doubts!
DERBY DOLLS "S/T" 7" (ERSTE THEKE TONTRAEGER)
Get ready for a new Derby Dolls EP! When I first listened to the rough mixes I was thinking again, yes, that‘s tight! The 4 new songs come with German lyrics and a solid early NDW background, but with an amazing sound! You will love it! I don‘t know when this band had the time to write a new EP, because two of them are playing constantly with Hysterese. Derby Dolls are always the best happy thing between sweet pop and early Neue Deutsche Welle. With this new 4 Song EP they put some more snotty Midwestern Garage influences into their unique sound and they often remind me of Something Fierce, maybe it‘s the excellent bass sound or just the perfect songwriting?! The guitar lines are jangling and aggressive – but not in a testosteron way. And Helens voice is doing the rest. The debut 12“ was sold out in a few months without the Derby Dolls having played one show. You should buy one of these little vinyl jewels and grab your own copy, because this is another unique piece of fine music, combining the power and the pop when it comes to punk.
BACK TO BACK "FLESH & BONE" 7" (LOCKIN' OUT)
Vicious American hardcore bred in the sweaty and polluted city of Houston, TX. A sound that is classic without being a boring copycat. Young, loud and pissed.
LUMPY AND THE DUMPERS "SEX PIT" 7" (MUCKRACKER)
Here it is, finally...the vinyl debut for St. Louis' LUMPY & THE DUMPERS. After a couple excellent tapes, Lumpy recruited some local freaks from bands like SHAVED WOMEN to back him up as THE DUMPERS. The result has been a string of wild live shows and this here three song 7". I imagine LUMPY AND THE DUMPERS as an odd growth off some of the freakier first wave US "KBD" punk bands like THE MAD or GIZMOS. Odd, creeping tempos and pure snot vocals lurch throughout these three songs. Excellent stuff that really stands out from the pack, and highly recommended. Full color slimey handscreened sleeve to boot!
NEGATIVE PRESS "LONG HAUL" LP (INIMICAL)
The latest outgrowth in the malignant strain of aural violence birthed in the industrial Midwest, then branching out to the urban decay of no wave New York and the suburban sprawl of Southern California only to now return once again to where those influences have been distilled before, the northwest. Negative Press is the amphetamine strained and nicotine stained bastard son of noise rock’s self loathing and hardcore’s propulsion. Simultaneously repulsive in its imagery and attractive in its execution, Long Haul is a near perfect debut. Get this now. Members of: Criminal Code, White Wards, Gag, etc.
JACUZZI BOYS "S/T" LP (HARDLY ART)
With their self-titled third full-length, Jacuzzi Boys are going grand, building limestone monuments to those that boogied before them, while writing hypnotic ear worms by the light of a cigarette. Gone is the swamp-thing snarl. In its place, the indestructible cool of the casino slot-jockey with nothing to lose.
JACUZZI BOYS "GLAZIN'" LP (HARDLY ART)
Jacuzzi Boys hail from Miami and play fuzzy, metallic, power pop anthems. Glazin' is the group's second full length and first for Hardly Art. The album was recorded at Key Club Studio (Franz Ferdinand, the Kills, etc) and finds the JBs reaching a more refined and polished sound, complete with studio tricks and wizardry. The result is a sonic popsicle! Delicious and refreshing and a treat for your ears. Prepare to experience raspberry feelings all over.
PUFFY AREOLAS "1982: DISHONORABLE DISCHARGE" LP (HOZAC)
One of the most pivotal bands currently infecting the Midwest universe, PUFFY AREOLAS are a pummeling ensemble of free jazz skronk, laid mercilessly on top of a proto-punk nuclear waste dump, still throbbing with orgone energy. A Hawkwind cum-Lucifer’s Crank-era Dwarves killing machine that doesn’t stop until no one is left breathing, or god forbid, unimpressed. A sophisticated mess of noisy, nihilistic bursts of agony and intangible hate-fuck hysteria, that’s as captivating as it is alienating, pushing the boundaries of sanity, each and every performance. And yes, their second full-length is exactly what everyone has been worried about, a toxic bath of spoiled space juice dripping dangerously over the frayed circuits of their demonic WAH, sizzling with nightmarish night trips. A true Funhouse moment really kicks in on side B, a devastating document of human endurance, devolvement, and desecration, and sometimes it seems like this band is less of a musical combo and more of a flashing portal into an unknown Vietnam-like, mind-bending free punk power that summons the inner spirit of self-destruction like you wouldn't believe.
RAYON BEACH "THIS LOOKS SERIOUS" LP (HOZAC)
The swirling cloud of deranged noise emanating from the highly radioactive inner core of RAYON BEACH has once again reared its head up, bucking wildly and shattering the iridescent thunder of the heavens into shards of wonderfully damaged sound. After the inescapable fallout from their debut Memory Teeth 12-inch EP in 2010, they have rightfully emerged with their first proper full-length LP, dragging the trembling scraps of electronic punk slime through a kaleidoscopic garbage can and out into the light, where they can cook properly in the blinding Texas sun. But whereas on their first record the band was still carving out their slithering sound, melting from one mellifluous life form into another over the course of those first six treacherous tracks, here they’ve found their footing on their first LP, clenching a roughly pristine throb and riding it out into a sizzling pinnacle of modern punk precision.
YOUNG LEAVES, THE "ALIVE AND WELL" LP (BALDY LONGHAIR)
Third full length by this Holliston, MA three-piece. “Alive and Well” sits easily among SST era Post-Punk and is chock full of sludged out pop hooks. Just don’t call them pop-punk. ""The sound is a no-frills, hook-driven collection of songs written from a broken yet hopeful heart and it should fit right into your record collection along side your copies of Elvis Costello's My Aim Is True, Weston's Got Beat Up or pretty much anything Bob Mould or J. Mascis ever wrote." - Stereo Killer
RAT DAMAGE "CURSED" LP (FYBS)
This rager has been a long time coming! Over the years, Rat Damage has become a staple of the Sacramento, California underground punk scene and has released a couple very limited seven inch vinyl records. CURSED, their debut full length album, has a super beefy and slick sound that is not over produced and still delivers a raw, gut-wrenching punch. 11 lamentations filled with regret, desperation, hate, misery and impending doom of the soul. These songs document the day to day struggles that these veteran Sacto lifers experience in Californias Capitol City. Rat Damage have an original sound, which is rare these days. Most of the time, the drums are assaulted with an up-tempo/mid pace as the guitars chug along in an old-school heavy metal style tinged with "the blues" while still capturing the spirit of classic "old tyme" California 80's punk and hardcore bands. The cover artwork was created by Pat Kim, ex-member of the band Unwritten Law and features some cool, collage-style art by Jeremiah (Jed) Pfeffer on the inside. SLOW SUICIDE, the album's final track, features some agonizing backing vocals by VOETSEKs Ami Lawless. Recommended for fans of Poison Idea, Motorhead, Black Flag, DRI, Verbal Abuse, Attitude Adjustment, Venom, Circle Jerks along with creeps and scum bags from all walks of life. Tired of cookie cutter punk bands? Get this album!
RAT DAMAGE / ALARMS - SPLIT 7" (LANDLOCKED)
Sacramento, Calif. rock and roll punks Rat Damage join forces with self-proclaimed hardcore weirdos Alarms in this rippin, old-school '45
V/A - PUKE AND DESTROY III 7" (SNUFFY SMILES)
Third installment of the "Puke and Destroy" 7" series (earlier volumes of which have featured both Japanese bands and US bands like Defect Defect and Tenement)on Japan's Snuffy Smiles records. This volume features two songs each from YOUR PEST BAND, CAR 10, and DOG HOTEL.
FEAR "PARADISE STUDIOS 1978 DEMOS" LP (FANCLUB)
Demo recordings FEAR did in 1978 at the Paradise Studios long before their first album was even recorded. There are quite a few songs on here that never saw the light of day, the sound quality is great, a must-have if you love FEAR. 13 Tracks!
CRUOR - DEMO TAPE
Everytime I hear this band its like the chronicles of narnia except I end up in a dark, smelly, moist basement in finland in 1983: "5 song demo by one of Nothern California's tidiest purveyors of noisy punk. Perfectly balancing layers of fuzz, feedback, rolling drums, and aaaaaarrrrgghhhh filled singalongs with great hooks and deceptively tight arrangements. This is punk for folks who need to be taught that great noisepunk is, at it's core, the result of great songs. " Limited to 200 copies.
GENERACION SUICIDA "CON LA MUERTA A TU LADO" TAPE
"A big part of punk rock's appeal is geographic. Commercial music sounds like AnyMall, but The Gun Club sound like Hollywood, Black Flag sounds like Huntington Beach, and Francis Harold and the Holograms sound like Bisbee, Arizona. East LA seeps from every note of Gernacion Suicida's new album; this music couldn't be from anywhere else. The Plugz and the Gears may have got there first, but play Con La Muerte a Tu Lado loud and you can see Cesar Chavez Blvd, 2013. This is the kind of punk rock that values a certain kind traditional musicality, like the Sex Pistols, The Adverts, The New York Dolls, and the Damned. Not virtuosity here, just the belief that rock and roll still has power, and that a really angry lyric and a Chuck Berry chord change can change the world, or at least your next 3 minutes. Generacion Suicida are proof that the main thing you need to make a great record is FIRE, and they have enough to share." - Geoffrey Weiss. Tape limited to 100.
JAPANESE FURNACE - DEMO TAPE
"Demo tape from this new Syracuse, NY band. I'm getting a very big early NYHC off of this... I'm thinking Antidote / Urban Waste, though there are some weird chords and other touches that give it shades of the Born Against / Rorschach 90s NYHC sound as well. It's not that dissimilar to Black SS, either, though the tinny, super raw recording has a lot more in common with Urban Waste." - sorrystaterecords.com
MAXIMUMROCKNROLL #366 - NOVEMBER 2013
Hot off the presses, MRR brings you its November 2013 issue — #366! In this issue of Maximum Rocknroll cover artist Halsey Swain lets us into her world of nature-inspired obliteration, we dis-cover the “New Wave of Grave New Beat” pioneered by Scotland’s THISCLOSE, and NOLA booking collective No More Fiction tells us about booking queer-centered shows in their town and organizing their rendition of the Not Enough Fest. We catch up with Chad, the lead singer of Pacific Northwest hardcore fuckers NUDES, L.A. punkeristas DESTRUYE Y HUYE give us insight on the LA scene and talk about their upcoming tour (maybe they will come to your town?), we talk with Vertical House Records about their label, store and show space in Huntsville, Alabama, and noize punkers CHAOS DESTROY share the secret behind their twenty releases (glue? speed? or do they just naturally shred?). International anarcho post-punk band ROSA APATRIDA talks to us about their experience as a political band in the NYC punk scene, Finnish rockers RÄJÄYTTÄJÄT are back from tour and dish us the details, Canadian thrashers TARANTUJA give us an update after their European tour, and the Bay Area’s own hardcore crashers PERMANENT RUIN talk West Coast tour advice, San Jose, and the secret to a bullshit-free lifestyle. We also take a photo tour across the US and Canada with Claudia Cebrian as she hits up all the summer fests and meets all the punx! All this and much more, including guest columns, “What’s the Scoop,” “New Blood,” demo and zine reviews, plus the most extensive record reviews in printed punk today to satisfy your hunger!
RESTOCKS 10/26/13:
CRO-MAGS - AGE OF QUARREL DEMOS LP
DUM DUM GIRLS - END OF DAZE LP
DWARVES - BLOOD GUTS AND PUSSY LP
EXTREME NOISE TERROR - PEEL SESSIONS 1987 LP
PISSED JEANS - HONEYS LP
PISSED JEANS - KING OF JEANS LP
WIPERS - IS THIS REAL LP
WIPERS - YOUTH OF AMERICA LP
CULO - MY BRAIN IS HANGING UPSIDE DOWN 7"
NIRVANA - SLIVER 7"
TERRIBLE FEELINGS - BLANK HEADS 7"
