life is noise

I’ve been following this band for the last few months, and quietly hoping they will persevere, rather than vanish into the ether as too many bands with names this cool do. After the release of their self-titled 7”, they have already developed their own flavor which seems to lie somewhere between Dry-Rot, Cold Sweat and a general powerviolence vibe. This LP delivers everything they have already brought on in their demo and self-titled 7”, but seeming to lean more towards an almost metallic vibe, rather than the punky/early hardcore influences that were very present in their earlier releases. Despite this minor shift, tracks like “Empty Thoughtfuls” and “Doomed For a Loss” bring some of that bonehead nasal-punk element back into the fold, if only for a brief moment. Read the rest of this entry ”

Coke Bust
Degradation 7”
Refuse Records

Six songs, five minutes, no time to wind down. That’s the only way to describe this ferocious 7”. After compiling some of their earlier releases as well as some new tracks into the Lines In The Sand LP, Coke Bust left a big question mark on what will be happening next. Some of the tracks on the LP could hint at aiming for bigger, longer, sludgier etc., but Coke Bust is clearly working in cycles and now they are back to what they do best: playing fast as fuck, pissed off, Straight Edge hardcore. The now very familiar sound of guitars feeding back ushers the listener into this fastcore worshipping 7”, starting with “Another Fucking Problem” and pushing ceaselessly until the rocking, “My World…”-esque stomper that is Deathbeds.

While there’s not often much meat on the lyrical bones of releases this short, Nicktape’s take on the world reflects a lot of what much of straight edge hardcore has kind of missed the point on for the last little while: anger, frustration, the class war that much of the clean-cut, collegiate straight edge hardcore has well and truly ignored , and a questioning of the role of governing authority from an everyday perspective. There may not be a theme and these ideas have definitely been brought to the table before, but Coke Bust’s relentless take on music and vocal delivery add a shade of ferocity that has been lacking for some time.

Deafheaven
Roads to Judah
Deathwish Inc.

Every record label likes to stand out with its releases, their packaging and content. Many labels try, but most fail, whether due to complications or simply because they have completely misjudged their audience. In the case of Deathwish Inc.’s decision to release Deafheaven’s full-length, it seems they’ve truly outdone the failure category, despite all the odds. This LP is a triumph, and a reflection of what seems to be Jake Bannon’s expansive musical interest, as well as some potential open-mindedness on the part of the hardcore crowd long sworn to narrow-mindedness disguised as musical loyalty. For a music label that already stands out by sponsoring MMA fighters and having an almost entirely self-contained recording-artwork-release process, some might expect they would be satisfied. These people may not understand this next move then. Read the rest of this entry ”

The first side of this record, “Year of the Ox”, starts with a bouncy cello and violin waltz that provides the backbone to the rest of the track. In true Fucked Up fashion, they let the riff simmer and really take its own form before the inevitable entrance of their own cacophony. Tight and punchy as ever, the solid rhythm section pounds it out like drum and bass Siamese twins, and the guitars and vocals kick in soon after to complete this mutant musical family. The track moves much like a classical piece, sticking to a theme but shifting keys and approaches to the melody constantly, giving it a feel that’s quite apart from your average punk rock song (as if the classical instrumentation and track length weren’t enough of a tip off). The whole track revolves around the concept of liberty, with the chorus repeating “I am the ox who broke my chains so I could fly away”. Pink Eyes has put a lot of focus on describing freeing oneself from all earthly struggles (“So one by one I let them go / all the things that I’ve ever known / the anchors fall out of my head / I can’t look back at what I’ve shed”), and the massive, open interlude in this track truly puts the feeling across with huge chords and a string section that feels like deep, relieved breathing. Read the rest of this entry ”

Another feather in Ceremony’s already colourful cap! It seems they’ve come a long way from their original release, but this album is not just progress, it’s a complete paradigm shift. No more blastbeats (Ok, maybe just one, for old times’ sake), lots of floor tom and lyrics that seem to denounce everything they’ve so far surrounded themselves in (“Sick of Black Flag, sick of Cro-Mags” – Sick). Yet, this really is their homage to the aforementioned. This album sounds like something out of a time capsule, like some crusty punk buried his band’s limited-to-50 7” outside his squat and forgot about it.

So it’s now 2010 and Bridge Nine obviously stumbled across something in the backyard and dug it out. The reason I say that is because this record doesn’t “feel” like a Bridge Nine release. It’s dirty, there are no breakdowns, and the vocalist doesn’t sound like he attended the Bridge Nine Vocal Training School. It’s actually quite a haunting album, especially the “Into the Wayside” trilogy which starts, halves and ends the record, and gives it that kind of modern flavor which is almost the only indicator that reminds you that this wasn’t recorded in ’85.

The real finishing touch on the album’s retro feel is the bleak artwork, a single photo on a white background with otherwise plain black font on white. No frills, no pit shots, no intensive logos. This adds to the urgency in the lyrics, these guys obviously decided they’re better off putting these ideas out quickly, not fancily, which is something quite refreshing when most bands will brag about how many months they spent recording an album that tends to be forgotten before it even stops playing. This band’s pissed off about a lot of things and doesn’t have time to sugar-coat it for you. Read the words, play it loud, hate on longboards.

BLACK BREATH

Heavy Breathing

Southern Lord

The sticker on this record promises “a filthkick of old school punk metal violence” in the vein of Mötörhead, Autopsy and Discharge, and they definitely deliver! It’s dark like Sabbath but driving like the aforementioned Gods of driving rock/hardcore. The guitars on this record sound awesome, totally full without any overtones of cheesy reverb or misused chorus that seem to be popular amongst most people trying to follow the hardcore-via-metal route, and the drummer is definitely keeping up, not just keeping the beat. Read the rest of this entry ”

SLICES

Cruising

This LP brings together everything that makes punk and hardcore enjoyable – unpredictability, diversity, feedback and the feeling that you’re listening to actual people playing actual instruments. It’s hard to say whether this release was written as an album intentionally or simply put together well, but the activity throughout and between the tracks really puts you front of stage. It’s raw, it’s almost improvised, but these guys sound like they’re here to fuck with your head and you are going to let them, whether you like it or not. Read the rest of this entry ”

STRAIGHT A’s

Self Help

Noise Pollution

What would happen if Battles and Fantomás decided to tag-team an album? More than likely, this would be the result. Freaked out, whammy-laden guitars tweak out over tight, razor-sharp bass lines and some fantastically creative drums that would do quite well in a Swing Kids track. Overall the production on this album is great; everything seems to get a chance in the limelight. The vocals spend most of the time buried in distortion, but the melodies ring out almost despite this fact, just another display of how on-point the vocalist really is. Read the rest of this entry ”

BASTARD NOISE

A Culture Of Monsters

Deep Six/Hear More!/Housepig

This LP is one tough cookie! Shortly following the release of their fantastic split LP with The Endless Blockade, BN have brought out an individual full-length that seems to cement their return to some of their more “musical” roots. However, to say that this release is simply the soundtrack to BN’s homecoming territory would be doing it a disservice. The heavy bits definitely have the bass-and-drum punch that you would expect from the Wood/Connell combo, and it would be right at home on “Sum of the Men…” But that’s where the similarity ends. It’s as if BN have simultaneously gone back 20 years and made a quantum leap into territory most bands fear going into, that gray area where spoken word, operatic vocals and soft jazz interludes either make a record great or make it sound like an album that wants to go somewhere but instead ends up going everywhere, or even worse, nowhere. Read the rest of this entry ”