Just another quick roundup of noises and disturbances out of the extended hardcore orbit. Starting off the batch with Sex Hater of Kansas City, who will surely please admirers of chaotic and downright filthy hardcore shit in a similar vein to groups á la Total Sham, Fried E/m or Launcher.
Speaking of filth, Clinic from Fresno, California dial that certain aspect even further - their latest EP feeling like one single murky puddle of primitive anger and deep despair, not entirely dissimilar in some places to the early Beast Fiend EPs.
pH People, a group of unknown origin, then slow the tempo down considerybly while by no means lacking energy - their tape on Urticaria Records is a potent mixture from the fringes of harcore punk and (proto-) noise rock with clear echoes of mostly older stuff á la Flipper, Spike In Vain, Noxious Fumes or Broken Talent.
And lastly, there's one for the dungeon dwellers among us in the form of Philadelphia's Alien Birth who deliver an oldschool metal-infested beast kinda like a mix between a more primitive Poison Ruïn and Golden Pelicans going all in on their sleaze rock leanings.
Great fun as always, the newest EP by Italy's Shitty Life on which they once again infuse their garage punk with tons of hardcore speed and energy (or vice versa), making for another straightforward no-frills attack that will surely please sympathizers of acts á la Crisis Man, Dadar, Gluer or Easers.
This weeks prime exhibit unearthed from the bermuda triangle of Garage-, Synth- and Eggpunk-related dementia comes from a bunch of hungarian folks letting loose a racket that leaves nothing be desired for connoiseurs of the genre, scratching an itch similar to well known genre entities á la Ghoulies, Research Reactor Corp., Slimex, Gee Tee or Set-Top Box.
I overlooked this this gem by South Carolina dude or band Sid Eargle the first time around so i'm glad the greek label Body Blows shoved this in my face a second time. Hidden inbetween a mess of instrumentals and interludes there's also an excellent album to be found plundering away at oldschool garage and punk history with an undeniable Dead Boys vibe, among other things.
This neat little tape on Phoenix, Arizona label Total Peace delivers yet another burst of rough-as-fuck noise-infested hardcore punk with a weirdly melodic undercurrent to bash your head against.
Back from the literal ashes of a certain practice space apocalypse, noise rockers Trigger Cut return as strong and vital as ever with their newest LP which sees the group increasingly carving out their own little place inside their genre while skillfully paying hommage to numerous classics all the while - think of shit like Bastro, Distorted Pony, anything Albini-related… also some real surprises here, like the opener Water Fukkery, having a melodic oldschool emo-/postcore vibe to it reminiscent of classic acts in the vicinity of Drive Like Jehu, Autoclave, Quicksand or Jawbox. Without question this is their most diverse, inventive and playful record to date.
A super effective bunch of straightforward punk smashers by a Perth grounp - simple at first glance yet always carefully constructed for maximum impact. Plausible comparisons from recent years would include bands such as Xetas, Cool Jerks, Flowers of Evil or Dead Years while from long before that, you might see flashes of Naked Raygun, Laughing Hyenas, Hot Snakes, Man Sized Action and the like…
Just a quck hint here about three excellent new tapes courtesey of the ever-reliable 11 PM Records. The post-/math-/weirdcore powerhouse Rolex doesn't need any introduction, i think, delivering a snappy three-and-a-half minutes long fireworks of eleborate, hyperactice and chaotic postcore. Phantom then represent something of an opposite to that with oldschool hardcore punk of the most primal and unruly kind. Z-Pak, last but not least, appear to to combine the qualities of both aforementioned acts. What's not to love about that?
Fun and unsettling all the same, the second release by some Cleveland, Ohio dudes who have already brought us such wonders as Woodstock '99, Spike Pit and Bad Noids. The thing starts off kinda like Bad Brains or Circle Jerks with a random dose of Deep Purple mixed in… such unspeakable things appear to be in fashion right now and i'm all for it! At other times you may find bits and pieces of The Mentally Ill, Flipper, Noxious Fumes and other weirdness from an era when hardcore punk was still allowed to be fun, not yet codified to death and most of all not taking itself so fucking seriously. A freewheeling spirit nowadays kept alive by acts such as Mystic Inane, Launcher, Liquid Assets or Cement Shoes, among others.
Wow, i didn't really expect this to happen. A good seven years after the group's sorta classic LP The Battle Of Brisbane we finally get another album by what at this point appears to exist as more of a solo venture by vocalist Matt Kennedy. His singular sound and vision in the realm of post punk, noise rock and that unlikely folk-y undercurrent comes accross as sharp and uncompromising as ever though, appearing beautifully out of step with the zeitgeist.
