Physicalist is a new group from Vancouver i presume, centering around Dave P of the local power pop sensation Night Court whose catchy qualities are also present on this record of otherwise pretty different sonics, an infectious blend of hard-, art- and postcore with a distinct garage punk edge and melodic overtones which overall reminds me of a bunch of groups like Mystic Inane, Rolex, Launcher on the more hard-/artcore side of things and The Dumpies, Sauna Youth and Eyeball on the catchier, pop- and garage leaning side.
In a week not particularly lacking in way-above-average hardcore punk releases, this one takes the cake in my opinion, not that last year’s digital single Plastic Disease hadn’t warned us of what’s been coming though… This is some freewheeling, viciously creative shit reminding me of some of the most far-out acts the past two decades had to offer in the artcore, hard- and weirdcore sectors like Big Bopper, Patti, Rolex, Brandy, Mystic Inane, Beast Fiend, Cutie, Fugitive Bubble, Septic Yanks or Liquid Assets, to name just a few. I need more of that shit fast!
Skelett are a new german group made up of peeps based in Leipzig, Kiel and Halle and right out of the gate i’m tempted to describe them as a variant of Berlin punks Benzin leaning heavier into the hardcore punk side of their equation, but just as well you could point to certain aspects of US groups like Vexx, Judy & The Jerks, Fugitive Bubble, Dregs, Warp or Skin Tags, although Skelett operate on a much rawer, purer spectrum of slightly thrashy mid-eighties hardcore with even a slight hint of NWOBHM-style riffing in tunes like Bloodstained, while peppering their all of it with a tireless succession of super catchy hooks all the same, keeping me on the lookout for whatever curveball they’re gonna throw me next. This is the sound of an (only on the surface-level) oldschool-ish hardcore band that knows exactly what it sets out to do and fulfills their clear-cut vision in a hyper-focused effort of unflinching confidence.
Hardcore punk from Los Angeles that has more than enough neat tricks up its sleeve and musical meat on its bones to keep listeners on their toes at all times, delivering a good deal of fresh and creative sonic stimuli while at the same time lovingly pummeling us into submission with an unrelenting and tight-as-fuck wrecking ball of a performance that doesn’t take any fucking prisoners. Ouch that hurt. More of that good shit please!
Nothing less than a plausible contender for hardcore record of the year comes to us from the Milwaukee label Unlawful Assembly, a brand spanking new split LP by two Austin, Texas groups who’ve both previously made some waves already with excellent debut tapes on the local label Sound Grotesca in 2021 and ’22 respectively. Both groups operating on the rougher end of the hardcore punk spectrum, they certainly don’t invent anything new here but rather, they charge up tried and tested ingredients of noisy oldschool hardcore with a sense of danger and unpredictability rarely heard in their particular niches. Right out of the gate, Save Our Children’s tunes strike me as wildly more more elaborate and inventive and in a whole different league compared to the bulk of variably oldschool thrash-infused hardcore groups, the grim overall sound aesthetics unable to fully distract from a pervasive sense of musical adventure and playfulness. And if you thought all that was already going way above and beyond your average hardcore punk offering, wait till you get to hear those Stunted Youth tracks, which exchange the slightly metallic flavor with a more garage-y feel and a lot of subtle melodic flourishes to their underlying tunes, coupled with some world-class hyperactive shredding and tons of unexpected catchyness in their breakneck speed attacks. This is the perfect storm of both creative and primal energies i’d wish to see unleashed more regularly in a genre that all too often seems content with just replicating the most basic, established tropes ad nauseam.
This group from Olympia, Washington has always been an exquisite thrill ride with their two previous EPs and an LP, all of which came out via the reliably excellent cassette label Impotent Fetus. Following a vinyl reissue of said LP via Sorry State Records, that very same label now presents us with their second album and as expected, their hyperactive mix of art- and garage punk, hard- and postcore is yet another delightfully overwhelming assault on the senses equally unpredictable, smart and elaborate, somewhat reminiscent of old left-field hardcore acts like Tragic Mulatto (most strikingly in Failed Experiment), Really Red and Saccharine Trust on one hand but just as related to more recent phenomena like Mystic Inane, Warm Bodies, Launcher, Vexx, Rolex, Cucuy or Big Bopper.
California group Lamictal follow up last year’s insane pair of EPs with another strong tape, their overall vision coming across a little more focused on here which might in part be a result of ever-so-slightly increased production values… although polished would certainly be the wrong word here as their curious mixture of garage punk, hard-, post- and weirdcore is still filthy as fuck, upredictable and hyperactive, overwhelming the senses for just under four minutes before getting the fuck out as quickly as they turned up. Mandatory shit for friends of, say, Big Bopper, Rolex or early Patti.
This Portland Group’s third full length further refines their explosive formula of seriously noise- and slightly garage-infused postcore into their most realized and elaborate effort do date, their hyperactive vision of structured chaos constantly shapeshifting and throwing curveballs all the way, leading into all kinds of interesting maneuvers. Although no two songs are too much alike on here, the most frequently applicable comparisons i can come up with are groups such as the various incarnations of New York’s Kaleodoscope, early Bad Breeeding, Acrylics and, in some parts, Crisis Man, early Video and Ascot Stabber.
Sad to hear that not long after their genre-defying/destroying/fucking/deconstructing/exploding album of last year, this EP is already the swan song of North Carolina’s hottest address in contemporary hardcore. So take this last chance to marvel at Das Drip’s ambitious hardcore/postcore/artcore/weirdcore… certainly never boringcore.
