Three hardcore releases especially stuck out this week, all of 'em more or less treading off the genre's beaten paths. The most conventionally sounding - relatively speaking of course - is the EP by People's Temple on NY label RoachLeg Records, giving us an extremely tuneful variation on 80s hardcore, at times coming across like a blend of Circle Jerks with early-to-middle-era Naked Raygun and with occasional flourishes of Hüsker Dü to boot. Of more recend Bands, Fried E/m might also fit the bill. Hickey's tape on Archfiend records then infuses contemporary strands of garage-, synth- and eggpunk weirdness with plenty of oldschool hardcore energy, along the way also evoking the some vibes of Flipper, Spike in Vain, Broken Talent… With this release, we might just be entering the eggcore era! Montreal's Hood Rats operate in a vaguely similar territory, also having a sound grounded in garage punk brimming with lo-fi eggpunk quirkyness just as much as with an unkempt KBD energy and the tunes to make it stick.
This Santa Ana group emits short and noisy KBD-soaked artifacts, equal parts oldschool garage- and hardcore punk with the occasional touch of Gun Club. The overall impression ain't too far off Neo Neos or any of maestro Voltaire's various hardcore projects, early Erik Nervous and maybe some hint of Launcher, meshed together with some beautiful accident of the kind that might've just as well occured on some random Deluxe Bias or Impotent Fetus release.
Here's yet another short and sweet tape carrying one of those delicious oldschool hardcore/KBD-style/Garage Punk hybrids, so simple and elegant and flawless in its execution. I never get tired of this kind of shit.
More quality shit courtesey of Deluxe Bias. This absurdly short cassingle of noise in the realm of KBD-informed weirdcore, garage- and post punk will sure be a delight to folks who've already developed a huge boner for Mystic Inane, Rolex or Fried E/M.
Another moldy wet lump of ultracontagious punk shit, equal parts garage punk, KBD-style mischief and hardcore punk of the very old school. Not too far off from stuff like Liquid Assets, Fried E/M or Launcher.
I've already failed to mention this group at least two times and feel kinda bad about that - although you might have heard them already on some of my "Verspannungskassette" mixtapes. So, if you haven't been acquainted with this Ottawa group's chemically unstable garage-/hardcore-/KBD-style punk extravaganza yet, here's your next chance. This tape, brought to us by malasyan punk stronghold Pissed Off! Recs, contains pretty much every note of their demo tape and 7" released last year in, as it appears to me, mostly re-recorded and extra explosive renditions.
An unrelenting storm of raw KBD-meets-stoner punk kicked loose by the Freaks of Philadelphia, enforced with loads of hardcore propulsion. Starts out kinda like an amalgamation of early Milk Music or Dinosaur Jr. with Everything Falls Apart-era Hüsker Dü, then settles into a mode that comes across like a mix of Tarantüla/Cülo, Fried Egg, a hint of Launcher and some added sludge and death rock vibes, the latter reminding me of Beta Boys.
San Francisco's Modern Needs let off one delicious fart after another into the atmosphere, consisting of straight, simple & effective Fuzz reminiscent of early 80s westcoast punk & hardcore as well as plenty of crude KBD-vibes. As such, they make good company to other contamporary bands like Launcher, Freakees, Beast Fiend or Liquid Assets.
Just like its predecessor, the second EP by this band from Buffalo, NY turns out to be another highly concentrated dose of unconventional, inventive and at times strikingly melodic hardcore fun, also expanding its stylistic tentacles into places of garage-, fuzz- and KBD style punk.
