Reflex

 

So Reflex (to not be mistaken with another hardcore band called Reflex, but from Germany) is a new band which seems to be based in Lille, France, but features four guys/girls coming from different parts of the country: David (formerly from Chicken's Call and Alarm and now in Maudit Dragon) is from Grenoble (close to the Alps), but the others hail from Lille, Brest and Lanvelec (north Brittany) and are/were parts of some loud punk acts you may have heard of like Litovsk, Kronstadt and Utopie.

Ok this being said let's jump to the music!

 

 

  If you're familiar with recent French hardcore punk you probably know that Lille got a great history of hardcore bands (with other French cities like Brest, Nantes, Paris and others...) and if you've heard of Gutter, Années Zéro, Don't Need You and Build Me A Bomb Records you know what I'm talking about.

Obviously Reflex is more influenced by the slightly melodic side (like on Red Sun for example) of the American Youth Crew scene than the previously mentioned bands, I'm thinking of Gorilla Biscuits (not the vocals though) but also of Uniform Choice and the early No For An Answer releases for example. But don't get me wrong Reflex (despite its artwork that can be misleading) is not really a Youth Crew band (no super loud gang vocals here for instance) even if the closest band I can think of comes from the REACT Records stable: Rearranged, from Moscow, whose 2011 EP was successfully mixing early DC influences with a Youth Crew attitude (I listen to a lot less of this kind of hardcore now than I did back in the days, so my references may seem a little out of date). So yes that the kind of mix between different hardcore scenes Reflex is doing (well).

 

Anyway, it's fast, it's full of energy, there're plenty of mosh parts that will delight all the hardcore maniacs in sweatpants who jump around like Russian gymnasts and the recording sounds pretty good so yes it's a "putain de" good demo! 

Can't wait to see them live ASAP!

 

 

N,J'Oi! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can listen to Reflex on Rien à Faire #34.

 

  

 

 

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Prowler

 

picture by Chon

A short one today about the demo of this new hardcore band hailing from Denver, Colorado.

It looks like the new Denver hardcore scene got something for the super brutal, heavy and extremely angry stomping kind of hardcore (something in the air maybe). If you've heard of James Trejo you may know he is behind some of the sickest releases on Youth Attack Record (Cadaver Dog, Life Support, Snarling Hate to name only a few) and he's from Denver so it didn't come as a surprise when I learned that a proper scene for that kind of sound was on the rise there.

 

 And Gordon, the singer of Prowler, is very much involved in this scene, he's the drummer for Direct Threat, P.S.Y.W.A.R and Raw Breed but also sings in The Consequence (in which James Trejo plays the bass by the way), so yes I think it's safe to say that Gordon is into brutal shit. To be honest, I don't listen to that kind of stuff too much but it reminds me of the energy and heavy anger of the first Boston Strangler LP (Gordon's T-shirt on the above photo!), of No Tolerance, of Violent Reaction from the UK, and of all those bands influenced by the heavy side of the Boston SxE hardcore scene (where at least one band member must have his head shaved!). Anyway I think you got the point now.

 

 

 

 Super rad cover artwork by Rory O'Neill right?

The demo was released on tape (and on bandcamp of course) by Iron Lung a few weeks ago and I was immediately hooked by the kind of furious noise these guys are making.

With five songs out six below the one minute mark, Prowler don't really slow down compared to the bands mentioned before so you got what you except: fast in-your-face hardcore punk, but with a slightly "less aggressive" vibe! Saying that they play a less brutal kind of hardcore than Direct Threat for example would probably be a lie even if it's clear that the influences are clearly different. Where Direct Threat is clearly showing an Oi!-influenced and heavy stomping side (like faster versions of Negative Approach, 86 Mentality or more recently Buggy and Heavy Discipline), Prowler got a slightly lighter (and faster) sound and, most of all, show clear influences of early and pre-Youth Crew hardcore bands from NYC.

 So yes, as mentioned on the bandcamp page, classic names immediately come to mind, names like Youth Of Today, Abused or Antidote (yeah, pretty flattering references), and I'm definitely more into that shit than into the stomping kind.

But here's the main news: this demo totally rips!

Whereas a band like Thought Control clearly takes from the Antidote side of New York Hardcore, Prowler mixes perfectly the early Youth Crew influences (the gang vocals etc...) with some very fast and pummelling drum beats (the drummer's a killer!), catchy bass lines, crushing mosh parts and sharp riffs. And most of all you don't feel like you're listening to the same old hardcore song over and over again, each track got its own distinctive structure and is a total killer!

As a debut release this tape's classified as a demo but, honestly, the whole thing sounds so good it deserves a vinyl release straight away.  

  A full length in a few months maybe?

 

 

 

 

N,J'Oi!

 

You can listen to Prowler on Rien à Faire #34.

 

 

 

 

  

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Invertebrates

 

Ok ok I know this demo was released early January, no no it didn't fly under my radar, I mean I even included Red Lake Earth in RAF#31, so yes I definitely could have found the time to do a little write-up about that killer tape, it was on my to do list to be honest but... well.. you know how life is, I got pulled towards other releases, other stuff etc... and it didn't happen. Anyway Sorry State is now releasing a new run of the demo tape which gives me the perfect opportunity to finally talk a little bit about Invertebrates.

 

So Invertebrates could be described as another American band made up of punk veterans (in this case from North Carolina and Virginia) who've played in numerous bands (Public Acid, Wild Rose, Lipid, Wriggle among many others) and who manage to play some kind of incredibly fast and tight hardcore punk (that' s a conclusion that me and a good friend regularly come to when discussing the quality of the "musicians" in punk and hardcore bands: with the exception of many bands from Scandinavia, especially Sweden, American bands play in a completely different league than European bands... which is both a bit irritating and frustrating to be honest, but c'est la vie!).

So yes no surprise here this tape is an absolute ripper... it's just exactly what you can expect from the best of present day hardcore punk, it has all the right influences from all the classic super fast 80s US hardcore bands but it's played even faster and, most of all, much tighter! And that's the main difference with all the great names from the 80s, it's just incredibly well played (I could be wrong but I feel that, with the exception of a few really good bands, most of the 80's bands sound extremely sloppy compared to Invertebrates), the average skill level of US punk musicians is just super high these days (and that's great I guess). Invertebrates are probably influenced by bands like The Fix and Koro who were both fast and tight (and super good).

 

These guys obviously decided to make it sound as much as possible like a tape landing straight from the early 80s and it's a total success: the whole thing sounds quite "compressed" (a bit too much in my opinion). But don't get me wrong, it's still super powerful, the drums don't stop pounding your eardrums like a jackhammer at blistering tempos while the guitars manage to break through the chaos just like they should... it's just brilliant!

Invertebrates makes me think of three different bands for three different reasons: the comparison with Bootlicker (especially with their 2021 LP) is quite obvious as the vocals got the same kind of "low-frequency aggressiveness without being hoarse" (you know what I mean right?) and the drums... I mean the drums of course! Then there is Loose Nukes, I was listening to their Behind The Screen EP this morning in the Paris subway on my way to work (maybe I should start doing the "I can't talk about music without talking about me, myself and I" thing like a lot guys seem to be doing these days) and as much as I love their records I couldn't help but think that that "tape-sound-worship", or whatever you wanna call it, is a bit of shame when you think of how "life-changing good" (can I say that?) this band is on stage (Loose Nukes at K-Town in 2019 is one of the best shows I've ever seen) and the recording of their songs doesn't pay justice at all to that. So I have the same kind of feeling (a lot less than with Loose Nukes though) with Invertebrates. The third band is Krigshoder, because when I think of incredibly fast and tight I just of them, their tape was just the best (it disappeared from bandcamp but it's still on YT). 

But enough pointless blabbing... just pump up the volume on your fucking air-pods and press play! Invertebrates rule the world and will outlive mankind, that's all that matters!

N,J'Oi!

 

 

 

 

You can listen to Invertebrates on Rien à Faire #31.

 

  

 

 

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Ugly World Amusement Park

 

A short one today about this cool demo hailing from the Australian state of Victoria. Ugly World Amusement Park is Shane and Nick, two friends who most probably played in other bands before that (but I could not find any information about them). Nick is also a visual artist and he is responsible for the super cool artwork of this demo cover, I absolutely love it. UWAP, as the cool kids say, is therefore a duo studio project (except if they wanna play live with no bass and one guitar only but I would not advise it), the kind of project I can strongly relate to as I'm involved in something similar called Guimauve (some more tunes coming soon!).

 

 

  Ok so this demo features five fast hardcore punk absolute rippers! It's fast, it's angry, it's straight forward, it sounds exactly like it should: it's perfect!

Strongly influenced by 80s US hardcore, UWAP songs are mostly made of fast parts but also got some heavier parts (on Gut Oil most notably), mix the whole thing with very snotty (sometimes even a bit "trashy") punk vocals and you obtain a killer result reminiscent of the best bands from the current Kansas City scene like D.Y.E or Loss Prevention... which are influenced by the whole No Way Records era... which was strongly influenced by ripping fast 80s Midwest and Cali (among others) hardcore punk bands like The Necros, The Fix etc... you know the deal. And to not limit my name-dropping to the almighty United States of America I can also think of Akne from the UK or of a "lighter" version of Scab Eater from 'stralia.

But as we're talking of a duo studio project I guess that one of the most accurate comparison would be with Courtroom Sketches (check out their super cool tape).

Well anyway it is pointless to lose more time to ramble unnecessarily, you got the point, this is a killer demo so turn up the volume and blast your eardrums!

 N,J'Oi!

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can listen to Ugly World Amusement Park on Rien à Faire #32.

 

  

 

 

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Insane Urge

 

Just a quick one today about Insane Urge demo tape, the latest release on Stucco Label, an Olympia-based punk label which released the first Electric Chair 7" and the first Suck Lords 7" (just to name a few extremely good records in my opinion) and that I've already mentioned a few times here in my last year's posts about Fugitive Bubble and Youth Regiment. Stucco has a tendency to breed like rabbits on cocaine and to give birth to lots of sub-labels, after Impotent Foetus (which is in fact Stucco's low-fi tape division and is responsible for the two previously reviewed bands) here is Down South Tapes (Insane Urge tape is DOWNTHERE001), a sub-label dedicated to the south punk scene? Probably!

As usual with Stucco there isn't much information about the band, the only thing I know is that they're from Austin, Texas, which would be in line with my theory about Down There.

 

 

  But let's focus on the music if you don't mind.

The very first track, yes that's the one bearing the band's name, opens up the tape with a mid-tempo instrumental that wanders between 77-infused punk rock and modern indie post-punk, a good start before There's A World kicks into high gear with a very nice and fast rock'n roll infused punk track. You know what I'm talking about, the kind of punk rock that feels like kicking Chuck Berry in the nuts for a whole minute. Yeah that kind!

And once these guys are started they're not easy to stop, just listen to Job and Sick Disease! So much nut kicking that I can already picture Chuck singing like Whitney Houston between two Duck Walks! Yeah so much low-fi rock'n roll in this punk rock that's incredible!

 

At some point these good ol' worn-out rock'n roll riffs made me think for a sec of the absolute master of rock'n roll infused punk/oi! songs, the infamous band-which-can't-be-named of course. But Insane Urge's actually too fast to make the comparison really relevant. I could also think of the French skinhead rockers of The Janitors but Insane Urge's way too low-fi to play in the same league.

 

Anyway Insane Urge delivers a very enjoyable, and way too short, cool tape of punk rock under fast rock'n roll influence, keeping it super low-fi as Impotent Foetus got us used to.

So treat your self man! Put on your blue suede shoes and studded belts and aim for that crotch!

 

N,J'Oi! 

 

 

 

 

You can listen to Insane Urge on Rien à Faire #31.

 

  

 

 

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Assistert Sjølmord

 

Yes I'm a few months late with this one but it doesn't matter: Assistert Sjølmord (Assisted Suicide) is a new band from Oslo, Norway, which started (according to the legend) when Erling (bass), who lives in Copenhagen, went to his home-town to celebrate his birthday with some old friends he had not seen for a while because of the lockdowns and ended up recording two tracks with Martin (drums) and Siggen (vocals). The three of them have played in a lot of punk bands before that and were actually together in Jenkem Warriors. Siggen also played in Negativ and Erling plays in Indre Krig (go check their killer demo from last year) and played in Terror Stat. It also looks like Siggen and Martin are involved in a new project called Draumar (coming soon).

 

 

  Two tracks only that's not much, but that's more than enough to convince me that Assistert Sjølmord is exactly the kind of band I can easily fall in love with. It's very fast, it's straight to the point, it's well-played and it's lead by kick-ass female vocals (I'm a sucker for hardcore punk bands with female vocals). Described by Erling like "UK82 songs with a '77 sound and USHC energy or something", these two songs definitely got a lot of energy and I would draw comparisons with bands like S.O.H, Krimewatch, Judy And The Jerks, Indre Krig (a bit obvious but yes), Exit Order and any killer fast punk band with female vocals from the last years indeed. The idea behind the band is "to "revisit"the punk we grew up on" from a musical point of view and "we felt a typical naive early 80s punk band name would be the right fit for it", well it seems that the mission is accomplished for now!

 

The great news is that another demo has been recorded, discussions with a label for a physical release have started and a few gigs are already booked... so keep your eyes and ears open for Assistert Sjølmord because you're gonna get a lot more from them this year, and I'm really looking forward to it!

 

 

 

 N,J'Oi!

 

 

You can listen to Assistert Sjølmord on Rien à Faire #31.

 

 

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Ejecución X

 

This is probably going to be the last review of the year so what's better than ending 2021 with a DIY punk tape from a non-English speaking female-fronted international band?

 

Well Ejecución X looks a one time thing, the opportunity was there, would have been a shame to not seize it, indeed fate had the good idea to bring together in Barcelona, during the month of September of this year, several protagonists of the South American punk scene with some of the Spanish/Catalan scene, and so when punks meet punks, well, they want to do a lot of things but, most of all, they want to make noise!

 

The most recognizable is of course the voice of Cromi, from Buenos Aires, who sings in Farmaco, Inyeccion and Covid-SS (another international project featuring people from Chile and Mexico), I imagine that she is very solicited to sing in many projects. There's also a guy from Bogotá (unfortunately I could not find any information about the other bands he may play in) and two Spanish punks from Nueva Fuerza, Ultra, Lumpen, Anarquia Vertical and probably others.

 

 

 The five songs were recorded live with a Tascam in September and were released on tape by Atemptat Sonor a few days after (so don't expect them to sound like the latest Foo Fighter album). And the tape is being repressed on Tormenta De Ideas!

What I like in Ejecución X is that it's just pure plain punk with a hardcore twist and doesn't try to sound like anything else, it's just a good old punk demo. The banger on this record is without any doubt the first track, Hipsters pokemones de Internet (great track name by the way), a very catchy bass-driven song and for that one alone I bet this tape sticks out in the heart of a lot of punks this year. The vocals are aggressive in a kind of "hoarse" way (you know, the sore throat style that Axe Rash and Soakie particularly affectionate, who said "too much"?).

The other tracks are more classic in a fast Spanish-speaking hardcore punk way (they're similar to what the other bands lead by Cromi sound like), they're very well-written and sound perfect to start a pogo at your granny's funeral but they're not the kind of songs you're gonna talk about to your best friend after two pints you know. With a better recording they would definitely rip though!

Overall it makes me think a bit of Tozcos and Destruye Y Huye even if the vocals sound quite different, but they're a lot of other bands you can think of I guess (Exotica?).

Anyway that's a pretty cool demo and I'm gonna keep my eyes open for whatever these guys may release in their other bands in the near future!

N,J'Oi!

 

 

 

 

   

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VA - Rien à Faire #29 - Punk, Hardcore, Post-Punk... new stuff only! December 2021

 

Last RAF compilation of 2021!

A lot of hardcore punk in this one (as usual) but also some post punk halfway through and some cool noise-rock at the end. There are mostly bands from the US but also bands from Germany, Spain, Romania, Hungary, Finland, Singapore and even a Japanese one singing in Esperanto!

I'm working on the "Best Of 2021" episode, stay tuned for a condensed version of the best of 2021 noise!

 

 

N,J'Oi!

 

 

  01 - Glands - Neurasthenia
02 - Aihotz - Lunula
03 - Peoples Temple - M16
04 - Hot Load - Hot Load
05 - Pseudo Reality - Pseudo Reality
06 - Cold Brats - Down By Law
07 - Discreet - Dead Man's Line
08 - Koprolit - Végtisztesség
09 - Liiek - Object
10 - Mop Buckets - Happy
11 - Smut - Side Piece 2
12 - Socio La Difekta - Nur unu ekzisto
13 - Tensö - Te Eliminaràn
14 - Grins - Breeding Morons
15 - Black Beach - Laugh Riot

 

 

 YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THE WHOLE THING HERE

 

 

 

  

 

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Ex-Dom

 

A lot of cool demos have been popping out from a bit everywhere lately and Ex-Dom's Extincion De Dominio is definitely one of them.

 

 

   This young band from Bremen, Germany, features two Germans and two Colombians and delivers a great mix of straight forward hardcore punk with lyrics both in Spanish and German. Some will say that it can be described as "southamerican hcpunk meets primitive deutsch punk" and I will not deny the presence of this very characteristic "Colombian ferocity" of the current scene I've written about many times, but the first band I immediately thought of when listening to the Ex-Dom frontman shouting and barking all over the place does not come from South america or South-bavaria, but from Israel and is called Jarada!

 

To me both bands got the same kind of "heavy intensity meets fastness featuring raw rage" kinda vibe and I won't say it's a bad thing as I really like the first Jarada LP (I am a bit less fan of the second one but tastes and colours you know).

Anyway the tapes are out (or should be soon) on Ruin Nation Records and Sabotage Records in Europe (two labels from Bremen focusing on raw and heavy stuff), Fuerza Ingobernable Discos in Colombia and Open Palm Tapes in the US.

This being said these six tracks deserve a vinyl release in my humble opinion.

If you were lucky enough to attend the (mini) K-Town hardcore fest this year you may have gotten a good glimpse of the band's potential.

N,J'Oi!

You can listen to Ex-Dom on RAF#24.

 

 

 

  

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KERØ

 

This one is going to be unfortunately really short as I didn't find as much information as I'd like about this band. KERØ hails from Perth, Australia, and recently delivered this killer four track demo which entered my 2021 top straight at first play !

With four perfectly balanced tracks of hardcore meets punk'n roll, KERØ made me immediately think of a few other great Australian bands like Punter, the short lived Cleanheads but also of many more from elsewhere which followed the path of Regulations and Flowers Of Evil with an extra dose of rock'n roll guitars (no one says no to a little bit of Motorhead from time to time after all) like Lysol's 2015 LP, Breakout (the one from Texas), Cutie, Man-Eaters or, to a lesser extent, Hank Wood And The Hammerheads and the first Foster Care LP if they were not playing that fast.

But enough with the comparison bullshit, these guys rock! It's just perfectly mastered punk delivering high energy headbutts of rock'n roll, if you're into this scene you can't not dig it... this is what you wanna see on stage the next time you'll get wasted!

Being from Perth, one the many Aussie city with a strong punk history, KERØ could perfectly fit in the Helta Skelta Records catalogue, let's hope that the label will seize the opportunity to release (another) killer 7" pretty soon.

 

N,J'Oi!

  

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