The Chisel

The Chisel is a mysterious band from London (I think) which has released Deconstructive Surgery (its first EP) on La Vida Es Un Mus a few weeks ago.

These guys play a great kind of fast and high energic oi! which brings us back to the golden age of No Future Records and all the great skunk bands like Blitz and Crux.

The singer actually sounds a lot like Fergus from The Strike And Emergency and as I know he is still very active in the scene I wonder if the mysterious singer of The Chisel would actually not be him...

Fast and angry The Chisel is a super punk pissed off version of your classic oi! band which doesn't forget to deliver some skinhead anthems like Billy Aaron and Rat Running Scared, two songs which could have perfectly fit on a 4-skins album (Gary Hodges era).

A fantastic EP that will equally delight oi! and punk fans!

Get it!

You can listen to The Chisel on Rien à Faire #11

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M80

picture by Oscar Aranda

M80 (slang or firework?) is a new band from Oakland, California, playing some kind of 80s female fronted american punk. Not much informtion about them.

  Just before their january south california tour, M80 released Apathy, a 5-track demo tape. The band is delivering some classic, but catchy, snotty punk rock you immediatly find familiar without being able to name any band it would be a copy cat of...

With fast-but-not-too-much songs, a very "crammed" guitar sound (à la Mudhoney) a bit unusual in this kind of punk and a very teenage-like female singing, M80 does not completely go by the book while respecting all the codes... and creates this mixed feeling of home safety in a newly discovered place.
Out of these 5 songs M80 and Void are the two with a clear hardcore vibe and I can see the band going to a more classic female-fronted punk hardcore direction as many bands did for the last few years.

In a nutshell it's a classic but enjoyable demo for a band that you should check out live!



M80 is on Rien à Faire #11

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Stuck

picture by Alicia Maciel

Stuck is from Chicago, Illinois, has been around since 2017/2018 and features current or ex members of Gentle Heat, Prairie Porn, Bloom, Clearance, Krozer, Furbie and Yeesh... 

But Stuck is different from those mostly indie/pop bands, Stuck is post punk.

By the way is the band's name coming from the Magazine song ?

 These "Three songs" digitally released on bandcamp in november 2018 were also included on a tour tape (self-released in october 2019) with an extra song.

Yes I know post punk "revival" has been everywhere for a few years now but some bands are super good and Stuck is one of them. 
Stuck manages to slowly build tension all the way, starting from almost nothing to reach a sharp expression of sad but angry relief... but these guys are smart enough to let us take an anxious breath in between the "action" parts, a short stop where the lyrics delivered in a talk-singing style is following us, ready to explode...

Ok so I could talk about how amazing it is to hear some Crisis influences....once again!

 but first it would not be really accurate and second I prefer to think of Bench Press or of an indieiiisher (yes I know) version of some early Marbled Eye... or a post-punker (ok that's plain stupid) version of Neutrals ?

Ok who cares?! this is higly enjoyable, relaxing and quite joyful (for a post punk thing) so go for it!

 

 Change is Bad... well I don't agree but it's an opinion shared with many among the punk scene I guess...
So this first Lp (out on Born Yesterday Records managed by the singer Greg) released as a 12" features 11 songs including 3 of their 4 previously released songs (too bad for People Pleaser that I really like).
Ar the border between the arty side of the late 70s New York scene, the cold british post-punk weather and some more modern influences like Negative Space or even Fugazi sometimes, Stuck is mastering the game and scores on every tunes. Obsessive light guitar riffs, melodic but heavy bass lines, light reverb on the vocals... a good recipe for a hit...



Stuck manages to keep the whole thing as coherent as possible while developping an impressive diversity of songs...
Bug Song is a beautiful ballad with a surprisingly successful 90s atmosphere (indie?grunge? DC?) that can be also found on the beautiful Anniversary; Plank II stretches the walls of the post punk box in every direction, Change is Bad is a short but highly enjoyable post punkish gem, Bells is closer to the Facility Men than to Joy Division... yes it's diverse!


So Change is Bad is a very good album that may need a few listens to properly stick but it's definitly worth the time...So give it a couple of listens!

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Une publication partagée par STUCK (@stuckband) le 30 Mars 2020 à 7 :23 PDT

 You can listen to Stuck on Rien à Faire #11

N,J'Oi!


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Thematix

Ok I know I'm late with this one but since I have written this post about Cold Feet a few weeks ago and discovered Thematix (two members in common) I can't stop listening to its great post punk demo so I've decided to write a little something about the Baltimore trio (and anyway I do what I want!).

So on top of Cold Feet, these guys are (or were) playing in bands like Wildhoney, Narrow & The Brights, Quitter and Smoking Guns.

  
So the band only release is this early 2019 self-released 4-track tape and yeah it's short, it's DAMN too short!

These guys like Crisis and Joy Division for sure (who doesn't ?) but to me this buzzsaw guitar and always-on-the-verge-to-burst punk attitude put them in the same bag as "new" post punk bands like Negative Space or Natural Causes (or even Eyesores in a more noisy way) and I absolutly LOVE those bands so you can easily guess what I think of Thematix...

Unfortunatly I could not find much more information about the band, I don't even know if they're still playing...
 But if you do... please guys... give me more!!

N,J'Oi! 


You can listen to Thematix on Rien à Faire #11 



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Buggy

Do you guys like Negative Approach ? 

I guess you do and these two gentlemen from New Jersey as well!

This 5-track tape released in march (including a cover of NA) is a great example of the legacy of the Detroit band: super loud stomping drum beats, heavy buzzsaw guitar riffs, bass lines you can hardly distinct in the noisy mess and of course the famous brutal vocals that made NA so popular among skinheads.

More recently it also makes me think of the angry french guys of Don't Need You and Gutter (Lille crew!) or Heavy Discipline from Pittsburgh or the first Boston Strangler lp with a more low fi recording... 

Oh yeah these two guys also play in Gel (and at least one of them plays or played in School Drugs), War Records is going to release their tape, Buggy is Tony's cat name and I love the cover art by Jon Mayo...

N,J'Oi!


You can listen to Buggy on Rien à Faire #11


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Spam Risk

picture by Ellie Euphoria

Spam Risk is a new trio from Chicago, Illinois, featuring Josh of Jollys who recently released his solo debut as Dry Dreams, Pamela of Blizzard Babies and Pledge Drive and Peter of Yeesh.

The band is playing an interesting kind of soft indy post punk which caught my attention, let's have a look! 

 

This release can be divided in two separate sets of songs... the mostly male-fronted ones (like Comfort Food, Akaname or Dyson) which are edging with the "innocence" of the indie side of modern post punk bands like Bench Press or Dumb... light guitar, light drum beats, kind of joyful vocals... that's enjoyable sometimes, don't get me wrong! it's just a bit different from the heavy negativity of most of the bands usually featured on this blog!


On the other hand you got the second set of songs, mostly female-fronted, which got under that nice looking varnish a faster and rougher punk core... Einstein, Google Bookchin, Destroy Madness and Fuck The Kids are great female-fronted punk songs with hopping bass lines, rock'n roll guitar riffs and a nice Kleenex vibe... I could think of Child's Pose but that's not really it... well I like it anyway!

So I am not too sure about this tape in the end, there are songs that I like (the "punk" ones of course) and others that I don't enjoy so much, so it's definitly an interesting start and I am curious to see what's coming next even if I need more to be completely convinced.


You can listen to Spam Risk on Rien à Faire #11 


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Fried E/M

Fried E/M is from Saint Louis, Missouri, has been around since 2016/2015 and has a strong relationship with Lumpy Records (from St Louis as well) which is managed by the singer of the weirdo punk hardcore act Lumpy And The Dumpers, who also is behind the drums in Fried E/M.

Fried E/M's first release is a 6-track 7" (out on Lumpy Records in 2017, digital in 2016) of some super snotty fast punk with some clear similarities with Lumpy and The Dumpers (with less weirdness though) or with the first Beta Boys Eps. I love the intro speech taken from a classic scene from The Network ("I'm a human being goddamnit!").

It's a good first EP of angry, dirty, classic and quite enjoyable american punk rock with great "Darbie Crash" snotty vocals.

Then nothing for a couple of years until this short late 2019 5min38s tour tape of great 80s american punk... the recipe of the 7" has been improved to its best and the main problem of this tape is that it's way too short!

And here is Fried E/M latest release and first full length, Modern World!
Released in february 2020 by Lumpy Records in the US and La Vida Es Un Mus in Europe, the band was supposed to tour europe to "celebrate" their first LP but, well... it was of course cancelled because of you-know-what! 
With 11 songs (including 3 from their 2017 7"), all under the 2 minutes mark, Fried E/M is delivering some great, straight forward punk rock. It's slightly too slow to be hardcore but with vocals a bit à la Career Suicide and some obvious Regulations influences we are clearly in the part of snotty american punk which is edging with hardcore punk.


It took me several plays for the album to really grow on me, obviously these guys didn't plan to write a new chapter in the big book of punk music history but they deliver an honest, well mastered and highly enjoyable album with all the perfectly dosed ingredients of what made me enjoy this kind of punk rock...
And well... it's good enough sometimes... innit ?


You can listen to Fried E/M on Rien à Faire #11


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Carnivorous Bells

picture by Chris Sikich

Carnivorous Bells is from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and has not been around for very long as their first release is from march 2019... so not an old band no but it doesn't mean however that these guys are newbies...

 David Vasalotti looks like he has been part of too many to count music projects (including the very punk hardcore Cult Ritual, the weird Dads, the poppy new vave Merchandise and his own solo work)...

 Leo Suarez has not been lazy either and has been seen behind the drums in bands like Meatwound, Primate Research and his own solo projects... 

Matthew Adis has been "famous" for his super energic live performances as a screamer in several punk hardcore acts around Philadelphia (Anxiety Hammer and Salvation among others) when he is not working on some black and white illustrations...

And our last lad, Michael Bachich, was part of the shoegaze band Nothing for some time but also of the great Human Headstone with Matt...

So now let's see what brought together this gang of dedicated noise makers... 

 picture by Donald

Big Bronze Allegory was released in March 2019 as a 8-track tape on Human Headstone Presents (which I suspect to be managed by Matt).

And the first reaction is... Damn what the hell is that??
It's jumping, it's sliding, it's rough and smooth, it's furry but slippery as fishskin... are we facing the platypus of punk rock? is it still punk rock?
Describing their sound as cave prog, these four guys are bringing us to the very edge of what post-hardcore can be... Prog yes, with songs over 4 minutes prog starts making sense... Cave??... Cave?.. Cave yes!.. the primitive rage of hardcore punk from where all these guys are coming is not gone, it's lurking in a dark corner, ready to bite, barking and growling, kept under control, domesticated... but still dangerous...


From freak shows' atmospheres, to space odysseys in far worlds, this album is taking you away, kidnapping your soul for a highly enjoyable journey to an unknown destination you're not in any hurry to reach...
I was totally blown away by this music, it's wild, it's bold, it's free and it's new with all the components of the old which made me jump into this scene...


As somebody wrote it: "this music is exactly the kind of shit that keeps me interested in punk as an art form"

February 2020, Carnivorous Bells releases The Upturned Stone, its first full length (on vinyl!) on Human Headstone Presents...
Eleven songs including 6 of the 8 songs of their previous tape so 5 new songs in fact.
After Big Bronze Allegory, we are wandering in something which is not completely unknown territory anymore but still extremely enjoyable.
With the short Body Of Work for example, the band delivers what could probably be the closest thing to a classic punk song... a strong concentrated version of their winning formula, formula developped for almost 5 minutes on the following Semblance with its long break, heavy bass lines and wandering guitar notes which are not without reminding me of some Fugazi parts... 


Same idea with the 5 minutes and 30 seconds of the instrumental Roused from Slumber in a Feud With Death which, through a thrilling path of heady guitar notes and out of space noises, reminds us of the progressive and "acid" approach chosen by the philadelphia quartet... finally concluded with the Upturned Stone itself, the one in the punk rock cave under which nobody had looked before and which has finally revealed its secret...
the fantastic work of the Carnivorous Bells!

You can listen to The Carnivorous Bells on Rien à Faire #11.

N,J'Oi!

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VA - Rien à Faire #11

And another RAF compilation!!

I have to admit I am pretty proud of this one... on top of your usual dose of punk and hardcore, there is plenty of post-punk, noise rock, post-hardcore and other hard-to-define gems... let's keep it weird and diverse!

Only (almost) new killer stuff!

 N,J'Oi!

01 - The Chisel - Rat Running Scared
02 - Buggy - Like A Bug
03 - Meadow Burials - The Modern Age
04 - Thematix - A Painted Skull
05 - Stuck - Invisible Wall
06 - Fried EM - Inner Peace
07 - Crucial Features - Grožis
08 - Lithics - Hands

09 - Carnivorous Bells - The Chase
10 - Spam Risk - Fuck the Kids
11 - M80 - I Don't Like You !
12 - Muscle - Fake Sick
13 - Smite - Content Warning
14 - Real People - Psychic War
15 - Sooma - Hail, Inhale
16 - Handle - Lifes Work

 

And as usual the full compilation can be downloaded:
HERE
 

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Concrete Lawn

picture by Dougal Gorman

Concrete Lawn is a quartet from Sydney, Australia, and has probably been around since 2018/2017...

The band is playing an interesting kind of female-fronted punk post-punk (yes that's a weird description).

 

I think everybody was surprised and excited by their february 2018 demo tape released by Urge Records).

With 4 songs out of 5 under the 1min40 mark and this dark and confusing artwork cover I was expecting another aussie punk hardcore band but no, not really...

With mid-tempo beats, heavy guitar riffs, post-punk bass lines and very upfront female vocals à la early Amyl And The Sniffers (without the bogan attitude), Concrete Lawn is delivering something not completely new but which sounds like what I could imagine as modern aussie post-punk...

Their live shows look a lot more "punk" than their records though:

 Aggregate is the first Concrete Lawn full length, released by Urge Records on May 2020 and features this great artwork cover by Maxine Booker.
From the first seconds of No Patience it's obvious that the band has changed a lot since the demo, forget the teenage aussie vocals and the post-punk influence, what we have here is some pure punk that would perfectly fit in a 1982 show with Action Pact! and Vice Squad.



With a more polished sound and a less snotty atittude the band is clearly driving away from the aussie sound and I understand as they have probably been compared way to much to Amyl and her gang and it was getting annoying... but unfortunatly they have also lost this charming touch that was making them stick out of the masses.

It's a good punk album that will delight all the fans of Beki Bondage and George Cheex but it's also probably why I am slighlty disappointed...  in the end I feel like the band is delivering an album which is more classic than what the demo was making me expect.

 picture by 35mmSCANS

You can listen to Concrete Lawn on Rien à Faire #9


N,J'Oi!


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