Well well well here we are, the traditional list of top punk records of the year, the second one for RAF, a good occasion to focus on what's what was worth worsen your hearing loss this year... ok ok another shit year goes by blablabla a shitload of cool records this year again blablabla was really hard to choose etc... you know the usual bullshit everybody writes for their BEST OF xxinsert-shitty-year-herexx so let's skip that and get right to your only point of interest: DID MY BAND MAKE IT TO THIS JERK'S TOP ?
Well let's have a look!
PS: I've made a special BEST OF 2021 edition of the RAF compilation, gathering one track of each record mentioned below.
You gotta go listen to it HERE!
There is a link to the full review of the record (when there is one) below each short write-up.
In no particular order :
LPs
Neon Taste Records
Lewis Podlubny and the Kamloops punk crew never stop writing and playing all kinds of punk music and this year the Bootlicker and the Headcheese LPs were without a doubt some of the top notch north-American hardcore punk releases, but to me the Headcheese one is slightly above the Bootlicker one... it's fast, it's fun, it's pure straight forward punk edging with hardcore, Bon appétit!
Pink Room - Putain Royale
Zoe Zoe Records
Six Tonnes de Chair
Rockerill Records
If there was only one record to keep from this year it could really be this one... Pink Room delivers a perfect mix of noise-rock and wild rock'n roll attitude I will never grow bored of, Bart and his mates please all my regressive and shameful rocker instincts in a big pool of sex, anger and silliness...and a big thank you for that guys.... I mean, and once and for all, Belgium über Alles right?!
Pigeon - Deny All Knowledge Of Complicity
Adagio830
Pigeon is a band I've been following closely since I discovered their two previous records, two beautiful gems of fresh noise-rock meets post-hardcore. Well the Berlin trio is now also busy working on the killer post-punk tracks of Liiek and this new album has clearly taken a post-punk turn... and it's still brilliant! A very well written, and very smart, perfectly mastered modern punk record!
Sarcasm - Creeping Life
Static Shock Records
This last Sarcasm (RIP) release may be quite short (six tracks only for this MLP), it nevertheless deserves its place in this top. The London quartet has perfectly digested the sound of British 80s "punk" post-punk, delivering a great kind of dark, but catchy, arty post-punk lead by a very upfront kick and very deep bass frequencies, midway between UK Decay and Crisis...
Atypeek music, Ideal Crash, Vollmer industries, Super apes, French wine records, Offoron Rex records.
These French guys from Brittany take their time between each records, but time is necessary to do things right sometimes, and Utter Contempt is a great example of very well made modern kind of daring noise-rock / post-hardcore. It's all elaborate and intense at the same time and for a guy like me who's not usually really into that kind of scene, it means a lot that this album reached this top! Good job!
Unidad Ideológica - Self-Titled LP
La Vida Es Un MusUnidad Ideológica doesn't know the word moderation, Unidad Ideológica turns all the knobs to the maximum. Absolutely all of them I'm telling you. All of them in the scarlet red! And these Colombian punks deliver one of the most raging hardcore punk albums of the year, an album that doesn't only sound great, but is also very well written and doesn't get boring for a sec. If you're obsessed by Finnish hardcore and Muro is your favourite Colombian band, well it's not anymore!
Exil - Warning
Armageddon
Exil may not have reached all my (very high) expectations but it would have been unfair to not include Warning in this year-end top, these guys know how to play great raging Swedish hardcore punk and have definitely released one of the top record of 2021.
Les Choeurs de L'ennui
Symphony Of Destruction
These Scandinavian hardcore fans from Paris have perfectly captured the best of the genre to deliver a great raging (and exciting) D-beat record... and sung in French s'il vous plait!
Maybe the record that brought me back to D-beat this year, highly recommended!
Dirtbag
Damn these guys from Kansas City literally blew me away with this twelve track tape of perfect blistering hardcore punk with angry/snotty vocals. It simply got everything you want from this kind of band, make yourself a favour and listen or DYE!
Crass Lips Records
Thought Partner plays beautifully an "elaborate" kind of modern rock music that evolves steadily from classic 80s/90s post-hardcore to "funky" post-punk all along the dense but subtle record that Work Cake is. It's quite different from most records reviewed here but it nevertheless has what it needs to make it here, and I invite you to take the time to find out why.
In no particular order :
EPs
La Vida Es Un Mus
A World Divided
Probably the most discussed release of the year (and my most viewed post of the year!): a mysterious band, supposedly from Morocco, delivers a killer 7" of fast punk with synth sung in Arabic with really bold anti-religion (Islam) oriented lyrics and artwork... a very very daring record!
Essential!
Desolate Records
If you try to get me into a band by talking about a mix of Scandinavian hardcore and early crust à la Nausea with raging female vocals, I'm not sure I would get very excited, I should though because that's exactly the kind of music Fairytale plays and damn they do it very well! I've listened a lot this EP this year, it's just super good! The new-york hardcore punk / raw-punk scene is definitely one of the most active and angry at the moment.
Iron Lung
This one's gonna be in everyone's tops (at least it should!): Electric Chair confirms its position at the top of the current pantheon of American hardcore punk, the whole thing is brilliant from start to finish, a real treat... how high can they go?
Chunklet Industries
When I heard that one guy from Brandy and one guy from the Wilful Boys (two of my favorite current bands) were teaming up in a new band with one guy from Spray Pain I was not only super curious I was also super excited! And these two tracks don't disappoint, making a great introduction before a coming LP.
Spazz Records
Dyatlov delivers two tracks of pure rock'n roll nihilism, adding non-sense and synth layers to a very angry kind of silly noise-garage-punk, all that coming straight from the rugged country of Netherlands... beautiful!
Neon Taste Records
Featuring Toronto old timers from the rock'n roll scene, Imploders took everybody by surprise with this neat and snotty hardcore punk 7" whose well-written more or less fast tracks can't do anything but please the punk crowd. Released on the unavoidable Canadian label Neon Taste Records this EP is just a tease before the full length which should nukke your eardrums in a very near future!
Self-Released
Yes I like my punk to keep digging the same old genres but I also like to follow new bands that don't follow the (over) beaten path and Enola Gay from Belfast is one of them. These young guys play a mix of noise rock and daring post-punk with hip hop influenced vocals that sounds like the next revolution... and I wanna be part of it!
11pm Records
11pm Records has proven to be one of the top American hardcore punk label these days, I've written a few rave reviews about some of the records the label's produced over the past couple of years and Black Button is another success which holds a special place in the label catalogue in my opinion. This young band from Richmond plays "long" songs (for the punk dimension) and doesn't hesitate to mix slower and heavier influences with a very tight and aggressive punk game, and that's a blast!
Goodbye Boozy!
The Stools released two EPs this year but it's this one, the first of the year, that really blew me away. Think of a raw version of the MC5 best tracks played by a raging UK82 band and you'll have a slight idea of the level of energy you're gonna take straight in the face with this garage-punk EP. That cute nose of yours gonna bleed baby!
Killer!
La Vida Es Un Mus
For some reasons Sial (which means unlucky in Malay) and I didn't really get along before this EP, I guess the very in-your-face type of hardcore punk played by the Singapore band was too "extreme" in its aggressiveness, too heavy and metallic also maybe in its noisy anger... Anyway it all changed with Zaman Edan (Crazy Ages): carried at arm's length by a very robotic beat, evoking more the rush of an old clock overtaken by the flow of time than the hardcore deluge of the previous records, these two tracks take us very deep, very far into the primitive womb of the beast buried in every human mind... the noise is overwhelming and unavoidable, you wake up drowning in sweat, you're the Captain Willard wandering like a madman in god-forgotten temples in the deepest Cambodia jungle, yes you're lost in the heart of darkness and the way out doesn't pass through sanity...
These two tracks are titled
Kita Dilahirkan Untuk Melawan (We Are Born To Fight) and Kita Dilahirkan Untuk Mati (We Are Born To Die), and it says it all...
In no particular order :
Helta Skelta Records
The Perth punk gang is back with a new band fronted by Ash from Cold Meat. Less straight forward punk, leaning more on the post-punk side, Krimi confirms the talent of the small group of Western Australia punks for making great music in various kind of punk genres, keep it up!
Self-Released
And another one from Perth! These guys don't hide their love for heavy rock'n roll and manage to mix it perfectly with a fast kind of snotty punk rock edging with hardcore punk reminiscent of a lot of great names. It's fast, it's catchy, it's another great Aussie tape baby!
Self-Released
Ok I know these Swedish guys haven't properly released anything yet but let's say that these two songs dropped on bandcamp can be considered like a demo ok? I had to include Gluer in my Top anyway, this band is just too good at writing super catchy punk songs (at least the two released for now) and you're gonna hear from them very very soon, get ready!
Self-Released
Very much influenced by the "raw" side of the 90's Riot Girls movement (Babes in Toyland, early Bikini Kill), Posy successfully manage to mix it with some hardcore punk influences as well as with a Filipino twist, which is quite original (the band's from Olympia), and delivers a very solid demo full of energetic and angry punk tracks.
I hope to hear more from these guys very soon!
Interceptor Editions
Spleen are definitely a punk band but these guys from Leipzig don't hesitate to add a lot of noise and effects to their sound, giving birth to something that can be a bit shaky at times but is always interesting and makes me curious about what comes next...
Invisible Audio
Thing plays really fast punk with female front vocals, yes it's really edging with hardcore punk and it's totally sick! It makes me think of a faster version of Sniffany Of The Nits (the way the singer sings probably) and of bands like JJ Doll, Tizzi or Freon. It's a super good demo and I hope more will come very soon!
Colilla Rds, Sorcerer and Static Shock
Colombia has become in a few years synonymous of top notch raging raw punk and you can check the blog if you don't believe it. Ataque Zerø is quite different though: probably influenced by Guilhem (from Dernier Futur and guitarist of Ataque Zerø), these guys play a very melocholic kind of punk rock that recalls all the classics from the Portland scene... and they do it very well!
Earth Girl Tapes
Hattiesburg doesn't stop delivering great punk bands... Fumes plays ripping fast hardcore punk reminiscent of the good old classics from the 80s US hardcore scene and it's a blast from start to finish! Sick!
Fuerza Ingobernable
Open Palm Tapes
A new punk band from Germany featuring two out of four members from Colombia? Sounds like it's going to blow my mind with a solid charge of raw hardcore punk! And fuck yes it does! Ex-Dom delivers some really straight forward hardcore punk that's just plain angry, plain in-your-face and purely enjoyable! Go pogo!
Self-Released
Despite their weird name, Sex Work are a great modern punk from Berlin, Germany, that have only, and for all, released five songs over the last two years. Yeah five only. But five great tunes I'm telling you, these guys manage to be modern, punk, relevant, catchy and silly all at the same time, mixing perfectly a slightly vintage (but great) sound and influences with an indescribable modern something... and it totally rips!
You can listen to a track of each of these releases in the special
BEST OF 2021 RAF compilation RIGHT HERE!
N,J'Oi!
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| Merry Christmas suckers! |
