Alpha – Burn Down Your Neighborhood

May 16, 2014 • self-released

Alpha delivers the kind of punk that's more in line with the old-school approach of doing whatever you want, as long as it feels right. It's not the pretty, slicked-up hardcore we get these days—which can still be good in its own way, but I still enjoy this kind of stripped-down DIY punk and I'm glad it's still popular enough nowadays. Burn Down Your Neighborhood (great title, by the way) feels like it should be playing on a ratty old cassette tape in a basement party.

Anyway, the music: there's a mix of traditional '80s-style punk, some high-speed powerviolence, some crusty chugging breakdowns, raw screaming vocals, and lots of screeching feedback. Just about everything you need in minimalist punk, and nothing more.

Alpha might be a bit too oddball for this release to be something that will top my 2014 charts but for right now it's really hitting the spot.

(And yes, if you want it to be, anything can be an instrument. Even mayonnaise.)