Atif X Aslam – Lund Na Khao

November 14, 2014 • self-released

I barely have time to write anything as this seventy-two-second EP blitzes by, but I think this might actually be my first time hearing a band out of Pakistan (they're from India too but that's a tiny bit more common in my experience). Admittedly, there isn't anything particularly south-Asian about this band's sound that I noticed, but it's a good sound—the sort of raw, underground, DIY punk ethos applied to some hard-hitting powerviolence. Special mention goes to the excellent drumming; it's technically impressive and does a great job of gluing up the guitar and vocals.

There's really not much to say about this band yet with just this EP, but I'd definitely be interested in some more stuff. Keep it up!

Cerce – Adieux

June 14, 2014 • Mayfly Records

Adieux is a compilation of various songs from three-ish years of Cerce's career as a Boston punk band (they've since renamed to "lovechild" for some ungodly reason). The tracks are a nice blend of hard-hitting, blazing-fast hardcore punk with a heavy dose of modern powerviolence mixed in. It's nothing terribly original, but they definitely do it well enough. There's also some more experimental stuff going on too—slower crusty sections, some noise, spoken word, and field recordings.

What's interesting about Adieux in particular is that it doesn't really feel like a compilation; the tracks are arranged in such a way that "normal" songs and noise interludes and experimental pieces follow one after another. I don't have any prior experience with this band so maybe that's just the way their stuff was presented before, but it does manage to stay pretty interesting throughout, though it does drag a little at the non-punk parts when not a lot is going on.

But it's short and sweet. Something to put on when you haven't heard any good hardcore in a while (I've been listening to a ton lately, so maybe that affects my opinion of this particular release). And, you know, it's free. A good send-off for a talented band.

Curmudgeon – Amygdala

June 10, 2013 • IFB Records / Not Normal / Parade of Spectres

Curmudgeon plays a dirty, gritty hybrid of powerviolence and crust punk with some slower, sludgy sections as well. It's no big surprise these days, and there isn't much about it that makes it stick out of the flood of similar modern bands. Granted, they do play well, and the production sounds quite good. There just wasn't a lot that jumped out at me about them.

Amygdala is well-done and fun to listen to, but it's somewhat forgettable. The band shows promise, though; I'd love to see what a full-length from them might be like.

5

Necklacing – I

May 31, 2012 • self-released

Necklacing is a hardcore band from Massachusetts, their debut EP is up on Bandcamp, and that's all I know about them. They akin-your-face powerviolence with a huge, thick sound that's some of the best I've heard lately.

I is a totally unrelenting release, one that squeezes everything it can out of its seven-minute runtime, packing five brutal tracks in less than three minutes and finishing off with the droney, doomy "_" and the sludgy "Moira". It feels like it's over just as soon as it starts, and I always am tempted to just play it again and again when it's done.

EPs like this are tough to review because they're so short that they don't leave much to talk about aside from a quick description—but basically, if you're into modern hardcore, especially the heavier side, this is a no-brainer (especially because it's free).

7

Consent – Conception

February 27, 2012 • Grindcore Karaoke

I found this band while browsing for free releases on Bandcamp: just another little powerviolence EP from Chicago band Consent, but I find it a lot more appealing than most. It's simple, quick, dirty punk, fused together with some aggressive and harsh noise segments. There is a lot of straight-up traditional hardcore punk in there as well to go with the more intense powerviolence, and the two styles naturally fit together perfectly. The balance between blasting and thrashing is pretty much perfect. It helps that it's not as messy as this sort of music usually is—the extra polish on the mix and some clean-sounding guitar riffs make it extra-listenable.

Musically, you won't find much new here, of course, but the band is talented and I have high hopes for future releases. How can you not like a punk band that likes noise, too? And it's free.

6

False Light – False Light

June 12, 2012 • self-released

Sometimes, there are days when I just want to have my ears mercilessly pounded with sound until I can't feel anything anymore. False Light is pretty good at doing just that: it's one of the heaviest punk releases I've ever heard, and very much in a good way.

The sound is pretty simple, with typical grindcore/powerviolence blastbeats, intense shouted vocals, and heavy muted guitar, occasionally punctuated by slower doomier sections. It's a very effective contrast, of course, and they make it seamless (the really low and dirty guitar tone helps). Sometimes they even set up a really neat rhythmic groove (see "Lung"), as well—they have a surprising amount of diversity considering the length of this EP. (And man—that ride bell in some of the blastbeats. Unexpected, and awesome.)

I've probably made it more than clear in previous reviews that I love this kind of super-intense punk, so it's probably no surprise that I wholeheartedly recommend this band, and I hope they stick around and put some more stuff out soon.

7

Trash Talk – Eyes & Nines

May 18, 2010 • Trash Talk Collective

I loved Trash Talk's debut Walking Disease, as it was a great example of the fantastic 2000s hardcore punk / powerviolence scene that played the style well without a lot of rehashing. As their second, self-titled album fell flat due to that same rehashing the first was free from, I was a bit wary of yet another Trash Talk album, but I was pleasantly surprised with how Eyes & Nines turned out. It's certainly still the same Trash Talk that I know from their first few releases but they've definitely matured a bit and have thrown some new things into their sound this time around.

Stylistically, the album usually stays pretty close to the band's somewhat-thrashy-powerviolence roots, and these tracks are done pretty well, even though not a whole lot new there is shown off. The songwriting is a bit better than the last album, though; I'm not sure what happened to bring them back. They throw in some odd time signatures here and there which is cool and keeps the songs interesting.

There is also a bit more of influences from other styles. There are quite a few slower bridges and riffs which sound a bit like some chuggy traditional metal or maybe sludge metal, which is pretty neat to hear. It all works really well in contrast to the faster punk sound we're used to. "Hash Wednesday", the most obvious example of this style, is a very slow, doomy piece that goes well over four minutes long and, while it sounds out-of-place at first (especially since the vocals don't sound the same so it's impossible to tell it's a Trash Talk song if you didn't already know), it acts as a nice breather between the opening and closing tracks.

Eyes & Nines packs a heck of a lot into it for being so short, and it's nice to hear a modern band taking this kind of direction with this style. It's not anywhere near a perfect album, and I think Walking Disease is still more fun to listen to, but this one is definitely still good (and fun) in its own way and worth a few listens.

7