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Detroit, Michigan, United States
I'm a punk rock guru from Detroit. Part skinhead, part crusty, part metalhead, part hardcore kid, part party kid, 100% punk rocker.

Friday, March 4, 2011

In Defence- Don't Know How to Breakdance LP review

In Defence ‘Don’t Know How to Breakdance’ LP review


Steve Ignorant declared punk ‘dead’ in 1977, and hardcore unofficially died in 1986. I don’t know if anyone ever declared hip-hop dead, but if no one said it, it died roughly around 1994, amidst an East coast-West coast rivalry of sorts between rappers and the decay of stalwarts NWA, Public Enemy, and Ice-T’s genre and career change. The old breakdancing, Run-DMC rhythmic hip-hop with meaning had died and was replaced by terrible party rap fused with techno and exaggeratedly optimistic and grandiose gangster rap. However, it still lives as a bacterial parasite (not a bad or unhealthy one) in hardcore punk vets from the Twin Cities, In Defence.

The band has a sound mixing pummeling 80s skater hardcore, newer breakdown hardcore, and hip-hop, the latter taking root primarily in the vocals. The album is absolutely a cocaine addict’s friend and a pot toker’s buddy, simultaneously; the sound is tried and true, but not a generic derivative or rehashed vomit of old styles of music. It is moreso an homage-paying sound managing to be fresh yet familiar. The vocals are hip-hop influenced tough-guy hardcore rapid-fire greatness, the guitars are regular power chord prestige, and the rhythm section stops on a dime, backs up, picks it up, and goes again. I’m amazed that the band has kept such a strong, steady vibe through two LPs and multiple 7” EPs; they are amidst recording a 3rd LP that I believe will be just as good as this one was. The only complaint I could file is that the sound wears on me after a while, after a few listens. This didn’t really damper the record for me, though, it just has lower replay ability.

Minneapolis used to be a haven for phenomenal punk: Havoc and Profane Existence put that into place, and In Defence has continued to fly the banner that they sported for so long (and still do). Since Brett Favre didn’t work out, In Defence will be a more than suitable replacement.

-Aunty Social

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