The Beautiful Ones- Jaded Love LP review

The Beautiful Ones- Jaded Love LP review

This is one of the strangest mixes of music I have ever heard.  If nothing else, this is, without a doubt, unique.

If there were three bands one could associate with this group, they would most likely be Type O Negative, Biohazard, and Twitching Tongues.  This mixes the mid-90s New York hardcore/metalcore sound with the heavy, crunching riffs and steady rhythms and the tuneful, love-boasting deep voice reminiscent of an anxious, throaty, teenage Morrissey.  This has got some groovy beats, and has the benefit of actually fitting as a full LP and not just a large collection of songs on a slab of twelve inches of wax.  The breakdowns on this record are some danceable/2-step-able ones for sure, even if the ambient rhythms mixed in between them make one go, “What the hell?” some of the time.  Last song has the hardest line I’ve heard in a while “At least we all die alone”- a nice conclusion to a record about love.  I admit that this isn’t really my kind of thing, but this is definitely worth a listen- it is not time wasted.

-Aunty Social

Kingpin- 2013 demo review

Kingpin- 2013 demo review

I’ve always goose-stepped with 90s-style hardcore, being that I’ve always preferred fast over heavy, but this is one exception to that rule.  This is just awesome- a Leeway, Marvel, and Robocop reference all in one demo and band!  This is before I even listen to the music.  However, it got better when I did.  The production on this is very raw, and in a type of hardcore known for over-production, I am extremely pleased to see a return to simplicity and self-recording.  The metal influences on the songs are noticeable, but this is no doubt a hardcore demo, no a metalcore one. The first track ‘Former Glory’ is a catchy number with some toe-tapping riffs, and a breakdown that will make even the most introverted, quiet of hardcore souls go off and unleash a catharsis on mosh pits worldwide.  ‘Choking Dust’ is a longer song, but it keeps one’s attention; it’s much more of a fun song than an angry one, though there still is some anger in the words.  At long last, ‘Bitches Leave’, even though it does sound misogynistic, is merely a Robocop reference (+1 for Detroit) and relates to people one hates, both sons of bitches and bitches alike.  This one has got to be a crowd pleaser, because even I would happily do a Cold World finger point and chant to this song.  It also does not let up on the speed either- everything I ever wanted in a hardcore song, here.

This is one hell of a band to look out for, on the real!  Can’t recommend this demo enough.

-Aunty Social

Citizen's Arrest- Soaked in Others' Blood 7" review

Citizen’s Arrest- Soaked in Others’ Blood 7” review

Once in a great while, there is a band who reunites who has either kept the same energy they had in previous years, or has gone above and beyond from that- Citizen’s Arrest is an example of the latter, and this EP is proof.  The sheer fucking intensity of these four songs is something I have not heard for a long time (save for Hoax, but I discovered both bands around the same time).  The drums, though not particularly fast, are absolutely crushing, and the vocals from Daryl Kahan are ferocious, guttural growls and punky shouts alike.  The guitars and bass are well balanced in sound, highs and lows both equally powerful.  Sound-wise, this is still a similar sort of NYHC meets 80s hardcore sound, but it’s very hard to pin down exactly who or what this band sounds like.  They, to an extent, have a unique sound in that regard.  Punk, hardcore, crusty metalcore, call it whatever- it’s heavy, it’s pissed, it’s fucking good, it’s Citizen’s Arrest.

-Aunty Social