Corrupt Leaders- s/t 7" review

Corrupt Leaders- self titled 7” review

Heavy grindy hardcore a la Dead In The Dirt, Napalm Death, and a little Carcass here and there.  Usual fare for lyrics- anti-authoritarian, pro-individuality stuff; nothing new, nothing bad.  This errs more on the side of heavy, though, and rightfully so- not enough grindcore is able to do that; it’s all fast-fast-fast and although that formula can work in hardcore punk, it gets boring really fast in anything else.  Not too shabby.
-Aunty Social

Corrupt Leaders- Grindmother 5" review

Corrupt Leaders- Grindmother 5” review

This is definitely pure grindcore.  I don’t know if it’s your grandmother’s grindcore, but it sure is loud, abrasive, fast, heavy, and appropriately annoying.  A definite departure from their DOOM/Extreme Noise Terror vibe they gave off on their self-titled 7”.  It’s short enough that it’s no harm done if you’re not into it, cuz the worst thing that happens is two minutes gone.  Best thing that happens is you get 120 seconds of headbanging in.  I’ll bet on the latter being more likely.

-Aunty Social

Weak Link- LP Promo tape review

Weak Link- LP Promo tape review

This tape kicks off with one hell of an intro, and the song moves into a Canadian version of “Jealous Again”, albeit modern and with a little more experimentation included.  Though the music is no doubt classic-sounding 80s hardcore, the vocals follow their own beat, as do the lyrics- not quite like anything I’ve read before, though not so different to seem foreign.  The final song does stand out quite a bit, however- it’s a rhythmic, almost psychedelic instrumental outro that I hope is something the band never plays live- jam music is one step above folk punk and one step below country.  This promo tape isn’t half bad.

-Aunty Social

Concrete Asylum- Concrete Asylum 7" review

Concrete Asylum- Concrete Asylum 7” review

Late-80s UKHC meets noisy Jap-core, be that Gauze or Disclose or anyone else.  The guitar and drums are so loud they almost drown out the bass entirely and the vocals sound like a guy screaming as loud as he can from about 200 feet away- faint, but audible.  This EP walks the line between noise punk and demo-quality thrash punk that falls just short of powerviolence.  I fucking love the cover art and the layout of this record- it’s detailed, yet punk as fuck, not an easy effort to attain.  However, I might need a couple tall boys of Steel Reserve to be able to fully rage to this band.  Not bad, but not my kind of noise- still, room exists to evolve.

-Aunty Social

Kremlin- demo tape review

Kremlin- demo tape review

Though their first release, this tape lasts longer than the 7” they did on Hardware Records.  The song lengths do vary, as do the lyrical content of the songs, but the music is largely the same lo-fi, deranged, fucked-in-the-head 80s hardcore is best known for.  The thumping drums, detached bass, jarring vocals, and pulse-pounding guitar are almost interchangeable with the likes of the Clitboys, the Neos, demo-era Germs, or a lower quality version of the The Fix.  Driving, distant, distorted, and definitely simple music that belongs to anyone who is a punk and/or has a mental deficiency.  No gods, no masters, no production, no bullshit hardcore punk.

-Aunty Social

School Jerks- s/t LP review

School Jerks- s/t LP review

The record starts off with a sick guitar riff and beat backed by mishmashes of indiscernible voices, and that intro kicks into the record, a collection of very short, snotty, almost spazzy hardcore punk songs that go in and out of focus.  Almost totally lifted from the classic 80s hardcore sound (yes, these boys do lift), this is a band that manages to pay homage to the past and still be contemporary.  The instrumentation is beyond part for the course- drums are thundering and steady as can be, guitars almost quietly dark but quick-moving, and bass humming quietly as vocals are spit out with an intentionally absent-minded snot and untimely venom.  This is definitely weird music for weird people, made by equally weird musicians.  If one wants classic 80s hardcore simple yet energetic punk rock that’s fun and misanthropic in a general and indirect way, this is the way to go.

-Aunty Social

Rape Revenge- Paper Cage 7” review

Rape Revenge- Paper Cage 7” review

I usually hate grindcore.  This is vegan, straight edge, queer, feminist grindcore.  Well, this review isn’t starting off well.  If you’ve decided to keep reading, you’re either really open minded, brave, or masochistic, and for that, I must commend you.  Music-wise, this is actually pretty high-quality.  The slow parts here are fucking brutal with the crunching bass and thundering drums, and the fast parts blast and shred away with the high-pitched guitar and extremely shrill singer (which is the biggest, but the only noticeable downside to this EP).  The lyrics are well-written and intelligent, but they are very difficult to discern by ear only, as per most grindcore.  However, this is more intelligent, refined, dare I say higher quality grindcore- this stands for something, and the band truly lives up to the DIY name (they played a fucking Laundromat- how punk is that!?).  For that, much respect.  I still don’t like grindcore, and these songs are higher-echelon for that genre- points for seriousness, honesty, and being good at what they do.  However, the vocals will never cease to bother me.  That, however, isn’t their fault.  For grinders, buy or die.  Punks who don’t like grind, give it a stream online first.

-Aunty Social

Truncheons- demo CS review

Truncheons- demo tape review

This is the new incarnation of After the Bombs with a bit of a sound change-up and a few member switches as well.  Still residing in Montreal and blasting punk rock, the band’s sound has definitely changed from the looming, heavy, crushing crust that A.T.B. had- the reverbed vocals have stayed, though, as both bands share the same singer.  Rather than focusing on the melodies and progression of sound, now the band is a group focused on having a fuzzy background sound; the vocals and the music are seemingly separated from one another but still paired.  However, this is a demo with decent replay value- it is indeed a demo through and through, and the upcoming 7” should be a step up.  A punk album with a closer lean to noisecore than to crust, it’s worth the couple bucks.

-Aunty Social

Demolition- Demo 2012 review

Demolition- Demo 2012 review

This is youth crew done fuckin’ right- I can’t get enough of these four songs.  Gritty, somewhat raw production is a big factor in why this demo rules so hard.  The vocals are distant and strained, yet remain laced with enough general misanthropy to be a real punk record, and not some jock hardcore production.  In a more close relation to original youth crew, the lyrics are very catchy, quotable, and are the picturesque set of words to accompany a live gang pile around the mic during a set, with twenty or thirty people singing at the top of their voices.  Another benefit of the more unpolished production is that the guitars, bass, and drums sound a lot more like a punk record than a “hardcore” one (hardcore here meaning breakdown-laced, heavier, slower, varsity font punk), and there’s something to be said when a band so influenced by these sorts of bands still pulls off the energetic slam dance-styled punk rock.  If there’s a new band to jock, it’s this one.  Stage dives and high-fives forthcoming.

-Aunty Social