Prohibition- Demo 2015 review

Prohibition- Demo 2015 review

This is a decent demo- what one might expect is certainly delivered.  There a tinge of New Breed era NYHC, Keep Deep In Shit, the Reaper Records sound, and modern youth crew.  Take the cheesiness of Bold, the sounds of Disengage, and the singer of Plagued With Rage (or any skramz singer, take your pick), and you have Prohibition.  Beefy power chords, a steady stream of bass lines, pounding drums, and a set of vocals that are akin to Freddy Cricien fronting Agnostic Front in the late 80s- it sounds like your little brother who watches your band got up on stage and started singing.  Not bad, but it could be better.  As for the lyrics, let’s just say this IS a demo, and it’s all up from here.  Think early-era Madball, and how basic and simple those lyrics are- this is pretty much on that level.  Instrumentally on point, at least tone-wise (songs are okay- neither great nor terrible), weird but decent vocals, and lyrics that make you glad you aren’t fourteen anymore.

-Aunty Social

Out of Hand- Visions of Death EP review

Out of Hand- Visions of Death EP review

These guys have two parts of a traditional hardcore song down- the riff, and the breakdown.  The problem is that that’s all their songs are, a killer riff played over a minute long breakdown (90 seconds, whatever).  Imagine a rubric for some kind of school project- there are five areas judged on this rubric, and this band completes three of them, passing with flying colors (the vocals are pretty good, lyrics are alright).  But the other two are just… absent.  It’s like they aren’t there.  I’m all for asymmetrical song structure, but I can’t help but feel like there’s a verse or chorus missing here.  It reminds me of forgetting to videotape something but remembering midway through the show and having to catch up on what you missed, or maybe a mixtape that gets cut off mid-song because the tape ends.  Three out of five elements are there and good, but it’s incomplete, and I can’t shake that feeling.  Keep writing those heavy metal riffs, though.

-Aunty Social

Diane Rehm- demo tape review

Diane Rehm- demo tape review

Asymmetric west coast-style powerviolence in the vein of Despise You and Naked Aggression; this quartet is just as much “think” as it is “hit the gas”, rapidly vomiting up sociological sentiments of disenfranchised youth, both in the words and the music.  The vocals are shrill, rapid-fire bursts, emotional in their anger and frustration brought on by everything from rapists and misogynists to the human condition, and apparently, cystic fibrosis.  The music does follow some typical patterns, but it stops and starts without warning as well; it is truly music played by those who are not musicians, which is the way punk rock ought to be played, at least most of it.  One of the finer Michigan bands I’ve heard as of late.

-Aunty Social

Brought Up- Before My Eyes EP review

Brought Up- Before My Eyes EP review

The epitome of modern hardcore incarnate- mid-tempo beats, simple rhymes and lyrics, and songs consisting primarily of breakdowns and slower breakdowns.  It’s danceable (in a two-step kind of way), slightly catchy, and not especially memorable- for a first EP, I’d say it’s decent, but it lacks a single strong characteristic in its contents.  To me, it truly does sum up how I feel about contemporary hardcore music; for this band, it is merely a product of its environment, so the members are not entirely to blame, but it still screams at the top of its lungs “MEDIOCRITY”.  What this band needs is a bite, an attribute that makes them stand out and stand above other bands- a heavier or differently tuned or played guitar, a crunching bass, a faster or slower (noticeably so) drum beat, and/or a delivery that sticks out for a singer, and perhaps more intriguing words for lyrics.  None of this is bad, but it is boring, balanced, and safe, to an extent.  Experimentation, or at least a faster tempo, is the saving grace this band needs.

-Aunty Social

Mengele- Dead// Alive CD review

Mengele- Dead// Alive EP review

This music was a strong departure from the members’ previous bands, and that undoubtedly threw me off for the first few listens; gone was the brutal speed of Danger Society and the intensity of Dick Hickey that was present in times before.  However, Mengele certainly has something or other going for them; this is some very atypical punk rock that has its value.  I can’t segment exactly what this sound is, but it’s a little bit like Forced Anger, in that it’s 4/4 time punk, and it has a sort of theme to the lyrics, a nihilistic pot smoker’s theme music.  This is a unique EP, to be certain; even fans of doom metal would appreciate the beats of this music.  If it were twice as fast, this would make a killer hardcore punk record; since it is not, I’ll just appreciate it as it is, a slower punk record with some catchy tunes.

-Aunty Social

Sloppy Noise zine review

There’s much to be said for a printed copy of a zine, especially in the digital age.  It’s a perpetual reminder of a world before, after, and without, the internet.  In a mere fifteen years, the tool has subjugated most of the people in the developed world.  Even in South Korea, kids are actually able to receive medical treatment for video game addiction- talk about plugged in!  Americans ages 13-39 seem to need some kind of treatment for internet addiction (myself included; at least I can admit that I have a problem that also plagues the people I hate).  There is a world, a REAL world, that consists of palpable things and not bits of data.  The printed word is a testament to this, and the zine is a prime example of the printed word.  This is one such zine that exemplifies the need for palpable existence for the printed word.

Sloppy Noise is an exclusively photo-based fanzine made in Lansing.  There’s not much that needs to be said about the zine- it has crisp, clear pictures, the photos are themselves direct and portray activity at shows (be they onlookers, bands, or both), and it’s free.  Beyond that, all one can do to experience Sloppy Noise properly is to go out and track down a copy, hold it with one’s own two hands, and read it with one’s own two eyes, without incurring eye damage by looking at a computer screen.  The zine itself is top-notch quality-wise, well worth the time invested in tracking down and reading a copy.  I can’t tell you how many fucking e-zines are out there; the ratio of e-zines to printed ones is just shocking.  If you really want to unplug, get the word out through a natural network, and make or read a printed zine, for once.  Stay analog, stay print, and stay off the fucking radar; let your efforts manifest into creating something REAL.

-Aunty Social