Iron Youth- 7" review

Iron Youth- 7” review

What if the singer from GLUE was really bent out of shape and the band was on Youth Attack?  Tortured, agitated, sludgy, driving, dirty hardcore that sounds like a bad day in the making.  Repeated words, repeated thoughts, angry sighs, Xanax bars chased by bottom shelf whiskey at 2 in the afternoon, My War’s shorter-songed cousin, trying to forget who you are or that you’re even alive… that, is this record.

-Aunty Social

Criaturas- Espirita de Libertad LP review

Criaturas- Espirita de Libertad LP review

A mix of crossover, D-beat, and straight hardcore punk with a shrill voice behind the mic and a unique mix of reverb.  The production is clean but not slick, the songs are great, you can even bang your head… this is hardcore punk exactly as it should be.  That is, evolved from punk rock, but not trudging too deeply into the thick monotony of NYHC-styled hardcore.  Excellent.

-Aunty Social

Back to Back- Of Flesh and Bone EP review

Back to Back- Of Flesh and Bone EP review

Every modern Texas punk band seem to have the same recording guy, it’s odd; still, the songs are absolutely there.  Low-fi hardcore punk with some spacey garage elements here and there, hard to go wrong.  Amongst the Texas bands getting attention, this one seems to be getting overlooked, although this is just as hard-hitting as Glue’s second 7” or Blotter’s demo.  I wasn’t big on the last song with the everlasting outro, but beyond that, it’s tough hardcore punk modernized and filtered through an analog sound.  Like a pair of small pants on an oversized scene kid of yesteryear, it’s tight.

-Aunty Social

Humanerror/Snakes split tape review

Humanerror/Snakes split tape review

Two bands with their respective brand of heavy, dark hardcore manage to complement one another here, almost a necessity for a split.

Humanerror is a chug-friendly band that also uses powerviolence-y drum beats while sludging away on the guitar and bass, not terribly far off from Eyehategod.  The two tracks they offer are no doubt the better two here, though it’s admittedly difficult to best the band from Texas who has been around for six years.  Still, the two tracks Snakes have are no slouches- they’re dirty and grindy but still possess some clarity.  The Nails-worship HM2 sound is absolutely present, but it doesn’t sound like leftovers, it is a sound unto itself that mixes hardcore and metal in the dirtiest of ways, the way it was meant to be, the way Cleveland bands from the late 80s and New York bands from the early 90s intended it to be.  Homage-paying and still an independent force.  A good blend.

-Aunty Social

GLUE- demo 7" review

GLUE- demo 7” review

This is everything you could want in a hardcore 45- a furious intro, a singer who sounds like he’s on drugs (notably here, the band’s namesake), catchy words, energetic riffs, a visually pleasing layout for the cover and insert, and a certain simplicity that causes one to immediately remember everything the band is about.  This is hardcore for the freaks by the freaks, as it always was, is, and always shall be (hopefully we weirdoes can survive a little longer in the modern era).  It’s the soundtrack to a nervous breakdown and the fits accompanying it- approach at will, and with caution, or eagerness, as the case may be.

-Aunty Social

Drug Dogs- s/t EP review

Drug Dogs- s/t EP review

Sounds like S.S.D. and 86 Mentality getting into a street brawl in a reverb-drenched room- it’s burly, short burst hardcore punk with a heavy emphasis (for hardcore, at least) on the reverb for vocals, and a slightly quieted sound on the instruments, a la Pick Your King.  You could say it is a short, sharp, shockwave of simple sounds, serious yet sober and cynical.  This is yet another piece of a fantastic hardcore punk scene happening right now in Texas.  If this were recorded in a more professional way, it would either jet this band to be ten times better or ten times worse, depending on the engineer.  This debut has promise, and I look forward to seeing what the future has in store for Drug Dogs.

-Aunty Social

Sold Short- 2013 demo review

Sold Short- 2013 demo review

While listening to this demo and simultaneously playing Dynasty Warriors, I had a revelation, a moment of odd enlightenment, if you will.  I was analyzing the music as I knocked away Chinaman after Chinaman, and one thing I noted in the songs was a metalcore breakdown and a youth crew breakdown, mixed of course between pretty stellar new age hardcore.  Upon coming to this realization, it truly hit me how fucking nerdy it was to differentiate between these two extremely similar kinds of breakdowns (the only real difference is the drum tempo, and in some cases, the guitar tone)- in the end, it’s fucking hardcore.  Is it any good?  Yes, it is.  It’s more along the lines of modern mid-tempo hardcore, and for that, it’s pretty stellar.  Well worth it for a demo.

-Aunty Social

Vulgar Display- Under Darkness and Prayer EP review

Vulgar Display- Under Darkness and Prayer EP review

This is bona-fide metalcore:  Metallic hardcore, the kind of sound created by the likes of Integrity, Earth Crisis, and Ringworm.  Usually mid-tempo and sometimes slow in the most wretched of ways, this sound is heavy as fuck, the chords reverberating for seconds after they ring out.  The vocals are not guttural as is usual for the dirtier side of metalcore; it’s much easier to discern the words the vocalist is singing, and he still has a righteous anger in his voice.  The lyrics are pessimistic as ever, lone wolf of justice style- The Punisher would probably approve.  The ninja moshers will love the hell out of this, and so will the proponents of late 80s-early 90s hardcore, for it has a few breakdowns and a lot of old-school vibes, even though it’s a modern creation.  For any and all who raise the banner of “hardcore”.

-Aunty Social

Just Sayin'- Do Something EP review

Just Sayin’- Do Something EP review

Two-stepping, gang vocaling, hardcore-sounding youth crew tunes, this sounds like a more negative version of contemporary youth crew bands, ringing heavily of Cleveland’s Search Bloc and a more refined, more NYHC style of the Neos’ 80s hardcore jams.  If this was on the east coast, everyone would know about and love this band.  However, being from Texas, they are unfortunately not quite as well known.  Think if United Youth in about six or seven years became Disillusioned Youth (dibs on that band name in the future)- same sort of sound, but with more grit and not quite as cookie-cutter (although this is not exactly original stuff, it’s got the same quality Face Reality has about their  approach to youth crew, and original or not, I dig it).  Crucial music, though not an absolutely crucial release- worth buying a tape, though.  It would also be cool to see them on a split or compilation 7”.

-Aunty Social