Coke Bust- Confined LP review

Coke Bust- Confined LP review

What else have you come to expect out of Coke Bust other than the most stellar hardcore punk this side of the Atlantic?  They are known for their steady, excellent output of multiple short, fast songs- here’s nine more to add to that.  Sociopolitical/cultural/personal lyrics over top of some rapid drumbeats and fucking crushing riffs (Neutralized will make you mosh no matter who or where you are) delivered with spot on production and precise playing from four highly dedicated individuals in the hardcore punk scene (they don’t just play D.C.- they play all over; in fact, as of June 2015, they’re going to Japan, and have been all over the continental U.S., Europe, South America, and probably Canada and Mexico to boot).  This band is what all bands should aspire to be in terms of dedication and influences, one of which is a personal twist that makes your band your band.  I expected nothing less and received nothing less.

-Aunty Social

Power- Bremerton Zoo LP review

Power- Bremerton Zoo LP review

This Pacific Northwest hardcore band is a mix of a Rival Mob-ish sound and a Rzl Dzl sound, in the instruments and the vocal styles, respectively.  It has an angry, yet fun vibe to its sound, an acknowledgement that the world does indeed suck something awful, but fuck it, let’s party.  The vocal delivery is pretty good, even if the lyrics didn’t grab me so much; it’s a well-produced record, so everything is crisp-sounding, balanced, and sounds the way it should.  As a not very fun person, I found this to be a very fun record.  Mid-tempo hardcore record on vinyl with a sweet layout and good packaging- not groundbreaking, but hey, what is anymore?  I liked it.

-Aunty Social

Adjustment To Society- Midwest tour promo 2013 tape review

Adjustment To Society- Midwest tour promo 2013 tape review

This is some of the most gnarly 6-7 minutes of hardcore punk I’ve heard yet- fast, shrill, energetic, angry, yet thoughtful and intriguing of the same time.  The lyrics are some of the most brilliant and well-balanced I’ve read since I began listening to punk.  It rhymes AND it conveys the frustrations of trying to mingle in a society generally unforgiving of differences.  Wonderful!  The music is straight out of the 80s- shrill, slightly snotty, fast, low-fi, fist-to-your-face hardcore punk in its most classic manner.  These are close friends of fellow Washington band the Hysterics, of whom they sound very similar to.  There is little else I can say about this tape other than GET IT, NOW.

-Aunty Social

The Hysterics- self-titled EP review

The Hysterics- self-titled EP review

I can’t stop listening to this record.  It is that good.  As jaded as I feel and outwardly am sometimes, this is the most exciting band I’ve come across since I first happened upon Question, and I like both of those bands for similar reasons.  Regardless, I am absolutely in love with this record right now.

The lyrics are brilliantly written- every single song is insightful and makes me think.  ‘Arm Candy’ is about how women come along and makes guys in the scene look good… and rejecting it in favor of independence.  I never thought I’d hear such an insightful but positive message- now that I have, I can fully support it!  ‘Dow Jones’ is about the stock trade and how the pursuit of money takes the soul out of things- it’s too true (despite my being a college major of Business Administration, I do see the ultimate evil in the raw pursuit of money- it is a soul-trapping endeavor).  That, and the way the singer is able to rattle off the words is nothing short of amazing (reminds me a lot of how Mike Ratt sang in U.D.I.).  ‘Correct Me’ is the stand-out track, lyrically speaking- it’s inexplicable, but everything said here has rattled around my brain years.  I believe it has to do with having a very different (read:  accurate) viewpoint and outlook on life, and being “corrected” for it being considered wrong- absolutely brilliant.  ‘Sunk’ is another lyrical piece of gold, and the slower tempo of the song brings a sense of urgency to the words.  ‘Deformative Years’ is another lightning-fast blast, being both sonically and lyrically brutal.  And now the E.P. closes with ‘Hanging Out at the 512’, which is a lyrical mindfuck that still manages to be absolutely brilliant.  I never thought that a line about taking a shit at Wendy’s would qualify as brilliant, but The Hysterics proved me utterly wrong.

Sonically, the music is a blend of 80s hardcore and some garage-y punk and maybe some riot grrl, and they manage to take the best parts out of all of them and make one great sonic ball of ferociously awesome hardcore punk that is utterly addicting.  ‘Correct Me’ is one of the best songs to ever come out of any hardcore scene, anywhere.  Yes, it is THAT good.  The music makes me want to jump off tables and punch people in the face, and the lyrics are just amazing, in the way that I wish I could write like that.  The instrumentation is spot on, the mix is neat and even, and the package of the record itself is awesome.

I cannot possibly recommend this album and band more.  This is everything hardcore ever could have been and should be.  Excellent, brilliant, awesome, great… I’ll run out of adjectives to describe how positively I feel about this band and album before I get tired of it.  If you only buy one album this week/ month/ year/ the rest of your life, buy this.

-Aunty Social

Outlook- Our Time Is Now LP review

Outlook- Our Time is Now LP review

It’s very apparent that this is a youth crew record from the start, but without the varsity font logos and weight lifting bro/jock members.  This traditional youth crew sound is mixed with a bit of melodic hardcore to make for an energetic yet passionate sort of sound.  Reading the lyrics, they too are atypical of the subgenre- it’s fitting to say that this is youth crew that is anti-youth crew.  It’s definitely out of step without being too out of line to be interesting- it’s comparable to the rest of their material, but it sounds as though it’s been remixed and everything given a bit of extra oomph.  The guitar is strong, almost too much so; sometimes it overwhelms the vocals and makes them harder to hear.  The drums have the exact same issue- strong and overly so.  The bass could use a small increase in volume, but otherwise sounds good.  The vocals… I love the righteous outrage singer Adrienne has, and she could not have done much better than this.  In fact, I wish I could hear her voice better.  That’s the only negative thing about this album- the sound needs more strength to give to the singer, and balance out the rest of it.  Beyond that, fucking solid as can be.  Get this album ASAP, youth crew lovers.  You might stop loving Ray Cappo and start loving Adrienne instead.  Regular punkers, this is worth checking out, no doubt.  Post-review note:  For some reason, I can hear a little Direct Control in this sound too- strange yet pleasurable.

-Aunty Social

Wilt- Your Will Has Been Broken review

Wilt- Your Will Has Been Broken review

Rising from the ashes of Asymmetric Warfare, Wilt is a similarly styled crust band incorporating elements of metalcore, grindcore, and Tragi-core (that is, the melodic D-beat popularized by Tragedy).  Still keeping the personal/ political teeth of the lyrics, the band seems to have retained a core sound (haha, get it?  Core?) akin to A//W, and only changed members and wrote brand new songs, which I like better.  Vocals are hoarse, sub-guttural styled singing, occasionally switching to a higher-pitched growl; guitars are melodic crust with a heavy metallic edge; the drums are pummeling, heavy, and vary in beat from mid-tempo to an almost DRI-like speed (first album, not the metal ones); the bass compliments the guitars very well on the low end, an interesting turn for punk rock bass.  Though one might at first think, “Oh god, another death metal band with cookie monster vocals,” or “Shit, another Tragedy worship band”, think again.  It has definitely worked from the Tragedy blueprint, but adds a few things to make the music more unique and worth the time.  Time for an EP with a professional mixer- these guys have the songs right here, but better sound quality might arise from an experienced engineer.  Anyone who likes crust will probably like this- I can dig it.

-Aunty Social