Face Reality- self-titled 7" review

Face Reality- s/t 7” review

I’ve been pumped for this release for awhile.  Since I discovered this band about a year ago (November 2010, approximately), I’ve been digging the fuck out of them, and I’ve made it a point to try and make it to some of their shows, because they are ALWAYS hype as hell.  The only complaint I could ever raise is the shortage of songs.  Finally, I found a temporary alleviation for this sickness- the new self-titled EP from Youngblood Records.  After trading for it with the singer, I made my way home, turned on my record player, and turned up the volume…

I dare to say, after careful consideration and many broken down walls in the eyes of many kids, that this is the best wax slab of youth crew to come out yet.  Reinforce, Holding On, Line of Fire, smoked.  Brotherhood, Ten Yard Fight, No Tolerance, bit the dust.  Even the likes of X Plaguedwithrage X, Chain of Strength, and the mighty Youth of Today, cannot touch this.  Never have I come across an album so inspiring, so quotable, and different enough from the “scene” in which the band participates.  These songs, this sound, this band reminds me of what it’s like to be a passionate, energetic, idealistic punk kid, and that this is still something I can be, straight-edge or not.  It’s an itching impulse compelling me to throw down the burden I carry, change my life for the better, and make a goddamned step forward.  For those who hate reading or enjoy summaries, this band is everything I (or anyone else) could ever want out of a hardcore/ youth crew band; it has the mosh, the words, the riffs, the breakdowns, the speed, the truth… everything.  Fast, steady drums; crunching, thick guitars; galloping bass lines, and youthful shouts that can be understood, even without a lyric sheet.  Lyrics are meaningful, not as generic as other youth crew, non-judgmental, and intensely personal; the schizoid within is pleased.

I don’t fucking care if you’re edge or not; if you listen to grindcore, powerviolence, 90s hardcore, metalcore, ’77 punk, 80s hardcore, crust punk, or anarcho punk; DO NOT sleep on this record.  This is one of, if not THE best releases youth crew has seen in times past or present.  Fucking flawless (victory) for Face Reality.

-Aunty Social

Noose- It's Your Time. 7" review

I’ve never really been in touch with the straight-edge/ youth crew scene; don’t get me wrong, I love the shit out of a lot of those bands (Youth of Today, XPlaguedwithragex, Ten Yard Fight, etc.), but I am not one with the guys who play it, and they are not one with me.  Though I am on friendly terms with most straight-edge folk, that deeper connection to a person and their music is simply not there; the way they live and the way I live rarely intersect, and without some kind of similarity or mutual understanding and respect, there is no deep connection, only a superficial/ social connection that keeps me out of the loop for good straight-edge hardcore bands.  I happened upon this straight-edge/ vegan hardcore band from the Windy City early this year (March 2011) as the band passed through Ann Arbor’s Metal Frat.  The live set was not particularly exciting, but it passed, at least enough for me to buy a 7” and see what they were like in the studio.

Tough I wasn’t amped the first time or two I heard these songs, I suddenly started digging the fuck out of this album; they were doing something different, something their colleagues didn’t quite do.  The bass tone is very punchy and dominant, moreso than a usual bass; here, the guitars seemed to support the bass and drums, rather than the other way around (as it usually is).  Secondly, the music is uncompromisingly fast and doesn’t have to stop for breakdowns to achieve its power; the songs all speak for themselves, which leads me to a third point…  Third the vocals are a definite change of pace for youth crew-style punk; they are very low-pitch when translated to recording.  The vocals are done at a distance, giving a sort of spacious feeling that turns higher-pitched vocals down a couple notches, and given the intensity of the singer’s voice, I don’t blame them for spacing/ dialing back the vocals a bit.

This is not your dad’s youth crew; these guys are high… on life and energy, and are essentially an American, straight-edge, and vegan version of Infest, with an equally cool name (because, come on…Noose… that’s just awesome).  These guys are the punch-you-in-the-balls hardcore kind of intensity that got D.R.I.’s first album all that much-deserved attention.  Though I know I don’t see eye to eye with these guys philosophically, I can feel that they feel same fire-in-the-pit-of-your-stomach anger and emotional rage that makes hardcore worthwhile.

-Aunty Social