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

Dick Hickey- Unicorns, Rainbows, and Other Manly Shit CD review

Dick Hickey- Unicorns, Rainbows, and Other Manly Shit CD review

What do you get when you put a deranged middle-aged alcoholic and two socially unacceptable redheads (also known as gingers- this applies to ALL of them), and give them instruments and an unhealthy dose of hardcore and Anal Cunt albums?  That’s right- Dick Hickey.  The forgotten sons of a redneck backwoods Michigan area that is, in most circumstances, better left forgotten.  This is a band who is in need of two things- a Melissa Etheridge cover of “Cum 2 My Window”, and a vast increase in naked sets, or sets entirely.  Seriously, this band has a fanatic following of psychotic girls.  How do you think the name Dick Hickey came up?  Why aren’t you in the know about this neglected, abused, drugged-out trio from Michigan’s backwoods?  The music is not too shabby- demo quality angry ginger hardcore for the deranged and sexually deprived.  Not gonna lie, the band is much more tight and enjoyable live, but the 10-12 minutes this demo takes up is worth the listen.  However, do not be fooled when the band is selling their CDs for $3- there is only ONE acceptable payment amount for this little demo- exactly $0.26.  That’s right- twenty six cents.  Even better if it’s a quarter and a penny.  And it’s worth it.  Hail Satan.

-Aunty Social

Most Heinous- Bendersweat EP tape review

Most Heinous- Bendersweat EP tape review

Fuzzy, noisy hardcore punk with a shrill, slightly deep-pitched female singer who throws herself into the music whole-heartedly.  The sound quality on this is absolutely a demo quality one, but given the style, I think a more rudimentary sound may fit them a little better.  If Nausea had not tuned down their guitars on their demo recordings, the sound would not be unlike the one Most Heinous has.  The bass could be a little more pronounced, but it does not greatly detract from the listening experience of this demo.  This tape is a lot like rough sex, and it also sounds like the perfect background music to it- interchanging slow and fast parts, unexpected intensity during the fast parts, the female being a lot more energetic than first expected, and somewhat deceptive in all- the cover has an adorable picture of a kitten and two little ducklings.  And much like rough sex, it definitely isn’t something you always want to partake in, but when you do, there isn’t something like it matching the intensity and sheer awesomeness of this.  Pick this motherfucking demo up anywhere you can, as soon as you can.

-Aunty Social

Madonna- Pull the Plug demo review

Madonna- Pull the Plug demo review

Sounds like a mix of 80s hardcore, west coast powerviolence, and skate punk a la JFA and maybe some of Duane Peters’ early work.  Mile-a-minute punk rock to the bone, the topics are about typical punky things:  Skateboarding, Street Fighter, hating school, getting pizza, and ripping off Black Sabbath riffs to start songs.  Fun music, but unlike guitarist Richard Hackler’s previous band XshallowbreathX, they seem to be very laid back and not at all serious, which is advantageous in some way and a disadvantage in others.  These guys would have DEFINITELY opened for Capitalist Casualties or What Happens Next given the right time period.  Not a lot to say about it- it’s a demo, it’s enjoyable, it’s not that memorable, and it’s a fun, higher-echelon punk band that would fit well on a local punk gig.  My time wasn’t wasted jamming this.

-Aunty Social

The Hysterics, Swimsuit, and Dry Eyes at the Neutral Zone, 9/17/12 show review

The Hysterics, Swimsuit, and Dry Eyes at the Neutral Zone, 9/17/12 show review

I finagled quite a bit to make this show fit my schedule- go in two hours early, skip my lunch break, drive right out to the show after punching out, etc.  Hopefully the inconvenience would be worth it.

Oh man, was it ever.  Local high school band Dry Eyes went on first (they were one or two songs into the set when I got there), and though they were young and a bit difficult to define, it seemed like horror-influenced, hardcore-related punk.  I’m not sure if it has a name, but it’s pretty good.  I wasn’t headbanging or moshing, but this band has some good riffage.  I’ll be keeping an eye and an ear out for Dry Eyes- you should too.

Next on the bill was Swimsuit, an arty punk-indie rock mix.  Though this was one of the weirder band I’ve seen, and I doubt I would play music like this or see this band on the regular, this was truly talented music (i.e. they could play their instruments and write a euphonious song) and it was enjoyable.  That much I can respect- props for being different and still good.

Closing out was the band I’d been dying to see, the Hysterics, from Olympia, Washington.  It has a member of Outlook and has a reputation unto itself, so I was excited.  Holy shit- this was one of the more electrifying sets I’ve seen this year.  I have never seen someone be so righteously angry wear such a happy shirt.  Seriously, the singer rocked a Cheerios shirt while blasting out one of the most energetic sets I’ve seen- on top of it all, it is a band of all females- not that it matters, but it is awesome nonetheless.  This quartet just powered through their set, song after song with nary a break, save to explain a song’s meaning (about street harassment, which, as a dude who loves women, has never seemed like an effective flirtatious or networking tactic).  These four females furiously cut through and jammed out hardcore that could have come straight from the 80s, and I wouldn’t have known the difference.  What a band- what a group of awesome people and killer musicians (punk musicians, that is).  This performance was right up there with Hoax’s two performances and Tragedy’s performance- gnarly as FUCK.

I teetered on whether I would attend this or Ceremony later that week in Lansing.  Glad I chose this one.  I would have seriously missed out.

-Aunty Social