No Escape

Okay look, I think people basically know my deal at this point, I really like punk rock and hardcore, and I’m always looking for new noise to kill my eardrums. But I’ve been neglectful this year, as shit has been hard and I’ve been distracted. Tonight (halloween) I kinda fell down a big ass rabbit hole and came away with a giant truckload of new music that I wanted to share, because at some point you have to embrace what you love and spread it around to everyone.

AMERETAT—S/T LP

Goddamn it’s hard to describe this without gushing. AMERETAT is apparently a duo, S and K, it’s unclear if they’re siblings, who label LA VIDA ES UN MUS describes as “children of the Iranian diaspora with family on both sides of the autocratic barrier,” who make old school crust punk infused with both modern hardcore and traditional Persian folk instrumentation. This shit is lofty, dreamlike, exceptionally spacious—and full of fury. I fell in love with it upon first listen of “Ghazal-e-ātish / Posht-e-pardeh,” and each consecutive revisit has revealed new layers of complexity and power in the music. This shit is what punk is, to me.

LAGRIMAS—im not strong enough for this EP

After Tijuana emocrust giants HABAK released Mil orquídeas en medio del desierto back in April I figured that was it for the year when it came to great crust of this kind (that wasn’t part of some elaborate Alex CF mega project). But this EP from LA’s LAGRIMAS, im not strong enough for this, contains some of the best riffs I’ve heard this year. With five songs coming in under 12 minutes, the EP wastes no time hitting you with the one-two of deeply personal and unavoidably political lyrics, lamentations over the world that could be and a promise to fight against the world that is:

We fight, for those who never
got to see the world they bled for
And those who aren’t able to
We defend the land,
with our own lives
Even if we die

KISSLAND—Girls Mignon EP

At twice the songs of the last record in 1/3 less time, this EP from Australian fastcore outfit KISSLAND is a hell of a lot of fun. The guitar tone is super warm and fuzzy, which gives the sense that I’m listening to… carpeted powerviolence? I don’t know if there’s a better way for me to describe the sensation than that. I love it a lot. It makes me wanna flail around and break shit, which I think is the prime marker for this shit’s success.

One of the albums Bandcamp recommended to me after listening to this heater of an EP was the new joint from EDDY CURRENT SUPPRESSION RING. Which… I get it, but vastly different vibes there bud.

BLEAK STREAK—S/T LP

I gotta sit with this one for a while, I think. This is 11 tracks of barely restrained mid-to-high-tempo power pop from Sweden that I’ve seen elsewhere described as “dark.” I guess so, but really I’m just sitting here torn between trying desperately not to compare it to fellow Swedish rockers MASSHYSTERI and being kind of disappointed they’re not MASSHYSTERI. There are some beautiful melodies on this LP, and overall it’s oddly compelling. There are songs with higher and lower energy, and I tend to gravitate towards the latter, which this LP has in spades. But there’s still room for some sweet reflection in between the chaotic drum fills and psychey two-to-three-chord progressions. I think? I like it???

HARAM—Why Does Paradise Begin in Hell?

What is there to say about NYC’s HARAM that hasn’t already been said? This shit rips, an infectious and rhythmic industrial-tinged hardcore punk rock that feels both timeless and deeply connected to the moment we’re living through. Why Does Paradise Begin In Hell? doesn’t just interrogate American society about the abysmal path it’s decided to take—it’s demanding answers, chain in hand. It’s brutal, it’s beautiful, it’s on my AOTY list for fucking sure.

CONFRONT—Guilty or Not Guilty? LP

LET’S FUCKING GOOOOOOO! Ten destructive tracks of modern Burning Spirits Hardcore from one of Japan’s hardest-hitting contemporary bands. Guilty or Not Guilty? is a treat for me, the Japanese hardcore fan, specifically, and I’m feasting. This has all the hallmarks of the subgenre: soaring guitar leads, roaring vocals, lyrics about freedom and struggle, speed and beautiful violence melding into one rampaging monster… this shit is meant to get your heart pumping and bröther, mine is pounding out of my chest with each listen.

PLASMA—Mua Et Voi Omistaa LP

Speaking of shit that excites me, I’ve been a fan of Finnish punk since I was a kid, and this debut album from Helsinki’s PLASMA does a great job of demonstrating why on Mua Et Voi Omistaa: shit is wicked fast and hits just as hard. As I reflect on the albums I’ve listened to in this music dump the one thing that really stands out – and is exemplified here – is the melding of past and future. I hear a lot of modern punk elements standing right alongside a more old school tempo and sound—that “Tupa-tupa-tupa-tupa” drum rhythm that isn’t quite D-beat but lives very close to it. It’s good shit.

POINT OF NO RETURN—The Language of Refusal LP

This is the first time I’ve ever heard Brazilian vegan straight-edge hardcore but now that it’s happened I owe Brazil (and specifically POINT OF NO RETURN) an apology: I wasn’t really familiar with y’all’s game. Musically this is pretty straightforward and well-produced metallic hardcore, familiar to anyone who has ever heard a Bridge Nine or Deathwish, Inc. album. Lyrically, I’m kind of bowled the fuck over: from the jump on “A Fronteira,” we get some of the best XVX lyrics I’ve read/heard in a long-ass time (with the full caveat that I don’t speak Brazilian Portuguese). These dudes write about agricultural slavery, reactionary media politics, racist social stratification, and rejecting fascist bigotry, well before the first “stereotypical” XVX song on the album. Honestly, I dig the shit out of this.

Anyway, shit, it’s been a hot moment since I’ve heard that much good stuff in quick succession like that. Might make this a regular feature.