Ralph Rivera

It's four things at once on my mind at 5am, dispatching, as we are, LIVE from the 3rd stage....

Some interview I read made them seem real self-conscious about their "More Hardcore" LP, but this release sounds a fair bit safer and codified than the slab I first slobbered over. All of these got rerecorded for their big Convulse debut, so we'll see how the finished product holds up, but I can't imagine revisiting these renditions ever again. Released by Kill Enemy Records, listen here: https://killenemyrecords.bandcamp.com/album/speed-plans-tape Speed Plans Tape, by Kill Enemy Records3 trac...

YMMV on the cover art and you'd be forgiven for guessin' the whole presentation'll getcha some post-hockey jock, pre-jarhead Triple B Records flower-era BS, but goddamn. The kick off is an absolute mind-worming ass-shaker, plucked straight from the back half of a BROWN SUGAR rekkid and pulled forward into the NOW, the remaining 6/7s is pure punk rock n roll a la RADIO BIRDMAN (which they dispute, but come the fuck on), PAGANS, or that time the REPOS covered DEAD BOYS. Released by Kill Enemy Rec...

Been a GUNN truther for a minute, and the half of this that sounds like BATTALION OF SAINTS, you know that sneered-up, black-leather-in-the-hot-sun type Cali shit, easily clears the mental-mythical madness I ascribe to the Shooters in question. Mixed up in all that is a bit too much post 7"-era CÜLO. Still, half is more than most may muster, and, paired with a sense of humor, moronic (complimentary) cover art, and well-curated samples, this is worth a spin or two. Released by Going Underground ...

Ur-crust perfection. The only time spent in the stadium is burning the fucker to the ground. Self released, listen here: https://earnthedirt.bandcamp.com/album/all-paths-lead-to-darkness All Paths Lead to Darkness, by Barren Soil3 track albumBarren Soil✶ sarubert...

Zillennial MASSHYSTERI, which was Xennial BURNING KITCHEN, (and the millennials skipped a gen toiling away in the mysterioid sex pest dungeon and/or KCMO glue dens), which is to say this is very good, very catchy. Repetitive (in a good way) vocal hooks, great melodic guitar work that occasionally makes way for SEEMS TWICE by way of CRASS Records no-punk diversions. Very Euro cover art, as bad as the HONDARTZAKO HONDAKINAK LP cover, both of which risk consigning an otherwise great release to barg...

A harsh judgment, perhaps, but knowing some of these players from well-played but firmly "not-for-me" pop punk outfits, I just didn't know they had this in them. Sounds like: Earth-2 ARTICLES OF FAITH's debut 7" "What We Want Is Blood." Feels like: a brick and a knife and a boot to the temple. Looks like: Chicago still likes hardcore. Self released, listen here: https://ritualcross.bandcamp.com/album/ritual-cross Ritual Cross, by Ritual Cross5 track albumRitual CrossN0VA...

A classic case of the label writing hype checks bound to bounce: Precipice does NOT sound like DIE KREUZEN or SPIKE IN VAIN, and so the first pass flopped. The subsequent go 'round revealed a band fully capable of standing on its own two-to-ten legs (possible solo outing? Inconceivable to me, as a singer or bassist by trade). 8 brisk (by European standards) tracks of what I like to call "psycho hardcore." 8 teeth missing and a bruise on the forehead. Released by Discos Enfermos, listen here: h...

Haven't heard a band so effortlessly channel the spirit of 80s hardcore punk without sounding hopelessly derivative in a long time. No vocal delay, chunky guitars, xeroxed to shit cover art, and I just know there's a "program repeats both sides" disclaimer somewhere. Unadulterated and unspoiled by algorithm slop bullshit, I hope I never see this band on the summer punk fest circuit. Released by Slow Death Records, listen here: https://slow-death-records.bandcamp.com/album/caustic-demo-2025 CA...

A-regular, asymmetric, a-okay! Slot 'em in a mixtape rock block twixt CHRONOPHAGE, DESPERATE BICYCLES, MD, or STRAW MAN ARMY. 5/5 Released by Stucco Label, listen here: https://stuccolabel.bandcamp.com/album/the-8th-of-may The 8th of May, by FLEAS OF MERCY10 track albumStuccomatty getloose...

Five high energy, TOTALITAR-tinged tracks. Not bad by any means, but it's missing something that would give it the push into constant rotation. Maybe a rawer recording, or if the vocals sat lower in the mix. The cover art is great and there's a strong enough foundation that I'll tune into future dispatches. (3.5/5) Released by Neon Taste Records, listen here: https://neontasterecords.bandcamp.com/album/esmagado-pela-engrenagem-capitalista Esmagado Pela Engrenagem Capitalista, by Sistema Obsole...

Big time five out of five. Unmitigated banger. FFO: that hardcore punk shit....

Investigating my daily listening habits, it ain't immediately apparent that I love certain sub sub sub genres of hardcore, but in the lizard portions of my brain, in the depths of my art punk heart or whatever, there is an unapologetic desire for the mosh. The demonstrated style doesn't have a better representation than CORRECTIVE MEASURE. Fast, angry, and subtle as a fucking hammer. Definition of meat and potatoes, with great breakdowns and no corny bullshit. (5/5) Released by Refused Records...

Coulda been a bad day, coulda been the 1,000th Caves cover art in a calendar year, but it seemed HOMEMADE SPEED lost something between that manic live footage that initially blipped my radar and the first spin of "Faster Is Better." It felt domesticated. Last week's revisitation revealed the idiot genius I knew they had in 'em: bandanas, dumb crew vocals, & 8 tracks that hit like lost cuts from the "Cleanse the Bacteria" and "No Core" comps. (7.5/10) Released by Not For The Weak Records, liste...

Five years after the release of their "Hot & Flustered" LP, these nazty rockers have returned from the depths of the Perth abyss. While I enjoyed that release, it didn't resonate quite so deeply as their "Pork Sword Fever" 7". Never fear, their latest 5 song slab is a return to form: trebly 2 minute rants that vibrate on the same frequency as "Penis Envy," the PETTICOATS Peel Session, or the ENDTABLES. What a great year for punk art, thanks for da Meaty contribution. (4.5/5) Released by Static...

Batshit Japanese art punk from a few years back. Contemporaneous reviews cite COMES as a starting point, but "Stop Jap"-era STALIN, smashed up against the "fast but not fast" method pioneered by GAUZE (and, a world away, BAD BRAINS) is more apt. Listen & choose, reader! Are these references: a) far too on the nose or B) the post-pratfall schnoz that is making an FFO list for an unadventurous public? (5 sicks out of 6 nasties) Released by KiliKiliVilla Records, listen here: https://kilikilivil...

Six song (sigh) 12" from Leeds' MOTHER NATURE. An interesting whole that doesn't quite sound like its purported parts (record labels near and far: gimme vibes, not unattainable subcultural marketing parallels in your write-ups). I'm personally not hearing YDI or COLD SWEAT here, but MN's mix of stompy, burly hardcore and flangey guitar is still a worthwhile listen. Great cover art is a common thread stretched 'cross all the records I've reviewed this ish and this one's no different. Imaginary po...

A blind listen would have you thinkin' this was a four or five band compilation. While we're mostly talking gruff, tupa tupa type shit, OOVA switches it up stylistically speaking too often to feel cohesive. Don't hate it, but I'm a stickler for vision. Released by Planeta Destrozado, listen here: https://planetadestrozado.bandcamp.com/album/creaturas-del-subconsciente Find the band here: https://oova.bandcamp.com/ Creaturas del Subconsciente, by Oova11 track albumPlaneta DestrozadoJean-Paul Du...

Incredible band name, the most unsearchable moniker since SEX VID. I thoroughly enjoyed the half of this album sonically situated between HEAVY METAL (the band) and the SECRET PROSTITUTES, while the other half is a bit too yolky for my tastes. Released by Feral Kid Records, listen here: https://feral-kid-records.bandcamp.com/album/album-01 Album #01, by (+39) 375-649-94-64 My Telephone Number10 track albumFeral Kid RecordsDaniel Bauer...

Here's a quick one from the gut, 'cause I can't get this one outta my head. Three crunchy, nasty tracks from LA's RATONERA HUMANA, recalling the best of the old Silenzio Statico scene, plus that first unhinged outing by INSERVIBLES. I feel like this short demonstration could, would, and should have everyone from the spiked-out pogoers to the pasty faced goths united in agreement: it fucks! Very much looking forward to more. Big thanks to dule.klc666 for bringing it to the "world's" attention. C...

My intention is to get a review in for each of my "Best of 2024" picks before the passage of time renders them all irrelevant (this space not safe for Greg the Builder, but how boring a world it would be to let a calendar dictate yer tastes! Eye digress: destroy time!). I arranged that list all alphabetical-like as to avoid some sorta hierarchy, but I'd be lying if I said this wasn't my #1. Word on the street is SHARP PINS carries a heavy GUIDED BY VOICES influence, a claim supported by their G...

New demo from four young Chicago go-hards who dropped a music video before a demo, but if that makes yer vision go red, you should take up a hobby. Knitting, kayaking, get the blood pumping for chrissakes! As for pumping blood, "violent by nature" is one of the more straightforward hardcore punk releases I've enjoyed in some time, but goddamn is it good. I snagged the tape at a somewhat ill-fated gig at the Orphanage back in January. Live, I felt like there was a little more d-beat influence th...

Slime punk, egg punk, egg. Chain wave, chain punk, and, eventually, inevitably, similarly, just chain. Does this help? Make more sense? No no no, just keep throwing some shit at the wall so every review sounds like a sales pitch and every band is a camel comprised of diametric sonic interests. D-beat, kang, raw, D-beat raw, UK82; female fronted, fast hardcore, fastcore; Devocore (that's a thing! The author's sweating!) Oh, good grief, let's not turn this first outing of mine into a referendum o...