Recently I was in NYC and stopped by Peace Of Mind HQ where I was gifted a few of their recent releases. Willow filled my bag with copies to take home, exclaiming "we don't care about making money, we just want to put our friends bands and get their music out there." Besides the LOVE AND COMPASSION tape, everything I was given has not yet been reviewed here. So, I present a roundup review:

MMI - Imminently Perilous To Life Demo Tape

As of writing, the newest Peace Of Mind release. Opens with a sample of Brett Spiner's alien-possessed character from Independence day whispering "PEACE? NO PEACE." - I'm sold. MMI plays dark crusty lofi hardcore and the vocals are really the stand-out: disturbingly guttural raw possessed demon vocals completely full of rage, they just cut through the recording. The riffs are dark and at times downright atmospheric. It's a good soundtrack for this particularly bleak winter. They also break out into the "dum-dum breakdown beat" (you'll know what I mean when you hear it). I don't know anything about this band besides being given the tape, but I really hope I get to see them.

DISPUTA - Maldito Sistema Demo Tape

Fast-paced hardcore with shouted-spanish vocals. The guitar breaks out into solos (or guitar leads) pretty frequently, which is not my favorite thing in hardcore punk, but DISPUTA doesn't lose me completely. A solid demo.

NO KNOCK - Imagine A World Without Landlord$ 7" EP

It opens with a deranged wail as the band launches into a non-stop straight ahead hardcore punk barrage of songs. It really just doesn't stop. I imagine the vocalist is writhing or rolling around for most of the set. The 7" inch jacket art is Willow's intricate pen drawings and the insert is a huge silkscreened newsprint poster that barely fits in the record sleeve once it's folded up. The insert is full of words, quotes, political statements, the words "No Knock"repeated endlessly, but I'm not sure if the lyrics are in there, which is too bad cause I know this band got something political and sharp to say! But you can tell just from the package and the energy.

PEACE OF MIND IN A TROUBLED WORLD vol. 1 - NYC 2024 Compilation

A 21-track comp tape featuring new tracks from 18 artists (a few bands on the PoM roster get 2 tracks). I believe many tracks are or were unreleased when this tape came out, including "SSRI" from FLOWER and "Bountiful Meal" from LOVE AND COMPASSION. Other bands on Peace Of Mind include NO KNOCK, DISPUTA, STATE MANUFACTURED TERROR, and MMI.

Other NYC staples on this tape include D4MT bands STRAW MAN ARMY & KALEIDOSCOPE, HEADSPLITTERS, ABISM, HYSTERIC POLEMIX and T.A.Z. Side A whips through these bands, with a consistent tracklist of high-energy hardcore punk and crust. Queer sludgelords GROKE make a return to close out side A, followed by a somewhat indulgent and long MANY MANY GIRLS noise/radiosurfing exploration.

Side B has fewer tracks with more space for crust (and jazz?), LOVE AND COMPASSION deliver a crushing crustcore track with crust two-step parts and then a spin-kickable breakdown. FLOWER's new track is somehow crusty and bounce/noodely without veering into metalpunk (thumbs up). Then there's a STRAW MAN ARMY track off their new LP which segues the listener into the closing lengthy jazz interpretation of the classic "You Don't Have To Fuck People Over To Survive" print accompanied by spoken word from radical weirdo propagandist legend Seth Tobocman. It's a perfect journey.

The tape is accompanied by a full zine, with a lyric page for each song contributed by the respective band and full-colour cover art. Every band delivered 100% on their lyric page. I don't think even a pirated copy of photoshop touched this.

Overall, the gold standard for a punk comp tape. A collective effort from a scene to really bring together many different voices and bands and give outsiders a peek into what's going on in the city. The spirit of resistance as expressed in a wide variety of underground music is represented here and it's all "real". No posers and no cash-grabs. The real music of resistance. This comp will definitely be a beloved time capsule of this period of the NYC scene in the future.

You can get all info on Peace of Mind activities from their website: https://peaceofmindinatroubledworld.nyc and listen to their releases on their YouTube channel.