Issue 13

Contributed by Lisa Czech Since 1996, Jeff Miller’s patient eye has documented the DIY spaces he moves through. In his fanzine, Ghost Pine, he continued the punk literary-documentarian tradition established by predecessors such as Aaron Cometbus and Fly (Elen Orr). Temporary Palaces (House of Anansi Press, 2026), is the Ottawa-born author's first formal stab at long-form fiction. If Ghost Pine catalogued a milieu, Temporary Palaces inhabits it. The core of this story unfolds in the aftermath ...

I saw someone in France post a flyer on counterforce.social for a show KHLORE was playing and replied with my praise for KHLORE, having seen those crasher crusties in Lille last summer. From that I learned that some of the members have a new band with a new release: CLEANCORE KILLER. A nice long 8 song debut record of delicious stenchcore. Perfect guitar tone and crusty vocals that never seem to land on the beat but it still works. Guest vocals from Charley of UK's CATASTROPHE is a huge highligh...

Montreal's d-beat supergroup with members of more bands than I can mention. Two-guitar d-beat hardcore, for TOTALIÄR fans but with a but of a crunchier edge. They spend a long time writing their songs and it shows. I've been watching Dave's driving beats and precise fills for 20 years now and I hope I get to watch for 20 more. If you have made this far in life without falling in love with the d-beat this record might do it. Tape released by Sore Mind, 7 inch released by Broken Skull. Listen her...

Another new crusty demo tape from an acronymable band name dropping on the D4MT Labs YouTube channel. GLUM APATHETIC SOCIETY (G.A.S., if I may) features members of former/associated bands like MMI, WORLD DISORDER, XERO, SPIROKETE and CULTURE SHAPING VIOLENCE (C.S.V.). Endless Tiring Existing Demo leans more noise/crasher crust with the extreme squeal guitar feedback, a bit of actual noise content, and booming drums that hit the monkey beat frequently. It's not just a high-speed noise assault, th...

I have never been to Perth but understand it as the nexus in which all the best and heaviest Australian music spawns. It is a place lionised for its isolation, and working backwards from the sounds Perth bands tend to generate, it does in fact seem to be a place of dinosaurs and demons, the mesozoic and medieval. The debut demo of AFFIRMATIONS solidifies images of West Australian dino-demon scapes, incanting something from the void, understanding the way out is not through but from within, heedi...

Contributed by splendid ass The counter-point(force?) to my post-punk woes. DOUBLE DATE’s debut is more aux cord jammed into cracked Sydney pavement than stern genuflection at what came before. Sure, I hear you yelling at the screen. Of course there are precursors and the echoes of a million post-punk outfits pinging off the edges of this tape. These are well-trodden paths, no doubt. But DOUBLE DATE sounds like they’re actually having fun walking down them. Oozing with a similar steeze that gav...

Contributed by splendid ass Wiry post-punk propelled by lashings of well-adjusted psychedelia… hmmm, characteristics of a record which usually have me searching for load bearing beams. STATION MODEL VIOLENCE's debut is ‘the underground’ for men over the age of 35 and with full-time jobs. It is the HOODOO GURUS for the Gen Z/Millenial threshold, a record that will offend no one and delight those who comment on YouTube videos. This S/T fiddles with a 12-string, picks one or two good ideas and cha...

Ninety years ago the Spanish Civil War began. It destroyed hundreds of thousands of lives but also gave birth, for a few months, to one of the most beautiful social revolutions of the twentieth century. It also exposed something that still defines Spain today: a territory with an extraordinary diversity of languages, cultures, landscapes and political traditions forced into a single national project. Modern Spain was largely consolidated after the Civil War, especially under Francisco Franco and...