NUCLEAR FAMILY

There was a time in the early days of The Escape when I was posting tons of shit from Albany, New York and a friend from Texas started to get a little touchy because why was this rust belt shit heap getting so much attention while a certified punk mecca was getting ignored. Well.....it's because there were a lot of really good sounds coming out of Albany at the time. That doesn't mean that Texas wasn't booming, it just means that SYSTEM FITE and NUCLEAR FAMILY and ACID REFLUX and NEUTRON RATS and ANAL WARHEAD were absolutely on fukkn point. This tape was one of the ones that I skipped over in the mad shuffle of life, and though it's hard to believe that it's eleven years old now, listening to "Falling" and "Nuclear Family" today makes me feel just like it did then. So in case you weren't paying attention: Albany, New York was a seriously hot spot for punk and hardcore in the mid-late '00s, and this demo is killer.

NUCLEAR FAMILY

NUCLEAR FAMILY

Sometimes you don't have to push boundaries, you don't have to break new ground, you don't even need to do something different - you just have to do it right. That's what Albany's NUCLEAR FAMILY do, and I watched 'em do it last night. I'm going to watch them do it again tonight too, just a short walk from my front door (the pleasures of urban living). Jen's vocals and Zach's guitar don't compete for your attention, but they do both command it from start to finish, and it's easy to alternately get wowed by either - so simple, but flawless. I posted their 2009 demo last year, and today I give you the six song burner from 2007. Favorite tunes: "Believer's Voice In Victory" (vocals rule) and "More Of The Same" (guitars rule). 

NUCLEAR FAMILY 2007

If you live in the Bay Area, go see NUCLEAR FAMILY, DAYLIGHT ROBBERY, BRILLIANT COLORS, NEONATES and AIRFIX KITS today in a backyard around the corner from Thrillhouse Records. Shit starts at 4, and it will be great.

NUCLEAR FAMILY

 

I listen to these songs often. I like all of the NUCLEAR FAMILY releases and I will avoid trying to choose a favorite...they just did it right. This was the first recording, followed by a cassette in 2007 and an EP in 2009 before wrapping their run in 2010 with a full length and another cassette. I shared this a few years ago but, like I said, I listen to these songs often....I encourage you to do the same.

NUCLEAR FAMILY

THE NUCLEAR FAMILY

Strap in.

A chaotic performance from Australia's THE NUCLEAR FAMILY captured in Sapporo in 2016. Think early punk, when there were no rules and when you could just kill one hook for four minutes and call it a song. Think saxophone. Think STOOGES meets GERMS. Think MUTANTS. Think fucking punk then think free jazz and then ask yourself is technical ability is really the only true barrier. I typically house the live bangs over at Escape Is Terminal, but I feel like it would be criminal for this document to get lost in the less-visited shuffle. Take your time here, THE NUCLEAR FAMILY is neither an easy nor pleasant ride. But they take you where you need to go. 

LIVE IN JAPAN

NUCLEAR FAMILY

So, as promised, I went to see DEEP SLEEP from Baltimore last night. So Fucking Good! Every ingredient was there for the perfect hardcore experience: a guitar that has spent years honing it's tone on early HUSKER DU and perhaps a few ARTICLES OF FAITH singles, a singer that is snotty, energetic and charismatic, a bass player who simply fucking FLIES over the instrument, I mean good like like early C.O.C. kinda good, and of course a drummer that is solid meat and taters backbeat. They totally killed, but they did not have any tapes. Go buy their records.

The point is...watching DEEP SLEEP reminded me why I love punk, and as much as I love listening to and discovering and sharing unearthed gems from 20 years ago (almost 30 sometimes), I would trade all that in a second for new punk and hardcore that I can feel and breathe and truly experience. Enter: NUCLEAR FAMILY. One of Albany, New York's finest exports of late, these folks have graced us with a few (three?) tapes as well as one stellar EP. This cassette was the result of not having anything to sell on their recent tour, and the tracks were hastily recorded before they set off, which might help explain the 25% cover ratio (seriously, the DILS cover rules, and Jen's vocals on the WIPERS and BUZZCOCKS tunes just makes so damn much sense!). Check them out, buy their record, go see them, and long live punk.

NUCLEAR FAMILY

PRISON

There was a period in the early TE days when it seemed like Upstate New York was the center of the North American punk universe. Every time I turned around there was a new bomber from NEUTRON RATS, ACID REFLUX, ANAL WARHEAD, NUCLEAR FAMILY.....or an unearthed early '00s relic like ECFU. It became noticeable enough the Logan put me on blast for prioritizing Albany over Austin (think about that), but it didn't last forever. The last time I toured the East Coast I hit up folks for a show somewhere on the turnpike between NYC and Buffalo, but the word was that most of the punks had moved away....Boston, Chicago, Austin...away from a vast expanse of turning foliage and Middle America mindsets. But that was a generation ago, and I listen to this 2016 PRISON demo wondering if the region is back on the map? This is certainly an offering strong enough to anchor such a resurgence (their 2017 three song banger might pack an even deadlier punch), five tracks of noisy, plodding punk that sounds urgent even if it sounds somewhat time stamped by current trends. The simplicity of the two-riff "Creep" as the closer translates as pure fury - it doesn't have to be fancy kids....it just has to be right - with a disjointed guitar lead that has been stuck in my head for days. Let's hope Electric City is turning punk again...

PRISON

SAVAGE REPUBLIC

I put off digging into this band for years, knowing that it would be a decision that justifiably required a significant time commitment...and '80s Los Angeles freaks SAVAGE REPUBLIC were worth the wait. File somewhere between Confusion Is Sex, ¡TCHKUNG!, contemporary late '80s SST, early UK anarcho-punk and BEATNIGS for reference, but SAVAGE REPUBLIC exist(ed) on an island of their own making. With a discography every bit as daunting as their sonic legacy, their no rules approach to sound and song is one that defies and befuddles the casual listener. I didn't start with I Married Thurston (by chance and convenience, 1989's Customs earned my first listen), but it's among my favorites in an extensive (to say the least) collection of live and demo recordings released by the band during their run. Settle in and dig deep. 

I MARRIED THURSTON

Today marks one full decade of Terminal Escape. I know that the blog has been a passé method for the dissemination and consumption of music for some time. "Everything is on youtube" or all of the new bands are on bandcamp or "fuck it I'll just listen to whatever is on spotify" - and most of that is true and almost all of that makes sense. Because working for stuff is hard, and it takes more effort, and because you have to know where to look. Sometimes it's clunky, sometimes it's not cool, and sometimes it even sounds like shit...but some of us keep looking. Just shy of 3400 posts and uploads, another 1500 live recordings on Escape Is Terminal, and I still rip everything in house on (for now) a gorgeous 1980s Yamaha TC-520 that I bought for $80. Thanks to everyone who's sent me tapes, thanks to everyone who's left a comment here or there to let me know that people are paying attention. I figured for a while that I would stop posting when I hit the ten year mark because...I mean, that's long enough, right? But I'm looking at shelves of unripped tapes, The NUCLEAR FAMILY Live In Japan mindfuck just taunting me, a really sick CIRCLE JERKS set from '83, the EKSTRAKTION demo that flew under the radar a few years back, that new JAD recording...well, you get the idea. So I'll be back. Tomorrow. Hopefully you get something good out of it.

SYSTEM FITE

10 minutes of blown out raw hardcore punk, rudimentary and ferocious. Female vocals set to that classic chaotic clattering that you punks love - sometimes it's in tune (sometimes not so much), sometimes it sounds like UK85 thrash on speed, sometimes it sounds like Scandinavia put in a blender. "Invasion Force" is the jam here, but all of these will appeal to fans of fast, simple hardcore (note: this recording is RAW). Members of ACID REFLUX and NUCLEAR FAMILY, this was recorded in the mid '00s (I wanna say 2005?)...and my love affair with Albany bands continues.

SYSTEM FITE

CB RADIO GORGEOUS

 

You might wonder what would make a band call themselves CB RADIO GORGEOUS, and you'd be right to wonder. When "Summer Skies" is over though, the only thing you'll be wondering is how a band who decided to call themselves CB RADIO GORGEOUS. Top tier (and top speed) feisty Midwest punk driven (hard) by clean 'n damaged guitars and a floppy walking bass - think LIQUIDS or CCTV with NUCLEAR FAMILY vocals. From Not Normal of course, because that's where Midwest freak punks live. Choice cut: "Shelly."

CB RADIO GORGEOUS...PLAYS CB RADIO GORGEOUS

RATS IN THE WALL

Maybe it's listening to the vocals and guitar compete for my attention, or maybe it's the simple fact that these songs are rippers, but I listen to this thing over and over. Think Jen Mace (NERVOUS TREND, NUCLEAR FAMILY) as a vocal comparison, while the Brad's guitar drives a focused outfit that takes the straight forward hardcore model and shoves it into a dark corner filled with '70s SF punk records and Greg Sage songsmith skills....the animal that emerges from that dark place is really good. There's a magic to a collection of well crafted tunes, and that's what this demo is full of - you know what you're getting as soon as you press play, and you keep listening because you know you like it.

RATS IN THE WALL

PERMACULTURE

Instantly hooked. PERMACULTURE harness urgent '80s UK anarcho punk (think FLUX, A-HEADS) but present their wares with the intensity and precision of present day hardcore punk. The songs are just so fukkn good, they speak completely for themselves, so I won't try to speak for them. Vocals from NUCLEAR FAMILY, everything else from Ryan (CONFINES, SOCIAL CIRKLE, Side Two). Wow. 

SWALLOW WHAT YOU'RE GIVEN

SECRET SERVICE

What is it about Albany?  I mean, it's pretty nice, and the leaves turn all kinds of beautiful colors in the fall, and there are lots of nice people, but I don't understand how this small upstate New York college town can crank out such a disproportionate number of killer punk bands.  NUCLEAR FAMILY and ECFU (who are, if I may indulge in a rhyme, "technically from Schenectady") have already been featured on The Escape, and today i give you the SECRET SERVICE demo to help you ride your bicycle down the cold and rainy streets dodging cars and idiots along the way (it's cold and rainy where I am, not sure about you).  I get a distinct Dangerhouse feel from this demo, but what I hope that you will get is a sweet punk tape that will make your day just a little better than it was before you stopped by.

SECRET SERVICE