MORALLY STRAIGHT

 

In a way, MORALLY STRAIGHT came two years too late......but isn't that want makes them perfect? 2012's Normalitas is a master class in posi-Y2K fastcore, giving off serious LIFES HALT vibes with shades of 97A and some of the more 'crew iterations of the era. I wax nostalgic about this period every so often, choosing to remember the positives and skip the frustrations, and it's bands like this that really drive home how many great people and relationships came out of that time....bands like MORALLY STRAIGHT that help me remember that while hardcore rules, your hardcore (whatever era and/or genre you're a part of) rules more. Pretty sure these kids from Bandung are never going to forget the bonds they made in the early 2010s, and that makes this old white guy smile. 

NORMALITAS

HOPI BUTTERFLY

I encourage you to listen with intention. I stopped partway through my first listen; I understood that these recordings needed my full attention and I waiting until I could dedicate my ears and my self properly. It was the right choice. In the right environment, listening can feel like being a part of - I know that I'm not, but for 34 minutes it almost felt like I was. And it was nice to feel like I was a part of something. 

HOPI BUTTERFLY DANCE

RHINO

 

Filthy, grimy, gruff, squirmy hardcore street punk. The tempo shift that closes "Spinning" is worth the price of admission on its own but you're in luck; this is ten minutes of angst ridden gold. One self-titled demo from 2018 is all you get from Rhino, which seems appropriate for a band littered with members who seem obsessed (or content?) with projects who drop a handful of songs and then dissolve (CRYIN' HAND, BOOGER, ZIG ZAG, SMELTER, EJECUTADÓR, CURBED, PUTRID BOYS....this list just scratches the surface). At the risk of repeating myself - if the songs are this good, then fukk it. 

RHINO

FUTURAT

 

It's hard to really put a finger on these sounds - they are already inside me, just not quite like this....and every time I listen to Incenerat it stops me dead in my tracks. What do they sound like? See for yourself (please) and decide for yourself (obviously), but this shit keeps hitting like MUDHONEY mixed with TORCHE mixed with early '90s FLAMING LIPS and I am so totally here for it. Also it seemed an appropriate time and place post considering this time and the place we currently find ourselves in. I wish it was as simple as a tape filled with killer jams.....but maybe for a few minutes it can be. Maybe.  

INCINERAT

MINUS TREE

 

This kind of (scr)e(a)mo has always intrigued me. Like, I get it - I absolutely understand the appeal even though it never actually clicked with me. I don't know that MINUTE is the band that's gonna turn me, the band that will make me stop listening to DBeat and commit to feelings manifested as minor key guitar leads and desperately shrieked vocals.....but I'll be damned if "A Journey" doesn't make me think, and "The Throne" is fukkn transcendent so maybe (just maybe) it's time.  

CHANGE

OUR SPIRIT

 

Had a couple of drinks tonight with an old friend (one of my oldest) and for the first time in a long time we didn't talk about nostalgia. We talked about our bodies failing us and our friends failing us and us failing ourselves and we talked about love and we talked about loss and grief and we talked about death and we talked about punk bands and EDM DJs....we talked about his bands and my bands, but we didn't talk about our bands. Sometimes it's good to connect with someone you love and actually connect instead of rehashing as a means of small talk. Anyway....this band from Depok City hits like LIFES HALT and OUTLAST. Eight minutes of determined, positive 'core that makes me feel....well, nostalgic. It's hard to say the before times were better because we (I) didn't know what we didn't know....but fukk that innocence felt good, especially in retrospect. Enjoy and crank "Can't Get Ahead" while you get ahead today. 

OUR SPIRIT

 

PEASANT YERMO

 

Q: Is there a place for vaguely funky outsider hippie cult oldies music?

A: Yes. Here.

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I don't know how to describe PEASANT YERMO, and typically when that is my conundrum I tend to blather on nonsensically. I'll try to avoid that today and simply suggest that you listen for yourself and draw your on conclusions and comparisons. I hear East Side Story comps, Krautrock, GONG, 4-track bedroom improvisations....and a San Francisco band from the '90s whose name I cannot conjure and thus I will spend days and (hopefully not) weeks trying to remember. I saw them at Kommotion and gave the guitarist free bagels often and they had a lot of amps. Anyway, this is really damn peaceful music and I love it and please focus on "Bullwinkle Sutra." You're welcome. 

HOMESPUN DANCE