UFLAGE 100

 

What a.....what a sweet collection of songs. You could really stop listening after the opening track from GHOST AMBULANCE and feel satisfied - one of the most innocent and sincere love songs I can remember hearing. What follows is a perfectly curated mix of '90s proto-shoegaze and harmlessly mellow indie cuts from TRAUMA GLOW, MANIC YOUTH, COMBAT BEACH, LAUNDROMAT CHICKS, a surprisingly addictive groover by SWELLE and an airy epic from SAKURA.....basically a grip of modern Austrian bands I would never have crossed paths with if I didn't have a well connected pal who likes to meets for burritos on occasion. He says "you're welcome."

AUFLAGE 100

WHO WILL BE NEXT

 

Yeah....more Indonesian hardcore. This shit sounds like it was ripped out of the early '00s "old school meets emotional melodic hardcore riffs" subgenre. Like, you're gonna know what I mean when you hear the shit, I swear you will. Dan Gatewood would (probably) love this shit, I can see him rocking back and forth patting an open hand on his chest and smiling until he thrust a fist in the air and mouthed the chorus to the title track "Straight Edge Today." I miss that dude, but I miss a lot of things and alas I digress..... First half of Dari Sini Kita Mulai was recorded in 2014 but the other three tracks were recorded seven years earlier and are a touch more on the Y2K tip. It's just twelve minutes all in, but the shit takes you on a fukkn journey and I am (still) here for it. 

DARI SINI KITA MULAI

PRE-MARITAL SEX

 

I'll say it again: DIY punk in the '90s was fucking special. The utter disregard for convention and rules from a generation of punks who had a solid decade (plus) of punk innovators and trend-setters to draw from and who also didn't give half a shit about what they were supposed to do or how they were supposed to sound....? Shit was special. These Central (CA) Coast geniuses sound like a road trip from '80s Orange County to early '90s SF, but broken down with nothing to listen to but a Dangerhouse comp and a few Crass Records 45s. Like I said....shit was special. I posted another PMS tape last month and there's another right around the corner, all are recommended. 

SCRUT

THE JODIE MIKULA ORCHESTRA

 

You know I love this shit. The completely random artifacts rescued from the Forgotten Bins in second hand and charity shops across the country (and other countries). Sometimes I pick up a tape and examine it and think that if I don't listen to it at least once then perhaps no one will ever hear the sounds it contains. No one. Ever. And sometimes the sounds are....well, they're forgettable even if the are important, but sometimes the sounds bring my joy. If I can be honest for a moment here: I desperately need joy. So in that spirit, I present the pride of Ennis, Texas: THE JODIE MIKULA ORCHESTRA. Jodie founded the group in the late '60s to bring traditional Czech polkas to the masses (I say "masses" and obviously I jest because I am realistic) and the band carried his mission after his passing in 1989. This 1991 tribute was their first physical release without their band leader, and it captures the casual, comfortable, confident spirit that Jodie embodied - I know I do raw crust and harsh noise here, but "Dark Knight (Waltz)" kinda made me a little misty. And that's why we keep digging, young punks; you never know what you'll find. You might find a place to "forget your troubles for a while" - that's a good thing.  

A TRIBUTE TO JODIE

LITTLE ANGELS

 

File under: Bands I might have seen if my life were different. I bet they were fukkn great in a basement; nasty, writhing North American punk with some of the fiercest  (and destroyed) vocals in recent memory. Check the pick slides on "Clock In" and the urgent ramshackle drums throughout. It's really just a perfect example of what hardcore with honest attitude is supposed to sound like. Apparently there are more cassette releases from LITTLE ANGELS, please send them to me. Slide into my DMs or whatever kids use to request communication these days. I don't know; I am old and irrelevant. 

LITTLE ANGELS

SCUMMY AND THE SCUMS

 

How many Covid projects were there.....? Rhetorical question of course, because there were countless Covid projects across all genres that achieved various levels of realization before things returned to whatever "normal" was in 2022 (or so). SCUMMY AND THE SCUMS fit the bill - a deceptively named project since the entire band seems to be composed of someone called Mr. Scummy. T(he)y produced five glorious minutes of politically charged and relevant (in a "time-and-place" sense) hardcore and offered it to the world in 2021. The rest of us motherfuckers should have listened to "Where's Joe?" but then again...it wouldn't have made a difference. Aside from the people dying, Covid times were some of the best months of my adult life. The future was uncertain but we had the moment. 

SCUMMY AND THE SCUMS

MAX NORDILE

 

God/s this is beautiful. You've heard me talk about Max and his compulsions on these pages over the years, and these comments are no different.......it's that this one hits just right as I type these words. Free jazz mixed with boundary-free experimentation and ambient bliss. (Pharoah) Sanders, (Shane) Embury and (Genesis) P'Orridge embodied in sonic freak skin. There's really nothing like Sir Nordile in the current realm. 

THE VIVID HISTORY OF THE CAPITOL EGGS