Last year, I pulled this tape out of the demo box at Maximum Rocknroll and figured I would give it a spin because it looked pretty good. I read the introductory-slash-promotional material that came from the folks who released it (who are also responsible for rippers from PURE DISGUST, OBLIVIONATION, PROTESTER, and THE FLEX, and many others) they mentioned that the band brought to mind UK82 punk and some other stuff, including the Boston band SLAPSHOT...and with that in mind, I set out to write my review for the magazine. I listened. I loved it. I made the entertaining mistake of mentioning that I have never heard SLAPSHOT in the review which bent a few folks on the internet the wrong way, but I guess those are the breaks (I mean really, you can't expect everyone to be familiar with EVERY starter band, can you? I have since listened to SLAPSHOT and think that they are basically fine). That nonsense aside, the shit is raw straightforward hardcore punk with a serious "almost Oi!" edge. And it's really good. "Bleak" is the burner, while "Doesn't Matter" keeps up a midpaced creepy crawl that's just a teensy bit faster than a breakdown for its entire existence...and if the subtly flanged guitar intro to "Cross" doesn't make some idjit in a bleached jean jacket stage dive then I don't know what will. The vocals are almost breaking for the entire demo which gives every track an edge, and the solo in "Doesn't Matter" is some serious Mould channeling and it works frighteningly well. Nothing fancy here, just the good shit....sorry about the SLAPSHOT thing, dudes.
*Go back to your shitty life // I don't care what you say* - "My Path"
*You're a piece of shit // you fucking suck // we don't need you* - "Spineless"
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