AMERICA'S DAIRYLAND

 

The cover is so simple, right? Upper Midwest farmland. Quaint. Peaceful. Winters are cold but oh let's talk about the unbridled joy of spring, and think of the warm summer nights after the mosquitoes have abated. How do you justify that illustration with the completely damaged hell guitar in G.F.O.'s "Police Raid," or the 74 seconds of pure rage that is "Anti-Christ" by Mishicot, Wisconsin's NO. This 1983 compilation from Last Rights is classic for a reason....it's also untouchable. Simply one of the best and most essential regional collections of USHC ever, even (especially) as it approaches its 40th birthday. Part of what makes America's Dairyland hold up so well is that mixed in with the bands who "made it" out of the state or later became immortalized by collectors and taste makers (DIE KREUZEN, MECHT MENSCH, CLITBOYS - and to a lesser degree SUBURBAN MUTILATION, SACRED ORDER and IMMINENT ATTACK) are bands never "made it" beyond this tape - and some of those bands stand out just as much as, if not more than, the legends. Of course you've heard DIE KREUZEN's "Enemies," but what about "Frozen Popsicle" from Sturgeon Bay's MALIGNANCE? The tracks from the aforementioned NO are straight stunners across the board, buried underneath the raw noise of a live recording are three pure burners from Madison's N.F.O.D., and Wauwatosa's DISDAIN are off the rails and unhinged, especially on "School." Sure, CLITBOYS shine (not surprising that, even in 1983, they knew to offer their three finest cuts to this would-be classic comp) , but the manic blob of BACKSTAB's "No Rules" sounds less dangerous than they probably were (and it sounds fucking dangerous). Of course BLOODY MATTRESSES (pre-TAR BABIES) sound good on "Red White And Blues" (that drum beat, seriously), but there's a reason why THE CRUSTIES are quietly legendary in Milwaukee...even if few folks outside of the region ever paid attention. And maybe that's what makes America's Dairyland (still) hit so damn hard, because these bands (and songs) were a product of the myth of that simple illustration, a product of the Rust Belt collapse of the '70s and '80s, when the shroud slowly and cruelly fell off of the American Dream for so many people who had fallen for the lie. The reality, and the reality of the failure, hit different in the Midwest...and maybe their brand of hardcore was a result. Listen to IMMINENT ATTACK's "We Are Not Alone," perhaps the most accessibly punk song on the comp, at least twice today. Please.

AMERICA'S DAIRYLAND