DATA UNKNOWN

 

You know this one is right before it even really gets going. "Vibin' On A Hearse" opens up with some truly deranged synths creeping over a distorted tom beat with no cymbals, and then vocals kinda meander drunkenly through the outer edges of the mix until the whole outfit gives way to a mental episode with "Feathers n Eyes." True freak punk from Indiana, each track is an outburst and some are directed inward in the most damaged (and damaging) way. More than an experiment, DATA UNKNOWN sound like a plea for attention...or possibly help. 

PROMO ONLY

CHARLIE'S FAMILY CRISIS

 

What grabs me about CHARLIE'S FAMILY CRISIS is the way it hits like so many late '80s under the radar USHC acts (NEANDERTHAL SPONGE, BIG DEAL, NAKED HIPPY and the like). It nods to the early part of the decade but the sound is infected by crossover and metal and the early stages of melodic punk in the 1990s. Vocals remind me of CONCEPT OF NONSENSE, some of the more disjointed parts remind me of BURIED or DEMISE, though mostly I think that Family Life sounds familiar, as if it comes from a place that I would have been...if I had been there. Perhaps that's why my reference lines all originate from somewhere close to home, but I've never been to Wales, so maybe punk is universal after all. 

FAMILY LIFE

POKING A DEAD FISH WITH A NOT DEAD FISH

 

Once again, Food Fortunata and/or Friends are testing the limits of musical reasonability...this time with the unearthed project POKING A DEAD FISH WITH A NOT DEAD FISH. Nineteen songs about bowel movements, math, pickles, manual labor and whatever other stream-of-consciousness came out when the guys pressed <record>. Ponder wise quips like "construction was not created by a ghost, it was the dream of all large mammals" while you're trying to figure out if the music is a (failed) attempt to succeed or whether you're just the target of a cruel audio prank. No one does it better, fine visitors...no one. 

POKING A DEAD FISH WITH A NOT DEAD FISH

SHITLOAD

 

Long time visitors will remember Mondays. Week after week of blown to shit distorted, noisy non-music. Week after week of sonic abominations. I've gotten (a lot) less strict on my scheduling, but I don't think there's a band more perfect for the Monday slot that New Orleans based Covid project SHITLOAD. Complete noisecore. Nothing else. Bass and drum (machine) destruction that makes GODSTOMPER sound like pop punk. With 40+ releases in less than two years, it's impossible to keep up...but please believe that I'm going to try, because this is either what the world sounds like or this is what the world needs. Probably both. 

MOWERVIOLENCE

ANTIMOB

 

Greece's ANTIMOB are one of the most under-appreciated current hardcore bands I can think of. Every single release has flawless sonic and aesthetic presentation, and they've spent the last decade improving on their own sound instead of trying to recreate (or reinvent) themselves. Passionate, epic, powerful hardcore punk...not sure what else a fellow like me could ask for. 

ΣΤΑΥΡΩΣΗ

READY Z

 

The opening sample "first they take your land and then they take your mind" sets the stage for a gripping presentation of conscious rap from Southern California. The sounds are dated, in a good way (think PE, DISPOSABLE HEROES and it seems there's a KRS-One appearance on "Stomp") tracks like "Capitalism And Slavery Go Hand In Hand!" and "Imperialism Is A Beast" hit me like time warps), and the reliance on (nay, utilization of) samples by READY Z (aka READY 4 REVOLUTION) is sometimes gloriously overwhelming. What I'm most struck by when listening to Guerrilla Kit 2 is that I keep listening - I want to hear the sample that I missed, I want to take all of the references in and I want to hear every rhyme because it feels important now. And it feels important because it (still) is important - even (especially) if the group faded into a distant past and everyone missed it the first time around - every word is poignant and every blow lands harder than ever on these present day ears.  

GUERRILLA KIT 2

SONDRA RAY // RAFAEL & LAARAJI

On the one hand, this hour long presentation is a calming and meditative exercise in relaxation and perspective. I'm not gonna lie...I found myself digging on the Divine Mother, because who isn't into knowledge flowing from the embodiment of the highest self to all the world like nectar? Shit sounds cool. I'm down. Collectively, some knowledge flow would probably be a good thing - so let's bow to that mother, you dig? On the other hand, Sondra Ray teaches for profit spiritual intimacy and "rebirthing" quests where you can "make contact with the Divine Mother" and she kinda sounds like your aunt from Gary, Indiana who annoys everyone at family gatherings. But I guess someone has got to sing the praises of the Divine Mother, because we sure as fuck aren't. 

PRAISES OF THE DIVINE MOTHER