86 SOUND LABORATORIES

I got this in the mail several months ago, and was intrigued enough by the title alone that I dove in almost immediately (an admittedly rare thing - when I get cassettes sent to me, they tend to go onto "the pile"). Sounds For Wax Museum is an exercise in patience and sound, 95 minutes of drones and haunting electronics, painfully mellow and painstakingly crafted. It's hard to tell if this is brilliantly executed genius or a giant inside joke, but the end result is mesmerizing.

SOUNDS FOR WAX MUSEUM

These and other unrelated sounds were released by Energetic Action, and apparently things are different in Alberta....different and good.

SUDDEN IMPACT

This is perfect pre-crossover North American hardcore punk. Regional identification is not immediately obvious as with some bands of the era, but if I told you they were from Toronto (Willowdale, technically, an "established, affluent suburb") you would probably listen to their rust belt originality, their New York attitude and their DC energy and think (the title track "Freaked Out" is practically a lost MINOR THREAT jam) "yeah...that makes sense." Vocals are fukkn flawless for the style, and the guitars just make you clench your face into a fist that says "yes...this is why I do this." There were full lengths that followed in 1986 and 1988 - the first is a more bombastic and metallic take on this demo's hardcore attack, and the second is a relatively flat foray into crossover thrash...naturally I prefer the raw power of 1984's Freaked Out. Get into it.

FREAKED OUT

HUMANFLY

This was on the flipside of the SEX MANIACS tape I got in Leeds in 2003. Ebullition/Gravity hardcore meets the melodic/metallic chaos of Per Koro somewhere in England. I obviously didn't listen to this enough the first time around, because since I ripped this tape I cannot seem to get enough of the HUMANFLY side. There's a history of the band (and more jams to download) here, or you can try this tape first...but either way, you need these sounds in you.

A GOD AMONGST INSECTS

(former members of alfonsin)

I posted this today simply because of associations, but I was struck all over again by how subtly powerful this band was. I only saw them once, a show in Oakland where I knew virtually no one, where I felt wholly underactive (in virtually every aspect of the word), but was made completely welcome. File this amongst the whole late '90s "personal is political" movement if you like, but realize when you do so that there are a few bands who deserve to be filed in a category all their own.

LIVE! AT THE MALL OF AMERICA

FEMACOFFIN

Absolutely massive stench/crust from Oakland, if I gave you a personnel pedigree it would send your expectations sky high...and those expectations would be exceeded. Eschewing drawn out mood building interludes for pure attack, FEMACOFFIN weave charging ScandiCrust effortlessly into sludge ridden metallic stenchcore, never once forgoing the pure power necessary for either to be successful. I figured after I saw them that this tape was gonna be pretty good...it's better.

FEMACOFFIN

CITY INDIANS

I originally posted this one in the early days of The Escape, and recently dug the tape out again to repair the dead link. But after blasting it a few times, I figured Spoilsport warrants proper re-posting instead of a fresh download buried beneath four years of posts. Either ripping metallic UK82 or rudimentary proto anarcho/metal/punk depending on their intent, these tracks are searing and fiercely (shamelessly) political in a way that bands just don't seem to be anymore. 

SPOILSPORT

For the curious, here's the blurb that accompanied the original post:

CITY INDIANS hailed from Derby, and this is the Spoilsport demo from 1986. Relatively basic, but super in your face UK82 punk, with a very serious animal rights angle. (It is sometimes astounding to me just how fucking political a large part of the DIY punk scene was in the UK, and equally bewildering how much a large part of the scene in the US today is just simply not.) Killer four song demo, that probably came 4 years too late for anyone to get really excited about it at the time. But now? This guy is excited.

ARMATRON

This relic is a total mindfukk. Bass, drums and electronics combine with chaotic, impassioned vocals to create a truly bizarre ruckus. A painful experience all around, but one offered up with a sincerity that trumps execution or pretense. I dare say that when I realized was recorded 22 years ago in Nebraska, I thought it made perfect sense.

EARTH RAPIST