ANO

I can't tell you anything about them, but I can tell you that ANO capture Girls In The Garage and actual modern punk rage at the same time on their 2013 demo, and that is a thing worth noting. Stripped down, feisty punk that struggles to keep a beat as much as it struggles to stay inside a (self imposed?) box. But that struggle (on both counts...) is what makes this so fukkn compelling. This isn't an easy listen, necessarily, but it's also clear that ANO do not give half a shit about what I think - which is also what makes this so good. The guitar that starts "You Stop My Time" is perfect, by the way. 

ANO

Hey you - You bore me!

SUNRIAH

Snagged this on a total whim at a record store in Norman, Oklahoma a few weeks back, and my whimsy was rewarded. Exceptionally sparse sounds laying a foundation for a profoundly unique vocalist - this falls somewhere between PJ HARVEY, CAGES and BJÖRK....maybe? This copy is from the second pressing...mine is #5 of 10. That means it's limited. You probably don't have one, unless the first pressing was REALLY big and all you motherfukkrs scooped 'em up...

FIREFLY NIGHLIGHT

GRAVE DISGRACE

This Reforestation label from St. Petersburg keeps going for the throat, it's just slower and more deliberate this time. Shameless SABBATH influence and a guitar that brings back (fond) memories of playing with Jud (LAUDANUM, BRAINBLOODVOLUME), this GRAVE DISGRACE tape is nothing short of total destruction. Brutal simplicity delivered with maximum efficacy, their tracks are engaging from start to finish - even the 9+ minutes of "The Mire Brings" - if only so you can hear the things that are being done to that poor guitar. Sometimes you just want to be bludgeoned.

GRAVE DISGRACE

RAW TOFU

Unrepentant animal rights hardcore recorded in a fukkn toilet. The result is somewhere between noise punk and pure shit-fi madness, with politics louder than the voices shouting them and guitars that might be out of tune (the recording is so shitty you can hardly tell). Five "studio" tracks, including a CONFLICT cover (because of course there's a CONFLICT cover) followed by one uncredited anarcho track (it's pretty cool, any help here?) and six live RAW TOFU bangers...because after my enthusiastic assessment of their demo, I'm sure that you are scrambling to get to the lowER fidelity live recording. Right?

HOW MANY MORE LIVES MUST BE LOST BEFORE YOU OPEN EYES AND SEE THAT MEAT MEANS FUCKING MURDER???

Seriously though: I genuinely appreciate how shameless and in your face and idealistic bands like RAW TOFU were (and, thankfully, ARE). And I will take those out of tune guitars with a tired but earnest message of hope any fucking day...

THE NOIDS

QUESTION: If a band of mutants from north Texas half my age delivered a really killer set of freak punk in a Christian coffee shop slash art gallery slash cafe slash church at four in the afternoon and then they were selling home made dubs of their tape for $3 that looked like they probably sounded like crap and definitely didn't have anything but the laziest, most last minute phoned in "art" posing as a cover for said tape...would I buy it, rewarding their laziness with my hard earned money? Or would I just download the tracks from their bandcamp page?

ANSWER: You know what I did.

MODERN LIFE

SAWPIT

This band's records are too often overlooked in my opinion. Crazy catchy '90s melodic punk with an unmistakable (even if unintentional) Bay Area influence, they released one EP and two splits (FORMER MEMBERS OF ALFONSIN and BONESCRATCH) before calling it quits sometime around the turn of the century. I feel like they came to the states once...but I can't really be sure about that. I can, however, be sure that this tape feels very good.

1st MATERIAL

PUNISH OR BE DAMND

Shit man, not really much to say about this one except that if you're gonna make a mix tape to open minds and melt ears...it should be like this one. 30 Minimal Synth Or Tracks With Keys jams through an hour of creamers from 1978 through a few months ago, and every fukkn song is essential. Starting shit with ALGEBRA MOTHERS sets the tone at weird, and that's where the tone stays - NERVOUS GENDER, BELINSKI ZID, SPITS, BLACK RANDY, SCREAMERS (duh), SM NURSE, THE UNITS....and an obligatory version of "T.V.O.D." because that's kinda where the shit started, right? It flows right, runs the spectrum of punk bands with keys through purely synth driven freak shows, and this tape holds your attention from start to finish. Also....cramming that BLITZ track in was such a sick move - this is a perfect mix tape. Someone send me #1 please.

PUNISH OR BE DAMND #2: 30 MINIMAL SYNTH OR TRACKS WITH KEYS