GRUMP

Not going to go on a(nother) tangent about Canada in general, and the unyielding supremacy of hardcore and punk bands from Halifax, Nova Scotia. But nonetheless, here's GRUMP. And GRUMP is the fiercest motherfukkn band you've never heard of until today. GRUMP will wipe the floor of your filthy punk basement venue with your pathetic face. Modern hardcore is simply not supposed to be this good...and I can assure you that GRUMP is deadly. 

BACK TO BEING NORMAL // LOVE PUNK HATE PUNKS

"Love Punk Hate Punks" demo is from 2013, "Back To Being Normal" demo is from 2014, the self titled demo is from 2013, and there's a 7" from 2015 that you definitely need. 

RABID DUCK

1988 may have been well past the heyday of ripping Italian hardcore (though I would suggest that perhaps the Italians might have kept it interesting longer than any of the Europeans....save the Scandinavians, but this line of conversation could get really annoying really fast), but try telling that to RABID DUCK. They are a little more together and a touch more melodic, but this 11 song banger holds it's own amidst a sea of more heralded bands. Nice and weird, with perfect guitar and bass tones (come on - it's superficial, but you know that shit is important) and a cavalier attitude towards tuning, RABID DUCK were combining metallic thrash riffs (Q: and solos?; A: and solos!) and melodic punk before LAGWAGON taught us that those two tastes did not taste great together...and it works (so maybe it was just LAGWAGON, and not the combination of subgenres?). Eleven tracks here, get wild. 

SBEREQUACK

THE SHRIKE

London's THE SHRIKE swoop in from another planetary dimension on their 2018 demo, angular other punk that begs for early anarcho/UK art comparisons. Such comparisons would be lazy, of course, and I will make them (of course) as I think about the just out of synch doubled vocals on "Can't Go" nestled somewhere in the oft overlooked recesses of the Rough Trade back catalog. But like all of those other would-be lazy reviewer, I run the risk of dismissing THE SHRIKE in the process and that would be criminal, as these tracks are absolute killers. The very embodiment of irreverent and snotty punk with an laser focus on A Hook, even (or especially) when the band is fukking your head with bizarro drum patterns and calling you to attention with sharp, barked vocals. You can download here, or here - the latter giving you the option to help the band donate to women who've suffered abuse at the hands of men. As much as I like the attention, I strongly recommend that latter option. 

THE SHRIKE

DON CHERRY & TERRY RILEY

Two Loathed Sound rereleases in one week may seem excessive...until you spend some time with them. This is an absolutely essential recording of a 1975 live show in Köln, with a radio broadcast of "Descending Moonshine Dervishes" on the flip. Transcendent sounds from two absolute visionaries - one of whom passed away nearly 25 years ago, and one of whom I am very much looking forward to seeing share the stage tonight with two other absolute visionaries. Full disclosure: this reproduction is exceptionally hot, and Riley's synthesizers start out pretty distorted...but it's very very worth it. 78 minutes in total. 

DON CHERRY & TERRY RILEY

LAWMAN

Blown out, ignorant, knuckle dragging butt rock presented as blown out ignorant knuckle dragging hardcore. And it's every bit as good as that description implies. Everything is in the red, singer's juggling a mouthful of marbles while he's beating your ass and hauling you off to jail - basically it's like SHEER TERROR giving ANNIHILATION TIME a reach around. 

ON PATROL

HITTER

Chicago's HITTER ride that white line, all cylinders on full fire throughout. SMUT, LOST GOAT, KARP...this is filthy proto and/or post-grunge delivered with the fury of the early Metal Blade catalog, but with COMPLICATIONS caliber riffs. And it's really really good. Whether it's the chorus to "Let's Fool Around," that brief bass break in "Leatherbound," the four-on-the-floor of "Betty" that opens the tape, something is going to grab you here if you have an ounce of rock 'n roll in your soul. And once HITTER has you in their grasp, they ain't letting go. 

HITTER

ALICE COLTRANE

You can find the most beautiful things if you just know where to look. Did you know that South Carolina Public Radio has produced a syndicated program called Piano Jazz since 1978? I didn't either, until I came across this episode from 1981 featuring ALICE COLTRANE. Obviously, someone else came across it well before I did, because here it is packaged on cassette for (selected) public consumption. Her piano is magical, just as her voice is warm, considerate and contemplative during the interview segments with host Marian McPartland.  With a breadth of work and influence that is almost incomprehensible, much of it still under the radar and (criminally) in the shadows of her late husband, I still find myself routinely floored when I discover a new segment of her output. This program fills one complete hour with conversation and sound, but "One For The Father" about halfway through....that one is just a killer. 

On JAZZ PIANO RADIO