Hot Track Alert

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Well, it sure doesn't look like a normal Toxic State release.  Would you ever guess this band was from New York if you didn't know anything about them? I would probably guess somewhere in Eastern Europe.  Diverging ideas is a good way to describe the elements that make up this band. Seems pretty obvious the singer is not singing in English based on the Arabic style writing and song titles, but I also feel like Haram doesn't neatly fit neatly into "pogo" or "raw punk" like one might expect.  Sticking with the theme of divergence, this particular track has moments where the guitar and bass take off in completely different directions.  There's a lot to listen for, whether it's the melodic, chorus-drenched guitar lines or the frantic, but interesting drum fills.  This song ends by breaking into a slow part where the guitar plays a dissonant chord pattern, but the bass plays this groovy, almost dub style rhythm underneath.  Kinda crazy, but atypical from what you might expect, which is refreshing.

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That biting, punchy, all down-picked bass starts pulsing, and before you know it, the toms start thudding and a low-bellowed groan creeps in beneath just before this rager takes off.  Drugcharge always manages to sneak in a dancey, pogo-tempo song or two amongst their speed-fueled numbers or pit-clearing stompers.  And sometimes, a claustrophobic, deceptively simple riff is so good that you just want to hear it over and over again.  There is also a pummeling half-time part that comes in unexpectedly and is sort of this off-kilter, strange rhythm just before launching back into the "money riff."

Still, the foundation of "Death of Nicole" is one killer riff, that to me brings to mind the catchier, fist-pumping moments of Confuse, particularly songs like Fight Against The Plutocrats.    Lyrically, I think this also one of the more personal songs that Drugcharge has, making the intention of the song much more powerful.

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When push comes to shove, I generally name the Fall as my favorite band. Choosing a favorite Fall record is a more difficult task, but one of my go-to answers is the Slates 10", which was recently reissued by Superior Viaduct (only the Fall would be obnoxious enough to make possibly their best record a fucking ten-inch). Even though it's only a 6-song EP, it still has much of what makes this greatest era of the Fall so great, from the brood of "Middle Mass" to the bash and crash of "Prole Art Threat" to the amphetamine-fed rockabilly of "Fit and Working Again," but "Leave the Capitol" is something of an aberration for the Fall, a rare sprig of gentleness growing among the usual weeds of aggression and alienation. These sweeter, gentler moments of the Fall don't come around very often, so when they do I tend to savor them, and "Leave the Capitol" may be the best one they ever recorded.

Ausmuteants have a new LP!   Man every song is a Hot Track on this one, but the one that stood out the most for me is Spankwire (obviously the most punk one).  It really reminds me of the Shitty Limits earlier 7"s, super frantic and fast with a similar biting wit. 

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When sitting down and trying to absorb this new Vanity record, it was difficult to pin down one "Hot Track" because there's so much material to discuss on this record.  How fitting that the song I chose is entitled "As Expected," because this song does not represent the genre-bending, bold new territory that the rest of Don't Be Shy boasts. As soon as I heard that opening guitar though it stood out, and I found myself coming back to this track.  This being the second track on the album, it's almost like after hearing a taste of their new direction, they just had to give up a song that kicks in with this energy that's so immediate and catchy.

Maybe it's just me, but I tend to gravitate toward songs on records that are inexplicably satisfying and memorable to my songwriting taste buds.  Unlike other interesting moments on the record, there's no acoustic guitars, no brit-pop sensibility, but I would still describe this as a departure from Vanity's first couple releases.  There's no real Oi! to be heard here. Rather, this almost comes across like a forgotten gem from a 70s power-pop B-side.  

Nots have been on everyone's hype radar for a while now and it's been well deserved. With their second LP Cosmetic I feel like they have fully realized their sound. Inherently Low seems to bring all of the parts together the best.  The synth and guitar match up so well while the bass and drums act as the glue holding it all together.  The vocals give the song plenty of room to breathe, hopping in and out and letting the guitar do most of the talking in a way.  Everything on this recording comes out super clear and sounds so good.

Man those drums.  Coolest sounding drum machine when matched with the choppy guitar and bass make this song feel super bouncy.  Definitely a song for the Pogo-Punx.  If you're into all the stuff from the midwest then you'll love this.  If we're still around in 2040 this will be on every KBD equivalent compilation.

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Without meaning to sound patronizing, as the gorgeously clean guitar arpeggio introduces "Numb," you kind of wonder to yourself, "Is this gonna go anywhere?" I've heard a lot of people describe Oakland's Marbled Eye as a post-punk band, which I could understand because of the lack of bombast and the low-pitch droll of the vocals. 

With this track in particular, I get some Neu!-esque krautrock sounds from Marbled Eye too, with that constant backbeat and layers of guitars creating a dazing, circular simplicity.  While this track seems to have a typical pop structure, two-thirds in it breaks into this seemingly plodding guitar riff.  What I love is during your envelopment within this minimalistic daze, the most subtle developments underneath the guitar have the greatest impact, making the repetitiveness seem purposeful and gratifying.

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I've really been stuck on this Leather Towel LP lately. Featuring the singer from Ausmuteants, it actually reminds me of the visceral punk of Eddy Current Suppression Ring, but spiked with a liberal dose of American hardcore. The band's mid-paced punk songs and blistering hardcore songs are, miraculously, equally catchy, but "Natural Disasters," the closing track on the LP, is something really special, with that wacky yet infectious twin guitar lead at the end serving as the cherry on top of the delicious sundae that is the rest of the album. 

Ohh, that opening riff; so lackadaisical, so inviting. It’s like the date that greets you at the door with a cigarette in hand, then invites you in without a word — much less a glance. The track starts with a warm, wavering unease, then breaks to jittery nervousness that dances over cold, mechanical drums and a lingering bass line. Their singer builds from stoic to sassy to unhinged, then disturbingly walks back like nothing happened. If you need band context, think post-punk given a throttling by early Killing Joke, and it takes place in Boone, North Carolina. After the dust settles, that opening riff returns, and you slip out the back with hardly a goodbye.