Public Acid: 152 Seconds of Public Acid 7” flexi (Artifact Audio) A brand new two-and-a-half minute explosion from one of my favorite current hardcore bands, North Carolina’s own Public Acid. If you’re a fan of their killer LP from last year (and a lot of us are!) you’ll need this brief but essential addendum. 152 Seconds is Public Acid’s first recording with their current live lineup (their guitarist Kai played both guitar and bass on the LP), and the sound is denser and more chaotic. While the record is brief, I’m not sure I could take it being any longer because, by the end of these two tracks, my heart rate is elevated and I feel like I’ve been sprinting for all 152 seconds. I swear this record is so exciting that I catch myself forgetting to breathe while I’m listening. Also, I want to note that while flexis have a reputation for sounding bad, this sounds incredible, and just as good as any hard vinyl record in my collection. I suppose I understand not wanting to shell out for such a short record, but 3.2894737 cents per second of Public Acid is a bargain in my book, and if you’re anything like me, you’ll play this at least four times in a row every time it hits the turntable.

Jay & Yuta: Condemned Compilations cassette (Little Winners) I have zero background information about this mysterious little cassette on the Australian Little Winners label, but man is it good! Jay & Yuma is a collaboration between two musicians (one sings in English and one in Japanese), and Condemned Compilations covers a lot of stylistic ground over its run time, from early Cabaret Voltaire-style primitive studio experiments to danceable new wave to UKDIY-inspired pop. Despite the stylistic diversity, the quality is uniformly excellent, and the eclecticism makes it an exciting listen. It’s almost like taking a stranger with superb taste, stealing their iPod, and putting it on shuffle… you don’t know what’s coming next, but you know it’ll rule.

Itchy Bugger: Double Bugger cassette (Little Winners) Itchy Bugger is a solo project by Josh from Diät, Idiota Civilizzato, the Love Triangle, and a million other bands. Their limited LP from 2018 (consider yourself lucky if you nabbed one!) was one of my favorites of last year, so I was excited to hear this new material. Itchy Bugger takes a lot of inspiration from the UKDIY movement, but rather than copying those bands Itchy Bugger borrows their central conceit of making personal, experimental pop music with low fidelity. There are ten tracks here and they’re great, an unexpected but beautiful mix of mechanical drum machine rhythms, simple and melodic lead guitar, and intimate, hushed vocals. Sometimes the songs are simpler and more straightforward a la my favorite Kiwi pop, while on other tracks Itchy Bugger stretches out and sounds a little shoegaze-y. Maybe I’m projecting this, but now that Josh has moved back to Australia his music also seems to have traded Berlin’s gray skies for Australia’s golden sunshine. An excellent album I plan to listen to a lot this summer.

Goose: Twentysixteen cassette (Little Winners) Another mysterious cassette from Australia’s Little Winners label, and again it’s excellent. Goose are a good fit for the label as, like Itchy Bugger, their music sounds like it’s grounded in the tradition of UKDIY and bedroom pop. Some songs brood, some glide, some groove, and some tinker. Like everything on Little Winners, there’s an intriguing and satisfying fusion of the immediate and the experimental. If that sounds like your kind of thing, I encourage you pick up all three of the label’s new releases.

Micro Edge: ’83 Demo 12” (Ugly Pop) Archival release from this 80s hardcore band from Toronto. I had heard Micro Edge’s name mentioned in the recent Tomorrow Is Too Late book on Toronto hardcore and on the Turned Out a Punk podcast, but this is the first time I’ve heard them. While I wouldn’t put this on the first tier of 80s hardcore classics, it’s an excellent release that proves that the well of great 80s North American hardcore is virtually bottomless. Micro Edge combine elements of California hardcore and skate rock with the tougher east coast sound of bands like Agnostic Front, the Abused, and Minor Threat. ’83 Demo reminds me of Ill Repute’s What Happens Next? LP, but with more of an east coast toughness and attitude. The music is excellent and will scratch your itch if you love obscure 80s hardcore, but the packaging here is at least as interesting. The beautiful layout is full of the 80s skateboard imagery I love, and the insert is actually issue #6 of the 80s skate / music zine Bong Out. In addition to a short history of Micro Edge, it also gives us some thoughtful and hilarious insight on how today’s skateboard culture compares with the 80s. If you’re an adult who has skateboard decks hanging on your walls as decoration (which, I must admit, I am), you will love this.

Urochromes: Trope House 12” (Wharf Cat) It’s hard to believe that this is the first Urochromes full-length. The band looms large because of their distinctive sound, but this is the first time they’ve given us a stand-alone 12” release that doesn’t compile tracks from previous releases. I’m not sure what the word on the street is, but to me Trope House is a masterpiece, one of the most distinctive, forward-thinking, and exciting punk records of the present era. While punk is still groggily emerging from the retro binge of the 00s, Urochromes sound like no other band I’ve ever heard in my life. They are a hardcore punk band in that they play fast most of the time, but like the best “outsider” hardcore bands (early Meat Puppets, Crucifucks, Spike in Vain, etc.), they come to hardcore naturally, not by emulating other musicians but by groping for the perfect form to express their agitation. Trope House sounds like you’re playing some classic art rock record by Roxy Music, glam-era Eno, or early Peter Gabriel on 78RPM. Each track is a whirlwind of virtuosic drum machine programming, layers of chaotic lead guitar, and Jackie’s distinct vocals and lyrics (the chorus for the first track goes, “oooh oooh that’s my millieux”). Strangely, there are three covers on the record (the Lemonheads, Bikini Kill, and the Leather Nun), but I didn’t even realize that until I looked at the insert because the songs are warped beyond recognition. I don’t think I’ve given you any sign what Trope House sounds like, because it doesn’t sound like anything else that I’ve heard. However, if you pride yourself on knowing the most out there and progressive punk rock, you need to hear this immediately.

Plasticheads: Nowhere to Run 12” (Ugly Pop) Debut vinyl (I believe) from this new Toronto punk band. This record has been getting hype, and it’s easy to see why. Plasticheads are one of those bands that sits right on the bubble between the fastest garage-punk and the catchiest hardcore. 80s bands like Zero Boys and Angry Samoans come to mind, but more recent bands like Carbonas and the Spits are a closer comparison as the frantic 90s garage of bands Teengenerate, Guitar Wolf, and the Rip Offs is a big ingredient in the stew. Like most rock music, the key to doing this sound well is having a great drummer, and this one can hammer the ride cymbal just as quickly, accurately, and gracefully as the master Dave Rahn himself. The next time you’re bursting with energy and so excited about whatever you’re about to do that you can’t sit still, put this one on… it’s the perfect soundtrack to those all-to-rare moments of exuberant joy.

Overdrive: On the Run: Demos and Rarities 12” (Splattered!) Archival release from this NWOBHM band, compiling their collectable 3-song single, two unreleased tracks from that session, and an earlier 4-song demo session featuring the future guitarist from English Dogs (!!!) on bass. This is definitive NWOBHM, taking the sound of early 70s hard rock like Deep Purple, Rainbow, and UFO and updating it with punk’s immediacy and energy. The sound is grainy and raw (like they recorded it in a cheap and primitive studio), and while the compositions are ambitious (not unlike early Iron Maiden), the arrangements and the execution are occasionally ham-fisted. Honestly, while it’s great music, even early Iron Maiden and Diamond Head can sound too slick and polished, but Overdrive has the same primitive charm as punk bands like Vice Squad or Attak. This might be too deep of a cut for some, but if you love exploring the sounds played by the denim-clad youth of late 70s England, this is right up your alley.

Warthog: Live! cassette (Shout!) 8-song live cassette from perhaps the best current hardcore band in the game, New York’s Warthog. This comes to us on the same label that puts out those excellent Beat Sessions cassettes, and while this is a recording of an actual live gig rather than a proper studio session, it maintains the level of quality we expect from Shout! While all 8 tracks have appeared on Warthog’s previous records, the vibe here differs from Warthog’s studio records. Everyone in Warthog seems to be a virtuosic musician and their studio recordings are clear and meticulous, but this tape hits you like a jackhammer. Chris’s vocals are savage, often overloading the mic and creating and overwhelming wash of sound that tramples you like an opposing army. To me, a great live record doesn’t feel redundant because it captures something that just doesn’t come across on studio recordings. By that measure, this tape qualifies as a great record by one of hardcore’s greatest current bands.