Featured Releases: February 3, 2025

Antiheroes: 1984-1989 7” (Twistin Bones Records) Archival single from this obscure 80s Argentine punk/post-punk band. The story here is rather interesting. Antiheroes was started by young Polish immigrants to Argentina who brought with them records by bands like Siekiera and Brigada Kryzys, and the gloomy grey vibes on this 7” evoke eastern Europe much more than South America. While the band was around for five years, they only got into a professional studio once to record these tracks at the studio of 80s Argentine pop singer Silvestre in 1985. The songs are dark, pulsing post-punk with understated but charismatic vocals and a keyboard adding subtle texture and counter-melody around the edges of the mix. The sound is grainy and washed-out, again bringing to mind brutalist architecture and heavy, neutral-tone overcoats. Adding to the mystery, Antiheroes’ vocalist Monica Vidal disappeared after boarding a flight from Bolivia to Brazil, never to be heard from again. It’s too bad we don’t have more songs from this group as their heavy vibes are something I want to soak myself in, but an excellent two-song single, well-produced with liner notes in English and Spanish, will have to do.

The Stalin: Kubi Dake Atsureki 7" (General Speech Records) General Speech does the world’s population of Japanese punk lovers a huge solid by reissuing this archival release by the Stalin. As General Speech’s description notes, this release is a dream come true for fans of the Stalin: four undiscovered studio tracks recorded in 1983, a few weeks after the band completed their third album, Mushi. Many people unwisely sleep on Mushi; that it was released primarily on picture disc and ends with a ten minute long song are both red flags, but it’s a great album, primarily carrying forward the sound of the all-time classic Stop Jap, but adding just a hair more each of complexity and restraint. These four tracks sound like they could be outtakes from that album, with a very similar writing and recording style, and just as much power and conviction in the band’s performance. As the liner notes explain, no one seemed to realize this recording session existed or knows what the songs were intended for, though if I understand correctly, one track appeared with some additional guitar overdubs on the Welcome to 1984 compilation. I’m particularly thankful for the format they chose for this release. They could have tacked these on as bonus tracks to a reissue of some previously released material that fans would have had to buy all over again at an inflated price, but instead we get this lean 7” EP, priced reasonably and featuring an awesome cover illustration by the same artist who drew the cover of the Stalin’s first album, Trash. When these songs first came out in Japan in 2023, the edition sold out quickly and immediately started selling for a premium on the second-hand market, and since General Speech says this is a one-time pressing, I strongly urge you to lock down your copy before the same happens with this pressing.

Aberrate: Grounded demo cassette (Acute Noise Manufacture) The debut cassette from this Tokyo crust group gets a US pressing on Acute Noise Manufacture, which is Patrick from Destruct’s label. Destruct fans will hear immediately why this caught Patrick’s ear, as Aberrate’s bulldozer sound has a lot in common with Destruct’s patented brand of eardrum obliteration. The rhythms are a little stiffer and less groovy than Destruct, leaning toward the E.N.T. end of the spectrum, but the wall of noise production and bursts of squealing, metallic lead guitar will be music to the ears of any Destruct fan (and obnoxious noise to everyone else). Aberrate features members of Frigora, Life, and Abraham Cross, and fans of those bands should definitely check this out, as should anyone who dug those Horrendous 3D 7”s that came out a few years ago. The sound is massive but intricately textured, and the performance has all the power and charisma you’d expect from a bunch of Tokyo scene veterans. Don’t miss this one.

The Scumbag: S/T 12" (Beach Impediment Records) Beach Impediment Records brings us a collection of studio recordings from this late 80s Tokyo hardcore band whose members would go on to groups like Dread Yankees and Rocky and the Sweden. If you’re a fan of that late 80s style of thrashy Japanese hardcore, that’s precisely what you get here… think records like Outo’s No Way Out 7”, Chicken Bowels’ Keep Our Fire Burning EP, and maybe even Systematic Death’s Final Insider album and aspects of S.O.B.’s early releases. It’s thread of crossover that was unique to the Japanese scene at that time, with chunky muted guitars, catchy punk riffs, and big choruses wrapped up in circa-late 80s metal production (biting guitars and big, boomy drums). One of my favorite aspects of this scene is the crazy fashion, which takes a lot from 80s skate culture (flip-up hats, board shorts, basketball shoes), but applies that uniquely Japanese, more-is-more aesthetic. You don’t get much of a sense of that from listening to this on bandcamp, but when you’re sitting down with the vinyl and blasting this while looking at all the photos on the insert, it certainly helps fill out the picture. I could deal without the casual misogyny in the lyrics, but it was a different time and hopefully the members have grown and matured since. While I think this strain of Japanese hardcore can be an acquired taste, anyone who loves the aforementioned records will certainly dig this compact 8-song collection.

Seudo Youth: Nobody Gets Down Like... 12" (Going Underground Records) After a couple of cassettes, here’s the debut vinyl from this LA punk band. Seudo Youth features members of People’s Temple and Diode, and it sounds to me like those two bands’ sounds smashed together. The music here is very much in the vein of People’s Temple’s hooky US hardcore, with sturdily crafted power chord riffs and a confidently minimal rhythm section. When the guitarist joins in on call-and-response backing vocals on “Meet Your Maker,” it almost sounds like an outtake from the People’s Temple EP, but Seudo Youth’s main vocalist takes a very different approach. Their vocals are bathed in distortion and echo, high-pitched and more rhythmic than melodic. While I definitely wouldn’t call Seudo Youth egg punk, the vocals pull it toward that sound, and fans of hardcore-leaning contemporary punk bands like Warm Bodies and Judy & the Jerks will like what they hear. I could see fans of People’s Temple and G.U.N.N. (with whom Seudo Youth also shares members) not liking the vocals and Diode’s fans thinking the music is too straightforward, but I think something unique and compelling arises from this unexpected mash-up.

T.S.T.: Vås Punx 7” (No Plan Records) No Plan Records reissues this Swedish punk grail from 1981. I was more familiar with the two records TST released subsequently—1982’s No Teenage Future 12” and 1983’s self-titled LP—and while those records have a tough, UK82-influenced sound, this first EP captures a younger, punkier version of the band. The main word that comes to mind when I listen to these four tracks is “anthemic,” with this early version of TST drawing influence from the Clash and Sham 69, influences I don’t think of as a huge part of the Swedish punk sound. While TST would get more locked-in and powerful musically on those later records, I love the spirit of discovery you hear on these four tracks; “I’m Looking at You” even lands on a similar doo wop-y rhythm to the Misfits’ “Some Kind of Hate,” and while one could see it as a stylistic detour, it’s also one of the EP’s most memorable moments. No Plan’s reissue adds an insert featuring a short essay about the band, lyrics for all the songs, and a bunch of photos and flyers from this period of the band’s development (they look like babies!), which is a welcome addition. While the music here is raw, unpolished, and youthful, it’s a treat for anyone interested in early 80s Swedish punk or the wider late 70s European punk explosion which this record has more in common with musically.