Featured Releases: July 16, 2024

Industry: A Self Portrait… 12” (Static Age Musik) The full title of this debut record from Berlin’s industry is A Self Portrait At The Stage Of Totalitarian Domination Of All Aspects Of Human Life, which gives you an indication of where this group is coming from both politically and aesthetically. Industry has a lot to say about why the world is fucked up, and their songs take the ranting vocal style of Crass and meld it to a mid-paced, churning sound in the vein of Exit Stance or early Amebix. While the sound is heavy and chunky, Industry doesn’t sound like metal, but instead like a new shoot from the Killing Joke branch of punk’s family tree. “Industry” is a great name for the band, as their music sounds a bit industrial, particularly given the cold, slightly shrill recording, which makes the songs sound like they’re echoing through the rubble of a bombed-out factory. A Self Portrait... seethes for its entire 20-minute runtime, and like the society it critiques, it constantly threatens to boil over, yet remains in a tense, uneasy equilibrium. A gripping listen.

Marcel Wave: Something Looming 12” (Feel It Records) Marcel Wave is a new UK group featuring a couple of folks from Sauna Youth and a couple of other folks from Cold Pumas backing up lyricist and vocalist Maike Hale-Jones. A quick Google tells me Hale-Jones is a screenwriter for their day job, which makes sense as Marcel Wave’s songs have a writerly flair, with a vividness to the lyrics that’s a cut well above your standard DIY punk fare. The lyrics are striking whether they’re character studies like “Peg” or “Elsie,” social critiques like “Great British High Street,” or more traditional-ish tales of misspent youth like “Something Looming” and “Linoleum Floor.” Something Looming also has a strong sense of setting, its cover artwork perfectly capturing the tar-stained pub back room ambience that runs through the entire album. As for the music, it borrows some of its aesthetic from the early Rough Trade catalog, with layers of simple melodies coalescing into a psychedelic swirl, but the recording is crisp, bright, and modern, which suits the ongoing dialog between past and present that is a recurring motif in the lyrics. And fans of the Fall’s early records are gonna hear a lot they love in those great organ lines. Something Looming is a really fantastic album, and while it’s bound to catch the ear of anyone into contemporary post-punk-influenced music, its distinctive lyrics make it stand out from a crowded field of very good bands.

Osbo: S/T 7” (Blow Blood Records) We carried a demo tape from this Sydney, Australia band a while back, and now they’re back with their debut EP on Blow Blood Records. Osbo’s brand of hardcore is noisy, dark, and desperate, their loose and unpredictable style (as well as their snotty vocals) bringing to mind Cleveland classics like the H100’s and Gordon Solie Motherfuckers, but with a touch of Saccharine Trust-esque artiness rather than a full dirtbag aesthetic. The twin guitar lines give these songs an extra layer of interesting texture, particularly on the dirge “Time,” a No Trend-esque deconstruction that gives the musicians space to wander off the main groove and conjure some really interesting sounds. Recommended for those who like their hardcore raw, dark, and weird.

Mirage: Legato Alla Rovina 12” (Roach Leg Records) Debut vinyl from this New York group who sings in Italian and whose music takes a lot of inspiration from 80s Italian hardcore. While the label’s description mentions Nerorgasmo and Upset Noise as points of comparison, the one my mind keeps jumping to is Cheetah Chrome Motherfuckers. Mirage’s vocalist has a similarly biting tone to CCM’s vocalist, and like CCM at their best, Mirage has a way of moving between frantic, clipped rhythms and spacier parts where the lead guitar takes center stage with intriguingly off-kilter melodies. The weird-but-intense vibe also reminds me of Die Kreuzen in places, but then again, so does CCM. Like Idiota Civilizzato, Mirage really seems to have cracked the code on how this gloriously strange and intense strain of Italian hardcore works, but rather than produce mere pastiche, they’re able to infuse their music with energy, power, and progressive spirit.

Dishrags: Four 12” (Supreme Echo Records) Supreme Echo Records brings us a second archival compilation from Vancouver’s the Dishrags, North America’s first all-woman punk band. While the earlier release Three compiled material by the band’s three-piece iteration, Four chronicles the expanded lineup, including their 1980 EP Death in the Family, a nine-song studio demo, and some excellent sounding soundboard recordings. Like the material on Three, Four finds the Dishrags sounding very much of a piece with what was happening across the world as punk shot its tendrils across oceans and continents, which is certainly not a bad thing, as these tracks are imbued with the revolutionary spirit of the times. The music is three-chord punk that frequently accelerates to hardcore tempos, much like Dangerhouse bands such as the Dils and Rhino 39 were doing at the same time further down the west coast. Where Four really distinguishes itself, though, is in the vocal arrangements, with back-ups and trade-offs making these songs come alive, like on the standout opener “Quiet Little Table.” While the production on most of these tracks is bare-bones, one senses there was enough raw material here that the Dishrags could have made a classic punk album. Had that happened, the Dishrags’ place in history might have been different, but as things stand, both their compilation LPs are full of gems.

Vidro: Upp Till Dans 7” (Beach Impediment Records) Stockholm, Sweden’s Vidro follows up their 2023 full-length Glöd with a brand new 4-song EP on Beach Impediment Records. The title track, “Upp Till Dans,” is first, and I think it’s one of Vidro’s best songs. The main riff is different for them, a chunky fist-pumper that really comes alive in the second verse when they throw in these super cool accents on the off beats. It’s a bit like Judas Priest’s “Breakin’ the Law,” and just as infectious. The second track, “Allt Brinner,” is one of Vidro’s most brutal and straightforward songs, feeling super lean at 71 seconds long, but still making room for a bunch of dramatic rhythmic accents. The two tracks on the b-side spread out a little more, the rhythm section laying down heavy grooves while the vocals jab and dodge and the guitars waft, melodies lilting like an untethered balloon. It’s over in a flash, but there’s so much to hear that you can’t resist starting it again from the top. A brief but vital missive from one of today’s most distinctive and exciting bands.