Featured Releases: July 8, 2024

Gefyr / Rat Cage: Split 7" (Bunker Punks Discs & Tapes) If you’ve been following the Bunker Punks Discs & Tapes discography so far (and you should be... Jeff and Usman from Sorry State and Scarecrow run the label), you’ll know exactly what to expect from this split: ripping, riff-soaked hardcore punk. Sweden’s Gefyr is first up. Gefyr is from the same city as Totalitär, and how similar they sound makes you wonder if there’s something in the Hudiksvall water supply. The riffs are totally dialed, the light-on-distortion guitar sound (don’t worry, there’s plenty on the bass) highlighting how hooky they are. The vocals are just incredible, shredded similarly to Poffen from Totalitär’s, but with their own personality. As for Rat Cage, it’s their second appearance on a Bunker Punks release after the Screaming Death compilation, but surely you’re familiar with them already. These three tracks continue the emphasis on hooky vocals we’ve heard on the past several Rat Cage releases, and as on those records, they explore their roots in late 70s / early 80s UK punk without compromising the intensity of their earlier material. You gotta love the “aaaah-ah” vocal part on “Thatcher’s Back,” particularly when it’s laid over a paint-peeling No Security-style riff and leads into a gnarly breakdown. Each band contributes three tracks, and it’d take a real stick in the mud not to walk away satisfied.

Norms: 100% Hazaarulas 12" (11PM Records) It looks like 100% Hazaarulas is the 3rd LP from this wild hardcore band from Budapest, Hungary, but their first for a US label, 11PM Records. While it sounds like Norms take a lot of inspiration from early 80s Italian groups like Negazione, Wretched, and CCM, their take on raw and fast hardcore has full-on avant-garde touches. The off-time riff in “Magyarmagyarmagyar,” for instance, wouldn’t be out of place on a John Zorn or Boredoms record, but it also sounds more like Die Kreuzen than those bands ever did. I also hear some resemblance to projects like Cicada, Closet Christ, and Cryin’ Hand, particularly the Neos-esque drumming and the artfully lo-fi recording. As with some of my favorite Italian records, it can take a couple of listens to hear past the brick-wall intensity, but the music is so dense with original ideas and truly face-melting musicianship that 100% Hazaarulas totally rewards that extra time investment.

Diode: 2 12" (Under the Gun Records) I thought this LA band’s first LP was killer, and so far I like 2 just as much. The lo-fi aesthetic, synths, and jittery rhythms are gonna make some people think egg punk (I notice the label’s description studiously avoids the term), but this feels like it’s part of a longer tradition of punk music with synths. Diode alternates between stiff rhythms that might make you think of early Devo or the Deadbeats and moments of pure pop that recall more mainstream 80s sounds. Now that I think about it, it’s like the mix of tones on Devo’s Freedom of Choice, which is an excellent album to model yours after. It’s not really retro, though, as “Card Dealer” and “Fear” both sound very modern, like music that couldn’t have been made before now (Powerplant gives me a similar feeling). I also like that while the first album was a short burst, Diode takes their time on 2, sitting with parts a little longer and making room for experiments like the unique-sounding intro.

Alienator: Time to Die 7" (Unlawful Assembly Records) I’ve been a big fan of all Alienator’s previous material, and this new 5-song EP continues to tread the same bruising path. Maybe it’s just me, but every Alienator release seems a little more over the top than the last, and it certainly doesn’t feel like the band is holding back on Time to Die, from the countless dive bombs to the gratuitous breakdowns to the killer cover illustration. It’s all way over the top, but at the same time Time to Die delivers riff after riff, the band generating punishingly heavy rhythms. The last time I saw Alienator they covered “Lifestyles,” and Kings of Punk is a solid reference point for the brawniness of their sound on Time to Die. There’s also a nod to Sick of it All on the cover, and there are moments here that wouldn’t be out of place on Blood, Sweat, and No Tears either. A killer, punishing hardcore record.

Parsnip: Behold 12" (Upset the Rhythm) It’s been a few years since we heard from this Melbourne band whom I’ve always really liked. Even before I listened to Behold, its artwork (particularly when taken alongside the long gap between releases) seemed to hint at a shift in direction, with its earthy color palette and fisheye cover photo bringing to mind The Left Banke’s Too. I don’t know if Parsnip meant the artwork to be a signal that they’ve gone baroque pop, but Behold is certainly poppy and there’s a hell of a lot going on. The music is densely layered, diving fully into psychedelia with “Duality,” but at other moments more in the vein of the Fall / early the Clean-influenced clatter that’s been a through-line in Aussie punk of the last decade or two. Interestingly, while Behold seems like an ambitious album to me—its thirteen songs and 34-minute running time feel epic by today’s standards—its release has been fairly low-key, with only a UK pressing on Upset the Rhythm so far. Behold’s length and density mean I’m going to need to sit with for a while to fully appreciate it, and my fellow stateside fans should nail down a copy while they can.

Despertá: demo cassette (self-released) 8-song demo cassette from this band that’s based in Newfoundland in the far northeast of Canada, but whose members come from across the Americas. While the presentation is raw, heavy, and hardcore, Despertá’s music isn’t monochromatic in the way so much hardcore is. Many parts are pretty and haunting with a post-punk / death rock influence, some parts that are fast and intense, and other parts are heavy and bruising. The band makes all these sounds their own, particularly given their drummer’s distinctive stuttering rhythms, which carry through all the tones and styles on the tape. The vocals are cool too, high-pitched yelling that makes me think of Sad Boys. Recommended if you like sounds from out-of-the-way places that couldn’t have come together anywhere else.