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In the past few years Portland has produced some top-notch hardcore, most notably in the family of bands such as ALIENATOR, SUCK LORDS, REEK MINDS, etc. The latest installment of this cluster of weirdos is CHUEKO, with their four song debut 7”. Fierce fast, hard punk with solid paces, great tones (notably the bass, often taking the helm as the courier of riffage) and really catchy tunes. There are many nods to HC bands past, specifically 80’s USHC, but there is also a nice UK82 overtone, giving the songs a nice swagger, often bringing to mind GBH (in fact the intro for “Stupid People” is a direct homage to said band). This ep deserves to be on your turntable if you appreciate the aforementioned bands and hardcore with an emphasis on punk. No cheezy breakdowns or macho posturing, just steady driving slamming shit which will demand multiple flips of the record.
Our take: Debut 4-song EP from this Portland hardcore band. Jeff wrote about Tools of Oppression pretty extensively in his staff pick a while back and I’ll refer you there for deeper analysis, but I concur this is a slammin’ piece of US hardcore. Even before I re-read Jeff’s staff pick, I was thinking about how the songwriting really stands out on Tools of Oppression, with riffs that would be downright melodic if they weren’t delivered in such a nasty and furious way. The vocalist, however, doesn’t take the melodic route at all, with a hoarse bark that reminds me of Nico from G.U.N. As Jeff also noted, the bass is really prominent in the mix and feels like the lead instrument… a lot of UK82 records were mixed like that, and while Chueko mostly sticks to USHC-style ferocity, you really hear the UK82 influence come out on the bouncy final track, “Tools of Oppression,” which leans more in a Partisans / Savageheads direction. The nasty production perfectly balances out the tunefulness of the music, making Tools of Oppression one of those gnarly-sounding records that sticks to your ribs.
- Label: Black Water Records
- Format Type: 7"
- Media Condition: Mint (M)
- Sleeve Condition: Near Mint (NM or M-)
- Genre: hardcore
- Genre Style: hardcore
- Year: 2023