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Following up last years' demo cassette here is the first vinyl release from Minneapolis' Shatter.
4 hard hitting punk blasts for 2025.
"During the 90s, Minneapolis was an international hub of hardcore punk, crust, and DIY culture thanks to many hardworking entities and individuals within the city. Shatter is a band that comes from the seeds that were planted during that time. Musically it’s difficult to pin down- the soaring guitar leads and complex melodies are of a style often heard in Japanese hardcore punk, but that is combined with a 90s Euro squatter crust sound almost like Mushroom Attack or Fleas and Lice. Many punks these days want to hear music that’s easily definable and has clear reference points - this is not that! Bretton’s scorching vocals do not defy her angry lyrics, which focus on injustices everywhere and personal responsibility to deal with all the bullshit thrust upon us. As a whole package, this is a beautiful heartfelt band that, at times, feels from a past iteration of what DIY punk culture is - carving out a world based on passion and cooperation- outside the culture industry of social media. You may not strap the shoelace on and fist pump with complete abandon to this the same way you would other stuff, but if you care to really listen to some crusty hardcore with depth, this is for you." - Joe B
Packaged in a fold-out cover with a color 18"x24" tour poster.
Our take: Minneapolis’s Shatter released a demo tape on Desolate Records last year and now they’re back with their debut vinyl. As Joe B’s description for the label notes, Shatter is a tough band to pin down. In some respects, they sound like a Japanese hardcore band—Death Side in particular—but they don’t lean on the same tropes as most bands who emulate the Burning Spirits style. There’s some cool lead guitar, but Shatter doesn’t aim at the epically triumphant quality of Bet on the Possibility, but the lean-yet-sophisticated bluster of Death Side’s earlier records. The riffing is inventive, memorable and hooky without being overtly melodic, and the rhythms are totally locked in, resulting in a huge, driving sound. While that’s what I hear in Shatter’s music, the vocals come from a different place, sharing the throat-ripping rawness of Dani from Flower, but with a willingness and ability to carry a soaring melody. The most memorable of these melodies is on the opening track, “Up to You,” whose chorus lodged itself in my brain on the first listen and hasn’t let go. I imagine some people will hate it because it breaks the rules of what this kind of heavy, crusty hardcore is “supposed” to be, but “Up to You” sacrifices none of its power by having such a distinctive and memorable vocal hook. The other three tracks are similarly inventive and compelling, and it’s great to hear a band that can take a classic sound and carry it forward a few steps.