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Japanese punk/HC 1981-1985
ltd to 198 copies, stickered center labels, double sided insert, on Gai Best Punk Band records, (fanclub) import from Brazil
collects
"Downtown Street Punker"
"Extermination" 7" flexi
"Pinch & Ouch"
Damaging Noise"
Our take: Unofficial collection bringing together a bunch of hard to find material from one of the best bands ever to do it, Japan’s Gai. Rock N Roll History Fuck Off combines the Extermination EP, the Damaging Noise cassette and a bunch of compilation tracks. In case you aren’t familiar with their history, Gai started off as one of the harshest, nasties, and noisiest hardcore bands in the history of punk (a title they shared with Confuse, who came from the same city), but they added more melodic influences (from bands like the Toy Dolls and the Adicts), changing their name to Swankys after they decided to pursue that style exclusively. On this LP, Damaging Noise and Extermination (the latter of which is the band’s best stuff IMO) lean toward the more hardcore sound, while the tracks from the Pinch and Ouch! compilation have a cleaner recording and more of the bubbly bass riffs I associate with the Swankys. The sound on this LP is top notch, so if you need some Gai vinyl on your shelf this release is a great place to start without breaking the bank.