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Hardcore Victim proudly presents a crucial new ep from Malaysian band Split Tongue. This ep offers up 5 relentless tracks of furious stripped down / no frills hc punk. Some of us at HCV had the privilege of watching this band's inspiring live set in 2019 at the legendary Rumah Api. We were floored- so when the band approached us to put out the ep we couldn't say no! Musically, the band draw their influence from us and uk bands like Negative Approach, 86 Mentality, Blitz, 4 Skins to contemporary bands like Violent Reaction. They sing about living life in Kuala Lumpur A.K.A sin city, the importance of community in a third world country where rampant corruption and class divide plagues society. Many have questioned the relevance of hc punk in todays society; well it is alive and the soundtrack to life in South East Asia and Split Tongue is the fist that delivers the punch. Recorded and mastered at Iseek Music studio by Moktharizal and mixed by the band's very own guitarist Gaga.
Our take: Australia’s Hardcore Victim Records brings us the new EP from this hardcore band from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, or “Sin City,” as they refer to it in the EP’s title. While Living in Sin City is my introduction to Split Tongue, they’ve been around for a few years, releasing a demo and three EPs, of which Living in Sin City is the second to appear on vinyl. After a short instrumental intro that’s has a more traditional oi! sound (it wouldn’t be out of place on a Blitz record), Split Tongue launches into five tracks of what I think of as “skinhead hardcore.” The first band that came to mind for me was 86 Mentality (whom the label also mentions in their description), but (as the label also notes), you could just as easily compare this to Negative Approach or Violent Reaction… it’s a timeless sound. Split Tongue nails it too, with a crisp and powerful recording and a locked-in sound that’s like an army marching toward you in unison. But, like, really fast. Split Tongue doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but they bring some local flavor to the vocals and lyrics, which look at their own culture through a punk lens. Whether Split Tongue draws you in with their musical style or because you’re interested in their unique perspective, Living in Sin City will leave you satisfied.
Our take: Australia’s Hardcore Victim Records brings us the new EP from this hardcore band from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, or “Sin City,” as they refer to it in the EP’s title. While Living in Sin City is my introduction to Split Tongue, they’ve been around for a few years, releasing a demo and three EPs, of which Living in Sin City is the second to appear on vinyl. After a short instrumental intro that’s has a more traditional oi! sound (it wouldn’t be out of place on a Blitz record), Split Tongue launches into five tracks of what I think of as “skinhead hardcore.” The first band that came to mind for me was 86 Mentality (whom the label also mentions in their description), but (as the label also notes), you could just as easily compare this to Negative Approach or Violent Reaction… it’s a timeless sound. Split Tongue nails it too, with a crisp and powerful recording and a locked-in sound that’s like an army marching toward you in unison. But, like, really fast. Split Tongue doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but they bring some local flavor to the vocals and lyrics, which look at their own culture through a punk lens. Whether Split Tongue draws you in with their musical style or because you’re interested in their unique perspective, Living in Sin City will leave you satisfied.