11 tracks from Bootlicker's last American tour recorded live at Studio B in Norfolk, Virginia and professionally dubbed on hand-stamped cassettes including unreleased songs and their personal take on classics from Shitlickers and Discharge. Limited to 150 copies and comes with two A4 sized inserts.
Our take: Live in the Swamp is a brand new live cassette from Canada’s Bootlicker, recorded on their 2019 East Coast tour in my old stomping grounds of Norfolk, Virginia. While I think of Bootlicker as being a tough, USHC-inspired band with a touch of oi!, they begin their set here with an Anti Cimex cover and close with a Discharge cover, making their d-beat bona fides clear. While this sounds like a room recording, the sound is solid with every instrument and the vocals coming through and the band’s performance is ripping. I know punks shy away from live stuff, but if you’re a fan of live punk recordings and/or Bootlicker, you’ll love this. The packaging is also very fetching, with a 2-color j-card, a little obi strip, and tapes splattered with red paint, and the professional dub quality sounds great. I doubt anyone would argue Live in the Swamp makes Bootlicker’s studio recordings obsolete, but it’s a welcome addition to their discography.