Thursday, December 23, 2010

Natural Law - Slump



Brooklyn's Natural Law is surging back to the forefront with a spankin' new EP, Slump. Following a ripping demo chock full of gritty, old school influence, Slump delves even further into bleakness and despair, unearthing waves of deafening, straight up hardcore. A split release between Katorga Works and Hesitation Wound, this one is already flying off internet shelves and distros around the country.

With five songs clocking in at about five and a half minutes, Natural Law's latest work picks up where the demo left off, but with even better sound quality and tighter playing. Like pulling the ripcord on a chainsaw, Slump immediately ignites into fast paced hardcore fury and blazes through the entire EP from front to back. Stripped down and in your face, the band leaves cutesy guitar diddlys and sluggish breakdowns in the dust, pouring all their effort into a positively crushing slab of wax.

Slump is already sold out from Katorga Works, but copies are still available from Hesitation Wound, so act fast if you haven't grabbed one of these already. The download link comes straight from the label, so support these guys if you can.

Download
Hesitation Wound
Natural Law

Friday, December 10, 2010

Wiccans - Teenage Cults


Fresh in, we have a slab of sweet black wax from Pass Judgement Records, containing four filthy songs from Denton, Texas' Wiccans. An intoxicating blend of old school punk rock and Midwestern hardcore, Teenage Cults delivers a nice injection of mid-tempo aggression. Hand stamped labels and black vinyl, housed in a thin inner sleeve completes the packaging on this baby.

Stripped down and relatively simple, Wiccans play a brand of hardcore which isn't afraid to ink songs longer than 45 seconds long, and use a speed other than "blurring" while playing their instruments. Something about them reminds me of UK82 era punk rock bands, a la Special Duties or The Partisans, with a more modern hardcore edge added to similarly dirty, power chord laden riffs. Adam Cahoon's vocals are gruff and abrasive, shouting the lyrics in a manner which is tough to follow even with the lyric sheet, but I'm sure you'll be able to make out enough to understand their general theme.

The best song on the record might be the opener, "Repetition," which utilizes familiar punk rock progressions accentuated by simple, yet catchy lead lines. Wiccans chugs along swiftly through the three minute song, with momentary mid-tempo breaks and plenty of tormented howling from the vocals. Each track maintains it's own memorable characteristics, but remains true to the band's desired style, rendering Teenage Cults a slight cut above some other similar records out there.

There's just something deliciously snotty and nasty about this band, which makes it an entertaining listen from top to bottom. Wiccans can squeeze in with the hordes of other hardcore acts out there, but they tend to hang around the No Class or Male Nurses end of the spectrum rather than Raw Nerve or Natural Law. Copies of the first press out of 300 are still available from Pass Judgement for $4.50, so SUPPORT THE BAND AND LABEL if you like the download.

Download
Wiccans MySpace
Wiccans Blog
Pass Judgement Records

Friday, December 3, 2010

Localized Noise Volume 1 Out Now


Localized Noise Volume 1 has finally arrived. This is a production of the blog, and thanks to a number of generous people, the 20 page zine is printed and ready to go. Included in the first issue are interviews with Raw Nerve, Weekend Nachos, Iron Rain, and Poison Planet, as well as reviews of various releases and photos from Futurebreed and others.

The main focus of the zine is on one particular city, and we begin with Chicago. The initial run is limited to 100 hand numbered copies, and available for $2.50 ppd. Paypal as a gift to nalfonse@gmail.com (please include your shipping address), and for wholesale rates please email me first. Thanks for the support and I hope you enjoy it.