Los Monjo - la Vida Que Todos Envidian

Very excited to have scored a copy of this awesome LP! I first heard Los Monjo on the Brutales Matanzas comp along with other contemporary Mexican hardcore hard hitters Crimen, Ratas De Vaticano, Margaritos etc. etc. Their two tracks on the comp really stood out to me. These brothers deliver that rockin' edge with almost a hint of French Oi. This LP doesn't disappoint and is in a similar vein. Somewhat like a stripped down Eskorbuto, tracks like "Rock Basura" will have you redefining the term punk rock. Pick up this dystopian hardcore punk while it's still available in the US.

  

   

   

 

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Coneheads - Demo CS

 

I was asked to hold off on this one because it's not the final copy of the demo just a rough mix missing a track but these four tracks have been all I've jammed heading to work every day. I've found myself listening to the track on the B side the most actually. This stuff is infectious. Somewhere between Dow Jones and the Industrials and Devo; More akin to C.C.T.V. than any of Mark's other projects, somewhere in the coned nether regions of Hot Beef. Prepare for a stimulated cone.

Here's the first track from the tape:

Teaser

Big Zit - S/T 7"

 

 Ho-ly shit. The holy grail of hardcore craziness. If you sleep on this release you sleep on some absolute insanity. Download this record. Seriously. Even if you have no idea what this is. I can't even understand how good it is. B side is gonna rock your pants off. I was absolutely overwhelmed with excitement bringing the boys out to the West Coast for the OHC fest. They played two shows at the fest and an aftershow in our garage with Beta Boys and Tercer Mundo which started at 130am and somehow no cops got called. Here's to the boys from the Midwest. Miss y'all.





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Ooze - S/T 7"

Three new Ooze ragers and three re-recorded old ones. Mark keeps the tradition going with all that Ooze should be for a legitimate release. I guess technically this is the first real one ever. And goddamn! So very much worth the wait. I've been holding onto these discs spinning them like crazy waiting for the good work from Mark to fucking release the beast. This is it. My favorite band in contemporary hardcore punk. Feast on this. Kinda weird but the covers are actually a kind of brown color but my scanner just didn't pick it up.





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Ooze - Test Press

Finally got the go-ahead to put up some stuff I'm really excited about. Two of the best 7"s of this year finally dropped so hold onto your butts.



Photo by the Trog Dogg

DiE - 7" EP

 

Daaaamn, when I first heard this EP I was all about it. Perfect guitar tone. Perfect. They nailed it, it's '83 all over again. The icing on the cake is that Liam is in it and he is the goddamn homie. Bruddahs from 'across the pond', the UK's DiE has it going on. If you haven't heard this 7" yet I feel sorry for you.





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Contingent - Demo CS

Unintentional theme going on with this string of posts but here's is the Contingent cassette. Took me a minute to put my finger on this one. Wild intro into a bass lead laden with chorus then into a hard ass sounding Oi feel with some melodic hooks over it. Contingent is its own jam for sure. Reminiscent of many, if not all, cuts on foreign Oi comps. Bad Blood played with Koward in Oakland, Bricklayer and Cop Rot played with them in Olympia and Gag played with them in Seattle so I got the chance to see Mark again. I mentioned he needs to sing for a band again and he said he did so I picked up the tape haha. Worth the three bucks for the track "Killer on the Loose" alone. Not sold on the chorus on the bass, I feel like a clean tone would be less distracting but goddamn if I don't love it.





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Kid Chrome - CS

Here's a top secret little treat for you guys. Kid Chrome is a certain fellow from Seattle's solo project he recorded all on his own in the practice space one night on a four track. I will never reveal his secret identity but he is a prolific member of the Seattle hardcore punk powerhouse. Kid Chrome is that heel clickin' rock'n'rollin party lubricant y'all know and love. Some bluesy jams, some Stiv Bators on heavy rotation, a healthy dose of the Sonics, a twin reverb and boots to get loose. 'Mobbin' always gets 'Nervous' by the Big Boys stuck in my head for some reason. Not sure why. I heard Kid Chrome can be seen driving around Seattle in an old timey car yelling along to his own songs.






















OOOOOOOOOOWWW!

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Iron Youth - 7" EP

The band before Glue and here it is for you. The 7" is now available and it's more of the Iron Youth you got from the tape released much earlier with a little bit or an eerie turn (see 'elude' and well, every track really). White Wards and Gag had the pleasure of playing with these boys and Blotter when we first rolled through Austin. It was supposed to be Glue's first show actually but it didn't happen. Jangly clean guitar and harsh vocal delivery. Stoked to have finally gotten a copy to jam from Mose.





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Criminal Code - No Device

 

Alright man so here it is, the make or break for a band, the first LP. If your first LP flops its gonna be a sad story. Fortunately for Criminal Code their first LP kills it. I should also mention "Cold Thought" is a mini 7 track LP so I'm not counting it as a full length release. This bad boy is what we're talkin' about. Starts off with some really cool mesmerizing guitar work in 'Dilemmas'. The title track 'No Device' is a really cool concept. I like a lot of the lyrics on this release. Life in general and punk platitudes call-out. The record really takes a cool turn with 'Exit/Entry' and 'Flagstone'. You hear it suggested a little earlier on in 'No Device' but it gets a little dreamy. I wonder if 'Graven Image' has any allusion to the '83 punk band? They had some pretty wild lyrics. Also Taiga's seem to deal a lot with rejecting christianity on this release and I wonder if that has an intentional bearing. Also there's the ominous square again and this time it's burning? The B side gets much more daunting and dismal but then beefs up again when it hits 'Sacred Hands' which you should remember from my last post. 'Corrosive' gets real abrasive and hard hitting then the LP gets capped off with 'Attempts Fail Completely'. Pat yourselves on the back boys because you guys successfully created a crazy integration of punk and made it all your own. Some dreamy shit, some later revolution summer Swiz/Shudder to Think kinda stuff, some Du of course, some grungy rock, some 90s alternative and that cornerstone of punk.









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Criminal Code - Sacred Hands b/w Distressed Dreams

Ok so I gotta say, aside from the demo tape I think this is my favorite Criminal Code release. It starts off blasting straight out of the gate with the hardest hitting track you've heard from them yet. The title track is intense and features some delay and compression in the bridge that sounds really cool. The B side is fucking awesome. Super dark and gloomy with a little more flange in da reverb effect department. No frills, big things come in plain packaging. This shit is great.

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Criminal Code - Cold Thought CS/LP

 

 Cold Thought makes more solid the transition of musical style I suggested in the last post with Hollowed. The songs are much more involved in terms of structure and there are a lot of elements added to them that keep them from being classified as just 'punk' or 'alternative' or whatever you wish to call it. Cold Thought blasts off with four ragers and the B side transitions into some real gloomy style I'm a big fan of and also has a re-recorded version of 'Dry Spell'.




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Criminal Code - Hollowed EP

The Hollowed EP is more of what you'd expect and desire from a Criminal Code release. It gets a little more of a 'hectic' and noisey feel with "No Such Omen" but is boxed in by two tracks that are very reminiscent of the style they've created for themselves. Moves a little bit more away from its punk roots and gets a little more melodic and, well, almost has a Husker Du vibe. Here's the thing about that comparison; it should be avoided at all costs always. Every band 'sounds like Husker Du' at some point or another. That band has covered so much musical ground it's a stupid comparison but this record gave me a 90s Du vibe. Long story short Criminal Code have their own sound and they do it well. Solid release.







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Criminal Code - Demo CS

Your guess is as good as mine why I have had this cassette for so long and not put it up on my blog. I guess I picked it up when I wasn't putting too much up and it got lost in the pile I've amassed over the years of countless records and demos of friend's bands. This pile is growing rather daunting and I sincerely apologize to anyone who is feeling left out right now. It is definitely not intentional. I picked this tape up from Taiga the first time I ever saw Criminal Code which was a show at Phantom City in 2011. I think Red & Black played? I can't remember for the life of me but I loved it. It was unlike anything going on at the time and really interested me in all the right ways. Flanged and fierce baby. Since then I've jammed this tape to death while Criminal Code has released a shitload more, toured extensively and endured a few lineup changes. I hope you guys dig this shit because Taiga came over the other day and I picked up every release I didn't have from him to get up to speed. More to come gang.



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V/A - NWHC The New Blood CS

Gag had the pleasure of playing Rain Fest this year in Seattle which gives us exposure to a crowd that generally wouldn't hear us play. Some of my friend's new bands played and I picked up this cassette after watching Singled Out's set. Singled Out is killer and I love the Safe and Sound boys so I was stoked to pick up this sampler and hear some new stuff. Safe and Sound's "Excess" is a sick straight edge jammer with a dope break, Singled Out's " Things I Said" is a stomper that could seriously benefit from straying away from the classic rock chords. I can't not think of Kansas when that track comes on, haha. Red Scare's "Early Exit" is a force to be reckoned with. Really looking forward to getting to see this band. Good bands from some of the younger kids in the Northwest. Fucking stoked for more from these guys.



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