Wednesday, February 10, 2016

V/A - Alive Comp Portland Hardcore

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 So, Ricky, David and Riley are all living together in the ol' Boulevard house keeping the spirit of rock'n'roll alive. Before I was to leave on my travels I wanted to put up this fine stack of tapes provided by Ricky and David, both of whom have relocated to Olympia recently (the greatest city on earth). The first I jammed in this stack was the Alive compilation. Fourteen tracks of Portland hardcore provided by eight bands. The first two tracks to grace my ears utterly blew me away. MPK is my new favorite band. Sounds so akin to Koro it's uncanny yet maintains its own feel. The guitar tone is perfect I love it. The next two tracks are provided by Cum, one title was the name of an F song but the music is much more similar to maybe white cross? The next track they provide is heavier and morose; dirgy and mean. Spetsnaz does what they do best and really throws this comp for a loop, definitely some of the more dynamic tracks, Stunned clocks in at the longest track on the release and G.A.S.S. is a noise track. Flexible Ammunition Belt only contributes one track but it's a scorcher, great midwest first wave sound. Steve hammers out a track of blistering hardcore that kind of outros into The Knott Street Hardcore track. I love the layered vocals. The Ointment brings some synth into the mix and breaks up the meat and potatoes hardcore a bit. Mr. Baker has a SoCal feel to it I'm a fan of. Franky brings us straight back into the mess. The hollered "A. GENDA" and hammering drums ala Nihilistics broke into the soft spot in my heart. Reminds me a little of Zero Defex. The intro to the Chemos track is hilarious. The last track is what I can only imagine can be a word from their sponsors. These kind of comps are my favorite way to experience recorded music. I love collecting hardcore comps and it has been a really long time since I've heard one that has had me this engaged since some early 80s ones I hadn't dug up yet. This cassette is fabulous. Portland is killing it with this one.

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