Lights Out - Get Out

A new years show at the Manium in Olympia really turned me on to this band. Super fun and relatively humorous contemporary hardcore with some truly rockin' tunes. Unfortunately the last time I was able to see them was Sink With Cali 2006, they are now disbanded. Clad in Thrasher shirts I immediately knew this was going to be my kind of thing. I wore the grooves out of this record then Overload came out. Holy cow, I'll have to put up that too. For now here is their first record Get Out. I uploaded the CD version which has all the 7" tracks plus the demo, "The First Time" through "Eat Shit".







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Keep It Clear - Demo 2007

Here is some more recent Vancouver Hardcore. A S/T 7" came out a bit ago that I will put up later. I enjoy it quite a bit but really don't have much to say about it. Enjoy.



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Get The Most - Core Values Demo 2005

I used to not like this at all, I was turned off by the constant changing of clothing during sets. After more listens and an 'Abused' cover it's really starting to grow on me. The tape includes three original songs, an instrumental and an Insted cover. I'm really enjoy the vocals but could take or leave the lyrics. The drumming is awesome, surprisingly well produced for a demo.





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Go It Alone - Vancouver Gold

Holy shit, I love this record. A bit on the melodic side but poignant lyrics carry it through for me. The 7" only includes four tracks but I uploaded the CD version with two bonus tracks "Turn it Off" and "Picking Up The Pieces" dealing with substance abuse and regret, respectively. This is another band I got to see a lot of growing up in the northwest that will always be close to me despite changing taste. Very much an embodiment of the 'Vancouver BC sound'.











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Champion - Time Slips Away

This release by Seattle based hardcore band Champion combines their first two EPs 'Count Our Numbers' and 'Come Out Swinging'. I could talk crud like most and speak of Chain of Strength rip offs and melodramatic lyrics but honestly I have a real soft spot for Champion. They turned me onto contemporary hardcore in a lot of ways because they played so often in Olympia and Seattle. Not to mention the intensity of songs like 'the Decline', 'Monument', 'Assume The Worst', and 'Left Your Mark' still hold up after years of not listening to it. A lot of fond memories surround this band's shows for me.







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HPP - S/T LP

YES! Finally the HPP LP is out. Michael dropped off a copy for me while I was out of town, great to come home to. Hand screened by Steven of OURSOUND and SCREENING THREAD fame, these records sound as beautiful as they look. With the screen for the records we booted a shitload of shirts that we all wore to the last Viaduct show. The tracks are re-mastered versions of the first two tapes. I jam the tapes like crazy so having a cleaner sounding disc form is great. Much love for one of my favorite Olympia projects.









I'm still waiting on an email with the lyrics. Released by recent Oly label Perennial Records. I'll put up the White Boss and Son Skull LPs as soon as I get my vinyl ripping program up and running again. For now you'll just have to wait or order them from the website.

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Hysterics - Demo 2010

To label a band as an all-girl troupe in hardcore punk seems pointless aside from the fact that this band sort of makes it well known. A black flag barred arrangement of tampons accompanies the band in banner form at every show. The band, once called White Dad as a joke due to the prevalence of 'white' named bands in the Oly area, is a project consisting of members of Dehumanized, Outlook, and Outdoor Voices. As there is no official release for Hysterics yet these are just rough tracks Stephie sent me recorded on a laptop mic. Still definitely worth listening to. Aggressive and catchy, as hardcore punk should be. Stephie fucking rocks it with awesome lyrics and intense energy. Sunk is a jammer.

Lyrics:

ARM CANDY
i'm not here to have fun
not here to participate
i'm just here to decorate
i'm just here to decorate
pick me up in your car,
i hope i look nice on your arm
when you're "chilling" with your "bros"
when we go out to the shows
(own me, i could be yours today)
going once...going twice...i claim myself
all the same expectations, balk at re-imagination
all the same unspoken rules, i know i'm a joke to you
pretend to listen to humor me, you're as condescending as can be
same duties of our given roles, with different music, different clothes
...what "counterculture"?


DEFORMATIVE YEARS
(am i running out of time to become who i want to be)
i can feel the dust start to settle around the formations solidifying inside of me.
concrete jungle in my mind
i get scared to let it dry
societal influence yet to be purged, programmed impulses eat my own words
my environment lives in me
impressions of history and what's on tv, i see flashes
of ugly contradictions
rise in my blood, and they weren't born in this body
see how we soak up, and spit out
soaking up and spitting out
think you're an exception, well you'd better think again
i bet you've grazed the values of your parents, schools and friends
and think your moments of greed and narcissism come solely from within?
take a good fucking look at the world you live in!
WHO AM I, if my environment lives in me
impressions of history and what's on tv, i see flashes
of ugly contradictions
rise in my blood, and they weren't born in this body
soaking up and spitting out...


BRAINTRAP (this one kinda varies...)
brain trap...
i'll never come into my own, never relax into my life
into my body, into my mind
vacant
white walls
try so hard to be better that i miss how to be
tempted by the promised bliss of the unexamined life
the promised bliss of looking away
guess i had an expectation, counted on my maturation
to release the possibilities
worth waking up for every day
instead i'm disgusted in a whole new way
hated so much of what i saw,
turned inward and then couldn't come out
always endless, endless doubt
vacant
white out


DIRTY
commercial market
i'm your target
sell me shit
not buying it.
i won't
put that on my skin
apply
generously and rub it in
spray
on some sex appeal
proves
my femininity is real...
guess i must be immature
'cause i just don't see the allure
fill your pockets, make me sick
you don't care a fucking bit
heal me, procter and gamble!
fill me, coco chanel!
fix me, cover girl,
what's your secret, victoria, i swear i won't tell...


SUNK
the cold plunge of reality
like an anchor dropped into the sea
can't believe this is my world
each day it sets in fresh
i think you've worn out your welcome
lies falling harder all the time
sunk by the gravity of quieter crimes
oh yeah, this is where i live
and this is how it is
i think you've worn out your welcome
pulse thunders in my ears
individualist free-for-all appears
gasping, grasping
for a final slice
before the credits roll
before we're fully sunk...
personal gain motivates everything

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