Kriegstanz

And now for something completely different... Here are a couple of records from early 2000s Dutch hardcore band Kriegstanz.  Made up of members of Seein' Red and Betercore, Kriegstanz played a heavier, more muscular, but still blazing fast, version of the Dutch thrash associated with those groups.  There is a definite His Hero is Gone or Tragedy vibe to the music, but the amped up speed endears them to me a bit more than most of the Tragedy-worship bands of the time.  I was fortunate enough to see them on their U.S. tour with Seein' Red in 2005 and pick up these records...  Included in this file are their self-titled 10" and their also self-titled 7" Ep.

Kriegstanz - 10" and 7"   

Monsula

Here's one more early 90's Bay Area band for now... Monsula were another early Lookout! records group, but one that brought a significant DC hardcore influence to their sound.  This is most prevalent on their second LP, and final release, Sanitized.... there are some definite parallels to what Fugazi was doing at the time, but I also hear a good dose of Ignition and Soul Side, all with a Bay Area tinge.  All in all Monsula released one 7" and two LPs, all of which are included here.  The entire discography is great but my go-to record for them remains the final LP.  Check it all out below.

Monsula - Discography   

Various - Four Two Pudding

OK, so I've been on a bit of an early 90's California punk and hardcore trip lately - playing some tunes I used to love but hadn't spun in quite a while, and the recent blog posts have reflected this.  I think I'm going to do a couple more before I move on, so sorry if you're not into the recent diversion...  Anyways, here is a CD compilation that Very Small records issued in 1993 - it represents kind of a "best of" the label at the time, culling songs from the myriad of other compilations the label produced, along with tracks from other bands' proper releases.  Very Small compilations were my first introduction, back in the day, to a lot of the California scene - bands like Samiam, Jawbreaker, Nuisance, Logical Nonsense, etc.  This compilation, bizarrely titled "Four Two Pudding," features all those bands as well as the great Corrupted Morals, 23 More Minutes, Fuel and an early effort from the Offspring.  Also, California transplants Econochrist and South Dakota greats Dissent contribute tracks.  One caveat with this selection is that Very Small did do records for quite a few weird bands that I never got into - Plaid Retina, 3 Finger Spread, the Lizards, Nar, etc., that sporadically interrupt the flow of great tracks on this collection.  Outside of those odd interjections, classic tracks are provided by Jawbreaker, Samiam, Screeching Weasel, Sleep, and others... ultimately, this CD contains some of my favorite tunes from bands like Nuisance, 23 More Minutes, Logical Nonsense, Fuel and Dissent.  Well worth the download and the inevitable skip past some filler tracks...

Various - Four Two Pudding CD

Nuisance

Well, trying to follow up that Strawman post, I decided to go with another California band with a somewhat similar sound.  Nuisance were an early Lookout! Records band that deviated from that label's, at the time, increasing dedication to signing and promoting pop-punk groups.  In many ways, Nuisance were a bit ahead of their time - grungy just before grunge broke, country influenced way before Ryan Adams and Lucero were on the scene.  Normally, I cringe at the mere mention of "country" or "cow-punk" but Nuisance brought something more to the table.  They were definitely a product of the California scene at the time and the Jawbreaker and Crimpshrine influences are audible... but also present is perhaps a later SST sensibility - Minutemen, later Meat Puppets, etc.  Throw in a dose of stoner rock (like the first Sleep Lp) and that might just define it.  Either way, Nusiance's two Lps were staples on my turntable in the 1990's.  Included here are those 12"ers: Confusion Hill and Sunny Side Down.  I've also thrown in their early Ep "Humbolt County."  Check them out below...

Nuisance - 2 Lps and an Ep   

Strawman

Staying with Allied Recordings and in the Bay Area, here is the almost complete discography of early 90's political punkers, Strawman.  Led by Tommy Strange, previously of mid-west hardcore band O.D.F.X., Strawman played anarcho-influenced rockin' punk in the vein of Stiff Little Fingers or early Clash.  They issued a self-titled Lp and several Eps before calling it quits... Tommy Strange went on to form Songs for Emma and continue on in the same vein while Jimmy Broustis moved on to found S.F. staple Shotwell Coho (later just Shotwell).  As I mentioned, this file contains just about everything Strawman produced - the Lp and three of their four Eps.

Strawman - Lp and three Eps

Various - Music for the Proletariat

This time out I've got another compilation - this one comes from the great early-90's label Allied Recordings.  Based in the Bay Area of California, Allied put out records from a diverse spectrum of bands - from Antischism to J Church to Neurosis and all points in-between.  Music for the Proletariat reflects that diversity and collects 26 songs from 90's punk and hardcore stalwarts like Resist and Jawbreaker, to lesser known, but still great in their own right, groups like Friction or Radon.  There are quite a few international bands that, at the time, were little known here in the States that received a bit of attention from their inclusion on this collection - bands like Seein' Red, Nations on Fire and Political Asylum.  This one featured early tracks from bands who would continue on to produce their own legacies (J Church, Jawbreaker, Buzzoven) as well as short lived groups who managed little else other than their contribution to this record (Schedule, Strait Up, Dogs on Ice, etc.).  However, there are hardly any missteps on this collection and that makes it one of best from this time period, to my mind.   

Various - Music for the Proletariat