Undone

OK, sorry for the silence... its been fairly busy around here and several projects have been taking up my time as of late, though I'm trying to get back into posting more regularly soon.  For now, here is a quick re-post of some more French emo hardcore... Undone were another of those groups from France in the mid 90s who took their cues from Dischord bands like Rites of Spring and Embrace as well as early Ebullition Records hardcore.  On Stonehenge Records, along with the likes of Fingerprint and Ivich, Undone mixed chaotic tempos, quiet intros and bombastic crescendos with impassioned screaming vocals.  This post contains their "Dark Future" Lp and their two 7" Eps, the majority of their recorded output. 

Undone - Dark Future Lp and two Eps

Various - Iron Columns 2xLp

Time for another compilation... here is a double Lp of late 90's hardcore, crust and grind from Mind Control Records.  I've posted a few Mind Control releases before, and pretty much everything this label did was great.  Iron Columns features a bevy amazing punk and hardcore from this time period and many of the greats are included - Los Crudos, Forca Macabra, Ebola, Counterblast, Extinction of Mankind, Krigshot, Disclose, Cress and one of my particular faves, Black Kronstadt.  Beyond the heavy hitters, most of the lesser known bands contribute strong tracks as well, making this a solid collection overall and a great glimpse at the state of international DIY hardcore at the time.

Various - Iron Columns 2xLp

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

Cringer

I've been posting a spate of releases from the Vinyl Communications label recently, so I'll continue in that vein with what I think was the best VC band and one of my all-time favorites, San Francisco's (via Hawaii and L.A.) Cringer.  Cringer's sound was decidedly melodic, ranging from quick HC songs to tracks which bordered on "pop-punk" (before that was a dead genre).  There's a definite U.K. punk influence, which along with the lyrics leaned them towards anarcho-punk in my opinion... topics cover the revolutionary sailors of Petrograd (Kronstadt) who challenged the Bolsheviks in Russia, Situationist inspired musings, ballads about the Baader Meinhof gang and staunchly pro-feminist and pro-animal rights songs.  All very influential to me when I was young...

Included in this file is the CD reissue of their first LP "Tikki Tikki Tembo..." that incorporated their early Eps along with the 12".  Also enclosed is the "Greatest Hits Vol. 1" CD which compiled most of their remaining Eps and many of their compilation only tracks, making these two CDs cover the bulk of their official output.  I've also included the "I Take My Desires of Reality..." 12" which I posted a while back.  All those songs appear on the "Greatest Hits Vol. 1" CD but I'm partial to the high quality vinyl rip I made of that one.  Lastly, the file also contains Cringer's "Live in Europe" Ep... a 7" that is exactly what it says and their only Ep that doesn't appear on the CD reissues.

Cringer - (Almost Complete) Discography

Dead Silence - Unlearning

Here is the early discography CD of Colorado peace punks Dead Silence.  Starting up in the mid-80s, Dead Silence was active into the mid-90s, playing anarcho influenced hardcore punk with thought provoking lyrics delivered with plenty of spite and vitriol.  This CD compiles their releases through 1990, when the band was on somewhat of a hiatus, and includes their two Lps and their first two Eps.  After the release of Unlearning, Dead Silence regrouped and put out a few more Eps of material before apparently calling it a day.

Dead Silence - Unlearning CD 

Naturecore - With Love... Wish You Were Here! Ep (Repost)

Naturecore was a short lived Southern California anarcho-punk band from the mid 80s.  This 12" Ep was released on No Master's Voice records in 1986, though it was recorded in 1984.  The songs feature strong male/female trade off vocals over proto-crusty HC - somewhere between Dirt and Antischism if you ask me... a bit head of it's time I think.  The lyrics are strongly anarcho influenced, and deal with animal rights, exploitation of Native Americans, etc.  The combination leads me to see Naturecore as a direct influence on the coming peace punk/crust scene in the USA - Antischism, Nausea, Mankind?, etc.  Check it out for yourself...

Naturecore - With Love... Wish You Were Here! 12"

Scorched Earth Policy - Tactics of the Lie Lp (Repost)

Scorched Earth Policy is an early group from Jack Control, later of Severed Head of State and World Burns to Death.  This Lp is the second release on his seminal Mind Control label.  Coming from a guy who's fronted D-beat juggernauts like SHoS and WBtD, you probably have a good idea of what this one entails, however, this SEP Lp is one of my favorite releases of his.  These songs are faster with a mean Scandi-core sound that I think his later bands lack.  There are a few "noise" tracks with samples and such that break up the flow a bit - similar to the Antischism Lp, but fortunately they are slight detours quickly followed by raging blasts of hardcore.  A side note, Martin from Los Crudos does vocals on part of one track - interjecting some thoughts in Spanish on Peru's Marxist Shining Path guerrillas.  Another great hardcore record from the 90s.

Scorched Earth Policy - Tactics of the Lie Lp

Kismet HC

I'll stay in the U.K. for another post... this time out I've got two records from long running political punkers Kismet Hardcore.  Kismet HC formed in the late 80s and sporadically released records throughout the 90s and 2000s, and as recently 2011.  Included here are two of their most prominent releases - their 2001 full length "Our Message Is Of Anger...Our Voices Are Of Pain" and their self titled 10" from 2005.  The band plays fast hardcore punk which features Zanee's strong female vocals, often trading off with guitarist Scragg's gruff shouts.  The dynamic puts the band squarely in the 1990s U.K. HC sound, with the influence of older groups like Dirt apparent, along with some of their contemporaries like Disaffect or One by One.  I can also hear the incorporation of some of the U.S. crusty hardcore sound - bands such as Resist, early Defiance or even Aus Rotten.  Overall a fairly overlooked U.K. outfit who deserve a listen if any of the aforementioned groups mean anything to you.

Kismet HC - "Our Message Is Of Anger...Our Voices Are Of Pain" and self-titled 10"

Word Made Flesh - s/t Ep (Repost)

Word Made Flesh hailed from NYC and featured Jae, the powerful singer of A.P.P.L.E.  This 7" was their one and only release, out on Squat or Rot recs, and contained 5 tracks of rock influenced punk.  Similar to A.P.P.L.E., the tracks are mid-paced with much emphasis on Jae's amazing vocals.  I can also discern a bit of the NYC crust sound in the mix.  A definite anarcho-punk feel makes me think a bit of current bands like Arctic Flowers or Icon Gallery.  My favorite track, by far, is Rain Dance... a great, catchy upbeat track that recalls Dirt or Lost Cherrees.  This song alone makes the Ep for me.   

Word Made Flesh - s/t Ep

Plasmid - s/t Ep

Staying with the Heresy theme for a moment longer, here is the band that Reevsy and Steve started out with, Plasmid.  A short-lived group that eventually morphed into Heresy when Kalv joined on, Plasmid recorded only a demo tape which finally saw a wide release in 2005 on Shortfuse records, similar to the Uniform Approach record I posted last week.  Plasmid played blazing hardcore with a distinct Scandinavian feel, a bit at odds with U.K. punk at the time.  Being a demo tape, the sound is beyond raw, but the inspiration and intent manage to bleed through - definite Mob 47 and Protes Bengt influences intermingle with U.K. anarcho inspired lyrics.  An interesting listen considering the direction Heresy would take.

Plasmid - s/t Ep 

Karma Sutra - The Daydreams of a Production Line Worker

Next up is a record I finally picked up on vinyl a few months back after years of pining for it... Karma Sutra's one and only LP, "The Daydreams of a Production Line Worker."  Karma Sutra were a mid-80s anarcho-punk band that appeared on several classic compilation albums but released little else aside from this elusive LP.

For me, this is a quintessential anarcho-punk record, with the songs varying in style from early Crass records sounding tracks (Dirt, Flux of Pink Indians), to later, more pop and post-punk influenced numbers (a la Internal Autonomy or Indian Dream).  Accompanying the record is a 28 page lyric booklet, as to be expected in this genre.  There's quite a mix of styles and the songs often bleed into one another making for both sharp breaks in the music as well as gradual transitions... all of which make splicing the tracks for this one a bit challenging.  On the whole, "Daydreams..." has a distinctly early-Chumbawamba feel and sound and should be a must hear for fans of the first few Chumba records. 

Karma Sutra - The Daydreams of a Production Line Worker

Antischism - This is War Ep (Bootleg)

Well, after many, many months away I find myself with the time, energy and desire to attempt to resurrect this blog.  I plan on combining new posts with re-ups of previously shared records on a more accessible server, with the intent, as before, to make these obscure or hard to acquire records available for wider enjoyment and exposure to new audiences.  Requested re-ups will be handled first, otherwise I'll do re-posts of some of my favorites or records I think are most crucial.  A few records I've posted in the past have been reissued or are in the process of being re-released, so out of respect for the labels I won't re-up those releases.

To ease back into the blog, I decided to begin the new run of posts with this gem of a 7" from South Carolina's Antischism.  "This is War" is actually a bootleg Ep that came out in 1992 and features two rough mixes of studio tracks and three live versions of classic Antischism tunes.  The re-mixed versions of the studio tracks appear on the discography CD on Prank! records, the three live tracks are exclusive to this record.  Certainly not an essential piece of the Antischism discography, but still a cool collection of tunes, with the live tracks giving some hint of how the band's unique sound translated outside of the studio.

Antischism - This is War Ep      

Firing Squad - s/t Ep

This week I've got another 7" from a short lived band that I have little information on.  Firing Squad's one and only release came out on Mass Media Records in California.  Aside from the lyrics and label address, there is no other band info on this record so I don't know where or even when these folks are from.  I believe, from my record collecting timeline, that this came out in the early 90s.  Anyways, these two songs have a very distinct reggae meets anarcho punk-punk sound.  This one really would fit in with the UK dub punk sound of the time - bands like Culture Shock, Rhythm-ites, AOS3 or RDF.  A more recent comparison would be The Autonomads.  The lyrics are definitely anarcho inspired and the punk parts remind me Conflict.  Both songs are great and have always left me wanting to hear more.

Firing Squad - s/t Ep

Word Made Flesh - s/t Ep

Here is an Ep which was requested recently, but that I'd already been planning on posting soon.  Word Made Flesh hailed from NYC and featured Jae, the powerful singer of A.P.P.L.E.  This 7" was their one and only release, out on Squat or Rot recs, and contained 5 tracks of rock influenced punk.  Similar to A.P.P.L.E., the tracks are mid-paced with much emphasis on Jae's amazing vocals.  I can also discern a bit of the NYC crust sound in the mix.  A definite anarcho-punk feel makes me think a bit of current bands like Arctic Flowers or Icon Gallery.  My favorite track, by far, is Rain Dance... a great, catchy upbeat track that recalls Dirt or Lost Cheeres.  This song alone makes the Ep for me.   

Word Made Flesh - s/t Ep

N.S.C. - Word of God Ep

Ok, with all the holiday traveling I've been doing, I only have time for one last post for this year.  Up next is yet another short lived band from the early 90s.  N.S.C. hailed from Salt Lake City, Utah and played some crusty, anarcho influenced punk featuring male and female vocals.  Several tracks on this Ep are fairly straight forward crusty punk, similar to Mankind? or Resist.  A couple of tracks are longer and have what I'd call "theatrical" interludes which bring to mind bands like the False Prophets or even later Dead Kennedys.  The final track is a mash-up of shitty rock covers with the lyrics changed to lampoon major label bands.  Overall, though, this is an interesting collection of tunes which stuck out for me at the time.  The only other N.S.C. release I know of is a track on the Our Voice Pro-Choice comp. which also featured Born Against and Heroin. 

Everybody have a happy and safe New Year's Eve and I'll be back with more records in 2012!

N.S.C. - Word of God Ep

Apostates - Burning World of Hate Ep

Here is a fairly obscure release from a band on the fringe of the NY punk scene in the late 80s and early 90s.  Apostates appeared on some NY punk compilations, notably Squat or Rot, Vol. 2 - along with Jesus Chrust, Yuppicide and others.  This 7" was released soon after and featured the song from that comp. with 2 additional tracks.  Apostates had a distinctive sound and were unlike most other NYHC bands of the time.  This record has a real anarcho-punk meets folk rock feel to it.  For reference, I'd compare it to the Pollution Circus Ep I posted a while back, or to some of that first Terminus Lp.  Apparently the band went in a more Goth direction after this record, though I've not heard anything else from them.  They have a site with the band's history and activities these days.  Whatever became of them, this Ep is a great record with an unconventional sound.

Apostates - Burning World of Hate Ep

Active Minds/Petrograd split Lp

OK, finally some time to upload a new post.  Going off the last 12" I posted, the record this week is a split which features a band who took their name from a Cringer song and actually does a Cringer cover on this record.  Petrograd was from the tiny country of Luxembourg and evolved from a melodic punk group into a more of a DIY political pop band.  I like all of their material, even though the later stuff is more mild musically.  Still, the lyrics and intent were good and their later records are packed with good songs.  This early record is more on the pop-punk side of things.  As I mentioned, they do a Cringer cover and they are definitely heavily influenced by that sound at this point. 

On the other side we have quite a contrast in Active Minds.  A thrashy, low-fi duo (only guitars, drums and vocals), Active Minds is pretty much legendary at this point.  They've been around since the late 80s and still play manic HC to this day.  Their side of the split features their usual quality material - great lyrics and blistering tempos.  One of my favorite AM songs is on this one: "Walking Billboards."  A little slower and longer than most of their tracks, but it's got a great melodic sound to it.  Overall, a great split and interesting pairing of contrasting styles of punk.

Active Minds/Petrograd split Lp

Cringer - I Take My Desires for Reality...

Today is the 4 year anniversary of Lance Hahn's death.... Lance was the driving force behind Cringer and J Church, two bands I can unequivocally say influenced who I am today.  His bands introduced me to the more melodic side of punk and HC, as well as Kronstadt, the Situationists and Baader Meinhof.  "I Take My Desires for Reality Because I Believe in the Reality of My Desires" was one of the first Cringer records I bought and contains some of their best material. 

A collection of singles and compilation tracks, this 12" was issued for their U.K. tour in 1991.  Cringer's sound was decidedly melodic, ranging from quick HC songs to tracks which bordered on "pop-punk" (before that was a dead genre).  There's a definite U.K. punk influence, which along with the lyrics leaned them towards anarcho-punk in my opinion.  Lyrically, this record starts off with an ode to the revolutionary sailors of Petrograd (Kronstadt) who challenged the Bolsheviks in Russia, several Situationist inspired musings, a ballad to the Baader Meinhof gang and a couple staunchly pro-feminist songs.  All very influential to me when I was young... it's safe to say that this record helped me get through college the first time around.

Cinger's discography isn't in print anymore but I looked around and the CDs are still fairly readily available online.  Their first LP "Tikki Tikki Tembo..." was reissued on CD with their early Eps and another CD was pressed called "Greatest Hits Vol. 1" which contained all the tracks from this record with the rest of their Eps and compilation tracks.  Still, this collection 12" remains on of my favorite records 20 years on, despite having all their stuff on CD.  Hopefully you'll get a fraction of the inspiration I've gotten from it..... R.I.P. Lance Hahn.

Cringer - I Take My Desires for Reality Because I Believe in the Reality of My Desires 

Terminus - Going Nowhere Fast

 Well, judging from the download statistics, last week's Terminus post was fairly popular and since it was requested I will go ahead and post the band's first Lp.  Still not sure if Boss Tuneage is working on the CD reissue of these records or not but I have faith the folks who download these versions would still want to purchase the re-mastered and re-packaged collection when/if it is released.

Anyway, this 12" also came out on Words of Warning records, back in 1990.  It collects songs from various recording sessions in different periods of the band, so the sound is a little uneven, recording quality-wise.  This record features a mix of styles - faster numbers similar to the 2nd Lp, mid-tempo rockin' punk tracks and some more somber, anarcho-punk type songs.  One of my favorites is "Hey Little Girl," a bouncy punk track with venomous lyrics aimed towards apathetic fashion punks.  As with their other material, the lyrics are overtly political and thought provoking.  While I don't enjoy this one quite as much as "Back Among the Blind," it's still a great record from a band that really did no wrong as far as I'm concerned.

Terminus - Going Nowhere Fast Lp

Terminus - Back Among the Blind

Here's another UK Hardcore fave of mine... Terminus lasted most of the 80s and into the early 90s.  "Back Among the Blind" was their second and last Lp.  Their sound was very punk based, with rocking guitars and speedy drums, interspersed with slow, moody numbers.  Released on Words of Warning Records in 1992, this record is their finest as far as I'm concerned.  It showcases the best of their sound.... fast, rocking HC numbers and great lyrics.  For reference, think Motorhead meets Political Asylum. 

The entire Terminus discography is great.  Boss Tuneage did a CD of all their singles which is certainly worth picking up, though it appears to be out of print.  I'm sure there are some copies floating around in distros somewhere.  BT are supposedly working on a CD collection of the two Lps, but I've not heard an update on that recently.  If that's not forthcoming, I may post the first Lp later since it's a awesome record in it's own right... still "Back Among the Blind" is my go-to Terminus album and one of my favorite UK HC records.

Terminus - Back Among the Blind Lp