Masshysteri - Vår Del Av Stan

I popped into one of the many record stores that have popped up in the north Seattle suburbs in the past couple years today. I didn't know what I wanted; only that I wanted to hang out for a while, have a beer or two (it's a record bar, duh), and buy something based on someone else's taste.

It didn't quite work out that way. While my bartender and I discussed the finer points of late 90s power violence and I shared my opinions on Coalesce, my record tenders couldn't quite point me in the direction of something I didn't already own. They DID suggest Lip Cream's "Kill Ugly Pop", an Abrasive Wheels compilation, some Sleep records. All good recommendations; all recordings I already own.

In the end, I picked up a copy of World Burns To Death's "The Sucking Of The Missile Cock", a Portland crust classic, the Hardcore Holocaust release of which I probably sold in the mid-aughts to make a mortgage payment. This led me down the path of talking about records that Sonarize had reissued in recent years, which took me to Scandanavian hardcore, which brought me to Masshysteri, one of the most perfect punk bands of the past 20 years. This is their first of two full lengths, released by Feral Ward here in the States and by Ny Våg in their native Sweden. Masshysteri was the continuation of a line that includes the Vicious, Regulations, the (International) Noise Conspiracy, Insurgent Kid, and INVSN. Hell, one of their members used to be in Doughnuts, a Victory Records band that I actively ignored in the 90s but keep thinking I'll finally check out one of these days if I can just find a copy of their full length in the dollar bin.

ANYWAY...

Masshysteri: good-ass band. It's hardcore kids playing power pop, which is my favorite performance style of power pop.

Discogs

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Regulations - Different Needs E.P.

Here's the final Regulations 7", and the penultimate recording of, arguably, my favorite Umeå band (you heard me!). Released on Havoc in three pressings here in the States, and co-released by Ny Våg Records and P. Trash Records in Europe, this came out around the time of Regulations' second U.S. tour. Which was the tits. It's a bloody shame that the hard drive holding all the pictures I took at that show has disappeared.

Have you not checked out the other two Regulations posts? Have you no clue what to expect? Imagine, if you will, a melding of late 70s Swedish punk rock, the Dils/Weirdos/Randoms portions of Dangerhouse, and an aggressive sprinkling of 90s skate culture. Now distill it through Euro leftism and youth culture, and you have the "Different Needs" E.P.

And if you don't get any of those references, then, I dunno, short, snotty, and fast punk rock songs?

I am constitutionally obliged to point out that the 3rd and final pressing of this record is available for one measly dollar via Felix von Havoc's eponymous label, which, honestly, is 20% of what I happily paid for a copy back in 2007. There's a part of me that wants to order 10 and send them out at random to folks who have never heard this record; that's how strongly I feel about the band.

Discogs

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The Vicious - Alienated

Simultaneous with his work in Regulations and the Lost Patrol, Robert Hurula Pettersson fronted a little four piece in Umeå called the Vicious. Remember that comment a few weeks back about Umeå being an incestuous scene? Well, maybe that's not the appropriate adjective, but the Vicious' lineup doesn't contradict that statement. Robert had been playing with drummer André Sandström in power poppers turned post-punkers the Lost Patrol/Invasionen/INVSN. Guitarist Sara Almgren had been a member of the (International) Noise Conspiracy since their inception, and in the legendary all-female vegan sXe group Doughnuts. And bassist Andreas Johansson had been playing with the Umeå post-metal band Cult Of Luna going back to their second LP. It was, to be fair, a murderer's row of players.

So it should prove no surprise that this, their only LP, is a full-blown ripper. Released in 2006 in Europe by Ny Våg Records and Cage Match Federation, and in North America by Yannick Lorrain's Feral Ward, this was the hot record all summer. They'd tour the US in 2007; of course I missed them, to my eternal regret. Andreas had left the band by that point, replaced by Erik Viklund on bass. Given the choice between vinyl and CD, I chose the compact disc, since it had the first two Vicious 7"s on it as a bonus. And that's how I'm able to share it with you.

After that tour, the four members of the Vicious would return home, drop their English-language songs for their native Swedish, and turn into the beloved Masshysteri. I did see them play in the back of a comic shop in Baltimore to a crowd of circle pitters and bummed-out gamers. It was fucking magic. They'd continue to build upon the Vicious's blend of Dangerhouse-style punk, New Bomb Turks riffs, and bubblegum pop.

Discogs

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Regulations - Regulations

Prelude: Today is the fifth anniversary of the last show at Charm City Art Space. It closed a year after I left Baltimore, replaced by a tattoo shop that I assume is still there (?). I've already written about them before; I'll write about them again. But seeing as how they were doing their second American tour behind this release when I saw them in 2007 at CCAS, I guess it makes sense to write about this now.

If you don't get revved up by the opening chords from Marcus Axelsson's guitar on "Anna's Eyes" from Regulations' self-titled record, then you probably don't like punk rock, and should probably just put this down.

Everybody associated with this record is on fire here. Regulations have really hit their stride here, channelling Dangerhouse Records through Umeå skatepunk. Dennis Lyxzén co-produced this slab with the band and released it on his Ny Våg Records; you may know him as the singer of Refused, the Lost Patrol/Invasionen, the (International) Noise Conspiracy, and AC4. This was a co-release in Europe with Kick N' Punch Records in Denmark, who also put out records from Amdi Petersens Armé, Gorilla Angreb, and Hjertestop (amongst others) over their 21 releases in the aughts. Felix von Havoc put this out on his eponymous Minneapolis label, in the middle of a year where he put out the second R.A.M.B.O. record, a pair of reissues from the Finnish hardcore band Riistetyt, and the second Kylesa record.

More than anything, it's this record, along with the "Electric Guitar" comp that came out around the same time, that got me paying much more close attention to European punk rock. It was such a good year both domestically and internationally, but 2005 was the first year I made a conscious effort to seek out European releases. At the time, I thought it was just because I was a newlywed living with my father-in-law to save money for a house I couldn't afford. Turns out I got a lot more out of that newfound interest in Swedish crust than I did out of the house.

Discogs

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