various artists - This Comp Kills Fascists Volume 2

The follow up to 2008's "Volume 1", this one matches the intensity of its predecessor, and, frankly, is needed now more than ever. This one has homeys from back home on it: Triac, Drugs of Faith, and Strong Intention were regulars on bills I booked and shows I attended. There are true heavyweights present as well, with Apartment 213, Despise You, Vöetsek, and Lack of Interest all turning in superior offerings. It was my first exposure to Hummingbird of Death and Marion Barry. They still get turned up and blasted hard whenever they come on the old headphones at work orat work. Put this on and bash a fash.

Discogs

Click here to download.

various artists - This Comp Kills Fascists, Vol. 1

I had intended this to be posted on Monday, January 20th, but having a move thrust upon me kind of threw things out of whack, Instead, you get a a few days late.

It's taken forty-seven years, but I can wrap my brain around why someone might embrace fascism. And by "someone", I mean a normal human. A person who 30 years ago might have resided firmly in the middle class. That stability no longer exists. The world has gotten faster, the sensory input amped up, and still no answers present themselves. In the ensuing madness, I can understand why anyone might turn to a strongman, someone providing easy solutions to difficult challenges. Fuck the immorality or cognitive dissonance that comes along with accepting giving in; the trains might run on time, and you might get a deserved bite of the apple, a taste of the good life that you've been told is your birthright.

But it's all bullshit. It always has been, and, especially now, it will continue to be. After all, I lived through 2017 to 2021. I remember what has already happened; I can anticipate what will come.

A lesson I took from a life in punk rock is that you can do it yourself. You can start your own band. You can release your own record. You can publish your thoughts. You can create and distribute and connect and evolve. The scale is irrelevant. Whether you make 25 copies of a fanzine, or you start a mutual aid society in your town, you reject the dominant message that you cannot and embrace the message that you can.

i guess what I'm getting at here is that this is not a time for whining, or despair, or surrender. It's a time for regroup and realign. Figure out what sort of world you want to live it, and set about creating it. I promise there are others who feel the same way, and want to help. What your President, your MP, your Premier, your Prime Minister, and the men who back them, doesn't change what you can do at home.

Anyway, here's a comp from 2008, embracing Conflict's message to see who's who. Let's not be afraid to fight for a better world with this as part of the soundtrack.

Discogs

Click here to download.

various artists - Ugly Music...For Ugly Minds

Another Sunday has come, and I have nothing in the queue, so let's fall back to an old favorite.

Relapse has ALWAYS had samplers worth holding onto. There are bands who I've never owned a record but, yet I can still still recall the samples used or the opening blast beat or riff from their track on "Spectrum Fest" or "Fast Forward" or "Contaminated". These led to my first exposures to Merzbow, Human Remains, Repulsion, and Benümb. I'm lucky that it expanded my mind and didn't melt my brain.

"Ugly Music...For Ugly Minds" finds Relapse celebrating its Sweet 16 with the sort of eclectic roster that we'd all come to know and love by that point. There were doom metal pioneers Pentagram, label mainstay Bongzilla, soon-to-be-major-label-megastars Mastodon, and the late, great Nasum; all names well known in the metal underground. But there were also contributions from also long-time Pittsburgh math rockers Don Caballero, Seattle thrashers Zeke, and techy instrumentals from Dysrhythmia and Zombi. There's an obligatory Dave Witte appearance in the form of southern "supergroup" Birds of Prey. In all, it's 19 tracks worth of the sort of sounds that are still well worth the $5 or so I'm sure this retailed for.

Discogs

Click here to download.

Hey, is it Bandcamp Friday?

...there's only one way to find out. Click here, and it will either be, or not be.

In my house, any Friday can be Bandcamp Friday. But having the day is a good opportunity to talk about new music I've been listening to and records I'm planning on buying. Here's a few worth looking into if you have some bread to spend.

I definitely slept on the release last February of "Brave Faces Everyone", the newest full-length from L.A.'s Spanish Love Songs. It took this showing up in the #1 slot for Best of 2020 at Sophie's Floorboard to even hit my radar. And you may ask yourself, as I did, "Who is this band with the terrible name, to have the best record of 2020?" Well, fer Crissake, do yourself a big ol' favor and stream it, tout en suite! Then drop the $5 on a digital download, or $20 for a record via their MerchNow. I'm almost embarassed at how into this record I've been. I've seen it described as "Depression: The Record". That ain't wrong, but that's not the full story, either. It's angsty without being melodramatic. The songwriting is great; the lyrics are a reflection of what it's like to be overeducated, underemployed, and up to your neck in meds and debt. A very apt record for this day and age.

I loved Loved LOVED Slant's 2018 demo, released on cassette from the folks at Pissed Off! Records. Just an angry hardcore band from Seoul, doing what they do best. They released a really limited 7" on Iron Lung the following year that I slept on; no doubt because it would have cost me over $10 for seven minutes of music on an EP. But they're back with their first full-length, titled "1집" (imaginatively), collaborating again on the release with the best label in Seattle (don't @ me). It's 10 songs, 17 minutes, and comes in marble blue, translucent pink, or black. As the page alludes, this mixes the fury of the NEHC scene of the teens with the classic rhythms of, say, a Minor Threat. And Yeji is a brutal vocalist. Approved! I'll be taking mine in pink, please and thank you.

Those Taylor boys are back at it again. I make no secret of what love I have for their previous bands, pageninetynine and Pygmy Lush. We may not have been next door neighbors, but they were kindred spirits who I was always happy to see out in the world. They have a new band with Ryan and Adam from City of Caterpillar called TERMINAL ESCAPE. Based in Richmond, I'm pretty sure they have yet to play out. But they do have their first record coming out, a one-sided 12" called "BRUTE ERR/ATA" on Relapse that's been ripping me from neck to nuts every time I listen to it. Think of your favorite iconoclastic hardcore bands from the past 40 years: this harkens to each of them, whether it's in Cris's lyrics (a la Born Against or Dead Kennedys) or in the absolutely gross, blackened sound (Void, Gauze, Necros). Their Bandcamp has a few preorders left for the limited-to-300-copies on clear with black inside. This is the aural equivalent of this Takishi Miike movie I'm watching right now; brutal, dense, and weird.

My buddy Jumbled has a new physical release coming, inventively called "Just The Singles". He provides the beats, lyrics come via Dwell, Taylo, Nyoka Ny-D, Ill Conscious, Vans_Westly, JBerd, ALYX Ryon, Jack Wilson, Berko Lover, Cody Cody Jones, Alaska, Action Bastard, Dot Com Intelligence, Butch Dawson, salk., Ullnevano, Drew Scott, Special Berriez, Torito, Bito Sureiya and more. If you're into the boom bap, or backpack hip-hop, or just punks making non-punk music, give this one a spin. He also has a new beat tape out, "Classic Rock Breaks Vol.1", in a limited edition of 10. It's not J.Dilla, but I like it. Don't think it's not tearing me up inside that I can't remember what this cover is calling back to.

This is but a sample of what's out there. I actually like going to Bandcamp's front page on days like today, and just finding something that catches my eye. Had I previously considering copping some Flying Lotus? No, but seeing this article makes me think about it. So, you know, live a little. It's Friday, you just got paid, son.

G.I.S.M. and their Relapse reissue

G.I.S.M., aka Grubby Incest Stripper Mastitis, aka Grand Imperialism Social Murder

My very first exposure to the Japanese hardcore legends known as G.I.S.M. was, like so many other American punx, via their track on R Radical's landmark comp, 1984's "International P.E.A.C.E. Benefit Compilation". Slotted as the second track on Side A, between Articles of Faith and Neon Christ, the Tokyo quartet supplied the lead track from the previous year's debut LP. "Endless Blockads for the Pussyfooter" was so different from anything I'd heard up to that point. It felt more like some insane amalgam of hardcore, metal, glam, and noise collage made by lunatic punx, with crazy leads and solos by Randy Uchida and that wild-ass echoing vocal by Sakevi. Of course, none of their other work really ever turned up around me. If it showed up in Baltimore, it'd typically get picked up immediately by someone who lived closer to the store. So I'd hear more the legend than experience the music. Hearing a second or third generation tape, or a crackly bootleg 12", was akin to sharing old VHS tapes of Bo Jackson with a younger football fan. I definitely wanted to experience more. Now, the internet has been good to me, in as much as I've tracked down all their early releases digitally. It's not the same as slapping a record on the turntable, but it serves as an apéritif, whetting my appetite for the day that I eventually come across a copy of "Detestation".

Apparently, I'll be able to dine on a physical copy on December 4, as Relapse Records is taking preorders right now for the first ever authorized reissue of the first G.I.S.M. album. A split release with Japan's Beast Arts, this is an authentic recreation of the original 1983 Dogma/City Rocker release. What's new is the obi strip that comes on the 12", as well as a new CD reissue featuring three additional tracks, AND a first-time-ever release on cassette. The limited edition 12" on white and cassette with clear shell are already sold out, but the black vinyl, black cassette, and CD are still available, along with some really dope looking t-shirts and a zip-up hoodie.

If you're at all into Japanese hardcore, metal, or independent music, you know what a big deal this release is. And the idea that Sakevi is working with Relapse on this reissue suggests that we might get some additional reissues of their two later LPs, as well as comp tracks, which is totally exciting. So, don't sleep on this; slap that "preorder" button, tout en suite! But don't take my word for it. Go ahead and sample this RIGHT NOW!