By Nathan G. O'Brien
Hey freaks
'n' geeks, here's a list of my favorite punk and HC records of the past year,
narrowed down from about a million to roughly 35. A couple of things to keep in
mind: No cassettes or reissues are on this list, so before you go screaming
about where G.L.O.S.S. and Uranium Club are at take a breather and relax.
Cassettes and reissues are separate lists that I'll be putting up soon (along
with rap and best overall albums.) And trust me, both those bands are covered.
Also, this is not a ranked list; it's alphabetical by band name. Rankings a
total bullshit anyway. I do my best to listen to as much as I can, but it's impossible
to hear it all. While you may think there are some glaring omissions, it could
be that I actually never heard it. So please chill before attacking me. If
you've chilled and still feel like attacking me, then by all means, be my
guest. If I missed something I'd love to hear about it. Hit me on Twitter at
@OMG_NOB, email me at thee.n.o.b at gmail, or leave a comment below. As always,
thanks for checking it out!
UPDATE: Scene Point Blank is now running this as part of their year-end feature
2015: A Year in Review.
Acousma - 2nd 7" (High Fashion
Industries)
Eerie,
punishing, and sneakily groovy all at the same time. Hardcore with a couple of
sweet guitar solos right when you're not expecting them. From Canada.
Ajax - Self-Titled 7" (Static Shock)
New Yorkers
playing tough as motherfucking shit hardcore. Imagine Scandinavia meeting
Boston in the pit where nobody walks away unscathed.
Barcelona - Extremo Nihilismo en Barcelona
12" EP (La Vida Es Un Mus Discos Punk)
Black Panties - Future 7" (Windian),
Prophet of Hate b/w Violence (Total Punk), Self-Titled 7" (Lumpy)
One man
garage-y, weirdo, psych-out skeeze punk from St. Louis. Lumpy-affiliated so you
know it's got that slime all over it. Each of these three releases are
different explorations of sound, but all equally as great.
Blazing Eye - Self-Titled 7" (La Vida
Es Un Mus Discos Punk)
Boilerman - Self-Titled 10", Doing
Great 7" (86'd)
Trio of
solid dudes outta Chicago. Both releases are awesome in their own way. The
10" is a little more urgent and grungy, while the 7" is in line with
the pop-punk proto-emo sound of the early-to-mid-'90s.
Broken Prayer - Misanthropocentric A.K.A.
Droid's Blood LP (Sorry State)
Busted Outlook - Spitting Wind 7"
(Warthog Speak)
Don't be
fooled by the fairly standard sXe sports lettering logo. Pretty badass,
especially due to the vocals and the sick crossover/metal parts. I bet these
dudes wear shorts on stage. From San Fran.
Concealed Blade - Demo 7" (Beach
Impediment)
Hardcore
from Pittsburgh. '80s as all hell. Vocalist is a mean-sounding motherscratcher.
Awesome axe work too. And what a great band name, amirite? Try not to get
shanked while listening to it.
Dawn of Humans - Slurping at the Cosmos
Spine LP (Toxic State)
Queasy,
rhythmic sounds from NYC that challenges the notion of "punk." I get
a little sick to my stomach every time I listen to it. In a good way though.
Super trendy right now but not for lack of reason.
Decades/Failures - Goodbye LP (Dead Tank)
Outstanding
gothic, dark, synth-punk made by one, or maybe two guys (I should probably
check on that) that live in sunny Florida. I was playing this for my
60-something year-old dad who had this to say: "Why would anyone celebrate
such deliberate sadness?"
Diat - Positive Energy LP (Iron Lung)
The first
time I listened to this I did so as I often do: laying on the floor in front of
the stereo, with headphones on, and my eyes closed. My wife said it looked like
I was having an orgasm. There's so many bands doing post-punk now that when you
come across the really good stuff it's hard not ruin your undies. Surprising
too that they're from Germany, which is something I'd normally hold against a
group of white dudes.
Disgusti - A Thousand Prickly Needles
7" (High Fashion Industries)
Snotty
punk/HC with a touch of grind tossed in for good measure. I mean, I don't know
if that's a thing people normally do—toss a touch of grind in for good measure—but
apparently they do in Ontario. If this was just a little bit faster and
unintelligible it might be called powerviolence, maybe, but not for certain.
Ex-Cult - Cigarette Machine 12" EP
(Castle Face)
Garage-y,
post-punk-y stuff dripping with attitude. For the nihilistic, malnourished, cig-smoking,
no shirt under a leather jacket contingent. From Memphis and featuring a singer
that's kinda famous for being in some bands and writing some stuff.
Fatigue - Self-Titled 7" (Warthog
Speaks)
Baldy
hardcore outta San Fran. Oi! song structures done with a little more speed and
less melody than what the term normally implies. One of those bands that could
play to both the HC matinee crowd and the drunk skinheads.
Gay Kiss - Preservation Measures LP (Sorry
State)
A violent
ripper, front to back from this Phoenix quartet. Closes out with, of all
things, a Nine Inch Nails cover. And a damn fine one at that.
Read my review here.
Institute - Catharsis LP (Sacred Bones)
Anarcho
post-punk, Krautrock, psychedelic proto-punk, and other far-out sounds. This is
the first official full-length for these Austin regulars. Certainly you've
heard of them by now. And if not, well get on it while they're still cool.
They're only a few melodic numbers away from being massively well-liked by the
H-word set.
Ivy - A Cat's Cause, No Dog's Problem
7" (Katorga Works)
Spastic,
heavy, garage-leaning punk. Final output from this already deceased NYC band.
Read my review here.
L.O.T.I.O.N. - Digital Control and Man's
Obsolescence LP (Toxic State)
Imagine a
punk heckling the band from the audience. "Where's the drummer?” He'd
yell. The singer screams back from the stage, "We don't need a drummer.
THIS IS THE FUTURE!" Well this is indeed the future and it sounds
incredible. Goodbye Humans.
La Misma - Kanizadi LP (Toxic State)
Intoxicating
punk via a quartet of New York women. Allure furthered by all-Portuguese lyrics.
If you had told me this was recorded in 1983 I’d have no choice not to believe
you. You’ll cry when you listen to it because you know you’ll never hear
something this good again.
Mind Control - Self-Titled 7"
(Forward)
Slime-core
from Duluth. Gives you same uneasy feeling as going to the dentist first thing
in the morning and then having that creepy grainy cement paste flavor stuck in
your mouth all day.
No - Treating People Like They Don't Exist
12" EP (La Vida Es Un Mus Discos Punk)
Loud fast
rules crew from London. Unique in a way that's hard to put into words. I think
due to the guitars. Very angry. Whenever I listen to this on my bike I get
wherever I'm going like twice as fast.
Red Death - Permanent Exile LP (Grave
Mistake)
The debut
album from a four-pack of DC dudes. Pop quiz: Did you like Sick Of It All when
they weren't a caricature of themselves? Did you like Corrosion of Conformity
before they went all Southern-fried metal on your ass? Do you have a worn out
copy of AC/DC's '74 Jailbreak
somewhere on the floor of your car under all the empty bags of Chili Cheese
Fritos and Slim Jim wrappers? Do you sometimes wear long underwear under a pair
of shorts? If you answered yes to any of these questions you'll love this.
Rixe - Coups Et Blessures 7" (La Vida
Es En Mus Discos Punk)
You might
think you don't like Oi! but then you find yourself fist-pumping to this French
slab o' wax and you're like,
oh shit I
think I like Oi! now.
Read my review here.
Snob - 2nd EP 7" (Self-Released)
Too good.
Should be illegal to be this good. London hardcore punkers who happen to have
one of the finest vocalists in all the punk land. And that guitar and bass
tone, well, shit, wow, it's out of this world.
Society Abuse - Self-Titled 7" (Mind
Rot)
Blazing USHC
from somewhere in Florida. I'm in love with the tough but dejected vocals. Some
nice D-beat and drone subtleties lying underneath too.
Straight Razor - Self-Titled 7"
(React)
Pissed-off mid-paced
USHC, ripe with blistering riffs, a beefy rhythm section, and Brendan Radigan’s
signature snarl. I wonder who would win in a knife fight between these guys and
Concealed Blade?
Vaaska - Todos Contra Todos LP (Beach
Impediment)
This
Austin-based band's versatility is really impressive. D-beat is at the core but
surrounding that is a whole load of scorching axe work, agile drumming, and
rock ‘n’ roll attitude.
Read my review here.
Vexx - Give and Take 7" (Katorga
Works)
A bit of a stylistic
leap from their previous work; more Imaginative and dynamic song structures
this time around. Heightened by Maryjane’s vocal dexterity; both haunting and
commanding. From Olympia and they have that lovely PNW fragrance all over them.
The Warden - Self-Titled 7" (Lumpy)
Rock ‘n’ roll-infused hardcore from St. Louis. Super sweet breakdowns and scream-y speed parts that somehow manage to avoid the dreaded metal trap.
