The contemporary Oi scenes in both the anglo and francosphere have been churning out great work for a while now. If you’re looking to jump in or familiarize yourself with some staples, you need to check out Montreal’s Béton Armé.
The contemporary Oi scenes in both the anglo and francosphere have been churning out great work for a while now. If you’re looking to jump in or familiarize yourself with some staples, you need to check out Montreal’s Béton Armé.
Starting with their self titled debut EP in June of 2018, Béton Armé (‘Reinforced Concrete’) have been putting out no bull Punk Rock’n’Roll ever since. But the band’s 2023 EP Second Souffle has really broken through, gaining traction amongst Oi fans worldwide.
Second Souffle was recorded at Studio 440 by frequent collaborator Scott Golyardi (drummer of Force Majeure) and features a clear yet still raw sound, the Goldilocks zone of nearly all recorded music as far as I’m concerned. Crunchy, straight forward riffs, a driving rhythm section, and enough group chanted vocals to please both street and mall punks. Either you’re itching to hear it, or you’ve already clicked off of this article (shucks).
As with a lot of Punk releases in recent years, Second Souffle is short and sweet. 4 tracks spanning 9 minutes, no time wasters. Yet you’ll probably spend more time with Second Souffle given its lack of filler than you would with many Punk LPs of the past 25 years, and I think it’s a great direction for these bands to be going in.
You can find Second Souffle for streaming and digital download over on the band’s Bandcamp page, along with their other releases.
Be honest with yourself: Have you ever sat down and listened to a Siouxsie and The Banshees album from beginning to end? If you haven’t, hear me out.
Be honest with yourself: Have you ever sat down and listened to a Siouxsie and The Banshees album from beginning to end? If you haven’t, hear me out.
Some bands can seem ubiquitous, and so it’s easy to glaze over when one of these hyper-exposed bands comes up in conversation. I do it all the time with art and media, especially movies- I’m still not sure if I’ve ever actually seen Jurassic Park or if I’ve just heard about it so much that I tricked myself into believing I have.
Between Siouxsie and The Banshees’ 1981 album Juju and ’86’s Tinderbox, you’re bound to be exposed to a handful of their songs either at goth nights, Halloween parties, or who knows where. So it probably wouldn’t hurt to know what you’re talking about when they come up in conversation- love ‘em or hate ‘em.
Tinderbox is essential listening for all kinds of people- I’ll spare you a list, as instead of reading who* should hear it you could just listen to it instead. (*people who read music blogs to discover new music would be on that list anyways)
Siouxsie and The Banshees was one of a small handful of fundamental Post-Punk groups, coming out from under the Malcolm McLaren iteration of Punk Rock in London in the late 1970s and developing into a darker, more atmospheric sound. This push towards rich darkness helped usher in both Goth Rock and the Goth subculture, which Siouxsie also served as a primary style icon for.
Tinderbox is this sound in its most accessible form, and perhaps its best. If Juju is the culmination of The Banshees’ first three albums (The Scream, Join Hands, and Kaleidoscope), than Tinderbox is Juju with the experimentation and lush orchestral production of the interim albums (A Kiss in The Dreamhouse, Hyæna) folded in.
If I can only choose one album out of the Banshees’ impressive catalog of work, I’m choosing Tinderbox every time. The band and their songwriting had matured since Juju, the production is incredibly luscious, and Sweetest Chill is the best non-single the band ever released. Do I need to say anymore?
Tedious ‘fun’ fact; Sid Vicious was an original member prior to joining the Sex Pistols. True, I guess, though only for their first live performance. His presence in their story speaks more to the insular nature of the Punk scene in London at the time than anything else.
5 songs, 12~ minutes, no time wasters. The Brest, France Oi Punks Syndrome 81 delivered one of the tightest punk EPs I’ve heard in a while. If shimmering guitar melodies over a driving rhythm section pique your interest even remotely you won’t be disappointed.
But if that sounds a bit slack let me assure you, Désert Urbain is played with such palpable urgency that you could seamlessly play it after any worthwhile hardcore record.
The only thing I dislike about this record is that it’s from 2015, which at the time of writing this means I’ve got a decade of catch-up to do. Now that I say that, lucky me.
You Pull The Strings That Make Us Dance is a catharsis to inner turmoil, a mouthful, and a great album by Textbook Traitors. 6 songs, 16 minutes, no skips. It’s got all the panic chords and agony one could hope for. Chaotic abrasiveness that ebbs and flows, inhaling and exhaling across verses and bridges as a unit in the same violent manner of the ugliest, most hurt crying.
At its worst, it’s 16 minutes that might not be for the faint of heart. But with today’s modern technology, we can put albums on endless repeat until the noise complaints and/or welfare checks start rolling in.
Textbook Traitors burned bright and fast from 2002 to 2005, putting out this bad boy as well as a slew of split EPs. But the records live on, and for anyone only just beginning to dabble in Screamo, ‘You Pull The Strings’ is a must listen.
If you enjoyed this, you should check out Kevin’s post about Textbook Traitors over on Sophie’s Floorboard blog.
For fans of: Orchid, Examination of The…, City of Caterpillar
We might just be in the great Skramz resurgence right now. I should’ve written about this two months back when I first came across it, but if you’re into Screamo (of the ‘skramz’ variety) you need to check out Maryland’s Mondrary.
Mondrary’s first single Paraffin is a righteous wall of sound and angst that clocks in at an even 2 minutes and crosses a ton of energetic highs and moody lows. I’m immediately reminded of groups like Pg.99 and Orchid, but I’m more excited to see where the members take Mondrary over the coming years.
But for now nothing else really needs to be said. These kids RIP. Go checkout their single Paraffin and follow their Instagram in the hopes they play the craptastic nowheresville town you live in.
If you’re reading this blog (you are) there’s probably a good chance you’re into dark music- whatever that may be to you. The hunt for new and overlooked records will have you running into the same 5 or so bands or singles per sub-genre with the same spiels about how such and such record is under exposed.
Enter Neglect. Often recommended for people looking for Hardcore bands with darker lyrical themes, Neglect was founded and folded in the early to mid-1990s in Long Island, NY.
Their sound was typical for the Hardcore zeitgeist at the turn of the 1990s. Heavier, slower, groovier, meatier, essentially embracing what Pantera saw as Hardcore music’s potential, but with lyrics on suicide, premature death and nihilism.
If you’re looking for darker records in an emotional sense, you might find this record lacking in depth. Suicide, hatred, death, and anger- if you were ever 16 and inspired by Black Flag’s Damaged to punch a mirror and hurt yourself, this is probably a record that will resonate with you. If that sounds a little too 2-dimensional or underdeveloped to you, you’re not alone.
This extreme degree of anger (self-directed and otherwise) undermines its own emotional impact by drowning out (or leaving out) any nuance in an attempt to win Hardcore’s own anger pissing contest.
Fans of this kinda stuff (I’ve been one at different times of my life) will defend it by saying that it’s ‘brutally honest’ (whatever that means), and to their emotional truth that may very well be the case.
Neglect’s The Complete Don Fury Sessions is a compilation released in 2005 of the band’s work with prolific Hardcore producer Don Fury (production credits include Agnostic Front, Gorilla Biscuits, Born Against, and more). Besides the few movie sample intros and outros it’s a no-thrills album. A bit muddy but all’s fair in hard and core.
For fans of: Pantera, Everybody Gets Hurt, Next Step Up
The musician credits on the album allude me, but if we’re to believe the band photos posted elsewhere there’s 6 people in this band. No way. Not that a band needs to ‘justify’ the existence of their members but if you’re having that many people in your orbit there’s a lot more ways to get better bang for your buck. Add an organ or saxophone or something! Something if not dynamic range or energy.
If that hasn’t said enough, track Small Man Big House is insufferable- a Dead Milkmen’s Bitchin’ Camero minus the humor or even musicianship. In the canon of rock songs about being a musician, it rivals Bob Seeger in mindlessness.
The guitar riffs and tones are completely indistinct, the skits are corny and uninspired. It’s all attitude abuse and 8th notes. I’m only surprised they’re not famous.
Lacking, flat and drowned in vocal put-ons, Here Comes More Bad News is all ornamental Punk tropes atop an alt rock chassis that, whether justified or not, fell out of fashion 10 years ago.
For fans of: Frankie and The Witch Fingers, Wavves, Thee Oh Sees
Sounds from Osaka is our first article in a series highlighting local scenes in multiple ‘postcard length’ album reviews. We’re looking to do more of these scene focused articles in the future! Go to our contact page and let us know about your local scene and we may just cover it. Till then, consider this article ‘postmarked’ March 27th, 2022!
That said, is this list looking a little incomplete? Because we’re sure it is. There may be more pivotal bands in the Osaka scene, but we’ve decided to go with what stuck out to us via Bandcamp, recommendations, and liner note skimming, so Skate Punk bands like The Skippers or Manchester School (M.A. School) won’t be on this list. Consider this a small round up of Punk, Indie and Alternative bands from Osaka, Japan.
Diskover – The End Has No End (2018)
Noisy and nasally Pop Punk, The End Has No End is a lilting and lo-fi record worth a listen. The 3-track EP by Diskover has all the melancholic emotional weight one could hope for from Pop Punk and Power Pop. There isn’t much readily known about them, but they’ve had one release since: a self-titled 7” EP available through nearly a dozen smaller record outlets. You can also find it through the Punk & Destroy record shop and distro, located in Osaka.
Argue Damnation – The Situation In Society Is Worse Than Before, It Is Getting Worse. Direct Action Now Demo (2021)
The medium is the message- and so too, in this case, is the album title. Not ones’ to waste space, Argue Damnation’s ‘The Situation…’ is a collection of demos for what was their third and final album Direct Action Now, recorded and released in 2000. Tracks like Direct Action Now, Number People, and 反新安保 (‘Anti-New Security’) break out of the tight mold of D-Beat and Crust for something more expressive than many of their contemporaries, while Up The Punx gets as close to ‘punk anthem’ material as possible without getting too corny.
Argue Damnation were active from 1994 to 2003, but their music still resonates.
Shonen Knife – Pop Tune (2012)
While I never promised a comprehensive list, I would feel remiss for not including Shonen Knife. Take it from their Bandcamp artist-bio:
“Shonen Knife was formed in 1981 by Naoko Yamano, her friend Michie and sister Atsuko. 35 Years, 19 albums and well over 1000 gigs later the band is as strong, fun and original as ever…”
For this list I’m pulling their 2012 album Pop Tune, whose titular track is so satisfyingly bubbly and fun. People more in tune with the D-Beat and Crust bands on this list may roll their eyes, but Shonen Knife’s Phil Spector and Ramones inspired Alternative Rock’n’Roll sound is a delightful and uplifting force in the cross-cultural milieu of our ever increasingly interconnected lives.
Junky58% – おい、ミルクじゃなくて酒よこせバブー (2020)
おい、ミルクじゃなくて酒よこせバブー, or Don’t Milk, I Want to Alcohol (Google translated to ‘Hey, Give Me Sake, Not Milk.’) is a pumped up Pop Punk EP by Osaka’s Junky58%. Their early Green Day influence might be most noticeable on midway track Junky Band, but flows through the album’s joyous celebration of alcoholic shenanigans (and chocolate cookies?); a high-spirited step away from some of their more melancholy-tinted peers. As someone generally uninterested with alcohol-centric Punk and Rock music, I still found ‘Don’t Milk,…’ a worthwhile and fun record, going near the top of my wishlist.
OXZ – Along Ago: 1981-1989 (2020)
OXZ (pronounced ‘awk-zed’) are in a Post-Punk vein of their own creation, but could be roughly triangulated with bands like Suburban Lawns, Ausgang, and The Passions. OXZ weren’t afraid to include big spacial synthesizers on otherwise dry recordings. This makes for a rare listening experience, especially in the midst of the slog of ‘Post-Punk’ and ‘Goth’ worship bands coming out of the Anglosphere currently.
The compilation, released by the NYC independent label Captured Tracks, shows OXZ’s artistic progression across the band’s 3 EPs and single released during their band’s original run. It’s incredibly satisfying hearing where they took things as their song writing grew stronger and stronger. Personal favorite tracks from Along Ago: 1981-1989 include Vivian, Boy Boy, and Is Life.
Framtid – Under The Ashes (2002)
Crust is universal, so it seems. So I’m not surprised to find heavy hitters Framtid among the crowd. The band’s 2002 release Under The Ashes features members Makino (vocals), Takayama (drums), Ryota “Jacky” Watanabe (guitar), Ina (bass) and Chuma on bass for tracks 12-21. Under The Ashes is unrelenting. With each track fading into the next one, the chaos never stops. I definitely recommend Framtid to fans of Crucifix and Napalm Death.
Kung-Fu Girl – Cassette Tapes Series Vol.1 (2021)
Cassette Tapes Series Vol.1 is a single release by the lo-fi Pop Punk band Kung-Fu Girl. A-side Rabuka might be my favorite, as it stood out to me immediately with its melancholic bubbliness. It’s absolutely something for fans of Full of Fancy or Bluffing. But b-side Ghost Girlfriend incorporates Power Pop sensibilities with raw Punk energy. It’s incredible, and a fun break from more D-Beat oriented bands.
Potato Headz – Potato Headz (2018)
Seeing “POTATO HEADZ” in a varsity font on a black and white concert pic, I wouldn’t have expected something so sonically interesting. Through and through, it’s your ‘classic hXc’ style beatdown Hardcore, but with just enough off-kilter weirdness and goofball energy to make it an incredibly fun album.
The riffs: chunky. The drums: hunky.
I’m all into it.
The Harriets – The Harriets 1st Demo (2019)
The laid back Indie jams of The Harriets’ 2019 self-titled first demo are easy on the ears, but don’t take that to mean ‘light listening’. The Harriets are made up of members Milk (guitar), Nana (drums), and Fumi (bass) with all 3 members contributing vocals. This relax-adaisical demo single features the a-side track Last Night backed with the fuzzed out I Don’t Care.
There’s an element to The Harriets that might make them an easy shoe-in for fans of bands like Slant 6 or Apocalypse Meow. The songs are minimal and well written, invoking an easy going feeling while keeping sonic vitality.
I would like to note The Harriets and the American band Frankie Cosmos as an ‘ideal’ double-billing for a tour. Seriously, can we make that happen?
Beverly Hills Ketsukon Hactyo is a compilation released by Centralscum in 2004 celebrating the marriage of WonWons bassist Mami and Haruo Ishihara (owner of Lost Frog Productions, “the oldest Japanese netlabel in existence”).
Beverly Hills Ketsukon Hactyo is a short but stylistically mixed bag. The lo-fi indie jam and titular track Beverly Hills Ketsukon Hactyo by Morino Jun (Moaco) is a fun and sloppy melancholic song in the style of Magnetic Fields. The album is balanced out with off-kilter Indie Electronic in a style similar to the UK group The Sons of Silence.
But by far, Loggins Alive by Izumi Headache of UltraFuckers is an immediate favorite. Thumping drum machines pound away under the clatter of metallic guitar noise and pitched and processed vocals that sound like the Max Headroom Incident. It’s a hair too wacky to be considered a Big Black tribute, but likely ‘just right’ for Men’s Recovery Project fans.
Keep your eyes peeled for an upcoming +Brief Thoughts article with a follow up to Beverly Hills Ketsukon Hactyo as well as Shock Rock in Japan and the USA.
It’s sloppy, muddy, and all there. The potency of the Good Grief’s songwriting and dedicated performance is a cut above the rest. Git Gooder is the sole album by Asheville, NC Punk band Good Grief. Released in 2018, the songs featured on the album are short, sweet, and to the point. Git Gooder’s sweeter moments, such as Prom Song’s saccharine sincerity, are balanced so well and so seamlessly by the anger and discontent shown on tracks like Valentines 2018 and Brewery.
That said, second to closing track Brewery is the best evocation of the sullen rage one feels growing up in a beer tourism town.
It’s hard to describe what makes Good Grief a cut above the rest, but I like to think it can be triangulated between the spirit of Crucifix, Husker Du, and early Weezer. Yeah, that’s right, I brought Weezer into this.
No ‘1950s tough-guy’ cosplay here, Russian Psychobilly duo SlapClapS’s 2019 release Screams From The Darkness is a return to the gothic Punk origins of the Psychobilly genre.
Opening track Pimple of Lust (gross!) roars out of the starting gate like a bat out of hell. Snares shuffle with such speed and punch that it feels the track is on the edge of exploding. Guitar shimmies its way all over the fret board while standup bass chatters along at equally high speed.
Following tracks Point of No Return and Bubble turn up the degree of spookiness with a more Western guitar style typical of Psychobilly. The vocals are snotty in that kind of capital ‘P’ Punk way that when utilized well, which they are here, is both hostile and charming.
Screams From The Darkness is what you want a Psychobilly record to be, but rarely come across. SlapClapS avoid the overproduction and cheese of cosplay music to instead create focused, raw psycho rhythms and tunes. The songs are fast, fun, and non-ostentatious. This may be SlapClapS’ biggest distinction from their contemporaries, and what more could you want from Psychobilly?
Oh! I just got it. ‘slap’ / ‘clap’, like the sound of a standup bass. Nice.
For fans of: Koffin Kats, Horrorpops, The Hellfreaks
The Resident Sound 