Back catalogue: Punk/Hardcore

Review: A 12" split meeting of the minds between two equally iconic alt rock punk-lifers, this EP brings together Gainesville, Florida's Hot Water Music and New York City's Quicksand (brainchild of Gorilla Biscuits hardcore hero and Rival Schools emo-grunge auteur Walter Schreifels), covering each other's classic tracks with renditions of 'Fazer' from the Quicksand 1993 debut LP Slip and 'Free Radio Gainesville' off of Hot Water Music's 1999 third full-length No Division. Filling out the tracklist are the unreleased 'Supercollider' which marks the first new cut of Quicksand material since 2021's Distant Populations, and the b-side 'Undertow', originally recorded during sessions from Hot Water Music's latest 2024 LP Vows. With simple cover art featuring Hot Water Music's Chuck Ragan on one side, and Quicksand's Alan Cage on the other, it perfectly summarises this playful, mutual celebration of one another's work, some new, some old, all great.

Review: The fourth full-length from Mexico's post-metal-tinged melodic crust-punks Habak follows on from two previous collaborative efforts with also Tijuana-based post-rockers Fractal and Los Angeles crust-punk outfit Lagrimas, marking their first sole studio full-length since 2020's Ningun Muro Consiguio Jamas Contener la Primavera. Expanding their diverse, abrasive sonic palette more than ever before, drawing on elements of late 90s "skramz" era screamo, blackened hardcore and shoegazing post-rock, yet all coalesced under the black breath of their obligatory crust-punk sound, Mil Orquiideas en Medio del Desierto illustrates a band reaching the peak of their prowess and potential while offering a unique perspective on all of the above mentioned subgenres, with just that tincture of Mexican folklore for that added, incomparable aura.

Review: Following on from 2023's acclaimed debut full-length All Gas No Brakes, Bristolian noise-punks Heavy Lungs return with the definition of an antithetical sophomore LP with Caviar. Clocking in at under 30 minutes (significantly less than their initial outing) and recorded live in dingy church rehearsal spaces to capture the unhinged intensity of their live performances, this is the sound of a band vehemently disinterested with mainstream appeal, exposure or playing the game by any terms apart from their own. While vocalist Danny Nedelko would be the named subject of one of the biggest singles from fellow Bristol natives Idles' 2018 breakout second album Joy As An Act Of Resistance, where his peers have expanded their sound and embraced myriads of melody, Heavy Lungs are poignantly going the opposite route, full speed towards oblivion with only chaos and anarchy on their collective minds.