Review: Originally formed in 1980 in Reno, Nevada, 7 Seconds are often credited as one of the most vital and criminally overlooked pioneering hardcore punk acts. Following on from their much-adored 1985 EP-cum-LP Walk Together, Rock Together, their 1986 follow up New Wind featured slower tempos and a notable imbuing of melody, with the project going on to be credited as an integral blueprint for the hardcore scene's eventual embracing and transition into pop-punk and indie rock. This long overdue reissue from Trust Records arrives complete with the complimentary Change In My Head, which is a totally new take on the classic album featuring tracks remixed in their entirety by Ian MacKaye (Minor Threat, Fugazi) alongside Inner Ear Studios' Don Zientara. Restoring and reimagining unreleased cuts from the original LP such as 'Change In My Head' and 'Compro', these bonus tracks offer a fresh snapshot of 7 Seconds in transition, but still very much firmly rooted in their hardcore ethos (before literal U2 comparisons would arise with later output). This limited double LP also comes with a 24-page oral history featuring unseen photographs, flyers, and memorabilia.
Review: Civic frontman Jim McCullogh apparently likes the idea of his band being more of a "mind set" than a group per se. Each record adds another layer to that perspective, like the evolution of a character rather than the trajectory of a troubadour troupe. In this case "one of the main objectives for this album was to make a drastic turn in our sound. Break the mould, melt the steel." Of course, there's still that heavily post-punk influenced Civic sound coursing through the rhythms here, and it's as gritty as ever. But it's also full of curveballs and unexpected twists, at times punting for a more jangle-y atmosphere, in other moments something resolutely muscular and main stage. Either way, it's going to hit you in the face and refuse to apologise.
Review: Since forming in 2016, The Darts from Phoenix, Arizona have built a fierce global presence with their fuzz-drenched garage rock and high-octane performances, fronted by the ever-driven Nicole Laurenne. The Nightmare Queens compiles the best green lights from the band's first two LPs, both long since sold out, and adds two extra brand-new thrashoffs, recorded on the road during their 2024 Europe Boomerang tour. Gritty melodies, vampy hooks and punk-drunk energy beam like blood moon rays across 'Get Spooky', 'My Heart Is A Graveyard', and 'Love You to Death'.
I Don't Want To Know (If You Don't Want Me) (CD 2: Gold Medal - 2004)
Friends Like Mine
Don't Break Me Down
Fall Behind Me
Is That All You've Got For Me
It's So Hard
The Gold Medal
Out Of My Hands
It Takes One To Know
Revolver
Have You No Pride
Lost & Found (Digital bonus track)
Hyperactive (CD 3: singles, B-sides & live - B Side)
Rock 'n' Roll Machine (B Side)
Mam's Boy (B Side)
Play My Game (B Side)
Don't Break Me Down (acoustic)
Fall Behind Me (alternate acoustic mix)
I Don't Want To Know (If You Don't Want Me) (alternate acoustic mix)
Done With You (B Side)
Too Bad About Your Girl (radio remix)
Dancing With Myself (Billy Idol Cover)
Please Don't Tease Me (New York Minute OST)
Do You Want To Hit It (live At The Paradise, Boston August 2nd, 2003)
Take Me To The Backseat
Hyperactive - Too Bad About Your Girl
All Messed Up
Take It Off
5 O'clock In The Morning
Who Invited You
On The Rocks (live XFM October 3rd, 2003)
Take It Off
Who Invited You
Review: After rising through the ranks of the local punk scene in Palto Alto, California, during the late 1990s, all-female outfit The Donnas were whisked to national (and international) superstardom via a deal with major label Atlantic Records. This retrospective looks back on that period of the now-dormant band's career, combing their two albums from the imprint (2002's Spend The Night and 2004's Gold Metal) with a disc of singles, B-sides, rarities and live takes. That means heaps of heavy riffs, vocals espousing suburban teenage angst and hooky choruses on discs one and two, with the third disc delivering an attractive mixture of raucous pop-punk, nods to metal (one of their major infuences, fact fans) and becalmed and cheery acoustic versions.
Review: Japan's Envy created one of the most respected post-rock screamo albums of all time with this third album of theirs. Originally released in 2001 on Japense punk label H.G. Fact and again as a limited released in 2003 on Dim Mak Records in the U.S., with not many physical copies printed they've been scarcely available. Thankfully, that's all about to change now that this enduring masterpiece of foreboding post rock and blisteringly powerful screams is getting repressed. Envy's strength lies in their ability to flip flop between introspective atmospheric passages and intense guttural aggression within a track and for it to be cohesive. That said, where they don't relent, like on 'Invisible Thread', the adrenaline really kicks in and it's a palpable reenactment of the atmosphere at their live shows.
Review: Popstock's latest Fall retrospective Singles Live Vol One 1978-81 captures Smith and his mighty co. in their rawest, fuzz-worthy phase. Whether it's the discordant organ furzes of 'It's The New Thing' or the snarled highway punk of '2nd Dark Age', this one's a great distillation of the Fall's sound at a select interval. Culled almost exclusively from the period spanning their Live At The Witch Trials era to the brink of the Hex Enduction Hour, the album compiles ferocious stage renditions of early singles, delivered by a revolving door of members as usual. Yet it was also born from frustration with how other Fall archival material has been handled, and how more recent lineups have been emphasised and represented as immutable over and above classic, yet more unusual suspects. Steered by ex-Fall members Paul and Steve Hanley, Marc Riley and Craig Scanlon, Popstock exists as a corrective, revisiting a pivotal moment with a twist.
Review: Originally released in July 2008, Have Heart had already been peddling their unapologetically up front hardcore punk for a good six years by this point. What would be their final statement on the matter, disbanding 12 months or so later, Songs To Scream At The Sun would continue the focus on earnest messaging for the group, who were known for dealing with issues such as social ethics to inclusivity. Never really ones for compromise, while Have Heart continued in the positive hardcore vein here, it's also worth noting that at the time the sound itself was falling out of favour, but the Massachusetts troupe doubled down instrumentally, too. When many peers were desperately looking to dilute in the hopes of crossover success, this is how you bow out with style and dignity.
Old Man (Last Words & Lessons Learned) (II) (2:31)
Song Of Shame (1:27)
To Us Fools (2:47)
Something More Than Ink (3:03)
The Machinist (1:14)
Watch Me Rise (2:14)
Review: "The defining hardcore record of the century so far" said Las Vegas Weekly. While punknews.org commented on the "undeniably earnest lyrics and blistering, relentless pace." Make no mistake, Have Heart made a big impression in 2006 with The Things That Carry, their debut full length. Following on from two very well received EPs, the record cemented the band's status as leading lights in a nascent positive hardcore movement. Screaming out of the starting blocks, the music is angry but the messaging looks to celebrate ideas such as love, inclusivity, tolerance, difference and social consciousness. The group would only put out one more official LP after this one alongside a live album after they broke up, but their energy and ideas remain as relevant and vital today as they were back then.
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