Rockers All Stars - "Pablo Meets Mr Bassie" (3:36)
Rockers All Stars - "Mr Bassie Special!" (4:07)
Stiff Little Fingers - "Alternative Ulster" (2:46)
Stiff Little Fingers - "'78 RPM" (2:40)
Subway Sect - "Ambition" (3:10)
Subway Sect - "Different Story" (3:08)
Swell Maps - "Read About Seymour" (1:29)
Swell Maps - "Ripped & Torn" (1:47)
Swell Maps - "Black Velvet" (1:59)
The Raincoats - "Fairytale In The Supermarket" (3:01)
The Raincoats - "In Love" (3:05)
The Raincoats - "Adventures Close To Home" (1:55)
Cabaret Voltaire - "Nag Nag Nag" (4:40)
Cabaret Voltaire - "Is That Me (Finding Someone At The Door Again?)" (5:35)
The Pop Group - "We Are All Prostitutes" (3:14)
The Pop Group - "Amnesty International Report On British Army Torture Of Irish Prisoners" (3:15)
Young Marble Giants - "Final Day" (1:44)
Young Marble Giants - "Radio Silents" (1:50)
Young Marble Giants - "Cakewalking" (2:51)
Review: Legendary London label and record shop Rough Trade is celebrating its formative years from 1978 to 1993 the only way it knows how - with music. Founded in 1977, Rough Trade has consistently championed innovative artists from Metal Urbain to its current roster including Amyl and The Sniffers, Pulp and Jockstrap, always capturing the DIY spirit and musical daring that have defined its legacy for over 45 years. This limited-edition 7" singles boxset was curated by co-MDs Jeannette Lee and Geoff Travis and feature some of their favourite singles from the label's early days, from reggae king Augustus Pablo - who launched the label - to Subway Sect, Stiff Little Fingers and on to Cabaret Voltaire. The collection is accompanied by new sleeve notes for added context and offers a personal reflection rather than a standard back-catalogue overview by highlighting hits, hidden gems and overlooked classics.
Review: Butthole Surfers’ live shows are a wild, chaotic storm, equal parts psycho-sludge and punk mayhem. Jeff Pinkus’ relentless bass and King Coffey’s pounding drums lock in tight with Paul Leary’s guitar, while Gibby Haynes snarls and yelps through demoniac vocal assaults. Hallucino-noise sparks up against unexpected melody momenta, and this would prove a weighty enough hammer to push them well down the popular pipe, far beyond underground cult status. Their live appearance at Feather Fly was best described as a firestorm of nudity and nightmare visuals, and this full-length recapturing reinscribes that raw energy across 21 tracks, from the eerie realtime sludge of ‘Graveyard’ to the Texas punk anthem ‘Gary Floyd’ to the gadding high of ‘Bong Song’ and crowd favourite ‘P.S.Y.
Rawlplugs Of Yesteryear (Breaking The States) (3:36)
The Bliss Of The Hereafter (3:08)
McCalliog & His Hens (3:14)
Record Store Day (3:15)
I'm Going Out Of My Mind Trying To Get Into Yours (2:37)
No-One Likes A Polymath (3:40)
Don't Get Me Wrong Yvonne (3:38)
Birmos In The Cowshed (3:00)
Falmouth Electrics (3:48)
Jack's Been To The National (4:04)
Possible Side Effects (4:47)
Review: Wirral group Half Man Half Biscuit return with 13 tracks of clipped, deadpan commentary and characteristically sharp titles. 'Horror Clowns Are Dickheads' sets the tone early i jagged, unglamorous, and unbothered with polish. 'Goodbye Sam, Hello Samaritans' and 'Rawlplugs of Yesteryear (Breaking the States)' take similarly sideways routes through pop culture detritus and social noise. 'The Bliss of the Hereafter' and 'McCalliog and His Hens' skew slower, with more spoken delivery than structure. 'Record Store Day' lands its target without overstating the punchline. Elsewhere, 'No-One Likes A Polymath' and 'Falmouth Electrics' keep the language tight but surprisingly pointed. 'I'm Going Out of My Mind Trying to Get Into Yours' is a rare moment of emotional slippage i though only just i before the band revert to type on 'Jack's Been to the National' and 'Possible Side Effects'. Overall, they remain the only band who could deliver lines like these and still sound like they're holding something back.
Tell That Mick He Just Made My List Of Things To Do Today (3:21)
Dead On Arrival (3:16)
Grand Theft Autumn/Where Is Your Boy (3:00)
Saturday (3:33)
Homesick At Space Camp (3:02)
Sending Postcards From A Plane Crash (Wish You Were Here) (2:56)
Chicago Is So Two Years Ago (3:21)
The Pros & Cons Of Breathing (3:25)
Grenade Jumper (2:56)
Calm Before The Storm (4:16)
Reinventing The Wheel To Run Myself Over (2:19)
The Patron Saint Of Liars & Fakes (3:10)
Track 13 (Colorado Song) (Unfinished demo) (3:24)
Track 14 (Jakus Song) (Unfinished demo) (3:14)
Review: Long before they were literally one of the biggest pop-rock acts on the planet, little known Chicago pop-punk upstarts Fall Out Boy would pool all collective resources, energy and funds into their 2003 debut full-length Take This To Your Grave; utterly reforming modern emo and pop-punk in the process. While it was 2005's sophomore follow up From Under The Cork Tree that would catapult the band to mega stardom, there's no ignoring the bevvy of legwork that their debut provided, especially lead singles 'Grand Theft Autumn/Where Is Your Boy' and 'Saturday', which clarified that this was far from another relatively catchy, acne-faced group of adolescents who'd dissipate with the next shower. These songs and the young men behind them were here to stay, which makes the heavier hardcore-leaning moments and breakdowns all the more bemusing to experience when assessing the career the band would embark upon following the record's breakout success.
Review: After recording sessions for their legendary fifth LP Combat Rock would come to a close at the end of 1981, punk heroes The Clash embarked on a six-week jaunt across Japan, New Zealand, Australia, Thailand (where they shot the iconic cover for their forthcoming record) and Hong Kong. Hitting the city of Kowloon on 25th February only a few months out from record release, this was an era when Hong Kong was still a colony of the British Empire (the last existing dependency of any significance at this time) and enjoyed less government interference in personal freedom, yet there had never been an act as bold as The Clash over to visit. With a setlist that reads today more like a greatest hits including the signature opener 'London Calling' along with bangers galore from 'The Guns Of Brixton' to 'I Fought The Law', '(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais' and 'Jimmy Jazz', with the band even treating the crowd to an early earful of Combat Rock lead single 'Know Your Rights' more than two months before official release (a time when no one had smart phones to film and throw up on YouTube or include on Setlist.fm as "New Song"), this performance and tour would also be one of the final to feature drummer Topper Headon, who would be fired due to his heroin addiction just a few months down the line, marking the end of the original line-up.
Review: Recorded in 1978 at the legendary Gibus Club in Republique, Paris when The Slits were defined by thrashy, visceral punk energy and hadn't embarked on their artful genre-splicing era just yet. The Slits you hear on this record is the original four-piece line-up, with Palmolive on drums and it was changes in their rhythm section that led to the embrace of reggae and dub. Having had a formative and breakthrough year in 1977 where they opened for The Clash, it's arresting hearing The Slits at this point in their trajectory. They audibly had the kind of youthful adrenaline and drive that only a band who've awakened to the fact that they're capable of taking the world by the horns can convey..
Review: In the four years since the unprecedented success of 2021's Grammy-nominated third album Glow On, Baltimore experimental hardcore heroes Turnstile have become legitimately one of the biggest bands in modern rock. Following their longest gap between full-lengths yet, likely due to their majorly expanded hectic touring schedule, Never Enough appears poised to maintain the intense momentum whilst continuing to build upon their uniquely singular vision for what was once regarded as a niche subgenre. From the opening title-track's anthemic, simplistic-by-design stadium-punk riffage elevated by bubbling, euphoric synths to the jangling disco-pop dance-punk grooves of 'Seein' Stars' to the chaotic yet positive abrasion of 'Birds', all signs point to yet another intriguing, incomparable opus bursting at the seams with levels of creativity, ability and energy beyond the confines of any genre or band working today. Officially enlisting longtime touring member and former Chubby & The Gang guitarist and Yorkshire-born Meg Mills following the departure of Brady Ebert, the record will also expand upon the four-track musical film Turnstile Love Connection which announced their previous effort with a fully realised version this time around, offering up music videos to all 14 tracks in a style reminiscent of The Who's iconic album-film Tommy, entirely directed by frontman/mastermind Brendan Yates, who also serves for his first time as the record's producer. With the album/film release set to coincide and premiere at New York City's Tribeca Film Festival, Turnstile continue to shatter the boundaries and limitations of what a hardcore punk band were once thought capable of accomplishing.
Review: Los Angeles-based psych-garage rockers Frankie & the Witch Fingers are one of the most thrillingly frantic bands since the Dead Kennedys and are on red hot form with this their eight studio album - yep, not a bad return considering that they only formed in 2013. 'TV Baby' is like a more frantic Ty Segall circa his Emotional Mugger album; 'Dead Silence' weaves between amphetamine-fuelled glam-tinged punk and transcendent psych rock whig outs. It's as if the band have not left any significant neo psych album of the past 15 years slip their net and plucked the best bits, whilst injecting plenty of their own eccentricities. It's a glorious racket and cacophonous enough and fun enough to positively disrupt any room you crank it up in.
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 formed in London in 1976, The Slits made major waves with the frenetic post-punk energy of their acclaimed 1979 debut LP Cut, whilst their 1981 sophomore follow up (aka "difficult second album") Return of the Giant Slits would arrive mere months before the group's initial disbandment. Highlighting the internal creative differences occurring at the time of recording, the material showcases a major expansion of sound, pulling from rhythmic afro-pop and dub, conjuring a unique "world music" approach to post-punk before the likes of Vampire Weekend were even a twinkle in their father's eyes. The album would also serve as their last output until their return with the 2006 Revenge of the Killer Slits EP followed by 2009's third full-length Trapped Animal.
Review: Jazz and punk's best legacies fuse together with this latest collaborative release between The Messthetics and James Brandon. Brandon is a jazz saxophonist and contemporary virtuoso from New York; meanwhile, the Messthetics consist of former Fugazi members - bassist Joe Lally and drummer Brendan Canty with guitarist Anthony Pirog. Continuing the latter's pegging as a 'jazz punk jam', the focus here is on Brandon's novel sax playing, lent to the Messthetics' cathartic, ultimate punk-riffing focus. All is instrumental, as signalled on the lead single 'Emergence', which finds pure enjoyment in variation around a singular four-by-four bass loop. In the saxophonist's own words: "The Messthetics are friends at this point and collaborating with them over the years has now brought us to another high point of musical bonding and purely unapologetic energy!"
Review: Bringing bruising good time Oi-punk to the new generation, Chubby & The Gang have made quick work over the course of their two exceptional full-lengths. Now, less than a year removed from the life affirming scrappy anthems of 'The Mutt's Nuts', the gang (no pun intended) return with a literal 'Labour Of Love.' The single features three new cuts, all love songs, delivered with the manic, crusty, anthemic beauty one could ever desire from new school hardcore-by-way-of-Oi! punk revivalists.
Review: This Ramones album - one of their very, very many - is packed with relentless guitar energy and a proud punk ethos. Originally released in 1987, it captures their raw spirit and is packed with gritty rock licks and infectious melodies. Featuring standout tracks like the opener 'I Wanna Live' and the guttural vocal bite of 'Garden of Serenity' it showcases the band's evolution while staying true to their signature sound, during what was a pivotal moment in the US punks' lengthy career, a decade or so on from their explosive arrival.
Review: Reissued to mark 50 years of Bomp! Records, this 7” revives two sweetmeats from Nikki And The Corvettes, all teased hair, leather jackets and bratty charm. ‘Honey Bop!’ leads with snotty vocals and handclap hooks, wired on girl-group gloss and Ramones-tight riffs. On the flip, ‘Shake It Up’ elevens up the fuzz and attitude, nodding to 60s garage and jukebox sleaze. Originally released by Bomp! - the label who helped connect power pop, punk and psych weirdness under one roof - this single rattles with the same no-rules spirit that defined the imprint’s heyday. The Corvettes never hung about long, but their bubblegum snarl still cuts sharp.
Review: Originally forming in 1982, Agnostic Front were one of the pioneers of New York City hardcore punk and they've left an indelible mark on the scene and movement ever since. Inspired by their dilapidated surroundings of Lower East Side Manhattan, then blighted by poverty, drugs, violence, and high levels of urban decay, the ugliness around them would help to chart a venomous new course for the sonic potential of hardcore as an urgent, abrasive form of catharsis. This incendiary compilation offers up recordings which date back to the very start of their career, including demos of cuts that would eventually appear on their 1983 debut United Blood 7", while also featuring other recordings from the period that were left unissued at the time; some of the material would later be included on 1995's Raw & Unleased CD, though several of these tracks are making their wax debut. If you're eager for more homeschooling, the band were featured as part of Showtime's The Godfathers of Hardcore documentary in 2017, while frontman Roger Miret's autobiography offers insightful and frightening lore to an already clearly tumultuous yet integral time in punk history.
Something Needs To Die But Maybe It's Not You (4:19)
Review: Returning from a near-decade long hiatus with their first album in eight years, At Peace marks the eighth full-length from Manitoba punk heroes Propagandhi, serving as their follow up to 2017's Victory Lap. Channelling an anti-fascist ethos of skate punk meets thrashcore since 1986, their latest effort showcases a band doing their utmost to come to terms with the despondency they've been warning about since their inception. Recorded shortly before the re-election of Donald Trump and his assertion that the band's home country of Canada become the U.S.'s 51st State, the messaging here is as earnest and vital as ever, yet admittedly more worn out and exhausted following three decades of the same oppressive system, with vocalist Chris Hannah somewhat accepting defeat and altering what we can about our outlook - "Now it's the existential dread of eking out a life worth living in this completely failed society."
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