Back catalogue: Punk/Hardcore

Review: Following on from last year's excellent statement of intent, 'Nowhere Generation', Chicago natives and melodic hardcore heroes Rise Against return with the companion, sister EP, 'Nowhere Generation II'. Composed of 5 new cuts originally written/recorded during the album process, the band opted to split the 16 full songs into separate volumes, in order to give listeners an opportunity to fully digest the overarching themes of alienation and everlasting political corruption that have become ceaselessly commonplace. Anthemic, ferocious, emotive and cathartic in equal measure, this follow-up continues the momentous energy of its predecessor while putting a definitive full stop on the 'Nowhere Generation' era. Lead single, 'Last Man Standing', is also one of the most vital contributions to their own expansive canon the group have dropped in well over a decade.

Review: 'The Essential Radio Birdman' compiles the most integral, anthemic and hard hitting of the Sydney proto-punk n' roll heroes' definitive first three albums (long out of print and costly to accumulate), and delivers them on newly pressed wax.

Underrated and ahead of their time, the writing partnership of Michigan born guitarist Deniz Tek and vocalist Rob Younger, led to a spree of surf rock leaning cynical, witty barrages that not only still stand the test of time, but deserve a major reappraisal with regards to the extent of their influence.

Review: Returning with their heftiest and most malevolent work to date, Desolation's Flower marks the fourth full-length from the Oakland based queer blackened screamo-sludge two-piece Ragana. Their first effort upon signing with extreme purveyors of underground ugliness The Flenser (home to caustic noise-rock titans Chat Pile and ecstatic black metal newcomers Agriculture), the LP serves as a creative rebirth following their longest gap between projects yet, with their preceding third LP You Take Nothing arriving back in 2017. Continuing their grim excavation into hideous sonic malaise, yet with an expanded palette of grooving doom, frenetic screamo-violence and heaving sludge metal ripped right from the banks of the bayou, this is a thick, dense, murky gaze into a void that spits back eternal blackness.

Review: This limited edition new magenta pressing of The Ramones Live In Buffalo, NY, February 8th, 1979 allows you to transport yourself back in time to a moment when legendary punk outfit The Ramones were at their best. It was recorded during a radio show in Buffalo and is an electrifying performance that captures the band's raw energy following drummer Marky Ramone's arrival. It's a snapshot of The Ramones when they were one of the most eclectic outfits in punk and it delivers their iconic sound and edgy attitude with full force.

Review: Whilst promoting the Acid Eaters LP on a co-headline tour with lifelong Ramones fans and metal legends, Sepultura, the fast four stopped by El Dorado 100.3FM in Montevideo, Uruguay on November 14th, 1994 to lay down a seminal set. Completely remastered and restored, here's a fly on the wall earful of the greatest to ever do it on their seasoned veteran vibe, burning a hot streak through South America on a tour that's still often regarded as one of the band's most hectic cycles. A must for any card-carrying Ramones fanatic.

Review: Serving as a self-analysed response to 1998's ska and reggae-oriented Life Won't Wait, as well as growing criticisms that the band were slowly morphing into some form of Diet The Clash, punk legends Rancid would come to cave skulls at the turn of the new millennium with their second self-titled LP (after their 1993 debut), with many fans referring to the project as Rancid (2000) or simply Rancid 5. Reuniting with Brett Gurewitz of Bad Religion to handle production duties (a collaborative role he has maintained with the group ever since), the project easily serves as the most aggressive offering in their entire catalogue, drawing on elements of hardcore and Oi! and imbuing them into their established ska-punk formula, moving far away from any Clash comparisons, and sharing more of a sonic kinship with the type of aggy, scuzzy, brassless hardcore ska of Choking Victim. At 22 tracks spread out over a near-40 minute runtime, you do the chaotic math.

Review: Bay Area punk legends Rancid are back, finally. Tomorrow Never Comes arrives six years after Trouble Maker, marking the longest gap between albums the veterans have ever managed since they kicked off in 1991. Of course there's a degree of expectation around a Rancid album, and all you need to do is stick on the first title track and you'll know you're getting the full hit. This is Rancid at their fist-shaking, shit-kicking best, with Armstrong and Frederiksen sounding as vital as they did on And Out Come The Wolves. Clocking in at 16 tracks in 28 minutes it's also their shortest album to date. Say everything you need to in less than two minutes - it's the Rancid way!

Review: Originally released in 2003 and now celebrating its 20-year anniversary, Indestructible served as the sixth full-length from punk legends Rancid. While initially criticised upon release due to the "poppier" sound certain fans took umbrage with, time has grown kind to the project which boasts some of the most personal penmanship from primary songwriter Tim Armstrong (of Operation Ivy), delving into his divorce from The Distillers' Brody Dalle (now divorcing Josh Homme of Queens Of The Stone Age), as well paying homage to two influential heroes who died during the recording process: Joey Ramone and Joe Strummer, with the latter even being mentioned in the title-track. Known to be the final album with original drummer Brett Reed, and even featuring one of the most underappreciated cuts in their catalogue with closer 'Otherside', written by guitarist Lars Frederiksen about his brother Robert who tragically passed away two years prior, Indestructible deserves your reappraisal as it's slowly become the forgotten gem in the Rancid crown.

Review: To commemorate the 30-year anniversary of the Canadian Celtic folk-punks The Real McKenzies' inception, 'Float Me Boat' offers a 23-track retrospective look at the band's three-decade tenure, compiled by none other than Fat Mike of NOFX's punkcentric label, Fat Wreck Chords. If you like your punk with plenty of kilt-spinning, bagpipes and anthemic hooks, or you've never ventured further than the Dropkick Murphy's corner of the scene, then there's never been a more ample opportunity to engage in a Celtic crash course.

Review: Long Island, New York straight edge hardcore mob, Regulate, make their much-anticipated return on this self-titled sophomore effort. Ten blistering tracks, cataloguing the increasing frustrations with the world that have developed since the band's 2018 debut In The Promise Of Another Tomorrow. From police brutality and institutionalised racism on venomous cuts, 'The Crime', and, 'C.O.P', to colonialism and oppression on the breakneck pace of, 'You & I'; these sobering pieces brim with seething fury yet several tracks like the anthemic and ludicrously catchy, 'Hair', veer into a newfound melodic territory that hints at intriguing dynamics for the future ahead. Easily, one of the most integral and essential hardcore projects of the year.

Review: Isle of Wight self-professed "beach-punks" Reminders had to deal with their fair share of covid-related delays before finalising their cheekily titled debut full-length, 'Best Of Beach Punk.'

Now with UK distribution via punk indie label Venn Records and Wiretap in the US, 2022 is poised to be the year that many get to know the enigmatic, snarky yet unashamedly catchy crew for the potential emo titans they could become.

From the crunchy aggro/sweet embellishments of 'Carousel' to the Shame meets Jimmy Eat World fusion of wit and sincerity on fuzzy opening standout, 'Post Paris Blues', this debut deserves to be given careful consideration by anyone who likes their punk a little bit sugary, or their sugar just a tad gnarly.

Review: Leather jackets? Check. Sunglasses? Check. A bevvy of stomping anthems? Oh, that's a double check. From the ashes of previous project Home Alone, Italian Ramones worshippers Retarded debuted their retro brand of punk madness in 1998 before their self-titled debut would arrive the following year. Over two decades later, the album has only grown in underground popularity, with Rolling Stone magazine even branding the record as one of the best Italian punk albums of the 90s. Complete with an exclusive bonus track and a polished double-sided insert, there's never been a more ideal time to rediscover an underappreciated gem and add a questionably titled release to your punk wax shelflife.

Review: Repressed to vinyl for the first time since its initial 1991 release, An Eye For The Main Chance was the iconic debut album from homegrown gothic rock new wavers Rosetta Stone. Landing on very appropriate purple vinyl to compliment its iconic artwork, the LP sways with the reverberated, frosted jangling guitar work that served as staple of the late 80s scene, yet evokes a sultry sinister air that would pave the way for their darker, industrial-tinged coldwave experiments. Melancholic, hypnotic and playful in equal measure, this quintessential slice of coldwave goth rock is a classic forgotten to time, and now that vacant, pining spot on your shelf can be fulfilled without taking out a mortgage for an original pressing flipped to high heaven. Be warned, however, act fast or copies of this long overdue repress will suffer a similar fate.

Review: A lot of bands have mystery and mythology surrounding them. Few can command the same level of interest as Rudimentary Peni. The British anarcho-punks have been going since 1980, and in that time put out just four albums and a handful of EPs. Oh, and a live recording from a gig in Derby, England, in 1993, released 12 years later by Sheffield Tape Archive.

All of which is besides the point when you realise how hard it is to find any photos of any band member, and how little they've courted press or anything tied to the music industry at any point in the past 40 years. Cacophony is their second LP, landing in 1988, and straddles nosebleed metal, tough garage rock, mind-melting punk, and some stuff we can't really think of words for. Frantic, fun, and more than a little mad.

Review: Uglier than their profound peers in Crass; British anarcho/aggro/noise punk outfit Rudimentary Peni were an equally vital staple to the scene. Their second full-length 'Cacophony' marked their return following the first of several extended hiatuses, and served as a cataclysmic 30-track nightmare of avant-punk chaos, directly inspired by the works of cosmic horror visionary H.P. Lovecraft. With elements of spoken word, concrete noise and feral bursts of hyper-intense noisecore energy, this is punk at its most gothic, ambitious, intricate, ugly and experimental, while simultaneously serving as the group's most challenging work yet finest representation of their demented sonic ethos.

Review: Originally released in 1979, The Crack is an album that should require little to no introduction for any punk aficionado worth their salt. The debut LP from homegrown heroes The Ruts still serves as a cornerstone genre gem, sporting the classic hit, 'Babylon's Burning', while the "white reggae" of, 'Jah War', has only seasoned with natural finesse and its anti-Metropolitan messaging retains major relevancy more than four decades on. The only true full-length from the band during their tenure with original vocalist, Malcolm Owen; the work has gone on to become a much-adored entry into the seminal, formative years of the punk scene. Even mega-fan and friend of the band, Henry Rollins, embarked on a long, arduous journey to track down the original iconic painting which adorns the cover. Now that's commitment.