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- Destroy Boys – Funeral Soundtrack #4
I first heard them on their "Open Mouth, Open Heart" album released in 2021. I though it was kind of cool, rushing punk at times, had a feminist swing to it (without actually digging deeper into that), but I left it at that. It didn't stick to me, and I left it there. Did they deserve it? Maybe not.
However, then comes "Funeral Soundtrack #4" this year, and it's not that too much have changed, but whatever the reason this time it got me stuck to it. They have gotten slower, less classic punk if you will. I tend not to like that. But in this case I do. We have some pop-punk stuff in "Plucked" and some more well written melodic stuff in "You Hear Yes".
I don't know that is a great record, objectively speaking, but I find it interesting enough and a great listening to, proved by me having listened to it back to back a couple of times and I'll be listening to it a few times more.
- The best of 2023
I added what to me was the best 10 punk albums of 2023 as well as the best punk EPs/7"/singles of 2023 available on Spotify. I wouldn't say it was a great year for releases on that platform alone, but there was for sure some goodies you should check out!
- Fiddlehead – Death is Nothing to Us (2023)
I first heard Fiddlehead when they released their debut full length "Springtime and Blind" (2018), I listened to it extensively, then came (2021) "Between the Richness".
Now we're at the bands third full length "Death is Nothing to Us".
Now, if you're somewhat familiar with hardcore as a whole like me, you know that Fiddlehead is a band from Boston, with Patrick Flynn (vocals) and Shawn Costa (drums) of hardcore band Have Heart. That's how this band grabbed my attention in the first place.
Their first full length "Springtime and Blind" made a nice listen to me for sure, "USMA" standing out for me, as well as "Lay Low".
So, how's this one then? Let me take one step back, I really like bands like Turnstile when they go for the punk side of hardcore things, I like bands like Militarie Gun, doing something between punk, pop and hardcore. I like my hardcore, but I really like different takes on punk, pop-punk and hardcore.
For me it would be Fiddlehead that leads the charge in this particular sense, this one opens fast with "The Deathlife", it then takes you on a journey of melodies, even the song "True Hardcore (II)" is super melodic with great high ranging vocals.This would be hardcore guys playing punk that boarders to some sort of protopunk hard to describe, it's like Balance and Composure and Drug Cruch did something together. Maybe.
- Empire Down – We Want Revenge for Every Minute Lost (2023)
This is a great mix of oi and some hardcore-punk (the latter is a dose that differentiates), if we where to take something faster in the newer oi department like Chubby and the Gang or something like The Chisel and put it in a big old blender with hardcore-punk bands like Kill Your Idols, add in some of the melodic stuff from Ultra Sect and we're I guess pretty much somewhat there in the sonic sense. To me putting Agnostic Front in that blender seems like a stretch, you tell me.
This album transitions from more melodic stuff, most notably the first track you'll hear in "Systems Kill" to more of the somewhat more classic oi side in "Door of Death" to songs if you're into some slamming "Teddy's Boys" which is kind of like soirée dansante without the soirée. Moving on, the 4 Skins did it right (now when I'm clearly into dropping band references) on "The Good, The Bad & The 4 Skins" with "Plastic Gangsters" and in comes Empire Down's "Not Economically Viable".
Great stuff, for punks and skins alike. Give it a go!
- High Vis – Society Exists / Stationhouse Demos (2023)
Sounds like: Kind of like post-punk
I discovered High Vis in 2019 with their first album "No Sense No Feeling" and got hooked right away, this London post-punk kind of band sounds, for lack of a better comparison, as Joy Division playing punk. A bad comparison, yes, but I'm not set out to write great in depth reviews in this blog. So, this is some melodic post-punk with simple guitar melodies, some nice base lines here and there, the drums kind of just follows along (not a bad thing) and the vocals rages from clean to sometimes a little raspy. Also, there's some keyboards to strengthen the post-punk (not new-wave, not art-rock) sound.
This release is a little less produced I guess, so it does have a slightly different sound with less reverb in comparison to the album, but I can't get enough of it.