Maid of ace s/t Www.maid-of-ace.com Shamefully I have to say I was sceptical when I saw maid of ace for the first time. How can a band be this good and I have heard nothing of them? Not only was I unaware of their existence but the fact that the four siblings from Essex hadn't … Continue reading Maid of Ace S/t
Strange Wilds – Subjective Concepts lp
Strange Wilds Subjective Concepts Sub Pop It's amazing how few members are required to be in a band to make an unholy racket. There's three in Strange Wilds and have a force to be reckoned with. Pounding drums behind a solid riff laden bassline with explosive rock guitars provide the background to vocals being screamed … Continue reading Strange Wilds – Subjective Concepts lp
Dune Rats s/t
Dune Rats Dune Rats Ratbag Records I always wonder about the term 'dumb'band. It seems to be a description doing the rounds for Brisbanes Dune Rats. I'm not sure what quantifies as dumb but to me this is a clever bunch of surfers. Sorry, I've no idea whether they surf or not it's just the … Continue reading Dune Rats s/t
The Helio Sequence s/t
The Helio Sequence The Helio Sequence Sub Pop Half a dozen albums. 6 whole albums. That's what the helio Sequence have produced in their admirable life thus far. 6 records in and they've ran out of titles. Most bands can't think of an album name the first time around. Either that or so reviewers can … Continue reading The Helio Sequence s/t
Steve Drewett – Jenga Society
Steve Drewett The Jenga Society Cruel Binary With a history of music between us, playing for Steve and listening for me, it is hard to be objective about this release. I wrote to Steve over three decades ago trying to get his band of the time over to Ireland to play some gigs. His band … Continue reading Steve Drewett – Jenga Society
Vanilla Pod – Seeing Out The Sunshine
Vanilla Pod Seeing Out the Sunshine TNS / Dry Heave In 1995 Vanilla Pod started pushing their brand of hardcore on to the masses. That included a trip to ireland as they tried to woo audiences with that fast US influenced sound, harking back to New York. They seemed to pop up on so many … Continue reading Vanilla Pod – Seeing Out The Sunshine
USA Nails – Sonic Moist
USA Nails Sonic Moist Smalltown America 10 slabs of discordant and manic noise. Cries of Drive Like Jehu or Circus Lupus, where you have screams, noise, tunes and manic playing. This is so good. They played Dublin late lat year and selfishy I can't believe I wasn't there. I hope you made it. It's full … Continue reading USA Nails – Sonic Moist
Cigarette Crossfire s/t
Cigarette Crossfire Cigarette Crossfire Waterslide Records Finland believe it or not has a great reputation for melodic hardcore. Manifesto Jukebox were my introduction to this countries capacity for playing such tunes and it has continued since with Combat Rock Industry being the home to many Finish outfits. This is their second album and first for … Continue reading Cigarette Crossfire s/t
The Slowest Clock – Smile Futurismo! All I heard was purple
The Slowest Clock Smile Futurismo! All I heard was purple Eye Unseen Records I may be in a small minority of Dublin music fans that has positive things to say about Slowest Clock. When Snuff had to withdraw from a gig they were due to play in Dublin in 1989 with US hardcore band Fugazi, … Continue reading The Slowest Clock – Smile Futurismo! All I heard was purple
Slice Of Life – Love and a Lampost
Slice of Life Love and a Lampost Overground Records Steve Ignorant finally gets to sing, under the studio microscope. I've listened to him in various formats over the years, Crass and Schwarzennegar being the main two. Steve's vocals have always been covered by the racous noise of Crass or the electric sound of Schwarzennegar. It … Continue reading Slice Of Life – Love and a Lampost