Meet Me Outside At 10 Past 10
2024-01-19
We do things differently around here. In all honesty I don’t have the resources to invest in every single new record that comes out and I don’t have the attention span to hear every new record that comes up. As far as new Punk/Punk-adjacent records go, I try to hear what I can but i’ve never heard everything on people’s Top Ten lists.
I’m slow.
I’m busy.
I’m a basketcase.
When I hear something that resonates with me and I want to continue listening to it and not glob on to the dozens of hardcore records being released per week that I’m probably going to forget about. Maybe that makes me a faker or something. Don’t know. Don’t care. I don’t do Top Tens or albums of the year or whatever but I DO get stoked when projects I’m a part of get noted by people out there. I just find these kinds of lists tedious and stressful to make myself.
All that being said, here’s a handful of releases that I think are personally notable. I’m not here to convince you. I’m just a cheerleader. Here are some notes on releases from 2023 and new arrivals in the shop from Kinetic Orbital Strike, Hygiene, Viscount, Tozcos and Inferno Personale.
Kinetic Orbital Strike - Demo 7”
Maybe I’m just copying what everyone else was excited about this year but I do think that the Kinetic Orbital Strike demo 7” was truly stand-out. The drums are the obvious focal point but that’s impossible to ignore considering how it was mixed. They’re overbearingly loud, way overtop of everything else. Don’t get me wrong, the pummeling is probably the best part of this record but the riffs and vocals are great too, they’re just fully overshadowed. It’s a total show-off but sometimes that’s ok but I’m hoping there is a little more balance on the next release. Disclose is an obvious reference here but KOS deliver as much as some of my favorite Disclose recordings do. Every track is a masterclass in noisy hardcore and I’m looking forward to more even if they don’t tame this mix a little more to my taste. The best track is the mid-tempo stomper Anguished Misery. For fans of Framtid, Physique, high contrast pictures of war. You can grab a copy here.
Hygiene - 15 Minute City 7”
I was late to the party on Hygiene. Way too late. Embarrassingly late. See the opening paragraph in this entry. Luckily, Tom at Static Shock filled me in on what is pretty obvious - that Hygiene is one of best bands that’s ever spilled a pint. If you’re a lazy sod like me then take heed. Their latest triple-track 7” has the kind of fine-tuned, messtheticy charm that makes me swoon like little else. I’m actually confused as to how I managed to miss out on them in the past. The title track, 15 Minute City is a paranoid ditty delving into all of the things my mom is worried about. If 15 Minute City doesn’t convince you, Petrol, a song about driving around the city looking for gas should. With a melody so crucial I’m going to write them for a donation to replace my turntable needle as I’ve dropped it dozens of times on this slice of two-minute-forty-two-second bit of heaven. Because I wasn’t clued in early to Hygiene (the band) I didn’t get to catch the evolution in members which has come to include Lucy, Ex-Primetime (another favorite London group) on bass guitar and backing vocals. After going back in the catalog and listening all of Hygiene’s previous releases, I can inform you this was an obvious and perfect filling to an already, very special group. Static Shock has dropped serious hits in the form of 7”s in this category. That Neutrals 7” from 2022 comes to mind. Both are worth their weight in the little bits of metal you’re harvesting out of catalytic converters. With all the money you’re making shilling those at the junkyard you can definitely afford to grab a copy of this masterpiece here.
Viscount - 10 Past 10 cassette
A friend clued me into Lucy’s (Hygiene, Primetime) new project Viscount and I spent an evening falling asleep listening to it over and over on headphones. What is essentially a bedroom recorded, synth-pop record is captivating with charming vocal play and smart synth parts over drum machine. There’s this listless approach to the vocals that really help evoke the emotion in them. These are whimsical and dreamy songs with themes of heartache, loneliness and the big S.A.D. Rainy day tracks that are easy to dance and cry to (I think - I’ve never actually cried and I’m not much of a dancer). The eight tracks on this debut include covers by Joe South as well as The Bartlebees but they’re not the stars here. The title-track hits hard and sticks around for days and within the lyrics there’s a little mystery that keeps me hanging on to every line. If this all sounds dreary to you then I’m not doing my job. This is a fun release and there is a playful side to the songwriting. The mood is upbeat if the lyrics aren’t and that’s exactly how I like my sad stuff. There’s a theme to the live side of the project as well with chainmail and swords. I think we used to simply call this kind of thing ‘fun’ when we were young. Sometimes it seems like I’m looking to try and find some deeper meaning to art but maybe just the creation and fun is the essence of it. Regardless, I’m glad Viscount is here. If you’re a fan of any of Lucy’s previous projects or the more experimental side of pop music you owe it to yourself to check this out. Self-released in amazing packaging on cassette, she was more than kind enough to bring me a pop-tart box full of them from last tour. You can make your life slightly less embarrassing through consumption and materialism right here. A mere 100 copies and one of my favorites of last year.
Tozcos - Infernal LP
When people refer to anticipated releases, the new Tozcos LP should come to mind and we all new it was going to be killer. This time around, Toxic State broke through the border and released a band from outside of Nuke York. It’s been half a decade since their last offering, 5 years is usually the duration of a long-running Hardcore band and not the space between releases. The good news is that they’re still around and still cooking with fire. On this LP you get a blistering lesson in California Hardcore. Baked on the beach, simmered in the slums. Aside from having a basis in the 1979-1982 school of West Coast Punk, some of the riffs have me thinking Morbid Tales by Celtic Frost and perhaps a bit of the Rock ‘n’ Roll swagger of some NWOBHM. I think this is most obvious in Regeneración but it keeps coming up throughout the LP. The lyric insert has both Spanish and English versions and most songs seem to be referencing personal struggle. The only point of contention I have is that it seems like the cover art was rushed. Conceptually, it’s not evil but I think it could have used some fine-tuning to bring the final product out of the 1990s MS Paint/Clip Art era and into something a little less digital looking. It’s a shame because the insert poster is killer and the silk-screen cover is perfectly executed. I don’t think anyone is going to judge this soon-to-be modern classic by it’s cover though. Great stuff that will get a lot of plays. Get yours here.
Inferno Personale - In Ira Veritas LP
I was supremely blessed to play with so many amazing bands last tour with Chain Whip. Bremen’s Inferno Personale were one of those stand-outs. I love being completely obliterated by the local bands that we get to play with on tour. We play their gear, crash at their places and get to see them completely destroy the show. Inferno Personale crank out some UK82 influenced Hardcore Punk that’s dipped into Crust and full of hooks. Coming from ex-members of Muro and current members of every other good Hardcore band from Bremen this gripped me immediately and they were killer live, cramped into a tiny venue and thrashing out a short set that burnt the hair off my knuckles. We were toured around the city of Bremen on our walk back to the flat where we were staying and our host pointed out all the new buildings as being replacements for where the older one’s had met Allied bombing destruction. A weird way of pointing out the devastation of war is showing the rebuild in the midst of older buildings. I don’t know why it’s relevant in this writeup aside from the fact that Inferno Personale were also a bit overwhelming when I saw them (I really, really, really liked them) and I’m pleased that there’s an LP I can spin. Another side note - The drummer of AFK (if unfamiliar - do check them out!) is the new drummer for Inferno Personale and that’s only pushed it further over the edge. If you like this LP, consider that they’re a tighter, faster and better unit than when they released In Ira Veritas. In my opinion, crucial Hardcore Punk.
Til next time. And as always - Free Palestine.