Hardcore punks Flesh Creep made their mark on the first quarter of 2022 with ‘Distributed Lethality’, a brilliant EP that delivered four pieces of unrelenting noise that mixed the classic anger of bands like Discharge, Government Issue and early Black Flag with the more contemporary sounds of UK bands Pizzatramp and Incisions. The fact that the release came packed with speed driven riffs and incendiary vocals would have been enough for it to make an impression, but the fact that Cult of The Fly Records were happy to release the material with a really unforgiving, heavily distorted production job gave the material even more of an edge.
Tag Archives: punk
SWEATPANTS PARTY – Sweatpants Party
A new band for 2022, the terribly named Sweatpants Party marks a long overdue return for the almost legendary Kevin Aper. Marketed as sounding “just like The Apers”, fans are automatically given a heads up as to what they can expect, and indeed, the new band’s core sound recycles many elements of Kevin’s past works brilliantly. Although working from a solid pop punk stock, there’s a little more to the Sweatpants, though, since this musical vehicle – teaming Kev with members of Jagger Holly and Stockkampf – takes in bubblegum punk and a little power pop along the way. The focus is on unashamed pop punk and trashy lyrics, of course, and that’s enough to win over The Apers’ entire fan base in a heartbeat.
Watch the new video from The Venemous Pinks
In the summer of 2022, following a string of singles and EPs, US punks The Venemous Pinks finally released their full length debut. The ten cuts on ‘Vita Mors’ captured a really punchy style that took the no-nonsense guts of the much missed Soviettes and blended it with a more contemporary sound. Loaded with riffs, its twenty seven minutes left no room for filler.
SUNNYDALES – The Puppet Show EP
For a band that essentially formed themselves around a novelty idea – to perform punk songs based on plot points from Buffy The Vampire Slayer – Sunnydales have a surprising amount of staying power. On this fourth EP, the Fresno punks sound better than ever. Granted, their lyrical schtick ploughs a similar furrow to before, and they display their love for Ramones’ past works so proudly, the influence isn’t ever subtle, but all of its predictability, ‘The Puppet Show’ EP shows them in a more confident way than ever before.
OFF! – Free LSD
OFF!’s self titled debut album is a punk essential. On that record, the hardcore supergroup – then featuring ex-Black Flag/Circle Jerks vocalist Keith Morris, Redd Kross bassist Steven McDonald and Burning Brides guitarist Dimitri Coates – captured a pure sound that served up the energy of Circle Jerks’ ‘Group Sex’ LP mixed with a mounting anger, packing seventeen songs into as many minutes. Hardcore was alive and well in 2012, and Morris, especially, showed how he’d lost absolutely none of the fury that powered his formative years, despite later Circle Jerks albums suggesting otherwise. That album’s follow up, 2014’s ‘Wasted Years’ stretched the formula to allow for a few extended instrumental sections without sacrificing any of the band’s genuine fire, further proving that OFF! were one of the greatest hardcore bands of their era, before they seemed to disappear. It’s unsurprising, really; a band honestly can’t present themselves so intensely for long without reaching burnout.