With its combination of hardcore punk bass grumbling, abrasive vocals, crust punk edge and grindcore ferocity, Slugcrust’s contributions to ‘Bind’ – a split EP release with hardcore/crust punk band Swamp – gave listeners a window into some tautly arranged, but truly uncompromising noise. Despite the most intensive riffs attacking like a cross between early Napalm Death and classic Discharge, the band clearly decided that simply wasn’t brutal enough and have cranked up their sonic attack about threefold for this absolutely punishing follow up. On ‘Discharge(d)’, most of the material takes its cues from their previous EP’s ‘Decibel Rebellion’ and increases not only the speed but also the volume on four of the five tracks. If that’s not enough, it allows its title cut to deliver a brutal, doomy assault that fans are unlikely to forget.
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DUEL – Breakfast With Death
Duel’s 2017 album ‘Witchbanger’ served up eight slabs of fuzzy stoner rock that captured a genuinely great sound. Most of the guitar work came with a retro warmth as if everything was being slightly distorted by Orange amps, and when the band hit a genuine groove, the rhythm section sounded unshakable. The title cut played out like in the manner of a top notch stoner act attacking something by Monster Magnet with more of a swagger; ‘Cat’s Eye’ approached a world of melodic fuzz and a jagged groove with a genuine ease, and the slow and moody ‘The Sake Queen’ mixed the NWOBHM tones of Diamond Head with a more thoughtful and bluesy approach, but still sat naturally alongside the record’s slightly heavier tracks. Of course, the indelible influence from the likes of Sabbath and Mountain were there, but it was a pleasure to hear a stoner/doom band who were unafraid of mixing things up a little, and who also had the confidence to share shorter arrangements rather than letting a more typical epic doom approach pummel the audience into submission.
SUN ATOMS – Take This Love / And The Lion Saw The UFO
Near the beginning of 2024, US post punk band Sun Atoms broke a near three year silence when they released the single ‘Ceiling Tiles’. That track provided the perfect reminder of their great sound with its angular riffs, pulsing rhythms and light gothic tones. In a little over five minutes, the music transported the listener back to the early 90s with its alternative feel, but Sun Atoms’ music still played very well in the present.
RODNEY CROMWELL – Exercise Class EP
Adam Cresswell first came to the attention of alternative music fans as a member of Saloon. Between the late 90s and mid 00’s, the British band carved out a musical niche mixing elements of post punk, hard edged indie and Krautrock. Their use of angular riffs and vintage synths created something abrasive but distinctive, and the best moments on their 2003 release ‘If We Meet In The Future’ made it very easy to understand why Saloon’s blend of Neu!, Stereolab and Cinerama made them a John Peel favourite.
STRAIGHT RED – Love Ain’t Enough… EP
Bringing together members of Heavy Temple, Morgul Blade and intensive noise-makers Narcos Family Band, Straight Red is a US-based hardcore punk outfit who are obsessed with British OI! punk and football – or as the Yanks call it, “soccerrr”. The mix of influences and talents doesn’t bode very well from the outset. A lot of OI! punk – a fixture during the second wave of punk in the UK – as its name suggests, eschews many of the genre’s better elements in favour of gang based shouting designed to rouse the crowd, and the football theme applies a concept here that further reduces any broader appeal the punky material might have had. Luckily, at just six tracks and just a little shy of fifteen minutes, as irksome as this EP is in places, it’s a musical assault that’s mercifully brief.