Post punk from the North East. But post-punk in a Dischord kind of a way i.e. Karate, Lungfish and Fugazi. There’s a mathy vibe too, which brings to mind Leeds post-rockers Solaris. Ideal for anyone who digs how Self Defense Family have captured an essence of the past and reinvented it for the tomorrow.
Florida’s Gouge Away have just released their 2nd album on Deathwish Records, this is an earlier 2-track 7″ from 2017. Recorded after doing tours with G.L.O.S.S., Touche Amore and Ceremony – which is not a helpful indication as to who or what they sound like (they also have tours coming up with both Culture Abuse and Drug Church). Refreshingly, no lazy comparisons come to mind, quite a hard band to classify… bit of a 90’s Dischord thing going on, maybe…
Balancing between pop-punk and indie-rock, but with plenty of volume and an aggressive umph that ultimately keeps it firmly in the punk side of the scale. This follows on from their excellent debut LP from a couple of years back (High Speed Crimes), and it is still the same blistering, white-knuckle sonic attack. Really cool melodic tunes, boosted-up with some wrecklessly loud punk musicianship (a super-growly bass sound, smash-bash drumming and frantic distorted guitar). Ideal for fans of Superchunk, No Age, Husker Du, Three (Dischord), Dinosaur Jr and Jawbreaker.
https://notchesnh.bandcamp.com/album/almost-ruined-everything-2
The debut album by Lungfish released in 1992 on Dischord Records and the follow-up to the band’s first EP, Necklace of Heads, which was originally released as a split between Dischord and Simple Machines in 1990. Total post-hardcore rock, that took the rhythmic energy of Fugazi/Soulside and flew-off up to a new level of hypnotic, trance-like intensity.
Fugazi’s sixth full-length record, released in 2001. The final album, and quite a swan song, featuring some of their best crafted melodic moments and loveliest sounding studio production (complete with hand claps, chellos, whistles etc.). A truimphant bow-out, broader in scope than any previous Fugazi record; aided by guest contributions: bringing in roadie and musician Jerry Busher on percussive duties, and Unrest’s Bridget Cross and Bikini Kill’s Kathi Wilcox for backing vocal duties. Right up to the last track – ‘Argument’ (one of their best songs, ever) – a very wonderful and deeply impressive album.
Their fifth full-length record, after a three-year gap, released in 1998, and, as usual, recorded at Inner Ear Studios, mixed by Fugazi and engineered by Don Zientara. A return to more straight ahead form of songwriting after the experimental break that was Red Medicine, incorporating for the first time a slight melodic-pop edge. Production-wise and song-wise, one of their best.
This is Fugazi’s third full-length record, released in 1993, recorded at Inner Ear Studios at the end of ’92 (after the false start at Albini’s studio in Chicago). Representing some of their last traces of full-on hardcore aggression and punky rage before introducing more experimental and indie-pop styles on the following four albums. It’s a tense, taught explosion of Fugazi dynamism, rightly considered to be a classic, and one of the band’s best recordings.
The follow-up to the debut album, Repeater, this one was released a year later in 1991, recorded by the band at Inner Ear Studious with the engineering assistance of Don Zientara. It’s a Fugazi album – and so innevitably there are rich rewards to be uncovered within. But in general, it is also the least celebrated of their albums, hampered (in the band’s opinion) by the lack of an independent-minded studio producer to oversee the recording process. And on its release it was overshadowed slightly by what was going on in the world of alternative music – both in the mainstream with Nirvana and Sub Pop; and in the underground with Slint and The Jesus Lizard. Regardless, Steady Diet remains a worthy follow-up to Repeater, and an important transitional link to In On The Kill Taker.
The debut 12″ EP also known as 7 Songs. Originally released in June 1988. Includes some of their classic songs, “Waiting Room” and “Suggestion”. Now available on limited red vinyl.
Released in the year 2000, Dead Inside were a very exciting new band at the time, and this was their debut recording – they kind of took some Black Flag/Dischord traits and sped them up, at the time they reminded me of Assfactor 4, a band I dearly loved, still do. There’s a distinct UK sound in there too; helped, perhaps, by the fact that it was recorded by Pete Lyons of Antisect. And it’s a great recording, by one of the best UK bands of that period. Of course, ex members of Broccoli, Hard To Swallow, Comet Gain, Worbug, Bullet Union (Hard Skin and Raging Speedhorn, too!) Enthusiasm got the best of us, and we pressed way too many copies (2000!), and so years later I’ve stil got a box of around 20 copies. That’s why they’re so cheap…
