Review roundup- May 2023
Welcome to the first instalment of my monthly review column. I’ve been critiquing music for a long time, but lately I’ve struggled to work within the widely accepted format. I’ve been finding it hard to come up with 500+ words for any one piece of music. The mental energy to sit with something critically for a few weeks is draining, and quite frankly, there isn’t usually that much to talk about with new records. My buddy Eli recently <a href=“https://www.elienis.com/10-sub-pop-sized-album-reviews/”>started exploring a review style</a> he got from Sub Pop founder and former music journalist Bruce Pavitt. Something clicked in my head when I saw this format, and I decided to steal it for myself. I’m not gonna explain what the format is, just read the damn things and you’ll put it together.
Drain - Living Proof (Epitaph Records)
Santa Cruz’s Drain take a step forward in visibility by releasing their sophomore album on Epitaph Records, but the music takes a step back. The band has never been great at writing transitions. That’s painfully evident early in the track list, as they waffle between thrash and heavy hardcore without the tact required to meld the styles cohesively. The record eventually hits its groove with songs like “Evil Finds Light”, “Weight of the World” and “Living Proof”. Those tracks feel like they have a direction beyond stacking ignorant mosh parts side to side in an attempt to garner the ultimate crowd reaction. The rest of the record was clearly written to be enjoyed in a live setting. Ironically I don’t think this contains anything that will whip an audience into a frenzy like “California Cursed” or “Army of One” from their last record. Other noteworthy moments include a Descendants cover and a rap interlude. The cover is solid enough. The interlude makes me wonder how it was greenlit by anyone with ears. All in all, a disappointing follow up buoyed by enough good songs to warrant repeat listens.
Never Ending Game - Outcry (Triple B)
Detroit torchbearers Never Ending Game go full mask-off on their second full length for Triple B, exposing modern hardcore’s worst kept secret— an unabashed love for guyliner-wearing butt metal. The purist in me wants to hate this, or at least wring my hands about what it signals. A good song is a good song though. This album has plenty. It feels like a logical progression from their debut, ratcheting up the existing melody and weaving it between a trademark heaviness born from years of playing in Michigan beatdown bands. Stylistic shifts that would warrant crucifixion even five years ago seem to be the de facto direction for hardcore’s upper middle class nowadays. Outcry is one of the more compelling and well written (although maybe not the most tasteful) “going for it” records we’ve seen in the last year. Remind the purists, if they want to hand-wring, that Hatebreed did this 20 years ago. Anyone who fucks with Rise of Brutality should check this record out (and they likely have already).
Conservative Military Image - Casual Violence (Self Released)
Chicago’s Conservative Military Image are “unlikeable” people making likeable music. They haven’t been afraid to flirt with sketchy aesthetics throughout their brief existence, but I think the most serious accusation you could level at them after thoroughly dissecting this album would be “they’re kinda mean”. The band’s presentation and lyrics remind me of acts like the Rival Mob and Boston Strangler, who had my panties in a bunch ten years ago with their exclusionary attitude. Those bands also provide a decent starting place to comp Casual Violence musically — straightforward, 80s inspired boots and shaved-heads US hardcore. Yet while those Mass. bands were simply informed by street punk and Oi!, CMI make it a main feature. The songs are mostly midtempo and lean anthemic over aggressive. The lack of playing proficiency on these tracks sometimes leaves me wanting more, but the choruses are catchy and the side to side parts will turn any basement or small VFW into a war zone.
2 the Bone - Bone Zone (Self Released)
Modern heavy hardcore generally falls into one of two camps - bands who are likely to cover Killing Time and bands who are likely to cover The Acacia Strain. 2 the Bone lands firmly where my taste lies, in the former camp. The schlocky name and low effort album art might turn some listeners off, but that lack of polish proves the band don’t take themselves too seriously. I haven’t listened to Neglect in five years, but from what I remember, they would be a good comp for 2 the Bone’s moshy, charming, sloppily delivered and sometimes overlong brand of beatdown-adjacent hardcore. This sounds like it was recorded live in someone’s garage, which stands out among a subgenre whose local and regional acolytes are often overproduced to the point of being unrecognizable from one another. I don’t know if 2 the Bone has the tracks to make it beyond Toronto-area basements and dive bars, but their approach is a breath of fresh air in a genre saturated with tryhards and Johnny come latelys.
So there you have it. My roundup for May is a little short because I didn’t know I would be doing this at the beginning of the month. I’m gonna try and do between 5-10 reviews every month. Let’s see if I can make it to that goal in June!