Highway Cross - Locked In 7"

Label: self released
Year: 2011

From the edges of D.C. comes Highway Cross, who's post hardcore jet propulsion bears a certain amount of geographical residue to the metropolitan area from whence they came. But, in a curious twist, they have amalgamated the Bluetip version of workingman's punk rock with the Swedish(?!) version of Division Of Laura Lee's rave up hardcore, and the San Diego sound of Hot Snakes all-killer-no-filler brand of garage influenced good times. Which, yes, is a fine line to draw I realize, and it borders on complete nerdery to even get that deep into the minutiae of post hardcore...but I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't. Right?
Point being, sure, it's not reinventing the wheel or anything, but who cares when the songs have this much vigor and punch? The wheel works pretty fucking good as designed, so just ride that shit...that's my opinion.
Members have been in Cloak/Dagger, Striking Distance, Haram, Triac, Shoutbus, Multicult, Hatewaves, and Majority Rule. This is their first record, and they have a brand new one out on Cricket Cemetary, which is leaning less punk and more math/noise rock. Is good.

DL

Greenmachine - The Archive Of Rotten Blues

Label: Diwphalanx
Year: 2004

End this week louder than we started. End this week under an avalanche of ugly riffs and corroded vocals. End this week where Greenmachine ended their careers, on this, their final album.
The Japanese Eyehategod essentially. Which means total Black Sabbath worship, as distilled through a decade of bad luck and poor life decisions. More hatred, more bile, more MORE!

And I'm aware that this one gets a little bit on he fringes of what this blog is all about, but at this point, you're just going to have to trust me. Have I ever steered you wrong? Or REALLY wrong, rather?

DL

Arcwelder - Entropy

Label: Touch and Go
Year: 1996

This band just gets better and better with age. Your age of course, not theirs. I mean, the songs are sorta hermetically sealed, but you on the other hand, you're hurtling ever more rapidly towards death. Better get used to it, Bub.
The Husker Du and Naked Raygun and Mission Of Burma comparisons that helped describe their other records hold true here as well, but this time around they delve ever deeper into murky melodic hooks. The noise is crisp and clean, the songs are memorable and fully realized, and the tone continues towards alienation. There was an Atlanta band called Freemasonry back in the early to mid 90s who shared a lot of the same tendencies as Arcwelder, but if you've heard of Freemasonry then you're probably already listening to Arcwelder, huh?
Produced by Bob Weston.
Essential.

DL

Carissa's Wierd - Sub Pop Singles Club 7"

Label: Sub Pop
Year: 2001

The polar opposite of yesterday's post, this band plays soft and sweet as opposed to feral and unhinged.
Carissa's Wierd (misspelling is intentional) is always going to be best known as the "band that turned into Band Of Horses", cause honestly, Band Of Horses got huge. And they're really good to boot (I don't care if you disagree...they are), so that will be the legacy to most people. But, if you really listen, you'll find a band who crafted super intelligent songs that built on subtle layers of instrumentation to make for a truly haunting listen. You could make a comparison to a less baroque Jeremy Enigk, or a more pleasant Iron and Wine. Take your pick.
The Morrissey cover on this record is really nice, which is sometimes hard to pull off. They pull it off well.
Other bands that came out of or are associated with Carissa's Wierd are: Grand Archives, S, Crictor, Small Stars, Modest Mouse, and 764-HERO.
This record was #45 in the Sub Pop Singles Club v.2

DL

Kilslug - A Curse

Label: Stinky Bike
Year: 1982

The origins of the gnarled noise that defined Kilslug was firmly rooted in equally gnarled noisy hardcore. A raw and primitive attack that relies on equal parts droning sludge and attacking bash. A cousin to the damaged sounds of Flipper. Just complete madness really.
I can only imagine the endless bummers of a Sunday matinee show a the Rat circa 1982 with Kilslug being paired up with The Freeze, Gang Green and SSD...oh man, the punks would have been pissed.

So fucking warped. So fucking righteous!

DL

Nurse - Demo 2014

Label: self released
Year: 2014

Distorto-hardcore with a real nasty sheen which gives the whole record the feeling that you're viewing it through a layer of pond scum. Which is totally meant as a compliment.
Mostly it's ripping at you real fast, but there are moments of relief to set you up for the next blast, but mostly its real fast. Some D-beat elements, but pretty straight ahead hardcore. Also, a total compliment. Sort of like Flux Of Pink Indians meets Dead and Gone. More compliments.

DL

Infested - Who They Are 7"

Label: Man's Ruin
Year: 1996

Not to be confused with power violence progenitors Infest, this was a Bay Area band who spent their brief existence bringing you that punchy alterna-post hardcore sound that only existed in 1996. Like, mix Jawbreaker with Seaweed and add in (and I can't believe I'm even saying this) a touch of old Offspring (or similar southern California power punk type band...Fluf would also work....possibly Olivelawn).
It's a nostalgia trip, and probably more valuable as a missing link in your Man's Ruin collection than anything. But, if you're over 35, you'll get a kick out of it. It's a fun throwback to a bygone era.
Oddly enough, the drummer went on to be in The Weird Lord Slough Feg, which is truly weird.

DL

Unholy Two - Cut The Music (I'm The Nightstalker) 7"

Label: 12XU
Year: 2012

This band is playing a show with the subject of our previous post, so I found it apropos to submit this record for consideration as well.
The show, by the way, is April 4th in Atlanta. Just, FYI and all.
So Unholy Two, were never in fact a two-piece, but formerly three, and now four. And hey, who knows, maybe by the time you read this they will have had a baby and expanded to five. Never know.
So, this 7" represents the band between their debut album and their most recent one, and finds the band chest deep in noisy aggression. Real nasty type stuff too. The kind of unfriendly music that a band like Twin Stumps plays, or Slices, or the earlier Clockcleaner stuff. Brutish and unwelcome at any white table cloth affair (unless the local mental hospital is having an awards banquet or something...then, maybe).
If you enjoy feedback and misanthropy, this one is going to feel great. If you suffer from epilepsy, maybe hold off on it.

DL

Slugga - Demo

Label: No Breaks
Year: 2014

This band was referenced a few posts back, and even incorrectly spelled to boot, so we figured we should take a listen to their demo and see what all the hub-bub is about.
The verdict of all the bub is...hardcore punk.
It goes fast, and sometimes faster. There are no mosh parts within a hundred miles, just straight ahead intensity. Maybe the cover art of the one-eyed punker huffing out of a satanic beast skull does a better job in describing this one than my words. Even those ball-and-chain skull spider things are speaking to the feral howl that this demo unleashes. Blown out to the max.
Ain't pretty.
Is good though.

DL

Red Cross - Red Cross

Label: Posh Boy
Year: 1981

Riding that 80's nostalgia train for another post, this time veering into southern California punk (before  that descriptor was so bastardized to mean only Fat Records minted pop-punk dreck). Good time punk, to pair with what we are currently experiencing in Atlanta, Georgia (USA), good time weather. The brief window at the beginning of Spring before the oppressive Summer sun bakes our humidity soaked brains into oblivion, when the temperature is near perfect, the sun is shining and the time change means you can drink beers on the front porch until 8:00pm before it gets too dark to find your coozy.
This is a quick, six song fix of near perfection. Ideal for being outside and doing not much of anything.
The band changed from "Red Cross" to "Red Kross" later on, but this is the O.G. version. Punchy, and darkly melodic.
On this recording you're dealing with an un-fuckwithable lineup of: Jeff McDonald (married to a Go-Go...so not bad) on vocals, Steve McDonald (OFF!, Anarchy 6) on bass, Greg Hetson (Circle Jerks, Bad Religion) on guitar, and Ron Reyes (nee Chavo Pederast of Black Flag) on drums.
Go outside!

DL