The Short List is a dive into EPs, Splits, Reissues, Covers, Comps, etc
News:
Sadly, in the past week, OG Eddie Leeway entered hospice in his continued battle with cancer. He posted that he is ready to fight. Hardcore is a community. Please consider donating to his GoFundMe. Eddie Sutton has given his life to NYHC and is responsible for broadening the definition of that term, stretching crossover into some pure thrash and hip hop. If you love that post 1990 NYHC bounce, put some respect on Leeway’s name. AJ Novello’s riffs are brilliant and different and fervently influential. Eddie is a legend. His attitude and spirit are irreplaceable.
Check out the video for “Kingpin” from their second LP, Desperate Measures, introducing Pokey (Both Worlds with AJ and JJ, Agnostic Front (all three 2010’s records), and live Merauder and Murphy’s Law) behind the kit. You can check the reissue of their stunning debut, Born to Expire and Desperate Measures at Reality Records bandcamp. And while the sound shifted in the 90s, Adult Crash and Open Mouth Kiss are solid records.
Here is a two hour interview where Eddie looks through his childhood, aging, and all of Leeway’s discography.
Eddie also began a band in 2010 and picked it up again a few years ago. Truth & Rights are dope NYHC with ex-members of Crown Of Thornz, Agents Of Man, Bulldoze, Maximum Penalty, Skarhead, Homicidal, etc. They play tough, crisp, bouncy NYHC with Eddie’s undeniable personality singing over chugging, groove-laden riffs and featuring Zack Thorne, Rey Fonseca, John Doherty, and Dimi Roc *(whom I discussed last week with the Smoke AxD EP with Hoya, Ezec, and Sean Martin.)
Listen to Truth & Rights on bandcamp.
Read a dope interview about T&R on InEffect.
Covers
Wipes “Forget the Minions (Karp)” HEX Records
April 10, 2024
This is the year when HEX Records are presenting a cover song each month. This generosity to their fans is an offering, as the label celebrates their 25th year. Given superb examples already with Alpha Hopper’s “N-Sub Ulysses (Nation of Ulysses),” Headless Horse’s “World Full of Hate (Sick Of It All), and Naw’s “I Against I (Bad Brains),” we can expect another doozy.
Ryan HEX suggested the unique noise rock of Tumwater, WA’s KARP. Wipes and HEX have provided gems in the past including the killer Making Friends LP. This track hits with chaotic urgency. Four minutes of the anxious scratching from KARP’s 1999 self-titled LP. Wipes nail this. The trio sling angular guitars which ring like an air raid siren. The loose distorted guitars create the atmosphere of a hailstorm, crashing, and pounding around some fool walking hoome with nothing but a denim jacket. The drums and bass are loose relentlessly mechanical and unforgiving. Wipes blend ingredients which bring an AM-Rep feel while channeling Melvins and draping it in a fetid miasma. Glorious.
“I love KARP. I love that they embodied humor, that touch of something that’s in the water of the Northwest, and most of all, that friggin’ bass tone. Holy shit that tone. I randomly came across the self-titled LP when it came out, and likely while I was traveling around the Northwest, and I bought it just because it looked cool and they had a cool name. These days, as superficial as it may seem in the whole spectrum of reasons to put a record out for a band, getting a sound like KARP did really makes an impression upon me.” – Ryan HEX
Listen to all four covers on HEX Records bandcamp.
Check Wipes do some shows, appropriately, in the Northwest:
Friday, May 3rd- Portland @ Fixin To (Hex Records 25th anniversary show)
Saturday, May 4th- Seattle, WA @ The Kraken
Sunday, May 5th- Bellingham, WA @ The Shakedown
Check out HEX Records and info about the 25th Anniversary shows here.
Follow Wipes on instagram.
EPs:
Cran Rejet Une Vien Pour Rien Vinyles (EU) / Longshot Music (US)
April 12, 2024
More excellent tunes from France’s Cran. And if you are reading this on April 12, it is the beginning of their U.S. tour. Cran have had some cherished slots on comps, an EP, and a banger of a full length, Nate, last year. The momentum is growing. And after this tour, these poor troops will only be more desired. On Rejet, we get three new tracks. It is the moody, atmospheric post-punk interpretation of French Oi! which is consuming the punks these days. Cran execute it expertly. It’s a gorgeous sound. “Les Lumieres du Soir” with a two step rhythm, jagged chords, and fierce vocals. The title track has a punchy rock n roll sound (featuring a killer solo) with the somber tone. “Mort aux Traitres” is a bouncy, raucous jam with gruff gang vocals. Edliras vocals always captivate. Entranced by the dissonant guitars and lo-fi brickwall back beat, Cran cannot help but write infectious music.
Cran’s tour is comprised of 16 shows. Night one starts in San Francisco, and it ends on April 27 in Boston (where I will be). In between, the band will hit LA, San Diego, Vegas, Milwaukee, Chicago, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Philly, DC, NYC, and CT. If you can, catch Cran live. This superb record is a stellar representation of a tenacious band creating some of the best punk you’ll hear this year.
Twelve-inch EP with a screen printed B-side, 300 pressed.
Order at Longshot Music in the US or Une Vien Pour Rien Vinyles in EU.
Use instagram to follow Longshot.
Listen to all releases by Cran on bandcamp.
Splits:
Nebula / Black Rainbows In Search of the Cosmic Tale: Crossing the Galactic Portal Split 12″ Split Heavy Psych Sound Records
June 28, 2024
Heavy Psych Sounds does not release a bad record. Nebula do not release a bad record. Here we go. Nebula have released their previous four records on HPS—two live, two studio. HPS also reissued the band’s early classics a few years ago. Cultivating a fantastic relation ship, HPS teamed Nebula with Italian wizards, Black Rainbows. HPS do wonders with splits. See their unparalleled DOOM SESSIONS series. Nebula began in 1997 when Eddie Glass and Ruben Romano stepped away from Fu Manchu. Their 1999 LP, To The Center, is a stunning debut and a classic. Their take on the psych/stoner/desert rock is engaging and mesmerizing. Chunky, groovy, fuzzy riffs are ripe and bountiful.
Nebula presents the first single, “Acid Drop”, from this impending riff fest.
Black Rainbows come from Rome. They have indulged in frantic, flourishing fuzz rock. Since 2005, the band have been prolific with eight studio full lengths, a live record, two EPs, and two split twelve-inches. They have packed a multitude of riffs into two decades. They enjoy tickling your mental tapestry with synths and sound effects which, on top of the reverb and catchy licks can be enhanced and monumental in certain states. Both bands relay a punky, Sabbath interpretation here. Up-tempo adoration blesses six tracks; three per band/side.
Take a listen to Black Rainbows on soundcloud.
Preorder the always impressive color variants of Heavy Psych Sounds.
VINYL:
10 TEST PRESS
75 ULTRA 3-COLOR STRIPED RED / AQUA BLUE / ORANGE VINYL
75 ULTRA COLOR-IN-COLOR TRANSP. YELLOW / RED SPLATTER BLACK VINYL
400 LTD YELLOW VINYL
BLACK VINYL
CD DIGIPAK (6 PANELS)
Follow Black Rainbows:
instagram
bandcamp
website
Follow Nebula:
instagram
facebook
website
Followw Heavy Psych Sounds:
instagram
bandcamp
website
Live:
Antagonizor Live and Dead DCxPC Live Records
Out Now
Antagonizer are a trio of queer, feminist, anti-fascist women who play metallic crust punk. The bass is tuned low and jangly. The guitar riffs are fast and punishing. And the drummer is riding that double bass kick continuousl. The music matches the band’s passionate agenda. The vocalist gives us poignant political banter in-between songs. Predictable and deserving targets are right-wing bootlickers, billionaires, gun control, church and state, and as they are from Gainesville, FL, Ron DeSantis.
These women love metal, as evidence by the back cover pics, with chains, axes, and evil make-up. And their vocalist’s pronunciation of Antagonizor is straight metal (ends with “orrrr” not “er”). If you love The Pist, Submachine, Total Chaos, Broken Bones, Final Conflict, Defiance, Toxic Narcotic, English Dogs, check this out. I don’t hear Motorhead or Venom, but I would bet a finger those records are played in the cassette deck of Antagonizor.
I know people hesitate with live records. I assure you, the production is on point—not muddy, not tinny. This set is filled with live energy and powerful sound. The vocalist’s lyrics/voice are distinctly audible. This is a repeated listen live record. But in case you remain unconvinced, Side B is the “Dead” side. Here, Antagonizor presents eight tracks, the same eight tracks minus the Ron DeSantis tirade (“I Hate You”) and replaced with the instrumental intro, “Impaled.”
Obviously, the instruments are more discernable from the studio. This is a badass recording as well. Big wall of power with a noticeable more metal sound. Same songs. More metal. With the live side, my only gripe is that the songs sound extremely familiar. But here you get nuances of the songwriting. This version of “NA” even slows it down to a mid-tempo stomp for some variety; and lets the bass shine. The drummer still charges forwaonerrd like a focused stampede. But, now we also hear how the bassist rips. The vocals are enraged aural assaults. Now I hear more Discharge, Motorhead, Doom, etc. Another banger comprised of unapologetic metal punk with a purpose and played with fury and skill. I would even go to Florida to see them. Ooof.
Black vinyl, 106 pressed.
Buy the Live and Dead 12″ at DCxPC Live at the label’s webstore.
Pick up Antagonizor’s latest release, Surprise Motherfuckers, on 1/100 black cassette on Godless America Records’ bandcamp.
Their prior release only has four cassettes remaining, Heavy Metal Bootlicker is available too on that page.
