I think when most westerners think about music from the Caribbean, calming island music involving a steel drum comes to mind. Well, get ready to turn that idea on its head, because today we have Anti-Everything and Luguber, a pair of hardcore bands from the Caribbean. Anti-Everything hail from Trinidad and Tobago; Luguber is from Suriname. The two bands put out a new split EP recently called Green as a joint venture between Boatshrimp Records and Beerput Records. Their Bandcamp page calls this the first hardcore punk split from the Caribbean, but also promise that it’s “certainly not the last.” The split is available on streaming services as well as on Anti-Everything’s Bandcamp.
Unlike the traditional split format in which one band contributes a handful of songs and then the other band’s songs follow, this split alternates tracks between the two bands. But, for the sake of simplicity, I’m going to split this up by band anyway.
Anti-Everything contribute the opener, “Smile,” a short track about one-minute long with very few lyrics. The sparse lyrics are about why you should smile more for your own health, which is a stark contrast to the blistering hardcore style of the song. “Hardwuk” is a bit more lyrically complex, talking about taking control of your own identity, but musically, it’s a very melodic hardcore song with something that even borders on pop hooks. “Diplomacy” is a more traditional hardcore track with aggressively screamed vocals about coercion through violence and warfare. “Transport Infrastructure” is more aggressive hardcore, but the subject matter is surprising as the lyrics go into surprising detail about the history of highway and railway systems and calling for an alternative to the automobile.
On the Luguber side of things, “Choose” is a really aggressive hardcore track with a bit of a groove to the rhythm as well. “New Philosophy” has hardcore elements, but gets a little soft on the verses so that the lyrics, about self-doubt and self-hatred, are more clearly audible. “Happy” is the longest song on a split full of very short songs, clocking in at 3:33 with another really aggressive hardcore track about the concepts of happiness and sadness. Finally, the whole split ends on “Second Time” which almost gets into post-hardcore with its complex, art-punk style to the music mixed with the aggressive hardcore screaming.
Check out the split below.
Follow Anti-Everything on Facebook and Instagram and Luguber on Facebook for future updates.
