Recorded by Stan Wright at Buzz or Howl studio in Portland, OR.
North American version mastered by Will Killingsworth at Dead Air (Euro version mastered by Daniel Husayn at North London Bomb Factory).
“This EP features four tracks of Silent Era’s near perfect amalgam of the best kind of melodic hardcore (think Post-Regiment) and dark anarcho punk (think A Touch of Hysteria or Zounds). The sleeve of 7″ also features a lovely printed insert and gorgeous cover art by singer Michelle Hill.”
“Yes – GLOOM SLEEPER are very late to the post-punk party, but they don’t particularly sound like the contemporary and earlier bands of the genre. Nothing from this release sounds dated or trite. GLOOM SLEEPER’s style extends from post-punk to new wave, from gothic atmosphere builders to upbeat guitar pop. The band used the recording session to create a textured sonic art that married a breath taking understanding of atmosphere (without loosing its punky edge) with a sense of emotional fury. The music soars where it should and drifts when the listener needs a break from the intensity. The layered, jangly guitar releases liquid notes, the dedicated bass player pumps out rhythms, the fairly powerful drum section bites and the somewhat gothic styled vocals mixed into the songs take everything to a higher level. These guys from Bielefeld, Germany are creating their music based on the sound made popular by British bands like THE SOUND and ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN or THE WIPERS from the other side of the pond. At the same time, the influence of today’s THE ESTRANGED or TERRIBLE FEELINGS is obvious. The result is a unique sound that is somehow beyond mere words – A VOID feels entirely cohesive and unified. The inventive arrangements and intricate playing can’t take the catchiness out of these 10 songs: Limited colored (semitransparent turquoise) vinyl comes with a heavy printed innersleeve and includes a digital download card. A VOID will leave you re-playing to excess!”
When UK Subs released their debut album Another Kind Of Blues in 1979, no one could have predicted that the band would still be going strong in 2016, let alone still led by Charlie Harper, now 72 years old. And as for clocking up 26 albums, one for every letter of the alphabet? Hardly. Those early, incendiary shows with explosive guitarist Nicky Garratt should have seen the band burn out before D.
But with early 80s bassist Alvin Gibbs, guitarist Jet and drummer Jamie Oliver – the band’s longest running line-up – UK Subs are as strong as they’ve ever been, and it’s almost a shame that they’ve reached the end of their quest with Ziezo, as it’s a monster of an album.
Jamie’s super-precise hardcore beats and Jet’s modern metal-tinged riffs give the album a contemporary edge, with blisteringly crisp production from Pat Collier, while Charlie and Alvin ensure we’re still listening to the Subs. It’s a winning combination. Opener Polarisation pummels the senses, spitting out the aforementioned beats and riffs, though Dope Fiend is more traditional Subs fayre, and City Of The Dead is a jaunty reggae rocker in the Clash vein, but This Machine is positively corrosive – brilliant.”
“A brilliant piece of vinyl baring just 3 tracks. But ohhh, those three tracks are all Häxxan need to sweep you off your feet like an eagle snatching a little duckling from a pond.”
Taken from Razorcake: “These French punkers lay waste to everything within ten miles of this 45 with four tracks of fist-pumping hardcore that’s just dripping with hooks and a sound that is aggressive without being ham-fisted or meatheaded about it. Driving, catchy, scrappy, this’ll do all right by ye, homes. –Jimmy Alvarado”
Mastering Triage “Power Beat” on Larry Tony Produzioni.
Recorded by Jonah Falco.
“POWER BEAT is TRIAGE’s first commission to wax. It is without a doubt that this recording captures the true POWER that TRIAGE has on offer. Crusty & crunchy rhythm with soaring vocals and leads to match, backed by a lock-tight rhythm section. TRIAGE are one of those bands that are greatly in debt to punk’s past but with their eyes set on writing it’s future.”
Remastering SP CAOS “Demo 1984” on Nada Nada Discos and Spicoli Discos.
“One of the most cult brazilian demo-tapes, recorded in january 1984 by Redson (Cólera) at his own Estudios Vermelhos and remastered from the original master cassette tape by Daniel Husayn. Some of these songs were released in many compilation tapes in Finland, France and Brazil. The band was heavily influenced by Finnish hardcore, but the raw recording give it a unique Brazilian touch to the songs. These songs are absolute raw, primitive, hardcore punk chaos in the most perfect, beautiful way. Vocalist, Anselmo, later became the bass player of INOCENTES and FOGO CRUZADO.”
Mastering Negative Space “s/t” on Grave Imprint and Beau Travail.
“First vinyl-release for this exciting Post-Punk band from London! Contains 2 new smashing tunes, plus 2 more taken from the excellent demo-tape. Their music is energetic, driving and catchy, with obvious touch-points to classics like the GANG OF FOUR, WIRE or CRISIS, but also with references to the nervously angular sound of bands like the CONTORTIONS.”
“Finally, VCR is celebrating the release of “R.I.P. SPORTSBOY”! Is this VCR’s swan song? I don’t know. It is easily the band’s most ambitious work to date. Do they pants the Prime Minister? Do they kill a cop? Do they get abducted by aliens? Would you expect anything less from these punks? This is louder, brattier and more obnoxious than anything the band has ever done before. Toronto’s most important current punk act has finally given us their opus.”
