Nine-song debut demo out of Buffalo, NY. SVS jam-packs each of these tracks with as many riffs as you can possibly fit into songs that rarely cross the one-minute threshold. Somehow they still find time to toss in wildly catchy breakdowns without ever coming across as macho or tough. SVS plays relentless hardcore-punk while managing to incorporate something that many bands from the area tend to lack….fun. These songs are an absolute blast! I was a little surprised by how heavy some of the lyrical subject matter gets, ranging from… …READ MORE

DELICIOUS MONSTERS follow up their debut full-length cassette on Tetryon Tapes with what sadly ended up being their final release. A last gasp in the form of a five-song tape staying true to the form we’ve come to expect. Milwaukee, WI upbeat post-punk loaded with a heavy dose of zany, art-punk eccentricity. While that dose could well be too strong for some, beneath the bedlam are genuinely catchy songs filled with sharp little guitar parts, off-kilter rhythms, and oddball lyrics, all delivered by a band that understood how to keep… …READ MORE

I really had no thoughts or expectations about what LUCKLESS was all about when I was preparing to listen to this cassette. Very unassuming, minimalist artwork surrounding a four-song cassette, labeled with a label maker. LUCKLESS is a four-piece band from Toronto, ON comprised of guitar, bass, drums, and synth. Vocal duties are shared between the guitarist and bassist. Sonically they are some sort of amalgamation of emotional hardcore and aggressive indie-rock. The simplistic synth lines add a layer to the songs, but it’s the moments that sound like Dischord… …READ MORE

This band has been kicking around for a while at this point. I booked them on a tour in the early 2010’s and they were absolutely outstanding. Blistering, relentless hardcore-punk from Fort Wayne, IN. A group of people that when they rolled up to the gig you simultaneous felt the desire to befriend them and an overwhelming fear of ‘who the fuck ARE these lunatics?’. Since then I have gotten to know a few of these fellas fairly well and a kinder group you could not hope to meet. After… …READ MORE

Jake King has been operating under the T.T.T.T. banner for a few years now, while also releasing music as J. KING, JACOB KING, and now… JAKE KING. From release to release I find myself having no idea what to expect, since the stylistic lines between these aliases tend to blur. My gut feeling has been to associate T.T.T.T. with a kind of garage-y, modern pop-psych, while JACOB KING is more the acoustic, folk singer/songwriter stuff that I have seen him perform while billed by that name. What adds to the… …READ MORE

Five song solo egg-punk project from Montreal, QC. I’ve seen the tape named ICSTQ standing for I Can’t Stand To Quit, but on both the front cover and the spine of the cassette there is no “I” in Can’t Stand To Quit. The tape begins with the allegedly titular track of “ICSTQ” which starts off sounding as if everything was recorded too slowly. Add in what sounds like dog barks to the drum machine and I started slightly hoping that Trevor Bushey COULD stand to quit. Almost instantly after that,… …READ MORE

Popping this cassette into the tape deck of my 1989 Dodge B350 tour van, I was convinced that something was broken. The stereo salvaged from the junk yard? One of the speakers? Maybe the tape itself? I can’t begin to count how many records I’ve heard that begin with the classic “uh-oh, your stereo might be busted!” gag, but this is the first time I actually fell for it. Completely and totally. I ejected the tape, flipped open the stereo’s protective flap, toggled the speaker pan lever back and forth… …READ MORE

Chicago / Northwest Indiana area supergroup featuring members of NANCY, LIQUIDS, and BLEEDING GUMS. Supergroups sometimes stumble under the weight of their own hype, fans expect fireworks but all they get is smoke. Not here, tho. This is absolute goddamn perfection. Catchy rock-n-roll riffs mixed together with no-nonsense, no cheat-beat punk. Hell, the first ten seconds of the opening track alone touches all those bases instantly, letting you know exactly what you’re in for. I’m not really sure what in the world could make this cassette any better, unless of… …READ MORE

A group of long-running Rochester, NY heavy hitters delivering Revolution Summer–inspired post-hardcore. Well crafted songs with no shortage of riffs, and it’s good! Dare I say… too good? The recording is very clean, slick, and professional. More often than not, that can act like a strike against a band for someone like me who prefers things a bit dingy, grimy, and lo-fi. It doesn’t take much for a talentless hardcore-punk band who recorded their demo in a trash can to impress me. If the passion and energy comes through, I’m… …READ MORE

Extremely limited-run posthumous cassette discography from the Capital Region of New York state. The full output of the band was a demo cassette released right around the turn of the century and now also a live recording of the final ECFU set. Of course I should mention that the band featured future members of ACID REFLUX, THE JURY, LIMPWRIST, and more, but I would rather focus on other aspects of this wonderful release. ECFU were an endearingly shitty band who played sloppy, fast, hardcore-punk. The kind of band that, for… …READ MORE