Back catalogue: All genres

Review: It would take the current state of the world to awaken seasoned Boston based hardcore punk veterans The Hope Conspiracy from their slumber. The aptly titled Confusion/Chaos/Misery serves as the first piece of new material from the group since their 2009 True Nihilist EP, and offers a feral barrage of unhinged, D-beat inspired scathing hardcore fury. Whilst the members have kept busy in a myriad of equally impressive projects such as All Pigs Must Die, Hesitation Wounds, and Paint It Black (to name but a small handful), time felt fitting for them to regroup with Converge's Kurt Ballou at the iconic God City Studios to lay down this sonic curbstomp of a return, complete with a vicious cover of 'Dogfight' by Swedish crust-punk legends Anti Cimex as closer. And according to the band's website/press release - "this is just the beginning..."

Review: A 12" split meeting of the minds between two equally iconic alt rock punk-lifers, this EP brings together Gainesville, Florida's Hot Water Music and New York City's Quicksand (brainchild of Gorilla Biscuits hardcore hero and Rival Schools emo-grunge auteur Walter Schreifels), covering each other's classic tracks with renditions of 'Fazer' from the Quicksand 1993 debut LP Slip and 'Free Radio Gainesville' off of Hot Water Music's 1999 third full-length No Division. Filling out the tracklist are the unreleased 'Supercollider' which marks the first new cut of Quicksand material since 2021's Distant Populations, and the b-side 'Undertow', originally recorded during sessions from Hot Water Music's latest 2024 LP Vows. With simple cover art featuring Hot Water Music's Chuck Ragan on one side, and Quicksand's Alan Cage on the other, it perfectly summarises this playful, mutual celebration of one another's work, some new, some old, all great.

Review: The fourth full-length from Mexico's post-metal-tinged melodic crust-punks Habak follows on from two previous collaborative efforts with also Tijuana-based post-rockers Fractal and Los Angeles crust-punk outfit Lagrimas, marking their first sole studio full-length since 2020's Ningun Muro Consiguio Jamas Contener la Primavera. Expanding their diverse, abrasive sonic palette more than ever before, drawing on elements of late 90s "skramz" era screamo, blackened hardcore and shoegazing post-rock, yet all coalesced under the black breath of their obligatory crust-punk sound, Mil Orquiideas en Medio del Desierto illustrates a band reaching the peak of their prowess and potential while offering a unique perspective on all of the above mentioned subgenres, with just that tincture of Mexican folklore for that added, incomparable aura.

Review: Following on from 2023's acclaimed debut full-length All Gas No Brakes, Bristolian noise-punks Heavy Lungs return with the definition of an antithetical sophomore LP with Caviar. Clocking in at under 30 minutes (significantly less than their initial outing) and recorded live in dingy church rehearsal spaces to capture the unhinged intensity of their live performances, this is the sound of a band vehemently disinterested with mainstream appeal, exposure or playing the game by any terms apart from their own. While vocalist Danny Nedelko would be the named subject of one of the biggest singles from fellow Bristol natives Idles' 2018 breakout second album Joy As An Act Of Resistance, where his peers have expanded their sound and embraced myriads of melody, Heavy Lungs are poignantly going the opposite route, full speed towards oblivion with only chaos and anarchy on their collective minds.

Review: Michigan based emo revivalist pop-punks Hot Mulligan have grown over the past decade from impressionable upstarts eager to make a dent in the scene they admired so greatly, to one of, if not the definitive leaders of the latest wave, taking up the mantle initially passed from the likes of New Found Glory to The Wonder Years. Sharpening their balancing act of twinkling math-rock noodles with angst-riddled, throat-shredding hooks, 2023's third full-length Why Would I Watch marked a maturity and refinement with heightened intricacy and more succinct compositions, while lyrically delving into confessionals regarding familial addiction, the fear of inherited drug dependency, and the rigors of living life on the road, while the heart-rendering acoustic ode to deceased feline 'Betty' offers the most intense emotional (cat) gut-punch.

Review: While influencing a massive array of modern emo, pop-punk and indie-rock outfits, Hot Water Music have made it abundantly clear that they don't feel the need to go home just yet.

Their latest, sad times lamenting opus, 'Feel The Void', sees the group recording for the first time with latest addition Chris Cresswell (The Flatliners), who stepped into the band initially for live settings upon Chris Wollard taking a sabbatical for mental health reasons.

Now, for the first time since 2004's 'The New What Next', the band have opted to work with producer Brian McTiernan, arguably responsible for the three best albums to come from HWM during their 'glory days'.

Beyond a return to form, everything from the anthemic 'Hearts Stay Full' to the muted crawl of 'Ride High', screams of a seasoned group of artists with so much more to say. While often replicated, 'Feel The Void' outsads, outfeels and outriffs any would be imitators, and only further cements a status that really was in no need of maintenance.

Review: Gone Dark, the sophomore album from Human Impact, pushes the boundaries of noise-rock with a fiercer, more streamlined approach. The band, composed of Unsane's Chris Spencer, Cop Shoot Cop's Jim Coleman, Made Out of Babies' Eric Cooper, and Daughters' Jon Syverson, delivers a potent blend of taut grooves, jagged guitar riffs, and raw vocal intensity. This release is not merely a cry from the void but a powerful declaration of defiance against a world teetering on the brink. Following their self-titled debut, Gone Dark represents a significant evolution, capturing the visceral energy of their live performances. Spencer emphasises the band's intent to create something rawer and more aggressive, which is evident throughout the album's tightly interwoven tracks and interstitial pieces, mirroring the flow of a live show. Recorded with co-producer Andrew Schneider at Austin's Cedar Creek Studio, the album benefits from the newly solidified rhythm section, with Cooper and Syverson's contributions adding heft and precision. The result is a cohesive, relentless sonic assault that showcases the band's full understanding of their identity. Gone Dark is a potent, focused statement from a group that continues to refine its craft, delivering an album that is enduring, resilience and aggressive.

Review: A split release more than two decades in the making, and divided by life priorities, pressing delays and the literal expanse of the Atlantic Ocean; America's Huntingtons and Netherlands' Travoltas reunite after touring together in the Autumn of the new millennium to craft a long-planned, endlessly playful batch of pop-punk stompers. Debuting a brand-new cut a piece, as well as covering two of each other's older tracks, and rounding things out with renditions of favourite oldies, both groups have overcome the odds of truly, Rock'n'Roll Universal International Problems, to finally deliver a project approached with nothing more on its mind than the joy of collaboration.

Review: A slice of superbly rare OG hardcore punk to separate the posers from the lifers. Hailing from Long Beach, California, Hypnotics were another group of snarling youths in the early 80s scene with a bark and bite to match peers who would grow into legends of their own such as TSOL and Circle Jerks. Originally released in 1983, Expendables would serve as their second full-length LP, but due to label Enigma Records imploding in the interim, the members themselves were forced to press a minuscule batch of 100 copies, which as you can imagine have been requesting a pretty penny on the Discogs marketplace for far too many a moon. Limited to 540 copies (five times as many as the OG!) and complete with a four-page booklet of photos and artefacts for that authentic hardcore time capsule vibe.