A few months back, I got a package in the mail from a friend. He included an EP on his label that he thought I'd enjoy. And not only did he send me one, but he also sent me the special blog nerd edition. Which is fitting, in a few senses. I read both blogs, Endless Quest Records and We Will Bury You (very nice rev sneaker pick ups, Doug). I also read another members blog, hardcoreshirt.com. It's not exactly a vinyl nerd blog, but pretty nerdy. And I also run another site called VinylNoize. So yeah, I've got nerd covered.

The band is Hope Defeated, and I'm glad I got a copy. I kept meaning to order it, but never got around to it. I'm kicking myself for the possibility that I never would have heard it. It's definitely worth a listen. The comparison is going to sound completely outrageous, but it reminds me of pick one up. But if you are looking for the blog nerd press, you're out of luck. Your only hope is Chain Of Strength with early Dwid singing. Or maybe it's just the record nerd cover staring at me. It's definitely hardcore. But hard to pin down. In fact, Endless Quest describes it as this:

Throw the vocal rage of Striking Distance & 108 over the chugging groove of bands like Snapcase & Burn, mix in a strong straight edge influence

So yeah, my comparison is sounding less ridiculous, right? Either way, these dudes have something good going on. And sure, it's just a side project / break from adult life, but it's a solid listen. I highly suggest you go pick one up. But if you are looking for the blog nerd press, you're out of luck. Your only hope is Ebay now. These are long sold out.

I remember coming across an original copy of Making a Scene: New York Hardcore many years ago. Even back then, I felt slightly hollow. I remember older dudes talking it up HARD, but upon seeing it, I was pretty let down. I mean, I have read zines with more pictures than this book. Granted, the work that Bri Hurley put into it was AMAZING. It was a great book with some awesome photos. But there were less than 100, and the book wasn't cheap (still isn't. Check some of the prices on amazon, yikes!). You always knew a hardcore kid owned it properly because the book binding was always broken to open immediately to the Steve Reddy pic. The other issue, the short interview snippets didn't hold much with me. I had no idea who Ralphy Boy was, and I know Diego was an OG member of Agnostic Front, but his name was foreign to me too. Gavin's name was, of course, familiar. But they didn't resonate with me. Where was Raybeez, Jimmy G, Ray Of Today, Jules, ...? Where were any of my hardcore heros? A great book, but it was a little off.

Thankfully, Chris Daily felt the same way as me. It turns out, Bri Hurley felt the same too. Apparently her original printing company stiffed the first time author and edited the crap out of her original work. But in 2011, it has been revisited. And it's truly worth it. There are now 3 times as many pictures as the first version. There are a ton of great interviews too. From Jeff Perlin to Sammy, Neil Robinson of Nausea to Steve Mcallister of Damage, ... the list goes on and on. This one is awesome. Such a great work.

If you are looking for the best take away, the item that stands out the most, you'll find it on page 4 & 5. The introduction by Freddy Cricien (aka Freddy Madball) is off the charts amazing. He seems to encapsulate the entire birth of the scene through the eyes of a child. A child that grows with the scene. Three pages and you are hooked. It makes me hope he does write his own book.

You need this book. It'll look smart on your coffee table. Go order it now. Check their homepage for information about upcoming book release gigs. Don't miss them, they look dope.

PS. why can't I find any real pictures of the new cover? The new cover also says "revisited by Chris Daily." He definitely deserves plenty of credit here. Kudos to him.

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A few years back, AP (or IME) hit us up with his book Radio Silence. That book was awesome. It had everything a young hardcore kid (or an old hardcore kid) could ever want: rare tshirts, old flyers, quotes from big names in the scene, stellar pictures ... It was perfect.

This time around, with Live...Suburbia, AP and Max G. Morton do something a little different. This one is more introspective. It's more personal, really. There are a ton of old pictures, but if you are expecting wall to wall Mags and Insted pics, you'll be out of luck. This one is much broader than Hardcore. There is talk of skateboarding, bmx, metal (lots of metal), skinheads and getting in trouble in the mid 80s. Anyone who grew up during this time will have an immediate feeling of nostalgia. And anyone who has ever met AP will recall his great story skills. These are brought to the forefront in this book. More words this time around.

And that's a good thing. I mean, I recall hearing APs story about a certain wild fire in the woods near his home, but I had never heard the WHOLE story. This book has it. And it's worth reading. I've never met Max, at least I don't recall, but after reading the stories in the book, you can tell he's a kindred spirit. He lived the life we all lived back when we were teens. You'll see.

Order your copy of Live...Suburbia now. It's worth the read.

Kid Liberty just released an album called Give Up. Give In. It drops today, to be exact. And I'm sure I'm not the first one to point out the obvious, but I hope to beat it into the ground. The album is called Give Up. Give In. That's right, no shit. Give Up. Give In. I'm not sure which band member (or more likely, management) came up with this genius title, but I think it's an incredibly bad idea. The door to terrible puns has been kicked open and is being held wide open. Give Up. Just Give Up. Imagine if this album flops or if this album sucks. Think of the mileage reviewers can get off that simple title. They might as well just name their kids Ben Dover. But let's get into the actual review, as I'm sure you are all dying to hear what I have to say on this one.

This one is a four song ep. Bullet Tooth Records (post Trustkill Records). There is one new song, two acoustic tracks and a Cee Lo Green cover song. Yes, that's right. A Cee Lo Green cover. Fuck You. Wow. Before even listening to the EP, I said to myself, "oooooooffff." That dude had his 15 minutes of fame about 6000 internet lifetimes ago. And now Kid Liberty record and release the song? Wow. Terrible idea, just awful. Give up. Plus, the original is shit. It's just awful so you can only imagine how "entertaining" the cover song is. It's been appropriately mall punkified for easy listening. Ugh. The acoustic songs will appeal to your skinny jeaned, warped tour little sister. Maybe. She might also get into push pitting over the new track. It was not for me. I could not give in to these songs. Not even close. This album's saving grace? In reverse alphabetical order, it's immediately followed by Kid Dynamite. Yeah, I had to stretch for the positive. Sorry.

If after my review (because we all know how shit awful my reviews are), you are still interested, you can pick this album up on amazon or your local record store. For older merch, check Ebay. Good luck.

A while back (ok, a real long time ago), Taylor sent me this cd of all the Kicked In material. He wanted to send a demo, but they had sold out. I can see why now. After listening to this off and on for the last few months, it's really grown on me. Great straight edge vibe and plenty of central US love. At times, I even get a distinct Rzl Dzl sound, but that could just be some Lockin Out nods in the music. Solid short songs (some of those 3 syllable lines are a little TOO short for me) that you can mosh to. What more do you want?

Turns out these boys are playing "The Bitch Pit" in Boston, Mass tomorrow. I have never heard of this venue / living room / basement / back alley, but now I'm interested in checking it out. If you got the info, hit me up. I suggest you hit up Kicked In's facebook page. You can download most of all their material and form your own living room mosh. Good look.

Plus. Look at that drawing. That's just good stuff, folks. Who says skins always win?

I'm not going to lie. My knowledge of foreign hardcore is close to nil. I can't name any Japanese bands that I listen to regularly, and would have a hard time naming any if it wasn't for Jaybil. The same can be said about Norway, Brazil, Poland, Mexico, ... You see where I'm going there. My knowledge of international hardcore pretty much begins with Larm and ends with True Colors. Sad, I know. This is where Take Your Shot Fanzine broadens my horizons. This zine is ALL about foreign hardcore. Not one band interviewed is from the US (ok, Setback is, but that's only one ninth of the interview section. Talk Shit, Get Hit). Not only that, but it's the PMA issue. And if you know me, you know I'm big on the PMA.

The interviews in this zine are cool. Fairly standard questions but super genuine. The combination of bands interviewed is also refreshing. There's everything from hard mosh, to near metal to positive hardcore. It's a sweet little mix. And the last two pages are devoted to guest columns and thoughts on the current scene. Most of the words ring true, which is chill considering this dude lives thousands of miles away. Different culture, same core. Diggin that.

If that sounds like something you can get into, check out the online site where you can find order information, and plenty of new interviews and reviews. It's updated pretty regularly so you'll always have a reason to go back for more. #PMA

I'm not going to lie. I've been sitting on this review for a while. But it was for a good reason. My initial reaction went straight to fanboy. I wanted to sit with it for a while hoping to even out my reaction. It didn't work. I'm still a Joyce Manor fanboy. This LP is sticking to my record player and not leaving. Favorite song: Constant Headache, no doubt. I've been on a bit of a pop punk kick lately, and this band fits the bill. Think Title Fight, think Transit, think west coast punk rock. This has the definitive Californian vibe to it. Picture vans eras with long tube socks. I don't picture a lot of stage diving, but I bet the sing alongs can get pretty intense.

Despite being a band since 2008, these dudes are taking their first full US tour this summer, and I'm really looking forward to it.
They are coming through NY, Philly and Mass. I'm definitely hitting up the Mass gig. You won't be able to keep me away.

Go over to hellfish to pick up the lp. I promise you, it is worth it. And if you need that old merch, check Ebay. I need to snag a shirt.

No Tolerance. Boston Straight Edge. This EP was released by 540 Records (which you will never be able to find any useful information online about. Just know it is a record label in a dude's house somewhere in Texas. Actually, sounds like the start of something great, really). This is actually a re-release. It was initially released by Edge Day Records on cassette. I have one kicking around here somewhere, but I got a copy of the vinyl ep and gave it a spin. Wouldn't you know it, the music on the record sounds equally as awesome as the music on the cassette. No joke, this EP rips. It was originally recorded by DFJ and CC. Right there, you have a winning combo. DFJ did drums and vocals, CC did guitar and bass. Solid lineup, but not a good touring unit. So they pulled in Casey Watson for 2nd guitar duties, Doug Free on bass (like he needed another band. He's racking them up like DFJ now) and Rifkin on drums. That's right, DFJ does vocal duties. And he's out front, not behind a drum riser with a weirdo mic set up. And this layout really works for the band. DFJ has a very intense front man style. Think Dwid. Very angry, very straight edge (but not on the Chorus / Path end of the spectrum). The live show really sets them apart. Hell, I think I even saw Cushman almost mosh to their set. He definitely had me pick up one of their tees for him. That's saying something. Serious biz.

If you can find this EP, I highly suggest you pick it up. Check eBay as I can't tell you ANYWHERE else you can find this ep. Unless you visit Chris Corry at his house, I literally can't point you anywhere you can find this EP.

Boston Straight Edge! Drug Free Youth!

Power Trip hails from Texas. Lots of demos coming out of Texas recently, it seems. Of course, this isn't super recent. It was originally released as a demo, then was later pressed onto vinyl. And actually, I may have just received this recently, but it's been out for quite some time now. I know there was a Sound And Fury press of this EP for instance. I did not get one of those. I was lucky enough to receive this one on purple vinyl. You can pick up your copy on purple or black too, just head over to the Big Cartel page.

It's well worth a click over too. Sludgy hardcore with an excellent lead singer. I'm feeling it. Not exactly Trapped Under Ice or the west coast's Alpha And Omega, these guys have a similar style, but with a unique feel. I can see kids moshing something serious for this band. Especially the song Untitled. Feeling it. Definitely feeling it.

Like I said before, you can still pick up this ep. Better do that. You can also pick up some tees straight from the band. And if that isn't enough, you can always check Ebay. Maybe you'll be lucky enough to find one of those Sound And Fury press EPs.

Street Sweeper is grimy. Like filthy grimy. I doubt they live above and below a bowling alley, but this demo has grit. And it isn't just the fact that it was recorded by DFJ and Doug Free. I'm sure they played their part, but the sound of this band is hard. Think Guns Up or No Warning. Plus, it doesn't hurt that this crew appears to be down with Marlboro, Mass. At least, they give shout outs to the Pitfall Crew and Marlborough Hardcore (Panthers Stink). This cd contains the 4 song demo. It was recorded back in December of 2009, but I feel like I just got it recently while at Anchors Up. Regardless, I plan to keep my eyes peeled for this band. I predict a Leeway cover or two from them. Into it.

Dudes have some tshirts on the web right now. Think about picking one up. I'd tell you to check eBay for old merch, but I doubt you'll find any. This bands too new for that. Unless you want that DJ Kayslay disc or some serious heavy equipment. Just hit up their bigcartel site, it's easier that way.