Scream

Himei marks the smoldering nexus of several traditions and a touch of originality. The punked-out riffs can't decide if they want to be sharply angular or endlessly danceable, and for me they don't need to. All eight of the tracks on their two EPs meet so many of my musical needs with such pleasing efficiency, not least of which is the need to hear a possessed woman recently released from her straight jacket shrieking inhibition into a cowering little mass. Or a reasonable approximation thereof. Somehow Himei make good old hardcore punk sound fresh and new again, and their vocals rival some of my all time favorites.

Both Himei 7"s (H:G Fact, 2010)... here

Turn Up Your Wick

The FE 7" archives are getting pretty chaotic, so order must be imposed with another series. This week will be Japanese 7" week-- each band featured will be as obscure as they are raging in that traditional Japanese way so many of us crave. Next week, maybe I'll head toward more a-traditional territory. Anyway, today's pick is Flux Cored Wire, and I first came to know them through the comp I'm throwing in below as a bonus. Descriptions are redundant-- listening is mandatory. That is, if high-energy hardcore with gang vocals in the manner of Deride or Assfort suits your fancy. The comp even features an Assfort "remix" and a track by Freak, who end up winning the three way split.

Flux Cored Wire 7" (MCR, 2000) & "No Way" Comp (Mangrove, 1998)

Moselle As Fuck

Coexist is another French band whose 7" I didn't quite get a chance to post last week. Rather than savoring the screamotive excellence this country exported during the nineties, you may find yourself adjusting your palate to something more like what the UK bands were doing at the time (ie. Disaffect, Sedition, One By One). As the zeitgeist dictated, bands like Coexist were proud to eschew polish and precision in favor of heart-felt idealism and a dash of free-spirited creativity. Their rollicking, hard-edged peace punk is often garnished with more ambient build-ups that have now become mainstays in many a crust band's repertoire. The rather involved packaging of the first press of the 7" also stings me with pangs of nostalgia for the DIY days of yore: not only are there multiple inserts and a nice looking booklet, but the sleeve is made from a screen printed piece of sweatshirt fleece. While this is a far from perfect little EP, its spirit somehow leaves me with a warm glow, which its flaws only seem to enhance.

Coexist 7" (Ape Records/Brassica Rapa, 1995) Link includes scans of first press booklet and covers.

A Burning Black Teardrop

Unpersons is perhaps best known for their collaboration with Baroness; but don't let that prejudice you. I first came to know this ensemble from Savannah from their Life is Abuse outing, and their noise rock meets hardcore is just the shit. I believe the 7" posted here is their first vinyl contribution, but don't let that fool you either. The four tracks on this beast are every bit as accomplished as their future releases, if not more so if you ask this warped blogger. The intersection of drugs and southern life never sounded so... satisfying. Members apparently also play in Pig Heart Transplant, Kylesa, and Black Tusk among other bands.

Unpersons 7" (I) (Fish Fur Records, 2000)

The Goal Posts of Life

As you can probably tell from the cover, in "Punk In Drublic" we see a Word Salad in its burgeoning and most immature form. In fact, it predates the band's first Prank Records 7" by about five years. Not yet the metallic leviathan that baffled us with its ability to be both manic and incredibly controlled, the band's unhinged disregard for predictability is still ever apparent on this debut. It warms my heart to know how our Word Salad turned out, and hearing them in their embryonic stage is tons of fun.

Word Salad "Punk in Drublic" 7" (Dog Shit Recurdz, 1993)

We all die in the end...

Installment number two this week is the first No Statik 7". Being that it's on Iron Lung Records, I assume it was posted on a bunch of blogs, but I'm not one to gamble on such things, so here it is. These two tracks comprise the prologue to the band's 12" that was soon after released on Prank Records; one is an exclusive-- the other is an edited version of "We All Die in the End." Members were previously in Look Back and Laugh, Destroy!, and Scrotum Grinder, so you should be able to anticipate the fury that awaits you...

Here.

New No Statik 7" is available here.

Pleasure Inflicted Suffering

This week, every post will be a random seven inch by a band I like, a couple of which have had other releases posted on this blog before. Most of the bands will be fairly obscure, like today's selection, "Human Ruins" by Running For Cover. The first time I experienced their LP, the term thinking-person's power violence came to mind. All of the cathartic punishment that keeps us coming back to this genre is present and accounted for on both of their releases; but the lyrics, which deal mainly with the meaninglessness of life, are tinged with existentialist musings, and on a couple there's even a bit of an Eastern element. PV songs about Kung Fu movies and enchiladas are fun and all, but it's kind of nice to see a band taking things a bit further.

Running For Cover - "Human Ruins" 7" (625 Thrashcore/Out of Limits, 2004)