Saturday, September 8, 2012

Nuestra Tierra Anahuac

Amid the abysmal mire of gloom, doom, and nihilism that marks our current era of crusty hardcore comes a light, once again not from the coming epoch, but from the previous one.  Among other things, nineties political bands still had some fight left in them, and no shortage of hope.  I love revisiting these bands, not just for nostalgia, but under the pretext that we might come full circle again in the near future, that the collapse we are anticipating will be a transformation, not a terminus.  All of this is encompassed beautifully in Subsistencia's only release, the "Nuestra Tierra Anahuac" CD.  Much like their Scottish contemporaries, Sedition, Subsistencia draw their vision from an atavistic connection to the land of their/our ancestors, in this case, to Meso-America (Aztecs, mainly).  Musically they're not far off from the last comparison, although their aggressive tracks remind me more of Disaffect (along with the spirit and occasional ska/reggae tendency of Sin Dios).  In between the pounding and thrashing there are softer passages with undistorted guitars and flute, which add an individual character to the band, and make for an epic listening experience.  I also appreciate how the dual vocals are shouted loudly and clearly, making it forgivable that no lyrics are provided in the insert.  Grounded in the past as they might seem, the band is very much about their present (mid/late nineties) and our future (present?), showing a strong concern for the place occupied by developing nations in the global era, and their ensuing struggle.  Passe as this all may seem to the cynics among us, I anticipate that bands like Subsistencia will one day again be considered visionary, a feeling I'm already inclined toward.

Subsistencia - "Nuestra Tierra Anahuac" (Xicano Records and Film, 1998)

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10 comments:

justin said...

DUDE!!! This is a great album, thanx for the tip. Glad you survived the corruption of the external file storage sites, was hoping your place hadn't died. Hope all is swell in sunny LG.

Batguano said...

Yeah, it was close to the end (again) for me, but I think I'll stick around a bit. Things are alright over here-- best wished to you too, man.

aboynamedstew said...

You son of a gun! I just dug this CD out and listened to it a month ago. And I was wondering if anybody else in the whole world knew it existed. It was even better than I remembered it being. Especially the song "tierra anahuac". Big ups!

Batguano said...

Right on! I remember you mentioning these guys in a discussion of nineties bands with females on the mic, but for some reason I've put this post off for this long. Awesome and obscure? Totally agree, and perfect for this decrepit blog. Good to see you here and keep in touch!

Painajainen said...

!!!!!! I saw these guys back in 99 with Aus Rotten and Armistice but never knew they released anything!! thanks a ton for this!!

Batguano said...

Hey no problem! Where did you see them play? Anyway, I bet they were intense live!

Ricardo said...

GREAT POST!! She later sing in TRAGATELO (12" in Lengua Armada),a band with Martin (Los Crudos,Limp Wrist,Needles,NN,etc.),Felix (Life's Halt,Please Inform the Captain This is a Hijack) and Miguel (El Grito Records).

Request: CATHARSIS s/t CD,I dont have the artwork for this and would be great a rip @320k.

BEST WISHES!!

Batguano said...

Hey, thanks Ricardo! I'll see what I can do about a Catharsis post (and a Tragetelo one too perhaps!). Until next time...

Painajainen said...

I saw them at the PCH club in Wilmington. and now that I think of it I believe Noothgrush and Seized also played that show.

Batguano said...

Daaaaaaamn!