One Less God

Reasons to rejoice over the Godless 7": 1. It's fucking Godless! 2. Rough versions of "OCA", "Equal" and "Blood and Tears." 3. Two exclusive tracks. 4. A ripping Sin 34 cover. As unpolished as the production is, the recording dates indicate that this may have been their last release. The band also added two more musicians, freeing Leslie up to focus solely on vocals; but rest assured, this is the same Godless of Portland who caroled at your virtual door last Christmas, ate all your cookies, drank all your schnapps, and left a year's worth of melody on your lips.

The Godless 7"

The Season For Unreason

Let's get the disclaimer out of the way: Godless might shock or disappoint upon first impression, much like finding out that Santa doesn't exist, or that Jesus was a mere cult leader, or Christmas may simply be the Roman winter solstice, or that Jell-O contains animal bones. After a while, though, the knowledge is liberating. So here it is: Godless is not crust, regardless of the initial evidence to the contrary: they were from Portland circa 1992, their LP "Who's In Control?" was released on Tribal War Records, and well, just look at their band name and that cover art. What you need to know is that Godless played melodic political hardcore, not at all disappointing for fans of The Assassinators and La Fraction. As with all bands of this ilk, the vocalist holds much of the burden on her shoulders, and Leslie does a smash-up job here, from the soulful, deep-from-the-diaphragm croons, to more staccato, squeaky, snotty dressings-down (and all the while playing bass too!). I'd much rather be listening to this on Christmas morning (which I am) than any of that foul music associated with this season, so mix up a flask of hard-nog, print out the lyric sheet, light some candles, and show your neighbors how the punks do it...

Godless "Who's In Control" LP