Foundation Vinyl Newsletter
Welcome
Welcome to this week’s Foundation Vinyl Newsletter! Let’s dive straight in…
- Recommended New Releases
- Chandeliers and Rattlesnakes
- Label In Focus: Drunken Sailor Records
- One You May Have Missed: Crime of Passing by Crime of Passing
- Shows and Tours
- Coming Soon
Recommended New Releases
Baltimore’s Neolithic have unleashed a pulverising debut full-length, a brutally well-executed reimagining of early 1990’s European death metal.
Roared vocals, down-tuned buzzsaw guitars, and a relentless rhythm section ensure that there is nowhere to hide as the band explore themes of political populist-authoritarianism and the sheer futility of our existence. The band call upon a hardcore pedigree that manifests itself in the leanness of the song writing and the sheer ferocity of the delivery. The impact is amplified by Neolithic’s keen awareness of melody and pacing dynamics – expertly marrying blistering pace with crushingly heavy mid-paced grooves. A thoroughly modern exploration of the legacy of Bolt Thrower and Entombed.
‘Buried by tradition, read between the lines, resisting inhibitions, what have you sacrificed?’
Powerfully nuanced vocals, desolate lead guitar lines, and evocative imagery define Adrenochrome’s dark punk debut LP. The band hail from Oakland, and presumably take their name from the Sisters of Mercy song of the same title. They certainly share said band’s desire to create darkly atmospheric music. Carefully crafted song structures, a burly rhythm section, and a penchant for a rousing chorus ensure a vibrant, engaging ride.
Anarcho-punk style vocals are semi-shouted as the synths lay down their pulsing gothic-inspired melodies, underpinned by lock-step percussion and a rumbling bass that weaves its own independently inclined path.
It is seven years since Es released their debut EP on La Vida Es Un Mus Discos, and three since their subsequent full-length on Upset The Rhythm. This new EP sees the quartet continue to forge their own uniquely dystopian yet danceable post-punk take. It is oppressive and uplifting in equal measure, the sense of urgency and anxiety building relentlessly through each of the four tracks as themes of alienation are nimbly explored.
A blisteringly ferocious new six-song EP from Singapore’s Sial.
Sial’s brilliant last EP, Zaman Eden, found the band in a somewhat experimental mindset that allowed them to give free rein to their more progressive inclinations. Here, they refashion those instincts within the strictures of contemporary hardcore to devastating effect. Lyrics are in Bahasa Melayu (the language of Singapore’s indigenous minority) and the anger is palpable. Visceral, abrasive, uncompromising.
Chandeliers and Rattlesnakes
When I was updating last week’s gig listing, it was striking how concentrated the shows were at just two venues, New River Studios, and the New Cross Inn. Not a complaint by any means, both are admirable venues, and I’ve always particularly enjoyed shows at NRS. It is just an observation of how the ecosystem of London’s venues has changed. Over the last 5 years, numerous venues have disappeared from London’s touring itinerary ranging from the DIY Space for London and T-Chances to The Camden Unicorn.
Several factors will have shaped this increasing concentration. Crucially, soaring, exploitative rents in central London have made the economics of running an independent venue ever more challenging and the pandemic has made those pressures even worse.
I suspect that the number of DIY promoters, those tireless souls who get so little recognition for all their hard work, may also been temporarily whittled down by the dislocation of recent years, and every promoter inevitably has their preferred venues to work with. And, of course, these preferences will reflect how happy a venue is to host a hardcore punk gig. An art in and of itself, even if that art is often a question of doing less rather than more.
Because, as we all know, there is nothing worse than a gig at venue that doesn’t know how to handle a hardcore show. And this got me thinking about venues that I have visited just the once. Some of the spaces were actually pretty successful – Paint It Black in a tiny, sweaty basement called The Fly in 2009, and The Saddest Landscape in some dark, low cellar near King’s Cross in 2012 both proved cracking venues.
Others much less so. For example, Incendiary were to prove rather less fortunate on their first two visits to these shores, both brilliant shows in less-than-ideal circumstances. The first was at The Enterprise in Camden back in 2012. As the evening progressed, an increasingly worried landlord kept popping up the stairs as the chandelier in the main bar below was apparently displaying signs of distress due to the energetic crowd above. A plea came for there to be ‘no more dancing’ and as Incendiary took the stage the immortal lines (and I’m undoubtedly paraphrasing here) were uttered ‘This is going to be a short one, so let’s make it a good one!’. A blistering set (and a very much mobile crowd!) lasted twenty minutes before time was called…
Then when Incendiary returned on tour with Mindset a year later, there was a last-minute venue switch to an American theme bar, The Rattlesnake in Islington. A rather bright back room, surrounded by plastic Americana, and a sort of handrail around part of the stage did not bode well, but the gig itself was explosive. The issue came with the security. During Incendiary’s set, I could see that one of the security team was looking ever more agitated by the swirling dance floor. After the set, I could hear him being calmed down by his colleagues – ‘It’s just the way they dance’ – but it’s fair to say that he looked utterly unconvinced. When the crowd erupted again during Mindset’s set, he waded into the middle of the pit, and even ended up on the stage trying to grab the microphone, putting a temporary stop to the show. His colleagues ushered him from the room, still slowly shaking his head at the madness of what he was seeing…
So, what is the moral of these tales? Firstly, let’s make sure that we support the great venues that we do have. And, secondly, never, ever host a gig in a theme bar.
Label in Focus: Drunken Sailor
‘If they sliced you off, below the knees, would you roll around, to a dead end beat’.
Gaffer may hail from modern day Perth, but everything about this debut LP, from the gritty, aggressive post-punk and the knowing lyrical themes of working-class dispossession to its well-crafted aesthetic, powerfully evokes memories of 1980’s England. And it shares too that era’s robust expressions of resistance – this is a raucous, boisterous, angry album. A stark reminder of how little has changed. A rollicking, invigorating ride.
‘There isn’t nearly enough beauty in this town to make me feel human’.
Piercing, icy guitar melodies jaggedly dance above a powerfully tight rhythm section that relentlessly impels Can Kicker’s debut LP forward. Disdainful semi-shouted vocals lyrically explore themes of disconnection and desensitisation above this swirling, dissonant post-punk vortex. Beauty is realised in the darkness.
On this their third full-length, Ohio’s The Drin continued to refine and hone their experimental dub-infused post-punk.
Initially a solo project, The Drin are now a six-piece and continue to successfully conjure an uneasy sense of foreboding, deploying inventive percussion and throbbing bass lines in conjunction with decidedly lo-fi guitars. Drawled, cryptic vocals, half-spoken, eerily deadpan, further increase the air of uncertainty, offset by flourishes of melody that draw the listener ever further under The Drin’s influence.
Punter’s debut MLP is a swirling maelstrom of pure rock’n’roll fury.
At their heart a hardcore punk band, these six songs are delivered in a blisteringly catchy onslaught, the guitars packing a surprisingly satisfying almost-metallic crunch. However, proceedings are injected with a notable garage rock swagger. Pub shout-alongs rowdily jostle alongside blazing guitar solos, everything constantly threatening to career wildly out of control.
One You May Have Missed: Crime of Passing by Crime of Passing
Post-punk excellence from Cincinnati’s Crime of Passing on well-crafted debut LP. The arrangements are spartan yet perfectly judged. Austere guitars interplay with stabs of icy electronics and occasional waves of saxophone above a pulsating rhythm section. The vocals serve to bring this carefully constructed palette to its fullest fruition, ranging from impassioned semi-shouting (see World on Fire) to haunting ethereal murmurings (as on the beautiful closer, Ways of Hiding).
Show and Tours
This section lays no claims to being a definitive listing! It is simply gigs coming up in London that catch my eye and that I think people who read this newsletter might be interested in. I will always try and highlight where a show forms part of a wider UK tour.
13th May Poison Ruin, Powerplant, Keno (New River Studios / Matinee)
19th May Subdued, Diavol Strain, Bruxism (New River Studios)
27th May Yleiset Syyt, Stingray, Rifle (New River Studios / UK Tour)
28th May Delivery, Es, Honk (Brixton Windmill)
2nd June The Flex plus support (New River Studios)
3rd June The Restarts, Destruct, Fatalist, Subdued plus more (New Cross Inn / Destruct UK Tour)
4th June GLAAS, Zeropolis, Turbo (New River Studios)
9th June Savageheads, Rat Cage, Subdued (New River Studios)
11thJune Snuff Acoustic Matinee (The Lexington)
14th June Terror plus support (New Cross Inn)
16th June Physique, Circle None, Skitter, plus more (New Cross Inn)
24th June Ribbon Stage, Ex-Void, R.Aggs (The Lexington)
9th July End It, Spy, Combust, Initiate plus more (New Cross Inn)
10th July Fuse, Dregs, Stingray, Antagonizm plus more (New River Studios)
18th July Doldrey, Harrowed plus more (New Cross Inn)
19th July Diploid, Casing plus more (New River Studios / UK Tour)
20th July Iron Deficiency, Sentient plus more (New Cross Inn / UK Tour)
21st July Jotnarr, Wreathe (Bird’s Nest)
24th July Faim, No Man, Dying For It plus more (New Cross Inn)
4th August Gag, Plastics, TS Warspite, Unjust plus more (New Cross Inn)
Coming Soon
Drill Sergeant ‘Grim New War’ EP (Refuse Records)
Existence ‘Go to Heaven’ LP (Quality Control HQ)
Fairytale ‘Shooting Star’ LP (Quality Control HQ)
Varoitus ‘Ikuinen Sota’ LP (Phobia Records)
Wolfbrigade ‘In Darkness You Feel No Regrets’ LP (Destructure)