On that fateful day that Sid Vicious finally learned to read and decided it wasn’t for him—punk was born. Punk has since continued to pack basements, bars, and DIY spaces full of sweaty, spikey, and exuberant young folks ready to climb the walls and ceilings, repelling off each other like shrapnel. For more than a decade, Bandcamp has been a hub for punk music lovers and musicians to come to and share their uncontainable passion for this explosive and intoxicating artform. In September’s edition of Best Punk releases on Bandcamp, Sims Hardin highlights the sulfuric rot of Cicada, the timeless classic punk hits of Alien Nosejob, the freakish propulsion of The Carp, and many other new and exciting rippers!
Cicada
Wicked Dream
Maybe—MAYBE—once a year, I hear a hardcore record that really moves the needle. This year Virginia punks Cicada just kicked the needle across the universe. Cicada delivers corrosive Italian hardcore riffs with dense arrangements, pummeling drums, and goblin-mode vocals. Cicada’s Wicked Dream provides nine songs in under ten minutes, and there is not a dull moment in tow. The modulated guitar work is chaotic/evil with its unpredictable riffs and nightmarish tonal exploitation. None of this is a shock as this band features guitarist Brendan Reichhardt—the demented mind behind hardcore band Hologram. This bloke is no stranger to expanding the horizons of modern hardcore. However, here, every piece is essential. It is a culmination of all the members’ contributions that make this record one of the best of the year—calling it now.
The Carp
Knock Your Block Off
Vinyl LP
Stomping into the local seafood restaurant and demanding fair wages for the oyster shuckers, Cleveland’s The Carp bring the world a new kind of peace punk with Knock Your Block Off. This mutant three-piece, featuring foundational members of Cruelster, Perverts Again, and Knowso, strip things down to the essentials. Well, not really. Despite a modest palette of bass, guitar, and drums, the record is anything but barebones, the arrangements rife with dueling vocal hooks, shifting rhythms, and wonky riffs. Thematically, this record explores the struggles of the working class and unionized workers through The Carp’s brilliant, dystopian lens. Knock Your Block Off is a fitting name as this record will blow your mind—and by that I mean explode your skull Scanners-style. Don’t fear the reaper.
Artificial Go
Hopscotch Fever
Vinyl LP
Feel It Records has been an unstoppable force over the last few years, unearthing a treasure trove of unique and tasty punk artifacts. They have blessed us once again with Cincinnati punk band Artifical Go and their debut record Hopscotch Fever. These faux-Brit rockers craft wholly unique, lo-fi, pop-y, art-punk songs that are equally intricate and wooly. This instantly brought to mind Dorothy’s “I Confess”—a weirdo pop one-off release by Industrial Records, which is honestly such a high compliment. Artificial Go offers a grab-bag of off-kilter, jangly songs with HUGE hooks. The songs are memorable, danceable, and unpretentious with their punchy and loose sound. Catch them in a city near you—and bring the dark sunglasses, Beatle boots, and cigarettes.
Lothario
Hogtied
Cassette, Vinyl LP
In an endless cycle of U.S. bands influencing Aussie bands and Aussie bands influencing U.S. bands, we find ourselves here—with the ultimate culmination in Melbourne’s Lothario. Mastermind Annaliese Redlich discovers the optimal way to create minimal punk with their new record Hogtied. This record fuses steadfast Ramones-esque punk grooves, angular Joy Division-type guitar riffing, and big blown-out hooks via the punchy, lo-fi vocals. These are the quintessential no-frills punk jams. This would be a major find for fans of The Spits or Amyl and The Sniffers. Rude, raw, and fun. Tired of the mundanity of working life? Quit your job, strap on your punk jacket, and follow Lothario like The Dead.
Beach Waste
Sorry For The Wait
Imagine a beach littered with seagull carcasses and empty Whip-It! canisters, overrun by wasted, nihilistic hippies, surfing polluted swells. The soundtrack to this grotesque dream would be the soothing sounds of Beach Waste. SoCal hesher hardcore at its best. This band delivers snotty ’80s punk to a T. The recording is pure lo-fi gold. The singer follows the melody of the guitars in era-correct fashion. Snotty, fast, and no-class punk music that will have you crawling into the sewers and boogie boarding in sewage. There’s something radioactive in the water in Torrance, and I think it might be Beach Waste. Dive in and breathe deep.
Satanic Togas
“Illusions” b/w “1998”
7" Vinyl
Did Ishka Edmeades sell his soul to the devil to rock this hard? Trick question—he is the devil. Only the devil himself could rip these unholy riffs featured on Satanic Togas‘s latest offering. Togas delivers another perfect synth-punk/garage 7-inch on Goodbye Boozy Records. The riffs are hot, the synth is pumping, and the hooks are overflowing—Sydney style. Edmeades is known for ripping guitar in a fistful of incredible Sydney-based bands, including Tee Vee Repairmann, Gee Tee, and Research Reactor Corp. You’d think he’d eventually run out of riffs, but there is no stopping this earthly demon. I saw the devil, and he was actually cool as hell.
Yellowcake
A Fragmented Truth
7" Vinyl
The world is getting hotter and hotter, and the people of Phoenix, Arizona are getting cooked. Thank God, because if Yellowcake’s newest EP, A Fragmented Truth, were any less fried, the world would be worse off for it. These brutalist crashers return with another blistering contribution to the punk zeitgeist. Clunky primitive drums pave the way for buzz saw, raw-noise riffs and scorched, nihilistic vocals. This release offers a unique take on Swedish hardcore, often letting unbridled noise replace melody while still accomplishing tasty sounds. This will certainly be a gem of a find for lovers of The Shitlickers and others in the D-beat canon. This cake is festering in the sun, and I’m eating every last bite.
Dummy
Free Energy
Vinyl LP, Compact Disc (CD), Cassette
From motorik groove to shoegaze to bubbly Brit-pop, L.A. band Dummy does it all on their latest full-length contribution Free Energy. These rockers abandoned their affinity for Stereolab—who were heavily influential to earlier releases—and sound all the better for it. Free Energy is an expansive exploration of vibes referencing linear punk, Eno-esque soundscapes, and the endless chaos of the universe. The production on this record feels arty; the buried vocals, heavy electronics, and punchy, primal drums are laid very intentionally. This execution instantly brings to mind New Order, though the music doesn’t necessarily ever sound like that. This is clearly a very thoughtful record. Dummy’s Free Energy is the perfect music for deep meditation or heavy drug use, but who’s to say there’s even a difference?
Alien Nosejob
Turn The Colour of Bad Shit
Vinyl LP
It’s hard to know what you can expect from the next Alien Nosejob record. With his endless stream of amazing and diverse releases, Aussie punk savant Jake Robertson’s music runs the gamut, to say the least. It could be the most insane, freaky hardcore you’ve ever heard…or an egg punk masterpiece…or a throwback garage rock ripper. I guess it was time for Jake to cycle in some classic punk sounds fueled by memorizing synth drone. Turn The Colour of Bad Shit takes some cues from classic synth-punk à la The Screamers or The Weirdos. This record is very song-centric, focusing less on the riffs—though they are definitely there—and focusing more on the huge earworm-y hooks. All this ultimately begs the question… What is the color of “bad shit”? I can’t definitively say, but one thing’s clear—Jake can add another epic barn-burner to his belt.
Soup Activists
Ambrosia and Linens
In my mind, Martin Meyer making the stylistic switch from “hardcore” to art-rock is like Picasso shifting into Cubism. Maybe it’s not a comfortable change for some, but Soup Activists is the art the world truly needs now. On his latest effort Ambrosia and Linens, Martin returns to the tape machine to sketch six new jangly pop bangers. While these might only be demos for the arrangements to come, these recordings are captured in punchy, lo-fi gold, dripping with Flying Nun-esque atmosphere. These songs are typical of Soup Activists’s sensitive, flowery pop, however, there are some new, interesting progressions that lean more into early Chumbawamba peace-punk territory, which is an exciting progression. So if you happen to be one of the people hesitating to dip your toes in the Soup… The water is warm, my friends. Yes, Soup for you!
