7" Vinyl Reviews P-S

PAWN Force-fed to Starve

5 temple-bulging trax from Joseph Duggan (U.S. anarchopunx THE L.O.P.)'s other outfit, PAWN. A vicious and realistic attack upon the 'peace' in Sarajevo, the Ku Klux Klan, Christian greed and those who base punk sincerity upon look and fashion. Intelligent, refreshing & original, with a hard edge akin to the best moments from AUS-ROTTEN and TOXIC NARCOTIC.

PERDEDORES Viva for Fun!

Melodic, up-beat, snot-punk from Brazil. 5 tracks of exhilarating hardcore which owes much to the Germanic pogo of DIE TOTEN HOSEN and SKEESICKS as it does to the sunshine sounds of US skate-oids such as SCREECHING WEASEL and GORILLA BISCUITS. Very playable and boppy, full-colour cartoon sleeve plus lyrics (in native tongue, I'm afraid, but it bothers me none) - every song a pretty nifty, lively little number. Comes with a punk rock patch.

POG Faces at the Window EP 6 wonderful acoustic tracks brought to you by the genius of Paul Cistern (front maniac of Anal Beard) aka POG. Patrick Fitzgeraldesque rants and reflections put together on one beautiful release. At times almost HALF MAN HALF BISCUIT in its kitchen sink punk protest; Our Basement Bedsit, Compulsory Euthanasia, (F*ck You) Mister and Filth will have you grinning and sobbing with each alternate breath. Roll on the album!

POLIKARPA Y SUS VICIOSAS

Here's another loverlee piece of international punk rock unity and all on clear vinyl too! A split release from Belgian's Prejudice Production & Filth-Ear distribution, plus Darbouka Records of France and good ol'Armin's Campary Records from Germany. 6 fantastic tracks from Colombian fem-anarchos POLIKARPA Y SUS VICIOSAS - a hectic whirlwind of NAKED AGGRESSION-meets-P.M.T; a more straight forward hardcore version of RE-SISTERS and HARUM SCARUM! Truly wonderful stuff, dealing with "Women & Religion", "Underage Porno", "Fascism" and "Globalization". This is an EP to get really excited about - you lot are gonna love it!

PROJECT HOPELESS Project Hopeless EP

A decent slab of manic snotty pogo punk from Sweden. This is more the kind of stuff that was cropping up in the US a few years back (TOXIC NARCOTIC, THE UNSEEN, E.B.S….) and London (in particular, SUICIDAL SUPERMARKET TROLLEYS spring to mind). 10 tracks of pure two-fingered um-cha um-cha protest, with a quick nod towards ABRASIVE WHEELS ("When the Punx" cover!) for good measure. Stirs me good & proper.

RED LETTER DAY Insomnia

Crikey, you don't get 2-song 7" singles at 45rpm that often these days, and the same could be said for the delectable RED LETTER DAY, too. Unashamed old school punk rock with a definite UK SUBS/LURKERS/999 twang to 'em, yet their mitts firmly on the DIY pulse of the scene today, so go for it, kids! Always for a certain sympathy for the underdog, your reviewer here reckons the flipside, "Rain" is the bestest - I had to play it 5 times in a row first time, & I'm still singing it on the bus.

SCHLITZ Wondawful World

Whoo-hoo! Hearty slap in da face from this chunky punky French outfit. 3 tracks (sung'd en Anglais); up tempo, upbeat, hugely satisfying timeless punk in the style of EX-CATHEDRA (without the skanky bits), SENSA YUMA or MACHINE GUN ETIQUETTE. Sorta no-nonsense, heads-down, SLF-ish almost. Blimey, have SCHLITZ done owt else?

DIE SCHWARZEN SCHAFE Last Gang in Town

I love DIE SCHWARZEN SCHAFE! They have been going for what seems like years now, unrelenting and more gutsy with every release - the true exponents of the finest of Germanic punk, very much in the vein of DIE TOTEN HOSEN, OXYMORON and all the raw, punchy, raucous, singalong, uplifting & melodic style so typical of that particular style and area. Their best release to date - I've ne'er heard Armin with so much punk rock fury!

DIE SCHWARZEN SCHAFE Give 'em Enough Hope

Follow-on from Last Gang in Town, and every bit as tasty! SCREECHING WEASEL Suzanne is Getting Married

Don't wish you were around for the heydays of RAMONES; not while we've SCREECHING WEASEL ripping out the goodtime punk riffs of sunshine and cheer. High school psycho tales of ripped jeans, leather jackets and the wedding of Suzanne and Ramsey (Political Asylum, you punk historians). Play it again and again and I guarantee you'll be smiling all day and screaming all night.

SENSA YUMA Every Day's Your Last Day 7" EP You can't go wrong with anything the notorious Stu Pid (Contempt, Police B*st*rd, English Dogs) lays his infectious enthusiasm upon -and this (the only release I know of by the Brummie supergroup -and a joint venture between France's Mass Productions and England's dodgy Ruptured Ambitions to boot) is no exception! 3 classic tracks of stormin' punk rock, pure & simple, in up-tempo GBH/CONTEMPT/UK SUBS style (also featured among the ranks is the loveable Jock GBH, Sam CUPID STUNT and Pix-E of P*SS ON AUTHORITY). Waste Away is my fave, a blast of a track I can play to death, but the more high-brow will buy this for the hysterical cover of Jasper Carrot's Funky Moped alone.

SPINE WRENCH Tapping the Vein

Stands out from much of our merch., as SPINE WRENCH are pure industrial punkers, very much in the same league as KILLING JOKE (guitaring) meets ALIEN SEX FIEND (synth drumming), mingling dark overtones reminiscent of MORTIFIED and HELLB*ST*RD. 2 brooding anthems which oughta be loved by those into the plain weird.

STEADFAST Misguided

Yay! More from this bunch of baggy-shorted, baseball-capped, unaffected punk band. Sadly, the trumpet's gone, to be replaced with an extra chunky, chuggy geetar. STEADFAST'S style has evolved into a slicker, more polished version, even more akin to their counterparts JAMBREAKER, SAMHAIN, ALL et al! 4 great songs, released totally DIY on Phil's own label; + booklet & fab sleeve notes.