Punk – Page 17 – 7th Level Music

The Shrine release “Dance on a Razor’s Edge” ahead of upcoming “Cruel World” EP due May 3rd

“Equal parts Black Flag and Thin Lizzy.” — Rolling Stone

“Combines elements of hard rock, punk, metal, psychedelic, garage rock and more for a powerful sound that’s both heavy and catchy.” — Consequence of Sound

Los Angeles skate-rock trio The Shrine share the first track from their forthcoming Cruel World EP via Consequence of Sound’s Heavy Consequence. Hear and share “Dance On a Razor’s Edge” HERE.

The band also announces a huge EP release and tour kickoff party in downtown L.A. on April 19th at House of Machines. The release party also features the Paranoyds and DJ sets by artist Shepard Fairey, Tony Accosta and Judith Priest. The Shrine then play shows in Toronto and New York City before heading to Europe for shows surrounding their performances at DesertFest London and DesertFest Berlin. Please see all dates below.

The Shrine return in May with Cruel World, a filthy groove that sends a nod to both ZZ & Sabbath while attacking the atrocities of the modern age. On this 4 song EP the Venice, California rockers have grown heavier & simpler in a primitive yet defiant way. The Shrine come across more aware and in control of their power, mixing their favorite 70’s & 80’s in a fresh way that you don’t quite hear in today’s digital landscape. Cruel World was mixed at Henson Studios by Tom Syrowski (who won a Grammy in 2018 for his work with Mastodon).

From their warehouse skate parties and guitar shop beginnings in Venice, California to their Ozzfest appearances, Slayer/Ghost/Dinosaur Jr. support slots and repeat headline Japanese and Australian tours, The Shrine have thrived in the cemetery that is the music industry. On top of an official Dogtown Skateboard and a signature Converse shoe, and their debut TV performance on Norman Reedus’ Ride show on AMC; their last album cover was illustrated by Shepard Fairey. The world renowned street artist is a Shrine fan who hand-picked the band to headline his Damaged art show in Los Angeles to 8000 people.

Shepard Fairey on The Shrine: “The things that attracted me to skateboarding, punk, and metal in the 80s were their complete rejection of mainstream conformity and their embrace of aggression, rebellion, and do-it-yourselfing ripped to shreds danced on the razor’s edge. As subcultures became accepted and co-opted over the years, I craved music and a scene with the raw intensity of Black Flag, Black Sabbath, Suicidal Tendencies, Motorhead, the Circle Jerks, etc.. When I discovered The Shrine I realized that the kind of feral, sleazy, high-octane, fun as hell band and scene that I was looking for was out there, not in their 50s, but in their 20s. The warehouse record release party for The Shrine’s Rare Breed was the most awesome steaming pile of sweaty, surly, rock gods and goddesses in denim and leather I’ve been to in years! There were more kick-ass rock and skate t-shirts in that room than I’d seen in the last five years in Echo Park and Silver Lake combined. I’ve seen a lot of great shows in my life, but to have that particular crowd pogoing and stage diving to The Shrine with Nik Turner from Hawkwind on stage improvising psychedelic punk saxophone was pretty surreal. Someone dove on my head and sprained my neck at one point but I was so hopped up on adrenaline that I didn’t feel it much until the next day. So yeah, I guess I could say the Shrine shred and I think they’re OK.”

The Shrine recently added their new bass player Corey Parks (Nashville Pussy, Chelsea Girls). “We had jammed with Corey before on a Motorhead cover, and she actually took me to hang out with Lemmy in the studio during their final album,” says frontman Josh Landau. “There isn’t anyone else we could imagine doing The Shrine with other than Corey now. She brings a touch of class, charisma, and fire to the stage that pushes our chemistry into a whole new epic realm.”

Cruel World will be available on vinyl and download, released on May 3rd, 2019 via Eliminator Records. Pre-orders are available.

THE SHRINE TOUR 2019: 04/19 Los Angeles, CA @ House of Machines – EP release party & tour kickoff 04/23 Toronto, ON @ Baby G 04/24 NYC, NY @ Baby’s All Right 04/26 Munich, DE @ Backstage 04/27 Kaprun, AT @ Castle 04/30 Zurich, CH @ Z7 05/01 Savigliano, IT @ ARCI Mezcal 05/02 Marseille, FR @ Cabaret Aleatoire 05/03 London, UK @ Electric Ballroom – DesertFest UK 05/04 Berlin, DE @ Arena – DesertFest Berlin 05/05 Karlsruhe, DE @ Alte Hackerei 05/09 Bilbao, ES @ Kafe Antzokia 05/10 Madrid, ES @ White Lab 05/11 Barcellona, ES @ Rocksound

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Dead Kennedys celebrate their 40th anniversary with the upcoming release of “DK40.”

Out of the hundreds of punk bands that emerged from the late ’70s punk scene, only about a dozen or so have achieved iconic status four decades later. They include the Sex Pistols, the Clash and the Damned from the U.K.; the Ramones and Patti Smith Group from New York; X, the Germs and Black Flag from Los Angeles; and from San Francisco, the Dead Kennedys.

The DKs embodied the spirit of punk from the get-go. Their very name was a shocking reminder of the collapse of the American Dream. Then again, the name would be nothing if the Dead Kennedys didn’t have the goods to back it up.

DK40, a three-CD live collection due April 26 from Manifesto Records, offers the aural evidence that the Dead Kennedys were one of the most potent punk bands — period. It features the band serving up amped-up live versions of all their classic tracks, free from the constraints of the recording studio.

Formed in 1978 after guitarist East Bay Ray’s ad in The Recycler attracted the attention of singer Jello Biafra, they were soon joined by bassist Klaus Flouride; guitarist 6025 and drummer Ted. D.H Peligro soon took over the rule of the drum chair. After gigging around the Bay Area, they soon built a reputation cemented by the release of their first single, “California Über Alles,” on their own DIY label, within a year of their formation. Over a boleroesque rhythm consisting of pounding drums, throbbing bass and jagged guitar lines, Biafra lays into then-and-future California Governor Jerry Brown and the hippy dream. The song includes such memorable lines as “It’s the suede denim secret police / They have come for your uncool niece.” With their follow-up, 1980’s “Holiday in Cambodia,” the DKs showed no signs of letting up. It offered a brutal take on the powers behind the Vietnam War, with East Bay Ray’s iconic guitar parts showing people that the DKs were very much a musical force to be reckoned with. The band went onto release their debut album, Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables, in 1980, featuring newly recorded versions of “California Über Alles” and “Holiday in Cambodia,” along with other classics such as “Kill the Poor,” “Let’s Lynch the Landlord” and a notable cover of the Elvis Presley hit “Viva Las Vegas.”

The subsequent releases, the 1981 EP, In God We Trust, Inc., 1982’s Plastic Surgery Disasters and 1985’s Frankenchrist albums followed. Live versions of the material from these releases are showcased on DK40. Disc 1 captures the DKs at the Paradiso in Amsterdam, Netherlands in 1982, with a 13-song set, including “Holiday in Cambodia,” “Nazi Punks Fuck Off” and “Too Drunk to Fuck.” The second disc has the DKs at Alabama Halle in Munich, Germany, also in 1982, with an 18-track set, including “Man With the Dogs,” “Police Truck” and “Chemical Warfare.” The final disc of DK40 captures the band back on its home turf, at the Farm in San Francisco in 1985, with a 16-song romp that includes “Soup Is Good Food,” “Stars And Stripes Of Corruption” and “MTV Get Off The Air.”

While the DKs continue on following lineup changes, including the departure of Jello Biafra – vocalist Skip McSkipster of the Wynona Riders now bringing the songs to thousands of fans — DK40 captures the band at the height of their youthful exuberance, with the classic lineup of Jello Biafra, East Bay Ray, Klaus Flouride and D.H Peligro.

You’ll find DK40 even more fun than a holiday in Cambodia and the band’s blistering counsel is even more relevant today. They are here to remind us, “It’s never too late to think.”

Paradiso (December 5, 1982): 1. Moral Majority 2. Am the Owl 3. Life Sentence 4. Police Truck 5, Riot 6. Bleed For Me 7. Holiday in Cambodia 8. Let’s Lynch the Landlord 9. Chemical Warfare 10. Nazi Punks Fuck Off 11. Kill The Poor 12. We’ve Got A Bigger Problem Now 13. Too Drunk To Fuck Skateboard Party (December 13, 1982): 1. Skateboard Talk+Intro Noise 2. Man With The Dogs 3. Forward to Death 4. Kepone Factory 5. Life Sentence 6. Trust Your Mechanic 7, Moral Majority 8. Forest Fire 9. Winnebago Warrior 10. Police Truck 11. Bleed For Me 12. Holiday In Cambodia 13. Let’s Lynch the Landord 14. Chemical Warfare 15. Nazi Punks 16. We’ve Got A Bigger Problem Now 17. Too Drunk to Fuck 18. Kill the Poor The Farm (May 25, 1985): 1. Darren’s Mom 2. Goons of Hazard 3. Hellnation 4. This Could Be Anywhere 5. Soup Is Good Food 6. Chemical Warfare 7. Macho Insecurity 8. A Growing Boy Needs His Lunch 9. Forest Fire 10. Moon Over Marin 11. Jack-O-Rama 12. Encore 13. Stars and Stripes of Corruption 14. Second Encore 15. MTV Get Off the Air 16. Holiday In Cambodia

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Live: Bob Mould and Airstream Futures – Metro – Chicago, IL – Feb. 22, 2019

I hadn’t seen the Bob Mould Band in concert since New Year’s Eve 2014 at the Metro in Chicago. That was a blast, and now one of my rock heroes was kicking off my year of live music in 2019. An added bonus was meeting Mr. Mould on Clark Street a few blocks south of the venue. I got to shake his hand and tell him thanks for everything, so the day was a win.

Opening for him were Chicago’s Airstream Futures. Unfortunately, none of the photographs I took of their set turned out well, but I can tell you that they played an energetic set of punk with pop riffs. Their drummer has impressive chops, and their lead singer had a lot of energy despite, as she mentioned, being fired from her full-time job earlier that day.

Mr. Mould and his pals, Jason Narducy on bass and Jon Wurster on drums, came out swinging with a triple threat of “The War,” “A Good Idea,” and “I Apologize.” There was barely time to catch your breath when they were tearing into “See a Little Light” and “Sunny Love Song” – a track of his new record, Sunshine Rock.

There were many moments when I thought a mosh pit would, and should, have broken out, but the crowd was mostly aging punks (like yours truly) who are afraid of twisting a knee or running out of breath in a pit (unlike yours truly). Such moments came with songs like the title track of the new album, “Hey Mr. Grey,” and “If I Can’t Change Your Mind.”

One thing Mr. Mould assured everyone of during the show was that he can still shred. He tore his guitar up during multiple songs and wowed many of us with the kinds of solos you rarely hear at punk rock shows anymore.

The encore of “Never Talking to You Again,” a cover of Sonny Curtis‘ “Love Is All Around,” and “Flip Your Wig” was another sonic assault that left everyone wanting more, as a good encore should. You can’t go wrong with a Bob Mould show. He’s still putting out great music and destroying stages. Don’t miss him.

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Review: Warish – self-titled

Coming in at a hot eleven minutes, Warish‘s debut EP contains five wild tracks of grungy punk that their label, RidingEasy Records, describes as a combination of Nirvana and Misfits, and that’s accurate.

Beginning with “Bones,” guitarist / vocalist Riley Hawk sets the stage with buzzsaw riffs that Ty Segall would love. Drummer Bruce McDonnell starts literal and metaphorical mosh pits with his ferocious beats on “Voices.” He and Hawk put out enough energy for a six-piece, let alone a two-man band.

The chant of “Fight for your life!” on “Fight” (not to mention the pedal-to-the-metal drumming) is sure to get your blood pumping. “Human” is the longest track on the EP, and it’s not even three minutes long. It’s probably a good thing it isn’t longer, because I’m not sure the human body or speakers built by humans could withstand the face and wire-melting power of it for more than two minutes and thirty-nine seconds. The EP ends with “Shivers,” a hard-hitting fuzz-fest that leaves you nearly out of breath.

A full-length album by these two will be one of the heaviest records of this generation if their self-titled EP is any indication. Get on the bandwagon now.

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Review: Wild Fox – Wanker’s Juice

Wild Fox were the first band my wife and I saw when we attended Levitation France last year. I walked out of their set thinking, “If you need a band to open your festival, those four lads should be high on your list.”

Their new EP, Wanker’s Juice, is five songs of raucous garage shoegaze rock that starts with “African Running,” which I can’t help but think was inspired by the theme to Shaft (listen to that opening high hat). It mixes shoegaze licks with precision drumming, and slightly creepy bass lines. “Chester” brings in brighter (but still fuzzy) guitars and reverbed echoes to bounce off the back of a pub or a concert hall.

“Mursees,” the first single from the EP, mixes in a bit of surf madness and is indicative of their fiery live performances. It just slaps you upside the head with a killer bass groove, frantic drumming, and guitars that come at you like out-of-control bulldozers. “Sunday” is a fine blend of psychedelic fuzz and garage punk. The closer, “Lock,” has a great tempo for running, racing, or moshing. The chorus is “It’s gonna be all right.” That’s it. That’s all we need to know, really.

The theme of “Hang on. / Don’t worry. / It’s okay. / Better times are ahead.” is prevalent in a lot of music in the last year or so. The current political situations across the world, let alone in the European Union and the U.S., are causing a lot of stress to many. Bands like Wild Fox are encouraging us to cut loose, focus on the present, get laid (I mean, come on, that title…), and embrace life. We should all follow their lead.

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The Coathangers unleash punk fury on new single “F the NRA” ahead of U.S. west coast tour.

The Coathangers have shared a poignant and fiery new single “F The NRA” from their forthcoming album The Devil You Know, out March 8 on Suicide Squeeze. The song was written by guitarist/vocalist Julia Kugel, who felt compelled to make a political statement in the face of potential backlash in part because she is a refugee from Belarus, a country with limited freedom of speech and press. She’s expanded upon her motivations to speak out in an essay published at The Talkhouse, replete with contributions and advice from Kathleen Hanna (Bikini Kill), Brendan Canty (Fugazi/The Messthetics) and Dennis Lyxzen (Refused, International Noise Conspiracy).

From Julia Kugel: “I do not take the freedom of expression that all U.S. citizens are granted lightly. The band was confident that we wanted to put ‘F the NRA’ on the record. It provided a personal catharsis and a sense of empowerment in the wake of the immense feeling of helplessness that was weighing heavily on us as we coped with continuous reports of mass shootings. It was not until those around us started warning us of the repercussions we could face, did we realize the risk involved in yelling at the giant. My ingrained fear of speaking out came back to me. Yet the reason I am a musician is because of a need to express my truth, personal or political. I began to question everything: the rights of an artist, the responsibility of being political, the fear of backlash, and the desire to be heard.”

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Review: Flat Worms – Into the Iris

Recorded in Ty Segall‘s house, Into the Iris, the new EP by Flat Worms (Tim Hellman – bass and vocals, Will Ivy – guitar and vocals, Justin Sullivan – drums) is six tracks of fuzzy riffs that could jumpstart a car during the recent polar vortex.

“Surreal New Year” is an opening salvo of post-punk guitars mixed with drums that are more precise than you realize at first. I can’t help but wonder if the title track is a reference to Suspiria. The song is certainly chaotic enough in the last half to reflect a harrowing battle with an invisible witch. It’s all screaming, fuzzy guitars and breakneck beats.

Ivy’s opening guitars on “Plastic at Home” sound like a broken xylophone being thrown down a flight of stairs – and I mean that in the best possible way. It’s a song about how the glossy perfection of suburbia often disguises kinky vices and boiling resentment. Hellman and Sullivan are in especially fine sync throughout this whole track.

“Shouting at the Wall” was the first single. It opens with guitars that sound like alarms and then Sullivan goes wild to kick to the song into fifth gear. “Scattered Palms…” is post-punk psychedelia with Hellman’s bass doing a lot of the heavy lifting in the short instrumental. “At the Citadel” is like a lost Stooges track with its heavy bass, roaring drums, squeaking guitars, and snotty, bratty vocals.

Into the Iris packs more fuzz and power into six tracks than most full-length LPs will all year. Don’t miss it.

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Pink Mexico gets “Dirty & Stupid” with new single from upcoming album.

“Landing somewhere between My Bloody Valentine’s poppiest moments and Wavves least bratty missives, the result is something like if Nirvana had had a surf rock phase.” — Noisey

“The kind of fuzzy, driving garage punk that you can always trust Burger to put out.” — BrooklynVegan

Brooklyn, NY trio Pink Mexico share a new single from their forthcoming third album Dump via Big Takeover Magazine. Hear and share what Big Takeover calls a “grimy, gritty, chugging lump of treasure,” HERE.

Surf/skate culture outlet What Youth? recently premiered the garage-grunge surf-pop track “High Dive” HERE.

Dump will be released March 1st, 2019 on cassette and digital via Burger Records and vinyl via Little Dickman Records.

After playing drums for countless other bands, including Shilpa Ray, WALTZ and Lola Pistola, Robert Preston Collum went for a change and began his solo project, Pink Mexico. After moving from Brooklyn to Los Angeles, Preston self-released the first Pink Mexico LP, pnik mxeico in June of 2013, attracting the attention of Austin-based record label Fleeting Youth Records, who then re-released pnik mxeico the following December.

Preston relocated to Brooklyn in the fall of 2014 to begin recording his next album while continuing other releases: a split 7″ with Los Angeles-based band, SunLikeDrugs as well as a 12″ vinyl pressing of pnik mxeico by Bordeaux, France based label Big Tomato Records. The underground buzz surrounding the first LP led Preston into the Burger Records family. Following countless Brooklyn shows and making the rounds at this year’s SXSW, Pink Mexico has grown as a band comprised of Grady Walker & Ian Everall.

After the release of Fool via Burger Records Summer 2016, Pink Mexico toured as direct support for Honus Honus (aka Man Man) for his “Use Your Delusion” Tour in November 2016. Spending most of 2017 and 2018 dedicated to recording Dump, the 3rd studio album with Jeremy Scott (Vivian Girls, These Are Powers) at Civil Defense in Brooklyn, NY. The band relentlessly toured North America to support Fool, while Collum also played drums on the new Lola Pistola record Curfew and went out on tour in support of the album in early 2018.

Unlike previous records, where Collum manned all instruments, this release includes both Everall and Walker on bass and drums, respectively.

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Warish covers Coloured Balls’ “Human Being” on upcoming EP.

“Sludgy garage punk with truly evil vocals that are coated in just the right amount of distortion and echo. Come for the rowdy punk, stay for the slowed-down Sabbathy bridge.” — Brooklyn Vegan

“Warish totally rules… An awesome mixture of punk energy, biker rock fuzz, and grunge growl.” — Kerrang!

Hear and share Warish‘s cover of “Human Being” by Lobby Loyde’s cult Australian band Coloured Balls HERE.

Imagine if Incesticide era Nirvana were crossed with Static Age era Misfits. You’d have sinister low budget horror rock with a visceral, twisted weirdness and bludgeoning riffs. Some might call it nightmarish, we call it Warish.

Warish is a very newly minted SoCal trio formed in early 2018 that has wasted no time making its presence known. The band formed when guitarist/vocalist and pro-skater Riley Hawk (son of skating legend Tony Hawk) and drummer Bruce McDonnell decided they wanted to try their hand at something more distinct than they’d done previously.

“We wanted to do simpler riffs and a fun live show,” Riley explains. “A little more punk, a little bit of grunge… a little evil-ish.”

Their sound takes cues from a variety of cool underground sounds and twists it all into an energetic and exciting fist to the face of dark fury. Hawk’s effect-laden vocals hearken to early Butthole Surfers and David Yow’s tortured caterwaul in Scratch Acid. The guitars are heavy and powerful, though decidedly not straightforward cookie cutter punk; more like Cobain’s and Buzz Osbourne’s wiry contortions. The rhythms bash and pummel right through it all with aggressive force ensuring that nothing gets overly complicated and the horrors keep coming throughout the 5-track, 11-minute debut.

Warish will be available on 7″ vinyl and download on February 1st, 2019 via RidingEasy Records.

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Pink Mexico does a “High Dive” with new single from upcoming record.

“Landing somewhere between My Bloody Valentine’s poppiest moments and Wavves least bratty missives, the result is something like if Nirvana had had a surf rock phase.” — Noisey

“The kind of fuzzy, driving garage punk that you can always trust Burger to put out.” — BrooklynVegan

Brooklyn, NY trio Pink Mexico share the first track from their forthcoming third album Dump via surf/skate culture outlet What Youth? Hear and share the garage-grunge surf-pop track “High Dive.” (Soundcloud and Bandcamp)

Dump will be released March 1st, 2019 on cassette and digital via Burger Records and vinyl via Little Dickman Records. After playing drums for countless other bands, including Shilpa Ray, WALTZ and Lola Pistola, Robert Preston Collum went for a change and began his solo project, Pink Mexico. After moving from Brooklyn to Los Angeles, Preston self-released the first Pink Mexico LP, pnik mxeico, in June of 2013, attracting the attention of Austin-based record label Fleeting Youth Records, who then re-released pnik mxeico the following December.

Preston relocated to Brooklyn in the fall of 2014 to begin recording his next album while continuing other releases: a split 7″ with Los Angeles-based band SunLikeDrugs as well as a 12″ vinyl pressing of pnik mxeico by Bordeaux, France based label Big Tomato Records. The underground buzz surrounding the first LP led Preston into the Burger Records family. Following countless Brooklyn shows and making the rounds at this year’s SXSW, Pink Mexico has grown as a band comprised of Grady Walker & Ian Everall.

After the release of Fool via Burger Records Summer 2016, Pink Mexico toured as direct support for Honus Honus (aka Man Man) for his “Use Your Delusion” Tour in November 2016. Spending most of 2017 and 2018 dedicated to recording Dump, the 3rd studio album with Jeremy Scott (Vivian Girls, These Are Powers) at Civil Defense in Brooklyn, NY. The band relentlessly toured North America to support Fool, while Collum also played drums on the new Lola Pistola record Curfew and went out on tour in support of the album in early 2018. Unlike previous records, where Collum manned all instruments, this release includes both Everall and Walker on bass and drums, respectively.

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