Twenty one tracks of competent south-coast hardcore from six new bands? Yes please. At the top of the heap is the buzz-worthy Pilger, who play a particularly effective brand of earnest hardcore in the vein of Minor Threat (if the ‘Threat had a frontman that could sing) that crashes around with both the melodic sensibility and frantic thrash of a band with twice their experience. ‘Heritage’ and ‘Declaration’ stand out as the most impressive tracks and as a whole, it is Intent who come closest to matching Pilger for ferocity. Another old school hardcore band that might only appeal to fans of the genre but with the stomp of ‘Given’ and the energetically vicious ‘Posi Pit’ there’s real hope that they could mature into a powerfully important band.
Humans The Size Of Microphones move towards a larger sound, still with an essentially hardcore tone but, as demonstrated on ‘Not Exactly Rocket Science’, veering towards the more epic and progressive. It’s worth noting that not once do they slip into repetitiveness or self-indulgence, as throughout the 7-minute-plus ‘Fucking Tsunami’ there’s a consistent thread running through that serves to underpin the spoken word section with the same effortless heaviness as anything else.
Disoma and Circus Act are more post-hardcore if you believe in genres, as they deal in a more angular, spiky version of punk rock that really isn’t my thing at all. Having said that, Disoma’s ‘God vs Prog’ is a fantastically abrasive song that mixes a jazz influence with staccato rhythms to interesting effect which, while it might not be totally coherent at all times, indicates the admirable desire to move in a less-than-predictable direction. The final track, You’re Smiling Now But We’ll All Turn Into Demons’ epic ‘The Soothsayer Parts I+II’ is an ambitious (over fifteen minutes) yet endlessly impressive song that again suggests that if you’re looking for hardcore that doesn’t go with the pack, the south coast is the place to explore. With 6 bands it was inevitable that this split would feel a touch disjointed, but if you have even the most cursory interest in hardcore it’s very much worth checking out because of the variation and individuality of the material. Impressive – especially Pilger!
Ben
milliepeedrecords@hotmail.com
www.milliepeedrecords.co.uk