Just when I start to feel my age and start looking to see if the Vans I'm buying have the "Comfy Cush" soles. It's right around this time when I'm starting to settle into middle age and start thinking to myself, maybe I should learn to barbeque something? I also start to get an urge in the back of my mind to dive a little bit deeper into World War II. Then a record like this comes out and sets me back 25 years! To say things like The Riffs are back to top form, haven't missed a step or, haven't lost their way, would be total trash. When I first heard about this record coming out, there was no doubt in by mind that it'd be as solid as a brick through a window. This band never did take a wrong turn or stumble one bit during their initial run from 1999 to roughly 2003 or so. The Riffs are one of the best American Punk bands of all time and to even suggest otherwise would be blasphemous speech. This isn't the kind of band that'd release some throwa...

Position Nuit (pronounced  nwee)  are a volcanic L.A. five piece band that plays blown out rock n' roll with a dark and surly disposition. This is their debut single, consisting of only two songs yes, but these songs will leave enough of an impact, enough of that salty taste in your mouth, that it'll leave you thrusting for more. The band sounds like they were raised on real rock n' roll as a religion, much like The Cramps, Nick Cave or Jon Spencer treat or treated their craft. There's an old saying: "you have to know the architecture before you start tearing down the walls." Well, the same goes for adding walls and coats of paint. But Position Nuit have a strong enough foundation, that they can do whatever the hell they want and I'd like it.  The first song "The Filthiest" starts out with a killer, rolling thunder drumbeat accompanied by loud, aggressive guitars pushing right up against it, like a freight train right on it's heels. Creating ...

Fear, rejection, heartbreak, loss, betrayal, these are some of the things that have started wars between nations. These are also some of the things that nations have inflicted upon its own people. Causing bodies and souls to tear apart from one another. Leaving only a husk of a person to carry on with daily routines without emotions like joy, excitement or anything that makes life worth living. We have become mechanized drones in a hive, made simply of flesh and gas. Our minds are driven into madness and we begin to drift into an alternate reality. A reality that runs parallel to ours only far more sinister. This is where Oslo's Stabber resides, a reality that gains more and more residents daily. In a world where billion dollar corporations have raped, pillaged, and commandeered every art form, every outlet of human expression, everything we have that reminds us that we actually still have souls. They have left us with their own, pre-approved versions of humanity that we are suppos...

Automatic Lovers are a four piece punk rock n' roll band out of Madrid, emphasis and underline the "punk" in that. These guys reach back into the musical ethos and grab their influences from only the meanest bands and the most venomous songs. This is Automatic Lover's debut LP after releasing an explosive 7" last year on Wap Shoo Wap Records, same label that's putting out this equally as searing LP. It's records like this one and the Sick Shooter's LP that came out earlier this year, that prove Wap Shoo Wap are a label to watch closely.  Automatic Lovers by Automatic Lovers Automatic Lovers by Automatic Lovers Now close your eyes, plant both feet on the ground and ball your fists up as tight as you can. Because this record emits a blast capable of leaving an impact crater of extinction level size right under your feet. If you want to get a taste, think Dead Boys, Slaughter and The Dogs, with a little Hanoi Rocks prowl and you've got an alternate r...

Collaps are a German melodic street punk/oi! band formed in 2022. This here is their second album that came out in late April. Their first record, Executor came out in 2023 on Mendeku Diskak. Musically it falls close to fellow German punk band Oxymoron. Both bands play melodic, hard hitting punk anthems with some mean, rousing hooks. But Collaps throw in a pinch of Motorhead and a dash of Cocksparrer in the mix to make sure the roof of your house gets thoroughly blown off!   Getting Used To The Dirt by Collaps Getting Used To The Dirt houses 11 stellar street anthems about living in a world that is quickly being shrouded in darkness. The first song "Cokehead Politics" paints the picture of a society in chaos and our hypocritical leaders seem to either do nothing or turn their backs completely on their people, further driving the nails into the coffin of society. Some of the other songs like "You Don't Get Shit", "Grinding", and "I Think We're ...

This band is from Texas but it sounds like they should be from somewhere colder and foggier. A place where at a certain time of night, the shadows come alive and dance in the realm of the living. Perhaps centuries of fallen souls grow restless and are beginning to channel their despair into the vessels that inhabit the area. In hopes of reaching the outside world and communicating their woe and agony to anyone who will listen and take pity. This I feel could be what Nocturnal Prose are projecting through their music. Through this other dimensional pain, come lessons and warnings to us, the living here and now.  OUR MI$ERY IS THEIR CURRENCY by Nocturnal Prose I wouldn't say Nocturnal Prose is a full on goth or death rock band, but they certainly cut in heavy slices of it into their sound salad. The rest of it is sprinkled with what remind me of darker new wave like Red Lorry Yellow Lorry or The Chameleons. The singer has a voice that sounds like it's echoing back to you from ins...

Caspa, for those that are unaware, is basically Spanish for dandruff. It is also a San Antonio based neurotic, synth punk band that could care less about me, you or any little white flakes that may fall on your crusty black band shirts! Caspa is comprised of members from other local groups such as Amygdala, Ill Informed, Nocturnal Prose, Faulty Cognitions W.I.M.P, Yolquetza and Pallbexar. This is their debut 12" EP and it's out now on Total Agency Records, in fact this is Total Agency #001! I guess good things can still grow and flourish in these days of bitter air and salinated earth.  CASPA- I hate Caspa EP by TOTAL AGENCY Caspa the band are hardly little white flakes blowing in the summer breeze, being brushed off with ease. In fact, if we're going to compare this band with any kind of epidural condition, I'd say they're more like a sun burn. Looking to sear and sever the nerve endings of modern society and our bloated, privileged lives as we know it. They'r...

Mark Death, known for his stint with no frills, punked up, rocket fueled rock n' roll bands like The Hot Lz's and The Halfways has assembled a new crew to help take down the sterile institution known as modern rock n' roll and restore it to its former sweaty, leather clad glory! The Plane Crash also features guitarist Rich Peterson from Somerset Meadows, Chuck Roast formerly of Minty Rosa on bass and drummer John Chilson of The Hoods. This 7" actually came out last year on Mark's own label, Hate Street Records but it just recently popped up on my radar and I thought it was just too good to be buried by something as trivial as time. This 7" is the follow up to this Portland band's previous LP Nostalgia For The Gutter , also out on Hate Street Records.  The Plane Crash play a mean brand of boozed up, stripped down rock n' roll like The Dead Boys The Joneses, or Radio Birdman once did in a different age. Like the bands I just mentioned, The Plane Crash al...

The gang at Wanda Records has produced yet a nother fist pounding, adrenalin pumping punk record! This time with the debut album of the Cologne Germany trio Flash Kicks full length. If you decide to scramble around in Discogs for their back catalog, don't sweat it.These guys have only made one other 7" back in 2019 for the German label Get Stomped Records. This release is limited to 250 copies on black vinyl and comes with an insert and download coupons so you can download this record and play it on your commute to your dead end day job. But take caution, if you do this, Flash Kicks could have you turning over you desk, putting your foot through your computer screen, and telling that fat head boss of yours to sit on his thumb!  Flash Kicks have tightened up and sharpened their focus to hawk like precision since their debut 7" seven years ago. This LP is high intensity, fuel injected rock n roll and all cylinders are firing at maximum capacity. Musically, this band has som...

What a pleasant surprise this is! One of the coolest bands of the 1990's have returned with a brand new 7" from Chaputa Records! The Seattle trio that were infamous for their rowdy, lo-fi, blown out rock n roll have emerged from their, according to my calculations, 28 year hibernation! This band released both of their LP's on the infamous Rip Off Records back in 1994 and 1997. And everyone knows you can't be some square stumbling off the street corner to be on this label! Label honcho Greg Lowery has vision and high standards for god's sake! After all, Rip Off Records #001 was a Statics 7"! The band also released a grip of other great 7"'s on killer labels like Super Electro, Dead Beat, Estrus, Empty and Wallabies.   Now fast forward almost three decades later and The Statics are ready to pick up where they left off? Let's hope so because the world desperately needs a rock n roll band of this caliber to ease our many sorrows. You'd think after...

Wax Head are a group of young British malcontents that have been going around causing the good and decent people of Manchester to not sleep out of fear. Causing them to lock their doors and windows when the sun goes down, and wait up for their children at night to ensure their safe return home. The wolves are out in the city at night and looking to feed their unquenchable cursed hunger. The band has been around since roughly 2023 or so, they released an EP titled Salt Fat Acid Heat and a live LP Live in Salford  in 2024. After that it's been a crumb trail of digital singles leading up to this, their first studio LP. Like mischievous serial killers, Wax Head were been dropping clues on where all the bodies are hidden. What laid waiting for us at the end of that trail definitely delivered!  GNAT is actually a breath of intoxicating air, something to actually get excited about in the rapidly expanding world of dark and desperate rock n roll. Notice I didn't say "fresh"...

Well look at this, the fabled Intensified Chaos out of Berkeley, CA is FINALLY getting an official release thanks to the brilliant folks over at Nausea Records. The band whose flames were fanned by folks like Maximum Rock N Roll's Tim Yohannan and Dead Kennedys frontman Jello Biafra. When you listen to this release, you'll know why this band is so revered and still talked about to this day in certain dingy, unlit corners.  This release compiles the band's demo recordings and some live stuff recorded back in the band's short lifespan from 1982 through roughly 1984. This record sounds amazing, including the live stuff which captures the band in their purest and most brutal form. You can almost feel the weight in the room as Intensified Chaos unleash their brand of lawless punk rock like an avalanche on the crowd. The band played shows with Dead Kennedys, Angelic Upstarts, Bad Religion, Killing Joke and many more legendary acts of the time.  Musically, the first comparison...

I know in this little "vs" feature I've done every now and again, I will usually  review two different bands or two different records that somewhat go together, at least in my mind they do. But this time however, I want to write about the same band's two LP's since they both came out so close to one another and both seem to kind of tell a story. Maybe not a linear story in the traditional sense, but definitely a tale told in two parts, in spirit and sentiment. A story that is relatable to most in these recent, turbulent times that is easy to wrap your head and emotions around. Or if you choose not to go down that particular rabbit hole, look at it in terms of an impossible struggle, loss, and desperation that is sure to ignite a time most refer to as the apocalypse. The songs on these two records are the hymns of devastation, there's no mistaken that. You can choose how close you want to let them in.    Disposable Dogs - S/T LP (No Front Teeth Reco...

  The first Taste Testors LP came out just prior to me starting Shock Treatment and by the time I got my head on straight and figuring out what exactly I wanted to do with the blog, it had passed me by. However, just a year later these crazy cats go and drop another new LP, just so I could write about it. So very kind of them, thank you boys!  In case you aren't familiar with Taste Testors, they are currently dug into the Seattle area and feature current and former members of bands like The Briefs, The Cheap Cassettes, Appaloosa and all sorts of other killer bands from that area. Both of the Taste Testors LP's came out on Moodkiller Records. A label that I must admit I wasn't too familiar with. But they've been around for a while, putting out records here and there since 2005. Come Back  is a direct sequel to The Taste Testors last LP. Like, it picks up right where the last one left off. Is that a bad thing? Absolutely not in my little black book! If you...

This is my first time hearing this band, and I'm glad they popped up on my radar like an aircraft coming in for an unauthorized landing. This is also my first taste of Dandy Boy Records and I am absolutely astounded by their releases the more I dig into their catalog. I can't believe they've eluded me since 2017! SOFTJAW are from Long Beach, California and apparently only stepped out on to the world's stage in 2024. Since then, they've released a number of digital singles and an EP. This here LP collects all of those digital releases plus a Paul Collins Beat cover of "Working Too Hard" and the 23 Jewels song "Playing Bogart". Both of these classics fit perfectly in the bands repertoire.   Softjaw by SOFTJAW This is THE best straight forward power pop records I've heard in a really long time. When a band attempts the genre, if done right, you don't need any more suffix or prefix words to better describe the music, everything yo...

Erica Rose (Appaloosa) and Marco Palumbo (Miscalculations) step into the macabre with this new collaboration. The overall tone of this album is shadowy, sharp and striking. It's the perfect blend of desolation and ferocity riding on a stream of melodic guitars and sure fire drum beats. Self Incrimination sounds like a lost late 70's or early 80's 4AD goth/post punk record. Even right down to the minimalist production which makes the songs on Recreation of an Empty Space  drip with despair and savagery. Palumbo bellows out some great guitar riffs reminiscent of, but never poaching, Billy Duffy's in The Cult's Love or Wayne Hussey's in The Sisters of Mercy's First and Last and Always. Rose's vocals are remarkably haunting yet cut with a sense of anguish that's like an emotive mix of Nico and Siouxsie Sioux.  Recreation of an Empty Space by Self Incrimination It is my opinion that a lot of bands, especially bands that are now playing dark rock music lik...