Black Radio
Black Radio +3
Black Radio

Black Radio are Brit hellraisers fueled on Motorhead, Swedish action rock, and what sounds like some mighty big fuckin’ grudge, as evidenced by the angry, violent pounding they lay on their instruments in this onslaught of speed and  power. Four tracks, each one meaner than the next, but for pure headbanging kicks,  I’ll give it to the thrashing “Run You Down”, which features some of the most out-of-control drumming this side of Electric Teeth. The black n’ red splatter-swirl vinyl looks like an infected wound and the fast, fucked and furious grooves etched into it are pure, uncut amphetamine punk n’ roll. Intense.

Bad Preachers/The Who Cares
Split single
Bad Preachers

Seriously slinky, villainous sleaze awaits you on the Bad Preachers side. These Belgian motor-rockers lay down two punchy, garage-rattling party starters: Wild Ride, a barreling, suicide-ride raunchfest, and the slightly crazed, extremely blown-out fuck n’ roll of “To The Top”. The Who Cares may or may not be Belgian as well, but one thing they definitely are is evil. Surgically sleazy guitars, like a Satanic Johnny Thunders, punctuate their two tawdry hillbilly greaseball anthems. “I’m Gonna Fuck Your Mom” pretty much explains itself, doesn’t it? Blistering stuff, well worth spinning on both sides.

Deadly City Oi
The Bleeding +3
Gluerot

Relax, there’s no actual Oi! involved. Naw, these snarly young punks from Davis, California play authentic-sounding old-skull hardcore. And when I say hardcore, I mean like early Black Flag, not that phony metal horseshit. Guitars blazing at warp speed, dude screaming his lungs out on top, rhythm section shot out of a rocket, you know what I mean. The good shit. Four tracks here, every one of ‘em a jab in the eye, and the whole thing lasts like, 5 minutes tops, so you have time for it. The perfect soundtrack for a really, really short riot.

Monster Squad
All Out of Control +3
Gluerot

Genre-bending, rabble rousing streetpunk from Oakland. At first glance, it’s fairly simply Clash-y fight n’ roll, but the more you listen, the more the surprisingly glammy guitars come through, especially on opener “All Out of Control”, which rides a seriously catchy riff all the way to the punchy, state-smashing chorus. “Gotta Get Out” is more straightforward 80’s LA-style hardcore, “Church and State” is fiery street-rock, U.S. Bombs-style, and b-side closer “Elitist” opens with an Iron Maiden riff (!) and morphs into pounding, metallized gruff-punk. Good shit. Monster Squad are versatile and engaging, which is probably more then you can ask for in a contemporary punk band.  By the way, the single comes with a sweet 11x17 poster, in case you need something else to stare at.

Radio Birdman
Hungry Cannibals/Rock Bottom
Steel Cage

Shit man, remember when singles were promotional tools to sell an album, when the A-side really WAS an A-side, a hit song that could actually sustain repeated listens? That’s what we’ve got on our hands here. Aussie proto-punk legends Radio Birdman have a new album out called “Zeno Beach” and Hungry Cannibals is the single, presented here in the “Non-intro” version. Dunno what we’re missing without the intro, but what’s left is organ-pumping, garage-skronking rock ‘n roll goodness, hairy and wild and powerful. Amazing that this is the work of band that’s been around for over 30 years. B-side “Rock Bottom” has that underwater Aussie psyche vibe, somewhere between the Stones and the Scientists. Some tasty piano licks class it up significantly. If you’ve been a fan of these fellas all this time, they ain’t gonna let you down. And if you’re just climbing onboard now, seriously man, these fuckers were rocking before you were even born. Holy shit. Rock n’ roll really is forever.

Blowfly
Butt Pirate Luv/ F U in the A
Steel Cage

X-rated r&b legend Blowfly gets a punk-rock makeover here. “F U in the A” features a grinding, Mentors-y guitar and bratty girl backing vox, as Blowfly growls about the pleasures of back-door love. “Astrooooglide!” yells Blowfly, as the cheerleaders yelp “Pack, pack the fudge!” Pretty awesome. Similar thrills, and a similar lyrical theme awaits you on “Butt Pirate Love”, a clever riff on, well, “Pirate Love”. Fun stuff, and His Royal Raunchiness adapts quite well to rock n’ roll. Great cover too, as you can imagine. __________________________________________________

- Sleazegrinder