Back catalogue: Punk/Hardcore

Review: Originally released in 2008, Phantom On The Horizon is the grandiose, progressive rock worshipping high concept EP from Washington based math-rock indebted post-hardcore heroes The Fall Of Troy. Initially abandoned following the leak of early versions in 2004 on what has since been dubbed The Ghostship Demos EP, the band would finally get over this setback and bang out the entire project in secret over October of 2008 before dropping it the very next month. Renowned for its epic, lengthy pieces segmented into chapters like all good prog concept records, the work stands as solely unique from the majority of the trio's remaining output, bridged in the gap year between 2007's instantaneous Manipulator and the more melodic alt rock of 2009's In The Unlikely Event. Utilising an array of guest musicians adding elements of keyboards, violin, cello and glockenspiel for that extra proggy flair, while featuring guest vocal appearances from the likes of Fear Before's Dave Marion as well as both Ryann Donnelly and Jonah Bergman of Schoolyard Heroes, the mini-epic 5 tracks clock in at a 37-minute runtime detailing story of a Spanish galleon meeting with a ghost ship from another dimension. A true outlier gem conjuring a Venn Diagram intersection between early noughties sassy post-hardcore and timeless 70s indebted prog absurdity.

Review: Originally released in 2022 as a tour-exclusive physical-only edition, in an attempt "to give people a chance to experience our records for the first time again on a physical format and to give the people at our shows the first chance to do so", Baltimore deathgrind extreme metal auteurs Full Of Hell have finally re-pressed their chaotic Aurora Leaking From An Open Wound 7" for mass decimation. Totalling at six minutes spread out over three cuts of reliably horrific, cascading, blackened grinding hardcore mayhem, the project can now be viewed through a more retrospective lens following their expansive forays into grunge, noise-rock and shoegaze on last year's Nothing collaborative LP When No Birds Sang as well as their latest genre-dissolving fever-dream of a sixth full-length Coagulated Bliss. Take note, this single offers none of these future melodic and dynamic experiments, staying firmly rooted in their original domain of caustic, industrial-tinged cavernous dread.

Review: In 1993, The Infotainment Scan, The Fall's 15th studio album, delivers an unpredictable mix of post-punk, glam rock and electronic experimentation. Mark E Smith's distinctive vocals and cryptic lyrics were paired with tracks like 'Ladybird (Green Grass)' featuring Steve Hanley's rumbling bass and the infectious glam stomp of 'Glam-Racket'. A standout cover of Sister Sledge's 'Lost in Music' provided an unexpected yet dazzling disco twist. The album also featured the chaotic energy of 'A Past Gone Mad' and the menacing dirge of 'The League of Bald-Headed Men'. Though initially intimidating, the album rewards perseverance. Tracks like 'Why Are People Grudgeful?' stand out as quirky pop gems in an otherwise abrasive, genre-blurring collection. It's an essential entry in The Fall's vast, ever-evolving discography, showing off Smith's unique ability to fuse disparate influences into a cohesive, challenging listen. Reaching number nine on the UK charts, The Infotainment Scan continues to fascinate and confound today. This set of CD's combine the original album, the BBC sessions, 2 live concerts where they performed many of this albums songs plus a CD of bonus tracks. This is a fantastic look into the Fall's overall music around the release of Infotainment Scan.

Review: Levitate - the post-punk legends' 19th studio album - has been scarcely available on vinyl so commands a high price usually. Cherry Red did press a limited-edition triple lp edition in 2018 to satisfy some of the demands. Thankfully, the esteemed indie label is doing fans a solid again by presenting the two-LP edition on transparent red vinyl for the first time. The reason for its scarcity being that the label that originally put this out in 1997 - Artful Records - is thought to have gone bankrupt, so it has been out of print over the years. Standouts from this eclectic record, artful album (there was seemingly no idea too out-there, with drum n' bass even slotting in there) include '4 1/2 Inch', 'Spencer Must Die' and 'The Quartet of Doc Shanley'. All of which are the only tracks recorded at Edwyn Collins' studio in London, with producers Keir Stewart and Simon Spencer at the controls. Meanwhile, the album is notable for being the last to feature two long-time Fall members, drummer Karl Burns and bass player Steve Hanley. Hanley, along with Joy Division's Peter Hook and Andy Rourke, is one of the all-time great bassists out of Manchester, and once described by the late, great Fall founder Mark E Smith as the defining element of the Fall's music. With the Fall's creative, viscerally entertaining back catalogue one of the most cited among new bands in the U.K. today, Levitate proves that being Fall-esque might mean very little as no one has made an album quite like this.

Review: The first official album released through Ipecac Records; the label of absurdist vocalist extraordinaire Mike Patton (Faith No More, a million other projects), was this self-titled debut from Fantomas, originally unveiled in 1999. A supergroup with no absolutely zero desire to make it easy on listeners, this culmination of Melvins mastermind Buzz Osborne on guitar, Mr Bungle/Tomahawk/regular Patton cohort Trevor Dunn on bass and Slayer's Dame Lombardo behind the kit, would coalesce all of their most extreme creative proclivities into one bizarre maelstrom of avant-garde cacophony that can barely be fit into the metal genre. Intended as the musical accompaniment to a fictitious comic book, with all track titles even listed as chapter/page numbers (a unique theme that would follow into all subsequent albums), the work has since been praised for its sonic abandon and artistic fearlessness, with one critic once referring to their avant-garde jazzy grindcore as "dada-metal". The project would also finally offer Patton the opportunity to prioritise his experimental forms of voice music and scat singing over traditional vocal cadence or standard lyricism.

Review: Originally released in 2005, the fourth (and subsequently final) album from avant-garde metal absurdist supergroup Fantomas (made up of Faith No More vocalist extraordinaire Mike Patton, Melvin's Buzz Osborne, Slayer's Dave Lombardo, and Mr. Bungle/Tomahawk/reliable Patton bassist Trevor Dunn), furthered their "dada-metal" sonic experimentations to literal cartoon levels of bizzarro wonder. Pulling from plunderphonics to craft a 30-track audible calendar of obscure holidays throughout the month of April, the pieces warp and meander like a grindcore band playing lounge music for anime soundtracks. If that sounds ludicrous and alienating, don't worry, as that only indicates you're sane. Considered almost too challenging for even the most devout of Patton's faithful followers, can you handle the unhinged mayhem of Suspended Animation? The record also comes complete with an accompanying mini-calendar to track the hallucinogenic journey.

Review: A lot has been said about The Monroe Doctrine over the years. What's remarkable is how little of that people seem to remember, or recall in conversations. In a 2006 issue of iconic culture bible Alternative Press, the head of Revelation Records said this was in the top five albums the label had ever released. And several critics have listed it among the greatest and most under-appreciated records of the 1990s. Taking its name from a 1823 message delivered to Congress by US President James Monroe, which would evolve into an understanding that any act of meddling in American affairs by a foreign country was a potential hostile act, the record takes a similar stance. Calling on melodic punk, hardcore, indie rock, post punk and more, it's a statement of intent - don't get in the way of us doing our things, we're too powerful.

Review: Formed in 1989 in Orange County, California, the melodic punk band Farside enjoyed an influential eleven-year run before disbanding in 2000. Over their career, they released three albums, two EPs, and a split with Sense Field. Their 1994 sophomore album Rigged was released through Revelation Records and became a fan favourite across punk, hardcore, emo, and alternative rock genres. back then the band was made up of vocalist and guitarist Michael "Popeye" Vogelsang, bassist Bryan Chu and drummer Bob Beshear and this all was their first with Kevin Murphy who shared guitar, vocal and songwriting duties with Vogelsang. To celebrate its 30th anniversary, Farside and the original label are issuing this special mint green eco-vinyl pressing of Rigged complete with a 16-page booklet.

Review: Originally released in 1992, Rochambeau was the debut full-length from Orange County, California hardcore punk outfit Farside, following on from their Keep My Soul Awake EP. Signed to the iconic Revelation Records throughout their tenure (who have opted to reissue all three of the band's LPs), they never seemed to find their place as their sonic makeup pulled from numerous subsets of punk, from the blatant 80's melodious post-hardcore of Descendents and Dag Nasty to the 90's alternative metal wave spearheaded by the likes of Quicksand and Helmet, yet all syncopated with a power pop ear for melody evoking Elvis Costello and The Beatles (no, seriously). With the band exclusively working with producer Jim Monroe to help thicken and intensify their sound from second LP Rigged onwards, Rochambeau is often relegated to being their most accessible and pop-punk-centric work, which is quite the backwards tradition compared to the path taken by the majority of hardcore acts.

Review: Fat Dog's debut album, WOOF., is a frenetic and electrifying trip through a kaleidoscope of genres, encapsulating electro-punk, rock'n'roll snarls, techno soundscapes, industrial-pop and rave euphoria. Frontman Joe Love and synth player Chris Hughes lead the charge, delivering a sonic assault that defies categorisation. The album's tracks, like 'King Of The Slugs' and 'Running,' pulsate with runaway rave intensity, showing the band's knack for combining dance-punk energy with klezmer-tinged interludes and broken-down grandeur. While WOOF. offers few moments of reprieve, its relentless fervor and wracked nerves keep listeners hooked from start to finish. With their rapid ascent and zany hybrid sound, Fat Dog emerges as a captivating force in London's art-rock scene, leaving audiences both fascinated and puzzled by their enigmatic charm.

Review: This essential collection compiles the complete recordings of early '90s San Diego emotive hardcore pioneers Forced Down, and none of it has been on vinyl before. Formed by Amenity's Mike Down and Pitchfork's Joey Piro, with members from Heroin and vocalist Rob Base, Forced Down delivered impassioned, politically charged hardcore. Their powerful sound and message still resonates decades on.A This collection features mastering by Brad Boatright, who has done a fine job of keeping the grit and grime of the original records so that you really get taken back to that era when listening.

Review: Hailing from Nashville, Tennessee, Free Throw are one of the finest examples of midwestern fourth wave emo revival (or simply modern emo), known for their cathartic blend of angst-riddled heart-on-sleeve punk and earworm indie-rock sensibilities, providing soundtracks to alcohol dependency, traumatic break ups and familial discord for well over a decade now. Pre-dating their 2014 debut full-length and modern classic within the scene Those Days Are Gone; this 12" compilation houses both the band's self-titled debut 2012 EP and 2014's follow up Lavender Town onto one definitive LP experience.

Review: Canadian post-hardcore art-punk collective, Fucked Up, have been releasing projects at a ludicrously prolific rate ever since their 2001 inception, yet even by their own standards, they've gone majorly overboard in the past few years. Following on from 2021's epic Year Of The Horse EP and the 2022 follow up Oberon EP; named after the king of fairies from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, 2023 saw the release of their sixth full-length One Day (with all member's individual parts recorded under a strict 24-hour time limit) while 2024 birthed two sequels in the form of Another Day and Someday (both recorded with the same mantra). Their eighth album overall, with a promise to take a much-deserved hiatus following release, from the opening squall of 'City Boy', the band's reliable concoction of proggy, art-rock inspired chaotic hardcore is unleashed with allusions to Greek tragedy and even a chorus-like back and forth between the vocals and lyrics, conjuring the type of poetic, epic, theatrical spectacle not traditionally standard for the punk scene. In Fucked Up terms however, it makes perfect sense.