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12"
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540 051EP
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"What do you say about a new FORWARD record? They've left the 'What's the Meaning of Love?' and 'Revolution' hooks in the annals of punk legend and, along with Prank's War Nuke and Death Sentence from 2012, have saved their most searing material nearly two decades into their run. Ishiya's gravel-throated vocals are more devastating than ever and the term 'bombastic' has rarely been more accurate than on this six-song banger. The anti-war bent on Against Their Insanity is unforgiving (and refreshing), and the anger and frustration translates to the harsh metallic riffing on 'Murdered' while the frenetic pace of 'What Would You Do?' matches the frustration conveyed by the song's lyrics. FORWARD bookend the whole thing with two of their best tracks ever, 'Renunciation of War' and 'Determination,' just to remind you that they have absolutely earned the legendary status that they hold. So yeah... what do you say about a new FORWARD record? You say it's a fukkn bulldozer."
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LP
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540 049LP
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"After a dizzying barrage of cassette releases, CD-Rs, and digital mixes, 540 grants Jock Club his first proper vinyl release. Laymen might be vaguely familiar with Jock Club as a member of the esoteric collective Ascetic House, or as the drummer of Sonoran psych freaks Destruction Unit, but you might not expect what you'll find on this 12" -- no lo-fi hiss, no faux noise influence, no nonsense; just four tracks of crisp, clean bangin' techno ready for the dancefloor. The A-side cuts are stripped to the bare essentials, for the most part only containing hard 4-4 kicks and swirling synth lines. B-side gets a little more loose, incorporating some vocal loops and more hi-hats and snare, similar to what we have heard from Jock Club's recent live DJ sets. It's hard to believe such disciplined material is coming from such a young man on his first vinyl release -- surely the sign of much more to come. The mastering job from Matt Colton at Alchemy Mastering does this one right as it sounds HUGE on wax, making it suitable to be spun in even the most serious of clubs."
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LP
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540 048LP
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"Well damn, here we are again. Another LP from Austin, TX boss hogs Impalers. In the modern climate of music, nothing sticks. Every week there is a new cool 7" or tape making the rounds on social media, littering your feed with bandcamp demos and Instagram-ed cassette j-cards. It's hard to keep up, yet an amazing time of stimulation and excitement for punks worldwide. But in the midst of all this madness, it's nice to know you can count on Impalers every year to release the best record of the year. Unless you live under a rock, you probably already know what to expect from these guys. Their LP last year topped year-end charts high and low. And Psychedelic Snutskallar does damage in all the same places. Peerless d-beat, a work of art. Completely unhinged yet tight and in the pocket. This time they have upped the ante with a monstrous opening track that takes up the whole A-side at a never boring 11-minute length. Tripped out artwork and packing concept by Sam Ryser (Crazy Spirit, Dawn of Humans, Dripper World) and reworked material from short-lived side project Sick Plot make this 12" EP a no-brainer."
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LP
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540 045LP
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"The name Mike 'Rep' Hummel means many things to different people. Many equate Rep with 70's 'Proto-Punk', 80's 'D.I.Y.' or a pioneering founder of 90's 'Lo-Fi' (Rep prefers the term 'Mega-Fi' himself). Along with his bands Mike Rep & The Quotas & the seminal (Ohio) True Believers, he was also a cohort in the 90's Columbus 'supergroup' Ego Summit among a plethora of other Ohio band involvements. Also known for recording and/or mixing ('Lovingly Fucking With') such bands of note as Guided By Voices, Times New Viking, Jim Shepard, The Gibson Brothers, Strapping Fields Hands, Mount Carmel and dozens of others, mostly in their formative garage/basement incarnations. 'I prefer deflowering to retooling. Both present worthwhile challenges but working with virgin talent won't get you an STD' he once infamously said. Still others remember him for his groundbreaking Columbus Ohio homegrown label 'New Age Records' (named before there was such a thing as New Age music) which evolved into the 80's/90's cassette pioneering signpost to new space 'Old Age/NO Age' label through the 90's. And so the name Mike Rep Hummel has a polarizing effect on many who either admire or deride his body of work. Hummel's new record Darby Creek Drifter is one that is sure to draw the line even deeper into the sand. Rep sez; 'As my pal Bob Pollard' once quipped, 'this does not rock'. But it rolls baby, it rolls."
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LP
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540 047LP
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"'This is what a perfect record sounds like. Every time I talk about it I end up sounding like some blubbering idiot. This music is equal parts post-punk, incantation and psych -- hook laden as fuck. Rakta is an all-female band from Sao Paulo, Brazil, that seem to have come from out of nowhere to make most of the current post-punk/anarcho wave completely irrelevant. This is the next level in this style, borrowing elements from all the spooky classics, but adding something so undeniably new and unique that the game is permanently changed. Rakta eliminates all sense of retro-ness to the style and come off like they just now invented the damn thing. The songs create an otherworldly atmosphere while still keeping your feet tapping. It transports you to this weird dimension that feels like it's trying to keep you inside of it forever. It would have been the perfect soundtrack for a Maya Deren film. The record comes with a red-and-black on white poster that only adds to the mysterious bruxa vibes that the music gives. Check out my year-end top ten list in MRR #370 for even more gushing about this record. Highest recommendation!" -- Maximum Rock N Roll. Each copy comes with 1 of 4 different giant 24"x36" silk screened poster.
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7"
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540 040EP
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"The final release in 540 Records' series of reissues from '70s Brisbane punk labels Shake Music and Savage Music is this four-song EP from Section Urbane. Having released two previous singles of quirky punk as Just Urbain, the Brisbane band continued their unique Velvets-through-the-lens-of-Joy-Division approach through the name change, harnessing a fuller, more bass-heavy sound on their final recording session. The track 'I'd Rather Stay Home and Watch TV' still has more than its fair share of the Aussie-garage stomp of bands like the Chosen Few and the Victims, but after that it's all about Mo Tucker beats, dark and poetic lyrics delivered with a distinctly Lou Reed-influenced drawl, and heavy, melodic Peter Hook-style bass lines. If you want to hear first-gen-DIY naiveté, post-punk artistic ambition and the party-hearty sensibility of the original Murder Punk bands clash together into something wholly unique, get this on your turntable right away. 600 copies with pretty purple dust sleeves."
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7"
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540 033EP
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"On this new 7" you'll find two songs that Copenhagen based rock band Lower chose to dig up from the past. These two songs flirt with a bigger sound than what you'd find on the Walk on Heads EP. Both of the songs were featured on their long gone demo tape. Here they are, re-recorded in Copenhagen's south end with Nis Bysted in 2012. These songs are finally revealed for a wider audience. Die-cut covers with a full color inner sleeve."
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7"
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540 027EP
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"The next release in the 'Shake/Savage' reissue series of Aussie punk singles from the late '70s and early '80s! Features members of Just Urbain and the Young Identities, and came out right after those in 1981, but if you haven't heard it then it's a bit different. Way more post punk like Bauhaus or Joy Division. Just as intense and amazing as the Young Identities and Just Urbain but a little more 'mature.'"
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