[engl] Experimental rock maestros Moon Relay’s opus _...-``-..._! First premiered at Henie Onstad Art Centre February 9, 2020 in cooperation with visual artists Anthony Barratt and Espen Friberg, and now reworked in the studio to form their biggest and most powerful release this far. The release also marks their first album in cooperation with Sheep Chase Records. Where earlier releases have been more traditionally based on stand-alone tracks, _...-``-..._ is a more conceptual experience still playing on some of the same inspirational sources. Early post-punk and no-wave mixed together with noiserock, kraut, jazz, fractured funk and sometimes elements from hip hop in the spirit of Afrika Bambaataa. Avantgarde, hypnotic and yet groovy on the verge of dancy. Trance-like rhythms evolving into mysterious drones, and then funky bass lines with noisy guitars and synths floating on top. A unique and all-consuming experience. Even though _...-``-..._ was composed for a very visual experience on stage, the band has reconstructed and re-worked the piece into a mind-blowing studio album standing strong on its own. A grand opus bringing together many elements from the band’s previous releases - and also the four musicians wide array of other experiences from alternative rock, experimental pop and improvised jazz. An utterly unique listening experience. The album comes with two fronts (red and blue) and no backside.

[engl] Moral Mazes was formed from a friendship between some legendary characters of independent music: Jeff Dean: Guitar (Airstream Futures, The Bomb, All Eyes West, Dead Ending), Darren Zentek: Drums (Office of Future Plans) J. Robbins: Bass (Jawbox, Burning Airlines). Who is the singer, I can hear you think, well, it’s best you read on? This band is a studio project at its finest, and their new second 7inch release is an absolute amalgamation of the members' collective bands and influences. Let’s just take a step back for a second, if you didn’t already know Moral Mazes debut release was a 7” single called, Magic Tommy Jackson via Bridge Nine Records. If you can find a copy, wow you’re lucky, as this project is a vinyl collectors dream. For each release, the main vocals are taken on by a new individual, so for the debut it was, Jonah Matranga (Far, Onelinedrawing).

[engl] Hitting like a West Yorkshire stone brick to the back of the head, is the first EP from Leeds’ Motive. Brainchild of one Harry Townend, melding the noise of 80’s UKHC and Swedish Hardcore to spew out a bastard son of The Varukers and Crude SS. Controlled Confusion is the soundtrack for today’s skate youth who were lucky enough to find Discharge and Anti-Cimex under all the dust and rubble, and carve a path away from the capitalism and corporatism that infects the scene in 2023. Crank this thing up, slash a grind at the park. Grosso would approve.

[engl] "Jerri fell off his moped so we started a band." -Motorbike. From that wreckage, a five piece rock'n'roll group was born. The cast: a familiar gang of Cincinnati players fronted by Welsh expat Jamie Morrison. Motorbike began writing and recording their self-titled full length in 2022 at Jerri's Checkered Flag Studios. The resulting twenty-six minutes make up one of the best r'n'r records to ever come out of the Queen City. Motorbike sound discernably rugged and Midwestern. Loud, guitar-driven punk rock. Yet they can actually play more than three chords! From the hard-driving, rhythmic rush of "Throttle" - to the tuneful power-Brit-pop anthem, "Spring Grove", Motorbike are living life in the fast lane and ruling every last second of it. A perfect ratio of beer drinking to hell raising. The boys execute these nine tracks like a band that's been around for closer to ten years than just ONE! Words can only do so much justice to the sonic caliber of Motorbike and the mileage that their debut full length is going to track well into the future.

[engl] "We all know what teenagers are like. Bratty little gobshites. Moody shits. Forever toeing the line between cocky arrogance and whiny self-doubt, and to hell with anyone who gets caught in the crossfire. And this old fucker should know; he was really good at all of the above (still keeping on top of the ‘gobshite’ part, you’ll notice). For some reason, the entirety of rock’n’roll is predicated on music made for and about these states of mind - well, I guess if you mix ‘em all together, they can make for one helluva sense of reckless abandon. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Melbourne quartet Mr Teenage sound exactly like their name suggests: chaotic, raw, emotionally volatile… and of course they bind all this together with their own brand of heroically melodic garage rock. Produced by Billy Gardener (of Ausmuteants, Smarts, Cereal Killer and god knows how many other vital Aus-punx), this debut EP snarls, spits and swaggers with all the glorious self-belief of a drunken 4am stumble to the petrol station to buy a pack of skins. And the songs are fucking great too. Title track ‘Automatic Love’ expertly showcases the combined sounds of their cited influences (Thin Lizzy, Dictators, Martha Reeves, etc), with frontman Nic Imfeld’s voice at times edging close to the sandpaper soul of their countryman Shogun (ex-Royal Headache). Meanwhile ‘Waste Of Time’ sees him blending their garage licks with Joey Ramone bubblegum, just as ‘The Loser’ fashions a delightfully adolescent chorus of ‘the loser says what?’ from an airy melody that either The Shangri-Las or Del Shannon would be proud of. They wrap things up with another slab of pure punk/pub rock genius called ‘Kids’ that’ll get the hairs on the back of your neck standing on end, as you fight the urge to crank-call your former school teachers and blame the kid who used to take your lunch money. Of course, singing about ‘kids these days’ marks Mr Teenage out as being older than their name suggests, and sure enough their name comes from an old wrestler rather than identifying with an age bracket they’ve outgrown. But with tunes like this… honestly, who gives a fuck what they’re called? This record is perfect.

[engl] Hailing from what could arguably be called one of the epicenters of great modern punk music, Austin's MUJERES PODRIDAS have broken their studio silence of a few years to deliver an absolute monster of a debut 12" slab. Considering the personnel in question here have served time in groups like CRIATURAS, VAASKA, KURRAKA in addition to already churning out two excellent releases in this current project, it comes as no surprise that "MUERTE EN PARAÍSO" exhibits 11 tracks of punk perfection with tight musicianship that can hold its own before being catapulted even further via the unmatched vocal delivery of Dru Molina, frantically spewing vitriolic acid in the Spanish language. Recorded at Deep Space 3 on Halloween of 2020 and mastered by Dan Randall at Mammoth Sound Mastering, each record comes in a glossy jacket adorned with stunning full color art and a fold out 11"x17" insert, both of which were designed by the bands own Phil Gonzalez.

[engl] Like their self-titled debut from 2020, Mutant Strain’s second album, Murder of Crows, is a hardcore tsunami. Mutant Strain’s songs are so intense and delivered at such inhumanly fast tempos you’ll spend your first few listens to Murder of Crows scooping your jaw off the floor and locating your newly missing teeth. But speed and volume aren’t the entire story. Much of Mutant Strain’s explosiveness comes from the density of their songs, each of which seems to cram a full album’s worth of music into a highly compressed thrill ride. The riffs never stop moving, careening like subatomic particles around an unstable uranium isotope. But while Mutant Strain flirts with the edge of meltdown, the formidable rhythm section always stays locked into the groove. That’s why, unlike most bands that play at these speeds, at their gigs, the crowd doesn’t stand around waiting for the breakdown (also because there are no breakdowns). Mutant Strain’s shows look like Hieronymus Bosch paintings: piles of writhing, possessed bodies with vocalist Maryssa hovering over the chaos like a demonic overlord. Murder of Crows is bathed in that same ecstatic energy, so turn it up loud and hang on tight.

[engl] Mutant Strain has been playing for a while now, blowing away every band they share the stage with. Their sound is densely compressed and explosive, with intricate rock and roll riffing and wild, seemingly eight-armed drumming working around heavy, grooving bass lines and vocals that sound like they’re riling up an army of demons. The result is a batch of songs with MC Escher-esque complexity but straightforward, crowd-pleasing catchiness. In order to capture the energy and excitement of their live show, when Mutant Strain recorded these tracks with Hollywood Jefe (Vittna, Scarecrow), they not only recorded live, but also recorded the songs in batches of three with no breaks in between, just like when they play live. The result is a record that is as manic and exhilarating as being in the pit at a Mutant Strain gig. The LP version is limited to 500 copies and is elaborately packaged in an homage to old Crass Records releases, featuring a huge, 24”x36” 6-panel fold-out poster sleeve, printed inner sleeve, and multiple inserts. credits

[engl] Mystic Inane from New Orleans called it a day but before they disbanded they recorded one last EP. 4 tracks of dissonant Punk with a heavy no-wave flavour.