V/A Daffodils To The Daffodils, Here's The Daffodils LP

After an explanation for the odd title by John Peel, this comp doesn't let up for a second. Some classic material from bands like MAU MAUS, ONSLAUGHT, and one of Finland's best, DESTRUCKTIONS, as well as some less heard stuff from New York hardcore punk bands like UNJUST (before they went metal) and NO CONROL. If that wasn't enough, exclusive tunes from Sweden's NONCENS and the only other MORBID HUMOUR track I've ever seen aside from their split with ANTI-SYSTEM should get you downloading. As an added bonus, Pax decided to include the great first single by goth band LEITMOTIV to give this thing more variety. The critical analysis and introspective rant about punk politics written by Marcus Featherby of Pax Records on the back of the LP is worth reading for some context of the time and place. His perspective of running a punk label while trying to maintain ethical standards and how one can get treated/taken advantage of while trying to do so seems to be timeless scenario. All in all, a very interesting and awesome international comp covering a wide range of sounds. 

DAFFODILS...

LAST HOPE - Demo 1995

Here's the 1995 demo from probably the most influential and well-known hardcore band from Bulgaria, LAST HOPE. Once you get through the kind of monotonous but short into track, the demo shows a cool variety of sounds, most notably the urgent vocals and use of unconventional rhythms to spice up would otherwise come off as pretty generic hardcore. The closing track even ends in a melodic outro that brings to mind some sounds that came out of the UK early 80s anarcho scene! Their message seems to be generally challenging violence, drug use, intolerance, and hate. Here are some enthusiastic words about the band that I found on discogs; written by someone who seems to have a fair amount of experience and knowledge of LAST HOPE :

Since their formation in 1995, Last Hope established themselves as a major influence on not only the hardcore and punk scene in Bulgaria, but the whole underground community. Last Hope is the definition of hardcore – their remarkable style is an unique mixture of raw energy, intensity, heavy hard-hitting sound and unmistakable vocals. The true power of Last Hope has always been playing live, where they really blow things up. Those who hadn’t the chance to witness their live-show would never understand. Last Hope have played numerous gigs and festivals at home and all over Europe – they’ve toured and been to places that only few have been: taking off from their local dominant Balkan areas, through the regular Western Euro destinations, going as far as possible to countries like Turkey and Russia. No matter if it's a small underground club or a big open-air festival, Last Hope always deliver their hi-octane life-show and put the energy level to the maximum...

LAST HOPE

ACADEMY 23 - Relationships LP + 7"

After THE APOSTLES, Andy Martin and Dave Fanning went on to do ACADEMY 23. It's much in the same vein - self recorded, innovative, thought provoking punk with those signature guitar parts, and emanating a feeling of a need to create and release, though ACADEMY 23 shows them experimenting a little bit more. This album features a strong theme of Andy speculating on the alienation of being a gay man, particularly in songs like "The Outsider," "Simon: Sleep," "Forbidden Love," and "Winning Struggle." Smart, courageous, and thoughtful punk songs that don't bother to stick to any formula. This LP came with a bonus single, which is included in the download. 

RELATIONSHIPS

V/A - DEN MAGISKA CIRKELN: A Hardcore Compilation

A stunning assortment of material from 5 of the best hardcore bands active in Sweden in 2008. SVARTENBRANDT kicks this off with the strongest track on the whole 7". "Som Hand Uran Handske" rages intensely while retaining an array of melodies coming from the guitars and even some harmonized vocal hooks, all combining to equal one finely crafted hardcore punk song. Their second track is similarly great, but doesn't charm me like first. On to THURNEMAN's treble-y thrashing punk: 2 originals and a brisk HUVUDTVÄTT cover. BAD AMPUTATION attacks at a quick pace with a sharp high-end, and a scratchily-sung female vocalist. INSTÄNGD does one fast rudimentary hc track that feels like it could come a part at any second, which gives it a genuinely reckless feel. Their second track is a PINHEADS cover. FÖRMÖGENHET wraps things up with 3 short surges of catchy distorted hardcore perfection. This is not one of those comps that's trying to give space to any band who wants to be a part of it (not to sound like there's a problem with those comps. I fully advocate them!). It's my guess that the bands were intentionally selected, and the tracks carefully chosen in order to create a 100 percent "all killer no filler" collection, which makes for fine listening, no? 

DEN MAGISKA CIRKELN

LOS LAXANTES - No No No No EP

LOS LAXANTES formed in Argentina back in 1979, and this very high quality live recording was done in 1981. This 7" includes seven songs of upbeat and fiery punk, chock full of charismatic vocals in Spanish. Great choruses, great guitar and bass licks. The early Argentine punk scene remains much less documented than many other early scenes, but this recording is evidence that there was surely some compelling stuff going on there. Other highly recommended Argentine releases include the first LP by LOS VIOLADORES, the INVASION 88 compilation LP, and MASACRE PELESTINA EP. The first two have been reissued/bootlegged on vinyl, and the early M. PALESTINA stuff has appeared on CD collections and shouldn't be too difficult to find for download somewhere. 

LOS LAXANTES

VART FRIA LAND - HUVUDTVÄTT / KURT I KUVÖS LP

One of Sweden's greatest exports of all time - the mighty Vart Fria Land LP! I just saw one sell on Ebay for a stomach-twisting amount of dollars, so I felt an urge to share it here, free of charge. HUVUDTVÄTT was arguably Sweden's first hardcore band, and while a bit sloppy on this recording, it remains one of the most ferocious and unhinged offerings of hardcore I've ever heard. I believe I remember learning from an interview that they borrowed KURT I KUVÖS' drummer for this session, and I get the sense that maybe his unpreparedness contributes a lot to the overall feel. Nonetheless, I find it extremely compelling and it never fails to get me out of my seat! The guitar riffs are brilliant and the vocals are just maniacal, both lending much inspiration heard in legends-to-come TOTALITÄR and others. While HUVUDTVÄTT's attack remains steady and consistent on here, KURT I KUVÖS offers ten tracks of incredibly innovative and memorable tracks covering a wider spectrum of sounds. 2 Members of the band formed KIK at the young ages of 13 and 14, and also started a zine and the great Really Fast label, which went on to release many classic Swedish hardcore releases, including this one. Any international hc/punk archive is criminally incomplete without this one!

VART FRIA LAND

POST REGIMENT - S/T LP

MUSIC NOT NOIZE is officially 1 year old today! I feel a big sense of accomplishment and gratification having actually stuck with this project, and though I sometimes lose steam for a few days, I intend to keep this blog going (now in green!). I have an endless supply of cool punk releases from all over the world to share with all my fellow music enthusiasts out there with a thirst for more! And of course, my hobby always has me acquiring more records and tapes - the more interesting, obscure, and exciting ones obviously destined to make it on here! 

In the interest of coming full circle, I bring you a record related to my very first post exactly one year ago. This is very possibly my favorite punk record OF ALL TIME! No one has ever moved me the way POST REGIMENT does on this LP. It's an astonishing blend of speed, bounce, melody, and some of the strongest vocals ever to make it on a punk record. The production is perfect, and the cover art is awesome. Most of you probably already know this, but if you don't, I hope you'll download it and that your life will be changed. Enough gushing, on to the embarrassing story about when I met Nika, the singer of POST REGIMENT...

I was on a nearly 2 month tour of Europe, playing bass in DESKONOCIDOS. We were in the Eastern leg of the trip, playing 3 shows in Poland with ALERT! ALERT! After an awesome show at some sort of anarchist center in Lublin, we headed to Warsaw to play the Elba Squat. The turnout was great and I recall feeling really loose and energetic. After we played, a woman came up to me with some praise, thanked us for coming all the way from Texas, and offered some of her weed. I thanked her, politely declined her offer, and pointed her toward the real potheads in the band. We all proceeded to drink and be merry while watching the other bands, and later my pal Logan and I managed to win our first foosball match in Europe! No small feat for a couple amateur Americans. Not too long after this, as things were wrapping up, I was chatting with the organizer of our Polish shows, Mike Champagne, and POST REGIMENT came up in conversation. Mike lit up and replied, "you know, that's the singer of Post Regiment right over there," and pointed to the woman who had come up to me after our set. I became flush with excitement and started thinking about how to approach her about this. I mean, the singer from one of the most influential bands to me was in the same room! When would this happen again? So as I'm trying to think of what to say, she gets up and starts heading toward a doorway right behind where I'm standing. I have to act quick. I whip around, my judgement skewed by too much alcohol and a foosball-victory high, and tap her shoulder as she's about to pass. "Hey! You were in Post Regiment??!" I pull my camera out of my pocket, stupid drunk grin on my face - "can I take a picture with you??" Her expression instantly sours in the most appalled way, she cries, "no no no!" and storms off. Crap. What the hell was I thinking? Where was my tact? I meant to say, "I'm Matt, Post Regiment is SO important to me, one of my biggest influences, and it's so cool to meet you!" What the fuck would I do with an awkward photo of me standing next to her anyway? Dumbass...
Later after we packed up the van we were saying our goodbyes to some of the folks who had stuck around to party. She was still there and was participating in the goodbyes, so I sheepishly waved bye, and she kinda did to, but I felt like a total ass. 

POST REGIMENT 

I was curious to see which records were the most popular to my blog visitors, so I thought it would be fun to identify the ones with the most downloads. Ranking can be fun sometimes right? Anyway, here are the top 10, in descending order from most downloaded!

1. PARALISIS INFANTIL

2. BLAZING EYE

3. SELF ABUSE

4. DRAPETOMANIA

5. FIFTH COLUMN

6. KALASHNIKOV

7. SO MUCH HATE

8. DAMAGES

9. CADAVER EM TRANSE

10. V/A BULGARIAN ARCHIVES