Young Poor & Angry Press

Recently I had my twenty-seventh birthday. For some this is considered still being young, but in the scene I’m now considered middle age. Maybe it’s because the longevity for your average scene kid is only a few years. Most come in, stay for awhile and then move on to other things like fraternities or golfing with friends and forget all about their professed love for the scene. What I’ve noticed over the years is there are certain people who stick around. These people all seem to share the same sense of morals and values despite some of their major differences.

I have a good friend named Laura aka Laura Galaxy. Laura loves guns, she’s got a big tattoo of a confederate flag (no she is not racist, she’s friends with me isn’t she?), believes Jesus Christ is her lord and savior, regularly attends church and hates Hayley Williams from Paramore with a passion. Laura and I couldn’t be more different. I really don’t like guns (although I’m a pretty good shot), I’m a Jew (and an atheist but that’s for another editorial…) and I think that Paramore is pretty damn good and have all their albums.

The big thing Laura and I have in common is the scene (I hate to even use that word because it’s been co-opted by media to portray a group of teenage hipsters who purchase their street cred from a Hot Topic and get their musical tastes from Myspace friends lists.) We both love punk and hardcore. While Laura may worship at a Church she, like me, also finds comfort and acceptance in going to see her favorite hardcore band play. While I disagree with her stances politically (Laura knows very well that I think that the concept of Christianity is retarded, but she loves me anyhow. I know Laura thinks that me being a liberal is pure insanity, but she smiles and listens when I talk about Barack Obama) we both have hatred for intolerance and racism. We accept each others differences because that’s what we’ve learned from the hardcore scene. We’ve found family and friendship here, we’ve built memories here and will have stories to tell our kids. This scene is our home, a part of our value system, and a tie that binds us together as a collective. As Sham 69 once said “If the kids are united, we will never be divided.”

It’s been now fifteen years since I heard my first punk and hardcore albums. Fifteen years since I started my love affair with this scene. The scene’s face has changed over the years. Ska was huge, then punk, and now it seems hardcore and metal are taking center stage. The kids seem so much younger than they were before (and maybe they are, it’s hard to tell because anyone under the age of 21 looks the same to me now) and the styles of clothing have changed. The one thing that hasn’t are people like Laura and myself. While we might wear nice clothing to work for important meetings, we might have big world issues we feel passionately about, but we still always find solace and comfort in a good hardcore or punk album. The one thing we’ve both learned in our lifetime in this scene is that growing up doesn’t necessarily mean growing out of the things you love, it’s adding more things to that list.

After nearly fifteen years Skarhead is back with a brand new album. When I first heard whispers of this happening in 2003 I got my hopes up. Then a year or so went by and I tried to put out of my mind that Skarhead would probably never make another album. Then it happened, I got a notice saying a Nov. 17th release date had been set. Still skeptical, I went ahead and marked it on my calendar anyhow.

The day came and let me tell you, I wasn’t disappointed. The originators of NYHC’s distinct thuggish style are sure as hell back. Think if TuPac decided to start a hardcore band instead of become a gangster rapper, this is what his band would sound like. A highlight for me was Fuck the Scene. Basically the track calls out the “scene” and only living to be a fashion statement instead of coming into hardcore with heart. Hands down the best track on the album was D.F.F which is stands for Drink Fuck and Fight. A cross between Snickers and something we’ve heard off of Ezec’s Danny Diablo hip-hop albums. In fact the entire album is a progression in musical talent and ability. Not saying the Kings At Crime album wasn’t excellent (in fact it’s one of my favorites) but Drugs Music Sex is definitely better produced. The video for the track is well worth watching as well, and has a bit of humor from Ezec towards the end.

Skarhead also pays hommage to the DMS crew as well as strippers, booze, sex, money and all around thug life. If you want a throwback to a better time in hardcore, one with attitude instead of skinny jeans and youth medium shirts I suggest you go get this album either on I Scream website or I-tunes.

There has been something lacking in hardcore recently. The pure emotion, raw intensity and conviction that fueled most bands in the mid 90’s to early 00’s has been replaced by cookie-cutter bands that have no substance and don’t progress the genre. There have been few bands that have gone against this unfortunate new trend over the past few years. Defeater is one of the select few breaking a mold. These Massachusetts boys have crafted an explosively powerful bit of musical intensity, and more interestingly, have done so in the form of a concept album. Travels follows the life and times of a man from birth until his death, and the picture painted is not a pretty one, although it is extremely poignant and emotionally affecting.

Where they win the most points is in the songwriting department for treating  their influences as they should be – not as ideas to rip off, but as actual influences to help hone their own musical identity. There’s also bits of SoCal skate punk and post-hardcore in the mix, which makes for quite the eclectic listen. The acoustic folk section that makes up the latter half of “Prophet in Plain Clothes” comes out of the blue and can be quite jolting at first listen, but completely fits in with the overall scheme of what that band is trying to accomplish here.

The only complaint I have is that this is the only such part of this variety, and Derek Archambault’s surprisingly decent singing voice seems underutilized. Despite this, his vocals and lyrics are two of the standouts of the album. Lines like “There’s no place for me” and “His mother’s words like the biting wind/Please don’t leave me/He’ll never hear them again” scream of the kind of raw power and desperation that could only come from someone who truly means and feels what he writes about. Indeed, his lyrics are some of the best in the genre since Wes Eisold of American Nightmare/Give Up The Ghost.

Travels is not an easily digestible listen, as the diverse set of influences can be quite jarring. With fellow Bostonians Have Heart (who are also comparable purveyors of fast, musically-diverse melodic hardcore) having recently sang their swan song, Defeater not only fills the void but has begun strides into uncharted territory, at least in the realm of hardcore music. It’s “thinking man’s hardcore.” Those willing to give to album it’s due time should find a lot to like here.

Candace Kucsulain of Walls of Jericho

The hardcore scene has finally come into it’s own. Kids from all over the world are listening to bands like Madball, Terror, and Gallows. The scene has permeated through the landscape of subculture and is turning up all over the place, in commercials, clothing, and more. Hardcore has built itself a community of people who firmly believe in doing the right thing, living a positive life and over-coming the hard times we all will face in days to come. Though there is one thing in this amazing culture we’ve all contributed too that’s been patently over-looked since Kevin Seconds tried to bring it to our attention in the mid-80s. Let’s not sugar coat this, the hardcore scene treats women poorly as a whole. Read the rest of this entry »