![\"\"](\"http:\/\/2.dougkubert.com\/media\/best2019\/7-AlienNosejob.jpg\")
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Alien Nosejob<\/strong>\u00a0–\u00a0HC45<\/em>\u00a07″ EP (Iron Lung) <\/p>\n Bummer<\/strong>\u00a0–\u00a0Thanks for Nothing<\/em>\u00a07″ EP (Learning Curve) <\/p>\n Crisis Man<\/strong>\u00a0–\u00a0The Myth of Moderation<\/em>\u00a07″ EP (Digital Regress) <\/p>\n Homeless Cadaver<\/strong>\u00a0–\u00a0Fat Skeleton<\/em>\u00a07″ (Iron Lung) <\/p>\n Loose Nukes<\/strong>\u00a0–\u00a0Behind the Screen<\/em>\u00a07″ EP (Beach Impediment) <\/p>\n Mitraille<\/strong>\u00a0–\u00a0Hoopschroot<\/em>\u00a07″ EP (Belly Button) <\/p>\n Rainbow Grave<\/strong>\u00a0–\u00a0No You<\/em>\u00a012″ EP (God Unknown) <\/p>\n Scorn<\/strong>\u00a0–\u00a0Feather<\/em>\u00a012″ EP (Ohm Resistance) <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Skull Practitioners<\/strong>\u00a0–\u00a0Death Buy<\/em>\u00a012″ EP (In The Red) <\/p>\n Tokeback Mountain<\/strong>\u00a0–\u00a0Tokeback Mountain<\/em>\u00a0Demo\u00a0(Self Released) <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Alien Nosejob\u00a0–\u00a0HC45\u00a07″ EP (Iron Lung) In 2019, Iron Lung continued to kill it with a steady stream of left-field weirdness, power violence, pedigreed punk, and truly raging hardcore, as showcased on this ripping EP. While the vinyl release won’t be available until sometime in early 2020, it’s been tearing up Bandcamp and\u00a0streaming\u00a0portals with its amped […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[122,7],"tags":[240],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/2.dougkubert.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2545"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/2.dougkubert.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/2.dougkubert.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/2.dougkubert.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/2.dougkubert.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2545"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"http:\/\/2.dougkubert.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2545\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2555,"href":"http:\/\/2.dougkubert.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2545\/revisions\/2555"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/2.dougkubert.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/2.dougkubert.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/2.dougkubert.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nIn 2019, Iron Lung continued to kill it with a steady stream of left-field weirdness, power violence, pedigreed punk, and truly raging hardcore, as showcased on this ripping EP. While the vinyl release won’t be available until sometime in early 2020, it’s been tearing up Bandcamp and\u00a0streaming\u00a0portals with its amped version of bedroom weirdo punk that could\u00a0hang with the other\u00a0stars of that realm,\u00a0like Janitor Scum, Erik Nervous, Neo Neos, CCTV, etc. It appears that this is a departure from the typical Nosejob sound, but I’m really hoping for a\u00a0HCLP<\/em>\u00a0full-length release as\u00a0HC45<\/em>\u00a0definitely leaves you\u00a0craving\u00a0more.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/2.dougkubert.com\/media\/best2019\/7-Bummer.jpg\")
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\nFollowing up\u00a0last year’s\u00a0Holy Terror<\/em>\u00a0album, KC’s loudest\u00a0riff mammoths serve up\u00a02 new tracks of weighty grunge sludge,\u00a0plus a couple\u00a0classic digital tracks\u00a0that haven’t been\u00a0committed to vinyl until now, including\u00a0an epic cover of Marilyn Manson’s “Beautiful People” that honors that ’90s staple of disenfranchised youths with a\u00a0few extra tons of electrified spite and volume. There seems to be a moment of ’90s noise rock rumbling up from the fringes of the metal and hardcore scenes with Bummer being one of the best examples\u00a0of\u00a0bands revitalizing the core elements of volume, distortion, and force into something compelling and\u00a0significant in the second decade of the new millennium.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/2.dougkubert.com\/media\/best2019\/7-CrisisMan.jpg\")
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\nStarting with the bouncing stomp of the title track, this Oakland\u00a0wrecking crew\u00a0reignites the wild\u00a0spirit of hardcore with five tracks of\u00a0fiery\u00a0fury, complete with guitar riffs that twist themselves inside out from their own inertia and scatter unexpectedly as barking vocals and tempo shifts prod the listener from complacency. They’ve mastered the hardcore technique of building and releasing tension without relying on cliched chugga-chug breakdowns, while also managing to add a\u00a0righteous swagger to their\u00a0breathtaking\u00a0mess. The closing track “Superlunary” wraps it all up with a defiant pounder of a riff that keeps that wild spirit focused and alive.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/2.dougkubert.com\/media\/best2019\/7-HomelessCadaver.jpg\")
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\nComing out of the gate in early 2019 came this total rager from Iron Lung’s Systemic Surgery series, which apparently means that it’s limited to 200 and includes a fancy diecut and risograph\u00a0 print, so don’t snooze on a copy or be happy streaming it. The A-side serves up punchy, staccato riffs with just enough slop around the edges to keep the\u00a0ugliness dripping wet,\u00a0while a\u00a0rabid\u00a0psycho\u00a0with an Ausmutants flair shouts you down\u00a0between\u00a0howling synth spasms. The flipside “Art. Eat It.” downshifts into a churning\u00a0stew of\u00a0repetitive guitar fuzz decorated with harsh electronic effects and punishing vocals, all serving as an earworm to relentlessly remind\u00a0you of the aural and psychic trauma this 7″ slab of plastic (or digital stream) has just inflicted upon you.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/2.dougkubert.com\/media\/best2019\/7-LooseNukes.jpg\")
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\nHoly shit, this one ripped my head off the first time I heard it and continues to kick it\u00a0splattering blood and grey matter\u00a0down the street.\u00a0Six raging tracks of fierce hardcore punk played at breakneck speed, only letting up\u00a0on the second-to-last track “Rizzo’s Dead” for a queasy Rudimentary Peni-playing-Flipper downer riff\u00a0before exploding into the last track “I Could’ve Been A Killer” which sounds like a Poison Idea 45 played at 78rpm. Ridiculously relentless. Remarkably raging. What’s not to love?<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/2.dougkubert.com\/media\/best2019\/7-Mitraille.jpg\")
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\nAs mentioned in\u00a0this post<\/a>, Belgium’s Mitraille’s first vinyl release wreaks havoc on the garage punk form, energizing it in ways that defy convention and keep the listener throttled to the last, ripping note. A stellar vinyl debut that’s not to be missed.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/2.dougkubert.com\/media\/best2019\/RainbowGrave-NoYou.jpg\")
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\nOK, so Discogs lists this as an LP as do the distros and even the label who released it, but I’m going to call it an EP since it’s got 6 songs and clocks in at 34 minutes. It is almost LP length, especially with a couple of tracks that churn\u00a0past the 7 minute mark, and it certainly carries the heavy sonic weight of an LP with a relentless pounding and\u00a0contempt, but I still want to call it an EP if it doesn’t\u00a0eclipse\u00a040 minutes. Regardless, this beast is built upon the throne of Flipper’s darkest dirges, Drunk With Guns\u2019 ugliest ugliness\u00a0and the harrowing menace of the Brainbombs\u00a0\u2014 a particularly effective\u00a0approach to sonic\u00a0annihilation\u00a0that becomes especially severe\u00a0as blasts of howling saxophone penetrate the distorted din. One-dimensional hate vibes here with very few frills and very oppressive riffing and bombast.\u00a0It’s a beautiful thing to succumb to.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/2.dougkubert.com\/media\/best2019\/12-Scorn-Feather.jpg\")
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\nAfter eight years of silence,\u00a0Mick Harris<\/a>‘ Scorn project reignited in 2019 with this shimmering slab of black, black wax, thumping deep dark bass on three distinct versions of the title track plus closer “Whatever Is Touched Turns.” Priming the world for a new full-length release\u00a0Cafe More<\/em>, this 4 dose set makes\u00a0an excellent\u00a0quick hit of atmospheric space dub, full of echoey effects and slowly shifting tectonic subwoofer slides that requires half the downtime of the 48 minute album. Contemporary Scorn takes a starkly minimalistic\u00a0approach compared to lush classics like\u00a0Logghi Barogghi<\/em>, but only in form and not atmosphere, as each track pulls the listener into a dense but simplified\u00a0domain that’s uniquely Scorn and uniquely breathtaking.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/2.dougkubert.com\/media\/best2019\/12-SkullPractitioners.jpg\")
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\nAs the\u00a0first few seconds of\u00a0 the first track “Death Buy” fade in with a wicked groove,\u00a0a heavy vibe is set and exploited for genuine guitar freakouts and psychedelic delights that might be the feedback of ethereal brainwaves Simply Saucer launched into the universe\u00a0over\u00a040\u00a0years ago.\u00a0“Grey No More” shifts things in high gear and powers along an MC5 motorway\u00a0through a mountain of\u00a0guitar roar. “The Beacon” finishes off the A-side with another stomper complete with sliding guitar flourishes and a feverishly-paced Gun Club seediness. “Miami,” the lone track on the flipside, stretches another heavy dub-flavored groove\u00a0that effortlessly chugs past the 10+ minute\u00a0mark before ending with a harsh lock groove that’ll leave you salivating for the LP that’s in the works.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/2.dougkubert.com\/media\/best2019\/TokebackMountain.jpg\")
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\nIn case you were unaware, at any given time the\u00a0quaint college town\u00a0of Lawrence, Kansas, is home to dozens of bands well worth your attention.\u00a0In 2019 this\u00a0band of weirdos<\/a>\u00a0is the cream of the crop, shredding your psyche and shaking your\u00a0shitter with seven tracks of nutty guitar-drum-psycho\u00a0noise rock.\u00a0Like Bunnybrains on amphetamines, the ramshackle genius of songs like “Bong Rip Yr Dick Off” and “HyperMart,” an ode to a long defunct KC area Wal-Mart experiment in retail monstrosity, or the queasy\u00a0throbs of “Banquet” prove to be some of the finer moments in outsider rock in 2019.<\/p>\n