DENIM & LEATHER - Sacred Autism

The punk scene at large isn't wanting for intelligent, forward thinking people. So why, from a social standpoint, is it so frequently guilty of the kind of elitism and exclusionism that it purportedly rails against? And how, from an artistic standpoint, has a once electrically creative movement become so fucking trite? Yes, I'm looking at you pal, your face-melting d-beat, PV or '80s USHC clone is fucking trite.

I get that playing and listening to the rock'n'roll that you like is comfortable. It's nice to be comfortable isn't it? But this is punk, so why not bust out of your little bubble and try something, ya know, different?

I'm not saying that Manchester's DENIM & LEATHER have reinvented the genre. When all's said and done, they're just playing hardcore too. What I am saying is that they're one of an increasingly small group of bands who are doing it without slotting neatly into a rigid category (or a mishmash of said categories). These misfits-among-misfits write unpredictable songs and make mutant sounds that feel personal, stand out from the pack, and above all, are seething with their own identity. Oh, and they shred. They shred really fucking hard.

SACRED AUTISM

RIXE

This newish three song promo tape is Rixe's best stuff yet. Addictive, infectiously hooky Oi! from this crew of left-wing Parisian skins. I'm gutted that I missed getting a ticket to their Melbourne show with Total Control (sold out in minutes), but I'll definitely be venturing out on a Wednesday night to see them here in early May.

RIXE

LIQUID SKY

Vinegar Syndrome's freshly released, lovingly restored blu ray of Slava Tsukerman's LIQUID SKY is a must see. I'm not even sure it looked this good when I saw it screened in 35mm, during its first run in the 80s (at Electric Shadows!), making this a solid contender for hottest home video release of the year. As for the film itself, it's aged like a fine wine. LIQUID SKY now serves as a valuable time capsule, a window onto a moment of the New York art punk/new wave scene (albeit a hyper-stylised version of it) that today's kids try to emulate, but which is in truth irretrievably lost to time.

More than just a document of a forgotten subculture, the film also transports you to a Manhattan that no longer really exists, not just the skeezy old Broadway and 42nd Street that so often gets the attention when people talk about the old NY, but the city as a whole. There's probably ten minutes of footage in this that have to rank as some of the most stunningly beautiful images of NYC ever shot.

If you had to choose a single movie to call the quintessential example of a "cult film", LIQUID SKY would be it, and Vinegar Syndrome's blu ray is cult film preservation at its finest.

LEISURE WORLD

If you like this:

...and if this eases the pain:

...then this should help too:

I'VE GOT OPINIONS, WANNA HEAR?

RANK / XEROX

White-hot punk/post-punk/whatever-wave from SF, Cali.

As evidenced by Marbled Eye and others, SF 2017 seems to be a hotbed of contemporary post-punk excellence. No-one is surprised by this.

For fans of Total Control.

M.Y.T.H.

IT'S COMING DOWN: TOTAL CONTROL at the SOH

The other night I had the privilege of seeing the great Total Control perform live, an experience that I'd long ago resigned myself to missing out on, due to my late arrival to the Henge Beat party. Many thanks to the folks at Repressed Records for making this possible as part of their 15th anniversary Vivid Festival bash. Seeing punk bands at the Sydney Opera House has its own novel appeal too: cultural gentrification maaan! It's not the first time for me either, having seen Melt Banana in the bowels of the SOH a few years ago. The boys from Melbourne played a powerful but brief set, cut short by the need to protect the fragile ears of our glorious leader who resides just a bit down the harbour at Point Piper. Yeah, fuck you too Malcolm.

Oh, and check out this sick-ass t:

GAY KISS - Rounded Down

Arizona's Gay Kiss have unleashed their final offering, the four song Rounded Down EP, and in keeping with every minute of their previous material, it's a monster. Throat tearing vocals and pulverising riffs abound, and this might be their heaviest release to date. I've loved this band from chord and beat one, and I'm gonna miss 'em.

Taste of bootleather on your breath

Dirty Rotten Imbeciles

Later this afternoon I'm heading down to Blackwire Records to see D.R.I. It's a weird occasion for me. I'm stoked, but it's tinged with a bittersweet sense of melancholy nostalgia. The last time I saw the Texan powerhouse was exactly 30 years ago, December '87, at the show above. That was the night that the East Coast contingent of Nazi skins (coming from as far afield as Newcastle, Sydney, Melbourne and our own town of Canberra, which was home to the worst of them) organised to meet en masse and fuck our shit up. They were violent thugs, bigger than us, and the pattern that had been established over the years leading up to that night was that they bullied, and we ran. That night the unthinkable happened: we fought back, and they were not ready for it.

Some memories of that night:

- Randy from Massappeal, full-force smashing a skin in the face with a folded cymbal stand. Lots of blood.

- A big dude (who I now believe to be Chumly Porter, D.R.I.'s roadie at the time, who would later join the band before taking his own life in 2011) wading into the melee from backstage, to flat-out deck two of the biggest skins.

- When things were looking grim, my friend Trog taking the stage and grabbing the mic, rallying the room into fighting back. An action that would result in him having part of his ear sliced off with a knife, when he was jumped by some of these cowards a few months later.

- After the tables had turned (and a bunch of tables had literally been overturned) a room full of passionate people chanting "NAZIS OUT" until they left.

- Later, after the show had resumed, getting brained so hard by a stagediver's knee that I blacked out in the pit for a few seconds.

Yeah, I know I'm old, and there's nothing worse than hearing old punks rant about their glory days. But there's something important to take away from this: Nazism, xenophobia, homophobia, sexism, hate, is on the rise. Everywhere. At the highest levels of power, and in your hometown.

Don't be complacent. Stand up. Fight back.

DENIM & LEATHER

This five song rager really stood out last year, a beacon of originality shining over a stagnant sea of trendy sameness. The only other band I'm reminded of here is the great Rational Animals, and the fact that I can't compare it to anything else in recent memory is very much appreciated. I'm hoping for an LP from these guys in the near future.

When you show us bleeding hands, we will let you pass

Man in Decline Records supports the ACLU

Buy a digital download from Man in Decline's bandcamp page this weekend, and all proceeds will go to the ACLU. Support effective resistance to President Bannon and his puppet, and pick up some hardcore/punk/post-punk scorchers while you're at it.

This weekend, we will be making a donation to the ACLU using all funds generated from digital downloads. To allow you to decide how much you wish to donate, all Man In Decline Records releases are set to "name your own price".

As an extra incentive, we've added some releases that have not been available for purchase before now and this is also the first time that many of our releases have been available via "name your own price".

This is one way in which we, and the bands that we have worked with, are trying to do our part to assist those directly fighting for justice in the current political environment. Thanks in advance for your support.

DONATE HERE

Heather Benjamin

Heather Benjamin's art is a defiantly in-your-face detonation of punk feminism and bad-trip psychedelia. The raw naivete of much of her drawing (particularly the most recent stuff she's posted on her tumblr) belies an obviously classical ability, no doubt developed during her time at the Rhode Island School of Design. With her stark black and white line style, and preoccupation with graphic sexual imagery, menstruation and self-mutilation, it's tempting to compare Benjamin to previous shock artist Mike Diana, but personally I think there's more depth to her work. Where Diana (and others before him, like S. Clay Wilson) may have been chiefly motivated to simply push the boundaries of transgressive art, Benjamin's work feels like it's coming from a more personal place, and it's all the more rewarding for it.

Perhaps known mostly for her self published zines and comics, she also does flyers for shows (in the NYC, NJ, RI area), record covers and more. Visit Heather Benjamin's tumblr here, where you'll also find a link to her webstore. In the meantime check out a selection of my faves below.