Foundation Vinyl Newsletter
Welcome
Hello and welcome to the latest Foundation Vinyl newsletter! We’ve plenty to get stuck into this week, starting with four featured new arrivals.
First up, we have two new releases on Refuse Records – the aggressively energetic, no-nonsense US hardcore of Maine’s Corrective Measure on their debut LP, Not For You, Not For Anyone. And then the return of Sao Paulo’s Point Of No Return after a near 20-year hiatus, with the menacing metallic hardcore of The Language Of Refusal.
Next, we have two fresh arrivals from La Vida Es Un Mus Discos. New York’s Exo marry the exquisite and the primitive to contagious effect on their self-titled debut, before Mallorca’s Puñal take things in an altogether rather burlier direction on the pounding Buscando La Muerte.
We also have a short piece, Demands From The Past, exploring the parallels between two 1990s’ reissues that have just been repressed by the same two labels – Discografía Completa from Chicago’s Los Crudos on La Vida Es Un Mus, and the 1992 self-titled debut of Warsaw’s Post Regiment on Refuse.
As always, we also have an updated London gig listing, which includes shows this week from Bad Breeding (27/03) and Cœur À L’Index (30/03). We end with a quick rundown on some of the fine records heading our way in the near future. Next week, we are getting all dark and crusty with a Phobia Records special, featuring Deathfiend, Dishumanitär, Hellknife, Socialstyrelsen / Brute Force Trauma, Varoitus / DSM-5, and Verdict!
Featured New Arrivals
Buscando La Muerte by Puñal / Exo by Exo / The Language Of Refusal by Point Of No Return / Not For You, Not For Anyone by Corrective Measure (clockwise)
‘There’s people sleeping in the street, But you won’t lend a hand, Them begging for a bite to eat, Plays right into your plan, Keep praying that society, Keeps preying on itself’ (Two Sides, Same Coin)
It may be just shy of a decade since Corrective Measure released their self-titled debut 7-inch, but they return as if it was just yesterday. The Maine band fashion aggressively energetic, no nonsense mid-1980s’ US hardcore interwoven with a striking youth crew rhythmic sensibility. The emphasis is very much on high-octane delivery, with little appetite for unnecessary extravagance or adornment. But the band do deftly deploy flourishes of melody and well-judged groove-laden breakdowns, such as on the title track and Big Shoes To Fill, to powerful effect.
Both musically and lyrically, the album builds to a compellingly impassioned finale with the closing track, Two Sides, Same Coin. A consistent thread throughout is our own willingness to turn a blind eye to the causes of social inequality and our readiness to blame, rather than support, those who have fallen on tough times. Unfortunately, a rather apt message as our own UK government unveils brutal welfare cuts aimed at the most vulnerable, without even a glimmer of self-awareness that it is their own hostile socio-economic policies that are the root cause of the growing inequity.
‘Under a leaf, our shadows fight, Come close to me, I’ll bend your mind, Blades of grass, hide my scythe, I eat the night’ (Mantis)
Now this is an intriguing treat, and one that marries the exquisite and the primitive in assured style. New York’s Exo, who feature members of Dame, Exit Order, and Nandas, are here with their debut album and it is something of rare, spectral beauty. The album poetically evokes the brief yet remarkable lives of insects, from the Ladybug to the Fig Wasp, to speak to the fragility of our own time on earth.
The first side comprises six tracks, each entrancingly infusing driving melodic punk with this otherworldly aura of brittle wonder. Meanwhile, side two comprises an expansive, largely instrumental track, Mermaid Legend, that conjures an evocatively spellbinding soundscape.
The album is propelled by a limber rhythm section that ensures that the album pulses with propulsive energy. Meanwhile, swells of warm synth, cascades of tinkling keys, and taut guitar joust with one another, at times conjuring moments of sparse melodicism and, at others, eruptions of surging velocity.
The key though, perhaps, lies in the deft interplay of the vocals – melodically infectious punk vocals, ethereal whispers, and layered harmonies are all interlaced to create a truly beguiling atmosphere. One that is draped in a sense of delicacy and vulnerability, as if we ourselves are emerging from a cocoon for the first time.
‘They employ symbols of hate and debunked conspiracies, All to concoct a poisonous doctrine, Reactionary in social mores, neoliberal in the economy, Bible in hand, embracing greed and bigotry’ (A Song Of Incubating Despotism)
Point Of No Return are a hardcore band from Sao Paolo. Initially active between 1996 and 2006, they released a self-titled EP in 1998 and two full-lengths, 2000’s Centelha (Spark) and 2002’s Imposed Freedom…Conquered Freedom. The band reunited last year, and the result is their latest album, The Language Of Refusal.
The core tenets of the band’s sound remain firmly in place. Darkly metallic riffage laced with flares of ominous melody, and underpinned by a powerfully precise rhythm section. The band’s three vocalists unleash a densely layered rhythmic barrage. They alternate between English and Portuguese, and between urgently impassioned vocals rooted in hardcore and interventions that call on more death metal orientated influences. Solemn spoken word passages readily bring Trial’s Greg Bennick to mind, adding further texture to the tightly honed battery, perhaps, best captured by the savagely spiralling Guile and the bruising Corroding Cartopia.
And just as the sonic onslaught has lost none of its potency, nor has the band’s uncompromising dissection of our political malaise. The album teases out a tightly drawn map of causation to highlight the ravaging impact of late-stage capitalism. A Fronteria (The Frontier), De Segunda Classe Para O Abiano (A Second-Class Ticket To The Abyss), and Árbitrária Discriminação (Arbitrary Discrimination) explore the consequences of varying forms of environmental extraction and abuse, while Informal Arcaico (Informal Backwardness) and Corroded Cartopia examine how the same warped economic logic drives worker exploitation and distorts the fabric of our cities in favour of the privileged. How this relentless disenfranchisement fuels the rise of right-wing authoritarianism is then tackled on Guile and A Song Of Incubating Despotism.
‘Odio ala gente, que no sabe odiar, todo el mundo te gusta, y tienes que caer bien a todos, todoes es falso’ (Odio) ‘I hate people who don’t know how to hate, you like everyone, have to be liked by everyone, everything is fake’ (Hate)
Buscando La Muerte (Seeking Death) is the debut full-length from Mallorca’s Puñal (Dagger). The band are emerging from the shadow of the death of their drummer, Martí (also of Orden Mundial) in 2019, and to whom the album is dedicated. This had resulted in the band being on hiatus since the release of their demo, Hoya De Nosotros (Run Away From Us).
The band’s burly riffage is rooted in UK82 influences braided through with flares of Southern California melody. Meanwhile, the rhythm section injects an impressively spry bounce to proceedings that calls to mind the raw vigour of the first waves of Latin American hardcore punk. The pounding Cicatrices (Scars) and the melodically fired Amor (Love) perfectly capture the dynamic.
Lyrically, the album brims with an intense nihilistic fervour. The gruff vocals express frustration at the sterility of modern life, frustration at the self-destructive responses that it provokes, and frustration at the co-option of any activity or space that might actually offer respite. But, perhaps, above all, frustration at those blinded to reality by their misplaced, unseeing optimism.
Demands From The Past
Discografía Completa by Los Crudos and Post Regiment by Post Regiment
Nostalgia can be a dangerous indulgence. We can take refuge in valorising the past over dealing with the realities of the present. Yet, if harnessed positively, it can also be a hugely valuable exercise to draw on the lessons and achievements of the past to better animate our hopes for the future.
This is certainly true of music, where we can be become obsessed with what went before, and fail to appreciate what is happening right now. But by deepening our understanding of the history of hardcore punk, we can ensure a continuity of understanding that helps anchor its evolution, both musically and politically.
And this week, we have two reissues that have just been repressed that perfectly illustrate this dynamic. Firstly, the career spanning discography of Los Crudos, Discografía Completa, on La Vida Es Un Mus Discos, and then the self-titled 1992 debut album from Post Regiment on Refuse Records.
Discografia Completa by Los Crudos
Los Crudos (The Hungover in Spanish slang, which alluded to the raw exhaustion of life) were a hardcore band from Chicago. They were renowned for both their politically charged music and resolutely DIY ethics and were active from 1991 to 1998. At the time of the band’s emergence, the Chicago hardcore scene primarily resided in the city’s largely white, middle-class suburbs. In contrast, Los Crudos were a product of the inner-city neighbourhood of Pilsen that was predominantly working-class and Mexican heritage in character.
‘Rompen nuestros sindicatos, colectivos, y moviementos, para la prosperidad de su capitalism, su farsa de democracia, sus planes de austeridad, nos deja todos mas pobre, mas rotos’ (Déjanos En Paz) / ‘Destroying our unions, collectives and movements, so that capitalism may prosper, your fake democracy and austerity measures, leave us poorer and helpless’ (Leave Us In Peace)
Sonically, Los Crudos delivered laceratingly fast classic hardcore – short, sharp, aggressive, and bristling with conviction. Lyrically, the band’s concerns were rooted in addressing the issues that confronted their own local community – worker exploitation, rentier greed, day-to-day racism, police violence – and placed them in the context of the wider political environment, particularly centred around themes of anti-immigration politics, violence against women, and state sanctioned terror.
‘Quieren que nos dividamos, entra nacionalidad, color de piel, entre las clases y también el sexo, que alguien se piense major que el resto del mundo’ (Unidad Prohibida) / ‘They want us to be divided, by nationality and skin colour, by class as well as gender, same old stupidity where someone thinks, they are superior to all’ (Forbidden Unity)
The band’s outspoken promotion of these issues at their shows produced a defensive reaction in some quarters, one that Los Crudos refused to bow to. It did, however, provoke the band to write their only English language song – ‘That’s Right, We’re That Spic Band’ – that confronted the bigotry involved head-on. It serves to remind us that no matter how welcoming we like to think that the hardcore community is, it often remains the case that bands who bring new perspectives and experiences must often wrestle for acceptance, while being accused of being overly aggressive in claiming their right to be heard.
Post Regiment by Post Regiment
‘Prawda jest nienawisicią, fabryka klamstw, Czy wierzysz w ich światio, kiedy jeden z nich, Wmawia ci, źe milość to strach, To twoje światio’ (Religia) / ‘Truth is hate, a factory of lies, Do you believe their light when one of them, tells you that love is fear, That is your light’ (Religion)
Of course, in the 1990s, the US at least gave the impression of being comfortable with a contestation of ideas. For those living under the totalitarian shroud of the Soviet Union in the 1980s, to be a punk carried with it an even more visceral political component. We often think of Poland as, perhaps, having escaped the worst excesses of the police state. Yet it is estimated that over 20,000 people were either murdered or disappeared by the state between 1947 and 1989, and the threat of further Soviet intervention always implicitly lurked.
‘Kolejny pusty dzień z kolejką pustych ośob, W ich obcych oczach dokladnie widzę się’ (Slowa O…) / ‘Another empty day with a queue of empty people, In their unfamiliar eyes I see myself precisely’ (Words About…)
It was in this environment that Warsaw’s Post Regiment first formed in 1986. It was not until after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989 that the band was able to record their self-titled debut album, which was released in 1992. It brims with intensely melodic hardcore punk, upbeat in tempo, yet melancholic in temperament, fuelled by vibrantly virtuosic Polish vocals.
In contrast to the straight-up combativeness of Los Crudos, Post Regiment’s lyrics are more poetically allegorical. They seek to grapple with the relief of Poland emerging from Soviet control to the uncertainty of the country being plunged into the wild west capitalism that was unleashed across the post-Communist states, and that benefitted no one but the oligarchal class and Western financiers. The band released three further albums and were active until 2001. Throughout, they remained passionately committed to the DIY ethics that shaped the formative Polish hardcore punk scene.
So, two bands who both powerfully demonstrated the political impact that DIY hardcore punk can achieve. And, equally, these reissues remind us of the power of great music to stand the test of time.
The Los Crudos discography was first released in 2015, and this represents its fourth pressing. It includes the band’s entire recorded output, spanning some 66 tracks, across four full-lengths, five EPs, and a myriad of compilation releases. It includes a gatefold cover and a forty-page booklet with lyrics and flyers. The band have made occasional live forays since they called it a day, and members of the band have gone on to play in Canal Irreal, Charles Bronson, and Limp Wrist.
This is the second press of the remastered self-titled debut album from Post Regiment, which was originally reissued in 2024. It includes a gatefold cover and a 20-page 30cmx30cm colour booklet, which includes lyrics, live photos, and flyers. Members went on to play in Morus and Ye.stem.
Shows And Tours
Cœur À L’Index play The Waiting Room on Sunday, 30th March
This section lays no claims to being a definitive listing! It is simply gigs coming up in London that catch my eye and that I think people who read this newsletter might be interested in. I will always try and highlight where a show forms part of a wider UK tour.
March
27th Bad Breeding, Scab, Middleman, Catastrophe (The Lexington / UK Tour)
30th Cœur À L’Index, Middleman, Secrecy (The Waiting Room)
April
2nd Life Force, Moral Law, Escalate plus more (New Cross Inn / UK Tour)
14th Franz Nicolay, Forever Unclean, Chloe Hawes (Signature Brew Haggerston / UK Tour)
15th Thou, pageninetynine, Moloch (Scala / UK Tour)
17th Death By Stereo, Counterpunch plus more (New Cross Inn / UK Tour)
18th Cowboy Hunters, Eelmen, Zeropolis (New River Studios)
18th Shelter, Dynamite, No Relief (The Underworld)
19th Disaffect, Haavat, Leashed, Catastrophe (New Cross Inn)
19th Sunday School Weekender featuring, Belgrado, Sanctuary Of Praise, Traidora, Lash (New River Studios)
20th Sunday School Weekender Operant, Beau Wanzer, The Shits, Urin, Brood x Cycles, Hellish Torment, Skintern, and Spine Portal (New River Studios)
20th Comeback Kid, Shooting Daggers, Last Wishes (The Dome)
21st Chat Pile plus support (Heaven / UK Tour)
23rd Blind Girls, Stress Positions , As Living Arrows, I’m Sorry Emil (Moor Beer Vaults / UK Tour)
24th Great Falls, Glassing plus more (The Black Heart)
25th Final Dose, Läbrys, Ekstasis (Helgi’s)
May
3rd Condor, Tramadol, Hitmen, The Dogs (The Shacklewell Arms)
6th Blow Your Brains Out, T.S. Warspite, Always Watching, Hellscape (The Grace)
7th Agnostic Front, Crown Court plus more (The Underworld)
14th Muro plus support (New River Studios / UK tour)
17th Boom Boom Kid, Traidora, plus more (The Shacklewell Arms / UK Tour)
19th Time Heist, Uncertainty, Equals What? (New Cross Inn / UK Tour)
20th Whores, Help, Ritual Error (New Cross Inn)
25th Public Acid, Tramadol, Stingray, Traidora (New River Studios / UK Tour)
25th Onelinedrawing, Secondary Education (The Waiting Room / UK Tour)
31st Shove plus support (Prince of Wales / UK Tour)
31st Feral State, Regimes, Do One, Vile Rapture (New River Studios)
June
3rd Ultras, Xiao, Grandad, Aku, This Hurts (New Cross Inn)
9th Moral Bombing, Blossom Decay, Diall (Blondies / UK Tour)
14th P.A.I.N, Hiatus, Zero Again, Instant Ruin, Ancient Lights (New Cross Inn)
July
3rd Destiny Bond, Big Laugh plus more (New Cross Inn / UK Tour)
4th Fentanyl, Kute plus more (New Cross Inn)
5th All Out War plus support (New Cross Inn)
7th Xibalba, Extinguish, Mutagenic Host (New Cross Inn)
October
30th Godflesh plus support (Scala)
November
3rd City Of Caterpillar, Incaseyouleave plus more (New Cross Inn / UK Tour)
Coming Soon
Dark Rising by Deathfiend lands next week
April 1st
Deathfiend ‘Dark Rising’ 12-inch (Phobia)
Dishumanitär ‘Dishumanitär’ 12-inch (Phobia)
Hellknife ‘Flames Of Damnation’ 12-inch (Phobia)
Socialstyrelsen / Brute Force Trauma ‘Split’ 12-inch (Phobia)
Varoitus / DSM-5 ‘Split’ 12-inch (Phobia)
Verdict ‘The Rat Race’ 12-inch (Phobia)
April 8th
Bondage ‘El Fin! El Demo’ 7-inch (Discos Enfermos)
EVA ‘II’ 7-inch (Andalucia Űber Alles)
Infra ‘Vida Violenta’ 12-inch (Discos Enfermos)
Oust ‘Rather Be A Fuck Up’ 12-inch (Discos Enfermos)
Sect ‘Sect’ 12-inch (Discos Enfermos)
Later In April
Bombardement ‘Dans La Fournaise’ 12-inch (Symphony Of Destruction)
Earth Ball ‘Actual Earth Music: Volume 1 & 2’ 12-inch (Upset The Rhythm)
Habak ‘Mil Orquideas En Medio Del Desierto’ 12-inch (Alerta Antifascista)
Habak ‘Ningún Muro Consiguió Jamás Contener La Primavera’ 12-inch (Alerta Antifascista / Restock)
Languid ‘Shove Their System Up Their Ass’ 12-inch (D-Takt)
Mob 47 ‘Tills Du Dör’ 12-inch (D-Takt)
Mother Nature ‘Loving, Joyful And Free’ 12-inch (Static Shock)
Promaja ‘Bravo Brava’ 12-inch (Symphony Of Destruction)
Proteststorm ‘Den Typ Som Överlever’ 12-inch (Fight For Your Mind)
Utopie ‘Virage’ 12-inch (Symphony Of Destruction)
May
Cicada ‘Wicked Dream’ 7-inch (Unlawful Assembly)
Cinder Well ‘Cinder Well’ 12-inch (Contraszt)
Destruxion America ‘Self-Titled’ 12-inch (Unlawful Assembly)
Gentle Leader XIV ‘Joke In The Shadow’ 12-inch (Feel It)
Innuendo ‘Peace And Love’ 12-inch (Unlawful Assembly)
Motorbike ‘Kick It Over’ 12-inch (Feel It)
Mutated Void ‘Tarnished’ 7-inch (Unlawful Assembly)
Necron 9 ‘People Die’ 12-inch (Unlawful Assembly)
Private Lives ‘Salt Of The Earth’ 12-inch (Feel It)
Svffer ‘Eternity Moment’ 12-inch (Contraszt)
