‘Kan inte andas, jag får inte luft, Svarta tankar blir till sot i mina lungor, Förlamande tryck över bröstet, Jag skriker men ingenting hörs’ / ‘Cannot breathe, I don’t get air, Black thoughts turn into soot in my lungs, Paralyzing pressure over the chest, I scream but nothing is heard’ (Asphyxia, Socialstyrelsen)

Side one of this split sees Socialstyrelsen (National Board Of Health And Welfare – rather snappier in Swedish!) return with a follow-up to their last full-length, 2022’s I Krossade Speglars Skärvor (In The Shards Of Broken Mirrors).  Throughout their five tracks, the Karlstadt band continue to weave a bleakly melodic crust around a spine of surging d-beat rhythms.

This is intertwined with rabidly demonic vocals that explore themes of anxiety and isolation as well as the rise of the far right in Sweden.  Personal stand outs are Kafferep Och Känghäng (Coffee, Rope, And Boothanger), with its utterly punishing climatic breakdown, and the swaggering fury of Lusask Blues.

This split is the debut release from Socialstyrelsen’s fellow Swedes, Brute Force Trauma.  Their four tracks are burly, uncompromising hardcore injected with a certain rock’n’roll rhythmic strut.  Gruff vocals, alternating between English and Swedish, explore themes of personal desolation and warfare. The blackly raucous Total Apati (Total Apathy) and the driving Post War Scars, perhaps, capture the band to best effect.

The artwork is courtesy of Alex CF (Wreathe, Morrow) and is a visual realisation of the earlier mentioned Socialstyrelsen track Kafferep Och Känghäng.