Ooh, they have circuit diagrams on the labels on the record, reminds me of the Portraits of Past insert. Hey whatever, this is another hardcore record brought to you courtesy of those fine people at Hand.Held.Heart, previously purveyors of an Orchid 7″, and the Volume 11 12″.
So yes, does this record fucking rock or what? I’ve regularly seen Red Scare compared to Angel Hair, but I don’t get that at all. This is rampant, chaotic hardcore that totally grooves. There are manic screamy vocals but it’s also some of the most structured, yet inventive music I’ve come across of its kind. Style companions are definitely bands like Harriet the Spy and Party of Helicopters, but perhaps with some of the more brutal leanings of Orchid and End of the Century Party. From the spastic rock out of previously released “Jet Set”, to the incredible break down of the riotous “12 Years Past”, this is all just total goodness. The final instrumental track has a spooky sample of a woman speaking in German. Reminds me of the time Danny Baker played something that sounded like a robot speaking in German, then said: “Shh! Everybody, shh! Shh! Listen! The ghost of Himmler is in the radio!”.
Neat millenium bug themed song too called “Device For Annihilation” – “The sequence of events only matters as soon as the lights go out. Two thousand equals one nine hundred”.
This was recorded back in January at Inner Ear. Fitting now that it comes out in December as one of the years best albums. If you’re predicting the end of the world, get this now on vinyl, or if you’re predicting a happy new year, wait till February when the CD version comes out on Troubleman. But either way, just make sure you own this one. Repeated consecutive plays is a certainty.