An absolutely explosive debut here, which sees a member of Bogotá’s Abuso collide head-on with a gang of Aussie noiseniks to create some startlingly good punk rock. After a threatening intro track we’re hurled into a series of smart, varied songs that are grab-you-by-the-throat immediate but never over-familiar. The crunching riffs are well thought out and crumple enjoyably at the edges, while the drums clatter relentlessly, seemingly always on the brink of utter chaos. Gloomy, deathrock-tinged melodies creep in here and there, and the singer’s urgent, furious voice switches between an ominous simmer and full-whack ferocious as and when required. The slow-to-boil frenzy of ‘Medium’ is the immediate standout for me, but to be honest the band don’t set a foot wrong: to me it would all sit nicely alongside great, distinctive, desperate Lengua Armada bands like Criaturas, Kontaminat and the criminally undervalued Deskonocidos. As if the music weren’t spur enough to check this out, proceeds from the EP will be channelled towards those being brutalised by Colombia’s corrupt right-wing government – a welcome money-where-their-mouth is statement, and a way of spotlighting the horrible, saddening shit that punk should always be kicking against.
