Labels: M’lady’s
Review by: Alex Deller
Earlier in the year I was on holiday for a fortnight. It was pretty good, and, truth be told, I bloody needed it because by the time I took the trip I was a pale, feeble, shaking thing like an insect that had been prised out of its cocoon too early. Only thing was, in that two-week span I missed something like four or five gigs I really wanted to make. Being a slow, slack, curmudgeonly type I probably only would have made two of those at best, but one of them would definitely have been Hysterics given how good that first 7″ was. This one, too, is raging and this fact doesn’t exactly apply a salve to my chagrin. Such is my lot. Anyway, it’s another killer dose of shitkicking hardcore. It’s still ragged and furious, but somehow I think it’s a bit more considered than the first one, a bit more honed. But without losing any of its predecessor’s vital, visceral energy. While the early 80s vibe is still in effect, I’ve been casting around for a comparison and coming up empty. I think it’s the spirit more than anything, and while countless bands have managed to ape Minor Threat or Void or Jerrys Kids or whoever over the years it’s a quality that transcends guitar tone or the type of amp you use and the reason why so few bands cut the mustard. For instance, Stephie, the singer, relies as much on inflection and intonation as sheer bloody minded anger. She’s not just hollering some shit she scrawled on the back of a Nando’s napkin ten minutes before rehearsal but about things that matter, and that seems to come across in a delivery that’s carefully considered rather than just A Bunch Of Pointless Shouting Because A Hardcore Band Has To Have Shouting. I could of course be completely wrong, but that’s how it comes across to me. As with the first EP my favourite track’s the slowie, this time one called ‘Please Sir’ which is a furious mid-paced pound wherein the music’s murderous vibes are backed by a similarly withering sentiment. It’s top-drawer stuff all round, though, and I can’t stop spinning it. Heartily recommended, and I hope we don’t have to wait another three years for the next one. Or the next tour, for that matter.