2021 brought only brief relief from a seemingly inevitable tide of fascism and a global pandemic, with an explosion of unearthed and/or recovered archival releases from some of the dankest corners of the sub-underground musicverse. Long-lost tapes of one of LA’s most notorious punk bands were found; a band with a massively legendary status that left a huge impression on punk — yet never had a proper record released — finally saw a legit vinyl release 44 years after it was recorded. NYC’s gnarliest and longest-running noise rock band finally recovered the tapes for what was to be their first LP from the drug-addled cesspool of late-80s New York. An obscure and art-damaged Cleveland hardcore band who’s legend grew decades after their demise finally found a hungry audience for their unreleased 1985 sophomore album. One of the most overlooked and jaw-droppingly great no wave bands of the 1990s received a lovingly-assembled collection of all their obscure releases with a 20-page oral history. More than any other year in recent memory, 2021 has unearthed gems that have noiseniks’ ears ringing like it’s 1977, 1985, 1989 and beyond, requiring a new addition to the Noise for Zeros annual best of round-up: the archival release.
Beex – The Early Years 1979-1980 (Beach Impediment)
In addition to a steady flow of grade-A modern hardcore punk releases, the Beach Impediment label did the world a solid earlier this year by releasing this killer compilation of first wave punk from their hometown of Richmond, Virginia. Honestly, the nine tracks here sit right up there with the Dead Boys, Crime, Richard Hell & The Voidoids as some of the finest early punk these wrecked ears have ever heard. Michael Tighe and Richard Buchanan’s dual guitar attack set up the perfect high tension wires for Christine Gibson’s forceful howls that rival the savage tones Stiv Bators, Johnny Strike and the godfather Richard Hell are famous for. This is some unbelievably solid shit from a little Virginia band you’ve never heard of. Track it down now and thank Beach Impediment later.
The Gorls – Fall In Love 1992-1993 LP (Hozac)
Ever since I picked up a copy of the fantastic Chicago zine Bad Vibes back in the ’90s with a bonus Night Kings 7″ EP, I’ve made a point to nab every Rob Vasquez project I come across, be it The Nights & Days, The Night Kings, Chintz Devils, Man Tee Mans, Ape Lost, Right On, The Gorls, etc etc etc. Any project graced with his eternally cool couldn’t-give-a-flying-fuck guitar tone is guaranteed to deliver the highest quality garage buzz high, so naturally, as soon as this compilation of The Gorls’ singles and some unreleased recordings was announced, I was already 110% sold. If anything described above sounds appealing to you, you should be 110% sold too.
Screamers – Screamers Demo Hollywood 1977 (Superior Viaduct)
Pretty much any documentation of the early Los Angeles punk scene alludes to or mentions The Screamers and the tragic fact that they never had a proper vinyl release despite their trailblazing influence among their well-documented peers. While a number of bootlegs and live recordings can be scored in the shadier corners of shadier records stores (the best kind) the only “official” release by this band might be the Target Video VHS, itself a trickier nugget to find in the pre-YouTube world. Fast forward to 2021 and this official demo from 1977 gets a wide release from the highly reputable reissue label Superior Viaduct. While it’s often said that a mere recording couldn’t capture the full intensity of their live show, and it’s only a precious 5 songs, this recording features a unique mix that’s cleaner than the raw tracks from the Demos 1977-1978 collections that’s satiated punk ears in the decades inbetween, losing a touch of the snarl for a bit more nerve that’s satisfying in it’s own way. Even better, the oft-appropriated Screamers logo by Gary Panter is featured in its raw, original form, making this a must-have, albeit absurdly tardy document of one of the brightest sparks from LA’s legendary punk scene.
Spike in Vain – Disease is Relative LP (Scat)
As documented here, the official re-release of this highly-regarded late ’80s noise rock obscurity was long overdue. This lovingly reissued album by one of Cleveland’s finest freakshows — one in a long line of fine Cleveland freakshows of the Electric Eels, Pere Ubu, Rocket from the Tombs, and X_____X variety — found a loving fanbase in 2021 that simply did not exist when it first oozed out of the toxic Lake Erie sludge in 1984. See the link above for more proof, and also check out their scrapped 1985 album Death Drives a Cadillac, finally seeing the light of day 36 years later, with a funkier, but equally deranged brand of post-punk art damage. The fine Scat label will also be reissuing the bands’ Jesus Was Born in a Mobile Home demo in 2022, thoroughly documenting and cementing the legend of this legendary group.
Tales of Terror – Tales of Terror LP (Call of the Void)
Okay, so it took about eight years for my plea to be realized, and not even by an American label, but FINALLY someone’s reissued this absolutely essential bit of mid-1980s skate punk. I haven’t even seen an actual copy of it yet, but it looks like is been given some new liner notes, label designs and a red vinyl pressing on the tiny UK imprint Call of the Void as part of Record Store Day 2021. My only gripe is that the A-side label design no longer has the Frankenstein-ish leather-clad punk drawing with the turntable spindle popping out of its pants like a cock. Immature, sure, but I always get a chuckle whenever I play my original copy, but whatevs. The fact that someone somewhere is giving this masterpiece its due warms my COVID-clogged heart and it’s the feel-good story of 2021, along with the other incredible and overdue reissues/archive releases mentioned here.
Unsane – Improvised Munitions & Demo LP (Lamb Unlimited)
Of utmost interest to a blog with the word “Noise” in its title, this was covered here upon its release, as nothing could be more important than the unearthed manna of the sonic gods to the tinnitus-stricken in 2021. Long-lost to the NYC cesspool that existed before Times Square became Disney-fied, these are some of the earliest, punishing demo tracks from the undisputed kings of heavy blues scum rock riffery, which literally disappeared along with the owner of Circuit Records and junkie roommates. Collecting the four demo tracks plus a few from their early singles, the solid vinyl mastering on this collection makes these 32-year-old tracks sound a massive and gnarly as ever, making it a must-have for any Unsane fan.
Various Artists – Cold Wave #2 2xLP (Soul Jazz)
The superb curation of Soul Jazz label compilations is legendary, so it’s always safe bet to invest some time and money exploring genres you’re curious about via this essential UK label. From space funk to early hip-hop to future dub to revolutionary jazz to Brazilian new wave to dancehall reggae and many more that you ever knew existed, they compile them all with expertise and a passion for documenting scenes with excellent, representative tracks and healthy liner notes. Shit, their superb Punk 45 series continues to enlighten even though I often think I’m fairly well versed in the genre. 2021 saw the release of both Cold Wave #1 and Cold Wave #2, two double-LP volumes of chilly, contemporary electronic artists influenced by the primitive sounds of early ’70s-’80s electronic music. Both are excellent, but volume #2 gets the pick here since it feels slightly… colder and… necessary in the year 2021. Featuring European artists such as L.F.T. (Hamburg) whose track “Stay Away from the Light” sounds a bit like a electro goth version of Berlin’s “Riding on the Metro” or the V.C.V.S. (Tbilisi) track “Hum”, which paints from Clock DVA’s darker hues of electronic dance music. Other standouts include the lead track by Amsterdam’s Lena Willikens, whose track “Howlin Lupus” could either be a synth soundtrack to a primo ’80s werewolf horror movie or werewolf porno. In addition to two heavy slabs of vinyl, this release also include a fanzine with bios of each artist. If you ever crave the buzz and howl of vintage synths and drum machines with a detached edge, you won’t find a better way to satisfy that carving than this quality release.
Various Artists – Welcome to Pittsburgh … Don’t Move Here LP (Cruel Noise)
Scene compilations can be a dicey proposition, as there will inevitably be a band or two with tracks that are a slog to get through, but this collection of Pittsburgh’s hardcore rips from beginning to end. Sure, a few of the bands stand out more than the others to these grizzled ears, but overall, the pace and fury of the 14 tracks and bands on Welcome to Pittsburgh go by in a speedy clip and leave you wanting more. Each group brings its own style of speedy, snarling, hardcore, whether it’s the big knuckle breakdowns of Heavy Discipline, the blurred Siege of Peace Talks, the psychotic guttural gut punch of Rat-Nip, or the wound-up surge of NFZ faves Loose Nukes, each band here brings the goods bigtime and each track flows really well into the next. And that’s just side A! Side B keeps the fire burning with the Detainees’ snotty anthem “All Eyes on You!” along with solid rippers from De Rodillas, Invalid, No Time and Chiller. The White Stains, who’ve become one of the Steel City’s best-known HC exports with records on La Vida En Us Mus and Neon Taste, actually slow things down a bit with “Let’s Die” before the almighty S.L.I.P. take some Ginn-esque guitar abuse and mangle it into the Black Flag-esque “Daddy’s Little Girl Part II” to close out the record. Definitely one of the most listenable punk comps to come around in a long time, which makes it a shame that it was limited to only 500 copies and isn’t readily streamable anywhere.
Xerobot – Xerobot LP (Chunklet Industries)
The gift Chunklet Industries bestowed upon the world with this discography of mid-90s Madison freak show Xerobot is too immense for most headz to comprehend. After the post-Nirvana “punk” explosion occurred in the early ’90s and the subsequent wave of unimaginative guitar-based alternative rock wiped the slate nearly clean of anything remotely interesting in the indie-now-not-so-indie scene, a few scattered mutants across the country pushed underground rock in new, feral directions. These groups kept a low profile at the time but eventually got their due. Bands like San Diego’s The Locust, whose fractured sci-fi grindcore quickly found a shockingly large audience of Spock-haired fans, or Providence’s Arab on Radar whose fanbase slowly built over the decades with their wholly idiosyncratic sound and lyrics, both becoming a reference point for new bands that followed in the decades to come. Xerobot should be on that shortlist of amazing mid-90s bands that were doing something truly unique, noteworthy and totally fucking insane, and yet they never quite got the recognition that many lesser bands received then and now. To rectify this oversight, Chunklet Industries has compiled 37-tracks of Xerobot’s intensely spastic no-wave/now-wave as evidence of their greatness. The vinyl edition includes a fantastic 20-page booklet documenting the band’s history, so if you can find a copy on Discogs or if Chunklet ever decides to press up a few more, be sure to snatch one up and bask in the genius and virtuosity of this horrifically overlooked band.
The Young Gods – The Young Gods 2xLP (Two Gentleman Records)
For those unfamiliar, these Swiss trailblazers sound something like Ministry covering the Swans. The four new additions on Side C are worth the price of admission alone, including “Envoyé” which pummels with like a Killing Joke, while “Soul Idiot” features a great version of the cut-up industrial pound that make the Young Gods so distinct. Whatever “C.S.C.L.D.F.” stands for I may never know, but the stumbling cretinous riff brings to mind the repetitive patchwork riffing of the fabulous Strangulated Beatoffs, and the concussive bursts of “The Irrtum Boys” measured out in a vacuum of space filled by the sounds of bolts of electricity and typewriter keys make an incongruous collage of sound that shouldn’t work, but does here, and in a huge way. Side D contains Peel Sessions featuring two tracks from the album, plus “Irrtum Boys” and “L’Amourir” — all worth hearing just to savor the samples in a new setting and with a few flourishes unique to these recordings. If you aren’t familiar with The Young Gods I can’t recommend this release highly enough. It’s served as an inspiring listen to my ears 30+ years and will continue to be as long as I can still listen, and this remastered version by far is the best sounding and worthwhile edition yet.
