Cleveland has long been home of some of the ugliest, weirdest, and stupidest hardcore punk in the US, and Cruelster are no exception to a list of greats that includes H100s and Inmates. Following up last year’s LP, Potatoe Boys, the band is back with a new 7″ of raw, anthemic nihilism. Yielding a sound all their own and an unhinged sense of humor to their music and lyrics, Cruelster shows once again just how fruitful a place Cleveland can be, birthing more hardcore left-of-center and nastier than the rest. You won’t find the jokey hardcore weirdness of bands like Bad People or Dipers, instead Cruelster is more akin to a leaner, meaner version of Brown Sugar if Brown Sugar decided to only do sing-a-longs. In other words, killer stuff.

Terminal Windmill is currently available from Turbine Piss Records, with a VHS tape of the band coming at some point. Let’s hope an east coast tour follows.