The smorgasbord of hardcore on offer at Middle East Upstairs tonight is a darn bargain at $8, especially considering headliner Big Kill is selling their EP for a cool grand.

The four other bands make this bill even sweeter. Weak Teeth careens wildly through fast-paced discord, pausing for brief moments of tunefulness. New Strange occupies a very sweet spot between melodic hardcore and 70s metal. If early-aughts-reminiscent post-hardcore (how do you call it…emo?) is more your bag, Choke Up won’t let you down. Life Problem is at first blush, a straight ahead loud-and-fast outfit, but they accomplish some sophisticated things with tempo in the confines of their 90-second songs.

Whatever your preferred sub-genre, this show has something for you. –Josie Grove