Here it is. The last will and testament from everyone’s favorite SoCal hardcore freaks NASA Space Universe. 70 AD EP, out now on Feel It Records, is a fitting end to one of the best American hardcore bands of the last seven or eight years. While the easiest touchstone still remains Die Kreuzen, the SST roster and No Trend are obvious comparisons as well. NSU have always managed a level of unpredictability in their near psychedelic, near noise rock sonic assault and 70 AD EP is no different, with the majority of tracks more midtempo and the spastic subsumed by sun-soaked dope dreams; where stop/start freneticism was now one hears the aftershocks of bad trips and psyched-out, swelling breakdowns. Production here is rawer than the last couple of releases, only strengthening the murk of the riffs and the ever-unhinged vocals – now more ragged than ever. To this listener, more than anything, this release sounds like it belongs on Subterranean or even Placebo Records. Still weird, still hard to pin down, still great. Still crazy after all these years. Now is as good a time as any to jump on the NSU bandwagon and tell all your friends you were there since the beginning.
“DSM” showcases the many individual styles of Brockton’s Van Buren Records
It has been a fruitful 18 months for the Brockton super-collective Van Buren Records. Their two 2021 records, Bad For Press and Black Wall…