Closing out 2014 on a high note, Charlotte, North Carolina’s Stepdad SS drop a rager in their self-released LP, Mad About It. This hardcore outfit features 3/4ths of Nö Pöwer, but drops that bands d-beat sound for a more straightforward sound. Their self-professed influences include such bands as Poison Idea, Totalitär, and Necros. You can also hear Boston influences (SSD, anyone?) as well as some contemporary bands (SDSS sounds, to me, like Wiccans playing Finnish hardcore). Here is 80s hardcore worship that is assured enough to maintain its own sound in the mix. Mad About It picks up where their 2013 demo tape leaves off, but features a fuller guitar sound while maintaining the burly blown out vocals. Comparisons aside, Stepdad SS is noisy, angry, and aggressive hardcore ranging from midtempo to fast and is catchy as hell. They will be on tour down south later in January. Hopefully the northeast at some point after that?
“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…