For the last 50 years, punk music has continued to pack basements, bars, and DIY spaces full of sweaty, spikey, and exuberant young folks ready to climb the walls and ceilings, repelling off each other like shrapnel. And for more than a decade, Bandcamp has been a hub for punk music lovers and musicians to come to and share their uncontainable passion for this explosive and intoxicating art form. In June’s edition of Best Punk releases on Bandcamp, Sims Hardin highlights the feral post-punk of Berlin’s Die Verlierer, the chaotic jangle of Phoenix’s The Sheaves, the paranoid hardcore of L.A.’s Seudo Youth, and many other exciting rippers.
Die Verlierer
Notausgang
Vinyl LP, Cassette
Berlin-based bunker punks Die Verlierer resurface wielding another round of Earth-scorching recordings with their sophomore LP, Notausgang. After a game-changing debut LP, the band continues to craft tuneful yet wiry jams that are well-informed by prodding, proto-punk archetypes and our gloomy, motorik post-punk ancestors; think Warsaw, Crass, and The Stooges. The performances have a gritty live feeling: the sound of the recording is warm and organic, captured in analog tape glow. Die Verlierer are the real deal—’70s punk artifacts dropped into modern times.
The Sheaves
A Salve For Institution
Vinyl LP
Desert dwellers The Sheaves offer up their second LP, A Salve For Institution, an exercise in aberrant yet focused guitar punk. Informed by bands like The Fall and Swell Maps, the Phoenix, Arizona-based band craft their own brand of gnarled, jangly, linear songs while staying true to the sounds of their post-punk predecessors. The Sheaves have really hit their stride on this record, tapping into more interesting and freakier arrangements while still delivering their infectious, monotone, stream-of-consciousness-esque vision.
Pardoner
Paranoid in Hell
7" Vinyl, T-Shirt/Shirt
Bay Area band Pardoner have been garnering a lot of attention over the past few years for their ability to execute a myriad of punk styles on the same record and even in the same song. From searingly fast hardcore to jangly art-rock to shoegaze-y ballads, Pardoner seems to just get it. This EP is another prime example of their versatility. The track “Distant Star” takes the listener on an odyssey from blistering hardcore to artful post-punk while the two singer/guitarists trade duties of epic ripping and belting memorable hooks. The band went a little more lo-fi on the recording this time, and it only shows that their songs are still great delivered in any fidelity.
Necron 9
Flower Children Tape
Milwaukee’s Necron 9 delve into gritty Tascam hardcore perfection on their latest tape, released by Unlawful Assembly. These songs are fast and furious with gut-wrenching guttural vocals, unhinged noisy riffing, and lightning-fast, pummeling drums. The recording itself straddles the line between falling off the tape reel and a perfect capture—just as it should. Truly one of the bands to look out for in a sea of Midwestern lo-fi hardcore bands.
Snooper/Prison Affair
Split EP
7" Vinyl
It’s hard to deny that this was destined to be an epic split. Both Snooper and Prison Affair have been drawing large crowds to bigger and bigger rooms for the last few years with their wonky, catchy weirdo egg-punk jams—and with good reason. Both bands are extremely hardworking, have created a singular and catchy sound in a world full of mediocre egg punk bands, and have very well-executed aesthetic concepts. To see them team up is a dream. Chock full of fast, quirky synth-punk songs turned up to 11 and going off the rails, it’s the sound of both bands growing ad infinitum simultaneously.
Neutrals
New Town Dream
Vinyl LP, Compact Disc (CD)
Bay Area art-rockers Neutrals unveil their debut album New Town Dream and it’s a treat for diehard fans of Postcard Records and the like. Allan McNaughton’s memorable vocals and his kitchen sink lyrical reflections are charming, witty, and introspective. The musical arrangements are thoughtful but never overwrought. The recording quality is warm, resulting in an era-correct sound. Rarely has a contemporary punk band offered such a unique and intentional vision. These songs will bore their way into your subconscious, and you’ll be humming your way through monotony in no time.
Seudo Youth
“I Know Where Ray Cappo Lives”
I knew this was a band to keep my eye on when I realized the laundry list of excellent punk bands the members have formed: Advoids, People’s Temple, Gunn, Diode, and a million other crazy cool bands, I’m sure. Seudo Youth is its own unique treasure, and their latest single is heaping with snotty SoCal ’80s hardcore vibes. This one-off sounds like a lost artifact from SST Records with its no-frills aesthetics, slacker-ish riffs, and barking, yet coherent vocals, reminiscent of Black Flag’s classic “Nervous Breakdown.”
Autobahns
First LP!
Vinyl LP
This is a truly crazy album. Autobahns, together with the rest of their German punk contemporaries, have quietly been making some of the best punk out there. This record is an epic exploration of angular synth punk busting out of the seams. This will easily be a welcomed addition for fans of Aussie punk bands like Gee Tee and Satanic Togas, though Autobahns are on their own unparalleled journey. This record is a high-speed, high-flying, glitchy rock ‘n’ roll fever dream. The synths, and guitar riffs are wild and free—freaking the freak out in synchronized ecstasy.
Direct Threat
Endless Siege
7" Vinyl
Endless Siege feels like the soundtrack to 500 wasted hooligans barreling through the streets and smashing everything in sight. Direct Threat and Iron Lung Records team up again to deliver another brutal masterpiece. Raw, punchy, and tough as nails, this band makes succinct yet chaotic, hardcore-leaning street punk that falls somewhere between UK Subs and Blitz. This record is foaming over with catchy and driving songs that make you wanna curb stomp the water cooler on your lunch break, smoke a cig, and sit back at your desk like nothing happened.
Invertebrates
Sick to Survive
Vinyl LP
Richmond continues to be an insane mecca for hardcore punk. Invertebrates, however, are a true standout featuring members of Public Acid who have also been garnering much deserved attention as an East Coast raw punk staple. Invertebrates churn out crazy fast street punk that fuses D-beat and more snotty stuff à la Poison Idea or Bad Brains. Chaotic, fast fury! Every instrument is going bonkers in sequence. The music and its arrangements are heady, tasty, and completely pulverizing. Be safe out there, folks… You might actually die if you get in the pit while these legends are ripping.
