NERVOUS BREAKDOWN - "A Relationship Between Oldskool Hip Hop and Nationalist Socialize Ideas" (New Song)

I never know what to expect from Indonesian punk kids Nervous Breakdown and their unexplainable song titles, as every time they come out with something different musically. Last time they sent me a single A side release of a wonderful powerpop / punk rock song that could easily get radio plays, but I also know that normally they tend to incorporate a lot of noise elements and rough hardcore punk in their sound. So what should I expect this time?

Another surprise, I guess! Oyi (the genius mastermind behind this punk gang, second from left on the pic) dedided to go to the very roots of hardcore and take us all the way back to the early 80s and a proto-core sound swinging between Black Flag and SSD. The song opens with 0: 41 seconds of multiple layered distortion and feedback, before plunging into some mid tempo, youthful, crazy hardcore with blown out guitar solos and of the hook drum patterns. It is like Jimi Hendrix jamming with a heavier Adolescents or something, so you get the picture: this is good! If it was on Alternative Tentacles you would have bought it already!

Summing up: if you like unadulterated, noisy yet catchy hardcore then this is for you! You won't be dissapointed if only to hear Oyi wishing his mom "happy birthday from your son" at the end of the song... Great stuff!

DEMERIT - Real Punk From Beijing!

It might be summer, but that can't even stop us from listening to some dark 'n' gruff, tuneful punk music. Today we are featuring a band that seems like it will really stay on our playlist, and it's no other than Beijing's Demerit. We are talking about some seriously good hardcore punk here, which combines all good things Misfits, DOA & street-punk. That's true! I don't know how these Chinese punx pull it off, but they mingle their hardcore songs with absolutely stunning melodies that nod to the mid-80s US punk and street-punk scenes. Awesome! This takes us back to punk as an expression of freedom and individuality, where there is room for good songwriting as well as being pissed off with everything.

One thing I know about Asian punk bands is that when they intend to switch to the melodic side of punk, they have a knack for making catchy, heart grabbing songs. And this is certainly the case here. 

Demerit will be on the Warped Tour 2011 and I just know that many kids out there will enjoy them in the sunshine, feeling these heavy, melancholic punk grooves changing their lives. Right on!

http://www.demeritpunks.com/

http://www.demeritpunks.com/

http://www.demeritpunks.com/

http://www.demeritpunks.com/

NERVOUS BREAKDOWN - New Single

Wow! I am always happy when I receive something from Indonesian punks Nervous Breakdown, cause they always keep it fresh and I really don't know what to expect other than it will be good. These fellas have a great musical background to choose from and they find it easy to surprise the unexpecting listener. Every EP and release is different, but at least it is good and it maintains the character of loose, raw punk. For some of the band's previous releases reviewed on TYS, check here.

This time Nervous Breakdown are celebrating 5 years of existence, so they chose to give us a single track of warm-hearted, tuneful, alternative pop punk. "This Band Could Be Your Life" is just a happy song which will make you think of summer even on your worst, most cloudy day. And this is something essential in a scene that is filled with negativity and hate. Every now and then it's nice to loosen up and chill and listen to something like this. The production sound is perfect and the whole outcome just overflows with the cool and mellow vibe that Indonesian culture has. Awesome, dude! This song just takes you to another world, time, whatever.

I am just waiting the next move from Nervous Breakdown. I am really curious to see what that will be.

XIt Never HappenedX - "This Is My FXXcking Answer" EP Review (2011)

Another outcome of China becoming a leading force in the political and economic world today is the constant export of new hardcore bands who play music with all the enthusiasm and power that European and US bands sometimes lack. It's obvious if you think about it: for Chinese people hardcore is something  relatively new and fresh and there hasn't been enough time for it to become weak and jaded.

An example of the above is XIt Never HappenedX (better known as XINHX), a band that plays brutal straight edge moshcore with full-on power and intensity. Their style is pretty straightforward and simple, like early Hatebreed or to narrow it down to staight edge bands and be more specific, bands like Throwdown, Barcadia and the 7th Dagger stuff. Even if this is eseentially negative music, it is so pwerful that it becomes positive!

Although XINHX play straight on mosh/2-step which as form is overplayed nowadays, they manage to do it well and pack their sound with tons of energy and anger, let alone huge breaks and  punishing, all around kickass drumming. They are pretty oldschool for this style too, if you think that most moshy bands nowadays add noise, melodic, Swedish metal etc etc elements. No! Here all you get is groovy  brutal hardcore with some oldschool NYHC elements. The last song also includes some rapping in Chinese and it's a must-hear, baby!

The production is huge, their edge is fresh, the outcome is you wanting to put your cap backwards and headbutt somebody, so you know it's all good! Chinese straight edge all the way from Beijing!

Check:

http://xinhx.bandcamp.com/album/this-is-my-fxxcking-answe

http://www.myspace.cn/itneverhappenedbeijing 

Homerun - Demo Review (2010, self-released)

I am very glad to see that the spirit of youthcrew hardcore is alive and kicking in SE Asia. Kids from this particular part of the world tend to go against the trends, or even better, create their own trends and support styles of hardcore that aren't so popular any more (at least in Europe and the US).  Bands like Homerun from Malaysia prove the abovementioned point with some proper '88 youthcrew!

These young fellas have released a demo that all fans of fast straight edge hardcore should get into. Homerun goes straight to the point, with a raw, almost sloppy sound (like youth crew used to be!) and positive lyrics about the scene, thinking straight and staying drug free. The bass is high in the mix, so are the thundering drum rolls that land on your head in the many breaks and mosh/sing along parts. In other words, this is proper old-school youth crew (maybe like a mix between Chain Of Strength and Insted), and less neo-youth crew (i.e. early Comeback Kid, or Champion). By now you should probably know if this is your thing or not!

Homerun goes out all positive and old-school!

I don't have many other things to say about Homerun cause the band really speaks for itself. They preserve a form of hardcore that has been somewhat lost back in time. They are all about sticking to the basics and promoting a positive message with lots of energy and passion. Things like that definitely get thumbs up here in TYS!!! I give it a [7/10].

p.s. Another thing I should mention is that the band offers their demo for free downloading through their myspace: www.myspace.com/homerun88crew. Enjoy the songs, youthcrew go!

Nervous Breakdown - God Save the Freak EP (2010)

Well alright... When I get raging recordings like this in my inbox, by bands from the other side of the globe (Nervous Breakdown are from Jakarta, Indonesia), it is as good as it gets for me... Definitely more than I expected when I started doing TYS, let alone when I got into hardcore in my teens. 

To the music then... Nervous Breakdown is a band that comes all the way from Indonesia like we said, and they play their own brand of fun & energetic hardcore. Their 2010 EP is entitled God Save The Freak and it contains 6 tracks of awesome relentless core that takes the listener around all styles of the hardcore/punk genre. What I mean by the above is that it is mostly fast, it could even be termed fastcore or thrash, but there are definitely a variety of influences thrown in together that make an interesting  mix. More precisely, there are some classic punk influences (i.e. Dead Kennedys), some old school California style punk rock, straight Rock psychedelia, and even... classic pop parts in the Smiths tradition. In fact, one song starts with a Smiths cover/remix, before plunging into the core..! BUT, it is all done with good taste and molded into a solid blend that is just Nervous Breakdown.

It is kind of hard to describe bands like Nervous Breakdown, only based on our own Western standards. I mean that the way I see it, kids from these parts of the world feel, live and play hardcore music in a different way--which is totally admirable, of course! They don't stick to the formulas so much (maybe a part of their inherent cultures?). I am just so tired of listening to the same structures again and again, changes like these are more than welcome and we can be influenced by them! In any way, NB would be a good way to start getting into the wonderful world of SE Asian HC, as they have some basic parallels with Euro/US core and will not estrange the listener. 

What Nervous Breakdown does hold up to for sure, is the quality of the recording and music. They have nothing less compared to any underground band out there, with their intense and youthful deliverance of hardcore punk goodness. The production isn't the cleanest ever, but in this genre it doesn't even need to be, as long as all the instruments can be heard properly. To my ears, it even adds to the atmosphere sometimes, when the sound is not 100% plastic-clean.

To sum up, Nervous Breakdown have released a very entertaining EP that is surley worth checking out. It is somewhere between energetic, angry and fun, with no pretentious facades or profiles. It is not fastcore or trash punk or old school, it's all of those things together. They have another release from 2008, which is also good, with more Rock and Surf influences but equally extreme, out of tune and fast!

http://www.myspace.com/nervousbreakdown2006

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And now a few words on the label that released the Nervous Breakdown EP. It is called Yes No Wave Music, and if you visit their website (http://yesnowave.com/) you will see that there is some pretty interesting stuff going on there. They have all their music up for free downloading (it is a 'netlabel'), but they are also experimenting with various ways of circulating, promoting and spreading music without losing money. I just think it is totally interesting. Even if you're not into 'music biz' issues, you will find lots of cool shit to download and get the chance to listen to some new, fresh music. Most of the descriptions are in Indonesian, but you can just take a pick and see if you're feeling lucky and whether what you download will be death metal crust or plain pop. Have fun and see what you get!

Half The Battle - "What We Have" CD Review

Half The Battle come all the way from the Philippines and the shit they play is... life-inspiring.

This youth crew band is comprised of 3 Philippine guys and (I think) 1 American dude who lives there, and from what I see and hear has made a hell of a lot to help create and maintain an awesome, vibrant hardcore scene. This full-length record, What We Have, is really changing my hardcore summer 2010!

First thing you should know about these guys is that they are positive straight edge all the way. They play an awesome mix of modern youth crew with a pretty heavy sound and very, very good lyrics. The overall approach is relatively simple and easy to go down for the average hardcore fan. However, if you pay closer attention to the sound you'll realize that the music is not actually simple at all, as it is full of changes in rhythm, starts/stops and complex mini-mosh parts, let alone the hundreds of intricate gang backing vocals structures. This stuff is totally out of the box!!! This is great shit!!!

I am so blown away by this band. This is type of band that really inspires you to get back on the right track and leave all the fucking debauchery aside. The music is so energetic and the lyrics are so positive that they have all the reasons to convince kids to live a good, honest, sober life. This is the hardcore the world needs: it makes you feel good instead of filling you with hatred about everything around you. I insist that the lyrics (which come with short explanations for each song) are so good that will have you reading them off the lyric sheet and get you thinking about stuff. The hooks will stick in your head for days on end and you will end up pointing fingers at the sky and jumping around!

If you want to get this, I suggest you get in touch with Apostolis from WAK Records, cause maybe he has a few copies left in his distro. What We Have is a CD that will stick in your stereo and will definitely  be kept in a visible place of your record collection for the rest of your hardcore days (may they be many!). Half The Battle keeps putting out quality shit on a variety of record labels around the world (7"s, Compilations etc). In other they're doing their thing right now, so right now is the time to check 'em out and feel the magic for yourself.

I'm out!

http://www.myspace.com/xhalfthebattlex