I know, I know…
You’re probably sick of seeing these things by now, so I’ll keep it short. This is the top ten releases received for review on the Personal Punk blog in the year 2022. It was a difficult choice as so much great stuff came through, but what pleases me most is the diversity of styles. As usual, I’ve brutally scythed it down to releases featuring at least two songs. Otherwise, MIDLAND RAILWAY’s She Loves Ted Bundy would be No. 1. Anyway, 2023 I’m ready for ya. Well, it’s already here, but you get my drift.
10 – FLESH CREEP – Bullets/King Of The Hill cassette
September saw Birmingham’s FLESH CREEP burst out of the cage with the slavering two-track salvo of harsh, savage screamo and metallic harcore. I wasn’t prepared for how loud and battering this was and it lifted me straight off my feet. Fucking brutal, enabled by a clanging production, perfectly fitting the style.
9 – GODDAMNIT – All This Time Is Yours Now LP
In December, Philadelphia’s GODDAMNIT turned my head with this heart-felt punk package, brimming with blue collar anthems, a la HOT WATER MUSIC, and lighter-waving ballads, all topped off with some 90’s PROMISE RING emo rock touches. It was a toss up between this and October’s Here’s To Feeling Good All The Time by KID YOU NOT, released on the same label. A strong grower.
8 – THE SEWER CATS – Cute Aggression LP
TNS Records had a good year, but I adored the combination of gum-chewing, garage-punk fuck you’s and more considered emotional moments of THE SEWER CATS Cute Aggression. With some of the savviest lyrics in modern punk rock, all I can say is, we need more of this shit.
7 – ANIMAL SHITHOUSE – House Of Shit EP
A jaw-dropping, six minute epic was the centrepiece of an incredible debut by this youthful Tunbridge Wells bunch. All of this seethe-punk masterpiece is astonishing, but Words Are Just That‘s melancholy THE MOB-esque dirge, voiced by KAE TEMPEST’S Nick Blinko obsessed little brother, is truly stunning. It is surely a crime that this EP never saw a physical release.
6 – ATTESTOR/ZERO AGAIN – The A-Z of Ignorance, Indifference And Apathy EP
Good to see UK hardcore nailing down the perfect split EP. This one pipped the TOKYO LUNGS/FERAL STATE EP to the post by dint of being perfectly tight, with zero fat on the bone. ÄTTESTOR kill it with 3 songs in 3 minutes of razor-edge ‘adhd-beat’. ZERO AGAIN slightly crusty take on hardcore brings to mind a metallic RUDIMENTARY PENI as covered by GRAND COLLAPSE or ENDLESS GRINNING SKULLS. Both bands firing on all cylinders.
5 – TROPHY JUMP – Feels album
Not only did TROPHY JUMP deliver on catchiness, they also managed to throw in a myriad different influences. Warm brass, emo-rock, hints of prog and guitar effects, all keep company with the expected skate punk speed and anthemic choruses. Top tier indeed.
4 – SHRUG DEALER – Infested EP
New York’s SHRUG DEALER were new to me but their 8-track Infested EP got me all hot under the collar. PROPAGANDHI may be the point, but these Canuck’s keep it fast, tight and addictive, throwing in a ton of references, from PROP’s own lyrics, to REFUSED and THE RAMONES. With many musical ideas fighting for space, they balanced perfectly on the edge of technical hardcore and skate punk, with a canny sense of humour.
3 – JAMES DOMESTIC – Carrion Repeating LP
JAMES DOMESTIC’s debut solo LP has been a repeat player since its release in April. OK, so Giblets gets on my nerves these days, but the rest is an eccentric’s playroom of Stiff Record wonky pop, garage mania and patient, insistent experimentation, enhanced by a knowledge of dub reggae and room to breathe. A surprise keeper.
2 – GRASPING AT PIECES – We Are GAP Not JFA EP
I said “A gleeful skip across the glory years of US hardcore and skate-punk, with a gimlet eye on their local hardcore history, this thing is an unalloyed joy.” That’ll do. Youthful, exuberant, classic US hardcore with zero pretensions. Belligerent teens, playing belligerent songs.
1 – THE BATTERY FARM – FLIES LP
They did it again. The most innovative punk album to lurch through the Personal Punk doorway this year, FLIES had a killer high-concept of 21st century toxicity, mental health and existential dread, linked by themes of stasis and decay. This band is a squirming bag of restless creativity, and every groove of FLIES is brimming with jittery post-punk, overwhelming melancholy and good ol’ pulse-pounding anger. A modern classic with not a foot put wrong. Need a second mortgage to afford the upcoming vinyl release though…
PERSONAL PUNK 