
Wow! That´s what I like about fastcore. Otage are French hardcore punk band and they released their e.p. and lovely diy label Gargouille Asso. The e.p. contains 5 songs. The music is just what these desperate times lack, meaning pissed off hardcore punk with raw screaming, fast tempo changes from fast pogo slam style to some moshing parts like in my favorite Brasiers. The lyrics are in French but judging by little that I understand they are pissed off and political in a way, so I like that. I can only imagine how much energy this band delivers while playing live. It must be total fantastic hardcore energy bomb. Great hardcore punk for your listening pleasure indeed!
9/10
https://gargouilleasso.bandcamp.com/album/ep-2020-g-003

F.O.D. from Belgium has a large fanbase in Europe and also the world, making them one of the jewels in the crown of European melodic punk scene. This new record contains 14 songs and what is more better, this is a concept album. The story revolves around two characters, an elderly woman called Annie who, together with Harrison, reflects on the past and tries to put the pieces of the puzzle that is her life back together. The story works out just fine through the song structured with fast more skatepunk songs but also more calmer mid tempo punkrock bordering with pop punk in some parts of the songs. Hans˙ vocals are better than ever with very harmonic backing vocals fitting perfectly to the songs. It reminds me a lot of best No Use For A Name opus. For me, the songs that I somehow love the most on this record are Fall In Line, Annie, Changes Rise. But, this is the album you should listen to as a whole, not song by song to understand it better. The anguish, the pain, the sweetness, the beauty of skatepunk and melodic punkrock.
10/10
https://fodmusic.bandcamp.com/album/sleepville
The Power Of The Underground