It is time to support our own regional scene here on Balkans and EVA RAS released the new record, so I listened and reviewed it for our zine. Named after famous Yugoslav actress, painter and writer, this band plays darkened emotional hardcore mixed with powerviolence. There are 6 songs on this record and it represents the first half of a double e.p. The songs are short, in your face like they were supposed to be, chaotic yet beautiful in that chaos, giving away primal simplicity of decay, degradation and accepting the inevitable in fighting and recognising your inner self, your flaws and your virtues. The lyrics are in English and I can find myself in most of the songs, so it was really a pleasure to listen to this record.
Stone Lions from Australia recently released their new record with the help of Thousand Islands Records, Pee Records and Disconnect Disconnect Records. Australian underground punk and hardcore scene never ceases to amaze me, so these guys are no exception to that. The trio plays melodic skatepunk with a lot of emotional pop punk influences, the song structures being melodic, fluent, shiny and sweet, yet at the same time causing melancholy in many song parts which is great. The musicianship is tight and I really enjoyed the whole 11 songs and this album really brought smile on my tired face hehe. With songs like Don`t waste your time, Party like Kate Moss or Therapy you will love this record like I do.
Philadelphia based The Menzingers released their brand new studio album with Epitaph Records. I must admit that I was not a fan of such punkrock when I was younger, because I considered it slow music for nerds and pussies. Now, I think different and I love this band. They mix cleverly melodic emotional punkrock with indie and pop influences and they do it in an interesting and great way. There are 12 songs on the record with nice melodies, harmonic backing vocal lines, and I love the feeling of melancholy and sadness that somehow travels through the record, the songs give that vibe. The lyrics are mainly personal, but there are some subtle political tones like in for instance great America(You´re Freaking Me Out) and I must also name some other songs that are kinda highlights for me, that would be Anna, then the title song, ballad I Can`t Stop Drinking and great Strangers Forever. This is a good album, give it a try.
KRAYKULLA-WEBZINE 