Urban Waste / Notox / The Nasty / Red Tape – “4-way split CD”
This is a four-way split. This is like coming to a four-way intersection and everyone politely takes turns. This is like a Sky Bar. A candy bar that had four different flavors, separated but connected into one- vanilla and fudge were the best and you ate them last, caramel and peanut were eaten first.
I’m not gonna pick which one of these bands is vanilla or fudge as I find them all equally delectable. And this is a musical choice we’re talking, nothing unsavory here, so get your mind out of the gutter, okay?
No peanut or caramel bands here.
They each contribute two songs, I’ve selected one from each band. And it’s available on vinyl, four different colors if I remember correctly. I chose coca-cola green but then I gave it away because I don’t have a turntable as this is the modern world.
These are four great bands- Notox from the ashes of Toxic Narcotic are one of the best and tightest playing bands on the Boston scene today. No worry of slickness, though, ’cause the crust/hardcore they play is hard hitting and passionate in the music and lyrics, as well.
Urban Waste is a legendary New York hardcore band that goes back to the eighties. They’re less heavy than most New York bands, playing in a more crust or early hardcore style. They play fairly often in Boston and always put on a great show.
The Nasty are a New Hampshire band with a lot of punk and old-school hardcore in the style though they have a bit of the experimental influence in there also. They are probably the best punk band in New Hampshire now and are certainly worth your listen.
Red Tape is a bunch of young guys all in their late teens who come from Western Mass, Amherst way. Just the fact that they were asked to hang with these bands should tell you something and it tells me that their vital hybrid of hardcore, garage and punk with progressive elements make them very deserving to be here.
But it’s not only words I have to steal your heart away, I also have tunes! Let’s give them a spin.
Urban Waste’s “Wastecrew” starts with a funky bass, then a sleazy, sweaty, snarling guitar slinks in and puts its two bits in. Soon the song kicks in to overdrive with the rhythm section flashing by in a second while the venomous vocals start spitting out. “The government’s flawed/ It needs to change/ Society’s a mess/ What a shame.” The song builds like the excitement of a catastrophe happening but actually it’s a musical event that is an exhorting, exclamatory rant against the powers that be. (TNB). “Don’t give up/ Don’t give in/ The world is fucked/ But we can win.” The music and the lyrics crash against society with sound, like a metaphor for a desire for change. But no need to change anything in this near perfect song.
[audio:https://www.thrashnbang.com/wp-content/music/Wastecrew.mp3|titles=Wastecrew]
“Smash It All” is one of my favorite songs off of Notox’s recently reviewed album (second best of the year for me). And like most of their songs this fits well following Urban Waste’s tirade, as this too is a renunciation against society’s unfairness. “Fuck these bullshit lies we abide by…they make no sense…I just want to smash it all.” The drums keep rolling and pushing, like boulders down a mountain, while the guitar and bass buzz like angry bees trapped inside a jar. And the emphatic, passionate vocals want to annihilate everything in it’s way but it should spare this song because it is truly great.
[audio:https://www.thrashnbang.com/wp-content/music/Smash It All.mp3|titles=Smash It All]
“My Name Is Fuck Off” by The Nasty starts with some power chords answered by some trebly bass until a screeching guitar brings us into the song. This is in your face, past the speed of sound with gravelly, abrasive vocals that are one step beyond black metal. This song is a propulsive bit of anger and emotion against divine creatures like myself. “The only everlasting feeling is win or lose so fuck off/ without the eyes encapsulating you there goes the beauty.” It’s true, I can be frivolous but there is no frivolity here. This is hard hitting hardcore that just hit a homer with this song.
[audio:https://www.thrashnbang.com/wp-content/music/My Name is Fuck Off.mp3|titles=My Name is Fuck Off]
“Nocturnal Depression” by Red Tape comes out of the gate, after some slamming drums against a feedback backdrop, with a sinister, minor chord change against a steady, rockin’ beat. And I’m thinking that Andy Bang would be thinking, “Hey, this reminds me of my favorite local song of all time- “Better Off Dead” by La Peste.” And I’d be thinking he’s right because the Sabbath chords are there but the punk energy in the rhythm section kicks it into another hemisphere. This song rocks, kicks hard and is a fine addition to the other great songs on this cd.
[audio:https://www.thrashnbang.com/wp-content/music/Nocturnal Depression.mp3|titles=Nocturnal Depression]
So there you have it- four different bands with four different styles but all leading to the same point, the same destination. Namely goodness- songs full of passion, integrity and guts.
You can turn in any direction- North, South, East or West and you won’t be wrong, you can’t go wrong by choosing any one of these four bands. Hey, I’d choose them all. This would be a nice lineup for a show.
Much like a Sky Bar but you actually get better selections here as it would be hard to pick which one to choose first. And actually the caramel was okay but the peanut one sucked!
(Slimedog)
