A collection of four tracks recorded during lockdown by former and current members of The Hip Priests, TV Crime and Mannequin. Ben, Austin, Sid, Joe and Nathan, recorded these four tracks that Von Cruz had written, with no rehearsal at all and smashed them out in a few hours with the result that those lucky enough to purchase this here Hate Tape. Of course it’s limited to 50 copies. It’s not on vinyl or digital but on the ladies format – The bloody cassette tape. They might be all gone by the time you’re reading this but it’s worth a try christ of course it’s worth a try, it’s fan-fuckin-tastic.

Hipster fuckers knocking it out on tapes I guess that’ll piss off the vinyl illite how dare they use a dead format (or are they ahead of the curve? With every man and his mother out buying a record player maybe the Cassette isn’t just for the ladies but hip as fuck and something you can fit in your back pocket instead of a phone and plug this racket into a snazzy walkman and get fired up on Hate.

‘Some Of My Brothers Only Have One Speaker’ is Red Bull amphetamine Rock and Fucking Roll kids (Hell it’s all full-throttle what else would you expect?) It should carry a warning sticker and should be approached with caution. No, not because it’s shit but because it might blow your speaker. Of course, it’s fantastic why the fuck wouldn’t it be? As it’s lo-fi it’s also a sonic stick of dynamite. ‘Disgraceland’ is like having your skull rattled with a baseball bat, intense and pummeling would be a few apt adjectives.

Von Cruz and Austin Rocket go back before the Hip Priests when they rattled fillings with Gods Chosen Dealers and Ben is now also a Hip Priest so they have a great understanding anyway. Nottingham bands cross-pollinate big time here which I guess helps when jumping in on these tunes, it certainly helps reach these energy levels.

‘Little Johnny Thunders Is A Motormouth’ is a tub-thumping banger! It’s got a filthy amount of riff-a-rama and rocks like a bastard of the highest order. An absolute masterclass it is too and has some awesome guitar wankery to complement the manic rhythm section that’s like a runaway train and I love it, Joe is the prince of pound, make no mistake.

I have a hunk of burning love for this tape and if there’s more to come Mr Von Cruz then get it pressed up the world needs more Von Cruz and his Hate tunes right here right now and the less produced and more fired up the better now fuck off because I need to turn the tape over and get a sonic sorting and a brain full of more of this here Hate. 10 out of 10 no doubt about it!

Hit up Nathan Here to see if there are any left.

Author: Dom Daley