That was the week that was

That was the week that was

Another week rolls by and we head towards Christmas but there are no mince pies or sherry being overindulged round here when there are records to review and Shows to see and last week was no exception as RPM brought you a diverse bunch on the live front as well as on the death decks.

 

Sadly the last seven days saw another rock n roller pass on to the next life and we said goodbye to Peter Blast.  I had the pleasure of reviewing several of his albums and spoke to him in the last twelve months.  On behalf of everyone here at RPM I’d like to offer our condolences to his family and friends and raise a glass to his memory.

 

We also brought you an interview with Phil Privilege from the  awesome kings of power punk n pop Cyanide Pills with an amazing trail of singles and albums as part of their repertoire Phil told us they were on the way to deliver the next long player as well as answer a few of our questions about the band, Catch up with it here

 

We also had some pretty diverse live reviews from the likes of hard rockin’ Junkyard , Cowboy Junkies and a doubleheader from He Who Cannot Be Named and the Awesome Hip Priests. But our bread and butter has to be our album reviews and with Black Friday RSD releases in thin supply some of our favourite labels did manage to put out some quality must have records in the shape of MC5. UK Subs ‘Sub Mission’ got its first pressing on record  and we again scoured the four corners of the globe to bring you the likes of Civic from Australia, X Darlings from Switzerland, Paris’ Youth Avoiders and Californias Smash Fashion to name a few.

As for the coming week, we continue with Bens California Dreaming road trip where he visits some pretty amazing places as he skips across the USA. we also caught a few amazing live shows and bring you some fantastic records by some well-known people as well as some of the finest new performers current kicking up a storm on record players and concert halls around the planet. Remember to stick with RPM for all your alternative news and reviews. As Lux used to say “Stay Sick” www.rpmonline.co.uk its a rock n roll revolution!

 

 

 

Youth Avoiders – Relentless (Destructure Records)

Youth Avoiders – Relentless (Destructure Records)

France brings the noise to RPM who’d have thought it? Not really known for producing really popular bands it would be crass of me to suggest a whole country as big as France doesn’t have hardcore scenes especially a city the size of Paris but before today I couldn’t name a single one – well that has all changed with my introduction to Youth Avoiders.  When the bosses at RPM sent me an assignment to uncover something they’d not heard before this was a no-brainer for me. From the moment the needle drops right through to the end of ‘Ohaguro’ they plow a hardcore furrow that is both fruitful and enjoyable.  Their harvest is nothing short of tuneful breakneck hardcore ‘On The Run’ starts off proceedings and whilst it doesn’t have the history of say NYHC it certainly has quality running through it like a stick of seaside rock and Youth Avoiders are uncompromising and as brutal as anyone on the scene but they also have the songs which will set them aside from other noise bringers.

As the artwork alludes there is a dense black and white feel to the music as they capture the cold brutal yet melodic and welcoming punk rock.  A band that has been around for some time have just gotten better as they have refined their sound and songs to a point where there is a steady progression every record and this ‘Relentless’ album being the pinnacle of their body of work thus far.  I love the charm and melody of ‘Watch Me’ and ‘Street Violence’ is like a street fight caught and melted into plastic grooves it’s breathless and a musical punch after punch after kick.

The band has tirelessly toured this record and visited the UK as well as a lot further afield to show just how good Parisian Hardcore is and hopefully if there are others in their scene ready to make music as good as this then we welcome them.  Every song on ‘Relentless’ is exactly that – relentless. A short sharp shock to the system that Hardcore is alive and kicking and with bands like Youth Avoiders playing and making music it will never die.

 

Buy Youth Avoiders Here

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Author:Seb Boyd