Issue 11

The Counterforce Issue #11 has arrived. This zine compiles everything on the site since the last issue: How to make a show poster, numerous reviews and columns, and the second edition of The Counterforce Crossword. With a front cover by contributor Ralph Rivera. Download the PDF for printing here and view more issues on The Counterforce Zines page....

Contributed by Grego Clow Antwerp ensemble brings a heavy dose of post-punk on this release. An equal balance of catchy, dancey, and angular. I typically go for a little rawer production for my post-punk, but THE STROKES fan in me can dig it. I hate to rag on people who are clearly great players, but the drums get a little same-y and there is something about how the hi hat sounds in the first track that kind of gets on my nerves. At first, I was confused by some of the GANG OF FOUR comparisons ...

If it seems like I disproportionately dunk on d-beat, consider for a sec that so much of it is inspired, unlistenable dogshit. Backwards looking, self-indulgent pastiche overly indebted to this or that country's scene from 20 or 30 years before any member was even born, lamenting the wars that filled their parents' bank accounts and paid for all the cider, studs, and hairspray they could ever ask for. Maybe maybe maybe... maybe I DO believe the many offenders should be locked in a gulag and forc...

Another flawless demonstration of punk hardcore from Norway's naztiest export, the proud declaration thereof adorning the back flap o' the j-card almost brings a tear to my eye. Mass proliferation! May no ears be left unscathed! My review of their prior outing read simply "fuck" with like 38 Ks, and that feels similarly pertinent here. Sure, they made us wait two years for like 8 minutes of music, but get to do that when you actually, eventually make good. The bass is a little bouncier, vocals ...

Another six song, 8ish minute fuckin' psycho hardcore banger for this month's assembled readership. And, like AG-3, another band I'm glad didn't break up because their bassist moved a town away or some bullshit. Stop doing that. BLACK FLAG had 13 singers, I'm sure you can figure it out. Like their last release, I don't at all see the CRUCIFUCKS comparisons that Big Punk is pedaling, but the URTICARIA label lands a bit closer to the mark with an ABURADAKO reference. I definitely see a bit of fel...

Punk like NYC '69 or NYC '72 or NYC '76 or like... Chicago, circa right now. One shudders to think what the first 9,999 Buddhas must have endured to reach this one, but their sacrifice was worth it. Free Punk, Free Mod, Freek Beat, Free Youths. In 15 minutes, in 15 days, in 15 years, there'll be a bunch of bands comprised of 30-somethings doing interviews in digital magazines that'll cite this release as the zero-point of their interest in dirty music, New Thenners hopelessly trying to replicat...

Once every ten years or so, I find it acceptable for a hardcore punk band to release a song over 1.5 mins. Not, I should say, out of some hivemind adherence to tradition, but because most of you me us chuckleheads just cannot fucking write something worth paying attention to for that long. SLIT did it twice on their two song tape. Maybe a larger sample size will some day reveal this tape naught but a fluke, but for now, their record stands unblemished. Big, heavy, chunky (pretty?), Ebullition m...

Expect this clarification included any time I have the release in hand: no fucking lyrics sheet. That's sort of expect at this point, but jesus fucking christ. Independent of that, I've gone back and forth trying to figure out how much I enjoy this or whether I did at all period. Whatever hesitation I felt in giving a full-throated endorsement dissipated after about 30 listens: I have decided that you and I both belong on the Arizona HAPPY FARM. This art is fucking awesome. It looks like somet...

THE LIMITS (pt. 1) I've been taking a lot more walks lately, dropping off newsletters in the little libraries. Punishment by proxy! A great big fakeout! Congrats, you have in your hands what looks like a punk zine but is actually 6-10 pgs of RFK's Exhibit A when it's time for my Tismternment at the Barron Trump Wellness Camp. Nerds, sloths, masturbators, they're coming for you and me alike so I'll see you on the chain gang for another 12hr shift spent smashing Kristi Noem's dog's head in for ti...

GLASS DOLLS is the project of my TOTAL NADA bandmate Etienne, who also plays in WAYS OF HIDING, RECALL, and likely filled in on drums or guitar in the last band you saw... Last year he started playing shows with a backing band of friends and released the debut GLASS DOLLS EP. At the time I was bit disappointed - not because the EP was bad, but because all the songs I had gotten to know from the live shows were missing! The EP seems to be a collection of songs that predated the live show. Old Fri...

How-to Contribute to The Counterforce The Counterforce is a distributed and community project! Through 11 issues and 280+ posts, we've been lucky enough to have contributors from all over the world: many are friends, many are strangers, and some were strangers and are now friends. But we can always use more contributors! I don't particularly like writing, and I didn't start this to have a place to publish my own writing. I would really much prefer to just do the shit-work and provide a platform...

ACROSS 1. Oi fanatics against white power, abbr. 6. Scooter-riding youth of the 60s, disdained by skins. 10. Grassroots union with a red logo and cat 13. Real name: Douglas Colvin 14. Sum, short form? 15. The sound of one befuddled 16. A no scratches, no wear, record 18. 1960s radical student activist org. 19. Investment yield, short form 20. End of the name for playwright Oscar 21. Philly's sandwich 24. Former Breitbart editor, target of 2017 Berkeley protests. 25. Snitch on 28. The 1990s pred...

Death Seller hits the ground sprinting and barely lets up over ten tracks of tight, noisy, blisteringly fast hardcore punk. ...

Contributed by Felix L.G. There has been so much talk in my immediate circles about how good this album is. I don’t know how much more I can say about it. Look, you get it. If you’re into the first edition D&D aesthetic, the midtempo metalpunk tunes, and have been into the singles and the first two LPs, then you will dig this. That said, if you’ve missed out till now for whatever reason, there’s no better place to start then here. Opening track "Lily of the valley" has been on constant repeat f...

Singalong Song When’s the last time you saw a room full of people singing a song that wasn’t a hit on the radio at one point or another? Growing up in St John’s, Newfoundland, one song stuck out for many years, most importantly for its story: "Dry Show" by CONDITIONER. The band’s member have served in different punk projects over the years like BAD PLAN, YEE GIRLS and PILLOWCOUNT. It’s not a punk song, it’s a song about punk. The story describes the atmosphere of St John’s shows at one time. ...

First thing. Yes, the band name is spelled correctly. DRES. Next, the name of the tape. There was a band from Houston, TX called DRESS CODE, not active since 2015 it seems. The tape named as such to help those who are confused I guess. This band is out of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. A scene that is demanding to be seen and quickly gaining momentum over the past few years as a freak punk hot spot. There's a joyfulness and almost fun vibe to DRES CODE. It's hardcore punk make no mistake. The vocals a...

Freaky and fast hardcore punk straight outta Buffalo, NY. Saying this is a synth punk band feels wrong, just a ripping punk band that also has a synth, ya know? As far as I can tell this tape is a tour exclusive. Two/three new tracks and 4 tracks from their Dog City Sessions video. The new tracks are easily the best recordings of this band so far. At times reminds me of a scrappier and faster more punk version of the band LEATHER from Philadelphia. Some slick guitar rocking combined with some sy...