Code of Honor “Complete Studio Recordings 1982-1984″ [Subterranean]

Politicized punk from San Francisco’s early 80′s hardcore scene with a touch of skate rock. Subterranean Records co-founder and guitarist Michael Fox started Code of Honor following his stint in Sick Pleasure. Their straightforward layman’s lyricism bears no ambiguity about taking action and making a difference in a fucked up world. The sometimes monotonous yet appropriate themes include freedom through honesty & peace, killing our leaders to take back control, fighting the good fight, and denunciations of power hungry politician’s greed & militaristic warmongering. It’s a little preachy but not if taken in measured doses. Kinda similar to T.S.O.L. or Agent Orange but at times a little art punkish. Very abrasive shredding guitars and extremely well played over aggressive bass & runaway drum blitz. It’s angry & volatile like hardcore should be. Not quite as memorable as M.D.C. or Dead Kennedys but still rockin’. Not to be overlooked!
LANGUAGE: 1, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 16, 21

Nervous Patterns “s/t” [Cochon]

Jay Reatard and Alicja Trout stray slightly from their supercharged Lost Sounds sequence into more eclectic Nervous Patterns. Whereas the former dished out harder edged maniacal Memphis synth punk, Nervous Patterns introduces catchy electronic melodies, experimental lo-fi qualities, indie acoustics, and blues elements. It still has that screaming panicky Lost Sound vibe evidenced on No Control and Not Living in a Modern World but with an increasingly druggy new wavish Sonic Youth indie rockin’ motif and more emphasis on singing & harmonizing. You also get heavier doses of building guitar riffs and shorter instrumental interludes. This is lots of fun but might require some initial readjusting to their vigorous stemming out.