Hellminded Records – 26 MAR 2021
Sometimes progress is a step back in time
Full disclosure… Apparently No Escape existed in my home state 27 years ago and I was completely unaware of them or their output. For further transparency now that I’ve listened to the six songs included in Selective Punches: A Collection of Ballads and Battle Hymns I feel like a damn fool. Featuring members of classic NJHC outfits Deadguy and Turning Point, No Escape could easily skate by on the coattails they tailored. That is not what happened here.
Selective Punches is a fucking master class in East Coast hardcore ethos taught by a few of the profesor emeriti.
Each of the six tracks here scream of urgency starting immediately with “Insomniac.” A discordant crunch fest reminiscent of bands like Coalesce, Botch and Skycamefalling, “Insomniac” charges through like a bull in a china shop with a rocket up its ass. “Insomniac” sets the scene for the remaining tracks, drums beaten into submission, guitar work built to increase your heart rate, rubbery basslines and the passionate, in-your-face vocals of Tim Singer. Singer growls and screams as if he has never met a hill he wasn’t willing to die on.
Follow up “Don’t Poke The Bear” is a warning come too late. The track opens with low vocals subtly explaining that there can be another option to violence, but as is known to happen, things escalate quickly and Singer is compelled to stand up for himself and making his own path, barking that “The shoe doesn’t fit.”
“Lies on Your Sleeve” strikes me as the bastard offspring of Snapcase technicality and Dag Nasty aggression before slowing down to begin “Everything You Need” but don’t panic, even as No Escape slows down, they still thrash hard and fast.
Overall Selective Punches may be wild, but “This Compromise Is Filthy” is downright feral. The longest song on the album by good measure, the track also connects strongest with me. Full of violently guttural yelps and growls, Singer does not disappoint at pushing his passion and emotion to the forefront. It is honestly amazing that Singer’s larynx has managed to survive the brutality he inflicts upon himself in his inflections. The multilayered shouts are only punctuated by the dissonant and beautifully grating guitar.
“Souveniers, Novelties + Party Tricks,” is more of the same old-school hardcore, and it is glorious in its grooves and groans. As with every other track on Selective Punches, this one harkens back to late nineties shows hardcore shows in basements along the NJ Parkway, gang vocals, shredding guitars and the stale, humid air one could only find in a poorly ventilated room overcrowded with Ensign and Hands Tied shirts. If you close your eyes hard enough you may even see Rick Ta Life and his distro table in the corner.No Escape put out the best late 90’s Jersey hardcore record of 2021 and there isn’t even a close second. Without feeling dated or past their expiration, the Jersey crew have created a fresh brand of retro and I, for one, am fully fucking stoked on the re-emergence of a genre I thought I aged out of.
Bad Dad (occasionally called Ed) has been on the periphery of the punk and punk-adjacent scene for over twenty years. While many contributors to this site have musical experience and talent, Ed’s musical claim to fame comes from his time in arguably the most punk rock Blockbuster Video district in NJ where he worked alongside members of Blanks 77, Best Hit TV and Brian Fallon. He is more than just an awful father to his 2 daughters, he is also a dreadful husband, a subpar writer, a terrible dresser and has a severe deficiency in all things talent… but hey, at least he’s self-aware, amirite?
Check out the pathetic attempts at photography on his insta at https://www.instagram.com/bad_dad_photography/
