Unreal City
Ephemeral Subsistence
Double or Nothing (2008)
Cities like Boston, San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles get a lot of attention when it comes to hardcore. And it's not that it isn't deserved, they turn out a ton of quality bands. But there are other cities to keep tabs on as well... Pittsburgh is one of those cities and it has finally unleashed the debut full-length … Read more
Unsane
Visqueen
Ipecac (2007)
Damn, it is real hard to believe that Unsane is still going strong (minus a break from 2000-2003) almost twenty years after initially forming. Like many people, my knowledge of the band originates with seeing their video for "Skrape" on MTV many moons ago. The gnarly visuals (predating CKY, MTV's Jackass, or Scarred) of skateboarding accidents instantly made me a … Read more
Unsane
Wreck
Alternative Tentacles (2012)
Some days, I just can never get enough Unsane on my headphones, which is the method to which I listen to music while at work and might be a great explanation of why that a little Unsane is never enough as anyone with just a tinge of workplace angst might be able to empathize with me; and Wreck is one … Read more
Unsanitary Napkin
All Billionaires Are Bastards
AlwaysNeverFun, Limbless, Slimebag (2022)
My favorite Dutch swear words are “natte krant” (wet newspaper), “zak hooi” (bag of hay) while “pannekoek” (pancake) gets an honorable mention. As you can see, these don’t translate very well to English. You could tell me to look to the English for more creative English curses, but to my ears they only sound good if you say them with … Read more
Unseen Force
In Search of the Truth (Reissue)
Grave Mistake (2008)
Most people that really delve deep into and are passionate about hardcore and punk know Richmond, Virginia for its fruitful output over the past decade or so, but that wasn't always the case. There was obviously a time when, like many other cities, it was a budding scene on the cusp of something huge. Which brings up to this album … Read more
Until the End
From the Beginning...Until the End
Eulogy (2008)
Whenever I think of Until the End, I think of the time I crammed five finals into a twenty-four-hour period so I could take a road trip down to Gainesville Fest. The kids there went absolutely bat shit for them - head walking and jumping off each other, huge pile-ons, and, of course, devastating mosh. Sure, it sounds like a … Read more
Until Your Heart Stops
Errors
Creator-Destructor (2011)
This album begins with a short acoustic introduction. With tense melodic vocals leading to background screaming. this song lasts for under a minute and does little to really prepare one for the rest of the record. This California band tends to traffic in semi melodic hardcore blasts. This belies their name for certain as most would attribute the band name … Read more
Until Your Heart Stops
We are not Coming Down
Heart In Hand (2009)
The Bay Area of California was one of the original breeding grounds for hardcore not to mention a hot bed as of late - so it really isn't a surprise to hear new and impressive bands emerging on a monthly basis. Until Your Heart Stops is a fairly new group that has something new to offer, yet is closely tied … Read more
Up and at Them
Demo
Independent (2006)
Up and at Them are four kids playing hardcore music. No frills, no fashion, no hideous lyrics about suicide or emotions. Just straight-up hardcore; it recalls Sick of it All and Comeback Kid and is delivered with a distinct lack of irony that is strongly welcome in a music world where "irony" is so often used to excuse poor musicianship … Read more
Up For Nothing
Escape Route
It's Alive (2022)
While Up For Nothing has apparently been around since 2002, this is my first exposure. It’s interesting to learn about a band after listening on repeat, as I had the impression they were young ‘uns. They should take that as a compliment. Rather than sounding jaded, it sounds vibrant. Up For Nothing is a punk band from Brooklyn. The style … Read more
Up the Fury
Behind Every Mind
Detonate (2008)
Screw you with your Crime in Stereos, your Capitals, your Agents, and your Thieves and Assassins. Seriously, take a long jump off a short pier into Long Island Sound. Every week there seems to be a new band coming from that damn island that of yours that just feels the need to completely floor me. Is it something in the … Read more
Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Start
And Nothing Is #1
Ohev (2003)
The minute someone seriously suggested this name for the band, I'd have to show him the door. The name is not clever, loses it's novelty factor quickly to where it just gets annoying, and doesn't fit this band AT ALL. I was fully expecting a keyboard fronted band with some snotty vocalist. Instead what I was exposed to was a … Read more
UpCDownC
Calaveras
Field (2011)
At the rate I'm going, I'm going to seriously depreciate the value of the phrase "like Mogwai, only better." Then again, it's not exactly my fault that it's such an easy status to obtain (*zing*). The latest band to fall under this label, Kent-based post-rockers up-c down-c left-c right-c abc + start (thank god they're now going by simply UpCDownC), … Read more
Uranium Club
Infants Under The Bulb
Anti Fade Records, Static Shock Records (2024)
Do you take your punk with saxophone? Do you like post-angular guitars and rhythmic, near-spoken vocals? If so, Uranium Club is probably right for you. Apparently they call this egg punk nowadays. I would have called it art-punk. It definitely runs in the left-of-the-dial, DIY punk world, but has that glasses-wearing, proud-of-your-weirdness element that makes it hard to pin down … Read more
Urgehal
Goatcraft Torment
Southern Lord (2006)
God bless Southern Lord Records. For many years the label has been the last bastion for all things sludgey and doomish. But as some of the latest releases to come out of their gate prove, they're going back to the Black with a monster roster that sets a beautifully dark tone for the future of the label. Urgehal is one … Read more
Urgent Care
Fast Medicine
Healthcore Records (2023)
Doctor, Doctor give me the news…. Some of you might pretend you don’t have a winking brown starfish on the bottom of your nether region but Urgent Care is here to tell you that Colonoscopies can save your life. Get your pack of Pico-Salax and let the chocolate fountain bubble and flow. The colonoscope is a thin catheter with a … Read more
Useless Eaters
Hypertension
Jeffery Drag Records (2013)
This is weirdo garage punk with some surf and new wave-y parts from Nashville, TN. Hard to tell if Useless Eaters are playing guitars that sound like fucked-up keyboards or if there is a keyboard that drowns out the fucked-up guitars. I honestly could care less because I happen to really like it. Sometimes just being a stupid music fan … Read more
Useless I.D.
No Vacation From the World
Kung Fu (2003)
Do we really need another run of the mill pop-punk band? Kung-Fu records seems to think so! That is why they dished out this generic, boring, derivative record for us all to listen to. Maybe if my girlfriend breaks up with me while I'm skateboarding I'll have some new found appreciation for this band, but since I don't have a … Read more
