Vaaska: Inocentes, Condenados 7″

Description

A lot has happened in the three years since the “FUTURO PRIMITIVO” EP dropped in correlation with the band’s 2016 Japanese tour and now VAASKA returns to a world that’s worse off with what could possibly be their final statement in the form of the “INOCENTES CONDENADOS” EP. Six tracks of smoldering D-Beat based hardcore punk which could arguably be the greatest recording session of their 10+ years as a band. Mastered by Kenko at Communichaos Media Clay Station in Sweden AKA exactly who you want to be twisting the knobs on a project like this. Each record comes in a Discharge style pocket sleeve with collaborative effort imagery by Todo Destruido, Jack Blackmon and Ryan Fromdeland. Limited to 500 copies.

Our take: Texass Vaaska are back with a new 4-song EP, their first release since 2016s Futuro Primitivo 7 on Beach Impediment. By my count this is the 7th Vaaska vinyl release, and at this point they have abulky discography that may intimidate newcomers, but I assure you its all good. As with long-running bands like Motorhead or the Fall, its fun to listen to how the bands sound evolves from release to release. If I had to sum up Inocentes Condenados in a few words, Id say its the most Discharge-inspired Vaaska release. Vaaska are a d-beat band, so Discharge has always been an influence, but Inocentes finds them dabbling with more overt appropriation, particularly on Atrapados, which incorporates the riff from Discharges Fight Back. Other tracks graft Discharges distinctive chord progressions onto Vaaskas well-established template, reaching a climax with the closing track, No a la Guerra. Notable for being one of the few Vaaska tracks without a blazing guitar solo (though there is a big swell of feedback where you expect one to come in), No a la Guerra is one of the rawest, noisiest, and most primal tracks that Vaaska has ever laid down. Every single Vaaska record is good. If youve been buying them all, then theres no reason to stop with Inocentes Condenados, but if youre new to the band, its also a fine place to start tackling their discography.