Jellicoe & Woodbury: Doubt/Fear 7″

Description

These back to back belters reference the style of hardcore punk that calls out in bloody protest, harkening Insane Youths Not Give a Damn and Anti-Cimexs Scandinavian Jawbreaker. The dogs snarl without mercy or respite offering soaring solos, a bleak outlook, a big bass tone and pummelling drums. Over exhilarating guitar density and hoarse bark, Jellicoe and Woodbury chase, dismantle, and advocate obliteration of mankind.

Jellicoe and Woodbury are the twin dogs of Doubt and Fear, a poetic interpretation of James Joyces ‘Ulysses’, where dogs seemingly are ready to attack at any moment, based on Joyces well known fear of dogs. Doubt and Fear channel ‘Ulysses’ through a Bastard Wind of Pain like lens. These self-created monsters use capitalism to keep us afraid to really move forward in life, and scared to connect with each other. They chase us back and ‘breath down our neck

Recorded in Toronto by some weathered but familiar statues in the Toronto punk community. To compliment the style, as well as the in depth and swirling world of these characters, legendary Japanese hardcore punk artist Sugi has manifested these two dramatic tracks for the front cover of the record.

Our take: A pretty dang killer Japanese hardcore homage here with the requisite Sugi artwork on the sleeve (and its one of the better pieces Ive seen from him lately). Rather than going for the obvious and trying to grab that Death Side or G.I.S.M. fairy dust, Jellicoe & Woodbury remind me ofInsane Youth, a less celebrated butunderrated Japanese hardcore band that featured future Forward guitarist Soichi. While Burning Spirits-style hardcore is necessarily bombastic, Insane Youth were understated and unpretentious in their approach, and Jellicoe & Woodbury follow that path. These songs arent flashy or over the top, just exciting, well-executed hardcore songs with great drumming, meaty riffs, and top-notch production. Ive listened to both half a dozen times and I still really like them. The other wrinkle to this single is that the band is comprised (at least partly, maybe wholly) of members of Fucked Up, and record serves as an oblique marketing tie-in to that bands new LP. How does a limited-release 7 on a small UK label paying tribute to a genre that only a few thousand people in the world even know about (much less like) help to edge someone further toward the decision to pick up a copy of Dose Your Dreams? I don’t know, but like Fucked Ups fake compilation Davids Town, this warrantsa place in your collection even if you have zero interest in Fucked Ups higher-profile output.