Trash Knife / Dumb Vision: Split 7″

Description

Split 7 between Madison, WIs DUMB VISION and Philadelphia, PAs TRASH KNIFE

Our take: Split 7 pairing Philadelphias Trash Knife with Madison, Wisconsins Dumb Vision. Trash Knife are a known quantity around Sorry State as Ive loved all of their previous releases. If you havent heard them before, they play snotty, hardcore-y punk that reminds me of the Avengers, but with melodic, Buzzcocks-type leads peppered throughout the songs. That formula remains intact for their three songs (if it aint broke, dont fix it!), but there are two key differences. First, with three songs crammed onto one side of a split 7, these songs are shorter and more to the point than previous Trash Knife songs. Second, the production here is piss raw, super noisy and blown out. I would have been skeptical that such raw production would work for Trash Knife since theres so much going on in their music, but the nastiness brings out the bands acerbic side and makes for a thrilling listen. As for Dumb Vision, this is the first time I’ve heard them. Theyre more of a pop-punk band than Trash Knife (who always struck me as hardcore-meets-77-punk) and remind me of early Lookout!-era Queers or the first Lillingtons LP. However, their recording hasjust as much noise and filth as Trash Knifes side, and while Im not a big pop-punk guy the spoonful of vinegar helps this medicine go down.This is just the kind of no-nonsense punk split you dont hear much anymore.