U-Nix: Nuke Portland 12″ (new)

Description

U-NIX follow up their impressive debut 7″ on Lumpy with “Nuke Portland”, a scathing, psychotic hardcore masterpiece. These eight new tracks fire at full speed, with John Cardwell’s (ex-NASA Space Universe) trebly guitar attack leading the mix alongside a pulverizing rhythm section and gravelly maniac vocals. This is total trend-stripping music – a furious hardcore attack that careens forward with precision and speed. An all out ten minute war, cut loud at 45 RPM and full of replay value. Simply put, U-NIX are one of the last pure hardcore bands worth their weight. “Nuke Portland” comes packaged in a full color sleeve designed by the band plus insert and download code.

Our take: With great new records from Closet Christ, Q, and Eke Buba all landing this week lovers of lightning-fast hardcore have a lot to keep them occupied, but this debut 12 from U-Nix doesnt deserve to get lost in the shuffle. Along with Nosferatu, Suck Lords, and Alienation, U-Nix are one of the key bands that comes to mind when I think of this micro-scene thats happening right now. These bands feature fast tempos a la Deep Wound or the Neos, intricate songwriting that reminds me of Koro, and a sense of menacing looseness rooted in Voids branch of hardcores family tree. Of those bands, U-Nixs unique trait is their sense of bad-trip psychedelia. Societys Victim has the rhythm of a Bib-style noodle mosher, but its overlaid with a swirling metallic riff that stresses that rhythms seasick quality. Then theres the loping, Fang-esque parts in Liberal Hardcore, which sounds like a bad comedown. These parts contrast starkly with the fast and intricate hardcore that makes up 3/4 of this record. But ratherthan detracting from the fast stuff, it makes it even more intense, giving Nuke Portland a whiplash effect that reminds me of Gauze or the first Die Kreuzen LP. Throw in a perfectly fuzzy and heavy recording and its hard to imagine how this could have been any better.