Cocktheft

New grimy, outsider hardcore in the debut s/t 7" from Irish Bears, Strong Boys. Self released and on baby blue vinyl. From what I can tell, this is mostly the work of one fellow, Emmet, the guy that plays guitars and bass in numerous other Irish bands past and present, employing various other local notables for the live setting. Following on from the bands demo tape from last year, but with an ever so slightly updated recording quality, what you get here is more raw queer core that takes stark cues from early 80's West Coast and Mid West hardcore. I read another blog that made a comparison to Necros, and that sits alright with me. This thing is REALLY raw and stripped down hardcore that may not suit every punk, but the bare quality of the recording would certainly lend itself well to the live environment I think, and some of the riffs here are just really really catchy, namely the fast break bit in the first track. Though sonically, it's not all that large a step up from the demo, the slight improvement, coupled with the fun as hell songs make this 7" a big surprise for me and a certain new favourite.