Only Crime/Outbreak
Split
Think Fast!
Remember vinyl? Remember splits? Remember when punk rock and hardcore was relevant, dangerous and sweaty? All of this was in the day before digital downloading, before MTV and the Warped Tour sucked the saturation right out of aggressive music and diluted it for distribution at Hot Topic. These were the days before gloss punk.
Think Fast! Records has not forgotten these bygone years, but they have embraced the future by sending out a first for me (as a reviewer): an advanced copy of their vinyl release of the Only Crime/Outbreak split arrived in my mailbox as a credit card with a web address and a special code – it’s also available to the public as a digital download at Downloadpunk.com). This is the future of independent labels looking to promote their releases with less risk of financial loss. While I already would have been excited to get a fresh new batch of traditional hardcore punk, the environmentally friendly way in which it arrived broadened my interest tenfold.
So what of the music? At 4 songs, clocking in well under 10 minutes, the simple teaser release is a dirty appetizer that has found me replaying it again and again. The first half of the release offers Only Crime’s punk friendly melodies (band members include former mates of Black Flag, Descendants and Good Riddance), while the last half is 3 minutes of Outbreak’s metal-tinged fist-fight hardcore. It’s short enough for even the most television-torn attention span.
Think Fast! Records: http://www.thinkfastrecords.com
