ALBUM REVIEW: Suburban Annihilation – Various Artists
Unlike the rather circular ‘London vs. New York’ debates that surround the origins of its older brother punk, there isn’t much argument that hardcore was born anywhere other than California. Yes, great things would soon follow on the East Coast, particularly in the hands of the legendary BAD BRAINS, but the release of the MIDDLE CLASS’ Out Of Vogue record in January 1978 – widely regarded as hardcore’s ground zero – gives the Golden State the edge over any other. As American Hardcore writer Steven Blush puts it in his seminal work on the genre, “The first HC bands came out of Southern California beach towns, probably because they lived as close to The American Dream as one could get. Born of a doomed ideal of middle-class utopia, Punk juiced their nihilism.”
Futurismo Records’ Suburban Annihilation compilation celebrates exactly that, with a 25-song tracklist co-curated by the inimitable Henry Rollins that celebrates the many facets of what Futurismo have rightly dubbed ‘The California Hardcore Explosion’. The material compiled draws entirely from the scene’s 1978-1983 heyday, and as such we find many of the usual suspects here. Two tracks from that aforementioned MIDDLE CLASS record make the cut – the title track a particularly essential inclusion – as do offerings from some of the very biggest names of the era such as ADOLESCENTS, AGENT ORANGE, CIRCLE JERKS and DEAD KENNEDYS, and there are even showings from the lesser-known likes of SIMPLETONES, SHATTERED FAITH and EDDIE AND THE SUBTITLES, to name just a few.
All this does present a challenge when it comes to reviewing the record in the normal manner, as many of these songs have been considered untouchable classics for decades. What is remarkable however is just how well so many of them hold up even in 2023. It goes without saying that the DEAD KENNEDYS’ Chemical Warfare and California Über Alles remain largely unparalleled in their surf-inflected, Jello Biafra-fronted mania for example, or that AGENT ORANGE’s Bloodstains is still brilliantly moody and menacing, but there is just as much quality to be found in the record’s deeper cuts as there is in its most obvious picks. CHINA WHITE’s Live In Your Eyes, from their influential 1981 Danger Zone EP, stands out as an absolute rager, while EDDIE AND THE SUBTITLES’ American Society provides a cool detour towards post-punk in a rare near five-minute runtime.
The compilation also provides a great picture of what exactly was on the mind of your average hardcore kid in the late 70s and early 80s. SUICIDAL TENDENCIES’ Facist Pig, WASTED YOUTH’s Fuck Authority, and T.S.O.L.’s Abolish Government/Silent Majority all channel a keen rejection of authority into three obvious highlights, the latter’s classic hook of “America, land of the free / Free to the power of the people in uniform” a reminder of just how little has changed over the past 40 years. Elsewhere, things get a little more hard-partying, and few partied harder than Keith Morris and the CIRCLE JERKS. There are two tracks from their legendary Group Sex LP here, with Live Fast Die Young in particular summing up why California isn’t often the first place that springs to mind when one thinks of the Straight Edge movement.
Perhaps the only noticeable absence is that of BLACK FLAG, especially given the aforementioned involvement of their longest serving and most notorious frontman in pulling this compilation together. The fact that none of the Hermosa Beach legends’ old SST labelmates such as MINUTEMEN and SACCHARINE TRUST appear here either is enough to suggest that it’s probably a rights issue rather than any particularly juicy indicator of Rollins’ well-documented friction with Greg Ginn and the rest of FLAG, but it is probably the one thing that stops this record from being a perfectly comprehensive document of such a celebrated scene.
Other than that though, Suburban Annihilation is an expertly detailed look at the very epicentre of hardcore that covers not only the classics of the genre but also some more hidden gems that every self-respecting fan should be sure to check out at least once. Of course, it’s also worth remembering that with hotly-tipped releases on the calendar from the likes of DRAIN, SCOWL and ZULU – and no doubt many fingers crossed for SUNAMI and GOD’S HATE among others – The California Hardcore Explosion still rings loud and powerful today.
Rating: 8/10
Suburban Annihilation is set for release on February 24th via Futurismo Records.
Like Futurismo Records on Facebook.