Location: St. John's, Newfoundland
Country: Canada
Genre: Punk, hardcore
Demo: Public Enemy
Format: Cassette
Label: Independent
Release date: 1986
Recently, my music interests have really shifted. I am known to listen to grindcore, goregrind, metal, punk, and all forms of underground harshness, but in the last few months I have been listening to a lot of hip-hop, dubstep, and 50s and 60s music…strange, eh? With that being said, I decided it was time for something with a bit of oomph and overdrive, so I loaded up Youtube to see what I could find. Almost instantly I came to Public Enemy, an underground punk-rock band from Newfoundland. In particular, I found their 1986 demo tape!
It says on the Youtube bio that the hip-hop group of the same name came out earlier, but did not release anything until 1987. Either way, I am very glad I have found this demo, as it has proven to be a nice little blast of lo-fidelity abrasiveness.
The first thing that I can say is that these guys really remind me of Tesco-Vee and the Meatmen. Which makes a lot of sense, as they were both active around the same time. On that topic, you should really check out Tesco as well if you have not heard of him. He is an absolute punk-rock legend…and his music highlights everything that was good and promising from that era. Anyway…back on the topic of Public Enemy.
Featuring eight shorts tracks in under 15 minutes, this demo manages to bang through an onslaught of audio carnage that would leave most main-stream listeners shaking their heads in disbelief. And the final track, a cover of “House of the Rising Sun”, is actually pretty catchy!
Much the same as a lot of punk demos I listen to, I find it hard to choose a favorite track. Each one is of pretty much the same quality…and there is not a single song I do not like. Tesco would be proud of these guys. And hey…maybe he has heard of them?
To put an end to this brief review, I will just suggest checking it out for yourself. And if you don’t like it…well, it’s under 15 minutes, right? Check this pile! –Devin Joseph Meaney
Track list:
1. Youth Crusaderz
2. What Cops Say
3. What's Love Do For Ya
4. No Escape
5. Guilty
6. Get Out
7. I Hate Your Life
8. House Of The Rising Sun
This review can also be read at Corban Skipwith's Facebook group Relentless Reviews with Corbz. -DW
No comments:
Post a Comment