Diyno Mixtape: December 2023 releases – our suggestions
December 2023 releases selected for our monthly column Diyno Mixtape
Here’s a new episode of the column that lets you discover our favorite albums of the month. If you missed the article with November suggestions, read here. In December there is usually not a huge amount of releases also because it is the time of playlists and “best of”. In fact, our 2023 playlist is already online and you can find it here, the article with our favorite albums will be out in a few days. However, by searching hard and listening to the submissions that came to us via email, we have discovered a lot of interesting stuff that you will find below. We hope you will enjoy it.
Why Diyno Mixtape? Diyno is a pun between dinosaur (our mascot is a magenta tyrannosaurus) and DIY – do it yourself – since this is our ethos, our compass, our method and guiding spirit, our world. Mixtape is to give the idea of a collage, of a varied set of content not only in music, but also possibly in fanzines, books, films, various projects.
So in this December 2023 Diyno Mixtape, our crew represented by our dinosaur is going to mix a few little things from punk and diy world! In addition to what we consider literally unmissable, at the bottom you will find a section called “Also keep an eye on…” where we will include other gems that we are keen to mention. Here you will find, for example, albums that we liked, but slightly less than the ones described above, but that we still recommend because you might love them. You will also find demos, videos, other special projects, reissues, content that we did not have time to explore because we discovered it late or was released at the end of the month, and more.
NB: The list is in alphabetical order by band/author and is not a chart.
Be curious and if you have advice or opinions to give us on December releases, feel free to contact us on our social media or via email!
If you’re interested in the physical copy of any of these albums you can write to info@radiopunk.it. Some are in our catalog, some could be available on demand.
Autodifesa Proletaria – Assalto Al Cielo DEMO (DIY)
If you like bands like Erode, Plakkaggio, Duap and Azione Diretta this demo will literally blow your mind. Autodifesa Proletaria come out with their first work with a very strong imagery: a P38 on the cover, political lyrics against capitalism and about armed struggle, excerpts from BR phone recordings, a statement dedicating the record to Walter Alasia, a communist comrade executed in ’76. “Assalto al Cielo” skillfully mixes hardcore punk and oi! with a few guitar solos with metal overtones. The powerful, raucous vocals convey the rage with which the lyrics are imbued, and the rhythmic beat gives no respite for the duration of the three tracks. So good that it makes you say “oh, no, it’s already over!”
Chilled Monkey Brains – Back to the mud (CD/12″ LP)
The third full-length by the band from “the fetid mires of Urborg, Florida” may require more than one listen to be understood and loved. A record that freewheels through ska-punk, reggae, jazz and metal seemingly nonsensically, as if it were a rehearsal room improvisation, and features tracks ranging from a few seconds to 7 minutes, certainly does not seek easy acclaim. But perhaps that is precisely its appeal, along with the musical mini-quotes scattered here and there and the bitter irony that characterizes the lyrics. The absurdity of war and inequality, reflections on the passing of time, the meaning of life and what is or is not punk told as if in a slightly boozy conversation with friends. The icing on the cake is a sparkling version of “Suburban Home” by the Descendents. 2023 has given us several gems in the ska-punk/ska-core sphere, and “Back to the mud” is definitely one of them.
Small Thing – 20 Jazz Punk Greats (Flamingo Records, Radio Punk | CD)
Yes we know, it is strange that we are talking about a record that we produced. But if you think about it, this is the suggestion article and if we have produced something it is necessarily because we like it so much! So having made this necessary premise let’s go and talk about this band coming to its second full-length, a great collective work and not just a great record. There is indeed a lot of attention to detail: from the cover art homage to Throbbing Gristle’s “20 Funk Jazz Greats,” to the magnificent concept video by Stefania Carbonara, to the interludes composed by Vulcan Boy, David Robert Knezevich and La Furnasetta, which divide the album into chapters. In addition, several musicians and instruments are featured. Even the choice of a cover version, “Liberty” by Kitchen and The Plastic Spoons, is by no means trivial. An album with an excellent instrumental performance by the four: scratchy and versatile vocals, hammering bass and drums that can also slow down and capture you, simply devastating guitar. 13 tracks to listen to carefully, because in addition to massive doses of punk rock, which will remind you several times of Leftover Crack’s “crack rocksteady,” you will find the right amount of melody, attitude and inventiveness that make this band and in particular this album indescribable, as well as more unique than rare. We leave you with bandcamp here and the Special Visual Concept Version below. Get carried away, it’s going to be a great ride!
Stage Bottles – We need each other (Fettfleck Records, Cargo Records | CD/12″ LP)
This album, almost 10 years after the previous one, marks the welcome return of the historic, indeed iconic German band, so much so that their “Sometimes antisocial, always antifascist” has become a slogan. We find again the powerful and melodic at the same time punk rock/streetpunk sung in English and the presence of the sax, true Stage Bottles trademark. With the addition of a pinch of rap in the track “You’ll never stop us,” featuring Moscow Death Brigade. The 14 tracks address important social issues that will not only make you think, but more importantly encourage you to take action against racism, inequality and indifference. The underlying theme of the album, which can already be guessed from the title, is that only by standing united can society be changed. A call to action, then, and a hymn to friendship, sharing and solidarity to be sung in unison. A little less anti-social, but still, deeply, anti-fascist!
Stress Positions – Harsh Reality (Three One G | 12″ LP)
Chicago band Stress Positions comes to its second release with this impressive 9-track album filled with fierce yet chaotic hardcore punk. Stephanie’s voice is unique and devastating, screaming most of the time but when she decides to sing more “quietly” as in some parts of “Ode To Aphrodite” it is just as perfect. Guitar, bass, and drums are a treat for the ears between nervous riffs but with just the right amount of melody and pounding, sometimes cadenced rhythms. As can be seen from the more than appropriate cover and as the title of the album says, the album deals with various social and political issues such as poverty, capitalism that devours us, police brutality (see No Sympathy (For The Police) where a nice “No Justice, No Peace, No Sympathy For The Police” is rightly shouted) but there is also room to deal with the theme of sexuality and the search for freedom from religious oppression. A complex, intense and majestic album!
Transmisión N – Bailando a la muerte (Guns of Brixton Records | 12″ LP)
When the games seemed done, right at the end of 2023, on December 15 to be precise, came this superb album by the Spanish band, which unfortunately we did not make it in time to include in our best record of the year poll, but which would surely have found a place there. The choruses and metropolitan themes immediately bring to mind Non Servium-style Spanish oi!, but “lightened” and made more catchy by distinctly punk rock melodies. Surprisingly, the album closes with two slow versions of Bull Brigade’s “Il fuoco non si è spento,” one in Spanish, titled “El fuego arde dentro,” (with Madrid starring instead of Turin, video here), and one in Italian. Warning: they are a very low blow for the teary-eyed! “Bailando a la muerte” is a postcard from Madrid, beloved and hated mother, from which the working class cry of revolt rises. It is a hymn to life despite everything, to dancing in the rain, mocking death. It is poetry that moves and touches the heart, because it is with the heart that this record was written, played and sung. Don’t miss it!
Also keep an eye on…
Die in Vain – Savage New Times (La Vida Es Un Mus | 7″). Vinyl debut by the Istanbul band that brings out a great 5-track street punk / UK82 work that will catapult you into the era of GBH, Anti-Nowhere League, English Dogs and legendary labels like Riot City Records and Beat The System Records.
Grisaille – Entre Deux Averses… (Symphony of Destruction, Black Water Records | 7″) The duo Fab and Jacky already seen in bands such as Syndrome 81 and Mentalité 81 gives us 2 post-punk tracks with melodic and melancholic sounds that will lull you through the grayness and rain of Brest. Unmissable for lovers of “gloomy” days!
One by One – Oi Up Your Ass (Never Ran Never Will Records). 3 songs that make things clear right away: aggressive oi!/street rock n roll, with just the right amount of melody and hardcore rants. If you like Conservative Military Image, you should definitely give them a listen!
Scheletri – Torino (Rebuilding | 12″ LP). A high-emotional, melodic punk rock record that will make us experience the feelings of these guys from Turin who have perfectly blended catchy riffs and lyrics that capture you and you start singing along right away.
Sentinel – Age of Decay (Convulse Records | 12″ LP). New band with members of such great bands as Mindforce, Age of Apocalypse, Restraining Order, Mutually Assured Destruction put out an amazing crossover album that will bring together lovers of massive hardcore and fans of fast thrash metal!
Sophie Les Bas Bleus – Maux Fleuris (CD). This record is not exactly punk from a musical point of view, but it is totally self-produced and deals with painfully topical issues such as sexism and feminicide. The two Sophies, vocals and accordion, and their band will make you think but also dance to the beat of java.
The Lord & Marthe – The Eye of Destiny (The Lord). A tribute to Quorthon (Bathory), two tracks made by the collaboration between the Lord and Marthe, who added drums and vocals. Absolutely not to be missed if you like the genre!
tryingtogetby – No time to waste. A solo project by American musician Ty Miller, this EP features three tracks mixing ska, punk, and hip-hop. Does this sound like a crazy mix? Well, be intrigued, the result is very pleasant to listen to!
Wizo – Nichts wird wieder gut (Hulk Räckorz | CD/12″ LP). The veterans of the German scene are back with their usual energetic punk rock and irony. The theme of the album is decline, of the person, the world and society, the title in fact being the exact opposite of the notorious “everything will be fine.” And the cute kitty on the cover is always a guarantee!
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