Razorcake #143

Miss España interview by Jennifer Federico and Todd Taylor

We wilt, we bloom.

Without decay, there is no regeneration. Miss España taps into the underappreciated beauty of the process of decomposition, the exploding petals of a bouquet of flowers tossed on top of a gravestone.

Melancholic ache is the soil in which Miss España’s songs are planted, but this is no goth affair. A scattering-cockroaches style of synth slithers between light and dark. The bass worms and twists around, elevating and descending, sometimes gummi-worm bright. The drums churn, turning rotting nutrients into a rich compost of sound.

Seedlings grow. Petals unfurl. Pistils emerge, stigmas sticky. Three broken lilies play to form a brightly-colored mausoleum of sound that’s simultaneously haunting and celebratory. Miss España is a trio of ridiculously talented women based out of Madrid, Spain and their debut LP Niebla Mental is as stunning as it is rare.

Hex Code interview by Martin Wong and Daryl

Although the members of Hex Code have been in cool bands, they’re no supergroup where musicians are chosen like a fantasy football team. They’re more like an SST or Dischord group where it was just a matter of time before they found each other in their local scene. In this case, it’s Long Beach punk. Also in this case, they totally rule. Icy organ drips over slashing and slithering death rock’n’roll riffs propelled by primal drums, with intense, traded vocals reminding us that “the safest place is your back against the wall” (“Parasite”) and “destruction is guaranteed” (“Babylon Lottery”). It’s a powerful combination that can be traced to the primordial era of Dangerhouse, Slash, and Frontier: pitch-black lyrics and the darkest of punk done right. Hex Code are not a bummer but an exhilarating, exciting, and unstoppable force—kind of like the members themselves. Check out their brand-new album and see them live if you can!

This interview took place at Razorcake HQ, where the band not only drove up the morning after a show but also brought a box of donuts to share.

Steve Thueson interview by Donna Ramone

Punk comics and their new graphic novel The Night Never Ends

Though music is the center of most punk artistry, we all experience a kind of thrill when we discover punk representation within other art forms. There’s also something especially poignant about the comic medium and its ability to tell a story. When the two come together, the experience can be as deeply felt as our favorite albums.

Full disclosure: Steve Thueson (they/them) is one of my closest friends. However, it is from the most unbiased place my brain will allow that I contend their comics—whether professionally bound or a stapled zine—are incredibly witty, heartfelt, true to life, yet full of movie-like action. Their latest graphic novel, The Night Never Ends, is a story exploring the relationships between a crew of coming-of-adulthood punks from suburbia, set within a slasher film. It’s also extremely funny.

David Littlefair of Feeble Strength and Portions for Foxes Promotions interview by John Miskelly

It’s appropriate this interview took place the day after the Deadpunk Special All-Dayer in Bristol. The bill was almost exclusively U.K. bands, put on by a local DIY promoter and took place mostly in community-owned, independent venue The Exchange. Above The Exchange is Specialist Subject Records and shop, another example of people working, sweating, and grafting to bring what they think deserves to exist into fruition, often with little in the way of recompense other than a few “cheers to…” from a stage or mentions in some liner notes.

David Littlefair isn’t any different from those people. Maybe he spreads himself a bit thinner than others, beats himself up more, and overthinks things. He’s more proof that the people who make life bearable and create meaning in our lives aren’t venerated at award ceremonies or lauded by established outlets. They’re the ones standing next to you at the show or sitting next to you at your day job; the people you already know.

I’ve known Dave since I was eighteen. I’m thirty-eight now, and I’ve never known him not to be in a band and not to have been putting on shows. Only the iterations and co-conspirators have changed. Dave’s current band is called Feeble Strength and concerns itself mostly with trade unionist history and Christian martyrs as metaphors for the former, with other bits and pieces of socialist history, depression, and existentialism thrown in. Sonically, they aspire towards The Weakerthans, Superchunk, and The Hold Steady. Maybe chuck a bit of Thin Lizzy in there too. He puts on shows under the name Portions For Foxes, mostly in Newcastle, Sunderland, and London. At the time of writing, he is preparing for the second edition of the Marrapalooza festival in Newcastle, a celebration of U.K. DIY punk and indie bands.

One Punk’s Guide to Pickleball by Bryan May

Unless you’ve been actually off the grid (in which case, good for you), you have heard about the net game pickleball. For at least the past three years, it has been the fastest growing sport in the United States. People snicker at the name (as they should), its seeming hoity-toity-ness, and weird cultural norms, but my argument here is simply that it may benefit you to give it a try. It’s the most fun thing I do…

…Like many punks, I’ve always had an aversion to sports, and especially the jock-like attitude that pervades many of them. Of course, this still exists in pickleball, but the people who play tend to be encouraging and welcoming. Pickleball players really want you to play pickleball. As aging punks reluctantly learn that the people who said exercise makes you feel better were right, a lot of us are looking for that healthy dopamine fix. This game is mine.

“Insisting the U.S. isn’t at war feels like double-speak propaganda.” –Donna Ramone (instagram)

“The Great Beer Can Boat Race Or, How to Write a Novel… We took an idea and put it in motion, but when that idea stalled we had to figure out ways to get it going again… How thrilling it felt to make a game out of nothing. –Jim Ruland (instagram)

“All I really do want is closeness.” –Lorde Destroyer

“Cats are an ongoing lesson in consent. Everything is a negotiation with them. That’s the opposite of what a patriarch wants... compassion breeds courage.” –Sean Carswell (instagram)

“Three Miles above Home Plate, Contemplating the Level of Headwinds with Which Opening Acts at Events of This Nature Must Struggle… Hey man, if you get blown off the stage by the Linda Lindas, that’s on you, not the soundperson.” –Rev. Nørb (instagram)

“If this world’s going to see any change for the better, it’s gotta start with people who care about each other.” –Designated Dale

“Lies, lies, lies, lies, lies, lies, lies, lies.”  –Art Fuentes. (instagram)

“I’d rather make a difference to a small band than to be one of the millions who worship the band playing in a stadium.” –Rhythm Chicken (instagram)

Two full pages of why Pee-Wee Herman rules, in comic form. –Rick V. (instagram)

And photos from the lovely and talented:

Chris Boarts Larson

Mari Tamura

Albert Licano

This issue is dedicated to the memories of Big Frank Harrison and Maher Husseini