I guess the more records you own, the more you tend to forget about them. That's only logical after all. No one can relate deeply to thousands of records and more often than not, I play a new acquisition once before storing in the correct alphabetical section (which is something I just love since it makes me feel like I am doing crucial archiving work). The internet has caused the punk market - for lack of a better, more comforting term that would not make me feel like a sheepish consumer of D-beat - to be constantly flooded with new bands you have to love (because they are much better than the previous ones, but still not as good as the next), new records you just need to get (and quick, copies are going fast!), new tours you should attend, new trends you have to follow if you want to keep up, so that, I feel, it has become increasingly difficult to relate on a deeper level to new punk music. I guess Zounds predicted it, in some way almost 40 years ago. Like everything in 2019, punk has become much faster, the norm being 18 months old bands with only one demo tape under their belt that are touring - and instagramming - on other continents.
If I see millennial bashing as a sure sign of misplaced bitterness - and of getting older, but in a sad way - sometimes I do sincerely wonder how today's teens relate to punk bands, since the insane, unlimited abundance of readily available music necessarily affects how you consider a band. Do they carelessly skip from Mob 47, to GISM, Crass, Eskorbuto or Kaaos in mere minutes, without batting an eyelid, since after all it is all on youtube, and then casually choose what they prefer? I have met teenage punks who had a tremendous knowledge of obscure 80's hardcore bands, the kind of bands that only did one great tape and that nerdy collectors used to whisper about in dark corners at gigs, usually Japanese bands that I was completely unaware of when I was their age. I mean, in a way it is impressive but also a little scary. I remember perfectly the very first Japanese band I discovered, it was Hi-Standard with the Growing up album (on cd obviously) that I got on a trip in Germany, aged 14, because it was on Fat Wreck Chords and I liked NoFX. So you can imagine that bands like Sodom, State Children or Tranquilizer were very far off the picture. A few years after that, when I was getting into "real punk" - which translated into me compulsively counting mohicans, studs and beers on the record covers to assess the level of punkness - I got Dick Spikies and Discocks, two Japanese oi streetpunk bands that were quite good at what they did I suppose (funnily enough, I am pretty sure they would be more fashionable nowadays since everyone seems to be into oi-ish UK82 punk). Finally, when I discovered the politics of anarchopunk and how good-looking I was with patches on my jacket, Battle of Disarm was the first Japanese crusty band I got into along with another, much lesser known act called Socialcrime.
If you think about it, in the context, it makes perfect sense that I grabbed a copy of a Socialcrime record since they were released on Tribal War Asia, a division of Tribal War Records, a label run by Neil from Nausea/Final Warning and therefore one that I could trust with my life and my wallet. Tribal War Asia releases were quite easy to find and fairly cheap and they looked crusty as fuck so getting Socialcrime's Statement of rage 2001 album (it is actually a cd in a Lp gatefold cover) was a safe bet and made sense in my early 00's context. Oddly, the band is never really discussed and rarely mentioned, when at all. Perhaps they were active at a time when there was too much quality bands doing a similar genre in Japan, and they went largely unnoticed. While I don't think Socialcrime were extraordinary, especially in the midst of the mid 90's/early 00's Japanese hardcore punk scene, this Ep still makes for a good listen if you are into raw hardcore punk. I do not remember when or where I got hold of a copy of Protest noise but it must have been during a record shopping spree in Osaka last year (as I told you before, I went completely berserk because of the plethora of ace records and had to be carried out of the store by the security guard). In fact, I am pretty sure that I was unaware that there even was a Socialcrime Ep, so it was a bit of a surprise and it was a cheap second-hand record so the investment was minimal and I didn't think about it twice.
I don't know exactly when Protest noise was recorded and released. Judging from the production and the overall sound quality, it certainly predates Statement of rage, so I would say 1998 (correct me if I am wrong). Socialcrime were a three-piece from Tokyo and discogs tells me the band members did not play in other bands before or after, apart from drummer Toumiya who went on to play in The Charge. Their 1999 tape released on Malaysian label Broken Noise Records seems to compile songs taken from different recordings and since there is a live version of "Okinawa" from 1996, I suppose the band must have formed during the mid-90's. Apparently, they were close to Battle of Disarm and DIY Records since they appear on the short thank list provided on the Ep and they contributed to three compilations released on Thrash Ahoy (along with bands like BoD, Argue Damnation, Power of Idea, Fuck on the Beach or GJPB) so there could be a connection there as well, but that's about all I can guess with my magnifying glass. I remember being really into their album back in the day but then it also had a lot to do with the fact that I had much fewer records and the idea of a Japanese crusty hardcore band was still exciting and fresh (that feeling unfortunately went away a long time ago as I realized how bloody massive the Japanese scene was...). But, almost 20 years later, have Socialcrime aged well or was my listening experience distorted by youthful punk excitement?
The Protest noise Ep is not a bad record and while I don't think I could listen to an album worth of songs with that particular production, it works perfectly on an Ep format. What strikes me is how genuinely raw it sounds. Of course, many Japanese hardcore bands crave for a raw distorted sound but in general they intentionally work on the textures to achieve it, through effects, pedals, production and other tricks, so that the rawness and crudity are more akin to well-crafted and elaborated artistic choices rather than the results of material necessities. Protest noise's rough hardcore sound could be by choice but it sounds so much like it was recoded live in their practice space (there is only one layer of guitar and the bass is too high) that artistic intentionality is very unlikely. Besides Statement of rage is a well produced powerful offering so it would not make much sense to go for a rough production on purpose on the previous record. But anyway, the Ep sounds so direct, spontaneous and just really raw that I am reminded of some Brazilian crusty hardcore bands, not so much for the songwriting but for the atmosphere. Socialcrime are not as crusty as I remembered and would probably be best qualified as raw stripped-down hardcore thrash, somewhere between Battle of Disarm, Varukers, Private Jesus Detector, Crocodileskink with a 90's anarchopunk flavour and some Burning Spirit hardcore. The pace is of the fast and relentless galloping d-beat variety with the drums being loud in the mix, the bass is very present too but the sound is probably too high-pitched and lacks groovy heaviness (but then given the overall raw production, it might have been for the best), the guitar riffs are actually good and quite catchy although the guitar is a bit buried and the vocals are shouted in Japanese and sound deliciously gruff and pissed.
The fact that the band decided to have lyrics in Japanese is definitely a plus as it confers additional impact to the very clear vocal delivery and you can hear - although you don't understand what he's on about - that they are very angry indeed. I would argue that this linguistic choice can be explained by the political motivation of the band which are very clear in the lyrics' translations and the explanatory texts. Protest noise is about Japan's brutal colonial past as much as it is about its neocolonial present. The major difference between both periods lies in the means to achieve domination, through military occupation before as opposed to economic invasion now. Socialcrime also have a song, "Okinawa", about the US military bases located there and how the local population are struggling under this rule, with local women being regularly assaulted and abused by American soldiers. "System Japan", my favourite of the three songs, is about the traditional sense of sacrifice in Japan and how it is used by the ruling class to have more money and more power. The translations are not perfect but you can tell that the lyrics are honest and reflect political realities in Japan which makes for a nice change. Too often bands are happy to just sing about "freedom", "truth" or "war" completely out of context but in this case Socialcrime's protest songs are clearly rooted in specific conditions which gives this humble political record of raw hardcore thrash a distinct anarchopunk coloration and makes it quite lovable.
Protest noise was released on Tribal War Asia (the sublabel run by bloke form Crocodilesking) and One Coin Record, a label responsible for the Thrash Ahoi compilations as well as records from Battle of Disarm, Screen Out or Cluster Bomb Unit. The Ep was distributed by Active Distribution in Europe (like most Tribal War materials) and Noise Arrived Music (NAM on the backcover) but I could not find anything about it so I am clueless as to what it actually is. Socialcrime then recorded a full album, also on Tribal War Asia, with a much clearer sound production, courtesy of Shoji Matsugane who also worked for Fuck On the Beach, which gave Statement of rage a lot more hardcore power and focus. There are a couple of fillers on the album but it is pretty raging nonetheless and with a sharp and angry political message. A self-titled tape is also included on the discogs page but there is no date. I guess it is a demo from the same years as the album since the four songs are also on Statement of rage.
If you want some political hardcore that is genuinely raw and angry for this summer, look no further.
The fact that the band decided to have lyrics in Japanese is definitely a plus as it confers additional impact to the very clear vocal delivery and you can hear - although you don't understand what he's on about - that they are very angry indeed. I would argue that this linguistic choice can be explained by the political motivation of the band which are very clear in the lyrics' translations and the explanatory texts. Protest noise is about Japan's brutal colonial past as much as it is about its neocolonial present. The major difference between both periods lies in the means to achieve domination, through military occupation before as opposed to economic invasion now. Socialcrime also have a song, "Okinawa", about the US military bases located there and how the local population are struggling under this rule, with local women being regularly assaulted and abused by American soldiers. "System Japan", my favourite of the three songs, is about the traditional sense of sacrifice in Japan and how it is used by the ruling class to have more money and more power. The translations are not perfect but you can tell that the lyrics are honest and reflect political realities in Japan which makes for a nice change. Too often bands are happy to just sing about "freedom", "truth" or "war" completely out of context but in this case Socialcrime's protest songs are clearly rooted in specific conditions which gives this humble political record of raw hardcore thrash a distinct anarchopunk coloration and makes it quite lovable.
Protest noise was released on Tribal War Asia (the sublabel run by bloke form Crocodilesking) and One Coin Record, a label responsible for the Thrash Ahoi compilations as well as records from Battle of Disarm, Screen Out or Cluster Bomb Unit. The Ep was distributed by Active Distribution in Europe (like most Tribal War materials) and Noise Arrived Music (NAM on the backcover) but I could not find anything about it so I am clueless as to what it actually is. Socialcrime then recorded a full album, also on Tribal War Asia, with a much clearer sound production, courtesy of Shoji Matsugane who also worked for Fuck On the Beach, which gave Statement of rage a lot more hardcore power and focus. There are a couple of fillers on the album but it is pretty raging nonetheless and with a sharp and angry political message. A self-titled tape is also included on the discogs page but there is no date. I guess it is a demo from the same years as the album since the four songs are also on Statement of rage.
If you want some political hardcore that is genuinely raw and angry for this summer, look no further.
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