THE DOMESTICS

Routine And Ritual

LP



If you weren’t already aware, The Domestics are at the forefront of the new breed of hardcore punk spewing out of East Anglia (EAHC as the faithful are calling it) – the region that gave birth to Extreme Noise Terror, Raw Noise and The Stupids to name but a few. Mixing elements from the best of the U.S. (Poison Idea, Black Flag, Out Cold, Limp Wrist, Green Beret), Japan (Gauze, Warhead, Kreigshög) and the UK (Discharge, Chaos UK, Violent Reaction), The Domestics end up sounding fresh through the breadth of their influences. Many of the elements may feel familiar but the overall sound is hard to pin down with any real certainty. They ain’t reinventing the wheel here but I can’t think of another band that sounds quite like them. This is, by some margin, the most obnoxious-sounding record TNS have been involved with so far. Full of hate, hope and hooks (memorable songs and hardcore can go together – don’t let anyone tell you otherwise). Socially aware lyrics tackling frustration, depression, cultural and sub-cultural norms and more add to a album that demands repeated plays – this ain’t no ‘play it and file it’ record. Oh yeah, I guess while we’re talking this up we should probably mention that Dean Jones from the legendary Extreme Noise Terror guests on ‘Fuck Your War’, brutalizing that track even further. EAHC thunders on…