Spring Scenery: Vial Kick Ass, Ripping Nails For Congo, Neurosis and Fugazi startle.
I have been so busy working that my brain has been barely able to think straight enough to write. I have been painting with watercolors again, though. Many years since I have picked up a brush to make flier art or comic characters, so I have needed a soundtrack. Been listening to a lot of music and one LP I can't get enough of is Vial 's vital album Hellhound . A tour de force of snarling and catchy, witty punk that feels very rock n roll, it is a lock for my fave punk record of the first quarter of 2026. The production is snappy and crisp but still feels like lightning in a bottle. I always have loved bands like Cycle Sluts From Hell or L7 who had a hard charging side to their sound while still being feminist in their own way. Vial are a more punk rock than metal outfit, but have a similar spit fire ethos that will call to mind a Bikini Kill that could also nail Veruca Salt worthy hooks...and give me a lot of confidence that between them (as in pronouns "them") an...
