The long awaited debut LP from NYC’s FLOWER “Hardly A Dream” is finally set to arrive.

FLOWER’s tedious approach to writing/creating/drawing their debut LP was carefully thought out and the result is a monumental anarcho punk /crust record.

“Hardly A Dream” Takes us on a bleak journey through the dark side of society. As soon as you drop the needle a dark atmosphere is immediately created with a slow intro featuring arpeggio guitar work that builds into pummeling d-beat crust. The albums vocals then leave you with a feeling of being crushed by the ever-present weight of living through our modern world of late stage capitalism that was built on the falsehoods of the so called American dream, religious hypocrisy’s, nationalism, and the greed of humankind.
FLOWER take many cues from predecessors and are most often (and rightfully so) compared to NAUSEA but they also take a heavy influence from ANTISECT, SACRILEGE & other greats. The artwork has a very RUDIMENTARY PENI feel and the record comes with an amazing 24.5 X 34.75 CRASS style poster jacket. All art work was meticulously hand drawn and overseen by the guitarist Willow in true DIY style and spirit. Willow was also cool enough to draw up a special shirt for the record release featuring an alternative PROFANE EXISTENCE backprint!

CLICK HERE TO PRE ORDER LP WITH SHIRT
CLICK HERE TO PREVIEW THE ALBUM IN ITS ENTIRETY AT THE PROFANE EXISTENCE BANDCAMP

FLOWER will be on tour from January 2nd to the 13th
2nd New Brunswick
3rd Asheville
4th Greenville
5th Birmingham
6th New Orleans
7th Hattiesburg
9th Gainesville
10th Atlanta
11th Durham
12th Richmond
13th Philadelphia


PO BOX 7903 PITTSBURGH PA 15216




















First I wanted to be clear that this review is for the 2nd edition(the first edition is pictured here), but for some reason a good quality photo was hard to find. The second edition includes 20+ more pages of new material. Whether or not you ever hung out in train years or hopped a train, this is a very entertaining read that due, to the zine format, never drags out. There’s also a ton of photos of hobos, bums and tramps(and little guides to tell the difference) and the graffiti on trains done by them and rail yard employees. A constant theme throughout is the real identity of the freightcar graffiti artist who came up with the Bozo Texino tag. Lots of speculation in interviews and letters written by current and past rail yard employees and clips from old train industry magazines. It’s a fun read that you don’t really have to do in any particular order for it to be informative and interesting. Perfect backpack book. (Jake)
While I was gathering paper and cardboard for a bonfire recently, I dumped the packing material out of the box from the last batch of review goodies I was sent quite a while ago and this cassette fell out. While the fire was great, I felt like a total jerk for missing this. By the looks of the cassette and logo I would have expected this to be heavy crust, but I was pleasantly surprised. While I am a big fan of that style, this was a nice surprise. This cassette has seven songs of blazing hardcore that I could swear came straight from the mid 90s even though they’ve only been around for a little over a year. The drums beat furiously pushing the wall of rage created by the guitars and bass. Adding to the mayhem are deep sociopolitical lyrics that are so well written and inspiring. I have to admit that the second time through these songs I was so moved I had to pull out my guitar and shred. By the time the time you read this, there’s a possibility that MASSEXIT will be close to putting out another fine release. I can’t wait! Even though the recording was pretty rough, this is one of the best releases I’ve heard in a very long time(and comes with a sticker). Honest and very well done. (Jake) 
Back in December, Harvest King Records released one hell of a compilation containing a nice assortment of bands over 20 tracks. Aside from ROYAL RED BRIGADE, KLEINS96, TOMORROW STARTS TODAY and THE JUMP OFF(who all have two), each band has one track to showcase their goods. Something to look forward to is the diversity in sound that everybody brings to the table unlike some comps that give a handful of bands all banging out tunes that, in reality, could all be the same band. The range on this disc hit punk rock, hardcore, indie, country/folk and more. Even better…you can listen to it for free! That’s right, free. So, go to Harvest King’s bandcamp site and check it out. Then, after realizing you like all the bands, order all the albums! (Jake)