Bands You Should Try - STRANGELIGHT

(By Melody Werner)

I listen to lots of music that's far outside of the mainstream--not because I think I'm better than anyone who doesn't or because all mainstream music is bad, or anything insufferable like that (my insufferability manifests in other ways); I simply enjoy finding stuff that deserves more attention than it has and spreading the word about it. And who else deserves as much attention as STRANGELIGHT ought to have?

The four-piece known as STRANGELIGHT hails from Oakland, which I never knew as a birthplace for such outstanding hardcore punk. For a band that has only just released its debut album--and which has no members from bands I've heard of--they seem to have found their footing right away. If you're into stuff like Refused, absolutely get your eyeballs on Adult Themes, STAT. It is a phenomenally aggressive hardcore punk album with righteous lyricism, cathartic instrumental performances, high-octane banger after high-octane banger, fed-up vocals--it's everything I want in my hardcore punk. Zero class, pent-up rage cranked up to 11 and (correctly) directed at the powers that be.

If you have a lesser known rock, punk, or metal band you think deserves some respect, shoot them my way in the comments and I'll be sure to check them out for a possible future installment of this segment.