Absolutely reckless and compressed hardcore punk rock, full of jumps in register and micro-shifts in timing. Based in Barcelona, and powering through 10 songs in their mother tongue of Catalan, this livid and catchy record is like MOTORHEAD at 78rpm with the vocal phrasing of the PEGGIO PUNX or INDIGESTI. Sounds like the bass is made of wiggly melted down Gitoni players, and the guitars have Big Muff pedals wedged in the amplifier cones. Punk at this level of disheveled velocity and excitement is a rare art.

Our take: Debut vinyl from this ripping band out of Barcelona who sings in Catalan. The label’s description references classic Italian hardcore like Peggio Punx and Indigesti, and that is an appropriate comparison as this has a similar sense of unhinged ferocity. Part of that is the vocal phrasing, but much of it is also because of the great guitar playing. While a lot of punk bands’ riffs consist entirely of power chords, FOC’s riffs are full of open strings and bent notes, techniques common in the early Italian hardcore scene. Check out the woozy-sounding intro to “Reacció” or the blistering “15” for great examples of what I’m talking about. Recommended if you like your hardcore loose and wild and/or if you enjoyed the recent records by Idiota Civilizzato.