Gripe hail from Santiago, Chile and play Hardcore served up just the way we like it. Quick, hook-filled smashes that are perfect for the skatepark, late-night vandalism sprees and running from the pigs. Each track is short with no time left to fall into frills, breakdowns or other energy saps. Just pure, unadulterated Punk Muzik with a vocalist that sounds like he collapses after each track lets up. Sounds like Formaldehyde Junkies covering Circle Jerks. So, you know. Perfect.

Included in this 12" is the new 9 track recording recorded last year as well as an incredible demo from 2020 that was released as a cassette and digitally in the same year.

Our take: Hailing from Santiago, Chile, Gripe seems like the band that once they’re discovered, they will quickly find themselves on many year-end “best of” lists of hardcore aficionados far and wide. While the band was active as far back as 2018, this new LP released on the excellent Neon Taste label contains Gripe’s new 9-song recording on the A-side, as well as their 2020 demo cassette on the B-side. Stacked against the label’s local Canadian groups like Chain Whip and Imploders, and more recently bands like White Stains, Gripe’s style of hardcore feels right at home on Neon Taste. Lean and mean blasts of chaotic, jangly, but not-too-distorted guitar reminds me of groups like Amdi Petersens Arme or Total Fury, but paired with that classic, anthemic delivery of 80s Southern California punk. But of course, led by a vicious and commanding vocalist who sings all in Spanish. Tracks like “Forzado” or “Sobrecarga” are quick whirlwinds of fury that sound like a powder keg about to burst. But then a song like “Posición Fatal” is a menacing, slow burn that functions almost like Gripe’s answer to “Welcome To Reality” or “Democracy” by the Adolescents. Each recording on either side of this LP has its charm, but with either side that you might prefer, it’s amazing how these intense, explosively energetic performances are captured on tape. As the sound oozes out of the speakers on your home stereo, it’s like a visceral experience. The amount of blood and sweat the band expels is palpable, almost as if while listening you can feel yourself stuffed like a sardine into a tiny, packed-to-the-gills hardcore show. Much like the label describes, Gripe seems like the perfect party-fueled backdrop for many late-night delinquent activities. Gripe is the band that you want to set up and play at the edge of pool during a skate sesh after you and your friends sneak into someone’s back yard. A perfect soundtrack for fun-fueled mayhem and destruction. Don’t sleep. Check out this LP.