After several EP's, "Something Out of Nothing" is the first full-length release from Sweden's own Imperial Leather, on Profane Existence. I never had a clue upon hearing one of the band's earlier releases, but they're apparently named after the brand of soap that UK punks generally use for their "hairstyles" or whatever; and their present lineup boasts current and former members of an insane amount of great bands such as Burning Kitchen, Dischange, Meanwhile, No Security, and the Spider Cunts (though two of the band's present members didn't perform on the actual record, including new bassist and general badass 138 from the mighty Demon System 13, Epileptic Terror Attack, Bruce Banner, and Suicide Blitz). What you'll find are 14 tracks of pure punk rock 'n' roll in about 32 minutes. It's pretty straightforward, really. No song hits three minutes, things are generally catchy and energetic with a slightly angrier attitude here and there, and so on. The quick little lead breaks and the feel of many of the chord progressions have more of a straight rock vibe, while the sneering male/female vocal tradeoffs and vocal arrangements definitely have more of a punk attack, and the end result does the trick for me. I hate to keep it so brief, but this one's a pretty straight shot. Don't get the wrong idea or anything, it's not one of those albums where every song sounds the same by any means, but… you probably get what I'm saying. Just see what you think:

Imperial Leather "Rocket Science"
Imperial Leather "Picking Scabs"

Like it? Then buy it straight from the label's massive catalog (it's also available on LP for those who die for vinyl):

@ Profane Existence

Also new from Profane Existence is "Ground Zero: Stuttgart" from Murder Disco X – a German band that has existed in one form or another since the early-90's when they were originally called Time to Suffer Power. This one contains 12 moderately fast and pissed hardcore/punk tracks in just 19 minutes – among them covers of Arm the Insane and Terveet Kädeet. The recording is nice and crisp and the material is aggressive, but it's not overly heavy or anything, so it's not going for that metallic sort of sound at all. It's got a very solid punk edge but is more rooted in hardcore all around, and once again it's a pretty straight shot in terms of getting right to the point:

Murder Disco X "Robots"
Murder Disco X "Ground Zero: Stuttgart"

If you like this one too, the above applies. Buy it straight from the label, and if you prefer, snag the vinyl instead:

@ Profane Existence