UUTUUS - Everything Is Shit - 7" - 1997

...for a while there in the 00s some punk revisionists were propagating the myth there was no good fast hardcore in the 90s, "until the "Y2K thrash revival" kicked off"... Although it's definitely true hardcore punk veered off in a variety of directions in the 2nd half of the 80s and continued to do so in the following decade, it is a somewhat US-centred version of events...and even then still widely inaccurate at that. Following the coming of age of the internet, and a generation that can't remember a time without it, punk history is quietly being rewritten again, with downloading helping to fill in the blanks and bringing to the fore bands and scenes in parts of the world which some overlooked to their peril previously. 

Though Uutuus were (or seemed to be to me at least) actually relatively well known when they were around, releasing records which were traded and sold across the known punk world they don't yet appear to be all over the radar of the newer generation of punks. Somewhat surprising especially given the fact they play the kind of '82 Finnish hardcore punk which is all the rage right now and who's originators are household names even in the previously notoriously inward looking US punk scene.

Uutuus were one of those bands that helped keep their country's traditional sound alive by bringing it into the new, at times very different, decade. They are now rightly revered by many of my Finnish punk friends as hugely important. I loved hearing Markku Hirvelä from Toinen Vaihtoehto zine talk so enthusiastically about them on a recent MRR radio show. Hopefully it inspired some kids to check them out and pick up their records. If you're one of them; both their eps can be easily found for little money, especially in the US where I regularly come across copies, and though the lp is a little more difficult to locate at a very cheap price, it should still not prove too difficult. All of their stuff rules. I've been playing this specific 7" since first picking it up in the 90s, digging it out of the collection every so many weeks, and it never ever gets tired....not sure my neighbours necessarily agree mind.

UUTUUS

MAAILMANLOPPU - lp - 2012

This lp heavily featured in the MRR's "best of 2012" year lists of those punks I would consider as being "in the know". For good reason too as this rager sees the band graduate with flying colours at the '82 school of Finnish hardcore punk. I snoozed on this a little longer than usual, resulting in labels Kämäset Levyt and Paha Tukka Elämä already being sold out, and after a very panicked search around a string of distros, ended up getting a copy from Yannick's  Feral Ward in the US in the end. If you love hardcore punk and, like me, have a soft spot for Finnish hardcore especially, do pick this up sooner than later as they just released two more amazing 7"s, no doubt bringing them to the attention of a growing number of fellow freaks and fanatics.

MAAILMANLOPPU

LAPINPOLTHAJAT - Wahlroosin Unelma - lp - 2012

One of Europe's best kept secrets, this is one band who's releases I actively track down and buy as soon as they become available. After a killer first 7" and lp, this 2nd lp sees them add just a little more melody to great effect, losing none of their previous punch in the process. This channels the Finnish scene's more tuneful predecessors, the likes of Appendix, Mellakka and Treblinka, as opposed to say the more all-out buzz-saw distorted chaos of Kaaos & co. That said, LAPINPOLTHAJAT are not to be confused as one of the many retro bands rehashing an old style/sound that have become so prevalent over recent years. Firmly rooted in the Finnish hardcore punk tradition as they may be, LAPINPOLTHAJAT sound fresh and authentic, building on what came before as opposed to being a poorly photo-copied version of what once was. For any clues these guys are actual active participants as opposed to mere musicians, you only have to look at drummer Jukka. He has to be one of the more active punks on the mainland at the moment, running the fantastic Kämäset Levyt label (who co-released this lp together with the equally great Roku Records and Shogun Records), organizing a shitload of tours and playing in a string of other great bands to boot. Have a listen and check out the other releases by the three labels, they all maintain way above average levels of quality control.
LAPINPOLTHAJAT

STOP VIVISECTION, USE YUPPIES - compilation lp - 1989

...I dug this out of the collection earlier today and reminded myself how good this is. Released on the legendary Hätäapu Records out of Turku, Finland back in 1989, this remains a fantastic compilation, packed with some killer late 80s Finnish hardcore bands. Not an era most new kids focus their attention on, foolishly only looking at the early 80s classics instead. The 4 bands on here are some of those that helped the Finnish scene move into the then new decade, at a time when many other countries' scenes were floundering; Attanas (also did some great eps, though the 1st was limited to 300 only, the last two can both still easily be found cheap!),  Sätkynukke, Perestroika and my absolute personal favorite Treblinka. The latter got the discography treatment recently on the very same Hätäapu Records and it's one album to definitely pick up, then hit yourself for not paying attention to them earlier. The label has actually been doing a string of great new records, reissues (Pyhäkoulu's Post Mortem) & other discographies (Mielenhäiriö & Mellakka) since re-surfacing in 2010, after a near 2 decade dry spell, so with a bit of luck this compilation lp will be one of the gemms of the past they'll make more widely available again to the punks.

STOP VIVISECTION, USE YUPPIES