Hardcore punk out of Pittsburgh, PA.

Our take: Kill Enemy Records, the label that introduced us to Speed Plans and Illiterates, among many others, brings us another Pittsburgh gem with this debut vinyl from Alamoans. Alamoans’ sound is unique. They have parts that are straight up caveman hardcore, like the first part of the record’s first song, “Licking the Boot.” The beginning of that track has a dead simple riff and one of those mid-paced pogo beats that makes it sound like something crazy is about to happen, but over the course of the record, the guitarist increasingly goes off-script, employing screeching Keith Levine-isms across the top of the rhythm section’s violent stomp. While they don’t sound too similar, Hoax is a band who had a similar mix of brutish rhythms and guitar parts that could veer into arty territory. Really, though, I can’t think of another band that sounds like Alamoans, and with a sound that’s immediate, powerful, and original, I think this is a really strong EP.