Ballpeen – ‘Pachinko’
Limited edition 65 copies. Featuring members of great North East bands such as Tide Of Iron, Grace, Jinn, OZO and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaind, BALLPEEN burst onto the Newcastle (UK) scene in 2017. Their debut show at Little Buildings was a low-key affair, but their opening performance at the inaugural Brave Exhibitions Festival in the same year was a stand-out of the weekend and led them to becoming the festival’s perennial favourite. With roots in post-hardcore and the dynamism of greats such as Melvins and Unwound, BALLPEEN have looked to capture the energy of their live performances through releases on premier DIY punk label, Serial Bowl Records. 2018’s ‘Loose Knot’ with it’s wry nod to Black Flag in title and excellent artwork, rapped five across the listener’s brow from the get-go, with its attention-grabbing power and undulating groove, coursing through the 6 tracks, leaving you thirsty – but not miserable – for more. And now you can have more. ‘Pachinko’ (again with mind-blowing artwork from James Watts) is an 8 tracker that blisters along like a wide-eyed frenetic who’s had all the speedballs. With quality production that brilliantly captures the urgency of their live performances, ‘Pachinko’ will delight old and new fans alike. Hardcore will never die. FFO Unwound; Black Flag; Melvins; Shellac.