Revolt! – 1984 Demos
No Fraud
Six Weeks Records, 2015
“We play both types of music; punk and hardcore.”
One of my favorite lines ever uttered on stage came from the mouth of lead vocalist, Dan Destructo. And no Image may be NSFW.
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statement about No Fraud could be more true.
These songs were originally tracked as demos, so the quality is pretty thin. But this is what original hardcore was about. And No Frauds version of this was pure unfiltered attitude distilled through Florida’s mind numbing humidity, small town condescensions, and youthful frustration.
Punk was really too slow for these guys by the time they got around to grinding their axes. Everything needed to be rougher. Faster. Edgier. Thus punk morphed into hardcore.
The songs are all short, sturdy, sucker punches, meant to leave the listener uncertain and off balance.
“Revolt” is demanding as it requires the band keep the song in third gear when really, they want to let loose and blow the thing to pieces. “Another Part of the Machinery” shows No Fraud tenuously eyeballing expanding their musical horizons while still being true to their hardcore roots. There’s a tempo shift, the musicians stretch out more and it kills.
I’m partial to side two. It’s faster, dirtier, more unhinged. Everything feels like it’s about to come apart at the seams and witnessing something move at this speed is daunting. Swerving unsteadily with the screed on pop music, “Fuck Your Shit,” the band never eases up. The faux country send up of “Venice Hillbillies” can be well understood by anyone who dared be strange or different in a small town.
If this is as close as you ever come to catching No Fraud live, it’s a brilliant portrayal. This band in full flight is more a force of nature than art.
No Fraud are hardcore legends who stuck to their ideals, and did things one way. Theirs.
If you’re just now getting hip, relax. You bought the record. Play it till the grooves wear out. Then get another one.
