So the last ever Raw Nerve show is tonight. Probably going on right now, actually. I'm stuck 130 miles from Chicago, so here's my way of seeing them off. I'm just glad I did get to see them a couple of times while they were around. At the moment I've got their music on blast -- hopefully it will sufficiently irritate my wannabe-fratboy neighbors.
For those who don't know, Raw Nerve has been one of the best hardcore bands around Chicago in the past few years. Lots of throat-shredding vocals and screaming feedback and all that. The drums are fine-tuned to generate the maximum amount of crowd movement. But they're hardly by-the-book hardcore. They've laid down some interesting coversongs -- including a gut-wrenching version of X-Ray Spex's "I Am a Cliche" -- and there are a few passages, especially on the self-titled LP, that suggest something "bigger than hardcore" going on, but never for long enough for the hardcore-or-die types to complain about it. What do you want me to say? This is punk rock -- it's fast and it's loud, and it's the easiest possible music to judge for yourself.
Raw Nerve has one final release, an EP entitled Every Problem Solved, that is being released right about now. You can hear one of the songs here:
While you're downloading all this stuff for free, you should take a look at the long list of currently-available releases over at Youth Attack. Records, tapes, tshirts, razor blades, and all variety of other good stuff can be found there.
Youth Attack releases
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