by Taylor Ruckle (@TaylorRuckle)
It’s not often a band gets harder and lower-fi with time--not without sounding contrived, anyway--but on their new LP II, Japanese post-punk band M.A.Z.E. tap into their hardcore influence with unqualified success. Their 2019 self-titled outing, their first on Lumpy Records, was raw in its own way, luxuriating in the open space around their singsong melodies and clean-ish guitars (on the opener, “I’m Grey,” you can hear the bass amp rattle the beads in the snare drum). II is faster, furiouser, and more fun, filling in singer Eriko’s vocals with fuzz and throwing some real punch behind guitarist Tatsuya’s oscillating riffs and scorching chord swipes.
In real time, the interval between releases is even shorter than it looks. The songs for II were actually recorded in April of 2019, the same month as the release of M.A.Z.E. The band first released them soon after as Tour Tape in conjunction with some U.S. shows alongside Lumpy labelmates BB Eye (five tracks had been re-recorded from an untitled 2018 EP, now with heaps more grit). If you weren’t at those shows, it was all Bandcamp exclusive, until now. With a sharp new master by Ian Teeple (Silicone Prairie, Natural Man Band) this is the definitive cut, widely available to stream for the first time and even pressed to wax.
The record benefits on every level from the newfound distortion, which makes for M.A.Z.E.’s most hot-blooded material yet. Drummer Chiba is compressed to hell and back on “311,” where the snare hits burst like firecrackers. Bassist Tanji steals the spotlight on “Psycho Eyes” (lifted from the band’s split with Nicfit) with a thick, clacking lead. Eriko’s shouted vocals always gave the project a clear punk attitude, but with the un-polished production edge, they’re downright acidic, especially on the heavier cuts like “I Just Pay Taxes” or the ferocious opener, “Zipper Back.” The crunch even augments the old reliable post-punk grooves, as on the standout “Spread the Germicide,” with its high-pitched holler and four-on-the-floor drive.
From the start, M.A.Z.E. have had a classic hardcore sense of how long a thought should last, and true to form, II’s caustic, joyous careening is over in fourteen minutes, made for listening with repeat enabled--you’ll want to be ready to drop off the slide, cough up a lungful of chlorinated water, and get right back in line. If you find you can’t slog through the arduous, oh-so-English post-punk revival record du jour, take II as an antidote, and it’ll burn up what ails you.