Violent Bullsh!t - Live On BreakThrough Radio

By: Tim Baker

Violent Bullshit's newish release Live On BreakThrough Radio is exactly what it says it is - a 9 plus minute live performance of their music. It is pretty fucking glorious and the live element helps add to the razor sharp frenetic energy and channel early and mid 80s hardcore in a way that I havent seen done in a long time.

Violent Bullshit is a collection of musicians from other outfits that all have impressive resumes, which I won't chronicle because really it's not that important when speaking of Violent Bullshit. If you want to find out who is who check their Facebook. I am much more interested in what's going on here.

They make the kind of music that used to make suburban parents worry about their kids and help build the legend of New York's Lower East Side to the point that people are longing for the days of junkies, thieves, squatters and all form of creep over the bars and restaurants of today. It is heavy, menacing and hard to understand if you aren't a fan of hardcore, and if you are it's pure unadulterated bliss.

It's the type of shit that Phil Donahue buttered his bread with. Smart and angry music that has a biting sense of humor and sees our society for what it is - a high priced popularity contest that most of us don't stand a chance to win and whose winners are unbearable assholes name Cliff and Claire.

It is the logical break from that; a world of your own, a world that holds up the mirror and focuses on truth.

Most of the people I know who listened to shit like Violent Bullshit in high school were usually male, funny as shit, smarter than everyone else (parents, principals and teachers included) and rightfully over it all. They all ended up either owning sustainable farms outside of towns like Portland, ME or Syracuse, NY and are righteously libertarian, or became aggressive vegans who bought fixer uppers in downtrodden areas of former industrial cities with their lesbian life-partners and made a killing when gentrification and the house bubble popped off, now they are stay at home dads and spend their days home schooling their 7 kids (2 of their own, 4 adopted and one who just showed up). At the high school reunion they we the most interesting and coolest people to kick it with.

I guess once you find truth the rest is fucking cupcakes and Mr. Pibb.

Violent Bullshit is certainly the truth. They stir up feelings and emotions I haven't felt in some time. Their music is powerful and smacks you across the mug with a soggy baguette then pinches you ass and calls you Dustin.

I fucking love it.