Sam and Joe, "Save the Children"

Cautionary post-Soviet manifesto for clean living. Sam McPheeters steps out from Born Against but doesn't pause for breath on the definitive cut from Vermiform's 1993 Fear of Smell compilation. The rage slowly builds as he and the interlocutor outdo one another; note, by way of correlation, the gradually more intense Gotham accent. Diets, dollars, doublespeak: it's all in there as this yarn of permanent revolution spins out of control. Quiz to follow.

"Save the Children"

Crom-Tech, "Wemcraftor:Limsniffer [• 12 a wixot as Q off the Rolltarp •]"

Two-man stylings from a parallel universe. Mick Barr, in advance of his current "avant-metal" conceits, churns finely wrought post–post-hardcore, pushing every limit. The words mean nothing, but there's more frenzy and just pure release than anywhere in the Orthrelm–Octis–Ocrilim family, which can give off a Guitar Center veneer of noodleage. Almost a song, but not.

"Wemcraftor:Limsniffer"

BRUNCH: Dow Jones and the Industrials

Provincial unrest atop the crest of the new wave. "Can't Stand the Midwest" drives, a — perhaps the — paradigmatic KBD fight song. It drew a response from Indiana's Gizmos ("The Midwest Can Be Alright"), which culminated before long in an amicably split single. Less conspicuous in the longue durée are its bookends, dehumanizing synthers underwritten by prickly picking and a hollowed-out voice. "Let's Go Steady" oscillates between that paranoia and a legitimately stomping chorus. But the low high tech returns to swallow the coda, promising better things. 1980: Morning in America.

"Let's Go Steady"
"Can't Stand the Midwest"
"Indeterminism"

Lucky Dragons, "Ivy Girl"

Divinely inspired, massively illegal jungle grunge. Luke Fischbeck loops that song from that album by that band, making it whir and purr and bounce — which is to say, unrecognizable until you think about it. The sound of a cardigan unraveling.

"Ivy Girl"

Cobra Kai, "Fragile"

No-mercy karatecore. Cincinnati screamers strike first, strike hard, flailing and at times tempering their craft with keyboard. Out of commission after a short run — surprise — but not entirely out of date. What is the problem, Mr. Lawrence?

"Fragile"

BRUNCH: O Level

Reflexive schoolboy punk straight outta the sixth form. On their first seven-inch (not pictured), pre-TVP Ed Ball and friends (not Treacy) sing what they know: standardized tests, West London, and the little hypocrisies already fraying the edges of the U.K. scene. "Pseudo[-]Punk" more than slightly resonates with "Part[-]Time Punks": O Level, name-dropped in that standard, watches one rebel surrender his "leather bomber jacket" for a "three-piece suit." Because he sort of means it, Ball rolls his R's like Johnny Rotten. Backing vocals ensue.

"Pseudo Punk"
"O Levels"
"East Sheen"