Norcore – Veglam

Norwood Park All Stars “N.P.A.S. DOS”

Published on 8 May 20188 May 2018 by veglamLeave a comment

NORWOOD PARK ALL STARS are back with 13 new songs on this second album. If you haven’t heard about them before, this band is composed of members of various punk/glam bands from the North of Chicago (the 80s Norcore scene.) The first two songs (“Parting Seas” and “Double Talk”) have a little Jello Biafra feel to them, “Not Thinking” is a catchy punk rock song with a rockabilly beat, and “Funk Face” mixes a dark verse with an anthemic glitter rock chorus. The glitter/glam influences can also be heard in “2222 Much”, reminding of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Up tempo songs like “Right To Say”, “The Same”, or “Put You Out” sometimes get close to 80s American hardcore, and each song sounds like the musicians really have fun playing them, whether they sound punk, glam or rockabilly (“Rockability”), and that’s partly why this new record is very enjoyable to listen to!
This CD comes out in a cool digifile in a jeans pocket! /Laurent C.

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V/A “We Weren’t Meant To Last” (Best of Norcore Compilation ’83-86)

Published on 21 Dec 201721 Dec 2017 by veglamLeave a comment

The unusual format of this CD packaging makes it interesting from the start since it fits very well the comic book illustration cover art. It is a compilation of songs of the mid-80s Norwood Park (Chicago) glam/punk scene. BLUE EYED PASTIE WHITES opens the record with a great glam rock song “Coulda Woulda Shoulda”, followed by The TARGADENS‘ “Funk Face” that also has strong 70s glitter influences. “The Addiction” and “Danish Home Girls” by CHERRY BOY have a great ROXY MUSIC/70s ENO vibe with sax and cool arrangements while THROTTLE BODY‘s “23 (Listen For It”) sounds as wild and snotty as a DEAD BOYS song. You’ll also get some hints of American new wave with “Jumpstart” by VAGIANT, and even some funky groove with The SUPREME HUSTLE. It’s a mystery why some of these bands didn”t get any bigger… When you think about it, a song like”129″ by The CEILING INSPECTORS is not that different from early NO DOUBT! Powerpop fans will love The BLACK HERMITS‘ “Watershed” and if you’re more into rockabilly/country/blues influenced stuff, then you’ll get into The CHOCITA BANDITS, CRINKUM CRANKUM, The GADDERWALLS, PATRON TAINTS or PUSS ‘N BOOTS. BACKYARD PROWLERS have a bit of a cryptic blues CRAMPS-like feel, The OUTER RING and LIL JOE & The HOSSTONES are more sci-fi garage/soundtrack, BREAK & ENTER could fit in the death rock scene, and on the punk/hardcore side, you’ll find HELLSTORM with “Something Special”, TURA, GOD MONSTER FLATS and The CHATTERERS (although their song “Scream Blackula Scream” sounds darker.)
27 songs might be a bit long, but this compilation is an interesting document, they weren’t meant to last, but bringing these bands to a wider audience is largely deserved. Better late then never! /Laurent C.

https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/norwoodparkallstars2

Norwood Park All Stars “Northwest Highway”

Published on 5 Nov 20125 Nov 2012 by veglamLeave a comment

Sometimes, records can be as useful as books and the Internet to learn about specific/local scenes and bands. This one for instance is about the Norcore Scene (North of Chicago in the mid-80s), which was composed of various bands with punk rock/glam influences mainly (but not only.) Some of these musicians have been reuniting since 2007 to give some of the songs from this era/scene a second life, and bring you this record that fans of bands like The DESCENDENTS, ALL, NRA or even GANG GREEN would love. For some reason, the intro of the opening song (“There Was A Time”) reminded me of French band LES THUGS while “Since 1973” tends to sound more like BLACK FLAG, but a lot of songs on this album are more on the straight punk rock side with hard rock touches (“23 (Listen For It)”, “The Addiction”…) You can even find some punked-up rockabilly influences in “Anita” and “Russ Meyer”.
This CD comes out in a cool looking colourful digipack, so this is a great way to find out about the Norcore scene and its bands, and the perfect musical companion to the website http://www.norcore.us ./Laurent C.