I can’t be the only person out there to be totally down with the chaotic blizzard of hardcore punk, dusty basement grind, disabled catalytic convertor thrash, construction site noise and quirky death spazzocity as created by the three-headed clobbering machine known as Moxiebeat while not being totally down with their moniker of choice. That they’ve gone ahead and christened their debut full-length Pop Sounds spills out more disconnect between sound and words, on the surface at least. But please be aware that, names and titles aside, this band is as serious and deadly as a heart attack with a COVID-19 chaser.
Moxiebeat, the band, started in 2013, but its members – drummer Tomas Acosta (Tomasacre), bassist/vocalist Brent Aragon (B-Train) and guitarist/vocalist Fritz Aragon (Zufos) – have been heroic stalwarts on the Riverside DIY scene for almost 20 years via the Ethospine Noise label and the sorely missed community space Blood Orange Infoshop which, when they weren’t engaged in “running Nazis out of town, harm reduction, homeless advocacy and general activism,” hosted shows featuring the likes of Alice Bag, Cloud Rat, ACxDC, Hot Nerds, Despise You, Loma Prieta, Thou, The Body, Shit Coffins, Graf Orlock and beyond.
Pop Sounds follows on the heels of the band’s 2013 self-titled EP and is an album which the band reports as steeped in “such topics as death, despair, isolation, vulnerability, justice, activism and destroying shit.” It was released back on October 30th via Ethospine Noise and today we’re offering up the first glimpse of the video for 99-second rager “People’s Protection Program.” The video itself weaves real-life images of police brutality protests with a more light-hearted storyline based on the topic. Aragon gives us more insight into the video:
“We shot this video mostly at work, with our friends, in half a day. Most of the protest footage was also within a block of the set. We understand that all the murders at the hands of the state were a symptom of greater affliction [and] of deeper systemic infirmity, a condition rooted in the DNA of a well-oiled engine. A much-needed response to a culture of passivity is always lurking, trying to make sense at the crossroads of brazen tiki-torch bravado, economic plunder and a blanketed plague. 2020 was pure absurdity and this two-minute video is just a snapshot, a reaffirmation, while having a few sickening laughs doing it.”
Lyrics:
PEOPLE’S PROTECTION PROGRAM
Here comes that crashing empire
Here comes that same old hate
For every fascist there’s a thousand scapegoats
For every tyrant a there’s a corporate saint
This is our oath to the people
This is our oath to self
We fight for all brothers and sisters
We fight for all vulnerable
We fight for all marginalized
We fight together until no end
As mentioned above, Pop Sounds has already been out for a couple of months via Ethospine. Collectors will be tickled to know that vinyl copies are available in two designs: “Birthday Cake Yellow” and “Transparent Sea Green.” More info at any one of the links listed below.
Moxiebeat
Ethospine Noise
