Spain has a storied and rich punk history, boasting heavy hitters like Subterranean Kids, GRB, RIP, Ultimo Resorte, and myriad more.
Permanently and forcefully scrawling their name onto the walls of those hallowed halls comes Valencia’s Colisión.
This being the debut 7-inch for the Iberian Peninsula band, there’s no better label to handle the release than UK stalwarts Crew Cuts.
I’ll get to the music, but wanted to give space for the band’s eloquent and direct mission statement to speak for itself. Words are from the band itself:
“Colisión es un grupo de hardcore punk hecho por y para mujeres e identidades y sexualidades disidentes. Con nuestros temas buscamos reflejar las vivencias y sentimientos de la mujer y el colectivo lgtb en este mundo hostil en el que vivimos. Hostilidad contra la hostilidad.”
English translation from Crew Cuts Bandcamp: "Colisión is a LGBT band and we like to think of us as a band made by/for women and dissident sexualities or identities. With our songs we try to reflect our feelings and experiences as women and part of the LGBT community and the hostilities that we have to face on our daily lives. Hostility against hostility."
From the jump, you can feel the aforementioned hostility. Opener “Kuir Violento” spares not a moment laying the groundwork of their singular sound. The band deftly maneuvers between raging, fast hardcore and a brutalist stomp.
Standouts here, as the are across the album, are the classic early '80s riffs and an impenetrably thick rhythm section built around relentless drumming. It begs to be said, though, the vocal performance is tremendous. Trading between breathlessly firing off righteous missives and something more punchy and economical, it’s an enthralling listen that always feels in service to the song’s weaponized intent.
“Abismo” fittingly sounds cavernous and, well, abyssal, flirting with more mid-paced and sludgy vibes. Again, it’s the dexterous drumming that astounds here, mixing dope tom fills with blast furnace double time runs.
Elsewhere, lead single “La Guardia Alta” plays on tradition, starting with a tortured peal announcing the song’s name. There’s a bit of angular, stop/start to the main riff which is an added dynamic, belying a band whose innate chemistry pays quick dividends. As we’ve already learned, they never fail to stomp you, slowing to proceedings to a creepy crawly, intimidating pace.
“Gorda” is utterly furious, yet still manages the most obvious earworm of the all too brief bunch.
“Bla, bla, bla” and the closer “Hogar” are the meatiest of the collection and both tout the perfect bass sound. Low slung and intentionally blown out, it melds perfectly with a slightly off kilter and disorienting guitar riff. It’s as if Hot Snakes were raised on a steady diet of Punk Ibéric.
It bleeds seamlessly into “Hogar," which builds around a deceptively simple bassline and dramatically thudding drums, lending the proceedings an epic flair. At just north of two minutes, it’s the band’s longest and perhaps most accomplished. That bass tone at 1:00 had me wanting to run through a wall.
Colisión is crashing the party. It’s no accident. Buckle up and beckon the collision.
