“Humans don’t hate anything more than they hate humans.” So explained Black Panties in Fashionable Activism fanzine, a bit of grim sense wedged among the St. Louis’ bandleader’s scabrous missives and beta-boy chest-puffs. “Everyone”, a 7” released earlier this year via Lumpy Records, appeared to temper the misanthropy with an almost sweet refrain—“I hate everyone/But you”—making the upcoming Total Punk title “Prophet of Hate” a return to form.
At least in spirit: “Prophet of Hate” opts for a turgid, lumbering riff over earlier material’s frantic velocity. It’s an infernal Tilt-A-Whirl, woozy and spiked by squealing feedback throughout. Each mangled, overdubbed intrusion disrupts the otherwise balanced mix with vindictive glee. The vocals, meanwhile, fester in a shroud of reverb not known to punk since the last Gag record, though discernible bits of amoral celebration cut through the mire: “I can’t tell wrong from right!”
Due in the same batch of Total Punk releases is the first 7” by New Orleans punk act Patsy. “Tuley Tude High”, the a-side, features a headlong riff and a breathless chorus that’s no less rousing for its total inscrutability, punctuated by what should be regarded as an overdue reclamation of handclaps for punk. Relish the jacket’s illustrated leisure scene; just don’t neglect the earlier demo and its insights about the insufferable plainness of Nazis.
