Black Flag bloc

Name: Gay Anniversary

Where they’re from: Athens, Greece

Genre: Noise Punk

Most Like: Deaf Wish, Whatever Brains

Sounds Like: There’s a riot going on in your pants.

Is it too quiet in your life right now? No? It will seem like it was too quiet after you check out New In Class by vicious Athens punks Gay Anniversary. They’re compatriots of Athens psych rockers Acid Baby Jesus, but sound nothing like them. One band is taking you on a bad trip, the other one is plain out for blood.

They’re usually barreling along at ’80s hardcore speed with shout-y vocals reminiscent of that era but their sound is fueled by distortion, noise and a generally bugged-out sensibility that has more in common with garage punk. The album oscillates uncontrollably between very violent garage and really weird hardcore. (Weird hardcore has always been with us, of course, but bands like Gay Anniversary make me think we need to start calling it that more, to coral it, for safety’s sake.) Corrosive materials should be clearly labelled.

You can listen to their whole album on BandCamp but this video might be a better introduction. It shows the quartet in their natural environment, surrounded by youth baying at them like hell hounds: