As the West Coast prophet E-40 once eloquently stated:
I don’t bump mainstream, I knock underground/All that other shit, sugarcoated and watered down/I’m from the Bay where we hyphy and go dumb/From the soil where them rappers be getting they lingo from
Spy also call the Bay Area home and they are amongst some of the best crop of hardcore that we have seen sprout from the soil in recent years. No watered down or sugarcoated industry plant bullshit here. This is flavortown real deal motherfuckin’ music. Whatever is in the water in the Bay must be studied for future generations to understand what they were not here to witness.
Continuing on the path they set with their outstanding LP, Satisfaction, Spy have dropped another 1-2 fuck-you in the form of EP, Seen Enough. Brevity being the name of the game for the CA outfit, I will match their energy and give you the facts, Jack.
This is power-fucking-violence hardcore. This is grab you by the throat in audio form. All gas because Spy cut the fucking brakes. Shake and bake with a side of stage dives and crowdkills. You need a soundtrack to pick up all that change littered around your room? You fucking got it, buddy. You want anthems of anger, disillusionment, and utter contempt with which to scream your throat raw? Check, check and check.
I have a soft spot when bands record albums completely live. There is an energy that spews from the speakers that just can’t be matched. Spy make Seen Enough feel like a live show throughout the six songs they put to tape. The addition (or lack of removal?) of feedback weaves a through line and adds a cohesiveness to the EP. By the time you catch your breath at the end of closer “Quit the Act”, the feedback loops right back into opener “On the Brink” and the sick, sadistic roller coaster starts all over again.
Seen Enough isn’t for the faint of heart. This is passionate anger for our ADHD world. Get in, fuck shit up, get out. Rinse and repeat. But don’t you fucking sugarcoat it.
- Fav song: “Void of Passion”
FFO: powerviolence, hardcore, stage dives, misanthropy, the bay
Follow this fucking link to listen and while you’re there, fucking buy something from the band:
Windmills, Spinkicks, Headbangs, Push Pits 
Leave a comment